“Your Highness…” Fu Rou thought about it. “...has disrupted people’s dreams.”
Prince Zhou laughed at himself. “I must definitely be punished for this offense.”
“I am joking.” Fu Rou, however, spoke seriously, “The tune that you just played seemed to hide intense misery. Your Highness must be feeling unsettled.”
“Court Lady Fu, you are also concerned about me?” Does this mean that he still had hope?
Fu Rou did not reply but instead asked, “What happened?”
“Nothing happened. I just recalled stuff that happened in the past.”
He recalled the time when Fu Rou had just entered the palace and embroidered the harmonious lotus for his mother. He recalled the peaceful days when Tutor Qian was by his side, when Sheng Chumu was rumoured to have died in battle and how she begged him to bring her out of the palace with tears in her eyes. He remembered staring at her from afar as she broke down in front of Sheng Chumu’s cenotaph.
“Fu Rou, answer one question of mine.”
“Please ask your question, Your Highness.”
“Sheng Chumu’s feelings have changed and he no longer loves you. If he dies one day, will you still be as heartbroken as you were in the past?”
“Don’t say anymore.” Ultimately, she was not willing for others to talk about things that hurt her.
“Court Lady Fu, you are extremely bold, you actually dare to ask a prince to stop talking. But do you think that you and Sheng Chumu can return to how you were in the past if I keep quiet? You know that you have been hurt, why can’t you forget it? Why can’t you let your wound heal? I really don’t understand a stubborn woman like you. Do you know how I feel when I see you so persistent in carrying out your stubborn ways?”
“I am a persistent person and you already knew it.” Then why did he have to keep trying and make it impossible for them to be friends? “There is no reason for liking a person. Even if Sheng Chumu is a wound in my heart, it is a wound that belongs to me. I don’t want it to heal and I don’t want others to touch it.”
“If your wound does not heal, it will only hurt more with time.”
“I am willing to let it hurt. The more it hurts, the more I can ingrain him in my bones.”
Prince Zhou fell silent as his gaze grew more and more intense. Fu Rou was extremely uncomfortable. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
He was determined. “I want to look at you properly so as to ingrain you in my bones.”
Fu Rou turned and left.
When Prince Zhou returned to his study room, his mother was there. His mother always appeared in Lingxiao Palace at unusual times.
“It has been long since I heard you play the flute.” Concubine Yan smiled before turning serious. “There is news from the Eastern Palace. Do you know about it?”
Prince Zhou nodded.
“As soon as the Crown Prince kills Prince Han, the Emperor will abdicate the Crown Prince. Both the Crown Prince and Prince Han will be taken down and no one will be able to stop you from being the ruler of Great Tang.” All her patience and concessions over the years were finally becoming worth it.
“All credit goes to you for being able to reach the stage it is at today.” He did not know everything right from the beginning. However, Hong Yide’s death made him suspicious.
As an outsider, he could tell that there was someone sabotaging the relationship between the Crown Prince and Prince Han, causing it to deteriorate. Everything then fell into place. Wouldn't he be the person that benefited most from this? However, since he was not the one that set this up. There could only be one person; his mother!
Concubine Yan spoke warmly, “I know that you feel as if you have been pushed to a place where you cannot choose. However, son, this is reality. Everyone's the same. If you are not at the highest position, you will be controlled by others and can only feel suppressed. Don’t worry, after you become the Crown Prince, you will become the Emperor. You can then rest assured and don’t have to feel that way anymore.”
Who asked the Empress to be so overbearing and try to stifle her all the time? The Emperor was the same, if he were any further ahead, how would she and her son live? In addition, just a slight instigation could make the Crown Prince try to get rid of his own biological brother. He would not even have a hint of brotherly relationship with her Ge’er!
Prince Zhou replied blandly, “It is late. Mother, you should head back to rest.”
“Okay, I will go back. You should rest early too.” As Concubine Yan was leaving, she recalled a matter. “Sheng Chumu is like Prince Han’s arm. They always enter and leave court together. Will the assassins be targetting him too?”
“Yes.” With this answer, he fell deep into the mud.
He knew his mother did this for his sake and also understood that his current position was difficult and will be even more difficult in the future. Hence, when his mother told him about this chessboard, he did not have huge objections. He smoothly agreed to becoming a chess piece.
“Sigh, poor Court Lady Fu is going to be depressed again. But a short pain is better than a long pain right?” Concubine Yan looked at her son.
Prince Zhou lowered his eyes, remaining expressionless. He spoke politely, “Have a good night, Mother.”
He understood his mother’s efforts. However, there was also a limit to how much he could tolerate. Ultimately, he still hesitated when it came to these evil plots and the innocent lives that were implicated.
Chapter 78.2: A Mournful Song
The Crown Prince and Fu Shui were playing chess.
The Crown Prince already knew what happened with Shuangxi and Sheng Chujun. He did not blame Sun Lingshu at all. He simply wrote it as Sheng Chujun believing a despicable servant’s words and choosing to assassinate the Crown Princess. His death was deserving.
“Did the Crown Princess poison Sun Lingwei?” The Crown Prince only asked this now.
Fu Shui was about to set down a chess piece when his actions halted. “Since when did you suspect it, Your Highness?”
The Crown Prince’s eyes dimmed. “After Sun Lingwei passed away, the Crown Princess asked me a weird question. She asked me if Sun Lingwei’s death was worth it. I started to suspect it from that moment.”
Actually, it was not hard to guess. If the Han couple were to actually poison the jujube cakes, it would be like confessing without duress. At that time, he had been furious and did not think much of it. However, as time passed, he felt like something was wrong. Now, the bow had been pulled and he had no choice but to release it.
Fu Shui asked, “Since you were suspicious, why didn’t you ask the Crown Princess?”
“She is my wife and the mother of my child.” Sun Lingshu had changed. She became cruel and vicious all because of him.
He still remembered that petal rain. She was like a fairy descending on earth. If not for the precarious state that he was in, there would be no need for her to resort to such unscrupulous deeds in order to help him. Therefore, he could not abandon her.
Fu Shui suddenly said, “The Crown Princess could kill her own sister for you. Your love moves me. If one day, Your Highness needs me to die...”
The Crown Prince looked up abruptly and stared straight at Fu Shui. He cut him off, “That will never happen! I told you that we have to be close friends for life. It doesn’t matter if I am the Crown Prince or the Emperor, no matter how my status changes, you will be you and I will be me. We will play chess together and talk about our troubles. From the day when you appeared in front of me, I was grateful. Grateful that heaven returned my best friend to me. I said that I would protect you and will not let the same thing that happened to Chen Ji happen to you. I will do it and I will not change.”
Fu Shui was slightly moved. “What if you don’t change but I do?”