Chapter 22 Counterattack (3) "Don't repeat the mistakes your mother and father made..."
In the eighth year of Chongding, the fact that Yuan Mingqiong's father was the Prince of Jiuyao was exposed, and the emperor executed him. However, out of consideration for the eldest prince, it was announced that he had died of illness.
However, he had long anticipated this calamity, so he held his young daughter day and night, teaching her that when she grew up, she must avenge him.
After his death, Jiuyao's operations in Tianyuan naturally transferred to Yuan Mingqiong.
When her father died, Yuan Mingqiong was already six years old, old enough to remember things. Even though she was still somewhat naive, she understood that her father had died because of her mother, the Empress, and inevitably felt resentment in her heart, which gradually made her withdrawn and eccentric. Although the Emperor intended to take her under his wing and raise her personally, Yuan Mingqiong's resistance was obvious, so the Emperor had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being.
The current ruler of the Nine Luminaries is Yuan Mingqiong's aunt. After learning of her brother's death, she wanted to develop Yuan Mingqiong as a secret agent. Taking advantage of the situation, she sent two boys of similar age to her as playmates, but in reality, to monitor her. She told Hong Liao and Lü Ting that she intended to marry them to Yuan Mingqiong, so that they would become closer to her.
However, the child was innocent and unaware of the truth.
At such a turbulent time, the sudden arrival of two playmates naturally made her wary, especially since she had never met this aunt before. Yuan Mingqiong was inherently suspicious, and would readily scold and beat them at the slightest displeasure, wanting to drive them away. However, Hong Liao and Lü Ting had no relatives or friends in Tianyuan, and even if they left her, they would have nowhere to go, so they had no choice but to endure the humiliation and remain by her side.
Hongliao saw through her cold nature and realized that she should no longer have any expectations of her, so she no longer regarded her as her future wife. Lüting, on the other hand, was completely different. At first, he felt ashamed and embarrassed by her humiliation, but later, for some reason, the humiliation he suffered day after day gradually changed. Whenever he didn't get a cold look from her or be slapped by her, he felt uncomfortable all over. His infatuation with Yuan Mingqiong grew deeper and deeper every day.
Later, Lüting learned that Yuan Mingqiong's father had not died of illness, but had been killed by his mother. His pity for him deepened, and he wished he could give his life for him.
Time flies. When Yuan Mingqiong was ten years old, a palace maid broke a teacup, and she ordered her to be beaten to death. Knowing that she could not escape death either way, the maid decided to fight back and broke free to run to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to complain to the emperor. This alarmed the emperor, who finally realized that her daughter had become stubborn and rebellious, and realized that she had neglected her for a long time. She then decided to discipline her personally.
After that, the two brothers were no longer suitable to stay by her side, and Yuan Mingqiong also intended to send them away to act as spies. Coincidentally, she heard that Su Aoshuang, who was then a vice minister, wanted to hire a few servants to serve her master. Although he was a prince of the Nine Luminaries, he still had a place to go. The two brothers entered the Su residence, which led to the events that followed.
It concerned a royal secret, and although everyone present knew about it beforehand, the emperor's expression remained unpleasant when it was revealed again after more than a decade. She glanced at Yuan Mingqiong below, whose face was pale and whose shoulders were trembling slightly, and said, "One must have evidence to back up one's words and actions. Words without proof are hard to convince the public."
It's unclear whether she was referring to the incident eighteen years ago when she personally killed Yuan Mingqiong's father, or to Yuan Mingqiong's years of collusion with the enemy.
Hongliao seemed to have anticipated this, and calmly said, "The plum trees you planted behind the palace will bloom in April, which is truly rare."
Upon hearing this, the emperor's pupils suddenly contracted—
What terrifying eyesight this must be!
Although the rain had not stopped, it was gradually subsiding, so the palace servants opened the windows, and the fresh scent of rainwater rushed into the room.
The window through which she admired the plum blossoms was in a corner of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, more than a hundred feet away from where Hong Liao stood. It was already difficult enough for her to see that the window was open, let alone see the scenery outside...
A plum blossom is barely the size of an index finger and a thumb put together. How did he manage to see it so clearly from such a distance?
Over the centuries, conflicts between Tianyuan and Jiuyao have been frequent, so she naturally understands just how terrifying such eyesight can be used on the battlefield.
If it cannot be used... then it cannot be kept either.
The emperor composed himself and asked again, "You say that Prince Su has been colluding with Jiu Yao for a long time, but she can easily claim that this is just your baseless accusation."
"Please look, Your Majesty."
Before Hong Liao could answer, Yuan Mingjin spoke up from the side—she had somehow appeared beside Yuan Mingqiong, lifted her arm, rolled up her wide sleeve, revealing the exquisite gold bracelet with intertwined branches on her left wrist.
