Chapter 798 Love and Hatred

“I did nothing wrong! He’s my husband. What do you have to snatch his favor from me?” Yao Lu said, overwhelmed by emotion.

She waved her skinny arms around like an evil spirit that was about to devour Madame Jingrou.

“You still refuse to realize your error by now. His Majesty married you in his youth, so how could he treat you heartlessly? Do you know that His Majesty came to the manor of venomous insects for you rather than for a sightseeing tour or the power of the Xin Family?” Madame Jingrou said in a trembling voice, seeming to have exhausted her strength and failing to hold back her tears.

The Emperor did not reveal a different expression at the mention of the past.

Instead, he reached out to wipe off his beloved wife’s tears with his sleeve.

Yao Lu said, “No… that’s impossible! His Majesty has never loved me. My father’s power was the only reason that I could marry him. If His Majesty cared about me even a little bit, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

In fact, Lin Mengya had noticed long before that given the Emperor’s disposition, he was unlikely to allow the Empress to maltreat his beloved like that, unless he had to do so for a reason.

All the members of the imperial palace believed that the Emperor was afraid of the power of the Yao Family. However, Lin Mengya drew a conclusion based on her observation: it seemed that the Emperor was not that afraid of the power of the Yao Family.

Now she finally got the answer. Their feelings for each other couldn’t be simply summarized as love and hatred.

“Sister Yao Lu, when you just married His Majesty, you were affectionate, gentle and considerate to him in every aspect. Although His Majesty didn’t have affection for you as you expected, he still considered you as his wife and respected you. In order to give birth to Jing’er, you almost died. His Majesty once told me that although the Yao Family had always coveted the throne, you just wanted to give birth to the child of His Majesty and you, didn’t you? Later, as your health condition worsened, His Majesty was very worried about that, so he went to my manor of venomous insects to ask for a kind of marvelous venomous insect that could improve your health condition. Do you really forget that?” Madame Jingrou said.

From the beginning, Lin Mengya had figured out how the Empress would end up.

In fact, the most terrible thing in this world was not that the person you loved had no feeling for you, but that you could win his heart but missed the opportunity.

Although the Yao Family intended to make use of Yao Lu’s marriage with the Emperor to win the Emperor over, as long as she did everything for the good of the Emperor, the Emperor, who was in dire straits and completely isolated at that time, definitely would not discard her.

However, Yao Lu was unaware of this.

Meanwhile, Madame Jingrou was as gentle and peaceful as a small stretch of spring, warming the Emperor’s heart.

In the entire imperial palace, perhaps Madame Jingrou was the only one capable of doing this.

Therefore, the Emperor only cherished a deep-seated affection for her.

Sometimes, no scheme was allowed in a relationship, but both parties’ persistence could lead to a long-lasting relationship.

This was the case for the Emperor and Madame Jingrou, as well as for Long Tianyu and her.

“No… you’re lying! It’s all your fault. You seduced him! If you hadn’t appeared, His Majesty and I certainly wouldn’t have ended up like this,” Yao Lu said.

What had actually happened back then was revealed. Although the truth was not bloody, it was heart-wrenching.

Lin Mengya knew that once the truth was disclosed, Yao Lu would have a thorough mental breakdown.

When the time came, Yao Lu would be doomed.

“You always say that I seduced His Majesty. However, with so many imperial concubines in the imperial palace, His Majesty only favored you and appointed you to take charge of the imperial palace before he went to my manor of venomous insects. You should think about why he did that. But what did you do? Carried away by jealousy, you used His Majesty’s trust to implant a venomous insect in his body. Do you know that the venomous insect is the most tricky? Once it enters a human body, it will devour the human brain, and the person, who has it in his body, will eventually become a walking corpse. His Majesty had a splitting headache, and only my blood could barely suppress the venomous insect in his body. Knowing that you were coaxed into doing that, His Majesty didn’t blame you. He asked me to stay with him day and night in order to suppress the venomous insect in his body!” Madame Jingrou said.

The truth turned out to be this!

Although Lin Mengya had learned part of the truth from Wanyan Lie, she did not expect that the romantic story between the Emperor and Madame Jingrou was mixed with a multitude of love and hatred.

That explained why Madame Jingrou had put up with the Empress all this time and the Emperor had never shown his true feeling easily.

They were more sympathetic and righteous than she imagined.

“That day you intruded into the hall and happened to see me suppressing the venomous insect in His Majesty’s body with my blood. You attempted to kill me with a sword regardless of the cause and effect. After I escaped, I thought that you would take care of His Majesty. Unexpectedly, you… you scratched his face with a sword personally. Do you know how deeply you hurt him? Do you know… how much I regret it?” Overwhelmed by emotion, Madame Jingrou added with a surge of rage in her pretty eyes.

Lin Mengya stared at her, astonished at this love story that had odd twists and turns.

Perhaps the Empress was possessive of the Emperor rather than affectionate to him.

After the poor Emperor, who cared about the Empress, his first wife, back then, was hurt by her unexpectedly, his heart must be broken.

