Xue Yan finally got to sit at the Jun family’s dining table.
However, Madam Jun wore a cold expression, while Jun Huailang sat quietly beside her, not daring to say much. He merely stole a few extra glances at Xue Yan when the latter entered.
Xue Yan had indeed spent the entire morning standing outside under the blazing sun. His complexion was naturally not fair, and now his skin had taken on a reddish hue. A thin sheen of sweat covered him, making him look as though he had just returned from the battlefield.
Jun Huailang had only looked at him a couple of times when he heard Madam Jun clear her throat.
He had no choice but to withdraw his gaze.
The entire Jun household sat in silence. Only Jun Linghuan recognized Xue Yan and bounced forward to greet him.
“Fifth Prince Brother! Linghuan hasn’t seen you for such a looong time!”
Xue Yan lowered his head and reached out to pat the top of her hair. A rare, gentle smile appeared on his face.
“Mm. You’ve grown a little taller.”
Madam Jun cast him a sidelong glance.
“Since His Highness Prince Guangling has arrived, please take a seat,” she said.
Xue Yan smiled faintly and obediently took the seat at the very end of the table.
Madam Jun said nothing and picked up her chopsticks first. Everyone else began eating in silence. The entire meal passed without a word, as though they were strictly observing the rule of not speaking while eating or sleeping.
Only after the servants had cleared away the dishes and served tea did Madam Jun speak again. She told Linghuan to go take her afternoon nap.
However, she kept Jun Huailang and Xue Yan behind.
“I haven’t yet asked what important business brought Your Highness to my humble home so early this morning. Please explain yourself promptly. Once your business is concluded, you may leave.”
Madam Jun lifted her teacup and spoke in an unhurried manner.
“Since Madam asks me that, I assume you already know why I came,” Xue Yan replied.
“Although yesterday’s incident has been dealt with, I still wasn’t entirely at ease, so I came to check on things.”
He paused, his gaze briefly passing over Jun Huailang before finally meeting Madam Jun’s eyes openly.
“However, Madam can surely see that I’m not really here for that reason.”
He spoke frankly, without the slightest attempt to hide his intentions.
Madam Jun froze for a moment, then her expression darkened with anger.
“Your Highness Prince Guangling, your behavior is far too irresponsible.” She set her teacup down on the table and spoke bluntly. “You are a prince of the imperial house, so naturally you can do whatever you please. You need not fear the world’s ridicule or concern yourself with any restrictions. But Huailang is different. He cannot withstand being toyed with so carelessly by you. If you have even the slightest genuine affection for him, you should let him go before it is too late.”
Madam Jun spoke without mincing words and showed not the slightest fear.
Yet when Xue Yan heard this, his expression grew serious. There was no trace of joking on his face as he looked solemnly at Madam Jun.
“Madam, I have absolutely no intention of playing with Huailang’s feelings,” he said.
Madam Jun replied, “Then at the very least, you must consider his situation. I won’t beat around the bush with you. Everyone in the court knows that you are expected to inherit the throne. A country cannot be without an emperor, and an emperor cannot be without an empress. Do you intend to make Huailang a concubine in your imperial harem? Or do you intend to let him spend the rest of his life being condemned by your ministers, who will accuse him of seducing and misleading their sovereign?”
Xue Yan shook his head.
“I’ve already refused.”
Madam Jun was taken aback.
“Yesterday, Mother brought this matter up with me,” he said, turning to look at Jun Huailang. “I informed both Father and Mother that I already have someone I love, and therefore cannot become emperor.”
Jun Huailang was stunned. Madam Jun, too, sat frozen in place.
Unable to hold back, Jun Huailang blurted out, “How can that possibly work? Who else could sit on that throne besides you?”
Xue Yan answered without the slightest hesitation. “There are plenty of people who can. The empire won’t suffer for the lack of me.”
Jun Huailang opened his mouth, but no words came out.
He had always firmly believed that Xue Yan would never do anything to betray him. Even so, he had never expected Xue Yan to make such a decisive choice.
