Thirteen Jade Collision [Seeking Pink Tickets]

  Time flies, half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

  These days, Zhang Yan accompanies her mother in the palace every day to copy poems. In her ears, she hears the murmurs of her younger brother and the gentle laughter of her mother, and somehow feels that everything is not worrying about the present, peaceful and content.

  It was early spring, and on this day the spring light was bright and beautiful. Zhang Yanyu was extremely thoughtful and advised Lu Yuan to go for a walk outside the palace, bask in the sun, which would be beneficial for both herself and the child. Lu Yuan couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he took their son, who was wrapped in swaddling clothes, to sit in the pavilion on top of the artificial hill outside the Pepper Chamber Hall.

  Having grown accustomed to the solemn and majestic scenery of the palace, suddenly seeing the infinite spring light, Little Zhang was indeed very excited, chattering non-stop. Lu Yuan feared he would catch a cold, so he held him in his arms, swaddled tightly, and softly cooed at him.

  Zhang Yan listened to the heavenly music while copying books with her wrist suspended. She had been copying books for over a month and finally made some progress, so she wouldn't be laughed at. She even found some interest in it, and today when she came out to bask in the sun, she didn't forget to ask someone to move a desk for her.

  "Yan'er," Lu Yuan suddenly remembered, turning back to instruct, "you should also pack some things. Once your father's marquis mansion is repaired, we'll move back."

  Zhang Yan was startled by what she heard, and her grip on the brush tightened slightly, causing a slight blot on the character.

  She crumpled up the silk book and threw it aside, saying nothing.

  "What's wrong?" Lu Yuan sensed her emotions and asked in surprise, "Doesn't Ah Yan want to go home?"

  Zhang Yan's thoughtful gaze swept over her younger brother, who was laughing on the couch, and then looked at her mother, who was walking over. "Mother," she said, kneeling down and holding onto Lu Yuan's hand, "aren't you angry? Father has three concubines."

  Lu Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and gazed into the distance. The smile on her face was tinged with bitterness. "Why did Yan'er think of asking this... When I married your father, Zhao Ji was his personal maid. Xia Ji and Shen Ji hadn't entered your father's chambers yet. Later, when I became pregnant and couldn't serve your father, he took in Xia Ji and Shen Ji as replacements. After that, Zhao Ji gave birth to a daughter who died, and your father pitied her and took her into the household. You can imagine how I felt - of course, it wasn't happiness. But on the surface, I still had to smile; all I had left was my virtue... I couldn't ruin my own reputation." "Fortunately, your father cherished me and rarely went to their chambers."

  "——Look at me, what's wrong with me," Lu Yuan couldn't help but laugh. "I'm telling you this. You're so young, how can you understand? Yan'er, just remember," her voice was slightly serious, "you are my daughter, in this household except for your father and I, no one can surpass you. Now that we have your younger brother, everything is even more stable."

  "I didn't mean it that way." Zhang Yan slightly lowered her head, feeling sad in her heart. As the eldest princess, Lu Yuan still had to compromise like this. In this era, some things were unshakeable, even imperial power couldn't completely triumph. She no longer had a mother's family background, and now she wasn't even a noble lady. When she grew up, could she still be so humiliated?

  Mother whispered in her ear, "It's not that. When Mother and child are a bit better, we'll take your brother with us when we go home."

  I don't want to go back to that home. Zhang Yan screamed in her heart.

  That's not my home. It's not just a few people laughing and saying they're your family, you can really take them as your family without any worries. Looking from afar is fine, but if you really have to live under the same roof, she won't be able to bear it.

  But if the mansion of Prince Xianping was not her home, where was her home? In the 21st century, two thousand years later, there is a home for her in Xi'an City, but she cannot return. The Changle Palace is even less her home. Looking around blankly, she can't find a place to settle down.

  She was at a loss when she suddenly saw a familiar figure walking towards her from under the fake mountain in the distance, stepping into the pavilion and smiling, "Sister."

  The eunuchs and palace maids inside and outside the pavilion all bade him with folded arms and bent knees, "Your Highness."

  Liu Ying bent down and teased her little nephew who was just over a month old, "Yan'er didn't cry today. That's good, boys shouldn't cry." Boys should bear the wind and rain, not cry in the wind and rain.

  "Go ahead and show off." Lu Yuan was blunt in exposing his weakness, "When you were just born, you cried louder than my son did."

  "Pfft." Even though Zhang Yan was feeling annoyed in her heart, upon hearing this she couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh out loud.

  "Big sister," Liu Ying awkwardly stood up, complaining, "Can't you just give me some face in front of the younger generation?" "Big sister," Liu Ying said, "I'm going to visit Grandfather in Lüyi, I've already asked Father Emperor for permission, and will set off in two days."

  "Going to Luyi?" Lu Yuan was somewhat surprised, "Is Grandfather's health taking a turn for the worse again?"

  "Uh-huh." Liu Ying nodded, "As he got older, Grandfather's body gradually didn't get any better."

  "Yes." Lu Yuan also sighed, "But he's stubborn in his old age, and refuses to return to Chang'an, insisting on staying in that small place of Luyi County."

  "Grandfather also misses his hometown."

  "Yingdi is always filial." Lu Yuan smiled and said, "It's a pity that sister's body isn't very good now, otherwise she would also accompany you on this trip. When Yingdi sees his grandfather, don't forget to greet him on behalf of sister."

  Liu Ying nodded, raised her head to look at her sister's bright profile, and sighed slightly in her heart, remembering the words of her mother, the empress dowager, in the Pepper Chamber Hall just now.

  "Ying'er," the empress dowager's loving hand stroked her own temples, and she said earnestly, "I still have you. I only have you left. Ying'er, don't let me down. You must know that if you lose, your mother, your sister, your uncle, we will all be finished."

