Chapter 32 The Truth: She's always lived in my heart.
Upon receiving news of Physician Wang's imprisonment, Shangguan Yun immediately dispatched a shadow to the imperial prison.
The prison was heavily guarded, but Ying chose a dark and windy night to go there alone.
With just a few quick movements, he immobilized the guards who hadn't even had a chance to utter a sound.
He smiled and pulled out a key chain from a guard's waist.
Thanks.
His veiled peach blossom eyes, when they turned, exuded an indescribable charm, leaving the guards unable to move and only able to stare wide-eyed.
"What are you looking at? I am the Crown Prince's man." Ying swung the key and deliberately walked back and forth a few steps beside the guard, winking and forcing two blushes onto the guard's dark face.
The shadow continued forward, but even from a distance, it could hear hoarse sobs. Approaching the prison gate, it indeed saw the former Imperial Physician Wang crouching in the corner, cowering in fear.
They used to live a life of luxury, but now they are in such a miserable state that they can't bear it.
Ying raised an eyebrow. This so-called Physician Wang was truly a spineless coward who lived a life of ignominy.
Before long, the imperial physician Wang realized that someone was by the door, and he scrambled toward the cell door where the shadow was.
"Please, let me out, please."
"Letting you out is unlikely, but..." Ying squatted down, smiling with narrowed eyes as she faced the raggedly dressed Imperial Physician Wang.
"I do have a way to save your entire family from being exterminated."
Physician Wang fell silent instantly. Though he was forty, his eyes were already aged, cloudy and devoid of any last vestiges of life or hope.
He stared at the shadow for a short while, then finally nodded slowly and heavily, sacrificing his last shred of dignity for the sake of his clan…
Recently, shocking news spread throughout Phoenix Dance City: the Crown Prince sent assassins to break into the imperial prison in an attempt to bribe a suspect.
On the day of Wang Taiyi's execution, what people heard from him was the royal scandal of the Crown Prince bribing him to poison the Emperor, but then framing the Empress.
The court was in an uproar, with many different opinions. Unfortunately, after the death of Imperial Physician Wang, the Wang family was inevitably implicated and their entire clan was exterminated. As for the Empress and the Crown Prince, it seemed that no one could stand up and say who was right and who was wrong.
At this time, the Eastern Palace seemed to be shrouded in a miasma, and the bright spring colors had all turned gray.
To Galorin's utter surprise, just as she was about to uncover the whole truth, she was outmaneuvered by that woman.
When he puts down his teacup, he needs to exert all his willpower to stop himself from crushing it in his hand.
Bai Lian leaned against the door, watching Jia Luolin's furious expression without uttering a word.
Soon after, Galorin, having regained control of her anger, discovered Byakuren's presence.
"come over."
Bai Lian, unusually compliant, walked over and sat down beside him, allowing Jia Luolin to embrace her tightly.
"You believe me, right?"
Bai Lian nodded silently.
Galorin sighed, and her previously tense body gradually relaxed.
“But I can’t produce any evidence to convince the Emperor. Physician Wang is dead, and his family is dead too. The ingredients listed on the prescriptions are correct, but the other ingredient that was added to them is nowhere to be found.”
Bai Lian patted him on the back, feeling that he, in his helpless state, was like a child...
Galorin rested her chin on Byakuren's shoulder again and continued, "Actually, I was out earlier because I had important matters to attend to."
"I know, but you didn't tell me."
"It's not that I didn't want to tell you, it's just that I felt the time wasn't right... and I didn't want to cause you any unnecessary trouble." Galorin turned her head, her eyes vacantly staring out the window.
“You know, my mother died when I was less than a year old…”
"I know……"
Jialuolin turned and looked at Bailian with surprise, then slowly said in a deep voice, "Someone saw that Shangguan Yun killed her. It was all for the sake of obtaining the position of Empress, but that person has now disappeared."
"So you heard about it secondhand and then sent people everywhere to find this person?"
"How could this be hearsay!" Galo Lin's anger surged, and she stood up abruptly. "The Empress Dowager's death was suspicious; she disappeared almost overnight. At that time, the person who had a close personal relationship with her and was the only one who benefited from this was Shangguan Yun! How could she possibly be absolved of responsibility!"
Bai Lian remained seated, staring unblinkingly at the enraged Jia Luolin, and asked, word by word:
"Losing your mother must be very painful."
Galorin was momentarily stunned by the question Bai Lian had asked. He composed himself, sat down again, and said, "Never mind, I shouldn't have told you these things. I was just..."
"I'm going back to my room first." Bai Lian interrupted, lowered her head, and hurriedly went back to her room... leaving Jia Luolin bewildered, standing there in a daze.
-
The sky over Phoenix Dance City grew even darker and more uncertain. The old ministers put aside their thoughts of taking sides and began to plan how to find a new concubine for their king.
They stubbornly adhered to the various beliefs passed down by the Phoenix Dynasty royal family since its founding, whether they were practical or unbelievable.
Among these, marrying a new bride to bring good fortune and ward off bad luck for the emperor was a particularly important one.
Just as when the emperor insisted on holding a wedding ceremony for the crown prince when he lost his beloved son.
So, on one side, the Imperial Guards were dispatched daily, conducting searches everywhere, causing widespread panic.
