12dz Chapter 2 Spring of the 4th year of Jing'an
Chapter 2 Spring of the 4th year of Jing'an
Qin Yizhen reached out and touched Cheng Yan's face, feeling the warmth of his skin, and it felt so unreal.
As she touched him, her tears started falling again.
Helpless, Cheng Yan had no choice but to ask a maid to fetch him a handkerchief and continue wiping her tears. He said helplessly, "Are you made of water today? Why are you always crying? Even if there's a lake in your eyes, you'll cry it all dry."
Qin Yizhen shook her head vigorously, her voice already hoarse: "You...you don't understand..."
How could he possibly understand?
He didn't know that he had been away from her for many, many years, so long that she couldn't even remember anymore. She only remembered that the crabapple blossoms in the courtyard bloomed and faded, faded and bloomed again.
She had thought countless times that if she could see him again, she would treat him better and never argue with him again.
They had been married for many years, and she had never given him a kind look.
He protected her when he was alive, and he continued to protect her after he died. It was her own fault for being unable to accept this and for not knowing how to cherish him.
Sometimes she even wondered if his departure was God's punishment for her.
"Cheng Yan, is this hell? I've heard that people go to hell after they die. Have you come to take me away? I..."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Cheng Yan grabbed her hand that was resting on his face, interrupting her. "How could this magnificent world be hell?"
"Did you have a nightmare?" He reached out and touched her forehead. Seeing that her forehead was not hot, he withdrew his hand. Seeing that she was still anxious, he comforted her, "Nightmares are just your own imagined fears. They won't happen. Don't be afraid."
Is it just wishful thinking?
Qin Yizhen didn't believe it.
Was it all just her imagination that he died and she personally collected his body and buried him?
Qin Yizhen was in a daze.
Just then, a maid came to report: "My lord, the Empress Dowager has decreed that you are summoned to the palace, and the princess is also requested to come along."
Qin Yizhen shrank back, feeling somewhat uneasy.
Empress Dowager Cheng was Cheng Yan's elder sister and always valued her younger brother highly.
The siblings had a very deep bond.
Cheng Yan was more than eight years older than her. By the time she came of age, he was already twenty-three. In ordinary families, people of that age would already have children. Therefore, Empress Dowager Cheng kept urging the two of them to consummate their marriage so that they could have offspring.
Because Qin Yizhen has been stubbornly refusing, the couple still sleeps in separate rooms, and Empress Dowager Cheng has long been dissatisfied with her.
For a long time, Qin Yizhen was somewhat afraid of her stepmother, Empress Dowager Cheng.
Later, because Cheng Yan died, Empress Dowager Cheng completely despised her and stopped caring about her. Sometimes she wanted to see her, but she didn't dare.
Cheng Yan patted her hand and said, "I'll go there myself. If you're tired, just rest at home."
Qin Yizhen was somewhat worried: "But what if Mother blames me..."
"I'm here, you don't need to worry."
Cheng Yan comforted her for a few moments, and seeing that she was feeling better, he got up and went out to the palace.
After he left, Qin Yizhen sat in front of the bronze mirror on the dressing table, looking at her beautiful face in the mirror, and reached out to touch it in a daze.
Since Cheng Yan's passing, she has been so grief-stricken that she has become thin and haggard, and even her once jet-black hair has turned quite a bit gray.
But the woman in the mirror at that moment still looked like she was in her late twenties.
She was beautiful and innocent, delicate and young, like a shy begonia on a branch. Even though her eyes were red and swollen from crying, she didn't look disheveled. Instead, she looked weak and pitiful, making me feel sorry for her.
This is just like when she was in her prime.
"Green Qiao..." Qin Yizhen opened her mouth, her voice low.
"Princess, I'm here. Would you like me to do your hair?"
What year is it now?
"Which year?" Lü Qiao asked, somewhat puzzled, but still answered, "Your Highness, this year is the spring of the fourth year of Jing'an."
Spring of the fourth year of Jing'an!
The fourth year of Jing'an!
Qin Yi's heart pounded. She covered her chest with her hand, somewhat incredulous.
"Spring of the fourth year of Jing'an... The fourth year of Jing'an..."
In the fourth year of Jing'an, three years after her marriage to Cheng Yan, she was only sixteen years old.
That year, Cheng Yan was still the Marquis of Pingxi, who was highly regarded by Empress Dowager Cheng. He held a large army and was riding high.
In the fourth year of Jing'an, he... he was still alive!
"Lvqiao!" Qin Yizhen's hands were trembling. Her lips were pale, her face was filled with fear, and two more tears rolled down her cheeks. "I...I'm not dreaming, am I?"
Isn't this a dream?
Has she gone back to the past?
Seeing her anxiety, Lü Qiao reached out and took her hand, comforting her, "Princess, do you feel like you haven't woken up from the dream? Princess, you're awake now. You've forgotten, the Marquis just returned."
"Yes! He's back!" Qin Yizhen loosened her grip on her sleeve, and her tense heart relaxed.
Whether it's a dream or she's dead and reunited with him, as long as she can be with him, she's willing to stay immersed in this state and never wake up again.
If we could go back to the past and reunite with him, and both of us were alive and well, that would be the best outcome.
Qin Yizhen took a few breaths to calm herself down. Looking at herself in the mirror, she forced a smile.
Just then, a maid came to report that Miss Fang had come to see her.
"Miss Fang?" Qin Yizhen was stunned for a moment before she remembered this person, "Fang Shixin?"
“It is her.” Lü Qiao said with a smile, “Speaking of which, Miss Fang has not come for a long time. I was thinking that if the princess is still not at ease today, I would send someone to invite Miss Fang to sit down and let her come and comfort you.”
Qin Yizhen's expression immediately turned cold.
She didn't get along well with Cheng Yan, partly because she was stubborn and felt embarrassed, and partly because of the machinations of petty people.
This little person was none other than her elder sister, Princess Huizhen, who was a few months older than her, and this Miss Fang, Fang Shixin.
Princess Huizhen was an openly petty person. She couldn't stand that her younger sister had become her aunt, so she would always run up to her and say hurtful things, every word piercing her heart. Qin Yizhen couldn't stop her, so she could only keep it to herself and be angry with herself.
As for Fang Shixin... he is a hypocritical and deceitful villain.
Qin Yizhen met Fang Shixin not long after she got married. The girl was only half a month older than her. She was optimistic, brave, and understanding. She could also make many interesting and fun little gadgets. Qin Yizhen liked her very much.
Over the past two or three years, Qin Yizhen and Fang Shixin have become good friends, and Qin Yizhen has helped and supported Fang Shixin in many ways.
Because of her connection with the Pingxi Marquis's family, the Fang family has risen rapidly in recent years, from a sixth-rank Dali Temple Assistant to a fourth-rank Dali Temple Vice Minister.
Qin Yizhen believed that she had helped Fang Shixin quite a bit. Even when Fang Shixin wanted to enter the palace, Qin Yizhen helped her recommend her. Although she could not become empress because of her family background, she became one of the four concubines.
Little did anyone expect that she had been coveting Cheng Yan all along, and in the end even caused Cheng Yan's death.
Qin Yizhen only learned about these things after Cheng Yan died, when the two of them had an argument.
"Go and invite her in. I want to see her!"