Chapter 180 Love and Hate: Who Says Fate is Determined by Heaven?
Qiu Wuzhu did not wish to see Yue Yining and refused to let him enter the palace.
“Your Excellency, you should go back.” The little eunuch looked troubled and bowed to her. “The Grand Preceptor is probably tired today and is not in the mood to talk about important matters.”
Yue Yining had long anticipated this outcome, which was why she hadn't considered visiting Qiu Wuzhu. Her master was stubborn, cold, and unfeeling, and always kept his word.
She said she would never see her again, and that meant never seeing her again until death.
Even though they are only a door apart at this moment.
Camellias were in full bloom throughout the palace at the end of April, creating a vibrant spring scene of red flowers and green willows, but Qiu Wuzhu's palace was cold and deserted.
Yue Yining remained calm as he took out a roll of bright yellow silk from his wide sleeve and slowly unfurled it. The imperial seal and calligraphy were conspicuously visible under the palace lanterns.
The little eunuch's face changed: "This...this is..."
"I apologize for disturbing you today, but I have important matters that I must discuss with the Grand Preceptor in person." Yue Yining said calmly, "This is His Majesty's edict, please take a look."
“I know the Grand Preceptor does not wish to see me, and I dare not disturb him with personal feelings. Back then, I was young and ignorant, and disobeyed my master's wishes by going down the mountain on my own. I have long regretted it, but unfortunately, I was entangled in worldly affairs, and only now do I have the opportunity to come and pay my respects. As a disciple, I cannot rest easy if I cannot obtain my master's forgiveness. Fortunately, His Majesty is benevolent and considerate of his subjects' good intentions, which is why I have obtained this imperial decree.”
Yue Yining bowed deeply, holding the imperial edict above her head, "I hope Your Excellency will allow me to enter the palace so that I may solemnly kowtow to my master and personally plead guilty."
Since Yue Yining had already put his words to this extent and even produced the imperial edict, the little eunuch dared not refuse on behalf of the master inside any longer. He quickly accepted it with both hands, nodded a few times, bowed, and hurried inside to report again.
Inside the hall, Qiu Wuzhu stood alone beneath the vast map, the doors and windows tightly closed, the room dimly lit.
Hearing that the young eunuch had returned, she didn't even turn around, but simply asked, "Is there anything else?"
The young eunuch, trembling with fear, repeated Yue Yining's words verbatim and held the imperial edict high.
Qiu Wuzhu turned around, his gaze sweeping over the bright yellow imperial edict before landing on the little eunuch's lowered head. His cold face revealed no emotion, only a fleeting hint of mockery in the depths of his eyes.
What a high-sounding and dignified explanation!
Yue Yining lied, and she knew her master would see right through her lie. Both master and disciple knew perfectly well that the conflict between them was irreconcilable and could no longer be easily dismissed with a simple "youthful ignorance."
But this was, after all, an imperial edict. Even though Qiu Wuzhu was detached from worldly affairs, as the current Imperial Preceptor, he could not openly disobey it.
Her good apprentice, still exceptionally intelligent, has now finally turned her scheming methods against her master.
After a long silence, Qiu Wuzhu concealed the mockery in his eyes and finally spoke, his voice still calm and even: "Since it is His Majesty's decree, please invite Lord Yue in."
The young eunuch breathed a sigh of relief and left to carry out his orders.
A moment later, Yue Yining entered the hall. As the wooden door closed behind her, she saw a white shadow standing behind the desk turn around.
Seven years later, the master and apprentice met again, but everything had changed.
Qiu Wuzhu looked at her, but his eyes were full of indifference, like ice that never melts.
Yue Yining stopped in her tracks, swallowed the bitter taste rising in her throat, and bowed deeply in accordance with etiquette. Her voice echoed in the empty hall:
"Your humble servant Yue Yining greets the Imperial Preceptor."
She did not rise, but remained in a bowing posture, waiting for a response.
Yue Yining understood that the imperial edict could only open this door, and the confrontation behind the door had only just begun.
Qiu Wuzhu looked down at Yue Yining, who was only a few steps away, his tone stern and undisguisedly cold: "Apologize to me?"
"Yue Yining, you've really made great progress these days."
Yue Yining slowly raised her head, straightened her back, and looked directly at her with composure: "After all, it has been seven years since we parted. If I were still the same as when I was practicing the Five Arts in the Heavenly Temple, wouldn't I have lived such a long life in vain?"
Qiu Wuzhu sneered, "You haven't lived in vain. You've become eloquent and persuasive, and you even know how to bully others by taking advantage of their power."
Yue Yining remained silent for a long time.
