On the day of the execution, after the smoke filled the air, Yi Shuihan flashed to his mother's side and flew with her to where Xiao Qingyin was.
Xiao Qingyin was still squatting on the ground.
He patted her head, gesturing for her to get up.
Xiao Qingyin, however, swung her dagger at his throat.
Yi Shuihan quickly dodged, and in a flash, he saw the man's appearance.
That wasn't Xiao Qingyin, but someone with a similar build and somewhat similar appearance.
He was astonished.
Just a moment ago, Xiao Qingyin was standing here. How come she's a different person in the blink of an eye?
He searched the execution ground but couldn't find anyone, so he had to leave with his mother.
The incident of storming the execution ground enraged Emperor Chengtai, who immediately dispatched troops to surround the residences of the Marquis of Zhongyong, the Marquis of Jing'an, and General Fu Junshi.
But they came up empty-handed.
They had already evacuated.
Emperor Chengtai was furious and ordered the Imperial Guards to search every house in the capital.
Three days later, he led the Southern Five Camps in a surprise attack on the palace, pulling Emperor Chengtai off the throne.
He also discovered a basement in the Qiankun Palace, where a middle-aged man who was emaciated and skin and bones was imprisoned.
This person has the exact same face as Emperor Chengtai.
He is the real Situ Yu.
When Yi Shuihan brought him before Emperor Chengtai, Emperor Chengtai's body, which had been weakened by opium, suddenly burst forth with powerful strength.
He broke free from Yi Wu's restraints and rushed to Situ Yu, attempting to strangle him.
But Yi Shuihan stopped him.
Emperor Chengtai collapsed to the ground, laughing maniacally.
After he stopped laughing, he looked coldly at Yi Shuihan.
"Do you know that I was taken away from the palace as soon as I was born and raised as a substitute? I didn't even have a formal name, only a code name."
"I always thought of myself as a stand-in, accepting all kinds of cruel training without complaint, and fighting to the death with other assassins just to eat a bowl of braised pork."
"Until one day, I unexpectedly learned the truth."
"From that moment on, I vowed to take back what was mine."
He did it when he was twenty-four.
He arrested Situ Yu and took his place.
At first, no one doubted him, including his mother who had abandoned him from the very beginning.
However, as the struggle for the throne intensified, he found himself overwhelmed and decided to take a risky approach. At that moment, Marquis Yun Shen, the Marquis of Zhongyong, seemed to sense something and, after testing him a few times, parted ways with him.
He knew that Yun Shen was the person Situ Yu admired most, even more so than his father.
After replacing Situ Yu, he also wanted to establish a mentor-student relationship with Yun Shen to prove that he was no less capable than Situ Yu.
But he failed.
This made him especially hate Yun Shen.
Yun Shen thus became a fishbone stuck in his throat.
As long as he exists, he will be reminded that a substitute is just a substitute and can never become the real one.
Therefore, after he gained power, he did not hesitate to use Wei Ying to eliminate the Yun family army.
Yi Shuihan had absolutely no interest in his experiences and mental journey.
He summoned the court officials and made public the matter of Emperor Chengtai impersonating Situ Yu and his framing of the Yun family army. He then executed Emperor Chengtai for treason.
The third prince was convicted of treason and beheaded along with Emperor Chengtai.
The imperial concubine committed suicide by swallowing gold on the very day the third prince was punished.
Situ Yu sat on the throne.
However, after being tormented by Emperor Chengtai for so many years, he was physically and mentally exhausted and did not have enough energy to handle government affairs.
He then appointed Yi Shuihan as regent to oversee all affairs on his behalf.
Yi Shuihan had no desire to take on this responsibility; all he wanted was to find Xiao Qingyin.
Bai Musheng disappeared on the same day as Xiao Qingyin.
He was 100% certain that Xiao Qingyin had been taken away by Bai Musheng.
But they seemed to have vanished into thin air; no matter how many people he sent to search, he couldn't find any trace of them.
Until this day, he saw the memorial submitted by the Admiral of the Jiangnan Navy.
This naval admiral was particularly fond of talking nonsense, and he would report even the most trivial matters.
Yi Shuihan had already read several of his reports, such as a woman giving birth to triplets, a novel and delicious fruit, and a solar halo.
If the person hadn't been away, he would have beaten him up long ago.
All they care about are trivial matters; have they actually been properly training their navy?
Today's report also recounts a bizarre story.
"Your Majesty, the ants at several docks in Jiangnan have formed the same pattern: SOS. It's quite interesting."
SOS!
Yi Shuihan suddenly stood up.
Xiao Qingyin had taught him this word; it's an internationally recognized distress signal at sea.
He immediately realized that she had been taken away by sea by Bai Musheng.
No wonder he couldn't find it no matter how hard he searched.
Yi Shuihan was overjoyed and immediately had an imperial edict written. He flew back to his mansion with the edict and said to Marquis Yong'an, "Old man, hold out for me for a while. I'm going to find my wife."
Marquis Yong'an: "!!!"
Is the position of regent something that can be filled by just anyone?
He is the prince consort!
A prince consort forbidden from holding office!
He said irritably, "Are you out of your mind? Do you think I'm someone who can get involved in government affairs?"
Yi Shuihan slammed the imperial edict on his table with a "bang," and said, "The imperial edict is here. You are here temporarily conscripted."
After saying that, he left like a gust of wind.
Marquis Yong'an was dumbfounded.
Realizing what was happening, he burst into a tirade: "You unfilial son! Do you want to disrupt the imperial court?! Come back here right now!"
No matter how loudly he shouted, Yi Shuihan couldn't hear him.
He quickly packed his things and rode his big white horse out the door.
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