Chapter 217: Asking About It

Actually, someone had asked him the question “Is there someone in your heart?” a long time ago.

When the previous Emperor acted as a matchmaker for him.

“Is there someone in your heart?”

That woman sat behind the wide desk, her fingers tapping lazily on the jade seal.

“If there is someone in your heart, I’ll help you decline this marriage proposal.”

“It’s more effective for me to throw a tantrum in front of His Majesty than for someone with the surname Lu.”

She said, raising an eyebrow with a playful smile.

He was angry and amused at the time. What did “someone in your heart” mean? He would never do such a thing as a private exchange of vows between a man and a woman.

Although he had never thought about marrying anyone, wasn’t marriage in the world all about parental orders and matchmaker’s words, to form a good relationship between two families? Why discuss whether there was someone in one’s heart?

She was deliberately trying to embarrass him, she couldn’t stand his self-discipline, his aloofness and arrogance, and wanted to make him fall into these matters of men and women, entangled and unclear.

“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.” The young man’s expression was cold. “Marriage, a major event in human relations, should not be taken lightly.”

That woman looked disgusted and shook her head. “Zhou Jingyun, you are truly wasting this heaven-sent fate of yours. So boring. Falling in love is a beautiful experience in the world.”

What kind of beautiful experience is falling in love? The young Zhou Jingyun scoffed, even a little maliciously, and asked her in return, “Then has Your Highness experienced it? At your age of beauty, are you deeply in love with His Majesty?”

She did not fly into a rage.

Hmm, actually, she rarely lost her temper. You could scold her and she wouldn’t care.

Of course, she also killed people without mercy.

But she was very tolerant of him.

Hearing his sarcastic words, she actually laughed out loud.

“Zhou Jingyun, thank you for praising my beauty,” she said.

You’re welcome. There are no ugly people who can be chosen to be by His Majesty’s side. The young Zhou Jingyun kept a straight face.

She stopped laughing and explained to him, “Falling in love doesn’t just refer to romantic love, but to everything that makes your eyes sparkle, the things and people that occupy your heart. Currently, I have indeed experienced it.”

She looked at him, her eyes bright.

“Zhou Jingyun, I don’t know if you will be lucky enough to experience it.”

What’s the use of experiencing this? He didn’t think his life was boring. He respected his wife, and after she passed away, he observed the rituals. He did his best, his family was at ease, he was stable and peaceful in this world, without sorrow or joy.

If you want to talk about sorrow and joy, emotional fluctuations, it’s because she, this arrogant person who said she had experienced the beauty of the world, died.

Actually, he didn’t know why.

Perhaps it was because he felt that with her, who found the world interesting, gone from the world, the world was even more boring.

“…You! When did it start!”

The Madam of Dongyang’s shout came, interrupting Zhou Jingyun’s scattered thoughts.

He looked at his mother and saw that she had already stood up. Mama Xu was beside her, looking a little helpless.

“Speak properly.”

“Madam, don’t worry.”

“My Lord, you can’t speak carelessly.”

“Are you trying to say that Young Madam Zhuang is still in your heart?”

The vibrant and lively interior became somewhat noisy and chaotic. Zhou Jingyun looked at the scene in front of him and couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re still laughing!” The Madam of Dongyang gritted her teeth in anger. “You can actually laugh. It hasn’t been long since Ah Li passed away—”

She pressed her hand to her chest again, lest she couldn’t breathe.

“Or was it because… before Ah Li…”

“Was it because of this that Ah Li…”

She stared at Zhou Jingyun. This son of hers was really too strange now. No, not just now, but since when? Since he suddenly married a wife and brought her home…

Thinking back now, it felt like a dream.

Zhou Jingyun took a step forward. “Mother, please listen to me. No, it’s not.”

Although Mama Xu didn’t understand their conversation, she could sense that the topic involved was not to be asked. She didn’t dare to speak again.

The Madam of Dongyang took a deep breath and asked, “Then tell me, who is it? When did it start? Is there… a child?”

