RPAGF Chapter 354 Being True to Oneself
Chapter 354 Being True to Oneself
Lu Jiang sighed softly, his fingertips gently smoothing the slight frown on Yuan Wanru's brow. A dark cloud outside blocked the blazing sun, and the breeze that blew in became much cooler.
A cool breeze wafted through the gauze window, carrying the faint fragrance of lotus flowers from the courtyard.
"Don't worry."
His voice was deep and resolute, “The Second Prince twice sent assassins to kill me, clearly seeing me as a thorn in his side. In the Emperor's eyes, the reason he was exposed was precisely because I investigated the matter of the Da Lushan token to the end.”
The tea on the table had long since gone cold.
Lu Jiangnian picked up a glass and drank it all in one gulp.
"The Second Prince hates me to the core; His Majesty will not easily believe his accusations."
His tone gradually turned serious, tinged with contemplation, "But the Crown Prince is different; he is the heir apparent."
Even without anyone pointing the finger, the Emperor still suspects the Crown Prince. If the Second Prince and Consort Liang were to whisper discord in the Emperor's ear, the Crown Prince's situation would become extremely precarious.
Yuan Wanru sensed his heaviness and remained silent for a moment before saying, "With the Crown Prince's intelligence, he should be able to think of these things."
Outside the window, you could hear Liu Yan and the others packing their things, chatting and laughing, relaxed and cheerful—a stark contrast to the atmosphere inside the room.
Yuan Wanru didn't care much about either the Emperor or the Crown Prince.
However, compared to the Emperor, Lu Jiangnian seemed to favor the Crown Prince, so Yuan Wanru did not want the Crown Prince to lose.
"He understood long ago."
Lu Jiangnian's voice was low as he took Yuan Wanru's hand in his palm. "Seeing that the Second Prince is about to fall, I'm wondering if the Crown Prince will be the next one to fall?"
Yuan Wanru also drank a cup of tea; in the hot summer, people are always unconsciously thirsty.
Lu Jiangnian continued, "Since the beginning of spring this year, the Emperor has successively promoted several people from the Jiang and Chen families."
"Outsiders think it's to appease Madam Zhaohua, but in reality—" He tapped his finger lightly on the table, "those people from the Chen and Jiang families hold official positions that are far from simple."
Yuan Wanru noticed the sharp glint in his eyes. She watched the tea leaves bobbing in the tea, listening as Lu Jiangnian continued, "Minister of War, Commandant of the City Gates, Minister of Revenue..."
With each position he mentioned, his tone grew heavier. "These important positions are gradually being filled by the Fifth Prince's people."
"His Majesty has never given up on supporting the Fifth Prince. Despite the Crown Prince's utmost caution over the years, he has still not been able to overcome His Majesty's suspicion."
"What did the Emperor ask you in the palace today?" Yuan Wanru asked softly.
Lu Jiangnian closed his eyes briefly: "Mmm."
His voice carried a hint of absurdity, "Even though the Crown Prince's prestige has grown over the years, he has never harbored any rebellious intentions. It's just that the Emperor is getting old and becoming increasingly suspicious."
“The Crown Prince is the rightful heir. I have always felt that being loyal to the Crown Prince is being loyal to the Emperor.”
He spoke his last words softly, as if those lost friendships could never be regained.
-
Yuan Wanru opened her mouth slightly, her lips trembling, but she couldn't speak immediately.
She recalled the hastily deposed crown prince in the book, and Lu Jiangnian's worries coincided with the plot of the book.
The ripples in the teacup reflected in her eyes, creating a shimmering, fragmented play of light and shadow.
Yuan Wanru carefully recalled the plot of the book.
In fact, the crown prince in the book was a bit absurd because he was bewitched, but compared with history, there were even more absurd crown princes. Take Li Shimin's son, Li Chengqian, for example.
Li Chengqian was lame, dissolute, murdered his teacher and brother, and even boasted that he wanted to become a Turk, yet Emperor Taizong of Tang never deposed him. If he hadn't rebelled in the end, he probably would have remained the crown prince for much longer.
A complex light flashed in Yuan Wanru's eyes.
However, in the book, the crown prince clearly said that he was innocent, but the emperor did not give him any chance and deposed him.
An emperor who truly cared for the crown prince would never have handled things this way.
He wouldn't easily dismiss a carefully trained successor, unless he originally intended to replace him.
Yuan Wanru's heart trembled violently.
It turned out to be the case.
Only now did she realize that while the Second Prince and Consort Liang were the instigators of the Crown Prince's deposition, the one who truly wanted to do it was the Emperor.
In the ending of that book, the second prince became the crown prince.
Perhaps the Second Prince, the crown prince, is merely a whetstone for the Fifth Prince.
However, the Emperor was unaware of Consort Liang and her son's ambitions, mistaking wolves for sheep, and supported the Second Prince to ascend the throne.
Yuan Wanru's gaze fell on the tea leaves floating on the tea soup. The leaves rose and fell, just like the ups and downs of fate in the imperial court.
She suddenly wanted to know who the ultimate winner was in the unfinished ending of that book.
Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, Lu Jiangnian assumed that she was frightened by the treacherous affairs of the court.
He reached out and placed his hand on the back of her hand; the warmth from his palm brought Yuan Wanru back to her senses.
"Don't overthink it," his voice softened, "Things might not come to that. Perhaps I'm worrying too much."
Yuan Wanru suddenly looked up, her gaze fixed intently into his eyes: "You just said that Father wants you to be loyal to the Emperor."
Her voice was soft, yet every word was clear, "If the day truly comes when the Crown Prince and the Emperor are at odds..."
Lu Jiangnian's fingers tightened slightly.
"I think that at times like this, the first person you should be true to is yourself."
Yuan Wanru's expression was more serious than ever before, her brows revealing a unique calmness. "You should consider what the future of the Great Jing Dynasty will look like if you choose to be loyal to the Emperor."
Her fingertips tapped lightly on the table. "If we remain loyal to the Crown Prince, what will the future of the Great Jing Dynasty look like?"
"I feel that the world is actually more important to you."
Yuan Wanru remembered that Lu Jiangnian once said that his greatest wish when he was young was to be a wandering swordsman, but a book changed his ambition.
She has been in this dynasty for almost a year, and in that year she has traveled to many places.
She had seen the Jiangnan water towns in spring, where farmers planted rice seedlings in the fields and children played by the streams; she had passed through countless towns and cities, where merchants and travelers came in an endless stream and the markets were bustling with activity.
While not everyone was wealthy, the people were generally living in peace and contentment.
The Great Jing Dynasty can be described as a golden age of peace and prosperity.
The current emperor can be considered a wise ruler.
Even emperors are only human, and selfishness is inevitable. The emperor's support for the fifth prince and his suspicion of the crown prince are just human nature and cannot erase the peaceful scene under his rule.
What about the Crown Prince? She didn't understand him.
Lu Jiangnian should have his own answer.
She wasn't a court official and didn't understand those power struggles and schemes, but she understood people's hearts and could see the big picture.
Sometimes, the truth is simple, but those involved are often blinded by their own perspective.
No matter how the political landscape changes, the ordinary, everyday life of ordinary people is what is most worth protecting.
Lu Jiangnian's gaze gradually deepened, as if he were looking into the distance.