As Noble Consort Ru had also not expected, she had only casually muttered a couple of sentences, yet it would arouse such a strong reaction from Zhaohua.
At this moment, she was stared at by Zhaohua somewhat panic-stricken, busy embarrassment smiled,
"This person is already dead, no matter what she did, it is always impossible to dig her out from the ground to pursue responsibility. Her Majesty the Empress Dowager still..."
"What exactly did you hear, this palace wants you to tell this palace clearly word for word."
Zhaohua's expression was cold and solemn, almost coercing Noble Consort Ru in a threatening tone.
Noble Consort Ru did not dare to offend her. She had to carefully recall what happened that day,
"This concubine remembers that it was not long after the death of the Third Prince that this happened, at that time this concubine was punished by Noble Consort Chen to go to Fahua Hall to recite scriptures and pray because she said the wrong thing. This concubine prayed for half a day and was really tired and sleepy, so she went around to the back hall, thinking to hide and take a nap.
I don't know how long I slept, but I heard thunder outside the hall and woke up from my dream in shock. Only then did I realize that the sky was already dark and there was wind and rain outside, which was terrifying. Just as this concubine was about to leave, I heard the sound of a child reciting scriptures in the main hall. I took a peek and saw that it was the Eldest Prince burning incense for the dead Third Prince..."
*
Six months ago, Fahua Hall.
A thunderstorm night.
That day was the forty-ninth day after the death of Imperial Prince Chengjing.
After finishing his lesson at the Academic Office, Chenghuan came to Fahua Hall to burn incense and pray for Chengjing,
while kowtowing to the Buddha statue, the words he spoke were all hoping that Chengjing could enter the Western Paradise early,
But in fact, every concerned sentence was used to suppress the demons in his heart.
In fact, even he himself did not know why he would resent Chengjing so much,
Just being scolded a few words and beaten a few times, he calculated day and night about how to make Chengjing completely disappear from this world.
In the end, he did it, but the taste of nightmares entangled every night was also unbearable.
"Younger brother, you died so miserably, I..."
Before the words of repentance were uttered, there was the sound of the hall door lightly opening behind him.
Chenghuan immediately stopped talking and instinctively looked back,
"Consort Hui?"
He saw Consort Hui carrying a lot of offerings with a haggard expression walking towards him.
Chenghuan moved his body sideways to make way for Consort Hui on the main seat. Consort Hui laid out the offerings while asking indifferently:
"What are you doing here?"
Chenghuan said, "Today is the forty-ninth day after my younger brother's death. I was thinking of my younger brother in my heart, so I wanted to come and burn incense for him."
Upon hearing this, Consort Hui's movements paused, her eyes lowered as she looked at him coldly for a long time.
Then she saw her smile abruptly,
"You are quite dutiful. If Xiao YuYun knew that her son did not inherit his father's indifference, but was instead a sentimental and righteous person, I'm afraid she would be able to smile calmly even from the netherworld."
"Xiao...YuYun?" Chenghuan repeated the familiar name haltingly and pondered for a long time before saying:
"Is Consort Hui talking about Lady Xiao? I know Lady Xiao. She was previously Mother Consort Jin Lan. Later she passed away due to illness and Mother Consort felt very sad for a long time. Last year during the Hungry Ghost Festival, Mother Consort also asked me to burn paper offerings for Lady Xiao and offered incense."
"Humph." Consort Hui snorted contemptuously, then removed the incense Chenghuan had placed in the altar and replaced it with her own freshly lit one, before lightly saying:
"You are very smart in your studies but so dull in observing things. With Noble Consort Chen's temperament, who could she possibly look kindly upon and be willing to get close with?"
As she spoke, Consort Hui finished the incense offering, her gaze turned back to Chenghuan with an expression that was both sympathetic and doting,
"Forget it, seeing that you and Chengjing had such a deep sibling affection, Consort Hui will say some things that shouldn't be said to you."
She leaned slightly closer to Chenghuan's ear, speaking in a low voice,
"Ning Wanshuang is only your foster mother, Xiao YuYun was your real mother."
The continuous rumbling thunder and Consort Hui's heart-piercing words crashed into Chenghuan's ears at the same time.
He staggered back two steps in disbelief, shaking his head and murmuring to himself,
"Impossible, Mother Consort is so good to me, how could she possibly not be my birth mother?"
Consort Hui said, "It's because she was good to you for a purpose. You were the first prince after your father ascended the throne. Although you were born with an incurable disease, if the illness could be cured in the coming days, your status as an imperial prince would become a major contender in the battle for the heir apparent. So after your birth mother died, Ning Wanshuang snatched you to raise at her knees, waiting for that day to come."
Seeing that the look in the child's eyes was becoming more and more confused, as if he had listened to her words and was silently pondering them, she added fuel to the fire, patting Chenghuan on the shoulder and saying:
"It's a pity that your illness has never gotten better, so your father has gradually lost hope in you. You said earlier that Noble Consort Chen treats you very well? But think carefully, does Noble Consort Chen treat you well or treat Jin Yue well?
But you can't blame Noble Consort Chen, after all, when you were born, your father saw that you were inauspicious at birth and originally wanted you killed. If it hadn't been for Noble Consort Chen stopping your father at that time, I'm afraid you would have been long gone from this world, let alone enjoy the glory of being the Eldest Imperial Prince today?"
The reason why Consort Hui would say this is because the imperial heirs are usually taught with "strictness towards boys and leniency towards girls". The prince will have to hold up the sky in the future, so since childhood they have to cultivate an independent and tenacious character. Even if they fall to the ground and scrape their knees, no one can show the slightest sympathy.
But the child did not know this reason. At this moment, when Chenghuan thought about it carefully, he did feel that there was a difference between how Ning Wanshuang treated him and Jin Yue.
Seeing him continuously fiddling with his clothes, Consort Hui knew he had listened to these words, and pretended to be flustered,
"Chenghuan, you must promise Consort Hui that for some things, it's enough to understand them in your heart, but you must never take this matter to Noble Consort Chen or your father to make trouble. On ordinary days, it's not difficult to feel that your father feels very uncomfortable even with the slightest physical contact with you. If you dare to question him again, won't it make him dislike you even more?"
She stroked Chenghuan's hot cheeks, her tone becoming gentler and gentler,
"Consort Hui couldn't bear to see you kept in the dark your whole life, so I kindly told you these things. Chenghuan, you..."
Before she could finish speaking, Chenghuan had already pushed away her hand and rushed out with red-rimmed eyes. His small figure soon disappeared into the pouring night rain.
*
Noble Consort Ru's eyebrows danced as she vividly described to Zhaohua what she saw that night.
Finally, she sighed while stroking her chest,
"You say, the child was still so young, how could he endure listening to these words? After hearing these things, this concubine didn't even dare to make a sound, and could only keep hiding behind the curtain until there was no movement outside before daring to come out..."
After listening to Noble Consort Ru's words and realizing the truth afterwards, Zhaohua couldn't help but break out in cold sweat.
Scenes of her casual chat with Ning Wanshuang in Yonghe Palace a few days ago kept flashing through her mind.
At that time, Ning Wanshuang asked Chenghuan what his greatest wish was.
Chenghuan smiled and said,
"My greatest wish is to grow up quickly, and then have the ability to take good care of Mother Consort and protect Mother Consort to repay Mother Consort for raising me."
At that time, when Zhaohua and Ning Wanshuang looked at each other after hearing this, they both had a charming smile.
But now, when the innocent and pure smile on Chenghuan's face emerged in her mind again,
Zhaohua only felt that the smile was exactly like a knife that killed without a trace...