“I had no choice.” She lowered her eyes and said softly, “...If I hadn’t improved and learned to use my power to bully others, I would probably still be turned away and wouldn’t even be able to see my master.”
Qiu Wuzhu flicked his long sleeves and suddenly swept the warm jade tree ornament on the table to the ground.
"Dare you say that again?" Qiu Wuzhu said coldly, "I, Qiu Wuzhu, have no disciple like you."
Yue Yining showed no fear and called out to her again, "Master."
“You once told me that those who study the Five Arts should not easily enter the mortal world, because the way of Heaven is orderly and has its own constants. You also taught me this, saying that those who possess the profound arts of understanding destiny should be even more careful in their words and deeds, and should never interfere with the ups and downs of the mortal world, and should never interfere with the laws of the universe for their own selfish reasons.”
"But what are you doing now, Master?" Yue Yining looked at her. "You have gone down the mountain to the capital and become the number one person below the emperor, the national advisor of the country."
"This disciple is dull-witted and does not understand why Master is lenient with himself but strict with others, yet his actions and knowledge cannot be aligned?"
Qiu Wuzhu roared, "How dare you!!"
Seeing her grab the paperweight from the table, Yue Yining seemed to have a premonition. She closed her eyes and stood motionless in place, neither dodging nor avoiding.
However, the excruciating pain of being struck by a heavy object never came.
Yue Yining opened her eyes. Qiu Wuzhu glared at her, his chest heaving with anger at her outburst. He gripped the inkstone paperweight tightly in his palm, holding it high, but didn't actually throw it at her.
For some reason, witnessing this scene with her own eyes caused Yue Yining's previously tense mind to break down.
Her nose suddenly tingled, her voice became hoarse, and she called out softly, "...Master."
“I didn’t understand why either,” Yue Yining said in a hoarse voice. “I didn’t understand how you could have moved the Emperor’s heart and made him keep you in this nine-layered palace, granting you supreme power. But I know you must have done something, it’s just that I couldn’t figure out the details.”
Qiu Wuzhu's icy gaze hardened slightly. She didn't deny it, but coldly looked at Yue Yining and said sarcastically, "How could you not know? You're a genius who could calculate the fate of the nation at the age of fourteen. Just like what you did before, you could have calculated it again with tortoise shells, couldn't you?"
Yue Yining whispered, "...That thing will kill me. I can't use it often because I'm afraid of dying."
Qiu Wuzhu sneered again: "Judging from your actions, you don't seem like someone who's afraid of death at all."
“Master raised me and must know that I am inherently weak and have always been a coward who fears death.” Yue Yining looked at her. “It is precisely because my actions are contrary to my nature that Master should understand how much determination I have made to get to where I am today.”
"Now that things have come to this, even if you stand in my way, I will not give up easily."
Qiu Wuzhu coldly said, "If you've gone to great lengths to come see me just to spout nonsense at me, then you can get lost."
“Of course not,” Yue Yining continued, her tone calm yet each word clear. “I’ve come here today to exchange sincerity with you.”
"The reason why His Highness the Third Prince learned the truth about the death of the former Crown Prince by chance must have been because Master was behind it all."
"So what if it is?" Qiu Wuzhu composed himself and said indifferently, "Every word I have said is true."
“I was just telling the truth. If that truth drove him crazy, he can only blame himself, not me.”
“Of course I don’t blame you. I just want to tell you that I know why you did it.”
"Why do you do this?" Qiu Wuzhu said calmly. "My stance is against you. I thought you already knew that. Don't tell me you only realized it today."
“No.” Yue Yining shook her head. “You told him the truth about the Crown Prince’s death not just to severely damage the power of the Princess’s camp. If I could only see this one layer, I wouldn’t have survived until now in this treacherous Yanjing City.”
"Your real purpose is to use him to kill His Majesty."
Qiu Wuzhu's gaze instantly sharpened, but Yue Yining ignored him and continued, "You are the number one Celestial Master in the world; there is nothing you cannot foresee."
"You must know that the Crown Prince has an unspeakable and profound debt of gratitude to the Third Prince, Wei Ye. The Third Prince is still as innocent as a child, making him the easiest target for being used as a tool to kill. A broken Wei Ye will become a problem and hold me back, but once he understands the situation and decides to avenge the Crown Prince and kill his father, it will be an even greater blessing."
Yue Yining gazed at Qiu Wuzhu: "This is what you wanted, isn't it?"
"......"
"Although Yingtian Gate is the state religion, it is subordinate to the imperial power. Although the Venerable One holds a high position, he cannot easily leave the Heavenly Temple, much less enter the court. Originally, His Majesty intended to have you leave Yanjing after seeing you, right? What did you do to move him, not only making him keep you in the palace but also placing so much trust in you?" Yue Yining said slowly. "Let me guess, are you saying that you can use mystical arts to communicate with the underworld and appease the spirits of the dead?"
