The Emperor's uncle loves me! My paranoid wife, don't run away

Hao Hengshan's words made Concubine Yan look a little disappointed. This feeling was beyond Concubine Yan's expectations.

Perhaps she herself didn't even know that she had long been accustomed to Hao Hengshan's "following", the sense of security that no matter how aggressive she was, he would always silently guard behind her.

But now, she turned around suddenly, only to find that Hao Hengshan, who had always been silent and guarding, was gone - this feeling made her extremely uncomfortable, and even a trace of imperceptible panic began to surge in her heart.

"She's gone mad, talking nonsense in public!" Concubine Yan's voice suddenly rose, with a hint of haste in her defense, "Of course she must die!"

Her momentum remained undiminished, and the sharpness and arrogance between her eyebrows were like a scimitar, slashing fiercely at Hao Hengshan, trying to cover up the turmoil in her heart at that moment.

Hao Hengshan rubbed his forehead, leaned back in his chair tiredly, and sneered in his throat with a hint of sarcasm.

"So, you admit that Wei Yun was killed by one of your people?"

These words were like a ray of thunder, which froze Concubine Yan's whole body.

She looked up at him, her eyes blank for a moment, as if she had not expected him to point out the truth. She opened her mouth and wanted to refute, but the words were tied on the tip of her tongue and no sound came out.

Normally, she could just answer "yes" indifferently. Such directness and decisiveness were her weapons. But at this moment, she found it difficult to say "yes", as if there was a piece of cotton in her throat and she couldn't utter it no matter what.

Hao Hengshan's gaze gradually turned cold, like an icy sharp blade, staring straight at the broken porcelain pieces on the ground.

He didn't look at her again, but spoke in a low voice, with a hint of inexplicable fatigue and nostalgia in his tone.

"During this period of time... I have been thinking about a lot of things in the past."

The voice was neither fast nor slow, yet it seemed to carry a thousand pounds of weight.

"How old were you when my eldest sister first brought you back to the Hao Mansion? Five? Or six?"

Concubine Yan frowned slightly at this sentence.

She took another step and walked to his side, trying to interrupt him with her proximity, or even stop him from continuing to recall the things she wanted to forget.

"Hengshan, it's not important! None of it matters!" She gritted her teeth, her tone was urgent and pleading, as if she was afraid that he would continue to ask deeper questions, "Why do you want to do that?"

Hao Hengshan seemed not to hear her attempt to stop him, and continued to speak: "At that time, you were a small child, wearing old clothes torn by wild dogs, standing stiffly in the yard. My eldest sister said, 'I picked this up, and you will be my maid from now on!'"

He looked up at Concubine Yan, the coldness in his eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by an emotion that was so complex that it was difficult to guess.

The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, as if he was smiling, and his voice was low and hoarse.

"You were so timid back then. When you first called me 'young master', your voice was as soft as a mosquito's."

Concubine Yan's breathing suddenly stopped.

"Hengshan..." She spoke with difficulty, her voice low.

"The past is not important anymore. Our son is still fighting on the battlefield thousands of miles away. As his uncle... and father, you must save him!"

Her tone gradually became louder, filled with an urgent anger and helplessness.

"Cheer up a bit, please!"

She suddenly reached out and grabbed Hao Hengshan by the collar, shaking him vigorously, as if trying to bring back the soul of this walking corpse.

Hao Hengshan let her shake him hard, but his expression did not change at all, and his eyes were still on the porcelain pieces on the ground.

Seeing Hao Hengshan's appearance, Concubine Yan felt an indescribable sense of grievance and anger in her heart, and finally she couldn't control herself and blurted out.

"Is Wei Yun more important than Mo Sheng?"

Her voice trembled a little and her hands clenched unconsciously.

"You really don't understand!"

As soon as the words fell, the tense atmosphere in the air seemed to freeze.

Concubine Yan stopped shaking and looked directly into Hao Hengshan's eyes. Her eyes were filled with complex emotions, including anger, confusion, and a bit of fragility that was difficult to conceal.

Hao Hengshan suddenly broke free from her hand, and the magnitude of his movement was so great that Concubine Yan staggered and almost fell onto the messy broken porcelain pieces on the ground.

She subconsciously took a step back, her face changed slightly, and when she raised her head, she found that there was a hint of resolute coldness in Hao Hengshan's expression.

"But Wei Yun shouldn't have appeared in this bloody storm!" Hao Hengshan growled, his voice hoarse and suppressed, as if squeezed out from deep in his chest.

"She is an innocent person! She shouldn't be involved in these power struggles, let alone be destroyed by your own hands!"

"Didn't you pull her in?" Concubine Yan's eyes were tinged with red, her voice trembled slightly, but she still refused to give in.

"Hao Hengshan, what qualifications do you have to blame me? Do you think what you are doing is noble?"

Hao Hengshan's face changed drastically after hearing this. He took a step forward, his tone revealing a long-suppressed anger.

"Why did I marry? Isn't it to make His Majesty feel at ease with you and me? Isn't it to make your life in the palace better?"

Concubine Yan's body trembled slightly, and she took a step back. Tears welled up in her eyes and her lips trembled, as if she was hurt by his words.

"Hao Hengshan..." Her voice was low and choked, and tears finally couldn't help but overflow from her eyes, "Do you think I have lived better these years?"

Every word he spoke was filled with deep despair and sadness.

"Hao Hengshan! All of this is because your Hao family is too powerful! His Majesty is afraid! After your father left, His Majesty was afraid that you would rebel! So he wanted to take the women of the Hao family as concubines to check and balance you!"

Hao Hengshan's breathing became rapid, he clenched his fists, and looked at Yan Fei with complicated eyes. After a few seconds, he collapsed like a deflated ball.

Concubine Yan was right. In the final analysis, all of them were just victims of imperial power.

Concubine Yan's tears could no longer stop flowing. She stood there, as if she had finally taken off the stubborn and hard mask, revealing the fragility and despair that had been hidden under the cold shell for many years.

"The eldest daughter died of illness, and the second daughter hanged herself. I am the only one left in the entire Hao Mansion - your wife, Hao Hengshan."

"Since then, the Hao family has had a third young lady, and you, Hao Hengshan, have never had a wife."