Priceless: A widow with a baby asks the prince to marry again

Chu Shiqi's broken wail, with the heartbreaking weakness and prevarication of a young man, echoed in the empty and cold hall. The sound was not loud, but like a rusty, blunt knife, it scraped across Chu Shikun's eardrums and pierced into the corner of his soul that he least wanted to touch.

The words "What can I do?" were like a thunderclap, instantly splitting Chu Shikun's mind filled with anger and murderous intent!

He slowly loosened his grip on Chu Shiqi's collar and removed his heavy combat boots from his thin shoulder blades.

The face before him, covered in tears, blood, and despair, overlapped with the young, angry face in the Queen's chambers in his memory, yet with a subtle hint of recognition and pain—his own face.

When his mother hinted at "stealing and replacing one thing with another", what did he do besides angrily refusing?

...

"Kun'er!" The queen's voice was filled with pain, and tears flowed like a tide from those eyes that always looked arrogant and domineering!

"You are my only child! You are my flesh and blood! Everything I do is for you! As long as you can get better, I am willing to die!"

Tears of sincerity streamed down the Queen's face. The desperation of giving everything for her son and the grievance of not being understood almost overwhelmed Chu Shikun's hardened anger.

"How could you...how could you say such cruel words to my mother? 'Sever the bond between mother and son'? You're trying to tear my heart out!"

When the young Chu Shikun saw his mother in tears, the string in his heart that was taut with anger easily loosened.

He pursed his lips, suppressing his turbulent emotions, and reiterated, his voice low but carrying an unquestionable warning: "Your son has made up his mind! The matter of the crown prince will be decided by your father! Queen Mother...you must never do such rebellious things again! Otherwise...otherwise..."

The four words "killing relatives for the sake of justice" were never uttered again by the mother amid her surging tears.

Seeing his attitude soften, the Queen immediately stopped wailing, as if her previous breakdown was just a sudden downpour. She wiped her tears with her handkerchief and even forced a soothing smile: "Okay, okay, Mother understands. Kun'er has grown up and has his own ideas. Mother... will listen to you."

She cleverly changed the subject, with a deliberate air of ease, "By the way, doesn't Kun'er like listening to music? I heard that a new girl has been sent to the palace from the Golden Wind and Jade Dew Pavilion. She sings beautifully, her voice like an oriole, lingering in the air for three days. Mother was thinking of sending her to you to relieve your fatigue..."

Chu Shikun knew that his mother wanted to talk about it, but she had already responded. What could he do to her if he didn't? They were just arguing, and now he couldn't help but feel a little awkward. He frowned and complained, "Mother, there are already enough women in my house, and they are very noisy."

The Queen, however, gave him a reproachful look, her tone full of indulgence as if it were her due: "Silly boy, you will have three thousand beauties in the future! What are the few here in the palace? Besides, the wives and concubines chosen for you are all daughters of noble and important officials. Their family backgrounds are sufficient, but in terms of appearance and temperament, how many of them can truly please you? Naturally, your mother will choose some beauties that you like, so as not to let my son Kun suffer any injustice."

Chu Shikun accepted his mother's care and watched as his mother gestured for the maids to come forward. Two maids understood and came to help him remove the complicated and heavy armor. Chu Shikun suddenly became a little worried that the dispute between him and his mother would be spread. He looked at his mother and whispered, "Mother, just now we..."

The Queen immediately understood and gave him a resolute look. Her voice was extremely low, yet it carried the confidence of someone in control of everything: "Don't worry, everyone in this palace belongs to Queen Mother. Kun'er, just rest assured."

...

"What are you going to do with me?" A low and stubborn voice woke Chu Shikun up.

He had already taken two steps back. Chu Shiqi, wearing a tattered dragon robe and covered in scars, was slumped on the ground. Although he was asking him questions, his face was lowered and his eyes were not anxious.

How should he deal with Chu Shiqi?

What did he do? He did nothing...

He just angrily rebuked her, then let it go amidst the Queen Mother's tears and care, turning a blind eye...

He was even more afraid of his mother's evil deeds being exposed, and he carefully tried to cover up the fact that his mother had someone place a poisonous snake on the second prince's bed...

Chu Shikun clenched his fists suddenly, his nails digging deep into his palms, bringing a sharp pain, but it was far less than the belated regret and fear that pierced his soul!

However, not long after, my father suddenly criticized my mother for her immoral behavior, and she was placed under house arrest in the palace.

He didn't dare to plead for mercy, because he knew his mother's behavior was immoral! If her deeds were exposed, her crime would be unforgivable! He didn't know what his father knew, and he was afraid of walking into a trap, afraid that pleading for mercy would only make things worse!

