The hustle and bustle has faded away.

She cleared her mind and looked at her thirteenth uncle's hand holding the sword, which was trembling slightly. She suddenly remembered that her uncle had not had an easy night either.

He was the one who represented the family and personally faced and took responsibility for everything.

She suddenly reached out and supported her thirteenth uncle's arm, her eyes suddenly shining with an intimidating light.

She sensed that her thirteenth uncle's always solitary figure was indeed slowly leaning towards her.

She asked softly, "Whose blood is on Uncle's sword tip?"

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Jin's body trembled slightly, but he still leaned against her, relying on her support to avoid falling.

He said calmly, "I went to settle accounts with Sima Yan, and the Four Stars of Heavenly Secrets appeared. 'Wind and Thunder Hand' Chu Yuanyi said a few unpleasant things, so I blinded one of her eyes."

Only now does A Qiu realize that Chu Yuanyi's eye was actually blinded by Shangguan Jin, the man who "wielded a sword in green robes and conquered Jiangzuo".

She felt a strange mix of emotions.

Shangguan Jin was certainly not a bad person. He was a famous minister who won the battle to cross the Yangtze River for the Southern Dynasty, saving millions of people from the hooves of the Hu people. He is remembered in history and his contributions will last for thousands of years.

But Chu Yuanyi wasn't a bad person either.

She finally understood why Chu Yuanyi had been cursing Shangguan Yuqi incessantly whenever they met, calling her "a slut from the Shangguan family."

This was all because Yanxiu must have seen something, and one of her eyes had been blinded by Shangguan Jin. Therefore, she would become inexplicably angry whenever she heard the name "Shangguan".

Shangguan Yuqi said, "What shocked me even more at the time was that when my uncle heard that my aunt had died, he actually took up his sword and went to find Sima Yan. You should know that the Shangguan family has been loyal ministers and good prime ministers for generations. In order to consider the overall situation, we have always been tolerant of the royal family and never said a word of dissent."

Even though the Shangguan family was unwilling to let Yanxiu marry the infamous, licentious, and incompetent Sima Yan, they never uttered a word of objection.

Because assisting the monarch is the duty and destiny of a subject.

Regardless of whether the rulers were wise or foolish, the Shangguan family had always served them with utmost loyalty and devotion. Despite their prestige and influence as leaders among the various powerful clans, they never considered rebellion and even made concessions time and again, all for the sake of the long-term stability and peace of the Southern Dynasty.

Uncle Shangguan Jin, the thirteenth uncle, is the pillar of the family. He is always patient and prioritizes the greater good. If the country needs him, he can even break the two great oaths of the Shangguan family: "the tomb keeper will not serve in office" and "civil officials will not lead troops." Despite the ridicule of the crowd, he prepares for war, unites with Li Mingyuan and Fan Ying externally, and works with Pei Yuanli internally. He rarely provokes any conflict and has stabilized the situation in the Southern Dynasty to its current state.

But for Yanxiu's sake, he finally drew his sword and went straight to the Golden Palace.

The four constellations of Tianji have been lurking in the palace for so many years, protecting the emperor's safety. They certainly never imagined that the first assassin they would have to deal with would be the renowned prime minister, Shangguan Jin.

Yuqi calmed down and asked softly, "What did the emperor say?"

If Uncle Thirteen had truly killed the emperor, he probably wouldn't have been able to return unscathed. The entire palace would surely be shaken tonight, and the history of the Southern Dynasty would be rewritten.

Shangguan Jin closed his eyes and said dejectedly, "He said he had done his best."

He has done his best. Does this mean he has done everything he could to help the imperial physicians treat Yanxiu's condition?

Yuqi understood this statement in the same way for many years afterward.

If Yanxiu died of illness, Sima Yan was not a doctor and there was only so much he could do, so it cannot be blamed on him.

However, Shangguan Yuqi knew very well that if Yanxiu had really died of illness, the Thirteenth Uncle would never have broken into Sima Yan's palace with a sword, and even the four constellations of Tianji scattered throughout the palace were alarmed and came out to protect the emperor.

It's just that Uncle Thirteen didn't want to mention it, or perhaps he couldn't. And as the current head of the family, she could only remain silent in accordance with him.

However, this mystery remained forever etched in her heart. And the grief that followed it was so profound that even the most solemn funeral could not diminish it in the slightest.

When the entire Jianzhang family was dressed in white mourning clothes, and the procession that carried Yanxiu's coffin to Wuyang Mausoleum for thirty miles was as white as snow, Shangguan Yuqi, who was the closest and most familiar person to her in the family during her lifetime, did not go.

She now seems to understand even more clearly what Yanxiu had said back then: "The way of husband and wife is that even if it's just going through the motions, you still have to be patient with each other and give each other face."

Sima Yan was very accommodating.

But no amount of courtesy could bring Yanxiu back to life.

There must have been other hidden reasons for Yanxiu's death. Otherwise, the thirteenth uncle would not have gone to the Golden Palace with a sword. Otherwise, Sima Yan would not have remained silent after the thirteenth uncle's offense and would have held a grand national funeral for Yanxiu, giving him both face and substance.

But she couldn't press her thirteenth uncle for answers, because she could tell that he was exhausted even after surviving this ordeal. He also had to prepare to face the million-strong allied army from the north; this battle would determine the stability and peace of millions of people in the Southern Dynasty for generations to come.

Then, Aunt, please wait for me to grow up, please wait for me to have greater power. At that time, I will surely find out the truth for you and clear your name.

Just like what you did for my mother back then.

Everyone says she's clinging to the powerful and wealthy, even risking her life.

Only you say that she is a good woman.

