Chapter 134 (1/2)
Chapter 134
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The moon inched to the west as the night passed. Seeing that mysterious man off, Chu Qiao's heart froze.
King Luo?
King Luo….
By the time she returned to the palace, Qiu Sui was waiting for her. Still struggling to keep her eyes open, it was apparent that Qiu Sui knew of Li Ce's visit.
”Miss, you are back!” Seeing that Chu Qiao had returned, this maidservant jumped up and said, ”This servant had prepared some lotus soup for you. Miss, would you like to drink some before you sleep?”
Holding the warm bowl of soup, Chu Qiao suddenly lost all interest to taste the soup. Lifting her head, Chu Qiao inquired, ”Qiu Sui, do you know anything about King Luo?”
Taken aback, Qiu Sui frowned and asked, ”Lady, why did you suddenly mention this?”
”Nothing, just casually asking. If it is inconvenient, you need not tell me.”
”Sigh, it is nothing inconvenient, just that...” Even though it was clear that the palace had no eavesdroppers, Qiu Sui quickly scanned the surroundings for any other people in sight, before whispering to Chu Qiao, ”That was a scandal that occurred within the palace. Generally, no one would dare speak about it.”
Chu Qiao's eyebrow twitched. ”Scandal?”
”Indeed. Master Luo's Father King Lushan was our Emperor's uncle. When our Emperor ascended to the throne, for some unknown reason, King Lushan passed away from sickness. I heard that when our Emperor was young, he was even more nonsensical than our Crown Prince. Going against the advice of the entire court, and ignoring any morals prevalent in the world, he married his aunt. Two years later, she gave birth to our Prince, and the Emperor made her the Empress. Supposedly, on the day of her ascension to Queenship, eight of the elder officials protested by killing themselves on the Feng Ming Pavillion. But despite that, the Emperor stubbornly went ahead. Over these 20 years, the Emperor only doted on the Queen, and her position in the palace has since then been completely consolidated.”
”That is to say….”
”Yes, that is to say, that King Luo is both the Crown Prince's uncle and his half-brother. King Lushan died early, so when the Queen had just been married to the Emperor, King Luo was merely three-months-old, and before he turned 20 he had grown up with the Crown Prince.”
”Oh gosh!” Chu Qiao lightly exclaimed, while remembering the noble lady whom she had met.
”Did the Crown Prince and King Luo grow up together in this Palace?”
”That is not true either.” Qiu Sui bit her lower lip while saying, ”The Prince and King Luo were both living with the Queen in the Qianhua Palace. This Mihe Residence was actually Princess Fu's dwellings.”
Chu Qiao asked, ”Princess Fu?”
”Yes. Princess Fu was not a real Princess. She was the granddaughter of Archduke Mu Rong. The Mu Rong family was one of the greatest military families in the Tang Empire. And being fiercely loyal, General Mu Rong, along with all of his four sons, sacrificed their lives for the Empire. In his last battle, the Xia forces broke through the Bai Zhi Pass, and the Xia commander Meng Tian ordered the massacre of 30,000 of our prisoners of war. To protect the civilians, the old general Mu Rong, who was already in his sixties, along with his four daughters-in-law, lead the entire Mu Rong family in resistance of the enemy to delay them so that reinforcements could arrive. Finally, help came, but the entire Mu Rong family had been decimated, leaving behind only Princess Fu who was merely four-years-old at that time. Praising the bravery of the Mu Rong family, the Emperor posthumously promoted General Mu Rong to Archduke, along with peerage of various ranks to his family. It was then Princess Fu was given the title of Zhangyi Princess, and since then, she lived in the Royal Palace, enjoying the same treatment as Crown Prince and King Luo.”
This story was short, but Chu Qiao had been deeply shaken. This Mu Rong family must have been an existence that was similar to the Yang Family during the Song Dynasty back in her world. She was completely immersed in the story, so she asked for more, ”What happened later?”
”In the end...” Qiu Sui bit her lower lip, hesitating before finally whispering, ”And then Princess Fu died.”
Chu Qiao was completely taken aback by this development, as she exclaimed, ”Died?”
Princess Fu and the Crown Prince were of the same age and had grown up playing together, so despite her family being in shambles, the Emperor and the Queen doted on her. When she and the Prince both turned 17, they decreed their marriage, and Princess Fu was to become the wife of the Crown Prince, and her name would be entered into the royal family tree.”
Chu Qiao listened quietly, but deep down she did not feel much. Considering the influence that the Mu Rong family had in the military, this marriage would certainly help the royal family to consolidate power. That was only to be expected.
”But in the end, on the day of the marriage, Princess Fu hung herself.”
”What?” Chu Qiao could not believe the story. ”She committed suicide?”
”Indeed.” Qiu Sui's face turned pale, and she continued to elaborate, ”The Emperor's statement said that Princess Fu passed away from sickness, but this servant had been in the Palace since young, and personally witnessed everything. At that time, when the Crown Prince had reached the Mihe Residence, he was wearing a crimson red robe that exuded overwhelming auspiciousness, and happily followed after the officials. After reaching her bedroom, they still had not found the Princess. Panicking, everyone rushed around to look for her. In the end, the Crown Princes was, in fact, the first to have found her. Running to the back, they could only see how Princess Fu, in her wedding dress, was hanging on that parasol tree.”