Chapter 6 The Poison
The year I ascended, Uncle-in-Law’s health had already worsened.
The imperial physicians said the Regent Prince’s illness came from the heart and could not be cured.
After they left, I poured a cup of water and helped him sit up.
“Uncle-in-Law, the physicians say your body is very weak. I know you want to avenge Aunt, but the Third Prince has already fallen. Even if he was not the true culprit, we have no other leads. Perhaps you should let go and cherish what remains.”
I spoke with a selfishness I had not admitted even to myself.
I was afraid something would happen to him. If he left, what would I do?
I had no parents and stood at the highest position. No one dared to be trusted. If even my only uncle-in-law was gone, what would become of me?
“Song Lin, I have not yet told you how your aunt truly died.” He drank the water, color returning slightly to his face. When he looked at me, I felt seen through.
“Was she not killed by assassins?” I shifted my gaze away.
“It was an assassination, but the real cause was poison.” Whenever he spoke of her, his expression grew vivid.
Whether happy, sad, or regretful, only when he mentioned her did he seem truly alive.
Now his eyes were red as he told me the greatest regret of his life.
“Before my parents went to war, I asked them to propose on my behalf when they returned victorious. I wanted to marry her more than anything. She was a princess far above me. I knew I was not worthy. I had always been frail, yet I worked harder than anyone to stand at the same height as others.”
“It was useless. My parents died in battle, leaving only me and my younger brother. From then on I knew I could never be worthy of her.”
“Still she came to me. She asked if I would make a deal: we would become engaged, I would help her fend off suitors, and she would support me against the Duke of Wu’an’s household.”
He spoke of the past slowly. I was shocked by the truth, yet I also felt the helplessness in his words.
“Song Lin, your aunt was truly a very good person.”
“I could not fail her. It was not duty or atonement; he simply wished it.”
He drew a deep breath, steadying himself before continuing.
“I asked the physicians later. It was a poison that gradually robbed a person of their five senses.”
“When I found her, she had only one breath left.”
“She was most afraid of the dark, yet at the end she could no longer see.”
“She lay there alone. I did not even have time to hold her hand before she was gone.”
“I had not told her how much I liked her—more than she could ever imagine.”
“I could not even lift her into my arms again.”
I had never known words could carry such weight.
I stood before him yet felt exposed. My earlier worries now seemed small and foolish.
My worries seemed small compared to their loss.
“So tell me, how am I supposed to let go of this hatred? How am I supposed to spare the people who harmed her?”
“To me, it is better to kill wrongly than to let even one go free.”
That same day, in front of me, he issued a secret order.
Assassins were to be sent at once to kill the three princes traveling to their fiefs. None were to be left alive.
He had held on until this moment.
Better to kill wrongly than to let even one go free.