Chapter 187 The Truth

This is the real Xie Zhenting!

Loyalty is to the rightful ruler, and to the country and its people!

Instead of bowing down to a usurper who seized power through illegitimate means!

"Excellent! What a loyal ruler! What a righteous act! This is the kind of grandson-in-law my Lin family values! This is the kind of pillar of my Great Qing!"

Lin Zhu slammed his hand on the desk, his eyes flashing with a sharp light!

That's the right way!

The look in his eyes when he looked at Xie Zhenting was no longer one of scrutiny and oppression.

"Lin Zhijie, get out!"

Upon hearing his father dismiss him, Lin Zhijie immediately left the study.

Only the grandfather and grandson remained inside the house.

Lin stopped beating around the bush and suddenly stood up, looking at Xie Zhenting.

"Ten years! A full ten years!"

Lin Zhu's voice trembled violently, "Since the late Emperor passed away, His Highness the Crown Prince also went down with him. Pei Yan, the fourth prince who was not favored back then, quickly ascended the throne with my help! Have you ever thought about why the late Emperor and the late Crown Prince passed away so coincidentally, one after the other? Have you ever questioned the reason for the late Emperor's death?"

"I know! The late emperor was poisoned to death!"

"Why do you think Pei Yan is so wary of military power? Why is he so afraid of the Xie family becoming too powerful? It's because he's guilty! He didn't get to the throne properly! He can't sleep at night because he's afraid that one day, an upright minister like you, who holds great military power and is loyal and righteous, will learn the truth about what happened back then! He's afraid that the countless blood debts buried under the dust will eventually be exposed!"

Xie Zhenting couldn't believe what he was hearing!

What's the meaning?

Was the emperor's ascension to the throne truly illegitimate?

But my grandfather played a lot of the role when the emperor ascended the throne!

Lin Zhu saw Xie Zhenting's expression and knew what he was thinking.

"I was deceived by him! He was not the late emperor's chosen heir to the throne at all! I believed him... and now I am a sinner who has no face to face the late emperor again..."

Xie Zhenting was dumbfounded. The amount of information was too much, leaving him momentarily stunned and unsure how to react. He murmured, "But His Majesty has the Tiger Tally."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhu's eyes turned red as he said, "That's fake! That's a lie! He doesn't have a tiger tally at all. The real tiger tally..." Lin Zhu paused, thought for a moment, and decided not to tell Xie Zhenting for the time being.

"The late emperor once said that if anyone ascended the throne without the Tiger Tally, it was because of the person who poisoned him. I, Lin Zhu, personally supported the beast who killed the late emperor onto the throne!"

"Pei Yan! He murdered his father and brothers to seize the throne! His crimes are too numerous to recount! How can such a person be worthy of being a ruler?! How can he be worthy of your loyalty, Xie Zhenting? How can he be worthy of my thousands of soldiers dying for him?!"

Xie Zhenting felt as if he had been struck by lightning!

My mind went completely blank!

It turns out that the monarch he had always been loyal to was actually a ruthless executioner who climbed to the throne by stepping on the corpses of his loved ones and whose hands were stained with sin!

He clenched his fist tightly!

Lin Zhu was also deeply saddened.

He understood that this revelation of the truth was a devastating blow to his grandson-in-law, who valued loyalty above all else.

“Grandfather… Zhenting understands.” These words weighed a ton.

"So what should we do now?"

Lin Zhu, leaning on his cane, wearily sat back down in the armchair.

He pressed his withered fingers against his aching temples, closed his eyes, and pondered for a long time.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes: "The most urgent thing you need to do is..." He paused, his tone solemn, "...listen to Sang Ning."

Xie Zhenting's brows furrowed sharply, and he almost blurted out, "Ningning? Why drag her into this? She's still a child! This is like walking through fire and water..."

"child?"

Lin interrupted him, "Zhenting, Zhenting, you've been away from the capital for ten years. Do you know what kind of monstrous dragon you've grown into in this man-eating den of tigers and dragons in the capital?"

He looked at the lingering shock in his son-in-law's eyes and said, "You must trust your daughter! Her intelligence, her methods, her strategies... far exceed our imagination! This game may have already begun the moment she noticed the clues! Her eyes see further and more clearly than those of us old folks who have been trapped in this game for years! Her mind is so meticulous it's frightening!"

Lin Zhu's tone was resolute: "Listen to her arrangements! Do whatever she tells you to do. Even if you think it's absurd, even if you think it's illogical! Don't ask why! This is currently our only and best option!"

"Besides, do you think she can stay out of it? From the moment she decided to stay in the capital, from the moment she started plotting, she was destined to be dragged in! Pei Yan's knife has already been hanging over everyone's heads! The only difference is whether to sit and wait for death or to take a gamble! Sang Ning, which path do you think she will choose?"

Xie Zhenting was deeply shaken by his grandfather's words.

He recalled the hideous old scar on his daughter's wrist, and the composure and shrewdness she had cultivated over ten years of navigating life alone...

Yes, Ningning is no longer a fledgling bird that needs his protection.

She was in the eye of the storm, and had already spread her wings!

Xie Zhenting nodded slowly, his voice hoarse: "I understand, I will listen to her."

Seeing that he accepted, Lin Zhu's expression softened slightly, but then became even more serious and solemn: "As for the military power your father-in-law just mentioned..."

"One word—stupid!"

"Zhenting! Listen to me clearly! Those hundreds of thousands of Xie family soldiers are the foundation upon which you, Xie Zhenting, stand! They are the sharp sword that deters Pei Yan from making any rash moves! They are also our only reliance should anything happen to us in the future! We must not let them go! Not a single bit can be let go! Hold them tightly in our hands! Do you understand!"

Xie Zhenting suddenly straightened his back!

"Grandfather, don't worry!"

"As long as military power exists, the Xie family exists! If military power is lost, we are at the mercy of others, like fish on a chopping board! Zhenting has this principle etched into his heart! If Pei Yan wants to disarm me and take my troops, he will have to step over my dead body first!"

This is his most fundamental bottom line!

Military power was his only asset in protecting his family and fighting against injustice!

Xie Jiajun's entire army, and his family members, how could he entrust them to an emperor who was unworthy of his position!

Lin Zhu finally let out a long breath, as if a huge burden had been lifted, and his whole body went limp.

By the time Xie Zhenting and Xie Sangyu returned to the General's Mansion, it was already late at night.

The mansion was brightly lit, as preparations were made for the banquet three days later. Servants bustled about, but everything was in good order.

Xie Sangning did not rest. He was still in the study in the side room of the main hall, checking detailed banquet schedules by the bright candlelight.

She wore a light blue ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), her black hair was loosely tied up, and she wore only a simple jade hairpin. Her profile appeared calm and focused in the candlelight.

Hearing footsteps, Xie Sangning looked up.

"Father, you're back."

She put down the list in her hand, stood up and came over, but her gaze froze slightly the moment it fell on her father's face.

Something was off about my father.