Chapter 360: The Shocking Truth
"Just me?"
Song Zhao suddenly raised his eyebrows, staring at Xiao Yinzi with his eyes wide open, and said puzzledly:
"How could I be the only one? That day I heard Concubine Yao and Li Changzai say that there was a Concubine Song in the palace. Her mother's family committed a serious crime and was sentenced to death by the emperor. As a result, Concubine Song was also banished to the cold palace and died with hatred in her heart..."
When Xiao Yinzi heard Song Zhao say this, he realized that he had spoken too quickly and said something he shouldn't have said.
Xiao Jingheng asked all the palaces to conceal Song Zhao's past misfortunes, and even issued a death order.
Xiao Yinzi was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he was busy trying to find a way to make up for it.
"Yes, yes, look at my memory!"
He slapped the back of his head fiercely and said with an apologetic smile, "There was originally a Concubine Song in the palace. The Imperial Concubine mentioned her out of the blue, and I was so confused that I forgot about it."
Seeing his poor acting skills, Song Zhao naturally wouldn't believe it.
"Forgot? You work for the emperor. There are only so many concubines in the harem. Song Changzai was convicted in her mother's family and died in the cold palace. How could you forget such a big thing?"
Faced with Song Zhao's repeated questioning, Xiao Yinzi was obviously panicked, stammering and unable to respond for a long time.
At this time, Xiao Jingheng came to Changle Palace after the morning court.
Ben was still smiling when he entered, "How is it going? How are the details of the ritual being discussed?"
When he took a closer look, he saw Song Zhao's expression of surprise, and Xiao Yinzi's face was full of fear and anxiety.
Jamel Xiao immediately noticed something was wrong.
But before he could ask, Song Zhao asked him first,
"Xiao Lang, has there ever been a Concubine Song in the palace?"
Yunshan had privately reported to Jamel Xiao about Concubine Yao's nonsense.
At that time, everyone fabricated a "Song Changzai" out of thin air in an attempt to use it to deceive Song Zhao.
So when Xiao Jingheng heard Song Zhao's question, he was prepared and nodded in agreement.
"Yes. Why are you bringing her up for no reason?"
As he spoke, he glanced at the little mark who was already sweating profusely.
When Song Zhao heard what Xiao Jingheng said, the suspicion on his face did not disappear at all, but became even more intense.
She shook her head in astonishment, muttering:
"Yunshan said that both my parents were dead, and Xiaolang said that Ruoxin was raised in Concubine Chen's palace because she had been ill since childhood. But after Ruoxin was brought back, I saw that she didn't look like she had been seriously ill at all.
I was still wondering why the sick child couldn't be raised by my side. Could it be that Concubine Chen would take better care of her daughter than I, her biological mother, could take care of her? Even if that was the case, how could I, as a mother, never visit Ruoxin once, causing my daughter to be so unfamiliar with me? Could it be that..."
Song Zhao talked to himself, but he linked all the clues and doubts together in an orderly manner.
Her eyes were red and she looked at Jamel Xiao with trembling eyes, she choked up and said:
"Could it be that the daughter of a criminal minister that Concubine Yao mentioned is me? The person who was banished to the cold palace... is also me?"
Seeing that she was obviously agitated, Jamel Xiao was also panicked for a moment.
He clasped his hands on Song Zhao's shoulders and said in a deep voice: "Zhao'er, don't let your imagination run wild. Things are not what you think. Just listen to me..."
"Why did you lie to me?" Song Zhaolie's temper flared up again. She suddenly pushed Xiao Jingheng away and took several steps back.
"No wonder... No wonder Concubine Yao wanted to kill me. It was you who kept the whole palace a secret from me, not letting me know what happened in the past. That's why when Concubine Yao was talking about me in private and I heard her, she was so scared and even made up a person who didn't even exist to fool me!
She murdered me because she was afraid that I would find out something wrong and question you, and that I would get into trouble, so she thought it would be better to kill me and put an end to it all!"
Song Zhao's emotions collapsed in an instant.
She squatted against the wall, grabbed her hair tightly with both hands, pulling it so hard that her scalp hurt, and cried in despair.
When things developed to this point, Xiao Jingheng understood in his heart that if he kept it secret any longer and let Song Zhao ask himself, he was afraid that he would find out more things that he didn't want Song Zhao to know.
So he had no choice but to be "honest" to Song Zhao first.
He walked slowly and tentatively towards Song Zhao.
Seeing that she did not resist, he squatted down to accompany her, and said with heartache:
"Zhao'er, I...did not mean to hide this from you."
Song Zhao raised his tearful eyes and said while trying hard to hold back his tears:
"Then Xiao Lang, can you tell me the truth? What did I go through in the past?"
Xiao Jingheng wiped away the tears on Song Zhao's cheeks with his warm fingertips, then stared into her eyes sincerely and said in a deep voice:
"I chose to hide many things from you after you lost your memory because I didn't want you to have those unpleasant memories. Since you asked me today, I will no longer hide it from you. Your father was the Duke of the Protectorate of this dynasty. He committed a serious crime and was demoted by me. I sent him to Beihanchuan as an envoy. But I didn't expect that he felt ashamed of the court's trust and use for many years, and he was so depressed that he cut himself off from the world...
The harem and the former dynasty were originally one, and you have been favored by me since you entered the palace. Those old officials of the former dynasty who are conservative and unreliable have long been dissatisfied with you. Your mother's family caused such a thing, and the officials of the former dynasty all criticized you. In order to protect you, I did not hesitate to get angry with them in the court. But you...in order not to embarrass me, you asked to be punished and sent to the cold palace for a year. "
When he said this, his face was filled with deep affection and his eyes were red.
"Ruoxin has been with you since she was a child. When you insisted on sending her to the cold palace, she was a little older and could remember things. At that time, the child was sent to the palace of Concubine Chen, so she became close to Concubine Chen and had no choice but to distance herself from you."
Song Zhao listened with tears in her eyes. Xiao Jingheng's words were so beautiful.
It seemed as if he had deep feelings for Song Zhao, and Song Zhao was also full of thoughts for him.
They used to be a perfect couple who complemented and sacrificed for each other.
He was so sincere that if Song Zhao still had doubts about his words, it would be somewhat disrespectful.
So even though she couldn't stop her tears from falling, she calmed down and asked,
"Can you take what Xiao Lang said seriously?"
Xiao Jingheng said firmly, "It's absolutely true!"
Song Zhao lowered her eyes sadly, but she didn't blame Xiao Jingheng for hiding it from her. Instead, she said with regret:
"I see. I am the daughter of a guilty subject... the daughter of a guilty subject..."
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