Chapter 56 The Exchanged Child
In the dungeon, Chu Jingyao sat on the ground with her knees hugged, her eyes empty.
Qi Jingyin squatted on the ground with a bowl of water in her hand, crying, "Mother, please drink some water. You haven't eaten or drunk anything for two days. If you continue like this, your body won't be able to bear it."
Chu Jingyao said nothing, staring blankly at a certain spot on the ground.
Qi Jingyin opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
Qi Jingyan sighed and said to Qi Jingyin, "Sister, put down the bowl first."
He knew that his mother thought she had a deep relationship with his father, but his father... no, the emperor, the emperor was so ruthless that he broke his promise and locked up the three of them, mother and son, not long after he ascended the throne.
I don’t know if my grandfather knew about the situation here. Before the incident, Qi Jingyan sent someone to disguise himself and leave the capital, and send a letter to Beichu at full speed.
All the power in his hands was taken away by Prince Su, and he could only place his hopes on the King of Northern Chu.
Qi Jinghao stood at the prison door for a long time. He didn't dare to face Chu Jingyao and his brothers and sisters, but after hearing Qi Jingyin say that Chu Jingyao had not eaten or drunk for two days, he subconsciously took a step forward.
"Jinghao?"
Qi Jingyin saw him with his sharp eyes and exclaimed in surprise.
Chu Jingyao finally reacted. She looked at Qi Jinghao, who was full of guilt, as if she was looking at an enemy.
"Mother..."
Qi Jinghao was frightened by her eyes. He stammered, but only called out "Mufei" and didn't know what else to say.
Chu Jingyao's voice was hoarse, "Why are you here? Where is the concubine?"
Qi Jinghao was stunned, but when he saw that Chu Jingyao did not refuse his call of "Mother", he became even more happy.
"Mother, I'm here to take you out. Father...he said that from now on, you, my elder brother, and my elder sister will be locked up in the same palace. You will have no shortage of food, clothing, or other necessities. But...you can't go out."
The more Qi Jinghao spoke, the lower his voice became. Isn't this just like locking up a prisoner?
Chu Jingyao is a favored daughter of heaven, and Qi Jingyan and Qi Jingyin are also the sons of a royal family. How could they endure being imprisoned in the cold palace for the rest of their lives?
As expected, Qi Jingyin angrily said, "How could Father be like this? Mother is his first wife, and we are his children. He, he, he..."
She was so angry that she couldn't speak.
Qi Jinghao whispered, "Sister, forget about this for now. At least the palace is better than here. You guys go there for a while, I'll find a way."
Qi Jingyan said coldly: "No need, Second Prince, please go back. We are fine here, and you don't need to worry about us."
Qi Jinghao said dejectedly: "Brother, don't be like this."
Seeing Qi Jingyan being so cold, Qi Jinghao became more and more resentful of Prince Su and the concubine.
Unexpectedly, Chu Jingyao suddenly said, "I'll go with you, but you have to promise me one thing."
Qi Jinghao was delighted, "What's the matter? Mother, tell me!"
Qi Jingyin said in disbelief: "Mother, why are you..."
Chu Jingyao motioned her to be silent. She said to Qi Jinghao, "I want to see the concubine today."
Qi Jinghao nodded hurriedly, "Okay, mother, let's get out of here first, and then I'll go find her right away."
Qi Jingyan and Qi Jingyin looked at each other and saw the confusion in each other's eyes.
Qi Jinghao took the three of them to the palace, which was located at the northernmost end of the imperial palace and was very remote.
He explained: "It's quiet here and won't be disturbed by some ignorant people."
Chu Jingyao didn't say anything. Qi Jinghao touched his nose awkwardly, then suggested that she take a rest while he went to find the concubine.
In order to win back her son Qi Jinghao, the concubine almost agreed to all his requests. She agreed to meet Chu Jingyao without even thinking about it.
"Hao'er, Mom is going to see her. Can you have dinner at Mom's place tonight?"
Disgust flashed in Qi Jinghao's eyes, and he nodded reluctantly.
After seeing the concubine, Chu Jingyao could hardly control herself. She rushed forward, grabbed the concubine's neck, and roared, "Where's my child!"
Everyone present was stunned, and only reacted when the concubine was almost out of breath.
The concubine's maid hurried forward, but was stopped by Qi Jingyin.
"Get out of here, don't come over here!"
Qi Jingyin was the first to realize what Chu Jingyao meant. How could they think that his mother was sad because his father betrayed her?
Obviously, for a mother, her child is the most important person besides herself.
Prince Su and his concubine exchanged their two children. Qi Jinghao is the concubine's child, so what about their biological brother?
She turned to Qi Jingyan and said, "Brother, please persuade Mother to strangle the concubine to death, so that you won't be able to get any news about me."
Qi Jingyan nodded and gently persuaded Chu Jingyao to let go.
Chu Jingyao tried hard to calm her anger, and after a long time, she slowly let go of her hand.
She pinched the concubine's neck and left a red mark, which looked extremely scary.
What was even more frightening than this was Chu Jingyao's expression. The concubine shrank back, she felt like Chu Jingyao was going to eat her.
Her feeling was not wrong. Chu Jingyao wanted to skin her alive, pull out her tendons, chop her into pieces and feed her to the dogs, but she couldn't do anything until she found out the whereabouts of her youngest son.
Chu Jingyao asked again, and the concubine trembled and said, "I... I don't know..."
It wasn't that she was afraid of Chu Jingyao, but she only brought a maid with her. If she wasn't careful, the crazy Chu Jingyao might tear her to pieces.
"have no idea?"
Chu Jingyao stared at her intently, "How could you not know? Tell me now, or you won't be able to leave here today!"
The concubine wanted to cry but had no tears. "I really don't know. The emperor personally handled that child. I haven't even seen what he looks like, so how would I know where he is?"
Chu Jingyao felt her whole body go limp. If Qi Jingyan hadn't supported her, she would have fallen to the ground.
The concubine actually didn't know that with her current ability, it was impossible for her to force the emperor to tell her. Then her child...
Chu Jingyao burst into tears and was extremely sad.
Seeing that she was no longer paying attention to herself, the concubine hurriedly pulled Qi Jinghao and wanted to leave. Qi Jinghao shook off her hand and told someone to take her away with a cold face.
Qi Jinghao's eyes were red as he knelt on one knee in front of Chu Jingyao. "Mother, please don't cry. I, I will go ask Father about the whereabouts of that child, okay?"
"If Father won't tell me, I'll find another way. There must be more people involved in this matter than just Father himself. I'll go find those involved and interrogate them one by one, okay?"
He had never seen his mother cry so sadly... No, he had seen it.
When he was a child, he was playful and fell into a snow pit while playing snowballs with his playmates. It took half a day for them to be found.
He caught a cold and fell seriously ill, and almost died.
When he was conscious, he saw his mother holding him and crying.
He thought at that time that he would never let his mother cry for him again.
Chu Jingyao stopped crying and said in a hoarse voice, "Really?"
Qi Jinghao suppressed the bitterness in his heart and said, "Really."
This was the second time my mother cried, and it was also because of him.
Even if it costs his life, he will let his mother know what she wants to know.
Qi Jinghao thought so in his heart.
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