Chapter 89 Letting Go

  Thank you for the pink votes from Fengguo Liuxiang 01 and thank you to Xiaodao Junzhu for the reward of a safe amulet.

  Qing Jin's fleeting panic was gone, replaced by a calm and collected demeanor. She raised her face, looked straight at Long Han Yuan, and smiled brightly: "A gentle woman? Is it like my fourth sister, elegant and refined, dressed in white like a lotus flower, gentle as water, and understanding of others?"

  Long Han was stunned by her bright smile and was about to speak.

  Qing Jin spoke again: "I don't know where the Third Prince saw that I was trying to entice him, but if I'm not mistaken, I've never taken the initiative to get close to him even once. Moreover, I already have a fiancé, although he may not be as noble or majestic as the Third Prince, he is a gentleman with excellent manners and outstanding talent. I don't intend to break off the engagement!"

  "Is this the demeanor of a noble gentleman?" His eyes, shining with an otherworldly light, seemed to hold a hint of coldness and mockery, and the innate arrogance and nobility emanating from his very bones made Qingjin instinctively feel afraid, wanting to retreat.

  The two were so close, close enough to smell the faint scent of alcohol on his body. At this moment, what should have been a mocking and teasing expression was nowhere to be seen. Her gaze met those deep, dark eyes that seemed like a black night, and she lost her way. The serious expression on his face, which made it impossible for her to understand, left her bewildered.

  However, that ambiguous color only lasted for a moment. In the instant when he didn't notice, it had changed to clear as water. "Your Highness, the Third Prince, please give way, I've been out for quite some time, and my family might be looking for me everywhere." Gu Qingjin broke the silence in a soft voice.

  Long Han Yuan moved his body away upon hearing her words, Qing Jin hastily jumped out three feet away from Long Han Yuan and bowed deeply, "Then I'll take my leave first." After saying that, she didn't even wait for Long Han Yuan to speak before hurrying to leave.

  "Don't you really want to marry me? I can give you the position of a secondary wife." The cold and distant voice came from behind.

  Gu Qingjin's body stiffened, and she had to stop her hurried footsteps, turning around to look at Long Han's expressionless eyes: "Your humble servant's status is lowly. I am unworthy of the Third Prince's favor."

  Upon hearing Qing Jin's words, that person's eyes were as clear and transparent as snow, sharp and piercing, with a slight movement of their thin lips: "Want to or not?"

  "I don't want to." Unable to avoid it, Qing Jin's gaze firmly looked over, and she saw the icy cold and stern killing intent that emerged from Long Han's eyes after hearing her response. Even the air around them was tinged with a quiet and icy atmosphere.

  Half a moment later, without hearing Long Han's voice, Qing Jin took the initiative to bid farewell: "The minister's daughter has retreated." With elegant turns, her green silk fluttered in the gentle breeze. Her blue skirt flew and fluttered like a butterfly dance.

  Only after finally leaving his line of sight did Qingjin's tense nerves slowly relax, and her palms were full of cold sweat.

  She couldn't guess what was on this man's mind, nor could she tell whether he was happy or angry. She felt that he was angry, but why? Was it because she had refused his mother? How could that be! She laughed at herself mockingly. Hadn't the man just said that he liked gentle and obedient women, while Gu Qingyu was never one of those low-eyebrowed, gentle, and obedient women.

  It wasn't in the past and won't be in the future either.

  Thinking back to her last life, she had ended up in such a tragic and resolute manner, with pain and lessons that cut deep into her bones. She was foolish enough to have fallen once, but how could she possibly let herself fall into such a miserable state again? With such a tragic past, how could she possibly harbor any other thoughts about Long Hanyang?

  Between her and him, long before she resolutely burned herself to death, all connections had been severed. If one must say that she had any other emotions towards Long Hanshan, it would be the deeply buried hatred in her heart for his destructive ways.

  Although in her previous life, she and he were siblings. She ruined her sister's marriage and humiliated herself by marrying him as a concubine. However, when you have loved someone with all your heart, even to the point of disobeying your family and parents, betraying everyone, only to discover that to him, you are just a speck of dust on his clothes, a grain of rice at the corner of his mouth, it's really hard not to hate him.

  What's more, the man trampled on her last bit of pride, calling out her cousin's name in her bed. If he had never liked her from start to finish, why did he agree to her proposal and give her hope, only to personally bring her crashing down? She no longer dared to hope for his love, so why must he drive her to despair and death with a smile?

  Perhaps she got what was coming to her in the end, but didn't Long Hanshan have any fault either? Qing Jin never thought of herself as a kind and fair person, she would never learn to repay kindness with grievances.

  She had truly loved him in her past life, so when she was reborn, she never thought of revenge. They would forever be strangers to each other, and this was the best ending for them. She only wanted to forget about him along with the world.

  But why is Long Han now saying these inexplicable words to her, pretending to be weak? Haha, it's really ridiculous... Is he reminding her of how foolish and unbearable she was in her past life? Thinking of this, her footsteps stopped, closed her eyes, clenched her fists tightly, the hatred buried in her heart seemed like Pandora's box being opened, instantly wanting to invade her mind.

