120 Chapter 120
◎I was about to forgive you.◎
In the damp woodshed, even the ground was chilled by the biting cold of winter.
Jin Yao just sat slumped on the ground. The snow and wind that had stuck to the hem of her skirt had turned into water and was sticky to her ankles.
She lowered her head and looked at the damp ground, her memory going back to eight years ago, or even further.
"My real name is Jin Yao, and I'm the daughter of a prince from the royal family of Nanyi. When I was young, my father committed a serious crime, and my entire family was executed. Only my sister and I were lucky enough to be rescued by the current Third Prince. Since then, we have been working for him."
"Eight years ago, during the Southern Border War, our country sent our Third Prince here to seek cooperation with Xie Huaiyuan, but was rejected. However, two months later, someone from Da Ling approached us, offering to cooperate. He will provide us with the weapons we have been lacking, and we must help him eliminate the forces of Prince Nan'an and Xie Huaiyuan, allowing him to smoothly take over the Southern Border Army."
"I will be in charge of liaison with the Third Prince on this matter. After the matter is accomplished, the Third Prince will have me stay with that person, both as a bond to maintain the alliance between the two sides and also to keep an eye on them."
——After the matter was accomplished, the Third Prince asked me to stay with that person, both as a bond to maintain the alliance between the two parties and also to keep him under surveillance.
After Jin Yao finished speaking, Xu Qinghe was still unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
Ever since she knew Aunt Jin, she has always stayed with Wei Yiqun.
"Who is this person you are talking about?"
Jin Yao suddenly laughed out loud. She finally looked up at the princess who had been so calm just now but now had a pale face. At this moment, she suddenly felt that the princess was really pitiful.
"Don't you already have the answer in your heart? Why do you have to make me say it out loud?"
"Forget it, forget it. Since the princess doesn't want to admit it herself, then I'll tell her. The real murderer was none other than the princess's father-in-law, the Duke of Fuguo, Wei Yiqun, whom you respectfully called father for half a year!"
——The real murderer was not someone else, but the princess’ father-in-law, Duke of Fuguo Wei Yiqun, whom you have respectfully called father for half a year!
With a "bang", Xu Qinghe was not paying attention and the hand warmer fell out of his hand and fell to the ground.
The moment the hand warmer slipped out of her hand, the heat source in her body seemed to disappear as well, and her whole body seemed to be frozen in ice and snow, unable to move.
Too many things flashed through my mind at once.
Xie Qi's inexplicable alienation and resistance to Wei Yiqun, Aunt Jin's guard against her, and even Nan Mingzhao's meaningful smile when he learned that she had married into the Duke of Fuguo's Mansion.
And the indelible guilt that she often saw in Xie Qi's eyes.
“I see…I see…”
It turned out that the guilt in his eyes was not just because he had concealed his identity from her.
She recalled Wei Yiqun's undisguised smug look at the reunion dinner not long ago.
At first she thought that Wei Yiqun was proud of Wei Che's maturity and stability, but now she realized that he was obviously proud of the fact that his rival's daughter was respectful and obedient to him!
Nanzhi looked at the devastated princess, then at Jinyao, who lay on the ground like a broken jar, and asked loudly, "Can you...can you guarantee that this isn't a frame-up? When General Xie was falsely accused of collaborating with the enemy, only the Duke of Fuguo stood up to testify in his favor. How could he be the true culprit?"
Jin Yao looked up at the maid who still refused to believe the truth and said sadly, "How could someone with a genuine ulterior motive flaunt their ambitions? After the death of Prince Nan'an and the assassination of Xie Huaiyuan, who was the biggest beneficiary? I believe you understand without me having to explain further."
Nanzhi retreated again and again, still in disbelief.
Could it be that... Could it be that for the past six months, the princess has been treating the thief as her father?!
"Princess, Princess!"
Before she could react, she saw a blue shadow passing by and Xu Qinghe had already walked out of the woodshed.
Nanzhi quickly asked someone to keep an eye on Jinyao and quickly chased after her.
At this moment, the wind and snow outside were getting stronger and stronger. The goose-feather-like white snow fluttered down between the sky and the earth, making the front so vast that it was almost impossible to see the road ahead.
But where is her future?
Xu Qinghe stared at the wind and snow, moving forward stiffly.
Not long after, Nanzhi's heartbreaking cry came from behind: "Princess, it's snowing hard outside, where are you going?"
The princess was wearing a snow-white cloak, and seemed to have melted into the snow. Nanzhi blinked hard but still couldn't see her clearly.
After a while, the faint voice of the princess who was almost blown away was finally heard on the wind.
"Go back to Beijing and find him."
There is no need to say more about who he is.
**
The cold wind was howling.
The broken snow was carried by the cold wind, drifting across the sky, brushing past the dead trees, and finally falling on the face of the beauty, but was quickly melted by the temperature and no longer remained in the world.
Xu Qinghe walked forward alone, leaving behind Nanzhi's call and the villa that was getting farther and farther away.
Now all she could see was the vast expanse of white snow and the whistling wind in her ears.
Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves came from the front.
Someone came on horseback, then dismounted swiftly in front of her and ran towards her in the wind and snow.
"Qinghe!"
Xu Qinghe looked up and saw that it was none other than Wei Che.
