"My father left it to me. It is said that it was left by my biological mother, specially for my future princess." Pei Yuanjun said lazily.
"Put it... in a swaddling cloth?" The emperor's voice trembled.
"That's right." Pei Yuanjun said nonchalantly, "I just married a princess, and suddenly I remembered this matter, so I asked her to wear the hairpin. I didn't expect it would cause trouble."
"This hairpin..." The emperor's voice broke a little due to excitement, but he handed the hairpin to Li Quan after all, "Take this hairpin back!"
After hearing these few short words, the emperor seemed to have aged a lot in an instant. He lost all energy and sat down in his chair again.
Li Quan handed the hairpin to Pei Yuanjun, who took it, looked at it, and took off the two phoenix feathers on it: "Your Majesty, it is not proper to leave these feathers here. I have the audacity to take them off and return them intact to Zhao."
The phoenix feather was taken down again and placed on the desk in the imperial study. It looked just as it did that day, as if it had traveled through time and space, but the woman who wore the hairpin that day was no longer there.
When we were young, we were so full of energy and it seemed as if we had a great reason to do everything, all for the sake of our family, our country and the world. But when we got old, we realized that it was all worthless after all.
Besides, everything at that time didn't necessarily need to be like this, and it was okay to do it slowly.
"Liquan, was I wrong?" The emperor said tiredly as he watched Pei Yuanjun and Qu Moying leave, his eyes slightly drooping. At this time, he was just an old man in his twilight years, just an old man, no longer the high and mighty emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but a lonely old man.
"Your Majesty, you had no choice at the time. You just wanted to postpone it." Li Quan answered cautiously, his eyes swept over the emperor's face, and his eyes couldn't help but redden. The emperor is really old, and it seems that the most he asks now is just this question.
"In fact... if I had been more attentive and had more people watch over her, I wouldn't have let her die so early." The emperor's voice was dim, and he was filled with regret.
That cold palace was also protected, but he didn't expect that someone would take action under his nose. There were too many accidents that day, and until now he can't be sure who it was. It could be anyone, but it seems that no one has any evidence. He also dealt with some people that day, but in the end it was left unresolved.
Could it be that so many people could not tolerate a queen who was banished to the cold palace
"The Emperor has always been thinking about the Empress and the Prince." Li Quan didn't dare to say much. The more he knew about the inside story, the less he dared to say anything.
"When did she put this hairpin in the child's swaddling clothes? How... did she put it there? Did she know she was going to die?" The emperor opened his eyes and looked straight at nothing. His expression was a little scary, and veins on his face bulged, as if his enemy was right in front of him.
Li Quan hurried over and gently pressed his shoulders from behind to make him relax.
"Is the Crown Prince really so ruthless to his brothers? But he hasn't done anything wrong now! What about King Jing? Can King Ying... shoulder the heavy responsibility?" said the Emperor.
These words were spoken to himself, and no one else was needed to answer. However, even so, Li Quan, who had always been beside the emperor, had already understood the emperor's intentions. He did not dare to say a word and just waited carefully by the side.
I squinted my eyes and looked outside. I was afraid that the day would change.
Now all we need is a legitimate name...
The hairpin was not put back on Qu Moying's head. Qu Moying held it in her hand, and the two of them left the palace and got on the carriage.
"Your Highness, do you want me to help you with anything?" After sitting down, Qu Moying asked tentatively, handing over the hairpin in her hand.
Pei Yuanjun took the hairpin and looked at it for a long time, then suddenly put it down, leaned back, and said with a smile: "You don't have to do anything, just do what you should do, you don't need to worry about my affairs."
"Really not going to use it?" Qu Moying asked, taking the hairpin he handed over and carefully hiding it in her sleeve. It was obvious that this hairpin was very important to Pei Yuanjun.
"I won't do that again!" Pei Yuanjun said lightly.
This was said abruptly. Qu Moying was stunned for a moment but then understood. This was talking about the hairpin. A warm feeling welled up in her heart. Although she was responsible for what happened today, it was also his calculation. This was an apology to her for this matter: "It's okay. We are husband and wife, and your affairs are my affairs."
"There's no need to be so polite in front of me. You don't need to address me like that." Pei Yuanjun reached out and picked her up, putting her on his lap. A smile flashed across his originally cold eyes. His voice was not loud, and it was as if a feather was sliding across the heart, making people feel soft, spreading from the heart to the limbs.
"Me?" Qu Moying blinked.
"Yes, you!" Pei Yuanjun said calmly, reaching out to touch the top of her head, "When there are no outsiders around, you can call me Yuankang."
"Yuankang?" Qu Moying spoke subconsciously. It didn't seem so difficult to speak when he was leading her to talk.
"Yes, it is said that this name is related to my mother." Pei Yuanjun said with a bit of sarcasm, "It's a pity that she was not healthy after giving birth to me."
