Liu Hua privately praised me, saying she didn’t expect the Yu Wang to deliver another heavy blow. This time, they would find it hard to recover. I could only smile bitterly – even if I said I didn’t do this, would anyone believe me?
Just then, the Emperor suddenly summoned me.
“Father must have loved Mother deeply.”
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 had also performed music together, making others envious. The imperial historians recorded that Father had filled Mother’s palace with wisteria flowers because she loved purple, and that Mother had once surprised Father on his birthday by secretly bringing back the Wushan red fish he had always 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 repeatedly. “Indeed. I only understood this much later.”
Father’s family was once a renowned noble clan in Nanrui. However, their generations-long plan was to overthrow the Jiang imperial clan. From childhood, Father bore his family’s mission, and even his meeting with Mother was deliberately arranged by his family. After that forced 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 Father’s pain and regret after losing Mother.
I even suspect that perhaps the moment Father learned of Mother’s death during childbirth, he had already lost all hope and wished to die. Thus, he chose to take his own life in the already burned palace, attempting to follow Mother’s path.
“No matter how deep the love, it can still turn into a tragedy,” Emperor Hong suddenly turned to look at me, his gaze sharp. “A Yao, who do you think was more at fault in this tragedy?”
I stood frozen.