Upon hearing this, Qiu Wuzhu scoffed coldly.
"The deaths of the Empress and the Crown Prince are the deepest pain in His Majesty's heart. Everyone has a weakness, and the Emperor is no exception. You know His Majesty's weakness well, so you can easily defeat him by targeting it." Seeing that she remained silent, Yue Yining continued, "At that time, the wise and mighty Emperor will be nothing more than a weak and pitiful old man. He will become your puppet."
Qiu Wuzhu finally spoke, his voice devoid of any emotion, only filled with endless indifference: "Presuming to know the secrets of heaven and making wild guesses about the elders. It turns out I misjudged you; this is your greatest progress."
"This disciple dares not presume to fathom the secrets of heaven, but merely attempts to understand Master's Dao." Yue Yining met her icy gaze. "I once thought that Master would always be Master, and this disciple would always be just a disciple, but it turns out that even you have a day when you can't sit still."
"Master made an exception to descend the mountain and enter the capital, and has done so much, and is about to do even more, all just to restore the altered Heavenly Way to its original position? Is this the Way you follow?"
Yue Yining said slowly and deliberately, "Now that General Gu and the Princess have both perished, the three prophecies you issued to stir up trouble in the capital can be considered to have been fulfilled."
"But I wonder if the fulfillment of these three prophecies is due to the inevitable course of Heaven, or if someone is secretly plotting against us?"
The atmosphere inside the hall was stagnant; even the smoke from the sandalwood incense had stopped.
Qiu Wuzhu looked directly at her, and when he spoke again, there was still no anger in his eyes, only an indifference that looked down on the world: "I suppose you have forgotten everything I said to you."
"Indeed, I did play a part in the first two prophecies."
Yue Yining was taken aback when Qiu Wuzhu admitted it so readily. She looked up at her but met Qiu Wuzhu's icy gaze. "Do you think I came to the capital with three fabricated prophecies to bewitch the emperor?"
“You’re wrong,” Qiu Wuzhu said casually. “Yue Yining, I’m here to save you.”
Yue Yining stood motionless, her astonishment evident.
Qiu Wuzhu didn't even glance at her. He turned around and placed the paperweight he had been clutching for a long time on the yellow pear wood shelf behind him. "There was only one prophecy from beginning to end: General Gu would die for his country, and the Princess would pass away peacefully. And all of this is because of you."
"Both the first and second prophecies were my chances to turn back, but you didn't cherish them."
"Do you think you can change the course of heaven by your own power? Do you think I'm so anxious and restless because you're about to turn the tide that I rushed down the mountain to the capital to stop you?" Qiu Wuzhu sneered again. "I told you long ago that you shouldn't have been so self-righteous, but you just didn't take it seriously."
Yue Yining's eyes widened; she already understood what Qiu Wuzhu was trying to say. "You mean..."
Qiu Wuzhu: "Gu Baifeng underestimated the enemy and was careless, and Wei Yihua was too sharp and showed too much skill. They fell into the trap of the Di Rong and were wiped out. You think it was my prophecy that killed them, but the truth is that their death was destined long ago. If it hadn't been destined long ago, I wouldn't have been able to foresee it."
“Princess Wei Yihua would not have died so young. It was because of you that you chose her to resist the predetermined fate, so fate dealt her a fatal blow.”
As if delivering a verdict, Qiu Wuzhu pronounced to her: "Yue Yining, it was your stubbornness that killed her."
Yue Yining stood still, her figure painted like a jade sculpture by the falling sunlight, pure white.
Qiu Wuzhu turned around to look at her, noticing her hand tremble slightly before clenching into a fist. He concealed the mockery in his eyes and returned to his indifference: "You have never been fighting against me. Your enemy is the Heavenly Dao, which can control the fate of all things in this world. You should have expected your fate today if you went against it."
Yue Yining opened her lips and said, "...So, General Gu deserves to be beheaded, and the Princess deserves to be missing. Shouldn't our Dongxi border region have offered no resistance and obediently handed over the people and country behind us to the enemy? Is this what you call the way of Heaven, Master?"
"Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs." Qiu Wuzhu turned her face to the side, sunlight filtering through the window and casting a faint shadow on her fair face. "In its eyes, emperors and generals are no different from ants and weeds. Would you grieve for the ants that die at your feet every day because of you? You wouldn't, because you know that life, death, glory, and decay are all natural laws. Now you don't know, because you are grieving, you are unwilling, because you are caught up in the situation, you have desires and harbor delusions, and you are unwilling to see things clearly anymore."
