readytorunbook Chapter 784 Guilt and Confession
Chapter 784 Guilt and Confession
Yuanpin looked at her, and in her originally gentle and peaceful eyes, there was only shock and disbelief.
"You..." How could she know so clearly?
The death of the Third Prince was the biggest secret in the entire palace. The Emperor suspected the cause of his death and summoned over a dozen doctors to examine the body, but all of them ultimately concluded that he had died of an illness.
In addition to the imperial physicians in the palace, the emperor also recruited some relatively famous doctors and coroners from the public to enter the palace, which caused quite a stir at the time.
Until the seventh day after the third prince's death, the emperor still hadn't found out anything, and in the end the matter was left unresolved.
In order to ensure that the secrets of the inner palace would not be leaked, the doctors and coroners who entered the palace later disappeared.
It was also after that incident that the third prince was considered to have died of a normal illness.
Even the concubine Shu, who was taking care of the third prince at the time, thought so.
Later, Concubine Shu was held accountable and demoted to a concubine, and she believed that this was the fate she deserved.
It wasn't until two years later, when the Queen suddenly came to see her, that she realized that the Third Prince's death was not caused by her poor care...
"That year, the Queen came to see you, looking for an aunt named Jingrong, right?"
Jingrong is Yuezhen's mother, the maid who left Concubine Fang. The Queen must have come to confirm something with Aunt Jingrong.
At this moment, Yuanpin was no longer able to describe her feelings with the word "shock". She looked at the person in front of her as if she were looking at a terrifying ghost, "You, who are you?"
She stood there, feeling only fear in her heart.
How could Princess Li know such a secret thing?
"Your Majesty, Shu He came here today just to get an answer. I don't have any bad intentions. I just hope that Your Majesty can tell me the truth of that year."
……
After leaving the Sanhe Hall, Shu He went to the National Treasury again. After getting the answer she wanted, she finally went to the Kunning Hall in the Daming Palace.
Here, just like the first time she came, there is a sense of Zen and tranquility everywhere.
Shu He finally understood why the queen set up such a large Buddhist temple in her own palace.
After finishing her evening prayers, the queen came out, followed by Yang Cai, the eunuch Yang.
Baili Moqing said that this was a master, whose strength was at least at the second level.
"Princess Li is visiting at this hour. Could it be that she is not just here to see me?"
The queen was wearing a plain cotton and linen long dress, with only a string of Buddhist beads hanging on her chest. Her gentle and elegant temperament made people feel good and friendly towards her.
"I beg Your Majesty to forgive Shu He for interrupting me. I came here to discuss something. Could Your Majesty please dismiss the attendants?"
After hearing this, Yang Cai, who was standing behind the Queen, showed a cold warning on his face, with a hint of murderous intent in the warning.
Shu He met the unfriendly gaze and said, "Please rest assured, Eunuch Yang, I have no ill will towards the Empress. I came here just to discuss cooperation with her."
After hearing this, the Queen looked at Yang Cai behind her and said calmly, "Eunuch Yang, please go out first. Princess Li will not do anything to me. You don't have to do this."
A hint of hesitation flashed across Yang Cai's face, but he quickly nodded and retreated.
Shu He had never expected that a second-rank master would be so obedient to a woman who had no martial arts skills at all!
However, from the word "you" used by the Queen, it can be seen that Yang Cai should be more than just a simple servant to the Queen.
When only Shu He and the Queen were left in the palace, Shu He came straight to the point, "Your Majesty, you should know that even if you recite more Buddhist scriptures, the Third Prince will not be able to come back to life."
When the queen heard her words, surprise first appeared in her eyes, and then quickly turned into admiration.
"I didn't expect that after you went to Sanhe Temple, you actually figured out what happened back then."
Shu He looked at her. Her face remained calm. "Have you guessed that I would know about this?"
The Queen smiled slightly, her expression still calm and composed. "I guessed someone would find out about this. I thought it would be Baili Moqing, but I really didn't expect it would be you in the end."
"But it doesn't matter. Whether you know or Mo Qing knows, it makes no difference to me."
"So, Your Majesty has admitted that the Third Prince's death was related to you, correct?"
Shu He stepped forward to ask, perhaps she didn't even realize that there was a hint of expectation in her eyes, expecting her to deny it, expecting her to say that she didn't do it.
The Queen met her gaze, and without pausing for long, she nodded decisively. "Yes, I did."
Shu He was silent for a moment, with an indescribable complicated feeling in his heart.
It was one thing to speculate, but it was another to hear her admit it herself. She subconsciously had an inexplicable fondness for the queen, but she never expected her to actually do such a thing.
"My Lady, I always thought you weren't the type to kill innocent people..."
"What do you think?" the Queen interrupted her, her calm voice showing a slight rise and fall. "You've only met me once. Why do you think I'm not the kind of person who kills innocent people?"
Even she herself can't see what kind of person she is, so why does Shu He think he can understand her?
Just as she was finding it funny, she heard Shu He's firm and resolute voice. "Because I can feel the kindness in the Queen's heart."
She knew that everything the queen did was just a crazy revenge for the loss of her child.
If it were her, she wouldn't be any calmer.
"What did you say?" There was a hint of surprise in the queen's eyes, but more of it was self-shame.
"If the Empress was truly an unforgivable criminal, she wouldn't have given up her power after learning she had wrongly killed an innocent person, and instead spent years in seclusion in a Buddhist temple, repenting and atoning for her sins..."
The queen was slightly touched, and for some reason, she felt a slight sense of grievance.
It was as if someone finally understood after years of persistence. But as soon as this thought arose, she felt that she was being too hypocritical.
Her face was slightly cold and hard as she said, "I chant sutras and worship Buddha only to seek inner peace. It's not about atonement as you say..."
"Isn't the so-called restlessness in your heart because you think you've made a serious mistake and feel guilty?" Shu He said softly, always confident in his own thoughts. "True evil people don't feel uneasy about their mistakes. They just keep making excuses for themselves."
The queen looked at her silently, her pupils trembling slightly, as if moist and condensed.
For so many years, she had given up all her friends for that person, turning herself into a lonely canary. Therefore, when she was most desperate, she had no one around her...
She never thought that one day the person who could comfort her would be just a "stranger" whom she had known for less than a few hours.