"I don't believe it! You must have written another one, changing the name. Do you think I can't do anything to you? Go and call the person who read that letter of divorce that day!" Mu Qingya roared. When the guard from that day arrived, Mu Qingya pushed the letter in front of him and said, "Take a good look. Is this still the same letter of divorce from that day? Is the name on it still the same as it was back then?"
The guard, a survivor of Luo Zhiheng's long sword, was still shaken by her. He cautiously examined the document and said, "Your Majesty, this is the one. The words on it are the same too."
"Are you sure?" Mu Qingya asked in a sinister tone.
"Your subordinate confirms."
The guard had barely finished speaking when, with a whoosh, his sword was drawn and cleaved in two, scalding blood gushing out. The guard's body fell, his head, still glazed over, rolling a considerable distance. He never imagined he would die this way.
Mu Qingya's decisive strike shocked everyone present.
"Useless trash, what use is there in keeping her!" Mu Qingya looked at Luo Zhiheng coldly and sneered, "You're very clever, you actually set me up in advance."
Luo Zhiheng raised an eyebrow, seemingly oblivious to Mu Qingya's act of killing.
That day, she didn't show the letter of divorce to the princess or Mu Qingya, but only to Mu Qingya's guard. Mu Qingya couldn't trust anyone else, but surely she could trust her guard. And how much education could a guard possibly have? How could he possibly know how to write her name? That's why she was given the opportunity. Since the name was wrong, the letter of divorce was naturally invalid.
To fight her, you, Mu Qingya, would need to cultivate for another thousand or eight hundred years.
"Do you think I'll let you off so easily? You've successfully angered me. I'll show you what a true abandoned woman feels like." A twisted look flashed in Mu Qingya's eyes as she smiled sweetly at Mu Yunhe, "Yunhe, divorce her. Write her a letter of divorce yourself. She's no longer worthy of being your wife. She has no respect for elders and doesn't even respect me, her elder sister. Do you think it's worth keeping someone like that around?"
"Whether it's worth it or not is something I can judge for myself. I know who is worth it. Don't bring up the divorce papers again, because I won't allow anyone else to interfere in my relationship with Luo Zhiheng. If you still want to treat me like your brother, then please have some self-respect! Don't overstep your bounds. I don't like your meddling!" Mu Yunhe showed no mercy to Mu Qingya, and his cold words were uttered with extreme decisiveness.
"Fine! Since you don't care about me as your older sister, then I have no reason to be nice to you as your younger brother anymore! I'll make you willingly write the divorce papers," Mu Qingya said fiercely. The more Mu Yunhe disliked Luo Zhiheng, the more determined she was to separate them.
Mu Qingya walked to the princess's side, a suppressed smile on her delicate and beautiful face. She gently whispered in the princess's ear, her words so soft yet so harsh: "You, make your son write a letter of divorce. Today, I'm determined to break up this loving couple. If I can't have my way, no one can."
The princess felt a tightness in her chest, unwilling to associate her daughter with such a heartless person. But Mu Qingya had gone too far. The princess struggled slightly, saying, "Qingya, stop this nonsense. Why must it be like this? It's all my fault for wronging you. Whatever you want to do, come at me. I won't say a word against you. I know you harbor hatred, but that has nothing to do with Yunhe. He's your own brother."
Mu Qingya flew into a rage. She gripped the princess tightly, gritting her teeth and growling, "How can it be unrelated? Does Rui'er's death have nothing to do with Mu Yunhe? Since you knew I was targeting him, you should have thought about why I did it. Everything has a price. I've prepared for today's revenge for fourteen years, paying the price with my soul. And you think you can be happy and carefree? Dream on! Remember this: you two owe me something you can never repay, because both of your lives combined are not as precious as my Rui'er!"
The princess's face was ashen! The excruciating pain made her deeply regret her past actions!
