EBE Chapter 456 What exactly happened back then?
Chapter 456 What exactly happened back then?
Xie Yanli turned his head and looked at Meng Ze's face.
The face was now naked in the light, its deep contours and cold, stern eyes almost identical to his.
All the doubts in my heart were resolved at this moment.
Why would he stand in front of me at a crucial moment?
Why did he look at him with such a complicated expression?
Xie Yanli's throat moved slightly, as if he wanted to call out to him.
But those two words seemed stuck on the tip of his tongue, unable to be uttered.
Meng Ze then turned to Gu Qing and said, "Tell me the truth about what exactly happened back then."
He desperately wanted to know.
He lost his memories of the first half of his life, as if he had lost half of his life.
Gu Qing wiped away her tears with her sleeve. "We were attacked on the way, Your Highness. You told us to take the Princess Consort with us and leave first."
"The princess was in labor and was afraid she would give birth prematurely. So we quickly found a remote farmhouse, settled down, and had Zhou, the nanny who accompanied us, deliver the baby."
"After giving birth to the prince, the princess died from postpartum hemorrhage."
At this point, his voice choked with emotion, and he lowered his head, unable to speak any further.
After a long while, he raised his head and looked at Meng Ze and Xie Yanli in front of him.
Both of them had a quiet sadness in their eyes.
Gu Qing continued in a low voice, "At that time, I heard the news that you had fallen off a cliff and died."
"The only survivors are me and Granny Zhou. We know you were assassinated. It's highly likely that it was the Empress Dowager who did it. At that time, the late Emperor was already very old, and we didn't know how much longer he could live."
"If we take the young prince back to the palace, how can the two of us protect him? How can we ensure his safe growth?"
Meng Ze spoke up, "So, you came up with the idea of switching children?"
Gu Qing shook her head. "No. We didn't have that idea at the time."
"It was evening when we heard that Madam Xie had given birth. Some people said she gave birth to a stillborn child that couldn't even cry, while others said it wasn't stillborn."
"That's when we first had this idea."
“If we raise the young prince ourselves, I’m afraid he will have to wander and suffer all his life. But if he can go to the Xie family and be raised by the Marquis’s mansion, at least he can learn to read and be polite.”
"So that night, I took the young prince and secretly sneaked into the summer palace."
Gu Qing's voice was hoarse. "There were very few people in the room where the young master of the Xie family was at that time. There was only one nanny and one maid."
"I quietly knocked them unconscious, walked to the cradle, and found... that the child was already lifeless."
"I hesitated for a long time, but in the end, I put the little prince in and replaced the child."
"After that, I took the body of the young master of the Xie family and quietly left, returning to the farmhouse."
He paused, his breath catching in his throat.
"But when I got back, I found that Granny Zhou had been killed by the assassins who had caught up with us."
"They were worried that the princess wasn't quite dead, so... they stabbed her body with many knives."
He still hasn't dared to recall that scene.
Gu Qing's voice trembled uncontrollably, and tears streamed down his wrinkled face. He tried to cover them with his sleeve, but he couldn't stop them.
Meng Ze stood in front of him without saying a word.
His chest felt like it was being crushed by a heavy object; even though he had lost his memory, the pain still ripped him apart.
It seems to be engraved deep within the body, burrowing into the flesh and blood.
Gu Qing wiped away her tears. "I buried the Xie family's young master, the princess, and Granny Zhou together."
"I didn't even dare to erect a monument, but I never expected that the assassins would still be searching the surrounding area."
"They found me. I was all alone, fighting against many, and I barely managed to escape. After that battle, all my tendons were severed, and I could no longer wield a sword."
"I thought I was going to die, but I never expected that Mengniang would save me."
“She was widowed and alone at the time, and fearing that she would be forced to marry into the clan, she asked me to marry into her family. She saved me, and I owed her my life. So we have been living together in this wasteland, tending a few acres of barren land.”
“Over the years, I have never gone far away and have always been guarding the tomb for the princess.”
"Until today... I met you all."
He slowly lowered his head, and finally stopped speaking.
The room was completely silent.
No one speaks.
No one expected that the truth of the whole thing was like this.
Xie Yanli's expression was cold and stern, his fingers tightening.
Qin Jiu lowered her eyes and sighed.
Meng Ze stood there, his eyes vacant, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
Those long-sealed fragments were torn apart and pieced together to create a world he had never remembered, yet which was inextricably linked to him.
Xie Yanli's voice was low and hoarse, "Where did you bury the princess?"
He has already seen his father; it is time to pay respects to his mother.
Qin Jiuwei stood beside him and could hear the deep sorrow in his voice. Her eyes softened, and she reached out and gently took his hand.
Xie Yanli glanced at her sideways, his fingertips twitched, and he gripped her hand tighter.
Meng Ze slowly raised his head and looked at Gu Qing.
He also wanted to see his wife.
-
"This is the princess's tomb."
Gu Qing said in a low voice. He led the group through a forest path, onto a trail hidden by weeds, and finally to a secluded clearing.
The open space was small, and sunlight filtered through the sparse branches and leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground.
Three small mounds of earth stood quietly in the center, close together and arranged neatly.
Three simple stone tablets stand in front of the tomb, rough and without any words.
Qin Jiuwei took a few steps closer and her gaze fell on the stone tablet.
They discovered that each stone tablet had a strip of cloth tied to it, but the color and pattern were all different.
Gu Qing stood to the side and said in a low voice, "Because they were afraid of being discovered, none of the names were written on these three graves."
"The strips of cloth on them are the sleeves I tore off them. The Princess, Granny Zhou, and... Young Master Xie."
“Every year during the Qingming Festival, I come here to pay my respects.”
Three tombs, hidden deep in this forest, have lay quietly for over twenty years.
Over twenty years of weathering have faded and damaged these strips of cloth, but their original appearance can still be vaguely discerned.
The most intricate strip of cloth on the central tombstone is finely woven and delicately embroidered; even in its tattered state, it exudes an air of nobility and dignity.
Xie Yanli already understood.
That should be the princess's tomb.
Xie Yanli slowly stepped forward and knelt down.
Qin Jiuwei then knelt down and bowed her head.
The two gently tapped their foreheads on the ground.
A gentle breeze rustled through the trees, making the leaves whisper, as if the mountains and fields had fallen silent.
Meng Ze's gaze fell on the strip of cloth on the central tombstone.
He stared intently, his gaze gradually becoming unfocused...
In an instant, the image suddenly appeared!