Nong Nu Jiao

Cen Lingyi sat in front of Yan Chenghui.

On the palace road, the two eunuchs ran at full speed.

"Ask them."

Cen Lingyi reminded Yan Chenghui.

There are rules for serving in the palace; eunuchs wouldn't run around like this unless there was something to do.

"Why are you running? What happened?"

Yan Chenghui reined in his horse and asked.

The two men initially ignored him, but when they glanced to the side and saw that it was Yan Chenghui, they were so frightened that they immediately knelt down.

"Your Highness, it is the Imperial Concubine who has ascended to the Star-Picking Pavilion. His Majesty has decreed that we servants should carry thick cotton quilts to wait below."

One of the eunuchs replied.

Yan Chenghui remained silent, pulled on the reins, and urged his horse straight north.

The Star-Picking Pavilion is located on the north side of the palace and is the highest point in the entire palace.

Upon hearing the eunuch's words, Cen Lingyi's heart tightened.

The Star-Picking Pavilion... with its thick quilts, does the Imperial Concubine intend to jump from such a height?

She guessed it, but dared not say a word, and did not know how to comfort him.

No wonder the Imperial Concubine spoke so much to her today and gave her so many things.

Sure enough, she was determined to die.

The huge Zhaixing Pavilion was surrounded by many palace servants and guards.

A dozen or so palace maids worked together to carry a neatly stacked thick cotton quilt and waited below.

On the high platform of the pavilion, Xiao Yulou leaned against the railing, her clothes fluttering in the wind.

"Your Highness, I beg you to come down! Why are you treating yourself like this? Everything can be discussed. Please don't do this to yourself..."

Wang Yun knelt on the ground, looking up and pleading bitterly.

After dinner, the Imperial Concubine suddenly felt like changing into a nice outfit and taking a stroll in the palace to relax.

She and Wangyue assumed that the Empress had come out for a stroll because she had met Miss Cen and His Highness the Crown Prince that day, and had given Miss Cen many gifts.

They didn't think much of it.

As a result, the Empress brought them to the Star-Picking Pavilion and told them to wait downstairs while she went up to enjoy the breeze and the night view.

By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late.

The Star-Picking Pavilion is five stories high, making it the tallest building in the entire palace. After the Empress entered, she locked every door.

They were terrified and could only cry and beg, sending someone to report to His Majesty.

"Your Highness, please think of Miss Cen, think of His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Young Prince. How can they accept this..."

Wang Yue, too, stood to the side, wiping away tears as she looked up and offered words of comfort.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't..."

"The Imperial Concubine is the most favored concubine in the palace, so don't do anything rash..."

"His Majesty will be here soon. What does the Imperial Concubine wish for? She may speak to His Majesty..."

The others also joined in the persuasion.

Xiao Yulou, atop the Star-Picking Pavilion, remained oblivious to the commotion.

She looked up at the brightly lit palace.

This palace has imprisoned her for so many years; it is her cage, and even more so, the shackles of her lifelong suffering.

Back then, Emperor Shengwu forcibly seized her, cruelly breaking up their good match, and she was locked within these four red walls ever since, never to rise again.

Now, even with her son risking his life and Cen Qingshan's son achieving great military exploits, they cannot change the fact that Emperor Shengwu is incompetent.

He refused to clear Cen Qingshan's name.

Fortunately, Xiao Liu was safe and sound, and the Crown Prince also escaped death. They had Huai Jiao.

Now, she has a grandson, a very intelligent and endearing child whom she adores.

From the world's perspective, she has achieved a fulfilling life.

Those things that are imperfect can never be perfected again.

So, she had nothing left to worry about.

She stood at the highest point, looking up towards the northwest.

The direction where Cen Qingshan is located.

She climbed to such a high place so that she could stand here and say goodbye to him one last time.

The wind ruffled the black hair at her temples as she gazed silently at that distant, unreachable place.

Qingshan, everything started because of me. After I die, he will have no more suspicions and may clear your name.

She looked down at her hand, her fingers clenching tightly around the mottled old jade pendant.

This was the only keepsake Cen Qingshan had given her when she was young, and she had kept it for many years.

At this moment, people below the Star-Picking Tower were already filled with apprehension.

The horse neighed and came to a stop.

"His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived..."

Someone shouted.

Everyone quickly made way for them.

Ignoring his injuries, Yan Chenghui dismounted and called out, "Mother!"

Cen Lingyi, supporting his arm, dismounted and looked up at Xiao Yulou.

"aunt!"

She called out to Xiao Yulou, her voice trembling with tears.

My aunt was suffering, and she always knew it.

But she always thought her aunt was very strong and never imagined she would end up like this.

"Your Highness, His Highness the Crown Prince and Miss Cen are here. Please speak calmly..."

Wangyun and Wangyue couldn't help but burst into tears.

Xiao Yulou finally looked away from his hands and looked down.

She saw Cen Lingyi and Yan Chenghui.

Why are these two children here?

The imperial carriage came to a hasty stop, and Emperor Shengwu stepped down from it, his steps unusually hurried.

"Xiao Yulou, what are you doing? I order you to come down here immediately!"

He was flustered and immediately started to scold.

Xiao Yulou looked at him and smiled: "Yan Chongheng, when have I ever been afraid of you? Who are you trying to impress with this act?"

Emperor Shengwu felt a chill run down his spine when he saw her resolute expression, and finally softened his tone.

"Come down first. Let's talk this out. Haven't I always given you whatever you wanted?"

He carefully chose his tone, not daring to provoke her, for fear that she might suddenly jump down.

