Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kangle did not dare.

Ancestors are the source of one’s bloodline. No matter how reckless Kangle was, she didn’t dare lie before them.

She bit her lip, her eyes reddening until she looked like a pitiful, trembling rabbit. Unfortunately, she was a rabbit with a seductive streak.

I left with pride, soaked to the bone, while Wei Zhao followed behind me like a dejected dog.

By the time I returned to the Princess Manor, my head was throbbing violently. I forced myself to change clothes and didn’t want to move another inch.

Yet, as luck would have it, my Empress Mother summoned me to the palace at that very moment.

She surely wanted to know what had happened in the woods, or perhaps she wanted to vent her anger on Kangle’s behalf.

But I was a human being too. I had just fallen into the water; I wasn’t made of iron.

Filled with immense annoyance, I didn’t want to go. However, the female official from the palace was very insistent.

“If the Princess is feeling unwell, it is the perfect time to have the Imperial Physicians examine you at the palace.”

“Fine, I’ll go.”

I boarded the carriage, enduring the headache. With unsteady steps, I arrived at my Empress Mother’s Changning Palace.

To my utter surprise, an argument was already raging inside.

My Empress Mother’s voice rang out in a sharp rebuke. “Kangle, behave yourself! Wei Zhao is already your brother-in-law. Do not do anything so shameless!”

“The one who is shameless is Zhao Ziyu! If it weren’t for her, Wei Zhao would be my Imperial Son-in-Law. He’s mine!” Kangle cried out hysterically.

“The rice is cooked; the matter is settled. Stop dreaming of the impossible. I have looked into several young men for you and will choose one better than Wei Zhao.”

“Empress Mother! I am a person, not a plaything! Have you even heard a word I said? I only want Ah Zhao! No matter how good others are, what do they have to do with me?”

I heard Kangle’s heart-wrenching screams clearly. For the first time, I felt she finally looked a bit like a real person.

But my Empress Mother delivered a resounding slap to Kangle’s face.

*Slap!*

“It seems you still haven’t woken up.”

“For a person, living is the most important thing. You fool!”

My Empress Mother’s voice was gritted through her teeth, filled with the anger of failing to guide her daughter.

I felt my Empress Mother’s expectations were far too high. She loved Kangle’s innocent and childish nature and had raised her to be lawless, yet now she complained that Kangle was too naive. If she truly wanted to discipline her, what had she been doing all these years?

The room fell silent.

The female official let out a long breath. “Reporting to Her Majesty the Empress, Princess Chang’an has arrived.”

Kangle suddenly whipped the curtain aside, glared at me with eyes full of resentment, and then ran out.

A group of palace maids chased after her, shouting that she had just fallen into the water and should slow down.

My Empress Mother’s gaze followed her until she was out of sight before she reluctantly looked away. Her eyes were clouded with complex emotions, and her voice sounded weary.

“You’re here. Are you feeling any better?”

“Thank you for your concern, Empress Mother. I am fine.”

“Mm.”

My Empress Mother sat in a daze, clearly distracted.

After a long while, she finally spoke. “Kangle has been spoiled by me. Don’t take it to heart.”

My head was pounding, and my blood felt like it was boiling. The words slipped out.

“Empress Mother, why don’t you let Kangle know that even if I didn’t exist, you wouldn’t have let her marry Wei Zhao?”

“What?”

My Empress Mother’s gaze turned complicated, filled with disbelief as if she were seeing me for the first time.

Since I had asked, I decided to get a clear answer once and for all, so I could finally give up hope.

“If you truly wanted Kangle to marry Wei Zhao, you would have decreed the marriage long ago. Why would you have delayed it until the day I returned?”

“You saw that the Wei Family was nearing its end, so you didn’t want Kangle to marry into it and suffer, did you?”

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you refuse when I begged you for the marriage decree?”

“In your eyes, Kangle is more important than me, and power is also more important than me, isn’t it?”

My questions grew increasingly sharp until my Empress Mother finally snapped in shame and anger.

“Are you going to be as defiant as Kangle and vent your resentment on me? Get out!”

Her fingertips trembled, betraying the shame and embarrassment of having the truth exposed.

I backed out step by step.

My body and heart were freezing. It felt as though I had returned to the day Ning Ze died-standing under the warm sunlight, yet shivering with a cold that reached my bones.

The chill seeped out from the gaps in my bones, from my pores, from every strand of hair… yet the sunlight could not penetrate my body.

My Empress Mother loved Kangle. She wanted to command Kangle’s life, yet she didn’t want to bear Kangle’s resentment. She would rather have Kangle hate me than tell her the truth.

When I begged for the marriage decree, she could have refused. But her desire for power made her agree. Yet for Kangle, she could refuse without hesitation.

I had overestimated myself, thinking my Empress Mother would treat us equally. In truth, I knew deep down that it was impossible. To act while knowing it was futile-I was truly a fool.

But which child isn’t a fool in front of their mother?

Standing in the sunlight, I felt both freezing and burning hot. My fingertips lacked even a trace of strength.

I heard someone shout, “She fainted!” I thought someone had finally noticed I was about to collapse.

Unexpectedly, everyone ran in one direction.

“Princess Kangle has fainted!”

“Quick, fetch the Imperial Physician!”

“Quick, bring hot water!”

Ah! So that was it.

I lowered my eyes and smiled bitterly, realizing I was envious of Kangle. How could she manage to faint the moment she wanted to? I clearly felt so miserable, so why couldn’t I just faint on command?

I maintained my poise as a princess and trudged out of the palace one step at a time. After returning to the Princess Manor, I crawled into bed and fell into a deep, heavy sleep.