Chapter 109 Archaeological Discovery Reveals New Secrets: Xiao Qidi Already Has an Illegitimate Child?!

Xiao Qidi remained silent.

Jiang Peihuan said softly, "I will hand over all my power. From now on, all the ministers in the court who belong to me and Lao An will be at your service."

Xiao Qidi sneered, "Does the Empress Dowager want to relinquish power in order to protect herself?"

“No…” Jiang Peihuan shook her head, “I have nothing left to cherish, so why should I seek to protect myself? I gave birth to you in the desolate country. You were born as a hostage, and your life was hard. I could give you almost nothing. Now that you have grown up, I will give you everything I can… I only have that little bit of power in the court left. Everything else… is gone.”

Xiao Qidi's face tightened, his attitude growing increasingly cold. "Even if you don't give it to me, I'll still get it. If you think you can atone for your sins this way, it's laughable!"

Jiang Peihuan clutched her chest, struggling to breathe, "Qidi...I..."

“Your Majesty need not say anything more,” Xiao Qidi stood up, his back to her, and said, “From now on, you will continue to live in Shun Palace. I will send people to guard you. You and I will never meet again in this lifetime.”

Jiang Peihuan struggled to climb down from the bench, knelt at Xiao Qidi's feet, and looked up to plead, "I can be confined here for the rest of my life, but... you're the only family I have left in this world! Di'er, I beg you, please don't ignore me anymore, okay?"

The sound of "Di'er" made Xiao Qidi's heart clench.

That's what she called him when he was little.

“It’s very late,” Xiao Qidi squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth. “Empress Dowager, go back to your bedroom and rest.”

Jiang Peihuan lowered her head, supported herself with her hands on the ground, and stood up with difficulty, silently walking towards the main entrance of the hall.

Just as she was about to step out the door, she turned around and asked, "Could you... call me Mother? Or like when you were little, call me Mother?"

Xiao Qidi avoided her gaze and pursed his lips tightly.

Jiang Peihuan still held a sliver of hope, "It's been such a long, long time since I've heard you call me that. Could you... call me that one more time, just once, the last time...?"

Xiao Qidi turned his head away, gritting his teeth, and said, "Empress Dowager, take care, I won't see you off!"

Jiang Peihuan felt that her heart, which was already riddled with holes and like rotten mud, had completely turned to ashes at this moment, and then there was not even ashes left.

She finally stepped out of the hall's threshold and walked down the steps one by one.

Xiao Qidi looked towards the gate, watching the Empress Dowager's figure gradually disappear into the dark night.

It was quiet outside, and even quieter inside the main hall.

It was as if he were the only person left in the world at that moment.

The candlelight in the main hall was bright, but it seemed unable to extinguish the darkness that enveloped the world outside. The wide doorway resembled the open mouth of a giant beast, ready to pounce and swallow him whole into the boundless darkness.

Xiao Qidi staggered backward, slumped onto the bench, his head slowly drooping, and he clutched his head tightly with both hands.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the main hall.

Xiao Qidi was stunned. Could it be... that his mother had returned?

But he immediately realized that it wasn't her footsteps.

She couldn't possibly walk so smoothly and powerfully.

Xiao Qidi, clutching his hair with both hands, roared without looking up, "Didn't I say I wanted some peace and quiet?! Who dares to disturb me!"

"It's me," Ning Jinli's voice rang out softly.

Xiao Qidi hurriedly looked up, his eyes blank, staring at the tall figure that appeared at the door.

Ning Jinli entered the main hall and quickly approached him.

Seeing Xiao Qidi covered in blood and pale-faced, her heart almost broke.

In fact, after she and Li Yao found the advisor of Marquis Le'an and turned the opportunity to use the blank edict, she acted together with Li Yao.

She was also hiding nearby when Li Yao led the Shuncheng army to rescue the emperor, and witnessed the whole process.

The reason he did not appear during this period was that dealing with the matter of Marquis Le'an and the Empress Dowager was something only Xiao Qidi could handle; no one else could interfere.

"Come here, let me give you a hug." Ning Jinli didn't say anything to comfort her, she just opened her arms.

Before she could bend down, Xiao Qidi grabbed her legs tightly and burst into tears like a child.

She cried so hard it was heartbreaking, so heartbreaking it hurt people to see her cry.

Ning Jinli burst into tears instantly, and hugged his shoulders tightly, gently stroking his head, letting him cry uncontrollably, releasing the pain that had been building up inside him...

...

A few days later—

Inside the royal city, in a secluded mansion, a person dressed in blue clothes respectfully reports through the study curtain.

