flstandardbreds Chapter 340
Chapter 340
Nalan Jingwen sat in the Imperial Garden, waiting for the person to arrive. After the enthronement ceremony was completed, the procession headed towards the Imperial Garden. The young man on the jade palanquin looked languid, listening to the whispers of the people around him.
The procession suddenly stopped. The person on the jade carriage followed the gaze of the crowd and looked over indifferently. When they met a pair of dark and cold eyes, they were not surprised at all.
A slight smile curved his pale lips as he was helped down from the jade carriage. He waved to the people behind him, "You may all leave."
Then, he slowly walked towards Nalan Jingwen and sat down beside her under her intense gaze.
"Is there anything I can help you with, Your Highness?"
Nalan Jingwen looked at his face, which was still breathtakingly beautiful. His eyes were pure, like clear lake water, which would make anyone feel pity and be unguarded.
This face is truly deceiving.
When will your eyes get better?
Unexpectedly, Nalan Jingwen's first question was about this. He paused in his work and said calmly, "I thought Your Highness would question me immediately."
Nalan Jingwen looked at him, "What should I call you now? Anian? He Yongnian? Or perhaps..."
"Longevity."
The young man showed no surprise upon hearing the name, a slight smile playing on his lips, his expression relaxed. "What difference does it make? Your Highness may call me whatever you wish."
What was originally just a test has now become certain for Nalan Jingwen.
"Pretend to be the prince who was abandoned by Baiji. In order to avoid being discovered by me, pretend to be cowardly and have your subordinates impersonate 'Changsheng' to hunt you down. This way, most of my attention will be on defense, and I will not be able to find your flaws."
“That day, your subordinates impersonated you, and I had already caught up with them. But you risked self-harm to bring me back. At that time, I wondered why, although Changsheng was still masked, his behavior seemed a little unfamiliar. I wanted to catch up and find out, but you bet that I cared about your life and death. Hearing that you were injured, I had no choice but to come back.”
"Moreover, Changsheng presents herself as a woman, while you are a man. You even disregarded your reputation as a man and stripped naked to let me confirm your identity without reservation. Only then did I dispel my doubts."
"There have been constant assassination attempts on Changsheng's journey, but you have remained unharmed because you also want to reach Baiji as soon as possible and ascend to the throne."
Upon hearing this, Nalan Jing nodded, without denying it.
"All that you've said along the way was just to gain my pity so that I could help you ascend the throne and solidify your position."
"Even yesterday's play was arranged by you, wasn't it?"
When he returned to the palace from Changming Temple, all the ministers would have gone to greet him. How could they have let him run out alone and go to the post station to look for her!
At that time, she was only thinking about what would happen to him after his adoptive parents died, and she never thought about these things in detail. If Aman hadn't said today that he was nineteen years old, she might not have thought about these things at all. There are really a lot of doubts.
Changsheng smiled brightly, and even though his face was pale, he could not hide the joy in his eyes.
"I never expected that Your Highness would care about me so much."
"Originally, Your Highness had not expressed any opinion, and even when you saw me with Shen Xi, you did not show any anger or jealousy. I thought my plan had failed, so I had no choice but to resort to this tactic to provoke you. It was a play full of loopholes, but you took the bait and agreed to help me secure the throne. It seems that my position in Your Highness's heart is higher than I thought."
His voice was ambiguous, but his eyes were devoid of any warmth.
Nalan Jingwen remained unmoved, feeling that the person in front of him was extremely unfamiliar, as if he had never known him before.
"You had someone release information about your so-called adoptive mother and father so that Xiao Jin would kill them. You know that Xiao Jin wants you to sit firmly on the throne and nothing can stand in your way. You've also outmaneuvered Xiao Jin."
Chang Sheng blinked, neither confirming nor denying, and showed no sign of guilt whatsoever.
"What about the prince that Baiji abandoned?"
“Dead. He died long ago after being thrown out of the palace. The palace is full of wolves and tigers. Do you think it's peaceful and harmonious outside the palace? Only fools would believe that a little baby could still be alive after being abandoned.”
Nalan Jingwen looked at him and suddenly laughed, as if mocking him, "What should I say? Should I say that you are good at strategy and cunning, or that you are really ruthless, putting yourself into the game and using your sincerity as a bargaining chip?"
"Even your so-called 'liking' is fake, Changsheng. What do you have that's real?"
Her voice was somewhat hoarse, as if veiled by a light mist, carrying a hint of coolness, and also containing an almost imperceptible anger and disappointment.
Changsheng's long, pale fingertips paused almost imperceptibly. He glanced away, seemingly unintentionally, and calmly said:
"I've said it before: I want this world. Since you refuse to cooperate with me, this is the only way I can do it."
"But you are wrong about one thing."
His gaze fell on the peonies blooming brilliantly behind Nalan Jingwen, magnificent and matching her perfectly. His voice was devoid of emotion, like a calm, still lake, without a ripple.
"I put myself in the game, using my sincerity as a stake, betting on whether you would fall for me. In this gamble, I also gave my heart."
"That's why a genuine expression of emotion can fool you."
"Sincerity for sincerity, it's fair, isn't it?"
A cool breeze blew by, ruffling his hair and revealing his clear, bright eyes. Nalan Jingwen stared at him in silence for a moment before letting out a soft laugh and saying with a smirk, "It is because my skills are inferior."
To go to such lengths to achieve her goal, even sacrificing her true feelings, shows that she was simply outmatched and had nothing to say.
Changsheng's long, dark eyelashes trembled slightly as he turned his head to look at her. "You women are born with everything, while we men have to fight with all our might to get what we want. What's wrong with me doing what I want for myself?"
What good is giving your heart? It's nothing more than the cheapest thing in the world.
"Now that we have brought the country under our control, we must thank the prince for his help."
"Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you right now?"
Chang Sheng curled his lips, “Your Highness can kill me now, but regicide is a serious crime. Bai Ji will immediately send troops to Feng Tian. At that time, corpses will be strewn everywhere and blood will flow like rivers, all because of Your Highness.”
It was him, after all. That's why he dared to be alone with her without a single guard. He had already anticipated that she wouldn't attack him.
Nalan Jingwen didn't speak, staring intently at him. Finally, her gaze fell on the sliver of blue on his wrist. Changsheng followed her gaze and lowered his eyes, his eyes narrowing slightly. He then took off the jade bracelet and handed it to her.
"Things that can't be presented in public should rot in the ground if they can never rise to prominence."
Nalan Jingwen was not angry at his words. He took the bracelet, looked at it, and gently stroked it for a moment. Then he loosened his grip, and the jade bracelet fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
"You're right, it should just rot in the ground."