Chapter 251: Chapter 234: Exiled for Thirty Years, Lifelong Vigil
Before the voice had finished, the cold laughter of the Eldest Princess already came from the rear, "When has it ever been the Su Family’s business to judge my son’s character?"
Su Yi turned around abruptly, but before she could react, her left cheek received a harsh slap, and a metallic taste spread in her mouth. It was clear how forceful the strike was...
She covered her face, glaring at the Eldest Princess. Seeing Lu Xingzhou was also present, disbelief filled her eyes.
She had clearly watched him leave before she came in!
The Eldest Princess approached her, "You just said, whose son is Yanqing?"
Being struck by Zhao Xunyin in front of Lu Xingzhou, the anger in Su Yi’s heart erupted to the extreme in an instant, all her usual composure vanished, and her words turned more caustic, "Had it not been for you, Zhao Xunyin, being so shameless, getting married to another man while carrying Lu Xingzhou’s child, then bringing back a bastard child. How could Lu Yanqing become a ’premature baby’? It’s a monstrous lie you made up to cover your shame..."
"Slap—"
Before she could finish, her right cheek was slapped heavily as well.
Both cheeks burned with pain.
Su Yi’s eyes reddened with hatred, "Zhao Xunyin! You can do it, but can’t bear being talked about?"
The Eldest Princess looked at her expressionlessly, "Before you accuse others, take a piss and look at yourself. You’re putting drugs into your elder brother’s meals day and night, with him so ill, how could he have fathered Brother Bin and Qiao, the pair of twins with you?"
Su Yi’s complexion turned pale, her heart sank, unable to steady herself, she took a step back.
"That adulterer of yours is now locked up in a secret chamber in my palace. Whether you want him to kneel down and confess or to meet the patriarch, you decide yourself."
Su Yi stepped back again, her back already pressed against the wall, her hand still covering her left cheek didn’t let go, looking at the Eldest Princess with utter hatred, "Zhao Xunyin, you’re ruthless!"
The Eldest Princess sneered, "Those who commit too many misdeeds will eventually meet their downfall. It’s your shamelessness in the first place, don’t blame me for being ruthless."
Without waiting for Su Yi to react, there was another stern shout, "Kneel down!"
Su Yi covered her aching face with one hand, the other hand clenched into a fist, leaning against the wall with no response for a while.
Seeing this, the Eldest Princess didn’t press her, and looked back at Lu Xingzhou, "Hand her over to Elder Brother."
Before she finished speaking, there was a thud, and Su Yi fell straight to her knees.
"Tell my son, everything you’ve done to him?"
The Eldest Princess’s eyes were sharp, her aura overwhelming, giving Su Yi no chance to catch her breath, "If you don’t confess truthfully, everything you did to him will be used on you a hundredfold!"
Ever since seeing her returned father who even brought his mother to the Heavenly Prison, Lu Yanqing was completely dumbfounded. Now, he finally got a chance to speak, incredulously looking at his aunt kneeling under his mother’s orders, then glancing at the Eldest Princess and Lu Xingzhou, he suddenly felt as if in a dream.
"Father, Mother, what are you doing?"
The Eldest Princess glanced at him, "Given your current state, you wouldn’t listen to what your mother says. Might as well hear what your aunt has to confess."
Lu Yanqing had no choice but to shift his gaze back to Su Yi.
Su Yi feared Lu Pingzhou deeply, if he knew about her affair outside, that man would ruthlessly kill her.
Clenching her teeth, she squeezed out words from between them, "Yanqing, what your aunt said to you before was false. You are indeed a premature baby, the legitimate child of the Eldest Princess and the Prince Consort."
Lu Yanqing immediately flared up, "Why did you lie to me?"
"Because..." Su Yi paused, her eyes flicked towards Lu Xingzhou.
The corner of the Eldest Princess’s mouth curled in mockery, waiting for her next words.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Su Yi changed her tone, "Your aunt was just joking, wanting to test your relationship with your parents, nothing else."
"..." Lu Yanqing kicked a wooden pillar, too furious to speak.
"Is that all?"
The Eldest Princess apparently had no intention of letting her go just like that.
Su Yi, usually proud, had never bowed her head so low to anyone? Especially to the woman she loathed deeply.
She looked at the Eldest Princess, "Driving a dog into a corner results in a backlash. Surely, you understand this principle."
"To lay hands on a child barely in his teens, Su Yi, you’re worse than a dog."
"..."
"Begone!"
The Eldest Princess marked her dismissal with a single word.
Su Yi stood up, her legs weak from kneeling, stumbled towards the door of the Heavenly Prison, turned around, gazing through the dim light at the couple inside, "Everyone faces a narrow path at times. I don’t believe, Zhao Xunyin, you’ll never have a bad day!"
The Eldest Princess with a smile turned back, "Too bad, in this lifetime, you’ll never see that happen."
...
After Su Yi left, the Eldest Princess finally put down the food box she was holding and opened the lid. The enticing aroma of the dishes wafted out immediately. She squatted down, and her gaze toward Lu Yanqing became gentle, unlike her previous sharp and aggressive demeanor. "Didn’t Yanqing say yesterday that you wanted to eat roast duck? Mother brought it for you. Come, have a bite."
Lu Yanqing didn’t take the bowl and chopsticks his mother offered, just stared at her unblinkingly, a strange feeling inexplicably rising inside him.
