Chapter 207 Who made you cry?
After Liu Yuetang had her meal, she prepared to return to the palace.
Before leaving the house, Liu Yuetang still gave Liu Ming some gentle instructions.
"Father, to outsiders, it may seem incredibly easy for me to rise from a concubine to a consort in just two years, but only I know the hardships involved. For these past two years, I have diligently worked day and night, taking every step carefully, to finally achieve the prestigious position of consort. In the court, I hope you will uphold integrity, fulfill your duties diligently, and refrain from any mistakes. As long as I live, I will ensure the eternal glory of our Liu family."
This was the only thing Liu Yuetang said to Liu Ming as a daughter after returning home.
It was also the only time he spoke so softly.
The respectful look in Liu Ming's eyes gradually faded, and he took on the look of a loving father who loves his child deeply.
"Don't worry, Tang'er. Your father has been an official for many years and has always adhered to the principle of integrity. He will definitely act prudently in the court. But Your Majesty..."
He looked at Liu Yuetang's cold face with worry and heartache. "The palace is treacherous, and Your Majesty is now pregnant with the royal heir. You must protect yourself. If there is anything you need father's help with, please feel free to speak up."
Liu Yuetang nodded slightly, and the jade hairpin in her hair trembled with her movement. The halo of light cast by it under the sun made it difficult for Liu Ming to open his eyes.
Looking at his daughter with her hair full of gorgeous pearls and jade, Liu Ming was overwhelmed with emotions.
After his daughter was born, he only took one look at her before sending her to Zhuangzi.
He was nine years old when he returned home to meet her again.
The two of them had long lost the warmth between father and daughter, and only the distant courtesy remained.
He had never seen her babbling, nor had he ever felt her throwing herself into his arms and acting coquettishly and affectionately.
As for himself, he was only interested in making political achievements and had no interest in the rear quarters. He never taught her music, chess, calligraphy, and painting like an ordinary father, nor did he hold her in his arms and speak to her in a gentle manner.
It has come to this. Now the father and daughter are like strangers.
"Tang'er." Liu Ming called Liu Yuetang who was passing by.
Liu Yuetang slowly turned around: "Father, do you have anything else to say?"
Liu Ming's eyes were covered with a thin layer of turbid mist, and his throat rolled over: "Father owed you all these years."
At this point, his voice trembled, and the unspeakable heartache surged from the bottom of his heart to his throat, blocking it and making no sound.
He took a deep breath, his mouth twitching and opening and closing several times before he spoke with difficulty: "Father is guilty!"
"Father shouldn't have listened to slander and cruelly sent you to Zhuangzi, separating you from your aunt."
"Even more, I shouldn't have ignored you for those nine years."
He blinked his tear-filled eyes, filled with infinite regret.
He couldn't imagine how she had gotten through those nine years.
That is the age when one needs parental love the most!
But as a father, he never gave her any love.
As a result, she never received a moment of warmth from her parents.
Liu Yuetang fluttered her long eyelashes slightly, as calm as if she was listening to someone else's story.
Liu Ming raised his hand and stroked Liu Yuetang's shoulder, tears welling up in his eyes. "Tang'er, can you give your father a chance?"
"Let your father make up for what he has done to you and be a loving father who cares for you."
Liu Yuetang raised her lips slightly, a trace of sadness spreading across the corners of her mouth. "Father, when you are in your forties, what's the point of chasing the long-cherished wish of your youth?"
Seeing the expression on Liu Ming's face grow increasingly sad, Liu Yuetang continued, "The late spring sun can never warm the frozen earth."
After saying this, she turned and left, her wide sleeves rising like butterfly wings, casting a flickering light and shadow on the ground.
Liu Yuetang didn't look back.
If she were nine years old, she would be filled with joy when she heard these words.
But now, there is no ripple in my heart.
Some things, if you don’t want them anymore, you will never expect them again.
But every time Liu Yuetang took a step, she felt a lot of sadness in her heart.
What was she sad about? Was she sad that her father's love came so late?
No, not at all.
She was sad that the belated fatherly love could not fill the barren corner in her heart.
The pain of the past was deeply engraved in her heart.
She was like a person without a soul, as if she had never experienced great joy or sorrow, and had never been pampered and loved by anyone.
When her aunt died of illness, everyone said she was cold-blooded and heartless because she did not stay by her knees and cry bitterly.
But only she knew that her heart had become numb.
She couldn't be heartbroken, but rather heartbroken, for an aunt whom she had only met for a short day.
It was also her aunt's death that took away the only true love she had ever fantasized about in the world.
When she got on the carriage, she glanced back at the plaque of Liu Mansion, then raised her head and forced back the tears in her eyes.
As the curtain of the sedan chair opened, the familiar scent of ambergris wafted towards her. Liu Yuetang looked up and saw Xiao Heng sitting in the carriage in a light blue robe.
Liu Yuetang was so shocked that she stood in the carriage, unable to react for a long time.
"What? Miaomiao doesn't recognize me after not seeing me for half a day?"
Xiao Heng smiled and reached out his hand to her. Suddenly he caught a glimpse of her slightly red eyes, and a smile instantly froze on the corner of his lips.
"Who made you cry?"
His eyes were filled with dark currents, and he was about to stand up and rush into the Liu Mansion to ask for culpability. Liu Yuetang quickly grabbed the corner of his clothes and shook her head, saying, "No... Your Majesty."
Xiao Heng suppressed the anger in his heart and held Liu Yuetang in his arms. The wide dragon-patterned hem of his clothes almost enveloped her entire body.
"Tell me whoever wronged you, I will skin him alive."
Liu Yuetang looked so bright and beautiful when she left, but in just half a day, she became like a little rabbit, with red eyes as if she was crying, which was really heartbreaking.
As he spoke, he stroked her back again and again with his palm.
Liu Yuetang buried her head in his chest, which was embroidered with golden cloud patterns, and put her arms around him, whispering, "Your Majesty, no one has wronged me."
"Then why do I see your eyes turn red?"
Why did her eyes turn red? Liu Yuetang herself didn't know.
She muttered, "I don't know. I punished my stepmother today and made my father regret what he did before. But I can't feel happy. On the contrary... I feel a little sad."
Xiao Heng patted her back gently and said softly, "Perhaps years of grievances have come flooding back to your heart, and it's good to vent them now."
"Everything is over, and things will get better and better in the future."
Yes, we will do better in the future.
In the future she will have her own children, and they will be her only relatives in this world.
"Tell me, how did you punish Liu and her daughter?"
Liu Yuetang raised her eyes and looked at Xiao Heng: "Father, according to the family rules, punished my stepmother with twenty strokes of the cane."
"As for my eldest sister..." Liu Yuetang paused slightly. "My eldest sister is the daughter-in-law of the Fu family. The master of the Fu family is an honest official and has a good way of managing floods. If I punish my eldest sister, I am afraid it will embarrass the emperor."
Xiao Heng felt both distressed and moved: "You! Why are you always so considerate of others?"
He shook his head helplessly.
Letting her return home would mean making those people pay the price.
But she was lucky enough that Liu Ming punished her stepmother, and he was worried about his step-sister and was unwilling to do it.
After all... I'm too kind.
Also... I love myself too much.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
