Pastoral Splendor

When the Empress issued an imperial decree to the Prince of Qin's residence, everyone was thrown into a flurry of activity. Servants bustled in and out of a courtyard, busy tidying up and preparing to welcome the new concubine.

"I heard... the concubine's surname is also Cheng. She's our princess's younger sister and also a young lady from the Marquis of Anguo's mansion!" Someone who knew the situation whispered, "This is going to be interesting."

"What's the big deal? The Princess Consort is getting old and her beauty has faded, and the Heir Apparent recently passed away. This concubine, I've heard, is young and beautiful, and she even gave birth to a handsome young man... Oh, right... that young man was formerly a guard in our Prince Qin's mansion!" An old woman was very proud of herself. Seeing everyone pressing their ears together, she became even more excited, as if she had been injected with chicken blood: "Do you want to know who it is?"

"Hey, you've made it so clear, we're not fools!" someone chuckled. "Now I finally understand why the Prince recommended Jian Qinwei so strongly."

"It's him?" a maid exclaimed, covering her mouth with both hands. "I even laughed at him back then!"

"Isn't that him? No wonder the Prince sent him to be a member of the Green-Clad Guard and then found a way to promote him to commander. Now it all makes sense!" An old woman whispered. "It seems this concubine will be quite powerful in the future, and might even overshadow the Princess. We must be careful not to offend either side!"

“That makes sense, isn’t that exactly right?” The people around nodded in agreement. “We’d better be careful, lest we get caught and suffer the consequences!”

A series of clanging sounds came from Princess Qin's inner chamber. Madam Jing stood at the door, looking distressed. Yu Zhu, somewhat frightened, sidled up to Madam Jing and said, "Mother, Princess..."

Madam Jing sighed, "There's really nothing we can do about it." The princess is so pitiful. How could she have suffered so many misfortunes? First, the young master passed away, and she had just dealt with the second young master when a concubine suddenly appeared. Moreover, this concubine had already given birth to a son eighteen years ago, and this son is handsome and talented, skilled in both literature and martial arts!

The princess originally intended to scheme against the second young master, but now she deeply regrets it. The second young master fell ill yesterday, and doctors have been coming and going in Consort Yu's courtyard like a flowing stream, but everyone is helpless and has no idea what disease the second young master has.

Only the princess and she knew the cause of the illness, but they couldn't reveal it. The second young master was bound to die; it was only a matter of time. The princess was now filled with remorse, gritting her teeth. If she had known earlier that the guard Jian was the prince's son, she would have adopted the second young master no matter what, and then petitioned to have him made heir apparent. But now everything was in chaos, and the second young master didn't know how many more days he had left. The princess's future days would be very difficult.

What's most infuriating is the prince's truly disheartening behavior. He ordered the maids and servants to clean up the best courtyard in the manor, repaint it, and even plaster the walls of the inner rooms with pepper paste mixed with laurel and jasmine, filling the air with a sweet fragrance. The prince's attentiveness to his concubine clearly demonstrates his attitude. In this manor, who doesn't fawn over the powerful and bully the weak? It's likely that the concubine will eventually gain more power than the princess.

"Bang!" Another loud noise came from inside. Jing's mother could no longer hold back and rushed in, lifting the curtain: "Your Highness, why are you doing this!"

Princess Qin slumped into a chair, still holding a shard of porcelain in her hand. Her eyes were filled with despair, and her face was ashen. "Mother, I'm doomed to lose this time."

Madam Jing tenderly took the porcelain shard from Princess Qin's hand and reached out to embrace Princess Yu, just as she had done at the Marquis of Anguo's residence. Back then, Princess Qin was just a tiny baby, nestled in her arms, so delicate. "Princess, why are you so flustered? In this Qin Prince's residence, you are the Princess, you are the mistress of the house, and she is just a concubine. Are you afraid of her? Just show some strength and teach her a lesson."

