Chapter 122 Pregnancy 5 The Minister Meets the Princess
When Xie Wuhen walked into Rongdong, Su He was about to put on his clothes and go to bed.
As soon as she stood up, she saw Xie Wuhen walking in.
The moment their eyes met, they both froze in place.
There was only one candle burning in the Rong Cave, and the light was dim.
The dim light fell on their faces, making their expressions somewhat distorted and vague, as if they were in a dream, trance and blur.
They haven't seen each other for months.
During these months, she suffered the pain of fleeing, while he suffered the pain of searching.
She and he were once husband and wife, and they had experienced a period of time together and had a seemingly sweet memory. However, in this memory, she had too much prevarication and hypocrisy, and he had been too careless and stupid, so that this memory became a kind of unreal dream, as fragile and illusory as a bubble, which could not be touched or mentioned.
So much so that when they suddenly met at this moment, they didn't know how to communicate or how to start talking - they didn't know how to say the first sentence.
The two of them looked at each other in silence for a moment.
After a moment, Xie Wuhen suddenly knelt down and said, "Your Highness greets the Princess."
This bow was like a sharp axe, splitting the past between him and her.
This bow was like a thunderclap, which shattered her clarity and rationality.
She looked at the kneeling man, unable to believe her eyes, let alone her ears: "What are you doing..." She was confused.
Xie Wuhen continued to speak, "The princess's mother, Empress Duofu, was once the emperor's favorite. The emperor had intended to make Empress Duofu his consort upon his return from his southern tour. However, she suddenly left the palace during the emperor's tour and has been missing ever since. The emperor searched for her for years and finally learned of her situation a few days ago, which led him to find the princess."
Su He thought this was simply a fantasy.
She was just a slave born in the backyard, when did she become a princess?
She felt a little embarrassed, a little at a loss, and even a little helpless.
She didn't know what Xie Wuhen was up to, and she didn't know whether he had already investigated her past.
Su He murmured back: "Why don't you get up first."
Then he said, "You must have made a mistake."
She used to call him "husband", but now she calls him "you". She can't find an appropriate title to call him except "you".
Xie Wuhen stood up as he was told, glanced at her through the candlelight, and then looked away.
Su He also turned his head and avoided his gaze.
The atmosphere in the cave was strange and alienated, as well as a bit awkward and uncomfortable.
Xie Wuhen lowered his head and replied in a deep voice: "I have investigated for several months and I am sure that I am not mistaken."
Su He walked a few steps into the cave, her back to him: "You should know now...I am not the legitimate daughter of the Li family."
This sentence was like an introduction, suddenly revealing their past.
Didn’t she marry him as the legitimate daughter of the Li family that day?
He looked at her thin back, clenched his fists secretly, and said "hmm".
She pursed her lips, as if she had made up her mind: "I am just a servant in the Li family's backyard, and my mother's name is not Duofu, but Su Xueer."
Xie Wuhen replied: "Su Xue'er was the name the Empress used when she was outside the palace."
Su He continued, "My father is called Deshun, but he was just a servant who served tea... I am of humble status, how could I possibly be related to the current emperor..."
Xie Wuhen replied: "De Shun is the eunuch beside Concubine Shu, named Shunzi, and he is the one who helped the Empress escape from the palace."
Su He fell silent.
She seemed to believe it, but also seemed not to dare to believe it.
She wondered why her surname was "Su" instead of "De". It turned out that her father was just a eunuch in the palace.
She thought again that he had indeed been working for the emperor and was looking for some empress, and she also remembered that he had admitted that he was catching a murderer.
Could it be that he knew at that time that the so-called princess was killing people?
Could it be that he had already discovered her identity?
But she knew nothing about her origins, but she always thought he wanted to take her life.
She felt embarrassed and ashamed for a moment!
When she was silent, he still looked at her back, watching her shoulders trembling quietly with her breathing.
He knew that the truth was cruel, and he had to accept the fact that she had deceived him with difficulty.
But now, seeing her so upset, he suddenly felt a little distressed.
Su He suddenly asked in a hoarse voice: "Why did mother... flee the palace?"
Xie Wuhen replied: "The emperor's favor is too strong, which arouses the jealousy of others."
Su He suddenly turned around, staring at him with a tense expression, and asked solemnly, "Master Xie, what is the basis for your words today?"
The words "Thank you, sir" were like a knife stabbing into his already broken heart.
Well, the king is the king and the minister is the minister. From now on, there will be a difference between him and her.
He lowered his head and answered irrelevantly, "Back then, Empress Duofu and the eunuch Shunzi escaped from the palace and unfortunately fell into the hands of a slave. He sold her to the Du family's rear quarters as a slave. It was there that Empress Duofu gave birth to the princess."
He stared at her without blinking, his words resonating as if tearing through flesh, revealing the truth of the past. "But when the princess was seven years old, Empress Duofu was forcibly taken by Zhou Yuanze. Shunzi, unwilling to see the empress humiliated, rose in resistance, but was unfortunately beaten to death by Zhou Yuanze. In her quest to redress Shunzi's injustice, the empress was tragically murdered by the judge, Liu Dazhong. I have thoroughly investigated every detail of what happened eight years ago. Aside from the lack of solid physical evidence, the testimony of Mrs. Liu of the Du family and tea master Zeng Yidao is sufficient."
Su He's body softened and he staggered.