The truth was still ringing in her ears, and her expression suddenly changed, from hesitation to anger. She raised her hand and pushed away the man who was about to support her.
Then he fell backwards into the snow.
The man came to help her again, but Xu Qinghe struggled and didn't want him to get close to her.
"Get away! Stay away from me!"
The person in front of him seemed confused, but still coaxed him humbly: "It's snowing hard outside, let's find a place to take shelter first, okay?"
It was such a familiar voice, such a familiar posture, but Xu Qinghe felt that she could no longer understand him.
She sat stubbornly in the snow, motionless, pushing away those who tried to hug her again and again.
However, soon, the rationality that had been lost finally returned. When Wei Che came closer again, Xu Qinghe did not push him away. Instead, she grabbed his collar and stared at him with her red eyes for a moment.
"You always knew who was behind this, right?"
Wei Che was stunned, thinking of Wei Yun who had been missing for three days, and Aunt Jin's suspicious behavior today, and seeing the regret and pain in her eyes, he quickly understood everything.
He should have understood it long ago, from the fact that she left early that day to the cold frost on her face in the past few days.
He should have known it long ago. I couldn't hide it from him.
Finally, he let out a long breath, as if he was relieved of a heavy burden.
"……yes."
It was good that she knew this. At least he wouldn't have to feel guilty every time he heard her calling "Dad" at every family dinner.
Xu Qinghe said nothing, but instead a sneer appeared on her face. Finally, she raised her hand and slapped Wei Che in the cold wind and snow.
With a "pa" sound, a red palm print soon appeared on the man's jade-white face.
Wei Che said nothing and took the slap in silence.
After a long time, when Wei Che finally spoke, Xu Qinghe's hands were still shaking.
"At first, I thought you really loved Wei Ming, so even though I felt reluctant, I didn't want to get involved with you any more. I really want you to be able to move on from what happened in the past and live a peaceful life."
Wei Che closed her eyes, and the turmoil on her birthday last year emerged in her mind.
Although she was such a thin person, she stretched out her slender wrists to tighten the reins. She stood on the carriage, standing in the cold winter wind, with an expression of such stubbornness and unwillingness on her face.
He clearly didn't have to show up that time, but he couldn't help but get closer, couldn't help but make a move, couldn't help but hold her in his arms, and in the end they fell off the cliff together to survive.
"But you are the wife I have chosen since childhood. I can't do it. I can't give you up to someone else."
So in the end, he couldn't help but get closer step by step and couldn't help but propose to her many times.
Upon hearing this, Xu Qinghe sneered again today.
She raised her eyes and met Wei Che's painful eyes.
"At first, you deceived me and made me fall in love with Wei Che because of my guilt towards Xie Qi. Do you know how I felt when I discovered your identity?"
The curve of her lips deepened, but she was mocking herself: "At that time, I actually thought, fortunately, fortunately it's you, fortunately you're still alive, fortunately those cenotaphs, those memorials and mourning were just a waste of effort!"
Xu Qinghe curled up on the snow. The hand that slapped him finally stopped shaking, but she covered her face with her hands and cried.
"Xie Qi... I was... I was almost about to forgive you..."
"I know your difficulties. You don't want to involve me. You just want me to live the rest of my life in peace."
"But Xie Qi, it's not just your Xie family that died unjustly, but also my father, the king, and my mother. As a daughter, how can I stand by and watch?"
The sound of wind and snow gradually died down. Wei Che suddenly approached and pulled her into his equally cold arms, shielding her from the raging wind and snow.
She heard his voice was unusually firm even in the wind and snow.
"I have survived the fire, but all my friends and family have perished. Only you are left."
"Qinghe, you are my only relative in this world. I don't want to, and I dare not, put you in danger again. If anything happens to you again... then I will be alone again."
He never wanted to experience the despair of watching his loved ones die again.
He can't bear it.
Unbearable.
Xu Qinghe cried out in his arms.
"But do you know that you are recognizing a thief as your father? You are calling your father's murderer "father" over and over again! You are living in this world with the identity and name of your enemy's son!"
She used all her strength to hit his shoulders again and again.
Wei Che hugged her tighter, so that Xu Qinghe could feel that this person was shivering all over even through his thick winter clothes.
"I know. I always knew. But I had no choice."
"Ever since the court strongly recommended him to take charge of the Southern Border Army, I knew he was closely connected to the truth."
That's why he was willing to endure the pain of changing his facial features and even his bone structure, and to change his appearance. He also tried every possible way to get into the fire again, and only then did he succeed in switching from being a major general of the Southern Border Army to the Prince of Wei of the Fuguo Mansion.
"Besides this, I can't think of a better way for me, a serious criminal back then, to successfully delve into the truth of what happened back then."
He entered an unfamiliar environment when he had just lost his parents and brother. He had to be cautious, take every step carefully, and be warm and friendly to a family that might be his enemy.
He wanted to bury his hatred deep in his heart, gradually build up his own power in the Fuguogong Mansion, and finally infiltrate the southern border army, and then gradually infiltrate and take back the military power.
Xu Qinghe pushed him away, tears still on her face, but she looked at him stubbornly.
"You were the one who said you would give me a peaceful life for the rest of my life, but you were also the one who made me keep calling my enemies father!"
"Xie Qi...why couldn't you let me go back then? Even if I married into the Wei family, my situation wouldn't be any worse than it is now..."
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