Chapter 323 Burning with Jealousy
When Xiao Beiheng saw Queen Wen visiting late at night, it was obvious that she had something urgent to do.
At this hour, the entire Anzhou city had fallen into a deep sleep. He did not make a big fuss, but simply stood at the gate of the palace with Su Mo, waiting for Queen Wen's convoy to arrive. The two of them accompanied Queen Wen into the palace, one on each side.
Everyone came to a quiet room. Queen Wen stood in the middle, her back to the crowd, and said, "You all leave for now, leaving only Prince Ping."
Su Mo was a little puzzled. It was normal for the Queen to ask the maids and guards to leave. She was the Queen's daughter-in-law after all, and she couldn't say anything to her face. But after hearing Queen Wen's unquestionable tone, she didn't dare to disobey and could only bow and say, "I obey the Queen's order."
After saying that, she stood up and looked at Xiao Beiheng.
Although Xiao Beiheng was also somewhat puzzled, he was much smarter than Su Mo and immediately realized that what the Queen was about to say might be related to Shen Yuexi. After all, Su Mo and Shen Yuexi had a good relationship, so it was reasonable for the Queen to ask her to temporarily withdraw. He nodded slightly to Su Mo.
After Su Mo and the others left, Xiao Beiheng said, "Mother, it's so late, why are you coming to my place..."
Empress Wen turned around, removed the veil covering her face, and said, "It's so late, and you two are not tired at all. You are dressed neatly and have prepared your carriages. What are you going out for?"
Xiao Beiheng said, "Mother, you have a keen eye. I do need to go out and meet my father in Zhongzhou."
"Why are you going to see your father?" Queen Wen sat down and placed her hands on the armrests of the chair.
Xiao Beiheng forced a smile and said, "Mother, you must have heard about my sister-in-law's murder... I plan to explain it to Father and track down the murderer to give an explanation to my eldest brother."
"I also heard the news on the way," Queen Wen said, "so I came here to find you."
Xiao Beiheng's heart suddenly tightened. Could it be that Queen Wen suspected that he was the one who poisoned her?
Just like Su Mo, it felt like everyone would suspect him. Although he was in the Anzhou Palace, his confidant Lin Kui was in the Imperial City and was a doctor. He had also poisoned Xiao Zhuo before...
Thinking of this, he said with some difficulty: "Mother, my child is innocent."
Queen Wen smiled slightly and said, "Heng'er, don't be nervous. You are my son. No one knows a son better than his mother. Of course I know you are innocent."
Xiao Beiheng asked in surprise, "Could it be that the Queen Mother has found clues about the person who poisoned her?"
He was happy that if Empress Wen had already discovered clues to the poisoner, he would be able to report it to Emperor Ming of Qi and Xiao Zhuo. He was shocked that Empress Wen had always lived in seclusion and kept a low profile. How could she have discovered the clues so quickly?
"Of course," Queen Wen said calmly, "I am the one who poisoned her."
There were only a few numbers, but they sounded like a thunderclap in Xiao Beiheng's ears.
He couldn't help but take two steps back and said, "Mother...Mother, you are not kidding, are you?"
"Of course not," Queen Wen looked up at him, "Do you think I'm joking?"
Xiao Beiheng's mind was in a mess. He asked, "Why...why?"
He couldn't think of any reason why Empress Wen would poison Shen Yuexi. The two of them had no connection at all. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Empress Wen and Emperor Ming of Qi had even invited Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi to a banquet in the capital.
"Why?" Queen Wen shook her head, stood up and walked to Xiao Beiheng, "First of all, it's for you, Heng'er, so that you can successfully obtain the position of Crown Prince..."
"But...but Momo just said," Xiao Beiheng argued, "Brother and sister-in-law will give me the position of crown prince, they won't compete with me for it."
Empress Wen sneered, "Heng'er, you've always been intelligent. How come you're as dumb as a child when it comes to this? When I went to see Shen Yuexi, she said the same thing to me. Momo is naive and childish, and it's fine if she can't see through it, but you can't see through it either? You still call them brother and sister-in-law. Do you really treat them as your own family?"
Xiao Beiheng wanted to defend himself: "Sister-in-law...sister-in-law has always been reliable..."
"That's enough," Empress Wen said, tossing her sleeves. "You truly disappoint me. Since ancient times, people's hearts have been hidden from their stomachs. How dare you fail to understand such a simple truth? That Xiao, even when he was young, was extremely attached to the title of Crown Prince. How dare you believe he wouldn't fight for it?"
Xiao Beiheng quickly knelt on the ground and touched the ground with his forehead: "Mother, please calm down. I was confused for a moment."
After careful consideration, he felt that Empress Wen had a point. Perhaps Shen Yuexi was simply deceiving Su Mo. Given Xiao Zhuo's character, how could he possibly give up the position of Crown Prince? Lin Kui had once said that he was "confusingly involved," and it seemed true. He was indeed somewhat naive about the matter of appointing a crown prince. In this light, he should have acted decisively and struck first.
Empress Wen paused for a moment and continued, "Originally, I was going to do this during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and catch them all in one fell swoop when they arrived in the capital. But as luck would have it, neither Xiao nor Shen Yuexi came. If they don't come, I will go there myself."
