Chapter 81 All Past Events Return to the Starting Point (Author's Note: Warning)...

The Third Prince and his entourage are elusive, with many within the court providing them with backup. They often appear and disappear without a trace, making them difficult to eliminate completely.

According to a report from an informant, many strangers have been entering Yujing recently, and those disguised as merchants have smuggled a lot of weapons into the city.

The Third Prince's ambitions are not hard to fathom.

Tonight, they marched straight into Yujing, thinking they had caught the old emperor off guard. However, when they reached Fengtian Gate Square, Shen Yun and Ji Huaiyi had already surrounded them with the three major camps of the capital.

Forced into a corner, the Third Prince turned to attacking the palace gates directly, putting up a stubborn resistance until he reached the Xuanzheng Hall, intending to capture the king!

"Shen Yun, I never expected that you would still be willing to serve my father at this point?"

The Third Prince, his face smeared with blood, stood before the remnants of his army, clearly at his wit's end. Ren Bu couldn't help but sneer at Shen Yun. Those surrounding him, their eyes like those of hawks, raised their swords in resistance, ready to die.

"Third Prince, you have no way out." Shen Yun was not angered by his words and did not react much. He was wearing black half-armor and the long sword he held in his right hand was silently bleeding.

Behind him, the black-armored army poured out in full force, and archers lay prone on the eaves of the high buildings, their bows already drawn, ready to fire, waiting only for Shen Yun's command.

Anyone who resists in the slightest will be pierced by a thousand arrows.

The Third Prince scoffed, "Chen Yun, do you really think I've lost?"

As he finished speaking, the doors of the Xuanzheng Hall behind him were pushed open from the inside. Everyone looked over and saw that it was the chief eunuch beside the emperor holding a dagger to the emperor's neck.

The Third Prince burst into laughter. "Shen Jun, now that the Emperor is in my hands, do you want revenge?"

He turned around, tossed the sword to the adjutant beside him, took a few steps up the steps, deftly took the dagger from the eunuch's hand, and personally held it to the neck of the frail old emperor.

He lowered his head and chuckled softly, savoring the pitiful state of this once arrogant emperor now at his mercy, a feeling of immense satisfaction rising within him.

His gaze then slowly fell on Shen Yun below the jade steps, and he said loudly, "Shen Yun, what kind of emperor do you think you are loyal to? But I am more merciful than my father. He didn't give you a choice back then, but I did."

He smiled, his gaze shifting slightly from Shen Yun to the northwest sky above Xuanzheng Hall, where flames soared and thick smoke billowed into the heavens with the howling wind of the night.

His smile deepened as he looked at Shen Yun, who had slightly turned her head. Upon seeing the wisps of smoke, her calm expression vanished, like a pool of water churned by a torrential downpour. Veins bulged beneath her thin, sword-wielding hand. Her entire body was taut.

To the northwest lies Chong'an Ward of Kyoto, and the Duke's Mansion occupies half of that ward.

The Third Prince saw through the changes in his expression and felt an even greater sense of satisfaction. He clicked his tongue with a hint of regret, "Judging by the fire, the Duke's mansion must be a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​flames by now."

"Shen Yun, he must be lying to you!" Ji Huaiyi shouted from behind, fearing that Shen Yun had fallen for the Third Prince's scheme.

With Yingxiao guarding the Duke's mansion, how could such a large fire have broken out?

Even if there is a fire, the people inside the mansion will put it out as soon as possible.

The Third Prince was not angry at Ji Huaiyi's interruption. Instead, he laughed and said sarcastically, "Chen Yun, so what if you can defend the Duke's mansion like a fortress?"

"You've probably forgotten that your Shen family is full of romantics. You were willing to go to such lengths for Lin Shutang back then, so why don't you think about what your dear sister would be willing to do for Lu Zheng?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Huaiyi suddenly looked at Shen Yun.

The Third Prince stood on the high platform, taking in the reactions of the two below. He seemed to be in a very good mood and was willing to mercifully and patiently explain, "I just told her that as long as she puts the sleeping potion in the food and sets Jingyuan Residence on fire, Lu Zheng can be released from prison after everything is over, and they can be together forever."

"Let me think... Once the Duke's mansion discovers that Jingyuan Residence is on fire, do you think Lin Shutang and your two-year-old child will still be alive?"

"Shen Yun, your fourth sister is much more sensible than you. Now, I ask you, do you want to save your wife and children, or this heartless, hypocritical emperor!"

