He followed the chamberlain to the emperor's residence hall, and was invited into the side hall. He did not see the emperor, but he saw Emperor Baoqing.
This was the first time the two met each other after he and the other party broke off their engagement.
And he soon discovered that there was no one else in the side hall.
Emperor Baoqing expressed her sincere love to him and said many things about her unchangeable feelings——
Looking at the woman in front of him who was speaking with tears in his eyes, he was even confused at the time.
He admitted that although he and the other party were actually engaged, they had never violated the rules in the slightest. It should be noted that the two of them had never even spoken a word in private. Where did the other party's intention come from?
And what kind of thoughts do you have that after breaking off the engagement, you can still say such disrespectful words that disregard the dignity of the royal family?
He, who has put the interests of his family first and foremost since he was a child, is completely unable to understand the passionate thoughts of that girl back then.
Just because I can't understand it, I can't imagine that there are people in this world who would go to that extent for love and wishful love -
He had no intention of listening any more, so he said "I'm afraid Di Ji is drunk" and wanted to leave.
But Baoqing Emperor Ji tricked him into coming here, not just to express her feelings.
After three years of suffering, she made up her mind this time.
When he was about to leave, a group of palace people gathered around the emperor and empress who came after hearing the news, and broke into the side hall.
Emperor Baoqing's clothes were in a mess and she rushed in front of him.
Emperor Zhaoren Long Yan was furious and asked.
He explained the cause and effect truthfully, but it was only regarded as sophistry.
However, Emperor Baoqing knelt down in front of the emperor and the empress, crying and saying that she did not want to be a prince at all, her heart was tied to him, and she begged her father, emperor and empress to fulfill her wish.
What's more, he threatened to die on the spot.
The emperor asked her where she would put her royal dignity, but she actually said that she would give up her identity as the emperor and change her name to stay with him.
He stood there watching this scene and felt it was extremely ridiculous.
The matter was in a stalemate for nearly two months, and Emperor Baoqing actually fell ill for two months, and refused to take medicine. Even though it was known that the incident that day was caused by Emperor Ji setting up a trap, Emperor Zhaoren could not resist.
After winning this daughter, he summoned the Wu family to the palace to negotiate.
He is already married to his wife, so it is impossible for the Wu family to let him divorce his wife and marry another one.
The fault of this matter does not lie with the Wu family, and the Ningyang Wu family has never had to bow to anyone.
His father originally disapproved of this matter, but due to the royal family's insistence, he gave a sentence - if he wanted to join the Wu family, Emperor Baoqing could only become a concubine.
She agreed.
On the day she left the palace, the empress, who was extremely heartbroken and disappointed, decided to sever ties with her and just regarded Emperor Baoqing as dead.
Emperor Baoqing really fell ill and died in the eyes of the world.
One night, his wife's dowry maid "Bai Zhi" was carried into Wu's house from a side door in a small sedan.
Recalling the explanation of these antecedents, King Dingnan looked at Wu Jinling, whose expression changed, and continued: "...After she entered the Wu family, the people in the house did not treat her harshly, and your aunt never treated her harshly.
It was half difficult. Although she was a concubine, she lived alone in a hospital, and her food and clothing expenses were not comparable to those of a concubine. But she gradually fell ill. This illness originated from the heart."
No matter how unkind the Wu family is, few people know her true identity. Since she is a concubine of the Wu family, she cannot be compared with the emperor's concubine.
Identity, habits, the eyes of the people around me, everything has undergone earth-shaking changes.
The freshness and joy at the beginning could not sustain the passage of long years.
Moreover, even if he could ignore her previous calculations and give her dignity, he could not give her what she really wanted.
Later, she seemed to regret it and began to not want to see him.
He never set foot in her yard again.
At the same time, the fortunes of the Dasheng Dynasty were gradually declining, and she would occasionally send servants to inquire about outside news.
What really crushed her was the news of the death of Emperor Zhaoren that year——
"...Do you think I will believe it?" Wu Jingling gritted his teeth and said, "You clearly deceived her and took advantage of her! And you treated her coldly in every possible way... which made her die in hatred and depression!"
The Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was all clearly his arrangement. He coaxed her out of her mind and threatened Empress Zhaoren with her reputation as an imperial concubine, forcing Empress Zhaoren to agree... How could it be her plan to deceive her!
The Wu family had already made arrangements for this, so she came into the house as a concubine under the guise of a maid. How could it be the Wu family's concession and magnanimity?!
