Chapter 477: Belated Love, Cheaper Than Grass
Xiao Nanyan's eyes suddenly turned cold, and his tone was chilling:
"What about my mother, Su Xianrou? She sealed her heart and love for you, and for eight years, she spent this 'haunted place' that you call it, chanting sutras for your salvation every day, living a life of endless longing and guilt.
She was so kind, even a little foolish, so foolish that she fell in love with a man as vicious and ruthless as you, locking her youth and sincerity in the cage of this ancestral hall. Helian Cong failed her, but you pretended to promise her a lifetime, and ultimately dealt her a fatal blow.
When Xiao Beicheng heard the words "Su Xianrou", his eyes suddenly swept across the spirit tablet, and his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably, as if he had been stepped on a sore spot:
"No, no... She loves Helian Cong and even gave her pure body to him. How could she fall in love with me?"
"Xiao Beicheng, have you been deceiving yourself?"
Xiao Nanyan's voice suddenly rose:
"Mother may have loved Helian Cong once, but after marrying you, are you blind to the love and devotion she showed you? She fell in love with pear blossoms just because you loved them. Was the so-called 'love affair' under the pear tree every spring really just a one-man show?"
Thinking of his mother kneeling in this ancestral hall every day, missing her late husband, Xiao Nanyan felt a sharp pain in his heart:
"Xiao Beicheng, you're just looking for an excuse to betray her! You exploited a woman's unwavering love for you to openly seek revenge on Helian Cong, using a series of schemes and tricks to seize the Tianqi empire—a man's mistakes, yet an innocent, weak woman had to bear the consequences. You forced her to death, are you happy? Why did you cry when you visited her grave that day? Why did you flee in such a hurry? Do you regret it?"
Xiao Beicheng's pupils suddenly shrank, and the blood drained from his face. He looked at Xiao Nanyan in shock:
"You...you knew I went to that pear orchard?"
Xiao Nanyan's voice became deeper, with a hint of barely perceptible fatigue:
"I gave you many chances. I truly missed the fake father-son relationship we once had. At least, before I was fourteen, I lived a happy life."
He stared at Xiao Beicheng's dejected face and sneered:
"Xiao Beicheng, have you ever regretted it for a moment? If it weren't for your stubbornness and ambition, you would still have a beautiful and gentle wife and a son who is proud of you.
Helian Cong is not as heartless as you think. Even out of guilt and love for his mother, he will not touch the Xiao family. At most, he will weaken your military power, but you are still the unshakable regent of Tianqi.
It was your overly ambitious, insatiable ambition that led you to your mother's death, forcing me to become stronger and yourself to this point. Do you regret it?
Xiao Beicheng's lips trembled violently and his face was as pale as paper.
At this moment, a picture of his happy family of three suddenly emerged in his mind:
Under the pear blossom tree, Su Xianrou smiled and handed over the pear blossom wine she had brewed herself, and the young Xiao Nanyan hugged his legs and acted coquettishly... The warmth that was buried by ambition now surged like a tide.
At this moment, belated regret finally tore through his hard shell.
The once indestructible and arrogant general, dragging his broken leg, desperately crawled to Xiao Nanyan's feet, tightly grasped his clothes, and pleaded:
"Yan'er, please, kill me and let me confess to Rou'er..."
Xiao Nanyue stared down at him, feeling mixed emotions, unable to tell whether it was hatred or sigh.
He moved away inch by inch, breaking free from the withered hand:
"Xiao Beicheng, I can't kill you. At least, I can't kill you with my own hands."
Xiao Beicheng was startled, confusion flashed in his eyes:
"Why?"
"When my mother was dying, she tried her best and left only three words."
Xiao Nanyue's gaze fell on Su Xianrou's spirit tablet, and he finally sighed softly, feeling that his mother's humble and foolish love was not worth it - if she knew that the man she loved most in her life persecuted her son again and again, leaving him with a narrow escape from death, would she still leave those words?
"She told me: Don't kill you." He finally spoke slowly, each word piercing his heart.
Xiao Beicheng's eyes suddenly widened, as if struck by thunder, and hot tears instantly fell on his face.
He never expected that after he had let her down so much, she actually asked her son not to kill him before she died.
She loved him terribly, but he ultimately let her down throughout his life.
Xiao Beicheng collapsed to the ground, his hands covering his face tightly, tears streaming down his face, he sobbed and called out softly over and over again:
"Rou'er... Rou'er... In this life, it is me, Xiao Beicheng, who has let you down..."
Xiao Nanyue snorted coldly, his eyes full of sarcasm - belated love is cheaper than grass.
He didn't look at Xiao Beicheng again, turned around and strode out of the ancestral hall.
The heavy wooden door creaked shut, blocking out the heart-wrenching cries from inside.
Inside the ancestral hall, Xiao Beicheng remained slumped on the ground, his vision blurred by tears. The three words "Su Xianrou" on the memorial tablet were faintly visible in the smoke.
He stared blankly at the wooden sign, as if his soul had been sucked away, leaving only an empty shell. Amidst the lingering sandalwood incense, he allowed endless regret to devour him.
finally……
(First three chapters, then another three chapters at 11:00 AM)
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