There was no doubt that Father and Mother had once deeply loved each other. They met under the Qixi Lovers’ Bridge, released sky lanterns together, and walked through the misty bamboo sea of Fenzhu. They performed music together, making others envious. The imperial historians recorded that Father filled Mother’s palace with wisteria flowers, and Mother surprised Father on his birthday by bringing back the Wushan red fish he longed for, causing him to shed tears.
Such love was no less profound than mine and An Jin’s. Yet, this love ultimately descended into despair.
Emperor Hong sighed and nodded. “Indeed. I only understood this much later.”
Father’s family was once a renowned noble clan in Nanrui, with a generations-long plan to overthrow the Jiang imperial clan. From childhood, Father bore his family’s mission, and his meeting with Mother was deliberately arranged. After the palace coup, Mother fled, burning down the palace that held countless memories and destroying their love.
I have reason to believe that the ease with which the imperial uncle later broke through the capital and eliminated Father’s rebel clan was due to his pain and regret after losing Mother.
I suspect that when Father learned of Mother’s death during childbirth, he lost all hope and wished to die. He chose to take his own life in the burnt palace, attempting to follow Mother’s path.
“No matter how deep the love, it can still turn into a tragedy,” Emperor Hong said sharply. “A Yao, who do you think was more at fault in this tragedy?”
I stood frozen.
“It was your Mother. If she had detected Father’s family’s conspiracy early and stopped them, things would never have escalated. Her excessive tolerance and blind trust harmed her, creating this tragedy and nearly destroying the empire.”
He paused, then patted my shoulder. “So A Yao, are you going to follow your Mother’s path?!”
Chapter Seventy-Three: My Husband
I hooked my arm through Emperor Hong’s, laughing softly. “Imperial Uncle, you’re overthinking. I’m not Mother, and An Jin is not Father. We could never repeat her path.”
“I know you are on his side. That’s fine; since he came to Nanrui, I can overlook his actions in the shadows.”
