amaotonovel Chapter 180 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (84)
Chapter 180 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (84)
Lu Liruan didn't know what she was thinking, but she had only one thought in her mind: she couldn't go on like this, she couldn't just drift along, and she couldn't pretend to be calm and continue living her life.
That would only lead to an unavoidable outcome.
Ji Shumin was never one to hesitate. Lu Liruan felt that if it weren't for her, he would have already chosen his own path and never looked back.
Lu Liruan knew that the variable in his life was herself, and that she had come to his side to change his predetermined path to death.
If that's the case, why should I hesitate?
Even if you cherish the tender moments, even if you worry about the dark road ahead, you still have to move forward. Just keep going and see what happens. Don't run away or be afraid, because those are the real stumbling blocks.
Lu Liruan put the pen back on the pen holder, let out a long sigh, and the frustration in her heart gradually subsided.
During dinner, Ji Shumin's expression had returned to normal. He did not mention the matter again, as if everything was peaceful and undisturbed.
"Li Ruan?"
After he moved from the wheelchair to the bed, he saw Lu Liruan suddenly stand up, walk to his side, stare at him intently, her lips pursed, her hands clenched into fists inside her sleeves.
"I'm not afraid..."
"Ok?"
“I’m not afraid to take this responsibility!” Lu Liruan said, emphasizing each word.
"Do you want me to make the choice? I'm willing..." Lu Liruan said without hesitation.
"Why? Tell me, I want to know." Ji Shumin rarely showed confusion and doubt. How could he not sense Lu Liruan's nervousness?
She stood ramrod straight, and after saying those words, a flush rose to her cheeks, her lips turned crimson like flower petals, and her eyes shone like a galaxy.
“Because I can take responsibility for you. You are willing to entrust your life to me, and I am also willing for you to make life-or-death decisions for me.” Lu Liruan blinked: “If one day I find myself in a life-or-death situation, and I am unable to make a decision or even communicate my thoughts, then this burden will fall on you.”
Lu Liruan took a deep breath and unconsciously puffed out her cheeks: "Would you give up and run away because you're afraid of taking responsibility and afraid of the unknown outcome? Would you leave me all alone there? Leave me in this awkward situation, making me face it all by myself..."
Ji Shumin remained silent, scrutinizing Lu Liruan with a deep and discerning gaze.
“You won’t,” Lu Liruan answered for him.
"So I won't either."
Lu Liruan managed to express herself fairly fluently, and relaxed a little.
She smiled and raised the corners of her mouth: "Didn't you say that we are the closest people, that we bear the right to choose for each other, and that we bear each other's life and death... Doesn't that sound like the closest of people?"
The words Ji Shumin had said countless times sounded intimate and tender when spoken by her.
Even when discussing potentially heavy topics like death, there was not a trace of sorrow or tragedy in their gazes at each other.
“Yes.” Ji Shumin slowly uttered a single word.
Normally he is eloquent and can turn black into white, making people convinced and full of admiration. But at this moment, his throat seems so narrow that it can only allow one word to pass through.
He was struck head-on by an emotion he could feel, an emotion that could be measured in terms of life and death, leaving him choked and hoarse...
“What did Li Ruan choose for me?” he asked.
“Use that antidote,” Lu Liruan said calmly. “You have to be well, don’t let me worry about you as you live on…”
You are so proud, you shouldn't be trapped for life.
"it is good."
Ji Shumin agreed without hesitation.
Lu Liruan leaned down and hugged him, resting her chin on Ji Shumin's shoulder, where his prominent bones pressed painfully against her: "Although it's not a very auspicious thing to say."
Lu Liruan said in a low voice, "Don't worry, no matter what happens in the future, I will be with you. Whether it's the Yellow Springs or the Azure Heaven, or the Human World or the Underworld, I will go with you."
Her mission was to save Ji Shumin. If Ji Shumin died, Lu Liruan didn't know what would happen, or what would happen if the mission failed.
But Lu Liruan was unusually calm at this moment. So what if she failed?
If Ji Shumin dies, and I remain here and vanish with him, it wouldn't be such a bad outcome.
If gods and Buddhas truly exist, Lu Liruan is not greedy and seeks nothing else:
He only asked that if they were to die together, Ji Shumin would be here, and he himself would die here as well.
“Alright, I’ll take you with me.” Ji Shumin couldn’t bring himself to say, “If I die, you must live well even if you’re left alone in this world.”
Or: You should forget about me and continue living your good life.
