Xie Qiyun, his legs crippled?

Was Xie Qiyun to be blamed?

And what was the deal with Xie Rufeng's belated arrival?

Yu Qingwu indeed remembered that Xie Jin Yan had a second imperial brother named Xie Rufeng.

But Xie Rufeng's origins were too humble; he was the son of a cook in the royal residence when the emperor was still a prince.

Once, the emperor got drunk and had a child with this cook.

But for some reason, he never officially recognized her.

Even later, when he became emperor, he merely brought this servant girl into the palace as a tea-serving maid.

The emperor disliked this maid, and naturally, he disliked Xie Rufeng as well.

Naturally, he didn't value Xie Rufeng much.

The court officials had always been opportunists, so no one supported Xie Rufeng.

Moreover, Xie Rufeng's origins were humble, and many officials looked down on him. Thus, Xie Rufeng had lived for over twenty years as if he were invisible.

Even when it came to marrying a prince's consort, the emperor never intervened.

It was said that few ordinary noble women were willing to marry him.

Even if some were willing, their families would not agree.

Therefore, Xie Rufeng married the daughter of a powerless, low-ranking seventh-grade official.

Currently, Yu Qingwu had only heard of him, but never seen him.

Now, after hearing Xie Jin Yan's words, she was completely stunned.

But she was also a meticulous person and quickly understood.

It seemed that the emperor truly loved the cook, Xie Rufeng's birth mother, but to protect her and their son, he had always pretended to be indifferent, even showing dislike. He wouldn't even give Xie Rufeng's mother an official title.

By the way, he deliberately pretended to dote on Xie Jin Yan, intentionally setting up Xie Jin Yan and Xie Qiyun as targets to shield Xie Rufeng.

Now that the time was ripe, he simply stopped pretending.

He directly allowed Xie Rufeng to rise to power on Xie Jin Yan's merits. To enable Xie Rufeng to replace Xie Jin Yan and Xie Qiyun's positions in the court more reasonably, he crippled Xie Qiyun and framed Xie Jin Yan.

Two princes, one disabled, the other so vicious as to kill his own brother.

Naturally, neither of them was qualified to inherit the throne. The position of Crown Prince naturally fell into Xie Rufeng's hands.

No wonder, no wonder Xie Jin Yan would be so devastated.

"So, Your Highness, what is the current situation?"

Yu Qingwu raised her hand and gently wiped the sweat from Xie Jin Yan's forehead, caused by the pain.

She looked at him deeply and said softly, "Jin Yan, no matter what happens, I will help you."

"If you really want to fight for it, I will help you. Just like when we were kids, I will always support you."

"Although I don't have any great talents or outstanding family background, as you said before, I donated all of the Yu family's assets and went to the border to assist the soldiers. If nothing else, I still have some influence with those generals in Southern Xinjiang."

"You fought alongside them, and I believe they won't lose their sense of judgment just because the emperor favors someone else."

"Moreover, my brother can also help you to some extent."

Yu Qingwu's tone was calm. As she spoke, she gently grasped his hand.

Her bright eyes were gentle and serene. Before he could speak, she smiled and continued, "Also, I have reached a deal with Song Guan, the fifth son of the Song chieftain, to have him contact the Song clansmen in Qu County and all the surrounding counties, asking them to help search for the Southern Yue spies' strongholds."

"When they are found one by one, we will wipe them out in one fell swoop. We will go and negotiate with the Song chieftain and bring him over to our side. As long as the Song chieftain is on our side, even if your father really wants to pin the blame for Xie Qiyun's injury on you, he will have to think twice."

"Originally, I was worried about something happening to you, so I was thinking of using the Song family's help to eliminate the Southern Yue spies' external support outside Yunzhou City one by one. But now it seems that we may be able to use this matter elsewhere."

In the dim light, the woman's eyes were smiling.

Beneath her bright face, a pair of peach blossom eyes held gentleness and composure.

Just one glance was enough to bring Xie Jin Yan to the ultimate peace of mind.

His Shijie (Senior Apprentice-Sister) was always reassuring.

Even though she sometimes shed tears, and sometimes quarreled with him over trivial matters.

But when a real decision was needed, she was always the most reassuring person.

Looking into each other's eyes, a trace of light finally appeared in Xie Jin Yan's decadent eyes.

A few smiles finally appeared on his pale face.

He pursed his lips, grasped her hand in return, and smiled back at her, "Shijie, Xiao Yunqi was right, you are really the most suitable person for me."

"Even though that Xiao Yunqi is a bit vulgar and despicable, he does have good taste."

That Xiao Yunqi?

What was this attitude of Xie Jin Yan?

Hearing this, Yu Qingwu couldn't help but be stunned.

You know, even if Xie Jin Yan was dissatisfied with his Shifu (Master), he would never directly call him by his name, let alone use words like "that fellow."

Could it be that something happened to him in Yunzhou City during these ten days?

Looking at Xie Jin Yan's eyes, which suddenly flashed with anger, Yu Qingwu's suspicion grew even more.

For some reason, the words 'lover' that Xie Jin Yan had uttered when he lost control just now inexplicably appeared in her mind.

She also couldn't help but think of the woman who was locked up in the back mountain of the Xiao Gate.

That woman, who was once raised by the Empress like a princess.

"Jin Yan..."

"Shijie, you want to ask me why I suddenly have such an attitude towards Xiao Yunqi, right?"

Yu Qingwu bit her lip tightly, hesitating, wondering where to start. Xie Jin Yan's voice sounded again.

He had, after all, experienced great storms, and he had also fought his way through the court. Even though he had lost control just now, he was now calm again as he spoke.

In the orange candlelight, a bitter smile appeared on Xie Jin Yan's pale face, and his eyes flickered with absurd colors as he looked at Yu Qingwu and said, "Shijie, you have always been clever. We have experienced so many things along the way. I think you must have guessed a little when I lost my composure and said those words just now, right?"

"That's right, Xiao Yunqi, he is from Southern Yue. I don't know how he infiltrated the Wei Dynasty, but I know that the biggest reason he infiltrated the Wei Dynasty was because of my mother."

"He and my mother were childhood sweethearts, and they were originally going to get married."

"But later, Southern Yue and Wei Dynasty had disputes. The Southern Yue Empress, in order to prevent her own daughter from being used for a political marriage, coerced my mother to come here."

"Then, Xiao Yunqi also came to the Wei Dynasty with my mother."

"It is said that their relationship should have ended. But not only did they not break off contact, but they even intensified their efforts, even wanting to collude to usurp the Wei Dynasty's throne. And I am the chess piece for them to manipulate."

"The most ridiculous thing is... A Yue's father, I had always thought that he died at the hands of my mother. Now I know that the reason he was killed was not because my mother wanted to cover up the past, but because... he heard something he shouldn't have heard..."