The Deposed Crown Prince had Three Lifelong Regrets - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: The Mirror Demon (Side Story)

There was an extremely popular opera circulating among the people called “The Book of Life and Death,” which Princess Yuan Ying greatly loved. She was a commoner-born princess. Back then, the current Emperor, when he was a prince, favored a singing girl in Jiangdong. Only after she became pregnant with the royal heir were the mother and daughter able to transform from clumsy birds into phoenixes.

The good times didn’t last. Her mother was falsely accused of adultery by other consorts. Before the Emperor could issue an edict regarding the children’s punishment, she was put into a pig cage and immersed in the pond by young eunuchs holding ropes.

The incident occurred in the palace. Even at her lowest, Yuan Ying was still a royal heir. The eunuchs, trembling, did not insult her, but carefully pulled the pig cage ashore after she drowned, fabricating the illusion of a princess accidentally drowning.

The resentment lingered for a long time, still wandering through the old palace even after the change of dynasty.

But with the passage of time, she became too weak.

After the state was destroyed, the rebels stormed the palace, and corpses littered the ground. Countless stone-carved Bodhisattvas were brought into the palace. Some were locked in the main hall, and others were sunk into the lake.

Servants, outwardly obeying but inwardly defying, rushed to steal all the statues sought for bearing children or marriage to substitute for the real ones. A remnant soul attached itself to a Maitreya Buddha, barely surviving.

But watching someone give birth to life in confinement, and linking it to the rumor of the descent of the Ziwei Star (Emperor Star) spread by the Directorate of Astronomy, she became unwilling to silently perish. Before she realized it, she had already helped the female infant swallow a portion of the fetal poison.

This Consort must have been poisoned during her pregnancy, but she hadn’t realized it herself.

From then on, whenever the palace servants came and went, she would squat on the roof beam, her teeth grinding in irritation, staring for a long time.

Swinging on the swing. Gradually, she found watching Zhu Lingwei swing on the swing was also amusing. The other party could see her. What an honor that was?

However, compared to the young Crown Prince, she preferred to provoke Lu Fengmian. At that time, the mother and daughter were still very happy. The child had a good appetite, plenty of strength and skill, and the mother was cheerful and loved to laugh, often preparing gifts.

Fate was unkind. The ship’s sails first caught fire during the journey to relocate the capital, and then they encountered bandits.

—Lu Fengmian went missing.

Fortunately, Zhu Lingwei had been frail since childhood and recognized the National Preceptor as her master. The National Preceptor had many followers in the countryside. When she returned to the new capital, she coincidentally met her master, who wanted her to meet a friend’s apprentice.

Thus, Lu Fengmian was found to have an extraordinary background and was sent back to the Zhao Residence.

At that time, the other party suffered from amnesia. Her father was unwilling to stay in the distressing Zhao family home and wanted to take his daughter away, but her innocent words touched upon the taboo of her deceased mother. She could only remain, her face pale, wearing sackcloth and mourning attire.

Children raised in this kind of environment would either be timid and acquiescent, or two-faced and shed their original gentle nature.

Perhaps she was no longer as intelligent as in her childhood, nor as unperturbed by praise or disgrace. But people always grow. If she lost the innate ability to win the favor of elders, she would rely on schemes to compensate.

At least she managed to make Li Qinghuai like her as always.

The Mirror Demon’s patience ran out. It crawled out of the mirror, pretending to be a god or a ghost. After all, the Crown Prince was raised under its care. How could it tolerate other “monsters” playing tricks?

Sincerity was mixed with deceit. She was indeed too weak. She needed the sacrifice of fresh life.

Because the intention of sacrifice was too obvious, Li Qinghuai had no trust in it whatsoever. However, something pleasing to her happened: the girl from the Zhao family, relying on her quiet pretense, arranged a marriage with lightning speed.

“Does no one truly like the real me? It’s so strange. I hate being deceived. I hate being completely unaware.”

Is being protected truly a blessing?

That night, with old grudges and new hatred mixed, Lu Fengmian, her hair messy and disheveled, knocked on the palace gate. She was driven away by the guards and immediately turned to block the Crown Prince’s sedan chair.

She wanted to cooperate with Li Qinghuai, intending to overthrow the Zhao family. The two rowed a boat on the lake, enjoying themselves immensely.

The Mirror Demon gnashed its teeth in hatred. Even the Empress realized something was wrong and became increasingly cold in her attitude. She specifically arranged for her subordinates to threaten Lu Fengmian as a hostage, but the Crown Prince handled it decisively, demanding a direct cold arrow shot. Whether the hostage survived depended entirely on fate.

After this crisis was averted, the two were in a cold war. Sometimes they would run into each other, but Lu Fengmian would only hide behind the boat curtain, unwilling to see her.

Why?

“With both human and material evidence present, how can you expect me to believe you?”

Why divorce and return to the Imperial Palace?

“The world is cold and lonely. I walk alone, trudging through the journey…”

Later, the Empress hanged herself. Amidst the atmosphere of extreme fear and suspicion, the Sun family was also exterminated for a corruption case. She endured cruel torture for her lies. Silver needles were inserted into all her limbs and joints, and her legs were beaten with bamboo sticks. Even with the Emperor’s general amnesty, her recovery was a near-death experience.

Li Qinghuai was deposed, and no news could enter or leave…

She thought of going to visit, but only mockery and clamorous sarcasm remained in her heart. She truly wanted the other party to hear her laughter. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get in.

The status of the Zhao family as part of the Crown Prince’s faction was a hindrance, leading to Lu Fengmian being given poisonous herbal soup for many years. She was unwilling to shoulder the crime of assassinating the noble lady without consent, but this person only thought of avenging her mother. Perhaps she would show mercy and not harm the Zhao family too badly. But Li Qinghuai was weak, and the Emperor was worried about further casualties. Once there were more innocent victims, he would certainly not give up the investigation easily.

The situation gradually stabilized. When people had enough to eat and wear, their thoughts turned to lust. Anyway, there would be no shortage of blind dates later on, whether she desired them or not.

The men considered her background and personality unfavorable, constantly comparing her to the girls around them. She was even mocked, being told that only pigs, cows, or dogs would marry her.

When the eldest young master of the Song family appraised calligraphy and paintings, he asserted that Lu Fengmian deserved the top prize. After being secretly discussed, the head of the Zhao family mistakenly thought the other party was coming to propose marriage. Before she could laugh at the old man’s delusion, the Song family sent a marriage contract.

The Mirror Demon knew that Lu Fengmian’s uncle had once revealed the cause of her mother’s death because he also hated his wife, yet he didn’t want to be the villain who destroyed family harmony.

He was creating a false impression of deep love for his half-sister.

The Mirror Demon knew that after Lu Fengmian lost her memory, she sometimes saw her uncle’s very stiff smile and became suspicious of her. But she endured it all.

“Can you understand? There was one time when I got up from bed while sick, and I casually mentioned a certain word during small talk. She turned her head, and all the muscles on her face piled up stiffly, looking very much like a wrinkled smile.”

But Li Qinghuai didn’t know. She wanted her to know.