After passing Guanshou and crossing Lingyang Ferry, they would reach the territory of Zitan Mountain after traveling for half a day.
Along the way, several people took meticulous care of Shu Moyun. There was an abundance of food and drinks. With her son and disciple by her side, and no longer having to worry about being threatened and exploited by the Wang family, within just a few days, her once - gaunt cheeks became plumper, and her eyes regained their sparkle.
As for the wound on her shoulder, it had already healed under Su Yuanyuan's treatment. During the journey, apart from enjoying the scenery outside, she taught Su Yuanyuan all the medical skills she had learned throughout her life.
When they were crossing the Lingyang River by boat, they heard from the common people on the boat about the extremely absurd palace banquet that had taken place in Shengjing City.
Learning that the Wang family had suffered heavy losses because of this incident, with the crown prince and the queen both being deposed and imprisoned in the Qi Prince's Mansion, and Wang Chongling being dismissed from office and ordered to reflect at home, Su Yuanyuan immediately clapped her hands in delight. But then she showed some dissatisfaction.
"They've caused so much misery to Aunt Shu and Brother Yunjian. Just being deposed and demoted is not enough to soothe the pain you've endured. The entire Wang family should have suffered even more."
Upon hearing this, there was no sign of pleasure on Shu Moyun's face. Her gaze grew even more profound.
When the moon rose above the treetops, the large boat was slowly sailing on the river. Su Yuanyuan and Wangyue had already fallen asleep. Shu Moyun quietly left the cabin and walked onto the deck. She looked up at the moon in a daze.
There came a soft, almost inaudible sound of footsteps behind her. Shu Moyun turned her head slightly and saw Cang Xuan walking up behind her. He draped a cloak over her, and the warmth immediately enveloped her body.
"Mother, it's windy outside. You're still weak. It's better to go back to the cabin and sit down," Cang Xuan said.
"This shouldn't be a coincidence, right?" Shu Moyun suddenly asked.
Cang Xuan replied, "What does mother mean?"
"Your mother heard from that girl Yuanbao that you entered the court as a grand scholar of the Astrology Pavilion and were appointed as the chief assistant of the cabinet and granted the title of Prince Cang. Your mother knows that you did all this to avenge me. Since you were able to find me, you should also know that it was the Wang family that caused the separation between you and me back then."
"I know Wang Mengyao well. For the position of the queen, she wouldn't easily interfere in the affairs of Jiutang Mountain. But a few months ago, she suddenly sent someone to cut a piece of flesh from my shoulder. From that moment on, your mother knew that someone must have upset her, and she wanted to take pleasure in torturing me. And that someone might be you, my son."
Cang Xuan stood shoulder to shoulder with Shu Moyun and slowly said,
"Mother is right. The way that woman sent people to treat you in Jiutang Mountain is exactly how I made her pay. And as mother said, this palace banquet in Shengjing was indeed designed by me. Does mother think that my methods are too extreme?"
After asking this, Cang Xuan quietly tightened his hand hidden in his sleeve.
Shu Moyun shook her head with a smile. "No, on the contrary, I think you did a great job. Even though you were not in Shengjing, you could plan strategies and achieve victory from afar. Such a disposition and means are exactly what my son should have."
The tightly - clenched fist immediately relaxed, and Cang Xuan's voice became a bit lower. "It's a pity that that person still has a shred of kindness towards the Wang family and still treats them leniently."
Hearing this, Shu Moyun fell silent again.
She looked at the fragmented moon reflection swaying with the waves in the river and let out an almost inaudible sigh. "The Wang family has been a prominent family for generations. It has many branches, and its industries are spread all over the Great Chu. It can become the number one among the noble families, not just by empty talk. Just based on this, it's really impossible to completely eradicate the Wang family."
"Moreover, according to the laws of the Great Chu, when a palace concubine or a royal heir makes a mistake, they won't be immediately executed. They will be demoted first. If they make another mistake without repenting, then they will be executed. Being able to depose the queen and the crown prince under pressure and dismiss Wang Chongling from office is already the limit of what he can do."
Although they had been separated for many years and things might have changed greatly, Shu Moyun still subconsciously spoke up for the emperor.
Cang Xuan looked deeply at Shu Moyun. His concealed eyes were as deep as the night.
"Mother seems to still have hope for that person and is always defending him. But has mother forgotten who caused the separation between you and me back then? Will he make such plans for our mother - son pair?"
Before Shu Moyun could say anything, Cang Xuan continued, "He won't! He is weak and incompetent. For so many years, he has allowed the noble families to act wilfully on his head without any opinion of his own. If he had mother and me in his heart, he would have a hundred ways to get rid of the Wang family, this cancer!
"This time, if there hadn't been conclusive evidence proving that the Wang family had secretly replaced the crown prince with a substitute to continue the royal lineage, which touched on the royal taboo and disgraced the royal family, would he have punished the Wang family? No, he still wouldn't. Mother, the only people we can rely on in this world are ourselves. I will use my own hands to take back what should belong to you!"
The river wind blew by, and the moonlight shone on Cang Xuan. Shu Moyun saw that his eyes were blood - red, looking extremely angry.
She reached out and touched Cang Xuan's face and said,
"You must all think that back then, it was because Cilang didn't believe me and imprisoned me in the cold palace of the Eastern Palace that I suffered all that."
Shu Moyun said softly, "If it hadn't been for a secret guard he sent to help me during that fire and for someone he sent to deliver a message to your master to come and pick me up, I would never have been able to escape from the cold palace smoothly. That secret guard even disguised himself as me and became my scapegoat, making the world think that I had died in the fire. All of this was his instruction."
"What? It was him who sent the message to master?" Cang Xuan looked stunned. After coming to his senses, he frowned and said,
"Since he knew in advance that the cold palace would catch fire, why didn't he stop it from happening?"
Shu Moyun said, "How could he not want to?"
She looked at the river. The moon reflection was broken and re - formed in the waves, just like her and Xiao Ce.
"Cilang's biological mother was just a low - ranking maid before. She gave birth to him after being accidentally favored by the previous emperor. A maid, of humble origin, meant that there was no maternal family to support him. Such an origin destined him to have no chance of ascending to the throne. He respected his crown - prince elder brother and only wanted to be a carefree prince, to enjoy the mountains and rivers with me after going to his fiefdom.
"At that time, the noble families were entrenched and had control over the court. This was not a new phenomenon. The previous crown prince of the previous dynasty had long wanted to change this situation, so he strongly supported the commoners from poor families and opened up a way for them to offer advice. The commoners from poor families gradually expanded and formed a momentum that could compete with the noble families.
"In order to continue the glory of their clans, the major noble families designed to kill the previous crown prince in a fire in the palace. Then they joined hands to put Cilang, who had no maternal family support, on the throne of the crown prince. Then they used Cilang's hand to gradually suppress the commoners from poor families, making Cilang and the commoners from poor families turn against each other."
When mentioning those years, Shu Moyun's expression was cold, and her tone was filled with hatred.