good season

The wind and rain were kept out of the house. The window covered with oil paper had a hole in it at some point, and it hadn't been repaired yet. Rainwater poured in from outside and flowed down the window frame, dripping and pattering. Zhao Shiqing put the brush washer on the ground to catch the water, and soon it was full.

Zhao Shiqing casually poured the water from the brush washer into a large water vat in the room, and then put the brush washer back in its place.

Zhao Xingzhou's thoughts were interrupted by her series of actions. He looked at the brush washer and then at the large, incongruous water vat in the room.

"Why is the water vat placed here? Shouldn't it be in the kitchen?"

The room was dimly lit, and Zhao Shiqing sat in the brightest spot. The candlelight reflected on her face, giving her a gentler look that she didn't usually have.

But when she looked at Zhao Xingzhou, that moment of tenderness vanished. She stood up, grabbed Zhao Xingzhou's arm, and before he could react, she had dragged him to the large vat.

The water vat reflected the faces of an old man and a child. Zhao Shiqing pointed to the reflection in the water and said, "There are no mirrors on the mountain, but this big vat can help you straighten your clothes and see if there is any eye boogers or rice grains on your face."

Zhao Xingzhou was surprised. He had a feeling that Zhao Shiqing hadn't pulled him to the vat to tell him that it could be used as a mirror.

There must be something else that Zhao Shiqing hasn't said yet.

"Just say what you want to say, no need to beat around the bush," Zhao Xingzhou said.

“Okay, you told me to say it, not that I insisted on saying it.” Zhao Shiqing readily agreed, but she didn’t move her feet. The old man and the young girl remained standing in front of the large vat, creating a strange and somewhat ridiculous scene.

"That concubine's son became emperor. Logically, she should have been made empress dowager, but she wasn't. Old sir, you are a highly accomplished person, you must know the reason, why don't you tell me?"

Zhao Xingzhou's face stiffened. He was the one asking Zhao Shiqing the question, so how did it turn into Zhao Shiqing asking him the question?
"How would I know?"

Zhao Shiqing rolled her eyes inwardly. I gave you face by not mentioning Consort Li and only talking about that other concubine, and you took advantage of it. Did you think that as long as you didn't admit that you were the old emperor, you could wipe the slate clean of the matter of raising someone else's son?

You are so beautiful!
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter that Zhao Xingzhou had just written.

Zhao Xingzhou was taken aback and quickly looked at the table. The table was empty; Zhao Shiqing had already put the letter in her pocket sometime earlier.

Zhao Shiqing waved the letter in front of Zhao Xingzhou, then quickly stuffed it into her bosom before he could snatch it. When it came to speed, Zhao Xingzhou was no match for her.

She was simply reminding Zhao Xingzhou that the letter was sufficient proof of his identity, and that he shouldn't pretend anymore, it was pointless.

Zhao Xingzhou suddenly felt that the room was very hot, and his face was even hotter!

“Li, although that wicked concubine was adopted into the main family, she has not changed her petty nature. She is always vying for the top, narrow-minded, and brainless. If she becomes the Empress Dowager, she will not only make the harem a living hell, but will also affect the court and drag the Emperor and her son down.”

Zhao Shiqing nodded: "I originally thought you were confused, but now it seems you are not confused at all."

Since you are not confused, why did you fail to recognize talent? Why did you hand over the legacy left by your ancestors to others?

Zhao Xingzhou breathed a sigh of relief. He had already thought about this question and had the answer.

"Because I didn't know, I didn't know he wasn't my biological child!"
I never imagined that Consort Li and the Wei family would be so audacious as to confuse the royal bloodline!
Believe me, I genuinely didn't know, and I never expected it.

Zhao Shiqing stared intently at her reflection in the water. The room was dimly lit, making the reflection even less clear, but she looked at it very carefully.

She simply smiled at Zhao Xingzhou's answer.

"Okay, just as you said, you didn't know that person wasn't your blood relative, and you treated him as your own flesh and blood."

So, was the late Crown Prince Zhao Xian your biological son? Or was he someone else's adopted son?

The phrase Zhao Xingzhou can't stand the most right now is "raising someone else's son".

He immediately blurted out, "Of course not, Xian'er is my own flesh and blood!"

Alright, I'm not even going to say "I" anymore, I'll just say "I" directly.

They keep talking about cultivating immortality, but in the end, what they care about most is the color of their hair.

Zhao Shiqing reached into the vat and slapped the water with a loud crack, shattering Zhao Xingzhou's old face.

