"But Siyao, I seem to understand now why you were so determined to die..."
He knew Xu Siyao didn't like him. She never liked him, but later Xu Siyao got pregnant with his child, and it was such a hard pregnancy. She endured it all without a single complaint. Maybe... even for the sake of the child in her belly. She was willing to accept him and live a good life with him, but... he had doubts from the beginning. After listening to Lu Guinian's slander, his cold eyes, the nightly revelry, and the vicious women in the harem who stabbed Xu Siyao in places he couldn't see, all of this made Xu Siyao's joy of being a mother disappear little by little, and finally. After she risked her life to give birth to Mingwei, and after he said condescendingly that he didn't care about her past infidelity. Xu Siyao finally had no reason to live anymore.
Zhong Zhiheng didn't know how bitter the cup of poisoned wine was at that time, but he seemed to know it now.
"Siyao, I'm sorry! I'm sorry for you and Mingwei! Siyao, don't... don't leave..."
Zhong Zhiheng sobbed in pain. He ignored her tears and tears. His red and swollen eyes stared at the corner of the wall without blinking, watching Xu Siyao become more and more blurred. Finally, he turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared without a trace.
"Siyao!"
Zhong Zhiheng fainted and died holding his head.
…
That night.
Princess Zou of Hui County hanged herself.
March 1, 34th year of Jiasheng
Concubine Cui died suddenly in Zhongcui Palace. Because it was during the period of mourning for the empress dowager, it was not appropriate to hold a grand funeral for Concubine Cui. After three days of rest, she was hastily buried.
Less than 37 days after Concubine Shu was buried, the old Minister of Justice Yan, who had originally retired and returned to his hometown, reported to the emperor under his real name that the current Minister of Justice Zou Shijie was violent, cruel, and used punishments privately. The emperor was furious and ordered the left prime minister Fang Zhonglian to personally supervise the matter. In early April, Zou Shijie was deposed and his family was exiled to Lingnan. While investigating the case, Fang Zhonglian discovered that the Zou and Cui families had secretly colluded over the years and committed many scandals, which were reported to the emperor. In order to save face for Prince Hui, the emperor did not severely punish the Cui family, but only released Cui Youan from the capital and demoted him to Ganzhou, making him the fourth-rank prefect of Ganzhou. On the day the imperial edict was issued, the Cui family left the capital with their families.
In just over twenty days, Concubine Shu died, Princess Hui committed suicide, the Zou family fell, and it was likely that the Cui family would never make a comeback. It seemed that Prince Hui had completely lost hope.
April 12, 1934
The capital.
Prince An and his wife arrived in Beijing.
This was not the first time that Zhong Mingwei entered the palace, nor was it the first time that Mei Ya entered the palace. It was just that the mood at this moment was completely different from before.
The carriage moved slowly forward. Mei Ya and Zhong Mingwei sat side by side in the carriage. They were both silent all the way, and no one knew what they were thinking. The hustle and bustle of traffic outside made the carriage seem even quieter.
"Tang haws! Tang haws with big red berries!"
Suddenly, a melodious hawking voice came from outside. Mei Ya was startled, then quickly reached out and opened the curtains. Her eyes wandered around the busy street, and finally fell on a boy selling candied haws, and she couldn't take her eyes off him.
"What's wrong?" Zhong Mingwei saw her crouching and looking outside, so he came over and asked, "What are you looking at?"
"Zhong Mingwei, the day I left Beijing, there happened to be a guy selling candied haws on the roadside. He was shouting like that when he came. I was so hungry at that time," Mei Ya still looked at the guy selling candied haws, slurping her saliva, and said, "What should I do? I want to eat it so much now."
"That's fine. When we get out of the palace, I'll ask Pang Yi to buy you some candied haws," Zhong Mingwei said softly. He reached out to lower the curtains and said, "It's windy outside, be careful not to get caught in the cold wind."
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