novelraw Chapter 429 - 321: Admission_2
Chapter 429 - 321: Admission_2
Rong Jing admitted! The speculation turned into reality, Gu Lan’s heart was calmer, though outwardly she still appeared in pain and fragile.
"You are not the son of the former Emperor, nor are you of the Imperial Family’s bloodline... You are the one who killed the former Emperor. The Holy Decree concerning the Marquis Mansion’s confiscation was forged by you, even the former Emperor’s decree letting the Crown Prince ascend the throne is fake, isn’t it? And Rong Jue, Rong Luo, they died because of you, right?"
Gu Lan’s voice carried a chilling allure and danger. Though interrogative, it wasn’t aggressive, each word clear and cold, like a needle piercing Rong Jing’s psychological defenses.
This kind of tone, devoid of personal emotion from Gu Lan, actually made it easier for suspicious people to trust and feel an urge to confide.
"What do you think?"
Rong Jing did not admit.
After he had laughed enough, he once again locked his gaze on Gu Lan, his eyes seemingly suffused with the hue of peach blossoms, mournful yet stunning:
"All my life, I have wondered why nothing I did could satisfy Rong Huan. He relied on Rong Shuo, praised Rong Jue, and favored Rong Heng...
But what about me, the Eastern Palace Crown Prince, diligently managing the government, praised by all under heaven as a wise and virtuous Crown Prince, why was he never satisfied with me? Why did I have to be tormented daily by that foolish woman, Su Xinyu? Why did everyone but me have a mother’s love?
Later I found out... it turns out I was never his child. What flows in my veins is the filthy blood of Su Xinyu and Xie Xu’s illicit union. So I told him, let him watch from the heavens, watch how I destroy everything he cares about! Even if I am not a member of the Rong Family, I can still do my best! I must show Rong Huan that his choice was wrong, that I am the true Emperor!"
Rong Huan was the name of the former Emperor, and after Rong Jing accidentally learned of his true parentage, he no longer considered him his father.
Looking at the frenzied, resentful Rong Jing before her, Gu Lan felt a pang of bitterness and sadness in her heart.
Not because of Rong Jing, but because of Rong Heng.
The Holy Decree for confiscation and the decree for the throne... as expected, they were all orchestrated by Rong Jing, and perhaps in this, there was also the handiwork of Su Xinyu and the Su Family. That’s why Su Wenzhong would help Rong Jing nurture Xie Yun.
The former Emperor,
was innocent.
In fact, just proving that Rong Jing is not of the former Emperor’s blood would rationalize all he did against the former Emperor.
But the young man she loved hated the wrong person.
Rong Jing first caused the young Rong Heng to lose favor, loathing the Xiao Family for treason and conspiracy, and then after seeing through the falsely accused destruction of the Xiao Family, he came to hate the former Emperor.
Thus, Rong Heng lost his maternal clan, lost his parents, and all he had left to rely on were his elder brother and sister...
"It was Su Xinyu who turned you into this, and the former Emperor who wanted to remove your position as Crown Prince. But what about you?"
Gu Lan’s breath quickened, the uncontrollable pain making her consciousness even clearer.
She stared directly into Rong Jing’s bloodshot eyes, each word piercing like a sharp sword.
"You harmed the Pingnan Marquis Mansion, you harmed Rong Jue and Rong Luo, you destroyed everything of Rong Heng’s."
Rong Jing curved his lips, having not shared his inner thoughts with an outsider for so long. Though Gu Lan’s words were hateful and piercing, they somehow brought a sense of relief.
She was a good confidant, because she was the one Rong Heng liked, and he wanted to see what made her different from others.
There was not a hint of guilt in Rong Jing’s eyes, instead, there was the gentleness of a noble son.
"I was meant to destroy everything Rong Huan cared for, and Rong Heng was the child he cared for the most. I let him watch as I wrote the Holy Decree for the Xiao Family’s confiscation beside his sickbed, as for Rong Jue... he walked a road to ruin himself, if he wants to demand life, he should find Su Zhixue.
Rong Huan wanted to remove me as Crown Prince and establish Rong Heng as Crown Prince, with the Xiao Family as his greatest support. Should I have waited for them to kill me?"
Rong Jing’s words were grandiose, as if everything he did was without fault, even the best choice.
Gu Lan didn’t pay attention to the complex emotions in his words, but rather focused on discerning the useful information within.
It seems the key to Rong Jue’s matter lies with Su Zhixue.
Rong Jue was the Third Imperial Brother most adored by Rong Heng, even half a mentor to him in childhood; he died on the third day after Rong Jing ascended the throne.
That day, Rong Jue entered the palace alone, claiming to plead for Rong Heng and Rong Luo, but he never returned alive.
Rong Heng once personally saw Rong Jue’s corpse being carried out from the Empress’s palace by a Palace Attendant and sent back to the Third Prince Mansion.