Chapter 53

  "I know that at the beginning, Rui'er was very opposed to marrying you." Sima Minglang smiled slightly, his tone becoming a bit more relaxed. "At first, he wanted to marry Murong Xue, but Murong Qian asked Sima Zhe for help to mediate and replace Murong Xue with Murong Feng. Sima Zhe agreed to it, as for why, I'm not clear either. Because of Sima Zhe's mediation, the Emperor personally arranged the marriage, assigning you to Rui'er. Rui'er was furious, but later in his letters, he suddenly changed and only said how good you were, which opened my eyes - it's rare for him to praise a woman."

  "To be honest, I really didn't see that he and Yu Jiao weren't a couple." Murong Feng thought for a moment and said, "The two of them look just like a pair."

  "That's because you have a preconceived impression, so you think that way." Sima Minglang said quietly, "If it weren't for the fact that she was hiding under the title of 'Fourth Prince's Concubine', Yuejiao wouldn't have been able to sell her art without selling her body. The brothel is originally a place where tigers and wolves roam, how can one preserve their chastity? Moreover, she is after all Sima Zhe's woman, how can others be allowed to touch her? The palace won't tolerate her, if they really knew she was Sima Zhe's woman, I'm afraid even her life wouldn't be spared. Rui'er actually has a soft heart, and couldn't bear for this innocent woman to suffer such a calamity."

  Murong Feng was silent for half a day, she had a big surprise, and really couldn't think that Sima Rui would be such a gentleman, it was too preconceived, even so, she still felt that Sima Rui was more like a playboy than a broad-minded gentleman.

  "I'll play a tune for you to listen." Sima Minglang smiled slightly, took the flute in his hand, and a melodious note began, like the cool chill of an autumn night, pleasant to the ear and heart.

  Murong Feng stopped talking and listened quietly with his cheek propped up.

  The osmanthus fragrance is subtle, and the mood is peaceful; this is a nice place.

  Simar's heart was slightly rippling, this is the best! He liked it and didn't reveal too much, they could talk and chat about their feelings. The relationship between gentlemen is as thin as water, with him and Murong Feng, both are the best.

  In the early morning, Sima Rui woke up. Outside, it was drizzling with a slight chill on this autumn day. After washing up, he arrived at the door of Murong Feng's resting room. Chun Liu happened to come out from inside and saw Sima Rui. He immediately bowed and said in a soft voice: "Fourth Prince, please wait for a moment. The young lady is still sleeping. Today seems more tired than usual, and she's sleeping very soundly."

  "Alright, let her sleep a bit longer, maybe she had some wine last night. If I'd known earlier, I wouldn't have let her drink at all." Sima Rui thought for a moment and said, "I'm not busy either, you all keep your voices down so as not to disturb her."

  Yan Yu walked over from outside, carrying a delicate flower basket. From afar, she caught a whiff of the faint, sweet fragrance and smiled as she saw Sima Rui: "The Prince of Rui is indeed thoughtful, having someone send over a basket of osmanthus flowers early on, saying they're for the master, that the old residence's osmanthus flowers are blooming well, and the fragrance is even clearer than before. They specially picked some, thinking the Fourth Prince's consort might like them."

  Simarui smiled, "The emperor is really generous. The things in his old mansion, he never let anyone touch them. Even when the empress dowager smelled the fragrant osmanthus flowers and wanted to pick some, he wouldn't let her. Yet, he sent over such a large basket of osmanthus flowers. It seems that your crown prince's consort has good relationships with others. Put it in the house for now, I'm sure your master will be delighted when he wakes up."

  Yan Yu agreed and went in.

  Outside, Sima Rui whispered softly: "Speak a little softer, lest you wake her up."

  The willow tree secretly smiles, although the young lady and the fourth prince are still living separately, it can be seen that the fourth prince is now sincere towards the young lady, if this continues, one day the young lady will have a good outcome, then there's no need to let the lady from the nine springs worry.

  It wasn't until almost noon that Murong Feng woke up. He had returned very late last night and listened to Sima Minglang talk about so many things related to Sima Rui, which was quite different from what he usually knew about Sima Rui, and it was a bit uncomfortable. As soon as he opened his eyes, he smelled the familiar floral scent and saw the flower basket on the table. His heart moved, and this Sima Minglang was indeed a thoughtful person. He had only mentioned it once, but she actually took it to heart.

  After washing up, she came out to see Sima Rui sitting in the pavilion of the courtyard reading a book. Hearing her coming out, Sima Rui looked up at her and smiled: "You're awake, are you hungry? I've had food prepared for you, you can eat whenever you want."

  Murong Feng smiled slightly, "I'm not hungry yet, it's just that seeing you sitting here reading a book so properly and neatly, I'm really not used to it. How come today is so elegant, actually sitting down to read?"

  Simarui held up the book in his hand, "It's a chess manual, just happened to pick it up and take a look."

  Yan Yu walked over and said softly: "Master, the Crown Prince's consort has arrived and is waiting for you in the reception room. Do you want to go over?"

  "Let her come here." Murong Feng looked at Sima Rui, smiled and said, "Shouldn't you withdraw for a moment? I'm afraid Murong Xuan wants to discuss some family matters with me."

  Simarui stood up, "Don't say it's been too long, it's almost noon. You didn't eat much last night and slept until now, let's finish talking and have lunch."

  Murong Feng nodded.

  After a while, she heard someone vaguely walking in from outside and stopping behind her. The voice was somewhat tired: "Third sister."

  Murong Xuan's complexion was not very good, her face was pale and slightly sickly.

  "Sister, why are you so down?" Murong Feng was slightly stunned and felt uneasy. This fatigue wasn't due to physical exhaustion, but mental exhaustion, despair. Perhaps because she knew some of Sima Zhe's secrets, it made her think too much and worry that Murong Xuan also knew something.

  Murong Xuan forced a smile and said: "I heard you hit Li Fei last night?"

  "Yes." Murong Feng nodded, since Murong Xuan didn't want to say anything, she didn't want to force her to ask again. "Let's just listen to Rui Xi for now. Although Murong Xue was unfilial in her actions, seeing her being bullied and as an older sister, it's unbearable, so she took action and hit Li Fei. However, thinking about it, Li Fei is also a pitiful girl who has left her family."

  "This palace was never a place where one could be pitied or not. Sometimes, it's just the law of the jungle, the weak will be bullied, and if they're too weak, they'll silently disappear. If Murong Xue wants to survive, she needs to learn to be cautious, keep an eye on the Emperor, as he is her only 'reliance'. Without his favor, it's likely that even death would not be possible, or perhaps she'd be banished to a cold palace, spending her days there until old age."

  Listening to Murong Xuan's emotional words, Murong Feng felt a tinge of sadness. Having been here for some time now, from the initial beauty to the current reality, he truly felt helpless. In this imperial palace, on the surface it seemed like a beautiful brocade, but in reality, it was full of wounds and scars.

  So silently, quietly standing there.