That night, the gate of Xingyuan Marquis Mansion was closed. Two red lanterns in front of the door swayed in the wind, making the wooden sign "No Visitors Allowed" flicker.
In the main hall, Xue Jiyan's teacup slammed to the ground, sending shattered porcelain flying everywhere. He looked at the old man in disbelief: "Father...Father?"
Xue Yonghuai slowly took off his hat. Under the candlelight, the scar running through his left cheek looked particularly hideous.
Everyone in the hall gasped - the handkerchief in the hand of Young Madam Jiang Shuxiu fell to the ground, the Second Young Master Xue Zhongfu stood up suddenly and knocked over the chair, and even the usually calm and steady First Young Master Xue Yuanchu staggered back two steps.
"I'm not dead." Xue Yonghuai's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper grinding against rough rock. "In that battle three years ago, Li Longze sent someone to spread false military intelligence..."
Hong Yingrong stepped forward and gently held her husband's trembling hand. "Master, let the children sit down and talk."
Xue Yonghuai took a deep breath, pulled out a blood-stained tiger talisman from his bosom and threw it on the table: "This was given to Deputy General Zhao Duo by His Majesty himself."
The dragon pattern on the tiger talisman had been split in two by a sharp weapon. "He brought 20,000 elite soldiers and ambushed them in Eagle Sorrow Gorge."
Xue Jiyan's face turned pale, and his fingers unconsciously stroked the jade pendant at his waist - the tiger pattern engraved on it was exactly the same as the pattern on his father's scabbard.
"So..." Xue Zhongfu's voice trembled, "Did father deliberately fake his death?"
Xue Yonghuai sneered and suddenly tore open his clothes.
Everyone exclaimed in shock—there was a scar the size of a bowl on his chest, and the skin around it was twisted like a centipede.
"This arrow was shot from behind." He turned, revealing the arrow wound on his shoulder. "It's the standard arrowhead of the Shenwu Camp."
The hall was dead silent. Looking at my father's empty right sleeve, I could only hear the sound of rain hitting the banana leaves outside the window.
Suddenly, Xue Jiyan fell to his knees with a thud: "I am an unfilial son! For the past three years, I have served under my enemy..."
Xue Yonghuai pulled his son up and wiped the blood off his face with his rough thumb: "Silly boy, your admission to the Hanlin Academy actually gives us a chance to turn things around."
He pulled out a scroll of bamboo slips from his bosom. "This is the confession Zhao Duo wrote before his death."
Jiang Shuxiu suddenly exclaimed: "So the King of Linjiang died suddenly..."
"This is Yan Boxi's work," Hong Yingrong said softly, pulling a secret letter from her sleeve. "He sacrificed his life to obtain this evidence."
Xue Yuanchu suddenly stood up and said, "Let's unite with our old subordinates..."
"No!" Xue Yonghuai interrupted sharply. "How many spies has Li Longze planted in the army?" He glanced at the crowd. "From today on, everything in the mansion will be business as usual. Ji Yan will continue his duties at the Hanlin Academy, and Zhongping will report to the Ministry of War as usual."
Thunder roared outside the courtyard, illuminating Xue Yonghuai's face, which was as sharp as a knife: "We need to fight this battle in a different way."
In the middle of the night, Xue Jiyan stood alone in the ancestral hall. The newly added tablet on the altar table pierced his heart—it read "The Spiritual Tablet of the Late Father Xue Gong Yonghuai," and it was set up by him three years ago.
"Third brother." Xue Yuanchu appeared silently behind him, holding a red sandalwood box in his hand. "Father asked me to give it to you."
In the box was a bronze tiger talisman, which contrasted sharply with the broken one on the table.
Xue Jiyan's fingers trembled - this was a token for mobilizing the northern border troops, and it should have disappeared with his father's "death in battle".
Inside the palace walls, Li Longze reclined on the dragon couch, his complexion appearing even paler against the bright yellow brocade quilt. A ray of morning light filtered through the carved window lattice, casting mottled shadows on his face.
"Your Majesty, it's time to take the medicine." Eunuch Xia held a gilded medicine cup and walked towards the couch with a hunched back.
Li Longze struggled to stand up, his fingers trembling uncontrollably. He took the medicine cup and drank it all in one gulp. His Adam's apple rolled with difficulty a few times, and beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.
"Today...the grand court meeting..." His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper grinding on rough wood.
Eunuch Xia quickly steadied his swaying body and said, "I'll call the imperial physician right away."
"No need." Li Longze waved his hand, forcing himself to stand. The bright yellow dragon robe draped across his shoulders looked empty. He adjusted his clothes in front of the bronze mirror. The person in the mirror had a pale complexion, and two deep shadows under his eyes could not be concealed.
Outside the palace, the imperial physician Zhang Jinghe had been waiting for a long time. Seeing the emperor emerge, he knelt and saluted: "I would like to check your Majesty's pulse."
Li Longze held out his pale wrist. Zhang Jinghe placed his fingertips on his pulse, his brow furrowing ever tighter. The pulse was floating and weak, like a candle in the wind, a clear sign of significant loss of vital energy. Strangely, no specific symptoms could be found.
"How?" the emperor asked calmly.
Zhang Jinghe's forehead was covered in cold sweat: "Your Majesty...you are just overworked and need to take good care of yourself..." He glanced at the emperor's skin vaguely exposed by his sleeves and saw tiny blue lines spreading like a spider web.
"Step back." Li Longze withdrew his hand and flicked his sleeves to cover up the strange patterns.
After the imperial physician left, Eunuch Xia handed over a cup of ginseng tea and said, "Your Majesty, today's grand court meeting..."
"As usual." Li Longze took a sip of his ginseng tea and suddenly began coughing violently. His handkerchief was stained with dark red blood. He quickly clenched the handkerchief, a sinister look in his eyes. "Go and find out who has touched my food recently."
Eunuch Xia bowed in response, a gleam of light flashing in his cloudy old eyes.
Outside the Palace of Heavenly Purity, civil and military officials were already lined up waiting. Xue Jiyan, standing in the queue of the Hanlin Academy, caught a glimpse of his father's former subordinate, General Cheng Yi, looking at him meaningfully.
"Your Majesty has arrived—"
Amidst the shrill cries of "hello," Li Longze slowly ascended the throne. His expression remained normal, except for the white knuckles of his fingers, which had been gripping the armrests with such force.
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