Marrying a concubine to seduce him and lure him into the game

Chapter 183 Return in Disgrace

She screamed and waved her limbs wildly, but in the face of such powerful force, she was like a fallen leaf in a storm, unable to resist.

The old mother raised her lips in a cold smile, as if she was lifting a kitten and picked her up easily.

Then, there were two more crisp slaps, and Huo Chengjun's cheeks instantly became red and swollen. Pain and shame intertwined, turning into an indescribable pain.

She looked at the Queen Mother not far away with tearful eyes. In addition to despair, her eyes were filled with deep hatred. "Queen Mother, I know I was wrong. I beg you to forgive me. If you continue to hit me, I really can't bear it..."

The once arrogant Huo Chengjun could only kneel down humbly on the ground, begging for even the slightest sympathy and forgiveness.

The expression on the Queen Mother's face was like frozen ice. Only when her inner anger subsided a little did she glance sideways and signal the old mother to stop.

"Mrs. Huo's daughter is so rude and presumptuous. I am really disappointed. Take her away quickly. I don't want to see her again."

As the order was given, Huo Chengjun was quickly taken away from this place of trouble.

In an instant, the empress dowager's gaze softened and turned to Su Rao who was standing quietly beside her.

The latter took the initiative to step forward, and the Queen Mother gently held the hand that had been injured. A warmth passed through the palm and warmed her heart.

"Do you blame me?"

There was a barely perceptible tremor in the Queen Mother's question.

Su Rao shook her head, and there was no resentment in her bright eyes. "No matter what happened in the past, I don't hate it. Maybe there was a brief moment of unhappiness, but that was definitely not real resentment."

Her answer showed a maturity and broad-mindedness beyond her years.

Su Rao is well aware of the fickleness of human nature, and that occasional grievances and anger are inevitable, but she also remembers the kindness of the empress dowager in her previous life. Distinguishing between gratitude and resentment is a principle she always adheres to.

The Queen Mother's eyes were slightly wet, and she whispered, "What a sensible and good child."

The blood of the Zhao family always touches the softest part of her heart.

"My mother is fine now. I came here to thank the Queen Mother for her kindness."

Su Rao's words were sincere and heartfelt, expressing both gratitude to the Queen Mother and understanding of her behavior today.

The Queen Mother nodded, her relief mixed with a hint of apology, "I am relieved that you are safe."

Then, Su Rao brought up a more personal topic, "Queen Mother, I have a little secret I want to tell you."

Her tone was soft, with a hint of little girl's playfulness.

The Queen Mother nodded slightly, and the palace maids and my mother around her tactfully withdrew. Only the two of them were left in the room, and the air was filled with a warm and mysterious atmosphere.

"Empress Dowager, can you tell me who my father, whom I have never met, really is and who he is?"

There was a hint of curiosity in Su Rao's voice, but with a firmness that was hard to ignore, she locked her gaze on the empress dowager, trying to find even a hint of the truth from the tiny fluctuations in those deep eyes.

The Queen Mother's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible panic, but she remained calm and said softly, "Your father is, of course, the Duke of Lin, who is well known to the world."

However, that fleeting glance away, like a crack, silently revealed the untruthfulness behind her words - it was an insincere answer.

It was as if a huge rock was thrown into Su Rao's heart, causing waves to surge.

It turned out that he was not a descendant of Duke Lin's bloodline.

Once, she privately speculated that her father might be from the prominent Zhao family, but at this moment, the empress dowager's subtle expression - the slight disgust hidden in the corners of her eyes and eyebrows, which was not easy to be noticed by others, silently revealed a cruel fact: the empress dowager had no good feelings towards her biological father.

"Then what about my mother? Who is the woman who gave me life and allowed me to grow up in this palace?"

Su Rao did not stop. Although her voice was calm, her heart was already filled with surging speculations. It was an astonishing idea that was enough to overturn all her cognition.

The Queen Mother's body paused slightly, as if there were thousands of words stuck in her throat and she was hesitant to speak.

This hesitant look was like a sharp knife, cutting through the doubts in Su Rao's heart and making the originally vague guess become clearer and clearer - the mother who raised her for many years might not be her biological mother.

And is the real mother really someone who has a close connection with the Zhao family?

Such thoughts were like a sudden storm, sweeping across Su Rao's ocean of thoughts and suddenly dragging her into a whirlpool of entanglements about self, blood and emotions.

Many clues come together to form a complex network that is both incredible and seemingly reasonable.

Su Rao's heart was in turmoil. No matter who she was connected to by blood, the deep affection and dependence had already been deeply rooted in her heart and could not be shaken.

“Blood is thicker than water. It is both human nature and fate.”

The Queen Mother whispered, her voice as thin as a gossamer thread, but it contained a weight and power that could not be ignored.

Su Rao's true identity is like a double-edged sword. Once it is made public, not only will someone in a high position (his subordinate) be the first to want to get rid of her, but even the empress dowager's protection will be in vain.

Therefore, the Queen Mother chose to keep this secret deeply hidden and did not even mention it to Su Rao herself.

Su Rao, knowing full well the interests involved, stopped asking questions. She believed that one day, all the mystery would dissipate and the truth would come to light.

---

When Huo Chengjun was sent back to the Liang Mansion, she was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins. Her resentment and unwillingness turned her boudoir into a stage of anger, with the sound of objects breaking and the servants' screams intertwined.

When Mrs. Huo heard this, she became extremely anxious and hurried over.

"Sisi, why torture yourself like this..."

Mrs. Huo's words were full of blame, but when she saw her daughter's face full of embarrassment and scars, the blame instantly turned into full of heartache, and her voice was as gentle as the warm breeze in spring, "You went to the palace to meet the Queen Mother, why did you come back in such an embarrassment?"

Huo Chengjun threw herself into her mother's arms, tears rolling down her cheeks like pearls from a broken string: "Mom, I feel so wronged and in so much pain!"

Huo Chengjun's swollen cheeks made her look particularly pitiful, and her tears made her look even more miserable. They also ignited the raging anger and distress in Mrs. Huo's chest: "Mother will definitely make the decision for you. Who is so bold and reckless?"

"It was the Queen Mother. She, she was so cruel as to order her subordinates to beat me with a stick..."

Mrs. Huo was shocked when she heard this. Was all this actually the Queen Mother's order?

All external threats can be resisted, except for the Empress Dowager. As the mother of the Emperor, Mrs. Huo dare not confront her easily.

Unless... unless the position of the King of Qi is already secure and the Wang family can firmly grasp the real power in the harem.