“Mother, the child is not mine,” Zhou Jingyun said softly. “I only started to admire her recently. As for who she is…”

He looked at the Madam of Dongyang.

“This is just my own wishful thinking. She doesn’t know yet, so I can’t tell Mother, lest I ruin her reputation.”

The Madam of Dongyang’s chest heaved for a moment, and she sneered, “You still have some conscience, knowing not to ruin someone else’s reputation.”

Zhou Jingyun raised his hand in a salute. “My son is unfilial, causing Mother to worry.”

The Madam of Dongyang closed her eyes. “Get out.”

Zhou Jingyun didn’t say anything more, saluted, and retreated.

Silence returned to the room. Mama Xu stood to the side, speechless for once, despite her usual eloquence.

Logically speaking, it wasn’t a bad thing for the Heir to have a woman he admired.

But it felt strange, not long after losing his wife.

Also, what kind of woman was she? Of unknown origin… Forget it, the previously married Zhuang family wasn’t of any great origin either.

Right, the Heir seemed to say the child wasn’t his?

What did this mean? Could it be… a widow?

A jumble of thoughts flooded in, and in the end, Mama Xu could only sigh, “Heavens!”

The Heir had never caused his family a single headache, worry, or trouble since he was born.

Why was it that now, as he was approaching thirty, he was doing all sorts of unthinkable and absurd things?

Was he… getting younger as he got older?

The lamp in the study was lit. Zhou Jingyun sat at the desk and slowly unrolled the scroll.

The woman in the painting looked at him with a hint of defiance.

“Do you think I’m going against the natural order? That women shouldn’t crave power?”

He heard a chuckle in his ear.

“Zhou Jingyun, look, it’s right in front of me, it’s sparkling, it’s dazzling, how can I resist it?”

“It makes my eyes shine, it occupies my mind, it makes me experience the wonder of being alive in this world.”

Zhou Jingyun looked at the portrait, and the woman in the portrait looked back at him.

“Zhou Jingyun, people and power are the same. Only true liking will bring you happiness.”

“I hope you’re lucky enough to experience this wonder one day.”

Zhou Jingyun lowered his gaze and slowly rolled up the scroll.

Yes, she was sparkling, she was dazzling, she possessed extraordinary abilities, she was a rare treasure in this world. Who could see her and ignore her? Who wouldn’t want to get close to her, who wouldn’t be captivated by her?

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Disturbed, Mama Xu didn’t sleep well all night. She only fell into a light sleep at dawn. Just as she closed her eyes, someone nudged her.

“Mama Xu, Mama Xu.”

Mama Xu jolted awake and opened her eyes to see the Madam of Dongyang standing by the bed in the dim morning light.

“Madam, what’s wrong?” She hurriedly got up.

The Madam of Dongyang hushed her. “Quietly, come out with me.”

What were they doing this early in the morning? Mama Xu was puzzled.

There weren’t many people on the streets in the dim morning light, especially after turning into the alley, where it was completely quiet.

The Madam of Dongyang whispered to the coachman outside, “Do you remember the way? Don’t go wrong.”

The coachman replied in a low voice, “Don’t worry, Madam.”

Mama Xu looked at the crisscrossing alleys. What was the Madam doing in this gathering place of humble families?

“Li Pozi discovered the place where he keeps his mistress.” The Madam of Dongyang said.

So it was here. Mama Xu understood, but was even more puzzled. “Didn’t we look yesterday and say we got the wrong place? There was nothing there.”

Yes, they had looked, but something didn’t feel right. Coupled with Zhou Jingyun’s admission last night that there was someone in his heart, the Madam of Dongyang was restless, a lump in her throat. She decided to come out and have another look.

What if they really got the wrong door yesterday? Maybe it was the neighbor next door.

Although she didn’t know what she would do after finding it.

The Madam of Dongyang’s hands clenched in front of her, her nails digging into her palms painfully. She considered it as taking a look for Ah Li, to see clearly the men in this world.

