Li Sisi only frowned slightly, without uttering a sound.

He Lin and He Jinran approached at the same time, and what they met was Li Sisi's hateful gaze.

He Xuan's hands trembled.

He dropped the throwing knife with a clang.

"Sisi, what are you going to do, Godfather?"

"Sisi doesn't want her godfather to die. He wants to stay with her forever," Li Sisi cried, tears streaming down her face.

She looked up at He Lin.

"Your Majesty, my adoptive father raised me to adulthood with his whole heart and soul. He deserves our deepest gratitude, even if he didn't do anything particularly meritorious. You kill him without a second thought, without any regard for our blood ties?"

"He ruined our father-daughter relationship of more than ten years, he deserves to die!" He Lin's eyes remained firm, and his determination to kill He Xuan had not wavered.

"He should have died fourteen years ago!"

"What are you all standing there for? Take him to the Ministry of Justice and imprison him immediately!" He Lin urged. Zhan Yue stepped forward again.

However, Li Sisi pushed him away with one hand.

She absolutely did not want her godfather to be sent to that dark and hopeless prison without any explanation.

"Why should my godfather die?!"

"Why?" Li Sisi knew her godfather; he would never do such a thing without a reason.

"..." He Lin was speechless after being asked a question by Li Sisi.

He didn't want to explain anything unnecessary.

"Zhan Yue, send the Wing King to the Ministry of Justice!"

He Jinran: Father, with my sister as a weakness, can you kill the Third Imperial Uncle?

He wanted to say that his third uncle was someone his mother had protected even on her deathbed.

But he dared not say it.

He feared that this would incite his father's even deeper jealousy, making things worse.

"No!" Li Sisi shook her head. This matter was too sudden and too cruel for her.

He Jinran: "Father, only by letting go of the past can we start anew. Jin'er doesn't want to see you living in regret every day."

He was truly powerless to change the grudges and conflicts among his elders.

"I can get by, but can he?!" He Lin sneered. This wasn't the first time he had felt how much of a failure he was as a father.

"Jin'er, Yu'er, why do you both think he's a good person and I'm a bad person? You're both my children, why are you both on his side!"

He Lin's cold gaze fell upon Zhan Yue once more.

Zhan Yue was under considerable pressure, but had no choice but to stop Li Sisi and her group of guards, and take He Xuan away.

He Xuan surrendered without resistance and shook his head at Li Sisi.

"Sisi, your father still loves you very much, so don't blame him. Your adoptive father was wrong first, and he deserves this fate. Sisi, from now on, forget about your adoptive father."

After saying that, he took the lead in pushing the four-wheeled vehicle, and under the escort of Zhan Yue and others, went to the Ministry of Justice prison.

After He Xuan left,

He Lin walked towards Li Sisi, his previous cold expression gone.

"Return to the palace with my father."

“Yu’er, it was He Xuan who kidnapped you, forcing us, father and daughter, to be so close yet so far apart. His actions back then are something I, your father, cannot forgive.”

"If you insist on killing my godfather, I will not live on either!" Li Sisi's words were firm.

This left He Lin conflicted and resentful.

Li Sisi stepped back, her body feeling somewhat weak.

She ignored He Lin's words and, knowing full well the supremacy of imperial power, refrained from uttering any extreme remarks.

She simply ran step by step towards the courtyard gate, disappearing from He Lin's sight.

He Lin raised his foot to chase after him.

But He Jinran stopped him in his tracks.

“Father, if you are determined to take Third Uncle’s life, then you can only assume that you never had this daughter and that she will not acknowledge you.”

Having said that, he used his lightness skill to chase after Li Sisi's figure.

And He Lin,

He sat down again in the pavilion of the Wing King's Mansion.

The surroundings returned to calm, but his heart was in turmoil.

Amidst raging waves!

What happened back then is a knot in his heart that he can't untie.

But at this moment, seeing Yu'er so sad and upset...

He just wanted a way out.

He wanted to hear "Father" from Yu'er's own lips.

He wanted Yu'er to lower her pride and willingly become his princess.

However, he didn't wait until He Xuan was taken away by Zhan Yue.

Yu'er's personality is exactly like her mother's—stubborn and unwilling to back down.

But he... wasn't he the same?

...

"Sisi, where are you going?" He Jinran quickly caught up with Li Sisi and blocked her path at top speed.

But as one can imagine, he was met with a fierce punch from Li Sisi.

"It's all because of you! Why did you even show up?!"

Li Sisi glared angrily at He Jinran, still repeating her previous words with resentment.

He Jinran pursed his lips.

It all really started because of him, but... was he wrong?

"Little sister, your brother just wants to see you."

"What brother and sister? I have no brother, I have no father, I only have a godfather!" At this moment, Li Sisi truly hated He Jinran.

She hated He Jinran, and without saying a word, she suddenly threw a punch at him.

He Jinran did not respond to the attack, but remained on the defensive.

“If you’re going to the Ministry of Justice, I advise you to save your breath. Father is furious right now. Give him some time, and he will release Third Uncle.”

He backed away while offering words of comfort.

Li Sisi stopped abruptly, glaring angrily at He Jinran.

"Would he? He sounded so certain just now!"

"He would do it for you!" He Jinran wasn't sure if her father would release her third uncle; his certainty was merely to appease his younger sister.

"Put yourself in Father's shoes. If you were in Father's position back then, you would probably hate him even more than he did. Father was angry and needed to vent."

"What exactly happened back then?" Upon hearing He Jinran's words, Li Sisi finally relaxed her fist and stood calmly opposite He Jinran.

"...Back then, because my father was obsessed with love, my mother was locked in the deep palace, and she longed to be released from the palace every moment..."

He Jinran pursed his lips and recounted to Li Sisi in detail the stories he had heard from his father.

"...Father and Grandfather will definitely persuade Father Emperor." He knew that Father Emperor needed to find a reason that could convince him, otherwise, Father Emperor would not be able to let go of his resentment.

The more Li Sisi listened, the redder her eyes became...

Finally, he ran like the wind towards his maternal grandfather's house, where He Jinran had kidnapped him a few days earlier.

At that moment, Gu Qian was in the courtyard, bidding his master a final farewell.

“Master, please be careful on the road. After Yan Yan gives birth, my wife and I will definitely take the child to visit you and your wife.”

As Gu Qian spoke, he loaded Shangjin specialties and some of Yan Yan's latest tonics into his master's carriage.

“Master, you often cough and wheeze, so you should take care to protect yourself from the wind. This loquat juice was made by Yan Yan herself to quench your thirst on the journey.”

Li Zheng found Gu Qian's rambling words quite heartwarming.

He smiled faintly.

"Qian'er, just take care of your own families, you don't need to worry about your master."

He packed his last baggage and mounted his horse.

Just as he was about to raise the whip...

Then they saw two figures rushing towards them from afar.

It was undoubtedly He Jinran and Li Sisi.