CH 75

Crystal Bone (2)

The next day, the sky was clear with snow, it was Sun Snow.

(t/n: Sun Snow or Solar Snow-Sun snow refers to a weather condition, a natural phenomenon. Snow when there is sun is called solar snow. The main reason for the formation of solar snow is that it is affected by cold air to form snowfall, and at the same time, high-level clouds are not enough to cover the sun, so the weather phenomenon that the sun comes out while snowing is called solar snow.)

The White Jade Palace, located in the third district of Aslan Star City, was the official residence and the office of Her Majesty the Emperor, which was also endowed with the meaning of the highest symbol of political power.

Here, the golden roses cultivated by Eden Star City were blooming all year round, even in winter, they bloomed triumphantly, and their fragrance would spread far and far away.

The Supreme Military Commander of the Empire—Chen Hanke picked up the cane leaning against the seat, got out of the car, and waved his hand to let the guards and the secretary leave first.

The old man in military uniform had frost-white temples, but his spine was as straight as a javelin. He walked alone along the main road of the entrance of the White Jade Palace, and first met two young Golden Sun Wheel boys standing there on patrol.

For some reason, the faces of the two young men were blue and their eyes were sluggish.

“Old, old Marshal!” Seeing Chen Hanke coming over, they frantically stood straight and gave a military salute.

As if they had lost their minds, they stammered, gesticulated with hands and feet and said, “Just now, just now…just just just now…”

Old Marshal Chen didn’t laugh at them, but instead raised one gray eyebrow, “Seeing a ghost in broad daylight, must be terribly frightening.” (TL: just the same as “Seeing something impossible must be terribly frightening”)

“This is confidential,” the old man raised his hands high and put them on the shoulders of the two boys, and said with a smile, “Don’t chew your tongue when you go out, boys.” 

The two Golden Sun Wheel soldiers glanced at each other blankly.

The old marshal didn’t say much anymore, and continued to walk in. He crossed the snowy path, and his cane made a random clicking sound on the path.

The white palace building in the distance and the fragrance of the roses were getting closer. When a familiar figure finally appeared in sight, the old man stopped in his tracks.

“Little Highness, I see that you’ve scared those poor children at the door.”

The snow was still drifting, and Prince Garcia, who wore a deep crimson dress with a cape, was sitting alone under a carved pillar made of white bricks, his eyebrows were drooping, and he was playing with a newly picked rose in his hand.

Surrounded by countless snow-covered golden roses, along with that fragrant smell, it was like a scene in a fairy tale.

Garcia didn’t look up, he blew on the snow particles on the petals, and said coldly to Marshal Chen, “Do I look like him?”

Old Marshal Chen came over. “Exactly the same, Little Highness.”

Garcia laughed, but he didn’t move at all. On his right shoulder, crystal bone abruptly swung out and smashed towards the flowers.

There was a muffled sound in an instant, and countless flowers, leaves and soil were thrown into the sky, leaving an arm-wide gully in the royal family’s golden rose bush.

“What about now?”

——Before the emperor’s birthday, the golden rose bushes in the White Emerald Palace were ruined like this in an instant. If it were someone else, they would have screamed out and their faces would have been ghastly pale.

However, the face of the old marshal remained unwavering. The old man just twisted his neck in a sigh and casually leaned his cane aside.

“Youngster, don’t be so angry, all is here now, listen to this old man tell a story of those years.”

“Many years ago, when His Royal Highness Crown Prince Ryann was still very young, I was His Highness’s teacher.”

The old marshal walked over on the snow, walked into the rose bushes, and stood in front of Garcia, “But I often worry about him.”

“Because I can see his loneliness and emptiness. His eyes are as cold as ice all year round. Alas, that child’s innate strength is too strong, and his soul is too proud and aloof, thus no one was able to appease his heart.”

“Your Highness, I told you once, and since you forgot, I will say it again.”

There was a hint of reminiscence in the eyes of the old marshal, “The blood is the hottest when people are fighting, and the reason why people fight, it must be to obtain something or to retrieve something.”

“In the eyes of the people of the empire, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Ryann will always be perfect, elegant and flawless. That’s because he has no desires in his heart, and no enemies in front of him.”