Yue Yining lowered her eyes slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke with an almost weary clarity:
"Yes, disciple understands. Perhaps this is how Heaven should be, endlessly cycling, without any bias."
"Loyal ministers and good generals are destined to die on the battlefield, virtuous people and patriots are destined to have their ambitions unfulfilled, and ordinary people are born to endure the suffering of war and chaos, while the so-called happiness of joy and peace is a true blessing."
Qiu Wuzhu frowned as he looked at her, but then he saw Yue Yining slowly raise her head.
"If all the perseverance and goodness in this world ultimately cannot withstand the phrase 'it is fate'..." Her voice was soft, yet every word was heavy, "Then why can't this disciple question the will of Heaven, 'Why?'"
“During the five years I was away from my master, I traveled all over the world. I thought that if I wanted to save the world, I had to see the world first. So I went to see them one by one.”
She had seen the frostbitten hands of soldiers on the border, the crying of displaced children at night, and the tragic scene of the government doing nothing during years of disaster, where people even resorted to cannibalism.
Some are born to sleep in luxury, while others are born with bare skin. But is this how it has always been, or is it how it should be? She had clearly seen poor scholars weep with joy after passing the imperial examinations, and new brides adorning their hair with wildflowers before their worn-out bronze mirrors.
If fate dictates this, then human joys and sorrows are nothing but absurdity; but if fate is not absolute, then even ordinary people can become kings and generals.
“You taught me to accept my fate, but I have heard countless prayers in the temple. It is because of their refusal to accept their fate that people come step by step to kneel and pray before the statue of the Heavenly Ancestor. I have seen many different eyes down the mountain, but they all have something similar in them. If they had all accepted their fate, I would not remember them, and I would not have irrevocably come to where I am today.”
Yue Yining looked up at her and said, "You said it was because I was unwilling, but I know in my heart that it wasn't unwilling, but rather that I couldn't bear it."
The bright moon also has a predecessor. The bright moon was not born as the bright moon.
After traveling the world, Yue Yining finally understood the true weight of the phrase "the mountains and rivers are safe and sound, and the country is prosperous and the people are at peace."
If her solitary life could bring peace to loyal souls, extend the reign of a wise ruler, and offer a glimmer of hope to the war-torn land, then her life would not have been in vain.
“Master, perhaps my path lies in this inability to turn a blind eye. Even if it is doing something I know is impossible, even if what I do is ultimately futile, at least I tried.” She calmly finished her last sentence, “A person’s life is essentially about living a life of unwavering delusion.”
Qiu Wuzhu sneered: "It seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin."
Faced with Qiu Wuzhu's ridicule, Yue Yining took a deep breath and suppressed his turbulent emotions: "This disciple simply cannot understand the Dao that Master reveres."
“I have always kept in mind the words you taught me and have never dared to forget them.”
"You said that those who delve into the mysteries of the universe and understand the secrets of heaven should hold the Dao in awe. But now, are you in awe of it, or are you afraid of it?"
Qiu Wuzhu's voice turned cold: "What do you mean?"
Yue Yining looked at her as if trying to see through her skin and examine her soul: "You are afraid. You are afraid that my attempt to change my fate will bring unbearable consequences, and those consequences may be my life."
"Your fear has a long history, stemming from back then. You were arrogant and thought you were exceptionally talented, capable of turning the tide and defying fate, but you suffered a crushing defeat, indirectly causing the death of the former Second Prince and your master."
She had said so much before, and Qiu Wuzhu had ignored it all, but now that she had said this, Qiu Wuzhu looked at her with fury.
She then knew that what Venerable Flower had said was true.
“Yue Yining,” she called her name, emphasizing each word, “Shut up.”
Yue Yining lowered his eyes: "Disciple dares not presume to comment on Master's right and wrong, but I do not understand. Because of past regrets, Master chose to obey the so-called destiny and coldly watch Dongxi slide into the abyss. Compared with when you fought hard back then, is this transcendence or another form of escape?"
"Shut up!"
Yue Yining looked at Qiu Wuzhu, who was in a fit of rage, with unwavering eyes. “Master. When Grandmaster shielded you from the arrow, it was to protect your life, not to trap you in regret and fear, and imprison you in your own self-imposed confinement.”
"She must have never blamed you, just as you have never resented me."
Qiu Wuzhu said, enunciating each word clearly, "What do you know? And what makes you think I've never resented you?"
"So Master once resented me," Yue Yining said softly, "but I have never resented you."
“I firmly believe that even though my master speaks coldly and is so confrontational with me, if I were ever imprisoned, he would still do everything in his power to save my life.”
