Bright flags were flying, yellow papers were scattered all over the sky, and a ritual lasted for seven days in the mansion. No one knew whether it was for the passing of the old mistress or to send away the souls of those who died in vain.

No one knew what had happened in the secret room that day. The old marquis only told the outside world that the "princess" had a relapse of her old illness and was seriously ill. He insisted on not using the princess's funeral system to hold the funeral, and only held the funeral in the name of the marquis's wife.

On the day of the funeral, Emperor Wen came in plain clothes to see his "aunt" off for the last time. When the bright yellow dragon sedan stopped in front of the Marquis's mansion, everyone knelt down and shouted "Long live the aunt". Xiao Du knelt behind the crowd, his back straight, but he never looked up at him. Emperor Yun walked past him and wanted to say something, but in the end he just gently touched his shoulder.

All the ugliness in the temple was carefully covered up, and all the missing lives in the mansion were attributed to Nanny Yu. The Ministry of Justice hastily tried her and convicted her, throwing her into prison to be beheaded. The old marquis found the families of the missing maids and sent them silver as compensation. But he knew very well that nothing could buy back a life, and doing this was just a consolation.

In late spring, swallows are flying in the mud and new bamboos are turning green, but in the old marquis's yard, all the spring beauty has long gone and will never come back.

Xiao Du stood in front of Xiao Yunjing and saw that his hair had turned gray and his usually healthy body was now hunched over, as if he had entered old age overnight. He felt sad and said softly, "The deceased is gone, father, you should take care of yourself."

The old marquis was loosening the soil for a new bamboo. Since the death of the "princess", he had become less and less talkative. Sometimes he would sit in his room for half a day, and occasionally he would go out to plant trees in the yard. When he heard Xiao Du's voice, he said calmly without raising his head, "You still won't give up? Do you really want to know?"

Xiao Du was struck by his words and straightened his back stubbornly, saying, "I have the right to know my origins. Please tell me the truth, father."

The old marquis shook his head, patted the dirt off his hands, stared into his eyes and said seriously: "You have to think clearly. If you knew your true life experience, many things you believed in would change, and your future destiny would be completely different. Can you bear the consequences?"

Xiao Du was a little surprised, but he just wanted to know who his biological mother was and why his father spoke so seriously. However, he still answered firmly: "Yes, I want to know! No matter what the truth is, I can bear it."

The old marquis sighed and said, "That's enough. I can't hide it from you any longer. After dinner, you and Xi'er come to my room. I want her to face this matter with you."

In the evening, Xiao Du and Yuan Xi arrived at the old marquis' room as scheduled. The old marquis sent away the servants and personally made tea for the two of them. The mist rose, and the fragrance of tea filled the air. The old marquis looked at the half-hidden moon outside the window, his eyes a little absent-minded, and said, "How about you try this new Longjing tea first, and then listen to my story."

Xiao Du and Yuan Xi picked up their teacups without knowing what was going on. The old marquis's face was a little hazy in the mist, and he slowly said, "Du'er, do you know that the Xiao Family Army was actually founded by the late emperor himself?"

Xiao Du frowned. He only knew that the Xiao Family Army was the result of his father's life's work, but he never knew that it was actually built by the late emperor. The old marquis boiled another pot of water and said, "Back then, the late emperor was only the seventh prince who was named King Ning. He was not as favored as the crown prince at that time in terms of birth. After Emperor Taizu was old, the national strength of Damu seemed to be prosperous, but in fact it had long been rotten inside. In the 28th year of Chu Yuan, the Wu Kingdom and Mu Rong began to frequently invade the border, and even broke through several cities without anyone being able to stop them. The civil and military officials in the court were greedy for pleasure. , all unwilling to fight, just constantly compromised and gave in. This concession, but the people in the border areas suffered, those people burned, killed, looted and committed all kinds of evil, almost looting the city inside the pass. The late emperor saw all this, he was powerless to change anything, but he vowed to personally build an iron cavalry. This iron cavalry will become a sharp blade stationed at the border, and beat those barbarians to never dare to invade our territory again. "

"It's a pity that he was full of passion, but he couldn't display it due to his status as a prince. So he could only secretly find a group of death row prisoners and secretly place them in my army. He also spent a lot of money to buy elite weapons and used the most rigorous training to turn them into a tiger and wolf camp. In the 30th year of the Chuyuan period, Hangu Pass was in danger, and the late emperor personally led the army to the battle. Since then, Xiao's army became famous in this battle, and won several battles thereafter, making foreign tribes terrified."

The old marquis's face was glowing faintly, as if he had returned to that passionate era. He took a sip of tea and continued, "At this time, the health of the Emperor Taizu was getting worse day by day. Although the crown prince was incompetent, he had a group of powerful ministers supporting him. Later, the late emperor married the eldest daughter of the Xia family as his princess, who is now the empress dowager. Although the empress dowager is a woman, her ambition and vision are no less than that of a man. She convinced the Xia family to fully support the late emperor. Relying on the outstanding military exploits of the Xiao family army and the support of the Xia family, the late emperor finally forced the Emperor Taizu to depose the crown prince and ascended the throne."

Xiao Du frowned slightly. He had heard some of this past events many times before, but some of them were new to him. However, he still didn't understand why the old marquis told him these.

The old marquis sighed and said, "Outsiders only thought that the late emperor married a virtuous wife who could assist him both internally and externally. But after the late emperor ascended the throne, he discovered that the Xia family helped him to take the throne in order to eliminate dissidents and gain greater power. At that time, whether it was the imperial guards or the three books and six ministries, they were almost all controlled by the Xia family. The late emperor wanted to establish a clear and bright era, but he was helpless because he was hindered by the Xia family in everything. The court was in collusion with each other, and the wind of corruption was even worse than before. The late emperor became depressed and asked me angrily: Does the world belong to my Zhao family or his Xia family!"

