Chapter 410: At such an old age, is he still feeling romantic?
As night fell, the candlelight flickered in the tent.
Xiao Beicheng sat alone at the table, stroking the two broken sandalwood hairpins in his hands.
After more than a year, Su Xianrou's bloodstains had long dried up, leaving only a few dark red marks on the hairpin, like a scar that would never heal.
For more than a year, he had the same dream over and over again.
In the pear forest in the dream, pear blossoms bloomed like snow and waterfalls. Su Xianrou stood under the tree, smiling sweetly, and stretched out her hand towards him:
"Beicheng, look, the pear blossoms are blooming again."
He would always walk towards her uncontrollably, his voice trembling:
"Rou'er..."
She just smiled quietly and said nothing.
He stretched out his hand to hold her in his arms, but all he got was emptiness.
Every time I woke up from a dream, I would hold the two broken hairpins tightly in my arms, feeling empty and lost in my heart.
After Su Xianrou died, he was inexplicably led to the pear orchard during the season when the pear blossoms were in full bloom.
There stood a solitary tombstone, with the large gold-plated characters "Tomb of the Kind Mother Su Xianrou" on it, which hurt his eyes.
He vaguely recalled that in the past, on countless spring days, their family would come here to enjoy the spring and pear blossoms. At that time, she smiled like a flower, snuggled up to his side, and even the wind was sweet.
But now, this pear orchard has become her burial place.
He reached out and touched the name on the monument, his fingertips were cold.
As cruel as he was, he felt as if his heart was being torn apart at that moment - why did he have to force her to death?
Maybe it's jealousy.
That day, he saw the three of them recognize each other. He looked at them standing together in the dark and found it extremely annoying. The sour feeling gnawed at his heart, and he wanted to break it with his own hands.
Especially, her son with Helian Cong, the child he raised with his own hands, took away his military power, incorporated his Xiao family army, and controlled the country of Tianqi, making his years of hard work go to waste. How could he not hate her?
In fact, before the Yunqiu Weichang mutiny, he had no intention of killing Xiao Nanyue.
Humans are not plants. He has raised him for more than ten years. Seeing the respect in his son's eyes, he felt soft-hearted for a moment.
Originally, if Xiao Nanyue was a little more foolish and followed his established plan and eliminated the Helian family for him, the anger in his heart would have dissipated, and he would not have known the truth that he was not his biological son. He could have given this adopted son a chance to survive.
However, Xiao Nanyue was too smart. He was so smart that he laid all his calculations out in front of everyone, leaving nothing to hide. He himself was forced into a desperate situation.
So, all of them can only die.
He hated Xiao Nanyan more and more and wanted to get rid of him more and more.
He even thought that if Xiao Nanyan had not exposed him that day in Yunqiu Paddock, Su Xianrou would never have told the truth, and she would not have been forced to death by him.
Therefore, Xiao Beicheng took his anger for Su Xianrou's death out on Xiao Nanyue.
…
That day, he placed a handful of freshly picked pear blossoms in front of Su Xianrou's tombstone, and a thought suddenly came to his mind:
If he could become the emperor of Tianqi, he would definitely posthumously confer the title of empress on her. Helian Cong could not give her the title of wife, but he, Xiao Beicheng, could give her the title of empress.
This pear orchard is no longer the same as it used to be.
Now, when I return to the old place, the love I felt back then has long been crushed, leaving only desolation and loneliness.
He almost fled from the pear orchard, without even the courage to look back.
…
The candlelight crackled and popped, bringing Xiao Beicheng back to the tent.
He clenched the broken hairpin in his hand, his knuckles turning white, and a crazy obsession surged in his eyes.
This time, he must win. First, he will use Helian Feng's reputation as the crown prince to defeat Xiao Nanyue, and then completely drive the Helian lineage out of the court, allowing the Xiao family to take over Tianqi.
Otherwise, all his years of hard work and even the loss of the love of his life would be a joke.
…
The door creaked softly, the candlelight flickered a few times, and Su Qinyao pushed the door open and walked in.
Although she was already middle-aged, her slender figure was highlighted by a dark-patterned brocade dress, and a phoenix-decorated gold hairpin with kingfisher feathers was inserted diagonally in her hair. Her every move still exuded the grace unique to Empress Tianqi. The fine lines at the corners of her eyes were carefully concealed, but her charm remained.
Xiao Beicheng looked up and saw that it was her, his face instantly darkened:
"What are you doing here so late?"
Su Qinyao walked lightly to the table and sat down. Her beautiful eyes were full of affection, and her slender hand gently placed on his arm:
"I saw that there was still a candlelight in your room, so I thought you were still awake, so I came over and sat down with me."
Xiao Beicheng glanced at her sideways, looked her up and down, and a mocking smile appeared on the corner of his mouth:
"Why, at your age, are you still feeling romantic?"
The smile on Su Qinyao's face froze for a moment, but soon returned to normal, her tone filled with a bit of grievance:
"Look at what you're saying. A night of marriage is worth a hundred days of love. Besides, we still have Shu'er. Beicheng, why are you so cold to me?"
She paused and lowered her voice:
"Could it be that you still hold a grudge against me from back then? I was confused for a moment, and I was afraid that you would reveal Shu'er's life story, so I..."
"Okay, stop pretending."
Xiao Beicheng suddenly shook off her hand, smiled evilly, but there was no warmth in his eyes:
"I slept with you back then just to get revenge on Helian Cong and... Rou'er. Do you really think you're infinitely charming? I'm not interested in femme fatales, especially a calculating old woman like you!"
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