"I'm just trying to make Mu Yunhe unhappy, and you're stopping me? When Rui'er died, why didn't you cry or show any sadness? Why are you so biased? Do you remember? If it weren't for you, Rui'er wouldn't have been in danger. If it weren't for you, Rui'er wouldn't have died! You owe me, and Mu Yunhe owes me the same. And didn't you also try to break me and Nalan up? Now I'm just letting your most beloved son taste the bitterness of being forcibly stripped of his wealth. If you don't help me, I'll kill Mu Yunhe right now! Think about it carefully." Mu Qingya threatened through gritted teeth, her hatred like sharp arrows, falling as she gently patted the princess's back.
The princess was almost heartbroken!
Can hatred really turn a gentle and kind girl into such a heartless and insane person? How did Mu Qingya become so crazy? What makes the princess even more desperate is that her daughter is threatening her to harm her son, and whether out of guilt or to save her son's life, she has no choice but to do it!
The princess had always considered herself noble and reserved, but today she was forced to bow her head repeatedly. Hiding her tears, she looked up at Mu Yunhe. In the sunlight, she saw two people, not deliberately embracing, one tall and elegant, the other intelligent and lively, intimately connected. That was the happiness she had pursued for half her life, but ultimately, she had missed it. Mu Yunhe was fortunate enough to have it, but it was destined to be shattered.
"Yunhe, you write it."
Mu Yunhe suddenly looked up, his smile freezing into ice: "What did Mother Consort say?"
“Listen to your sister, write a letter of divorce! Your sister won’t harm you,” the princess said, trembling.
"What exactly do you want? Will forcing me make you happy? Stop saying you won't hurt me, every word you say hurts me! I won't write a letter of divorce, not even if I die! And you, Mu Qingya, I'll say it one last time, my affairs are none of your business!" Mu Yunhe was completely enraged, grabbed Luo Zhiheng's hand and turned to leave.
Mu Qingya's cold voice rang out: "Mu Yunhe, you are truly a filial son. How can you bear to make your mother kneel before you for the sake of a woman?"
"Qingya!" The princess's pupils constricted. What did Mu Qingya mean? Did she mean for her to kneel down and beg Yun He?
"What did you say?" Mu Yunhe was startled, but when he turned around and saw his mother standing there unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief. He then pulled Luo Zhiheng and turned around again.
Mu Qingya looked coldly at the princess and said, "It seems your son still cares about you. Perhaps kneeling down can really keep him?"
"You...you want me to kneel?" the princess asked incredulously. Mu Qingya remained noncommittal, but her attitude was clear.
The crowd was stunned into silence. Was this their Imperial Concubine? So perverted, so heartless and vicious? How could such a person be worthy of being an Imperial Concubine?
"How could you do this to me? I'm your mother!" The princess finally couldn't suppress her pent-up resentment and anger any longer and roared. Perhaps this was retribution. She should have expected retribution when she made things difficult for Luo Zhiheng, but she never imagined it would come so quickly and so terrible. Her own daughter was demanding that she kneel!
"Then how do you want me to treat your son?" Mu Qingya whispered a cold laugh in the princess's ear, her words full of threat.
The heavens have decreed this change. The princess nearly ground her teeth to powder, remained silent for a long while, and finally slowly knelt down. The crowd erupted in an uproar! Even the usually silent Elder Tong's face darkened.
"Yunhe, I beg you on my knees, please divorce Luo Zhiheng!" the princess cried out, filled with humiliation.
When Mu Yunhe turned back, he thought to himself that he had never disobeyed his mother in his entire life, and this time it was all for happiness and for Aheng's reputation, so why was it so difficult? He looked at his mother kneeling in front of everyone, and suddenly laughed, a laugh so sorrowful and desperate. He said, "Mother, what are you doing? My life is yours. If you want it, just take it. I won't say a word. Why torture me like this? You're not kneeling before me today; you're stabbing me in the heart!"
“My mother and I used to depend on each other for survival. We were each other’s hope. But where has my kind and loving mother gone? How did she become the executioner who is now driving me to hell?”
How desperate must one be to look at the world with dry eyes yet be unable to cry? Luo Zhiheng couldn't comprehend it, but she could sense the intense collapse and sorrow within Mu Yunhe. She felt heartache, and she was also angry. 170.
