Chapter 237 Xiao Wuyun cannot die!
Shu Shao was kneeling on the cold ground, his figure so thin that a night breeze could blow him away.
He performed the proper etiquette and bowed deeply to her. Although his voice was weak, each word was clear: "Your subject has been disrespectful and disrespectful to Mother Consort in the past. I have come here to apologize and hope that Mother Consort will forgive me."
Seeing his humble and obedient demeanor, the Empress Dowager's pent-up anger dissipated considerably, and a hint of pleasure flashed in her eyes.
She stepped forward, lifted his face with her fingertips, forcing him to look directly at her, her eyes filled with venom: "Since you know you're wrong, then tell me about the emperor and his mother. Aren't they extremely wicked, usurping someone else's place?"
"What is Gong Yanhong? She only got the title of principal wife because she entered the palace a few years earlier! In terms of looks, talent, and the late emperor's favor, how can she compare to me? If it weren't for her womb giving birth to a son early, would the position of Empress Dowager have been hers?"
"And Shuheng! What right does he have to sit on the dragon throne? In what way is my Shao'er inferior to him? It's just because his mother is the empress that he stole what should have been yours! That mother and son, one hypocritical and the other cowardly, are occupying a position that doesn't belong to them. They deserve to be torn to pieces and die a horrible death!"
Shu Shao frowned, but could only whisper, "Mother is right."
Hahahaha—
The Dowager Consort Chen burst into wild laughter, almost to the point of madness, then her expression softened with tenderness as she gently stroked his hair, "This is the good child of your mother! Since we are of one mind..."
She paused slightly, then continued, "You shall immediately write a letter to the court, stating that the Prince and the Dowager Princess are longing for their homeland, and that the Prince is in poor health and cannot bear the miasma of Lingnan. We earnestly request His Majesty's permission to return to the capital to recuperate!"
Her voice was low, and her eyes gleamed with a sinister light: "Once we return to the capital, with the Grand Princess's support in the court, her power is immense. She will surely help my son and me... to make a comeback! That throne should have been yours!"
"Mother!"
Shu Shao suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with shock and pain, "How could you still have such thoughts? My brother and the Empress Dowager have already been very kind to us..."
"Shut up!"
The Empress Dowager's expression suddenly changed, her mask of kindness shattered, revealing her ferocious true nature. "Generosity? If you were truly generous, why would you and my son be banished to this pestilent land? Why would you forbid us from setting foot in the capital? There is no true generosity in this world, only the victor and the vanquished!"
Shu Shao met the frenzied gaze of the Empress Dowager Chen: "Mother keeps saying that my brother and the Empress Dowager are heartless... but they sent you and me to Lingnan to preserve our lives and titles, which is not a bad thing."
"If we were to follow the facts of what my mother did back then—framing the Crown Prince, poisoning the imperial grandson…every single one of these acts would be punishable by death according to the law. After my elder brother ascended the throne, he did not investigate further, but only ordered us to leave the capital to live in peace and comfort. This…is already an immense act of leniency."
The old nanny, looking nervous, stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, please don't say any more."
Shu Shao, slightly out of breath, still insisted, "Mother Consort hates others for usurping her nest, but she forgets... we were the ones who almost destroyed her nest. Even now, why won't you let it go?"
"you!"
Consort Chen's pupils contracted sharply, and her whole body trembled violently, as if the last straw had broken the string of her reason.
"Okay...okay...okay!"
She said "good" three times in a row, each word sharper than the last, and then slammed the teacup on the table to the ground, scattering shards of porcelain everywhere!
"So the child I raised with all my heart and soul is a traitor who betrays his own mother and helps outsiders to humiliate her! Do you still have even a shred of gratitude for giving you life?"
"Guards! Bring me the whip!"
She roared fiercely, her face contorted, "Today I will wake you up, you fool, and make you remember forever who your birth mother is! Who is the one you should risk your life to serve!"
The maid standing to the side trembled with fear and handed over the rattan whip.
Consort Chen snatched the whip and, without saying a word, lashed it fiercely at Shu Shao!
"You wicked child who abandoned your birth mother and is disobedient and unfilial! I'll beat you to death!"
