Chapter 68 All of this was for her

After everyone left, only Li Yuanzhao and Chen Yanqing remained in the side hall.

Li Yuanzhao glanced at Chen Yanqing expressionlessly.

Chen Yanqing felt a chill run down his spine and, almost reflexively, immediately knelt down to beg for forgiveness.

"Your subordinate has failed in his duties; please punish me, Your Highness."

After receiving Li Yuanzhao's orders, he planned and schemed for a long time before setting up this scheme.

The original plan was to take advantage of the quiet of the night, when everyone was asleep, to set fire to the oil-soaked cotton wadding that had been hidden in the corner of the west wing.

He had calculated the wind direction tonight, and the fire in the west wing would be carried by the wind and burn directly towards Liu Jinzhang's bedroom next door.

When the fire blazes high in the sky, it will appear to anyone as an ordinary nighttime fire, at most attributed to the carelessness of the servants, and it will be extremely difficult to find any other clues.

Unexpectedly, the servant was so alert that he immediately expressed his suspicion that "someone deliberately set the fire."

Fortunately, Li Yuanzhao reacted quickly and immediately interrupted him, taking him back to the princess's residence on the grounds that "there were too many people around."

Otherwise, if he were to make a scene outside and someone with ulterior motives overheard it, they might trace it back to her, and he would be guilty of a thousand deaths.

"Get up." Li Yuanzhao's voice was unreadable.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Chen Yanqing stood up and said with a hint of relief, "I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that Prince Cheng happened to send something. Fortunately, Your Highness reacted quickly and used those two pears as a pretext to shift the suspicion to Prince Cheng, thus preventing the matter from being exposed."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanzhao gave him a look as if he were an idiot.

How could this be a coincidence?

The death of Liu Jinzhang, a high-ranking official in the capital and her mentor, would be a waste if she didn't make a big deal out of it.

Only then did Chen Yanqing belatedly realize something was wrong, his tone filled with disbelief, "Could it be... could this also be something Your Highness arranged?"

Seeing her noncommittal expression, Chen Yanqing suddenly felt a little scared.

Since it was her arrangement, why didn't she inform him at all beforehand?

Does she still not trust herself?

Li Yuanzhao stood up, walked to the chessboard where he often played against Liu Jinzhang, raised his hand to brush the cold chess pieces, and said indifferently, "I only told you to kill Liu Jinzhang, not to kill his whole family."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yanqing immediately felt remorseful, "This subordinate...this subordinate deserves to die!"

His Adam's apple bobbed as he explained with difficulty, "It wasn't supposed to be like this according to the plan, but last night the wind suddenly shifted, and the fire spread too quickly. By the time my subordinates realized something was wrong and tried to rush in to save people, the roof beams had already collapsed..."

Li Yuanzhao didn't look at him; his fingertips were still twirling the black piece on the chessboard, not yet placed.

She could have given this task to anyone, but she specifically chose to give it to Chen Yanqing.

When a protagonist in a story is portrayed as righteous, yet he harms loyal and good people for the sake of a so-called villain, and even implicates innocent people, can his justice still stand?

Will God continue to help this "chosen one" with blood on his hands?

She couldn't help but want to see.

After a long silence, she slowly spoke: "Now that the dead cannot be brought back to life, there is no point in saying anything more."

She paused, placed a black piece in the corner of the chessboard, and added a hint of pity to her voice: "Liu Jinzhang is, after all, my teacher, and he values ​​his reputation and family most in his life. Go to the Great Ci'en Temple and offer each of the three of them an everlasting lamp, as a way of wishing them an early ascension to paradise."

Chen Yanqing replied, "Your subordinate obeys."

Li Yuanzhao did not believe in gods or Buddhas, and she said these things not out of any sense of guilt or peace of mind.

For her, death is death.

If they all died, there would be fewer future troubles; if they didn't all die, she was willing to take care of the Grand Tutor's widowed mother.

Offering lamps is nothing more than a performance for the world to see.

After all, it was her beloved teacher who had been by her side day and night who died; how could she be "unmoved"?

Moreover, she can now leverage her mentor's influence to make a grander move.

