Happy Spring Every Year

Chapter 270: Unhappy Retribution

Jiang Xun had long understood the Crown Princess's intentions.

On the night of His Highness's death, he was urgently summoned to the palace. The sky-blue suit he wore was the last color His Highness left for them.

"Your Majesty, for whom are your tears shed?"

Jiang Xun spoke in a calm voice, causing Emperor Sheng's eyelids to twitch.

"Is it because of the Crown Prince whom you forced to death?"

Such a light sentence sounded like thunder in Emperor Sheng's ears, frightening him so much that he suddenly opened his eyes and stared at Jiang Xun.

But the next moment, he could no longer hide his panic, and his eyes wandered towards the entrance of the inner hall, as if he was afraid of being heard by others.

Jiang Xun couldn't help but chuckle when he saw this: "Your Majesty, are you worried that Ye'er will know about this?"

Emperor Sheng's eyes instantly fell back on Jiang Xun's face, so anxious.

Jiang Xun's face darkened and he said in a cold voice, "Ye'er is such a smart child, and Your Majesty is still trying to whitewash the situation and pretend that nothing has happened?"

His eyes swept across the tear marks in Emperor Sheng's eyes, and a hint of sarcasm appeared in his voice:

"Since you have expressed regret, what have you done over the years?"

"Knowing that the Crown Princess and Ye'er were the people His Highness cared about most during his lifetime, as a king, father, and grandfather, you allowed others to plot against them and used them as pawns!"

"Your Majesty, you clearly promised His Highness back then."

"His Highness was covered in blood, and he looked at you pleadingly, begging you to take care of him and his son. He didn't dare to take his last breath until you agreed."

"How could you break your promise to a poor dying person?"

Jiang Xun's tone became increasingly heavier and more urgent, and his tone was colder than ever before.

On the other side of the wall, Zhao Yuanye, who had originally left, had returned at some point. He was now huddled in the corner, his hands tightly covering his mouth, tears streaming down his face.

Emperor Sheng was so coldly scolded by Jiang Xun that the muscles on his face twitched slightly and his face turned pale. He opened his mouth with great effort, but no sound came out.

Jiang Xun sneered.

"In the final analysis, Your Majesty is despicable and shameless, deeply suspicious, and untrustworthy. You treat everyone as pawns, including your own children, ministers, concubines, and brothers. All of them have fallen into your game."

"It's a pity that we are human beings, not dead objects on a chessboard. Even the emperor, who claims to be a master of chess, was eventually devoured by the chess pieces!"

Emperor Sheng would not tolerate Jiang Xun's rebellion. There was a rage in his eyes. If it could be turned into substance, he would have burned Jiang Xun to ashes by now.

But a tiger with its teeth pulled out is ultimately just a rage of impotence.

Jiang Xun had already leaned forward slightly, looked directly into Emperor Sheng's eyes, and tore off his last fig leaf.

"Hidden behind all these despicable acts is the emperor's inferiority, cowardice, and jealousy!"

"Because the late emperor disliked him, and Prince Rong was exceptional, His Majesty was filled with jealousy and harbored evil thoughts. He plotted to murder the late emperor on his couch and seize the throne."

"But even the most powerful force cannot fill the cowardice in His Majesty's heart. He is especially timid in front of Prince Rong. Otherwise, how could Prince Rong help us so easily today?"

"And Your Highness..."

"It is rare in the world to see a father so jealous of his son."

"Your Highness is not a pedantic person. He once asked the Emperor if he could take a break."

"Your Majesty, do you remember what you said?"

"A ruler works tirelessly day and night, never resting. Ji'er is so lazy, how can he be worthy of being the crown prince and the future king of Dasheng?"

"His Highness was terrified upon hearing this. After returning to the Eastern Palace, he buried himself in his studies day and night until his energy ran out."

"It was His Majesty... who failed to leave Your Highness a chance to live."

"Because if Your Highness rests without permission, it would be considered disobedience, incompetence, and lack of virtue and talent. You would be punished, dismissed, or even face a more tragic fate. Your Highness doesn't dare to gamble."