"I was initially thinking that since you and Mu Yunhe are siblings, I would give you a final bit of face, but since you don't want it, then I have nothing more to hold back!" Luo Zhiheng stepped forward and said loudly to the princess, "You are her mother, yet she forced you to kneel. Is it because you know very well that Mu Qingya harbors hatred, and you are afraid that Mu Qingya will vent this intense hatred on Mu Yunhe, so you compromised? But let me tell you, you made a mistake! This woman has already been hurting Mu Yunhe! And her hurt is merciless and cruel! She personally ruined Mu Yunhe's life! She wanted you, her mother, to suffer, and she has already done so! Your current compromise is nothing but foolish self-humiliation!"
The princess stared at Luo Zhiheng in shock, while Mu Yunhe coldly asked her question, "What do you mean?"
"What do you mean? Mu Qingya, do you want me to continue?" Luo Zhiheng's gaze met Mu Qingya's surprised and uncertain eyes in an instant, full of provocation.
Mu Qingya was filled with panic. Impossible! Luo Zhiheng couldn't possibly know those things! But why did she say that?
It's past midnight. I'll post 10,000 words for today. It's too hot; I can't stand it anymore. My bottom and hind legs are covered in heat rash, itchy and painful, making me so upset. I can't sit still at all, sob sob. I'm worried that the writing quality will suffer in this condition, so I'll stop here for today. Looks like I'll have to get up early tomorrow to write, otherwise it'll be too hot during the day. Sorry, my darlings. Please vote, leave comments, and give me monthly tickets!
254 A Painful Past: The Mystery of Fourteen Years! (Part 1)
Updated: 2013-08-14 14:37:33 Word Count: 5458
"Who do you think will listen to your nonsense? You've used this bluffing tactic far too many times. Do you think I'm afraid of you?" Mu Qingya said, trying to calm herself down.
Luo Zhiheng raised her eyebrows slightly. Faced with Mu Qingya's repeated provocations, she chose not to back down and said sternly, "Of course you're not afraid! If you were afraid, how could you have done such a cruel thing to Mu Yunhe? Hurting Mu Yunhe, who was still a child, for thirteen or fourteen years, didn't you feel any remorse?"
Everyone was stunned, bewildered. The princess suddenly raised her eyes, her face filled with fear as if she had realized something.
"Aheng, what exactly are you trying to say? Do you know something?" Mu Yunhe was unsettled by Luo Zhiheng's words.
"Yunhe, don't listen to her nonsense! She's just trying to sow discord between my brother and me!" Mu Qingya roared excitedly.
Luo Zhiheng had been carefully observing Mu Qingya's expression, and she could see the fleeting panic and confusion on Mu Qingya's face. Her previously uneasy heart suddenly calmed down. Even if her guess wasn't entirely correct, Mu Qingya's hands were definitely not clean!
"Everyone here, please listen to me. Today I'm going to tell you a story. The main characters in the story are Mu Yunhe, Princess Tong, and Consort Mu Qingya of the Southern Dynasty!" Luo Zhiheng looked at Elder Tong and said loudly.
Old Master Tong slowly narrowed his eyes. No one knew the storm raging within his constricted pupils. He recalled Luo Zhiheng's repeated kowtows; she had kowtowed back then out of fear of implicating the Tong family, a preemptive apology. Every move Luo Zhiheng made was purposeful, and now that she had mentioned the Tong family, Old Master Tong couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. Yet, he still nodded slightly, agreeing with Luo Zhiheng's words.
Now, nothing is more important than protecting Mu Yunhe! If the Tong family has really done something irreparable wrong, then sacrificing the Tong family for Mu Yunhe is inevitable.
Upon receiving the signal, Luo Zhiheng felt completely relieved. She spoke with a mixture of anger and sorrow: "Fourteen years ago, Mu Qingya, the young princess of the Mu Dynasty, now the Imperial Concubine of the Southern Dynasty, returned to the Mu Dynasty to visit her family. She brought back her four-year-old son with her. That year was supposed to be the most lively and joyous year in the Mu Royal Palace. The mother and daughter would chat and laugh together. The five-year-old Mu Yunhe may have even been hugged and kissed by the Imperial Concubine. Mu Qingya may not know that in those few short days that year, she left her younger brother with a memory that he could never forget."