“He is willing to lead the empire in the future, simply because this is the most interesting thing he can find in this world, and could also be used to wear down his life.”

“……..”

Garcia remained silent, and fine snow kept falling on his hair.

A few seconds later, he mockingly said, “Is that the reason why you guys are trying to control me, huh? In order to make me live more like a normal human being, sacrifice myself to my enemy?”

Old marshal: “Of course not, listen till the end.”

“When His Highness Ryann was fifteen years old, he met a person and fell in love with them very quickly.”

“Since then, His Highness was no longer very obedient. One evening I searched for him for an hour, and finally found him sitting in the garden of the White Jade Palace, snapping roses for his lover under the moonlight.”

“……” Garcia raised his head for the first time, looking at the old man in front of him with an indescribable expression.

He thought to himself: What kind of vulgar dog blood love story is this? 

“I asked him for the battle analysis assignment that morning. He handed me a chip box… I could tell at a glance that it wasn’t his handwriting. His Highness actually smiled and said that his lover helped him make it, and also let me praise him for successfully discovering a once-in-a-lifetime talent for the military.”

“I was so angry that I blew my beard and glared at him on the spot, so that night, we both released crystal bones and had a fight. It was a mess everywhere, compared to you now, we tossed about ten times more relentlessly.”

“After the fight, this old man was gasping heavily, as if he had lost half his life. The Little Highness simply picked up his dozen roses and left as if nothing had happened. Well, at that time, those flowers were also placed right here.”

The old marshal stretched out his hand, pointed his finger at the pillar behind Garcia, and nodded.

“It seems that regardless of time, you really like this position, Your Highness Ryann.”

Garcia shook his head and sneered, “Too deliberate, are you trying to provoke me, old man.”

The old Marshal touched the top of his head and said, “Since you’re back, go and see Her Majesty.”

Garcia: “I have nothing to say to the emperor. If she wants to see me, she has her own feet and should come to me.”

The old marshal showed a helpless expression.

Just half an hour ago, he communicated with Her Majesty, asking if Her Majesty wanted to summon the returning prince.

At that time, the most honorable woman in the empire leaned on the soft chair dispiritedly, letting her black hair meander down like a dark cloud.

The emperor waved her hand and said with a sluggish tone, “Didn’t he meet the chief? What the chief intentions are is simply Zhen’s intention, about others, Zhen has nothing to say either.” (TL: Zhen-how emperors address themselves)

What else can be said? As expected of a mother and son…..although they are not related by blood.

The old marshal smiled bitterly, and then cleared his throat. “Then at least, you should meet your former lover—this is the reason why I came to find you today.”

Garcia raised his eyebrows, “Ryann’s lover?”

Chen Hanke didn’t care about Garcia’s emphasis on the three characters “Ryann’s”, but instead continued his topic.

“Well, he is a disabled human being, not a noble, has no one to depend on, very young, only a year older than His Royal Highness Ryann, who is you. His Royal Highness Ryann, on the surface, was already considered to have sacrificed himself, and you, upon waking up yet unwilling to admit to this identity, as a result, he had a hard time in the past three years.”

Garcia was even more surprised. He thought it was funny. “A disabled human? Ryann actually fell in love with a disabled human?”

“That’s right, that’s why the child has always been nameless. After the death of His Royal Highness Ryann, he can only return to the status of a civilian, even if the two have been engaged in private—but this matter, it is indeed the empire that has wronged him. But he never complained one word.”

Oh…he got it. The bottom of Garcia’s eyes were dark and gloomy, just from the few words spoken from the old marshal, the image of a lovely and pitiful widow was already outlined in the mind of His Royal Highness.

——The pale and petite disabled human being wore black mourning clothes, and his eyes were red from crying at the funeral. However, facing the ruthless oppression of the empire, he could only lower his eyebrows meekly and forbearingly, swallowing the deep affection and tears for the lover into their stomach.

There may be deviations in details, but it should be almost the same.

Ridiculous, too ridiculous, does the empire actually believe in the “power of love”?

Could it be that he was hoping that he would fall in love the moment he saw that little widow, and thus obey the empire’s arrangement?

