Chapter 79: CH 70

After Yu She left the estate, Zhong Wan took his medicine and looked over the official documents the Dali Temple had sent to Yu She.

Two hours later, Zhong Wan ran out of energy and sprawled out on the desk to take a short nap. 

Zhong Wan got woken up by Yu She.

Zhong Wan was barely conscious after waking up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Yu She. Before he could react, he had already been pressed against the back of the chair by the other. Bleary-eyed, he was unable to clearly discern Yu She’s expression. He only felt like there was a dark air around the other, as if a fierce rage was hidden in his chest. Zhong Wan absentmindedly thought, what’s wrong?

Zhong Wan was just about to start speaking when Yu She squeezed his chin and kissed him.

Yu She was in a fit. He couldn’t control his own strength. His other hand kept a death grip around Zhong Wan’s wrist, creating obvious red marks. Zhong Wan winced and inhaled softly in pain, only to hear Yu She mutter from the back of his throat, “Open… open your mouth.” 

With no other choice, Zhong Wan did as he said and separated his lips. Yu She took advantage of every inch of his mouth.

Zhong Wan was dazed. What was wrong with Yu She?

It was the middle of the day. Yu She had suddenly developed evil intentions towards him upon returning to the estate.

Truly… young and energetic.

A moment later, Yu She let go of Zhong Wan. As if he had lost all his energy, he leaned down and wrapped Zhong Wan in his embrace.

Zhong Wan was out of breath from being kissed by Yu She. His lips were slightly numb. He chuckled softly. Just as he was about to tease Yu She a bit, he heard Yu She lowly say, “Guiyuan…”

Yu She’s voice didn’t sound right. Zhong Wan suffered a fright. The smile on his face disappeared. “W-what’s wrong? Did you get into another argument with the princess royal?”

Zhong Wan wanted to turn his head and look at Yu She, but Yu She held him even closer. Yu She was very strong; Zhong Wan couldn’t move at all. He felt uneasy. “What’s actually the matter?” 

Yu She buried his face against Zhong Wan’s neck. A long time later, he raspily said, “Guiyuan, sometimes… I really don’t know who I should hate.”

Yu She’s words were very random. For some reason, Zhong Wan suddenly felt a grueling pain in his heart.

In hesitation, Zhong Wan wrapped his arms around Yu She too. Softly, he asked, “Did Princess Royal Anguo say something?”

Yu She didn’t answer. A moment later, he suddenly said, “Zhong Wan, no matter what happens in the future… don’t be disgusted by me…” 

“Sometimes…” muttered Yu She to himself. “Sometimes, I feel like I’ve wronged everyone. But then, I think a little harder and also feel unwilling to be resigned to this… I wasn’t the one who chose my identity.

“I did all I could to prevent you from seeing Tang Ming and the princess. I feared that after you found out the whole truth, you would blame me and hate me… I can’t plead innocence, but it’s not like I can cut off my flesh and return it to those people either, right?”

Zhong Wan couldn’t take it anymore. “Okay, okay. I won’t blame you. I definitely won’t find you disgusting either. What’s wrong with you?”

Yu She stopped talking again. 

After a long pause, Yu She whispered, “I want to sleep for a bit.”

With no other options, Zhong Wan said, “Okay. I’ll accompany you.”

The two of them lay in bed, fully dressed. Yu She held onto Zhong Wan’s hand. In only a moment, he fell asleep.

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Recently, however, Zhong Wan felt like an answer was faintly appearing in his mind.

He heaved out a long sigh. Who could be disdainful of whom? They were all in involuntary situations. 

Zhong Wan used his own arm as a pillow, but didn’t feel sleepy at all. About an hour later, Yu She’s hand twitched. He opened his eyes.

His countenance had already returned to normal.

Yu She sat up. After a brief pause, his memories returned. He recalled how he had appeared a bit agitated while previously out of control.

Zhong Wan softly asked, “What’s actually wrong?” 

“Nothing,” Yu She calmly stated while straightening out his clothes. “These days, I’ve become overdramatic. Can’t even handle hearing a few unpleasant things…”

Yu She glanced at Zhong Wan. He didn’t forget to blame the other, saying, “All because of you.

“Things are fine now.” Yu She’s expression was normal. He didn’t forget to closely examine Zhong Wan’s lips. He grabbed Zhong Wan’s wrist that was red from being squeezed and massaged it, softly reminding, “Next time I go crazy… ignore me. Keep as far away as you can.”

“How could I do that?” Zhong Wan asked. “If I left, who would reap the benefits?” 

Yu She burst into laughter.

Zhong Wan allowed Yu She to massage his wrist and stopped using his teasing tone. He asked again, “What did Princess Royal say?”