As Zhao Xingzhou watched her movements, it felt as if Zhao Shiqing's hand was actually hitting his face. He subconsciously took a few steps back, and his reflection in the water completely disappeared, leaving only Zhao Shiqing watching all this with a half-smile.

Zhao Xingzhou knew what Zhao Shiqing was going to say. He stood behind Zhao Shiqing, as if he could avoid the topic as long as Zhao Shiqing didn't turn around.

However, Zhao Shiqing turned around, her eyes clear and her smile gentle.

Zhao Xingzhou breathed a long sigh of relief. What did he have to avoid? In front of him was just a teenage girl.

Moreover, she is a very lovable little girl, and he really wants to have such a fun and cute little daughter.

He had a daughter late in life, and she also has a little daughter. Unfortunately, she has a cold and aloof personality. She wanted to become a nun when she was ten years old. Now she is not even twenty years old, but she is more like a nun than he is.

Therefore, he liked Zhao Shiqing very much when he first met her. She was lively, cute, smart, and quirky. Even now, he still likes this little girl very much, the kind of affection an elder has for a younger person.

There is a connection between people, and he felt that he and Zhao Shiqing were very destined to be together. This little girl should be his daughter, or a granddaughter, or a great-granddaughter. In short, this child should be his child.

The more this happens, the harder it is to say certain things.

He didn't know how to talk to his daughter or granddaughter about these things.

Seeing that he hesitated to speak, Zhao Shiqing spoke up for him.

"When the King of Wu left the capital, it was just the time when the former Crown Prince moved into the Wuji Temple."

At that time, the atmosphere inside and outside the court was tense, and everyone was talking about the father of the child in Lady Wang's womb. Your situation must have been very difficult."

Zhao Xingzhou looked at Zhao Shiqing in surprise. He hadn't expected that Zhao Shiqing, at such a young age, would know about this.

Because the matter had long been suppressed, and no one brought it up again.

"How old are you? Who told you these things?"

Zhao Shiqing knew that some things couldn't be hidden, such as her identity.

“My surname is Zhao, the Zhao from the Liang Prince’s Mansion. I am the adopted daughter of the old Liang Prince.”

She didn't know if Zhao Xingzhou had anyone investigate her, but regardless, her confession was a statement in itself. Sure enough, she saw no surprise on Zhao Xingzhou's face. She continued, "But my adoptive father never mentioned this when he was alive."

I know this because the poison that the Crown Prince of Wu was poisoned with is the same poison that killed my adoptive father.

They all died from heart disease caused by drinking.

By the way, although the late Crown Prince had an eye ailment, wasn't his cause of death also a heart condition resulting from drinking?

Zhao Shiqing paused here, and Zhao Xingzhou's lips twitched a few times before he finally spoke with difficulty: "The child in Xiao Wangshi's belly has nothing to do with me. At that time, I was focused on the Dao and had long since stopped being close to women."

"As for Xian'er, he suffered from an eye disease at that time, but he did not want anyone to know, so he made an excuse to hide in Wuji Temple and secretly searched for famous doctors, but to no avail, and eventually went blind."

Furthermore, he had been away from court for a long time, and the officials were unaware of the situation, which already led to much criticism. When he found out, he became even more depressed and prone to tantrums; I was powerless to change his ways.

When Zhao Shiqing thought of the Shi family, who were wiped out because of the late Crown Prince's eye disease, her eyes turned bloodshot, and she choked up as she said, "The late Crown Prince was your eldest son. He was the Crown Prince from the age of five. He was the heir to the dynasty and the next monarch!"
You knew he was ill, yet you allowed court officials to impeach him. The renowned doctor he sought had disappeared without a trace, and instead of investigating the cause, you ignored him and neglected him. As rumors about him spread, instead of ordering their suppression, you let them run rampant!
What were you thinking at that time?

Of course she knew what Zhao Xingzhou was thinking at the time.
Throughout the court and in the streets, everyone was talking about the Crown Prince's eyes and his decadence. The focus of the court officials and the common people was on the Crown Prince. Rather than paying attention to the affair between the old emperor and Lady Wang, which was neither real nor openly discussed, they preferred to righteously criticize the Crown Prince's mistakes.

The criticism that was originally directed at the old emperor has all been turned against the crown prince.

At this point, it would be a mistake for the crown prince to be alive; he must die.

So when the crown prince died, everyone thought it was only natural. He was blind, his position as crown prince was in jeopardy, and he was a loser.

As a loser, he should drown his sorrows in alcohol; he should drink himself to death!