In Mu Yunhe's mind, his sister was a gentle and kind woman. She would take meticulous care of him, tell him stories, wipe his sweat and dress him, kiss his tender cheeks, and play with him tenderly. But Mu Yunhe would never have imagined that one day, this beautiful sister in his memory would become a deadly executioner, extending her evil hand towards his life! These memories of Mu Qingya were pieced together from Mu Yunhe's fragmented childhood memories. He told them to Luo Zhiheng, wanting to share his happy and beautiful memories with the most important woman in his life. But all of this would become the sharpest blade, slashing the vital artery of Mu Yunhe's family ties.
"Fourteen years ago, in the midsummer of the Mu Prince's mansion, two children fell into the pond in the back garden. They were Mu Yunhe and Rui'er, the son of Mu Qingya, the young prince of the Southern Dynasty! And that day has been sealed away for so many years. Perhaps no one would have thought that I would reopen that sad and tragic year?"
"In the icy pond, the children were calling for help intermittently, while several adults were by the pond. They were Consort Li, the concubine of Prince Mu, and several maids. Consort Li was lying by the pond, her body covered in blood. The maids were terrified and had no energy to care about the two children who were about to drown in the pond."
"But just then, the princess appeared with her entourage. She saw the two children and was equally terrified. Then, the princess ordered her men to rescue them immediately, and the children were naturally her son and grandson. But unfortunately, only one of the two children survived, and that was Mu Yunhe."
Luo Zhiheng's steady voice was filled with deep sorrow. She looked at Mu Qingya, whose face had turned deathly pale, and said, word by word, "And Prince Rui'er died on the spot! The cause of death was drowning! Mu Qingya, am I right?"
Mu Qingya stood there, stunned, her chest heaving violently. She seemed to recall that heart-wrenching scene from years ago, as if her son was still struggling in the water, as if his cold little body was still stiff in her arms.
Mu Qingya seemed to have suffered a huge shock, and could no longer roar. Her crazed eyes finally moistened, but they were bloodshot as she stared at Luo Zhiheng, her voice trembling: "What else do you know?"
"I also know that you harbor resentment because your son died and Mu Yunhe survived. You're filled with bitterness and resentment, so you've become a vengeful person. You believe your younger brother's survival caused your son's death, so you vented all your anger on Mu Yunhe, who was also a victim. You made him your target for revenge. You schemed and plotted, you were ruthless, and you even poisoned your own brother without any regard for family ties!" Luo Zhiheng walked step by step towards Mu Qingya. She could no longer contain her anger and torment. With each step, she roared, each roar louder and colder than the last, until her final roar echoed throughout the entire room.
Mu Yunhe was struck dumb! His narrow phoenix eyes widened suddenly, and he staggered back a few steps, looking at Mu Qingya in disbelief as if he had heard a fairy tale. Then he said hoarsely to Luo Zhiheng, "Aheng, this joke is not funny at all."
What did he hear? He'd rather pretend he hadn't heard anything! He couldn't believe it; it couldn't be real. He must be hallucinating. His sister was so gentle and kind, and she'd always been in the Southern Dynasty—how could she possibly poison him? It was ridiculous. Ah Heng must be furious…
Luo Zhiheng had no choice but to painfully wake Mu Yunhe. She angrily said, "I'm not joking! Mu Yunhe, don't deceive yourself. Haven't you found it strange all these years? Your health hasn't improved at all; you've become weaker year by year. You've been tormented by illness. Before, you didn't know you were poisoned and you could still live in a daze, but ever since you found out you were poisoned, haven't you had any doubts? Who around you could poison you? If it wasn't someone with a deep-seated hatred, if it wasn't someone with an opportunity, if it wasn't someone you and the Princess trusted, do you think it was possible to get close to you? The poisoner must have been by your side all these years! You probably know better than I do who that poisoner is! And who else do you think could do this besides two people?"
