Coming Kingly Son-in-Law: Don't Provoke the First Daughter - Chapter 160
Chapter 160 That Mother and Child
Ye’s entire body was trembling. She clearly understood what the Empress meant.
Her hands were slowly clenching into fists. Now, Gu Family was already like an old tree in autumn, not having much strength to sway in the wind. It could not even protect itself, as if walking on thin ice.
If the Empress insisted, Shen Zhongbai would definitely destroy Gu Family in one fell swoop.
Who would have thought that the once all-powerful Gu Family was just an empty shell?
“What do you mean by this?” Prime Minister Gu seemed to have heard the hidden meaning in her words.
The Empress did not care about Prime Minister Gu’s question. Instead, she approached Ye and continued to ask, “How did my mother die?”
Ye was so scared that she cried. She was almost forty years old and had experienced a lot. But now, she could no longer hold on.
Gu Family was hit with too many matters recently. First, Gu Zhihua accidentally aborted Shen Qiangwei’s child, and then Empress Dowager suddenly died of an illness. Originally, this had nothing to do with Gu Family, but who would have thought that it had something to do with the Empress? There were too many things that happened on the same day. And Shen Zhongbai actually blamed all these on Gu Family.
In fact, anyone discerning could see that this was just Shen Zhongbai’s plan to use Gu Family to restrain the Empress. But the problem was that the Empress never cared about Gu Family. As a result, they had to silently endure it. They were extremely unlucky. They had put hope on an enemy who had no feelings for them.
Prime Minister Gu turned his head in confusion and quickly pulled Ye up. Then, he asked in a serious manner, “What are you crying for?”
Ye sobbed and said, “Do you really blame me for Gu Family’s recent matters? Haven’t I done my best for Gu Family? Qiang blamed me when she saw that Gu Family had declined, but what could a woman like me do? I originally thought that sending Zhihua to the palace would improve Gu Family’s situation, but Zhihua was not favored either. Sir… Zhihua has already tried her best. You can see how much she likes the Third Prince…”
Her crying was very loud, and the second batch of people around, who were mourning, turned over to look at what had happened.
The Empress was very impatient. Suddenly, her eyes became cold, and she took out a dagger from her waist and put it on Ye’s neck. She said coldly, “Shut up. If you insist on sharing your bitter stories, I will send you to the underworld to have a good discussion with Empress Dowager!”
Ye stopped immediately and then looked at Prime Minister Gu, as if asking for help.
Prime Minister Gu sighed heavily and said, “Qiang, no matter what, she raised you for more than ten years. How can you treat her like this?”
“Raise me for more than ten years? In these ten years, have you ever cared about whether I had enough food and clothing? Have you come to see me on my birthday? Have you ever comforted me when I was sick? Why do you, who have done none of these, have the face to come and beg me to save you?” Empress put away the dagger in her hand and turned to leave.
Today, she cut off all ties with Gu Family. In the future, whether Gu family members lived or died had nothing to do with her anymore.
In the Imperial Study, Shen Qianshan, who was sitting on the chair, moved his buttocks. He found a suitable position with the only part that he could move and then looked up at Shen Zhongbai.
“Brother, the funeral is not over yet. Isn’t it a little inappropriate to tie me here?” Shen Qianshan asked with a smile.
In front of him, Shen Zhongbai waved the dagger in his hand and said with a smile, “How is it inappropriate? You know who caused this funeral. It is impossible for you to not know what kind of person Gu Qiang is in contact with. Now I wonder, are you actually in cahoots with those people?”
Shen Qianshan’s expression froze. He bit his lips. The white linen robe on his body tightly clung to him, making him breathless.
“Empress Dowager had always treated me like her own son. What happened to her is not what I hope for. No one can fully understand the cycle of karma,” Shen Qianshan said slowly. His voice was calm, but there was a hidden sadness in it.
The silver-haired woman who always sat under the sunset had a pair of beautiful eyes. There was always a smile in her watery eyes.
When he thought about it now, Shen Qianshan was surprised to find that he did not remember his own mother’s appearance at all, but Empress Dowager’s appearance had been deeply engraved in his mind.
Shen Zhongbai snorted and continued, “Let’s put the matter of my Mother aside. Do you know that I lost my child and Mother yesterday? Shen Qianshan, why can your child be safe and sound? How can you benefit from a woman and be free and unfettered?”
Shen Qianshan was silent. His eyes narrowed, and he said unhurriedly, “Isn’t this what you always wanted? Isn’t this what you and your Mother had always hoped for? Now that you have finally taken this position, isn’t that good? The country is yours; everything is yours. I only want Gu Qiang. Why won’t you allow me?”
“But I also want Gu Qiang!” Shen Zhongbai suddenly yelled.
Shen Qianshan was silent again. He had never wanted to take over the country. Even when he and Gu Qiang were forcibly separated, he could more or less understand Shen Zhongbai.