  In a daze, he felt an inexplicable pressure pouncing on his still weak shoulders. He gritted his teeth and endured it, refusing to be overwhelmed by them. "Mother, I know," he said resolutely.

  In an instant, he missed the rural countryside of his childhood even more, where there was only laughter and no pressure. Humans are a strange creature, when they are in the countryside, they desperately want to rush to the imperial court, but when they finally stand on the imperial court, they miss the spring light of their hometown in their dreams.

  Sometimes he also wants to be weak and envies this fellow sister, who can remain forever simple, hiding under the wings of her mother, while he himself has to constantly wage war.

  "Ga ga ya ya," Little Zhang waved his hands out of the blanket, laughing "heh heh".

  When Liu Ying bid farewell, Zhang Yan grabbed his sleeve and asked, "Uncle, are you planning to sneak a trip to Shangshan?"

  "How did you know?" Liu Xing raised an eyebrow and asked in surprise.

  "That day behind the screen, I heard what you said."

  "Is that so?" Liu Ying said, when speaking with Lü Lu he had dismissed the servants, but Zhang Yan was young and close to him, and having just gotten drunk, didn't guard against her. Unexpectedly this little maid's thoughts were winding and she remembered it all clearly. Liu Ying glanced at his sister not far away and spoke in a soft voice, "Ah Yan don't tell others, even if it's your father or mother, it's best not to tell."

  "Alright." Zhang Yan replied, "I won't say a word."

  They will find out sooner or later anyway.

  "That uncle is gone." Liu Ying turned around and took a step forward, but her sleeve was tightly grasped by Zhang Yan.

  "I'm going too," said Zhang Yan.

  "No way." Liu Ying was taken aback, then flatly refused.

  "I'm going."

  "It's no good."

  "I'm going."

  "It's no good."

  Zhang Yan silently let go, her eyes looking wronged, as if she had suffered some great injustice. If Liu Ying hadn't known the whole story, he would have suspected that he had bullied her. Liu Ying started to get a headache and comforted her in a low voice, "Uncle has something important to attend to this time, not going out to play. When Uncle is free next time, I'll take Yan out to play, okay?"

  This blank check is just like those empty words "wait until I have money, I will definitely...", Zhang Yan had no idea how many she had given to her when she was young. She despised these people who had not made any progress from ancient times to the present, and always used such words to bully children. However, she didn't take it too hard, and sobbed out a response, "Okay... Uncle can't cheat me."

  Liu Ying's face was covered with sweat.

  "What's going on?" Lu Yuan walked over curiously and glanced at them, "Yingdi, you wouldn't bully my daughter, would you?"

  "No." Zhang Yan replied sweetly, "Uncle promised to give me a sachet just now. Uncle has always been fond of Ah Yan."

  Liu Ying suddenly became speechless.

  On the day of leaving Chang'an, the crown prince's carriage left from the west gate of Changle and turned east out of Xuanping Gate through Zhangtai Street. The dark green palace carriage was spacious and dignified as it passed by the street, with its curtains tightly closed, and no one knew that there was actually no one inside.

  Liu Ying rested in the humble abode, changed into a commoner's ordinary clothing, and stepped out. The steward reported from the courtyard below, "The carriage is parked to the right of the gate. Once the young master arrives with his entourage, they can board directly."

  Because it was a covert trip, Zhang Yi did not bring any guards with him. Mrs. Lü carefully selected twelve skilled bodyguards to protect Liu Ying. Two fine horses pulled the carriage, and they wanted to leave Chang'an before the Crown Prince's procession, heading east. Liu Ying sat in the carriage, suddenly having an odd thought: if it were Han Second Year, when Xiahou Shang's uncle drove that getaway cart on the road, would he have ruthlessly kicked off Qi Furen and Ruyi, his father's concubines?

  He shivered and didn't dare think about it again.

  It had been four years since the Great Han established its capital in Chang'an, and the city was gradually developing into a prosperous scene. The pedestrians were radiant and energetic. The hustle and bustle of people outside the carriage made him feel warm again. If he could exchange those fatherly loves that had been taken away for the peace and happiness of these people, it wouldn't be so bad after all.

  Actually when I was a child, before Qie Ji and Ru Yi were born, Father didn't have much time for me either.

  As they exited the Xuanping Gate, the coachman quickened the pace of the carriage, and the scenery along the way also became desolate. Occasionally, yellow earth walls appeared, with a faded color. Liu Ying pulled up the car window curtain, imitating her mother's gesture of tapping on the car case with her fingernails. Suddenly, she heard a faint sound "ding", "ding", in sync with the rhythm of the wheels rolling beneath her, entering her ears.

  Liu Ying closed her eyes and listened carefully.

  The sound of horses neighing, the sound of horseshoes clattering, the sound of the coachman cracking his whip, the creaking and screeching of the carriage wheels on the yellow earth road, the low murmur of conversation among the attendants, the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs in the villages they passed... Amidst these miscellaneous and disorderly sounds, that faint "ting", "ting" of clashing metal, though small, seemed to come from a place very close by, gradually becoming more prominent, until it was as loud as a drumbeat, as if striking his ear.

  He turned sideways, looked at the carriage partition, was silent for a moment, and then pulled it open with a rustling sound.

  A pair of eyes like a cat's, shining brightly with a hint of panic, stared at him in astonishment.

  February 1st, first update.

  This, I must say, I once again underestimated PK's market, today promised two updates.

  Adding more than a thousand words, it's already three updates now.

  Luckily I have drafts saved.

  Keep calling pink votes.

  See ticket for details, I won't delay it.