Tan Hua - Chapter 37

“Master! Hu Nu’er has been in Xing Yue Pavilion all day long, never even seen His Majesty the Emperor. How could I possibly harm him? I can swear by my Illyrian people that if I lie, may my lineage be cut off…”

 

Hu Nu’er kept crying and pleading, tears streaming down his face.

 

Jun Qiyu was worried about the Emperor and couldn’t muster any compassion.

 

“He was poisoned because he ate the longevity peaches you made. Besides you, who else could it be?! If it weren’t for the Emperor’s good fortune, he might have…”

 

“Longevity… peaches?”

 

Hu Nu’er heard “good fortune” and lowered his head with a trace of disappointment.

 

He wiped his tears, got up from the ground, and picked up a peach from the fruit plate.

 

“Master, you watched me make the longevity peaches this morning. This plate is what’s left. If it’s really poisoned, I’m willing to die with you!”

 

With that, he quickly stuffed the peach into his mouth and swallowed it all.

 

Jun Qiyu watched coldly until Hu Nu’er had swallowed all the peaches.

 

But the result was that he stood there unharmed.

 

“Master, do you believe me now?”

 

Jun Qiyu’s thoughts were in chaos. Although Hu Nu’er had self-proclaimed innocence, it didn’t completely dispel his suspicions, but he did seem innocent.

 

Seeing him silent, Hu Nu’er knelt down directly and said, “If Hu Nu’er harmed your Majesty, why didn’t I run away? Why did I eagerly wait for your return? I’m sincere to you, wuwuwu…”

 

“Fine.”

 

Jun Qiyu finally responded.

 

“You can get up. I misunderstood you.”

 

Jun Qiyu rubbed his forehead, recalling everyone at the Longevity Banquet, but he couldn’t think of anyone else who could be the culprit.

 

Hu Nu’er approached him.

 

“Master, why don’t you think about it? The box of longevity peaches was not poisoned in Xing Lin Mansion. It was brought to His Majesty’s hands. Whose hands did it pass through on the way?”

 

Jun Qiyu shook his head.

 

“No one else! It was brought into the palace by me and Song Liqing and presented to the Emperor. No one else touched this food box…” Jun Qiyu’s pupils suddenly contracted, murmuring, “…Song Liqing? No, he wouldn’t.”

 

Hu Nu’er tentatively said, “Why are you so sure he wouldn’t?”

 

Jun Qiyu said firmly, “The Emperor is his backer. Harming him would bring no benefit to Song Liqing. Besides, the Emperor has always favored him. Logically and emotionally, Song Liqing wouldn’t do such a thing.”

 

“The purpose of the perpetrator is always beyond logic and emotion…”

 

Hu Nu’er murmured softly, observing Jun Qiyu’s expression quietly.

 

“Shut up!” Jun Qiyu was annoyed, “I don’t have time to entertain your jealous thoughts. It couldn’t be Song Liqing!”

 

Jun Qiyu didn’t know why he was so certain.

 

He just subconsciously felt… Song Liqing couldn’t be that kind of person.

 

Since Hu Nu’er had cleared himself of suspicion, Jun Qiyu didn’t stay in Xing Lin Mansion. There must be a lot of chaos in the palace.

 

Just as he was about to leave, Hu Nu’er suddenly knelt down again and knocked his head heavily.

 

“Master! Hu Nu’er originally didn’t intend to stir up trouble between you and the Crown Princess, but… but with such a big event, Hu Nu’er can’t hide it from you anymore!”

 

Hu Nu’er, with a tearful voice, seemed to be forced to speak out.

 

“What else do you have?” 

 

Jun Qiyu’s mind was preoccupied with the safety of the Emperor, so he had no time to argue with him.

 

Hu Nu’er raised his head, looking terrified, trembling.

 

“The Crown Princess… she… she is… the descendant of the former emperor of the Central Plains!”

 

“What?” Jun Qiyu frowned, “Are you talking nonsense? If you continue to spread rumors and stir up trouble, I’ll cut off your tongue!”

 

Hu Nu’er said fearfully, “Master… Hu Nu’er dares not speak nonsense. I only revealed this because I couldn’t bear to see you deceived and your loved ones harmed! The Crown Princess is indeed the true descendant of the former emperor!”

 

Jun Qiyu was furious about the Emperor’s assassination, and upon hearing this news, the first reaction was to draw a sword hanging on the wall. With a clang, the blade was already against Hu Nu’er’s neck.

 

“I said, if you keep talking nonsense, I’ll cut off your tongue!”

 

“Even… even if you kill me now, I will still say the same.” Hu Nu’er said tearfully, “If I can use my life to tell you one truth, it’s worth it!”

 

Hu Nu’er’s solemn oath made Jun Qiyu’s heart soften slightly. After weighing for a moment, he slowly put away his sword.

 

Hu Nu’er hurriedly said, “The Crown Princess is not General Song’s biological son at all!”

 

“Nonsense,” Jun Qiyu said impatiently, “He was adopted by General Song since childhood. What could you, a person from Illyria thousands of miles away, possibly know?”

 

Hu Nu’er cautiously said, “It’s because I was in the desert that I encountered that woman…”

 

“What woman?” Jun Qiyu asked.

