Chapter 286: Secretly Keeping a Concubine
"I originally thought that Mother Wen Yi would stay with me for the rest of my life and make up for the maternal love I lacked. But... she is gone too."
"But God has mercy on me and let me meet Concubine Xi. She is the only one who can see through my weaknesses and the only one who understands me."
"She said that she couldn't bear to see me frown, so she would always raise her hand to smooth my brows."
"She said she didn't know how to protect me from the rain, but she could get wet with me."
"She said that I am not only the Son of Heaven, but also her husband and Xiao Heng. She does not ask for my love, but only hopes that I can love myself well."
Thinking of this, Xiao Heng silently shed tears, wetting his pillow and quilt.
"I never make wishes," she said. "She said she would make a wish for me every year and paint a picture for me."
He slowly closed his eyes, suppressing the soreness and pain in his throat: "But she is gone..."
"Before I lost her, I thought that nothing in this world was as important as myself and the throne. But now that I've lost her..."
"I feel as if I have been swallowed by the haze once again. From now on, no light can fill my empty heart. Even across thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, I cannot find a single ray of spring."
Every word Xiao Heng said seemed like a sharp knife stabbing straight into the Queen Mother's heart.
Twenty years later, she finally realized at this moment that she had hurt her son too deeply.
And Liu Yuetang was the light that shone into his heart, pulling him out of the darkness little by little.
She was wrong, and she only now realized that she was completely wrong.
"Heng'er..." The Queen Mother held Xiao Heng's hand and let out a suppressed sob from her throat.
Xiao Heng coldly pulled his hand back again and turned his face away, "Mother, please return to the palace. I am very tired and want to sleep for a while."
The Queen Mother's hand froze in mid-air. She looked at Xiao Heng's thin and hunched back with tears in her eyes for a long time before she stood up and left.
Princess Mansion.
As dusk deepened, the copper bells on the eaves of the princess's mansion swayed gently in the evening breeze, making a subtle and ethereal sound.
The candlelight flickered yellow, and she sat gracefully on the throne, her jade fingers gently fiddling with the jade beads on the throne.
After an unknown amount of time, with the sound of footsteps, Xie Yunche's figure came into view.
Seeing Duan Rou still sitting in the main hall, Xie Yunche's heart trembled. He walked forward with his usual gentle and elegant demeanor, "Duan Rou, it's late at night, why are you still sitting here?"
Duan Rou's hand, which was caressing Yuzhu, froze for a moment, and her eyes and brows were tinged with frost. "So the Prince Consort also knows that the night is late."
Hearing her unhappy tone, Xie Yunche walked up to Duan Rou with his usual apologetic smile, and was about to touch Duan Rou's shoulder with his hand, but Duan Rou's voice sounded as if it had been chilled by ice.
"Don't touch me!"
Xie Yunche's hand, which was suspended in the air, suddenly froze, with his fingertips still bent.
Immediately, he understood that Duanrou was acting like a princess again.
His voice softened, "Did the smell of alcohol on me bother you?"
"It's all my fault. Today is Brother Pei's birthday, and I was happy, so I drank a few more cups. I will definitely return early next time and won't keep the princess waiting for too long."
Duan Rou raised her eyes sharply, her red lips parted slightly, each word as sharp as a knife: "Xie Yunche, how long are you going to lie to me?"
If she hadn't returned from the palace today and witnessed that breathtaking scene, she would never have believed that Xie Yunche would betray her!
Xie Yunche's heart skipped a beat, and his breathing became irregular.
Looking at Duan Rou's eyes, which were unfamiliar to him, he clenched his fists unconsciously.
Could it be that Duanrou knew something?
No... Impossible...
He couldn't lose his composure.
Xie Yunche suppressed his panic and asked calmly, "Princess, what do you mean by that?"
Duan Rou stared at Xie Yunche in a daze. She felt that this man, who had vowed to treat her well for the rest of his life, was so unfamiliar.
The fake smile on his face now is just disgusting to look at.
"Xie Yunche, have you ever hidden something from me?"
Seeing his eyelids twitching slightly, Duan Rou said in a deep voice: "Think about it before answering."
When their eyes met, Xie Yunche felt that Duanrou's gaze was scorching, making him even more uneasy.
After thinking for a moment, his Adam's apple slid slowly: "No."
Duan Rou closed her eyes slightly, and her long eyelashes cast butterfly-wing-like shadows under her eyes, as if she was disappointed and desperate.
When I opened my eyes again, the pain in them was a dead coldness.
She clapped her hands together.
Xie Yunche turned around after hearing the noise and saw Duanrou's personal maid Yunshan escorting a pregnant woman forward.
The color instantly drained from his face, as if his soul had been taken away. He froze in place, unable to move.
Yunshan pushed the woman into the hall. She hurried her steps and staggered forward a few steps. Her bulging belly was very shocking to see.
Xie Yunche's pupils constricted and he subconsciously stretched out his hand, but it froze in mid-air. Then he reacted and suddenly turned his head to look at Duan Rou, with panic and helplessness in his eyes.
Duan Rou was unexpectedly calm. She just lowered her eyes and looked at the woman kneeling on the ground. There was clearly no anger on her face, but it made her neck feel cold and her body tremble uncontrollably.
"Princess...please listen to my explanation." Xie Yunche stepped forward, but was stunned by Duan Rou's sharp gaze.
Duan Rou sneered, the golden phoenix hairpins at her temples trembling slightly, casting a cold halo. "Explain? What are you explaining to me? Explain how you had an affair with her behind my back, and how you made her pregnant?"
"Xie Yunche, although I, Xiao Jingshu, cannot tolerate any injustice, I once told you that I could take a concubine for you, but you flatly rejected it, saying that you would never take a concubine in your lifetime."
"But you're so good, you want to establish a chastity arch, but you also want to have an affair and raise a child! If I hadn't caught you today, would you have planned to find a reason to bring the child to the princess's residence and raise him in my care after the child was born? Call me mother?"
Seeing that Duan Rou had guessed right, Xie Yunche didn't dare to look her in the eye. With sweat dripping down his forehead, he stammered, "Princess... things aren't what you think. I got drunk that night and got pregnant. She used the child to threaten me... I was afraid that you would find out and be heartbroken, so I kept her in the outer residence."
"Princess... I, Xie Yunche, only have you in my heart in this life. Believe me, I only love you. Even ten Chuchus cannot compare to a single strand of your hair."
Looking at his tearful expression, Duan Rou just found it funny.
In the past, he used this affectionate face to win my heart and make me believe him.
Now that he has a beautiful woman in his mansion and they have a child, he still says that he keeps her away from home because he is afraid of making her sad. How ridiculous.
"Do you really only love me? No one in the world can compare to me?" Duan Rou smiled meaningfully.
Xie Yunche nodded hurriedly, "Yes! I, Xie Yunche, only love the princess in this life. No one can compare to her."
Duan Rou's eyes flashed, and she threw the fruit knife on the table in front of him.
"Then you can only choose one person between me and her. If you can kill her, I will believe you."
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