"My lord, Marquis Le'an has been torn apart by five horses by Xiao Qidi, and his retainers and cronies have all been secretly eliminated by the Shuncheng Army. Furthermore, the Empress Dowager has been placed under house arrest in Shun Palace."

"The court forces that originally belonged to these two men also became Xiao Qidi's people in a very short time."

After he finished speaking, a middle-aged man's voice came from the study.

"Okay, I understand."

The man in blue was puzzled; such astonishing information, yet the master seemed to have no reaction whatsoever.

He pondered for a moment, then said, "My lord, shouldn't we... inform the Prime Minister immediately?"

"Why don't you take my seat?" the middle-aged man said.

The man in blue hurriedly lowered his head, "I wouldn't dare! I just... I just thought this matter was of great importance, and since our Qingyou Terrace secretly serves the Prime Minister, I..."

Swish—

A gold bar burst through the curtain and landed at the feet of the man in blue.

Then came the middle-aged man's voice, "You've gathered good intelligence, here's a reward for you. But, don't say anything you shouldn't."

The man in blue was overjoyed, and repeatedly kowtowed while holding the gold bars, saying, "I know I was wrong! Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

"Step down."

"Yes, sir!"

The woman in green put away the gold bars and stood up.

Just as he was about to leave, he thought for a moment and said, "Sir, if only you were in charge of Qingyou Terrace, we could all live a good life."

"Hmm? What does this mean?" The middle-aged man's voice carried a hint of meaning.

The man in blue robes bluntly stated, "My lord! Please forgive my bluntness, but over the years, Qingyou Terrace has developed under your leadership. Not only are you far more capable than the Terrace Commandant, but you are also very kind to your subordinates. I truly feel that it is a pity that you are only the Deputy Terrace Commandant."

The middle-aged man chuckled, "Only you think so, right?"

"No, no, no!" the man in blue said earnestly. "All of us subordinates feel the same way! The Commandant Tai never respects us. He's clearly an incompetent fool, but he rides on our heads and acts like a tyrant just because he's a close confidant of the Prime Minister! We risk our lives in anonymity to gather intelligence, but what do we get in return? If we do a good job, he doesn't even give us a compliment! But if we make the slightest mistake, he deducts our salaries and beats or scolds us! We've put up with him for a long time!"

"Alright!" the middle-aged man said sternly, "If you want to hold your heads high in the future, you'd better bear with it."

The man in blue's eyes lit up.

Clearly, there's a hidden meaning in what he's saying!

"I understand!" The man in blue clasped his hands in a fist salute. "I'll take my leave."

"Wait," the middle-aged man called out, "come in, I'll give you some more good stuff."

The man in blue dared not be negligent and hurriedly and respectfully entered the study.

In the simple but clean and tidy study, a middle-aged man sat at the desk.

Beneath his sword-like eyebrows, his eyes shone like stars.

Tall and slender, even though he was dressed in clothes similar to those of ordinary people, his elegant and handsome demeanor was still undeniable.

"Take this and share it with your men." The middle-aged man casually took one of the cloth bags from the desk and tossed it to the man in blue.

Curious, the man in blue opened the bag, and a rich, unfamiliar fragrance wafted out.

"Sir... what is this?" he asked, swallowing hard.

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "There are some dried fruits in there, like raisins, dried mangoes, dried sweet potatoes, and the like."

The man in blue had never heard of these terms before.

But the aroma grew increasingly enticing. He pulled out a piece and put it in his mouth, his eyes widening in disbelief. "There's such a sweet thing in the world?!"

"Is it delicious?" The middle-aged man's smile widened.

The man in blue couldn't help but ask, "Sir, where...where did you get this?"

The middle-aged man curled his lips into a smile, a hint of smugness surfacing in his eyes. "My wife sent it to me."

"Wife?" The man in blue looked bewildered.

The middle-aged man said, "Oh, it's 'Madam,' but in my hometown we usually call her 'wife.'"

The man in blue exclaimed in surprise, "You have a wife?! I was wondering why someone as handsome as you hadn't married yet..."

"I'm married now. I got married more than 20 years ago, and I have a lovely daughter!" The middle-aged man's face grew brighter as he spoke. "What you're eating was a gift from my daughter to her mother, and then her mother sent some to me."

The man in blue chuckled, "So your family is so happy, sir. I'm truly envious. When may I have the honor of meeting your wife and daughter?"

The middle-aged man casually remarked, "I haven't seen her for many years, especially my daughter, it's been ten years..."

This statement left the man in blue completely baffled.

"Ahem," the middle-aged man coughed lightly, "I accidentally said a few extra words, just pretend you didn't hear them."

"Yes, sir, I'll take my leave." The man in blue, carrying a bag of dried fruit, backed out of the study.

