Qi Yuning and Lu Ze looked at each other and nodded.
Princess Duan wept bitterly, “Shan’er disappeared when she was ten years old. Many people said they saw her fall into the river. We searched everywhere along the river but couldn’t find her body.
Later, my mother, my parents and I advised the prince and I to have another child while we still could.
But Shan'er is our baby. Even if we have other children, they will no longer be Shan'er.
After we had Jie'er, the prince and I never forgot Shan'er and never gave up looking for her. We were determined to find her alive or dead. It wasn't until three years after Shan'er disappeared that Wang Tao found us.
Qi Yuning asked: "Wang Tao?"
Lu Ze signaled the guards to bring Wang Tao over.
Princess Duan nodded and said, "Wang Tao handed us the body of a woman. Although three years have passed and my Shan'er has grown from a child into a young girl, the prince and I recognized the body as Shan'er at first sight.
That’s our Shan’er. The birthmark on Shan’er’s body is still there. Shan’er’s body is covered with…”
Princess Duan was trembling and couldn't speak at all, and her throat was sore.
Qi Yuning hugged Princess Duan and said, "Princess."
Princess Duan burst into tears, "Shan'er was covered in traces of abuse. Her death was horrible. The prince couldn't bear it and pressed Wang Tao about the origins of the body. Wang Tao said that a comrade of his had brought it out from the Shu Palace. By then, Wang Tao's comrade had already died, so there was nothing he could get out of him."
Princess Duan was heartbroken and said, "That night, the prince was going to go to the Shu prince's mansion to question me. I was stupid and foolish. I didn't want Shan'er being humiliated to be known to everyone. I just wanted Shan'er to leave with a clear conscience. So I stopped the prince and prevented him from making a big deal out of this. I was really stupid."
Princess Duan was so grief-stricken that she slapped herself angrily.
Qi Yuning repeatedly held Princess Duan's hand and said, "You are right. Princess Shan died with a clean conscience."
This is the way the world is. No one will think a woman is innocent when she is bullied. Even if she is a high-ranking royal princess, if she is bullied to death, she will be laughed at in secret.
Princess Duan's choice was also helpless.
Princess Duan choked up and said, "When we found Shan'er's body, it was during the sacrificial ceremony. We planned to announce that we had found Shan'er's body after the sacrificial ceremony, and hold a funeral for her so that she could rest in peace.
Who would have thought that the prince would not even return, but would actually fall into the lake and die!"
Princess Duan was extremely sad and said, "The King of Shu and Concubine Xian are extremely powerful. What can I do? Do I really want to disregard Shan'er's reputation and demand revenge on the King of Shu without any evidence?"
"I can't kill the King of Shu by myself. I still have Jie'er here. I can't really kill the King of Shu and leave Jie'er alone!"
"Many people witnessed the prince's death. He was dragged down by a water ghost and drowned. No one witnessed my Shan'er's death. Even if we seek justice, there's no evidence.
I can only let everyone see my Shan'er's body after being abused, let her suffer humiliation again, let her be laughed at by the world, I don't want that!"
Qi Yuning looked at Princess Duan with heartache. Both her beloved daughter and husband were dead. It was no wonder that Princess Duan left the prosperous Shengjing and lived in seclusion here.
Qi Yuning sighed. Seeing Lu Ze's men escorting Wang Tao into the tomb, he asked, "Wang Tao, did Princess Shan's body really come from the Prince of Shu's Palace?"
Wang Tao said, "Yes, General Huo An gave Princess Shan's body to me. After General Huo gave me the body, he died."
"Uncle Huo!"
Qi Yuning was shocked, because Huo An was her grandfather's disciple and the most loyal one.
Qi Yuning thought he had died a long time ago, dying with his parents in the battle fourteen years ago.
Wang Tao said, "For some reason, General Huo has been hiding in the Prince of Shu's mansion all these years. He told me to give Princess Shan's body to Prince Duan. Before he died, he said, 'Uncle, not uncle...'"
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