He shouldn't have doted on her so much; the deeper the love, the sharper the hatred.
The more he cherished her before, the more painful her abandonment was.
The First Prince hadn't experienced it, so he couldn't understand.
"Since birth, I have enjoyed the utmost earthly wealth and endured extreme panic and despair. I have gained, I have lost. Now, I only wish to live in peace, a simple life with the one I love. Is that too much to ask? Why must you disrupt my life? I thought I had forgotten this place, that I had been reborn. Why must you bring me back to the capital! Back to this suffocating cage!"
Yes, she disliked it here.
The First Prince's gaze was distant. Ling Yao disliked Feng Que Lou, he knew.
Although it was the most magnificent place in the imperial palace, with everything imaginable and a dazzling array of treasures, he had seen her squatting in a deserted corner, lost in thought, more than once.
He had seen it, more than once.
He had secretly entered Feng Que Lou, more than once.
She just didn't know.
Had he done wrong? Should he not have brought her back? But there were some truths she needed to know.
Otherwise, she would carry her scars forever.
"Ling Yao, Father Emperor did not abandon you. The person in the palace is not Father Emperor."
Xue Niang's mocking lips froze.
"What did you say?"
"I said, he is Father Emperor, and he is not."
"What do you mean?" Xue Niang asked stiffly, her father's loving face flooding her mind in an instant.
His feigned anger, his relief, his frowns, his concern, and finally, that cold, heartless one.
What was the First Prince talking about?
The First Prince lowered his voice. "Originally, I didn't know either. But later, Father Emperor appeared less frequently, and you said the First Prince was good at managing things. I had people in the palace, and then I discovered something was wrong. Eunuch Bai Xi went mad, and your Empress was often absent from the palace. Father Emperor began to favor Noble Consort, and then one time, my people discovered that Father Emperor was in his sleeping quarters, completely out of his mind, like a fool. But the next day, in court, he was back to normal."
"What does that mean?"
The First Prince's voice was low, but it struck Xue Niang like a heavy drum. She looked at him blankly, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
"I consulted a strategist, who said Father Emperor might have been poisoned with a蛊 (gu), controlled by someone."
When did Father change? Xue Niang desperately tried to recall.
First, the red lotus appeared on Ling Xi's body, then the Great Shaman disappeared, and Father never visited Feng Que Lou again. A single imperial decree sealed her fate to be sent to the Turks.
Everything happened so quickly, without any warning.
She was too grief-stricken at the time to suspect anything, nor did she have the opportunity to observe Father.
"Who did it?" she murmured unconsciously.
"Grand Tutor Lu, and your Empress is also a suspect."
"Impossible!"
Xue Niang instinctively denied it. Mother was Father's most beloved woman. Although Mother was cold to Father and them, it was her nature. She must love Father.
Father was so good to her, his eyes full of love when he looked at Mother.
"Noble Consort is also very strange. Your foolish second brother ran off to the border, and no one is helping me. The palace is full of Grand Tutor Lu's people, and I haven't figured it out yet."
"It must be Grand Tutor Lu. I killed his son, and he's getting revenge."
If, if Father was really harmed, then she, she...
Her emotions fluctuated wildly. She clutched her stomach, feeling unwell.
"I, I need to rest, First Prince."
"What's wrong, is your stomach uncomfortable?" The worry on the First Prince's face seemed genuine.
Xue Niang dared not risk the child. She lay down on the bed, looking up at the First Prince, who was frowning with anxiety.
"I'll go call a doctor."
"First Prince, don't bother. It's just indigestion, I'll be fine after resting."
"Indigestion for so long, could it be a stomach ailment?"
A barren mountain village, a life of hardship, likely often going hungry. How did that man take care of her?
And she actually wanted to stay there! Was her mind broken?
"No, I'll be fine soon." Xue Niang didn't want to say more. She was still thinking about what happened before. "First Prince, you're not lying to me, are you?"
Her face was pale, still tear-streaked, her apricot eyes shimmering with moisture, looking at him pitifully. She was still the obedient, pure little girl from Feng Que Lou.
The First Prince couldn't help but stroke her head.
"Ling Yao, you are the legitimate princess of Jing, and you always will be. The First Prince will definitely restore your honor."
As long as he took that position.
Everything could change.
She had never liked her identity. If what the First Prince said was true, then her beloved Father was suffering inhuman torture.
She remembered the dream she had.
Tears of blood were flowing from Father's eyes.
It was real, it was real.
How had she not noticed before, how had she not thought of it? Father was being controlled, he hadn't abandoned her.
"I want to save him, First Prince, I want to save Father."
"You stay here and rest. The First Prince will find a way."
At this moment, Ling Yao finally showed a glimmer of her former self, and his heart felt a pang of sourness.
When he brought her back, he had been angry. Clearly, these two siblings were favored children of heaven, showered with love, yet after the incident, one impulsively abandoned their wealth and status, and the other willingly degenerated and hid in a mountain village.
He hated this heartless imperial palace, hated that aloof Father Emperor who never gave him any affection.
Yet, when the empire was on the verge of collapse and the national situation was critical, he had to scheme and strive with all his might to protect this precarious home that never truly belonged to him.
He was truly pathetic.
However, Feng Que Lou was the only warm place in the imperial palace.
Because there, once lived a gentle, soft little imperial sister.
Her voice was soft, lacking any force, yet it could make the most honored man in Jing obey.
She had whatever she wanted, but she was not happy.
Because she had no freedom.
She was recognized as a divine maiden by the Great Shaman.
Ridiculous. He had exhausted all his meager informants, endured countless injuries to enter the royal secret chamber and saw the handwritten notes about the divine maiden.
It must be fake. After hundreds of years, would anyone still believe in a divine maiden?
For this, would she be confined, kept like a pet?
He vaguely, began to harbor ambitions.
Until she was sent on the marriage alliance route, Father Emperor became stern and ruthless, of course, that was towards her, and towards his words, it was always like this.
Then, Feng Shijin angered Father Emperor. He discovered the clues and began to plan...
"First Prince, Noble Consort must know. Ling Xi becoming a divine maiden, they must have been involved in this."
Xue Niang's voice pulled the First Prince back from his thoughts.
Noble Consort definitely had a part in it. He had investigated, including the Empress, and they were both problematic.
But now the palace was filled with Grand Tutor Lu and Uncle Prince of Ruan's men, and for him to investigate clearly was too difficult.
Uncle Prince of Ruan was Father Emperor's own brother and deeply trusted by him, but for some reason, he seemed oblivious to the anomalies.
He had gone to see him, but Uncle treated him, just like Father Emperor treated him, with no warmth, no listening, no belief.
They were all a bunch of idiots!