Confucius passed away
For Wei Si, whether or not he had children was not that important. He said that simply to elevate the matter of annulment to something he truly desired.
Since there's room for discussion, it means the engagement can be called off.
Wei Si said, “Without Yingchang, I would have no offspring. It’s such a pity that a perfectly healthy life has been lost like this. As a teacher, you naturally understand the saying ‘one life for another,’ but I don’t want your life. I just want an excuse to silence the gossip. Do you understand?”
Even if you can't understand it, you have to. Master Sun nodded and said, "Your Highness, please continue."
"Master, your reputation is far-reaching. If you were to exchange your life for mine, I would have no choice but to annul the engagement. I know you possess a pardon; if you present it to the Emperor, it would be as if you were exchanging your life for his. What do you say?"
Master Sun chuckled twice and said, "I no longer have any immunity from death."
"Hmm? Is that so?"
"Speaking of which, this matter is somewhat related to Your Highness. Your Highness doesn't need to beat around the bush and pretend to be confused. If you want my life, then I am naturally willing to give it to you. I hope Your Highness will keep your promise and annul the engagement with Yingchang."
Wei Si smiled insincerely and said, "That's natural."
The room was still untidy when Master Sun picked up a sharp shard and was about to slash his wrist when Wei Si suddenly said, "Master Sun, is it worth it? Yingchang has no blood relation to you. Is it worth risking your life for him?"
Master Sun paused, saying, "She is my student, so of course she deserves it."
Having said that, he took a shard of porcelain and cut his wrist. He had read a few medical books and knew where the artery was. His decisive action surprised Wei Sidu, and blood dripped onto the broken pieces on the ground.
Silent yet deafening.
Just as Wei Si knew that Master Sun would definitely come, Master Sun also knew that his chances of survival were slim. He hadn't slept all night, finishing up matters concerning Ci Zige and Tuo Ziyuan before coming to face his death. Since Wei Si was determined to kill him, there was no escaping it.
He's an old man; dying today or tomorrow makes little difference to him. But Yingchang is not yet twenty; the bright sun of tomorrow awaits her.
He was willing to die for Wu Yin, just as he was willing to hand over his pardon to Wu Qi.
My wrist hurts so much.
The blood had pooled into a small red lake, and the unexperienced tomorrows had transformed into drops of blood on the ground.
Before he could even endure the pain, Wei Si slit his throat with a sword, making his death quicker.
"I'm sorry." Wei Si bowed to the body of Master Sun, and then instructed, "Give him a proper burial and donate some money to Tuo Ziyuan."
"Yes, Your Highness. Young Master He has arrived. He says he has something for you. Would Your Highness like to see him?"
"Let's meet here." Wei Si wiped his hands. "If we don't meet here, let's find a... never mind, let's meet in the courtyard."
Yi Wo did not smash the courtyard. The courtyard was still laid out as it had been in the Wei residence before. The tree was said to have been planted by Princess Pingyi when she was alive. He Qi did not dare to make any moves. After Wei Si arrived, he handed him the two letters and said, "These are letters that my uncle asked me to pass on to you. I forgot to give them to my brother before."
"Forgot? Isn't it because you don't want to have too much to do with me in front of your classmates?" Wei Si took the letter, opened it, and saw that it was written to him by Wei Mao. He paused, then put the letter away, not knowing whether to read it or not. He then looked at another letter, and when he did, he was stunned.
That was a letter his mother wrote to him.
He remained silent. Wei Si clutched the letter tightly and said, "You don't want to have too much to do with me? That's impossible, because your teacher died in the Wei residence."
"What?! Wei Si, what have you done?"
"What can I do? If you want to know, you should ask your good teacher."
He Qi glared at him, then hurriedly went into the house. As soon as he opened the door, he was horrified. The floor was littered with shards of jade porcelain, and lying among them was an old man, the blood still dripping from his wrists, his throat pierced. He stood there frozen for a long while before shouting, "Summon the imperial physician! Summon the royal physician! Someone come here!!"
However, no one paid him any attention.
Wei Si sat on the swing in the courtyard, holding two letters, swaying slowly. It took him a long time to open the letter his mother had left for him. He gently touched the creases he had made from clenching his fist, stubbornly trying to smooth them out, but to no avail.
Finally, he opened the letter.
—Luan Hua! It's your mother! Don't blame your father; I told him not to give you the letter so soon. How have you and your father been these past years? Has anyone bullied you while your mother wasn't around? Where's your father? Has he bullied you? If he has, tell me, and I'll scare him in his dreams. I don't know how old you were when you read this letter, or if you were married with children. But none of that matters anymore.
