After Xie Rang finished handling everything, he finally had time to prepare for Yun Qing to reveal her identity.

Before this, Xie Rang brought out the old eunuch and introduced him to Yun Qing.

Eunuchs, due to their physical disabilities and various other factors within the palace, generally do not live long. This old eunuch looked to be at least sixty or seventy years old, and he walked with a limp. It was quite remarkable that he went to the palace gate to report on them.

Childhood memories should theoretically be vague, but Yunqing remembers this particular part very clearly. It's possible that it left a deep impression on Yunqing at that time, hidden deep in her memory, and became incredibly vivid when it was unearthed.

Seeing the old eunuch's unsteady gait, and considering that he hadn't said anything out of line all these years, Xie Rang frowned and offered him a seat.

He said tremblingly, "This humble subject... pays respects to Your Majesty."

Yun Qing examined him closely; it was the same person from back then.

Xie Rang: "Raise your head."

The old eunuch raised his head and saw the young emperor and the people around him; his eyes narrowed.

Yun Qing smiled: "It seems you still remember me."

The couple who left home were not greedy; they wanted their daughter to live, but they never thought of letting her enter the court. After the late emperor secretly found out about this, he made this suggestion.

He wanted Li Yunqing to disguise herself as a man and take the imperial examination to enter the court. He would help cover it up, but he only gave her a verbal instruction and not a formal imperial decree. This was so that if Li Yunqing ever harbored any disloyal intentions, he could use this as a pretext to retaliate.

Fear is inherent in emperors.

He handed over the position of Grand Tutor to Li Yunqing, but secretly kept a backup plan: if the young emperor were to take power one day, he would have the old eunuch take the token to expose Li Yunqing and remove her from the position.

In his final moments of lucidity in his old age, he made this decision.

For a moment, a deep chill ran through Yun Qing's heart.

This is the true nature of emperors in the feudal era: driven by profit, ruthless, and willing to use any means to achieve their goals.

Li Yunqing is his tool, and she will become useless after the young emperor grows up. He does not believe that the court officials will allow a woman to hold power.

The old eunuch replied, "Yes... Your reputation is now known to everyone."

Being the chief eunuch in charge of the emperor's affairs was a lucrative position. He had already purchased a residence for himself in the capital when he was still serving, and even after leaving the palace, he continued to live there, gaining a thorough understanding of all the situations in the capital.

Xie Rang was too lazy to argue with him and asked directly, "What did the late emperor leave you? Even now, you still refuse to show it. Are you trying to force me to use any means necessary?"

The old eunuch cried out in fear, "...Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

Yun Qing gestured for Xie Rang to calm down, and she had an idea: "Tell me, what are your thoughts?"

The old eunuch has kept it a secret for so many years. If he wanted to tell the truth, he would have done so long ago. Why wait until today? On the other hand, his intentions might not be so bad.

The old eunuch glanced cautiously at Xie Rang before slowly speaking: "I have been entrusted with this important task by the late Emperor, and for many years I have kept it buried in my heart, wanting to find a suitable opportunity to reveal it. But Lord Li is devoted to the people and has made countless contributions, and I cannot bear to tell the truth at this time..."

He gave a brief explanation, and Yun Qing and Xie Rang understood. It was a very simple matter; it was just that Yun Qing's actions over the past few years had deeply impressed people and moved him, which was why he hadn't said anything.

However, out of gratitude for the late emperor's kindness, he decided to tell Xie Rang about it.

Outsiders cannot enter the palace at will, and he cannot make a ruckus everywhere, so he chose the Minister of Rites as a stepping stone to get Xie Rang's attention.

Xie Rang was right. The late emperor was muddle-headed for half his life, but in the end, he actually managed to keep a loyal person by his side.

Xie Rang looked at Yun Qing, who seemed to be deep in thought: "Grand Tutor, what are you planning to do?"

Life is unpredictable, and it's acceptable for things to go as far as they can be.

Yun Qing rested her chin on her hand: "His Majesty should have already considered this matter."

Having come from a society governed by the rule of law, Yun Qing would not want to take human lives unless absolutely necessary.

"He did do a good thing, actually," Xie Rang scoffed. "The emperor's command is not to be disobeyed; the Grand Tutor merely followed orders. What crime has he committed?"

Yun Qing: "You want to forge an imperial edict?"

The late emperor's oral edict left no trace of the decree except for witnesses and tokens, precisely to prevent Li Yunqing from having any chance to turn the tables.

Xie Rang smiled and said, "It's just following the late emperor's wishes."

He thanked his father for personally handing the position to Li Yunqing, which gave him and the Grand Tutor the opportunity to meet.

The old eunuch sat below as they talked, and hearing these shocking words, he felt as if it were the natural order of things.

He felt that he had made the right choice.

The current emperor is Xie Rang, and everything he says is decided with a single word. Yun Qing thought of the old eunuch and asked him, "Do you have any thoughts on this?"

The old eunuch took a deep breath: "This humble subject is willing to cooperate with Your Majesty in reconciling with Lord Li."

To put it bluntly, once he's in the public eye, he's no longer of any use. The emperor doesn't need another witness like him. If he's sensible, he can still live out his old age in peace.

He has done what the late emperor entrusted to him. Now the world is peaceful and the people are happy, which is already the best possible situation. There is no need for him to disrupt things at this time.

Xie Rang was fairly satisfied with his sensibility and summoned Shunfeng to take him away, to take good care of him, and to ensure that no accidents occurred before they made the announcement.

"His Majesty."

After everyone left, Yun Qing tilted her head to look at Xie Rang.

She was actually quite curious about one thing: "Have you thought about how to explain our relationship to the court officials?"

Yun Qing wasn't concerned about this, but rather that it was a very difficult point to explain. Even though she and Xie Rang knew the inside story, they couldn't tell outsiders. In the eyes of the world, they were teacher and student, ruler and subject, and it was hard to imagine that they could develop a relationship beyond that.

Xie Rang lowered his eyes: "No need to explain, they will understand."

Xie Rang wouldn't establish a harem, so the nature of their relationships made no difference to them. Yun Qing, with her exceptional talents, shouldn't be confined by the title of Empress.

“The history books have recorded enough; this is not a problem. Our achievements far outweigh our mistakes, and no matter how future generations evaluate us, it cannot overshadow this fact.” Xie Rang smiled. “Besides, I don’t think this is a mistake.”

Once she was given the title of Empress, for generations to come, Yunqing's actions would be attributed to Xie Rang. There are many people in history who would not acknowledge a woman's achievements but would try to attribute them to a man.

This is unfair to Yun Qing.

After careful consideration, this is the best possible outcome. It's a bit of a pity, but Xie Rang has no regrets.

He didn't say it, but Yunqing knew what he meant.

Yun Qing chuckled: "Your Majesty, come here."

Xie Rang, not understanding why, still did as instructed. Somewhat uneasy, he got up and went over to hold Yun Qing's hand.