Hello Chang’an

 Chapter 560 Don’t be like me

Yi Cong's heart sank slightly, and a thought almost immediately flashed in his mind—could he have other brothers besides Li Lu? Or is it because he is too young to serve as director for the prince? Just like him, it has never been shown to the public?

The reason why he was so easily aroused was because he and his mother had suspected it a long time ago...

With his own background, how could he not doubt it?

But his uncle had soldiers in his hands, and he was so valued by the prince that he always stayed by his side. However, Li Lu was very sick and he had grown up. He didn't have to worry about the emergence of any competitors at all, but at this time...

His greatest support, his uncle Duan Shiang, is gone.

And Li Lu's too clean hands also gave him a strange thought.

His hands have killed many people, are stained with blood that is difficult to remove, and are always doing risky things, even if he always regards it as trust and training...

A gust of wind blows, making people awake and confused.

"Are you going to Lingnan this time?"

Li Lu's clear and smooth voice brought Yi Cong back to his senses, who was thinking deeply. He lowered his head and said "yes".

"Be careful." Li Lu patted him on the shoulder and said warmly: "When you return home, my eldest brother will ask someone to serve you a drink to celebrate. Our family should sit together and have a family dinner together."

Yi Cong endured the unhappiness in his heart as if he was being shown mercy, and cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

After saying this, he said "goodbye" and left the place.

Li Lu stood there until the sound of Yi Cong's footsteps faded away, then he slowly moved forward to Princess Rong's residence.

Princess Rong has been bedridden for several years. She has not gotten out of bed and moved around for a long time, and she has long been unable to take care of herself.

And she never allowed anyone to smoke incense. In the cold winter, her body couldn't stand the cold air, so the doors and windows were closed most of the time. Therefore, despite the careful care of the maid, when Li Lu stepped into the room, he still felt that the rotten smell that only belongs to a chronically ill person almost hit his face.

Li Lu approached the couch and saw Princess Rong on the couch.

Her cheeks were so sunken that almost only a layer of withered skin remained, her eye sockets were sunken, and even her lips shriveled up.

Winter was difficult, and after the winter solstice, her condition worsened, and now she rarely wakes up.

A trace of sadness appeared on Li Lu's face.

His father sighed and told him yesterday that he would have more time to see his mother.

The father's tone was sympathetic and tender. Even though he was entangled in many urgent matters, he still paid attention to his mother's condition and comforted his son.

But his father, whose words and deeds were still full of warmth, never explained anything to him about Yi Cong's identity.

Also, a father does not need to explain the existence of another son to his son, let alone a father who is about to achieve great things.

A father who is about to achieve great things...

Li Lu recited this sentence silently in his heart, and his eyes fell on the person on the couch - his dying mother.

And, his frail body.

This is the situation he finds himself in now.

The maid whispered to Princess Rong: "Princess, the prince is here to see you..."

Princess Rong seemed not to hear, still lying there with weak breathing, her eyes blank and vacant.

Li Lu knelt down beside the couch and took the warm cotton towel from the maid's hand to wipe Princess Rong's palms: "I'm here to serve my mother."

While he was wiping, his movements were careful and gentle, and his voice was somewhat hoarse: "I want to talk to my mother alone."

The maid's eyes were sore, Fu Shen bowed down and retreated with the maids.

"Did mother already know that-" Li Lu didn't stop moving his hands and lowered his eyes and said, "I knew that Yi Cong... No, Li Cong, he is also his father's son."

Princess Rong's skinny fingers trembled when Li Lu held her in his hand to wipe them.

Li Lu saw this and smiled silently: "My mother is different from me... I have been a hostage in Beijing for many years, but my mother has always been by my father's side. It is impossible for my mother to have been unaware of this all these years."

"But my mother never told me a word..." Li Lu's voice was low: "Whether it is the existence of Li Cong or the existence of my father's other heirs."

Princess Rong used a little force with her fingers and grabbed Li Lu's palm.

Li Lu raised his eyes and saw her turning her head with difficulty, uneasiness in her eyes, and she shook her head at him laboriously.

"Mother is afraid that I will be detrimental to them and will turn against my father." Li Lu said warmly: "Don't worry, mother, my son will not do this."