The anger in Qiu Wuzhu's eyes gradually subsided.
The master and disciple stood there, one standing and the other standing, neither of them uttering a word.
Yue Yining knew it was time for her to leave. She bowed to Qiu Wuzhu, calmly lowered her hands, and said, "I apologize for disturbing you today; it was my disrespect that led to this. I have said everything I wanted to say and reminisced about the past. Staying any longer would be pointless. So I will take my leave now. I hope you will take care of yourself, Master."
Qiu Wuzhu watched Yue Yining turn around, and as if possessed, called out to her:
"Yue Yining".
Yue Yining stopped and turned around to look at Qiu Wuzhu, who was watching her with cold eyes and brows not far away.
"What you want to save is never the world. What you want to save is your younger self."
Qiu Wuzhu said slowly and deliberately, "But they are not you, and their suffering has nothing to do with you. There are millions of people in the world, each with their own origin, their own destination, and their own destiny. You cannot interfere in their lives, nor can you make decisions for them."
"You think my disregard for the lives of millions is an act of arrogance, but in my eyes, your attempt to change the fate of millions of people by yourself is the real arrogance."
Yue Yining stopped trying to refute, leaving only the words: "Then I will be arrogant this time."
"Please forgive me, Master. This is the only chance I've ever had in my entire life."
After speaking, she didn't look at Qiu Wuzhu again and walked straight out of the hall.
This time, she didn't look back.
The heavy palace doors slowly closed behind her, separating the inner and outer worlds.
Qiu Wuzhu stood alone in the center of the empty hall, her pure white figure as solitary as snow on a distant mountain. She gazed in the direction where Yue Yining had disappeared, her face expressionless, but the knuckles of her fingers, hanging in her sleeves, were slightly white from the force of her grip.
She was left alone in the desolate hall.
After an unknown amount of time, the hurried footsteps of a young eunuch suddenly came from outside, and someone called out through the door, frightened and anxious: "Grand Preceptor!"
"His Majesty has awakened. He summons you to the Hall of Mental Cultivation immediately!"
The Hall of Mental Cultivation was filled with the smell of medicine.
Emperor Wei Tianxuan leaned against his dragon throne, his face ashen. Upon seeing that familiar white figure, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
"Imperial Preceptor..." The emperor's voice was hoarse, with weak, labored breathing, yet he forced himself to muster a strong presence, "I...I have something to ask you!"
Qiu Wuzhu stepped forward and said calmly, "Your subject is here."
The emperor clutched his chest, staring intently at her. "You...you tell me, that third prophecy, when...when exactly did you foresee it? Did you anticipate it all along?"
Upon hearing the third prophecy, Wei Tianxuan was so enraged that he fainted for half a day.
Upon waking up, he immediately mobilized his troops and deployed his most elite royal guards, carrying imperial tokens, to rush to the border and reinforce Yanran Mountain.
However, the northern border was far away, and before the royal guards could bring back news from the front, military reports of the general's death and the princess's unknown fate had already reached the court.
Upon receiving the military report, Wei Tianxuan felt dizzy and fainted on the spot, then collapsed.
At this moment, Wei Tianxuan, who had just woken up, recalled the series of bad news over the past few days, and his heart was filled with deep despair.
He was forced to confront the very fact he least wanted to face. The devastating helplessness and the cruel reality of the prophecy coming true intertwined, transforming into the old emperor's anger and resentment towards Qiu Wuzhu: "If your prophecy had come a few days earlier, even two days earlier! The men I sent might have arrived at the border in time! If reinforcements had been sent quickly then, perhaps, perhaps, we could have saved Hua'er who was trying to break through the siege!"
Qiu Wuzhu quietly observed the emperor's collapse. She spoke casually, "Your Majesty, please calm down. The body of the eldest princess has not been found. Perhaps she is still alive."
"Alive? Alive!" Wei Tianxuan smiled bitterly. "If she were alive, wouldn't it be worse than death!"
"As a princess of an enemy country, if she falls into the hands of the Di Rong, she will likely suffer endless humiliation. It would be better for her to die on the battlefield with her grandfather..."
"Your Majesty, please accept my condolences."
"Consider yourself mourning? My beloved Hua'er is nowhere to be found, not even his body. How can I possibly grieve?" Wei Tianxuan's hair and beard were completely white. He was in his prime, yet he looked like an old man in his eighties. His eyes were empty and lifeless as he muttered to himself, "Why is it always just a little short? How can I... how can I possibly find peace?"
The emperor became agitated and coughed violently, his face contorted with deep wrinkles that resembled a spider web.
