Su Rongqing looked at the cup in front of him for a long time. After a long time, he reached out his hand, held the cup in his hand, and drank the tea in the cup as if nothing had happened.

Su Ronghua sat aside and watched him, then spoke slowly, "Did you and Concubine Hua Lerou plan this assassination together?"

"Yes." Su Rongqing finished drinking the water and put it on the table beside him. Su Ronghua looked at him and continued to ask, "When did you and Concubine Rou join forces?"

"When His Highness Pingle established the Inspection Department."

Hearing this, Su Ronghua closed his eyes. He paused for a moment before finally speaking: "Do you still remember the family motto?"

"remember."

"What's the first one?"

"The Su family does not participate in the struggle for succession."

Su Rongqing felt it was difficult to pronounce each word. Su Ronghua slowly closed his eyes and said, "What should you do to collude with Concubine Rou? Do you need me to tell you?"

Su Rongqing remained silent. Su Ronghua stood up and said, "I will report this to my father. You wait for the result."

"Brother," Su Rongqing called out to Su Ronghua, "Aren't you going to ask me why?"

"What Concubine Rou did is beyond the ability of our Su family to appease. No matter why you did it, you have implicated the family. I protected you in the Hongde case, but now, I can no longer protect you."

"I have my reasons."

"Who has no excuse when he makes a mistake?"

Su Ronghua lowered his eyes: "You should have a good rest."

Su Ronghua raised his hand to open the door, but Su Rongqing stopped him and said, "Brother, let me tell you a story."

Su Ronghua stopped at the door. After a long while, Su Rongqing said softly, "I had a dream. It is the future of the Su family and also your future. Don't you want to listen to it?"

Hearing this, Su Ronghua turned around in shock. He looked at Su Rongqing intently. Su Rongqing stood up, walked calmly to the tea table, and knelt down.

He lit the charcoal fire in the small stove on the table, reached out to get water and put it in a small pot and placed it on the stove. Then he raised his head and knelt upright behind the long sandalwood table, with his hair half tied up in a bun and his black hair hanging behind him. He was dressed in a white robe that made him look as thin as a bamboo.

He raised his hand, made a "please" gesture, and spoke in a clear and elegant voice: "Brother, please take a seat and listen to this story."

The sky was covered with dark winter clouds, and it seemed that heavy snow was coming. The cold wind rushed into the capital, driving away the pedestrians and hitting the windows.

Li Rong listened to the sound of the wind blowing against the window outside the house, and leaned against Pei Wenxuan shoulder to shoulder: "Then let me listen to your talk about the wind and rain first."

"What does your highness want to hear?"

"Things from my past life, things I don't know."

"Where would you like to start, Your Highness?"

Li Rong fell silent and thought for a long time.

After a long time, she finally spoke: "Shangguan Ya and Su Ronghua, let's start with them."

Pei Wenxuan laughed when he heard this. He took Li Rong's hand and said calmly, "Okay, let's start with them."

"In the third year of Dexu, Qin Zhenzhen was poisoned to death. His Majesty ordered me to investigate the matter. I traced it all the way to Su Ronghua. It took me five years to track him down until he died. During these five years, I learned a lot. Su Ronghua was the eldest son of the Su family. He should have been the heir to the position of the head of the family, but he studied under Gu Zixiao when he was young."

"That's a madman."

Li Rong knew this man. He was a rare outlier in the aristocratic family. However, he was well-behaved and talented when he was young. It was normal for the Su family to invite him to be Su Ronghua's master.

"Gu Zixiao taught Su Ronghua for a short time. He was expelled from the Gu family tree for eloping with a poor girl. His whereabouts are unknown. It is unknown whether he really wandered around the world or was expelled by the Gu family. Su Ronghua may have been influenced by the Gu family. He was rebellious since childhood. At the age of eleven, he announced to others that he would not inherit the position of head of the family. From then on, he wandered outside, spending most of the year outside, doing business everywhere, and was keen on making friends in the underworld."

