Four Seasons Brocade – CH 258

Chapter 258 ☆、

Ah Wu closed her eyes. She had suspected this before, but she never expected Princess Fuhui to be involved. If things were indeed as Chu Mao said, then the Princess and he had a blood feud for the murder of his mother.

Ah Wu recalled Chu Mao’s methods in her previous life. He had not killed the Princess, but his actions were more terrifying than killing her. She had only thought Chu Mao was petty, never considering this hidden story.

“Moreover, Fuhui would never truly submit to me. Do you know she had a daughter?” Chu Mao’s voice gradually returned to calm.

“Princess Kangning,” Ah Wu murmured. Perhaps no one knew better than her, but why would Chu Mao suddenly mention Princess Kangning?

“Her death was partly my fault.”

“How could that be?” How could Ah Wu not know that her death was caused by Chu Mao? “Did Your Highness not save Princess Kangning from drowning?”

Chu Mao paused, taken aback. “You know that, too? It seems you two really can talk about anything.”

Chu Mao’s words were pointed, catching Ah Wu’s fleeting thought.

“Back then, all of us brothers were eager to curry favor with Fuhui, but I already knew the truth about the late Empress’s death, and Princess Kangning was Fuhui’s most beloved youngest daughter. At that time, I was not ruthless enough. I pushed Kangning into the water. Although I later regretted taking my anger out on a child like her, she became bedridden after that and died young.”

The turmoil in Ah Wu’s heart could not be described as mere “surprise.” She was young then and did not remember how she fell into the water, nor did she remember Chu Mao pushing her. The only thing she remembered was that older brother swimming over to save her.

Ah Wu had not expected this tragic connection.

If Chu Mao had not pushed Kangning, Kangning would not have fallen ill and died young, and she, Gu family’s Ah Wu, would be alive, and there would not be Rong Xuan today.

“What do you choose now, Ah Wu?” Chu Mao helped Ah Wu up, looking into her eyes.

Ah Wu looked at Chu Mao with tears streaming down her face. She could clearly see the anxiety and hope in his eyes, but she could not speak.

Chu Mao smoothed Ah Wu’s wind-blown hair. “I can forgive and forget, as if nothing ever happened, Ah Wu.” Chu Mao presented his most vulnerable side to Ah Wu. If this could bring her back to his side, he could forgive her for everything in the past.

Ah Wu did not speak. She could not process what Chu Mao had said, but she understood how difficult it was for him to say he forgave her at this moment.

Ah Wu reached out and took Chu Mao’s hand, then placed it against her face, feeling the warmth of his palm. Her tears flowed even more fiercely.

Chu Mao gently pulled Ah Wu into his arms, stroking her hair. “Ah Wu,” he said, “I kept my word. Let’s still be like before, alright? We promised to have three sons and a daughter like you. I only have you, and I only want you, Ah Wu.”

Ah Wu hugged Chu Mao’s waist, burying her face in his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

Chu Mao stroked Ah Wu’s back until she calmed down, then cupped her face and kissed away her tears. “Ah Wu, I need you to tell me yourself that you will stand by my side and will not leave Yulan Hall for the next few days.”

This situation was utterly hopeless for Ah Wu. Her only hope was that Chu Mao would forgive the Princess for her sake, but all those illusions were shattered by Chu Mao’s words. She could not even bring herself to say that in her previous life, she was Princess Kangning, Ah Wu of the Gu family.

If she did, a blood feud would separate her from Chu Mao, an irreparable rift. She did not want Chu Mao to think of her only as the daughter of his mother’s killer.

In reality, the situation was already beyond repair. Ah Wu held only a tiny glimmer of hope that Chu Mao would remember even a little of her kindness in the future.

But such kindness was far too insignificant. Ah Wu felt a pang of regret. If only she had been kinder to Chu Mao, just a little kinder… if only they could have had a child…

Or perhaps not having a child was the best outcome.

Chu Mao’s hand slowly withdrew from Ah Wu’s cheek. Ah Wu’s hesitation made Chu Mao’s heart sink to the bottom of the sea.

Ah Wu, as if grasping at a straw, reached out and grabbed Chu Mao’s hand. “Your Highness, can you not really let the Princess go? Even for the sake of the bigger picture, has Second Brother Gu not done a good job in Luobei? Your Highness, talented people are hard to find; can you not…”

Chu Mao’s face darkened, and a storm began to brew in his deep eyes. He pulled his hand away from Ah Wu’s.

Ah Wu grasped it again. “Can it not even be temporary? Your Highness, let her go for now, and settle the score later, alright? Alright?” Ah Wu was desperate, clinging to any hope she could get away with.

“I never imagined you’d go to such lengths for him.” Chu Mao smiled instead of getting angry, gently smoothing Ah Wu’s hair. “Ah Wu, I always thought you were a clever person, a heartless clever person, but I never imagined you actually had a heart, just not for me.”

“No, it’s not like that,” Ah Wu cried, shaking her head.

