Chapter 265 Finale
Xie Congyuan hugged his father tightly and shook his head desperately.
"No, I don't want it. I know General Xiao is a good man, and I can recognize him as my father in my heart, but I will never recognize him. I only recognize you as my father. You are my only father."
Xie Junlin felt very comforted.
He stroked his son's back gently.
People are so strange.
If the child he raised became ungrateful and did not want him as his adoptive father, and was determined to run away to find his biological father, he would definitely do everything he could to obstruct them and prevent the two from recognizing each other.
But his child was so close to him and said he didn't want a biological father but only him. He also felt that such a good child should be loved by everyone. When he was gone, Xiao Lingzhao should fulfill his father's responsibilities and raise the child happily.
He said, "Yuan'er, if it wasn't for the emperor who separated your parents, you should have been born in the general's mansion, and you should have been loved and raised by your biological father. So, you don't have to feel that you will let down the emperor by recognizing your biological father. You didn't let me down. It was me who broke up your family—"
Xie Congyuan shook his head and refused to listen.
He didn't want to hear the cause and effect, he didn't want to know who was right or wrong, he only knew that he grew up under the love of his father, and he would never forget these eleven years of love in his life.
He told his father firmly.
"I will let the general know that I already know my relationship with him, but I will also tell him that I only recognize one father. I will always be my father's son and my elder brother's younger brother."
At this point, Xie Congyuan suddenly started to defend himself nervously.
"Father! I'm not clinging to you just because you're the emperor! Don't misunderstand me, I really want to be your son, really, I'm not greedy for fame and fortune!"
Xie Junlin felt sad and funny.
"Silly child, of course your father knows that you are not greedy for power, but your father——"
Xie Congyuan interrupted his father.
"If your Majesty wants me to recognize my biological father, then you must think that I am greedy for fame and wealth and don't want me anymore. If your Majesty doesn't despise me, then you shouldn't persuade me to recognize my biological father."
The eleven-year-old child buried himself in his father's broad arms and lowered his head deeply.
"Father, you said that I will always be your biological son, so you will also be my biological father for the rest of my life. In this life, you are my only father."
"If you don't want me, I will be sad and unhappy for the rest of my life..."
What else could Xie Junlin say?
This naive child insisted on being his son. He was so happy that he couldn't bear to make the child sad.
He said gently, "Okay, okay, then it's up to you. If you don't want to recognize him, then don't recognize him. If one day you want to recognize him, don't worry about your father. Your father supports you in his heart. Your father hopes that you can be happy."
Xie Congyuan looked up at his kind and tolerant father and smiled with tears in his eyes.
He stayed quietly in his father's arms for a long, long time, until his father could no longer hold on and fell into a deep sleep. Then he got up, helped his father lie down, and covered him with a quilt.
He turned and left, going outside the room.
Xie Chengyun had been standing there without leaving. When he heard the noise, he turned around and looked back at his brother.
"Is Father asleep?"
Xie Congyuan nodded.
Xie Chengyun didn't ask anything, but patted Xie Congyuan's shoulder gently, "You go back and rest, I'll go in and take care of my father."
Xie Congyuan watched his brother walk past him, and he suddenly grabbed his brother's arm.
Xie Chengyun turned his head to look at him, "What's wrong?"
Xie Congyuan didn't say anything. He opened his arms and hugged his brother tightly, calling him "brother" over and over again.
Xie Chengyun thought that his younger brother was afraid of losing their father, so he came to him for comfort. He responded gently and patiently. Every time his younger brother called out, he would respond gently and then say, "Don't be afraid, you still have your brother."
His father was about to die, and he began to learn from his father and love his only relative.
"elder brother……"
"elder brother……"
Xie Congyuan hugged his brother with tears in his eyes.
My brother is so pitiful. He has no idea that the brother he thought was his own brother is actually the flesh and blood of the Xie family...
Once the emperor left, my brother was truly alone.
