Chapter 560 Don’t Be Like Me
Yi Cong's heart sank slightly, and a thought flashed through his mind almost immediately - could it be that besides Li Lu, he had other brothers? Or were they too young to manage the affairs of the prince? But like him, they were never shown to the public?
The reason why he was so easily aroused to this suspicion was because he and his mother had suspected it a long time ago...
How could he not be suspicious when he had such a background? But his uncle had soldiers, and he was highly valued by the prince, always by his side, and Li Lu was sick and weak, and he had grown up, so he didn't have to worry about any competitors. But at this time...
His greatest support, his uncle Duan Shiang, is gone.
Li Lu's overly clean hand made him feel a little strange.
His hands have killed many people, and are stained with blood that is difficult to remove. He is always taking risks, even though he always regards this as trust and tempering...
A gust of wind blows, making people feel clear-headed and dazed.
"Are you going to Lingnan this time?"
Li Lu's clear voice brought Yi Cong back to his senses. He lowered his head and replied "yes".
"Be careful." Li Lu patted his shoulder gently and said in a gentle voice: "When you return home, my elder brother will have someone prepare a banquet to celebrate your success. We should also sit together as a family and have a family dinner together."
Yi Cong suppressed the unhappiness in his heart, as if he was being pitied by others, and bowed his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
After saying this, he said "goodbye" and left.
Li Lu stood where he was until Yi Cong's footsteps faded away, then he slowly walked forward to the residence of Princess Rong.
Princess Rong has been bedridden for several years and has not walked around for a long time. She can no longer take care of herself.
She never allowed her servants to burn incense. In winter, her body could not stand the cold air, so the doors and windows were closed most of the time. Therefore, despite the careful care of the maid, when Li Lu entered the room, he still felt the decayed smell that only belonged to a chronically ill person almost hitting him in the face.
Li Lu walked closer to the couch and saw Princess Rong lying on it.
Her cheeks were so sunken that only a layer of withered skin remained, her eye sockets were sunken, and even her lips were shriveled and dry.
Winter is hard to endure. After the winter solstice, her condition has worsened and now she is rarely lucid.
A trace of sadness appeared on Li Lu's face.
His father sighed and told him yesterday to visit his mother more often when he had time.
The father's tone was compassionate and tender. Even though he was busy with many important matters, he still paid attention to his mother's condition and comforted his son.
But this father, who was still full of warmth in his every word and action, never explained anything to him about Yi Cong's identity.
Well, a father doesn't need to explain the existence of another son to his son, especially when this is a father who is about to accomplish great things.
The father who is about to accomplish great things...
Li Lu silently recited this sentence in his heart, his eyes falling on the person on the couch - his dying mother.
And his frail body.
This is the situation he is in now.
The maid whispered to Princess Rong: "Princess, the prince is here to see you..."
Princess Rong seemed not to have heard it. She continued to lie there with weak breathing and a blank and empty look in her eyes.
Li Lu knelt down beside the couch and took the warm cotton towel from the maid to wipe Princess Rong's palms: "I will serve mother."
As he wiped, his movements were careful and gentle, and his voice was a little hoarse: "I want to talk to my mother alone."
The maid's eyes were sore, she bowed and agreed, then retreated with the maids.
"Mother, have you known about this for a long time?" Li Lu said with his eyes downcast, without stopping his movements, "I have known about Yi Cong... No, Li Cong, he is also father's son."
The skinny fingers of Princess Rong trembled as Li Lu held them in her hand to wipe the water.
Li Lu smiled silently when he saw this: "Mother is different from me... I have been a hostage in Beijing for many years, but mother has always been by father's side. It is impossible for mother to be unaware of this all these years."
"But mother never told me a word..." Li Lu said in a low voice, "Neither the existence of Li Cong nor the existence of my father's other children."
Princess Rong used a little force with her fingers and grabbed Li Lu's palm.
Li Lu raised his eyes and saw that she turned her head with difficulty, her eyes full of anxiety, and shook her head at him with great effort.
"Mother, are you afraid that I will harm them and turn against father?" Li Lu said in a gentle voice, "Don't worry, mother, I won't do that."
