Chapter 117 Where did I wrong him?

Upon entering the Liguang Palace, Shanlai turned to the female official who had been following him and said, "Tell them all to leave and not disturb me and Her Majesty's conversation."

The female official bowed her head in agreement, then stood up and waved her hand. The palace maids then bowed their heads and filed out in single file.

The empress stood in the center of the hall, her face ashen, her expression ferocious and distorted, her body stiff, her nail polish deeply embedded in her palms.

Shanlai walked over and forcefully pried open his aunt's hands.

It was indeed rotten, and blood was gushing out.

It must have been in a lot of pain.

Shanlai took out a handkerchief and pressed it onto the wound.

"Auntie, don't be angry, it's bad for your health."

How could she not be angry? Her niece, her mother is gone, her brother is gone, and she's been wandering around, suffering so much—for whom? Now that she's finally been found, instead of compensating her, they expect her to swallow her grievances. What's the point?

The empress was filled with extreme shame and indignation.

If her niece hadn't said those things to her earlier, she wouldn't be so angry.

It turns out she had always been self-righteous.

She had done a great service; she deserved it. She helped him rise to power, and for him, she gave almost everything, losing her most cherished treasure—all for him! How could he dare not be grateful? How could he! How could he! Treat her like this…

She was about to have an outburst; her face turned ashen, her eyes bloodshot, and she looked as venomous as a vengeful ghost.

Fortunately, Shanlai was prepared. Upon seeing this, he immediately bent down, furrowed his brows, clutched his stomach, groaned and cried out to his aunt, saying it hurt so much.

The Empress, disregarding her anger and grievances, hurriedly supported her niece and repeatedly called for the imperial physician.

The imperial physician arrived quickly.

Of course, they couldn't diagnose anything, but Shanlai did look pained, so the imperial physician could only say some innocuous things.

The Empress valued her niece highly and could not tolerate anyone not being devoted to her. She immediately launched into a scathing rebuke and intimidation, which terrified the imperial physician, who knelt down and begged for mercy, trembling like a leaf.

Shan came to see this and felt really bad. He immediately turned around to talk to his aunt.

Therefore, he did not miss the fleeting look of disgust on the emperor's face.

I instantly lost the will to do anything else.

She said softly to her aunt, "Perhaps I'm tired. Aunt, please take me to rest."

Of course, she was supposed to take her leave and bow when she left, but fortunately, the Emperor was so kind that he waved his hand and exempted her from the formalities.

The Empress was initially very nervous, but seeing that her niece's distressed appearance vanished as soon as she left Yaoguang Pavilion, how could she not understand? Her face immediately turned pale, alternating between red and white, and she began to sway back and forth.

Shanlai quickly helped her up and whispered, "Auntie, please hold on."

With these words, the Empress did not collapse, but the resentment in her heart was hard to dispel and accumulated more and more. When she returned to her palace, she was in that state.

"Many people are heartless, and the emperor is even more ungrateful and treacherous. My aunt is not stupid, how could she have gotten herself into this predicament?"

These words were truly impolite. After all, she was an elder, and the Empress, so it could be considered an act of insubordination. The Empress was always the most powerful person in the world and the least tolerant of being offended by others. However, upon hearing these words, she felt no anger, only endless sorrow.

People's hearts have changed, but she doesn't know it.

How can it be changed?

"...I gave him everything! To fight for him, I sent my own brother to the battlefield! I even used my father's connections and had my brother risk his life to bolster his reputation... Bandits and Japanese pirates, they'd suppress one group only to rise up another, killing so many people every year... I only had one brother! If something happened to him, I would have failed my parents! But I still sent him... My dear sister, I hoped she could live a carefree and worry-free life... And what was the result?"

Her throat tightened, and two lines of tears rolled down her cheeks.

"What have I done to wrong him?"

I said that because I really felt wronged.

She loved him.

Power alone was not enough for her to risk her brother's life.

Yes, how did it turn out like this?

"My uncle should have felt sorry for my aunt. Did something happen? But my uncle, or rather, my two uncles... caused my aunt to suffer."

Although I asked this question, I knew in my heart that neither family had any arrogance, which was probably related to my aunt's current temperament.

My aunt wasn't like this before. She was very calm and gentle, and not at all impatient.

The Empress slowly shook her head, looking somewhat troubled, and said she didn't know.

Even more tragic.

The Empress may talk a big game, but she doesn't really care about outside affairs. She doesn't need to because everything has been going smoothly for her. Apart from her niece's matter, she has no complaints. Everyone treats her very well.

So she was very confident that she would say those things to her niece.

Tragic, those were the only two words that came to mind when Shanlai thought of it.

Back then, my aunt and uncle were as loving as my parents. My mother died, my father didn't remarry, and my aunt was still alive, but she and my uncle had become estranged. My aunt didn't even know that they had become so distant.

But it's okay, the situation isn't too bad, at least they're still managing to get by.

"How's my cousin? Is he alright?"

Even without true feelings, there's still the throne; there's no loss.

No sooner had he finished speaking than he heard greetings, and Shanlai heard the words "Your Highness the Crown Prince".

Not only His Highness the Crown Prince came, but also His Highness the Crown Princess.

Crown Prince Li Hao was elegant and handsome, with a refined and clear demeanor, as tall and graceful as a jade tree and bamboo. Crown Princess Meng Ai had a high bun and thick sideburns, almond eyes and peach cheeks, and was stunningly beautiful. Standing side by side, they were a perfect couple.

