Xu Fu's hand gripped the small table beside him tightly, the skin on his aged hand stretched taut, making even his wrinkles appear less pronounced.
Madam Li had indeed been chosen by the Old Prince himself. When the Second Master was young, he fell ill. Though he recovered, one of his legs was permanently crippled.
At the time, Madam Li's family had all assumed the Old Prince was proposing marriage for himself. Xu Fu had accompanied him to the bride's home and had warned Huo Sizhun that the Li family might have misunderstood something.
Later, Huo Sizhun personally went to explain, stating he was proposing for his disabled younger brother. The Li family was initially furious, believing Huo Sizhun was deliberately mocking them.
However, not long after, they seemed to come to an understanding and agreed to marry their daughter into the Huo family. Huo Sizhun worried Madam Li might object, but the Li family guaranteed they would persuade her.
Of course, the Li family had their conditions: the Huo family had to establish a separate estate, and Madam Li was to be granted full control of household affairs, serving as a guarantee for her future life.
Xu Fu remembered the Old Prince readily agreeing. He lived a life on the battlefield, where danger lurked with every breath, and death could strike at any moment. Thus, he had already been making arrangements for the Huo family's future.
Soon after, Madam Li married smoothly into the family. However, for a long time, the couple's relationship was strained, and they had no children.
Eventually, they managed to have a child, but due to a wrong decision made by the Old Madam at the time, that child suffered a miscarriage. It was then that Xu Fu learned that Madam Li had not treated Huo Qixiao well.
Although Huo Qixiao never explicitly stated how Madam Li treated him, his palpable repulsion and hateful gaze towards her clearly indicated she had been very unkind to him.
Indeed! Where in this world could a woman be so generous as to treat a child born to a concubine as her own?
She too had her own children, and it was because of this son born to a concubine that she lost her own flesh and blood. How could Madam Li possibly treat Huo Qixiao well?
Huo Qiyuan had no desire to delve into the past affairs of the elders, especially matters of their affections. However, Huo Qixiao was currently speaking with great animation, feeling wronged and believing that everyone in the world had wronged him.
"Because of you! Those princes wanted to win you over, but you received the late Emperor's decree and didn't have to choose a princess. This incurred the hatred of those princes but led to me being kidnapped for three days and three nights. Do you know how terrified I was?"
"I was locked in that dark, lightless room with no food or water. I soiled myself constantly. When they were unhappy, they would beat me, and I didn't even dare to breathe heavily! But where were you all then?"
"At that time, no one in the Huo family cared whether I was missing, no one cared what I went through during those three days! When I miraculously escaped and ran back, they were all standing at the prince's mansion gate, laughing and joyfully welcoming you, the triumphant young hero! Who remembered what Huo Qixiao was!"
Although this encounter with Wang Bingchang had sparked something different, whenever Huo Qixiao recalled the experience of being kidnapped in his past life, his body still couldn't help but tremble.
Huo Qiyuan frowned, listening to Huo Qixiao's cathartic cries. His first triumphant return must have been when he was less than fifteen years old.
At that time, the late Emperor was still alive, and the position of Crown Prince had not yet been settled. It was true that several princes had extended olive branches to him, intending to ally with the Bingjian Prince's Mansion.
It was only later that the late Emperor intervened to resolve the matter. Huo Qiyuan truly had no idea that Huo Qixiao had been involved in this affair! "We didn't know you were kidnapped…"
Huo Qiyuan had only said he didn't know, but this statement clearly pricked Huo Qixiao's already fragile heart. The man who had just calmed down became agitated once more.
"Of course, you wouldn't know! From a very early time, in everyone's eyes, I ceased to exist! They only saw you, the young hero! My disappearance for three to five days, my injuries, my return covered in filth and excrement – what was so significant about that?"
"We never meant it that way…"
"Whether you meant it or not, it's all in the past. The victor becomes king, the loser becomes a bandit. Since I've fallen into your hands today, I have nothing more to say! Kill me or skin me, as you please. I only beg that you allow me to be buried alongside Wen Tu. He accompanied me for so many years; without him, I…"
Su Muqing had been sitting quietly beside them. At first, she didn't understand why Huo Qixiao was acting this way. After hearing his outburst, she finally understood.
To go from being unique to being dispensable, the drop in status was indeed significant. If Huo Qixiao were truly a person who could rise above adversity, such a situation should have stimulated him to strive for self-improvement.
However, because of his inner resentment, he chose to harm his own relatives, even those who had doted on him, shown him kindness, and been indebted to him. This only proved that he was fundamentally a vain and ungrateful wretch.
"In the first life, was it also you who poisoned Brother Huo?" This was Su Muqing's first task. Although it was now completed, she still wanted to know who had killed Huo Qiyuan in the first life.
Huo Qixiao nodded. After his outburst, the tension that had been supporting him seemed to have completely dissipated. He himself didn't know how he had ended up in this state.
"Was it you who instigated Emperor Rui to deal with my father?"
Huo Qixiao nodded. Without waiting for Huo Qiyuan to ask further, he himself began to recount how he had colluded with Emperor Rui and how he had sowed discord in front of him, all in detail.
His years of planning and scheming took a long time to describe. When he reached the part where Huo Qiyuan was poisoned on the battlefield…
"Enough! Stop talking, stop talking…"
Xu Fu finally couldn't hold back any longer. His voice trembled as he interrupted Huo Qixiao's emotionless narrative. They already knew what happened afterward; he truly lacked the courage and dared not listen again.
Especially when accompanied by Huo Qixiao's impassive, monotonous tone, every word felt like an arrow piercing his heart…
The Prince and Princess died unjustly, over a hundred people in the mansion were senselessly killed, and the inhumane suffering Huo Qiyuan endured – all of it was too cruel!
Seeing Xu Fu's poor state, Huo Qiyuan had Huo Qixiao taken back to his cell. Wang Bingchang's body was also carried away to be kept frozen.
The few people who remained stayed silent. Xu Fu's hand, holding the teacup, trembled incessantly. He had to exert great effort to drink it. He desperately needed to quell the suffocating pressure in his chest, or he would faint again at any moment.