Every time she saw Yu'er achieve extraordinary feats, her heart was filled with both joy and sorrow, a truly agonizing experience.
Actually, her headaches weren't that serious when she was young, but as she got older and Yu'er became more and more successful, watching the father and son drift further and further apart made her feel extremely sad.
She tossed and turned for a long time, wondering whether she should tell Yu'er about this matter, and discussed it with Granny Liu many times.
Granny Liu advised her, "Your Majesty, Prince An is a reasonable person. You should talk to him properly. He will understand the Emperor's difficulties and yours."
“His Highness Prince An is the Prince An of our Great Zhou Kingdom. His surname is Zhu. This old servant also believes that His Highness Prince An can understand.”
"Although Consort Duan is a princess of the previous dynasty, she was born posthumously and her relationship with the previous dynasty is actually very distant. Our Great Zhou has been established for more than forty years. How could the previous dynasty think of restoring the country just because of Prince An? Besides, not many people know about this matter, and it is very likely that even Consort Duan herself does not know about it."
"Therefore, Your Majesty, please heed my advice and discuss this matter openly with His Highness Prince An."
So, taking this opportunity, the Empress Dowager finally gritted her teeth and spoke out.
The Empress Dowager held Lu Xiaoyun's hand: "Although you have the blood of the previous dynasty's royal family, you are still a descendant of my Zhu family. Yu'er, you must remember this." The Empress Dowager held Lu Xiaoyun's hand tightly, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I shouldn't have told you this. It would have been better to keep it buried in my heart forever. But seeing how much you two have fallen out, I'm afraid the Great Zhou Dynasty is insecure. If you find out about your mother's background from somewhere else, and given her personality, I don't even want to think about it."
The Empress Dowager held Lu Xiaoyun's hand tightly: "Eighteen years have passed, Yu'er. Your father has also suffered greatly. Yet he still sent you to the Northwest to command the Northern Army. If it were any other emperor, he would not have been able to do this."
Lu Xiaoyun lowered her head and remained silent, recalling what Zhu Yu had told her about why the old emperor had agreed to let him join the Northern Army.
Perhaps the Empress Dowager was unaware, but she knew perfectly well what the old emperor was planning.
The old emperor believed that Zhu Yu could not possibly have taken control of the Northern Army in just five years. Moreover, the Northern Qi was ruthless, and when he went to the Northern Qi alone, his martial arts skills were not high, and he was not allowed to reveal his true identity.
He was very likely to die under the iron cavalry of Northern Qi.
Dying on the battlefield, his father, the emperor, could actually make a name for him after his death.
The Empress Dowager gazed intently into Lu Xiaoyun's dark eyes for a long while before saying, "Yu'er, you must not tell your mother about this. Just let your mother live a good life in the Prince An's residence, and don't let her find out the slightest thing."
"Your grandmother trusts your character, but your mother, alas, has become increasingly eccentric in recent years."
"Your grandmother watched as she and your father went from being a loving couple to where they are today. That's why she had to let her leave the palace. You should understand your grandmother's good intentions. But if she knew about her true parentage, and seeing your high prestige in the army, she might develop some other ideas..."
Even after leaving the palace and returning to Prince An's residence, Lu Xiaoyun was still in shock. She had never imagined that Consort Duan had such a background.
She didn't even know how to evaluate the emperor's actions towards Zhu Yu.
They had no idea why Consort Duan treated Zhu Yu this way.
After returning to the Prince An's residence, Lu Xiaoyun stood quietly outside Yunmei Garden for a long time.
The guards standing outside the courtyard didn't dare to breathe, feeling that Prince An's aura today was very similar to that before the wedding, so gloomy that no one dared to approach him.
Lu Xiaoyun asked the guard, "How is Consort Duan today?"
The guard stood ramrod straight and replied respectfully, "Your Highness, Consort Duan has not left her room all day. Only Zhang Mama is with her inside."
"Have you had your meal?"
"Yes, I have used it, but not much."
Lu Xiaoyun stopped talking and remained standing outside the courtyard.
"Your Highness, are you going in to see Consort Duan? The light in her room is still on, so she must not have gone to bed yet."
Lu Xiaoyun tried to go in several times, but in the end she didn't take that step and shook her head.
Until the bright moonlight bathed the entire courtyard, until her body was almost numb with cold, Lu Xiaoyun took one last deep look at the shadow that had been sitting motionless by the window for so long under the dim lamplight, and then returned to the front yard.
As night deepened, she locked herself in her study.
The study was completely dark; she did not turn on the light.
His eyes, accustomed to the darkness, surveyed the study, which was filled with all sorts of books.
From the details of servants and attendants in individual mansions to major issues like military strategy, water conservancy, and people's livelihood.
Lu Xiaoyun even saw Zhu Yu's loneliness and desolation in these books.
How could someone as perceptive as him not know about Consort Duan's background?
After knowing all this, how did he manage to get through each day?
The one who destroyed his maternal grandfather's royal family was his own imperial grandfather.
But his father knew all this, so how could he hate him?
I can't bring myself to hate him.
Why did Consort Duan, after arriving at Prince An's residence, still treat her "son" like she did in the palace, causing such a rift?
The beatings of Feng Yan and "Lu Xiaoyun" in particular seemed utterly unreasonable.
Thinking of this, Lu Xiaoyun suddenly raised her head.
Could it be that Consort Duan already knew about her true parentage?
She did this so that certain words would be deliberately sent to the ears of the old emperor and empress dowager, in order to lull them into a false sense of security.
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