Garcia stood up. Of course, he had no interest in Ryann’s lover, and he didn’t want to get involved in such an absurd love affair.

Taking a step back, even if that disabled human being was really talented and charming—but he had already come into contact with an existence like Jiang Jianming, and there would be no disabled human being he could look up to in the world like him.

Garcia opened his mouth and wanted to refuse.

He had no doubt that if he appeared in front of this widow, the other party would definitely rush forward crying and become a trouble that could not be shaken off.

Or, considering the fragile physique of a disabled human, that poor little person might just faint.

However, before the words of refusal came out of his mouth, Garcia pursed his lips and closed his mouth again.

His Royal Highness suddenly had a new idea.

He turned on his wrist device and sent a message, and sincerely hoped that the other party’s reply could be faster this time.

****

[Gone out yet?]

When Jiang Jianming received this message, he was walking on the path of the White Jade Palace with Audrey Lance.

He couldn’t help curling his lips when he saw the words. Ever since he discovered Seth Henry, that dog eating inside and outside, the authority of the intelligence had been suspended by him. (TL: live off one person while secretly helping another)

Therefore at present, if Garcia wanted to confirm his location, he could only honestly send a message to ask.

[Already at the White Jade Palace.]

Jiang Jianming clicked send on the reply from the wrist device, and looked back at Audrey who was holding an umbrella for him to shield him from the snow.

“You are really idle, I simply borrowed a set of clothes from you, yet why did it come with a living person as a present?”

Today he borrowed a black formal attire from Audrey’s house to wear. A place like the White Jade Palace, he couldn’t afford to be sloppy. Jiang Jianming thought it over–Old Marshal Chen might want to take him to meet someone.

No matter how much he doesn’t care about what he normally wears, on this occasion, he still has to pretend to be a widow.

Audrey put away her umbrella and smiled, “It’s just to drop you off, otherwise, wouldn’t you have to rent an air vehicle to fly back and forth? Besides, with my identity, it’s easy to enter the gate of the White Jade Palace.”

But it would be inconvenient to accompany him later, so Audrey found a chair in the garden full of golden roses and sat down, “You go, I’ll wait here for you to go back together.”

Jiang Jianming didn’t say anything, he knew that Audrey was worried about him.

A “former crown princess”, this was already in a past tense, a military officer who sneaked into Silver Big Dipper with a false background as a non crystal race, suddenly being called to a place like the White Jade Palace, would inevitably make people suspicious.

What’s more, the place that Old Marshal Chen agreed with him was a bit subtle.

It was on a small building that had been abandoned for a long time. Audrey said that this place was about to be demolished, and that no public events had been held here for several years. It really……didn’t sound like a decent place.

But Jiang Jianming didn’t have any worries. He thought that the old marshal’s intention was to deceive others at most.

He waved at Audrey, parted the fine snow, and walked to the building in front of him alone.

****

“Actually, I really didn’t expect that you haven’t meet him yet.”

Garcia walked behind Old Marshal Chen. When he heard the old marshal sigh with emotion, he asked casually without much thought, “Why would I meet him?”

Then he said again, “We’ve walked for a long time, you, in the end, where are you planning to let us meet?”

The old marshal said, “What’s the rush? He’s right ahead. He’s already waiting there…..strange, you guys really haven’t met before?”

The prince was playing with the golden rose in his hand, and there was a faint feeling of something wrong flashed in his heart.

But at this moment, the wrist device flickered, interrupting his thoughts just in time.

Garcia turned on his wrist device, and after checking the concise message, his mood immediately brightened.

This time Jiang Jianming replied quickly, which will help him implement that idea.

Right, next he will call Jiang Jianming over – and then in front of that poor little widow of Crown Prince Ryann, he will hold Jiang Jianming in his arms without any hesitation, and hand him the golden rose.

This will be a once and for all vicious plan.

Soon, whether it’s the emperor or the chief, whether it’s the old man surnamed Chen in front of him or Xie Yuduo, whether it’s that lovely widow, or Jiang Jianming himself—

Everyone will realize that he has nothing to do with the former crown prince who was praised by the world, that elegant and noble infatuated prince…..beyond all doubt not even a half-dime relationship.