Princess Qin gradually calmed down. She reached up and brushed her hair aside, catching her breath. "Mother is right. I can't admit defeat. This Qin Prince's Mansion is still my territory. Does she think she can compete with me for it?"

As dusk fell, the setting sun was like a drunken dream, its golden rays merging with the evening clouds. The fallen flowers in the backyard of Baixiang Garden were tinged with the colors of the sunset, gradually seeping into the golden-red hues. Jian Yifei stood leaning against a large tree, her eyes filled with confusion, a nameless sorrow welling up inside her.

For so many years, he had been trying to find his father, but he never expected to receive such an answer.

When he was a child, he once asked his mother, "Why do all the children in the village have fathers, but I don't? They all say I'm a bastard. Mother, I'm not a bastard, am I?"

At that time, his mother simply held him in her arms and gently comforted him, "Fei'er's father has gone to a very far place, but one day he will come back to find us."

Today he finally understood who his father was, but he felt a sense of rejection. Recalling the Qin King's past actions towards him, he couldn't help but feel a bit disgusted. The Qin King clearly knew that he was his son, so why didn't he acknowledge him sooner? Why did he have to wait until now to step forward and look at him with a kind face: "Fei'er, my child, you have suffered all these years."

"Suffering?" Jian Yifei looked blankly at the flowers falling from the tree. He didn't feel any suffering at all. He might have suffered in the years when he was a child, but that was a distant memory. Moreover, he had his maternal grandparents back then, who treated him very well. He didn't feel any suffering at all. The family lived happily together, and life was very sweet.

Later, he moved into a large mansion with his mother and was sent to Zhongnan Mountain to learn martial arts. Time flew by, and he had resigned himself to his fate, perhaps his mother would never tell him who his father was. But today, in the Empress's Chang Le Palace, he learned about his true identity and was shocked to discover that his mother was actually the younger sister of the Princess Consort of Qin!

This was something he simply couldn't accept. After leaving the palace, he rode his horse towards Baixiang Garden without saying a word, ignoring the shouts of the Prince of Qin and his mother behind him. He felt dizzy and only when he saw Sanhua could he calm down.

"Yifei, what's wrong?" Yan Ying came out of the kitchen and looked at Jian Yifei with some concern. A moment ago, he rushed into Baixiang Garden and seemed a little nervous. She asked him what happened, but he refused to say. He just squatted there and helped him tend the fire. Later, Xiuwen came over and took the firewood from his hands: "Young Master Jian, why don't you go outside and rest?"

Yan Ying watched Jian Yifei's departing figure with some unease. Something unusual must have happened today; Jian Yifei had never been so dejected before. After cooking one dish, she asked Xiuwen to continue, then pushed open the kitchen door to look for Jian Yifei. Seeing his bewildered expression, she felt a pang of heartache. She gazed at him quietly, hoping he would share his troubles so she could ease his burden.

“Sanhua, I…” Jian Yifei’s words caught in his throat, unable to come out. This was something he had always felt too ashamed to mention to others. In the Qingyi Guard station, whenever everyone discussed family matters and talked about their fathers, he would remain silent. He had no idea who his father was, but now that he knew, he still didn’t want to mention it at all.

“Yifei, if you consider me family, you should naturally tell me about any difficulties you encounter.” Yan Ying reached out and took Jian Yifei’s hand: “What hurdles are you facing? Let’s find a way to overcome them together.”

“Sanhua, I know who my father is today.” Jian Yifei remained silent for a long time before finally mustering the courage to speak: “I suddenly feel melancholy, and I would rather not know who he is.”

Yan Ying was somewhat surprised, not expecting Jian Yifei to be troubled by this matter. She smiled and said, "Isn't this a good thing? At least we finally know about our origins."

"Do you...do you know who he is?" Jian Yifei's face showed some pain: "He is actually the King of Qin! My mother is actually the younger sister of the Queen of Qin! I feel that I cannot face this matter, I would rather not know."