Xie Congyuan told himself firmly—
He can never let his brother know the truth, he has to hide the power in his body, and he has to play the role of the twin brother all his life. When his brother feels vulnerable, he can seek comfort from his so-called "real brother with the same father and mother."
…
In the following days, Xie Junlin's health deteriorated rapidly, changing almost every day. His haggardness and lifelessness became increasingly obvious.
Queen Mother Jiang, who had previously refused to believe that he would die, now finally believed this horrible fact as she looked at his haggard and deathly appearance.
The atmosphere in the palace suddenly became heavy.
The emperor is about to die, and to these people, it is like the sky is falling.
As the days passed, Xie Junlin began to lose his appetite.
Even if it was soup, he would spit it out after taking a few sips.
The servants became more and more frightened.
It's strange that almost everyone has this perception - as long as a person can still eat, there is still hope. If a person can't eat or drink, then he is really about to die...
Xie Junlin couldn't eat anymore. He had to maintain his sick body's functions every day, so he lost weight very quickly.
In just seven days, I lost a lot of weight.
Looking at his protruding cheekbones, Xie Chengyun felt heartbroken.
He stayed by his father's side all the time, fearing that his father would pass away as soon as he left.
In the past few days, Xie Junlin's sleeping time has become longer and longer. He always falls asleep while talking. Xie Chengyun and Xie Congyuan always have to reach out their trembling hands to feel his breath before they can feel at ease.
That night, Xie Junlin, who had been comatose for four hours, slowly woke up.
He stared at the flickering candlelight with confused eyes, and faintly heard the sound of horse hooves. He asked Xie Chengyun who was guarding the bed with difficulty, "Is your mother back? I seem to hear the sound of horse hooves..."
Before Xie Chengyun had time to be happy that his father had woken up, he was stunned by this question.
He stared at his father in a daze, "Did your father hear the sound of horse hooves?"
Xie Junlin looked at the window frame, with a smile on his face, and said with difficulty, "Yes, you, didn't you hear it? It's not far away, the sound of horse hooves is so loud... It must be your mother and Uncle Xiao who are back..."
After a pause, he said in a trance, "Listen, the sound of horse hooves has stopped, but the sound of footsteps has come again... They must have dismounted and are running towards this side..."
Xie Chengyun's scalp was tingling, his back was cold, his heart was beating in his throat, and his tears kept welling up.
He trembled and clenched his father's hand, shouting, "Call Dr. Song! Call Dr. Song!"
Xie Junlin seemed to have lost his five senses.
He couldn't hear what his son was shouting, nor did he feel any pain in his body. He just felt that after lying down for half a month, he suddenly felt relaxed and seemed to be getting better.
His eyes looked at the window frame, and then slowly looked at the closed door.
Why haven’t you come yet?
He clearly heard the sound of horse hooves and footsteps, so why didn't he push the door open and come in?
He waited and waited, the door was pushed open, and many unimportant people ran in, but the person he was waiting for did not come in.
Someone wanted to feel his pulse, but he shook their hand off. He struggled to stand up, looked at the open door, and called out softly, "Xie Chengyun."
"Yun'er, is your mother still blaming me? Is she outside and refusing to come in to see me? Go call her in, go call her in..."
Xie Chengyun was so frightened that he could hardly stand.
He is so scared.
His father, is he... is he going to...
He wanted to obey his father's words and go out to call his mother in, but he was afraid that his father would close his eyes as soon as he left. He held his father's hand tightly with tears in his eyes and said, "Father, you heard it wrong. Mother and Uncle Xiao are still on the way. They haven't come back yet. Can you lie down and wait a little longer? Wait a little longer, they will be back soon--"
Xie Junlin held his son's hand tightly, pointed at the door and said, "Your mother is outside the door, go call her, go..."
Seeing Xie Chengyun didn't move, Xie Junlin looked at his son sideways. After a moment of trance, he pursed his lips and said, "Your mother doesn't want to come in, right? Then..."
