kvmb Chapter 153 Big Brother, take care!
Chapter 153 Big Brother, take care!
Sheng Junyao was somewhat surprised.
He wasn't really oblivious; he could sense Princess Liduan's eagerness for him. However, in his eyes, Princess Liduan, like Lu Yangyang, was still a young girl who hadn't grown up. He assumed that Princess Liduan's feelings for him were merely out of gratitude for a small favor.
He simply couldn't bring himself to see her in a romantic relationship.
Moreover, he knew that once he left, he might never return.
With the Crown Prince injured, the court is in turmoil, and the next few years will likely be filled with bloodshed and intrigue. He is caught in the middle and cannot escape.
Therefore, matters of the heart are neither possible nor something that can be considered.
“Princess, I am grateful for your kindness and accept your feelings, but I'm sorry, I cannot accept this relationship. You will meet someone better and more suitable for you, and that person will not be me.”
Sheng Junyao couldn't bring himself to give people hope and then betray their good intentions, so he simply refused outright.
Princess Li Duan removed the white cloth covering her face, lowered her head, bit her lip tightly, and twisted the white cloth into a ball with her fingers.
She knew she had acted impulsively; the timing was inappropriate.
Even if you speak out, there's no guarantee of any results.
But, but if she doesn't say it, she'll definitely suffocate!
Princess Li Duan looked up at him stubbornly, "It's not even the future yet, how do you know it won't be you? I only know that there are better people, more suitable people, none of them are you. I like you, not some better or more suitable person!"
"I'm just telling you, it's okay if you don't accept it now, I'll wait until the day you accept it!"
“Princess, I…” Sheng Junyao was stunned for a moment, but before she could say anything, Princess Liduan ran away.
"I don't want to hear it, I won't give up!"
Sheng Junyao watched her run away, paused for a moment, couldn't help but chuckle, and gently shook his head. She really was just a little girl.
"Big brother!" Lu Yangyang came over from the other side, carrying several large buns wrapped in oil paper. She handed the buns over: "Here you go."
Sheng Junyao took it and said somewhat awkwardly, "I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you, but I had some other things to take care of before leaving the city, so I left early. I had someone leave a message for you."
Lu Yangyang looked around and saw that the rain had stopped. She pointed to an open space not far away, and the two walked over. Only then did Lu Yangyang tell them what she was most worried about.
“I went to see His Highness last night. He asked me if I wanted to stay in the capital, so that even if the Third Prince wanted to get rid of me, he wouldn’t be able to do so in the capital. I refused.” Sheng Junyao looked at Lu Yangyang, chuckled, and reached out to ruffle her hair. “Yangyang, we haven’t spent much time together. Before, I always felt that I owed you too much, and I couldn’t help but treat you like a child. So I just wanted you to live a happy life and didn’t want to talk to you about those complicated things.”
“It’s my fault,” Sheng Junyao said. “Your Highness and I grew up together, studied together with our maternal grandfather, and planned our ideals and ambitions, and what we could do for the people of the world in this life.”
"I'm going to the Northern Frontier for the benefit of the Duke of Sheng's mansion, and also for the mission I need to complete. It's my ideal, something I've been prepared for since the first day I went to the border: to die on the battlefield and wipe out the enemy. If I stay in the capital because I'm afraid of death, am I still myself?"
"Don't worry, I will live well. I will wait to see you grow up, to see you get what you want, and to see you find a good man. I won't die so easily."
Lu Yangyang opened her eyes wide. She had known since she was a child that crying was useless, but for some reason her eyes felt sore. She turned her face away and said in a muffled voice, "Big brother."
“Hmm.” Sheng Junyao looked at her.
Lu Yangyang looked up and said, "Take care. I'll wait for you to come back. If you don't come back, I'll go find you, I'll go to the border to find you."
Sheng Junyao chuckled and ruffled her hair again. "Okay."
Lu Yangyang pushed his hand away and muttered softly, "Big brother, stop rubbing my hair, it's getting messy."
She hadn't combed her hair that morning, just casually braided it and followed Princess Liduan out the door. After riding wildly on horseback for several hours, her hair was already completely messed up.
Sheng Junyao glanced at it and nodded: "A little."
So he handed her the oil paper package containing the steamed buns: "Hold this for me."
Then he went around behind Lu Yangyang, gathered her messy hair together with his fingers, untied her hairband, braided her hair into a long braid just like she used to, and then tied the hairband back up.
"Alright." He reached out and took the bun from Lu Yangyang's hand, examined it for a moment, and nodded, saying, "Not bad."
Lu Yangyang slowly reached out and touched the braid hanging down her shoulder, keeping her head down for a long time without raising it.
Sheng Junyao patted her shoulder and shook the oil paper package in his hand: "I have to rush to the next post station, I have to go. You and the county princess should go back early, understand?"
Lu Yangyang nodded. "Mm."
Sheng Junyao smiled and said, "Let's go."
Then he turned and walked towards the post station, where his guards had already led out the fed horse and handed it to him.
Sheng Junyao mounted his horse and turned to wave at Lu Yangyang.
Lu Yangyang could no longer contain herself and took a few steps forward, shouting out.
"Brother, take care!"
"it is good!"
Accompanied by the sound of horses' hooves, Sheng Junyao's voice drifted from afar.
Princess Liduan hid in a corner of the post station, watching him leave, her eyes red from crying.
Lu Yangyang walked over and handed her one of the remaining two buns. "Eat it. Big brother said he'll come back."
Princess Li Duan took the steamed bun, took a big bite, and ate while tears streamed down her face. "Yangyang, you should try to curry favor with me more in the future. Your older brother doesn't have a fiancée now, so I'll definitely be your sister-in-law in the future."
Lu Yangyang's sorrowful mood was suddenly choked by her words. She swallowed the bun in her mouth with force. "I do hope that day will come."
That means my older brother really did survive.
Princess Li Duan was deeply moved and looked at her with teary eyes: "I knew you would support me. For that reason alone, Yangyang, I will consider you my best friend for the rest of my life."
Lu Yangyang took a bite of the bun. "Eat quickly, or we won't be able to get back before dark."
“If you can’t make it back in time, go to Qinglian Temple. My mother hasn’t returned to the capital yet. I really don’t know what’s so great about a place like Qinglian Temple. She goes there for a few days every month. It’s so boring. I’m really afraid she’ll have a change of heart and become a nun someday,” Princess Liduan complained.
"Why would the eldest princess become a nun?" Lu Yangyang asked, puzzled.
"Qinglian Temple has many nuns and immortals, all of whom are members of the imperial family, such as imperial concubines, princesses, and ladies. Originally, this place was a place for the imperial family to cultivate in seclusion."
Hearing her say that, Lu Yangyang thought of the Fairy of Supreme Kindness, "Are you familiar with that Fairy of Supreme Kindness? Didn't she go to Qinglian Temple later?"
"You mean her? We're not that close. My mother sees her occasionally. The Empress Dowager likes her because she brought the famous formula for the Nourishing Heart Pill to Qinglian Temple. It's said to be very effective, making people radiant after taking it. It's extremely rare, only available to nobles. But my mother doesn't like it. She says it's a bit fishy. She's never liked taking medicine since she was little and is very sensitive to the smell of medicine."