Her tears were merely an unconscious reaction; she was unaware of it until Hongli asked her about it. Only then did Su Yushan realize that such a situation seemed somewhat inappropriate to Hongli.
She wiped away her tears with her hand, but tears still slid down her cheeks. Hongli looked at her with shock mixed with a hint of anger.
"You are my woman, why should you shed tears for another man?"
Is it wrong to shed tears? Hongli's question left Yushan feeling bewildered. "He was injured and poisoned while saving you. You said he was going to die soon. Of course I would feel sad. It's instinctive to feel grief when faced with the passing of life."
Instinct? Hongli couldn't help but think of the previous situation, "When the Empress passed away, you didn't shed a single tear."
"The Empress once tried to give Yonghuang a talismanic water, and her maid once plotted to kill me, but she knew about it but did not report it. I had many grudges with her. When I see her pass away, I will only feel a little pity, but I can't cry. Isn't that normal?"
Yu Shan believed that all of this was reasonable, but Hong Li was very bothered by the fact that she shed tears for Fu Qing.
"I will not allow my woman to shed tears for another man, especially Fu Qing!"
Ultimately, he was still targeting Fu Qing: "What exactly are you bothered about? So many years have passed, are you still doubting me?"
"I never wanted to doubt you, yet you cried for him. What do you think I'll think?" Hongli's voice rose. Yu Shan was already frightened today, and with Fu Qing seriously injured, Hongli's insistence on bringing up old matters at this time left her exhausted, feeling breathless.
"He saved your life! If it weren't for his timely rescue, you would be the one injured now. You should be grateful to him, how can you be so petty about such a small matter?"
"Yes! I should be the one feeling grateful, and I should be the one blaming myself, not you! You have no reason to cry for him, but you can't help it..."
Hongli didn't say anything more. He clenched his fists and told himself not to overthink it, but the scene of Yushan crying kept flashing through his mind. He just couldn't ignore that scene!
Hongli's doubts made Yushan even more disappointed. "You said you would never doubt me again, and I believed you. But after twenty years, that seed of doubt has been buried deep in your heart and is still taking root and sprouting. What exactly do you want? When will you stop making a fuss?"
Hongli thought he had let go long ago, but her scalding tears, tears shed for another man, unexpectedly burned him.
"Am I just being paranoid, or is there something else going on? I'll find out the truth!"
After uttering these harsh words, Hongli abruptly stood up, his eyes unusually cold and sharp.
Witnessing Hongli's angry departure, Su Yushan had a vague sense of foreboding. Judging from his expression, he was probably going to question Fu Qing. She hoped that Fu Qing would deny everything and not say anything he shouldn't, otherwise she would be unable to clear her name no matter what she did!
At this moment, Fu Qing's wound had turned black, and the poison had spread. The imperial physician had just said that he probably wouldn't last much longer.
Even so, he had no regrets! Publicly, he was a subject, and it was his duty to protect the emperor; only with the emperor safe and sound could the Qing dynasty be more secure. Privately, Hongli was Yushan's husband; if something happened to Hongli, Yushan's life would be miserable.
Therefore, Fu Qing had to save him, even if it meant risking his life to save the emperor.
But he never expected that this incident would reignite the conflict between Hongli and Yushan!
When the emperor came to his room, he assumed that the emperor was visiting out of guilt. However, the emperor's gaze was unusually cold, not like that of someone looking at a benefactor.
Fu Qing was puzzled, only to see the emperor order everyone to leave. The scene was too strange; Fu Qing vaguely guessed something was amiss, and prepared to get up and pay his respects. However, the pain in his back was too intense; he couldn't muster any strength, and even getting up was difficult.
"emperor……"
Hongli said in a cold voice, "You are injured, so there's no need for such formalities. You saved my life, and I am grateful to you, but kindness is kindness, and transgression is transgression. There is an old score to settle, and it's time to settle it properly."
The emperor's expression was unusually cold, and Fu Qing could not guess his thoughts. "Your Majesty, I do not understand his meaning. Please enlighten me."
Hongli didn't want to bring up those old stories, but if he didn't get to the bottom of them, he couldn't eliminate his inner demons. That's why he chose to continue investigating.
"Why have you kept Yu Shan's handkerchief all this time?"
After so many years, why is the Emperor still asking this question? Fu Qing was about to explain when the Emperor interrupted him.
"Don't say it was given by Yunfang. I just interrogated Yunfang and tortured her severely before she told the truth."
That handkerchief was actually given to you by Yu Shan. At the time, you didn't know her true identity; you only saw her as a pitiful woman, and your pity for her turned into love. You cherished that handkerchief very much. If it weren't for the later incident involving Yu Shan's younger brother, forcing her to return to the capital to save him, you would have planned to be with her!
All of this was Hongli's speculation, but his tone was very certain, precisely to deceive Fu Qing. Only a confident tone could instill fear and convince.
Unfortunately, everything he predicted happened exactly as Fu Qing had been thinking, so much so that Fu Qing believed it to be true and thought that Yun Fang really couldn't withstand the torture and confessed!
The more Fu Qingyue remained silent, the more suspicious Hongli became. "Why aren't you speaking? Are you thinking of how to defend yourself? If what Yunfang said is not true, I will kill Yunfang immediately to prove your innocence with just one denial!"
Fu Qing didn't want to admit it, because admitting it would implicate Yu Shan, but if he denied it, Yun Fang would be accused of lying, and Yun Fang was innocent! How could he bear to watch Yun Fang be implicated and die because of him?
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