He held his son's hand tightly and said, "Help me up, I'll go out to see her... I'll go see her by myself..."
Xie Chengyun could no longer suppress the sadness that surged in his heart, "Father!"
How could he let such a weak father get up? He wiped his tears and forced his father to lie down, "Lie down and don't move. I'll go out and shout, I'll go out and call mother to come in!"
He was unwilling to take his eyes off his father, and he backed away step by step until he reached the door of the room, then turned around.
He almost ran, he ran out of the palace quickly and came outside the main hall.
There was no sound of horse hooves.
There were no footsteps.
Mother didn't come back.
At this moment, looking at the dark night, Xie Chengyun collapsed.
He couldn't remain calm and rational. His heartache for his father made him lose all reason. He knelt on the ground, crying in grief and shouting loudly -
"Mom! I hate you! I hate you! Don't ever come back!"
"When my father dies, you don't come back... When I die in the future, don't come back either!"
"They are your relatives. Father is not your family, nor am I, nor is Yuan'er. We are all people you don't care about. Even if we die, you won't show us mercy..."
The night wind was howling, and the only sound in the remaining wind was the fearful and helpless sobbing of the eleven-year-old boy.
The sobbing sound became sadder and sadder, and before he knew it, he suddenly heard a loud noise in his ears.
He slowly looked up.
On the high wall, a general in a black cloak jumped down with the still young woman in his arms, and then quickly rushed over here in a few strides.
The guards wanted to rush forward with weapons in hand, but Xie Chengyun vaguely recognized the two men.
He couldn't believe it.
He thought he was hallucinating.
It was not until the guards' scolding sounded that he realized that this was not an illusion, his mother had returned!
Xie Chengyun shouted, "Back off!"
All guards retreated immediately.
Xie Chengyun stood up and staggered over to meet him. As soon as he stepped forward, he was caught by the woman who ran over and hugged her into her arms.
"Yun'er, mother is back, is your father okay?"
"mother……"
Xie Chengyun looked up at his biological mother whom he had not seen for many years, cried and clutched his mother's arm as he hurried inside, "Father has become confused, I'm afraid he will soon..."
Shen Yuanwei immediately ran to the main hall holding her eldest son's hand.
She didn't owe Xie Junlin anything.
She didn't want to rush back to see Xie Junlin for the last time.
But she couldn't ignore her two children.
She had been irresponsible enough towards these two children. She couldn't let them watch their beloved father die with hatred. She couldn't let them live with regrets and hate her forever.
On the dragon bed, Xie Junlin had already started vomiting blood from his mouth.
His breathing was rapid and his eyes were unfocused. He looked at the empty doorway with tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.
He still couldn't see the couple for the last time.
Neither of them forgave him.
But he couldn't blame anyone, he had felt sorry for the couple...
Xie Junlin looked at his mother, the queen, his youngest son, and the ministers who were crying beside the bed. He smiled bitterly and told himself that there would always be regrets in life, and even the emperor was no exception.
He also has his regrets.
That's it. He really couldn't hold on any longer. He had already held on for half a month. He was really tired...
When Xie Junlin was about to close his eyes, a sob suddenly came from the door!
"Father, mother is back!"
“…”
Xie Junlin was in a daze for a moment, and then he used all his strength to open his eyes and look.
As expected, two people appeared at the door of the empty room.
His Zhao Fei stood at the door, holding their biological son in her hand. His eyelashes trembled slightly. This scene seemed to overlap with the dream he had when he first met Zhao Fei...
In the dream, he was handling state affairs in the hall, and Concubine Zhao was holding the child outside the hall. He opened the door to hold the child's hand, but saw Concubine Zhao looking at him coldly and hatefully, and said to him coldly-
I have already given birth to your child, but you promised to let my husband go? Xie Junlin, you stole my wife, you are despicable and shameless, you are filthy! You lied to me like this, what kind of king are you, what kind of emperor are you!
