20demayo Chapter 235 Jiang Qingxue finally learns about her background!
Chapter 235 Jiang Qingxue finally learns about her background!
Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting golden dappled patterns on the floor.
The spots of light swayed gently in the breeze, moving across the floor like living things.
Jiang Qingxue sat on the bed, head down, her hands nervously clasped together.
She could feel Qin Mu's gaze on her, and she could feel him looking at her.
Her heart was beating faster and faster.
So fast it almost seemed to burst out of my chest.
Qin Mu smiled gently as he looked at her.
"Get dressed," he said gently. "I'm taking you to see someone."
Jiang Qingxue was slightly taken aback.
See someone?
Another person?
Whom are we meeting this time?
She looked up at Qin Mu.
Those clear, cold eyes were filled with doubt.
Qin Mu seemed to have seen through her question.
He smiled and said calmly:
"Have you forgotten?"
He paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately:
"I have found your father's close friend from back then."
"This time, I'm going to see him."
Jiang Qingxue's pupils suddenly contracted!
My father's best friend back then?
These days, she has been wondering what kind of person Qin Mu found.
But how could she possibly have come up with that idea?
As far as she could remember, she had always stayed in the Northern Kingdom's palace and had never met her parents or known who they were.
Xu Longxiang and the old Zhenbei King never told her, so how could she possibly know?
At this moment, Qin Mu told her—
He found his father's best friend from back then.
Who is that person?
Does that person really exist?
Could it be that Qin Mu has been bluffing her all along?
But that's unlikely. If it were a scam, why would they let her meet that person?
A complex and indescribable emotion welled up in Jiang Qingxue's heart.
There is fear and apprehension.
I have high expectations.
I'm nervous.
There was also a deep, almost instinctive fear.
She didn't know who that person would be, what he would tell her, or what awaited her after those long-buried memories were revealed.
Jiang Qingxue took a deep breath.
The breath she inhaled was cool, but it couldn't extinguish the turbulent waves churning within her heart.
She looked up at Qin Mu.
Something was trembling slightly in those clear, cold eyes.
"Your Majesty," she began, her voice trembling slightly, "your humble servant..."
She paused, then took a deep breath.
Then, she opened her mouth, ready to utter the words that had been weighing on her heart for so long—
Your Majesty, I am an undercover agent sent by Xu Longxiang.
From the day he entered the palace, his purpose was to gather intelligence and pass on messages.
All that gentleness, all that obedience, all that affection—it was all a facade.
If she speaks up first before being exposed, she might be able to save herself.
Anyway, she had been planning to tell Qin Mu for a long time, but she was just waiting for the right opportunity, and now the opportunity was just right.
Just as Jiang Qingxue mustered her courage to speak, Qin Mu spoke up.
"What is it?" His voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable certainty. "We'll talk about it later."
Jiang Qingxue was stunned.
She opened her mouth, as if to say something.
Qin Mu smiled gently as he looked at her.
That smile was gentle, as gentle as the spring sunshine.
But in those deep eyes, there flickered a complex light that she couldn't understand.
Jiang Qingxue's heart tightened suddenly.
She looked at Qin Mu, at his smiling, unfathomable face.
A deep sense of powerlessness welled up inside me.
How much does this man actually know?
Did he already know she was an undercover agent?
Was he waiting for her to confess on her own initiative?
he--
Countless thoughts churned in my mind, eventually turning into a silent sigh.
She pursed her lips.
Although she really wanted to muster up the courage to say all the things that had been weighing on her heart for so long.
But since Qin Mu wouldn't let her speak, she could only keep quiet for now.
Jiang Qingxue lowered her eyes and nodded gently.
"Yes, Your Majesty," she said.
The voice was very soft and gentle, with a faint tremor.
Seeing her like this, Qin Mu didn't say anything more, but simply stood up and walked out of the hall.
The moon-white robe trailed across the floor, stirring up a faint breeze.
Jiang Qingxue took a deep breath, got up and followed.
......
On the west side of the imperial city, there is a secluded courtyard.
The courtyard gate was small, with faded red paint, and looked quite unremarkable.
But once you push open the door, you'll find a completely different world inside.
The courtyard is deep and secluded, shaded by lush bamboo, with a cobblestone path winding its way into the depths.
Along the path, several old plum trees are planted, their branches gnarled and twisted, exuding an ancient charm.
Although it was early winter and the plum trees had not yet blossomed, their vigorous branches had an indescribable charm in the morning light.
Jiang Qingxue followed behind Qin Mu, walking slowly along the cobblestone path.
Her heart was beating faster and faster.
That person is right ahead.
That was her father's best friend back then, the one who knew the secret of her past.
What will he be like?
What will he tell her?
He will—
Countless thoughts surged through her mind, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
At the end of the path stood three houses with blue bricks and tiles.
A person was standing in front of the tiled house.
It was an old man.
He wore an old gray Taoist robe, his beard and hair were gray, and his face was thin.
The morning light shone on him, making the wrinkles etched by time exceptionally clear.
He stood with his hands behind his back, gazing intently at the old plum trees in the courtyard.
Hearing footsteps, he slowly turned around.
Those cloudy old eyes fell on Jiang Qingxue.
Then--
stunned.
Jiang Qingxue was also stunned.
She looked at that face, at those cloudy yet strangely familiar eyes.
My mind is blank.
That is--
Uncle Cao?!
Uncle Cao, who watched her grow up?!
Uncle Cao, who always stood silently to the side in the Listening Snow Pavilion in the Northern Border, watching her with loving eyes?!
