Chapter 381 - Honesty (1/2)
“Maybe I should do the talking.” Zhu Junyang recalled that his cousin, the emperor, had once said that if one wanted to win a lady’s affections, the best one could do was to be sincere and honest with the other person and never hide anything from them, because women were very petty and they would remember it for the rest of their lives.
Although his condition seemed to have taken a turn for the better now, he was still unsure of how his illness would progress in the future. With Yu Xiaocao’s cleverness, she would sooner or later catch a hint about his condition after a period of interaction. Since he had already decided to marry her, he might as well make everything clear from the beginning. It would definitely be best if she could accept him, but if she really could not, then they would maintain as they currently were. At most, he would stay single for his entire life.
Princess Consort Jing could tell that he seemed to have made some sort of decision, and that surprised her. Her son had finally found a girl that he was willing to get close to, even if she was currently still young, but all they needed to do was wait for her to grow up—it might be several years, but they could afford the wait.
But it seemed that her son was about to tell Xiaocao the secret he had kept for nearly two decades! Who would be willing to spend the rest of their lives with a large firecracker that could explode at any moment? If, at any day, he went out of control, she could be risking her own life! Her son was too impulsive—this act was equivalent to pus.h.i.+ng her away!
“Yang’er, you…are you sure?” Princess Consort Jing sounded slightly anxious, and her voice tinged with hesitation.
Zhu Junyang looked seriously at his mother and slowly nodded, “I’m sure, Lady Mother. I can’t hide this matter forever. Since I really intend to marry, I must show my sincerity. I trust Xiaocao—she’s not the same as the other girls in the capital.”
Yu Xiaocao watched them cluelessly. What kind of riddle were they talking about? It seemed like Royal Prince Yang was about to tell her something important—so important that even Princess Consort Jing took it very seriously. Er…could it be that Royal Prince Yang was not the biological son of Imperial Prince Jing? Or was it some other secret of the imperial family? Could she choose to not listen?
Princess Consort Jing worriedly glanced at Yu Xiaocao, then she sighed lightly, “I won’t say any more since you’ve already made your decision. Xiaocao, even if you can’t accept what Yang’er will tell you later, please don’t use it to hurt him. It’s been difficult for Yang’er all these years…As his mother, I beg of you, no matter what, help him keep his secret, alright?”
“Er… since this secret is so important, I think…it’s better if I don’t know about it…” Yu Xiaocao stuttered as she mumbled.
“No! You must know!” Zhu Junyang felt that if he did not pick up the courage to tell her today, he might never have the guts to tell her. He tugged Yu Xiaocao’s wrist and led her to the deepest part of the garden.
Yu Xiaocao tried to shake his grip off, but the young prince’s hand was like a big pair of pliers. His grip firm yet light, so she did not feel pain. She tried to forcefully pull herself free, but her strength compared to that of Royal Prince Yang, who was skilled in martial arts, was like an ant trying to shake a tree. With no other choice, she gave up her struggle.
“There’s no one here. You can say whatever you want to now!” Yu Xiaocao said in a somewhat sulky tone.
Zhu Junyang let go of her wrist, albeit a little unwilling to part with that delicate feeling in his palm. His lips thinned into a line as he structured his thoughts. He stared into Yu Xiaocao’s eyes, “I… When I was five, I fell into a pond and almost drowned…”
Yu Xiaocao’s eyes widened as many schemes from the plot of inner courtyard fight novels flashed through her mind. She blinked her clear, big eyes and carefully asked, “How did you fall in? And what about your servants? Did someone push you? What happened afterwards?”
Now that he had begun, Zhu Junyang felt that the following words were not so hard to say, “I was still young at that time. Moreover, I was frightened and I had fallen ill for some time afterwards, so I don’t remember what happened during that time. I only know that after that incident, my lord father punished a concubine that was quite favored at that time.”
“Your father must’ve found out that it was that wretch who wanted to harm you. That’s weird, you have two older brothers, so why did your father’s concubine target you instead?” According to inner courtyard fight plots, shouldn’t they first get rid of the heir who was going to inherit the princely t.i.tle? There was no benefit to killing off the youngest son!
Zhu Junyang glared at her and said, “This prince was extremely charming when I was young, and Lord Father favored me very much! Every time he returned from court or after finis.h.i.+ng his errands, he would first visit Lady Mother’s courtyard and play with me for a while. That wretch thought that Lady Mother used me as an excuse to persuade Lord Father to her courtyard…”
“Oh… But I thought your father was loyal to your mother? Why did he still bring these messy women into the inner courtyard? You men are always eyeing the pot even though you’re already eating from the bowl. You all want to be surrounded by women and enjoy the bliss of a harmonious harem!” Yu Xiaocao pursed her lips, making an expression that said ‘all men are like this’.
‘You’re just a little girl, how many men have you met? You say that as though you have a lot of experience!’ Zhu Junyang felt so stifled by her words he did not know how to continue. He tsked at her and asked, “Do you or do you not want to hear me continue?”
“Can I choose not to?” Yu Xiaocao’s expression was full of reluctance, “I mean, if you really have to tell it to someone, there’s definitely a group of outstanding girls that are lining up and willing to listen to you!”