"But Li Cong might." Li Lu rolled up his mother's sleeves and wiped her arms, saying, "Duan Shiang unfortunately died, and Li Cong has no one to rely on. His current situation is even more pitiful than mine..."
"He must be very curious at this moment, whether his father has other sons."
"Father has always been a man of foresight. Since he dared to let Li Cong take risks, he must have a child who is truly under his protection..." Li Lu whispered, "My son also wants to know what that child who is properly protected by father looks like."
"After all, I, the eldest brother, have done a lot for him even though I didn't know he existed..." Li Lu slightly raised his lips, "And he only needs to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor. How lucky he is."
After he finished speaking, he put the cotton towel back into the copper basin, put down his mother's sleeves, covered the corners of the quilt, and asked, "Mother, was it really a coincidence that my son suffered from asthma in his childhood?"
Princess Rong's eyes trembled, and she opened her mouth. Her hoarse voice was like a tattered window paper pierced through: "Lu'er..."
"My son vaguely remembers that the high fever lasted for several days, and then he coughed for several months... Since then, this body has been suffering from many diseases." Li Lu looked into Princess Rong's eyes and asked, "Looking back now, I don't know whether I was too sick or I was delayed in taking the medicine? During those months, I never seemed to see my mother. I vaguely remember that she seemed to be 'sick' too?"
"This illness was really a coincidence. Not long after, I became a weak hostage in the hands of the emperor who posed no threat..." Li Lu said this and smiled, "There is one thing I should not have told my mother. During those years in the capital, in order to reduce the emperor's fear of my father, I would often pour out the medicine before the palace doctor diagnosed my pulse, just to make myself sicker and longer."
"I never mentioned it to my father, for fear that he would worry about me." Li Lu smiled again: "At that time, I never thought that my weak body was arranged by my father from the beginning."
"But I clearly remember that before I fell ill, my father was still holding me on horseback—" There seemed to be some confusion in his eyes: "Why did he make such a cruel decision in the blink of an eye?"
When he said the word "cruel", his voice paused slightly, as if he felt that this word was too thin, but he could not think of any other word that could be used to replace it.
"He is obviously the most open-minded and kind father in the world... Over the past year, I have often wondered which one is the real him." Li Lu exhaled slowly, and the answer came out: "Kindness and cruelty, both are the real him, or perhaps neither is the real him... When these two appear depends on his needs."
His father could be kind to everything, and the next moment he could be cruel and wield his sword against everything.
But in front of others, my father has always been the former, never showing any signs of performance.
Those eyes that seemed to be able to accommodate all the good and evil, right and wrong, storms and changes in the world and always remain calm and indifferent, could actually only accommodate one person... and that person was the father himself.
The father only has himself in his eyes and heart.
Princess Rong grabbed one of her son's hands and tried to stand up but failed. Tears of pain rolled down her almost dry eyes.
Li Lu did not struggle to break free. He looked at her again and asked, "What about mother? Will mother just keep watching like this?"
Princess Rong's fingers froze and she couldn't help but avoid the gaze.
"Over the years, I have had countless doctors, and they all said that my mother's illness was caused by depression. My mother was worried, frightened, guilty, and in a state of panic all day long...but she never thought of telling me the truth."
Li Lu slowly turned his head and looked at the furnishings in the room: "Since I got asthma, my mother stopped using incense for fear of triggering my illness. Even though I was not in Yizhou, my mother has been doing this for ten years..."
"But mother, is such a trivial kindness really meaningful?" He looked back at Princess Rong calmly, and said in a calm but almost cruel voice: "Is mother really doing this for my own good, or is she doing this to make her conscience as a mother feel better?"
Princess Rong tried her best to turn sideways, grasped her son's sleeves with both hands, shook her head with tears, and finally said a relatively complete sentence with a trembling voice: "How can mother tell you... Even if you know, it will only increase your pain and danger..."
"So mother accepted my fate, right?" Li Lu finally sneered, "Mother is so timid and weak, and she is good at being generous to others, no wonder she can live to this day."
Meeting those eyes that seemed calm but concealed sarcasm and hatred, Princess Rong felt as if someone had stabbed her in the heart.
Li Lu pulled out his sleeves, slowly stood up, and looked down at his mother who looked like a withered man: "But soon, mother will not even be able to live."
