Chapter 207
Emperor Mingyou was dressed in a Taoist robe, sitting cross-legged on a futon, with his hands on his knees, his thumbs pinching his middle fingers, his eyes closed, looking as if he were practicing meditation.
Qi Heng lifted his robe, knelt down, and kowtowed, saying, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent. After a long while, Emperor Mingyou slowly said, "Get up."
He stood up and stood a short distance away, respectfully saying, "Father summoned me here. Is there anything you require of me?"
Emperor Mingyou opened his eyes, his eyes were dark and bluish-black, as if his life force had been drained by something, but he himself was still unaware of it.
He said calmly, "I heard from your mother that you have someone you admire? You want me to grant you a marriage?"
"Indeed, I admire Princess Huaimin. I beg Your Majesty to grant my wish." After saying this, he knelt down on the ground again with a thud, his face full of sincerity.
Emperor Mingyou stared at him intently, his gaze deep and thoughtful, as if scrutinizing him. He said in a deep voice, "Why Huaimin? I heard your mother mention before that you two were old acquaintances?"
Qi Heng clenched his fists, feeling a little uneasy, and said carefully, "She is not an old acquaintance. I met her by chance on the street and fell in love with her at first sight. Later, after searching around, I found out that she is the daughter of the Prince of Yingzhou."
"Then we met at the palace."
Upon hearing this, his expression softened considerably. He had previously sent people to investigate whether he had any prior contact with the Murong family, but they had indeed found no connection between the Crown Prince's Palace and the Prince's Mansion.
If there really is a connection, then the assassination attempt at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was orchestrated by him, and he used this woman to save the emperor and gain a reward.
However, the suggestion to reward this woman was made by Duan Aiqing. Duan Gan and he were at odds, and their subordinates had caused a great disturbance in the court on several occasions.
So if Murong Tao had a relationship with him before, Duan Gan couldn't possibly not know. The fact that he offered to reward Murong Tao back then can only mean that Murong Tao and he really didn't have a relationship before.
"You wish to marry her as a concubine? Indeed, it is time for you to take a wife at your age. I can grant your request."
He suddenly looked up, his face showing some hesitation, but he still said, "Your subject wishes to marry her as his principal wife."
"To be the Crown Princess?" Emperor Mingyou was full of surprise. "I never imagined you were so deeply in love with her."
Qi Heng smiled slightly, a hint of expectation in her eyes, "Please grant my request, Father."
"The daughter of the Prince of Yingzhou, and now the Princess of Huaimin, is barely worthy of the title of Crown Princess. Well, Yingzhou has been of some help to you."
When Emperor Mingyou said this, his cloudy eyes cleared for a moment before he covered his mouth and began to cough violently.
When he heard the last sentence, he felt no emotion. His father might have considered his future before, but now he could no longer believe that his father truly wanted him to inherit the throne.
Now, everyone's hopes are on him, and he is about to have a wife, so every step he takes will be even more precarious and cautious.
"Unexpectedly, time has passed and the child who used to fawn over me is now getting married. Only after marriage will he truly grow up and shoulder the responsibilities of a man."
The usually aloof emperor showed a rare hint of tenderness at this moment, like an ordinary father, earnestly instructing his son on the responsibilities of starting a family.
Qi Heng remained calm, yet obediently agreed.
The imperial decree would take time to be drafted, so he didn't linger. Seeing the emperor give some instructions to himself for a while, then slowly close his eyes and continue his cultivation, he bowed and said, "Father, then I will take my leave."
The Emperor calmly hummed in agreement: "Go then."
………
Finding people shouldn't rely solely on Duan Gan's people; she can also look for other clues herself.
Originally, I thought of asking Tao's mother if the two had had any disagreements before, but all she said was basically what she already knew.
Even if there weren't any major conflicts in the days before Tao Yuan left, they had been husband and wife sharing a bed for so long, it was impossible for them to be completely unaware of each other. In fact, even her mother knew nothing.
Whether she genuinely didn't know or was feigning ignorance, only her mother herself would know.
But she felt that her mother was just unwilling to tell her some things, perhaps because she was wary of her.
She's making it all so mysterious; if it weren't for her curiosity, I wouldn't care.
So now Tao Tao is standing in the old Tao family courtyard. She didn't sell the old courtyard; it's a memory, so she kept it as a memento.
Standing here now, looking at her clean but somewhat desolate home because it's been abandoned, she can't help but feel a pang of nostalgia for the passage of time, yet the memories remain vivid.
Back then, she would sit in the courtyard, mending clothes for Aunt He. When she had nothing to do, she would lie on a recliner under a big tree, enjoying the summer breeze and reading travelogues. She was very content.
A cool breeze rustled through the dense foliage. On a whim, she walked to the rocking chair, lay down, squinted, and looked up at the sunlight filtering through the branches.
I couldn't help but think how lush this tree was; it was not only growing well but also very thick, with lush green leaves that made me feel happy just looking at it.
Rong'er and Leng Qiao inside were still searching for clues, while she herself was taking a nap.
When the two came out, they found that Tao Tao had been asleep for a while.
Rong'er whispered to Leng Qiao, "Sister Leng Qiao, should we wake up the county princess?"
Leng Qiao glanced at her, responded with silence, and then crossed her arms and leaned against the tree.
Her actions spoke volumes, so Rong'er had no choice but to find a place to sit down and wait together.
"Mother! Don't hit my mother! Let go... You're a bad person!... You're not my father!"
The little girl angrily shoved the adult man who was several times her height, while he was holding a woman's hair in his hand.
The woman was frail and looked terrified. There was a clear handprint on her pale cheek, which was swollen and raised. She was being dragged along the ground.
Finally, the man lost his patience and kicked the little girl away.
A scream was heard as the little girl was kicked to the ground, her face pale, her eyes red-rimmed, and tears welling up. She lay there for a long time, unable to get up.
Seeing this, the woman struggled desperately, but hesitated because the difference in strength was too great, and could only be beaten.
"...Don't, don't lay a hand on me... Damn it..."
Tao Tao, sitting on the recliner, frowned and kept muttering to herself, as if she were trapped in a nightmare called memories.
In her dream, Tao Tao rushed forward angrily, only to find that her body passed right through them. She felt no sense of reality and could only stand by and watch helplessly as the beast attacked.
Looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar scene, memories hidden deep within her mind gradually surfaced. These were not her memories, but memories from when the original owner was five years old.
But perhaps because it caused her too much psychological trauma at a young age, this memory has been sealed away until now.
It turns out that Tao Yuan is not only a bully at home, but also a domestic abuser.
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