"In the fifteenth year of Yuanhui, Su Ronghua returned to Beijing and was summoned to be the teacher of Prince Su. From then on, he gambled and played chicken every day, becoming a complete playboy."

"In the eighteenth year of Yuanhui, Shangguan Ya came to Beijing. The two met in Jucai Pavilion."

"In the eighteenth year of Yuanhui, you and Shangguan Ya met by chance in Jucai Pavilion. When you came home that day, you told me that you met a girl who was dressed as a man and gambled in the casino. She played ten games with you and lost all ten games. She also asked you to play again tomorrow."

Su Rongqing opened the white porcelain jar, took out the tea leaves with a tea spoon and put them into the teapot.

"That day you laughed happily and said that this girl was very interesting. Later you often mentioned her to me, but people didn't want to talk to you. You kept teasing them, but the girl avoided you. You went to different casinos, and finally one day on your way home, you were beaten with a bag."

When Su Ronghua heard this, he burst out laughing.

Su Rongqing also laughed. He looked up at Su Ronghua and said, "You were unwilling to give in, so you planned to seek revenge. So you secretly planned to kidnap the girl on her way to fight a prostitute. As a result, you really encountered bandits after you kidnapped her out of the city. You were kidnapped together. I don't know what happened when you were kidnapped. When I rescued you, you told me that you had made up your mind to marry her."

"You know that the Su family is in a high position and has great power. With your status, if you come to propose marriage, the girl will have to agree even if she doesn't want to. So you decided to ask her first. That day, I picked out clothes for you, and you polished a jade hairpin with your own hands and took it to find her. In the evening, you came back in the rain, and I asked you what was wrong, and you told me nothing was wrong."

"From that day on, you rarely went out, until a palace banquet, when you were forced to attend as the prince's teacher."

"At the banquet, he saw Shangguan Ya."

Pei Wenxuan spoke softly. Li Rong put her chin on her knees and said, "Shangguan Ya will probably ignore him."

"Yes," Pei Wenxuan replied, "but Su Ronghua knew the reason why she rejected him, so he naturally wouldn't let her go so easily. So he went to Shangguan Ya and asked her if she liked him. If she did, he would go to her house in a sedan chair and propose marriage to her."

"How is this possible?"

Li Rong was somewhat puzzled: "Shangguan Ya came to Beijing just for Chuan'er. This is something that the Shangguan family has already decided. The Su family is not so foolish. How could they possibly get involved in such a matter?"

"How could Su Ronghua not know?"

Pei Wenxuan sighed: "But people always want to try it once, so they decided to give it a try."

"When you came back from the palace banquet, you found your father and said you wanted to go to the Shangguan family to propose marriage. However, Shangguan Ya was already the chosen candidate for the Crown Princess, and you were the future Crown Princess. How could your father tolerate you? Your father refused, so you told your father that you were willing to be expelled from the Su family, leave the family, and propose marriage to the Shangguan family. Whether you live or die, you will bear it alone."

The water in the kettle boiled, and Su Rongqing poured the boiling water into the teapot filled with tea leaves.

"You were beaten three hundred times according to the clan rules, and you went to the Shangguan family with wounds all over your body." Su Rongqing's voice was a little choked, but he still maintained his usual calmness. "The Shangguan family didn't dare to let you stop at the door, so they let you enter the inner courtyard. You knelt in front of Shangguan Xu and begged him to marry Shangguan Ya to you. You analyzed the pros and cons for him and told him that Shangguan Ya's marriage to the East Palace would only push the Shangguan family to a faster demise. Shangguan Xu didn't listen to your nonsense. He couldn't drive you away, and because of your identity as the eldest son of the Su family, he couldn't kill you, so he made you kneel in the Shangguan family."

"You knelt for three days, and during those three days, the palace had already drafted an imperial decree to arrange the marriage."