"Because he has the Crown Princess and Ye'er behind him."

"Equally sensitive and cowardly, Your Highness bestows the greatest kindness upon others, while the Emperor cloaks his authority in malice and stabs everyone!"

At this point, Emperor Sheng was no longer willing to listen to Jiang Xun's words.

He closed his eyes tightly and let out a shrill roar with all his strength, trying to cover up Jiang Xun's voice and retain the last bit of his dignity.

Jiang Xun raised his lips coldly upon seeing this.

From today on, Your Majesty, please stop dreaming and hide in the lies you have woven.

The reason I can still force myself to deceive myself is simply because... I haven't received the final fatal blow yet.

And this blow should be delivered by Aji's wife and children.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xun turned his head and looked towards the entrance of the inner hall as if he had sensed something.

Zhao Yuanye's small body curled up in the corner, shaking with tears streaming down his face.

Although he had long guessed that his father's death was closely related to his grandfather, hearing the truth still made him feel heartbroken.

Until his death, the king thought of him and his mother.

But he couldn't remember his father's embrace, couldn't remember his father's smiling face, he really... missed his father so much...

Zhao Yuanye's tears welled up in his eyes. He slowly buried his head between his knees, and his small shoulders twitched constantly.

"Ye'er."

At this moment, a gentle call sounded, and then a man leaned over and hugged Zhao Yuanye tightly in his arms.

"Damn it, Ye'er..."

The Crown Princess' tears rolled down her cheeks and she raised her hand to gently stroke Zhao Yuanye's back.

"Mother concubine..."

As soon as Zhao Yuanye opened his mouth, the sobs in his mouth could no longer be hidden.

He buried his head in his mother's arms and sobbed, "Mother, what should I do? Ye'er misses father so much..."

Upon hearing this, the Crown Princess felt a surge of bitterness in her heart, and was in excruciating pain.

But the next moment, she softened her voice and said warmly, "Ye'er's father loves Ye'er too."

"He would lift Ye'er high above his head, make faces to cheer Ye'er up, and sing songs to put Ye'er to bed. He just..."

At this point, the Crown Princess also choked up.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuanye hurriedly raised his head and put on a tearful smile, unable to bear to evoke his mother's sadness again.

"Yer knows that father must love Yeer very much! Mother, Yeer wants to see the emperor again."

The Crown Princess looked at her precocious son and seemed to have made some kind of decision.

She raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face. She did not refuse Zhao Yuanye, but instead took his hand.

"Okay, then Ye'er will go with mother to see His Majesty."

When the Crown Princess led Zhao Yuanye into the inner hall, Jiang Xun had been waiting for a long time.

He did not miss the sobbing outside the hall. He bowed and then retreated neatly.

The Crown Princess nodded gently to Jiang Xun, her gratitude evident in her words.

She took Zhao Yuanye's hand and walked to the bedside, calling softly, "Your Majesty."

When the voice reached his ears, Emperor Sheng suddenly stopped talking and looked over.

When Emperor Sheng saw clearly that it was the Crown Princess and Zhao Yuanye, his heart tightened.

They must have known about it...

His throat moved, and at this moment he suddenly felt panic.

But when I think about how soft-hearted the mother and son have always been, and how even the palace people are reluctant to punish them severely, I think they would not dare to do anything so outrageous.

Although he could not move, he was still the king of Sheng State and Ye'er's grandfather!

Thinking of this, Emperor Sheng slowly exhaled. Just as he was about to speak to test the situation, he saw the Crown Princess suddenly lean over and asked him with a slightly raised corner of her mouth:

"Your Majesty, don't you find it strange?"

"Why was this the first person I saw when I woke up in the Imperial Study?"

"And why, when His Majesty was normally in good health, he became a cripple after fainting from anger?"

"Everything in this world is a cycle of cause and effect, and retribution is inevitable, Your Majesty, don't you agree?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Sheng was stunned at first.

In a flash, he slowly widened his eyes, and an indescribable look of horror overflowed from his eyes, distorting his expression.