usatvline Chapter 315 Jiang Qingxue is so gentle to Qin Mu? Liu Hongyan is stunned!
Chapter 315 Jiang Qingxue is so gentle to Qin Mu? Liu Hongyan is stunned!
The Imperial City of Qin, the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Night had fallen, and the moonlight, like quicksilver, poured down from the palace roof, bathing the entire palace in a cool, silvery white light.
The candles inside the hall had already burned out, their orange glow spreading across the sandalwood floor, intertwining with the moonlight filtering through the windows, flickering uncertainly.
Qin Mu leaned back on the soft couch, his moon-white robe loosely draped over his body, the collar slightly open, revealing his well-defined collarbone.
His eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady and long, as if he were asleep.
Zhao Qingxue sat on the embroidered stool beside him, her hands hanging down and her eyes lowered.
The moon-white dress shimmered softly in the candlelight, and her long hair was loosely tied up with a single white jade hairpin, the rest cascading down to her waist like a waterfall.
Her face was expressionless, except for a fleeting, complex emotion in her deep purple phoenix eyes.
Liu Hongyan knelt in the center of the hall, her forehead touching the ground, motionless.
From the moment she was brought into the palace, she remained in this position, afraid to move, afraid to raise her head, and even afraid to breathe loudly.
Her knees were numb and she could no longer feel them. The coldness seeped into her bones from the gold bricks and spread throughout her body, making her feel as if she were frozen.
The hall was very quiet, so quiet that you could hear the faint crackling of the candlelight.
After an unknown amount of time, Qin Mu finally opened his eyes.
His gaze did not fall on Liu Hongyan kneeling on the ground, nor on Zhao Qingxue beside him.
He simply leaned against the soft couch, gazing at the deep night outside the window and at the cold, clear moon.
Then he spoke, his voice soft, with a hint of languor and nonchalance.
"Go and invite Consort Xue here."
The maidservant guarding outside the hall responded, and her footsteps quickly faded into the distance.
Liu Hongyan knelt on the ground and trembled slightly when she heard the words "Xue Fei".
Of course she knew who Xue Fei was.
Jiang Qingxue is the childhood sweetheart of Xu Longxiang, the prince of the Northern Border. She grew up in the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion and is regarded by Xu Longxiang as one of the people he trusts the most.
Several months ago, she was sent to the Qin Imperial Palace to become Qin Mu's concubine.
Ostensibly a gift of a concubine, it was actually a pawn planted by Xu Longxiang.
A pawn planted beside Qin Mu, capable of gathering intelligence and relaying messages at any time.
She was the Northern Frontier's deepest mole in the capital.
No more than five people in the North know about this.
Liu Hongyan is one of them.
She remembered the day Xu Longxiang saw Jiang Qingxue off from the northern border. He stood on the city wall, looking south, and stood there for a long time.
The wind was strong that day, making his python robe flutter loudly, but he didn't move, just staring at the receding and smaller figure.
He said, "Qingxue, wait for me. When I rule the world, I will use the entire land as my dowry to marry you as my queen."
Standing behind him, Liu Hongyan looked at the rare tenderness on his cold and hard face, and a complex emotion welled up in her heart.
She knew how much Jiang Qingxue meant to His Highness, that she was one of the people His Highness cared about most, that he had to send her away for the sake of the greater cause, and how reluctant he was to part with her.
At that time, she thought that Jiang Qingxue was the most loyal pawn in the Northern Border.
She will endure humiliation and hardship, persevere through the deep palace, and deliver the most deadly intelligence to the Northern Frontier at crucial moments.
She would wait, wait for the day His Highness achieved great success, wait for him to come and fetch her on a tall horse, and fulfill his promise of "offering her the entire empire as a dowry".
Liu Hongyan never doubted this.
Because the way Jiang Qingxue looked at His Highness was an affection etched into her very bones, a deep affection that would never change because of anything.
But now, kneeling on the cold golden bricks of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, she suddenly became less certain.
Because she saw the smile on Qin Mu's lips change when he mentioned "Xue Fei".
It wasn't that lazy, nonchalant smile from before.
It was a softer, warmer laugh, with something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
She had seen that kind of smile on Xu Longxiang's face before.
That's the expression she makes when she talks about her loved one.
A chill suddenly ran down Liu Hongyan's spine.
.......
Jiang Qingxue arrived very quickly.
The maid's voice still echoed outside the palace when she appeared at the palace gate.
The moonlight shone in from behind her, bathing her in a pale golden glow.
She wore a plain white dress with a moon-white gauze overlay. Her long hair was loosely tied up with a white jade hairpin, and the rest of her hair cascaded down to her waist like a waterfall.
Her face was bare of makeup, and her lips were pale, which made her cool eyes appear even more profound.