"But maybe Li Cong will." Li Lu rolled up his mother's sleeves, wiped her arms, and said, "Duan Shiang died unfortunately, and Li Cong has no one to rely on. His current situation is even more pitiful than mine..."

"He must also be curious at this time whether my father has any other sons."

"Father has always been far-sighted in his actions. Since he dares to let Li Cong go out and take risks, there is probably a child who is truly protected by him..." Li Lu whispered: "My son also wants to know about the child who is properly protected by his father." What does it look like?”

"After all, I, the eldest brother, have really sacrificed a lot for him without knowing he exists..." Li Lu curled his lips slightly: "And he only has to sit back and enjoy the benefits, how lucky he is."

After he finished speaking, he put the cotton towel back into the copper basin, put down his sleeves for his mother, covered the corners of the quilt, and asked: "Mom, is it really an accident that my son suffered from asthma when he was young?"

Princess Rong's eyes trembled, she opened her mouth, and her hoarse voice was like a broken window paper: "Lu'er..."

"My son vaguely remembers that the high fever did not go away for several days, and then he coughed for several months... Since then, this body has suffered from many root causes of disease." Li Lu looked into Princess Rong's eyes and asked: "Now that I'm back, Thinking back on it, I wonder if it was because I was too sick or because I was delayed in taking the medicine? I never saw my mother in those few months, and I vaguely remember that my mother seemed to be 'sick' too?"

"This illness is really a coincidence. Soon after, I became a sick and weak hostage in the hands of the emperor without any threat..." Li Lu said this and smiled: "There is one thing that I should have never told my mother. In Beijing, In those years, in order to minimize the emperor's fear of his father, the son would often pour out the medicinal soup before the palace doctors checked his pulse, just to make his illness more serious and longer. "

"I never mentioned it to my father, lest he worry about me." Li Lu smiled again: "I never thought at that time that my frail body was arranged by my father from the beginning. "

"But I clearly remember that before I fell ill, my father was still holding me while riding horses -" There seemed to be confusion in his eyes: "Why can I make such a cruel decision in the blink of an eye?"

When he said the word "cruel", his voice paused slightly, as if he felt that the word was too weak, but he could not think of any other words that could be used to replace it.

"He is obviously the most enlightened and kind father in the world... For more than a year, I have often wondered which one is the real him." Li Lu slowly exhaled, and the answer came out: "Kindness and kindness. Cruelty is the real him, or maybe it's not the real him... When the two appear, it just depends on what he needs. "

His father could be kind to all things, and the next moment he could be cruel and wield a knife against all things. In front of others, my father has always been the former, without any trace of acting.

Those eyes that seem to be able to accommodate all the good and evil in the world, right and wrong, and always maintain a calm and calm look, can actually only accommodate one person...and that person is the father himself.

Father only has himself in his eyes.

Princess Rong grabbed one of her son's hands. She tried to support herself up but could not. Painful tears rolled down from her almost dry eyes.

Li Lu didn't break free, looked at her again, and asked, "What about mother? Is mother always looking at her like this?"

Princess Rong's fingers froze and her eyes couldn't help but dodge.

"Over the years, I have had countless doctors. They all said that my mother's illness was caused by depression. My mother was worried, afraid, guilty, and panicked all day long... but she never thought of telling me the truth."

Li Lu slowly turned his head and looked at the furnishings in the room: "Ever since I got asthma, my mother stopped using incense for fear of causing me to get sick. Even though I'm not in Yizhou, my mother has been doing this for ten years..."

"But mother, is such a trivial good really meaningful?" He looked back at Princess Rong calmly, and said in a calm but almost cruel voice: "Mother is really for my own good, or to make her conscience as a mother easier. "

Princess Rong turned sideways, grabbed her son's sleeves with both hands, shook her head with tears, her voice was trembling, and finally said a relatively complete sentence: "What would mother say to you... Even if you know, it will only increase the pain and danger." …”

"So my mother accepted my fate for me, right?" Li Lu finally sneered: "My mother is so timid and weak, and is good at generosity to others. No wonder she is alive today."

Facing those eyes that seemed calm but concealed sarcasm and hatred, Princess Rong felt as if someone had stabbed her heart with a knife.

Li Lu took out his sleeves, stood up slowly, and looked down at his haggard mother: "But my mother will soon be unable to survive."