When they passed by the place they had been yesterday, the Madam of Dongyang asked the carriage to stop. She decided to have another look, or maybe ask the woman next door again.

Hearing that this was the place they had seen yesterday, Mama Xu curiously went up and leaned on the door to look inside. “This is it… desolate… Ah!”

She suddenly exclaimed.

The Madam of Dongyang snapped, “What’s with the fuss? Haven’t you seen a desolate courtyard before?”

Mama Xu turned back, her face pale, and stammered, “No, no, not desolate.”

What do you mean not desolate? The Madam of Dongyang was puzzled.

“Madam, did we go wrong?” Mama Xu said. “This courtyard… seems to be inhabited.”

Inhabited? The Madam of Dongyang looked at the door in front of her. There was a lock on the door.

There wasn’t one yesterday.

Yesterday it was just a closed door, and it opened with one kick.

A loud clang suddenly echoed in the alley. Mama Xu shuddered and watched as the Madam of Dongyang kicked the door.

The lock was sturdy, the gap in the door widened, but it didn’t open.

“Madam,” Mama Xu hurriedly advised, “Don’t, don’t get angry.”

It was a door after all, and it was sturdy, with a lock. It wasn’t something a woman could kick open.

The Madam of Dongyang lifted her skirt, feeling the force of her kick. She didn’t kick the door again, but leaned against the gap and looked inside.

Blue floor tiles, shiny lacquered doors and windows, blue patterned curtains, a clean and tidy courtyard.

There wasn’t the slightest bit of dilapidation, no messy weeds.

She could even sense a lively human presence.

She stared blankly for a moment, then turned and walked towards the other side, where the young woman had been standing yesterday. She was even more stunned when she got there.

There was a wall here, no door at all.

The Madam of Dongyang stood in the alley, shivering in the spring morning.

What was going on?

The smiling face of that young woman reappeared in front of her.

Had she encountered a ghost?

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In the morning light, the dock on the banks of the Jinshui River returned to tranquility. The pleasure boat with its extinguished lights was silent, like an uninhabited place.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Bai Li turned her head in surprise.

Logically, the stewards should all be resting at this time.

She said, “Come in.”

The door opened, and the young man’s smiling face appeared in the morning light. “Ah Li!”

Bai Li was surprised, then immediately stood up. “Shangguan Yue, no, Li Yu.” She coughed lightly. “No, that’s not right either.”

She looked at the young man in front of her and curtsied. “Greetings, Your Highness Prince of Chu.”

Li Yu smiled and straightened his shoulders. “No need for formalities, Young Lady.”

The two of them smiled at each other again.

“I thought you wouldn’t be back for three months,” Bai Li said with a smile.

Li Yu said, “The Princess said the Prince’s Residence was ready and asked me to come back and have a look.” He also smiled. “I thought you wouldn’t be on the pleasure boat today.”

Bai Li thought of something and beckoned him. “Come with me.”

What? Li Yu thought, but he had already followed her without hesitation.

Bai Li opened the bedroom door, but didn’t immediately step inside. Instead, she raised her hand and pulled again in front of the door, as if opening an invisible door.

With her action, Li Yu’s gaze towards the bedroom also flickered. The originally dim room became clear.

Bai Li entered, and Li Yu followed closely behind. He saw a… baby lying on a cushion on the floor.

This was…

“I brought the child here,” Bai Li said.

Li Yu knelt down and looked at the baby. The baby was sleeping with its fists clenched.

So this was the child.

“Something happened, it wasn’t convenient to leave her outside.” Bai Li sat down next to him and continued to explain, “So I…”

Before she could finish, Li Yu interrupted her.

“That’s great,” he said, lowering his voice as if afraid of waking the child. “This is your pleasure boat, you should bring the child back.” He paused. “She’s my younger sister, I should take care of her too.”

He looked at Bai Li, his eyes full of smiles.

“It’s really great that you brought her back.”

He and she would take care of her together, that was right, that was reasonable. The Heir of the Marquis of Dongyang, no matter what, was just an outsider.