Emperor Yongchang was weighed down with heavy thoughts. His earlier scolding of Xiao Yunting was nothing more than an excuse to find a way to speak with Liu Wangfei.
He softly called out, “Wanyin, today is New Year’s Eve. I’ve come to take you home, for the family to reunite.”
Liu Wangfei cast a mocking glance at the delicate and weak-looking Noble Consort Xiao Liu. This time, she didn’t hold back.
Some things simply cannot be let go or brushed over.
She sneered, “Family reunion? You want me to return to the palace and reunite with your beloved consort, the very one who killed my mother?”
Those words were harsh.
Noble Consort Xiao Liu had already been signaled by Princess Baorong with a slight squeeze of her hand and immediately understood her daughter’s intent. She quickly rushed forward and dropped to her knees in front of Liu Wangfei.
The ground on the mountain was hard and uneven.
Her sudden kneel made those nearby wince in sympathy.
But Noble Consort Xiao Liu didn’t flinch at all. She looked up at Liu Wangfei, her voice hoarse and full of grievance: “Sister! I know you hate me. You have every right to hate me.”
She sobbed, tears falling like broken pearls, endlessly streaming down. “But—but back then I was only a few years old! Sister, I truly didn’t know. I didn’t know how any of this happened, I didn’t even know why Father and Mother did what they did…”
Princess Baorong calmly glanced at Emperor Yongchang’s expression and also knelt beside her mother, carefully tugging at Liu Wangfei’s skirt like a frightened little deer. “Auntie, please don’t blame my mother. She’s always been timid—you know that. At home, she listened to her parents; after marrying the Emperor, she obeyed the Emperor. She never intended to harm you.”
As she spoke, Princess Baorong began to cry: “If you must blame someone, blame me. I’ll kneel to you, I’ll apologize, you can do whatever you want to me!”
As she spoke, she truly began to kowtow bang bang bang against the ground.
It was as if she wanted to put a hole in the stone.
But before she could put a hole in the ground, she split her own forehead first, and blood began to seep out.
Noble Consort Xiao Liu was so heartbroken that she called out “Baorong!” and fainted on the spot.
Emperor Yongchang was shocked and immediately knelt down to support Noble Consort Xiao Liu. He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down before asking Liu Wangfei, “Wanyin, what is it that you want?! Even a teenage child can understand this. Back then, how old was Wanqiu? What could she possibly have known? What could she have done to harm you? Must you really force this to the bitter end?!”
Force this to the bitter end?
Liu Wangfei’s throat suddenly tightened, as if stuffed with cotton, so heavy she couldn’t utter a single word.
When she was pregnant and nearing delivery, she had to hide in a cowshed to escape the assassins—how terrified was she back then?
Xiao Mo had a persistent high fever, a child just over a year old, convulsing continuously, unable to even express his pain—he could only cry out for his mother.
How utterly desperate was she in those days?
Since she returned, had Emperor Yongchang ever once asked about what she had endured all these years?
Duke Chu’s household was destroyed.
But whose family was destroyed first?!
Did she not have a mother?
Her mother had watched from the grave as her own daughter was schemed against by her father, nearly losing both mother and child, and saw her grandson burned into a dazed, damaged state—could her mother rest in peace?
She stared coldly at Emperor Yongchang: “Xiao Xianjiao, I really misjudged you! I should have seen you clearly from the start—you are a fickle, heartless man who chases the new and discards the old! You think I’m being unreasonable, but have you ever thought about what kind of life I’ve been living all these years? What kind of life has my Ah Mo been living?!”
“You granted a general amnesty for that little b*stard of yours, and even gave her a princess title before she was of age! And at that time, my Ah Mo couldn’t even eat properly, there was no doctor to save him, no god to turn to! Did you ever think about how much pain and despair I was in back then?!”
Qi Yuan watched all this from the side, her expression blank.
Old Marquis Qi and Qi Zhen were trembling behind a banyan tree.
Heavens above, heavens above—this was the emperor and empress quarreling, this was the empress and noble consort tearing into each other—they weren’t deliberately eavesdropping!
They absolutely didn’t want to be here!
At that moment, Xiao Yunting elbowed Qi Yuan and lowered his voice to ask, “Any thoughts?”
Any thoughts?
Qi Yuan actually gave it some serious thought.
Then she said in a low, steady voice: “Self-sacrifice and devotion in love are always foolish. A man’s promises are only valid while he loves you.”
Once he no longer loves you—then they mean nothing at all.
Xiao Yunting was completely shaken.
He couldn’t understand—how could a girl in her teens, who had barely even interacted with men, say something so piercingly accurate in the face of such life-and-death partings and tangled grudges?
He couldn’t help but argue: “But—but if two people love each other, isn’t giving everything for the other person what love is supposed to be?”
Qi Yuan turned her head and gave him a strange look, then let out a mocking laugh.
After laughing, she pointed toward Emperor Yongchang and Liu Wangfei.
Had those two not loved each other enough?
When they were at the height of their love, they would have died for each other in the face of the invading japanese pirates.
But once a third person appeared, Emperor Yongchang could easily toss aside what he once cherished and treat it as a burden.
Qi Yuan gave a light chuckle. “But this is good. It’s only when tenderness is thrown away that one will remember the lesson. All the feelings Liu Wangfei ever had for His Majesty end here.”
Sure enough, Emperor Yongchang impatiently argued: “How many times must I say it? Wanqiu was just a child back then! Those things had nothing to do with her! When did you become so petty and narrow-minded?!”
Petty and narrow-minded…
Liu Wangfei had never imagined these words would one day be used on her by Emperor Yongchang.
Her face turned cold as she suddenly recalled something Qi Yuan once said.
Why does it matter whether others are happy or not?
The most important thing is that I am happy.
Yes, her own happiness was what mattered most.
So she raised her hand and suddenly slapped Noble Consort Xiao Liu hard, two slaps—left and right.
The sound was loud and crisp, and the force was vicious.
Even Princess Consort Lu felt his own cheeks sting just from watching.
All the monks of Baiyun Temple immediately dropped to their knees, trembling in fear.
Noble Consort Xiao Liu had never dreamed that Liu Wangfei, who always valued propriety and appearances, would slap her in front of everyone—and so harshly too.
She was completely stunned.
Liu Wangfei even casually flicked her wrist, then smiled as she looked at Emperor Yongchang and Noble Consort Xiao Liu: “Forgive me, Your Majesty. Years of fleeing from assassins and dealing with all kinds of unsavory people have indeed made me this rough.”
Noble Consort Xiao Liu was utterly humiliated.
She was so furious she almost went mad and couldn’t help but try to stand up and fight Liu Wangfei.
But Princess Baorong grabbed her and lightly shook her head, signaling her to stop.
Noble Consort Xiao Liu immediately rolled her eyes and fainted again.
Qi Zhen was so excited he tugged on Old Marquis Qi’s sleeve. “Father, she fainted again! She fainted again!”
Old Marquis Qi grumpily shook his sleeve free. “I’m not blind! Behave yourself!”
Don’t draw attention to us!
This involves royal family secrets and the emperor’s dignity—what if they all get wiped out by accident?!
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