She and Madam Pan tacitly kept this matter a secret.
In the days that followed, with the help of Yin Shuli, Liu Shushu gradually revealed her abilities, and her brilliance grew brighter and brighter, at one point overshadowing the former Liu Qingying.
Liu Qingying also learned to assess the situation and automatically concealed herself. Gradually, the people in the General's Mansion seemed to have forgotten that she even existed.
This made Liu Shushu very satisfied, and she even gradually became proud and complacent.
Yin Shuli elevated her to a high position, making her the center of attention for everyone. She instantly became the most dazzling woman in the entire capital.
At this point, Qingying, who clung to the marriage agreement, became the target of public criticism.
She refused to break off the engagement, so they forced her to.
Liu Shushu offered Yin Shuli a suggestion.
The result was obvious: Qingying lost the trust of the Liu family and had no room to resist. She took the initiative to go to the palace to cancel the marriage.
At this point, she thought she could finally sit on the throne of empress without any worries.
Until her wedding day, she was tricked by Yin Shuli.
What about Yin Shuli?
He lost control when he learned that Qingying was going to marry Wei Dongchen.
He had once thought that his inexplicable feelings for Qingying were merely influenced by Wei Huaixu, but at this moment, he was certain that he had truly fallen in love.
He couldn't stand Qingying being close to other men!
Watching the two of them being so affectionate at the horse farm, he felt extremely annoyed and wished he could cut off Wei Dongchen's head on the spot!
He initially thought he would coax Qingying back after he had accomplished his goal.
Ultimately, I overestimated my own patience.
On that snowy night at Chongfu Temple, after he rescued Qingying, he was completely broken down by her sarcastic remarks, her constant resistance to him, and her obvious bias towards Wei Dongchen.
He restrained his urge to force himself on her, and heard himself say, "I remember everything..."
He had never forgotten. He knew in his heart that what he was doing was despicable, but he had no choice.
He thought that by giving in, he could win her forgiveness, but to his surprise, she pushed him away and kicked him, causing him to kneel down.
She thought that this would make her feel better, but then she said, "I'm not angry anymore."
Love breeds resentment, and resentment breeds anger. If she's no longer angry, it means she no longer loves him.
Yin Shuli panicked immediately and tried to explain helplessly, but was interrupted again.
Qingying asked him why he was there, and he... lied again.
He said, "I came here specifically to find you. I injured my head a few days ago and it brought back all my memories. I wanted to find you, but I couldn't find you at the General's Mansion. Liu Chengfeng said you came to Chongfu Temple, so I went up the mountain overnight."
He did kowtow a few days ago, but it was a trick to deceive the Han family and gain their trust. The reason he knew Qingying was at Chongfu Temple was because he had someone planted in the Liu family.
Ultimately, they couldn't reach an agreement because two huge obstacles stood between them: Liu Shushu and Wei Dongchen. With the grand plan unfinished, he couldn't abandon Liu Shushu yet, and as for Wei Dongchen…
She said, "I have already agreed to the Crown Prince Yu's marriage proposal, and I will not go back on my word."
No! Yin Shuli will absolutely not allow anyone else to touch her! He dared to kill the Crown Prince, let alone a mere powerless heir!
He lost control in front of Qingying.
In the end, they fled in disarray.
——
Later, he went to see her again. He learned by chance that the emperor was considering taking her as a concubine.
He already harbored hatred for the corrupt emperor, which further solidified his resolve to assassinate him.
The emperor was suspicious. Although he was in love with Ye Ning, in order to consolidate his own position, he disregarded the affection between his former lover and his childhood mentor and wiped out the Ye family.
He had grand ambitions, but was defeated by his frail health. His poor health exacerbated his paranoia.
He suspected his wife, Consort Yan, as well as the powerful Yan and Liu families, and even his own sons, the Crown Prince and Prince An.
He allowed the Yan and Liu families to fight amongst themselves. He restricted the Crown Prince while granting power to Prince An. He thought he was orchestrating things from the start, letting the two families fight, hoping to profit from the conflict.
Little did he know that it was precisely because of his suspicion that Yin Shuli had the opportunity to take advantage of the situation and successfully replace Wei Huaixu.
Indeed, the group of men who ambushed Wei Huaixu on his triumphant return was arranged by Prince An, Wei Huaichong. He had an imperial warrant that allowed him to mobilize a group of elite soldiers. Yin Shuli had secretly informed him of this, which enabled him to successfully set up an ambush before the army's return journey.
The matter was eventually dropped because the emperor was backing it up.
Wei Huaixu's personal campaign and meritorious service brought him unprecedented prestige in the court. With the support of the Liu family, he was poised to overshadow the emperor. The emperor wanted to take this opportunity to curb his arrogance, but he never expected that it would lead to the death of his own son.
The emperor died before Wei Huaichong launched the palace coup.
He recognized Yin Shuli.
The emperor had long known that Empress Xiaode had given birth to twins and that the other child had been sent to the Han family, but he did not interfere and turned a blind eye.
There can only be one legitimate son of the Empress; he doesn't care whether the other one lives or dies.
All he cared about was the royal family's reputation. To this end, he had people secretly monitoring Yin Shuli's every move, waiting for him to slip up so he could be eliminated quickly. Fortunately, he remained unharmed until Yin Shuli was thrown into the Shadow Guard camp and his men were inexplicably killed. After that, he completely disappeared without a trace.
At that time, he thought Yin Shuli had died in the Shadow Guard Camp, after all, he knew better than anyone what kind of place it was.
Later, Yin Shuli changed his appearance, concealed his face, and changed his name to Ashu, all of which he was unaware of.
The emperor was getting old and was starting to become senile.
When Yin Shuli told him the truth, he covered his face and wept bitterly. The dignified monarch cried like a child.
“Ah Li, I’ve wronged you, but Ah Xu is innocent. You shouldn’t have…”
"Father, don't forget, you also played a part in his death."
The emperor opened his mouth, but couldn't speak. His eyes were red as he looked at Yin Shuli's face, reaching out to touch him, but Yin Shuli frowned and avoided him in disgust.
The emperor's hand froze in mid-air, trembling slightly, as he laughed maniacally and tears streamed down his face. "Retribution, this is all retribution..."
Seeing his seemingly crazed state, Yin Shuli became irritated and completely lost his patience. He frowned and threw out a dagger, saying, "I'll give you two choices: one, end your own life; two, I'll end yours. Anyway, when Wei Huaichong attacks, you won't die any more gracefully than you do now."
The emperor shakily picked up the dagger, closed his eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, "You have already committed the sin of killing your brother, and you should never bear the sin of killing your father. I have done too many wrong things in my life, and I only realized my mistakes at the end. I only hope that you will not follow in my footsteps in the future."
Having said that, he resolutely plunged the dagger into his heart.
Yin Shuli instinctively reached out and caught his falling body.
Perhaps it was because of the blood ties that connected them to each other, but he felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if a piece of him was missing.
The last time I had this feeling was when Wei Huaixu died.
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