She stood on the threshold, her gaze passing over Liu Hongyan kneeling on the ground, over Zhao Qingxue sitting on the embroidered stool, and over the sandalwood furniture that gleamed dimly in the candlelight, before landing on the moon-white figure leaning against the soft couch.
Then, her eyes lit up.
It was a light that Liu Hongyan had never seen before.
It wasn't the cold, aloof, and slightly melancholic light found in the Listening Snow Pavilion in the Northern Territory.
Rather, it is a warm, soft light, like the sunshine of spring.
The light surged from the depths of her pupils, illuminating her clear, cool eyes with extraordinary brightness, as if the whole world had been lit up because of that person.
Qin Mu also saw her.
He leaned back on the soft couch and reached out his hand to her.
The movement was so casual, as casual as picking a leaf from one's own backyard.
Jiang Qingxue did not hesitate.
She strode quickly to him, and then—knelt down.
Her knee slammed into the gold brick with a dull thud, but she seemed to feel no pain. She simply knelt there, raised her head, and looked at him with her strikingly bright eyes.
"His Majesty."
She spoke, her voice soft, yet carrying an barely suppressed, slightly trembling joy.
Qin Mu looked down at her and smiled softly.
"Come here, have you missed me?"
He reached out, gently put his arm around her waist, lifted her up from the ground, and brought her into his embrace.
The movements were very light and gentle, as if they were being handled with the most precious treasure in the world.
Jiang Qingxue leaned against him, her face pressed against his chest, feeling the warmth emanating from him and listening to his steady, powerful heartbeat.
Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
She has been waiting for the past few days.
Waiting for him to return from Liyang, waiting for him to summon her, waiting for him to appear before her.
She didn't know what she was waiting for, what to say when the time came, or what would be appropriate to say.
She just waited, from morning till night, from night till morning, sitting by the window, looking in the direction of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, looking at the door she thought would be pushed open at any moment.
Every day, the door is pushed open many times.
Each time, she would look up, her heart racing.
But each time, it was palace maids who came in, bringing meals, tea, and flowers.
It wasn't him.
She told herself that he was the emperor and had many things to do.
She told herself that she shouldn't be like this, shouldn't be so anxious, shouldn't be so absent-minded.
She told herself that she was just his concubine, just one of his many women, and shouldn't ask for too much.
But she still waited.
I waited anxiously, I waited restlessly, I tossed and turned every night, staring at the top of the tent, wondering when he would come.
At that moment, he arrived.
Jiang Qingxue leaned against Qin Mu's chest, her face burning hot.
She misses him.
I think about it so much, it makes me anxious, and I can't sleep every night.
She closed her eyes, buried her face in his chest, and spoke as softly as a leaf drifting across the water.
"I've thought about it."
He paused, then added, "I really want to."
The sound was very soft, so soft that it was almost inaudible.
But Liu Hongyan, kneeling on the ground, heard it all clearly.
Her mind went blank.
She saw the light in Jiang Qingxue's eyes when she knelt down.
That's the light that comes when you see your loved one.
She saw her body react when Qin Mu put his arm around her.
It wasn't resistance, it wasn't forbearance, it wasn't forcing a smile, but joy, it was anticipation, it was an eagerness to rush into his arms immediately.
She heard her say those two words—"I've thought about it."
And those three words—"I really want to."
There was no reluctance, no hesitation, and not even the slightest falsehood in that voice.
There was only one kind of longing that had been suppressed for too long and could finally be released—a burning, scorching longing.
Liu Hongyan's mind went blank.
She knelt there, her eyes wide open, her pupils filled with unbelievable shock.
She stared intently at the two figures embracing, at Jiang Qingxue leaning against Qin Mu's chest, and at her flushed face filled with joy.
impossible.
That's impossible.
She must have been forced, she must have been acting, she must have had some hidden reason.
Liu Hongyan frantically denied it in her heart, but her eyes wouldn't lie to her.
She saw Jiang Qingxue's hand wrapped around Qin Mu's waist, the movement so natural, so intimate, so unhesitating.
She saw Qin Mu whisper something in her ear, and her face turned even redder, as red as if it had been dyed with rouge, burning from her cheeks all the way to her ears, to her neck, and deep into her collar.
She saw her bury her face in his chest, her posture so dependent, so trusting, so at ease.
This is not acting.
Actors don't bury their faces in each other's chests when no one is watching.
Actors don't secretly glance at someone when they think no one is watching, then quickly look down again, a smile they can't suppress playing on their lips.
Actors don't go limp when they're being hugged, as soft as cotton warmed by the sun, or as soft as snow melted by the spring breeze.
This is real.
Jiang Qingxue has truly fallen in love with Qin Mu.
This realization struck Liu Hongyan like a thunderbolt!