After seeing Xuan Yuanhan off, Yi Shangkun ordered his men to quickly and carefully close the main gate.
Mr. Nian sat in the hall, still deeply immersed in his grief and indignation.
Recalling how Xuan Yuanhan acted as if nothing had happened today, she still couldn't understand it.
"Master, why can Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, still act as if nothing happened, while our poor Yun'er..."
His voice choked with emotion for a moment, then he paused before continuing to defend Yi Shangyun.
"In the past few years, for this family, for so many people who were completely unrelated to her, as a weak woman with no power to even kill a chicken, was everything she did, risking her life, really worth it?"
Unable to continue speaking, Ms. Nian could only quietly wipe away her tears once more.
Although Yi Shangkun felt sorry for her, he never dared to tell her the truth.
He could only place a warm, large hand on her shoulder and comfort her, saying, "Alright, my lady, as the saying goes, life and death are predestined, and wealth and honor are determined by fate. The dead cannot be brought back to life. No matter how much you can't accept it or how sad you are, Yun'er will never come back! Doing this will only hurt your health. Just listen to your husband and let it go!"
Nian raised her head slightly, looking at Yi Shangkun's face: "Let go? How can you do that?"
Yi Shangkun slowly released his grip, put his hands behind his back, and looked out the window at the goose-feather snowflakes that were quietly swirling in the sky once again. He thought for a moment.
Reflecting on everything that had happened recently, although he didn't know what Yi Shangyun's true purpose was, he strongly felt that an unprecedented event was about to occur on this continent.
Her mysterious identity is likely to be involved in these matters.
The more I thought about it, the more afraid I became.
He quickly interrupted his thoughts and said meaningfully, "You and I both know that Yun'er was never our daughter. Madam, why don't you just accept that? She has already reunited with her family. In some corner of the world, she is doing better than ever before. Thinking about it this way, perhaps you can find peace."
Following Yi Shangkun's guidance, Madam Nian thought for a moment: "If that's really the case, I'd truly be happy for her, but..."
Now that things have come to this, besides praying for her safety, Yi Shangkun really doesn't know what else he can do for her.
If he had known earlier that his daughter was destined for such a tragic fate, perhaps he should have treated her better sooner.
Now...
Yi Shangkun paced back and forth in the hall, extremely uneasy. Recalling the secret he had overheard in the palace earlier that day, he finally lowered his voice and spoke to Nian Shi.
“Madam, Jun’er is right. Today in the palace, I personally overheard people from the Ministry of War discussing that the Emperor deliberately kept the news that the 200,000-strong army from Dongning Kingdom would soon arrive at our border a secret, and there must be something wrong with it.”
Lady Nian was shocked to hear this. This was a principle that even a woman or child could understand: "With a powerful enemy approaching, how can the Emperor not summon his ministers to discuss and quickly make preparations for resistance? Instead, he has blocked the news. What exactly is the Emperor trying to do?"
The emperor's will has always been difficult to fathom, and this emperor has become even more unfathomable.
Yi Shangkun said, "Whatever he's going to do, he won't just surrender. There must be a conspiracy involved. So we must leave the capital immediately, as far away as possible. I've already handed over the affairs of the Imperial Pharmacy. I'm afraid things might change if we delay, so let's leave tonight!"
After thinking for a moment, Mr. Nian nodded in agreement.
Yi Shangkun slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with reluctance as he looked around the house he had worked so hard to build for half his life, filled with memories of the past.
I couldn't help but sigh.
Snowflakes blanket the earth, a vast expanse of white.
Young and impetuous, with ambitions soaring higher than the sky.
Half a lifetime wasted, ambitions unfulfilled.
Her beauty has faded, her hair has turned white, and her face is aged.
The land is shattered, and a bloody wind blows.
A sudden dream, leaving only a thousand lines of tears.
It would be better to go back home, it would be better to go back home.
Just then, a maid rushed over to report.
"Reporting to Master and Madam! Aunt Lan refuses to pack her luggage no matter what, saying she would rather die here. We servants really can't persuade her."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangkun angrily retorted, "What kind of time is this? Still making a scene. If she doesn't want to leave, then let her stay here and wait to die!"
Madam Nian stood up and advised, "Master, please don't be angry. After all, Consort Lan comes from the capital and has lived here for decades. She naturally has feelings for this place. Why don't you go and see for yourself?"
Yi Shangkun sighed helplessly, "Sigh!"
She then stepped out, and the maidservant bowed to Lady Nian while supporting her, before hurrying after her.
At this moment, Aunt Lan was sitting on the table in the room, leaning against Yi Shangxue standing beside her, and crying and pleading with her.
"In the end, I didn't say anything, so why didn't he even say goodbye before leaving? I didn't even have a chance to say a few words to him. I really raised this son for nothing."
Yi Shangxue advised, "Brother is different now. He is a general now. Perhaps something urgent happened in the army and he had to leave in a hurry. Mother, don't take it too seriously! When you see brother next time, Xue'er will make sure he apologizes to you properly."
