Chapter 410 - 313: Regret (Part 3)
Rong Jing’s entire body trembled as he suddenly recalled the long-cherished memories buried deep within his heart from long ago.
Princess Consort Xiao, worried that children would get cavities, rarely allowed Wu and Rong Luo to eat sweets. However, Wu had a sweet tooth. During a banquet celebrating with the officials, he seized the moment when no one was paying attention to sneak to Rong Jing’s side and express his desire to eat the sugar cakes on his table.
At that time, Wu had just learned to speak and walk. He was chubby and looked like a white glutinous rice dumpling, thinking he was being very discreet. In fact, everyone had already noticed him. Rong Huan watched him with the gentle eyes of a loving father, and the surrounding officials also looked at him with indulgence... Perhaps only Su Xinyu didn’t like such an adorable child.
Rong Jing could still remember vividly how, after the banquet, he looked at the remnants of the sugar cakes on the jade platter and recalled Rong Heng holding the cake with his tiny hands, taking bites eagerly, sparking for the first time a desire to taste such a treat.
Just as he calmed himself and was about to leave, a familiar little hand appeared before his eyes.
In the hand was a piece of broken sugar cake.
"Second Brother, I secretly saved a piece for you. Don’t tell anyone."
The childish voice chipped away at the icy fortress around his heart, melting it into water.
The memory stopped abruptly.
Rong Jing didn’t want to remember what happened next. He took a sip of fine wine and let his gaze drift among the guests who came to the Marquis Mansion for the birthday celebration.
Good. Aside from Miaoyan, there’s no one from the Su Family, no Su Xinyu... The Su Family is done for!
All the warmth and beautiful memories he once had were shattered by his mother’s own hands.
Rong Jing took a deep breath, exchanged a few idle words with Old Madam Gu, then stood up, his gaze gentle as he looked toward Princess Consort Yi:
"Today, Princess Consort Yi, you shall stay in the mansion. I grant you two days to visit your family. The day after tomorrow, I will send eunuchs to escort you back to the palace. Old Madam, take care of your health. I have state affairs to attend to, so I bid my farewell."
"Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace!" Princess Consort Yi thanked him joyfully. Since entering the palace, she had never been allowed to visit her family, and she owed this opportunity to her sister being the wife of the Marquis Mansion’s second master.
Rong Jing, however, did not even glance at Princess Consort Yi as he strode out of the main hall.
His presence always made others at the birthday banquet feel constrained, and now, he had more pressing matters to attend to.
As everyone respectfully saw off the Emperor, Gu Lan gazed at Rong Jing’s face, flushed from drinking, and glanced back at Xie Yun, unable to stop her thoughts from drifting in that direction.
Because once she entertained the thought, she found them more alike.
Why would Song Zhi protect Xie Yun? Why would Rong Jing value him so? And why, though the Su Family feared the grandson of a political enemy, would they still raise him?
If her suspicion was true... everything would make sense.
Then it would be perfectly possible for Rong Jing to kill Rong Luo or even the former Emperor, Rong Jue... because he wasn’t the former Emperor’s son at all!
Almost as soon as Rong Jing’s silhouette disappeared, she stood up and headed to the backyard to issue the Crow Order, instructing You Ying to immediately investigate at the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion, probing the direction of whether the Emperor was the son of Empress Dowager Su and Xie Xu.
At that moment, Rong Jing, recalling past events, couldn’t suppress the impulse in his heart. As he stepped out of the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion’s gates, he hurriedly said, "Back to Qianyuan Hall!"
"Yes, to Qianyuan Hall," Zhang Fengcai, with only one arm remaining, his voice now sharper than before, more akin to that of a traditional eunuch.
He rarely heard Rong Jing speak with such joy and excitement and couldn’t help but lift his head, cautiously observing the man on the imperial carriage.
Perhaps because he had drunk, the Emperor lazily reclined against the carriage, his demeanor languid, yet with a hint of urgency.
His face bore a faint blush, his thin lips curled into a slight smile, and his intoxicated, mesmerizing eyes particularly bright.
In Rong Jing’s mind, it was filled with the adorable image of young Rong Heng.
Su Xinyu was dead, and the Su Family people were gone...
All that threatened him, all he despised, had been eliminated.
The thick, inky darkness in his heart had dissipated.
These days, many rumors had reached his ears, not only did he not stop them, but he allowed their spread.
The young Wu used to smile so warmly...
Rong Jing lifted his long, jade-like hand into the air, seemingly trying to grasp something.
He acknowledged that he regretted making Wu lose his smile.
He wanted to bring that child back.
Moments later, Rong Jing was seated in the dim Qianyuan Hall.
His voice was hoarse, with a hint of unnoticeable tremor and joy:
"Draft an edict, I want to confer the title of Imperial Brother upon Prince Xiang."
In this way,
Perhaps Wu could come back.