Yan Yi was furious, his eyes red as he stared at the girl standing there.
Her clear, beautiful face held eyes as pure as the bottom of a clear pool, a trace of faint sorrow flickering within them.
The girl’s delicate lips parted, and she looked at Yan Yi, speaking slowly, “I am the monarch of this desolate wasteland, the king who guards this place. Yan Zhao stood in opposition to me, and he should have foreseen this outcome. The victor reigns, the vanquished are branded as bandits.”
Hearing this, Yan Yi let out a cold laugh, “A fine saying, ‘The victor reigns, the vanquished are branded as bandits.’ I realize now your heart is made of ice, unyielding to any thaw.”
“Yan Yi, what you said earlier, I will attribute to your excessive grief. However, if there is a next time, I will punish you,” the girl stated coldly.
“Punish me? Very well, come, come and punish me. Without my young master, my life holds no meaning. Come on…”
Yan Yi roared, drawing his long sword and pointing it directly at the girl.
The girl’s gaze was frigid as she looked at Yan Yi. “Your Majesty, this servant will go and defeat him.” Xue Yan stepped forward, preparing to attack.
“I will go,” the girl said coldly.
“Your Majesty, absolutely not…”
Xue Yan and Hua Yunjin both spoke out in protest.
The girl looked at Hua Yunjin faintly and asked, “Do you trust me?”
Hua Yunjin froze. After a long moment, he smiled, his eyes softening. “I trust you.”
The girl’s lips curved slightly. “Watch carefully.”
Her sword was already out. Hua Yunjin saw the girl’s long dress, the color of water and sky, flash before his eyes as she moved towards Yan Yi.
“Yan Yi, take this!” the girl leaped into the air, her long skirt billowing.
Yan Yi’s gaze turned sharp as he met her with his own sword. The two figures became entangled.
Yan Yi retreated repeatedly, his face filled with shock. The Empress’s swordsmanship was truly exquisite. While not quite as skilled as their former young master, it was already astonishing to him.
His sword dropped to the ground. Yan Yi looked at the sword pointing at his forehead, lowering his gaze, and said softly, “I have lost. I submit to any punishment.”
“You may go…” the girl threw down her sword and said faintly.
Yan Yi started, then looked up to meet those clear eyes. “You…”
“Go back and properly bury your young master.” The girl’s voice was soft, but he still heard it.
“Zhu Keyu was the one who poisoned Lin Yan. I have apprehended him; he is outside now. I can no longer control how you punish me.”
After speaking, Yan Yi turned to leave. He stopped after a few steps and added, “My young master did many things you did not know. He stood in opposition to you, but what he did was not entirely so. We shall meet no more, for all eternity!”
Yan Yi departed.
Xue Yan returned from outside, dragging a person with her. It was none other than Zhu Keyu.
He was dressed in coarse linen, likely having been captured while fleeing. He knelt there, trembling, desperately begging for mercy.
“Why did you poison Lin Yan?” the girl asked coldly, her eyes chilling.
Zhu Keyu felt as if he were encased in ice, a profound coldness gripping him. “Your Majesty, spare me. This humble one was forced.”
“Where is the one who forced you?” the girl asked coldly.
Zhu Keyu faltered. He had never seen the face of the person who forced him. “He… he wore a mask. This humble one could not see his face.”
“Take him away and ask Lord Lin how he wishes him to be dealt with,” the girl commanded, waving her hand dismissively.
Xue Yan dragged Zhu Keyu away.
The girl swayed slightly. Hua Yunjin stepped forward to support her. “Your Majesty, you must be tired and need to rest.”
“Help me inside,” the girl leaned her full weight onto Hua Yunjin.
Hua Yunjin supported her as they walked inside.
Looking at the sleeping girl, Hua Yunjin’s gaze flickered slightly. He stood up and went outside.
He arrived at the back courtyard, entered a room, and bowed to the person within. “Mother, you were looking…”
Before he could finish, a slap landed on his face. “Where is Jing Ge?”
His eyelashes trembled, and he lowered his gaze. “Mother, Jing Ge… he’s gone…”
“Are you still lying to your mother?” Old Madam Hua stood before him and asked coldly.
“Mother…”
“Don’t call me Mother. I will ask again, where is Jing Ge?” Old Madam Hua asked icily.
“He is gone,” Hua Yunjin replied.
Old Madam Hua sighed. “If you refuse to tell the truth, it matters not. I will ask the Empress; she will surely know.”
“Mother, please do not trouble His Majesty with such a small matter,” Hua Yunjin stepped forward to block Old Madam Hua.
Old Madam Hua looked up at him. “Was it Jing Ge who cured your poison?”
Hua Yunjin froze. Under Old Madam Hua’s gaze, he nodded. “Yes…”
“He… he knew…” Old Madam Hua stumbled towards the bed at the back.
Hua Yunjin started and quickly went to support Old Madam Hua. “Mother, what did he know?”
Old Madam Hua looked at him, then withdrew her gaze. “It’s… nothing…”
“Mother…” Hua Yunjin intensified his tone. “If you have something to say, you shouldn’t hide it from me.”
Old Madam Hua sighed. “It is all retribution. Retribution.”
“Mother, what is it?” Hua Yunjin asked.
Old Madam Hua’s gaze grew distant. She slowly said, “Years ago, the patriarch of the Hua clan believed the slander of a Taoist priest who claimed a method to bring glory to the Hua clan. However, it required offering two young boys to the priest…”
“Those two boys were me and Jing Ge?”
“Yes.” Old Madam Hua nodded.
“This poison… was also cast by the Taoist priest?”
Old Madam Hua sighed. “Yes.”
“The antidote was from someone else?”
Old Madam Hua closed her eyes and uttered a single word, “Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Hua Yunjin asked.
Old Madam Hua faltered. “After Jing Ge disappeared, I thought he was gone.”
“Why do you say that?” Hua Yunjin pressed.
Old Madam Hua opened her eyes, her gaze filled with guilt. “Because I discovered the Taoist priest was absent every night… I secretly took you out, and brought you back during the day. And I secretly poured the medicinal bath containing the poison onto Jing Ge.”
Even now, she remembered the bright, moon-like clarity in Jing Ge’s eyes. She thought he would say something, but he said nothing, merely watching silently as she did this.
“This poison…”
“At sixteen years of age, it would cause significant changes to your memories, and at eighteen, you would die suddenly of illness.”
Hua Yunjin trembled all over. “Jing Ge…”
“Yes. Even if he hadn’t cured you, he wouldn’t have lived past eighteen.”
“Mother, you should have told me,” Hua Yunjin said.
Old Madam Hua shook her head. “Mother knew that you already harbored deep hatred for the members of the Hua clan. If I had told you these things, I couldn’t guarantee you wouldn’t take action against the Hua family.”
She knew her son. He was not as gentle as he appeared on the surface.
Otherwise, he would not have achieved such a high position over the years.
“Mother, who else knows about this?” Hua Yunjin asked.
Old Madam Hua shook her head. “No one else will know.”
At that time, the Hua family patriarch, Hua Zhengxian’s father, had silenced anyone who knew about this matter. That was why she had fled the Hua family with the two children overnight, escaping that devilish place.