He finally dropped his nonchalant demeanor, pressed the dagger against the emperor's neck, and quickly drew a glaring line of blood.

As long as Shen Yun is persuaded to surrender, this rebellion by treacherous officials can be transformed into a legitimate succession to the throne.

The Third Prince was very confident that he would not lose this battle.

Shen Yun was willing to give up so much for Lin Shutang back then, and naturally she would do the same today.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you something.” He tilted his head and peeked out from behind the emperor, smiling at Shen Yun. “The person who traded with Xiyue using crossbows back then was Song Ying.”

"Lin Shutang was completely unaware of this, yet you have trapped her for so many years."

"After you left Yizhou, I sent men to hunt them down in the courtyard. That idiot Song Ying still thinks it was the people from Xiyue who came after him, and he hasn't dared to mention it to Lin Shutang. Otherwise, would he really think he could escape Xiyue's pursuit with them?"

"But I deliberately drove them back to Xi County, otherwise how could the real show begin?"

“You killed the Lin family, but I saved them. Since then, he has been grateful to me and obeys my every word. He has helped me a lot to stop you from investigating what happened back then.”

At this point, he lowered his head and looked at the old emperor, as if seeking credit, "Father, tell me, do I understand your thoughts very well? I have been silently planning for you behind the scenes for every move you make."

A hint of confusion appeared in his eyes. "So, what is it that I, your son, am inferior to my elder brother and the others in?"

"In terms of ruthlessness, scheming, and lying in wait, I am no less capable than them."

In that instant, before he could even get a definite answer or savor the fear in the emperor's eyes, he felt something warm sliding down his forehead.

He raised his eyes and slowly, stiffly moved his eyeballs, only to realize belatedly that a sharp arrow had pierced his temple, causing his pupils to dilate and then suddenly plummet downwards.

He rolled down the jade steps like a puddle of mud onto the square filled with a huge crowd.

Everyone was astonished by this sudden change. The Third Prince's subordinates were all stunned and stood there, unable to react to the abrupt shift in the situation.

They thought they still had a glimmer of hope, but were suddenly driven to the brink of despair. Without a leader, they were easily defeated by the army led by Ji Huaiyi.

The Xuanzheng Hall square echoed with the clanging of swords. The Xuan Tie Army, pouring out like an anthill bursting its banks, advanced with spears raised, their roars and shouts shaking the heavens. Shen Yun defied the crowd, mounted his horse, and charged out of the palace, heading straight for Chong'an Ward.

The burning blood in his chest gradually cooled, and the biting cold night wind that swept over him was a thousand times more painful than the pain of swords slicing through flesh and exposing bare bones.

Fine, dense snowflakes fell from above, clinging to his eyelashes with a damp, cold stickiness, seeping into his flesh and blood. Every breath he exhaled felt like a sharp blade cutting his throat.

His hand, gripping the reins tightly, was numb and devoid of feeling. The horse galloped along, as fast as thunder, until it reached the gates of the Duke's mansion. He suddenly dropped the reins, revealing a bloody patch on his palm.

Snowflakes fell gently, large flakes landing on the eaves, treetops, and accumulating on the ground to form a thin layer of velvet, which then deepened over time.

Shen Yun stepped into the snow, her feet sinking deep and then shallow, blood meandering along the white snowfield.

The fire inside the Duke's mansion finally stopped due to the sudden heavy snow. The servants and guards, who had no Chinese medicine due to their shifts for meals, went in and out to clean up the mess.

Along with the fire, thick smoke lingered in the air.

The trail of blood snaked its way to the gate of Jingyuan Residence. With her festering hands, Shen Yun pushed open the charred courtyard gate. In the white expanse, the broken walls and ruins stretched out like a landscape painting, with only black and white remaining.

The servants stood in a line at a distance, their figures standing motionless and ghostly amidst the thick smoke reflected in the snow. No one dared to approach the person in the courtyard.

Lin Shutang's sky-blue dress was spread out, and a thick layer of snow floated on her shoulders, neck, and hair.

She sat slumped in the courtyard, bending over to protect the tiny person in her arms.

As if sensing something, she blinked, and the thick snowflakes on her eyelashes fell off. Her pale face turned to look at her, and her bloodshot eyes were filled with grief and despair. When she stared at Chen Yun, ripples suddenly appeared, and tears rolled down like broken pearls, making her eyes and nose red.

Blood dripped from his palms, splashing down his fingertips and leaving dents in the snow, which were then covered by the heavy snowflakes that bent his spine under their weight.