And... after he finished using her, he abandoned her and refused to see her again until she died - how could it be that she didn't want to see him!
Everything seems to have traces, but they are completely different!
She was so infatuated with him that she was willing to give up everything, so how could she not want to see him again until her death?!
This doesn’t make sense at all, it doesn’t make sense at all!
It's my father who is lying!
King Dingnan: "You keep saying that I took advantage of her. Needless to say, she no longer has the status of the emperor's concubine. She is just an ordinary concubine, which is of no use at all. Even if she is still the emperor's concubine and the crown prince, she is still a concubine.
The prosperous dynasty was in decline at that time, and my Wu family was out of the dispute, so why bother spending so much time on her!"
Wu Jinling shook his head - he didn't believe it at all!
"You said that she died in depression because she was neglected by me. Although your speculation is barely reasonable, it is underestimating her. Have you ever thought that she had impulses when she was blinded by love even when she was young?
She made such a move, but she was once the crown prince of a country. She was used to being a king, and she was also a child. Seeing the decline of the country, the emperor could not support the situation - do you really think that she will not regret it or feel guilty?
"
"That's why she doesn't want to see me. Seeing me is like a mirror, like seeing the huge mistakes I made in the past."
"..." These words stabbed Wu Jingling's heart like an ice pick.
Looking at King Dingnan, he suddenly laughed.
"How high-sounding it is to say... Everyone in this family always behaves so appropriately! And so calmly! It seems that there is never the slightest mistake!" His eyes filled with tears before he knew it: "What about me? Who am I? That's right.
Do you, the Wu family, think about her situation in the house and show mercy to her children?"
King Dingnan closed his eyes and said word by word: "Now it seems that this is the only thing I did wrong——"
Wu Jingling laughed even louder.
Great, the only thing I did wrong!
At this time, the letter that Emperor Baoqing left before her death had been sent to the study.
King Dingnan said: "You are a smart man. I believe you can tell from this letter whether what I say is true or false."
Wu Jingling unfolded the letter with trembling fingers.
His eyes moved slowly on the letter, and his face seemed to be crying but also smiling: "...You deserve it, you really deserve it!"
I don't want to be an emperor, but I want to commit myself to being a concubine!
I hold you in front of the other person with all my heart, regardless of whether he wants it or not!
You deserve it!
Everything is self-inflicted!
Wu Jingling went crazy and tore the letter into pieces, as if he had never read it before.
Looking at the crazy second son, King Dingnan's tone had almost returned to calmness: "You, like your biological mother, are too paranoid in temperament. Like a ball of fire, you will burn yourself to ashes at every turn. You are destined to hurt others.
Hurt yourself."
"... So what if I say more? I am the son of Emperor Baoqing, and this is a vague fact that cannot be changed!" Wu Jinling's face showed anger and ridicule, but more importantly, he insisted on his dignity and would never let that support
The stubbornness of his mind collapsed: "If you lose, you lose... If you become a king or a bandit, just kill me! There is no need to say more!"
King Dingnan slowly stood up from his chair.
"Today I have said this, and so have you and my father and son." The tears in the old man's eyes were forced back, and he said firmly: "I brought you into this world, and I should bear the responsibility for your faults.
If you try to murder me, we will only be separated from each other. But your brother, A Yuan, they don’t owe you anything-"
Hearing the words "the relationship between father and son is over", Wu Jingling was stunned, and the crazy look condensed on his face.
The old man, whose back was still straight but was too thin, walked past him and never looked at him again.
Everything suddenly became quiet.
In an instant, it seemed as if everything in the world had left him, all the voices disappeared, and suddenly he was the only one left in the world. He could only face himself, and there was no room for escape.
The study door was opened.
But because it was rainy weather, no light came in.
"A Yuan——"
"My grandson is here."
"It's up to you to deal with it..." The old man's voice seemed a little tired.
Wu Chao responded "Yes".
Wu Jingming and Wu Ran came over.
"A Zhang, send grandfather back to rest." Wu Chao explained.
Wu Ran agreed and stepped forward to help the old man.
Wu Jingming glanced at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure standing in the study. He wanted to say something, but he didn't say anything and only left with the old man.
Listening to the sound of footsteps disappearing, the figure in the study became smaller and smaller, as if his strength was slowly being drained away, until he knelt on the ground helplessly.
Beside him were torn pieces of stationery.
He sat like this for an unknown amount of time before there were footsteps approaching from behind.
The young man stood beside him and asked, "Is the master behind the Purple Star Sect the second uncle?"