  Perhaps sensing her emotional instability, the Buddhist beads on her wrist began to exude a faint coolness, allowing her rationality, which had been invaded by hatred, to recover instantly. Qingjin opened her eyes, and her tightly clenched fists slowly relaxed. Yes, it wasn't worth it. Moreover, she was already engaged to her cousin, and she had family - her mother, Junshi, and her younger brother, Xiaogui. She had a beautiful future ahead of her, and all of this absolutely couldn't be destroyed by her momentary impulse.

  Thinking of her clear rejection to Long Han Yuan just now, Long Han Yuan is such a proud person, he should know her thoughts after hearing her rejection, and understand that she has no intention of him!

  Now that she has heard him say it herself, Long Han Yan must have had some feelings for her deep down. His pride wouldn't allow him to do anything about it, and she was the eldest daughter of the Duke of Anji, after all. In her past life, she had willingly lowered herself to marry him as a concubine, disregarding their difference in status. This time around, without her willingness, coupled with her engagement to her cousin already being settled, Long Han Yan already having a wife, even if he did have some thoughts about it, would the Emperor really go so far as to ruin her marriage and give his own son's concubine an imperial daughter? That was clearly impossible. As far as she knew, Long Han Yan was just one of many princes in the eyes of the Emperor, not particularly favored at that.

  Thinking of this, Qingjin's heart suddenly felt at ease. Since Long Han didn't have any intentions towards her, she wouldn't have anything to do with him anyway. She had nothing to worry about, and thinking like this made her mood lighter and more pleasant. With a carefree step, she headed towards the grand hall of the banquet.

  When Qing Jin entered the grand hall of the banquet without a trace, everyone was still chatting enthusiastically in twos and threes. When Qing Jin took her seat, Yuanyang walked up to Qing Jin's back on horseback and asked in a low voice: "Miss, where did you go? You've been gone for so long?"

  "I didn't go anywhere, just strolled around casually, and unexpectedly got lost. I walked for a while before running into a little eunuch, and only then did I ask for directions." Qingjin heard Yuanyang's words and immediately made up a story to tell her.

  Yuan Yang understood Qing Jin's words and didn't suspect anything, saying: "It's only right that Yuan Yang should follow the young lady, so the young lady won't get lost. Seeing the young lady go out for so long without returning, this servant couldn't help but want to go find the young lady."

  "I know, I've worried you. If I go out again, I'll definitely call you to follow me..." Qingjin said to Yuanyang.

  Yuan heard what she wanted to hear, nodded in satisfaction at Qingjin, and continued: "By the way, Miss, you don't know that just now the Emperor brought all the princes to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager on her birthday!"

  "Is His Majesty accompanied by all the princes?" Qing Jin asked with an open mouth.

  "Yes, it turns out that the Emperor also invited all the officials to a banquet in the palace. Just now, he even brought all the princes to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager on her birthday. Ah, yes, Miss, Swan also saw Master Shuijingchen."

  "Shuijingchen Master?" Qingjin subconsciously repeated after hearing Yuanyang's words.

  Yuan thought Qing Jin was curious, so she continued: "Yes, the Empress Dowager specially invited Master Shui Jing Chen to speak with her, and even the princes didn't receive such treatment. The Empress Dowager seemed more delighted to see Master Shui Jing Chen than the princes, but Master Shui Jing Chen is indeed exceptional. Although he stood among the princes, the sacred aura on his body was in no way inferior to that of the princes."

  Qing Jin bowed her head in contemplation, unable to help but think of what she had just heard in the Imperial Garden. How could it not be different? If only Water Mirror Dust were also from a royal background, she wouldn't be so astonished. Thinking of Emperor Ming's words just now, he even wanted to pass on the crown prince position to Water Mirror Dust. Upon thinking of this, she suddenly reacted and wondered how she had forgotten about this matter. After all, it wasn't just her who heard those words, but also Long Han Yuan.

  Thinking of this, Qing Jin couldn't sit still. Long Han Yuan had a mind to take that position, but who knows if he would want to make a move to get rid of Shui Jing Chen after hearing Ming Emperor's words? Would Shui Jing Chen be worried about his life? But thinking of Shui Jing Chen's words to Ming Emperor...

  Shuijingchen's expression was clearly that of an uninterested monarch, and Long Hanshan should have also noticed it. Moreover, from the way Mingdi valued Shuijingchen, although he didn't know why Mingdi said he wanted to make Shuijingchen the crown prince, since Mingdi held Shuijingchen in high regard, he would definitely secretly dispatch someone to protect him. Even if Long Hanshan wanted to take action, he would have to consider Mingdi's position. Given Long Hanshan's cautious and reserved personality, he absolutely wouldn't act rashly. Therefore, for the time being, Shuijingchen shouldn't be in any mortal danger.

  After such an analysis, Qingjin was relieved and turned her mind to her cousin Junmu Xue. She hadn't seen Junmu Xue for a long time, especially after running into Long HanYuan in the Imperial Garden today. Although she told herself that since she had clearly rejected Long HanYuan, he wouldn't have any other ideas, she still felt somewhat uneasy...