After hundreds of years of separation, the Yuntian Continent was finally unified by the young emperor Yan Xia. This will be a moment recorded in the history of the Yuntian Continent, and it will be remembered forever.
Yan Xia, who is already twenty years old and much more mature, rarely smiled like an innocent child. Looking at Wuyou in this scene, it was as if she had returned to 20 years ago, to the moment when she held this child in her arms, and the other person also smiled so innocently and purely, which softened her heart.
"Mother, there are still many things to attend to, so I'm afraid I won't be able to come and pay my respects to you for the next few days. Also, the Helan family has been imprisoned in the Prince's residence by me, and you can visit them at any time."
After saying these words, the young emperor left quickly with a group of people without waiting for Wuyou's response, not even leaving Wuyou with a trace of his clothes.
Wuyou chuckled lightly. This child wanted to leave these people for her to deal with; it was about time for a result.
The Prince Xian's mansion was home to a large family. Although they held the title of Prince, the entire mansion had no servants. They were responsible for their own food, clothing, and shelter. The once high-ranking royal family had to be reduced to ordinary people who cooked and cleaned.
From struggling to even afford food to now driving with ease, the hardships and bitterness experienced are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
When Helan Wuxia was forced into the Prince Xian's mansion, seeing her family in such a sorry state, her nose tingled and tears streamed down her face.
"Father, Mother, Brother, you have all suffered. It is all because of my incompetence that I could not save you." Helan had no time to break free from the guards' restraints. Ignoring the tightly closed gate behind him, he ran over, ready to rush into his mother's arms for comfort.
His body, however, slammed hard to the ground due to inertia, scraping the delicate white skin on his hands. Despite living a life of luxury over the years, his appearance hadn't changed at all, but his family members looked much older, with glaringly white hair at his temples.
Even his young niece, barely in her twenties, looks a few years older than her aunt. These are all signs of the passage of time.
“You…” Helan Wuxia suddenly looked up, staring at the group of people in disbelief. Their faces all showed the same disgust and hatred.
"How dare you come back? If it weren't for you, how could our Yong Kingdom have been destroyed? How could we have fallen to such a state? It's all because of you, you jinx."
The little niece's face was filled with resentment and malice. If it weren't for this aunt, with her age and looks, she would have already married into a good family, had both a son and a daughter, and lived a happy and fulfilling life. How could she be locked up in this small, confined place now, a prisoner, let alone getting married?
I'm afraid I'll be stuck here for the rest of my life, an old maid who'll never get married.
“Hua’er, you…” He Lan Wuyou was quite surprised that his niece, who was always very attached to him, would speak like that.
"Do you all think so too? It's all my fault." He Lan Wuxia's thoughts shifted, and seeing the approving expressions on her relatives' faces, her heart grew colder and colder.
“Wuxia, Hua’er is right. If you hadn’t killed the Prince of Qi, how could things have turned out this way?” Helan Xiong doted on his youngest daughter, but this doting was based on certain conditions. He had lost his wealth and even his freedom because of his daughter, so how could he possibly love her?
"I am innocent. I never intended to kill Prince Qi. It was all arranged by Jin Mingrui. I was just used by him." Helan Wuxia shook her head, feeling that the person in front of her was terrifyingly unfamiliar, and she could no longer find any trace of familiarity.
"Why don't you resent my sister? She is the Empress Dowager of the Great Yan Kingdom, the Empress Dowager of the entire world, yet she has never shown you any favor. Why do you resent me, who is innocent? Perhaps you dare not resent her?"
Helan Wuxia straightened up and scanned the familiar yet unfamiliar people before her, speaking sarcastically. Seeing their evasive expressions, she instantly realized she was right, and her smile grew even more mocking. "I thought your affection for me was genuine; I was truly mistaken."
"Slap slap slap..." The crisp sound of slapping rang out, the door opened, and a woman in a bright yellow palace dress stood outside, an elegant smile on her lips, her face exactly the same as it was 20 years ago.
“Little sister, I’ve known you for so many years, and this is one of the rare times you’ve been so clever.” Wuyou raised an eyebrow, speaking with praise.
"What are you doing here? Are you here to laugh at me? You're no better than me. I treated you so well before, and I spoke well of you in front of my family, but you treat me like this. You're a heartless ingrate." Helan Wuxia glared fiercely at Wuyou, finally unable to hold back her true feelings.
"Good to me? I'm afraid I'm not worthy of my sister's kindness." Wuyou slowly sat down, picked up her tea and took a sip.
“Sister, you know I’m not in good health, yet you always drag me out. Is that what you call being good to me? When I married into the Great Yan Kingdom, do you dare say you didn’t know the truth? If it’s for my own good, why didn’t you volunteer? We’re only two years apart in age.”
Gently waving her fan, Wuyou spoke in a calm and indifferent tone, as if she were talking about someone else's story and it had nothing to do with her own. Helan Wuxia was startled, feeling a hidden pain as if her private parts had been touched. She was about to speak when Wuyou interrupted her again.
"You dragged me out just to show off your kindness to others and show me some charity. You know the situation in the Great Yan Kingdom, but you're just pretending not to know because it's none of your business. To put it bluntly, your kindness and concern are nothing more than casual gestures, like pity for a cat or dog."
The more Wuyou spoke, the uglier Helan Wuxia's expression became; even a fool could see that Wuyou had hit a nerve.
The others looked on in astonishment, never expecting that the person they had pampered since childhood would have such a complex mind, all of which was hidden beneath his innocent and naive appearance.
"Sigh, I'm tired. From now on, I am no longer a member of the Helan family. Don't even think about doing anything in my name. Stay obediently in the Prince's Mansion. If you dare to make a move, I'll chop off your claws."
Wuyou's gaze swept over the Helan family members, who felt a chill run down their spines from his eyes and nodded stammeringly, not daring to say a word.
"As for you..." Wuyou turned to look at Helan Wuxia, "You are a concubine of the Great Jing Kingdom, so naturally you should stay with them and spend the rest of your life with a Buddhist lamp and a Buddhist temple!"
"I don't want to! I'd rather die than be controlled by you!" Helan Wuxia roared, pulling out a dagger from who-knows-where and preparing to stab.
"Are you really going to do this? If you kill Jin Mingrui, how will the people of Dajing treat you and your son? Your death may end everything, but what about your son? Do you want him to suffer all of this for you?"
Clang—the dagger fell to the ground with a crisp sound. Helan Wuxia slumped to the ground, knowing that everything was over and that he would never escape the control of the woman before him for the rest of his life.
Because Helan Wuxia could be ruthless to anyone, but she would never abandon her own flesh and blood.
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