Chapter 130
The Zichen Palace was extremely quiet in the afternoon.
The winter sun streamed in through the window, falling on people and bringing a sense of warmth.
Xiao Che leaned back in his armchair, sitting quietly with his eyes closed. The pale sunlight fell on his handsome profile, casting a fuzzy halo around his eyelashes.
The magnolias outside the window are evergreen all year round, and their branches and leaves do not wither even in winter.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves, filtering out dappled patterns that danced lightly on his face.
The skin is so translucent that you can vaguely see tiny blood vessels.
He frowned slightly, as if he was dazzled by the light spots. Looking at him like this, he seemed to have gained a bit more childishness.
He was actually only twenty years old.
Most young people of this age still have parents who are alive.
Or he may have already married and had children.
The family is warm and harmonious, enjoying the bliss of family life.
But now, with both his parents dead, his brothers fighting amongst themselves, and the woman he loves wishing him dead, he is truly all alone.
This position truly is a lonely place at the top.
Xiao Yuangan was relieved.
That day, as he watched him slowly die before his eyes, he wondered if he regretted it.
He regretted that he had ruined his lifelong relationship with Jiang Chenyu by sacrificing his position.
From the moment he used her to slaughter her people, it was destined that there would be no possibility between them.
He thought that at that time, he probably didn't expect that he would regret it. He overestimated his ambition and underestimated his obsession with Jiang Chenyu.
So every moment after her death, he lived in purgatory.
He gathered alchemists from all over the world and concocted elixirs on a grand scale. Knowing full well that it was like drinking poison to quench thirst, he consumed them without considering the consequences in order to meet her in his dream.
Even in his dreams, she refused to appear, as if it were the most hopeless punishment for him.
So they went to heaven and earth, but never had the chance to meet again.
He thought that at that time, he must have felt regret, regret for his youthful arrogance and ignorance of the bitterness of love.
On his deathbed, in front of Cui Shoujie and many high-ranking officials, he ordered the eunuch to read his will, bequeathing the throne to him. He had clearly exhausted all his energy, yet he clung to his last breath. After dismissing everyone, he called him to his side. His once bright and spirited eyes had become cloudy, his gaze unfocused, yet he still gripped his hand tightly, saying, "Che'er...good child..."
“Father… my time is almost up… thankfully… everything is still in time… Che’er, I knew you would never… disappoint me… Now that you have returned safely… I can pass the throne to you before I go, and I can… leave in peace…”
His gaze lingered on the air, his voice sounding somewhat unsteady: "...I know...I've always known...this has always been the Consort's wish...she always wanted...for you to ascend the throne...so that the Great Wei...for thousands of years...would have the blood of the Lanling people flowing through its veins...this...this is her curse upon me..."
"But she didn't know... I didn't care about any of that... What about the country and its people... the ancestral legacy... I didn't care about any of it... No one knows... how I survived those days after her death... Che'er... If... if there really were a way to turn back time... I would... I would never hurt her again... But... there's no chance... never again..."
"Che'er... in the future, when you meet someone you like... never miss the chance to stay together forever... in this world, everything can be betrayed, but love is the most precious thing..."
"Never let a momentary thought lead to a lifetime of regret..."
Xiao Che lowered his eyelids, a hint of unease in his eyes.
"Now that I have helped her fulfill her wish, will she hate me less in her heart...? In the afterlife, will she be willing... to see me one more time..."
“Che’er…” His breathing suddenly became rapid, as if someone had grabbed his throat, and he could only make hoarse gasps. His eyes were fixed on him, as if filled with an overwhelming obsession: “You’ve grown up like this… Your father has never asked anything of you… Now I only ask one thing of you… You… You must never forget…”
"After I die, I will definitely... I will definitely have your mother buried with me..." A strange light suddenly flashed in his eyes. With all his might, he leaned back and firmly grasped Xiao Che's arm, saying, "After you ascend the throne, according to custom, you can make your mother... Empress Dowager. I have already deposed the Empress... The newly appointed... Cui woman... is just a puppet Empress... She is still young, and naturally won't die anytime soon... So your mother... will be the only Empress who is qualified... to be buried with me in the mausoleum..."
"Promise me... that I will be buried... with your mother..."
After uttering the last word "burial," he finally let his hand fall limply, his arm resting on the edge of the bed. The slightest sound seemed to fall on Xiao Che's heart, making it feel exceptionally heavy.
He was, after all, his father.
He swallowed hard, stepped forward, and reached out to close his eyes for him.
Emperor Wei Xi died with his eyes wide open in discontent, because Xiao Che did not nod and say "good" before he breathed his last.
But he really hadn't considered agreeing.
She knew how much Jiang Chenyu hated him, unable to escape him in life, and that only death could bring her peace. So how could she be willing to be buried with him a hundred years later?
In order to take revenge on Xiao Yuangan, she treated him as a pawn from beginning to end, and even went so far as to have Ji Le kill him after his failure to seize the throne, even though he was her own son.
How could he not hate her?
Of course he loves her.
However, he felt even more sorry for her.
He imagined that when she was young, she must have been a simple and bright young girl.
Xiao Yuangan deceived her, used her to slaughter her people, destroyed her dynasty, and caused her family to be destroyed and left homeless.
In the end, she was forced to stay by his side, become pregnant with and give birth to his child, and raise him to adulthood.
How could she not hate?
Perhaps to her, he wasn't her child, but merely a symbol of her humiliation, and she had no reason not to hate him.
He shouldn't have been born into this world.
...
Xiao Che slowly opened his eyes, looked down at the black jade token in his hand, and gently rubbed it with his fingertips, feeling the raised and recessed patterns on it.
A moment later, he threw it onto the table and chuckled.
