"Mo Chou, what's wrong with Mother?"
Seeing that Qing Yao was unwilling to speak, Xiao Yu'er immediately turned to look at the other person in the room. Mo Chou glanced at Qing Yao, saw that she wasn't moving, and quickly pulled at her lips, slowly beginning to speak.
"Last night, the woman who came during the day led people to sneak attack us. Originally, Master could have killed her, but who knew that Young Master Wu Qing would trap Miss with heavenly silk, and Ji Xue took the opportunity to gravely injure Master. Master is now suffering from internal injuries."
"Mother, how are you?"
Xiao Yu'er rushed to Qing Yao's side with concern. Qing Yao naturally reached out and stroked her head. In her eyes now, she was her daughter, pure and simple.
"It's nothing, don't worry."
Seeing Qing Yao say this, Xiao Yu'er stopped speaking and said with a displeased little face, "No wonder Young Master Wu Qing is guarding outside. It turns out he did something to apologize to Mother. I was just surprised!"
Upon hearing Xiao Yu'er's words, Qing Yao's expression changed dramatically. She raised an eyebrow with heartache. Wu Qing was outside? She didn't even know. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Mo Chou, tell the Young Master to go back. Say that I don't blame him and I'm not angry, just that I'm not feeling well and want to rest a bit longer."
Mo Chou quickly said, "Master, I already told him, but he didn't pay attention. He's been sitting outside silently since midnight last night."
Qing Yao's heart ached slightly upon hearing this. Even Xiao Yu'er didn't know what to say. It was truly a fated misfortune, tormenting each other.
"Let him come in," Qing Yao sighed. She knew his disposition. If she didn't see him, she was afraid he wouldn't leave.
"Yes, Master." Mo Chou responded and walked out. After Mo Chou conveyed that the Master wanted the Young Master to come in, Wu Qing's brows relaxed slightly. He instructed Qing Feng to push him in. His complexion was also not good. Already suffering from the blood curse, and then not sleeping all night, his complexion was no better than Master's, his eyes slightly red.
Qing Feng pushed the Young Master in, and then he and Mo Chou quietly retreated. Xiao Yu'er also left first. Only Qing Yao and Wu Qing were left in the room, looking at each other without speaking. However, the concern in their eyes was evident. Finally, Qing Yao sighed and slowly spoke.
"Why must you do this? I don't blame you."
"I'm sorry. I didn't think that much. I only thought of her as my sister, but I never expected she would hurt you."
Wu Qing fidgeted like a child who had made a mistake, not daring to look directly into Qing Yao's eyes. Her slender, fair hands, with their increasingly distinct knuckles, made him realize she was getting thinner. It was as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
Qing Yao felt a pang of heartache and sat up straighter, looking at him.
"If you tell me everything, I will forgive you."
"Okay," Wu Qing looked up abruptly, his eyes shining brightly. This time, he didn't hesitate at all, because Qing Yao already knew the truth whether he told her or not. The only difference was that he would be the one to say it.
Qing Yao gazed at him intently. The room was as quiet as still water. Slowly, his voice, as cold as river water, began to fill the silence, devoid of any warmth.
"This matter has to be traced back more than twenty years. That man, because he was handsome, was favored by the Empress of Danfeng Kingdom and was chosen to be a concubine in the harem. At that time, besides him, there was another concubine. Both of them became pregnant simultaneously. The Empress decreed that whoever gave birth to a daughter would be made the Crown Princess. If both gave birth to daughters, the one born earlier would be the Crown Princess, and the one born later would be immediately enfeoffed as a prince. This was an immense honor."
Qing Yao recalled that these two people, one before the other, must have been Wu Qing's father and Ji Xue's father.
They must have been born one after the other.
Wu Qing paused for a moment and then continued, "That man gave birth to me first, but to my surprise, I was a boy. This was a blow to his proud and arrogant self. Fortunately, he was well-prepared and immediately secretly swapped a newborn infant girl. As for me, I was sent out of the palace by a palace attendant. Originally, his intention was to kill me, but that palace attendant couldn't bear it and threw me by the river."
"It was the dead of winter, with the river frozen over by heavy snow. Under such circumstances, how could a newborn infant be unharmed? That's why my leg was frozen at that time. xxs壹贰
"If it hadn't been for Master passing by, I might not have even survived. Master picked me up, named me Wu Qing, and raised me with care. He is my family.
"Life was happy like this, but when I was fifteen, Master passed away. I was heartbroken, and unexpectedly, that person appeared. As soon as he showed himself, I knew he was my father because he looked so much like me."
Wu Qing's eyes became distant, as if he were in a mountain valley in a snowstorm, with a vast, bleak landscape that couldn't be seen clearly.
"I thought he came to find me out of guilt, but who knew he was so cruel? He only told me to help him build a secret organization, and this organization was to protect that woman in the palace, his nominal daughter. I was just a pawn for him to protect himself and that woman. Don't you think it's ridiculous?"
He actually started to laugh, but tears began to fall. Qing Yao could no longer bear to see him like this. She moved from the bed and held his hand. "Don't say any more, Wu Qing. If it's unbearable, then don't say it. Let's think about how to get that antidote. As long as you're okay, that's what matters."
"Thank you, Qing Yao."
Wu Qing's hand was very cold, and he held Qing Yao's hand tightly. Her hand was very warm, the only warmth in his twenty-odd years of life, besides his master's.
However, he didn't actually stop and continued to speak, because some things had been weighing on his heart for a long time, and he felt extremely uncomfortable keeping them in. Speaking them out now made him feel better.
"To prevent me from refusing, he personally administered the blood curse to me, making me obey his commands. Who knew that over a year ago, his daughter actually died, so he set his sights on me. He ordered me to lead these people into the imperial palace to kill the Empress and members of the royal family and seize the throne."
Wu Qing gave another bitter smile. "How can I, like this, become an emperor? I never wanted to be an emperor. I am just a carefree person, how could I be willing to be an emperor in the palace?
"But he threatened me with the blood curse. If I didn't do as he said, he would break the curse, and I would die. But he doesn't know that I am already beyond saving like this."
After telling the whole story, Wu Qing breathed a sigh of relief. His expression was incredibly relaxed. It turned out that telling this story was not as difficult as he had imagined.
"If you obey him and seize the throne, can he really give you the antidote?"
Qing Yao's dark eyes were shadowed, and no thought could be seen. However, Wu Qing knew what she meant. A fleeting dark light flashed across his exceptionally beautiful face.
"Qing Yao, it's useless. That man is not human at all. You can't reason with him about many things. Even if I seize the throne, he might not truly let me go.
"I'm afraid the one who truly wants to be emperor is him. If I, his son, am alive, does he have a legitimate claim? So, my birth as his son is itself a mistake."
Wu Qing spoke slowly, word by word.
Qing Yao gritted her teeth abruptly and said sharply, "Why don't we force him to hand over the antidote? If he dares not to, we'll kill him."
Wu Qing was stunned. He had never thought of killing him, and that man was simply an ancient monster. Could he be killed?
The secret antidote of the Hua Jiang tribe was in his hands. His potion-making skills were quite formidable, and he was afraid of being poisoned at any moment. Moreover, his martial arts were not weak and were very powerful. Otherwise, why would he have been able to secure a place in the harem among the three thousand beauties of Danfeng Kingdom?