Chapter 141 Some things don't require evidence
Seeing that he looked serious and didn't seem to be finding fault, Lord Zhao tried to recall what had happened. "I was the one who was drugged and dragged her to bed. Later, I checked and found that the drug was given to someone else and I took it by mistake. She also happened to pass by there unintentionally."
"What a coincidence?"
Zhao Shen didn't know how to describe his father. He was not such a stupid person normally, but he actually believed it after so many coincidences.
Lord Zhao heard the doubt in his words and had to explain, "At the time, I felt sorry for both your mother and her. After all, she was still an unmarried woman. She didn't cry or make a fuss when something like this happened. She told me she wouldn't be a concubine. I just pretended nothing happened."
Zhao Shen understood that Yao's reaction could easily leave a good impression on others.
He said noncommittally, "What happened next? She got pregnant and came to see my mother. Didn't you suspect her?"
Lord Zhao recalled the scene, his face grim. "When I found out, your mother had already passed away due to a difficult labor. She knelt outside your mother's delivery room for a long time while pregnant and almost lost the child. She said she was terrified when she found out she was pregnant, and she didn't expect to kill your mother."
This time, Zhao Shen couldn't bear it any longer: "So you believed her words?"
Even though more than twenty years had passed, recalling these events still brought great pain to Lord Zhao. "I checked, and everything was just as she said. She didn't ask me to marry her. When her family found out she was pregnant before marriage, she was sent to the manor. Later, it was her maid who found me and begged me to save her. Only then did I learn that she was nearly tortured to death on the manor."
Zhao Shen was not interested in these things. Knowing the result and deducing the process, it sounded like Yao was strategizing step by step and finally got his father to marry her.
"I heard that Zhao Heng was born prematurely?"
Zhao Shen asked directly.
When Lord Zhao heard this, he suddenly had a bad feeling and nodded, "That's right. Yao had a difficult pregnancy and was frightened and gave birth prematurely. Heng'er was born skinny and tiny, and he almost died. It was Princess Taining who sent him the secret medicine from the palace to save him."
Zhao Shen: "If all this was Yao's plan from the beginning, then do you still think she had a difficult pregnancy and would be frightened by such a small thing? And have you ever thought about why the eldest princess is so close to her?"
Lord Zhao somewhat understood what he was saying, but was unwilling to believe it. However, a voice in his heart told him that he had also doubted these things, hadn't he?
He was silent for a long time before he uttered with some difficulty: "You have no evidence?"
Zhao Shen laughed, his voice a little cold. "Dad, you know better than me that some things don't require evidence. You didn't find any evidence, and you think she, a weak woman, couldn't do this, but what if there's someone behind her?"
Lord Zhao had no feelings for Yao, and Shen's death in childbirth separated them forever.
When he was most sad, he also resented Yao, but he was soon overwhelmed by self-blame.
He knew very well that it was his own fault that killed his wife.
Yao was also a victim.
So he took on the responsibility he should have, married Yao, and gave them the status of mother and son.
But now, his son told him that all this was Yao's plan from the very beginning?
Lord Zhao closed his eyes and asked, "What exactly do you want to say?"
Zhao Shen didn't know what he was thinking. The truth was already in front of him, but he still refused to admit it. He said coldly, "Zhao Heng should not be your son."
When he finally heard these words, Lord Zhao was unexpectedly calm.
Zhao Shen suddenly understood: "You actually suspected it, right? Then why didn't you check it out?"
"I checked. I checked when your mother died, and I checked when you fell off your horse, but there was no trace. That's when I realized that either I was being suspicious, or the person behind this was beyond my reach."
Lord Zhao's voice was a little hoarse. "That's why I haven't investigated again in these years. I thought as long as you're alive and well, I can let the past go. You suddenly don't want to pretend anymore and are telling me all this. What happened?"
Zhao Shen said, "It seems you haven't completely lost your mind yet. I'm telling you this to warn you that your future days may not be so peaceful."
Lord Zhao understood. In fact, he was not completely unaware of the undercurrents in the capital over the past six months.
Seeing that he had nothing to say, Zhao Shen got up and left.
When he reached the door, the person sitting behind the desk suddenly asked, "Yao...with whom?"
He was talking nonsense, but Zhao Shen understood. He said calmly, "If nothing unexpected happens, it's Prince Yong."
Lord Zhao was stunned for a moment and didn't say anything.
Zhao Shen asked, "What does father plan to do?"
Lord Zhao knew Zhao Shen's character well. If it had nothing to do with him, he would not have asked this question.
"What do you think?"
Zhao Shen said, "My leg is healed now. They should attack again. Let's not alert them yet."
Lord Zhao did not object: "I understand."
When Zhao Shen returned to the yard, it was already late.
Ji Yunshu had been traveling for several days and was very tired. He was sleeping soundly in bed.
Zhao Shen sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes carefully tracing her eyebrows and eyes in the dim light.
Some people can’t imagine what they would be like now if they hadn’t married her.
How bad will the fight between him and his father be after he knows the truth?
But when he told his father everything just now, he felt unexpectedly calm.
It was as if the anger and resentment buried deep in my heart all these years had really dissipated.
When Ji Yunshu opened his eyes, he saw that the room was dark and Zhao Shen was sitting beside the bed, staring at him without blinking.
She sat up and asked, "What time is it? Why don't you light the lamp?"
She was a little drowsy in her sleep and patted her head. She had slept until this time. What should she do if she couldn’t sleep at night?
Zhao Shen smiled and said, "It's the evening hour, nothing to do, no need to light a lamp."
Ji Yunshu looked him over, but couldn't see any emotion, so he asked, "Why did the Marquis call you so urgently?"
As she was talking, she wanted to get up, but was pulled into Zhao Shen's arms. She looked up at him inexplicably, but he didn't do anything else. He just held her quietly and said, "Ask me what's wrong with my leg."
Ji Yunshu had actually anticipated that Zhao Shen's leg had healed. Apart from Taoist Yichen who had cured his leg, only the emperor and a few of his confidants knew about it.
Lord Zhao knew nothing about it.
Ji Yunshu thought about how much Marquis Zhao loved Zhao Shen, and felt sad for him.
She felt that Zhao Shen didn't seem to be in a good mood, so she asked carefully, "You kept it a secret from your father for so long, is he angry?"
Actually, this is understandable. It is hard not to be overwhelmed when your most beloved son hides such an important thing from you and may even suspect you.
Zhao Shen could hear her comforting words, and the anger in his heart disappeared. He chuckled and said, "He didn't have time to be angry. I thought that since the news of my leg's recovery had been made public, there would be trouble in the future, so I told him about Yao's plot against him and Zhao Heng's life story."
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