The Command to Pamper the Husband - Chapter 232

There was no other way.

To exact revenge and protect all innocent people, the only method was for Zhou He to replace the Thirteenth Prince’s eldest son and enter the center of power.

As for how to replace the eldest son… for Zhao Su and Deputy General Zhao, it wasn’t difficult. It merely required taking the lives of some inconsequential people.

Normally, they wouldn’t resort to such actions.

Soldiers never shed the blood of the innocent.

But today was different from the past.

How many lives had been lost in the Zhou family!

When Zhao Su and Deputy General Zhao arrived at the estate, the Thirteenth Prince’s eldest son was playing with mud in the courtyard.

His skinny body had almost no flesh, but his big eyes stood out.

His ill-fitting clothes exposed his small legs and arms, which had red and blue bruises.

Despite everything, this was still the Thirteenth Prince’s flesh and blood.

Yet he was left on this estate to be mistreated?

Zhao Su and Deputy General Zhao exchanged a glance. Zhao Su whispered, “This child…”

Deputy General Zhao shook his head. “If he lives, he will be the greatest threat to He’er. We cannot harm He’er.”

Zhao Su pursed her lips.

She understood the logic, but to kill such a child…

As they watched, two other boys ran towards the eldest son.

“Dirty brat, my mother said you need to wash the clothes by the river.”

One of the boys held a long stick and struck the eldest son on the back.

“Bad luck charm, did you hear me? Hurry up, or you won’t get dinner tonight.”

The two boys were dressed in silk robes, looking clean and well-fed.

If Deputy General Zhao hadn’t seen the Thirteenth Prince’s eldest son during a mission near the estate, he might have mistaken one of these boys for the eldest son.

The eldest son, used to such beatings, silently put down his mud, wiped his hands, and walked towards the wall.

At the base of the wall was a large basket filled with clothes. With a blank expression, he picked up the basket and walked away.

The two boys watched him with resentment.

“Bad luck charm, lazy and useless, no wonder he has no parents.”

“Hey, walk faster! Are you doing this on purpose? I’ll hit you again.”

The eldest son flinched and hurriedly ran with the large basket, stumbling in fear, nearly falling several times, causing the boys to laugh loudly.

“What a fool.”

“Just a freeloader!”

Adults in the courtyard laughed at the eldest son’s clumsy attempts.

Zhao Su sighed. “You handle this; I’ll go check on the child.”

Deputy General Zhao nodded. “Don’t get soft-hearted.”

Zhao Su avoided his gaze, muttered an acknowledgment, and quietly left.

The eldest son headed to the river behind the village.

Though young, he was adept at his tasks.

He pulled out a piece of clothing, spread it on the river rocks, and started scrubbing with his small, red hands.

Watching from a distance, Zhao Su felt a pang of sorrow.

Everyone said the Thirteenth Prince’s eldest son’s mother had a lowly and unknown status. But to her, this lowly and unknown woman was her only sister!

Her sister had gone to the Thirteenth Prince’s mansion to deliver tofu and never returned.

People thought her sister had been kidnapped by bad men.

But after a year of war, she returned, frantically searching for her sister, only to see someone from the Thirteenth Prince’s mansion driving a carriage late one night.

A sack was carelessly tossed on the carriage.

Maybe it was the carriage’s bumping or the person’s negligence, but the sack’s opening loosened, revealing her sister’s face.

Her sister, whom everyone believed dead for a year, was on a carriage from the Thirteenth Prince’s mansion.

In a sack.

Without thinking, she charged forward.

The driver, startled, instinctively drew his sword to stab her, but she kicked the sword from his hand.

She tied up the driver with the rope from the sack and gagged him with his own cloth.

Dragging the carriage to a secluded alley, she pulled her sister from the sack. Her sister was covered in blood, already dead, her body cold and stiff, still bleeding.

Holding her sister in grief and anger, she turned to the driver.

