NCCnovel Chapter 238 Jiang Qingxue finally understood that she was just a substitute for Xu Longxiang.
Chapter 238 Jiang Qingxue finally understood that she was just a substitute for Xu Longxiang.
Qin Mu smiled gently as he looked at them.
He didn't rush to explain.
He simply released Jiang Qingxue and slowly stood up.
He stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the old plum trees in the courtyard.
The sunlight shone on him, making his moon-white figure stand out clearly.
"Do you know," he began slowly, his voice soft yet each word clear, "what the Empress of Li Yang's name is?"
Jiang Qingxue was stunned.
Empress Liyang?
The empress who was captured by Qin Mu and beaten with a wooden stick by Sister Hong yesterday?
What's her name?
Jiang Qingxue tried hard to recall.
She remembered hearing this name in the palace.
Empress Li Yang, surname Zhao, given name—
Her pupils suddenly contracted.
Zhao Qingxue.
Empress Li Yang's name is Zhao Qingxue.
Clear snow.
Zhao Qingxue.
Jiang Qingxue.
Both names share a common character—
Clear snow.
It was as if a bolt of lightning struck Jiang Qingxue's mind.
The light was dazzling, illuminating the previously chaotic corner of her heart.
Countless fragments frantically pieced together at this moment.
Clear snow.
Zhao Qingxue.
Jiang Qingxue.
What Xu Longxiang said to her—
"Qingxue, wait for me."
"When I rule the world, I will use the entire land as my dowry to marry you as my queen."
Those heartfelt promises, those tender gazes, those—
She always thought it was something genuine.
But if—
What if she's just a substitute for someone else?
What if what Xu Longxiang saw in her was never her, but another woman whose name also contained "Qingxue"?
if--
Jiang Qingxue's face instantly turned ashen.
Her lips trembled violently, and her eyes were filled with disbelief and shock.
Looking at her like this, Qin Mu's smile deepened.
"That's right," he said softly, his voice gentle, yet each word was like a knife.
"You're with Xu Longxiang—"
He paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately:
"Just a replacement for her."
Jiang Qingxue's body trembled violently.
She knelt on the spot, motionless.
The clarity that had just returned to those once-cold eyes was now blurred again by tears.
But this time, there was no sadness, no emotion in those tears.
only--
despair.
A despair that chills to the bone.
And there's a sense of relief.
Complete relief.
She finally understood.
She understood why Xu Longxiang's gaze was always so complex when he looked at her.
She understood why he would sometimes drift off into a daze, as if he were looking at someone else through her.
I understand why his heartfelt promises always sounded somewhat hollow.
Because of those words, those promises, those gazes—
It was never meant for her.
It was for another woman.
That woman's name is Zhao Qingxue.
She is Empress Li Yang.
She is someone who is more dazzling, more powerful, and more deserving of the name "Qingxue".
And she—
He was just a stand-in.
An alternative with a similar name.
A tool used to fill the void in one's heart.
Jiang Qingxue closed her eyes.
Tears fell silently.
But a slight smile slowly curved the corners of her lips.
That curve contained self-deprecation, relief, and a profound sense of liberation.
It turned out to be the case.
It turned out to be the case.
She always thought Xu Longxiang loved her.
I always believed that the companionship, the gentle gaze, and the heartfelt promises of those years were all real.
But it turns out—
all fake.
In his heart, she was never Jiang Qingxue.
It's just a shadow of the two characters "Qingxue".
It's just a substitute.
This realization should have caused her unbearable pain.
But at this moment, a strange sense of ease welled up in her heart.
because--
She can finally let go completely.
All those years of effort, all the waiting, all the reluctance and struggle—
You can let go of everything now.
No more hesitation, no more struggle, no more asking myself "Do I still love him?"
Because the answer is no longer important.
Because the person she thought she loved never truly loved her.
Jiang Qingxue opened her eyes.
Tears continued to flow in those clear, cold eyes.
But in those tears, there was no sadness, no despair.
Only relief.
A complete and unreserved sense of relief.
She looked up at Qin Mu.
I looked at the man in the moon-white robe standing in the sunlight.
He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at her.
A half-smile played at the corners of his lips, and his eyes gleamed with a complex light.
Jiang Qingxue looked at him.
Looking at his handsome, ever-composed face.
Looking into those deep, all-seeing eyes.
Suddenly, she smiled.
The smile was faint and subtle, yet incredibly genuine.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," she said.
The voice was very soft, yet every word was clear.
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow.
"Thank me?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Thank me for telling you that you're just a substitute?"
Jiang Qingxue shook her head.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for letting me know the truth," she said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for letting me see clearly whether everything I sacrificed over the years was truly worth it."
