Chapter 102: Night Talk about the Past
The night was as cool as water, and the moon was shining on the earth. The couple here had a rift, while the young couple over in the palace were sleeping on the same bed and sharing their feelings with each other.
Xiao Ji's voice sounded particularly low in the night: "During the six months when my mother was seriously ill, my father would personally go to feed her medicine after leaving court every day."
His fingers held Qingwu's, caressing them gently as he continued to tell her story. He had told Qingwu a lot about his childhood, but once he had exhausted all the good things, sadness began to set in.
When Qing Wu heard Xiao Ji say that the queen had passed away, her heart sank, but she said nothing. She just silently held the young man's hand tightly with her backhand.
Xiao Ji smiled at her, and then slowly said: "The medicine that the Queen Mother has taken in recent years was all brewed by the female doctor brought from the Yang family. There is nothing wrong with it."
"That female doctor ate and lived with the Queen Mother on a daily basis. Everything the Queen Mother ate, she also consumed. In just those two years, the Queen Mother's health was only a little weaker, and she was usually fine. But then her condition suddenly worsened, and she soon became bedridden."
Qing Wu couldn't help but say, "Could it be that the female doctor is slacking off? Or has she been bribed?"
The young man opposite shook his head. "The female doctor grew up with the Queen Mother. Her entire family was raised in the Yang family. How could she betray the Queen Mother? And now she is still alive and well in the Yang family. If she was the one behind this, how could she stay in the Yang family?"
Qing Wu was about to ask why, but Xiao Ji had already spoken. The gentle memories in his eyes were gone, leaving only a dark calmness. He said to her word by word:
"I've been thinking about it until now. The biggest difference between those months with my mother and before was that the emperor would come and personally feed her medicine. At first, it was once a day, and later it was twice a day. Coincidentally, my mother's health seemed to decline day by day."
This statement almost revealed the identity of the murderer. Qing Wu's eyes widened, and his hand involuntarily tightened around Xiao Ji's. He hesitated and said, "Is it...is it Your Majesty? But, how could it be?"
Xiao Ji hadn't figured this out at first. His mother was beautiful, of noble descent, and gentle in character. While she wasn't a virtuous empress comparable to Empress Changsun, she certainly wouldn't leave a bad name in history. When she was in charge of the harem, the concubines lived in harmony, and everything was in perfect order. If he were the emperor, he wouldn't know how happy he would be.
He also said so, of course, at the end he added: "Of course now that I have Qingqing, I will definitely not think so."
Hearing this intrusive promise, Qing Wu was both amused and annoyed. She glanced at him, then squeezed his palm hard and said angrily, "How could I be jealous of your mother? Go on, why do you doubt... Your Majesty?"
It was just a minor incident after all. Speaking of this, the boy's eyes returned to seriousness. He took a deep breath to suppress the surging emotions in his heart, but the taste of resentment could not help but overflow.
"But later, I realized that it was precisely because my mother did such a good job that she aroused my father's fear. Not only did my mother manage the harem well, she also provided my father with several clever ideas on government affairs, some of which are still in use today."
Without asking Qing Wu to guess, Xiao Ji directly stated the answer he had been brewing in his mind for a long time - "Because the Queen Mother is a girl from the Yang family, the Emperor is afraid that the Queen Mother will become the next Emperor Yang. Even though the Queen Mother rarely interferes in government affairs, if she even shows a hint of wisdom in government affairs, the Emperor will be wary of her."
It must be said that these words left Qing Wu stunned for a long time: "Is it possible that he would kill his own queen just because of such a tiny possibility? Didn't Emperor Yang finally... didn't he pass the throne to the late emperor?"
In Qingwu's opinion, if Queen Yang really has the ambition to become emperor again, then the throne will eventually fall to her only child, Xiao Ji.
Hearing this, Xiao Ji lowered his eyes, a hint of irony curling up at the corner of his lips. "Qingqing, you don't know the inside story. My royal grandfather's accession to the throne was not smooth sailing. My legendary great-aunt, Princess Mingyi, was also a person of extraordinary talent and almost became the second empress."
The Yang prince's children fought with each other, with swords flashing and undercurrents surging in the court. Blood was inevitably splattered in the palace, but after all these years, only the royal family members remembered it.
Xiao Ji couldn't help but tell Qing Wu a few stories about Princess Mingyi. Even now, he still expressed admiration for her. "When my great-aunt was seventeen, 20,000 Xiongnu cavalrymen invaded the border and broke through three passes. She volunteered to lead only 8,000 light cavalrymen across the border."
A hint of longing flashed in his eyes. "In that battle, she feigned a three-hundred-li defeat, luring the main force of the Xiongnu into Hulu Valley. Once the enemy had completely entered the valley, she set up ambushes, unleashing fire and a hail of arrows, crushing the Xiongnu to the ground."
Qing Wu's eyes widened. Princess Mingyi was actually such a girl?! She couldn't help but think of her grandmother. She was also completely different from ordinary girls.
"The most amazing thing is," Xiao Ji said with a hint of pride, "my great-aunt's mother personally shot and killed the Xiongnu Zuoxian King and hung his head on the military flag. The Xiongnu fled and dared not attack for more than ten years."
This is truly a great achievement. A princess who can achieve such a level and is the apple of the Queen's eye, how could she not covet the throne?
"But... Late Emperor, the current Majesty also has Yang family blood flowing in his veins. Why would he care about a princess of the same bloodline?"
"Because my great-great-grandfather died a few years after my great-aunt was born. Later, my great-great-grandmother ascended the throne and held power for decades. My great-aunt was proud of having such a powerful mother, so she changed her name to Yang Yuluan."
After the words fell, the room fell silent. After all, it was just because of a surname. As long as someone was named Yang, the emperor would consider them a member of the Yang family and would be wary of them?
Qing Wu felt it was a bit ridiculous: "Is it really just because of this?"
But as she watched, the young man, who had unknowingly straightened up, slowly nodded. Candlelight shone through the bed curtains onto his back, making his silhouette appear particularly sharp against the light. His voice seemed to be growing flatter, yet within it, a deep sorrow could be heard.
"The more virtuous my mother is, the more afraid my father is. Because back then, the Yang Emperor was also known as a virtuous queen. Even my mother did her best to confine herself to the harem."
Qing Wu's heart suddenly tightened, and her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible: "Liu Lang..."
She didn't know how to comfort him. Her father was most likely the murderer of her mother. Words were pale and powerless to deal with such pain.
Xiao Ji leaned towards her, forcing a smile: "Did you scare Qingqing?" Even though he was in great pain, he still tried to comfort her. Seeing this, Qing Wu couldn't help herself and stood up and hugged him.
Instead of throwing herself into his arms, she half-knelt on the bed and hugged him in a completely protective posture.
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