The room seemed like ink spreading in water, its intense darkness slowly fading as daylight banished the night shadows.
Zhu Zan turned his head upon hearing movement behind him and met Miss Jun's gaze.
She didn't rise, remaining wrapped in blankets, only her eyes fixed on Zhu Zan.
Zhu Zan gathered his clothes cautiously.
"What do you want?" he asked.
Miss Jun couldn't help but laugh, then her expression fell silent again.
"You didn't sleep all night?" she asked.
Though he didn't look as shaken as she was, such shocking news must have impacted him too; just like her hiding under the covers, not sleeping a wink, he too sat awake all night.
"Isn't it more terrifying and ridiculous the more you think about it?" she said with self-mockery.
Zhu Zan frowned.
"The truth of the matter isn't clear yet," he said. "Perhaps it was Prince Qi alone, and your Imperial Ancestor knew nothing about it."
But how do you explain the first emperor's imperial decree?
Moreover, could one person accomplish such a thing?
Though the details remain unknown, it seems the truth won't be much better than our current guesses.
Miss Jun lowered her gaze.
"Besides, even if that's true, there's no point dwelling on it." Zhu Zan continued, "Isn't it just another royal power struggle? Such things are rare, aren't they? To speak harshly, the first emperor's refusal to welcome back Emperor Renxiao, though unreasonable, was quite sensible for an emperor obsessed with power. Of course, it's wrong, and not of good character, but there's really nothing worth thinking about in such matters."
Saying this, he touched his nose.
"Of course, I am different from you. To me, they are emperors, and the heart of an emperor cannot be viewed with ordinary eyes. To speak even harsher, emperors and ministers rely on each other yet guard against each other. I never expected an emperor to be benevolent."
After all, in his eyes, emperors were all bad people, and bad people doing bad things was nothing to be amazed by.
His straightforwardness was almost cruel, Miss Jun understood his meaning.
Zhu Zan's voice softened again.
"And for you, they were your grandfather, great-grandfather, and uncle. To you, they are family, and it's indeed terrifying and difficult to accept when family is so cruel and heartlessly fighting for life."
Miss Jun lowered her gaze, then suddenly smiled again.
"Seriously, how can such a terrifying matter seem like I'm being unreasonable fussing about when you speak of it in this way?" she said.
"What else can you do? Things are as they are now, are you going to end your life to apologize for your grandfather?" Zhu Zan said, spreading his hands.
Miss Jun looked at him.
"In the past, if the ransom money had been sufficient, not to mention Emperor Renxiao's life and death, would the war not have been so brutally prolonged for more than a decade?" she said.
Before she could finish, Zhu Zan's brows furrowed sharply.
"What a ridiculous statement," he said sternly. "Ransom? Putting aside the Jin thief breaking our city, slaughtering our people, and occupying our lands; just the word ransom itself is a disgrace. Such disgrace can only be washed away by a bloody battle. At that time, perhaps the first emperor sincerely wanted to negotiate peace, but the Jurchen people certainly had no dead end. Whether the ransom was enough or not was the same to them. Insufficient ransom would only give them an excuse to stir trouble. Even if given enough, they wouldn't stop."
His expression was proud and angry.
"Moreover, my father and other government soldiers fought bitter battles against the Jurchen people, wasn't it merely because Emperor Renxiao was harmed? Even if they returned Emperor Renxiao, what about the blood feud of tens of thousands of our citizens? What about the lands they have occupied? By saying such things now, do you do justice to the countless soldiers who sacrificed their lives fighting for over ten years?"
Miss Jun pushed off the covers and sat up straight.
"I was just casually speaking, why are you so angry?" she said.
"Such matters shouldn't be casually spoken of," Zhu Zan said with a stern face.
Miss Jun murmured.
"My fault." she said solemnly.
Zhu Zan snorted and turned around.
"I was just feeling ashamed." Miss Jun continued.
Hearing this, Zhu Zan turned back around.
"Ashamed of what?" he asked.
Miss Jun looked at him.
"I always thought my survival was due to Heaven's fairness, but now..." she said.