That's how selfish he is. It would be better if he could die with Lu Liruan. If they couldn't die together, Ji Shumin would rather carve his name into Lu Liruan's chest and heart with a knife.
He wanted her to remember him forever, so that whenever she thought of him, the wound would bleed and the pain would be unbearable! Every time she uttered his name, he feared that he would respond to her again and again in the underworld or in the realm of demons.
Since the choice has been made to cure the poison, it is no longer possible to stay in the palace.
We don't know what will happen, or how long it will take. The palace is drafty, so it's not suitable.
The mansion outside the palace was almost completed, and people could move in and live there. However, the emperor seemed to have forgotten about allowing Ji Shumin to leave the palace. After deposing Ji Shumin from his position as crown prince, he never mentioned it again, and no one knew what the emperor was thinking.
Ji Shumin brought up the matter several times, but the emperor did not agree.
"I feel more at ease with Min'er by my side." The Emperor sighed as he took Ji Shuqin and Ji Shumin with him, "Now that I'm getting old, I cherish the time I spend with my children by my side even more..."
“Father is still in his prime,” Ji Shumin said respectfully.
Ji Shuqin's expression was somewhat worried and heavy. He was probably the only person in the palace who was truly moved and worried from the bottom of his heart when he saw the emperor growing old.
Oh, and those young noblewomen whom the Emperor has favored in recent years.
But what worries them is that the emperor is getting older and older, and in recent years no good news has come from any of the palaces. These women in the palace all hope to have their own flesh and blood so that they can stand on their own two feet and not be like duckweed with no support at all.
Not everyone has the luck and ability of the Empress Dowager, who became the most honored woman in the palace even without children.
"Qin'er, you should also advise Min'er. You've only just returned to the palace, and your younger brother is already going out to build his own residence. Are you really willing to let him go?" The Emperor patted Ji Shuqin's arm affectionately and casually, half-jokingly.
He glanced at Ji Shumin and said, "Your mother has only just returned to the palace. As her son, you should naturally show more filial piety." He still had his hand on Ji Shuqin's body, like an ordinary father who was truly close to his son.
But he turned around and looked into Ji Shumin's somewhat cloudy eyes, which held a hidden sharpness and probing.
He was testing the relationship between Ji Shumin and the Empress.
Because the Empress left the palace to pray for blessings and cultivate herself, the Emperor did not forbid Ji Shumin from seeing her occasionally. He had not paid much attention to her before because he had already decided that he would leave that woman there for the rest of his life and never see her again. He wanted that rigid woman who was always against him to be trapped there and die!
Not only did the empress resent the emperor, but the emperor also disliked and disliked the empress.
This most distinguished couple in the world, who once couldn't even maintain a facade of harmony, are now putting on an extremely hypocritical act and starting to get along again.
However, neither of them are the same people they were back then, and this resentment and confrontation that has started again after many years has become increasingly silent and shrouded in secrecy.
The Emperor didn't truly care for Ji Shumin. He couldn't leave Ji Shuqin now, and until he understood why Ji Shuqin was the only one who remained healthy and pain-free by his side, he would absolutely not allow Ji Shuqin to leave him.
And Ji Shumin...
This effect was also seen when Ji Shumin was still the crown prince.
Although he is now no different from an ordinary person, the emperor still insists on keeping him in the palace, as if keeping him as a backup medicine.
Those around him saw it, and even those in the imperial court felt that the emperor truly favored Ji Shumin. Even though he couldn't make him the crown prince, the emperor never neglected him, but instead paid even more attention to him.
Because, for the time being, no one dares to make a move against Ji Shumin.
What drew even more attention from people with their own stances and concerns was that the eldest prince, who had returned from outside the palace, was also favored by the emperor.
It is said that the Emperor dotes on the eldest prince to the point that they are almost inseparable, and he personally teaches him, a privilege that none of the princes who grew up in the palace have ever received.
This inevitably raises concerns, especially since Ji Shuqin and Ji Shumin are both brothers born to the Empress, and the most prestigious and esteemed sons of the Empress.
Given the relationship between the Emperor and Empress back then, why is the Empress now allowed to return to the palace?
Could it be... paving the way for the Empress's son?
There were all sorts of guesses, but only Ji Shumin knew that they were all guessing in the wrong direction.
This strange phenomenon was meticulously orchestrated by Ji Shumin himself.
Under the Emperor's gaze, Ji Shumin did not answer. He lowered his eyes, his expression turning cold. Since becoming disabled, he had always acted recklessly. The Emperor could tell from his appearance that his relationship with the Empress was not harmonious.
