“I caused it?” It was rare that Fu Rou got angry.
No one understood her! Sheng Chumu thought that she was hungry for power and did not allow him to kill the Crown Princess. Now Xinnan is blaming her for harming Prince Han. No one ever thought that if they listened to her from the beginning, things would not have turned out like this!
“Yes! You!” Xinnan was not thinking, she only wanted someone to take responsibility.
“Was I the one that instigated Prince Han to kill the Crown Princess?” Fu Rou had to argue back.
“...No.” Xinnan stammered.
“Was I the one that gave Prince Han the white silk?”
“...” Xinnan swallowed, “No.”
“Then how is it that I am the one that harmed him and not that he harmed himself?” Did they think they could bully her?
Xinnan got scared by her interrogation. “You...you knew that Fourth Brother killed the Crown Princess because the Crown Princess killed Consort Han. Fourth Brother could not stand seeing the person that killed his wife continue living and was feeling pain. That was why he lost control and killed her. He had no choice.”
“The Crown Princess’ sister, Sun Lingwei, had been killed personally by the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess poisoned her jujube cakes with arsenic. What do you think the Crown Princess was thinking when she killed her own sister?”
“How...how would I know?” Xinnan could not hold her off.
“She must have been thinking that Consort Han was her enemy. Seeing Consort Han continue living must have caused her immense pain. She could not control herself and had to think of a way to get rid of Consort Han. Even if the price she had to pay was her sister’s life, it would not be a pity. The Crown Princess also felt helpless. Everyone that kills will have their own reason to kill.”
“You are being unreasonable.” Xinnan did not for a moment think that she was the unreasonable one. “I finally see through you! You are together with Concubine Yan!”
“Concubine Yan says that I am with Prince Han and now you are saying that I am with Concubine Yan. Your Highness, with the Empress’ soul watching from heaven, I will never be on anyone’s side. It is because of this fighting and scheming that people are divided. Not caring whether anything is right or wrong, they attack each other, causing even biological brothers to attempt to kill each other. Both sides are suffering. I only hope that both the Crown Prince and Prince Han have learnt a lesson and go back on the right path. They should not let the Empress down anymore.” And she only wished to leave this place forever.
“You only know how to talk about principles. Hypocritical!” Xinnan knew that she was right but she was biased towards kindness.
“What is wrong with principles? When did staying as a proper person, not lying to the Emperor, not helping people cover up their crimes become a hypocritical act? One lie requires ten other lies to cover. Ten lies would then need a never-ending number of lies to cover up. After killing the first person, you have to kill a second person to cover up. Then the third. The number of crimes will multiply to the point where there is no way to make up for it. Initially, the Crown Princess was kind as well. How did she turn into a cruel murderer that would kill even her own sister? It is because she took the wrong first step and did not know how to repent. She kept on doing one wrong deed after the other! Prince Han killed the Crown Princess and took the first wrong step. If I help him cover up, he will continue to do wrong. Will he follow the Crown Princess’ disastrous path? You are not helping him, you are harming him!” Only by facing the truth can one find the cure.
Xinnan was completely intimidated by her, “Why...why are you so fierce for? What happened to the rules? I am the princess.”
“Prince Han made a mistake. His Majesty knows it and has punished him. Things will end here and it should be a good thing. At least it is better than covering it up with paper and having the paper catch fire later on. It is better than getting punished for deceiving the Emperor.” She was not born as a noble. No matter how much reason she spoke, she was just like a gust of wind. She could not control the ending.
“You are good. I cannot argue against you. I just don’t understand. If you like someone, why can’t you do everything for him?” Xinnan shook her head and turned to leave. “If it were for Chuling, I would throw caution to the wind.”
Fu Rou was finally silent. She already knew Sheng Chumu would hate her even more after this.
Chapter 82.2: Principles
Sheng Chumu nimbly climbed up a tree and looked over the tall wall. He saw Prince Han sit by himself at the stone table, drinking wine. He looked to be free of worries. Sheng Chumu finally relaxed. He retrieved a small jug of wine from his waist. Leaning back against the tree branch, he started to drink.
This morning, the Emperor had rewarded a bunch of people and he was included. However, he was unhappy. His sister and Chujun were no longer around. What meaning would another title and more rewards have?
After thinking through everything that had happened, he felt that there was something still amiss. Both the Crown Prince and Prince Han had suffered immensely.
Prince Han suddenly muttered to himself, “For my consort, I hate my own brother to the core. I finally beat him but realised the true conspirator was the Crown Princess.” He chuckled to himself, “Crown Princess, you deserve to die! You poisoned your own sister, framed my consort and instigated the Crown Prince and me to kill each other. Don’t you think you deserve to die? But Crown Princess, why did you have to do all these evil deeds? I have never ever thought of becoming the Crown Prince. Never!”
Sheng Chumu coughed and dug his ear. Why does this Brother-in-law talk so loudly to himself?
Prince Han heard him and shook his head, standing up. “Imperial Father reprimanded me and said that I was inhuman and lacked virtue to kill my own sister-in-law. So what if I lack virtue? After all, I never thought of becoming the Crown Prince and don’t care about my reputation. If I were to be given another chance, I would still kill her and take revenge for my consort. But although I have taken revenge, I will never be able to drink the soup that my consort made ever again. If you have someone you love, you must treasure them. Fighting, jealousy, disagreements are nothing big. As long as the person you like is still alive, you will have a chance to meet. That is a huge blessing. Do you understand?”
No one replied to him.
Prince Han decided to just shout, “Chumu, did you hear me?” He knew that he was on the tree.
Sheng Chumu could not help but speak. “Brother-in-law, lower your voice. You have been punished by the Emperor to be in house arrest. If you alert the guards watching over you, your punishment will be harsher.”
Prince Han did not care. “I am now a broken jar, they can punish me however they like. I am telling you, don’t bear a grudge on Court Lady Fu. She stopped you from killing the Crown Princess for your own good. I am the son of the Empress and after doing all that, I ended up like this. If you were the one that took action, you would have been executed. Court Lady Fu saved you. She must still have you in her heart.”