In his previous life, Xue Yan had not ascended the throne either, but the circumstances of his previous life and this one were entirely different.
The Xue Yan of his previous life had been a tyrant whose name struck terror into people’s hearts, the sort of man whose reputation was enough to make children stop crying at night. But now, he was the most legitimate candidate for the throne, the one person everyone expected to inherit the empire.
Xue Yan turned to Madam Jun, who was still sitting there in shock.
“Besides, Father is still alive, and no one knows whether his illness can be cured. I also have quite a few younger brothers. Surely we can eventually choose one who can carry on Father’s legacy. I’ve already discussed this with Father. For now, I’ll temporarily manage the affairs of state on his behalf, but I won’t become Crown Prince, much less seize the throne.”
“You…”
“I’ve never had much interest in supreme power to begin with,” Xue Yan said. “I would never give up Huailang for the sake of such things.”
Madam Jun opened her mouth but could not find anything to say.
Xue Yan looked at her with unwavering certainty before continuing.
“I know you cannot accept this, Madam, and I have no intention of forcing you to. If you didn’t wish to see me today, then I would simply wait outside the gate. If you still refuse to accept me in the future, I can keep waiting.”
Madam Jun looked at him.
In his pale eyes, so characteristic of someone with foreign ancestry, she saw an indescribable determination.
“I have no intention of coercing you,” he said. “I’m simply not much of a man when it comes to ambition. In this lifetime, I’ve set my heart on Huailang alone. Apart from him, I can do without everything else. There’s nothing else I want.”
Having finished speaking, he did not rush her for an answer. He simply remained seated, quietly looking at Madam Jun.
Madam Jun did not speak for a long while.
Eventually, she said flatly, “If there is nothing else, then please return, Prince Guangling.”
Xue Yan acknowledged her words, rose to his feet, bowed, and left.
Before departing, he glanced at Jun Huailang.
It was only a fleeting glance, and there was no particular expression on his face. Yet that single look was enough to put Jun Huailang completely at ease.
He understood what Xue Yan was telling him: There was no need to worry. He would take care of everything.
——
That evening, just before going to bed, Jun Huailang visited his mother’s courtyard once more.
Madam Jun was still awake, doing needlework by lamplight. These small tasks were not things she needed to trouble herself with, but over the years, she had developed a habit of personally sewing the Duke of Yongning’s undergarments for each season.
Even when the Duke of Yongning was away on official business, she continued to do so.
When Jun Huailang entered, Madam Jun glanced at him and gestured for him to sit down in front of her.
“You never used to come looking for your mother this often,” she remarked, her hands continuing their work as she expertly stitched neat, tiny stitches. “It’s true what they say: once a son grows up, his heart no longer belongs to his mother. Yours has already flown off after someone else.”
Jun Huailang merely smiled.
“Your son is only worried that Xue Yan might have spoken too bluntly and upset you,” he said.
Madam Jun glared at him. “What? Is His Highness Prince Guangling’s name something you can simply call whenever you please?”
Jun Huailang only smiled at that.
After a moment, Madam Jun sighed.
“When your father returns, I’ll have him punish you,” she said.
Jun Huailang nodded. “I deserve to be punished.”
Madam Jun reached out and poked him on the forehead.
“You know you deserve punishment, yet you went ahead and did it anyway? Where did you learn such bad habits?”
As she spoke, she withdrew her hand and stopped sewing.
“He doesn’t seem like the sort of man who only knows how to sweet-talk people,” Madam Jun remarked.
Jun Huailang smiled with certainty. “Of course he isn’t.”
Madam Jun shot him a glance. “How many years have you even lived? What do you know about judging people?”
Jun Huailang rose to his feet and moved to sit beside her.
“Of course I can’t see things as clearly as you do, Mother,” he said. “But do you know that for the past two years, someone has been framing Father, nearly causing him to lose his life in Jiangnan?”
Madam Jun frowned. Her expression grew serious as she put down her sewing and turned to look at him.