"During the three days when Su Ronghua knelt in Shangguan Mansion, Shangguan Ya was locked in the backyard. You know her personality now. She has a clear distinction between love and hate, and she acts decisively. Su Ronghua went this far for her, so how could she let him down? So she kept begging Shangguan Xu, and kept shouting, saying that the Shangguan family has so many daughters, why did they have to choose her? She already has someone she likes, and she doesn't want to be the Crown Princess, so let her go."

"The Shangguan family ignored her until the marriage decree arrived at the Shangguan Mansion. Shangguan Xu took the decree directly to Shangguan Ya. He told Shangguan Ya that the Shangguan family had given her more than ten years of wealth and glory. Was she going to abandon the Shangguan family now? The marriage decree had already arrived. If she left with Su Ronghua, the Shangguan family would become the biggest joke in the entire Daxia."

"Shangguan Ya can't tolerate this." Li Rong's throat was a little sore. "She can't let her family be humiliated for her love."

"You're right," Pei Wenxuan knew that Li Rong was upset. He raised his hand and put it on Li Rong's shoulder, hugging her. "Shangguan Ya went to the inner courtyard in person, and then she saw Su Ronghua kneeling on the ground. He was covered in blood. Shangguan Ya cried when she saw him."

How can I not cry?

This was the first time in her life that someone risked his life for her.

This was also the first time in her life that she had let go of the layers of restraints imposed on her by her family and saw the most gentle and bright existence outside. She tried hard to grasp it.

But I can't catch it.

It was raining heavily that day. She looked down at the young man kneeling in front of her. She should have scolded him and humiliated him directly, but as soon as she opened her mouth, tears fell.

She couldn't say anything. She could only squat down and tremble as she handed him the jade hairpin he gave her on the day he confessed his love to her.

"Let me go," she said hoarsely, "and let yourself go."

"Love is nothing, liking is nothing, we have our own responsibilities as long as we are alive. I will enter the palace, I will become the Crown Princess, the future Queen, but you won't like me in the future, just pretend you've never seen me, and leave Huajing as you said."

"Go farther, visit more places, and treat the landscapes you have seen as if they were seen by me, and the happy things you have done as if they were done by me. If one day you can meet someone you like and marry her, that would be the best."

"Su Ronghua," she shuddered, "don't push me."

"How can you bear to force her?"

After Su Rongqing's tea was brewed for the first time, he raised his hand to add water for the second time.

"So when you returned home, your father was moved by your appearance and let it go. The affair between you and Shangguan Ya was covered up by both families. Shangguan Ya entered the palace and became the Crown Princess. You also left Huajing and traveled to many places."

"What happened next?"

Su Ronghua lowered his eyes. Su Rongqing brewed the tea, poured it into the tea bowl, and pushed it to Su Ronghua: "Later, as you expected, the marriage between Shangguan and Li Chuan became a knot in His Majesty's heart. He supported Prince Su and deposed the crown prince. After deposing the crown prince, Pei Wenxuan lobbied the aristocratic families, hoping that they would send troops."

"In fact, the noble families were still hesitating about whether to send troops. In the end, you were the first to stand up and hope that the Su family would send troops. You have countless reasons, and it is indeed appropriate, but I know in my heart that no matter how many reasons you have, they cannot cover up the inappropriate thoughts deep in your heart," Su Rongqing said, raising his eyes, "You are worried about Shangguan Ya."

"I won't bet on Su's feelings for just me."

Su Ronghua spoke calmly, and Su Rongqing nodded: "You are not gambling, it just happens that this decision is more appropriate. You made the right choice. Supporting Li Chuan was indeed the choice that the Su family had to make at the time. Li Chuan is virtuous and orthodox, so his ascension to the throne is the most legitimate, so as to avoid people being dissatisfied and rebelling everywhere in the future. If you want to end the chaos, Li Chuan's ascension to the throne is the best."

