Chapter 230 Her Affair with Shen Xu
Zisu keenly noticed that her young lady's grip was so strong that she couldn't hold her with one hand. She was so anxious that sweat beaded on her forehead, and she gripped Li Nanke tightly with both hands.
"Miss, what's wrong? Don't scare me."
Li Nanke seemed not to hear, staring blankly at Shen Xu on the ground.
Images flashed through her mind one after another, overwhelming her to the point that she collapsed to the ground.
It's all about her and Shen Xu in her teenage years in her dreams.
At that time, Shen Cong forged a peasant girl identity for her and sent someone to send her back to the outskirts of Bianjing.
Then she arranged for someone to assassinate Shen Xu, which conveniently saved Shen Xu's life.
Grateful for saving her life, Shen Xu brought her back to the Eastern Palace.
At that time, the emperor had not yet passed away, but his health was already very weak. As the crown prince, Shen Xu was in charge of overseeing the country and handling state affairs on his behalf.
She entered the Eastern Palace with only two purposes: first, to help Shen Cong find the antidote.
At that time, none of them knew that Shen Cong was under a "blood curse," and they only thought that he had been poisoned.
Shen Cong never mentioned why he was "poisoned," only saying that the antidote should be in the palace.
The second objective is to find the person behind the framing of her father, Li Mu, for embezzlement, which led to the confiscation of her property and the exile and tragic deaths of her entire family, so as to avenge her parents and grandmother!
When she first entered the Eastern Palace, she was timid and relied heavily on Shen Xu.
She thought it was just acting, to get closer to Shen Xu, and to take the opportunity to get information about Shen Cong's poisoning.
Shen Xu also thoroughly enjoyed her dependence on him, treating her with gentleness, consideration, and utmost care.
He would sneak her out of the palace early in the morning to go to the morning market whenever she wanted to eat snacks outside the palace.
At the morning market stalls along the Bian River, I ordered two baked buns and two bowls of steaming hot rice noodle soup. Amidst the enthusiastic shouts of the vendors, I happily finished my meal and returned to the palace.
He remembered that she disliked the heat and loved to eat ice in the summer, so he would send a palace eunuch out of the palace to buy a bowl of sugar-coated iced dumplings and deliver it to her when the heat was at its peak.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, he would take her to watch the exciting dragon boat races, and on the Double Ninth Festival, he would take her out of the palace to climb mountains and enjoy the view.
Her periods were irregular, and every time she had her period, she would suffer from unbearable abdominal pain and be unable to get out of bed. At those times, Shen Xu would stay by her side, watching her take medicine, apply moxibustion, and apply hot compresses.
Even when Princess Zhaoning and Xue Ting repeatedly caused trouble, Shen Xu always stood up to protect her.
Why are you so good to me?
She asked Shen Xu this question more than once.
Shen Xu raised his hand and gently stroked her nose, smiling tenderly and affectionately.
"Because you saved my life, I am yours now."
Feeling a little guilty, she couldn't help but ask, "What if I hadn't saved you?"
Shen Xu thought for a moment and said, "Then we might meet in another way. It's fate that has been ordained by heaven, and we are destined to be together!"
Whether on the road to exile or during her years in brothels, Li Nanke suffered greatly and was filled with bitterness. No one ever showed her any care or concern.
No one has ever pampered her or taken care of her like this before!
Faced with Shen Xu's meticulous and thoughtful care, she fell hopelessly in love!
Yes, in her dream, after spending more than a year with Shen Xu, she realized that she had fallen in love with him!
The better Shen Xu treated her, the more guilty she felt.
She was plunged into deep pain. On one hand, she felt that her relationship with Shen Xu was built on a lie, that she was using Shen Xu, and that she was not worthy of him.
On the other hand, she was afraid that Shen Xu would abandon her after learning about her past and how he had used her.
The torment continued day after day, and another year passed in agony.
Finally, one day, she could no longer bear it and revealed her true identity.
She recounted her experiences during her exile, how she ended up in a brothel, and how she was rescued by people from the Prince Xuan's mansion.
She said that Shen Cong had sent her back to the capital, hoping that she could help him find the antidote.
She told Shen Xu everything without hiding anything!
"...If you despise me, I will leave the East Palace immediately and will not stay a moment longer."
She looked at Shen Xu through teary eyes.
After a long silence, Shen Xu said, "If you leave without completing the task Uncle Jiu gave you, aren't you afraid he'll kill you?"
She shook her head, bit her lip, and whispered, "Kill me if you want. I really don't want to lie to you."
Shen Xu sighed softly and reached out to hug her.
"Silly girl, do you know how long I've been waiting for this day?"
"What? You...you knew my identity all along?"
"I don't know your identity, but I know you're definitely not a peasant girl. Have you ever seen a real peasant girl with such delicate skin?"
When you saved me, I knew your appearance might be a setup.
She was taken aback and shocked, and stammered.
"Then why do you still keep me by your side?"
Shen Xu curved his lips into a smile, his gaze intense.
"Because I believe that sincerity can move mountains, I liked you the moment I opened my eyes and saw you."
As it turns out, I made the right choice!
She was once again captivated by that tender yet intense gaze.
Shen Xu told her, "Back during the Five Princes' Rebellion, Ninth Uncle was poisoned by Prince Chen's men. Over the years, my father and I have been searching for an antidote for her."
Prince Chen was born to the late emperor's favorite concubine, and the antidote is hidden in the palace where the late emperor's favorite concubine once lived.
Unfortunately, we've searched high and low all these years, but haven't found it. But don't worry, as long as the antidote is in the palace, we'll definitely find it.
She took Shen Xu's words to heart and begged him to do everything in his power to find the antidote.
Later, Shen Xu told Song Hui and Zhao Hong about her identity. Song Hui came to the East Palace, hugged her and wept bitterly, saying that she had suffered all these years and that she wanted to take her back to live with the Zhao family.
“You and His Highness the Crown Prince are a single man and a single woman living in the East Palace. It’s inevitable that others will see through you. Going to your aunt’s house to stay with you will be a good opportunity for your aunt to make up for the grievances you have suffered over the years.”
After much hesitation, she agreed to move to the Zhao family's house.
It was also because she was living in the Zhao family's house that she discovered by chance that Zhao Hong was actually intricately connected to her father's case.
She became suspicious and followed the clues to investigate further, discovering that it was Zhao Hong who had written the anonymous letter framing her father for embezzlement!
When Zhao Honggang was transferred to the capital, in order to get promoted, he fabricated a case of his father's embezzlement. He then rose through the ranks as an incorruptible censor who put his own family in the line of duty, eventually becoming the Left Chancellor!
Zhao Hong's path to promotion was built on the blood and flesh of her entire family.
She secretly gathered evidence, and once she had collected all the evidence, she told Shen Xu about it.
She begged Shen Xu to clear her father's name and avenge her entire family!
Shen Xu held the evidence, his face filled with shock.
"The Left Prime Minister has always been diligent and fair, how could he do such a thing? Could there be some misunderstanding?"
She firmly believed that the evidence she had investigated was correct.
Shen Xu said, "I have arranged for someone to verify this. If it is true, I will definitely not let him off!"
Shen Xu took all the evidence.
She felt inexplicably uneasy, her heart was beating unusually fast, so she chased after Shen Xu after he left.
She chased him all the way to the study, and through the crack in the door that was not yet closed, she saw with her own eyes Shen Xu throw the evidence she had painstakingly collected into the brazier.
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