At this point, his words faltered for a moment before he continued, "What worried the late emperor the most was the issue of offspring. Empress Xia not only interfered in state affairs on behalf of her father's family several times, but also had absolute power in the harem. In order to ensure that her legitimate son ascended the throne, she would never allow any concubine to get pregnant. If she found out, she would force them to abort or kill them. Therefore, the late emperor dared not favor any concubines anymore. He knew that his bloodline was being harmed, but he could only endure it for the sake of the stability of the country due to the influence of her father's family."

Yuan Xi's eyes widened, and she felt a chill down her spine. So this was the truth behind the exclusive favoritism in the imperial harem and the deep love between the emperor and the empress. How much shame and ugliness lay behind those beautiful stories passed down from mouth to mouth.

At this time, the old marquis suddenly looked up at them and said, "No matter how Empress Xia prevented it, there was still a woman in the harem who was secretly pregnant. She was the late emperor's favorite Concubine Duan. Concubine Duan had a gentle personality and never quarreled. But no one knew that such a seemingly weak woman had the courage to hide the news of her pregnancy. When the month was getting bigger and bigger, she knew that she could no longer hide it and secretly reported it to the late emperor. So that night, Concubine Duan's bedroom caught fire. The late emperor told the empress that Concubine Duan was burned to death in the fire, but secretly sent a secret guard to escort her and a personal maid out of the palace."

Xiao Du was shocked when he heard this. For some reason, his hand holding the teacup was shaking. He only heard the old marquis continue: "At that time, the capital was full of Xia family's spies, and the only person the late emperor trusted was me. So as soon as she left the palace, she was escorted to me, and then I hid her in Jianghan Courtyard. A few months later, she finally gave birth to a baby boy." He put down the teacup in his hand that had already turned cold, stared at Xiao Du and said word by word: "And that baby boy is you!"

With a "bang", the celadon teacup fell to the ground, and the tea splashed and wet the corner of his robe. However, Xiao Du seemed to be unaware of it. He was so shocked by the news that his head was buzzing and he was unable to move for a while.

The old marquis felt a little sorry for him and sighed, "So you should understand now why I was so strict with you since you were a child, why I took you to the army for training before you were sixteen, and why the late emperor was so eager to make you a marquis and lead the army. Du'er, the late emperor needed to leave a bloodline to fight against the Xia family and build the dynasty he wanted to establish. Do you understand?"

Xiao Du couldn't digest what he heard. He held onto the table tightly. After a long while, he trembled and said, "How did my biological mother die?"

The old marquis recalled that past event, and he couldn't help but feel sad. He said, "Your mother died for you... At that time, the princess was also pregnant, and her pregnancy was very similar to your mother's. I wanted to take them out of the house to give birth, and then bring them back to the marquis' house in the name of twins. Who knew that Concubine Duan's maid Yunniang saw the princess's hatred for you. She was eager to protect her master, and in order to ensure that you became the only legitimate son of the marquis' house, she poisoned the fetus in the princess's belly. Concubine Duan was already weak after giving birth, and she knew that she would only bring danger to you if she lived for another day. A few days later, she entrusted you to me and committed suicide by taking poison."

Xiao Yunjing's eyes wandered a little. He still remembered how the weak woman held the baby in her arms every day and refused to let go. She was obviously heartbroken but she held back her tears, not wanting her newborn child to see the slightest bit of sadness. She also resolutely took the poison just to let her child live safely in the world.

Xiao Du's lips kept trembling, he closed his eyes tightly, but tears kept falling from his cheeks. Yuan Xi was also heartbroken for him, and quickly held his hand, wanting to give him some comfort.

But there was one thing she couldn't figure out. Why did the old marquis allow Yunniang to stay in the mansion and raise Xiao Du when he knew it was Yunniang who killed his and the princess's child? She didn't know that the old marquis didn't say that he always felt guilty towards the late emperor and the princess because of the fake princess, and he didn't know how to face the child who shouldn't have been born. He knew that Hua Qianyue would definitely not treat Xiao Du well, so he spared Yunniang's life and asked her to take care of the young master as much as she could. This was the biggest compensation he made for the mistake he made with Hua Qianyue.

As the night deepened, a few herons chirped outside the window. The old marquis looked at Xiao Du and said, "Du'er, now you know everything. It's up to you to decide what to do in the future."

Xiao Du said nothing, but stood up from the table in a daze. As soon as he stood up, his body swayed a little. Yuan Xi hurriedly supported him, his eyes full of concern and worry.

However, Xiao Du did not look at anyone again. He just walked out with empty eyes. He walked past the arches and flying eaves, past the hanging doors and screen walls, and suddenly he wanted to laugh out loud. It turned out that all the responsibilities he thought of were lies, and the people he thought of as his family had nothing to do with him. It turned out that so many people died behind his birth, and he did not even have the right to refuse.

He walked all the way to his room, his body shivering in the night wind. Suddenly, a pair of warm hands rested on his shoulders. Turning back, he saw Yuan Xi's gentle and caring eyes. The string in his heart finally broke, and tears burst out. He said, "Xi'er, I don't have a home anymore."

It was the first time that Yuan Xi saw him with such a confused and helpless expression. She immediately shed tears and shook her head, saying, "No, you still have me. A'du, you must remember that where I am is your home!"