"So the hundred families gathered their troops and attacked the imperial city with Qin Lin to support Li Chuan's ascension to the throne. After Li Chuan ascended the throne, Shangguan Ya became the empress, and you also stayed in Huajing. In the first year of Dexu, Li Chuan had just ascended the throne, and there was a war in the north. The whole court advocated peace, but only Li Chuan, Qin Lin and Pei Wenxuan advocated war. Later, Li Chuan and Pei Wenxuan helped Qin Lin get money and forced the war."

"After the war started, they found that the treasury was empty and there was no way to support the northern front. So they were forced to stop fighting again. At this time, Li Chuan had an idea."

"What is he going to do?"

"He wants to reform the system." Su Rongqing couldn't help laughing when he said this. "He wants to promote the imperial examination system, impose taxes on aristocratic families, restrict the number of land and slaves that aristocratic families can buy, and establish a fixed-point system, requiring the Ministry of Personnel to promote officials according to their scores. When grading, aristocratic families will deduct ten points, and those from poor families will add ten points."

Hearing this, Su Ronghua frowned: "Too hasty."

"He had just ascended the throne when he made such a big move. Many local nobles naturally disagreed. He issued orders from above, but they were not carried out by the people below, or they deliberately distorted his intentions to increase the burden on the people. He wanted to kill people to establish his authority, but he couldn't even touch a second-class family. In the late winter of the Dexu year, he ignored Pei Wenxuan's advice and let Qin Lin kill the patriarch of a local small clan. As a result, there were continuous uprisings in that place for three consecutive years. The city that was originally acceptable became deserted in the end."

"That year, there was war in the north, floods in the south, the treasury was empty, and local corruption was rampant," Pei Wenxuan said with a hint of coldness in his tone. "I followed His Majesty on his northern and southern tours. Your Highness, you didn't see the scene. On the battlefield, corpses were everywhere, and in the desolate places, people exchanged their children for cannibalism. And in Huajing, there was singing and dancing, and it was heaven and hell. His Majesty was kind by nature, and after returning, he made a plan to try to reform the system."

"But you are too impatient." Li Rong said in a steady voice, "Chuan'er is too young, he doesn't understand that a country is like a big ship, you have to move slowly, the emperor just points a direction, and it is the millions of people who are crushed below. I know Chuan'er's decree, I understand what he means, but it's not that he can execute a good decree well."

"But in the eyes of His Majesty, his heart is not wrong, his policies are not wrong, the only ones wrong are those officials from the aristocratic families who do not implement them. So the conflict between the aristocratic families and him is getting more and more acute, and the one caught in the middle is Shangguan Ya. Shangguan Ya is His Majesty's cousin, and His Majesty still has some friendship for her in his heart, but he can't control his inner hatred for the aristocratic families. His Majesty told me that every time he entered the Weiyang Palace and saw Shangguan Ya dressed in gold and silver, he would think of those people who were not well fed."

"And Shangguan Ya just thought she couldn't compare to Qin Zhenzhen. The more she dressed up, the more gentle and considerate she was, the more disgusted His Majesty was. Later, His Majesty's feelings for Qin Zhenzhen gradually became strong, and he couldn't even sleep with her. His Majesty told me that every time he slept with her, he felt disgusted. He hated himself, he didn't like Shangguan Ya, and he felt that he had betrayed his lover. So when he saw Shangguan Ya, he couldn't even have any impulse."

"Shangguan Ya is not favored, so the Shangguan family is naturally anxious and keeps putting pressure on Shangguan Ya to make her work harder and give birth to a legitimate son. She is desperate, so she comes to you and asks you to help her."

"I remember," Li Rong lowered her eyes, "I heard that Chuan'er just slept in the palace and then left, so I went to scold him. He pushed the government orders too hastily at that time. The Shangguan family is his roots. If he cuts off the Shangguan family, I'm afraid something will happen to him."

