Chapter 361.1: Stabbing the Knife In Quick Succession
Without waiting for Noble Consort Su to say anything, Li Hong Yuan just turned his gaze towards Jing Wan. Seeing Jing Wan stained with blood, her appearance messy, the dark currents around him turned into a violent whirlwind, and he didn’t want to restrain it in the slightest, “What happened?” To dare touch his darling, even Le Cheng Emperor wasn’t allowed to.
In Noble Consort Su’s eyes, this kind of Li Hong Yuan, she really has never seen before, so naturally felt incomparably shocked, her heart violently beating. Rather, it wasn’t that she was scared, just constantly feeling that something bad might happen. Not ‘bad’ in the ordinary sense, but rather something that she won’t be able to accept. She rather wanted to say a bit of something. Unfortunately, her son didn’t cooperate. This son clearly just had his wife in his heart and eyes. She strangely felt that it was seemingly like ‘the son now having a wife, forgetting the mother’. Noble Consort Su also faintly felt sour inside.
Jing Wan looked to Li Hong Yuan and smiled, “How come wangye just came over this soon?”
“This prince right now just want to know what happened.” Outside, he’d ran into the people serving by Jing Wan’s side, their steps in a hurry, even carrying injuries. Li Hong Yuan simply didn’t ask, increasing his pace, just worrying that something will happen to Jing Wan. Although he knew that Noble Consort Su couldn’t possibly do anything, this kind of worry still won’t disappear.
Jing Wan raised her hand, “Don’t worry, this isn’t my blood.”
“Luo Jing Wan, the main point.” Li Hong Yuan suddenly raised his voice.
This was the first time, the first time Li Hong Yuan called her by her full name like this. It can be seen, at this very moment, he really was ruthlessly angered, and perhaps might lose control at any time.
Li Hong Yuan’s anger somewhat exceeded Jing Wan’s expectation. He shouldn’t be unable to make out her situation right now. She clearly was perfectly fine.
historical
However, what Jing Wan didn’t know was that seeing her stained with blood instinctively struck a certain nerve of his.
That was the forbidden territory in the depths of Li Hong Yuan’s memories. As long as that day still hasn’t come to pass, as long as everything hasn’t settled completely, it was impossible for Li Hong Yuan to put down. If in a slight moment of carelessness, it gets touched upon, then it might explode. And with this explosion, don’t know how many people will suffer a calamity.
“It’s nothing, just an old wicked slave getting physical with me, that’s all.” The scene Jing Wan built up, wasn’t it precisely for the sake of ‘complaining’.
This kind of clumsy and completely careless ‘setup’, would Li Hong Yuan not be able to make out? After seeing through at a glance, he completely believed his wife, and would even cooperate to the end. He will use actual actions to tell everyone, in any situation, his wife’s words were just the truth. Even if wrong, it was still right, and if right, it was further right.
Li Hong Yuan’s gaze, like the edge of a blade, looked towards that old palace maids that had slightly moved a little farther away from Jing Wan. That gaze was just genuinely looking at a dead person. “Someone come, have this old wicked slave dragged out for this prince, and beat........fifty times with the rod.”
‘To death’ changing to fifty, that was also giving Noble Consort Su face. Although it sounded a bit better, but with the living Enma personally issuing the order, if the people carrying out the punishment dare to hit lightly, then later, that rod might just land on their own bodies. As such, after that fifty beating with the rod, the chance of still being able to live was practically next to nothing.
Jing Wan couldn’t help but clench her fist. To just end a human life like this, even just because of her one line, she more or less felt a bit uncomfortable inside. However, thinking again, she also just relaxed. This woman was the trusted aide among Noble Consort Su’s trusted aides, and can be said to be her right hand. The human lives that ended in her hands absolutely won’t just be one or two, and more importantly, those things that Noble Consort Su did to her husband were also done through this person’s hands. Speaking of these, it really was not worth pitying even in death. Jing Wan hardened her heart.
“Yuan’er——” Noble Consort Su’s complexion changed, her voice uncontrollably raising, appearing somewhat sharp.
“Is something the matter consort mother?” Li Hong Yuan’s face was completely blank, very much cold and indifferent.
This was the first time this son talked to her like this. Noble Consort Su, for a moment, was actually unable to speak. A moment later, “Things aren’t as what your wife said.”
“Oh? Then why don’t consort mother let someone explain to this son what the facts are like. Since you say that Luo-shi lied to this son, then trust that the people by your side absolutely won’t.”
These words sounded as if there were no problem, and one also didn’t sense Li Hong Yuan’s unusual mood, but not just one felt that his words carried thorns.
