Chapter 42

When the banquet ended, Lin Shang was already unsteady on his feet. Old Madam Xie ordered someone to help him up: "Just rest here in the mansion."

Li Wan helped Madam Xie through the covered walkway, the evening breeze gently brushing against the old woman's frosty white temples.

After helping Granny Kang settle the old lady in, Li Wan was about to take her leave when the old lady's withered hand suddenly grabbed Li Wan.

“Ah Wan, although Qi Ge’er’s nature is not exactly kind, he is not a bad person at heart, and he has never mistreated you. I hope you will reconsider the matter of divorce.”

The bright candlelight in the room clearly illuminated the old lady's worried expression.

Li Wan didn't want to deceive her, so she lowered her eyes and said, "Granddaughter-in-law understands." She then helped the old woman sit on the couch and carefully placed a pillow under her head. "You should have some calming soup first. I'll go and help Aunt Yang deliver some hangover soup to each of the rooms."

Before the old lady could speak again, Li Wan turned and left in a hurry.

When Lin Shang arrived at the guest courtyard with the hangover soup, he found Lin Shang standing alone in front of the stone steps.

Lin Kanghuan was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, fiddling with the various small stones he had picked up from the ground.

"Uncle, I'm well. The kitchen has prepared some hangover soup, and I'll bring you some." Li Wan gently placed the food box on the stone table.

Lin Shang slowly turned around, his hawk-like eyes sweeping over her plain makeup, and said in a deep voice, "You didn't just come to deliver soup, did you?"

Li Wan paused slightly, then smiled faintly, "Uncle Lin recognizes me?"

Lin Shang glanced at her sideways, not bothering to expose her.

Li Wan wasn't annoyed and spoke directly.

"Uncle Lin, do you remember what happened in the third year of Jian'an?"

Lin Shang's hands, which were behind his back, froze, and his face turned deathly pale.

Li Wan said softly, "The new emperor married Miss Lin the eldest as his empress, but he also fell in love with Miss Lin the second at first sight in the hunting grounds."

Under the cover of night, Lin Shang's eyes widened, his hands clenched into fists. "You'd better think carefully about the consequences before you say anything."

Li Wan ignored his warning. Ever since she learned about what happened back then from Jiang Feiwan's last letter, she had no respect for the Jin general in front of her, only contempt.

"At that time, Miss Lin Er had already pledged her heart to Lord Xie Chang, but you, in order to obtain the Jinlin Army Commander's Seal, personally offered your unconscious sister to His Majesty."

"How do you know..." Lin Shang braced himself against the stone table, his chest heaving violently with each rapid breath.

Li Wan ignored his question, “You have gained a future, but you cannot bear the torment of family ties, so you have been hiding at the border for so many years. Now you are old and sick, and you have no choice but to come back. You even have the delusion that you can hand over the Jinlin Army to Xie Qi in order to make up for the great crime you committed against his mother and to gain the forgiveness of Xie Chang and Xie Qi.”

“But!” Li Wan stared at him, pressing him with each sentence, “But have you ever thought that the Jinlin Army is the foundation of the nation’s strength? How could His Majesty agree to hand it over to Xie Qi without hesitation?”

Lin Shang trembled violently. "What do you mean?"

Li Wan sneered, "You've gone to the border and have no ties, but do you know why Miss Lin died and why Lord Xie's legs were broken?"

Lin Shang suddenly realized, and murmured the news he had heard from the court at the border: "My second sister died suddenly from a serious illness. Xie Chang was so heartbroken that he committed suicide by jumping off a cliff, ruining both his legs."

“Of course not,” Li Wan denied immediately.

"Then I will tell you the truth of what happened back then."

"In the fifteenth year of Jian'an, the suspicious Emperor noticed something amiss in Xie Qi's appearance. After a secret investigation, he learned that the Second Miss Lin had indeed married Xie Chang while pregnant, meaning that Xie Qi was actually his son."

"You...what did you say...Xie Qi is..."

As Lin Shang listened to her lay bare the truths he didn't know, word by word, it felt like a thousand arrows piercing his heart.

By the time she finished speaking, her face was already soaked with tears.

"Father, don't cry, Huan'er is scared." Lin Kanghuan leaned closer, feeling sorry for him and wanting to wipe away his tears.

Lin Shang grasped Lin Kanghuan's hand and looked at Li Wan, "Tell me all this, what do you want?"

Li Wan presented the hangover soup with both hands and said, "I would like you to join me in helping Xie Qi."

...

Two days later, the spring sun shone brightly on the eaves of Changfu Garden.

