Chapter 415: Difficulty in hiding one’s life experience

Ru Guiren had not expected that just a few words from her would cause such a strong reaction from Zhaohua.

At this moment, she was a little frightened by Zhao Hua's stare, so she smiled awkwardly.

"This person is dead. No matter what she did, we can't dig her out of the ground and hold her accountable. Your Majesty, the Queen..."

"What on earth did you hear? I want you to tell me word for word."

Zhao Hua had a stern expression, and was almost threatening Ru Guiren in a threatening tone.

How dare you offend her?

I can only recall the events of that day carefully.

"I remember that it was not long after the Third Prince died. At that time, because I said something wrong, I was punished by Concubine Chen to chant sutras and pray in the Fahua Hall. After praying for half a day, I was really tired and sleepy, so I went to the back hall, thinking of taking a nap.

I don’t know how long I slept. I was awakened by thunder outside the palace. It was dark outside the palace, and it was very scary. When I was about to leave, I heard the sound of children chanting in the main hall. I looked secretly and saw that it was the eldest prince burning incense for the dead third prince...”

*

Six months ago, Fahua Hall.

Thunderstorm night.

Today is the 37th day of the burial of the third prince Cheng Jing.

After Cheng Huan finished his class at the Shangshufang, he came to the Fahua Hall to burn incense and pray for Cheng Jing.

When kneeling down to worship the Buddha statue, all the words he spoke were hoping that Cheng Jing could soon ascend to heaven.

But in fact, every word of concern is used to suppress one's own inner demons.

In fact, even he himself didn't know why he hated Cheng Jing so much.

After being insulted and beaten a few times, he began to think day and night about how to make Cheng Jing disappear from this world completely.

In the end, he did it, but the feeling of being haunted by nightmares every night was not pleasant.

"Third brother, you died miserably, I..."

'Squeak'

Before he could utter the words of confession, he heard the sound of the palace door opening behind him.

Cheng Huan immediately stopped talking and looked behind him.

"Empress Hui?"

He saw Concubine Hui carrying many offerings and walking towards him with a worried look on her face.

Cheng Huan moved his body to the side, giving the main seat to Concubine Hui.

While arranging the offerings, Concubine Hui asked indifferently:

"Why are you here?"

Cheng Huan said, "Today is the 37th day after my third brother's death. I miss my third brother so I want to come and burn some incense for him."

Hearing this, Concubine Hui paused, lowered her eyes and looked at him coldly.

After a while, she suddenly smiled.

"You are thoughtful. If Xiao Yuyun knew that her son did not inherit his father's cold-hearted nature, but was a man who valued friendship and loyalty, she would be able to smile peacefully in her grave."

"Xiao...Yuyun?" Cheng Huan stuttered as he repeated the familiar name. After thinking for a while, he said:

"Madam Hui, are you talking about Madam Xiao? I know Madam Xiao. She used to be your sworn sister, but she passed away due to illness. My mother was very sad for a long time. During the Ghost Festival last year, my mother asked me to burn incense and offer sacrifices to Madam Xiao."

"Hmph." Concubine Hui sneered disdainfully, then took out the incense that Cheng Huan had inserted into the shrine and threw it away, replacing it with her own newly lit one, and then said lightly:

"You are a smart kid, but how come you are so dull? Looking at Concubine Chen's personality, is there anyone she would be interested in and willing to get close to?"

As she spoke, Concubine Hui finished offering incense and turned her gaze back to Cheng Huan. She said with an expression of pity and care:

"Forget it. Considering the deep brotherly love between you and Cheng Jing, Empress Hui will tell you some things that should not be said."

She leaned forward slightly and whispered in Cheng Huan's ear:

"Ning Wanshuang is only your adoptive mother, and Xiao Yuyun is your real mother."

'Boom'

The continuous rumble of thunder and Concubine Hui's heart-piercing words all hit Cheng Huan's ears.

He staggered back two steps, shook his head in disbelief, and muttered to himself in shock:

"That's impossible. My mother is so kind to me. How could she not be my mother?"

Concubine Hui said, "Because she treats you well for a purpose. You are the first prince after the emperor ascended the throne. Although you were born with a serious illness, if this disease can be cured in the future, then your status as a noble son will become a great hope for the future competition for the throne. That's why after your mother died, Ning Wanshuang rushed to raise you under her lap for the future."

She saw that the child's eyes were becoming more and more confused, as if he had listened to her words and was thinking silently.

So he added fuel to the fire, patted Cheng Huan on the shoulder and said:

"It's a pity that your illness has not been cured, so your father has gradually lost hope in you. You just said that Concubine Chen treats you very well? But think about it carefully, is Concubine Chen good to you or to Jin Yue?

But you can't blame Concubine Chen for anything. After all, when you were born, the Emperor saw that you were born unlucky and wanted to execute you. If Concubine Chen hadn't stopped the Emperor at that time, I'm afraid you would have died long ago. How could you have the glory of the eldest prince today?"

The reason why Concubine Hui said this is because the teaching of the royal heirs in the palace has always been "strict with boys and lenient with girls".

The princes will have to support themselves in the future, so they must be taught to be independent and resilient from an early age. Even if they fall to the ground and bruise their knees, others should not feel the slightest bit of sympathy for them.

But children don’t know this truth.

When Cheng Huan thought about it carefully, he realized the difference between how Ning Wan Shuang treated him and how she treated Jin Yue.

Seeing him constantly tugging at his skirt, Concubine Hui knew that he had heard what she said, and she pretended to be flustered and said,

"Cheng Huan, you have to promise Empress Hui that it's enough to know some things in your heart, but don't take this matter to Concubine Chen or your father to make a fuss. It's not difficult for you to feel that your father will feel uncomfortable even with the slightest physical contact with you. If you dare to question him again, won't he hate you even more?"

She stroked Cheng Huan's hot cheek, her tone becoming more gentle.

"Empress Hui can't bear to see you kept in the dark your whole life, so she kindly tells you this. Cheng Huan, you..."

Before she could finish her words, Cheng Huan had already brushed her hand away, rushed out with red eyes, and his small figure soon disappeared in the pouring night rain.

*

Ru Guiren's eyes danced as she vividly described to Zhaohua what she had seen that night.

Finally, he stroked his chest and sighed:

"Tell me, the child is still so young, how could he bear to hear these words? I was so scared after hearing these that I dared not make a sound. I could only hide behind the curtain until there was no movement outside, and then I dared to go out..."

After hearing what the noble said, Zhaohua, who realized the truth, couldn't help sweating.

The scene of her chatting with Ning Wanshuang in Yonghe Palace a few days ago kept flashing through her mind.

At that time, Ning Wanshuang asked Cheng Huan what his biggest wish was.

Cheng Huan smiled and said,

"My son's greatest wish is to grow up quickly, and then be able to respect and protect my mother, in order to repay her kindness in raising me."

When Zhao Hua heard this, he and Ning Wanshuang looked at each other and both smiled sweetly.

But now when Cheng Huan's innocent smile reappears in my mind,

Zhao Hua felt that smile was like a knife that killed people invisibly...