She held a dagger to his eye. “How did she die?”

The driver, terrified, stammered, “She… she just gave birth.”

Zhao Su was shocked.

“Whose child?”

“The Thirteenth Prince’s.”

“If she gave birth to his child, why kill her?”

The driver shook his head. “It wasn’t the Thirteenth Prince; it was the Princess Consort. She couldn’t stand her.”

The driver swallowed hard, unable to continue.

“Miss, I’m just a runner. Please, let me go. I swear I won’t say a word about tonight. I have an old mother and young children.”

In her fury, Zhao Su wanted to kill him.

But she was a soldier, a soldier under the Empress’s command.

How could she kill a civilian?

Clenching her fists, she punched the ground and left with her sister.

They had fled to the capital to escape hardship.

In the capital, an encounter with a bully could have ended in disaster if not for the Empress’s intervention.

The Empress was forming a women’s army and asked if they wanted to join.

She agreed immediately, but her sister, afraid of violence, refused.

From then on, she joined the army, while her sister settled in the capital, opening a tofu shop.

Life seemed peaceful. She saved her military pay for her sister’s dowry.

In the army, she worked hard, soon becoming a junior officer.

There was a girl named Qiao Ran, skilled in riding and archery, who became her close friend and mentor.

People in her sister’s neighborhood knew she served the Empress, so they treated her sister with respect.

With this protection, she rarely worried about her sister while away.

Life went on smoothly.

She thought it would always be this way.

She would achieve great things, perhaps earn titles, while her sister married and had children, living a peaceful life.

Who could have guessed…

One delivery of tofu led to this.

In the wilderness outside the capital, Zhao Su chose a spot with wildflowers, dug a large pit, and buried her sister.

As she covered her sister with dirt, Zhao Su cried until she had no strength left.

Finally, the big pit was a small mound. Zhao Su wiped her tears, clenching her fists.

She would avenge her sister.

At the Thirteenth Prince’s mansion.

When Zhao Su sneaked in, the mansion was brightly lit with laughter and joy.

The Thirteenth Prince was drinking with guests in the front hall, toasting and laughing as dancers performed.

Laughing heartily, the Thirteenth Prince seemed carefree.

In the backyard, the Princess Consort sat angrily under a flower trellis.

“Is that wretch dealt with?”

“When the Princess Consort slept, I had her taken care of. I didn’t want to disturb your rest.”

“How was it done?”

“Poisoned with lethal herb, then Wang Si took her to the mass grave. He just returned, saying it’s done.”

That driver must be Wang Si, thought Zhao Su.

The Princess Consort nodded. “And the bastard?”

“The wet nurse is taking care of him.”

The Princess Consort sneered. “A bastard born of a lowly woman deserves a wet nurse? The Prince really overestimates him!”

She sipped her tea.

“Send him to the estate in Fengtai. Let him live if he can.”

The maid hesitated. “Princess Consort, the Prince doesn’t know about this.”

“So what? A child of a lowly woman—does he expect me to raise him in the mansion? He would taint the air. Do as I say.”

The maid obeyed and left.

The Princess Consort sighed, reclining in her chair, her expression cold and cruel.

Zhao Su gripped her dagger.

Aimed at the Princess Consort’s heart, she threw it.

Though not as skilled as Qiao Ran or the Empress, she was the third best in the women’s army.

And on the battlefield, her throwing skills were honed, never missing.

The mansion had guards and patrolling servants, but no one could defend against a sudden dagger.

The Princess Consort, unaware of what happened, felt a sharp pain in her chest.

As the dagger pierced her, the Princess Consort’s eyes widened in terror, a scream tearing from her throat.

The dagger’s blade, as long as a middle finger, was driven in with great force, embedding fully in her chest.

Blood flowed freely.

Zhao Su glanced once before fleeing.

Chaos erupted in the mansion.

“An assassin! The Princess Consort is hurt!”

“Get a physician!”

