Chapter 832: Chapter 832: No One to Protect
"I’ve been aware of many plots against me. I even have evidence to point fingers, yet I must endure. I know I can only rely on myself; no one will stand up for me, not even the Imperial Grandmother. The palace has more than just one Prince, and she... she wants the winning Prince."
The last sentence the Emperor said with difficulty. These words had been buried in his heart for many years, even Nanny Qi was unaware.
He respected and was grateful to the Former Empress Dowager because she gave him opportunities and sheltered him when he was most vulnerable, allowing him to grow. These are things he would never forget, but he was very aware of the reason behind the Former Empress Dowager’s kindness to him.
There was affection, but compared to the imperial power held by the Yuichi family, it paled in significance—that’s the familial sentiment of the Imperial Family.
Thus, his feelings towards the Former Empress Dowager were more of respect.
However, Nanny Qi treated him without any personal agenda. Her kindness was directed at him as a person, not because of his identity, which made him feel warmth. So, whenever the Former Empress Dowager instructed Nanny Qi to bring him some soup, he would drink it all without refusal. After the Former Empress Dowager passed away, he would occasionally visit Yixiang Palace to check on this elderly woman.
"...It’s almost laughable. When I first ascended to the throne of Crown Prince, even though I was the Crown Prince, I was only respected in appearance. My royal brother, to humiliate me, instigated the Imperial Father. A case involving a farmer’s wife dispute, which should have fallen under Shuntian Prefecture’s jurisdiction, was assigned to me to investigate. A dignified Crown Prince was demeaned to such an extent. Ha! Little did he know that this move played right into my hands, helping me greatly. Traveling in and out of the city became convenient with legitimate reasons..."
All this stemmed from the Late Emperor’s disdain, the early death of his Imperial Consort Mother, coupled with her lowly palace maid origin, nobody protected him. If he were a Prince with a powerful and adored maternal clan, who would dare insult and belittle him so?
"Later, when the Xue Family saw me firmly seated as Crown Prince, along with the daughter of the Xue Family who entered the palace failing to bear an Imperial Heir, the Imperial Father’s health deteriorating, Xue Ping shifted his thoughts toward me, ha..."
"...After all the intrigues and sibling betrayals, I finally ascended the throne. But even after ascending the throne, I continued to tread carefully, enduring. At that time, the empire was desolate, the people were in dire straits, and issues like salt policies, border affairs, court conflicts awaited resolution. One wrong move could trigger a chain reaction. Additionally, I had to endure the watchful eye of the Imperial Uncle, the self-serving court officials, and the deeply-rooted, powerful noble families..."
"I have endured continuously, merely to weaken the powerful noble families and eliminate the likes of Xue Ping. I’ve endured for ten years." Upon saying this, the Emperor’s aura expanded, tightly embracing the person with a voice no longer calm: "Nannan, it has been ten years. Why must I endure any longer now? After scheming step by step till today, yet I can’t even protect you. My wife and children are still suffering. Do they still wish for their families to live? Ha, laughable—why should I spare their clansmen? If their clansmen are innocent, then what about my Nannan? What wrong has Nannan done?"
As he spoke the last words, bloodlust filled the Emperor’s eyes, his hands around the person began to tremble, a storm of fury raged within, intent to kill spread everywhere.
Using power for personal gain, if succeeded benefits the family, but if failed they don’t wish to implicate their family. How could the world allow such convenience?
Whenever he thought of his Little Concubine still suffering, he wished to kill all those people. His current restraint was merely to accumulate virtue for his Little Concubine and the unborn Imperial Son. If only...
He closed his eyes in pain, suppressing the thought of such possibility.
He knew best the difficulty of walking a path without anyone’s protection, accustomed from a young age to the treacherous nature of people, fearing neither schemes nor human nature.
His Little Concubine was naive and pure, raised in tender care, so small at that time, yet forced to face cruel reality, she embarked on a lonely journey of thousand miles, encountering numerous dangers, both physically and mentally tortured, eventually becoming trapped in a painful nightmare.
Thinking about it, his heart twisted as if by a knife, the pain unbearable, if he hadn’t needed to endure endlessly, if he had eradicated the Xue Family early on, his Little Concubine wouldn’t have suffered this unmerited disaster.
Even if it meant never meeting her in this life, he... still wouldn’t want her to endure this hardship...
So why should he spare those people?
If he pardoned their families, who spared his Nannan from suffering?
Calming his mind, the Emperor reopened his eyes, kissed the person’s forehead, and touched her face tenderly, his gaze gentle as water.
After a long while, he sighed lightly; if pardoning their families is possible, it might not be so bad.
He softly said, "Nannan, if only you were to awaken, pardon them, what difference does it make? I only wish for you to wake up..."
...
Several figures hurriedly dodged and weaved among the houses along the river, two of the figures were small. Five girls were sweating profusely, their breaths heavy, all gasping for air.
Two forked paths appeared ahead, one heading north, one east. Lian Hua holding Xiao Hua Mei’s hand stopped, behind them Xiao Cui and the others also halted.
The road was bustling with people, some glanced their way but quickly looked away, engaged in their tasks, with no time to pay attention to other matters.
Xiao Cui glanced at the road ahead, her eyes flickered, and she suggested for the tenth time: "Xiao Lianlian, why not rest for a while?"
Another two girls bent over, supporting their knees as they panted heavily. One followed, saying, "Yes, Xiao He... Xiao Lianlian, we can’t go on anymore, we must rest, really can’t run anymore."
Not wanting to deceive Xiao Hua Mei, after escaping, Lian Hua and Xiao Hua Mei explained her surname was Lian not He, and said many encouraging words. Later, Xiao Cui and the others heard Xiao Hua Mei calling her Xiao Lianlian, so followed suit.
At this time, another girl said, "We’ve been running for so long, we should’ve succeeded, let’s rest for a while, Xiao Lianlian, even if we don’t rest, Xiao Hua Mei must rest."
Clearly, Lian Hua was younger than them by a few years, yet she surprisingly could run that much. Since escaping from the clutches, she had been almost nonstop on the road. If not for Xiao Hua Mei’s frail health, Lian Hua wouldn’t rest.
Among the five girls, Lian Hua’s condition was the best. She was used to running and jumping, then later traveling alone gave her endurance a great boost, running all this way was not difficult, but the others were not doing well. Xiao Cui and the other two girls repeatedly called for a break, but it was still manageable.
However, Xiao Hua Mei’s situation was peculiar. Her body was so weak and ill, logically she should’ve been unable to run any longer, yet she persisted, her cheeks unusually flush, totally different from her usual complexion, her spirit seemed improved, even the earlier withered feeling was gone.
This happened since their escape. Lian Hua thought it was escaping the wolf’s den, Xiao Hua Mei felt relieved and thus her illness recovered significantly.
She was very happy that Xiao Hua Mei got better. At this moment, she couldn’t see anything strange about Xiao Hua Mei’s condition.