Chapter 69 What Kind of Torture and Abuse Did He Suffer?
When Queen Mother Jiang saw her eldest son coming, she immediately stepped forward happily to share her joy at the moment.
"It's true! I just couldn't stop Ayou from hitting the wall, but Madam Xiao said something to Ayou, and in the blink of an eye, Ayou stopped!"
"Not only that, Madam Xiao also understands Ayou's thoughts very well!"
"Just now, Ah You refused to come in. I was at a loss as to what to do with him. Suddenly, Madam Xiao said that Ah You was a little anxious because the patterns of the teapot and teacups on the table were not in accordance with each other. I listened to her and moved the teapot a bit. As expected, Ah You stopped resisting to come in!"
"Also, when I was bandaging Ah You just now, Ah You insisted on pulling the cotton cloth on his head. It was Madam Xiao who suggested that I wrap the cotton cloth around Ah You's forehead and tie a knot. Sure enough, as soon as I did so, Ah You immediately calmed down!"
Xie Junlin looked at Shen Yuanwei in surprise.
Ayou never communicates with others, and no one understands Ayou’s thoughts. But this girl understands everything?
He asked with a smile, "How can Madam Xiao be so powerful? Are you... the worm in Ayou's stomach?"
Shen Yuanwei met Xie Junlin's deep eyes.
She knew very well that if the world knew that she could hear what King Rui was thinking, they would certainly doubt whether she could hear the voices of everyone in the world. In this way, the world would regard her as an alien and would be extremely afraid of her existence.
Because everyone in this world has little secrets that cannot be told, no one is not afraid that the ugly thoughts in their hearts will be seen by others, and no one is not afraid that others will listen to their inner voice.
She had to keep the secret of listening to her heart to the end.
Shen Yuanwei pretended to be sad and smiled bitterly, "The reason why I can know what the prince is thinking is because I had the same disease as Prince Rui when I was a child. We are the same patients, so I naturally know more about the meaning of his words and deeds that are different from you normal people."
Xie Junlin and Queen Mother Jiang were a little surprised when they heard this.
They looked Shen Yuanwei up and down, unable to believe that this eloquent little girl had been an autistic person who couldn't speak or express herself when she was a child, just like their Ayou!
After a moment of surprise, Queen Mother Jiang suddenly thought of something and her eyes lit up!
She grabbed Shen Yuanwei's arm, her fingers trembling with excitement.
“Mrs. Xiao!”
She trembled and said, "How did you cure your illness? Do you have a prescription for it? Give me the prescription. As long as you can make my Ayou recover like you, I can give you countless gold and silver treasures. I can also recognize you as my goddaughter and canonize you as a princess!"
Xie Junlin was very happy when he saw the hope of curing his brother.
But when he heard Queen Mother Jiang's promise, he coughed lightly.
Queen Mother Jiang looked back at him.
He said cryptically, "Mother, it's a little inappropriate to accept her as your goddaughter, isn't it?"
Queen Mother Jiang understood immediately.
She was so happy that she forgot that Jun Lin was interested in Madam Xiao. She adopted Madam Xiao as her goddaughter, and Jun Lin and Madam Xiao became brother and sister. This was definitely not acceptable.
Queen Mother Jiang immediately changed her tone, "Then I will reward you with other titles. As long as you can make my Ah You recover from his illness, Madam Xiao, I can give you whatever you want!"
Shen Yuanwei glanced at the emperor who had ill intentions. She shook her head and told Queen Mother Jiang, "Your Majesty, I don't have any prescriptions, and my illness can't be cured by taking medicine."
Queen Mother Jiang was stunned, "How is that good?"
Shen Yuanwei said without blinking, "I was shocked. My adoptive mother died, and I ran away from home. Then I fell off a cliff and injured my brain. After being in a daze for a few days, I slowly became sober."
The light of expectation in Queen Mother Jiang's eyes dimmed.
Was it because of the death of his mother that he was traumatized?
She couldn't just die and provoke Ayou...
She couldn't possibly push Ayou off the cliff and let him risk his death to get treatment, right?
Shen Yuanwei took in the Queen Mother's expression.
She just knew it.
As long as she told such a lie, the Queen Mother would definitely not try it, and her lie would not be exposed.
Seeing Queen Mother Jiang looking so lonely, Xie Junlin stepped forward, held Queen Mother Jiang's arm, and comforted her softly.