That old man she always thought was worshipped by the Xu family?!
How could it be him?!
How could he possibly be my father's best friend from back then?!
Jiang Qingxue's legs seemed to be nailed to the ground.
She stood there motionless, her eyes wide open, her pupils filled with unbelievable shock.
Looking at her like this, a complex expression slowly appeared on Cao Wei's aged face.
In that expression, there was relief, heartache, and guilt.
There is another type—
A deep sorrow that has lingered for twenty-one years.
"Zhaoyue..."
He spoke, his voice hoarse and trembling.
Those two words were like two giant rocks, crashing heavily into the lifeless lake in Jiang Qingxue's heart.
It stirred up a storm.
Zhaoyue?
Who is Zhaoyue?
Could it be her name?
These two words were names she had never heard anyone mention before.
But at this moment—
The words, spoken by Cao Wei, struck her like a thunderbolt, cleaving through the thick fog in her heart.
Sunlight filtered through the branches of the old plum trees in the courtyard, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
The light and shadow swayed gently in the breeze, moving like living things along the cobblestone path.
Jiang Qingxue stood still, motionless.
She looked at the old man in the gray Taoist robe in front of her, at that familiar face she had seen since childhood, and at those cloudy eyes that were now faintly glistening with tears.
My mind went completely blank.
Uncle Cao.
Cao Wei.
The old man who always stood silently in the corner of the Listening Snow Pavilion in the Northern Territory, watching her practice sword with loving eyes.
The old man who would quietly bring her medicine every time she was injured, but never said a word.
The old man she had always thought was a retainer of the Xu family, a guest recruited by Xu Xiao from the martial arts world.
How could it be him?
How could he possibly be my father's best friend back then?
Jiang Qingxue's lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something.
But it felt as if an invisible hand was choking him, and he couldn't squeeze out a single word.
Only tears flowed silently.
Drop after drop slid down her pale cheeks.
It fell onto the pebbles at my feet, leaving a small, dark stain.
Looking at her like this, Cao Wei felt an indescribable pang of sorrow welling up in his heart.
The bitterness welled up from the deepest part of his heart, engulfing his entire being, almost bringing tears to the eyes of this old man who had withstood seventy-three years of trials and tribulations.
He slowly walked towards Jiang Qingxue.
He stopped three steps in front of Jiang Qingxue.
Those cloudy old eyes carefully examined the woman in front of him.
From her tearful, cold eyes to her slightly trembling eyelashes.
From her pale cheeks to her tightly pursed lips.
From top to bottom, from bottom to top.
I watched it for a very long time.
Long enough for the sunlight to move an inch further, long enough for a few more drops of dew to fall from the old plum tree branches in the courtyard.
Finally, he spoke.
His voice was hoarse and trembling, yet it carried a deep longing and sorrow that had been suppressed for twenty-one years.
"picture……"
He murmured, his voice so soft it was as if he were talking to himself.
"So similar..."
Tears welled up in his eyes.
Those eyes, dulled by the passage of time, now shone with an astonishing brightness.
It was as if, through the pale, cold, tear-stained face before me, I saw the shadow of another person.
That person had the same eyebrows and eyes, the same temperament, the same—
Pride etched into one's bones.
"Zhaoyue..."
He called out again.
This time, her voice was tinged with an uncontrollable sob.
"You and your mother..."
He paused, took a deep breath, and then continued:
"They're practically identical."
Zhaoyue.
Empress Dowager.
These two words, like two sharp knives, pierced Jiang Qingxue's heart.
Her body trembled violently.
Deep within his pupils, the unbelievable shock was gradually replaced by another emotion.
That is--
fear.
A deep, instinctive fear.
She didn't know what those two words meant.
But she knew that when Cao Wei spoke them, those things she had never known, those things that had been buried for twenty-one years, were about to be revealed.
What are those past events?
Is it something she can handle?
Jiang Qingxue opened her mouth and finally managed to squeeze out a sound.
The voice was hoarse and broken, each word sounding as if it had been forcibly dug out of the throat:
"Uncle Cao..."
She paused, took a deep breath, and then continued:
"What are you talking about?"
"What Zhaoyue?"
"What Empress Dowager?"
"I...I'm not..."
She couldn't continue.
Because she suddenly realized that she had no idea who she was.
She has been in the Northern Kingdom's Palace since she can remember.
Xu Xiao told her that she was the daughter of an old friend, whose parents had died early and who had been adopted by him.
Xu Longxiang told her that she was his childhood sweetheart and the person he wanted to protect for the rest of his life.
She has always believed in these things.
I always thought this was my background.
But at this moment, Cao Wei's words were like a bolt of lightning, splitting the calm lake in her heart.
Those things she had never doubted, those things she had believed in without a doubt, were crumbling little by little.
Looking at her like this, Cao Wei felt a deep pity flash in his eyes.
He knew what what he was about to say meant to her.
But he had to say it.
Because he waited for twenty-one years.
This is the day we've been waiting for.
"Child," he began, his voice hoarse yet unusually clear, "listen to me."
He paused, took a deep breath, as if making an extremely difficult decision.
Then, he spoke slowly and deliberately:
"Your father—"
He looked at her, speaking slowly and deliberately:
"He was Jiang Huaijin, the last king of Yuehua Kingdom."
"your mother--"
His voice finally trembled slightly:
"It is Queen Su Wanqing of the Moonflower Kingdom."
"And you—"
He held out his hand, pointing at her:
"She is the legitimate princess of the Moonflower Kingdom."
"Jiang Zhaoyue".
The moment the words left his mouth, the whole world seemed to freeze.