"Your heart has long been with that mother and child, you deserve to be beaten!"
The whip whistled through the air, accompanied by Shu Shao's suppressed groans.
Granny An and her maid couldn't bear to watch any longer and turned their faces away.
After an unknown amount of time, until Shu Shao lay motionless on the ground, his body covered in blood, barely alive, the Empress Dowager Chen finally threw down the whip, panting, and said sternly, "Drag him back! Let him reflect on his actions!"
Two eunuchs rushed in, lifted up the battered and delirious Shu Shao, dragged him back to the dark storeroom, and threw him onto the cold ground like a rag doll.
The heavy wooden door closed again, isolating it from the outside world.
Shu Shao lay on the cold ground, his breath faint.
Just as his consciousness was about to completely sink into darkness, he glimpsed a sliver of cold moonlight shining in through a narrow crack in the door.
He struggled to raise his finger, trying to touch the faint light, using his last bit of strength to repeatedly tell himself, "I can't die... I absolutely cannot die... I have a promise with Madam Lu..."
Stable.
The air was thick with the smell of fermenting hay and animal manure, and flies buzzed in the darkness.
Granny An, carrying a dim lantern, crept in quietly under the cover of shadows.
She pushed open the half-closed gate, which creaked softly.
In the dim light of the lantern, she saw Chang Heng.
The man was silently chopping night grass by the dim moonlight.
In just one year, this once burly man with broad shoulders and a thick waist was worn down to the point of being emaciated, with his cheekbones protruding high.
However, the purplish-red inverted scar on his left cheek, running diagonally from his brow bone to the corner of his mouth, still looked menacing.
"Granny!"
Upon seeing her, Chang Heng immediately put down the guillotine, wiped his rough hands on his trouser leg, and asked in a low voice with barely suppressed urgency, "Your Highness... how is Your Highness today?"
Granny An hung the lantern aside, shook her head, and said in a hoarse voice, "Your Highness... was whipped again today for arguing with the Dowager Consort, and now..."
The second half of the sentence turned into a sob.
Upon hearing this, Chang Heng's burly body swayed violently, and his large hands, covered with calluses and fresh wounds, trembled violently.
He abruptly turned his face away, the grotesque inverted scar twitching slightly with the spasm of his facial muscles. Tears streamed down his face as he blamed himself, saying, "It's all our fault for being so useless! We couldn't even see His Highness... We couldn't protect His Highness..."
The next second, he turned back, a fierce glint of determination flashing in his eyes, and said in a low voice, each word like iron: "Granny! We can't stay in this hellhole any longer! Even if it costs me my life tonight, I, Chang Heng, will carry His Highness out of here! Even if it means fleeing to the ends of the earth, facing mountains of knives and seas of fire, it's better than being tortured to death here!"
Granny An was startled by his sudden idea and gasped, listening intently to the sounds around her.
After confirming everything was in order, he lowered his voice and said, "You brat! Are you crazy?!"
But then she recalled the horrific scene of Consort Chen whipping His Highness, and sighed helplessly, saying, "This matter is no child's play! We must plan carefully and only act when there is absolutely no chance of failure!"
Fear flickered in her cloudy old eyes, but even more so, a ruthless edge born of desperation: "We must wait... wait for the most opportune moment. We must prepare travel expenses, a route, and, most importantly, someone to meet us outside... Chang Shu's fate is currently unknown. We need to find reliable people outside..."
In the stable, the dim lanterns cast long shadows of the two men.
It belongs to the capital, and is Lu's residence.
Abao curled up beside Lu Zhaoruo, his snow-white fur rising and falling gently with his breath, gradually sinking into a dream.
Dreams are about past lives.
Heavy snow bent the crabapple branches in Chatang Lane.
Chang Heng came alone through the snow, his shoulders covered in a thick layer of white.
He squatted down and unwrapped the sugar peas wrapped in oil paper; the sugar peas were already frozen solid.
"My young master... will not be coming back."
His Adam's apple bobbed a few times, then he suddenly wiped his face hard: "These are candied peas he... made for you himself, telling you... not to wait any longer..."
Abao was suddenly awakened.
It looked at the moonlight outside the window and said, "Xiao Wuyun, you must come back. You can come back, right?"
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