"Mother doesn't have many days left to live, and her family, which was not worth mentioning to begin with, has already fallen into decline... Even if mother didn't die, father would never allow her to live until he ascended the throne."
"My father no longer needs a sickly princess. He needs to choose a more worthy queen... And how will I cope with the situation then? Has my mother ever thought about me at all?"
"My mother feared my father so much that she pushed me into this hell... But what did I do wrong?"
Princess Rong was trembling all over and could only make unclear whimpering sounds.
"Mother, you are not worthy of me calling you mother." Li Lu leaned forward slightly and whispered, "If you really feel guilty, please bless me to fulfill my wish."
A cold wind blew in through the gaps in the window lattice, and Princess Rong felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. The last bit of her strength was drained away, and she completely lost her support.
Ma Wan learned the news at dusk and hurried over.
Princess Rong is on her deathbed.
Prince Rong was out on business and not in the mansion, while Li Lu was in the study in the front yard trying to appease several aides who wanted to resign. Ma Wan, who was also in the inner courtyard, was the first to arrive.
Since being confined to the Buddhist temple for several months, Ma Wan rarely appeared in public and stayed in the hospital most of the time. She hadn't seen Princess Rong for some time.
Ever since Ma Wan married into the Rong Prince's Mansion, the Rong Prince's Concubine has been bedridden. The most interactions between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law were the days when Ma Wan took care of her by her bedside.
Therefore, Ma Wan, whose hands were suddenly tightly grasped by Princess Rong, was briefly at a loss: "Mother..."
Princess Rong moved her mouth and made a very weak sound. Ma Wan quickly lowered her head to listen.
"Go away... don't end up like me..."
"Leave here..."
The trembling and hoarse voice carried a hint of sorrowful crying, and Ma Wan was stunned: "Mother, what..."
As if in a last-ditch effort before death, Princess Rong, who had been unable to communicate with anyone for a long time, now tightly grasped Ma Wan's hand, pulled her towards her, and said in a trembling voice: "I feel guilty about Lu'er... But I just realized that he has become the same person as his father... They both have no heart..."
"I once thought that I was lucky enough to marry a good husband who was kind and gentle, and that we could live a happy and peaceful life together..."
Tears welled up in Princess Rong's eyes, and she said again: "Go quickly, don't be like me..."
Listening to these words that sounded like a dream, Ma Wan held Princess Rong's cold hand, only to find that her own fingers were equally cold.
The maids and servants in the room were all kneeling five steps away, some of them were sobbing quietly. Except for Ma Wan, no one else could hear Princess Rong's voice.
"Lu'er is right. I am a cowardly and useless person. All my life, I have been afraid..."
Princess Rong used her last bit of strength to take out something from under her pillow and put it into Ma Wan's hand: "If we can leave here... one day, maybe we can announce it to the public..."
Ma Wan looked down and saw that it was a safety lock. This golden lock was as big as a child's palm and was decorated with tassels and jade beads. It was very delicate and beautiful.
Before Ma Wan could react to the meaning of Princess Rong's words, she heard a maid behind her bowing in a hoarse voice: "Prince..."
Princess Rong, who had run out of strength, let go of Ma Wan's hand and fell her head back onto the pillow.
Her breathing began to become ragged, and her eyes widened in pain...
"Mother...!" Ma Wan hurriedly patted Princess Rong's chest, but the next moment she was horrified to find that Princess Rong's breathing had disappeared.
Li Lu, who stepped into the room, did not have the chance to see his mother for the last time.
He came to the bed, stood still for a moment, lifted his robe and knelt down.
Ma Wan, who saw the loss of a life at such a close distance for the first time, felt cold all over and knelt down tremblingly.
The servants in the room suddenly burst into tears.
Ma Wan's mind was in a mess, tears were streaming down her face, and she held the golden lock tightly in her hand.
After an unknown amount of time, the face of Princess Rong, which had a pair of empty eyes, was covered with white silk by a maid.
With one arm supported by someone, Ma Wan subconsciously turned her head and met Li Lu's red eyes. His voice was hoarse: "Wan'er, get up..."
Ma Wan's emotions were in turmoil. She nodded randomly and stood up with Li Lu.
The next moment, Li Lu's eyes fell on the golden lock in her hand.
Good night everyone~
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