Yu She acted like he hadn’t heard. He stood up and said, “It’s a bit bruised. I’ll go get some medicated oil to help you disperse the congested blood.”

“Ziyou.” Zhong Wan sat on the bed. He softly said, “Isn’t it better if you tell me… rather than someone else telling me?” 

Yu She froze. He once again remained silent as he headed off to retrieve the medicated oil.

Zhong Wan felt exasperated.

A short while later, Yu She returned, carrying a bucket of hot water.

Yu She rolled up his sleeves and heated the handkerchief up by rubbing it. He helped Zhong Wan place this warm compress on his wrist. 

“The current emperor…” Yu She waited for a moment. After the handkerchief became slightly cooler, he took it off and submerged it in the hot water once again. He wrapped it around Zhong Wan’s wrist once more after wringing it dry. “…spent a long time as a prince. A very, very long time.

“The previous emperor lived a long life. He outlived several princes. The oldest prince at the time was our current emperor. Back then, he was the second imperial prince.

“The previous emperor didn’t actually like Second Prince too much. He liked Sixth Prince more… Prince Ning.”

Yu She re-soaked the handkerchief again. He worried that the water was no longer as warm as before, so used his own hands to cover Zhong Wan’s wrist. He calmly continued, saying, “Age-old matters. You know about all these things too. I won’t go into too much detail… Back then, the previous emperor started thinking about crowning his youngest son. No… he didn’t only think about it; he practically truly did it. The only thing missing was an imperial decree. 

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“In those years, many flooding catastrophes occurred after the great drought. The previous emperor thought that that year was bad and unlucky. He also believed that he was in good health, so wanted to name the crown prince the next year, which was supposed to be a fertile year. He could also take this chance to grant amnesty throughout the nation, making things smoother.

“Back then, the previous emperor doted on Prince Ning greatly. Anybody with eyes could tell. Second Prince… was very anxious.

“Though the previous emperor was old, he still maintained his grasp over the court. Second Prince couldn’t do anything publicly, even with Prince Yu as an ally.

“What to do? Prince Yu came up with a good plan for him. 

“Through Princess Royal Anguo, Prince Yu secretly spread rumors in the palace that said that the previous emperor was going to kill the mother to keep the son. After naming the crown prince, he was going to kill both Imperial Consort Zhongs.”

Zhong Wan’s heart skipped a beat.

“You’ve heard about those rumors too. You believed that this was the previous emperor’s plan, right?” Yu She calmly asked. “No. The previous emperor himself had never held such a thought.

“The Zhong estate didn’t have any promising males. Additionally, Noble Consort Zhong was a virtuous woman. She wasn’t the type to cause the previous emperor any fear. 

“But no one else thought this way. The two imperial consorts of your family heard this rumor and started spending each day and night in panic. However, they didn’t dare to ask. Noble Consort Zhong cried everyday. She treated each time she saw Prince Ning as if it were her last. After enough time, even lies were close to becoming truth.

“Noble Consort Zhong was willing to die for her son’s future. Little Imperial Consort Zhong though… wasn’t so willing.

“It wasn’t like Prince Ning was her son.”

Yu She threw the handkerchief off to the side, picked up the medicated oil, and poured some into his palm. He slightly rubbed his palms together; after the medicated oil heated up, he gently pressed his palms against the wounded area of Zhong Wan’s wrist. 

“Little Imperial Consort Zhong and Second Princess Consort were close friends. She had already seen Second Prince once before entering the palace. The two of them… had a little something? I’m not sure.

“Second Prince waited for Little Imperial Consort Zhong to believe the rumors. Then, he tasked a palace servant to send her a message. He told her that after all these years, he still couldn’t forget her. Only because she had become his concubine mother did he force himself to remain silent despite his overwhelming affection. Now that he had heard about her impending demise, he could no longer sit around and wait.

“At the time, Little Imperial Consort Zhong had worried daily that she would have to lose her life for her elder sister’s son. In the midst of her panic, she had received such a message. How could she not feel touched?

“Second Prince promised her that if the emperor intended to kill her in the future, he would naturally devise a plan to ensure her safety. Perhaps this would involve using a death replacement or finding some sort of fake death medicine for her to take, but ultimately, he wouldn’t let her truly die in the palace. 

“Little Imperial Consort Zhong had finally found a way out. She was endlessly grateful. The two of them used a palace servant to send messages between each other: all sorts of vows and promises… These messages were incredibly touching.”

Zhong Wan said with difficulty, “The emperor had never planned on killing the two Imperial Consort Zhongs. This lie was going to be exposed sooner or later…”

“Yes.” Yu She let go and poured some more medicated oil into his palm. He rubbed his palms together and placed them on Zhong Wan’s wrist once again. “Don’t get impatient. This was only the first step in their plan.

