Even the most similar brothers could not possibly resemble each other to this extent.
Gan Qiongying stood by the bed, looking at Li Hua hiding under the covers. A series of flashes of inspiration struck her, and she came up with a very absurd yet reasonable guess: that the prince consort Li Hua was not only the male protagonist's older brother in the story.
He and the male lead, Zhong Lizheng, are probably twins...
Twins!
hiss.
Gan Qiongying took a deep breath, as if she had suddenly solved a mystery that had been troubling her for a long time—a part that was not described in detail in the plot.
Why did Li Hua, the male protagonist's older brother, live in obscurity and hide his identity among the common people?
Why is it that he is the elder brother of the Prince of Jinchuan, and although he has been found, he has not been recognized by the Jinchuan royal family?
The more Gan Qiongying thought about it, the colder she felt.
Because they were twins, and all the TV dramas, novels, and even history she had read clearly told her that while modern people are overjoyed to have twins, the ancients considered twins to be an omen of bad luck.
Especially for royalty, imagine this: imperial power is inviolable. If someone is the emperor, how can they tolerate someone else looking exactly like them?
Even if the emperor is tolerant, who can guarantee that his ministers will not harbor treacherous ambitions, or try to support the other twin and seize power?
Therefore, in a twin birth, one is destined to die.
Gan Qiongying thought of Li Hua's slightly limping left leg.
Most open
Those with disabilities cannot become emperors... Li Hua was clearly abandoned and should have died quietly at birth.
Gan Qiongying didn't know how he survived, but she thought about how he, a merchant, became the consort of the arrogant Princess Duanrong, and then she thought about how Zhongli Zhengzhen eventually seized the Nanzhao Kingdom... So Li Hua was probably a pawn that Zhongli Zhengzhen had planted in the royal family.
Will the prince, who was abandoned at birth and has a disability, be used by Zhongli Zhengzhen until his death?
He probably wants to take advantage of more than just the status of the imperial son-in-law; he also likely wants to exploit the inexhaustible wealth that is the richest man in the world.
A brief recollection of the plot reveals just how successfully this move was planned. Duanrong, unable to obtain what she desired, resorted to any means necessary to win Zhongli Zhengzhen's favor.
I wonder how many conveniences Zhongli truly received.
While the title of "Imperial Son-in-Law" may seem useless, as he would only be humiliated and beaten by Princess Duanrong, the title of "Imperial Son-in-Law of Nanzhao" might be a laughing stock in the capital city of Yindu and not very useful, but outside the capital, whether he was doing business, making connections with local officials, as long as he carried the title of imperial relative, he would naturally be successful in everything he did.
Gan Qiongying frowned as she thought about these things. She was not good at strategy and had found it hard to feel the reality of her transmigration for a month.
She just wanted to stay alive, and even more so, she wanted to live a good life in this world. She cherished this hard-won life very much.
But today, having witnessed the true nature of the prince consort, she only needed a little reflection to fully grasp the depths of his malice.
Now that she is Duanrong, she can no longer help but feel resentment towards the traitors who stole the country.
When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. If Nanzhao is truly destroyed, she, the princess of a fallen kingdom, will likely be dragged to death by horses, and it will probably have nothing to do with love, hate, or grudges.
Upon realizing this, all the warmth on Gan Qiongying's face vanished completely.
She herself didn't realize that at this moment, she was no different from the real Princess Duanrong, with the same sinister eyes and the same indifferent expression.
She looked at the prince consort, who dared not reveal his true appearance and was trembling under the covers.
This time, she really had the urge to step forward, rip off his blanket, and expose his true conspiracy with Zhongli.
However, Gan Qiongying was not the real Princess Duanrong. Because she was able to detach herself from the plot of this world and look at the matter from a god-like perspective, her calmness was astonishing.
She thought of the ending in the story where Li Hua was humiliated to death, and how he was cruelly abandoned by his biological parents because of his disability, even though he was the husband of the twins. After finding him, they took advantage of him to the extreme. Was he doing it willingly?
Was his trembling at this moment due to fear that his true colors would be exposed and ruin their grand plan to seize the country, or was he afraid of something else?
A prince who should have been precious and noble was abandoned by his own parents and forced to wear a mask and live in anonymity. He was forced to marry a princess from an enemy country who not only did not love him but also humiliated and despised him. Wasn't that ruining his life?
Gan Qiongying stood by the bed for a long time, thinking. If she were in her shoes, she would not only not cooperate, but would even hate her.
Does he hate it?
In any case, she couldn't reveal anything tonight.
Even if it's revealed that the prince consort and the hostage from Jinchuan are exactly alike, so what? In the end, the pawn that will be sacrificed will still be Li Hua.
They could even find "coincidence" to explain it, since they had never heard of the Jinchuan royal family ever having twins.
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The only sound was the rustling of the blankets as they shook. A group of maids who had not been given any instructions stood at the door with their eyes down, not daring to go in or out.
Gan Qiongying slowly knelt on the bed. She leaned forward and, without pulling down the blanket covering Li Hua's face, simply leaned down and gently embraced him and the blanket together.
She had already calmed down her chaotic thoughts, and holding Li Hua, she said, "Coming so late at night, did I scare you?"
"I'm drunk, don't be afraid..." Gan Qiongying's face still had a flush, making her act of being drunk even more convincing.
"I...I fell into the water today."
"The princess's residence is too far away and too cold. I came here because I heard you didn't go home."
Gan Qiongying hugged Li Hua tighter through the blanket and said, "I'll take a shower and then go to sleep... I won't be angry about you not coming home, okay?"