Qiu Wuzhu stood still, waiting for the emperor to catch his breath before slowly speaking:
"Your Majesty, the manifestation of heavenly secrets has its own predetermined course, which is beyond my control. What the prophecy shows is the inevitable result of the accumulation of cause and effect, like a river flowing into the sea, which cannot be changed even with dikes."
"Even if His Majesty had been warned earlier and rushed to the aid overnight, it would probably be difficult to defy the will of Heaven."
"The calamity has arrived. This is an inevitable pain for the fate of the Eastern Xi Kingdom. It is like cutting flesh to treat poison. Although it is extremely painful, it is to cleanse the old disease and welcome a new life."
The emperor seemed to be stung by these words, and he leaned forward abruptly, exclaiming, "Heaven's will! Heaven's will! It's the work of Heaven again!"
His eyes were even more bloodshot, making him look like a vengeful ghost: "Then tell me! What is an old ailment, and what is a new one?! And why is it Hua'er who died, and why is it Gu Qing who died?!"
After a furious outburst, the emperor, like a trapped beast, lowered his head helplessly, letting out a mournful "hoarse" sound from his throat. "Heaven's will... why is Heaven so cruel to me alone..."
The old emperor, who had just lost his wife, lost his beloved son two years ago, and now he has lost his beloved daughter.
Throughout his life, he possessed the entire world, yet he never obtained what he truly cherished. His loved ones and closest relatives all abandoned him, leaving him with an empire without an heir and a lonely and desolate life.
The emperor's grief contained deep resentment. Then, as if finding another outlet, this resentment abruptly turned towards another person.
Wei Tianxuan's eyes were filled with anger and coldness. "And that Yue Yining! Back then, when Hua'er insisted on going to war, she swore to me with her life that Hua'er would definitely return victorious!"
"Hua'er's life is now hanging in the balance, and she cannot escape blame. I will take her life now!"
Qiu Wuzhu, who had been silently watching him go mad, suddenly changed his expression.
"His Majesty!"
She spoke abruptly, her voice not loud, but it instantly interrupted the emperor's almost out-of-control shouts.
Qiu Wuzhu's chest heaved for a moment, the coldness in his eyes quickly faded, and he completely suppressed any outward expression of emotion.
She walked over, bowed to the emperor, and said with her head bowed, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. The princess's fate is currently uncertain, and there is still a chance for things to turn around. Yue Yining is the princess's advisor; if we kill her now, wouldn't that only add to the sins?"
"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and every action you take is related to the fate of the nation. Now that the bad news from the northern border has just spread and the court and the country are in turmoil, it is precisely the time to gather our fortune. If we lose our own fortune and sever the life force of our bloodline because of a moment of anger, it would be a loss that does not outweigh the gain."
As Qiu Wuzhu watched the anger surging in the emperor's eyes gradually give way to hesitation, he spoke slowly: "Your Majesty, the ways of Heaven often stem from the accumulation of cause and effect. The calamity at the border and the pain inflicted on the royal family are not without cause. Your Majesty, think carefully about the events of recent years. Were there any signs of this situation beforehand?"
She left it at that, saying no more, leaving the rest for the emperor to ponder and reflect upon. She wanted him to connect those unseen omens with the guilt and mistakes he most desperately wanted to confront.
The trembling in Wei Tianxuan's eyes grew more and more intense. He trembled as he gripped the corner of the brocade quilt tightly. The light in his eyes suddenly went out, like the embers of a raging fire at its most intense moment collapsing and burying over his head, extinguishing everything with a "whoosh".
The emperor seemed to have aged twenty years in an instant.
He murmured, "It's...it's my fault...it's my fault...I've done too many wrong things...I've let down the Empress, harmed the Crown Prince...and now, I haven't been able to protect Hua'er..."
Seeing the emperor in extreme pain, Qiu Wuzhu's coldness slowly subsided, returning to a calm indifference.
“Your Majesty,” she thought, her voice carrying a strange allure, “the balance of Heaven is profound and unpredictable. Perhaps it is not that Heaven is harsh, but rather that some old debts must be repaid with blood.”
The emperor's face turned deathly pale as he looked at her.
"What's the meaning?"
"I recently communicated with the spirits in my quiet room, which exhausted my mind and spirit. I vaguely sensed..." Qiu Wuzhu's tone was ethereal, seemingly real yet unreal, "His Highness the Crown Prince's spirit seems to be filled with resentment. He repeatedly mentioned to me the bowl of soup you gave him, and the suffering of his mother, the Empress, who was trapped in the deep palace."
"He said he blames you." Qiu Wuzhu looked at the emperor, whose eyes were bloodshot, and slowly uttered the heart-wrenching words, "If you hadn't spoken the truth without thinking, he wouldn't have been unable to find peace until his death."
