Chapter 343 Two Rings
Li Nanke held Shen Cong in her arms, tears streaming down her face, soaking Shen Cong's clothes.
Shen Cong looked at the wet clothes, then slowly shifted his gaze to the left, looking at Li Nanke.
Staring blankly at Li Nanke, who was crying her eyes out, he raised his hand to wipe away her tears after a long while.
As soon as I wiped them away, tears started falling again, covering my face.
He found it somewhat amusing, his voice trembling slightly.
Why are you crying?
Li Nanke wiped his face with his sleeve, sniffed, and shook his head.
"I...I don't know either, I'm just very sad."
"How could he be so mean? How could he do this? Waaaaah..."
"The Empress Dowager is saying nothing to protect Ninth Brother..."
Li Nanke couldn't continue speaking. She hugged Shen Cong and burst into tears, her face covered in tears and snot, which smeared all over Shen Cong.
Shen Cong calmed down instead.
He was young when it happened, and there were many things he couldn't understand. He lived in a nightmare for a whole year.
Later, as he grew older, he had a vague suspicion in his heart but dared not think about it and refused to think about it.
Looking back now, it must have been his mother who hid the imperial edict to protect him.
The emperor was dissatisfied and asked the empress to choose one of them.
Both are her flesh and blood; the Empress Dowager doesn't want to hurt her brother, but she also wants to protect him.
Faced with overwhelming difficulties, the Empress Dowager chose to sacrifice herself!
She must have known all along that the soup was poisoned, but she still chose to drink it without hesitation.
She is gone, and he has been branded with the crime of matricide, his reputation ruined, and he will never be able to ascend the throne in this lifetime!
The Empress Dowager hopes that the Emperor will spare his life for this reason!
It felt as if a giant hand was gripping Shen Cong's heart tightly, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Li Nanke took his hand and asked softly, "Have you often thought about these things over the years, Ninth Brother? It must have been very painful for you, right?"
Shen Cong slowly opened his eyes, pursed his lips, and said softly, "I'm fine."
Before he was ten years old, he really thought about it every single day!
I don't know when it started, but he rarely thinks about the past anymore.
It was probably after he started coughing up blood frequently last year that he felt he wouldn't live much longer and would soon be going to meet his mother in the afterlife, so he thought less about what happened that day.
He will eventually see his mother, and when that time comes, he will kneel before her and atone for his sins.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Li Nanke's crying gradually stopped, and she released Chen Cong, sobbing softly.
Shen Cong raised an eyebrow, looking helpless.
"Stop crying?"
Li Nanke wiped her face, then blushed as she looked at the damp patch on Shen Cong's shoulder.
Her voice trembled slightly as she stammered, "Ninth Brother, I've dirtied your clothes. Do you...do you want to change?"
"Why don't you take it off and have someone wash it for you?"
She still remembered that she had left two shoe prints on Shen Cong's carpet, and Shen Cong had asked her to clean the carpet.
His clothes are so dirty, he'll definitely have to wash them himself.
Shen Cong merely glanced at him indifferently, shook his head, and stood up.
"never mind!"
Li Nanke was so shocked that her jaw almost dropped. She watched as Shen Cong went straight behind the screen to change into a new outer garment, leaving the old one on the screen.
"Never mind" means...it seems I don't need to wash it myself.
When Shen Cong came out again, although his face was still pale, his emotions had calmed down considerably.
Li Nanke's mood calmed down considerably, and she looked at Shen Cong with longing eyes.
"But His Majesty has been in a daze these days. Will it be of any use for Ninth Brother to release this news?"
Shen Cong sat down and poured a glass of warm water for Li Nanke.
He said calmly, "I don't know, let's see in a few days."
"But I still can't understand how the disappearance of the Consort's child could be related to the late Emperor's edict."
Shen Cong couldn't answer this question either.
Li Nanke sighed, resting her chin on her hand.
They are now as if they are in a maze, seemingly close to the truth, but shrouded in a thick veil of illusion.
Only by clearing away the illusions can we find the answer.
"Ninth Brother, did the Empress Dowager leave behind any items?"
"object?"
Shen Cong thought for a moment and said, "Before my mother passed away, she lived in Baoci Palace, but it was destroyed during the Rebellion of the Five Princes."
After we returned to the palace, we renovated it, and everything inside was new.
After my mother passed away, His Majesty ordered the Bao Ci Palace to be sealed off, and even I haven't been inside.
"What I mean is, did the Empress Dowager leave you any items specifically for you?"
"For me?"
Shen Cong frowned slightly. "Why do you ask that?"
Li Nanke took a piece of paper out of his pocket.
The drawing on the paper is of a ring about the size of a thumb.
Shen Cong frowned, "This is..."
Li Nanke, "Ninth Brother, do you remember when I mentioned to you before that your blood curse might be related to the imperial tomb?"
Shen Cong nodded.
“I remember that after my mother was buried, the tomb door was closed and could not be reopened. I didn’t want to disturb her rest.”
Li Nanke pointed to the ring on it and said, "I knew Ninth Brother didn't want me to investigate, so I secretly sent Gui Liu to the Imperial Mausoleum without telling you."
This is the marker on the tomb entrance of the Empress Dowager's mausoleum, featuring two rings, one on the upper left and one on the lower right of the entrance.
As she spoke, she took another piece of paper and began to draw the shape of the tomb entrance and the location of the ring on it.
"Ninth Brother, look, don't these two rings look like keys? Keys to open the tomb door."
She remembered that in her dream, Shen Xu tried every means to use her to transfer Shen Cong to the capital, and finally shot Shen Cong to death in front of the Empress Dowager's tomb.
Shen Xu wanted to open the Empress Dowager's tomb to find something.
In her dream, she didn't know what she was looking for, but now that she thinks about it, perhaps she was looking for the late emperor's edict!
Therefore, Shen Cong may have had a key that could open the tomb.
Li Nanke said, "Think about it carefully again. Did the Empress Dowager leave you anything like a ring, or did she give you any instructions?"
Shen Cong stared at the ring for a long time, then shook his head.
"Besides instructing me to obey my elder brother, the Empress Dowager didn't say anything else. As for the things..."
He pulled a red string from around his neck, with a jade pendant tied to the end of the string.
"This jade pendant was given to my mother by my father. It was originally a pair, but my mother broke it in two. One piece is with my elder brother, and the other piece is left to me."
As he spoke, he took off the jade pendant and handed it to Li Nanke.
The jade pendant has a mutton fat white base, and its texture is as delicate and warm as solidified fat. It feels cool to the touch but not icy, and the dark blue-green patterns inside are like floating ink clouds.
The circular edge is polished smooth, while the notch is clean and crisp.
Shen Cong pointed to the broken edge and said, "The gap here can fit perfectly with the jade pendant in my brother's hand."
If I had to say what my mother left me, this would be all I have.
Li Nanke held the jade pendant and examined it for a long time, but found nothing of interest, and was quite disappointed.
Shen Cong took the jade pendant back and asked, "Are you sure that collecting all three rings will open the tomb of the Empress Dowager?"
Li Nanke thought for a moment and nodded.
She was certain that in her dream, Shen Xu did indeed want to open the Empress Dowager's tomb to find something.
Moreover, it was Shen Xu who said it himself: to break the blood curse on Shen Cong, the tomb door must be opened.
"I'm absolutely sure!"
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