And then… in just a few months, a sudden illness took his mother's life! Chu Shikun was heartbroken, but he knew in his heart that it wasn't an illness! His father had indeed discovered his mother's evil deeds! His father had given her the final, dignified punishment!

As the Queen Mother's own flesh and blood, who has devoted all her energy to him, is he guilty of indulging her?

Fear, heartache, confusion...

He saw the coldness and ruthlessness hidden beneath his father's benevolent exterior, as well as his imperial scheming! He began to doubt his own qualifications to be the crown prince!

His father didn't criticize him harshly, but he, under the pretext of excessive grief over his mother's recent death, fled hastily back to the fiefdom he had just been granted for his military exploits! He declared himself "ill with worry," and this "illness" lasted for six years! Like a frightened bird, he was both afraid and eager! He worked hard to govern his fiefdom, hoping that his father would, as he had initially thought, see that he was good enough and recognize him...

Until… two years ago, Chu Shiyu was attacked and died! His death was “accidental” and strange! This news was like thunder, awakening Chu Shikun who was dormant in fear!

He suddenly realized: hiding blindly is not going to work! Even if his mother didn't commit the crime, someone else would have done it! And if he just hid like this, he would just be waiting to die!

The weakness that had been dormant for six years was suppressed at this moment by the stronger desire to survive, and his fighting spirit was ignited again! He couldn't just wait for his father to see him like this!

He had to take the initiative! So, after "recovering from his illness," he volunteered to lead the troops and march into the bitter cold north! He wanted military power! He wanted power enough that even his father couldn't ignore!

"Finally, let me be alone for a while..." Chu Shiqi once again interrupted Chu Shikun's thoughts, and there was no emotion in his tone.

The strange tranquility in the hall gave people the illusion that the brothers actually had a good relationship...

Chu Shikun's eyes reflected the young man sitting dejectedly on the ground. His delicate eyes revealed a hint of unseen pity. His lips parted for a long time, and finally he spoke in a calm tone but with a chilling coldness:

"I grant you until midnight tonight."

Chu Shikun's voice was calm, yet it was like a piece of thousand-year-old ice dropped into a still pond, announcing the final deadline. He no longer looked at the lifeless figure of the slumped young man sitting on the ground. He turned decisively, his black armor wafting a chilling breeze as he strode out of the palace, which smelled of blood yet remained magnificent.

A breeze blew in from outside the hall. It was only a breeze, but it made Chu Shikun feel a chill. He could not reveal his feelings, and could not let those who were surrounding him and looking up at him notice any weakness in him...

His personal guards came forward, walked behind him, and reported in a low voice:

"Master! We've searched the entire palace. Consort Xian is in a bedroom... and the Prime Minister, who was just apprehended..." The guard paused before continuing, "They all took poison. The Prime Minister took effect a moment ago, and Consort Xian, Zhou... has already died..."

"I immediately ordered rescue efforts! Prime Minister Zhou Yanru... barely managed to breathe again, but... he's completely delirious and confused, unable to speak, like a living dead! The imperial physician said... he might never wake up!"

Chu Shikun stopped dead in his tracks! Suicide?! How could they deserve such a simple end?! A wave of rage, a feeling of being fooled, surged through his chest! These people deserved death! How could they be so despicable as to "get away with it"? They didn't deserve to be freed! They should be cut into pieces while still alive!

"There's one more thing!" The commander of the imperial guards, sensing the sudden chill emanating from Chu Shikun, gritted his teeth and continued, "In the dungeon of the imperial palace... a 'human pig' was found... tortured beyond recognition. The jailer confessed that this man... was a eunuch named Wang Hailin, the one who, under the orders of the Prime Minister and Consort Xian, poisoned the bird's nest porridge and murdered the late emperor..."

Chu Shikun's pupils suddenly contracted! This name exploded in his mind like thunder! This accomplice to the evil had actually received the consequences he deserved?

According to previous news, Wang Hailin had risen to prominence, becoming the new emperor's most powerful eunuch, and was incredibly popular before the capital was moved to Jiangnan.

Chu Shikun's anger was instantly replaced by a deeper, more biting chill. He remembered Chu Shiqi's collapsed and crying face in the hall, and the confused and aggrieved "What can I do?!"

Chu Shikun's heart seemed to be gripped by an icy hand.

He knew that this was Chu Shiqi's doing. Chu Shiqi's resentment, which he couldn't vent towards his loved ones, and his anger at his own incompetence... ultimately, all poured out on this slave who was carrying out his orders...

How could the virtuous concubine and the prime minister punish this eunuch who was so "loyal" to them? But Chu Shiqi wanted to punish a eunuch and bear their wrath on his behalf, so they naturally wouldn't object. He was just an insignificant servant...