"No! No!" The emperor abruptly interrupted her, his emotions completely out of control, tears streaming down his face. "Those weren't my true feelings! I... I regretted saying those words as soon as they were spoken. I shouldn't have told him those things. It wasn't his fault, his mother's death wasn't his fault...!"
Qiu Wuzhu looked at him, "Whose fault is that?"
Wei Tianxuan closed his eyes in anguish, "It's my fault...it's my...fault..."
"I've always known that Danzhu and Qiong'er both hated me... They hated me until their deaths..."
He wept uncontrollably, the once-powerful emperor now feeling as if his spine had been removed, almost tumbling off his bed.
"Your Majesty, please accept my condolences and take care of your health." Qiu Wuzhu's tone was calm, but the trace of pity in it was chilling. "His Highness the Crown Prince may only be acting out of momentary obsession. Being in the underworld, he is inevitably disturbed by hatred."
"However, the resentment accumulated by the royal family will all converge on the dragon vein. If it is not channeled and resolved, it may bring disaster to future generations."
The emperor looked at her, his eyes dark and unfocused: "Resolve...how to resolve this?"
Qiu Wuzhu's voice carried a persuasive power: "Although the Way of Heaven is cruel and merciless, it also leaves room for people to make amends. However, if one wants to evade the observation of the Way of Heaven and change one's fate, one must always pay a price."
"I may be able to use my own spiritual power to appease the spirits of His Highness the Crown Prince and His Majesty the Empress and dispel their resentment. In this way, even in a deadly situation, we can still secure a slim chance of survival for Her Highness the Eldest Princess."
Qiu Wuzhu looked at the emperor and said in a gentle tone that even she herself was unfamiliar with, "If Your Majesty is willing to trust me, I will do my utmost."
......
When Yue Yining returned to her residence, before she even entered, a maidservant said to her, "Lord Xie has just arrived."
“I told you that you went to the palace to pay your respects to the Imperial Preceptor, and he said he would be waiting for you to return in the inner chamber.”
It was late April, and spring was in full bloom. Everywhere was lush and green. Yue Yining followed the flower-lined path back to the door of her bedroom. Just as she was about to push the door open, the door in front of her opened from the inside.
Xie Qingyu stood at the door, her black sleeves spread out like a piece of finely carved jade. He was looking at her and smiling, "You're back."
"Did your master make things difficult for you...?" Before he could finish his sentence, Yue Yining reached out and hugged his waist.
Xie Qingyu's embrace was always warm and fragrant. She took a deep breath, and the crisp, bitter woody scent of licorice gradually relaxed her.
Yue Yining held on tightly and wouldn't let go, and Xie Qingyu let her have her way, wrapping her arms around Yue Yining's back and gently stroking her.
The two stood there embracing under the eaves.
A bright yellow oriole, bathed in sunlight, sings softly in the treetops.
"It seems she still upset you," Xie Qingyu whispered in her ear. "What did she say?"
Yue Yining refused to say more, only shaking her head and smiling wryly, "She didn't say anything unpleasant to me."
"I didn't say anything nasty, but did that make you so unhappy?"
“What hurts me isn’t what she said, but what I said to her.” Yue Yining lowered her eyes. “Master is still the same as always.”
Seven years have passed. Everything can change beyond recognition after seven years, let alone people.
But Qiu Wuzhu remained unchanged.
“I went to the palace to find her to confirm whether what Venerable Hua told me was true or false, and whether my master still had feelings for me,” Yue Yining said softly. “So it was all true.”
“Xie Qingyu, sometimes I wish my master hated me completely, rather than hating me half and loving me half. That would cause her a lot of pain.”
Xie Qingyu stroked Yue Yining's face, listening to her gentle words, and felt a dull pain in her heart, as if someone was hitting her hard with the handle of a knife.
He said softly, "...But love and hate are born from the same source."
"Even I am half in love with Miss and half in hate with Miss."
Yue Yining was taken aback. She looked up at him from his arms and asked, "So you hated me?"
"I hated you." Xie Qingyu slowly hugged her tighter. "I hated that you were too kind, and I hated that you were too gentle."
"I hate that you care about too many people, but you never think about yourself. You always think about how good others are to you, but others never treat you as well as you treat others. So I hate you for being so foolish."
After he finished speaking, he took her hand and placed it on his chest. Yue Yining pressed her palm against it, and through the thin spring clothes, she could feel his heartbeat.
Suddenly, Yue Yining's mind became clear and bright. This moment of enlightenment, however, inexplicably brought tears to her eyes. She laughed out loud, but her voice was a little hoarse, "So this is what hatred is like."