"My mother's body has only a few days left to live, and my mother's family, which is not worth mentioning, has long since declined... Even if my mother does not die, my father will never allow her to live until he ascends the throne."

"My father no longer needs a sick and weak princess. He needs to choose a more valuable queen...and when the time comes, how will I deal with it? Has my mother thought anything about it for me?"

"My mother was so afraid of my father that she just pushed me into this purgatory...but what did I do wrong?"

Princess Rong was trembling all over and could only make indistinct whimpering sounds.

"Mother, you are not worthy of me calling you my mother." Li Lu bent down slightly and finally whispered: "If you are really guilty, please remember to protect me and grant me my wish."

There was cold wind pouring in from the gaps in the window lattice, and Princess Rong felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. The last bit of her strength was pulled away, and she completely lost her support.

Ma Wan learned the news at dusk and hurried over.

Princess Rong is on her deathbed.

Prince Rong was out on business and was not in the palace, but Li Lu was in the study room in the front yard comforting the staff who tried to resign. Ma Wan, who was also in the inner yard, was the first one to arrive.

Since she was banned from the Buddhist temple for several months, Ma Wan rarely appeared in front of others and was unable to leave the hospital most of the time. She also did not see Princess Rong again for some days.

Ever since Ma Wan married into Prince Rong's palace, Princess Rong had been lingering on the sickbed. The most frequent interactions between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were when Ma Wan was waiting at the bedside to attend to the sick.

Therefore, Ma Wan, who was suddenly held tightly by Princess Rong's hands, was temporarily at a loss: "Mother..."

Princess Rong's mouth moved and the sound she made was very low. Ma Wan quickly lowered her head to listen.

"You go away...don't end up like me..."

"leave here…"

The trembling and hoarse voice had a hint of desolate crying. Ma Wan was stunned when she heard it: "Mother, what..."

As if she was having a flashback before her death, Princess Rong, who had been unable to communicate with others for a long time, was holding Ma Wan's hand tightly, pulling her towards her, and said in a trembling voice: "I feel guilty for Lu'er... But I just realized , he has become the same person as his father... they have no heart..."

"I once thought that I was lucky enough to marry a good husband who was independent of the world, kind and gentle, and could live a loving and peaceful life..."

Tears welled up in Princess Rong's eyes, and she said again: "Let's go quickly, don't be like me..."

Listening to these words that seemed to be murmuring in sleep, Ma Wan held Princess Rong's cold hand instead, only to find that her fingers were equally cold.

The servants and maids in the room were all kneeling five steps away. Some were sobbing softly. No one except Ma Wan could hear Princess Rong's voice.

"Lu'er is right, I am a cowardly and useless person. I have been afraid of..."

Princess Rong used her last bit of strength to take something out from under the pillow and put it into Ma Wan's hand: "If I can leave here... one day, I might be able to tell the public about it..."

Ma Wan looked down and saw a safety lock. The golden lock was about the size of a child's hand, with tassels and jade beads hanging on it. It was very delicate and beautiful.

Ma Wan had no time to respond to the meaning of Princess Rong's words. She heard a maid behind her salute in a mute voice: "Your Majesty..."

Princess Rong, who had no strength left, let go of Ma Wan's hand and fell her head back on the pillow.

Her breathing became erratic and her eyes widened in pain...

"Mother...!" Ma Wan hurriedly patted Princess Rong's chest, but the next moment she was horrified to find that Princess Rong's breathing had disappeared.

Li Lu, who stepped into the room, would not have time to see his mother for the last time.

He came to the bedside, stood still for a moment, lifted up his robe and knelt down.

Ma Wan, who had lost a life at such a close distance for the first time, felt cold all over and knelt down tremblingly.

The servants in the room suddenly burst into tears.

Ma Wan's mind was in turmoil, tears fell from her eyes, and she held the golden lock tightly in her hand.

I don't know how long it took, but Princess Rong's glaring face was covered by the maid with a white silk scarf.

One arm was held by someone. Ma Wan turned her head subconsciously and met Li Lu's red eyes. His voice was hoarse: "Wan'er, get up..."

Ma Wan's heart surged, she nodded casually, and stood up together with Li Lu.

The next moment, Li Lu's eyes fell on the golden lock in her hand.

Good night everyone~