"When you talk about him, he feels guilty. He knows in his heart that the Shangguan family supported him to the throne just to become the crown prince, and Shangguan Ya is innocent. So Your Majesty used medicine later. Every time he went to see Shangguan Ya, he took medicine in advance, and after returning, he began to vomit non-stop."

When Li Rong heard this, she turned around blankly and looked at Pei Wenxuan: "Does Shangguan Ya know?"

Pei Wenxuan hesitated for a moment and nodded, "He should know. In fact, Shangguan Ya herself also used medicine."

Li Rong was speechless. At that moment, she suddenly felt a great sense of sadness.

Shangguan Ya was such a proud person, but she was trapped in this deep palace, like an animal, just to give birth to a prince. She also had to face the fact that her husband had to take drugs to touch her, and secretly vomited after touching her, and she remained silent.

Two people who didn't love each other so much that they almost hated each other, had to do something shameless on a gorgeous bed and quilt just for the sake of a child.

And no one knew such a secret, so they had to swallow it and hide it between themselves.

Li Rong felt an indescribable chill in her heart. Pei Wenxuan hugged her and kissed her: "Don't be sad, it's all from the last life. Isn't Shangguan Ya still not in the palace now?"

"What happened next?"

"Later, His Majesty finally discovered that Shangguan Ya was also taking drugs, and he realized that this was a dead end for both of them. His Majesty made up his mind, drank some wine, went to the Central Palace, found Shangguan Ya, and discussed with her that she could be the queen, and he could give her all the power she wanted, and the two of them should stop pretending."

"But Shangguan Ya has no children. How could Shangguan Ya tolerate this? She abandoned herself and the love she should have had, and came to this deep palace, not to listen to your majesty's innocent words that they were all well. Nor was she here to fulfill your majesty's wish. Shangguan Ya cried hard that night. She asked your majesty why she had to be buried in this palace while your majesty could live as he pleased?"

"Your Majesty asked her what she wanted, and she said she wanted a child. Your Majesty agreed to her request, and they drank the medicine together, took off their clothes, and went to bed. But when Your Majesty touched her, Your Majesty couldn't help it and ran out."

"I heard from Shangguan Ya's palace maids that Shangguan Ya was vomiting all night, and she was crying while vomiting. The next day, Shangguan Ya took the initiative to find His Majesty and asked for peace. She was very considerate and pitiful, so His Majesty promised her that no matter what, she would be the empress."

"Three days later, Qin Zhenzhen was found to be pregnant. That night, Shangguan Ya sent a message from the palace to the Shangguan family, saying that His Majesty had made up his mind not to touch anyone in the harem except Concubine Qin. She needed a man, anyone would do, and she wanted a child."

After Su Rongqing said this, Su Ronghua's hand holding the tea bowl trembled slightly. He tried to calm himself down, but he still felt pain.

It was still like this now, he couldn't imagine how painful he would have been at that time if this was true.

"At that time, you were planning to leave again, but the Shangguan family found my father. The Shangguan family didn't dare to confuse the royal bloodline. But if they watched Qin Zhenzhen's child succeed to the throne, it would mean that the Qin family, a poor family that completely supports your majesty's reform, would have a prince."

"The Shangguan clan hoped to use this child to form an alliance with the Su clan. The children born from the Shangguan and Su clans would be assisted by both clans in the future. At that time, the court was extremely dissatisfied with Your Majesty, and my father strongly disapproved of Li Chuan's behavior. The two clans discussed secretly for a long time and finally decided to let you go. You were going to leave, and you told me that you would not come back after this trip. But when Shangguan Ya was placed in front of you, you thought about it all night and finally stayed."

Staying means sinking into the deep palace with that person.

There will no longer be the distant place she talked about, nor will there be the freedom and beauty she talked about.

But he was still willing to stay, so under the arrangement of the two families, in the palace, Shangguan Ya waited for the strange man to enter the palace and humiliate her like Li Chuan.

