Chapter 54: Will you understand your son?
The meaningful smile on Yu Jinghong's face seemed somewhat eerie to Consort Duan.
She felt very uneasy.
Yu Hongjing comforted her, saying, "Mother, why are you in such a hurry?"
"All the jewelry and ornaments are neatly packed in the boxes and placed in the luggage carriage at the back! My son personally supervised the loading, making sure not a single piece is missing."
He spoke with absolute certainty.
"Once we arrive in Jiangnan and settle down, my son will take it out and check it for you, okay?"
This explanation sounds flawless.
The Dowager Consort Duan was skeptical, and was just about to nod.
Suddenly, that childish, slightly gloating little voice rang out once again.
While taking small bites of osmanthus cake, Yu Zhaoning was mentally ranting and raving.
[The Dowager Consort Duan is so naive! She would never have imagined that her precious son was such a liar!]
[That jewelry box is currently being used as a cushion by that big boy, who's sitting comfortably under his bottom!]
[And what's more! It's been hollowed out long ago, and filled entirely with pebbles picked up from the Imperial Garden! They're heavy and round, so they won't feel uncomfortable sitting on them!]
Consort Duan froze, her blood seemingly freezing in that instant.
Under your buttocks?
Consort Duan's gaze, uncontrollably, slowly moved downwards and landed on the spot where her son was sitting.
Yu Hongjing's body had not yet fully developed, but his sitting posture was very upright, with a thick brocade cushion under him.
And under that brocade cushion...
A familiar outline can be vaguely seen.
The Dowager Consort Duan forced herself to say, "Hong'er, let your mother take a look at that box."
"I just want to make sure everything is there. If something gets lost on the bumpy road, I'll be heartbroken."
Yu Jinghong's smile finally crumbled.
His movements visibly stiffened, and a hint of annoyance flashed in his eyes.
"Mother! Why don't you believe your son?"
"I already said it's in the car behind! Don't overthink it!"
The more he said this, the more the Dowager Consort Duan's heart sank.
"No!"
Consort Duan suddenly raised her voice, staring at her son with red eyes.
"Those things are what my son and I rely on for the rest of our lives! They are our life! Why can't I see them?!"
Before she finished speaking, she pounced on him!
"Get up!"
Yu Jinghong was caught off guard when his usually gentle mother suddenly erupted, and he was pushed and stumbled.
Consort Duan's hand trembled as she reached for the brocade cushion and yanked it off!
What was revealed was indeed the sandalwood vanity case that she knew so well!
Her heart had already turned cold.
But they still clung to a last glimmer of hope.
Perhaps it was just a coincidence that Hong'er used it as a cushion? Are the things inside still there?
With trembling hands, she opened the brass clasp of the makeup box.
The lid is open.
A whole box full of stones!
She stared blankly at the stones, as if all her strength had been drained away.
She collapsed to the ground, tears streaming silently down her face.
"Why...why..."
"Hong'er, why are you doing this to your mother..."
"Without these things, how will we survive in Jiangnan...?"
Yu Jinghong's face turned pale and then flushed.
"Live? How can I live?"
He suddenly stood up, looking down at his mother with a face full of resentment and malice!
"You have the nerve to ask me how to live?!"
"It's just some jewelry! Why are you making such a fuss! Once I achieve my goals, what kind of wealth and glory won't I have? Why would I need your little things?!"
He practically yelled it out!
"succeed?"
Consort Duan raised her head in disbelief, looking at the unfamiliar son before her.
"You're still thinking about those things? Have you gone mad? Don't you know we're powerless and have no chance against His Majesty? You're already lucky to have the title of Prince Xiaoyao!"
"good?"
Yu Jinghong laughed wildly, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
"That's exile! That's humiliation!"
He pointed to his own nose and roared.
"Why should Yu Zhaoning, a four-year-old toddler, be emperor? Why?"
"That old bastard is so biased! And you? Are you biased too?!"
He approached step by step, his eyes fierce.
"I knew it all along! You're a useless piece of trash! Of lowly birth! You'll never be able to hold your head up in the palace your whole life! And now you want to drag me down?! Since you're so useless, then don't block my way!"
Consort Duan suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, pointed at Yu Jinghong, her breath weak and her eyes filled with despair.
"You, you unfilial son!"
…
This roar was heard by several carriages outside.
In an instant.
The civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment.
They were just feeling sorry for the mother and son who were living a hard life.
And what was the result?
They weren't going to Jiangnan for medical treatment at all; they were planning a rebellion!
This reversal came so fast it nearly hurt everyone's backs!
Lin Xiang sat in the car, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.
He thought to himself, compared to a heartless scoundrel like the Carefree King.
That little emperor who sits on the dragon throne, thinking only of gossiping and watching the drama unfold, and incidentally producing potatoes and sweet potatoes to benefit the people, is simply a saint sent from heaven!
Inside the carriage not far away.
"That old codger..." Yuan Hua repeated these three words softly in his heart, his eyes knowing.
She had heard about it before and knew the character of those princes long ago.
The current Prince of Leisure has really not improved at all!
Yu Zhaoning, however, couldn't wait to flip through the next piece of gossip, and was shocked again.
[The Carefree Prince is really shrewd! He actually planned this all along!]
[His attempt to curry favor with the most illustrious concubine in the palace, Consort Jing, was far more than just a ploy to gain support!]
[He planned to kill his own mother on the way out of the city!]
[Then, create a false impression of an accident, saying that they encountered robbers on the road, and that Consort Duan tragically died protecting him!]
[This way, he could play the role of a pitiful young prince who had lost his mother, and be naturally taken into the palace to be raised by the Dowager Consort Jing!]
[At that time, he can remain in the capital and, with the help of the Jing Consort's family, continue to plan his grand schemes!]
[Tsk tsk tsk, killing one's mother to prove one's path? This little brain works way too fast! This doesn't seem like a scheme a ten-year-old could come up with, does it? There must be a mastermind behind this!]
Until his true feelings shocked the ministers.
Kill...his own mother?
To stay in the capital? To seize the throne.
Everyone gasped in shock, thinking that the Carefree King had gone mad!
Inside that gray-blue carriage.
Consort Duan, who had just vomited blood, also clearly heard these words.
No...
No matter how wicked her Hong'er is, he wouldn't kill her...
She's my biological mother...
Even tigers don't eat their cubs, how could humans...?
Consort Duan shook her head frantically, looking utterly disheveled.
She didn't want to believe it, she couldn't believe it!
However, Yu Jinghong just looked at her coldly.
That look in his eyes was like looking at a dead person.
Just then, the carriage lurched and slowly drove out of the tall and imposing Vermilion Bird Gate.
Yu Jinghong quickly pulled his robe back from Consort Duan's hand, revealing a pitying expression.
Then, under the incredulous gaze of Consort Duan...
He slowly drew a gleaming dagger from his sleeve!
"Mother, you always say you're doing this for my own good, so you should understand me, right?"