Chapter 387: Suisui's Background
Chapter 387: Suisui's Background
Seeing Qi King's hesitation, the Emperor sighed softly, "Take a look. It's not really a big deal, and when it comes to destiny..."
As these words came out, a slight guess formed in Qi King's mind.
He took a deep breath and picked up the thick stack of papers, examining them carefully.
Upon reading the initial information, the Qi King's eyes widened in surprise, a glint of joy in his eyes!
Soon, as he reached the latter part of the documents, his eyes remained round, but now they reflected astonishment, doubt, and skepticism.
This...
After reading everything, the Qi King's hand clutched the documents tightly, his knuckles turning white. It was a long while before he rasped, "Has this been mentioned to the younger brother of the Qing King?"
The Emperor shook his head gently, "I thought I'd ask you first, and let you decide whether to tell him or not."
The Emperor and the Qi King shared the same mother and were flesh-and-blood brothers.
Thus, the Emperor would naturally favor the Qi King.
Hearing this, the Qi King fell silent.
He actually wanted to be selfish and keep this matter a secret, never mentioning it to anyone else.
That way, Suisui would be his and his alone.
However, it had to involve the Qing King.
The investigative materials provided by the Emperor indicated that Suisui was indeed not the daughter of Chen Sanniang and Jin Yangzi.
She was...
After Chen Sanniang's own daughter passed away, she had stolen Suisui.
Not much time had passed since these events, and the people the Emperor dispatched were skilled in investigation.
With a few more visits and inquiries, many old stories could be unraveled.
Moreover, there was not just one witness, but multiple.
Back then, after Chen Sanniang's daughter died, she feared that without this child, the connection or bond she had with Jin Yangzi would be completely severed!
In her grief and despair, Chen Sanniang encountered the Qing King's wife, who was carrying her child.
At that time, the Qing King had ventured deep into enemy territory and gone missing.
Everyone assumed that he had perished in battle and would not return.
The Qing King and his wife had exchanged marriage vows but had not yet performed the grand wedding ceremony.
Due to the war, the customs in the border cities were more liberal.
So, once the couple had exchanged vows, they were considered husband and wife and could perform the marital rites. They then conceived a child.
Before the child turned one month old, the Qing King set off on a campaign.
This campaign lasted for over a year, and during this time, news of the Qing King's death reached the border cities, along with the fall of several border cities.
Grief-stricken, the Qing King's wife fled with their child, waiting for news of her husband along the way.
At that time, a maid accompanied the Qing King's wife and served the both of them.
This maid was young and playful.
On one occasion, when the Qing King's wife had stepped away to attend to other matters, she had asked the maid to watch over the child. It was then that Chen Sanniang seized the opportunity.
The maid, caught up in her playfulness, failed to notice, and by the time she realized what had happened, Chen Sanniang had already taken the child and departed for Qingzhou by horse carriage.
In truth, if the maid had confessed the truth after the Qing King's wife returned, and if she had reported the incident to the authorities, there might have been a chance to retrieve the child.
However, overcome by panic, the maid lied, claiming that a wolf had taken the child!
Determined to find her child, the Qing King's wife searched through the forests of several nearby mountains.
Alas, the child had been stolen by a person, not a wolf, so how could she possibly find any traces?
Having lost both her husband and her child, the Qing King's wife suffered a tremendous double blow.
Her mental state was not robust, and on a certain spring day, she slipped and fell into the water, ending her life.
By the time her body was retrieved, it had already swollen from soaking in the water.
The Qing King later sought out that maid.
Out of fear and a guilty conscience, the maid dared not speak the truth. Instead, she claimed that the child was lost, and the queen, driven mad by grief, had drowned after she failed to watch her closely.
During the war, there was significant population movement near the border cities, and messages were often challenging to trace.
The Qing King had sent people to investigate, and indeed, they found that a woman had lost her child and subsequently gone mad before drowning.
Heartbroken, the Qing King could only return to the city with the skeletal remains of his queen.
During that battle, he had ventured deep into enemy territory and succeeded in taking the head of their leader, causing several small countries near the border to lie low in the following years.
He had made great contributions to the Xia Dynasty.
Upon his triumphant return, he had no other requests except to marry his queen, even if it meant marrying only a memorial tablet.
Even though she was gone, he wanted to fulfill his promise to her.
Thinking back to how the Qing King had once married the memorial tablet, the Qi King felt a pang of heartache.
He always felt that the Qing King had not been taking care of himself well on the battlefield in recent years, and it was partly due to a broken heart.
His soul had left with his deceased wife and child, and he could no longer find meaning in living, yet he didn't want to die easily either.
After all, he still had responsibilities on his shoulders.
Now that the border was stable...
The Qing King no longer had the will to live, and the Qi King was actually afraid that his brother might not be able to hold on anymore.
The Qing King was different from him.
The former had gone to war at an early age and met his queen in the border city.
The couple had walked through many years together, knowing, understanding, and loving each other.
They had accompanied each other for a long time and shared a deep bond.
To the Qing King, his queen was his true lifelong partner, a soulmate.
Now that she was gone, half of his soul was missing.
Moreover, they had also lost their child prematurely.
And now, the information indicated that Suisui was that very child.
Upon realizing this, the Qi King seemed to understand.
He now knew why Chen Sanniang had never treated Suisui well when she was alive.
It wasn't because she resented Jin Yangzi for his fickleness and thus took it out on her own daughter.
How could she have loved that child, who wasn't even hers? Perhaps Chen Sanniang even felt that it was unfair her child had died while others' lived.
When the Qi King first suspected this matter, it was just a fleeting thought.
He always felt that Jin Yangzi and the Chen family didn't deserve a child like Suisui, so he asked his imperial brother to investigate.
And now, they had uncovered this truth.
The Qi King's heart felt heavy and sour.
He truly liked Suisui and cherished the daughter that fate had brought him.
But the Qing King was also his brother!
Although they didn't share the same mother, they had gotten along well over the years, and their relationship was naturally deeper than with the other brothers.
Moreover, the Qing King's experiences had been so tragic.
If he kept this secret and never spoke of it for the rest of his life, the Qi King would feel guilty and uneasy.
But if he spoke up, his beloved Suisui would become the Qing King's child.
Even though she was indeed the Qing King's younger brother's child.
However, he wasn't ready to let her go yet.
Thinking of this, the Qi King covered his face and sobbed, "Imperial brother, why is my life so bitter? I just wanted a daughter, and now Heaven won't even grant me this wish?"
With this cry, the Emperor knew the Qi King's final decision.
His brother was indeed too kind.
If it were him, and he also dearly loved Suisui, he would have been selfish and kept this secret to himself.
One couldn't blame him for being heartless; everyone had their own selfish desires.
He just wanted a daughter—was that so wrong?
(End of Chapter)
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