Luan Hua, I only wish you peace.
Life and death are beyond our control. I know you are concerned about my death, but a master once divined for my mother, saying she would die on a colossal iron and bronze object and fall into the vast ocean. I asked him why I would die. He replied that there was no villain framing me, but that Princess had slipped and fallen.
My foot slipped. Oh well, then there's no need to investigate the cause of my death.
That's what I told your father too. If he doesn't investigate the cause of my death, don't blame him.
As for why I didn't tell you the cause of death sooner, it's because I didn't want you to know that your beautiful mother died from a slip! It's truly shameful!
Luan Hua, look up at the sky. Whether it's day or night, I'm always looking at you.
Son, let go, live your life, and wait for tomorrow.
Wei Si touched the words "son," wiped away his tears, and said with a fierce look in his eyes, "Slipped, slipped? Who would believe that? If it really was a slip, how could I not have found out after investigating for so many years!?"
Then he opened the letter his father had left him; compared to the letter his mother had left him, his father had very few words.
—Luan Hua, don't blame your mother. She had no choice; she didn't leave you heartlessly. If you have to blame someone, blame me. The storeroom key is in the third drawer of your bedside table.
No need to be frugal with money, sorry.
"...Father, do you know that the world will no longer praise you as a general who has won every battle! Do you know that all the honor has been given to Wu Qi, just like my mother, who quelled the chaos of the sea dozens of times, and in the end, she was named after Bei Kun and the Wu family. Why, why am I an orphan, while others are all smiles?"
"Mother, please teach your son, how can I let go?"
Even you, until your death, refused to tell me the real cause of your death.
"So? Princess Pingyi really slipped and fell off Beikun, drowning in the Sihai Sea?" Wu Qi stuffed a piece of pastry into Jing Zhu's hand, then turned to look at the elders of the noble families, especially his own father.
Back then, it was her father who developed the Beikun, just as she developed the Paolin.
She wondered, "If Princess Pingyi had accidentally fallen into the Sihai Sea, why didn't she call for help? Why didn't the people around her come to her rescue?"
This matter is fraught with doubt. Princess Pingyi is of noble status and the wife of General Wei, so how could there be no one by her side to jump into the sea to save her?
Wushan Yun still remembered this incident and said sadly, "I don't know. When I received the news, Princess Pingyi had already fallen into the sea."
Yi Wei held Zhenzhen in his arms, and gently stroked her face with rare tenderness. Without looking at anyone else, he said, "Could it be that Princess Pingyi sought death on her own?"
Wen Ru said, "How could that be? Back then, Princess Pingyi took a fancy to General Wei and forced herself on him, like a robber breaking into a house, insisting that General Wei become her husband. It even went up to the late emperor! The late emperor doted on Princess Pingyi, but his attitude on this matter was unclear."
Qi Kong continued, "General Wei's family has no power and cannot protect Princess Pingyi. The late emperor already intended for Princess Pingyi to succeed to the throne, so how could he allow her to marry someone whose family has no support? At that time, she had only given birth to Wei Si not long before, so why would she seek death?"
"So, in that case..." Lin Kuo suddenly realized something, "Then the promise he made to the late emperor to use the etiquette and insignia of aristocratic families to restrain them, and the willingness for the children of the five great families to never enter officialdom, wasn't just because their merits overshadowed the emperor, but also because..."
He paused, and the elders nodded, acknowledging, "It was because Princess Pingyi died on Beikun."
Ning Xunxu said, "That's not right either. Princess Pingyi was so favored, and the late emperor was willing to pass the throne to her. Why did no one investigate her death on Beikun for no reason?!"
Harming royal children is a capital offense. Princess Pingyi died on Beikun. No matter how she died, these people cannot escape blame. Yet no one was held accountable. They were only taken in for questioning. After the questioning, the heads of the families formulated the family etiquette and flower patterns, and then promised never to enter officialdom.
Wushan Yun said, "At that time, we were also very afraid that the Emperor would investigate Princess Pingyi's death. However, so many years have passed, and no one knows how Princess Pingyi died. Even the people in the city have almost forgotten Princess Pingyi's charm at that time."
Yi Shen said, "That's not right."
Wu Qi asked, "What do you think is wrong, Young Master Yi?"
Yi Shen asked, "Is the late emperor's wish to pass the throne to Princess Pingyi merely hearsay, or did he say it himself? Was there an imperial edict?"
After a moment's thought, the elders said, "It is a matter passed down by word of mouth, but this matter concerns the throne. If the late emperor had not said it himself, why would people have passed it on?"