Chu Shikun did not look back at the tightly closed palace door, as if to isolate the people inside from everything he had just heard.

He walked silently in the palace, walking aimlessly, not knowing where he should go...

Finally he stopped beside an exquisite pavilion by the water.

The night breeze from the Qinhuai River carried moisture, bringing some chill to his face.

He embraced the chill that brought him peace, walked into the waterside pavilion, sat down in the gradually dimming river view, and watched the river surface gradually becoming clearer, like a piece of broken jade, and the distant and unreachable lights of thousands of homes.

The last glimmer of sunset's golden crimson sank completely into the horizon, dyeing the sky a deep indigo. The Qinhuai River, shimmering despite the sunlight, reflected the sparse lights of the imperial palace and the endless stars in the sky, like a shattered piece of white jade, warm yet sharp...

On the opposite bank, the outline of Jinling City was blurred in the twilight, but the lights of thousands of households became brighter and brighter. The phantom on the river surface was brighter than the stars, which made Chu Shikun realize more clearly that he was on the other side of the river, and behind him was not an ordinary citizen's home, but a royal palace where several people had died and were waiting for another to die.

Chu Shikun looked at the lights with empty eyes. The warm light could not even shine into his currently cold heart.

A cold crescent moon rose quietly, casting a faint, almost pale silver glow on the river, outlining the slowly flowing water. The river breeze grew stronger, carrying an indescribable bleakness, making the copper bells on the eaves of the waterside pavilion emit a small, lonely sound.

His shadow was cast on the ground by the cold moonlight, motionless, like a simple statue, slowly flowing with time in silence...

At some point, a thin mist rose from the river, swirling around the pavilion and smudged the distant lights into a blurry mass of light, adding a touch of haziness and illusion. The lights on the other side dimmed, leaving only the low moan of the river and the struggling afterimages of stars casting shadows like shattered jade on the surface.

Chu Shikun remained in the same pose, his dark armor blending seamlessly into the night. Only the occasional flutter of his eyelashes suggested he wasn't a statue. The storm within him seemed to have subsided somewhat, leaving behind a deep sense of exhaustion and a near-empty desolation.

A very light grayish-white finally appeared in the eastern sky, like a smudge of ink on rice paper, struggling to drive away the darkest night, gradually spreading, from gray to blue, and then from blue to a very light fish belly white.

The mist on the river surface slowly drifted and dissipated in the faint morning light. The Qinhuai River's surface reflected the skylight, revealing a chilling clarity. The distant outline of Jinling City gradually became clear in the morning mist, and curls of smoke rose from the homes of ordinary people...

In this early morning, which was already bright but colder than the night, a personal guard held his breath and cautiously stepped into the waterside pavilion. He knelt on one knee, breaking the dead silence that had lasted all night:

"Your Highness... the time... has arrived. I will... enter the palace to inspect..."

Chu Shikun's body tensed imperceptibly, but he didn't move or utter a sound, his gaze fixed on the gradually brightening river in the distance. Something within seemed to have sunk to the icy bottom of the river along with the long, dark night.

The guard took a deep breath and whispered, "The Eighth Prince...did not touch the wine His Highness gave him...nor did he take his sword..."

There was dead silence in the pavilion.

The guard's voice grew hoarse amidst the eerie silence, "The Eighth Prince...twisted his tattered dragon robe...into a rope...and hung it...from the beam of the main hall..."

Chu Shikun's body seemed to have completely solidified into a sculpture at that moment.

There was no sense of relief, nor the joy of revenge, as he had imagined. Instead, there was only a cold, heavy sense of emptiness, as heavy as a sacrificial bronze tripod, weighing on his heart.

Did Chu Shiqi still firmly believe that the dragon robe belonged to him? Then why did he sit in the hall without any resistance after the defeat, waiting for his punishment?

Or, Chu Shiqi also realized his own incompetence and could not forgive the actions of Concubine Xian and the Prime Minister, but he had no determination to change, nor could he punish the criminals personally.

So Chu Shiqi handed it all over to him, and let him be the one to end it all.

Chu Shikun slowly stood up. After a night of torment and complex struggles, the dust finally settled. Perhaps it was the sleepless night that made him feel incredibly exhausted.

But he couldn't sleep yet, as he still had a lot of things to deal with. At this time, what the subjects who followed him wanted was his indifference and ruthlessness.

"Send an order," Chu Shikun's voice was calm and without a ripple, as if he were reading out a cold official document. "Eighth Prince Chu Shiqi, fearing his crime, committed suicide by hanging himself in the palace. Bury him with the rites of a prince..."