Her movements were so fast that Yuan Mingqiong had no time to react. Startled, Yuan Mingqiong struggled to break free and retract her forearm, but Yuan Mingjin was incredibly strong, her hands as hard and hot as iron. The gold bracelet swayed precariously, becoming even more conspicuous. Yuan Mingqiong, filled with anxiety and anger, in a fit of rage, grabbed the ink-jade paperweight from the emperor's desk and smashed it down on Yuan Mingjin's crown!
No one expected Yuan Mingqiong to behave so rudely before the Emperor, and they were all caught off guard, their eyes wide with disbelief. In the blink of an eye, just as the paperweight was about to graz Yuan Mingjin's oily forehead, she acted decisively, striking Yuan Mingqiong's elbow with precise precision, causing it to go weak and dissipate the force in his arm—as expected, Yuan Mingqiong released his grip, and the black jade paperweight faltered, then crashed heavily to the ground with a thud, shattering into pieces.
Yuan Mingjin hissed and gasped for breath, but quickly regained his senses. He swiftly removed the gold bracelet from Yuan Mingqiong's arm, and with one hand inside and the other outside, he gently pried it apart, breaking the bracelet in two!
"Stop—!" Yuan Mingqiong's voice cracked with anxiety, her heart nearly leaping out of her throat.
Yuan Mingjin ignored him and quickly straightened one of them, showing it to everyone:
On the two golden tokens, nine glittering golden beads were connected by golden threads. The main seven beads were strung together in the shape of a spoon, while the other two beads, one above the other, were arranged in a cross shape together with the two beads at the end of the spoon, just like the nine stars of the Big Dipper!
Bang!
The emperor slammed his fist on the table, his eyes blazing with fury, practically staring at the hairpin—
"Yuan Mingqiong, how dare you!"
How could she not recognize this? It appears in every one of her nightmares!
Everyone was startled by the sound of the table being slammed, their shoulders trembling. Before they could recover, they heard the emperor address Prince Su by his full name. Su Aoshuang was the first to kneel down: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"
"Please calm down, Your Majesty!" The others quickly followed suit.
"Calm down? How can I calm down!"
The emperor was so angry that his vision blurred, and he slumped back into his dragon throne, clutching his throbbing chest, almost unable to breathe. "Yuan Mingqiong! The one who gave birth to you and raised you for so many years is me! I am your biological mother! Your father can be anyone, but he cannot be that traitor Jiu Yao!"
Yuan Mingqiong's actions were nothing short of being in Cao Cao's camp but having his heart in Han!
How could she face herself, how could she face the land that gave her birth and nurtured her!
To her surprise, Yuan Mingqiong far exceeded her expectations. Seeing that her scheme had been exposed, she simply stopped struggling, smiled coldly, and glanced sideways at her mother's face, which was already showing fine lines. Her eyes were about to overflow with jealousy and resentment—"Who cares about the Nine Luminaries? Born into the royal family, who wouldn't want the dragon throne beneath you? Am I wrong?"
She pointed a large finger at Yuan Mingjin, her nails almost digging into her nose, "They're both your daughters, so why can she be allowed to have one but I can't?!"
"By betrothing the son of your favored minister to her, aren't you essentially announcing to the world that you intend to make her the crown prince and have her inherit the throne in the future?!"
"I've worked so hard for so many years, yet I can't even earn your favor! And her? With just a word from you, she has military merits and prestige! If I don't rely on the power of the Nine Luminaries, whose power can I rely on? Although Xuejun is dead, the Mei family still supports her. Why can't I use the power of my father's family? Everyone has a chance to compete, so why am I the only one who doesn't?!"
“But that’s the Nine Luminaries…” The emperor’s hand, pointing at her, trembled slightly, his chest heaving, gasping for breath like a broken bellows. “That’s the Nine Luminaries!!”
"Tianyuan is located in the far east of the continent, a land of abundance, blessed with royal aura. Since ancient times, the Nine Luminaries have coveted it. Countless ancestors of my Yuan clan have shed their blood on the frontier to defend our homeland! How can you face them if you have colluded with the Nine Luminaries?!"
"You ungrateful wretch! I was foolish to have seen through your true nature long ago! You can't even distinguish whether the Nine Luminaries are friend or foe. Even if your father wasn't a prince of another country, even if you didn't have a sister, you are still incapable of shouldering great responsibilities! Guards, imprison Prince Su in the Inner Palace and keep him under strict guard! Immediately summon Prime Minister Shen, the Minister of Justice, the Grand Censor, and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to the palace for a meeting in the Warm Pavilion!"
At the same time, he summoned the Prime Minister and the heads of the Three Departments to the palace. It was such an urgent matter that even a fool could guess what awaited him next.
"Hahahaha... This is my true mother, this is my true mother!"