Mu Yunhe's face turned deathly pale, and his gaze instinctively turned towards the direction of the princess, where Hu Mama was standing beside her.
"Mu Qingya, do you think what I've said is right or wrong?" Luo Zhiheng asked sarcastically.
"Wrong! Utterly wrong! What you're saying isn't the truth! You want to know the truth? Fine, I'll give it to you!" Mu Qingya screamed, her eyes glazed over, clearly out of her mind.
"No!" Nalan Daibai rushed down weakly, trying to stop Mu Qingya from saying what she shouldn't have, but it was too late.
“I was so happy when I brought Rui’er home that year, but that year also pushed me to the brink of despair! I never knew that my mother could be so ruthless. Just to win my father’s favor, she even went so far as to plot to kill Consort Li’s child who was almost six months pregnant!” Mu Qingya said, her eyes trembling with a hint of madness.
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned, staring in disbelief at the princess still kneeling on the ground. How could such a gentle and refined woman commit such a heinous act? But who can say that any family's harem is clean? It's just that the fact that Prince Mu's legal wife committed such a cruel act, and that it was revealed by her own daughter, is truly chilling.
A growing madness crept into Mu Qingya's eyes. She had already lived enough, and her frantic, reckless actions today were all to end it all! She had been tormented by the loss of her son for so many years, and she could no longer bear it. Before she saw Mu Yunhe, she could still tell herself to live because Mu Yunhe was still alive, but once she saw Mu Yunhe, she could no longer control her grief and anger.
Why is it that her son is dead, but Mu Yunhe is still alive and well? The one who should have survived is clearly her Rui'er. It was Mu Yunhe and the Princess who took Rui'er's life. She dreams of Rui'er crying in her dreams again and again; that little child cries in a dark corner, calling for his mother, constantly expressing his fear.
Every time Mu Qingya had this dream, she would be unable to sleep for several nights. She feared that the child would reappear in her dreams, and she would feel helpless and desperate, unable to face the child's cries. This fueled her hatred. It was better to speak out today; if she couldn't wipe them all out, then they would all perish together! They would all go and accompany her poor Rui'er!
"The six-month-old baby, already fully formed, fell off along with blood, its limbs and head scattered in pieces. Even the lotus flowers in the pond were not as vibrant as the blood beneath Consort Li. The air was filled with the nauseating, fishy smell of blood. Consort Li was crying desperately, and when I arrived, I couldn't even hear the faint cries for help from the two children in the pond."
“My mother was right by the pond. I saw her coldly watching Consort Li covered in blood, and then she turned around and ordered people to rescue the people in the pond. How tragic. By then, we could no longer hear the children’s cries for help. Only Mu Yunhe was still occasionally splashing around, while my Rui’er was about to sink.”
"At that time, only one servant could swim. The two children were not far from him. Mu Yunhe, for some reason, was far from the shore, and Rui'er was about to be rescued. But at that moment, my dear mother, my Rui'er's dear grandmother, coldly shouted from the pond, 'Save the young prince first!'" Mu Qingya recalled intermittently, her voice filled with sorrow and desolation. Tears streamed down her face as she turned to the princess, sobbing uncontrollably, and said, "Do you know that your words at that time almost cost me my life?"
The princess's straight back collapsed in that instant! She slumped to the cold ground and slowly lowered her noble head.
"I just watched helplessly as that slave swam right past my Rui'er, ignoring her completely. By the time that slave had finally carried Mu Yunhe, who had stopped struggling, ashore, my Rui'er had already sunk completely, and not even a sleeve of her clothes could be seen. I just stood there dumbfounded, being held by someone, thinking it was all a nightmare."
Mu Qingya's face was contorted with madness and rage. Pointing at the princess's nose, she roared, "Do you know what that feels like? Being betrayed instantly by your closest mother, pushed into hell, then stabbed mercilessly, and then watching my mother murder my only son! She knew it! She knew I could only have Rui'er as my child! She knew Rui'er was everything to me, yet she killed my child for Mu Yunhe! She was blind to my Rui'er! She's so cold-blooded! She killed two innocent children in a single day! One of them was her own grandson! All for her shameless and laughable vying for favor! Does she even deserve to be a mother?!"
