Across thousands of years I love you 45

  "This Hongyu married Sima Qiang shouldn't be for long, it seems that Liu Fei also only gained favor not long ago." Murong Feng asked softly.

  "It's been ten years, after all." Sima Rui said calmly, "Among the four brothers, Eldest Brother Sima Zhe is the oldest. At that time when he was in love with Hongyu, he was just a young man. Sima Qiang and he were of the same age, only differing by a month or so. At that time, Liu Fei was still just a woman in her early twenties, born with a beautiful and charming appearance. Although she was a beauty, she had to rely on the Emperor's occasional overnight stays, which is how Sima Qiang came about. Step by step, they've reached their current position. If it weren't for their cunning, how could they have achieved such status?"

  Murong Feng thought for a moment and said, "I really couldn't tell that Sima Qiang was such a bold and romantic person. He seemed like the wooden lump that Princess Yalai described him as. It turns out he was also young and reckless once. Thinking about it is interesting, but this can't be blamed on Sima Qiang and Liu Fei either. Who let your big brother not be present at the scene back then?"

  "If it weren't for Sima Qiang's over-the-top cruelty back then, I wouldn't be so resentful of him." Sima Rui said disdainfully, "At the time, according to Hongyu's account when she returned, a few hoodlums came up and harassed her, making some provocative remarks. She was frightened, but someone rushed forward to rescue her, leaving her extremely grateful. That's fine, the problem is that those hoodlums were beaten to death on the spot. Even if Sima Qiang was indeed a hero, he should have at least meted out some punishment, not necessarily killing them immediately without leaving any survivors?"

  Murong Feng didn't make a sound, thinking to himself for a moment. It seemed like it was true that when he played the role of Bai Min, he had seen scenes on TV where ancient heroes saved beauties. The beauty would be entangled by bad people, and then suddenly a highly skilled martial artist would appear out of nowhere, defeating the thugs in no time. The beauty would gaze at this person with reverence, as if she wanted to marry him immediately. In most cases, the beauty would end up marrying the hero. If Sima Qiang saved Hong Yu, regardless of the circumstances, Hong Yu would naturally be grateful and admire him from the heart. This was very normal. "Do you suspect that this hero might have faked it?"

  Simarui nodded, "I've always suspected, so I don't think much of Sima Qiang. If he really likes Hongyu, he can compete with my brother, and it's also Hongyu's freedom to choose between the two of them. But for him to use such a despicable method, it's inevitable that people will feel chilled."

  "This is also a competition, but he used unreasonable means. Your brother lost because he thought that he and Hongyu being together was an unchangeable fact, so he was negligent." Murong Feng teased, "But marrying Murong Xuan didn't result in any loss either, Murong Xuan isn't necessarily worse than Hongyu. Sigh, what can't be obtained is always the best. Fortunately, your brother is still a good person, otherwise, Murong Xuan, who is also my sister, wouldn't have had sunshine to shine on her."

  "Love is the most fragile in the imperial palace, and it's already not easy for them to respect each other as guests." Sima Rui sighed and said, "If you say so, Murong Xuan was also innocent. Big brother couldn't let go of Hongyu, but he married a woman he didn't love, and had to maintain the facade for his career, only pitifully using your big sister."

  Murong Feng was stunned for a moment and didn't know what to say.

  Simarui smiled and said: "They're gone, let's just take a stroll."

  Murong Feng looked puzzled, gazing at Sima Rui, and followed him as he walked slowly forward. "Are you really such an open-minded person? Everyone is planning for themselves. Sima Zhe married Murong Xuan, not just to alleviate the distress of being abandoned. After all, Murong Qingliang was the current prime minister, in charge of state affairs. Murong Xuan's sister married Wu Meng, and although Sima Qiang was the crown prince guarding the border, the real soldiers listened to General Wu Meng's words. Marrying Murong Xuan, the eldest daughter of the Murong royal family, was absolutely not inferior to marrying Hongyu. That Hongyu was born out of wedlock and had no great use for Sima Zhe becoming the future emperor of the Great Xing dynasty. Sima Qiang married Hongyu, gaining the identity of crown prince for himself and securing a position in the palace for his mother. No matter how charming Liu Fei was, without a capable son, how could she rely on her son to gain honor? As for the third prince, I don't know him, only that he was born to Wu Fei, learned extensively, and was humble. Only you, with such a notorious reputation, causing trouble and stirring up conflict, it's really strange. Is it intentional? It's difficult to learn good things, but easy to learn bad ones. However, being bad all the time is tiring, at least I think so. Are you tired?"

  "Haha." Sima Rui burst out laughing, looking at Murong Feng, and it took him a long time to stop, happily saying, "I'm not sure if I'm tired or not, but the thing is, I didn't say anything as bad as you did?"

  "You're really humble." Murong Feng glared at him, "I'm being very serious, why are you laughing like that. If this isn't bad, then what do you call bad?"

  Simarui smiled and asked: "Then tell me, where am I wrong?"

  Murong Feng leaned her head to one side and thought for half a day. In front of her, a large patch of chrysanthemums bloomed, emitting a strong fragrance that made her dizzy. "You're not doing your job properly! You're promiscuous! You're playing with the world without respect! You're deceiving people too much! Hmm... and there's still something else, I'll think about it later, these are already shocking enough."

  Simarui smiled wryly and said, "I'm a crown prince, but that doesn't mean I have to be the emperor. I have absolutely no interest in the throne, it's too tiring. So, I just do what a crown prince does, without worrying about state affairs or the people's livelihood. Can't say I'm not doing my job properly, can you? You really think I'm like Sima Zhe, handling everything and working hard for the people? I like to have fun and play around, and I've met many girls, we have physical relationships too. But it's all consensual, just a romantic affair, not like I'm some kind of womanizer or rapist. Shouldn't be unforgivable, right? I like what I like, but I don't like to hide it like some people do. As for being irresponsible and reckless, haha, I'm not trying to be a pillar of the state, just following my own nature without disturbing others' lives. Shouldn't be considered impertinent, should it? Lastly, about deceiving people too much, although I'm a crown prince, I don't think I've ever bullied anyone. I treat my servants kindly too. Your comments are a bit unfair, aren't they? As for the rest, remind me when you remember, and I'll explain one by one."

  Murong Feng looked at Sima Rui and said, "Where did you come up with so many twisted arguments?"

  "It's not that I'm being unreasonable, but you're simply unwilling to view me fairly. In fact, I think I'm the cleanest one in this palace." Sima Rui said with a straight face and an unwavering heart.

  Murong Feng couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Are you the cleanest one in the palace? I really don't know, but if you say you're the thickest-skinned one in this palace, I do believe it."

  Simarui smiled half-true and half-false: "I'm not that shameless, am I?"

  Murong Feng couldn't help it and laughed so hard he almost choked, "Simarui, I can honestly tell you that you are absolutely the most interesting person in this palace!"

  Simarui gazed at Murong Feng with tenderness, his heart turning over a sentence: Murong Feng, you don't know how important you are to me. To make you happy, I can do anything. But he didn't say it out loud. Murong Feng didn't love him; he knew that, as Murong Feng had told him so himself.

  As long as he can maintain the current friendly situation, he is already content.