Seeing this, Lu Xingzhou also bent down and personally poured him a cup of wine.
Lu Yanqing still didn’t take it, his eyes growing more confused, with a tone of doubt, "Are you... really my parents?"
The Eldest Princess didn’t speak, pushing the bowl and chopsticks forward, "Eat first. After you’re full, whatever you want to know, Mother will tell you."
Lu Yanqing made a sound of acknowledgment, first taking the wine from Lu Xingzhou’s hand and drinking it down. Only then did he take the bowl and chopsticks from the Eldest Princess, picking a few pieces of roast duck to eat. Shortly after swallowing them, he closed his eyes and fainted.
The Eldest Princess suppressed a sudden discomfort in her chest, stood up with Lu Xingzhou’s support, and looked at her son, who was already asleep inside the cell. She said to her husband, "Bring the person in!"
Lu Xingzhou nodded, turned around, and not long after, brought in a monk from the Western Regions.
The sense of nausea surged again, and the Eldest Princess covered her mouth, forcing a smile to the monk, "Thank you, Master."
The monk from the Western Regions nodded, indicating they should leave first.
The Eldest Princess stepped out of the Heavenly Prison. Probably due to the fresh air, the feeling of chest tightness subsided significantly. She looked up, tears glistening in her eyes.
Lu Xingzhou silently handed her a handkerchief, softly saying, "Ah Yin, this will all pass soon."
The Eldest Princess’s voice carried a hoarse note of sorrow, "I’ve let down too many people in my life. Regardless of the final outcome, it’s the retribution I deserve, but it has pained this child terribly."
Lu Xingzhou held her hand without saying a word, seemingly only wanting to transfer the warmth of his palm to her.
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the monk slowly walked out, saying the hypnosis on Lu Yanqing had been lifted, though his emotions weren’t quite right, so the couple should be careful when talking later.
The Eldest Princess discovered Lu Yanqing had been hypnotized after her son went to prison. She exhaustively found a monk from the Western Regions who understood this, originally planning to come over first thing in the morning. However, a spy reported that Su Yi had visited the Heavenly Prison, and the Eldest Princess knew it couldn’t be good. In a hurry to leave the residence, she encountered the Prince Consort on the way and brought him back.
Fortunately, they managed to make it in time.
Upon re-entering the Heavenly Prison, Lu Yanqing’s reaction was drastically different from before. He did not speak, leaned against the wall, hugged his knees, and hung his head low.
He seemed not to hear the sound of someone approaching, not even lifting his head.
"Yanqing." The Eldest Princess tried to make her voice as gentle as possible.
Lu Yanqing seemed to freeze for a moment, then turned his back on them, unwilling to see anyone.
"Didn’t you have questions you wanted to ask Mother earlier? Why are you silent now?"
Lu Yanqing still didn’t speak.
The Eldest Princess continued, "Mother’s visit is limited in time. If you don’t ask now, you’ll have to wait until next time."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanqing remained silent for a long while before slowly turning back. He didn’t question whether he was truly the Prince Consort’s child but instead called out "Mother," followed by tears rolling down his face.
The Eldest Princess’s heart wrenched.
But in front of her son, she held back her tears, forcing a smile on her face, "You child, you never used to be like this."
Lu Yanqing wiped his tears, looked at her, and asked, "Am I going to be sentenced to death?"
"No," said the Eldest Princess, "Your father has already spoken to the imperial envoy responsible for the case. He will do his best to save your life."
Lu Yanqing sniffled, "That master just said I was hypnotized, so no matter what Mother said, I couldn’t listen. But I know, four years ago when we went to Ningzhou to open the mine, no one hypnotized me. It was my own anger with Mother that led to the mine collapse, and then I regretted it.
After returning from Ningzhou, I had nightmares almost every night, dreaming of the bloody workers who died in the accident coming to claim my life.
I was scared, afraid of prison, afraid of being sentenced to death, but I didn’t dare to tell anyone until the Petition Drum was beaten...
Mother, I was wrong, I was terribly wrong. I shouldn’t have thought your strictness meant you didn’t love me, and I shouldn’t have always opposed you, leading to terrible consequences because of my willfulness.
Mother, I truly regret it. I don’t want to die; I want to live, to hear you reason with me again, telling me what’s right and wrong. This time, I promise to listen to you properly."
The Eldest Princess, with tears in her eyes, reached in and gently touched his head, "Yanqing, don’t be afraid. If we know we’re wrong, we’ll change. Mother will make sure you survive."
——
Several days later, the verdict for the coal mine case that had been buried for four years finally came down.
The Su Family’s Fifth Young Master was the main culprit and should have received a heavy sentence, but as he was no longer alive, someone from the Su Family had to take responsibility. Su Xiang, as the head of the Su Family, was guilty of inadequate supervision, fined for three years, and suspended from duty for one year.
Cheng Fei’s father, last year’s Champion Scholar, was also suspended for the same reason.
Su Yaojun and Cheng Fei were exiled for life three thousand miles away.
Lu Yanqing was exiled for thirty years.
This was not leniency, but because Eldest Princess Zhao Xunyin and Prince Consort Lu Xingzhou both requested to be expelled from their clan, demoted to commoners, and went to Ningzhou to keep vigil for the victims of the mine disaster for life, in exchange for the remainder of Lu Yanqing’s sentence.