The heavy snow blanketed the ground in frost, clumps of snow mixed with ice shards pelted down, melting into icy water that slid down. Amidst the swirling snowflakes, the eyes that met each other surged with horrifying pain, gradually becoming lifeless, sinking into a murky abyss...

Winter came earlier and was colder in Yujing than usual this year.

The cold wind swept through, and the snow on the streets was so thick that even horse-drawn carriages couldn't pass over it.

Lin Shutang lay in Jingyuan Residence all day long. She was always very intolerant of the cold, and once winter came, the silver charcoal in the room had to be burned all day long, otherwise she would definitely fall seriously ill.

Although the Emperor did not publicly punish the Duke's Mansion for this major loss, the words spoken by the Third Prince in front of so many people that day still affected the Emperor's reputation.

He fell seriously ill and was unable to recover. The affairs of the court and the country were temporarily overseen by the sixth prince, with the assistance of the cabinet ministers.

Shen Zhixi was sent to a country estate. I heard that she was very unwilling and jumped off the carriage halfway there. She happened to hit a stone by the roadside. I don't know what her current situation is.

After so many things have happened, at this point in time, Shen Jingshi, a man who has cared about the honor of his family for most of his life, has actually begun to pay attention to the peace and tranquility of his home.

This was the first time in over a decade that she had spoken to her son with such patience.

He stood in front of the diamond-shaped window in his study, watching the servants in the courtyard shake the snow off the pine and cypress trees with long poles. He recalled that around this time two years ago, he had summoned Shen Yun to discuss the name of Shen Yan, and the two of them ended up parting on bad terms.

He sighed, “I know that over the years, you have resented me for having a son with another woman before your mother, which caused your mother to die in sorrow.”

"But actually, your mother didn't marry because of me. She had to marry for the sake of both families. Your mother was a very magnanimous woman."

“Over the years, I have failed to fulfill my responsibilities as a father. I dare not see you because your eyes and brows look too much like your mother’s.”

He turned around and looked at Shen Yun with admiration for the first time. "Actually, your father is very proud of you."

Shen Yun may now understand that Lin Shutang's presence by his side might be just as painful as her mother's back then.

He withdrew his eyes, which were filled with the bright sunlight reflecting off the snow, and remained silent. Something that had been weighing on his chest suddenly dissipated...

The snow gradually melted, and the warm spring sun blew away most of the chill in the air.

After sleeping through the winter, Lin Shutang finally left the hospital. The sunlight was so bright that she could hardly see. In just one winter, she seemed to have lost a lot of weight.

Her waist was so slender it could be encircled by one hand, like a willow swaying in the breeze.

She stood in front of the door. Shen Yun had just returned from Suyuanzhai. Under the swaying shade of the trees, the flower buds rustled softly in the wind.

The shattered gold fragments flickered and shone on their faces. Separated by a whole courtyard of crabapple trees, they looked at each other in silence, the unspoken words already understood in their hearts.

-

On the day he left, Lin Shutang took nothing with him.

She wore a coarse blue dress, her hair half-tied up with a hairpin, the rest of her black hair braided and hanging down in front of her, just like when she was fourteen years old.

Shen Yun escorted her to the gate of the Duke's mansion, whereupon she made him stop.

Once they left the Duke's mansion, the two had no further connection.

From now on, whether she stays in Yujing or goes anywhere else, it will have nothing to do with Shen Yun.

The eaves of the gate cast shadows as Lin Shutang finally stepped out of the Duke's mansion that had confined her for three years. She stood alone on the long street, the sunlight pouring down on her, warming her forehead.

Lin Shutang looked up and saw birds flying through the sky and clouds rolling around.

She and Shen Yun were entangled for ten years, but in the end, everything returned to square one.

The two people, going their separate ways, eventually drifted further and further apart. Shen Yun slowly walked to the skylight behind the screen wall. A cold wind swept through the room, making people's robes rustle.

The golden sunlight streamed across his eyelashes, but he seemed oblivious, stepping into the deep shadows. The surroundings were deathly silent, like waves washing over him, eventually enveloping his figure in utter stillness...

Looking back, the Duke's mansion, so large, was exactly the same as it had been ten years ago, without any change.

Just like that afternoon, a seemingly ordinary day, his mother passed away, silently taking away everything he cared about.

Now, after a decade of painstaking efforts, he has ultimately achieved nothing...

-----------------------

Author's Note: Those of you who want a tragic ending can stop here; the story ends happily later! [droopy-eared bunny head]