Chapter 489 Big Brother's Family
Ning Fengzhe looked at her, smiling tenderly, his heart thumping.
"Behind me, don't kill him. Just continue to deal with him and develop a good medicine to cure his old illness, okay?"
The corners of Ning Yunxi's mouth drooped, and all the tenderness disappeared, leaving only resentment.
"How can I not avenge my brother's death?"
"Big brother, you don't know that he is not your biological father at all."
Ning Fengzhe's eyebrows were curved, soft and a little melancholy.
"I already know that."
Ning Yunxi was slightly startled and quite confused.
"Then you still..."
The pain subsided and Ning Fengzhe's complexion improved slightly.
"In my life, the person I consider as my family, besides my mother and He'er, is him."
"I feel so depressed and angry that I have no place to vent. I have loved him for decades, how could he treat me like this just because we are not related?"
"I want to see him recover from his old illness, improve his mood, and sincerely repent. I don't want to meet him in the underworld, fight with him endlessly, and be bruised and battered by him."
Rong Ying was dressed in red, and his eyes were full of pity, which made people feel particularly distressed.
"Brother earnestly begs you to heal him and bring him to his senses, okay?"
Tears welled up in her eyes, yet she couldn't bear it, and Ning Yunxi was like a pear blossom in the rain.
"Okay, I promise. I won't let him see you until he is cured."
"Brother, please stop being angry now that you are at peace. When he recovers and dies of old age, I will confess my mistakes to you and show you my father's love and affection."
Ning Fengzhe smiled with relief.
"Thanks a lot."
Ning Yunxi followed with a smile, which was heartbreaking.
"I am grateful for my brother's kindness, and I don't feel tired."
In the huge North Hall, the two of them sat together, enjoying the sunshine and the beauty.
There should have been some warmth and joy, but Ning Fengzhe was filled with sorrow and depression.
"Once upon a time, I was also arrogant and self-indulgent. I was confident that I had extraordinary talent and thought that I was invincible and could defeat any enemy. I never thought that after being so smart and filial all my life, I would end up being used by others."
"Just now, he told me the truth that none of us are his biological children. My mind was overwhelmed, and I suddenly understood why he had never shown me any warmth and affection since I was a child."
"I originally thought that he was just a strict father and a kind mother, and that he himself had gone through a lot in the past, so he treated his children badly. Maybe he was resentful, or it became a habit. In short, he was not indifferent, but it was difficult for him to express his fatherly love. I was blind and turned a blind eye to it."
"One day, he saw you, who was less than a year old, in Ning Mansion. After learning about your life story, he treated you with great care. Seeing this, I became more convinced that the theory of blindness was that my father cared about you and loved everyone in his family. Therefore, I did not doubt the family relationship, and I doubled my filial piety to my father, doing my best to give him the warmth he wanted."
"Now that I think about it, I understand why he loves you. You were separated from your family and treated harshly by the Ning family. Your experience is similar to his, and even more miserable than his. That's why he can empathize with you a little."
"He was considerate and offered you the position of advisor. Before you married the King of Chen, he almost obeyed your every word. Perhaps in his eyes, you were him, and he secretly wished to see that you could use your wisdom to turn the tide and defeat the Ning clan, just like he defeated the Gu clan."
Ning Yunxi had a moment of peace and quiet, and she confided her brother's thoughts, as if she had returned to the past.
"Your Majesty, you do love me as a father, but, as my elder brother said, he is resentful."
"On one hand, he hopes that I can win, because he wants to defeat the Gu family; on the other hand, he doesn't want me to save myself and change my fate, because I can't be left alone in my miserable life."
"To him, I am nothing more than an insignificant chess piece in the chess jar. He can manipulate me as to where I place the piece and what the situation on the chessboard looks like."
She slowly lowered her eyes, and with her slender white hand, she gently stroked her brother's jade ring.
"In fact, his father's love is illusory. Why should big brother care too much about it?"
"I remember when you were imprisoned on the copper platform, you said, 'Why force someone else's family to love you?' Now that I know the truth, Your Majesty, you are someone else's family. It is normal for you not to love me."
"Just like I found my father and uncle, my eldest brother also has his own family."
Ning Fengzhe's silent expression finally showed a glimmer of hope.
"Could it be that the secret passage on the Tongshitai tells you that you have already met my patriarch?"
"Who is he? Do we know him?"
Ning Yunxi's face was covered with tear marks, and she looked sad and beautiful.
"It's no coincidence that we don't know each other. However, my elder brother knows all the wise men of the past and present, so he should have heard of it."
"His name is Zhou Zixi. He is my mother's disciple and my fourth senior brother."
"This jade ring is a gift from the Emperor that he cleverly used to give you."
Ning Fengzhe was shocked when he heard the words, and looked at the jade ring in surprise.
"What? This..."
Ning Yunxi spoke softly, conveying what Fourth Senior Brother had said.
"I learned that the emperor received a generous gift from Mr. Zhuang in his early years. He regarded it as a treasure and cherished it very much. Therefore, Fourth Brother made inferences step by step and guessed that the emperor had high hopes for you."
"It just so happens that my senior brother also has a jade ring in his collection, so I will find a way to send it to you."
Ning Fengzhe was delighted and praised it highly.
"I know Mr. Zhou has a plan for everything he does, but I didn't expect that he can even come up with a plan from a distance. His talent is truly eye-opening to me."
Ning Yunxi expressed her admiration without hiding her feelings.
"Brother, your ability to plan and strategize is a testament to your great talent and strategy. There is no need to be modest."
She realized later that the honorific was wrong and reminded him immediately.
"Big brother, why do you still call me Mr. Zhou? He is your father."
Ning Fengzhe felt so ashamed of himself that he found it difficult to change his words.
"How can a clumsy person dare to associate with a wise and virtuous person?"
"So, He'er's biological father is also him?"
Ning Yunxi tried to hide her sadness so as not to make her brother worry, but it didn't work.
"It is also."
"Besides you, Fourth Senior Brother said that he has another son, but we don't know who he is or what his identity is."
Seeing her trying her best to regain her normal composure, her intention was obvious. Ning Fengzhe felt at ease and the conversation went on naturally.
"Or, His Royal Highness Prince Li."
The answer came so quickly that Ning Yunxi was stunned and unable to react.
“How come you see?”
Ning Fengzhe replied.
"Everyone who has seen him has said that Prince Li and I look quite similar."
Ning Yunxi had never heard such words before. After he said that, she began to recall the appearance of Prince Li.
"Elegant and graceful, they are indeed very similar."
"The planning and strategy are almost the same."
Ning Fengzhe looked far into the distance, gazing in the direction of Prince Li's palace.
"It turns out that he is my family. No wonder I feel so close to him when we met each other when we were young."
He thought deeply and changed the subject.
"However, there are many similar things in the world. What if I am wrong?"
Ning Yunxi responded immediately.
"Don't worry, big brother. When he returns to Beijing, I will collect his belongings and compare them with those of my fourth brother to confirm our relationship."
Ning Fengzhe frowned and shook his head solemnly.
"His ambition is not small, he cannot stay until he returns to Beijing."
Ning Yunxi thought she had heard wrongly and was startled.
"What do you mean by this?"