This was the last keepsake Jiang Chenyu left him, but it wasn't given to him sincerely; in the end, it was just another instance of using him.
He thought that since she had treated him this way, he shouldn't have helped her fulfill her last wish.
He closed his eyes tightly.
He calmed the growing resentment within his body.
No, he wasn't doing it to fulfill her last wish.
He just wanted revenge.
He wanted those who had betrayed and hurt him to suffer a fate worse than death.
However, revenge did not seem to bring him the satisfaction he had imagined.
After the coronation ceremony that day, he went to the imperial prison to see Xiao Jue.
Including this time, he has been to this prison three times. It is always cold, damp, and dark.
Xiao Jue leaned against the corner of the wall. Hearing the door open, he slowly raised his head. After seeing who it was, a mocking and contemptuous smile appeared on his lips.
"What, Third Brother, have you condescended to come and make a fool of me?"
He glanced at him up and down, snorted, and said, "Are you here to show off your imperial power again? Wearing the dragon robe, you really are quite proud of yourself."
Xiao Che looked down at him, his face expressionless, and said only, "That day outside the window, I heard it. Your mother's death was the work of Xiao Yuangan."
Xiao Jue twitched his shoulders almost imperceptibly.
The trembling intensified until, finally, as if unable to contain itself any longer, he abruptly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at him: "Yes! That beast! He brutally murdered my mother! He's a beast, a coward! He dares not admit that Jiang Chenyu's death was a complete suicide, that she killed herself! Because he dares not! So he can only pin the blame for her death on my mother, only then can he feel a little better. But in the process of deceiving her, he deceived himself as well, so he tried every means to torture my mother, just to avenge Jiang Chenyu..."
"How ridiculous! If he really wanted to avenge Jiang Chenyu, would he dare? Hahahaha..."
"I tortured him with silver needles, which was merely an eye for an eye..."
Xiao Che's Adam's apple bobbed as he said, "I know. Xiao Jue, though I hate you, I also pity you. I truly understand the pain of losing one's mother. But compared to her, your mother at least genuinely loved you, while I... I was merely a pawn in her quest to restore her kingdom. She is certainly hateful, but how many women in this world are more pitiful than her?"
"I just can't bring myself to hate her..."
"In this so-called struggle, no one is a true winner. The root of it all is Xiao Yuangan. Although he is my biological father, when I think of what he did to my mother, I can no longer feel any maternal love for him, and I think you feel the same way. Now that he is dead, the past grievances can be put to rest for now."
He slowly squatted down in front of him, his amber eyes calmly gazing at him: "Xiao Jue, I took revenge on the wrong person and hated the wrong person. Now I have received the retribution I deserve. I caused you to fall from your horse and be seriously injured, and you also plotted to let me be betrayed by the woman you love. We went through life and death together, and the grudges are settled. I think you should let it go."
"Before Xiao Yuangan died, he said he would demote you to a commoner and exile you to Qianzhou. However, that place is too harsh and cold. I will change it to Luzhou, which is located in the Huainan area and has a mild climate. I think you should be able to get used to living there."
Xiao Jue listened with his eyes lowered, his fingers under his sleeves clenching almost imperceptibly, then slowly relaxing.
After Xiao Che finished speaking, he slowly stood up.
"Third brother, before I leave, let me see her one last time."
Who "she" is is self-evident between the two of them at this moment.
Xiao Che's Adam's apple bobbed, a dark glint flashed in his eyes, and a fierce glint suddenly rose in the depths of his pupils: "Royal brother, how come you still don't understand even now?"
"She is mine. Even if I hate her now and she has become my enemy, she is still mine."
"You know better than anyone who saved her by the Lotus Pond. From the very beginning, she should have liked me. The little bit of affection she had for you was just something you stole."
"Since we'll never meet again in this life, why bother meeting again at the end? What, do you want her to still remember you, hate me, resent me, and stab me again?"
“Xiao Jue, I was the one who saved her back then. I didn’t mention it before because I disdained to take advantage of her kindness. But it was my life-saving grace to her. How did it become yours if I didn’t bring it up?”
"The mountains are high and the rivers are long, you and she will never see each other again in this life. You can go to your Luzhou in peace. As for her... don't worry, I have never been a gentleman. I can't let go of my grudges with her. On the contrary, I will even seek revenge."
Xiao Jue's Adam's apple bobbed as he urgently pressed, "What do you plan to do to her? Jia Rou has been spoiled and pampered, she's never suffered any hardship since she was little, she can't stand your methods. I tricked her into doing those things, she never wanted to kill you, so come at me if you have a problem. She's the younger sister I've watched grow up, can you really be so heartless?"
After thinking for a moment, she shook her head and said, "No, you wouldn't be willing to do that."
Xiao Che seemed to be enraged by these words, and sneered, "How do you know I wouldn't be willing? After what she did to me, do you think I would let her off easily? What do you take me for? That's why she's so fearless. But this time, it won't be like that."
He added, "Don't worry, the methods I use on others won't work on her. To deal with her, I'll have to use other methods."
He chuckled dismissively and said, "Tell me, what method do you think I'll use, brother?"
Xiao Jue looked at him, first frowning in confusion, then suddenly her face turned bright red as if she remembered something, as if she were very angry: "You!"
Xiao Che merely raised an eyebrow lazily and repeated, "She is mine."
“I told her long ago that she wanted my true heart and we became husband and wife. She is my first woman. If she dares to betray me, I will chain her to my side and never leave her side. It will only be the two of us, and then… ha.”
He slowly smiled, a strange expression appearing on his face, with a hint of obsession and madness lurking between his brows and eyes.
He then closed his eyes tightly and said, "A hundred years from now, I will be buried with her. I will then hold her in my hands and carry her through reincarnation. In every lifetime, I will never let her go."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