Noble Consort Su felt increasingly depressed inside. This son, since childhood, has always been close with her. Compared to others, including Le Cheng Emperor, she, this consort mother, in his heart, occupied the most important position. He was just good to her, and towards others, all not good. Even if just feelings of mother and son, it would still make one unconsciously produce a sense of superiority. Noble Consort Su would even show off in front of Le Cheng Emperor from time to time, causing Le Cheng Emperor to all feel jealous, and her mood would nevertheless be exceptionally refreshed. Clearly, this was just the most obvious way to show off.
However, now, it was clearly her daughter-in-law’s position in her son’s heart surpassing her own. Even if it temporarily still hasn’t, this son was still faintly leaning towards her daughter-in-law, so it would be strange for her to feel happy inside. Originally, she’d already gotten stabbed by Jing Wan to the point of nearly vomiting blood, and now, she just grew even colder, not hiding it in the slightest.
Li Hong Yuan frowned, and somewhat puzzlingly looked to Noble Consort Su, seemingly very confused as to why she was angry for no reason. “Consort mother, if there’s something you’d like to say, just directly say it. You know this son is the most annoyed with guessing a woman’s thoughts. You being like this will only make this son mistakenly think that returning to the capital after being away for half a year, you not only didn’t miss this son, but even began to dislike this son.”
Did Noble Consort Su have motherly feelings towards Li Hong Yuan? Certainly, but precisely because there were feelings, Li Hong Yuan’s words were thus like a knife, repeatedly stabbing into Noble Consort Su’s heart, the blood directly spilling, making her nearly suffocate from the pain.
Jing Wan silently took it all in. Her own husband was the true acting king, even the kind that deliberately stabbed people, and yet, the person getting stabbed can’t even criticize him, because he didn’t know, because he was being ‘unintentional’. That’s why, you even need to pretend as if nothing happened.
Jing Wan inwardly lit a candle for Noble Consort Su in her heart. However, Jing Wan didn’t sympathize in the slightest. For Noble Consort Su, all of this was all deservedly so.
If Noble Consort Su, from the start, just didn’t put in feelings, letting the relationship between them be just the same as the relationship between the other princes and her, even if just mother and son in name, then whether it was dull like water, or becoming enemies, it was all irrelevant, because that couldn’t be more normal. And from the start, her wanting to borrow this foster son to solidify her favor from Le Cheng Emperor, when it comes to the imperial harem, this was actually also nothing, and Li Hong Yuan simply didn’t care either. Yet, Noble Consort Su just had to treat this foster son wholeheartedly, and not at all inferior to her own son. Then, she just shouldn’t have done those unnecessary things.
If without those two superfluous matters, even if Noble Consort Su in the end chooses to assist her own son onto the throne, Li Hong Yuan probably wouldn’t care either, and would even assist Li Hong Ming, just like the Li Hong Yuan of the past life prior to learning the truth.
Ruthless and merciless, not recognizing one’s own family, malicious and cruel, viewing human life as weed, and so on, the reason why Li Hong Yuan became this terrifying, more than half the reason all fall on Noble Consort Su. Of course, all of this was the cause of the past life. In this lifetime, it naturally won’t have the slightest influence towards him. Moreover, he also didn’t feel there was anything wrong with his own temperament.
Li Hong Yuan, in this lifetime, strove to remain calm and collected. Even if ‘innocently’ provoking Noble Consort Su, he really wasn’t interested in specially doing so. Just, since it just so happened to involve his wife, then sorry, he further won’t hold back.
“Yuan’er saying these words, what difference is there from gouging out consort mother’s heart?” Noble Consort Su was deathly pale. Her heart truly ached a lot.
“Consort mother, please forgive. As the saying goes, ‘the son traveling thousands of li, the mother worries’. This son thought that having not met in this long, consort mother should’ve at least shown care for this son’s current situation first thing upon meeting, but in reality, such an unpleasant thing happened. This son although is too old to act spoiled by consort mother’s side, but one still feels upset inside.”
———–You should at least give this consort the opportunity to show care!
The others looked to Li Hong Yuan, more or less having the same thoughts.
Aside from Jing Wan, the others all weren’t too sure whether Li Hong Yuan’s actions were deliberate, or really just as it stands. After all, Li Hong Yuan being Noble Consort Su’s good son, that was also there for all to see.
T/N: Noble Consort Su is the type that want things both ways. She wants a loving relationship with LHY, but doesn’t want him to have the slightest threat towards her actual son. The things she did to him, in a way, were to assure that he would never become a threat to her own son, but at the same time, she also likes to pretend that she has always been a loving mother to LHY and never did anything wrong to him. It’s actually quite similar to how Le Cheng Emperor likes to pretend that he didn’t kill LHY’s birth mother and continue to reminisce about their ‘deeply loving’ relationship.