“What happened?”
“The Xu family had already laid their plans in Jiangnan. Their original target was Chancellor Jiang, but Father was the one who ended up being sent there. So their scheme became a trap set for Father instead.”
Jun Huailang briefly recounted everything that had happened in Jiangnan, including the unrest, corruption, floods, and epidemic.
The more Madam Jun listened, the tighter her brow furrowed. Without realizing it, she clenched the fabric in her hand until it was crumpled.
“How did you and your father discover the scheme? And how did you resolve it?” she asked.
Jun Huailang shook his head.
“Your son certainly doesn’t have that kind of ability,” he said. “It was Xue Yan.”
Madam Jun fell silent.
Although she knew little about what had happened in Jiangnan, she was well aware of the events in the capital.
Several months ago, Prince Guangling, who had been enjoying tremendous influence at court, was suddenly dispatched to Jiangnan. Before long, he returned to the capital with officials from Shandong whom he had arrested, along with a wealth of evidence exposing an enormous corruption case.
The money that had been embezzled was precisely the relief funds and grain supplies that were supposed to be transported to Jiangnan to aid disaster victims.
Madam Jun could hardly fail to understand that everything Xue Yan had done had been for the sake of the Jun family.
“And there’s something else you don’t know, Mother. When I accompanied Father to Yangzhou, Xue Yan saved my life once,” Jun Huailang continued.
Madam Jun turned to look at him.
Jun Huailang smiled faintly. “In fact, Xue Yan has saved me more than once. But that particular time, a landslide sent rocks tumbling down beside a mountain road, and I was buried beneath them.”
Madam Jun was horrified.
Jun Huailang continued, “Xue Yan was perfectly safe at the time. He was the one who rescued me and shielded me in a hollow beside the mountain. I came away completely unharmed, but he nearly died before they managed to save him.”
He looked at Madam Jun.
“At the time, I could reach out and touch the back of his head. It was covered in blood, wet and slick,” he said.
Madam Jun’s eyes had gradually reddened.
Jun Huailang placed his hand over hers and gently clasped it in his palm.
“Mother, I’m telling you these things not because Xue Yan has done us favors, nor because I fell in love with him out of gratitude,” he said. “I simply want you to feel reassured. Xue Yan is someone you can rely on. You don’t need to worry about him.”
Madam Jun was silent for a moment. Then she raised a hand and wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
“…You never tell me any of these things,” she complained softly.
Jun Huailang smiled. “You live so far away from us. How could we bear to make you worry unnecessarily? Now that your son has returned safely, I can finally tell you about them.”
Madam Jun sniffled.
Jun Huailang could clearly see that she had been moved.
After a moment, Madam Jun stubbornly insisted in a quiet voice, “But people change. You can’t expect him to remain the same for the rest of his life.”
She was merely being stubborn now.
She and the Duke of Yongning had been mutually attracted to each other from the beginning. Although they had never met before their marriage, she had come to realize afterward that despite his taciturn nature, he was an exceptionally reliable man.
The Duke of Yongning rarely spoke and never casually professed his love, but he treated his wife with genuine devotion. He had never even taken a concubine.
Madam Jun understood better than most that while people could change, a person’s fundamental character and nature were far less likely to do so.
Hearing this, Jun Huailang smiled as well.
“I can guarantee that he won’t change,” he said with conviction, looking at Madam Jun. “And even if that day really comes, Mother, you needn’t be afraid for me. He and I love each other mutually. We stand as equals; neither of us is dependent on the other. Even if such a day comes, you don’t need to worry on my behalf.”
Madam Jun knew that although her son seemed mild-tempered, he was actually a very determined person with a mind of his own.
After a moment, she poked Jun Huailang on the forehead again, as though that would finally relieve her frustration.
“Once a son grows up, he no longer belongs to his mother. Truly, once a son grows up, he no longer belongs to his mother,” she repeated. “Very well. If he comes again tomorrow, I won’t stop him from entering.”