allonlinenovel Chapter 253 Revenge
Chapter 253 Revenge
The conversation between the two was like the gurgling of a stream, and their laughter danced lightly in the air, but they were completely unaware that someone had stopped silently outside the door, and that figure carried endless heaviness and complexity.
Emperor Xuan's steps became unsteady the moment he stepped out of the courtyard gate. His figure stretched out in the moonlight, with a bit of panic.
In order to avoid attracting Su Wanyu's attention, he bent down cautiously, like a wounded beast, and hid quietly behind the rockery in the backyard.
With his back against the cold and hard rock wall, Emperor Xuan's eyes lost focus, as if he was lost in an endless void, as if even his soul was pulled away by this sudden truth.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment, until warm tears silently ran down his face, bringing a hint of coolness. He seemed to wake up from a dream and return to this cruel yet real world.
"Is it me? Is it really me who harmed my sister?"
He murmured softly, his voice full of self-questioning and pain, his face twisted with guilt and confusion.
The brief conversation just now was like a brand that could not be erased from his mind: "When Zhian pushed for your marriage with the Zheng family, I chose to remain silent. If I had taken action earlier, you might not have suffered all their hardships."
These words were like a sharp blade, piercing his heart.
He thought his marriage was a symbol of power and glory, but unexpectedly it was the beginning of all suffering.
He couldn't imagine what kind of torture could make his usually strong sister show such vulnerability and despair.
He originally thought that his sister insisted on divorcing Zheng Chengyan only because of the other party's past incident of taking a concubine, but he did not expect that the forbearance and sacrifice behind this far exceeded his imagination.
An unprecedented pain and regret flooded his heart like a tide. As an emperor, his guilt about this marriage was infinitely magnified at this moment, and his heart was torn.
He took a deep breath, and taking advantage of the palace servants' momentary negligence, he swiftly dragged the maid Yun Yi, who happened to be passing by, into the shadow of the rockery.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?!"
Yun Yi's exclamation echoed in the small space, full of disbelief.
Xuan Di's eyes were slightly red, and one hand involuntarily strangled her throat, with an uncontrollable chill in his tone: "Zheng family, what did they do to my sister?!"
Yun Yi looked confused: "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
Emperor Xuan's eyes flickered subtly, and he relaxed his grip a little: "Sister, tell me how the Zheng family tortured her in her past life, but I am confused. Can you tell me in detail?"
Yun Yi gently stroked her throat, which felt a little uncomfortable due to the sudden fright, and her head was buzzing.
She mistakenly thought that her master had told the emperor everything that had happened in the past, so without giving it much thought, she told him everything she knew.
Although she did not know everything, she kept nothing back about the most critical and cruel parts.
For example, Zheng Chengyan looked down on his sister because of her merchant family background, and her wedding night was filled with humiliation instead of love.
The Zheng family married Jiang, a woman from a small family, as their second wife and forced their sister to abdicate.
There was also how the Zheng family, after seizing the generous dowry, imprisoned my sister in the backyard and subjected her to all kinds of inhuman abuses under the pretext that she was suffering from insanity.
However, Yun Yi was not very clear about the specific methods of torture.
She could only vaguely remember the food that even pigs and dogs disdained. That was how the Zheng family treated her sister.
As Yun Yi recalled and narrated, she did not notice that the emperor's eyes had gradually turned red, as if blood was about to drip.
"By the way, they even pierced my sister's scapula. How painful that must have been."
"enough!"
The emperor interrupted her abruptly, his voice filled with uncontrollable anger and pain, "Enough, stop talking! Enough!"
His back was against the cold rock wall, tears rolled down his cheeks like pearls from a broken string, and his body was shaking uncontrollably due to the fluctuations of his emotions.
Yun Yi raised his head suddenly, realizing something was wrong: "Your Majesty...you lied to me! Miss never told you this?"
The emperor raised his head, his eyes as cold as a knife: "Don't tell my sister about this. If you disobey, I will send you to the Far North for marriage, so that you and my sister will never see each other again in this life!"
Yun Yi quickly knelt on the ground and repeatedly assured: "Yes, I won't tell you, I won't tell you, I don't want to go anywhere, I just want to stay with the young lady."
"Your Majesty, please don't blame the young lady. It's not that she doesn't want to tell you, she's just afraid of you..."
"I know, so I hope you won't tell her that I already know."
The emperor tried hard to control the anger that was about to get out of control, suppressed the pain and self-blame in his heart, and slowly turned around.
"You have to understand that I am different from my sister. Once I make a decision, I will definitely take action."
Yun Yi was trembling all over. She was not afraid of death, but she was afraid of being separated from her young lady. "As long as the emperor doesn't let me leave, I will never say a word."
The emperor nodded gently: "Don't worry, I can't take back my words once they've been spoken."
After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "You can go down."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Yunyi left in a hurry, his steps were unsteady and he felt mixed emotions.
The emperor collapsed in the dust, tears streaming down his face, and suddenly a hideous and complicated smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Hehe! Haha! Zheng Chengyan! The Zheng family! The Zheng family!"
This laughter contains the joy of revenge and a vow for the future, as well as indescribable bitterness and sorrow.
"If I had known this earlier, I would have killed your entire family and turned them into ashes!"
There was a ferocious smile on his lips, as if he was a Shura from hell, and his voice was filled with unquestionable ruthlessness and determination.
After saying this, he burst into laughter that shook the sky. The laughter seemed particularly harsh in the quiet night, as if it was going to tear apart the tranquility of the night.
The laughter stopped abruptly, and he suddenly straightened his body, like a leopard waiting for an opportunity, and climbed up the rough branches nimbly with amazing agility.
As his figure silently merged into the dark night, as if nothing had happened, only those words echoed in the air, full of threat and ominousness.
Returning to the majestic and magnificent palace, the emperor waved his sleeves and summoned the most secretive secret guards, his eyes flashing with irresistible orders: "Go, quietly bring the two boys of the Zheng family to me. Remember, move quietly and don't alarm anyone, especially the princess. Don't let any wind leak out."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The secret guard answered respectfully, and the scabbard tapped the ground lightly, making a crisp sound. He then turned around and disappeared quietly like a ghost in the night, leaving only a faint shadow that flashed by in the moonlight.
Then, the emperor sent the old eunuch Jiang Gonggong to ask, "Did Lord Zheng's journey back to Beijing go smoothly?"
Eunuch Jiang responded respectfully: "Your Majesty, Lord Zheng unfortunately encountered plague on the way and has now passed away."
The emperor's face was as calm as an ancient well when he heard this, but a trace of imperceptible gloom flashed across his eyes. He said coldly: "This is a bargain for him. Go, bring his remains back to the capital and bury him properly."