Every single person, every flesh-and-blood human being, felt their blood run cold and their entire body go icy when they heard of this man-made tragedy! (This is a reference to a historical event or event.)
If everything Mu Qingya said is true, then the most terrifying person in front of us is probably not her, but the Grand Princess of the Mu Dynasty! So ruthless that she could watch her own grandson die without lifting a finger to help him. Such a woman would only be someone to be respected but kept at a distance.
"It's not true, it's not true! Mother isn't like that, Mu Qingya, are you crazy? How can you accuse Mother like that?" Mu Yunhe couldn't accept this fact. He roared with red eyes, his breathing rapid and suppressed, but the sadness and despair in his eyes and on his face were so obvious.
Who could accept that their mother was such a cruel and cold-blooded person? Especially since this mother had always played the role of the most kind and strong woman in his life.
Although he loathed the princess for ruining his relationship with Luo Zhiheng, a mother is still a mother. Mu Qingya's words completely overturned Mu Yunhe's entire understanding; he couldn't accept it, he was in agony, but no light could relieve him or save him. At this moment, even Luo Zhiheng could no longer give him the courage to be brave. 17.
"It's not true? Mu Yunhe, you're too naive. She's protected you too well. Do you really think her all-encompassing protection is love? No, she just doesn't want to lose you as a bargaining chip. She doesn't want to lose her position as queen because she knows your personality too well. You're the least like a royal in the entire Mu Dynasty royal family. You're too innocent; you can't accept such bloody and dark conspiracies. Your mother is scheming, afraid you'll know about her shameful past, afraid you'll distance yourself from her. Do you really think you're her beloved son? No, you're just a pawn for her to sit securely on the queen's throne! This cold-blooded animal of hers doesn't have feelings for anyone." Mu Qingya said cruelly and twistedly.
Mu Yunhe was severely provoked, let out a muffled groan, clutched his chest, and swayed as if he were about to collapse.
Luo Zhiheng was terrified and quickly supported him, feeling his trembling and cold body. She angrily accused Mu Qingya: "Don't talk nonsense here! If the Princess didn't love Mu Yunhe, why would she be threatened into kneeling by you? Mu Qingya, wake up! Heaven is watching what you've done. Even if the Princess was wrong back then, put yourself in her shoes. You are Rui'er's mother and you love your son. Mu Yunhe is also the Princess's son, and the Princess is also a mother. You can't be selfless enough to save someone else's son first, so why do you expect the Princess to do so?"
The princess's trembling body stiffened abruptly. She looked at Luo Zhiheng in disbelief, even she was shocked. Luo Zhiheng, whom she had hurt so deeply, was actually speaking up for her? And what she said was exactly what she had always wanted to say but dared not. She dared not speak because she felt it was selfish of her to think that way. Every time she recalled that scene from years ago, she felt heartache and despair, and deep regret, but no one would understand or believe her. Because Mu Qingya's son was indeed dead.
Although the truth about Consort Li's miscarriage was concealed, the prince still distanced himself from her because of it, and she also completely stopped talking because of Mu Qingya.
"Are you speaking up for the Princess? Have you forgotten what she did to you before?" Mu Qingya said coldly and angrily.
"I don't take sides. She has nothing to do with me, but I won't allow you to trample on all mothers in the world. I only believe what I see. Yes, I saw the Princess betray me and push me to my death, and I hate her! That won't change. But I also saw the Princess's love for Mu Yunhe, how she cherishes him like her own life, and how she can endure all the grievances for him. Perhaps she was once despicable, but she can let go of the past and the struggle, so there is still hope for her. But you can't let go, so you are the most hopeless one!" Luo Zhiheng was never one to suffer losses, nor was she particularly kind, but she could separate grudges from facts.
"Am I beyond saving? Yes, from the day she took me away from being a mother and killed my son, I was beyond saving! Don't pretend to be so righteous. If your son had been murdered, would you still be so clear about right and wrong?" Mu Qingya roared.