Fortunately, he had Madame Jingrou’s company, otherwise, he would have a hard time.

Lin Mengya thought it meaningless to pursue what had happened.

After learning the truth, Yao Lu froze on the spot, dumbfounded, with tears on her pale and lifeless face.

Lin Mengya was aware that Yao Lu’s heart had been broken into pieces.

“Rou’er, stop crying. You had a hard time over the years,” the Emperor said, fixing his eyes on Madame Jingrou all this time.

Perhaps his heart had been broken by Yao Lu before.

But Rou’er had stayed by his side over the years, always helping him handle everything carefully and properly and restored his broken heart.

Ever since they got married, Rou’er had done everything for his sake, such as her effort to suppress the venomous insect in his body with her blood.

Perhaps their love story was not as earth-shattering as others imagined.

But such gentle and considerate love was enough to last for the rest of his life.

“Ziyang, I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” Madame Jingrou said.

She, who had choked with sobs long before, flung herself into the Emperor’s embrace and began to weep loudly.

In the hall, her cries that had been suppressed for long were heartrending.

Yao Lu lowered her head, thinking about something.

“Helan, go back with Madame and persuade her to stop crying. She’s in poor health and can’t take it,” after a long while, the Emperor said softly.

Lin Mengya immediately took the order. After bowing, she helped Madame, who got carried away by crying, out of the east hall.

She knew what was going to happen without being present.

Given the Empress was devastated and the Emperor was going to try the case personally, there presumably wouldn’t be any accidents.

After accompanying Madame Jingrou, who had cried her eyes out, back to the Fengyu Court, Lin Mengya immediately instructed someone to fetch a towel that had been soaked in cold water and put it on Madame Jingrou’s face.

“I made myself laughed at by weeping and wailing like a loser at such an old age,” Madame Jingrou said.

She seemed to be in a much better and relaxed mood after crying her fill and getting over what had happened.

Nevertheless, she still felt a little embarrassed in front of a young lady.

“Nonsense. One will get depressed if she has to hold back her tears all the time. Madame, I admire the breadth of your mind. His Majesty is lucky to have an understanding wife like you,” Lin Mengya said.

In the chamber, Ningqiu was unaware of what had happened.

However, at the sight that Madame Jingrou maintained her smile despite her eyes swollen with tears, she put her mind at ease.

However, at the sight that Madame Jingrou maintained her smile despite her eyes swollen with tears, she put her mind at ease.

“I’m flattered. His Majesty just doesn’t get enough of me. In fact, no one can clearly explain what happened back then. Now I’m only glad that I didn’t make the wrong choice and insisted on following him. Although I gave up my identity as the chosen witch and my prominent family background, I’m satisfied to have him,” Madame Jingrou said.

At this moment, she looked like a shy and pretty girl rather than a middle-aged woman.

Lin Mengya was stunned for a moment, and then nodded.

It seemed that she could sympathize with Madame Jingrou on these things.

“I heard from His Majesty that you managed to suppress the venomous insect with your blood. Madame, may I take your pulse?” She said.

When she first came here, she noticed that Madame Jingrou was overly sick and weak.

She had thought Madame Jingrou was a fragile beauty, but now it seemed that Madame Jingrou’s effort to suppress the venomous insect in the Emperor’s body with her blood had done great harm to her health.

Madame Jingrou revealed a different look in her eyes, seeming to reluctant.

But then she thought of something, hesitantly stretched out her arm and said, “Yes, please.”

Lin Mengya nodded and took her pulse.

Although her pulse was a little weak, it had no influence on her health.

However…

Lin Mengya suddenly grabbed a part of Madame Jingrou’s white wrist hard, and Madame Jingrou let out a screech with her face turning paler, “Ouch!”

Ningqiu immediately stepped forward and glanced at Helan in confusion.

Fortunately, Helan loosened her grip at once and looked at Madame Jingrou in front of her with a frown.

“Ningqiu, you may leave now. Guard the gate and allow no one to get close.” Madame Jingrou, who was shocked, immediately dismissed Ningqiu.

Under Lin Mengya’s questioning gaze, Madame Jingrou shook her head slightly as a hint for her to keep it secret.

Unexpectedly, the secret she had painstakingly concealed over the years was discovered by Lin Mengya.

Only Lin Mengya and Madame Jingrou were left in the room.

The former looked serious, while the latter looked perturbed.

“Madame, why do you keep it secret? Do you know the venomous insect is not one of the common kind? Your pulse looks normal now, but once the venomous insect gets out of control, you will definitely get killed! Although I have no idea how you managed to suppress the venomous insect, I know that the Madame, who stays outside for meditation throughout the year, is your substitute, isn’t she?” Lin Mengya said.

Her sharp eyes flickered, but eventually returned to soft.

Madame Jingrou rubbed the part between her eyebrows and said with a bitter smile, “Yu’er is indeed a man of view. Even His Majesty doesn’t discover the secret, but you did. Well, I will tell you about it.”