(t/n: Half-dime or half a dime-This is a colloquial term, which means that a relationship that doesn’t even count as a dime and is equivalent to a relationship that counts as nothing.)

A trace of wicked pleasure rose in Garcia’s heart, the price of trying to control him would be tragic.

He wanted to see the unbelievable eyes and despairing tears of the widow.

He wasn’t worried that it would end badly either. Jiang would be there, and there was always a way to calm down such a crying little brat gently. That person looked to be naturally suitable for this kind of thing.

Garcia glanced at the building in front of him. It was a secluded small white building with dry vines and grass leaning against the corner of the building, there were also crows perched on the snow-covered treetops outside the window.

The only worry was whether Jiang Jianming would be angry with him for this.

But it shouldn’t be a big problem, if it’s a big deal then just go back and apologize properly, be scolded a few times and be cursed at with a few words.

The old marshal led him through the door of the building, and the sound of their footsteps fell on the white brick floor, making it even more spacious.

Garcia looked at the door close at hand, quietly sent Jiang Jianming the coordinates of this place, and attached a message:

[Very well, now come to this location.]

After sending, Garcia put away the wrist device. Chen Hanke turned his head at this moment, and the old man tapped the door in front of him with his cane. “Your Highness, I want to make a statement in advance.”

“I personally do not approve of this meeting, because I am very worried that with your current state of mind, you will hurt the person inside.”

“But unfortunately, it is Her Majesty’s will for you to see him, so please open the door and go in.”

Garcia took a deep look at the old marshal with complicated emotions, and walked forward. When he placed his palm on the heavy doorknob, the cold touch permeated his skin.

For some reason, at this moment, an ominous sense of heaviness rose in his heart.

Squeak—

The door opened to both sides.

This room was sunny and very bright inside. Sure enough, because it had not been used for many years, there were very few decorations.

A young man in black clothes and black hair sat quietly on a chair by the window, with a slender stature and a spine like that of a bamboo.

The moment the door opened, the person turned his head when he heard the sound, and half of his face was illuminated by the fine snow and skylight outside the window.

The hands wearing black gauze gloves placed the wrist device on the windowsill, and the flickering light on it automatically went out.

Fluttering, a crow flew from the snow-covered branch.

Garcia stood at the door in a daze.

At this moment, all sounds disappeared, as if the sky and the earth collapsed, and the gears of time and space also stopped.

The two people’s four eyes met each other, just like when their gaze pierced through the thick smoke and flames in the past, as if they had traveled back a century before finally falling back to the peaceful winter sun in front of them amidst the snow.

The golden rose was suddenly squeezed by his fingers.

The petals withered silently one by one and scattered on the ground.

Jiang Jianming stood up. He was wearing a slender black formal attire and a white scarf. His eyes were quietly staring at the person who came at the door.

He said to Garcia with a hint of guilt in his warm voice. “Sorry, Your Highness, I am already here.”

Garcia stood there with an expression on his face that couldn’t be described in words.

As early as the moment he saw Jiang Jianming, he understood everything, but these words still easily tore his heart open, like scissors cutting a thin piece of paper.

He felt, in a daze, that he was losing blood, and the blood turned into raging magma gushing out from the torn heart, quickly emptying him out, and leaving only a bone-chilling body.

A distant sound of a bell rang from afar, it was the ringing of the bell from the Glorious Cathedral.

Garcia walked towards Jiang Jianming, and he could feel that with every step he took, his own reason was being utterly defeated.

If a person realizes for the first time what a wonderful treasure he once had at the moment of losing it…what could be more sad than this?

The answer is unmistakable: when the treasure is just a figment of the imagination, and when the person realizes that he never actually owned any.

When the bell stopped, Garcia also stopped in front of Jiang Jianming.

At this moment in the dark, he suddenly clearly realized his wild and unreasonable possessiveness towards Jiang Jianming.

Trying in vain to have this person’s lifelong attachment and longing.

Boiling hot, uncontrollable love.

To turn all the above delusions into ashes,

And this ice cold reality in front of his eyes.