Shangguan Yuqi raised her head, and her eyes finally regained some vitality. She said, "After my aunt passed away, I asked my thirteenth uncle to let me enter the family cemetery to cultivate and inherit the legacy of the tomb keeper."

She said sadly, "The greatest lesson I learned from my aunt's death is that all the beautiful things everyone yearns for, such as wealth and honor, and marrying a rich man, are ultimately a mix of fortune and misfortune, like a dream. For the first half of my life, I worked diligently under my aunt's tutelage, striving for the sake of the family, and receiving the upbringing of a well-bred lady. My willingness to do this stemmed partly from loyalty to the family, but even more so from gratitude for my aunt's kindness and support. My aunt taught and nurtured me, not caring that I came from a family of courtesans, but instead promoting me from among my peers. Without her, there would be no Shangguan Yuqi today."

She let out a long sigh, her emotions turning into a calm indifference: "But when my aunt passed away, I realized that I didn't actually have that much affection for the Shangguan family. You could say that in the entire Shangguan family, there were only three people I truly cared about, and my aunt was the most important. You could say that if all three of them were gone, even if I wandered the world, I would have no attachments."

It's not surprising that she would have this mentality, because in the end, the Shangguan family did provide her with clothes and food, allowing her to grow up safely, but she never received much warmth from her family's blood ties, so she found it difficult to develop a sense of belonging.

In truth, if anyone still feels attached to a place, it's only because there are people there worth cherishing. If things remain the same but the people are gone, all that's left is regret.

A Qiu couldn't help but ask, "Of the three people you mentioned, one is your aunt Yan Xiu, and the other is your thirteenth uncle Shangguan Jin, but I don't know who the other one is?"

Shangguan Yuqi said calmly, "That is Aunt Yao, who taught me martial arts in the forbidden area. Have I told you that after Aunt Yanxiu took me from my birth mother, before confirming whether I was of Shangguan blood, she entrusted me to an elder in the family to raise? She was the previous generation of the tomb guardian, and my fate with her was formed at that time. After entering the tomb, I followed her to learn martial arts until I was summoned by Uncle Xie to leave the tomb and enter the palace."

By this point, she no longer minded Xiao Chang'an's presence and explained her background and origins clearly.

Even within the Shangguan family, this is likely a closely guarded secret.

Xiao Chang'an gave a short, dry laugh, and said very awkwardly, "In the Shangguan family, you still have at least three people you truly care about. Do you know that's already extremely fortunate?"

He continued, “You should know that some people are born as pawns, and they have to compete for position among the pawns. Even within their own families, there is deceit and sycophancy. They put their own interests first, and they never have any real feelings for each other.”

Shangguan Yuqi understood at this moment and said calmly, "The Xiao family, the most powerful family in the Northern Dynasty, naturally has a different family style from my Shangguan family. But in any case, the fact that you were able to come south to Dayan and enter the palace as a Flying Phoenix Guard shows that the Xiao family gave you enough freedom to do whatever you want. And freedom is the hardest thing for us aristocratic children to obtain."

Xiao Chang'an coldly said, "If one is born with the appearance of a dragon or phoenix, what barriers can bind one's wings? If we're talking about freedom, isn't Miss Shangguan's freedom no less than Chang'an's?"

Shangguan Yuqi finally sighed and said, "Yes. As the number one swordsman in the Southern Dynasty, I no longer have to repeat my aunt's mistakes and marry a designated person of equal social standing. More importantly, I have the freedom to follow my heart and not marry if I want to."

She sighed again, “The Shangguan family has served emperors for generations, and in terms of wealth and power, they have reached the pinnacle of a minister’s life. My aunt, a wise empress, ultimately lost even her body. My thirteenth uncle brought prosperity to the Southern Dynasty and established unparalleled military achievements, but ultimately hanged himself in the ancestral hall out of guilt towards his friends. After experiencing all this, everything I see is illusory. I only want to forget the way of the sword and spend my life climbing to the highest peak of martial arts. If it weren’t for my inability to forget the cause of my aunt’s death and the feeling that I still owe myself an explanation, you wouldn’t be seeing me in Jianzhang Palace today.”

Xiao Chang'an's sharp eyes lit up as he said, "I'm afraid that besides Empress Xining, Miss, there are other things on her mind?"

Shangguan Yuqi was taken aback and asked, "What do you mean?"

Xiao Chang'an smiled and said, "Miss just said that if it weren't for Empress Xining, we wouldn't have met you in Jianzhang Palace. I believe at least half of that. However, the reason we were able to have this long talk with Miss in Wuyang Mausoleum seems to have nothing to do with Empress Xining."

His meaning was simple: if Shangguan Yuqi's sole purpose in entering the palace was to investigate the cause of Empress Xining's death, she should have stayed out of it at the prison gate and left with Xie Lang, instead of following Lord Liyang and Aqiu all the way to Wuyang Mausoleum. At least before entering the underground passage, none of the three knew that their destination was the underground palace of Wuyang Mausoleum, where Empress Xining's coffin was kept.

The reason she followed him all the way was simply because she was worried about A-Qiu.

Shangguan Yuqi realized what was happening, but simply shrugged nonchalantly and said, "The highest form of detachment is forgetting emotions, the next best is following one's heart. We should act according to our conscience. If we were to sit idly by and watch her fall into danger, would that be the behavior of a gentlemanly swordsman?"

Her answer was impeccable, but A Qiu still felt that Shangguan Yuqi's reason for protecting her all along wasn't so simple. It was purely an intuition.

Since they met, Shangguan Yuqi's kindness and care for her were not something that could be faked, nor were they the casual friendships of ordinary people in the martial arts world.