When the eunuch announced the news, the emperor was reviewing memorials in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
The Hall of Mental Cultivation is spacious, tranquil, and utterly deserted.
The palace was brightly lit, and the emperor, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, sat alone on the high dragon throne.
The last brush with death had drained him of too much energy; Pei Yunyi could even clearly see the silver strands in his hair.
The higher you climb, the colder it gets.
Pei Yunyi stepped over the threshold of the Hall of Mental Cultivation and bowed again to pay his respects to the emperor.
When the emperor saw him, he was somewhat surprised. He put down his pen and looked up at him, asking, "What brings you here to me today?"
Emperor Guangqi's voice was flat, but those familiar with him could sense the slight pleasure in his voice: "This is probably the first time you've come to me on your own initiative."
Pei Yunyi twitched the corners of his mouth, and when he looked at him, his dark eyes were full of deep meaning: "Your subject has lived in the White Horse Temple all his life, practicing martial arts and reading scriptures. He is unaware of the etiquette and rules of the royal family. If he has done anything wrong, please forgive him, Father Emperor."
Upon hearing this, the emperor paused for a moment. His expression remained unchanged, but his eagle-like eyes gradually sharpened: "Are you blaming me?"
"It's my fault for sending you to the White Horse Temple when you were young."
Pei Yunyi met the emperor's gaze without flinching, remaining firmly rooted to the spot: "Your subject dares not."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Guangqi's jawline tightened slightly. He casually tossed the brush in his hand onto the table, leaned back slightly, and his tone now carried a hint of anger:
"Is it that you dare not, or that you don't hate?"
Pei Yunyi's expression was melancholy, as if he were recalling the past: "I hated it when I was young, but I don't know when I stopped hating it, because everyone in the world has parents, but I have gradually forgotten even the faces of my parents."
"Having lived a life of mere survival, utterly alone, I have forgotten how to hate."
“Father…you mean the title ‘I’m the only one reserved for me? Then I would rather not have it.”
Upon hearing this, Emperor Guangqi, who had been staring intently into Pei Yunyi's eyes, gradually stiffened: "What madness are you causing here before me?"
Pei Yunyi slowly lowered his eyes and composed himself: "Actually, it's not just me; everyone involved in this matter is all alone."
"Take Zhizhi for example. She's only lived for a little over ten years, yet she's never even met her own parents. Do you think you'd feel guilty if you saw her?"
As Pei Yunyi said this, he felt a sharp pain in his heart.
He always kept his emotions in check in front of her.
He never knew that he was the one who caused Song Xizhi's parents to die and his family to be destroyed.
If Su Mingyue and Bai Lizi hadn't died, she would have been the most beloved jewel in the world. Why did she have to live under someone else's roof, be betrayed by everyone, and suffer so much injustice?
Upon hearing Pei Yunyi's words, the emperor's pupils contracted slightly, and he gripped the armrests of the dragon throne tightly with both hands, remaining silent.
Pei Yunyi continued, his voice trembling slightly: "Su Mingyue, Bai Lizi, the Su family, Empress Dowager, uncle, maternal grandfather, the Han family, He Jianzhang, the Marquis of Anding's mansion..."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Guangqi slowly rose from his dragon throne, his eyes filled with disbelief: "Just how much have you investigated?"
"Didn't I tell you not to investigate? Didn't I tell you not to investigate at all!"
Pei Yunyi simply countered with, "So how many more people are you going to drag into this?"
"So this is what it means to have a great cause: to sacrifice everyone, including your own wife and children, without regard for anything else."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Guangqi met his slightly sarcastic gaze and felt as if his heart had been squeezed by a giant hand.
He suddenly raised the teacup beside him and threw it straight at Pei Yunyi: "You unfilial son! You unfilial son! What exactly do you want to do?"
Pei Yunyi didn't dodge; the hard teacup slammed directly into his chest, causing him to let out a muffled groan.
Then it fell onto the floor tiles of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, making a crisp sound.
The sound startled the eunuch outside, who trembled and hurriedly asked through the door, "Your Majesty? Your Majesty? What has happened?"
Emperor Guangqi's Adam's apple bobbed: "Don't come in."
Then the noise outside stopped.
Pei Yunyi swallowed the metallic taste in his throat, closed his eyes briefly, and then said, "What I have investigated is far more than Father Emperor imagined."
"I suppose Father Emperor doesn't know who the Western Rong spy in Daqian is, does he?"
Emperor Guangqi tensed, his eyes fixed on him warily: "Who is it?"
Pei Yunyi smiled, because he found it ironic: "She is the Empress Dowager, the current Empress Dowager, and your own mother, who is your own flesh and blood."
Emperor Guangqi was startled, feeling a buzzing sound in his ears, as if he could hear nothing at all.
His expression went from stiff to horrified, then from horrified to pain, then regret, complex emotions, and disbelief.
His face gradually turned pale, and he collapsed onto the dragon throne as if he had lost all strength.
He didn't say a word, and Pei Yunyi asked again, "Doesn't Father want to question whether I'm lying?"
“Not only the Empress Dowager, but even He Jingyan is a spy under the Empress Dowager’s command. I believe he is a fraud.”
To Pei Yunyi's surprise, Emperor Guangqi did not suspect anything. Instead, he seemed to collapse, his pale lips moving as he muttered to himself, "More than ten years... It was her..."
"It could be her...?"
"It is my incompetence, it is my incompetence that caused Wei Yi's death, it is my incompetence that made me unable to judge people..."
This was the first time Pei Yunyi had seen the powerful Emperor Guangqi. Now that he looked like this, it was as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
He looked up at the bright candlelight in the distance, his eyes seemingly filled with a slight glint of tears.
Pei Yunyi guessed that after so many years of investigation, the Emperor might have already begun to suspect the Empress Dowager.
He just never believed it.
It's unclear how long the silence in the Hall of Mental Cultivation lasted, but Pei Yunyi finally spoke again: "So, Father... what exactly happened back then?"
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