HLnovel Chapter 860 The Real Reason
Chapter 860 The Real Reason
Rong Xin was a simple and innocent person in both her lives.
When she met Zong Lin, it was the first time she had ever been moved, the first time she had ever been in love, and the first time she had ever completely trusted a man and wanted to give him her whole life.
But in the end, she discovered that this unforgettable destiny was nothing but a complete hoax.
She thought she could fool herself.
But in reality, she couldn't do it at all.
Ultimately, he drove himself insane.
Even though so much time had passed, so long that the man sitting on the dragon throne felt completely unfamiliar to her, that bone-chilling coldness instantly spread through her veins, making her feel as if she had returned to that snowy night, watching her entire family being slaughtered, a night of panic and helplessness.
The culprit behind all of this was the person she once trusted most.
I cannot be afraid, I cannot give up.
I must hold on, I must hold on.
I want to seek justice for the Rong family and for my brother.
Rong Xin repeated these words to herself over and over again until she finally felt her body warm up a little and suppressed the urge to vomit.
Just seeing this person's face made her feel nauseous.
She stood there steadily, her eyes calm and unwavering, not letting anyone notice anything unusual about her.
The emperor's gaze fell on Rong Xin, his eyes deep and unreadable.
But his gaze was brief; after lingering on Rong Xin for a moment, it passed over her and landed on Zong Que.
Five years have passed since Zong Que injured his leg and could no longer stand up.
Five years is enough for a boy to become mature and steady. The years have left sharp, sculpted lines on Zong Que's face, every inch just right. They have erased the youthful arrogance and the slightly immature cheeks, making him look like a piece of finely polished jade, radiant and flawless.
It is truly a work that even God seems to favor.
The emperor looked at him, his eyes filled with longing and reluctance, and hurriedly gave orders.
"Quickly, quickly bring a chair for Ah Que."
Their loving relationship suggested that the two had never had any disagreements.
The emperor doted on his son Zong Que, whom he raised with his own hands and held on his lap. This was evident to all the officials. Zong Que was brought to court by the emperor before he was even a year old. When some officials felt this was inappropriate, the emperor retorted, "My eldest son is the heir apparent. What's wrong with that?"
Before Zong Que spoke, he listened to important state affairs every day. After he could walk, he had his own chair next to the dragon throne. Except when he was sick, he would come to court without fail. Among the many officials present, none of them had as long a tenure as him in attending court in the Tianji Hall.
Therefore, no one found the emperor's behavior surprising or inappropriate, and no one thought of stopping him. Some even missed the days when Zong Que was in court.
Immediately, Supervisor Feng ordered someone to move the chair that Zong Que had been sitting on to the right side below the dragon throne.
That was the place where Zong Que used to hold court for many years.
Zong Que, however, did not move his feet.
The emperor seemed to suddenly become anxious and hurriedly asked, "A-Que, are you still blaming me? Since you left the capital, I have been tormented day and night, fearing that your legs would become weak and you would suffer. When I heard about your accident, I wished I could go with you. A-Que, I had no choice but to depose the crown prince. I am the ruler of a country, and there are many things I cannot do. You can understand, right?"
The emperor looked at Zong Que with a pained expression, his voice earnest, "A-Que, have we grown distant, father and son?"
The emperor, a ruler of a nation, expressed such sincere feelings that even the civil and military officials were deeply moved.
The Third Prince's fingers were almost scratched raw.
Even though he knew that his father's behavior might not be entirely sincere, he still couldn't help but feel jealous. Why was Zong Que the only son among the brothers born to the same father, while the others were all subjects?
Even if everyone will fight for the throne sooner or later, if Father had treated his brothers with even a little bit of equality, why would they have to fight to the death?
He was right that he had someone cripple Zong Que's legs back then, and he hadn't expected Zong Que to be so lucky. But he wasn't stupid either. At a Winter Festival like that, if someone hadn't gone easy on him, he wouldn't have been able to even squeeze a fly in, let alone create such an accident. It's not like he hadn't tried before!
Over the years, in all the large and small sacrifices and hunting grounds, has there ever been the slightest accident?
Ironically, despite the losses he suffered and the blame he took, which he thought would finally bring down Zong Que, it ended up fulfilling their deep father-son bond.
Isn't that ridiculous.
Destroy it!
Now that Zong Que has returned unscathed, all his previous schemes and plots have been reduced to a single, irreversible path.
Zong Que met the emperor's earnest gaze, but remained unmoved. He simply took two steps forward and bowed respectfully.
"Your Majesty, I have no objection to the matter of deposing the Crown Prince. I was exiled to Yuzhou, but was ambushed by He Cong, the commander of the Imperial Guards, on the way. I barely escaped with my life and went through countless hardships to return to the capital, all for the sake of what I had not been able to accomplish before."
"Your subject has found evidence of the Chenzhou case, which can prove that during the Battle of Chenzhou, Duke Xiao colluded with Helian Rui, the Left Wise King of Northern Yan, to trap General Rong in Chenzhou. The reason he refused to come to the rescue was because the soldiers stationed in Jinzhou by Duke Xiao had changed into Yan army uniforms and together they surrounded and killed 130,000 soldiers and more than 20,000 civilians in Chenzhou. This is the real reason for the defeat in Chenzhou."