Li Yuanzhao instructed, "Since this involves the murder of an official, I dare not act on my own. In a moment, you will hand over the carnation and these two pears to the Dali Temple and let them investigate."

Chen Yanqing acknowledged and withdrew.

Li Yuanzhao looked out the window at the already bright sky and a smile appeared on his lips.

Her younger brother is such a good brother.

I actually helped her with such a big favor.

Chen Yanqing quietly closed the door of the side hall.

By this time, the sun had already risen high in the sky, shining so brightly that it illuminated the flowers and trees in the courtyard and the stone steps under the eaves.

He stood at the boundary between light and shadow, and suddenly felt a little ashamed of himself.

This was not the first time Li Yuanzhao had confessed to killing someone.

When he killed Pei Huaijin's uncle, Pei Guyan, last time, he didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.

Having grown up listening to operas about "heroes eliminating evil and upholding justice," he also believed that corrupt officials should be killed, as it was simply acting on behalf of Heaven.

So when I took action, I even felt a subtle sense of satisfaction in upholding justice.

But this time is different.

Li Yuanzhao confessed that he killed her own master.

Even though he never entered the court as an official, he knew of the Grand Tutor's good reputation.

Everyone in the capital knew that Liu Jinzhang had served as an official for more than a decade, always remaining incorruptible, and his home was almost bare except for shelves full of books.

What's even more remarkable is his magnanimity in teaching and imparting knowledge. Whether the person seeking his guidance is a scion of a distinguished family or a commoner from the marketplace, he teaches them everything he knows without reservation.

Why would Li Yuanzhao want to kill such a virtuous official who is praised by the world?

But he dared not ask, nor could he ask.

He spent a long time mentally preparing himself before he finally convinced himself to take action.

But what about now?

He looked down at his hands; his fingers were clearly defined.

But only he knows how much blood was on his hands last night.

Liu Jinzhang's, the old lady's, and that little maid's...

Overnight, he accumulated several more blood debts.

He seemed to have become one of those villains in plays who kill without hesitation, only able to hide in the shadows and harm people with underhanded means.

This realization made his throat tighten, and his chest felt like it was blocked by something, causing a suffocating pain.

For the first time, he felt a slight sense of self-disapproval, and for the first time, he doubted whether the path he was on was the "right path" he had longed for in his youth.

But as soon as the thought arose, another figure appeared in my mind.

All of this was for her.

The slight wavering in my heart strangely subsided.

He didn't know when it started, but he had a firm idea in his mind.

We must stand by her side wholeheartedly and clear away all obstacles for her, even those obstacles that are considered "good people" by the world.

Chen Yanqing took a deep breath and walked outside, bumping into Lin Xuean.

He was carrying an ebony tray with a white porcelain medicine bowl decorated with gold on it.

The moment Chen Yanqing saw him, all those lingering thoughts about good and evil, about blood debts, vanished, leaving only a strange sense of irritation and impatience.

He glanced at the tray and asked curtly, "What did you take?"

Although Lin Xuean sensed the unfriendly tone in his voice, she still maintained a gentle and polite demeanor. "I prepared a calming medicinal meal for Your Highness. She didn't sleep well last night."

After hearing this, Chen Yanqing almost rolled her eyes.

He killed for her outside, but she preferred these playthings that only circled around the medicine furnace, using these low-class things to please her every day.

An indescribable sense of hostility welled up in her heart. Just as Lin Xue'an turned to step past him and enter the room, Chen Yanqing suddenly stretched out his left foot without making a sound.

Caught off guard, Lin Xuean suddenly leaned forward and fell heavily to the ground.

He didn't even hold the tray properly, and the white porcelain medicine cup shattered, splashing brown medicine all over the floor and burning a red mark on the back of his hand.

Even with Lin Xue'an's good temper, he couldn't contain his anger at this moment. He looked at Chen Yanqing, his voice trembling with rage, "You!"

Chen Yanqing, however, looked down at him as if nothing had happened, saying, "Watch where you're going, don't be so arrogant all the time. See, you tripped and fell down."

After saying that, he didn't even lift his eyelids again and walked straight past Lin Xuean.