"What? Your father is the King of Qin?" Yan Ying was shocked and involuntarily let go of her hand, taking a step back. Jian Yifei's father was the King of Qin, so wouldn't she and Jian Yifei be cousins? With such a close blood relationship, how could they marry? Marriage between close relatives would result in disabled children! Yan Ying shuddered. She remembered that in her previous life, there was a cousin in her village who got married and had three children, all chubby little bundles of flesh, none of whom could sit up straight. They made a row of chairs and put the three children in the corridor to bask in the sun every day. None of the three children could speak, only babbling a few words, their heads always turned to one side, with long drool dripping from the corners of their mouths.

She didn't want it, she didn't want this ending. Yan Ying looked at Jian Yifei with a sorrowful expression, her heart breaking. Oh God, this was truly a cruel twist of fate. She thought she had found her perfect husband, but it turned out he was her cousin!

"Sanhua, what's wrong with you? Do you also think my father and mother are despicable?" Jian Yifei closed his eyes in pain: "I would rather my father be just a farmer working in the countryside than the King of Qin!" His hands gripped the big tree behind him tightly. Sanhua despised him. With such selfish parents, she didn't want to be near him!

"No, you can't choose your birth. No matter what kind of people your parents are, in my heart you will always be the kindest person in the world." Yan Ying felt tears welling up in her eyes, and a heart-wrenching pain surged in her heart. She had never been in such pain before, so painful that she felt like she was about to die.

She knew she absolutely could not marry Jian Yifei, but how could she tell him? Yan Ying stared at Jian Yifei in anguish; his deep eyes and handsome face almost made her hold her breath.

What should she do? Gazing at the setting sun, Yan Ying covered her mouth with her hand, almost unable to speak due to the pain.

So this is what it feels like to love someone but not be able to stay together—heart-wrenching, excruciating, and suffocating.

Chapter 252 Worries

"Fei'er, why won't you move into the Qin Prince's Mansion?" Cheng Siwei was in a good mood, wearing a newly made dress and standing in the corridor. Seeing Jian Yifei looking listless, she smiled at him: "Why do you have to live in the Qingyi Guard? The conditions there must be harsh. Why not live in the Qin Prince's Mansion and enjoy fine clothes and delicacies?"

"Mother, you can stay at the Prince Qin's residence. I'll stay at the garrison." Jian Yifei didn't tell Cheng Siwei that he was staying at Baixiang Garden; he didn't want to mention it to his mother at all. His mother had always disliked Sanhua, and now that her status had changed, she would definitely dislike Sanhua even more.

He made up his mind. No matter what his mother said, he was still going to marry Sanhua. At worst, he would not enter the gates of the Qin Prince's mansion and would go back to Xiaojia Village to farm with Sanhua: "Mother, you are now the Qin Prince's concubine, so you should naturally live in the Qin Prince's mansion. But I am the commander of the Qingyi Guard, so I should live in the guard post."

"Fei'er, why are you still calling him Prince Qin? Shouldn't you call him Father?" Cheng Siwei put her hand on Jian Yifei's shoulder and looked at him with a smile: "Now that the second young master of Prince Qin's mansion is about to die, you will be the heir apparent."

“Mother…” Jian Yifei exclaimed, looking at Cheng Siwei with some doubt, taking a step back and brushing her hand aside: “You didn’t hurt him, did you?”

Cheng Siwei frowned: "Fei'er, what are you thinking? I haven't even moved into the Qin Prince's Mansion yet, how could I have such extraordinary abilities to murder that Second Young Master? Either he is weak, or the Qin Princess is ruthless. In any case, you must believe that your mother would not do such a thing."

Jian Yifei remained silent, only glancing at Cheng Siwei before turning and striding away. A short while later, the white figure disappeared into the green trees. Cheng Siwei stood there, staring blankly at Jian Yifei's retreating figure, her face showing indescribable shock. Madam Huang quickly said, "Madam, the young master is just temporarily confused. He will understand your good intentions in the future."