“At first, Second Prince and Little Imperial Consort Zhong only communicated through the palace servant. Eventually, they started meeting up a few times in the palace. And then… 

“Little Imperial Consort Zhong became pregnant.

“She was deathly terrified. Her first thought was to abort this demon child… She truly acted out on this thought too.

“But unfortunately, she was in too great of health.” Yu She gently rubbed Zhong Wan’s bruise with his fingertips. “After a bowl of abortion medicine… she was in great pain, but surprisingly didn’t manage to lose the child.”

Yu She scoffed. “How fortunate… 

“Second Prince was waiting for this exact day. Upon hearing this news, he hurriedly told someone to tell Little Imperial Consort Zhong not to harm this child under any circumstances.

“Second Prince said that his own sons had either all died or were ill. He really wanted to keep this child that he had conceived with his lover. He also pretended to be resentful, saying Little Imperial Consort Zhong had a cruel heart and wasn’t truly in love with him.

“Little Imperial Consort Zhong still needed to rely on Second Prince to live. How could she dare to anger him? But she couldn’t really give birth to this child… The previous emperor hadn’t touched her in several years. She couldn’t use him as an excuse.

“What to do about this? 

“Second Prince gave Little Consort Zhong a good idea.

“He gave Little Imperial Consort Zhong a packet of poison.

“That day, the previous emperor had caught a cold. It was Noble Consort Zhong who took care of him day after day, not even having time to undress when turning in to sleep at night… It was very easy for Little Imperial Consort Zhong to sneak in.

“Second Prince told Little Imperial Consort Zhong that he who strikes first gains the advantage. Rather than waiting for the emperor to kill them all, why not kill this cruel-hearted old thing instead? As such, neither she nor her sister would need to die. 

“Then, Second Prince once again asked Little Imperial Consort Zhong…”

Yu She scoffed at himself. “He asked her whether or not she wanted to be the empress. Whether or not she wanted the son in her belly to become the future crown prince.”

Zhong Wan’s fingers slightly trembled.

“Second Prince said that after the emperor passed away, he would treat Noble Consort Zhong well and treat Prince Ning as his biological younger brother. He would hide Little Imperial Consort Zhong in the estate by the imperial mausoleum. After one or two years, he would help her change her name and marry her so that she could return to the palace. 

“But what actually happened? You already know.

“The medicine had passed through Noble Consort Zhong’s hands. She couldn’t escape punishment. After the previous emperor’s death, Noble Consort Zhong had no way of defending herself. Without even waiting for the news to spread outside of the palace, the empress had already forced poison down her throat and tied her up with a white scarf. She never got to see Prince Ning one last time.

“The Zhong estate naturally couldn’t avoid being dragged in as well.” Yu She grabbed Zhong Wan’s other hand and continued the massage. “The empress was ‘merciful.’ She said that these were all disgraceful matters of the imperial family, so didn’t publicize them. She only announced that Noble Consort Zhong had feared the rumors about killing the mother and leaving the son, so had committed such a crime in a moment of foolishness. But she still had Prince Ning as a son, after all. It was impossible for the empress not to care about a prince’s future. Thus, the Zhong estate fell from grace overnight. The remaining members didn’t dare to say anything out of line at all… After all, this was already a heavenly blessing. If this matter had truly been judged as a regicide, nobody in the Zhong family would have been allowed to live.”

Zhong Wan’s shoulders gently quaked. 

“All that needed to be resolved had already been resolved. Second Prince was originally going to kill Little Imperial Consort Zhong as well, but in the end, the empress—oh, already the empress dowager now—the empress dowager suddenly became unwilling.

“Second Prince didn’t have a healthy son. The empress dowager feared that the child in Little Imperial Consort Zhong’s stomach would be a son. Thus, she couldn’t bear to risk it.

“Coincidentally, Princess Royal Anguo had just lost her child.

“Even more coincidentally, Princess Royal Anguo’s husband was Prince Yu, who Second Prince both feared and relied heavily upon. 

“This unformed fetus, gender yet unknown… had come at such an opportune time.

“Thus, after living at the estate in the imperial mausoleum for a month, Little Imperial Consort Zhong, who kept thinking about and waiting for the time that she would be brought back into the palace to be empress, didn’t receive the news of Second Prince’s arrival. Instead, she received the news of Princess Royal Anguo’s arrival.”

Yu She let go of Zhong Wan’s hand and calmly said, “You naturally know now who that male infant is.

“If not for this male infant, who ought to have been aborted after a bowl of abortion medicine…” Yu She stood up and washed his hands. “A lot of people wouldn’t have had to die. Your family… 

“Your family wouldn’t have been dispersed and killed either.”

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