Although it was a question, there was no trace of uncertainty in his tone.
He had investigated the Purple Star Sect, and even the Wu family had placed personnel in the Purple Star Sect. Now that he thought about it, his second uncle must have seen all of this.
Therefore, we can hide and deal with it in a watertight manner.
Wu Jinling did not answer, but it was equivalent to acquiescence.
"There have been rumors circulating around before that the Purple Star Sect has found the bloodline of the former royal family and wants to support it in regaining the former dynasty. It turns out that the road for the second uncle has been paved for a long time."
In this way, the name will be available.
The 800,000 taels of cash taken away were used for hoarding troops and horses.
If he completely controls the Wu family in the future, the Wu family will be his granary and silver treasury until it is exhausted, leaving only an empty shell.
He really didn't want to be the head of the family. No head of the family would sacrifice the whole family's efforts for his own selfish interests.
In the past, in the eyes of everyone, the second uncle was a playboy. Even my grandfather once sighed, saying that the second uncle had all his talents but refused to use them in serious matters——
Now I know that it was used in a place they couldn't see.
It's just that the second uncle acted based on his own will from beginning to end, and his mind was full of unrealistic and extreme ideas. It is extremely difficult to win if he does things like this.
"When did you start to doubt..." Wu Jinling sat there with his figure slightly bowed, no longer showing the usual aristocratic posture of a child of aristocratic families.
"Last year, what happened at Yingyue Tower."
After retrieving Suishan, he learned that during the fake death on the way to Beijing that his grandfather had arranged for him, someone wanted to take advantage of the chaos to take his life——
After my grandfather learned about this, he quickly traced the case to his second uncle.
The explanation given by the second uncle was very thorough and reasonable, from the personal attendant accidentally leaking the plan to the prostitute Lanxiang - Lanxiang was the daughter of the former governor and sneaked into Ningyang in order to take revenge on the Wu family.
Later he also checked and found out that Lan Xiang was indeed the daughter of the governor.
What the second uncle said is true.
Now that I think about it, it is indeed true. Lan Xiang's identity as the daughter of a former official must be true. She is even a member of the Purple Star Sect. She is attached to her second uncle and is willing to die to protect him.
But when we first checked there, there were no other suspicious clues, so maybe it was time to stop.
But he didn't.
He has been secretly investigating, not only his second uncle, but also other people in the clan.
Later, as more and more clues became available, two people were identified who were very suspicious, one of whom was the second uncle.
This situation was specially set up for my second uncle.
And through this, he did catch another big fish, another person he had always suspected - the elder of the clan whom he and A Zhang wanted to call Fifth Uncle.
After investigation, it was found that this person had a deep collusion with the imperial court.
Counting the time, he must have been detained by his grandfather's people by now.
This is a big fish.
At this juncture, the rapids rose, and almost all the fish and shrimps, big and small, couldn't wait to come out of the water.
Just clean it up in one go.
"So, you all know..." Wu Jinling started, after a heated argument, now his voice dropped and he said with a mute tone, "You know, I killed you twice."
"I know." Wu Chao said, "This time, I sent it to my second uncle to be 'killed'."
Wu Jingling laughed weakly.
This laughter was no longer full of ridicule, but rather sad.
"Ayuan...are you very disappointed with your second uncle?" He said in a low voice: "I thought that you and my uncle and nephew would never see each other again. Even if you are disappointed with me, fortunately I can't see it.
There’s no need to face it anymore.”
As he spoke, he stiffly raised his head and looked at the tall huanghuali wood cabinet next to the desk. The cabinet was inlaid with a half-person-high mercury mirror. He always paid attention to his appearance and often looked in the mirror to reflect on himself...
At this moment, when I looked at myself in the mirror, I suddenly felt a little confused.
He said to himself: "Even the second uncle himself is quite disappointed with himself..."
Wu Chao didn't know whether he was disappointed with himself because his big dream had been shattered, or because of his own actions.
Or maybe both.
People's hearts are always complicated.
"But I still have some clever tricks, right?" Wu Jinling smiled weakly and said: "At least I have deceived smart people like you for so many years, and I have only been discovered now..."
Wu Chao lowered his eyes and looked at him: "Are you serious that it's all a lie?"
If it is blinded by true feelings, it will naturally make it difficult for people to suspect and make it impossible to distinguish.
True and false, there is always some truth, and even more truth than false. This may be why people are more likely to be deceived by their closest relatives.
