The Empress had never been one to command much of a presence. She always wore a gentle, dignified expression, as if she let Emperor Yongchang's mood dictate her every move.
So long as the emperor made his final decision, she could accept either Xiao Qianyu or Xiao Qianyì as her son without complaint.
Even when she did show emotion, it was only on the surface. Her every word and gesture was rigidly proper, befitting an empress, with little trace of human warmth.
Now, for the first time, genuine shock and bewilderment showed on her face. She stared in disbelief, utterly at a loss. "Torture? What torture? Who would dare lay a hand on you?"
It was as if Xiao Qianyu had said something too unbelievable to be true. She even lost her composure and rose to her feet.
It wasn't only the Empress. Emperor Yongchang, too, furrowed his brow and looked Xiao Qianyu up and down, a trace of anger in his voice. "Someone tortured you?"
Xiao Qianyu arched a brow, puzzled inwardly, while a mocking smile spread across his face. "I was accused of not being the emperor's blood, branded a traitorous official and rebel. Wasn't it only natural that I'd be tortured?"
Emperor Yongchang angrily slapped the quilt. "I expressly ordered that no one use torture or any other means that would harm your body. You were to receive the same food and provisions as usual, and no one was to make you suffer."
After all, Xiao Qianyu had been raised at his knee for twenty years. Emperor Yongchang had cared for him and watched him grow. Even if Xiao Qianyu wasn't his own flesh and blood, he wouldn't allow anyone to trample on his dignity.
The Empress trembled with rage. "Who? Who disobeyed the imperial edict? I want his life!"
Xiao Qianyu narrowed his eyes. He'd be damned if he knew who it was. This wretched memory of his.
He dragged the system out again in his mind and tortured it to death a thousand times over.
Of course, he couldn't tell them the truth.
Xiao Qianyu gave a cold, vicious laugh. "So it was treason, then. You needn't concern yourselves with who did it. I, the Crown Prince, will avenge myself."
The Empress grew uneasy at his words.
She reined in her emotions and asked, "How are you feeling now? Does it hurt? Is it serious? Where are the imperial physicians? Hurry and have them examine the Crown Prince."
The concern on her face now seemed genuine.
"There's no need. I'll have the imperial physicians examine me when I return to the palace." Xiao Qianyu had no interest in stripping down here.
Unexpectedly, the Empress lowered her hands, looking dejected and awkward, and gave a bitter smile. "Does Yuer resent Mother now?"
Xiao Qianyu raised a brow and asked pointedly, "What did Mother do that makes you think I would resent you?"
Empress Changsun was momentarily at a loss for words. Her almond-shaped eyes brimmed with tears, and she looked helplessly toward Emperor Yongchang. "Your Majesty, you can't blame Yuer for being angry. I, as his Empress, failed to protect him."
Emperor Yongchang patted the Empress's hand in reassurance, then turned to Xiao Qianyu with displeasure. "I know you blame us for trusting others too easily and sending you to the Imperial Prison. But at the time, the Three Judicial Offices held a joint trial, the Six Ministries sat in, and the evidence was conclusive. I had no choice but to act for the sake of our ancestors' realm. Now you've returned with your innocence restored. You should know that filial piety comes first among a child's virtues. Be respectful and humble; that is how you ought to set an example for the court."
In truth, Emperor Yongchang was simply displeased that Xiao Qianyu had been giving him the cold shoulder all this time. He was deliberately putting him in his place, warning him not to think that Divine Protection meant he could disregard the emperor.
To Xiao Qianyu, it meant that even though he'd been wronged, he wasn't allowed to be unhappy. He was expected to act as if nothing had happened and continue treating them with respect, filial piety, and consideration.
Xiao Qianyu didn't know what sort of person the original owner had been. But in ancient times, when filial piety was valued above all else, and especially for a Crown Prince, whose every action had to conform to proper etiquette, he must have been benevolent, filial, and obedient.
But Xiao Qianyu wasn't the original owner, and he didn't have the original owner's memories. If he tried to act like a loving, dutiful son, he'd give himself away in no time.
He might as well use this chance to fall out with them. Then he wouldn't have to put on an act about rekindling their old affection and reminiscing about the past.
"Before demanding that I be filial and respectful, Father Emperor, did you ever look into your own heart and ask whether you'd shown me kindness and care?" Xiao Qianyu said coldly, without the slightest courtesy.
Emperor Yongchang jolted. "You—you truly resent me?"
Xiao Qianyu gave a cold snort. "Am I not allowed to resent you?
Tell me, what traitor who impersonated and usurped the Crown Prince has ever been allowed to walk out of the palace alive? Before asking whether I resent you, Father Emperor, did you ever ask whether I was willing to let that traitor live until Autumn Execution?" His sharp, icy gaze swept across Emperor Yongchang, the Empress, and the Empress Dowager. "Even if I held the filial affection of a grandson and a child for the three of you, seeing how kindly and mercifully you treat that traitor, how generously you forgive him, has turned my burning heart to ash."
He coolly brushed his sleeve. "Forgive me for being only a mortal. I haven't cultivated into a sage, and I can't watch my family show kindness to my enemy without feeling a thing. Sigh. I wonder if the Empress Dowager pleaded for me again and again, remembering our years as grandmother and grandson, when I was trapped in the Imperial Prison. I wonder if Father Emperor ever considered showing mercy and letting me live until Autumn Execution. But I suppose not."
Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up on the Execution Platform.
He put on an expression of utter disappointment, icy and heartbroken, then stubbornly turned away, alone. "Take me back to my quarters."
Emperor Yongchang looked mortified and furious. He ground his teeth in secret, while an indescribable feeling stirred in his heart. The gentle, kind child he had once known seemed to have truly been wounded beyond repair by them. He wasn't coming back!
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