Xiao Beiheng was horrified when he heard this.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunions, yet Empress Wen actually wanted to poison Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi to death on that day. How cruel! Although he had done similar things before, the hairs on his back stood on end when he knew what Empress Wen was thinking.
Empress Wen, the mother of a nation, had actually personally poisoned Shen Yuexi. He was a little confused. Why did it feel like Empress Wen's hatred for Xiao Zhuo was even stronger than his own? He hadn't done anything yet, and Empress Wen had already taken action. In all those years, Empress Wen had never expressed such hatred, and it was only today that it was revealed.
He couldn't help it, so he straightened up and asked, "Mother, why did you do this?"
"Because I know you can't do it," Queen Wen raised her finger and pointed at his forehead. "I've trained you for so many years, and you still can't change your character. You command thousands of troops, shoot arrows with ease, and wield peerless divine weapons, yet you're still as cowardly as a mouse."
Xiao Beiheng's expression changed, and he defended himself, "I pacified the two western states and defeated Xiao Zhuo..."
"Did you kill him?" Queen Wen asked coldly, "When he was at the end of his rope, with such a great opportunity, why didn't you dare to kill him yourself? Why did you send Ji Zhong and Song Zhen?"
Xiao Beiheng opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Queen Wen's words hit home. Thinking back to that time, he was indeed timid. At that time, Xiao Zhuo only had Shen Yuexi by his side, and his fighting spirit was completely gone, like a dog that had lost its home. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but he just didn't dare to go. Even though he had just killed Xiao Kai and had the Yanque Sword in his hand.
"Because you haven't changed at all," Empress Wen retracted her hand. "Remember when you were five? You didn't even dare to see strangers. You spent all day playing with puppies..."
Xiao Beiheng suddenly raised his head: "Mother, don't mention what happened in the past."
That was the past he least wanted to recall, and the habit of having nightmares was formed at that time.
Empress Wen ignored him completely and continued, "I asked you to strangle that dog to death with your own hands. You cried bitterly, but you still strangled it until the beast died... From then on, whenever any servant made a mistake, I asked you to chop off their hands and feet... I thought you would be better than that bitch's son when you grew up. But I was disappointed. Not only did you not kill that Xiao, you even shamelessly celebrated the Qiqiao Festival with them!"
Xiao Beiheng asked, "Mother...why do you hate Xiao Zhuo so much? Is it because father can't forget the old love?"
Queen Wen shuddered and said angrily, "This is not something you should ask!"
In the candlelight, Empress Wen's face, brimming with rage beneath her white hair, was clearly visible before him. Although the Qi family had rarely visited the capital due to the strained relationship between his father, Xiao Ming, and Emperor Yongde, he knew that his mother's face was said to be so remarkably similar to Empress Pei Jingyun's that some even believed they were twins.
Before his father, Xiao Ming, left for the south to provide disaster relief, he had a one-night stand with Pei Jingyun, the eldest daughter of Duke Pei. Immediately after Xiao Ming's departure, Emperor Yongde made Pei Jingyun his empress. Xiao Ming, furious, dared not speak out. Later, he happened to meet Wen Yi, who bore a resemblance to Pei Jingyun, and married her, doting on her. For twenty years, Xiao Ming had never taken a concubine, remaining devoted to Wen Yi, a fact his son witnessed.
However, what puzzled him was that the better his father treated his mother, the faster her hair turned gray. Logically speaking, any woman should be very happy to meet such a good husband.
Now seeing that Empress Wen hated Xiao Zhuo so much that she didn't even mention his name, but just called him "the one with the surname Xiao", he roughly guessed the reason.
The reason why my father Xiao Ming married my mother and treated her well was that he actually just treated her as Pei Jingyun, his old lover.
No woman could tolerate her husband doting on her while her mind was filled with thoughts of his previous lover, let alone for twenty years. Naturally, the mother transferred this hatred to Pei Jingyun's son, Xiao Zhuo, and wanted to kill him as soon as possible.
Thinking of this, he whispered, "Mother, Pei Jingyun has been sentenced to death by Emperor Yongde."
"That Xiao isn't dead yet," Queen Wen paused and said coldly, "I'll make everything related to that bitch disappear, whether it's that Xiao or Shen Yuexi... I'm just a woman, I can't do this. I raised you for nineteen years and hired someone to teach you swordsmanship and archery, hoping you could do this for me, but you failed. Your father is obsessed with that bitch and will definitely not harm her son."
Xiao Beiheng was a little confused and asked, "Mother, why must I do this? Can't you just send an assassin?"
Queen Wen said, "Foolish! Only if you kill Xiao Zhuo with your own hands can you prove that my son is better than that bitch's son. You told me before that as long as Shen Yuexi is around, no one with the surname Xiao will die. Now that Shen Yuexi is dead, only Xiao is left. You must kill him for me with your own hands."
Xiao Beiheng hesitated and asked, "The news from Shengjing may not be true. Maybe Shen Yuexi is faking her death."
"I saw her drink it myself. There's no antidote for Gelsemium elegans. Drinking it would surely kill her," Empress Wen said, picking up her veil from the table. "You must quietly prepare the army. I must return to the capital to see His Majesty immediately."
Xiao Beiheng stood up and said, "Mom, what do you want to say to Dad?"
Queen Wen said as she put on her veil, "Find a scapegoat and appease Shengjing to buy you some time."
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