Xue Zining trembled all over, staring intently at the figure. Feng Wu was right, this person was Feng Yu.
Feng Yu, who had already left the Feng Yin organization.
Her heart ached as she asked, "Why?" She could tolerate anyone else betraying her, but Feng Yin had grown up with her.
He was like family, and yet, he was the one who betrayed her.
Feng Yu's gaze paused, and he lowered his eyes.
"Feng Yu, why?" Feng Wu couldn't believe it. Someone who had grown up with him, as close as a brother, would stand against him at this moment.
"Feng Yu, what are you waiting for? Capture the impostor!"
A cold voice cut through the air.
Xue Zining's gaze turned sharp as she looked at the person slowly walking out from behind Feng Yu.
She spoke each word deliberately, "Xue Yunlan."
Xue Yunlan curved her lips, smiling with delight. "Miss Feng, I told you we would meet again."
Beside her, Prince Xuefu, Xue Jingzhao, paused and asked, "Is that Princess Yunlan, the youngest daughter of Regent Xue Wenjie?"
Xue Zining nodded and replied, "Yes."
Prince Xuefu's gaze turned cold. "Not long ago, she found me with a letter from the Regent and me, wanting to cooperate. I refused."
"How did she want to cooperate?" Xue Zining asked.
"Borrowing troops," Xue Jingzhao said.
Xue Zining narrowed her eyes and said, "It seems that after you left Fenzhou, someone has taken over your fiefdom."
Xue Jingzhao froze. "What do you mean?"
Xue Zining slowly said, "If they could impersonate my imperial calligraphy, couldn't they impersonate yours?"
Hearing this, Xue Jingzhao let out a bitter laugh. "I was fake to begin with, so it's no big deal to return. But what about you?"
What was originally real was forcefully declared fake.
"Poor judgment of people," Xue Zining said coolly, glancing at Feng Yu.
Xue Jingzhao twitched his lips. Poor judgment could cost you your life at a critical moment.
"Xue Yunlan, you are merely family of a traitor. I was merciful and let you go. You are ungrateful and have now bitten the hand that fed you. You are truly heartless." Xue Zining said coldly.
"Feng Ning, you don't need to smear my name. You are an impostor, without a doubt," Xue Yunlan said triumphantly.
Xue Zining looked at the silent Emperor of Xue and said, "Your Majesty Xue, are you going to let this traitor from Huangze slander me like this? Does Xue intend to provoke a war between our two countries?"
The Empress coldly sneered, "Miss Feng, I think you won't shed tears until you see the coffin. Others may not recognize them, but you must recognize the exceptionally talented young Prime Minister of Huangze. The officials of Xue will not fail to recognize him."
Xue Zining trembled all over. She turned and saw a young man slowly walking in from the palace doors. He was dressed in crimson, arrogant and unrestrained. His once bright and shining eyes had lost all their luster, leaving behind only an unfathomable mist.
"Hua Yun Jin..."
She uttered the name, word by word. If Feng Yu's appearance had pained her heart, his appearance now made her entire body tremble and ache.
Hua Yun Jin glanced at her and stepped forward, bowing. "Mother, Father, your son is late."
The Empress raised her head proudly, looking at Xue Jingzhao. "Look, this is my eldest son. He was abducted by villains and ended up in the Hua family in Huangze. Fortunately, my son was diligent and studious, and is now Huangze's exceptionally talented young Prime Minister."
Xue Jingzhao took a step back, his gaze dropping. The Empress's smile was exceptionally kind, a smile that deeply pained Xue Jingzhao beside her. In his memory, his mother had never smiled at him like this.
It turned out he wasn't inferior to Jing Yun, but rather, he hadn't grown into the child his mother favored.
"My son, how you handle these two impostors is up to you," the Empress said.
Hua Yun Jin turned, glanced at the girl below, and said coldly, "Seize them."
Feng Wu was about to make a move when he suddenly heard a voice, "Stop."
Feng Wu froze. He looked up and saw Feng Yu approaching him, holding a gold token.
Feng Wu's face turned pale with shock. That was the token of the head of Feng Yin.
"I am now the head of Feng Yin. I order you to stand down."
Feng Wu gritted his teeth and angrily asked, "Where is the Feng Head?"
Feng Yu's gaze faltered, and he uttered two words, "Dead."
Feng Wu trembled all over, involuntarily taking a step back. "You... you killed him?"
"Yes," Feng Yu said.
Feng Wu shook his head. "Impossible. How could the Feng Head die by your hands?"
Feng Yu heard this and said, "In terms of martial arts, I wouldn't be able to defeat him. But, have you forgotten? The medicine the Feng Head was taking was always being regulated."
"Feng Yu, are you even human? The Feng Head was like a father to us. How... how could you bear to kill him?"
"I killed him, and that's that. There are no more 'whys'," Feng Yu said coldly, turning his face away.
"I will kill you." Feng Wu drew his long sword and thrust it at Feng Yu.
"Feng Wu, if you dare to attack, I will kill her."
Xue Yunlan held Xue Zining hostage. Feng Wu trembled, his long sword freezing in mid-air. Feng Yu kicked Feng Wu in the chest.
Feng Wu coughed up a mouthful of blood, his long sword clattering to the ground. He knelt on one knee.
"Xue Zining, watching the people around you injured or betraying you, don't you feel that the whole world is bleak?" Xue Yunlan said triumphantly.
Seeing Xue Zining remain silent, Xue Yunlan sneered, "Back then, my father committed suicide by poison to let me live. Do you know my world collapsed? I felt the sky and earth turn dark. I cried, I laughed, but no one cared. I've always had only myself."
The dagger in her hand moved closer to Xue Zining's neck. A little closer, and she could kill her.
To avenge her father.
"Xue Yunlan, don't you dare hurt her." Hua Yun Jin walked over, his gaze growing colder as he looked at Xue Yunlan holding Xue Zining hostage.
Xue Yunlan sneered, looking at Hua Yun Jin with mocking amusement. "Even if you have feelings for her, what does it matter? She doesn't have you in her heart. She only pines for the Crown Prince, whom you can never surpass."
"Shut up." Hua Yun Jin's expression turned grim.
"Hua Yun Jin, she cannot be kept. Don't forget our grand ambition," Xue Yunlan said coldly.
"It has nothing to do with her. From now on, she is no different from a cripple."
"Then cripple her martial arts," Xue Yunlan said.
Hua Yun Jin looked at Xue Zining, held by Xue Yunlan, and his gaze suddenly tightened. He stepped forward to touch Xue Zining's face.
Xue Zining suddenly moved, striking Xue Yunlan's chest with a palm, then stepping back a few paces.
Hua Yun Jin held a human skin mask. Beneath the mask was a familiar face, but it was not Xue Zining's.
"You..."
"Hua Yun Jin, how does it feel to scheme and find out I'm not His Majesty?" Xue Yan smiled at Hua Yun Jin.
Hua Yun Jin's face darkened like the bottom of a pot. He angrily said, "Xue Zining, where is she?"
Outside the capital of Xue, a carriage sped through a pathless jungle. The violent jolting woke the sleeping Xue Zining.