Li Wan sipped her soup and heard Jiangnan Yue, who had just finished court, say that Xie Qi had received the seal of the Jinlin Army commander in the Golden Palace today, and the 120,000-strong army was now under his command.

Both Zou Shi and Jiang Feiche looked at Li Wan, but Li Wan simply put down her spoon and gave a faint "hmm," her voice devoid of any emotion.

On the morning of the fifth day, just as dawn was breaking, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the mansion, accompanied by the panicked whispers of the servants.

She put on a moon-white cloak and got up. Just as she reached the front gate, she heard the messenger kneeling in front of Jiang Nanyue and reporting, "My lord, news from the palace: General Lin Shang died last night. His Majesty has summoned all ministers to the palace for a meeting."

Lin Shang was a general of the Jin state. His sudden death would surely cause turmoil in the court. Jiangnan Yue hurriedly changed into his court clothes and went to the palace.

Li Wan stood in the dim light, gazing at the pale dawn breaking on the horizon, the clouds heavy and the sky gloomy.

On the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

His Majesty sat on the dragon throne, his face ashen, coughing incessantly, his brow furrowed with illness and anxiety. The court officials stood on either side, the hall filled with a stifling silence.

Yan Xu, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and Zhang Chao, the Minister of Justice, knelt in the center of the hall, their voices trembling, "Your Majesty, please forgive us. We are unaware of the cause of Lin's death. Lord Xie has already gone to Lin's residence to investigate. We hope Your Majesty will grant us time to find out the truth."

Xiao Sheng, panting heavily, looked at the Crown Prince, whose long eyebrows furrowed. "Your subject does not know either, but with Xie Qi investigating at the Lin residence, there should be results soon."

"Cough cough!" Xiao Sheng coughed violently.

The hall fell silent again.

Suddenly, palace guards entered and reported, "Madam Xie, Jiang Feiwan, requests an audience with His Majesty, claiming to know the inside story of General Lin Shang's death."

Everyone in the hall frowned, wondering what the lady's purpose was in suddenly coming here.

Xiao Xian's brows furrowed even more.

"Announce!"

In a short while,

The palace doors opened and were pushed open. Li Wan, dressed in the court dress of an official's wife, walked in slowly. Her footsteps were light, yet exceptionally clear in the silent Golden Palace.

All eyes of the court officials were on her, some with surprise, some with doubt, and some with curiosity.

Without glancing to the side, she walked straight into the hall, knelt down to pay her respects, and said in a clear and melodious voice, "Your subject Jiang Feiwan greets Your Majesty."

His Majesty coughed and waved his hand, his voice weak: "Do you know the cause of General Lin's death?"

Li Wan straightened up, took out a letter from her bosom, and held it in her palms.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to report that before General Lin Shang committed suicide, he sent this last letter to me. After reading it, I was greatly shocked and had no choice but to reveal the truth to the world."

"General Lin said in his letter that my husband Xie Qi is His Majesty's own son, and His Majesty is naturally aware of the reasons behind this."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall erupted in uproar.

Xiao Xian's pupils contracted sharply, unsure of her intentions.

Just to be on the safe side, Xiao Xian glanced at his subordinates to the side behind him. The subordinates understood and, taking advantage of everyone's attention being on Li Wan and His Majesty, silently left the hall.

Li Wan continued, "In the fifteenth year of Jian'an..."

"Shut up!" When Xiao Sheng heard the words "fifteen years", he spat out a mouthful of blood, which splattered all over the high table in the hall.

But not a single person in the entire hall dared to step forward to help him wipe it.

Li Wan, unafraid of Xiao Shengfeng's sharp gaze, said, "In the fifteenth year of Jian'an, His Majesty forced Miss Lin to let Xie Qi return to the royal family. Miss Lin could not bear to see Xie Chang suffer, so she hanged herself with a three-foot-long white silk ribbon. Xie Chang was filled with hatred and hid his sword to enter the palace to assassinate His Majesty. After being captured, His Majesty forced the fifteen-year-old Xie Qi to cut off Xie Chang's legs with his own hands before sparing Xie Chang's life."

Xiao Sheng breathed heavily, closing his eyes as if resigned to his fate.

"General Lin Shang also confirmed in his letter that Consort Xue, the mother of the Third Prince Xiao Xian, claimed to be the legitimate daughter of the Earl of Chengen, but in reality, she was a spy from Northern Qi. Consort Xue knew that the Third Prince had no hope of succeeding to the throne, so she joined forces with Lin Youke and secretly colluded with Northern Qi, intending to overthrow the Great Jin Dynasty!"

Everyone's expression changed upon hearing this. Some were so shocked that they knocked over their court tablets, while many others looked at the Third Prince Xiao Xian with shock and unease in their eyes. However, no one dared to say a word.