With defeat already decided, Yuan Mingqiong coldly watched as the emperor at the head of the table was helped down several mouthfuls of ginseng soup by palace servants. Suddenly, he burst into a maniacal laugh, laughing so hard that he seemed oblivious to everyone around him, bending forward and backward.
She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingertips, brushed aside the imperial guards who tried to restrain her shoulders and arms, and her facial features hardened again. "I'll walk myself."
Outside the hall, the sky shone brightly, the clouds dispersed, the rain stopped, and the sky was clear and bright. Yuan Mingqiong strode towards the light outside the door, but then caught a glimpse of a green shadow out of the corner of his eye and suddenly stopped.
She touched shoulders with Yuan Mingjin, and the hypocrite resumed his usual respectful demeanor in front of her, saying, "Is there anything else you wish to instruct me, elder sister?"
"Don't be so smug," Yuan Mingqiong hissed, like a venomous snake coiling its body and trembling its tail. "It's fate that has brought me down, not your wicked scheme! If our lives were switched, now—"
“It won’t be me running away with my tail between my legs now.” Yuan Mingjin finished speaking first, shaking her head. “The victor is king, the loser is villain. How can you not understand, my elder sister, that your talent is limited and you are not destined to be an emperor… Didn’t Mother make it very clear?”
Yuan Mingqiong's face was frosty as he asked, "What do you mean?"
Yuan Mingjin turned slightly to the side, letting Yuan Mingqiong's gaze slide past her and land on Hong Liao's face, who was holding Lü Ting's body in her arms, lost in thought. She sighed, "The sincerity of others is nothing more than a tool to be used in your eyes... But as the ruler of the world, to have no regard for the people of the world is a great taboo."
Yuan Mingqiong stared at her for a moment, then suddenly smiled, like sunshine reflecting off snow, dispelling all gloom, as if nothing had happened. "So you can also be preoccupied with petty love affairs... If I hadn't made a move on Su Xiaotang back then, would I have been able to avoid this calamity today?"
"Your Highness is joking. It's only a matter of time, what does it have to do with Xiaotang?"
Yuan Mingjin looked at the hesitant guards behind her, "What are you all standing there for? Quickly take the criminal to the Inner Palace!"
Then the armored soldiers came forward again and restrained Yuan Mingqiong's hands. This time she did not resist. She gave Yuan Mingjin one last cold look before plunging into the light and never looking back.
Yuan Mingjin lowered his brows, turned around, and saw that his mother was about to get up. He hurriedly said, "Your subject has another matter to report, concerning the crime of the Su family deceiving the emperor."
"Didn't you say that Su Qing was unaware of this?" The Emperor glanced at Su Aoshuang, and seeing that she also seemed hesitant to speak, he let out a deep breath and sat back down on the dragon throne.
"Your imperial decree that day specified that the eldest son of the Su family should be betrothed to me as the king's consort, and it was not wrong. It should indeed be Xiaotang who marries me."
The emperor frowned slightly. "What do you mean by that?"
Su Aoshuang stepped forward and explained that she and Feng Qin were childhood sweethearts, with an arranged marriage in their early childhood. However, the Feng family fell into decline, and the two were separated. When they met again, he had fallen into prostitution. Fortunately, Feng Qin was still a virgin, so she obeyed her parents' wishes and redeemed him. However, due to the rule that officials in the court could not all dalliance with prostitutes, the wedding banquet was not held in a grand manner; they only paid respects to heaven and earth and their parents.
In this way, Feng Qin is the first wife, and Xin Shi is just a second wife. If we talk about the eldest legitimate wife, Su Xiaotang should indeed marry Yuan Mingjin and become the king's consort.
"On the day I took the Prince Consort to visit his family, Lord Su had already made it clear about this matter. I also went to the ancestral hall in the mansion to check the marriage certificate and the Su family genealogy, and it was indeed true," Yuan Mingjin said.
After hearing this, the emperor remained silent for a long time. He simply descended the steps, walked up to Yuan Mingjin, carefully examined her, and finally raised his hand to pat her shoulder.
"Do not repeat the mistakes of your mother and father," the emperor said.
Then, she passed by Yuan Mingjin and stepped into the light outside the hall.
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The author's note: "狷愤" means impatient and easily angered.
Stubborn and violent: also written as "stubborn and violent". "Stubborn" is interchangeable with "violent". It means fierce and tyrannical.
Let's discuss the design of this passing-by shot: each passing moment signifies that similar characters are heading towards different fates. The first pair of mothers and daughters who pass by are Su Aoshuang and Su Yutang, who respectively choose loyalty and disloyalty (see Chapter Sixteen); the second pair is the emperor and Yuan Mingjin, who respectively head towards misfortune and happiness. In short, this design serves as a control group, both horizontally and vertically.
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