Chapter 313: Chapter 287: Do Not Hate
Father!
These two words, she couldn’t say them, because in the years she looked up to Chu Yang, looked up to this supreme Venerable Emperor, her own father, she saw that he could pacify Southern Chen and march to the grassland. But beyond that majestic posture, like an immortal with heroic elegance, he was also a kind and gentle father who gave her endless love and shielded her from all the storms of the world.
Chu Yang, her father, is perfect!
How could such a perfect father, a perfect Emperor, be associated with a "colossal mistake"?
Hence, before finishing the sentence, Princess Xinyue immediately shook her head subconsciously, saying, "No, Mother, you must not be referring to Father, right?!"
"..."
Empress Jiang looked at her gently, with an ever-deepening sadness in her gaze.
After a long silence, she finally spoke softly, "No, it is him."
"..."
"Xinyue, your father has already made a great mistake, a colossal mistake. His empire, none can predict when it might crumble, and the Da Ye Dynasty, we don’t know whose hands it will end with... Mother’s wisdom cannot see so far, all I can do now is to protect my children, protect you and Fei’er."
Princess Xinyue shook her head desperately, tears streaming down like broken pearls, soon soaking their clasped hands, the wet and cold sensation making her heart heavier and more uncomfortable.
She murmured, "Mother, I don’t understand... Father is clearly so good, he is so good, why do you speak these words? How could he make a mistake?"
Empress Jiang smiled bitterly.
She gripped her daughter’s hands more tightly, almost merging the tears into her palm, the salty taste adding further bitterness to her voice when she spoke, "Saying these now is too late, Xinyue, you will understand in the future what kind of man your father truly is—of course, he is a good father, this is something you must never doubt."
"..."
"Now, I can only tell you, you and Fei’er, you must leave."
"..."
"Fei’er is still young, he won’t understand even if I talked to him. So you, as the elder sister, must comfort him well along the way, do not let him be scared. As for you, what you must do is take care of yourself."
"..."
"In the future, no matter whose world it is, you must remember one thing—"
Princess Xinyue seemed increasingly aware that an ominous feeling had become a tangible black hand, gripping her heart and clutching her life. She had never felt her life as dark as at this moment, and the only thing she could hold on to was the gentle hands of the mother who had cared for her for over ten years.
She trembled and asked, "What?"
Empress Jiang said, "Do not hate."
"...!"
Princess Xinyue trembled slightly.
Do not hate? What does it mean?
Do not hate what? Do not hate whom?
Her life had been only happiness and joy, even if tasting the bitterness of love, it was just bitterness, never hate. She couldn’t even understand the idea that time would have such emotions, but now, her mother was teaching her—do not hate.
"I—"
She wanted to say something, but didn’t know what to say, while Empress Jiang gently looked at her, saying, "Do you remember?"
Princess Xinyue seemed a bit lost, instinctively nodding, "I remember."
Empress Jiang smiled satisfyingly, "Like this, Mother can let you leave assuredly."
Princess Xinyue’s face showed a puzzled expression, "Mother, where exactly do you want me and brother to go? We have never left you, left Father."
"In the future, you must get used to leaving this palace, leaving your father,"
Empress Jiang smiled gently, and then said solemnly, "I want you to take Fei’er and leave with Feng Chen."
"Second brother!"
Upon hearing the name Yu Wenye, Princess Xinyue almost instinctively, still tear-streaked, unconsciously showed a slight smile, even teary eyes brightened a bit—though she had been frightened today, she was, after all, a young girl with experience. Just hearing the name of her beloved was enough to comfort her lost soul.
She hurriedly asked, "He, didn’t he go on an expedition?"
"Yes,"
Empress Jiang nodded, saying, "But, I have already entrusted you and Fei’er to him before."
"..."
"You just need to stay in the Eastern Capital, he will come to take you away, to protect you."
Princess Xinyue widened her eyes and said, "Then, when will he come?"
Empress Jiang looked up.
Although the inner hall where they were had only one tightly closed window, the paper on the window still let through the dull daylight outside, presumably the sky was much darker than before, probably nearly time to close the city gates.
Empress Jiang said, "He should be soon—"
A thunderous noise suddenly interrupted her words.
The two people in the inner hall were startled, not knowing what had happened. They merely saw the huge windows tremble along with the booming sound.
What happened? Thundered?
But it’s winter now, how could it thunder?
Empress Jiang steadied herself and immediately called out, "Someone!"