That's good, if the three of them—mother and children—are of one heart...
Everyone had their own thoughts, except for Ji Shuqin, who felt a sense of confusion.
When he was in the mountain temple, he felt peaceful and at ease. Even if he never left that place for the rest of his life, he would not feel any displeasure.
After returning to the palace, it seemed that he had received his father's teachings and that he was more harmonious with his younger brother. After his mother returned to the palace, she asked the imperial physician to examine him, and his minor illnesses and pains gradually improved. He was able to show his dignity in his comings and goings.
But Ji Shuqin felt inexplicably empty inside.
It was as if all of this was not real, but he couldn't explain why, especially after hearing his mother say to him, "You must listen to your father and gain his trust. Only then will he love and value you more. As for me... you should come less often. Focus your attention on what matters. Later, you will understand my good intentions."
But isn't the love parents have for their children innate?
Ji Shuqin was caught up in repeated thinking and verification, and he finally realized that it was not so.
Just like how his mother taught him to try hard to please his father, and his younger brother who always had a strained relationship with his mother.
Ji Shuqin was unable to sort out his thoughts for a while, so he could only think about it silently.
The Emperor wanted to sow discord between the Empress and their children, but the Empress, for the sake of her long-term plans, preferred to distance herself from her children. This imperial couple sometimes showed an extraordinary level of understanding.
Ji Shumin fell ill after returning home.
Mama Ma came to visit once on the Empress's orders, but was turned away at the door.
The Third Prince's wife stood at the door, her face grim and angry: "I told you His Highness is ill and won't see anyone! Please leave, Granny."
After saying that, he slammed the door shut.
Xiao Xizi shrank back in the shadows, thinking to herself that the Empress and His Highness were becoming more and more alike; the way His Highness looked just now was clearly how he looked when he was angry.
Your Highness... Your Highness seems to have never been angry or gone mad in a long time.
Your Majesty has truly mastered the art of manipulation.
Your Highness... Your Highness is just like a cat right now.
Xiao Xizi secretly pinched herself a few times. Life has really gotten better; even His Highness dares to gossip about her in secret.
The reason why Granny Ma couldn't see it was because Ji Shumin wasn't actually seriously ill.
To others, it sounded like a serious illness, but to the Empress, she would naturally think that Ji Shumin had been poisoned because he hadn't received the medicine she had given him.
She will naturally send someone to confirm.
However, Ji Shumin had changed the frequency of taking his medication some time ago. Although he felt weak and uncomfortable, it was not to the point of being critical.
Lu Liruan was genuinely furious when she stormed onto the door.
If it were an ordinary family's child who was sick, the mother would naturally hope to see the child get better. But when it came to the Empress, she sent someone specifically to see Ji Shumin suffer. She hoped he would be in pain, hoped he would struggle, and hoped he would be like a dog on a leash, tucking his tail between his legs and slinking away to beg her for mercy.
what.
As Lu Liruan and Ji Shumin had predicted, the Empress would not give up.
She couldn't see Ji Shumin, but she could see Lu Liruan.
Sure enough, a few days later, the Empress invited all the princes' wives to a banquet at Fengyi Palace.
Lu Liruan wanted to dress formally, but Ji Shumin stopped her.
He was unusually relaxed these past few days while feigning illness. Perhaps it was because of the changes in his medication, but he was somewhat drowsy, spending six or seven hours a day in a daze. When he woke up, he would eat something, read some leisurely books, and tease Lu Liruan.
He happened to be awake that day, his hair loose, leaning wearily and lazily against the pillow, with a blanket covering his legs, looking every bit the part of someone who keeps a beautiful woman hidden away.
Ji Shumin nudged Lu Liruan and made Qinghe hold the dress in front of the full-length bronze mirror. He coughed lightly, signaling Qinghe to leave. He then tugged at Lu Liruan's sleeve and pulled her to his side.
A beautiful woman getting ready—it sounds like a scene that's both alluring and glamorous.
The beautiful woman wasn't doing her own makeup; she was doing someone else's.
Lu Liruan watched Ji Shumin paint and draw on his face with great interest, as if using his face as a canvas. Her heart pounded for a while. After being released, she leaned in front of the mirror and almost couldn't come to her senses.
Perhaps some people are just born with exceptional dexterity.
Lu Liruan gently touched her eyebrows, which were painted with a slight frown, looking sorrowful yet full of charm. She clicked her tongue in amazement, and a strange saying she had heard before flashed through her mind: "Wow, it looks like it's about to break!"