What she saw was the best dream of her youth, coming from the moon.

He knelt in front of her and looked up at her: "I have seen the queen."

Shangguan Ya looked at this distant yet familiar person for a long time before she said in a hoarse voice, "What are you doing here?"

"With you."

Go to hell with her, and go to the underworld with her.

Shangguan Ya burst into tears. She could accept anyone, but not him. She trembled and said, "Go away. I don't want you."

"But you have no choice," Su Ronghua held up the back of her hand and kissed it, "I have no way to retreat either."

From the moment he entered the palace, he was buried with her.

So they entangled in the dark night. That night was the most beautiful dream in Shangguan Ya's life. It was filled with guilt and sin, but it was the only harbor where she could escape in her life.

"Two months later, Shangguan Ya was diagnosed with pregnancy. Su Ronghua took part in the imperial examination and became the runner-up that year and entered the government. The timing of this child was so awkward that, in fact, I don't even know whose child this is."

"Does Chuan'er know?" Li Rong curled up and spoke softly. Pei Wenxuan shook his head. "At that time, His Majesty didn't even know that Shangguan Yasu Ronghua was having an affair. It was the third year of Dexu, and His Majesty had already cultivated a group of his own people. When the poor people saw that His Majesty favored Qin Zhenzhen and that Qin Zhenzhen was still pregnant, they spread rumors among the people and fabricated miracles. After the child was born, some poor officials even wrote to the emperor, saying that the child was the eldest son and should be made the crown prince."

"They are forcing Qin Zhenzhen to death."

"Many officials from humble families are poor, and their families have never had elders who have participated in government affairs, so how can they know these twists and turns? Your Majesty actually knew that Qin Zhenzhen was in danger, and Qin Zhenzhen personally wrote a petition to make Li Xin the crown prince in order to show that she and her children had no intention of the throne. In fact, Your Majesty was already preparing to make Li Xin the crown prince, but rumors were already spreading among the people. That year, a strange bird happened to land at the gate of the Huguo Temple, and everyone said that the strange bird was a phoenix, a sign of the queen's dethronement."

"The family can't help it."

"So Su Ronghua took action personally," Li Rong leaned on Pei Wenxuan, "and poisoned Qin Zhenzhen to death."

"You originally wanted to poison Li Ping," Su Rongqing looked at Su Ronghua, who looked a little distracted, "but Qin Zhenzhen protected Li Ping day and night, ate and lived with Li Ping, and tasted every sip of water, every sip of medicine, and every bite of food first. So she was poisoned first to save Li Ping."

"After Qin Zhenzhen's death, His Majesty's temperament changed drastically. He no longer cared about wars, the people, or justice. He just wanted to overthrow the aristocratic families. In those years, the Great Summer was stormy and raging, with wars raging everywhere. He promoted people from humble backgrounds and slaughtered people from aristocratic families. The people selected from humble backgrounds were mostly cruel and corrupt officials. The people were living in misery. Su Shi tried his best to persuade the monarch and appease the people. He spent countless money on disaster relief and people's salvation, and spent soldiers and grain to suppress rebellion. In fact, looking back, he did all this on purpose. He used these rebellions to consume the strength of the aristocratic families."

"In the eighth year of Dexu, in order to collect the troops from his hands, he framed Prince Su for treason. As Prince Su's former teacher, you stood up and spoke for Prince Su, so he imprisoned Su for the crime of treason. At that time, I didn't know that you had an affair with Shangguan Ya, I just felt that it was wronged. Princess Pingle knew that Su was wronged and tried to save us. In the end, she saved Su, but Li Chuan, all the men of Su were castrated."

Su Ronghua's pupils shrank, and he clenched his fists: "Castration?"

"How could the Su family bear such humiliation? They all perished in prison. I was filled with hatred and wished to remain in this world as a ghost. So I just tried to survive. Thanks to His Highness Pingle's rescue, I survived."