"Cousin? Is it you, cousin?" Shan Lai's heart leaped with joy, his eyes sparkling with delight. "I am He Xian!"

"Crane Immortal." Li Hao's eyes crinkled with a smile. "Of course I know it's you. I came here specifically for you. How could I not know?"

My cousin is always composed, and even though he's happy now, it's a restrained kind of happiness. My cousin's wife, on the other hand, is very enthusiastic.

"My sister, I'm so glad to see you!"

Holding Shan Lai's hands, their tone and actions were very intimate.

The Empress pointed out from the side, "This is my cousin's wife."

Shanlai immediately knelt down to pay his respects.

The Crown Princess quickly stopped her, her tone reproachful: "Why are you being so polite with me, sister?" She added, "No one told me, otherwise I would have personally come to greet you, and we wouldn't be meeting so late. Sister, you are truly beautiful, you wouldn't be an exaggeration to call yourself a fairy!"

"My sister-in-law is too kind."

"What a compliment! She is indeed Her Majesty's own niece, a first-rate person indeed..."

The Crown Princess was beautiful, had a pleasant voice, and spoke in a charming manner, making it difficult for anyone to dislike her.

Yet, this same woman's husband, standing beside her, paid no attention to her smiling face, while even her mother-in-law would look at her and smile.

The prince tilted his head and smiled as he looked at a white porcelain vase with red plum blossoms in it, appearing quite detached from worldly affairs.

The Crown Princess had already placed her hand on Shanlai's belly. "It's already this big at four months? It looks like you're carrying a melon. It must be very tiring."

It's not hard work to answer kindly.

The Crown Princess suddenly smiled with a hint of melancholy, "My sister is truly blessed." As she spoke, she turned her head slightly to look at her husband.

However, her husband was just looking at the flowers.

She gradually stopped smiling.

Shanlai was still smiling, his lips slightly upturned, and after a while, he suddenly let out a refined and elegant yawn.

The Empress hurriedly asked, "Are you tired?"

Shanlai didn't say anything, but smiled shyly.

The Crown Princess said, "Pregnant women tire easily, so please go and rest, sister! I also need to go back and pick out some things. It's the first time I've met you, sister, so how could I be impolite? But I knew I was in a hurry, and I came in an even more hurried manner, so I didn't bring anything. When I get back, I'll definitely pick out some nice things for you."

Shanlai smiled and thanked him.

The Crown Prince bid farewell to the Empress and then told Shan that he would definitely come to see his sister again when he had time.

Shanlai still smiled.

However, she stopped smiling as soon as the Crown Prince and Crown Princess left.

"My cousin's wife is such a lovely person."

Upon hearing this, the Empress suddenly pouted and said with some resentment, "She's all show and no substance, good for nothing. Five years have passed and she still hasn't given birth. What use is she!"

"Does the Crown Prince's palace have no concubines? My cousin is... twenty-three years old this year?"

The Empress let out a cold laugh, "If she can squeeze someone in, then she's not exactly a lazy bum."

Shanlai laughed again.

"My cousin and his wife are really loving."

The Empress was unwilling to speak harshly to her niece, so she simply said, "You'd better not say anything unpleasant that would upset me."

Then Shanlai could only sigh.

"Alright, let me talk to my aunt about something else. Madam... you mean, the daughter of Chief Minister Yue, my former mistress, what happened to her?"

After seeing Wei Ying off, Shan Lai began writing letters.

She often wrote to Liu Min, writing a letter whenever she remembered. He rarely replied, and when he did, it was only a few brief words, nothing like her sweet and affectionate writing. But she still wrote to him tirelessly.

When people lived close by, letters arrived quickly, taking only a short time to travel back and forth. But as people grew farther apart, letters became less frequent, as if separated by mountains and rivers.

In the past, when I wrote letters, I would write with one hand and hold my purse with the other. The money was hard and felt very real in my hand. Later, when I wrote, I would write a few words, then stop, put both hands on my stomach, gently stroke it for a while, and then pick up the pen to write again.

She didn't plan to tell him about her pregnancy in the letter, firstly because she was afraid he wouldn't be able to resist, and secondly because she really wanted to see his expression at that moment. She wondered if he would still be like the silly deer he described. She had only seen him once, and it wasn't enough.

This time, she wrote a letter about herself, stopping after a while to lovingly stroke her baby through her belly.

The child, a child of hers and Reese's, is proof of their inseparable bond.

When I'm not writing about my own affairs, I don't touch anything, I just write.

She thought it over carefully and decided that she should let Liu Shen know. No matter what choice he made, now that she knew, she couldn't not tell him.

Leya went mad.

After receiving the divorce papers, she was in a bad state, or rather, very bad. She was in a daze every day, to the point that she had to be controlled by others in everything. When she was eight months pregnant, she gave birth prematurely to a daughter.

A daughter.

Not a son.

She loves her daughter; she has a daughter, and she loves her daughter very much.

Even if it's a daughter, it's someone she's longed for for many years. If she can have a daughter, she can have a son; she'll eventually have a son.

But her husband divorced her.

She will never have another son, and her husband will never come back.

It's all because of this daughter.

If it weren't for her, she wouldn't have lost her husband.

It's all her fault.

So one night, she strangled her own daughter.

The child was so weak that even when someone strangled her to death, she didn't cry out.

But Leyaxin would cry, and then suddenly laugh while crying—a child's innocent laugh—and laugh nonstop before crying again.