Chapter 236: Lovesick Brain and Reconciled 'Best Friend

【Can you still fool yourself into thinking she has you in her heart?】

His dusty form is desolate, myriad thoughts sunk in cold.

Chinu silently repeated the words of the person opposite him in his heart, yet still remained silent——

Can you still fool yourself?

I suppose it's no longer possible, right?

Before, no matter what others said, at least she was still by his side.

He could still fool himself: where his body was, his heart was there too.

Now, neither his status nor his body is here......

Her heart—could it possibly still be here?

She doesn't know if she'll return; she must be having a wonderful time with the one she loved, Yu Lve, right?

Surely......

Surely just like those two before, indulging in drunken dreams, exchanging lust for souls, not knowing what heaven and earth are.

"People only say that men can promise any oath in bed, but few know that women are the same."

Chen Weifang set down his teacup; with considerable force, the moist-colored porcelain cup knocked against the table, emitting a sound like a broken heart:

"What good are her sweet words to you on a daily basis?"

"When your mother's beauty was at its peak, did she perhaps lack anyone sweet-talking her?"

【The two words 'mother' have almost become Chinu's heart-demon.】

Therefore, as soon as these two words are spoken, his face hidden in the shadows droops further, completely hiding itself within heaven and earth.

If it were ordinary times, Chen Weifang would surely have stopped speaking.

But today, he truly hates iron for not becoming steel:

"Saner, you must understand——the more beautiful the beauty, the more she deceives; her sweet words to you are merely hoping you'll exert twelvefold effort in bed. No matter how much or how true she says, you can only believe three-tenths."

"I've told you before——either don't let her go, or give her a pill to make all the men around her sterile!"

"No matter how clever her mind, how other men entice, they'll never have a chance to bear a child before you...... Did you even listen?!"

Chinu lowered his brows, enduring the scolding, and remained silent.

Seeing his state, Chen Weifang became even more furious:

"You haven't! I gave you that box of stuff, and you haven't used it yet!"

"I've said before, that medicine won't harm life, won't harm life...... Yet you hesitate, unwilling to act; now look, she's been out carousing so long—if Cang Cheng first bears a child, what will you do?!"

Originally he had no status; without a child by his side, when the day comes that he grows old and loses his beauty, it might be Chinu who gets kicked out first!

In the future, when others' descendants fill the hall, who will still remember a trivial little mistake from youth?

But what is Chinu to do?

But what about his family's Chinu, what is to be done?

Surely we can't have others' grandchildren playing on their knees while Chinu alone remains solitary, guarding the remnants of the past, can we?

Within the permitted area, no one spoke.

Chen Weifang had vented his anger and scolded, but when he spoke again, he ultimately only grew more earnest and heartfelt:

"Saner, love and affection are useless; concern doesn't last a hundred years."

"If you truly love her...... then think more of your mother."

He had never seen Chinu's mother, whose beauty was famed under heaven.

However, the stories of all beauties under heaven are the same.

When beauty is present, wind and clouds hover nearby.

When beauty fades, people depart and the tea grows cold.

Saner is naturally not a courtesan who rose by beauty.

However, few people know——

Since ancient times, beauties like famous generals do not allow white hair to be seen in the world.

These two are actually the same.

Saner's mother back then could only rely on beauty, while Saner moreover possesses an extra share of talent.

But precisely because of this talent, the things requiring caution are all the more numerous.

"Saner, please hear me out."

Chen Weifang hesitated slightly for a few breaths, then finally let out a long sigh:

"Only by obtaining an heir to stay by your side can your days become somewhat better."

"I'm not saying this so that you can later split half the affection from Cang Cheng; it's also because having a child nearby means that, should your beauty fade and you go from husband-wife to ruler-minister, the suspicions you face will be less."

【Suspicion】

Exactly, 【suspicion】.

The foolish lot of Cang Cheng still don't grasp the subtleties therein, but people like them, born to be loyal subjects, can always sense the profundity.

Throughout history, there has never been an emperor who does not suspect others.

Before the Wise Lord goes out, his glance toward Yu Lve—if nothing unexpected—will become increasingly frequent toward others as well.

Of course someone will think, 'Going to Cang Cheng, the Young Emperor is also there; surely he will mediate and plead, so nothing major will happen.'

But to speak frankly, such suspicions—pleading once or twice might be alright, but when the number grows......

What gets damaged is their mutual affection.

Even if the Wise Lord is sufficiently perceptive, just one instance will greatly diminish his enthusiasm, like a bone stuck in the throat.

The old saying goes, '【How can others sleep soundly beside the bedside?】', and when spoken in youth it is ever more pleasing to the ear, feelings deep and constant, all kinds of trust......

In the future, perhaps everything will change.

But if there is an heir, merely the fact that the heir is closely related by blood to the Wise Lord is a chasm many cannot cross.

Even if something major happens, as long as the child is willing to defend and shut the door, it's merely a family affair, a trivial matter.

Where is the need to wear out feelings like this?

In this world, it's not only women who need to rely on a child for support.

Sometimes, men even need to rely on a child for support!

"...... Saner, don't be willful anymore."

Chen Weifang earnestly advised:

"You used to live for the Young Emperor, live for Cang Cheng, now that you've met the Wise Lord, you live for the Wise Lord...... So when will you live for yourself?"

"In my opinion, just give her a pill, make the men around her lose their heirs, then you can put in more effort......"

Chinu endured the scolding, not uttering a single word.

But now, I can't bear it any longer.

He spoke up to refute:

"What's the use of talking now!"

"Now that everyone's gone, where can I exert my strength!"

"Stop with the cold talk; if you're sincere, go to Cang Cheng for me, bring the person back, and I'll naturally have the strength to act!"

Chen Weifang first nodded, but then felt something was wrong:

"You're not going back?"

"...... I won't go back; over there no one likes me, she loves me, she also promised me, from now on I can avoid going back to suffer."

"In this situation, stop saying 'her' all the time...... Like this, you write a letter, and I'll deliver it together with yours."

"...... I won't write."

"Why won't you write???"

"...... She promised she'd return soon, but now she's gone back on her word...... I'm angry."

"Ancestor, you really are my ancestor, still holding a grudge! That's your wife, not my wife! Keep holding a grudge, and you won't even get a second child!"

"...... You're talking nonsense! You don't know how hard I've tried! Every time...... every time...... Now she's gone, I suspect but don't know where the problem lies......"

Inside the study, the noise was like a boiling pot of porridge, audible from far away.

Du Shanü returned then, her cloak cutting the moon.

It was the year's end; although there was no snow, the icy wind all along made her feel bitterly cold.

She trudged through the corridors, dust and toil, her nose almost freezing.

However, hearing those two muffled shouts from afar, the gloom that had lingered for half a month finally dissipated completely.

Du Shanü narrowed her eyes in a smile, gave a light kick to open the study door, spread her arms, struck a pose of ascending the throne, and said gleefully:

"Stop the noise, stop the noise......"

"Come quickly to greet Your Majesty the Emperor."

?? This chapter's foreshadowing is taken from Chapter 151 'Planning for the Locusts', which discussed Afang's wooden box.

? Afang is actually not a good person from start to finish; he merely wishes well to Chinu and Shasha...... If someone obstructs, he becomes again that 'famous-name' poisonous strategist of old......