However, what Shen Qianshan could not understand was when and how much power it took to push Shen Zhongbai into the abyss. Shen Zhongbai’s eyes seemed to be enchanted by something. He was bent on pursuing something that did not belong to him, but he never thought about how much he already had.
The heavens were fair. After giving something one wanted, the heavens would take back some things. Shen Zhongbai wanted the country as well as Gu Qiang. How was it possible?
After all, there was someone in this world who wanted Gu Qiang only but couldn’t have this wish met.
As soon as Shen Zhongbai finished speaking, the door to the room was pushed open. The Empress stood at the door, dressed in scarlet clothes. She smiled faintly, her voice neither cold nor warm, “Is that so?”
She did not say anything further. The two men in the room turned to look at her.
She walked in and reached out to untie the rope binding Shen Qianshan.
At this time, the dagger in Shen Zhongbai’s hand was removed. It stabbed over and ruthlessly nailed next to her hand. The rope was split open by the dagger and fell to the ground.
The Empress raised her eyes. Shen Zhongbai smiled and asked, “Since you wanted to untie his rope, does it mean that you have decided to stay with me?”
He was looking forward to it. This kind of expectation did not match his identity, but he was still looking forward to it.
“Little fish does not eat big fish. If you insist, what can I say?” The Empress said calmly. She looked down at Shen Qianshan’s wrist. Having been strangled by the rope, his skin was cut open. A trace of haze flashed in her eyes. She controlled the anger that was about to erupt in her heart and gently blew on Shen Qianshan’s wrist.
Shen Zhongbai breathed a sigh of relief, but in the blink of an eye, he saw the two of them being intimate in front of him as if there was no one else around, and he was unable to bear it.
This woman had challenged his bottom line over and over again. Was it just because he loved her that she was so fearless as to ravage his heart?
“I hope you can fulfill your promise.” After Shen Zhongbai finished speaking, he got up and slowly walked towards the door.
When he walked to Shen Qianshan’s side, he smelled the fragrance of pear blossoms on his body. This fragrance was very familiar to him, because he had also smelled it on the Empress before.
How ridiculous. She was obviously the Empress, but she was Shen Qianshan’s woman. The two of them were a pair. It was he who had separated the lovebirds.
But on what basis? He, Shen Zhongbai, could control the country but not the heart of this woman?
But if he wanted to get her heart, it was not impossible…
He turned his head. The candle light in the room was dim. It shone on Shen Qianshan’s face. His face was serene. He lowered his head and looked tenderly at the Empress who was treating his wounds. The corners of his mouth rose, and his eyes were clear.
If he disappeared… then even if the Empress had no one else in her heart, she could only miss him.
How could Shen Zhongbai not know that he had actually thought of killing Shen Qianshan many times? However, he could not bear to do so. Now, he had finally made up his mind. He would not allow anyone in this world to be on par with him, let alone sharing a woman.
That night, pieces of white cloth were hung everywhere in the imperial palace. Shen Qianshan sat next to the lake. He turned his head and asked softly, “Qiang, do you still remember that six years ago, the imperial palace was also like this? Pieces of white cloth were hung everywhere. At that time, it was the death of the late Emperor. He personally arranged the marriage between us.”
The Empress was at a loss. That was what Gu Qiang had experienced six years ago. Although some of the things that Gu Qiang had experienced would automatically be added to her memories, there were too many of them. In addition, she had not slept recently, so there was no chance for those memories to be added.
The other reason why she did not sleep was that every time she woke up, the world would change dramatically.
She was afraid… she was afraid that Shen Qianshan would not be around when she woke up.
She was afraid that when she woke up, she would be told that Shen Qianshan had passed away many years ago. The feeling of helplessness and loneliness after being left alone in the world would be enough to crush her.
Now, he was sitting next to her. The fragrance of pear blossoms on her body was just like six years ago. He was still carefree, but she did not dare to touch him.
If only time could stop at this moment. In this way, he would be by her side forever.
At that time, the Empress did not realize her deep attachment to Shen Qianshan, but later when she realized it, things had already changed into a new situation.
The mourning period of Empress Dowager’s death for three whole days forced out the dark circles of everyone in the court. When they went to court again, everyone looked like they were going to die after a few years of kidney deficiency.
Gu Family was fine because the Empress accepted Shen Zhongbai’s request, but Gu Zhihua was left out in the cold to reflect on herself.
The people in the court felt that this matter was nothing to Gu Family. After all, Gu Zhihua was not the daughter of the first wife. As long as the Empress was still the most powerful woman in the imperial harem, the day of Gu Family’s decline would be far away.
However, Prime Minister Gu began to plan and reflect in his heart.
A month later, Shen Qiangwei ended the period of nourishing her body. Her body was strong now, and her complexion of pity disappeared. Her face was now full of vitality.