"Thank you, Your Majesty—"
She paused, then took a deep breath:
"It finally allows me to let go completely."
Qin Mu looked at her, at her pale yet unusually calm face.
Looking at her red and swollen eyes, yet unusually clear.
He suddenly felt that Jiang Qingxue was more beautiful at this moment than ever before.
It wasn't because of the tear stains on her face, nor because of her broken smile.
It was because light had finally returned to those eyes.
That light was not dependence, not fear, not timid flattery.
It is not a matter of steadfastness, but of unwavering commitment.
A kind of unwavering determination after breaking free from the cocoon and becoming a butterfly, finally seeing oneself clearly.
Qin Mu smiled.
"You're welcome," he said.
He paused, then added:
From now on, you only need to be yourself.
"To be Jiang Zhaoyue."
"Do--"
He looked at her, speaking slowly and deliberately:
"My Imperial Concubine."
Hearing this, Jiang Qingxue felt an indescribable warmth welling up in her heart.
The warmth rose from the bottom of her heart and spread to her limbs and bones, making her feel warm all over.
She nodded.
"Mmm," she said.
A single word, simple yet carrying immense weight.
The sunlight was just right in the courtyard.
A gentle breeze rustled through the old plum branches, carrying a few withered leaves that swirled and drifted down.
A few birdsongs drifted from afar, clear and melodious.
Cao Wei stood aside, quietly watching this scene.
Looking at the relief on Jiang Qingxue's face, and the tenderness in Qin Mu's eyes.
He suddenly felt that the 21-year wait had been worth it.
Because of the snow—
No, Jiang Zhaoyue has finally found someone she can entrust her life to.
He can now explain things to his mother.
Cao Wei took a deep breath, turned around, and looked at the old plum trees again.
The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
Sunlight shone on his aged face, making the wrinkles etched by time exceptionally clear.
But it also made the satisfied smile on his lips shine even brighter.
At this moment, all the gloom dissipated.
All the waiting was worth it.
All the effort has been worthwhile.
The three stood silently in the courtyard.
Sunlight streamed down, and a gentle breeze blew by.
Time passes peacefully.
At this time,
Cao Wei took a deep breath.
His hand slowly emerged from his sleeve.
A jade pendant lay quietly in the palm of an old, wrinkled hand.
The jade pendant was warm and smooth all over, crescent-shaped, with a delicate texture like solidified fat, and shimmered with a soft luster in the sunlight.
On the front of the jade pendant is carved a lush osmanthus tree, with a small rabbit curled up under the tree, lifelike in appearance.
And the back of the jade pendant—
It is engraved with two small ancient seal characters.
The strokes are delicate, yet exceptionally clear.
Zhaoyue.
Jiang Zhaoyue's pupils suddenly contracted.
Her gaze fell on the jade pendant, on the two ancient seal characters.
He was frozen in place, as if struck by lightning.
Those two words were like a key, unlocking a door in her heart that had been sealed for twenty-one years.
Behind the door lay memories she had never seen before, yet which had always existed deep within her bloodline.
No, it's not a memory.
It was an inexplicable, instinctive flutter.
It was as if something was awakening from the deepest part of my soul.
Looking at her like this, a complex smile slowly appeared on Cao Wei's aged face.
That smile contained relief, heartache, reluctance, and a sense of relief at finally completing its mission.
"Child," he began, his voice hoarse and trembling, "this is your mother—"
He paused, took a deep breath, and then continued:
"It was given to me before I died."
She said she would give this jade pendant to Zhaoyue when she grew up.
Tell her—
His voice finally choked up:
"Mother and Father have always loved her."
Jiang Zhaoyue's tears welled up again.
The tears flowed like a burst dam, blurring her vision.
She couldn't see the jade pendant clearly, nor could she see Cao Wei's aged, tear-streaked face.
But she could sense it—
That jade pendant carried the scent of her mother.
The scent was very faint, so faint that it was almost imperceptible.
But for her, a child who lost her parents at three months old, that breath was her whole world.
Jiang Zhaoyue reached out her hand, trembling.
Her hands were shaking so badly that she could barely control them.
The moment my fingertips touched the jade pendant, it felt warm and slightly cool.
That's the feel of jade.
But at that very moment—
A soft light suddenly burst forth from the jade pendant!
The light was faint and soft, like moonlight filtering through a thin veil.
But in the afternoon sunlight, the light was exceptionally clear and exceptionally warm.
The light began to spread from Jiang Zhaoyue's fingertips, quickly enveloping the entire jade pendant, then extending upwards, upwards, upwards—
Finally, a picture was formed three feet in front of Jiang Zhaoyue.