Zhao Shiqing's tears fell silently as she stared intently at Zhao Xingzhou. Although she hinted at it, Zhao Xingzhou knew she had seen through him!
Zhao Xingzhou felt a little guilty under her gaze.

But he didn't understand why Zhao Shiqing was crying.

This was the first time he had ever seen this little girl cry. In his memory, she was always laughing, joking, and full of emotion, but he had never seen her cry.

Could it be because of the Liang Prince's Mansion?

"It seems that Prince Liang and Xian'er have no relationship."

Zhao Shiqing shook her head: "The reason I am called Zhao Shiqing is because my surname is Zhao and also Shi."

Our Shi family was just an ordinary family in Wu. It was because my father took in Dr. Yang, who was skilled in treating eye diseases, that our Shi family was wiped out by your good son.

And I, the sole survivor of the Shi family, was dug out of my grave by wild dogs.

Zhao Shiqing spoke slowly and calmly, but every word seemed to be soaked in blood. Her eyes were dark and unyielding, just like that murderous night many years ago when neither moon nor stars were visible.

In the suffocating room, Zhao Xingzhou shivered several times. He slumped down in the shadows, his features shrouded in darkness, making it impossible to see his expression.

"Xian'er. Xian'er is my first child. Empress Yuan and I were childhood sweethearts, and Xian'er was born amidst our hopes and dreams."

He suddenly couldn't continue speaking; his throat felt tight and uncomfortable. He was an emperor, but he was also a father.

He didn't understand why he would explain these things to a teenager. Not to mention a young girl like Zhao Shiqing, even if the old King Liang were alive, he wouldn't dare to question him, and he certainly wouldn't explain anything to the old King Liang.

He closed his eyes and sighed.

Zhao Shiqing laughed at this moment. Her laughter was sweet and contained no sarcasm. However, what she said made Zhao Xingzhou feel an urge to cover her mouth.

"It's a pity that you had other sons later. Their mothers were still alive. Living mothers would whisper sweet nothings in your ear, and with a few whispers, the sons who were only three-tenths human would become extremely outstanding. Extremely outstanding sons would cater to your preferences and win your favor."

The other orphan was even more helpless. He had been put on the spot since he was a child. No matter what he did, you felt that he was not good enough. He was the crown prince, so he should be outstanding and extraordinary. If he did well, it was his duty. If he did not do well, it was his fault.

If he does anything less than satisfactory, it will be magnified in your eyes. If he fails to meet your expectations in even one thing, he becomes useless in your eyes.

No one helped him out, no one supported him.

His closest person is you, but what about you? Is he your closest person?

Every word was like a knife, each one piercing Zhao Xingzhou's heart.

Zhao Xingzhou wiped his face with his hand: "I regretted it later, but by then it was too late. Oh, right, I still have my grandson, Xian'er's son is still alive, yes, he is still alive!"

How could he forget that he has a grandson?

He thought the child was long dead, until after the Lunar New Year this year, the child suddenly appeared in front of him.

At a glance, he knew that this must be Xian'er's child, because the child looked exactly like the Empress!

My Empress Dowager is a woman of unparalleled beauty!

This is also why no one else in the harem was able to win his favor later on.

Even though later women could stay by his side and whisper sweet nothings in his ear as Zhao Shiqing said, none of them could win his favor. He and they only had children to raise and continue the family line.

Thinking of Empress Yuan, Zhao Xingzhou felt even more remorseful.

If he hadn't focused on his spiritual practice back then, would he still be thinking about Empress Yuan?
If his feelings for Empress Yuan had not diminished, his father-son bond with Xian'er would not have faded, and that wretched second son would not have been able to take advantage of the situation!
Zhao Shiqing had no idea that in just a short while, Zhao Xingzhou had found a new excuse for himself.

Fortunately, Zhao Xingzhou still had some sense of shame and didn't say what was on his mind, otherwise Zhao Shiqing would have rolled her eyes to the heavens.

"Alas, that treacherous concubine has confused the royal bloodline; she deserves to die."

Therefore, I am not wrong.

If I were to point out any faults, they would be my failure to investigate Consort Li's ancestry for eighteen generations after the birth of her first hook-nosed child.

Zhao Shiqing stared at him expressionlessly. So this is the emperor! So this is what an emperor is like. I've never seen anything like it!

Zhao Xingzhou finally regained his confidence. He stood tall again, and his gaze towards Zhao Shiqing held a touch more affection: "Good child, the Shi family suffered because of Xian'er. I will definitely give you an explanation. How about this, I will posthumously confer an official title on your father. Let me think about what rank to bestow." (End of this chapter)