Chapter 104
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Chapter 104: Title
When Qin Qixian returned, it was already two months later. Gu Hengbo could clearly see her change; it wasn’t in her personality but rather that she had lost weight. She was already on the thin side, and now, wearing a dragon robe, it was loose on her. Her complexion was also not good.
"Were you mistreated?" Gu Hengbo asked immediately, with a look of schadenfreude.
Qin Qixian ignored her and walked past her into the inner hall. Seeing her pale face, Gu Hengbo suddenly remembered that Little Hong’er was still behind them, so she immediately followed her in. Then she saw Qin Qixian pick up Little Hong’er from the cradle, with a fierce expression that seemed to say, "I won’t let you off the hook."
Gu Hengbo was so scared that her heart nearly stopped. "What are you doing?"
Qin Qixian looked at Little Hong’er, who was smiling at her and still had no teeth. When he smiled, he showed his gums, and his chubby little hands were mischievously pulling at her hair and trying to put it in his mouth.
Qin Qixian was stunned. Suddenly, all her anger vanished. She stood there dumbfounded, watching Little Hong’er eat her hair. Gu Hengbo walked over and, without saying a word, grabbed Little Hong’er and pulled him into her arms. However, Little Hong’er still held onto a strand of Qin Qixian’s long hair. Although the child was small, when he grabbed something, he wouldn’t let go, making it painful for Qin Qixian, who nearly cried out.
Gu Hengbo’s unfriendly expression was very clear. "Don’t even think about touching a single hair on him."
Qin Qixian, being pulled by her hair, had no choice but to take a step closer. "He’s the one pulling my hair, okay? Are your eyes blind?"
Seeing this, Gu Hengbo became even angrier. "You’re letting him eat your hair? Are you out of your mind?" Whenever she encountered anything related to Little Hong’er, her temper would instantly soar, even if the one standing in front of her was the ruler of the country.
Qin Qixian pried Little Hong’er’s chubby fingers off her hair and glared at him fiercely. "You’re just like your mother."
Gu Hengbo looked confused. "What are you talking about?"
Thinking of Zou Yuan made Qin Qixian angry. That woman actually drugged her when she wasn’t paying attention. Now this was great; she couldn’t even dare to enter the court. What if she lost control in front of the officials?
"You’ve seen Zou Yuan!" Gu Hengbo said firmly. "Does she know Hong’er is here?"
Qin Qixian sneered, her face pale. "She has no sense of danger. As long as her son is in my hands, she won’t escape, ha—"
Gu Hengbo held Little Hong’er and watched Qin Qixian’s figure nearly fly away in a manner that demonstrated her frustration. Something in her mind was on the verge of coming out, although she couldn’t quite figure it out.
Before she knew it, autumn was approaching. Gu Hengbo silently counted the days in her heart. Still, there was no news of Lian Rong. She didn’t even know what had happened outside in the past few months. Qin Qixian was fine in the palace as long as she wasn’t present. But for some unknown reason, Gu Hengbo felt uneasy. The people in the palace never disclosed anything to her. The palace servants hardly laughed or played, and there was no gossip at all. It was like sitting in prison; this feeling wasn’t new to her.
In the past, the dark and damp prison only smelled of some unpleasant decayed scents. Just when Lian Chen could hardly bear the nauseating smell of blood that had been there for months, someone finally came to take him out of that cell.
Although he had never been on the battlefield, he had seen killings over the years. However, everything before him almost overwhelmed him. He couldn’t help but roar, "Lianyang, you beast!"
Before him was a redwood coffin, surrounded by blood—some dried, some still gushing out. Thinking of the person inside, his legs trembled and gave way, forcing him to kneel on the ground. "Royal uncle—.”
As Lian Chen trembled and reached for the coffin lid, a cough interrupted him. "Don’t… don’t open it."
Lian Chen froze. "Royal uncle, you…"
"I’m fine. The poison just acted up for a bit, cough cough…" The voice from within was nearly unrecognizable if one didn’t listen carefully.
Even when poisoned and imprisoned, Lian Chen never screamed; now he felt as if his whole being had been hollowed out. He knelt beside the coffin, crying until his voice was hoarse. "Lianyang, I hope you suffer a tragic fate!"
The prison door opened, and a figure stepped in. "How touching! I can hardly hold back my tears."
Lian Chen glared at the newcomer, filled with fury. Just as he tried to stand, several people pressed him down forcefully. He shouted wildly, "She is your royal uncle! How can you treat her like this!"
Lianyang smiled upon hearing that. "Yes, she is my royal uncle. But if she obediently tells me where Gu Meisheng is, none of this will matter, right? No matter what, she is still a woman. What could she possibly offer Meisheng? Calling it a disaster for her would not even be an exaggeration."
"You scoundrel, you dare to target the royal aunt. How could you…" Lian Chen didn’t know Lianyang’s true intentions. Realizing them now made him feel suddenly weak. "You did it because of her."
Lianyang smiled innocently, the gentle and submissive demeanor from before completely gone. "Does the second brother know her whereabouts?"
Lian Chen no longer had the strength to look at him. He never imagined that Lianyang would go to such lengths because of Gu Hengbo. How did things get to this point?
Lianyang’s smile suddenly vanished. He walked over and kicked Lian Chen in the ribs. "You really do know where she is."
Lian Chen wore a sorrowful smile. "If the Empress knows that you’ve turned into this, what do you think she would feel?"
Lianyang’s veins bulged, and he lifted Lian Chen by his collar. "Don’t mention my mother!"
Lian Chen still smiled. "You’re immoral and heartless; people like you belong in the eighteenth layer of hell."
Lianyang’s expression turned cold, and he forcefully threw Lian Chen away. "You deserve to die; you all deserve to die!"
Lian Chen’s body crashed harshly against the iron railing. As he slid down, he kept one position without moving. It wasn’t until Lianyang left that he moved his fingers, saying, "Royal uncle… the third nephew is useless."
After a long while, Lian Rong’s voice finally came through. The liquid spilling from the coffin had already turned black. Lian Chen managed to turn his head to look, disregarding his pain, and almost crawled over. "Royal uncle, what happened to you?"
Lian Rong didn’t speak; instead, soft moans came from within the coffin. Lian Chen didn’t know what she looked like now or what pain she was enduring. As he wiped away his tears, he reached for the coffin lid. "Royal uncle, don’t scare your nephew. What happened to you? Let me see!" By the end, Lian Chen nearly shouted hoarsely.
"This… this is my… deserved fate. Cough cough… I owe her this. I will… I will live well. Ah Heng, cough cough… I will make it up to you." Lian Rong’s voice came out intermittently again, and Lian Chen could not stop his tears. He kept calling out "royal uncle" even until he fainted.
In the darkness, Lian Rong felt a pair of hands gently lift her. The pain in her body did not cause her to frown. In a daze, she could still hear her own laughter. If Ah Heng saw her in such a sorry state, she would surely laugh at her and proudly say, "Lian Rong, you’ll have your day too!"
But why did the person pulling her up in the dark have tear-streaked cheeks? Did Ah Heng also know how to feel pain for others? Perhaps this was better; she owed too much to her. The pain in her body made her feel somewhat better. At least it reminded her she was still alive and could think of her from time to time. If the pain went away, Ah Heng, maybe she would truly let you down.
