Chapter 373 One wrong step leads to another
Suddenly, the boy's lips twitched slightly, revealing a wicked smile.
The pure, innocent face blended seamlessly with that smile, exuding an unsettling chill.
He waved his hand and scattered the poison powder.
Shangguan Yu hurriedly fled.
The boy had already gotten up, remounted his horse, and galloped away.
Behind him were five thousand soldiers who followed him.
As Shangguan Yu watched the group leave, his eyes still held lingering shock and horror.
He turned around and looked at his sister with surprise and uncertainty.
"Ten years ago, you told me that the child you gave birth to back then wasn't a princess, but actually a prince. You and that lowly maid Ning Hui switched them because you were afraid the emperor would become suspicious, so you did it."
The empress dared not meet his gaze, burying her face and trembling.
Shangguan Yu's heart sank, and he waved to disperse the surrounding soldiers.
My heart was pounding like a drum, yet I still clung to a sliver of hope.
Because his younger sister received the strictest education from a young age, she was a model of a noble lady from a prestigious family, and from childhood to adulthood, she was calm and profound, and knew how to conduct herself with propriety.
She has always done a great job and is the glory and pride of the Shangguan family.
“But you never liked Ji Canglin before, and only told me the truth after you banished him to the Northwest. You said you wanted to make Ji Canglin the crown prince.”
At that time, Shangguanyu was no less shocked than he is now.
This is the crime of deceiving the emperor.
Although he committed many evil deeds, loyalty to the emperor was the ancestral precept of the Shangguan family, and he adhered to the duties of a subject to the core.
The emperor was bewitched by a sorceress and made her son the crown prince. There was nothing that could be done about it, since the empress had not given birth to a son.
Furthermore, the Emperor has already entrusted Ji Ruyan to his younger sister for upbringing. In the future, when he becomes the Emperor, his sister will become the Empress Dowager, and the Shangguan family will continue to enjoy its glory.
But when my sister had her own son, everything changed!
She said to make Ji Canglin the crown prince, and he did it without hesitation!
Of course, one's own bloodline is better than that of an outsider!
"Tell me, why have you never liked Ji Canglin? Why won't you let him call you Mother?"
"I..." The Empress was speechless.
"Because he really isn't the emperor..."
"No, no, I didn't... I didn't!" The queen covered her face, her voice shrill with fear.
Shangguan Yu knew his younger sister better than anyone else.
She was afraid that if he told her, she would lose face!
It seems it's true.
A surge of intense anger erupted from his chest. He reached out and ripped off the empress's veil, slapping her across the face.
The blows caused the queen's lips to split open, with blood flowing freely.
"How dare you be so audacious! You actually want a foreign bastard to be the emperor of my Great Gan! You are handing over the country to the barbarians! You—you are going to make my Shangguan family infamous for ten thousand years!"
Shangguan Yu's chest heaved with anger, his eyes gleaming as if he wanted to devour the Empress.
"Whose is it? It's...the letter you wrote to the King of Western Liao, it's his?"
Shangguan Yu had doted on his younger sister since childhood, and after Shangguan Zhi became empress, he treated her with respect for decades. Now, she was so ruthless towards him, which showed that she had truly angered him.
That's right. What she did brought shame to her ancestors and was despised by all people.
The emperor wept with regret.
How did things get to this point?
Shangguan Yu remembered: Fifteen years ago, the eldest prince of the Western Liao Dynasty came to the capital for peace talks.
Was it around that time?
Shangguan Yu wanted to slap her again, but then he angrily lowered his arm.
"You slut!"
These two words completely ripped open the wounds that the Empress had tried so hard to mend over the years.
Hidden within the wounds were her anguish, struggle, resentment, bitterness, and even the shame and regret that followed.
"I hate him!"
"The Shangguan family risked their lives to help him ascend the throne. We were childhood sweethearts and shared joys and sorrows for ten years. He said he cherished me and valued me!"
But he broke his promise and fell in love with a vixen!
That vixen had ulterior motives; I was the one who stood in front of him when she tried to kill him!
Yet he still couldn't forget her, and even made her son the crown prince!
"I want to too, brother. I also want to generously raise that woman's son and become a dignified and holy empress, the mother of the nation."
I did it! I didn't harm that woman's son!
But brother, after that woman died, he never touched me again.
At the palace banquet where I drugged him, all he could talk about was that vixen's name...
Brother, I'm going crazy, I'm going crazy, you know that?
The empress prostrated herself on the ground and wept bitterly.
That very night, she lost her mind. She boarded the carriage carrying the eldest prince of the Western Liao Dynasty as he left the palace, determined to take revenge on the man who had wronged her.
That night, the emperor, who had lost his mind, favored several of the palace maids in her palace.
And then there was another one, who was lucky enough to have dragon offspring...
The emperor didn't know that she wasn't there that night.
But she was still consumed by regret and jealousy, and gradually went mad as the emperor grew increasingly indifferent.
One wrong step leads to another.
"If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't want to go back to the palace, and I wouldn't want to fall in love with an emperor again..." the empress sobbed incoherently.
Shangguan Yu was both angry and resentful. Seeing the Empress's miserable state, he couldn't bring himself to do it, so he drew his knife and started hacking at the ground.
After venting his pent-up anger, he calmed down.
"Stop crying!"
"I told you to stop crying!"
Shangguan Yu growled, "I'm asking you, when did Ji Canglin find out?"
That bastard finally said that his bloodline was tainted, didn't he know that?
No wonder their behavior has become increasingly outrageous lately.
Fortunately, he did not seize the opportunity to ascend the throne, otherwise the Shangguan family would have truly become sinners for all time.
“A few days ago, I questioned the King of Western Liao about why he was actually taking action against Da Gan, and he intercepted my letter…”
"So... even the King of Western Liao knew!"
"He...met Ji Canglin in Ganzhou."
"Don't call him by his name! A bastard like him doesn't deserve the imperial surname!"
Shangguan Yu now truly regrets it; he should have continued to support Ji Ruyan in the first place.
For so many years, they've been plotting for a filthy bloodline!
He came from the prestigious Shangguan family...
It's disgusting, like swallowing a fly!
"He must be going to find the King of Western Liao now. He wants to go to Western Liao to acknowledge his ancestors and return to his clan!"
"No, we can't let him go back!"
"He must die! This secret must not be revealed; he was a bastard who should never have been born!"
Shangguan Yu immediately arranged for his deputy to lead his troops to continue towards Wanshui.
He led a group of men and chased after Ji Canglin in the direction he had fled.
The empress's futile attempts to stop her were drowned out.
She seemed to have all her life force drained away, and she couldn't even stand up.
A vague memory flashed through my mind.
A child looked at her with pure and adoring eyes, and timidly and secretly delightedly called out "Mother".
However, what he received that time was a hard slap.
The empress's eyes were filled with confusion.
What exactly did she do in her life?
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