Meanwhile, all the daughters of the families listed were summoned and gathered in Phoenix Dance City, where the beautiful young ladies chattered and clamored together.
Han Liuyue stood in front of the palace awaiting her summons, and she couldn't help but gaze into the distance.
It was as if she could see the Eastern Palace, and the figure of the person she loved...
But when all this is over, where will the gears of fate lead her next?
-
Inside Jinyang Palace, Jialuolin knelt for a long time, unable to rise. His father, the emperor, had just recovered from an illness and was still in a coma.
When Jia Fengtian regained consciousness, it was nearly midnight. He sat up with the help of a eunuch and frowned slightly when he saw his son kneeling not far away for a long time.
He waved his hand, dismissing the crowd, leaving only the father and son in the room.
“I know you’ve always hated me,” Jia Fengtian said, breaking the silence.
Galorin, who had been kneeling for a long time, suddenly raised his head. He did not refute, but continued the conversation, saying, "But I never wanted you to die."
Jia Fengtian slowly opened his slightly closed eyes, turned his head slowly towards Jia Luolin, and said, "Actually, there are many things you don't know."
Galorin gazed at her father's face for a long time, as if trying to recognize the once vigorous and spirited face in his rapidly aging features.
I remember that the stories I liked to hear most were the ones my wet nurse told me about my father and mother. They were a legendary tale of heroes and beauties that everyone in the Feng Dynasty knew. Back then, I would always beg my wet nurse to tell them to me several times.
Unfortunately, things have changed.
“Lin’er, now that things have come to this, there are some things I should no longer hide from you.” Jia Fengtian pondered for a moment and then said, “Actually, Jia Zhang… is your younger brother, your half-brother, sharing the same mother but a different father.”
Jia Fengtian's words were light and casual, yet they struck Jia Luolin's heart like a thunderbolt. He stared wide-eyed, almost losing his balance.
Jia Fengtian continued, "Yan'er was originally my elder brother's lover, but she married me against her will when I was the crown prince."
He paused, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and continued, "After she gave birth to you, she wanted to become a Buddhist nun... but even with you, her heart still didn't want to belong to me!"
Jia Fengtian seemed to be reminiscing about the past, and had changed his title, no longer referring to himself as "朕" (Zhen, the imperial "I").
Galorin saw her father begin to cough violently, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, as if from past sorrows.
Galo Lin wanted to get up and call for help, but was stopped by Galo Feng Tian.
"Lin'er, no need. I know my body best. Today, just listen carefully as your father finishes telling this story."
“I imprisoned her when the late emperor passed away and I ascended the throne. The times were chaotic, and I couldn’t care less. But she… at that time, had an affair with my elder brother who went to rescue her, and they had a child, Zhang.” Jia Fengtian said slowly, panting. “The advantage of power is that even though I took his lover from the beginning, he still felt guilty towards me. So my elder brother volunteered to lead the army into battle, sending himself to his doom.”
"And then what?..." Galorin already knew the ending in her heart, but she still blurted it out in disbelief.
"Later, Prince Yu Huai died on the battlefield, and she committed suicide by poisoning herself in the palace to follow him. Everyone said that the former empress had disappeared without a trace, but they did not know that the ashes of Princess Yu Huai buried with her were hers."
"You burned her..."
“Yes, after her death, otherwise…” Jia Fengtian suddenly burst into laughter, but his voice sounded like a sob.
"Otherwise, how could I possibly grant this destined couple their wish?"
Galorin found that she had lost all the strength to stand up.
This abrupt fact, like a curse, bound him...
Looking back on that day, the day when Zhang and Xuanyu fought, I realized that I hadn't sent reinforcements in time because of my own selfishness.
If he could have stopped it, if this tragedy hadn't happened, then his brother...
Lin was overwhelmed with mixed feelings as he heard Jia Fengtian continue speaking:
"Yan'er hates me, Yun'er has never loved me, and my children... What has this throne brought me in the end?!"
Galorin almost crawled to her father's bedside, on the verge of bursting into tears, but she managed to hold it back, though her body trembled uncontrollably.
Jia Fengtian gently patted Jia Luolin's back, playing the role he had longed for in front of his most beloved son.
With blood trickling from his lips, he hoarsely recounted his sorrow:
“Lin’er, your father understands that you have always been a stubborn and competitive child. You would never stoop to taking my life.”
"Even if I was confused back then and didn't make you the crown prince, I will still give you this land sooner or later."
"Throughout my life, I've been competitive, and my judgment has been mixed, but regarding your mother..."
Jia Fengtian pointed to his heart.
"She was the only one in my heart, yet she would rather die than face the love I gave her..."
Galo Rin's tears still rolled down unexpectedly: "Father, Father, please don't say anymore. Rin was wrong, really wrong."
Jia Fengtian suddenly covered his lips: "Shh... Lin'er, I think I just saw your mother, but if I were in the underworld, Yan'er would have already been reincarnated with my elder brother, then I..."
His eyes were lifeless, as if he saw nothing around him. Every time he opened his lips, blood trickled down the corner of his mouth. Jialuolin frantically wiped it away, "Father, you're alright, you'll be alright."
Galorin rose and stood in the empty palace, screaming madly.
"Guards! Guards!! Where is the imperial physician?! All of you, get out here!!"
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