Chapter 266 What cannot be escaped is destiny.

Time slipped away like sand through the air. Just past noon, long queues of officials' carriages, carrying their families and valuable gifts, formed in front of the palace gates.

As planned, the furious Consort Shu failed to see the Crown Prince, and because the palace gates were under particularly strict security at the moment, her maids were also unable to leave the palace smoothly.

At this moment, she felt as if she were imprisoned in a deep cage, the resentment, unwillingness, and anger pent up in her heart almost distorting her pure and beautiful face.

“His Majesty is nowhere to be found, the Crown Prince is missing, and Prince Jing has slapped a forged secret letter onto Consort Shu’s face.” Song Zhen looked at Li Yi, who was facing him, picked up the teacup that had long since gone cold, and moistened his throat.

After a short while, she continued, "After making some adjustments, she will plan how to pin all the blame on Su Wanying."

Inside the main courtyard of the Six Doors, just past noon, the snow began to fall again in a flurry.

The pure white snowflakes fell on the chessboard in front of me, spreading out in an instant.

Li Yi's gaze was icy as he stared at Song Zhen, who was calmly and methodically explaining her final plan. After a long while, he let out a cold snort.

"In my life, I hate traitors the most." His voice was filled with anger. "What, does Cen Zhen also want to try this path of betrayal, and see if it's feasible?"

Clearly, the emperor of Great Wei was deeply troubled by Song Zhen's refusal to reveal the whereabouts of Li Mu's son.

Seeing Li Yi's anger, Song Zhen, who had experienced many ups and downs in life and tasted the bitterness and warmth of the world, obviously did not feel any real threat.

He remained unmoved, his voice calm and composed: "Your Majesty is joking. Cen Zhen has never betrayed you."

Snowflakes fell into the teacup, gently creating ripples.

Song Zhen's smiling face was reflected in the mirror, and from top to bottom, he exuded an indomitable and proud spirit that faced death head-on.

He seemed to be joking, or perhaps teasing, glancing at Li Jin on the other side of the snowstorm, and said bluntly, "Cen Zhen has never said that he would be loyal to the Emperor."

The biting wind suddenly made the atmosphere extremely tense.

Standing behind Li Yi, Eunuch Chen frowned and kept giving Song Zhen meaningful glances.

But the elegant young man in the blue robe seemed blind and remained unmoved.

"Excellent!" The veins on Li Yi's forehead bulged, and his nostrils trembled slightly. "What a brilliant and talented eldest son of the Cen family!"

A murderous glint rose in his eyes: "You really are loyal!" Li Yi raised his hand, pointing at his brow, gritting his teeth, "Aren't you afraid that I'll take Li Jin's life right now!?"

But then Song Zhen took a deep breath, laughed, and shook his head under Li Yi's surprised gaze.

"It's alright. If His Majesty wants to kill, then let him." He said casually, taking out a white piece from the side and placing it on the board in response to Li Yi's threat.

Seeing that he remained neither humble nor arrogant even as death approached, Li Yi was filled with doubt: "How could he have fallen so low as to betray his master for personal gain in the blink of an eye? To exchange his life for another?"

Upon hearing this, Song Zhen raised her eyes and looked at Li Yi's face with seriousness.

There was a moment of silence between them, and the light in his eyes dimmed slightly.

"My master died on the way to exile six years ago, and his body was never found."

Li Yi was taken aback, and the anger that had just surged to his head immediately dissipated by more than half.

Seeing Song Zhen's fearless and guiltless demeanor, I was deeply moved.

Perhaps it was the guilt he felt towards Li Mu that made Li Yi waver for a moment. He held the chess piece in his hand for a long time, but couldn't bring himself to place it.

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, his eyes lowered in deep thought, Song Zhen spoke first.

"It's past noon, the play is about to begin." He raised his hand and gestured towards the gate. "Your Majesty should return now."

After a long while, Li Yi, who had been sitting motionless, finally raised his hand and slammed the black ball down.

He looked at the chessboard in front of him and rubbed his hands together. "The game has been played. The opening moves are complete, the set patterns are clear, and we've reached the middle game, where the battle is about to begin." Li Yi narrowed his eyes slightly. "It's a pity we can't reach the endgame or see the final outcome of the big game."

