Yuan just glanced at Madam Linglong indifferently, her expression not affected at all, as if she didn't know her at all.
She stepped forward and knelt down to greet him. "Your Highness, I, Yuan Cuiyu, pay my respects to you, Your Highness. Long live the Queen."
"Yuan Cuiyu!" The queen stared at her. When she was young, she had met Yuan several times. Even though she was a woman, she had to admit that Yuan was indeed a beauty. However, her beauty was not the kind that would make people jealous.
When they met again after many years, the queen subconsciously touched the corners of her eyes. Time seemed to have bypassed Yuan. She just looked a little more vicissitudes than before, but she had never aged.
"Here!" Yuan folded her hands on the ground, lowered her head and then raised her head, her eyes gentle and indifferent.
Prime Minister Xia was watching from behind the screen. This was the first time in all those years that he looked at Yuan from an outsider's perspective.
It has to be said that she and Chen Linglong were kneeling outside. Not to mention that Chen Linglong was beaten like this, even if she was dressed up, her appearance was not even one tenth as good as hers.
As for temperament, attitude and connotation, they are far better than others.
He had very complicated and mixed feelings in his heart, and this feeling made him feel a little sick.
The queen ordered someone to unfold the scroll and asked sternly, "Yuan, do you recognize this painting?"
Madam Linglong climbed forward and looked at her eagerly, "You can't deny that this is a painting by you, it's absolutely true."
Yuan looked at the painting for a while, without looking at Madam Linglong, and just nodded slightly, "To answer the Queen, this is indeed a painting I made."
Madam Linglong was immediately ecstatic and shouted, "My Queen, she admitted that she was the one who painted it. It has nothing to do with me, it has nothing to do with me."
Yuan stared at her in a daze, her brows furrowed. The look of a beautiful woman with frowning eyebrows was really touching.
Even the Queen couldn't help but feel sorry for Prince An when she saw his expression. How could he be defeated by this old villain Xia Huaijun
Mei Fei subconsciously glanced at Prime Minister Xia beside her and sighed softly, "Cousin, you are really..."
Prime Minister Xia had a gloomy face and no one knew what he was thinking.
Madam Linglong looked at the queen eagerly, her voice trembling with excitement, "Your Majesty, she admitted it. Please interrogate her. This has nothing to do with me."
The Queen angrily said, "Yuan, you are so bold that you dare to use this painting to secretly subvert the court?"
A trace of surprise slowly emerged on Yuan's fair face. "My Lady, this painting was given to Prince An by me. It does not imply any intention to subvert the court."
Madam Linglong knelt on the ground and shouted in a hoarse voice: "Look at the painting, the plum blossoms are blooming and the hibiscus flowers are withering, which is a hint that the Li family will revive the world. Hibiscus is Taizu's name. You are subverting the court and you intend to rebel."
Madam Linglong was a little excited. It was great! God was helping her. She had tried her best to get rid of Yuan but failed. She didn't expect that she would fall into her own painting. God really had a good will.
Madam Linglong was screaming in her heart, and even her eyes were filled with bloodthirsty excitement.
Hearing Madam Linglong's yelling, Zi'an just shook his head gently. The Queen's move was so cruel that it allowed Xia Huaijun to see the difference between the two of them with her own eyes. However, she liked this kind of cruelty.
Either you don't move, or if you move it will hit you right in the heart.
Moreover, she believed that her mother could easily explain the meaning of the painting and it had nothing to do with treason.
As expected, Yuan said, "Your Majesty, the hibiscus flower blooms in the morning and withers in the evening. It will bloom again tomorrow when the sun rises. How can this be called a defeat? As for the pear blossoms, it is because it is March. The pear blossoms in March are more beautiful than snow. Snow only occurs in winter. Winter is the end of the year. Even if there is a hint, it only means that the Li family's rule has come to an end. There is absolutely no rebellion."
The Queen snorted when she heard this, "Even if what you said is justified, when you painted this picture, you were already married to the Prime Minister. Why did you send the painting to Prince An?"
Yuan was silent for a long time before she slowly said, "I knew how Prince An felt about me. When he returned from his service to the court, he came to ask for my hand in marriage. But at that time, I was already promised to Xia Huaijun, with whom I had a promise to spend the rest of my life. In front of the late emperor, he swore to stay with me forever. I couldn't bear that, so I told him with this painting that I had found a good husband and asked him to forget me."
Although Prime Minister Xia had just heard Madam Linglong say this, he still didn't believe it. But now that he heard Yuan say it herself, his heart seemed to be hit hard by something.
He recalled that day when it was drizzling, he and Prince An rode their horses from East Street. She was standing on the balcony of Shiyaxuan, half leaning against the railing, her hair wet by the drizzle, sticking to her beautiful face. She was holding a book in her hand, as if all the external noise had nothing to do with her. She was so independent from the world.
At that time, Prince An looked at her without moving his eyes. After riding away, Prince An told him that this was the girl he loved, and when he returned from the expedition, he would marry her as his princess.
He has always known that Prince An likes Yuan Cuiyu to the core. He and Prince An are good friends, but he has always felt inferior because he is almost not as good as Prince An in any way.
He could not match him in terms of family background, military achievements, appearance, talent, and martial arts. He even thought that Prince An was befriending him to use him to highlight his own nobility and talent.
After Prince An went to war, he pursued Yuan Cuiyu madly. He didn't know whether he fell in love with Yuan Cuiyu or wanted to defeat Prince An.
In short, when he finally persuaded Academician Yuan to marry Yuan Cuiyu to him, he felt proud and even couldn't wait to see the sadness and despair on Prince An's face.
In fact, even if he married Yuan Cuiyu, he felt that Yuan Cuiyu might not love him, but she could not disobey her parents' orders.
However, now hearing her talk about her feelings at that time in person, he felt as if he was in another world. An indescribable emotion swelled in his chest, turning into sourness that slowly hit his nose.
He saw Prince An's pain as he wished, and he was happy for a long time. When Prince An broke off relations with him, he declared that Prince An was too stingy.
There was a picture that appeared before his eyes through time and space. When he lifted her red veil, her eyes were not as dark and quiet as usual, but were filled with deep affection as she looked at him like that.
His heart suddenly ached.
Murong Jie stood behind Zi'an, and the sound of his breathing was beside Zi'an's ears. "When Yuan painted this picture, she must have loved your father very much in her heart. However, she did not expect that she would be let down so miserably in the near future."
Zi'an felt sympathetic and whispered, "Sometimes, we think that loving someone is a lifelong thing, but in fact, it may only take a moment."
Murong Jie's heart was touched. Looking at the curve of her face, he couldn't help but put his hands around her from behind and gently embraced her in his arms.
Zi'an was shocked, as if something in his heart was slowly disintegrating. She raised her head and her ear touched his chin. His breathing was right beside her ear, slightly rapid.
Zi'an relaxed, just once, and indulged himself just once, letting her deceive herself into thinking that there was still an embrace for her to hide in.
(End of this chapter)