“Inform the Prince!”

In the ensuing chaos, Zhao Su escaped.

Wandering the empty streets, tears fell uncontrollably.

She was now without her sister.

Memories swirled as Zhao Su watched the small figure scrubbing clothes in the river, tears blurring her vision.

Killing the Princess Consort, she hadn’t thought of the child.

A child who brought her sister a tragic end.

Why care for him?

She never concerned herself with his fate.

But now, seeing him, Zhao Su felt a deep pain.

A child conceived under unknown circumstances, loved or resented by her sister, now sat pitifully before her, washing clothes with reddened hands.

And she planned to kill him.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and opened them, walking towards the eldest son.

“Little boy.”

She spoke as gently as possible.

Hearing this, the eldest son shivered and turned around warily to look at her.

Seeing it was a stranger, he relaxed his guard and gave Zhao Su a big smile. “Auntie, what’s the matter?”

Seeing his smile, Zhao Su couldn’t hold back her tears.

This child looked almost exactly like her sister.

Clenching her fists, Zhao Su changed her mind in an instant.

“I’m looking for my son. He should be about your height.”

Hearing this, the eldest son’s eyes lit up.

Looking for a son.

Could it be me?

His eyes were filled with hope as he looked at Zhao Su.

“Auntie, what’s your son’s name? How old is he?”

His cautious probing was heart-wrenching.

Zhao Su shook her head. “I don’t know his name. He was taken from me at birth. I’ve been searching for him for years and just found out he lives here. I heard he is at the Thirteenth Prince’s estate.”

Hearing this, the eldest son’s eyes widened.

They lived at the Thirteenth Prince’s estate. He had heard the other children talk about it.

Nervously, he looked at Zhao Su and bit his lip. “There are many children here, but have mothers. Only I don’t.”

Zhao Su couldn’t hold back her tears any longer and they flowed down her face.

“Are you my mother?” the eldest son asked softly.

Zhao Su pulled him into her arms. “I think so. I’ve never seen you, and you’ve never seen me. I lost my son, and you lost your mother. I should be your mother.”

He had never felt the warmth of an embrace.

No one had ever held him and spoken so gently.

At this moment, his heart pounded with excitement.

“Are you really my mother?”

The suffering and humiliation he had endured at the estate made him drop all his defenses at this moment.

Perhaps, even if she were a human trafficker, he would willingly follow her.

Staying at the estate, he would probably be abused to death sooner or later.

Moreover, this auntie was crying so much, she must be his mother.

Otherwise, why would she be so sad?

“Mother?”

Zhao Su wiped her tears and patted the eldest son’s head.

“Good child, listen to me. Follow the river to a small grove ahead. Wait for me at the entrance of the grove. I’ll go to the estate to find out more. Once I finish, I’ll come and get you.”

“I’ll go with you.”

The eldest son tightly grabbed Zhao Su’s hand and looked up at her, afraid that if he let go, this mother who had suddenly appeared would disappear again.

Zhao Su patted his head.

“If you come with me, what if they don’t let me take you away?”

Hearing this, the eldest son immediately let go.

Reluctantly, he followed Zhao Su’s instructions and walked along the river towards the small grove.

Zhao Su watched his back, her heart aching.

This foolish child, just because she said she was his mother, he believed her?

Wasn’t he afraid she might be a bad person?

Wiping away her tears, Zhao Su returned to the estate.

Deputy General Zhao had already taken action.

No one was left alive.

Once he finished, he set fire to the Thirteenth Prince’s residence.

The flames quickly attracted the attention of the villagers.

They hurried over with buckets to put out the fire.

But Deputy General Zhao had used oil-soaked felt. This fire couldn’t be extinguished easily.

“Did you finish?”

Zhao Su glanced at the blazing fire and nodded. “Yes, it’s done. Let’s go.”

Deputy General Zhao noticed Zhao Su’s red eyes and hesitated to speak.