He instinctively stepped forward and held her waist, just like he did every time he held her before. The familiar body fragrance hit his face, and he suddenly felt as if he was back to the past.
Time stood still for a moment.
After a moment she gently pushed him away and said, "Thank you, sir."
He added, "Your Excellency is very capable."
The scene of meeting the emperor at the palace banquet on that day emerged in her mind. The emperor who looked very similar to Bai Jinan turned out to be her father.
She felt a little uncomfortable, a little slow to react, and a little worried about her former father Deshun.
He withdrew his arm in frustration, lowered his head and replied, "This is all my duty."
But she burst into tears and choked with sobs.
He instinctively wanted to wipe her tears, but he stretched his hand out into the air and then pulled it back.
He said, "Don't be sad, Princess."
Su He shook her head and murmured, "I, your poor concubine... am not feeling sad for myself."
She felt sad for her mother and Deshun, and for the hardships they had experienced.
She said, "Sir, could you please leave me alone?"
He murmured "Okay".
He also said: "Princess, from now on...you don't have to call yourself a poor concubine in front of me."
She also responded "Okay".
He looked at her with concern, then turned and walked out of the cave.
The cave became quiet, as if even the flickering candlelight had become dim.
Su He sat alone on the couch, thinking quietly about many things, from her birth to her entire journey, all of which were thought through in her mind.
It was not until after the hour of Xu that she walked out of the Rong Cave.
Xie Wuhen was guarding the cave entrance. Seeing her come out, he hurried forward and asked, "Princess, is there something wrong?"
Su He glanced around the hall of Rongdong and asked, "I wonder how my aunt is doing?"
Xie Wuhen replied, "She was injured by Bai Jinan's palm wind and has been unconscious ever since. However, I have given her elixirs, so her life is not in danger for now."
Su He breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
Wudi asked again, "Where is Bai Jinan?"
He replied, "He ran away, but I cut off half of his arm."
Su He's heart sank, and he suddenly felt a little confused.
Bai Jinan ran away, so who will cure the heart-eating flower poison in her body?
Could it be that she was destined to die from the poison after giving birth to the child in her womb?
Forget it. She couldn't care less about all that right now. She could only take things one step at a time. She asked again, "Where is Bai Jinan's deceased grandson?"
Xie Wuhen replied: "I have asked Wu Sheng to bury him on the mountainside."
She asked questions and he answered them in a very methodical manner.
But his words were clear and concise, and he addressed all her concerns.
This was what he looked like as a court official, a look she had never seen before.
No wonder he is favored by the emperor. Who doesn't like someone who acts properly?
Su He said "thank you".
After hesitating for a moment, he murmured again, "Is Mr. Fang's injury... all right?"
She felt a little guilty when she asked Fang Yichen. She knew that he was narrow-minded and had suspected her and Zeng Yida before. He shouldn't have such wild thoughts now, right?
After all, times have changed and things and people are no longer the same.
When he heard the words "Mr. Fang", he suddenly clenched his fists in his sleeves. It turned out that the man's surname was "Fang". He didn't even know whether she had known the man for a long time or they met after she left him.
But he didn't show it on his face, and lowered his head and replied, "The young man only suffered minor injuries and is not in danger of death. Princess, please rest assured." He added, "It's getting late, Princess, you should rest early."
Su He replied "Okay" and turned to walk into the Rongdong Cave.
He looked at her back for a moment, then turned around and continued to guard the cave entrance.
At midnight, Wu Sheng arrived and said, "Boss, let me guard the place. You can go and have some sleep on the stone bed."
He refused flatly: "No thanks."
Wu Sheng advised: "Boss, you have been working hard these days. Now that the situation has been resolved, you should take a good rest."
He was a little impatient: "If I said no, then no."
Finally, he asked, "How is the man doing?"
Wu Sheng didn't understand at first: "Which man?"
He became increasingly impatient: "The man in the melt cave over there."
Wu Sheng finally realized, "Oh, he's fine. He woke up for a moment last night, but then fainted again. I think he'll be well again in a few days."
He thought for a moment and ordered in a deep voice: "Check this person's background after returning to Beijing."
Wu Sheng was puzzled: "What's wrong with this person?"
His tone was cold: "I asked you to check, so you check it."
Wu Sheng looked at his master's invulnerable face and suddenly realized: "Boss, are you suspecting him of having something to do with the young master..." He immediately changed his words: "What does it have to do with the princess..."
He interrupted sharply: "Shut up."
Wu Sheng obediently covered his mouth and shut up.
Then he glanced at the Rongdong where Su He slept, lowered his voice, and said tentatively: "Regarding the relationship between the boss and the princess, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should say it or not."
Xie Wuhen glanced at him sideways and said nothing.
Wu Sheng naturally knew that the boss's silence meant he was being asked to continue. "I believe that regardless of whether the princess is the legitimate daughter of the Li family or a princess of the current dynasty, it is a foregone conclusion that she is the boss's wife. Even the emperor cannot deny it. After all, it was the emperor who granted the marriage in the first place."
He stared blankly at the flickering torch on the cave wall. "Now that the princess is no longer the legitimate daughter of the Li family, this marriage is no longer valid."
Wu Sheng was dissatisfied: "Then the boss can marry the princess again. The emperor will certainly not object. After all, the boss is the person the emperor trusts the most."
"The princess may not agree."
"Then the boss will try to get the princess's consent."
He paused, his eyelashes fluttering, not knowing whether he had heard it or not.
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