Wu Qi laughed and said, "It's one thing to say, and another to do. If the late emperor only had Princess Pingyi as his child, even if he didn't say anything, everyone would know that the throne belonged to Princess Pingyi. But if there were other children besides Princess Pingyi, then..."
Yi Shen said, "This action is harming Princess Pingyi."
The silence was like tearing away the facade of peace, or like stepping into the endless polar night.
Lin Kuo sneered, "What a fine imperial tactic! Using her daughter as a shield? Do you think Princess Pingyi knew she was being used as a shield?"
Qi Konglian said with pity, "A clever and quick-witted person would naturally know that."
It is precisely because of this knowledge that the cause of death remains unknown even after so many years.
Zhenzhen had just woken up and was full of energy. She kept asking this person to hold her and that person to hold her. She pointed to the sweet water on the table and asked for a drink. Zhenzhen was the only one among the younger generation, and everyone else was too busy spoiling her, especially Lin Kong, who had been taking care of her for a while and now doted on her so much. He quickly brought her the sweet water.
Yi Wo said helplessly, "Sister-in-law, Zhenzhen can't eat or drink anymore."
“Okay…” Lin Kong put down the sweet water.
Lin Kuo said, "Sister, look at you, don't let Zhenzhen eat too much."
He was determined not to miss the chance to mock Lin Kong, but Lin Kong slapped him hard on the back. He gasped and slumped against Song Yinxing, crying out in pain.
Taking the opportunity, Ning Xunxu complained to Lin Kong, "Sister, when Brother Lian Shi was in Lanbing City, he stuffed snowballs into my blanket, which almost made me get a fever!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Kong slapped Lin Kuo on the back again.
Lin Kuo said, "Han Su, you're something else." Then, imitating Ning Xunxu, he complained to Ning Chanyuan, "Sister Yuqu, Han Su threw a snowball that was half a leg high at me!"
Ning Xunxu said, "That snowball isn't solid, it won't hurt if it hits you!"
"Ouch! It hurts when it hits me!"
Ning Chanyuan remained silent for a long time. When everyone looked over, they saw that she was lost in thought. But she wasn't really lost in thought; she was pondering something. It seemed that she had encountered some difficult problem that she couldn't figure out, or that she had thought of something unacceptable. Her brows were furrowed.
Today, they gathered at the Yi residence to celebrate Zhenzhen's birth. Everyone sat together, stealing a moment of leisure to smile, except for Ning Chanyuan, whose mind was elsewhere.
Ning Xunxu asked, "Sister, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Ning Chanyuan then came to her senses: "No, the physician said I'm feeling much better these days."
Seeing that no one was paying attention to her and she couldn't get the sweet water she wanted, Zhenzhen pouted and rubbed her fingers against Jingzhu's hand. Jingzhu stiffened and turned to look at Zhenzhen.
Zhenzhen seemed to be attracted to Jingzhu, staring at him without blinking.
The group was talking about their experiences on the battlefield again. Jing Zhu quietly took a chopstick, dipped it in some sweet water, and gently placed it to Zhenzhen's lips, letting her taste it slightly.
Song Lingshu and Yi Wo exchanged a glance and smiled, pretending not to have seen Jing Zhu's little trick.
"That was truly a close call." Wu Shanyun felt extremely distressed as he listened to everyone talking about Wu Qi's injuries in Lanbing City. "Let the imperial physician take a look at him later. We must make sure he doesn't suffer any lasting effects or pain later."
Qi Kong held Wu Qi in his arms, his eyes blurred with tears, and said, "How did you get so many injuries..."
Wu Qi patted her back to comfort her: "I'm fine. Another day, no, after we get back to the manor, let the physician examine me in front of you, okay?"
Over Qi Kong's shoulder, something seemed to be flying towards them from afar. Wu Qi squinted and looked, determining it to be a fledgling of the Purple Swallow.
Why would Ci Zige send a message in the dead of night?
They exchanged glances, their intuition telling them it wasn't good news. Wu Qi stood up and took the fledgling swallow, and the others gathered around, wondering what important matter required a message to be sent so late at night.
Wu Qi unfolded the scroll, and the group saw that it read: "Master Sun died in the Wei residence."
What date is the signature?
Master Sun died.
He died at the Wei residence.
He died at the hands of Wei Si.
Seeing that the children looked strange, the crowd quickly asked them what had happened.
The usually well-behaved Zhenzhen suddenly burst into tears. Wu Qi was startled, his hand went limp, and the scroll of paper fell to the ground, where it was caught by Yi Shen. Just then, the sounds of soldiers and horses came from afar, growing ever closer.
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