~ THE TRUTH SHOULD NOT BE BURIED ~
Grand Princess Yi De gently closed her eyes, gripped the incense in her two hands, and respectfully bowing to Buddha. “Even if there is only a sliver of hope, I am still willing to believe in Buddha wholeheartedly. Even if..…even if I can’t get the child back, I hope she can be safe and carefree in the place where I can’t see her....”
At this moment, she was no longer the Grand Princess. She was just a mother who had lost her child for many years and cannot find any news of her..…
Yue Wang went forward to help put the incense into the incense burner in front of him and then accompanied the Grand Princess to recite the Buddhist scriptures and pray for blessings.
“Imperial Aunt, it’s getting late. Let’s go back.”
The Grand Princess Yi De opened her eyes and took a little breath of air. After bowing once more to Buddha, she stood up and said, “Many thanks, Great Master Yuan Guang, for waiting here every year.”
Ever since her daughter had been lost, she had come to Baohua Temple every year to make a wish, and the abbot Yuan Guang has also waited here every year. Other than the appearance of the two of them, the rest had never changed for more than 30 years.
The Great Master Yuan Guang smiled but did not speak, only slightly bowing.
When the Grand Princess Yi De turned to leave, she caught a glimpse of the Buddhist scriptures on the incense table from the corner of her eye. One of the scrolls was slightly opened, revealing the extraordinarily graceful little regular script with flowers in it. She was able to tell at a glance that this was a woman’s handwriting. But the font was not the same as the common boudoir women, which empty, tangible, and lacking in strength. On the other hand, it had a unique edge to it that made it especially refreshing.
The Grand Princess Yi De said softly, “These Buddhist scriptures?”
Yue Wang picked up the scroll and placed it in front of the Grand Princess. There was a faint soft look in his eyes. “It was written by Miss Mu for her grandfather’s blessings.”
The Grand Princess Yi De took a look at it, then looked at the high pile of Buddhist scriptures on the table, with a smile on her face: “Filial piety is rare. I think the words written on this Buddhist scripture are exceptionally likable. Take this scroll for me, Jun Yue. You can tell Mu Yunyao at a suitable time tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
After exiting the prayer hall, Grand Princess Yi De turned her head to look at Yue Wang. “Jun Yue, you’re not young anymore. There should be someone by your side to take care of you.”
“Imperial Aunt, I’m not in a hurry.”
“Previously, when you said that you were not in a hurry, I actually felt that it was believable. But now, you aren’t in a rush either?” As Grand Princess Yi De spoke, her eyes rested on the Buddhist scripture in Yue Wang’s hands, “That Mu Yunyao is actually quite an astute child. She doesn’t look too bad, but her background is rather low....”
Yue Wang’s body stiffened, and his expression became even more gentle: “I … I don’t care about her background.” Facing the Grand Princess Yi De, who had doted on him for so many years, Yue Wang did not want to hide his thoughts.
The Grand Princess Yi De laughed softly, “No wonder you had to put so much thought into it today. It’s just that you deliberately arranged for her to see me, but she doesn’t seem to appreciate it.”
When Yue Wang had previously said that she did not have a cape in Lingxi River, she noticed something unusual. She originally thought that Mu Yunyao would pass her cloak over to her out of flattery. But she did not expect that the other party would be completely unmoved and left very happy afterward.
When she saw the scriptures that she had copied in the prayer hall, coupled with the look of Yue Wang when he mentioned the other party, she immediately understood his intention.
“Although she is still young, she has a strong temper. She always has her own plans when she speaks and doing things. I originally wanted to make her feel a bit more at ease. But it seems that I have been overdoing it.” As Yue Wang said that, he did not sound dissatisfied at all. Instead, there was a little more admiration in his heart.
Nowadays, the Capital was in an uproar. Almost all the young ladies of the official families had squeezed their heads out, wanting to perform a little more in front of Imperial Aunt, but only Yunyao was out of the ordinary.
Seeing his expression, the smile on the Grand Princess Yi De’s face deepened. “You’re not planning to return to Western Guangdong this time, are you?”
“Yes, I want to stay in the Capital. Firstly, to take care of Yunyao, and secondly…secondly, I want to investigate the cause of my mother’s death that year.”
In the deep darkness of the night, the surrounding pilgrims had already returned to their respective rooms to rest.
The Grand Princess Yi De went to the stone bench beside the ginkgo trees and sat down. She sighed softly, “I know that one day you will come back to this place, and one day you will want to find out what happened in the past.”
Yue Wang stood in front of the Grand Princes Yede and helped her to block the night wind. “Imperial Aunt, regarding the cause of death of my mother, I must investigate it thoroughly.”
The Eldest Princess Yi De slightly lowered her eyes. Under the night sky, her face seemed somewhat blurry, and no one could clearly see the turbulent emotions that flashed through her eyes. “I already knew that this day would come....”
“Imperial Aunt, I’m sure you are aware of what happened that year. However, you have been secretly watching me for so many years, and yet you are unwilling to tell me the truth about what happened that year.”
“So many years have passed, is the truth still that important?”
“To others, it might not be important anymore, but for Mother and me, no matter how many years have passed, it’s just like a sore throat.” Yue Wang’s tone was firm, with a hint of coldness in his voice. “I do not believe that Mother will persecute my father’s heirs. If Mother really can’t tolerate others as the rumor says, she wouldn’t wait for the princes to grow up before taking action, and even then, choose to be pregnant with me....”
He had been born in the Cold Palace. Later, he had heard from Steward Qin and Eunuch Chen, who had taken care of him since he was young, that his mother had been sentenced to death shortly after giving birth to him. The reason was that his mother had worried that the princes who had already grown up would become a threat to her children. So when she was four months pregnant, she simply poisoned the ten grown-up Imperial Brothers to death, which was why she was so detested by his Imperial Father. Imperial Father didn’t even care that she was pregnant and directly locked her in the Cold Palace, waiting for the pregnancy to finish, and bestowed her the poisoned wine.
This matter had caused too much trouble at first and had even shaken the very foundations of the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court was filled with a miasma of smoke, and several large families had joined hands to pressure their Imperial Father, hoping to directly execute his mother. If it wasn’t for the Grand Princess Yi De’s intercession, he might not have been born. That’s why the current princes are relatively young.
The Grand Princess Yi De slightly opened her mouth, but then she swallowed down the words that were about to leave her mouth, “I know I can’t persuade you, but sometimes the truth is even crueler....if you find out about it, it might not be beneficial to you....”
“Imperial Aunt, I know that you won’t tell me, must be for my own good. But as a son, I can’t see my mother being wronged and not doing anything. Please understand me. I want to investigate!”
The Grand Princess Yi De slightly shook her head, “If you want to investigate, then go ahead and investigate it. According to your character, no matter what you find out in the end, you’ll be able to endure it. Come on. It’s getting late, go back and have a rest early. I will tell your Imperial Father not to send you back to Western Guangdong.”
“Thank you, Imperial Aunt.”
“Listen to my advice. Don’t get angry with your Imperial Father. He arranged for you to stay in Western Guangdong all these years, and he has his own reasons....”
“Imperial Aunt, there’s a gust of wind. I’ll send you back.”
The Grand Princess Yi De stopped talking and nodded her head helplessly. “Let’s go.”
Intriguing yet sad 😥
ReplyDeleteI feel like the emperor actually loves Wang Yue the most and sent him away to be protected because if he showed that he loves him he might become the target of everyone after all he's also the empress' son. The reason why the empress' was punished might be something bigger and she willingly accepted the blame to protect the emperor and her son.
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