si-mexico Chapter 401 The Prince's Mystery: The Cannon Fodder Bride Forced into a Substitute Marquis'
Chapter 401 The Prince's Mystery: The Cannon Fodder Bride Forced into a Substitute Marquis'
Song Zhihua staggered back a step, seemingly unable to accept this fact.
"No, no, how could the Song family be descendants of the previous dynasty's royal family?"
I am the legitimate daughter of the Song family, how could my father not tell me about this?
You're lying! You're kidding me, aren't you?
Moreover, even if our Song family has the bloodline of the previous dynasty's royal family, the previous dynasty has been extinct for more than a hundred years. Our Song family is loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty and to Tang Jinxuan. How could Tang Jinxuan possibly exterminate our entire Song family based on such a reason?
So, ultimately, it's all Tang Jinxuan's fault!
Tang Ruijing looked at Song Zhihua's broken state without showing any mercy, and continued speaking.
"My father told me that the Song family has never given up the idea of restoring the country since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty more than a hundred years ago."
The year your father ascended the throne, the border was invaded, and he sent Marquis Wu'an, who is your father, to guard the border.
At first, the emperor trusted Marquis Wu'an very much, but a subordinate general on the border discovered something amiss. Upon closer investigation, he found that Marquis Wu'an was secretly contacting the enemy and intending to join forces with them to attack the Great Xia Dynasty.
The lieutenant risked his life to go to the capital and told the emperor about this. At first, the emperor did not believe it, but the more he investigated, the more he proved that the Song family was not innocent.
The Emperor did not reveal the identities of the Song family as remnants of the previous dynasty's royal family, partly because of the presence of you and the prince you bore in the harem.
Your father did not intend for you to die, so he only charged the Song family with treason. Since you have already entered the palace, you are considered a married woman and are not subject to the charges. Therefore, there is no need to tell you the truth.
Who knew that his good intentions would lead to your misunderstanding and cause this situation now?
Song Zhihua couldn't accept the truth. Her family, the Song family, was descended from the royal family of the previous dynasty, and she had no idea about it at all!
She had always thought that the family she grew up in was harmonious, warm, and intimate. However, her parents and brother had kept such a big secret from her.
Thinking back on it carefully, almost all of her experiences from childhood to adulthood were arranged by her parents. She had no worries about food and clothing and lived a wealthy life when she was young. When she grew up a little, her father said that the family's power was too great and that only by befriending aristocratic families could she have a chance to survive.
Therefore, under her father's arrangement, Song Zhihua became friends with Shen Mingze and Tang Jingfan.
Then, through their relationship, they came into contact with the then Crown Prince Tang Jinxuan.
Looking back now, Song Zhihua's ability to fall for Tang Jinxuan, who was ten years older than her, was also thanks to her parents and brother. If they hadn't repeatedly told her how wonderful Tang Jinxuan was, why would she have paid so much attention to him?
And that banquet—it was clearly held at the Song family's residence, so how did it happen that she and Tang Jinxuan ended up having physical intimacy?
It's possible that all of this was orchestrated by the parents or the older brother.
Unfortunately, the Song family's years of forbearance were no match for Tang Jinxuan's methods. Once the secret was exposed, the family was utterly destroyed by Tang Jinxuan.
Song Zhihua was unaware of the secrets behind these events. After entering the palace, she became obsessed with love. Later, because her family was destroyed by her lover, she turned her love into hatred and completely hated Tang Jinxuan.
Only now does Song Zhihua realize that all of this was brought upon the Song family by themselves!
Hahaha... How absurd!
Song Zhihua recalled that after the Song family was wiped out, the remnants of the Song family went through many hardships to find her. However, despite her providing money and effort, the remnants of the Song family deliberately kept it from her when carrying out their plan.
It turns out, she was never meant to know the secret!
However, eighteen years have passed, and she has reached this position through hatred, so there is no turning back.
Song Zhihua raised her head, took two steps toward Tang Ruijing, and reached out to grab Tang Ruijing, but Tang Ruijing turned to the side, avoiding Song Zhihua's touch.
Song Zhihua paused for two seconds before looking at Tang Ruijing and saying, "Ruijing, things have come to this point, and we have no way out."
I received news that Tang Jinxuan wasn't sick; he had been poisoned and was about to die.
The three princes in the palace are not as good as my son, so why can't you sit on the throne?
Furthermore, Ruijing, you are clearly a prince, yet you are denied the throne because of your bloodline. Are you content with this?
Tang Ruijing turned his head away from Song Zhihua, lowered his head slightly, and said, "Given my status, I have no power to rely on. Even if I desire the throne, I am afraid I am powerless to help."
Song Zhihua quickly advised, "How could you not have any help? You have lived in the Xuanping Marquis's residence for eighteen years. Among the princes, Xuanping Marquis Shen Mingze could only choose you. With the help of Xuanping Marquis Shen Mingze, you are almost no different from the other princes."
Moreover, I am now a concubine in Prince Jing's household, and I will do my best to persuade Prince Jing to help me seize the throne.
These two forces, one overt and one covert, can both be used to your advantage, which would greatly increase your chances of inheriting the throne.
"Also, I used to work in the palace, and I've kept some spies around all these years. Now I'm handing them over to you. With this token, you can make them obey your orders..."
Song Zhihua said a lot, and Su Jinyue summarized it as follows: he hoped that Tang Ruijing would join the battle for the throne. Song Zhihua's people could be used by Tang Ruijing, whether Tang Ruijing was used to deal with the princes or Tang Jinxuan, and those people would have no complaints.
Tang Ruijing pointed out that Prince Jing and the eldest prince Tang Ruibin were close. Song Zhihua explained that Prince Jing did not think highly of the eldest prince and was only superficially cooperating with Tang Ruibin. In reality, Prince Jing was still on Tang Ruijing's side.
On the carriage ride back, Su Jinyue looked at Tang Ruijing, who was deep in thought, and wondered what he was thinking.
Su Jinyue wasn't worried that Tang Ruijing would be swayed by Song Zhihua; she only admired Song Zhihua's resourcefulness.
Su Jinyue could tell that Song Zhihua had no idea that the Song family was a remnant of the previous dynasty's royal family. However, even after learning about it, she still managed to deceive Tang Ruijing without batting an eye. In fact, she put on an even more enthusiastic performance in front of Tang Ruijing because of this.
As expected, she is the kind of person who can pull off such a shocking act as switching princes in the harem.
Not to mention, Song Zhihua was able to fake his death in the palace and escape from the capital, all thanks to Tang Jingfan as a backup plan. He's definitely no ordinary person.
"Husband, what do you plan to do next?" Su Jinyue asked Tang Ruijing.
Tang Ruijing said, "Let's investigate the servants in the mansion first. There must be people from Song Zhihua or Tang Jingfan in the mansion. Someone must have induced us to come to this temple to worship Buddha."
Su Jinyue nodded. She also felt that she had fallen into someone else's trap. She had only paid attention to a few specific people before, and hadn't really put any effort into managing the household.