Consort Zheng was about to get up when Jing Lu raised his hand to stop her and smiled at her, "Mother, I'm fine. It's just that there are some things I don't need to hide from you anymore. For example, Yu Tong. I deliberately gave her to my second brother."
Jing Lu let out a long sigh. Some things were actually easier to say. He turned to the side, his eyes as calm as a pool of dark, stagnant water, devoid of any life.
However, because it was so dark and bottomless, even Consort Zheng felt a sense of unease.
“Mother, you used to say that I was useless and naive, only trying to please Father. But that was just the love of a younger son. Father would never expect me to do anything great.”
"I used to think it was fine not to achieve anything great, since you and Father loved me anyway. I acted exactly the way Father liked me. Don't you think I was pretty good at acting?"
“But I was his good son. He said he would make me a hostage, and he cruelly made me a hostage. His fatherly love for me was not even as much as that for the orphans left behind by my second brother.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it. Jing Kingdom suffered a heavy blow from An Kingdom, so how could we easily resort to arms? Your father is also reluctant to do so,” Consort Zheng was not trying to speak up for Jing Huaixu, but rather to comfort Jing Lu.
"See, in the end, you don't even need to go."
Jing Lu shook his head dismissively: "They were willing to go, otherwise it wouldn't have been me. The fact that I didn't go is thanks to my grandmother, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen."
When Anguo wanted Jing Yan, the crown prince of Jingguo, to come to Anguo as a hostage, everyone in Jingguo, from the monarch to the ministers, tried their best to negotiate with Anguo and finally persuaded Anguo to exchange him for an ordinary prince.
Jing Huaixu had only three sons. Jing Yan didn't need to go, so the remaining ones were Jing Shuo and Jing Lu.
With Empress Dowager Cheng protecting Jing Shuo, Jing Huaixu could not help but consider that the Cheng family had been loyal ministers who had accompanied the late emperor to Anguo.
One cannot ignore the Cheng family, who were then being courted by the Cheng family and had the strongest desire to win over orphans.
Only Jinglu could be sent there with peace of mind.
Before it was confirmed that Anguo had given up demanding the prince as a hostage, Jinglu's peace collapsed, and he could hardly believe that his father would abandon him to another country.
For a long time, whenever Jinglu fell asleep, he would dream of being bullied in Anguo, and he would feel lost and helpless all day long.
Even after it was determined that he wouldn't have to leave his homeland, Jing Lu was still afraid, afraid that since Jing Yan was the crown prince, everyone in Jing Kingdom would protect him.
Jing Shuo was terrified to see the orphans of soldiers who had sacrificed their lives in Anguo standing behind him.
Jing Lu was the only one; he had nothing and could be abandoned at any time.
Gradually, he realized that to protect himself, he could not rely on his father's temporary love, but rather on becoming stronger and irreplaceable.
"You...you mean, you deliberately brought Yu Tong and Jing Shuo together, then how did you fall into Cheng Suyun's trap?"
"Why are you trying to matchmake Jingshuo and Yutong? Don't you know your grandmother wants to send Yutong to the Eastern Palace?"
Consort Zheng was speechless, as if she realized that the whole affair at Liushang Pavilion was her son's doing.
Jing Lu said soberly, "Yu Tong can't enter the East Palace at all. Even if she does, she can only live a life of widowhood. Your brother is not Father Emperor, and the two empress dowagers are not young anymore. Their control is not as strong as it was during Father Emperor's time."
"If I were in that position, I would never have taken a fancy to the women from the Zheng and Cheng families. Would my brother need a spy by his side?"
"Perhaps Yutong didn't even have the luck that you had back then, having a son or daughter."
After a pause, Jing Lurao analyzed with interest: "That Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace, she was able to go from being the Crown Princess of Anguo to becoming the Emperor's woman, and the two of them have not had any disagreements so far. She is no ordinary person."
"The Empress tolerated you and Consort Cheng back then. She was a princess sent for a political marriage, so she must not have just married in to enjoy the good life."
Consort Zheng: "Then you can't bring Yutong and Jingshuo together. Don't expect your grandmother to make peace with Yongshou Palace. There's no hope in this lifetime."
Jing Lu denied it: "Of course not, it's just that I can't bear to part with Yu Tong, how could I possibly hope to marry a girl from the Zhao family?"
Consort Zheng said dejectedly, "That's true. Jing Shuo is already too good for the Zhao family girl, and now he's ruined Yu Tong's reputation. His marriage to the Zhao family girl is definitely off."
“But my son,” Consort Zheng gently stroked Jinglu’s hair, reminding him.
"You also had an affair with Cheng Suyun. His Majesty will soon bestow a marriage upon you and her. How can you then marry the Zhao family girl?"
Jing Lu raised his face to look at Consort Zheng, the deathly stillness in his eyes dissolving, and he grinned at Consort Zheng as usual, carefree.
“Mother, Cheng Suyun drugged me before she did that shameful thing. She was wrong first and is not worthy to be the principal wife.”
"My second brother stole my jade pendant. Yongshou Palace is in the wrong. Father should side with me."
"Over the years, my father has been dealing with the two empress dowagers, and my grandmother Zheng has long held a deep grudge against him."
"This time, he didn't even ask whether Empress Zheng was involved in Yu Tong poisoning the Crown Princess, but instead defended Empress Zheng. In fact, Father Emperor is still biased towards Empress Zheng."
The medicine that caused Yue Jiang to miscarry was actually made by Jing Lu. He had long known that the female officials of Liushang Pavilion liked to punish palace maids privately.
He then arranged for several palace maids to shift the blame onto Lady Kong if necessary. Zheng Yutong was the Empress Dowager's grandniece, and her good father would never gamble that the Empress Dowager was unaware of the truth.
Killing the female official to silence her would be enough for the Emperor to justify the matter.
Jinglu had originally wanted to see how much his father trusted his elder brother, but he was slightly disappointed.
Ultimately, the Emperor relied heavily on his elder brother, and Yue Jiang later even took his brother away, without arguing with the Emperor.
Jinglu continued, "Mother, complain about Father to Grandmother Zheng as much as possible. Don't let Grandmother Zheng get over Father's resentment. I want Grandmother to be completely disappointed in Father. That way, I will be her only hope."
"As long as Grandmother Zheng confides my grievances to Father Emperor in her disappointment, and she exaggerates her mother-son relationship with Father Emperor, Father Emperor will not be so heartless towards Grandmother Zheng."
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