"Don't be disappointed, mother. Although we still can't cure Ah You, now that Madam Xiao has explained Ah You's behavior to us, it will be much easier for us to take care of Ah You. This is also a good thing, don't you think?"
Queen Mother Jiang suppressed her disappointment and nodded.
She forced a smile and looked at Shen Yuanwei with gratitude, "Madam Xiao, you are really our Ayou's savior. With you, our Ayou is saved! If only God could send you to me earlier, it would not be so difficult for me to take care of Ayou for the past thirteen years."
When Shen Yuanwei heard what the Queen Mother said, she curiously asked Queen Mother Jiang, "Thirteen years? Isn't the prince eighteen years old? Wasn't he with you when he was a child?"
Queen Mother Jiang’s eyes dimmed.
She glanced at her eldest son Xie Junlin, then at her youngest son Xie Tianyou, and whispered to Shen Yuanwei about old times.
"It's a long story."
"Twenty years ago, the late emperor was incompetent and the country was in chaos. When the rebels came, the late emperor fled with his concubines, clan members, and some ministers, leaving behind the sixteen-year-old Jun Lin to defend the capital. I was also taken hostage by the late emperor at that time."
"We have been in a safe place for half a year. The good news came that Junlin had bravely defeated the rebels, defended the capital, and recovered several nearby cities. The late emperor was overjoyed. He wanted to return to the capital to continue being the emperor, but the journey was long. He had to pass through many cities occupied by rebels. He did not dare to risk his life to go back, so he came to please me. He knew that Junlin was filial to me, and as long as the situation stabilized, Junlin would definitely come to take me back to the capital."
"A year later, Junlin was fighting hard, and I gave birth to Ayou."
"Who would have thought that the late emperor would change his attitude just after I came out of confinement."
"He asked me to go back to the capital to persuade Junlin to send troops to pick him up. He gave my newborn son Ayou to the imperial concubine to raise as a hostage. I knelt down and begged in vain. The late emperor ordered the soldiers to drag me away by force..."
"On my way back to the capital, I experienced many life-threatening situations and was almost killed by the rebels several times. Half a year later, I finally returned to the capital and reunited with Jun Lin."
"I was very afraid that the late emperor and the imperial concubine would kill my Ayou. I really wanted Junlin to send troops to pick up Ayou, but Junlin was in a very difficult situation at the time. He had to send troops to garrison the city and fight the enemy. How could he have the troops to pick up the late emperor?"
"Besides, why would I want to bring back a foolish father who will only cause trouble? It's already difficult to rule the capital, and I don't want the late emperor to come back and hold him back."
"So, I concealed the fact that Jun Lin had a younger brother. I stayed with him in the capital and delayed going thousands of miles away to pick up the late emperor. My Ah You suffered a lot at the hands of the late emperor and the imperial concubine..."
"Four years later, when Junlin had recovered most of the territory, I dared to ask him to bring Ayou and the late emperor back."
"But I didn't expect that Ayou, who is already five years old, is no different from a newborn baby. He can't talk, he can't laugh, and he doesn't respond to what others say. He is like... like a stupid child."
At this point, Queen Mother Jiang's eyes were already wet with tears.
She choked up and said, "I hate it! I hate it so much! But the late emperor and the imperial concubine insisted that Ayou was born like this and it was not caused by their abuse. Ayou couldn't talk to me and complain, so I couldn't verify it after all..."
Xie Junlin held his mother's shoulders tightly and looked guiltily at his brother who was sitting quietly.
If he had brought Ayou back earlier, perhaps Ayou would not be like this.
After hearing what the Empress Dowager said, Shen Yuanwei felt a little sad.
It turns out that this honorable empress dowager once lived such a hard life.
She looked at King Rui in the room again.
What kind of torture did this young man endure during the five years he lived under the control of the late emperor and the imperial concubine?
Is his autism innate or the result of long-term abuse?
Perhaps, she could use her ability to listen to inner thoughts to find out how Prince Rui became ill. If autism was acquired, it could be cured slowly.
Shen Yuanwei was thinking when she suddenly heard Queen Mother Jiang begging her.
"Madam Xiao, I have an unwelcome request. Could you please..."
Before the Queen Mother finished speaking, Shen Yuanwei heard a familiar female voice coming from outside the courtyard -
"How dare you! Prince Rui has already hit his head against the wall. Why are you still stopping me? Let me in to save Prince Rui! The Queen Mother said that I can come and go freely without your permission!"
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