Perhaps she hated him too. In the gaps between those loves, there was hatred, hatred that the shallow fate brought too intense desire, hatred that there was too little fulfillment and too much regret, that they met too late and parted too early, that life was short yet the love was so deep.
Without love, there would be no hate.
“She wants Dongxi to be destroyed by the Fourth Prince, so that the Heavenly Dao can continue to operate as usual, endlessly. She is my closest relative, and I want to help her fulfill all her requests and wishes, but there is one thing I must stop her from doing.”
Xie Qingyu squeezed her hand: "I'll help you."
The two began to secretly investigate the hidden story behind the prince's death.
Xie Yunying is now considered a close advisor to Yue Yining. She has heard about the investigation that Yue Yining and Xie Qingyu are currently conducting, and immediately thought of the book she was holding.
There are three side stories in total. The first two are about the two princes of Dongxi. Given this, is it possible that the third side story, which has not yet appeared, is about the deceased Crown Prince Wei Changqiong?
If that's true, the truth behind the Crown Prince's death will definitely be written about!
Before Xie Yunying could even feel happy, she thought of something else: the Third Prince Wei Ye hadn't appeared yet, so he might be the protagonist of the third side story.
Xie Yunying, who had been lying down for a long time, couldn't sit still any longer.
She began praying every day that the third side story would appear soon, preferably about the Crown Prince, it really had to be about the Crown Prince!
Yuan Nanjie didn't know what she did every day, but he could keenly sense that she had become much more dejected. In the past, she liked to laugh foolishly and daydream, but now she was always nervous and acting strangely.
He had also heard about the recent rumors circulating in the capital, and whenever he thought of them while reading, he would often be lost in thought for a long time.
Although only two years have passed, the part of his memory belonging to the Crown Prince has become old and yellowed, like a past life that appears in an afternoon dream, hazy and indistinguishable.
In the end, time is cruel, making people forget.
Upon hearing the devastating news, he felt anxious and worried, but even deeper was the fear that seeped into his very bones. Sometimes, just hearing the words "the palace" would make his hands and feet go numb and his breathing become rapid.
Rather than doing something for his deceased friends, he now wants to escape the past and no longer face those troubles and disputes.
Yuan Nanjie only learned later that Xie Yunying had been eagerly awaiting the truth about the Crown Prince's death to come to light.
"...Why would you expect that kind of thing?"
Xie Yunying opened her eyes wide and looked at him seriously, saying, "Because it's very crucial and important! My older brother told me that the general has died in battle, the princess is missing, the situation on the border is gloomy, the court is in turmoil, and His Majesty has even issued an edict of self-reproach. It's all in complete chaos. This is all because the Imperial Advisor had nothing better to do than make some kind of prophecy."
"The Grand Master also told me that the Imperial Advisor harbors ill intentions and has taken advantage of His Majesty's guilt. If we can find out the cause of the Crown Prince's death and uncover the truth of what happened back then, perhaps we can dispel His Majesty's inner demons, and then he will no longer be so easily deceived by the Imperial Advisor's words."
“…” Yuan Nanjie said softly, “The cause of the former crown prince’s death has already been determined. Why do you two still want to investigate further? Don’t you believe the crown prince died of illness?”
"Yes, yes, I'll tell you a secret, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone else," Xie Yunying whispered, leaning closer. "The Crown Prince might have been poisoned by the Emperor."
Seeing Yuan Nanjie's eyes widen, Xie Yunying assumed he was as surprised as she was by this possibility, and sighed, "I was just as surprised as you when I first heard about it."
"After all, wasn't the emperor quite good to the crown prince? Even tigers don't eat their cubs, so it's impossible that the emperor deliberately killed the crown prince! But it just so happens that the evidence my older brother and the others have all points to this answer."
"You tell me how scary that is," Xie Yunying said, still shaken. "But my older brother and the Yue people don't believe the truth. They think things aren't that simple, so they're still investigating."
"Of course I hope this isn't the truth. I heard that the former crown prince was a good person. If he was really killed by his own father, then he would be too pitiful. It would be best if he wasn't," Xie Yunying said. "Sometimes I think, if only the crown prince were still alive, then many things wouldn't have happened."
"..." Yuan Nanjie couldn't control the trembling of his fingertips, pulled his hands back into his sleeves, and pinched his legs tightly.
"Yuan Nanjie, what's wrong with you?" Xie Yunying noticed his strange behavior and leaned closer to look at him. "Your expression is quite frightening."
“…No, it’s nothing.” Yuan Nanjie lowered his eyes, avoiding her gaze. “It’s nothing.”
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