"Now what? Doesn't this prove it even more?" Zhu Zan interrupted her. "Your Imperial Ancestor ignored his father and brother for his own desires. Your Imperial Uncle killed his brothers, forced his father to death, and usurped the throne. Isn't this the cycle of heaven's retribution? How fair and appropriate is this?"
Miss Jun looked at him, her expression a bit strange, seeming like she wanted to say something but refrained.
"If you want to say something, just say it," Zhu Zan said, crossing his arms and raising his head authoritatively.
"Clearly, it's quite a sad thing, but when you say it, it seems a bit comical and ridiculous." Miss Jun said.
Zhu Zan wasn't embarrassed, he smiled.
"Perhaps the world's matters are just inherently ridiculous," he said flatly. "We laugh at others, others laugh at us, we laugh at predecessors, successors laugh at us, who's right and wrong, whether people have a clear conscience, heaven has justice."
Miss Jun said nothing.
"Whatever your Imperial Ancestor did, it's not a reason for your father to be killed by your Imperial Uncle." Zhu Zan said, "And it has nothing to do with avenging your father."
Miss Jun murmured, looking at Zhu Zan.
Zhu Zan looked at her as well.
Neither spoke, it seemed they were waiting for the other to speak but didn't know what to say, they just stared at each other, the atmosphere growing almost peculiar.
Miss Jun laughed first, immediately making Zhu Zan lose prior seriousness, a bit awkwardly averting his gaze.
"Ridiculously, I now have to overthrow everything I had planned, not only unable to stop it but also persuading Old Lady Fang to let them take the money." Miss Jun said.
While speaking, she untied her disheveled hair bun and casually fixed it as she got out of bed.
Since she hadn't taken off her clothes, after sleeping under the covers all night, her garments were somewhat messy, Miss Jun lowered her head to tidy, Zhu Zan rolled his eyes and looked away.
"That's for sure, this after all is an imperial family scandal, no wonder the Fang Family was secretly harmed with intent to silence. Although the official silver from Taiyan Year Three was manufactured secretly, not many knew, the large matter of minting silver has records, surely someone knows, once that leaks, then..." he said, yet before finishing, Miss Jun suddenly walked over and hugged him.
"Thank you." she said in a low voice.
This wasn't her first time hugging him, nor her first time physically affectionate, saying thanks, though maybe the first time perhaps, Zhu Zan rigidly and muddle-headed thought.
Back outside of Prince Huai's mansion, she had already gone impulsively mad once when he promised her that curing Prince Huai would ensure her safety, of course now he understood why she had gone mad back then.
It was expressing gratitude, indescribable gratitude, now this thank you could be spoken.
Grateful to still have him, allowing her to speak without restraint and vent, otherwise, she would have gone crazy holding it in.
Given such, reciprocation was only polite, he shouldn't be too stingy either.
Zhu Zan raised his hand intending to return the hug, yet the person in his arms let go and stepped aside.
"I'm going to get things done." she said, moving swiftly outward.
Zhu Zan's hand still hung midair.
"Hey." he couldn't help calling.
Miss Jun looked back at him.
"Hmm?" she asked.
"So, just hugging for nothing?" Zhu Zan glanced sideways and said.
Miss Jun smiled.
"Ah, just hugging for nothing, so what?" she said.
Zhu Zan was somewhat speechless.
"Nothing much." he said, "Just asking."
Miss Jun pursed her lips with a smile, turned, and walked out.
Only then did Zhu Zan look toward the door, clasping his fingers.
"Looked, touched, hugged, all responsibility-free." he muttered.
......
......
Standing again outside the Fang Family residence, Miss Jun's feelings were complicated, her steps heavy, the resoluteness upon returning from the capital was gone without a trace, she didn't even know how to face Old Lady Fang.
At this moment, she also wanted to curse as Zhu Zan did upon first knowing the issue.
Oh heavens, you truly treat all things like straw dogs.
.....
.....
(Thanks to Chu Yunyo for rewarding the Alliance Leader
Thanks to Autumn Wind and Dew Proliferation, Southern Ice for rewarding He's Bi, thank you, thank you everyone)