Having just finished talking about her son, Aunt Lan began to berate Yi Shangkun: "It's all your good-for-nothing father's fault! Back then, if it weren't for your still-living maternal grandfather spending a fortune to get him a job in the Imperial Pharmacy, how could he have gotten the job? But so many years have passed, and he hasn't received the slightest promotion. Otherwise, your brother wouldn't have needed to risk his life to make a name for himself through military achievements."
The more she thought about it, the more suffocated she felt: "The old and the young, none of them are easy to deal with. Why is my life so miserable!"
"Mother, please don't say that about Father. He simply disapproves of those sycophants in the palace and doesn't want to associate with them. Father's medical skills are actually..."
Before Yi Shangxue could finish speaking, Yi Shangkun's voice came: "Don't stop her, let her continue."
Hearing the sound, Aunt Lan was also startled.
Seeing Yi Shangkun enter, Yi Shangxue quickly explained on his behalf: "Father, Mother didn't mean that..."
After Yi Shangkun entered the room, he said to Yi Shangxue, "Go and pack your luggage..."
Yi Shangxue had no choice but to leave.
At this moment, Yi Shangkun continued to speak to Aunt Lan, who was looking away from him, saying, "I never knew that you had suffered so much injustice by my side all these years. If you think I am incompetent, unable to become a high-ranking official, and unable to give you the respect you want, you don't have to wrong yourself like this. We can just get a divorce. Stop saying such things in front of our children."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Lan slowly turned her head, hardly believing her ears.
"What did you say?"
"Divorce?"
"You bastard, Yi Shangkun!"
"After all these years, you've finally said it!"
Looking back on everything that has happened over the years, Yi Shangkun feels truly ashamed.
Perhaps it's time to make some things clear and understandable!
With this thought in mind, Yi Shangkun sat down and began to speak slowly.
"That's right, everything I have now is indeed inseparable from you."
"Back then, if I hadn't met you and been able to work as a shop assistant in your father's pharmacy, the three of us would have starved to death on the street when thieves stole all our travel money as soon as we arrived in the capital."
“You are a pampered young lady, the only daughter in your family. You should have had better options, but you single-handedly stood up to your father and chose to marry me, a beggar, as a concubine. I will be grateful to you for the rest of my life.”
"Also, so that our newborn child, still in swaddling clothes, would no longer suffer the pain of wandering, she persuaded me to give up the escape, settle down, and marry you."
"That's why after we got married, I willingly entrusted you with managing the household. When we're out in the world, everyone points fingers at me and criticizes me for favoring my concubine over my wife, but I've never had the slightest doubt about you from beginning to end!"
At this point, Aunt Lan's expression gradually changed, as if she were somewhat moved.
Yi Shangkun glanced at her and continued his story.
"But how have you treated them all these years? Do you know in your heart how you've treated them? Do you think I really know nothing?"
“From childhood to adulthood, the clothes and jewelry you gave to them were all leftovers from the three of you. Sometimes you even specially ordered someone to buy back flawed items for them to use.”
"When the three children grew up, we were supposed to hire a tutor to teach them their lessons, but as soon as I stepped out the door, you had someone throw Yun'er out, and even told her that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent!"
"Then why is Xue'er able to learn it?"
"What has Jun'er learned this time?"
"Even the schoolteacher has hinted to me several times that of the three children, Yun'er is the most intelligent and studious, understanding things instantly. It's just that..."
"Can you guess what the gentleman didn't finish saying?"
“During the coldest days of winter, you ordered people to cut back on the charcoal for the mother and daughter. Even now, their hands and feet are still covered with chilblains every winter, but they always hide them, afraid that I will find out.”
...
As Yi Shangkun spoke, he seemed to run out of things to say.
After a long silence, he finally spoke again.
“I have long known about all of this! The reason they have endured this is simply because they want a place to shelter them from the wind and rain, and they don’t want to make things difficult for me. That’s why they have never resisted you even once!”
"Even if you treat them like this, back then, if it weren't for the weak Yun'er trying to save you from accidentally falling into the water, she wouldn't have fallen in herself. After being pulled out by the servants, she fell into a coma."
"So, I've already turned a blind eye to this much, what more do you want from me?"
"Even now, I still often think that if she hadn't woken up that year, perhaps that would have been her fate!"
Yi Shangkun let out a long sigh.
"I know that it would be hard for anyone to leave such a prosperous place where they have lived their whole life, but I am really at my wit's end and have no other choice."
Having said all that needed to be said, Yi Shangkun stood up and finally told her in a soft voice, "Now that things have come to this, it's up to you whether you want a divorce or to move away with me and perhaps live a nomadic life from now on. Whatever you decide, all the money from the sale of our property will belong to you alone."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Lan stood up and suddenly hugged Yi Shangkun tightly from behind, realizing her mistake: "Master, I'm sorry, I was wrong. I'm willing to go with you. Please don't leave me alone."
Yi Shangkun turned around and embraced Aunt Lan.
Aunt Lan said, "But Jun'er hasn't returned yet..."
Yi Shangkun said, "If you want to see him again while you're still alive, then don't ask anything and hurry up and pack your things."
Thus, overnight, the Yi family of the western city vanished silently and completely from the vast imperial city.
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