"Do I care?"

Xiao Yulou scoffed.

She felt disgusted whenever she saw Emperor Shengwu, and that disgust lasted her entire life!

Otherwise, why wouldn't she even like her own child?

That wasn't a child she wanted willingly; he forced her to have it!

Every time she faces her child, she sees her own helplessness reflected in him!

She hated Emperor Shengwu and wished him dead!

She lifted her leg and stepped onto the railing.

The people below gasped in surprise.

"Mother!"

Yan Chenghui's eyes were bloodshot, and he knelt down with a thud.

Cen Lingyi also knelt down, tears streaming down her face.

Emperor Shengwu waved to Wang Deming.

Wang Deming nodded, understanding, and quietly retreated. He then turned and instructed his men to come up from behind.

Yan Chenghui knelt on the cold bluestone ground.

The wound on my back was pulled, and the pain spread throughout my body, causing cold sweat to bead on my forehead.

But he paid no heed, only looking up at Consort Xiao's solitary figure by the railing.

"Mother."

He choked up, and the grievances that had been building up for more than 20 years surged up at this moment.

"I've known since I was little that my mother has never truly loved me."

"From childhood to adulthood, I have longed to be close to you, like other children, to my birth mother, but you have never even glanced at me."

"I have become the crown prince, a privilege that countless people envy, but in your eyes, I will always be just a superfluous person."

Tears welled up in his eyes.

"I've always felt that I wasn't good enough, which is why you treat me this way."

"Later, I gradually learned the truth, and I knew that you probably would never like me in this lifetime..."

"But Mother, no matter how you treat me, I only have a heart full of filial piety towards you."

"I have never asked anything of you, Mother, in all my life. Today, I beg you to stay and give me a chance, so that I may have the opportunity to be filial like any other child in the world. Mother, I beg you..."

Yan Chenghui kowtowed, tears falling to the ground.

These words came from the bottom of his heart.

Cen Lingyi, standing to the side, was already sobbing uncontrollably: "Aunt, look at him..."

Although Yan Chenghui became the crown prince, he was not happy from childhood to adulthood.

A child who grows up without the love of his biological mother is truly pitiful.

She saw it all.

Xiao Yulou treated her like his own daughter.

The palace servants nearby were also moved.

Wangyun and Wangyue cried even harder.

Xiao Yulou, sitting atop the Star-Picking Pavilion, was already in tears as she listened to her son's words.

At this moment, she could clearly see that the child she had always avoided and even loathed was pleading with her to live.

"Yuan Zhao, your mother is so sorry."

Tears blurred her vision.

She has a strong personality and never looks back once she's made up her mind, but at this moment she realizes she was wrong.

She shouldn't have treated her child that way.

Yuan Zhao is also innocent.

He had no choice about whether or not he came into this world, no choice about whether or not he wanted her as his mother, and no choice about whether or not he wanted Emperor Shengwu, that disgusting father.

If he had a choice, he probably wouldn't choose them as his parents.

On her way to the Star-Picking Pavilion, she kept thinking that she had not wronged anyone in her life, and could leave peacefully.

But at this moment, she suddenly realized that she owed Yuan Zhao so much: the love he had given her since childhood, the motherly affection he deserved, and so much more.

"Mother, all I want is for you to live..."

Yan Chenghui looked up at her, tears streaming down his face.

Xiao Yulou looked at him and slowly shook his head.

"It's your mother's fault..."

She was in a daze, her thin body swaying precariously in the wind.

At this moment, several guards crept up behind her and, taking advantage of her momentary distraction, rushed forward and grabbed her.

By the time Xiao Yulou realized what was happening, they had already led him away from the railing.

"Bring her down!"

Emperor Shengwu gave the order in a loud voice, breaking out in a cold sweat and feeling a wave of fear.

Xiao Yulou was escorted down by guards. Her hair was disheveled, her face was still wet with tears, and she looked as if her soul had been taken away, her steps unsteady.

"Xiao Yulou, do you even know what a disaster you almost caused?"

Emperor Shengwu strode forward, grabbed her wrist with such force that he almost broke his wrist bones.

Xiao Yulou snapped out of his daze, looked at him, and gave a cold laugh.

She saw panic and fear in Emperor Shengwu's eyes.

So, he can make that kind of expression too.

Emperor Shengwu felt his hair stand on end from her laughter.

He sensed with absolute certainty that if he did not agree to clear Cen Qingshan's name, Xiao Yulou would come again soon—she was truly prepared to die, not just trying to scare him.

Xiao Yulou broke free from his hand, walked over, and helped Cen Lingyi and Yan Chenghui up, one in each hand.

"Aunt, please don't do anything foolish again."

Cen Lingyi threw herself into her arms.

Xiao Yulou patted her head and looked at Yan Chenghui.

She reached out and touched Yan Chenghui's face, wiping away the tears on her son's cheeks for the first time in her life.

Yan Chenghui trembled, his eyes reddening further: "Mother..."

"Good child, it's all your mother's fault."

Xiao Yulou pulled him closer and leaned against him.

The three of them hugged each other.

"I grant your permission." Emperor Shengwu took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "The Crown Prince shall send people to thoroughly re-examine Cen Qingshan's case."

Xiao Yulou froze and turned to look at him.

"However, I have already stated that if the Imperial Concubine does not cherish her own life, the entire Cen family, including Cen Lingyi, will be buried with her."

Emperor Shengwu said sternly.

Only in this way can we ensure that Xiao Yulou will not do anything foolish again.