Xie Junlin, you have taken my wife by force, you have disappointed my loyal ministers, you are unworthy of being an emperor, aren’t you afraid of dying without a burial place?
The dream of the past overlapped with the scene of today. Xie Junlin looked at Shen Yuanwei in a trance and suddenly smiled with relief.
He murmured, "Shen Yuanwei, you see, until I was on the verge of death, I did not imprison or harm Xiao Lingzhao like in the dream... I did not harm your husband..."
Shen Yuanwei didn't expect that Xie Junlin would say this.
After a moment of hesitation, she took Yun'er's hand and walked into the room and came to the bed.
She bent down and looked at Xie Junlin, who had become extremely thin. Looking at the determination in this man's eyes, she suddenly felt uncontrollably sad.
She nodded, "Yes, the emperor is a wise ruler. The emperor has never harmed Xiao Lingzhao, never."
Xie Junlin felt relieved.
He stretched out his hand towards Shen Yuanwei, "So, do you hate me?"
Shen Yuanwei looked at his eyes full of hope, looked at the hand he extended to her, then turned to look at Xie Congyuan, whose eyes were red and swollen from crying.
Her child with Xiao Lingzhao had been raised so well by Xie Junlin for so many years, so what was there for her to hate?
Just as Yuaner said in the letter, she should do it for her son's sake...
So, Shen Yuanwei smiled at Xie Junlin and held the slightly cool hand with both of her hands.
She shook her head.
"No, I don't hate the emperor."
She said.
"I once thought that the emperor could live for another 20 to 30 years, so I blamed him for not waiting for three to five years and for being so anxious to separate Ling Zhao and me, leaving no chance for others to survive. However, who knew that the emperor could only live for twelve years..."
"Your Majesty, I really don't hate you, not at all."
"If possible, I hope that Your Majesty can live a hundred years, watch Yun'er and Yuan'er grow up, and enjoy decades more of happiness."
Xie Junlin looked at Shen Yuanwei's red eyes and listened to Shen Yuanwei saying that she wanted him to live a long life. He finally smiled with satisfaction.
The mother of his child does not hate him.
Seeing that he was about to die, the mother of his child's eyes became red.
He has no regrets.
He got everything he wanted, didn't he?
He stretched out his finger with difficulty and gently touched Shen Yuanwei's eyebrows.
"If there is an afterlife, I hope that God will let me meet you at the age of sixteen. At that time, I will not have married, nor will I have many concubines. I will not be an old man eighteen years older than you in your eyes. We will definitely be able to get married, just like you and Ling Zhao in this life, loving each other and growing old together..."
Shen Yuanwei nodded with a smile.
"Okay, if there is an afterlife, I will definitely promise to be with the emperor in the next life."
When Xie Junlin heard this promise, he finally felt completely fulfilled.
How wonderful it would be if there was an afterlife?
It seemed as if white lights appeared before his eyes, as if they were coming to take him away from this withered and decaying body and send him to the afterlife...
His hand slowly slid down Shen Yuanwei's face.
Xie Chengyun and Xie Congyuan shouted "Father" at the top of their lungs, announcing the end of their lives.
Shen Yuanwei looked at the empress dowager and the queen who were crying and pushing forward, then she stood up and walked back to the side of the handsome Xiao Lingzhao, and knelt down with Xiao Lingzhao to see the emperor off.
She told Xiao Lingzhao in a voice that only they could hear.
"I lied to him and let him die with peace of mind."
"If there is an afterlife, I still want to be with you."
"Even if he could meet me when I was sixteen, he would not be you. He would still be a tyrannical and unreasonable emperor. No one can replace you who I love so deeply. No one can be like you, a perfect match for me."
Xiao Lingzhao glanced sideways at his wife.
His eyes were soft.
Not only did the emperor die without regrets, but he did too.
If there is an afterlife, he hopes that there will be no emperor interfering again, and it will just be him and Yuan Wei, living a happy life.
(Grand Finale)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