Li Yi leaned forward, looking at Song Zhen with a half-smile: "Regret?"

The winter wind was biting, whipping Song Zhen's clothes and making the hair at his temples fly wildly.

What's meant to come will come.

Song Zhen looked up at the sky and gazed at the vast expanse of sky where the clouds had not yet parted and the fog had not yet dissipated. She breathed a long sigh of relief.

Then, with gentle, watery eyes, he looked at the Emperor of Great Wei sitting opposite him and revealed a pure smile, just like the carefree eldest son of the Cen family many years ago.

He shook his head, a faint smile on his face, each word carrying the weight of a thousand pieces of gold, landing heavily on Li Yi's heart.

He said, "May the light of righteousness illuminate all the darkness in the world and dispel all gloom."

“If you want to light this light, you must use my bones as a catalyst, and my ashes as a wax…” Song Zhen laughed, “Ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times, I will still do my duty without hesitation.”

After speaking, he cupped his hands in greeting.

At this moment, Li Yi knew that he was not facing the brilliant and talented head of the Song family, the gentle and refined richest man in the capital.

He was facing Cen Zhen, who had been unjustly branded a traitor and became the biggest victim in the power struggle.

Heaven is still fair.

He was given an excellent background and the great wisdom to use the world as a chessboard, but he was also given a tragic fate full of ups and downs.

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a choice, like Li Jin, even in dire straits.

What you can't escape is destiny.

What you can escape is fate.

Li Yi took the warm tea handed to him by Eunuch Chen behind him, and in front of Song Zhen, took out a packet of white powder from his pocket and poured it all into the tea.

He waited for the powder to dissolve, then handed the teacup to Song Zhen with both hands.

"After today, there will be no more Cen Zhen."

Song Zhen did not hesitate. He took the teacup and raised his hand to drink it all in one gulp.

"Wait a minute," Li Yi called out.

Seeing Song Zhen's surprise, Li Yi stared at his face seriously. After a long while, he added, "Remember what you said today." He stood up and looked down at him. "Never forget it."

After saying this, Song Zhen smiled faintly and drank the tea in her hand in one gulp.

Seeing that he had drunk it all up, Li Yi slowly took a step forward.

He walked to the moon gate of the main courtyard, then suddenly stopped, turned his head to glance at Song Zhen, who was still sitting there, and raised his voice slightly: "The Cen family and the late Crown Prince..."

He paused for a moment, then said, "It's all my fault."

Song Zhen paused, looking at Li Yi.

Although they were only ten meters apart, the regret and despair on Li Yi's face were something Song Zhen had never seen before.

“One wrong step leads to another, and there is no medicine for regret in this world. I have done everything I can to cooperate with you, just to tell you that I have let down the Cen family and I have also let down Li Jin.”

Li Yi took a deep breath and said firmly, "It is I who have wronged them. It is I who have let them down."

After saying that, he hesitated for a moment before striding into the snowstorm.

Behind her, Song Zhen slowly stood up, tears silently sliding down her cheeks.

He lifted his robe, knelt on both knees in the snow, and kowtowed devoutly in the direction Li Yi had left. He slowly closed his eyes, his smile undiminished.

Over the years, he has come to know that time cannot be reversed and that the dead cannot be brought back to life.

But they still risked their lives, disregarding life and death. They schemed and plotted, taking every step with utmost care, believing themselves to be the cornerstone of peace in the world.

But at this moment, peeling back the layers and examining his soul, he finally understood that all he had ever asked for was a simple "I'm sorry."

Fortunately, the Emperor of Wei did not disappoint him.

He chuckled softly: "With you in Great Wei, the world is fortunate."

Outside the moon gate, Li Yi, who had already walked dozens of meters, gradually stopped.

He turned and looked in the direction of the main courtyard, and sighed after a long while.

He pulled out another packet of real poison from his pocket, glanced at Eunuch Chen, and tore the packet to shreds, scattering the shreds in the snow.

"His Majesty is benevolent." Eunuch Chen smiled and nodded.

Li Yi, however, remained expressionless and shook his head: "Cen Zhen died six years ago." He paused, "I merely... gave Song Zhen a choice."

After saying that, he tilted his head slightly, glanced at the smile on Eunuch Chen's face, and sighed: "Let Li Jin decide who his people are."