Immediately, Eunuch Lu and the palace maid Yuan Cui hurried in, both looking somewhat anxious and unsure, clearly startled by the loud noise. Empress Jiang asked, "That sound just now, what was it?"
Yuan Cui replied, "I don’t know, Your Majesty. But it sounded like it came from the east."
"The east?"
Empress Jiang frowned. She had lived in Ziwei Palace for almost ten years and, aside from thunder, had never heard such a loud boom inside the Eastern Capital City. She immediately instructed Eunuch Lu, "Quickly send someone to find out what happened and report back immediately."
Eunuch Lu obeyed and turned to leave quickly.
Empress Jiang thought for a moment and asked Yuan Cui, "What time is it now?"
Yuan Cui answered, "It’s just past 3:45 PM, Your Majesty."
"3:45 PM...?"
That’s normally the time to close the city gates.
For some reason, a sense of ominous premonition surged in her heart. At this moment, the still-frightened Princess Xinyue gently tugged at her hand and whispered, "Mother, what happened?"
Empress Jiang thought for a moment but did not answer her immediately. Instead, she turned to Yuan Cui and said, "Go at once and summon Prince Zhao here. Also, bring over the luggage I had prepared for Xinyue and Prince Zhao."
Yuan Cui complied and hurried away.
Princess Xinyue grew increasingly uneasy and urged, "Mother!"
Empress Jiang held her daughter’s hand with a reverse grip. Although her hand was cold, it was exceptionally firm and calm at this moment, saying, "Don’t worry, we’ll discuss it once we have more information. I’m here with you."
Princess Xinyue could only nod instinctively, albeit anxiously.
A few moments later, Prince Zhao, Chu Chengfei, arrived. Although he had also heard the loud noise, he was completely unaware of the danger and excitedly ran up to them, saying, "Mother, sister, I just heard thunder. It’s winter, but it thundered!"
His innocent and joyous words resounded in the palace, contrasting starkly with the oppressive and tense atmosphere there.
After a while, their luggage was also brought over.
Since they were not going out to play, the baggage was not piled as high as in the past with large bags and boxes; instead, each person had only two or three bundles. Besides necessary clothes and items, the most important thing was the silver coins.
Empress Jiang took out a foot-square box and handed it to Princess Xinyue, saying, "All other luggage, anything can be discarded, but you must carry this close to your body no matter what. Do you understand?"
Princess Xinyue could only nod instinctively, taking the box and holding it tightly.
At that moment, a heavy set of footsteps sounded from outside, like a kind of judgment. Everyone held their breath and looked up to see Eunuch Lu leading two little eunuchs with pale faces, almost stumbling in and kneeling before Empress Jiang, "Your Majesty, it’s bad news!"
Empress Jiang immediately said, "Speak, what happened!"
"The rebel army, Liang Shide’s rebel army has come, they’re attacking the city!"
"What?!"
At this moment, Empress Jiang felt as if another deafening boom exploded above her head, but she quickly realized it was not a real sound.
It was the sound of the sky collapsing.
The people around also began to panic, their faces showing extreme terror. Princess Xinyue immediately said, "Mother, Mother, what should we do?"
Empress Jiang quickly asked, "How many soldiers are left to defend the city?"
Eunuch Lu, with a mournful face, said, "With Your Majesty gone, almost all the defending soldiers of Luoyang have been taken away, leaving less than twenty percent of the garrison troops in the Eastern Capital. They’re resisting, but—"
Before he could finish, another little eunuch ran in to report, "The city gate has been breached!"
Empress Jiang stood up suddenly, incredulous, "The city gate breached? How, how so quickly?"
Although she was not well-versed in military affairs, having experienced the battle in Yanmen County, she somewhat understood that a city as strong as the Eastern Capital could not be compared to Yanmen County. Even Yanmen County could withstand the Turkic soldiers’ frenzied assault for many days, how could the Eastern Capital be breached so fast?
The little eunuch, panic-stricken, said, "There are internal rebel accomplices in the city. They coordinated from inside and out, killing all the soldiers guarding the city gates. Now, the East City Gate is wide open; the rebel army has likely entered the city!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Chengfei started crying.
He didn’t quite understand the meaning of these words, but with his innate childlike sensitivity and perception, he was the first to break down emotionally, his wailing cries piercing everyone’s ears.
Princess Xinyue also began to cry, "Mother..."
Empress Jiang’s face turned pale, but she took a deep breath and immediately ordered in a low voice, "Quickly, prepare horses and send the Princess and Prince Zhao out of the city!"
A little eunuch obeyed and immediately ran out.
Princess Xinyue asked, "Mother, what about you?"