The woman walked over gracefully.
Her white dress fluttered to the ground like drifting clouds, while her long, black hair resembled the night sky hanging over her eyes. The gentle breeze rippled through her, revealing a captivating and tender charm.
She walked over quietly, yet she seemed to carry all the nobility and elegance in the world, making everyone feel humbled and insignificant.
Lan Shanyang looked at her, his eyes revealing an unbelievable tenderness and deep affection.
Slowly standing up, Lan Shanyang seemed afraid of startling the person in front of him and gently took her hand, helping her to a soft chair, where they sat side by side.
The woman wore a white veil, but the tenderness in her eyes was like a deep sea, captivating the person before her with just one glance.
"Has Xue'er been disobedient again today?" The woman smiled slightly, her eyes filled with tenderness. "You are his father, you have to bear some responsibility!"
Lan Shanyang looked at the person in front of him and gave a helpless bitter smile: "He really messed up the position of Crown Prince! Sigh, tell me, what was the point of all these years of hard work between you and me? This kid just threw it away like that, and he's ruthless when he does things. Four counties, he just blew them up like that!"
Hearing this, the woman showed no anger. Holding Lan Shanyang's hand, she said even more gently, "Xue'er lost her mother at a young age, so it's inevitable that she'll act somewhat biasedly! After all these years and so many hardships, what worries could she possibly have? In the end, it's all my fault! If you want to blame someone, blame me! It's because I couldn't protect our son, causing you and your son to suffer together!"
Lan Shanyang immediately gripped the woman's hand tightly and said anxiously, "Mei'er, why do you say that? If it weren't for your painstaking efforts back then, my son and I would have died countless times! In the end, it's because I'm a useless man! I can't even protect my own wife and children!"
Seeing Lan Shanyang's frustrated expression, the woman couldn't help but raise her hand and gently stroke his face: "Don't say such things! We've made it through so many years, Xue'er has grown up and has her own ideas. The hard times are finally over, why say such discouraging things?"
As she spoke, the woman slowly stood up, walked to the window, and stroked a blooming peony. "Shanyang, don't call me Mei'er anymore. Your Mei'er turned to ashes before you long ago! The memorial tablet in the mourning hall outside is that of your beloved wife, Qin Meiying!"
Lan Shanyang hated hearing this sentence the most. With a cold face, he walked over and turned the woman around to face him: "Mei'er, don't always say things like that to me! I don't like hearing it! I know you're still worried about what's happening outside. But here it's just you and me. If you're not my Mei'er, then who are you?"
The woman gave a faint, yet subtly cold, smile, turning to look at Lan Shanyang and saying softly, "I'm nothing more than a wisp of soul in Xue'er's memory! Don't let it show one day, or Xue'er will hate me even more!"
As she spoke, the woman felt as if her heart had been pierced by a needle.
Her Xue'er, her motherless Xue'er, has suffered for so many years only to discover that her mother is not dead, and that everything back then was a deception. How can she accept such bitterness? How can she face her parents who have kept her in the dark?
Yes, the woman in white before me, as beautiful as a fairy, is none other than Qin Meiying, who gouged out her own eyes and burned in the flames with resentment all those years ago.
However, she is now merely a wandering soul hidden deep within the palace.
"He wouldn't dare!" Lan Shanyang growled angrily. "Even if he finds out about us in the future, if he dares to utter a single complaint, I will beat him to death!"
Lan Shanyang was not joking when he said that.
Qin Meiying glared at her husband playfully, "We've kept this from our son for so long, don't we have the right to be angry?"
Everyone else has it! Only he doesn't!
Lan Shanyang's firmness was unquestionable.
"Hmph, who could have imagined back then that Hu Tianyong had become so ruthless as to poison my medicine? He sent Xu Ming to Jiangnan to kill and rob, while simultaneously using my life to force you to commit suicide by self-immolation. If you hadn't been on guard against him, wouldn't we be separated forever today!"
Hearing Lan Shanyang recount what happened back then, Qin Meiying couldn't help but dim her eyes and said softly, "Why bring up something from so long ago! It's just a pity for my Qing'er, who actually wore my mask and gouged out her own eyes, dying in that raging fire! And in front of our Xue'er and you! Sigh, thinking about that day feels like it was just yesterday."
Lan Shanyang reached out and gently pulled Qin Meiying into his arms, a tremor running down his face: "That day truly terrified me! It was a nightmare. I watched you writhe in agony amidst the flames, with countless people blocking your way, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get through! Thinking about it, Qing'er must really hate me! Hate me for not being able to protect my own wife and children!"
Qin Meiying leaned against her husband's chest, her eyes filled with sorrow: "Hu Tianyong has been coveting the Qin family for a long time! He plotted for years before launching his fatal attack. Who could have imagined that the person who wholeheartedly supported your ascension to the throne would be the first to turn around and kill you?! He had already begun to slowly poison your wine, intending to take my life. If I didn't die in front of the world and you, he would really kill you. Then I would also be buried with you, and our son would only be his puppet. Then he could tell the world that his daughter was pregnant with his posthumous child, and the world would belong to the Hu family! Who could have guessed his intentions!"
Lan Shanyang's gaze turned as sharp and cruel as a knife. "He thought that if you died, his daughter would climb up! That's a pipe dream! I just didn't expect you to agree to the exchange with him, Mei'er. Didn't you ever think that I would die with you the day you die? What use is my life if you're not here!"
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
