"Gu Hanxun, the aunt you mentioned is Gu Qingqing, right?"
Gu Hanxun nodded.
Apart from Gu Qingqing, he wouldn't call anyone else aunt.
"However, when Gu Qingqing was buried, it should have been in the Hailing Kingdom, right?"
Gu Hanxun nodded again.
He said, "Because my aunt was of noble status, when she was buried, my father, Qin Anxin, my mother, and I all went to the Hailing Kingdom."
Zhao Shuning's eyelids twitched.
It seemed that she had overlooked some details.
Yes, it was when Gu Qingqing died.
"Gu Hanxun, you said that when the princess was buried, there was a Xuanshuang flower in her hand. Are you sure it was the princess?"
Because Xia Qingyan once said that when his mother died, she was emaciated, and the golden silkworm gu worm in her body broke out and disappeared without a trace.
If what Xia Qingyan said was true, then how could Gu Hanxun, who hadn't seen Gu Qingqing for a long time, recognize her at a glance?
"I'm sure. Although, although at that time, my aunt's body was covered with a white cloth and she was lying quietly in the coffin. Her face was no longer as radiant as before. She looked like an old woman in her seventies or eighties, extremely thin. But there was a bell on her wrist that I gave her. Also, there was a mole on the back of my aunt's hand. I checked, and the position was right."
So, this was how he recognized Gu Qingqing.
If Gu Hanxun knew that apart from her head and arms, his respected aunt's body was even more terrifying when she was dying, almost without flesh and blood, would he go crazy?
"I hate the people of the Xia family, and I also hate that Gu Xingran. So, you also know about those things in the Changkong Academy. I arranged them. I just wanted the secret teams of the Qin family to deal with the Xia family. My aunt, such a beautiful and kind - hearted woman, was actually tortured like that by the people in the prince's mansion."
"My father is really heartless. My aunt is his younger sister. Seeing his sister like this, he, together with Qin Anxin, didn't even ask. After attending my aunt's funeral, he just went back to the Cangwu Kingdom without saying a word. He didn't even think that if it weren't for my aunt back then, the Cangwu Kingdom would have been the Qin family's long ago."
As soon as Gu Qingqing was mentioned,
Gu Hanxun would show such an expression.
It seemed that when he was a child, he really received a lot of protection from Gu Qingqing.
Zhao Shuning said softly, "Maybe because Gu Qingqing is not your father's real sister. Without the blood connection, people can be more indifferent."
"Aunt? Not my father's sister?"
Zhao Shuning nodded.
If Ye Feng hadn't considered the overall situation and let Gu Qingqing go to the Cangwu Kingdom to support Gu Yuan back then, perhaps, as Gu Hanxun said, the Cangwu Kingdom would have been the Qin family's by now.
It was a pity.
Since ancient times, all emperors in the world have been heartless.
Gu Qingqing had done so much for the people of the Cangwu Kingdom and had also helped Gu Yuan stabilize most of the country. However, when she died in a foreign land, there was not even a single person by her side to avenge her.
"Why? Why? My aunt did so much for the Cangwu Kingdom. How could Gu Yuan and Qin Anxin be so ungrateful? How could he not avenge my aunt after she was tortured by the Prince Xia like that?"
"Gu Hanxun, actually, there was someone who could have avenged Gu Qingqing back then."
"Who?"
Zhao Shuning looked at Gu Hanxun.
Gu Hanxun let out a self - mocking laugh.
Then he said, "I had no power in my hands at that time, and my legs were also crippled. What could I do?"
"You couldn't do anything, but Ye Feng could."
"Ningning, what do you mean?"
"Gu Hanxun, Gu Qingqing is Ye Feng's biological daughter. If you hadn't imprisoned Ye Feng back then and made him unaware of what was going on outside, Gu Qingqing might not have ended up in this situation. At least when she died, there would have been someone to seek justice for her."
Gu Hanxun's eyes widened in shock.
But Zhao Shuning didn't stop.
"Moreover, Gu Qingqing was poisoned by a gu worm back then. If Ye Feng had been there, Gu Qingqing's gu poison might not have been incurable. In the end, you are also partly responsible for Gu Qingqing's death."
Gu Hanxun slumped into his seat.
He opened his mouth.
It took a long time for him to say a complete sentence.
"Master—did Master take me as his student because of my aunt?"
Zhao Shuning nodded.
"So, I'm also partly responsible for my aunt's death?"
"Gu Hanxun, I'm telling you these truths not to make you feel guilty, nor to make you avenge Gu Qingqing. Revenge is something Xia Qingyan should do. Now, the real culprit is dead. Pursuing this matter further won't lead to any results. You just need to know that because of your selfishness back then, you caused the death of the person you cared about. I hope you will think twice before making every decision in the future."
At this moment, Gu Hanxun seemed to have lost his soul.
It was only today that he knew that, in a way, he was also responsible for his aunt's death.
He had schemed against the only relative who had been kind to him when he was a child, and then he had also schemed against the woman he loved.
Gu Hanxun always thought he was in full control, but unexpectedly, in the end, he had lost so completely.
"Master, does he know about my aunt's matter?"
Zhao Shuning shook her head.
She only knew about this matter because Xia Qingyan had asked Xia Yan to tell her. At that time, her grandfather was in seclusion. How could he know what Gu Qingqing looked like when she died?
If he had known, the birthday banquet definitely wouldn't have been held in the Hailing Kingdom. Maybe as soon as he escaped from the Cangwu Kingdom, he would have used the power of the Qianji Killing to destroy the prince's mansion.
"What about this matter?"
"I won't tell grandpa."
The murderer, An Yun, was already dead. If she told Ye Feng about this matter, Ye Feng would definitely regret sending Ye Qingqing to the Cangwu Kingdom back then. He always thought that Gu Qingqing had died of over - work.
Since the fact was already like this, Zhao Shuning didn't want to rub salt into Ye Feng's wound.
"It's me. I'm sorry, Master. I'm sorry, aunt."
Gu Hanxun's emotions were obviously out of control.
Really.
For so many years, he had hated the Xia family for so long.
He had schemed to use the power of the Qin family to destroy the Xia family.
He had thought about avenging his aunt.
But in the end, it was only then that he knew that his aunt's death was also related to him.
The hatred that had lasted for so many years was instantly disintegrated. He had hated the wrong person and taken revenge on the wrong person. It turned out that the person who should have been killed the most was himself.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, aunt—"
"I'm sorry. It's Xun'er's fault. Xun'er has wasted your love for so many years. Xun'er has let you down. I'm sorry, aunt, I'm sorry—"
In his childhood,
Without his mother's care,
In Gu Hanxun's eyes, Gu Qingqing had protected him behind her and shielded him from the wind and rain.
Gu Qingqing was not only his aunt but also like a mother to him.