"It will be fine." Qu Moying reached out and pulled his sleeve.
This is a word he doesn't want to hear...
"Are you scared?" Pei Yuanjun smiled happily, his eyes and eyebrows were lively and radiant. With this smile, even the whole carriage seemed to brighten up. His hand fell and held Qu Moying's soft hand.
"Don't be afraid!" Qu Moying shook his slender hand in return, looked at his slender hands spread out in front of him, and smiled.
"Then walk with me?" Pei Yuanjun spoke softly, as if he was afraid of scaring Qu Moying.
Qu Moying nodded without hesitation. Ever since she agreed to marry him, she and he had been of the same mind and heart.
This simple sentence seemed to ignite the sparkle in Pei Yuanjun's eyes. His long eyelashes fluttered twice, and he looked at Qu Moying quietly, which made Qu Moying's cheeks flushed. Who could withstand his affectionate gaze? She reached out and pushed Pei Yuanjun, saying coquettishly, "My lord, there's nothing to see."
There was really nothing to see. Although Qu Moying knew that she was handsome, when she met Pei Yuanjun, she couldn't help but admire the partiality of the Creator. There was actually such a man in this world.
"Very beautiful!" Pei Yuanjun smiled and hugged her in his arms. He stretched out his hand and gently patted her back twice. His voice had some unclear meaning, "Luckily, I have you. If it weren't for you... I wouldn't be who I am now."
Without you, there would be no me now
These words were said by Pei Yuanjun, but they somehow fit Qu Moying's thoughts.
Since her rebirth, she has been walking in fear with every step. She seems to be walking steadily, but in fact, it is really thanks to Pei
Yuanjun, if Pei Yuanjun hadn't been behind her, she wouldn't have been able to reach this point now. If he hadn't protected her, no matter how well she did many things, they wouldn't necessarily have achieved this effect.
This man seems cold and ruthless, but in fact he has been protecting himself.
Maybe it was indeed a deal at the beginning, but he didn't know when it became more than just a deal. He was not Pei Luoan, who could endure again and again for her position as princess, taking one step after another until he could become the queen. If this was easy to do, Qu Qiuyan would not have ended up like this.
He is not Pei Luoan, who would use him to gain benefits and even murder his family for his own benefit. He is also not Pei Yusheng, who would only prevaricate with nice words but keep delaying, only thinking of taking someone in, preferably a concubine, to vacate the position of the principal wife in order to gain more support.
She had no one to rely on before, her mother had died and her father didn't care about her, and she also had a bad reputation. There were many reasons for the divorce, but no matter what the reason was, the one who suffered the most was the woman. She just minimized the damage, not that there was no damage. Compared with those noble ladies with excellent reputations, her reputation has actually always been not very good.
In addition, she was at most the legitimate daughter of a minister. At that time, she was not even as good as Qu Qiuyan.
But this person took her step by step to where she is now.
She bit her lip and tears fell uncontrollably. She was of no value to him, but he cherished her so much. After being reborn, she wanted to say, "Luckily, you are here!"
"Why are you crying?" Feeling that she was crying, Pei Yuanjun gently lifted her face and looked at the tears sliding down her cheeks. His eyes became deeper. "Were you bullied today? I will seek justice for you."
"No, I was thinking of some bad things." Qu Moying shook her head. Through her tearful eyes, she saw the concern in his dark eyes. The hand that lifted her head loosened for a moment, and she quickly lowered her head and leaned on him, not wanting him to see her vulnerability at this moment.
Pei Yuanjun didn't ask any more questions. He just reached out and patted her back gently but forcefully.
This feeling is very good. Since his rebirth, Qu Moying has been very grateful for this warm embrace. This light care is not strong, but it is extremely strong when it appears on Pei Yuanjun. Who would have thought that the King of England, who is sinister and cruel in the eyes of outsiders, can also be so tender.
It feels good to be protected wholeheartedly. The soreness in my eyes unconsciously faded away, leaving only a faint smile on my lips.
He closed his eyes, and two tears fell slowly from his eyelashes. His heart, which had always been alert and hanging high, also slowly fell.
Wandering without support, she was just a lonely soul, but she could feel Pei Yuanjun's warmth in his arms. After experiencing two lives, she could actually distinguish the sincerity and falsehood very clearly. If she still couldn't understand the love between two people at this moment, her life would be lived in vain.
It's not just Pei Yuanjun's treatment of her that's different;
Even if there are swords and guns in the future, she is willing to accompany him.
It was always safer for two people to walk on the edge of a knife together than for her to walk alone. Deep down, she always believed in him...
In a trance, she felt a gentle kiss on her forehead, with a bit of restraint, and then she could faintly hear Pei Yuanjun's smile, that kind of uncontrollable smile, which overflowed from his mouth, very light, but fell directly into Qu Moying's heart, and she fell into a deep sleep between half dreaming and half awake...