Xiao Xian suddenly looked up, veins bulging on his forehead. He withdrew his gaze from Li Wan. Ever since this woman entered the hall, a strong sense of unease had enveloped him, but under the watchful eyes of everyone, he could do nothing to her.

At this moment, she finally confronted him, and he could only kneel down in silence, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I do not know why Lady Xie would slander me!"

“Whether it’s slander or not,” Li Wan held up the secret letter, “you gentlemen will know at a glance. I’m sure you all recognize Lord Lin Shang’s handwriting.”

"Moreover," Li Wan said firmly, "I am a spy sent by the Third Prince to Xie Qi's side."

Another collective gasp rippled through the hall.

"Xiao Xian, Lin Youke, and Consort Xue received a secret report that the Northern Qi had been stockpiling troops and grain for a long time and was about to wage war against our Great Jin. The three of them then sent me to Xie Qi's side, firstly to find out Xie Qi's movements, and secondly to use me to smear his name after Xie Qi went out to fight the enemy."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xian's eyes widened suddenly, and her heart pounded wildly. How did she know about the plans that followed?

Suppressing his shock, he shouted, "Jiang! How dare you! You actually slander the Imperial Concubine and frame the Prince in front of the Emperor!"

Li Wan took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping over everyone in the hall before finally settling on His Majesty: "Everything I have said is true. Your Majesty only needs to send someone to the border to investigate the movements of Northern Qi to find out. I have come to the court today for three reasons: first, to fulfill General Lin's request; second, to verify the identity of my husband Xie Qi; and third, to expose Xiao Xian and others' plot to harm loyal officials and their treasonous acts of colluding with the enemy."

Li Wan's words were firm and resounding. Coupled with His Majesty's tacit acceptance of Xie Qi's identity and Lin Shang's secret letter as evidence, the eyes of all the civil and military officials flickered. Although no one spoke, it was clear that most of them believed her words.

Xiao Xian's heart sank. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and raised his hand. His subordinates waiting outside the hall entered with knives and headed straight for Li Wan.

"Insolence!" Xiao Sheng and the Crown Prince shouted in unison.

The Crown Prince stepped forward and asked, "Third Brother, what is the meaning of this? Do you intend to rebel?"

Xiao Xian bowed, "Your Majesty, I dare not. However, this Jiang woman's words have disturbed Your Majesty's presence. I have ordered her to be taken away. The truth can be determined through further questioning."

The Crown Prince scoffed, "Interrogate? Once someone falls into your hands, they probably won't live past the time Lord Xie enters the palace from the Lin residence."

Xiao Sheng was shocked by Li Wan's words and turned pale. He leaned back on the dragon throne, unable to say a word. The Crown Prince was powerless and Xiao Xian did not take him seriously at all. He raised his hand and signaled his subordinates to arrest the person directly.

Seeing that she was about to be arrested, Li Wan suddenly stood up and shouted to the crowd, "Every word I have said is true, not a single word is false. Today, I am willing to die to prove my innocence, so that the world may know how difficult it was for my husband Xie Qi, and I also ask you all to know about the conspiracy of Xiao Xian and others, so that the Jin Kingdom may be restored to peace."

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around abruptly and crashed into a pillar beside her. Her movements were incredibly fast; no one had time to react.

"Wanwan!"

A roar came from the palace gate, and a figure flashed past the crowd at lightning speed.

It's Xie Qi!

But it was too late; Xie Qi's trembling fingertips only touched a corner of her clothes.

A muffled thud sent chills down everyone's spines.

Blood splattered on the blue and white bricks, like a suddenly blooming red plum blossom, stinging the eyes.

Li Wan's body went limp and fell down. Xie Qi opened his arms and caught her steadily.

Warm blood soaked his dark-colored outfit, carrying a strong, sweet, and metallic scent that filled his nostrils.

He looked down at the person in his arms. Her face was as pale as paper, and blood kept flowing from her forehead, staining her temples red.

"Xie Qi..." Her voice was so soft it was almost powerless, "She asked me to say... I'm sorry for my past life."

Xie Qi's arms trembled as he held her, his fingertips touching her blood-stained cheek. He wanted to say something, but his throat felt blocked, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Overwhelmed by grief and regret, he regretted not realizing her feelings sooner, and regretted his stubbornness in letting her see Lin Shang and enter the palace.

He thought everything was under his control, but he never expected that she would vindicate him by dying.

Even if he rebels now, he is not a traitor, but a member of the imperial family, and rightfully succeeds to the throne.

Tears streamed down his face, his eyes bloodshot and filled with crimson veins, as he helplessly watched the breath of the person in his arms slowly fade away...