Across thousands of years, I love you 52

  The flute sound drifted, leading Murong Feng to a courtyard. This was a relatively small courtyard, but it was built with great care. The sound came from the pavilion in the courtyard, where someone stood quietly playing the flute, their back figure having a hint of loneliness.

  Murong Feng stood quietly, hoping not to disturb the other person. The silhouette was unfamiliar to her, but the feeling he gave her was familiar. His flute sound had a kind of inexplicable loneliness and helplessness, with a hint of melancholy, yet it was clear and refreshing.

  "It's so late, aren't you sleeping yet?" The flute player suddenly stopped the sound of the flute, turned his head quietly, as if he didn't find her appearance surprising at all. "The night is deep and cool, this pavilion can block the wind, come sit down."

  "Your Imperial Highness." Murong Feng slightly bowed his head.

  Simar Minglang smiled faintly, "There's no one here, no need to be so formal. You can just call me by my name." He sat down in the pavilion, where a pot of wine and a cup were placed on the stone table. He picked up the cup and took a sip, his movements still elegant and calm.

  Murong Feng smiled slightly and walked into the pavilion, sitting down inside. This place was indeed sheltered from the wind and quiet, with a faint scent of flowers that couldn't be seen. "What kind of flower is planted here? It's so fragrant, but I don't see any blossoms?" she asked curiously, looking around.

  Simma Minglang smiled slightly, "It's two osmanthus trees. This is where I lived when I was young, and the osmanthus trees were planted by me when I was a kid. Now they have grown to be as thick as a person can hug. Every time I come back, I like to stay here, it feels very familiar."

  Murong Feng nodded, "No wonder, the fragrance of flowers is refreshing and slightly sweet, refreshing to the heart and lungs. If some are picked, dried in the sun, and put into a pillow, it's indeed possible to sleep with fragrance every night."

  Simar Minglang's face was calm and smiling, "Where is Rui'er?"

  Murong Feng smiled mischievously, "I reckon he's now in the study meeting with Lord Zhou. I sneaked out quietly, probably had a bit too much to drink at dinner, so I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and couldn't fall asleep again. I got out of bed thinking of taking a stroll in the courtyard, but faintly heard the sound of a flute. Curious about who was still awake at such a late hour, I followed the sound and ended up running into your estate, disturbing your romantic evening."

  Simar Minglang slightly raised an eyebrow, "Study?"

  "Yes." Murong Feng smiled slightly, "He didn't marry me willingly, and I didn't marry him willingly either. He promised me that if I didn't agree, he would sleep in the study room forever. He considers himself a gentleman, so he keeps his promises."

  Simar Minglang chuckled lightly, "I'm afraid only you can handle him. Since he was a child, he has been the most headache-inducing person in the imperial palace. He never lets you guess what his next move will be, and often does things that are beyond people's expectations. And I thought he would never get married either? Because he is the one who dislikes women the most. Probably because of the stimulation caused by Zhe'er and Hongyu's affair. I think you probably don't know about their story yet."

  "Simarui once mentioned that it seemed like Hongyu and Sima Zhe were about to get married, but Hongyu chose Sima Qiang instead. That's why he thinks women are untrustworthy." Murong Feng said quietly, smelling the faint scent of osmanthus in the air.

  Simar nodded, "Have you seen Hongyu?"

  "Yes, in Linyuan. She is a very dignified woman, with beautiful looks, but somewhat heavy-hearted, as if she has a lot of worries."

  Simar Minglang gazed at the garden in the night, deep in thought for a long time, before speaking in a light tone and quiet voice: "Actually, there are many hidden circumstances inside. Speaking out would make people somewhat sad. Now that Hongyu has followed Sima Qiang, I think you also know that she has never given birth."

  Murong Feng nodded, "I've heard Sima Rui mention it before. The couple seems to be deeply in love and inseparable, but unfortunately they never had children. Sima Qiang also never remarried, even when the Emperor offered him Princess Ya Li, he refused."

  Siming Lang sighed, "Actually, before marrying Sima Qiang, Hongyu and Sima Zhe had already been intimate. They were childhood sweethearts who grew up together, and it was inevitable that they would have feelings for each other when they reached marriageable age. Moreover, Hongyu was already one month pregnant. However, after meeting Sima Qiang, she fell in love with him due to his heroic rescue of her, and secretly aborted the child without telling Sima Zhe. On the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, during a family banquet, she got drunk and had an affair with Sima Qiang in the garden, which was witnessed by Sima Zhe who had returned with their mothers. To avoid a family scandal, their mother arranged for Hongyu to marry Sima Qiang hastily. Sima Zhe was devastated by what he saw and became depressed, drinking excessively every day and frequenting brothels. Rui'er and Sima Zhe were originally very close, being biological brothers who grew up together, so they had a deeper bond. Witnessing this scene, Rui'er felt sorry for him and accompanied him every day, using his own bad reputation to shield Sima Zhe from many troubles, including those related to Yue'erge's Yuejiao."

  "Yu Jiao?!" Murong Feng was taken aback.

  "Yes. You also know Yu Jiao?" Sima Minglang was somewhat surprised.

  Murong Feng nodded, "I've also seen her dance. She's a woman who dances very well and has a beautiful appearance, it's just a pity that she ended up in a brothel, what a waste."

  "Perhaps you haven't noticed, but Yu Jiao and Hong Yu look a bit alike." Sima Minglang looked at Murong Feng, wondering how she had seen Yu Jiao dance.

  Murong Feng slightly raised an eyebrow, and she really hadn't noticed it before. She furrowed her brow and thought carefully, were there any similarities between the two of them?

  "It's probably because you didn't notice, and didn't look closely." Sima Minglang smiled slightly. "Actually, the Moon Jiao Pavilion was built by Sima Zhe, not Rui'er. The original name of Moon Jiao was Xiao Hui, a small maid at the Drunken Flower Tower, who liked to dance and accidentally met Sima Zhe. Because she looked similar to Hong Yu, Sima Zhe asked a teacher to teach her how to dance and named her Moon Jiao, building the Moon Jiao Pavilion for her. However, as the future emperor's candidate, how could Sima Zhe linger in the pleasure quarters? Liu Fei, Sima Qiang's mother, was a rare clever person in the imperial palace, and naturally wouldn't let go of this opportunity. After all, her son was the second prince, and if something happened to the first prince, he would inherit the throne. So she deliberately mentioned this matter to the emperor. The empress and Rui'er learned about it, and Rui'er immediately admitted that Moon Jiao was his secret lover, unrelated to Sima Zhe. The empress also quickly arranged for Mu Rong Xuan to be betrothed to him, calming down a scandal. However, because of this, people looked down on him, thinking he was shameless. In fact, now he still goes to the Moon Jiao Pavilion, not because he has any relationship with Moon Jiao, but because he promised Sima Zhe to take care of her."

  Murong Feng was stunned, she really didn't think there were so many reasons behind it. No wonder he would hide Murong Xue in the Moon Jade Pavilion without worrying about anything happening, no wonder he would rush to have the imperial physician diagnose and treat Yuejiao overnight. It turned out that he was just covering up for Sima Zhe.