 

“I don’t know her name, but I know that when the Central Plains changed dynasties and Xuan Emperor ascended the throne, many people from the former dynasty were exiled to the border regions, and she was one of them. Later, I found out that she was a concubine of the former emperor. When she was exiled to the desert, she was already pregnant, and her belly was big. She gave birth to the child during the chaos of war. Just after giving birth, she was captured by our Illyrian army, but the baby didn’t die… Later, General Song brought him back to the capital to raise him, and he became the Crown Prince later… your current Crown Princess… Song Liqing!”

 

Hu Nu’er spoke fluently, without any hesitation, unlike someone making up a story on the spot.

 

Jun Qiyu was left stunned. He stood still for a long time without speaking or moving.

 

Finally, he shifted his gaze to Hu Nu’er’s face, trying to find any flaws in his expression that would indicate lying.

 

“How could it be such a coincidence… You and I weren’t even born at that time. It sounds like you saw it with your own eyes?”

 

Hu Nu’er shook his head vigorously. “No no no, I didn’t see it. That woman was quite beautiful and was offered to my father king. My father king said that she went mad after a few years. When I knew her, she was already crazy, claiming to be the consort mother, laughing and crying all day long. She said she gave birth to the emperor’s dragon seed and could become a consort. She also said her child was missing, and she searched everywhere. When she saw a child, she would go and grab their neck, saying her son had a mole on his neck… My father king drove her out of the palace. It was winter at that time, and the rivers in Illyria freeze three feet thick. Her body was found in the ice of the Sili Pasture Lake… I was seven years old that year.”

 

After Hu Nu’er finished speaking, he sobbed twice, then wiped the tears from his face.

 

Jun Qiyu murmured, “A mole on the neck… Song Liqing also has a mole on his neck.”

 

Jun Qiyu couldn’t accept it for a moment. Could Song Liqing really be the illegitimate son of the former emperor?

 

“The first time I saw the Crown Princess, I didn’t think much about it,” Hu Nu’er continued after a pause, “Later, I learned from you that the Crown Princess is General Song’s adopted son, and then I remembered this old story.”

 

Jun Qiyu followed that line of thought, shocked.

 

“Are you saying that Song Qing knew he was the former emperor’s descendant?”

 

“I can’t be sure about that… General Song has been in the northwest for so many years, he probably knows,” Hu Nu’er replied.

 

If that was the case, Song Qing’s purpose in adopting Song Liqing must not have been pure! He secretly kept the bloodline of the former emperor by his side and tried every means to marry Song Liqing to himself… it was despicable!

 

Jun Qiyu dared not think further.

 

“If you knew all this, why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

 

Hu Nu’er said with grievance, “I was only speculating and didn’t dare to assert. Besides, if I said it, you would definitely think I was framing the Crown Princess. If it weren’t for such a big event happening, and your Majesty being harmed without finding the real culprit, where would I dare to mention it?”

 

Jun Qiyu suddenly realized… If Song Liqing was the son of the former emperor, then he had a motive for harming the Xuan Emperor.

 

When the Xuan Emperor rebelled and overthrew the former dynasty, it was killing the father and usurping the throne!

 

Suddenly, all memories about Song Liqing rushed to Jun Qiyu’s mind.

 

His head was spinning, and he didn’t believe anyone now!

 

Jun Qiyu looked up with a cold gaze.

 

“Hu Nu’er,” Jun Qiyu said each word slowly, “You, too, are an enemy of the state, just like killing the father and usurping the throne.”

 

Hu Nu’er’s body stiffened, his sweat pouring down. It felt like his heart was pierced by that gaze.

 

“Master… You may not believe me, but there will be traces in the archives. You can verify whether there was a consort named Wenpin during the former emperor’s reign, and if the timing matches. At the very least, you can ask General Song…”

 

Jun Qiyu would naturally verify it.

 

“If you dare to fabricate a single word, I will show you what hell on earth looks like.”

 

Watching Jun Qiyu’s figure disappear into the darkness, Hu Nu’er broke out in a cold sweat. His knees were weak, and he could barely stand.

 

“It was risky, but I won.”

 

Hu Nu’er muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear.

 

…

 

Jun Qiyu went straight to the Wenhui Hall, where all the archives were kept. Every detail was recorded, and he found the archives left by the former dynasty.

 

Jun Qiyu flipped through them page by page, his heart burning with urgency, so he accidentally damaged many pages.

 

But the more he searched, the heavier his heart became.

 

Because there was indeed a favored consort of the former emperor recorded in the archives, but the last record of her was when the former emperor favored her after getting drunk.

 

As for whether she was pregnant with the Emperor’s seed, there was no way to know because the war broke out, and the former dynasty fell soon after.

 

Jun Qiyu closed the archives and threw them back on the shelf.

 

Hanging on the shelf was a portrait of the former emperor.

 

His facial features were unsurprisingly similar to Song Liqing.

 

…

 

Jun Qiyu returned to the Taihe Hall late at night.

 

He walked into the inner hall dazedly, silently watching Song Liqing busy back and forth. He was talking to Qi Mai at one moment, preparing tea and medicine at another, and then bringing a basin of water to cool the Emperor’s forehead.

 

Just as Song Liqing wrung out the cloth, his wrist was grabbed tightly by someone.

 

He turned around to see Jun Qiyu.

 

“Your Highness, the poison in His Majesty cannot be removed, and he is still unconscious. You…”

 

Song Liqing had just said a few words when he realized that Jun Qiyu’s face was unusually grim and cold.

 

“Qiyu…”

 

“Guards.”

 

Jun Qiyu uttered a command expressionlessly.

 

“Take Song Liqing to the dungeon.”

 

Author’s Note:

 

Warning again…