GTB Chapter 144

Chapter 146: Assassination

Jiang Jiuchu heard this and immediately turned her head to look at the starry sky on the other side, changing the subject, “Your Highness, do you prefer the vastness of the sky above or the prosperity of the world beneath? What are Your Highness’s aspirations?”

Shí Yan paused upon hearing this, not expecting Jiang Jiuchu to ask such a question suddenly. Looking at her profile as she gazed at the starry sky, bathed in moonlight, she appeared pure and refined.

He turned back and lay down, facing the night sky, and said, “If one does not bring the prosperity of the world underfoot, one will be trapped in the mire, and where would one find the opportunity to look up at the moon?”

Jiang Jiuchu’s eyes flickered slightly, and she replied, “Your Highness is right.”

Shí Yan turned his head and glanced at Jiang Jiuchu, who seemed uninterested, “Do you know the story of my great-grandfather, Emperor Yuexian?”

Jiang Jiuchu was taken aback, not understanding why Shí Yan asked this, and turned her head to look at Shí Yan, “The Great Ancestor Emperor was a man of great talent and vision, skilled in both civil and military affairs, a wise ruler who made Dong Yue a great nation.”

Shí Yan smiled, “These are all recorded in history books, but does Jiuchu know why he abdicated the throne so early?”

“Why?” Jiang Jiuchu naturally didn’t know this.

Shí Yan looked at Jiang Jiuchu, his eyes gentle, “Because he took his most beloved concubine to travel the mountains and rivers.”

“Oh! Wouldn’t his Empress be very pitiful?”

Jiang Jiuchu’s words caused Shí Yan’s lips, which were about to continue speaking, to suddenly freeze, and his expression stiffened, “He didn’t have an Empress.”

Jiang Jiuchu was stunned, only then remembering that this Emperor Yuexian didn’t seem to have appointed an Empress, but she didn’t know anything else.

“Was his most beloved concubine his first concubine? Or one of the later ones?”

Shí Yan’s mouth twitched again. He knew he shouldn’t have set the stage, “A later one, but he wasn’t fickle, but rather the previous few concubines were all political marriages and not whom he loved.”

Jiang Jiuchu curled her lips, “Then those girls in political marriages are also quite pitiful. Not only are they in political marriages, but they also don’t receive love, and they have to watch the person they married take others on leisurely trips.”

“Jiang Jiuchu, are you doing this on purpose?” Shí Yan turned directly to face her. His original intention in saying this was to tell her that even an emperor could love only one person, as long as it was the only one, so how did she manage to veer so far off course?

“Those women voluntarily entered the palace to bring assistance to their families, and their identities were only as concubines, so why speak up for them?”

“I’m not speaking up for them, I’m just saying, just saying.” Jiang Jiuchu felt that Shí Yan was right, but she always felt that this beautiful story was missing something.

Shí Yan had already spoken, so he could only try to make up for it, “Emperor Yuexian devoted the first half of his life to the country and the people, with no heart for romantic affairs, and thought that he would not be moved by any woman, and felt that marrying anyone was the same, so under the ministers’ advice, he had those few concubines.”

“If he could have met his beloved as early as I did, he would definitely not have let those concubines enter the palace.”

Jiang Jiuchu’s heart trembled upon hearing this, and she looked at Shí Yan in shock. Was he saying that even if he became the emperor, he would not take concubines, only her?

She looked at the person in front of her, somewhat puzzled, not understanding why she received such treatment from him. After only two months of daily interaction, she didn’t believe that Shí Yan would do so much for her.

If he was just a carefree prince, she could believe half of his promise this afternoon, but if he stood in the position of an emperor and said these things to her, she wouldn’t believe even a small part of it.

Even if it was Brother Fu, who had saved her since childhood, she wouldn’t believe it, let alone Shí Yan.

She withdrew her gaze and continued to look at the night sky, not looking at Shí Yan.

“You don’t believe me?” Shí Yan watched Jiang Jiuchu’s expression change from shock to indifference, not understanding why she was so distrustful of him in this regard.

She had such a father and brother, and grew up in such a family, shouldn’t she trust his words even more?

“I believe you.” Jiang Jiuchu sat up and said to Shí Yan, “Let’s go! Let’s go ashore.”

Shí Yan could tell that the words Jiang Jiuchu uttered didn’t come from the heart, and didn’t say anything more. He got up, picked up the oar, and rowed the boat to the shore.