“How can it not be? Even for someone like Fuhui, you begged me like this for him. If I asked you to kneel and lick my shoes right now, you probably would agree, would you not, Ah Wu?” Chu Mao’s words stung Ah Wu, making her tremble, yet she could not stop. “But with Aunt, you will not rest until you get rid of her.”

Ah Wu had no way to refute Chu Mao’s words. Chu Mao’s feelings for Nanny Hao were the same as her feelings for Princess Fuhui. But she was determined to deal with Nanny Hao just as he was determined to deal with Fuhui.

“How could I have fallen for someone like you, heartless, unfilial, and unjust? For that person, you even abandoned the Rong Mansion?” Chu Mao said, his eyes narrowed, his voice incredibly gentle.

But it was precisely this gentleness that gripped Ah Wu’s neck, making it difficult for her to breathe. Ah Wu had countless vital points, and His Highness Prince Qi could strike them all accurately.

Ah Wu released Chu Mao’s hand, staring blankly at him. Finally, his true intentions were revealed.

Ah Wu had anticipated that Chu Mao might use the Rong Mansion to threaten her into submission, but when he actually said it, her heart still ached like it was being stabbed with needles. However, it was all her own doing, and she could not blame Chu Mao for his methods.

Faced with such a shocking, treasonous plot as the palace coup, Ah Wu had thought that if she and Chu Mao were in each other’s shoes, she would have killed him long ago. The fact that she was still alive was already an extraordinary act of mercy from Chu Mao.

“This was all my own decision and has nothing to do with my father and the others. I know Your Highness is not the kind of person who cannot distinguish between gratitude and resentment,” Ah Wu said softly.

“Thank you for your high regard. I am indeed not that kind of person,” Chu Mao chuckled.

But both Ah Wu and he knew that no one was immune to emotions. Even if the Rong family did not suffer the consequences of having their property confiscated and being exterminated, they probably would not fare much better.

“Besides, since that person is so important to you, I can let him go so you will not hate me for the rest of your life, Ah Wu.” Chu Mao’s words did not bring Ah Wu any relief; she only felt cold, as if stones were tied to her feet, pushing her into the water.

“What does Your Highness want?” Ah Wu looked at Chu Mao.

“Did you not say I am clear about gratitude and resentment? I can let go of the Duke of Wei’s mansion, but not Fuhui. Otherwise, I’d be an unfilial and unjust beast, would you not say so, Ah Wu?” Chu Mao said.

Ah Wu cried until she had no tears left. Her heart was gripped tightly, squeezed together, and she felt an excruciating pain.

“Gu Tingyi’s secret return to the capital from Luoning is a capital offense,” Chu Mao said, not in a hurry to answer Ah Wu’s question but instead throwing out one reason after another to force her to surrender.

Ah Wu suddenly understood. Chu Mao probably knew about her secret contacts with Gu Tingyi. It was remarkable that he had endured so long, only revealing it now. However, Chu Mao’s men would never hear her private conversations with Gu Tingyi, so no one would believe that their secret meetings were without any illicit affair.

“Your Highness, there is no illicit affair between Gu Tingyi and me.” Ah Wu had to say this, even though she knew Chu Mao would not believe her, but she had to at least state her position.

“If Your Highness does not believe me, I can swear a solemn oath. If I, Rong Xuan, have any romantic feelings for Gu Tingyi, then may I…” Ah Wu raised her right hand.

“Enough. Whether I believe you or not is no longer important, Ah Wu.” Chu Mao waved his hand, seemingly utterly exhausted. “What matters is whether you want to protect the Gu family.”

In truth, Ah Wu had no right to bargain with Chu Mao. Now that His Highness Prince Qi had mercifully released the Gu family, Ah Wu could only kneel and fawn.

Choose the Princess? Or choose the Gu and Rong families? Or let all three be destroyed because of her? Chu Mao forced Ah Wu into a choice.

“Your Highness, what do you want me to do?” Ah Wu whispered, her voice as if her soul had been ripped away.

What Chu Mao needed Ah Wu to do was simple: make Ah Wu atone for her mistakes and personally send the Princess to her doom.

“Princess Fuhui will not believe me.” Ah Wu’s hands trembled beneath her sleeves.

“You are so intelligent; you will definitely find a way, Ah Wu. I am waiting for your good news,” Chu Mao said, rising to his feet.

“You are so cruel,” Ah Wu said, her eyes filled with hatred as she looked at Chu Mao.

Chu Mao paused before smiling. “Not as good as you, Rong Xuan. After this is done, you will still be Princess Qi, and you will still be the future Empress. The Rong family and the Gu family will not fall.”

The only negative consequence was that it severed all possibilities between Ah Wu and Gu Tingyi; Ah Wu became the one who killed Gu Tingyi’s mother.

In reality, if things were as His Highness Prince Qi predicted, the choice he gave her was not really that cruel.

Author’s Note:
Your Highness Prince Qi, now corrupted, do you know what you’ve done?
Why was this so enjoyable?
The abbess is indeed the abbess; her pace is completely abnormal.
Si-Mao: Is she forcing me to get involved with Que Ai?
Que Ai: Oh my god, I’ve already entered the Buddhist order.