On the other hand, Chu Hong suddenly received news that Chu Qingluan summoned him to the palace.
He was originally in high spirits, wondering if his sister had any important tasks for him to do, such as investigating his father's poisoning.
But unexpectedly, as soon as she entered the palace, she heard that her father had woken up and Wu Ya had been thrown into the imperial prison.
There was another piece of news that he could not accept. His mother was in critical condition due to a relapse of her old illness.
Caught off guard, Chu Hong could only go to Qionghua Palace to visit Concubine Jiang first.
As soon as I stepped into the gate of Qionghua Palace, a strong smell of blood hit me in the face.
Chu Hong couldn't help but frown, and a bad premonition suddenly arose in his heart.
He walked quickly towards the inner room, only to see Concubine Jiang lying on the couch with a weak look on her face, as pale as paper and her lips bloodless.
"Mother!" Chu Hong was horrified and almost threw himself in front of Concubine Jiang's bed, looking at the scene in disbelief.
"How, how could this happen? Where's the imperial physician? Someone come..."
Concubine Jiang weakly raised her hand, gently pressed it on Chu Hong's hand, and shook her head slightly.
"Stop shouting. It's me... who asked them to retreat."
"Mother?" Chu Hong's face was full of confusion and anxiety.
Suddenly, as if he suddenly thought of something, he looked up and asked, "Who hurt you? Was it Wu Ya? Or..."
Father?
"Hong'er!" Concubine Jiang suddenly interrupted him and shook her head at him, "Don't think too much. It's because of mother's poor health and the recurrence of her old illness that things got a little serious... cough cough..."
Before he could finish his words, he coughed suddenly, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, staining the front of his shirt red.
Chu Hong's eyes instantly turned red, and he hurriedly helped her wipe them.
"Mother, please don't speak for now. You will definitely get better. I will find a good doctor to cure you."
Concubine Jiang coughed for a while, then calmed down and leaned weakly on the pillow behind her, looking at Chu Hong with eyes full of worry and reluctance.
"Hong'er, don't investigate, and don't dwell on it. Everything your mother did was done willingly."
She raised her hand, wanting to touch Chu Hong's head, but she couldn't lift it up: "Silly child, you are the only thing that mother cares about in this world. As long as I can protect you, mother is willing to do anything..."
"After I leave, you must repair your relationship with the princess. Remember, if you want to gain her sincerity, you can't rely on calculations or tricks... You must exchange it with your sincerity..."
Her words were suggestive.
Chu Hong understood that she already knew his feelings for the imperial sister.
“…Mother!”
"The princess has promised me that as long as you behave yourself and don't make any serious mistakes, there will always be a place for you in Da Chu."
"Good boy, this is all your mother can do for you. Your future path depends on you..."
Chu Hong understood that she was leaving her last words.
He suddenly stood up and raised his voice: "Mother, please stop talking nonsense. You are still young. Once you are cured, you can live for decades."
"Have you forgotten, Mother, that you are from the Western Regions? There are your old friends and your hometown there. Don't you want to go back and take a look?"
"As long as you can make it through, I promise I will send you back to the Western Regions to see..."
"Silly child!"
Jiang Pin didn't know where she suddenly got the strength from, but she raised her hand and touched Chu Hong's head.
"Western Regions, I can't go back anymore..."
Her fingertips were cold and trembling slightly, and her eyes looked outside the palace, as if she could see through the palace walls and see the distant grassland.
I remember when I left the Western Regions, the Gesang flowers on the grassland were in full bloom, and the tents of the Eagle Master tribe looked like scattered stars.
But now, times have passed and things and people have changed.
The old wolf king is gone, the tribe has disbanded, and even the friends who used to race horses with him are probably no longer alive.
Even Amur was no longer the boy who used to pick wild fruits for her.
"You and I have lived in this palace for twenty years. I've watched you grow from a cradle to your present self. I've long considered this place my home. Every brick and tile of this palace is more familiar to me than the wind and sand of the Western Regions. There's no way I could ever go back..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he started coughing violently again.
This time, more blood flowed out than last time, staining the entire handkerchief red.
Concubine Jiang felt that even breathing became difficult.
"Mother!" Chu Hong hurriedly reached out to support her.
Concubine Jiang waved her hand to indicate that she was fine.
She gasped for breath, but her eyes became unusually clear. "Hong'er... Mother remembers... that when I was young, I made a vow at Fahua Temple and left a sutra, asking the abbot to keep it for me. After all these years, I don't know if it's still there..."
She tightly grasped Chu Hong's hand, as if grasping the last life-saving straw: "You...you go and get it back for mother, okay? Just consider it...just consider it as fulfilling mother's wish..."
Chu Hong knew that she wanted to get him out of the way and didn't want him to see her leave with his own eyes.
But he couldn't refuse his mother's wish.
Chu Hong's throat rolled over, and finally he nodded heavily: "Okay... I'll go right away."
"Mother, you must wait for me!"
Concubine Jiang closed her eyes in relief and whispered, "Good boy, go quickly. Don't let your mother... wait too long."
Chu Hong stood up, gave her one last deep look, then turned around and strode away.
Tears quickly blurred his vision. He knew that after this trip, he might never see his mother again.
Soon, the moment the palace door closed, suppressed coughs and the panicked shouts of the palace servants were heard from inside.
Chu Hong was nailed to the spot, as if his feet had taken root.
But he couldn't turn back...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