Shí Yan jumped off the boat first, and just as he reached out to hold Jiang Jiuchu’s hand, preparing to help her off the boat, suddenly two arrows came towards them with the sound of tearing through the air.

Shí Yan’s expression changed, and he quickly let go of Jiang Jiuchu’s hand. After pushing her back, he dodged, barely avoiding the arrow that brushed past his shoulder.

But what followed was the sound of falling into the water. Jiang Jiuchu was pushed by Shí Yan and lost her balance, falling directly into the lake.

Shí Yan’s expression turned anxious, and he wanted to jump into the water to save Jiang Jiuchu, but he was immediately entangled by the black-clothed men who suddenly jumped out.

While fighting the black-clothed men, Shí Yan anxiously looked at the surface of the water. Seeing that Jiang Jiuchu couldn’t float, his eyes turned cold. He directly used all his inner strength to push the black-clothed men several meters away, and quickly jumped into the river.

The black-clothed men were shaken so hard that they spat out a mouthful of blood, but they still intended to step forward, but were stopped by Shí Yan’s hidden guards who arrived in time.

Jiang Jiuchu couldn’t swim, and after struggling a few times, she sank into the water. Just as she felt she was about to suffocate and drown, she was suddenly taken into someone’s arms.

In her urgency, she grabbed the person’s arm, but was then pulled directly into the arms of another person who suddenly appeared, heading towards the surface of the water.

The water at night was pitch black. Although Jiang Jiuchu was surprised how there was another person, she didn’t have time to think too much. She was already out of breath, and just as a mouthful of water poured into her nostrils, her mouth was blocked.

Jiang Jiuchu was shocked and instantly reached out to push, but the restraints around her waist and the back of her head made it impossible for her to push.

She was extremely horrified, because of the two people who appeared in the water, she didn’t think that Shí Yan had come to save her, because she remembered seeing black-clothed men heading towards Shí Yan the moment she fell into the water.

So he should be unable to spare himself to save her at this time. Who was it? Who could it be?

She opened her big eyes in the water, but couldn’t see anything clearly.

Could it be Brother Fu, but if it was Brother Fu, then who was the person from before?

Who exactly saved her? Jiang Jiuchu wanted to cry but had no tears, feeling that she was done for, being saved like this was terrible.

Her thoughts were only in a moment. She gritted her teeth, gathered all her strength to push, and was extremely anxious in her heart. She must not be taken out of the water by this person, otherwise her innocence would be ruined.

Shí Yan was very helpless being pushed by Jiang Jiuchu. He used his strength to tread water and quickly floated upwards.

The moment he emerged from the water, Shí Yan immediately released Jiang Jiuchu’s lips. Looking at her small face that was still shocked, he wiped the water off his face and said to her, “It seems like I haven’t kissed you enough, can’t you even recognize your own husband?”

Jiang Jiuchu coughed and, seeing that the person in front of her was Shí Yan, instantly relaxed.

Then, thinking of something, she immediately turned her head to see if the person who had saved her underwater at the beginning was Song Fuge, but was turned around by Shí Yan, who took her to swim to the other side of the river.

“Hey! Where are we going?”

“We’re going to the shade under the trees over there, and wait for Mu Huo and the others to row a boat to pick us up, otherwise, how will you go ashore looking like this?”

Jiang Jiuchu thought about it and realized it was true. The summer clothes were thin, and even under the moonlight, it would still be enough for people to see.

Just as Jiang Jiuchu was brought by Shí Yan to swim to the shade under the trees, her lips were suddenly blocked.

Shí Yan tightly hugged Jiang Jiuchu’s slender waist in the water, kissing the person in his arms domineeringly, to make her familiar with his aura, and also to prevent her from looking at Song Fuge, who had jumped into the water before him.

On the shore, Leng Da looked at Song Fuge, who was soaked, and said, “Master, let’s go! Quickly return to Mo Feng Pavilion to change your clothes, don’t catch a cold.”

Leng Da’s second half of the sentence was far-fetched. How could one catch a cold from falling into the water in the middle of summer?

Song Fuge’s hand under his wide sleeves clenched into a fist, and then he turned and headed towards Mo Feng Pavilion. The two figures in the water under the shade of the trees on the opposite side, although he couldn’t see their figures and faces clearly, the intertwined black shadow severely pierced his heart.