“If you don’t want to see me, then keep it covered,” Gan Qiongying said, patting Li Hua’s back through the blanket as if coaxing a child, but her eyes were devoid of warmth.
See you tomorrow.
Gan Qiongying said, "Let's go home together tomorrow."
Li Hua, on the other hand, remained motionless like a fossil from the moment she was embraced.
He curled up in the blankets, cupping his face, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, tears streaming down his face.
Her fingernails were almost digging into her skin; she wished she could tear his fleshy face off.
All the misfortunes and disasters in his life stemmed from this face.
He used to hate his parents and siblings, but now he only hates himself.
He hated his own powerlessness, hated his inability to escape all of this, and even his inability to save the old woman who had secretly taken him in and raised him.
The first time his face was exposed to the public was when he was born, the day he was abandoned and "thrown to his death".
The second time he was exposed was when he was seventeen years old. He was playing in the street and his mask fell off. He was discovered by his father's guards, captured, and imprisoned in a dark, blood-soaked cell, his life hanging by a thread.
He survived because he was good at management and had value to be exploited.
Since then, he has worn a mask day and night, never daring to expose himself in the slightest. If he were to expose himself again tonight... he would surely not survive.
However, his attempt to cover up the truth was not cruelly torn away.
There were no harsh words, no disgusted looks, no angry outbursts wishing him dead.
He was gently embraced, and through the blanket came soft, tender words he had never heard before in his life.
She said she didn't want to see me, so I'll leave it as is and see you tomorrow.
She told me not to be afraid, that she was just drunk.
She said she wasn't angry at his disobedience; she was just there to take him home.
Li Hua bit his aching tongue, and the pain from the bleeding corner of his mouth couldn't stop his unstoppable tears.
But he has no home.
The nanny who secretly raised him has died.
He has no home.
Gan Qiongying quickly went to wash up, giving Li Hua time to pretend.
She was soaking in the bathtub, and even though she didn't want to think about it, she couldn't help but think about it.
She now has to figure out two things.
Did Li Hua voluntarily provide assistance to Zhong Lizheng?
And this absurd arranged marriage—was it because the emperor was genuinely angry with her and simply wanted to humiliate her, or did he know something?
Gan Qiongying is more likely to be someone the emperor had ulterior motives for. Otherwise, no matter how a princess's husband is chosen, and with the help of many people with ulterior motives, it would never be a merchant.
If the emperor truly harbored deep resentment towards her and was willing to humiliate her with his life's most important event, then what was the purpose of the frequent gifts he sent, and the priceless rewards she bestowed upon Zhongli?
This doesn't make any sense.
Gan Qiongying washed for a long time, and it was almost dawn when she finished.
She was so preoccupied with these thoughts that her head was about to explode. She wanted to return to her residence immediately and send a message to the palace that she wanted to meet the emperor.
She even began to suspect that Zhong Lizheng's sudden show of kindness to her last night, and his willingness to administer the hallucinogenic drugs to her ahead of time, might be part of some kind of conspiracy.
However, these are all things that cannot be understood in a short time.
After taking a bath, Gan Qiongying came out, thinking that she had given Li Hua a chance and that Li Hua must have run away.
At least he put the mask back on.
But she was surprised to find that Li Hua hadn't run away; in fact, she had rolled up her blanket and gone to lie down on the bed.
He covered his head with the blanket, clearly not wearing a mask at all, and even knew to cover his face. Some of his long hair was showing, and it was all messy.
Judging from his breathing rhythm, he had actually fallen asleep, leaving half of his space for himself.
Gan Qiongying looked at him, and all the jumbled thoughts in her mind temporarily dissipated.
She actually felt like laughing.
She's really paranoid.
Although I didn't spend much time with Li Hua, Li Hua was indeed different from Zhong Li Zhengzhen in his decisive and flexible approach.
Everyone says that those who achieve great things are not bothered by trifles. Zhongli Zhengzhen was able to patiently coax her into going to a hotel. Previously, Li Hua misunderstood that she wanted to share a room with someone and even pulled out a small knife to threaten her. After the knife was taken away, she bit her tongue and committed suicide.
His temperament, his clear yet foolish eyes.
How could someone willingly become a pawn?
She could still hear him sobbing through the blanket. Whose chess piece is crying?
Gan Qiongying sat by the bed and laughed silently for a while, then sent the maid away, climbed into bed, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.
Gan Qiongying tossed and turned all night, and her brain cells were exhausted, so she quickly fell asleep.
Unaware that Li Hua was not actually asleep, she deliberately calmed her breathing and lay in the blankets waiting.
He didn't know what he was waiting for; perhaps he would wait until Gan Qiongying discovered his secret.
He had a kind of resolute self-abandonment, but deep down he also had an expectation that he couldn't hide or suppress.
Are the things she said true?
Would she respect his wishes, refrain from lifting his blankets, and not be angry that he lied to her about not returning to the princess's residence? Would she simply come to take him... home?
No one could understand why, after being humiliated and beaten so many times, Li Hua would, on such a night, foolishly develop expectations of one of her abusers.
Perhaps it's because the word "home" has always been an unattainable dream for him.
Perhaps Li Hua was simply deceived by those sweet words and gentle words, as if bewitched.
Or perhaps... it's a dog that was abandoned, beaten, and wandered from birth, and doesn't even need a bone; just a flick of the finger and it will follow someone.
He waited for a long time.
I heard Gan Qiongying go to bed.
I heard her breathing gradually become steady.
Then, some time after she fell asleep, when it was broad daylight, he felt an arm, like an embrace, placed on his waist.
At that moment, Li Hua even wanted to burst into tears.
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