The middle-aged man opened his desk drawer, took out the letter that had been sent from Yuqi Mountain along with snacks over the past few days, and began to read it with great relish.

Although he had read the contents of the letter many times and the two sides had been exchanging letters in recent days, he could never get enough of it and even laughed out loud as he read it.

"Zhiqiu, Xiaoli, our family of three can finally be reunited, hahaha!"

——

On the other side.

After dealing with the matter of Marquis Le'an and the Empress Dowager a few days ago, Xiao Qidi only had a brief rest for a few hours after his emotional outburst that night, and then he worked non-stop for several days.

This was naturally to get everything done quickly before the Prime Minister found out.

Seeing that things were almost done, Ning Jinli planned to take Xiao Qidi around Hanhai City to relax for a while, but just as she was about to leave, she received a call from Professor Zheng.

Professor Zheng told her that new discoveries had been made in archaeological work regarding the secret history of Xiao Qidi.

Professor Zheng had promised her that he would inform her as soon as he discovered any new information.

Then, a phone call came in.

"Xiao Ning, we've discovered another incredible secret!" Professor Zheng's voice trembled slightly on the other end of the phone.

"Please speak," Ning Jinli said, perking up her ears.

She turned her phone on speakerphone so Xiao Qidi could listen too.

Professor Zheng said, "So it turns out that Xiao Qi's two sons were not both his biological children!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qidi was taken aback.

Ning Jinli asked in confusion, "That's not right, Grandpa Zheng. According to the secret history, Xiao Qidi had already become a puppet before he achieved unification and established the Xuan Dynasty. His identity was replaced by a puppet by the power-holding forces. So, logically speaking, shouldn't Emperor Xuanzu's two sons have been born to puppets?"

Professor Zheng replied, "The first son was none other than the eldest son of the well-known Emperor Xuanzu, who was indeed the son of Xiao Qidi! As for that Xuan Er Shi, he was the descendant of a puppet!"

"Huh?" Ning Jinli was stunned for two seconds, then turned to look at Xiao Qidi beside her, narrowed her eyes and said, "Could it be... that Xiao Qidi already had an illegitimate child before he became a human stick?"

If that's the case...

Judging from the timeline, this guy in the parallel universe Xuan Kingdom might already have children!

"I...no!" Xiao Qidi looked completely bewildered.

"Huh? Xiao Ning, is there someone else next to you?" Professor Zheng asked.

Ning Jinli hurriedly said, "My boyfriend is here, and he is also very interested in the history of the Xuan Kingdom, so I let him listen in with me. Don't worry, I guarantee that I will not disclose the contents of your archaeological work to anyone."

“That’s alright. The contents of Xiao Qidi’s secret history are too shocking. If it’s not officially released, it won’t have any impact even if you tell others. At most, people will just talk about it as unofficial history,” Professor Zheng smiled and then said, “Congratulations, Xiao Ning. Remember to invite me to your wedding banquet in the future.”

Ning Jinli blushed, "Definitely, definitely!"

Professor Zheng continued the previous topic, "After Xiao Qidi became a puppet, he was imprisoned in the underground palace by the powerful prime minister at the time. A palace maid who was responsible for taking care of him took pity on him and wanted to have an heir for him. She secretly had a relationship with him and became pregnant. However, the affair was exposed and the prime minister found out. But because the child was a boy, the prime minister gave the child directly to the puppet, who was the eldest son of the later Emperor Xuanzu. The puppet, under the identity of Xiao Qidi, also had a son, who was Emperor Xuan Er."

"That's why those two sons had such different personalities and vastly different character traits. One is someone that later generations lament, while the other is someone that later generations hate to the bone."

After hearing this, Ning Jinli was speechless.

She covered the microphone of her phone and looked Xiao Qidi up and down.

"What's wrong..." Xiao Qidi felt uncomfortable under her gaze.

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Ning Jinli exclaimed, "Your physical condition and desire intensity are truly heaven-defying. Even after being shaved into a human stick, you can still do 'that' with palace maids. Amazing..."

Xiao Qidi's face immediately turned red to the roots of his neck, and in his haste, he blurted out, "Since the palace maid has that intention, even if I can't move... oh no, the Xiao Qidi in your world can't move, but the palace maid can..."

"Huh?" Ning Jinli's eyes widened. "You're from ancient times, and you've never been married. How would you know about this? Have you ever been to a brothel? Or did you secretly watch porn on the phone I gave you?"

"No, no, no, I didn't!" Xiao Qidi's face turned a deep shade of liver color, and he asked in confusion, "What is a 'little movie'?"

"How did you know that?" Ning Jinli reached out and pinched Xiao Qidi's ear, demanding fiercely, "So you've had lovers and slept with other people, right? Tell me the truth right now! Speak!"