"After Qin Zhenzhen's death, the last bit of tolerance that Your Majesty had for the aristocratic families disappeared."

Pei Wenxuan talked about the past of his friend in the previous life, with a look of sadness: "When he was keeping vigil for Qin Zhenzhen, the officials of the noble families knelt outside and forced him to appoint Li Xin as the crown prince. His Majesty told me that day that if you are entangled with evil spirits, you can only have a chance of winning if you transform into a ghost. Then he walked out and appointed Li Xin as the crown prince."

"The noble families thought that this was His Majesty's compromise, and then His Majesty became a tyrannical monarch. He was moody, imposed heavy taxes, promoted the poor, and murdered the noble families. He used the money from taxes to support Qin Lin's soldiers, used the poor and cruel officials to intimidate the noble families, and was close to the Shangguan family. It seemed that he liked Li Xin very much and made the Shangguan family his amulet."

"So the local noble families rebelled, and the Shangguan family helped to suppress it. The big families like the Su family were known for their benevolence, and when the world was in turmoil, they could only send troops and money. As one rose and the other fell, Your Majesty finally gained his own power. And I tracked down the whole way and found the real culprit of Qin Zhenzhen's death."

"In the seventh year of Dexu, I handed over the cause and effect of Qin Zhenzhen's death to Your Majesty. Your Majesty imprisoned the Queen Mother, killed Shangguan Xu, and exterminated half of the Shangguan family. He originally wanted to kill Li Xin and abolish Shangguan Ya, but Shangguan Ya insisted that the child was Your Majesty's, and took the initiative to propose blood recognition. Your Majesty tried the blood recognition, and the blood was indeed mixed. Shangguan Ya cried and begged Your Majesty, saying that Your Majesty said he would not abolish her. Then the Queen Mother committed suicide in the cold palace, begging Your Majesty to let Shangguan Ya and Li Xin live. Your Majesty was trapped by family affection and did not kill her after all."

"Mother..." Li Rong's lips trembled slightly, "She committed suicide."

Pei Wenxuan did not speak. He was silent for a long time. "In the eighth year of Dexu, Your Majesty prepared to march north, but the Su family tried to stop him, saying that the treasury was empty and Daxia could not afford the wars. But they did not understand that Your Majesty did not want to march north. What Your Majesty wanted was the military power in their hands. He wanted to exhaust the noble families. So he deliberately framed Prince Su, saying that Prince Su was plotting a rebellion and asked the Su family to send troops. Su Ronghua stood up and denied that Prince Su was plotting a rebellion. Your Majesty imprisoned the Su family for the crime of treason. Your Majesty really wanted to kill them at the time, but Your Highness begged him, so Your Majesty finally castrated the entire Su family for humiliation."

"Su Ronghua died in prison because he could not bear the humiliation. When your Majesty and I went there, we found a jade hairpin in his hand. Your Majesty took the hairpin from him and went to find Shangguan Ya that night. He described to Shangguan Ya in detail how Su Ronghua died. When he handed the hairpin to Shangguan Ya, Shangguan Ya suddenly screamed."

"Shangguan Ya was crying and screaming, His Majesty was clapping his thighs and laughing, and I was standing outside. I felt it was ridiculous and pathetic. In fact, at that time, I missed His Majesty very much. His Majesty was like the only bright light in the entire palace. All the lights would go out, but His Majesty would always hold the sword and move forward."

"At that time, Chuan'er wanted to get rid of Shangguan Ya, right?"

Li Rong hugged herself and said, "It's just that Shangguan Ya united with the noble families. The Su family is regarded as a benevolent and righteous family in the eyes of the world. Chuan'er framed and entrapped us. Even if there was a reason, the people in the world would not accept it. The people had been unable to bear the continuous wars for a long time, and the patience of the noble families had reached its limit. As far as I know, there were no less than twenty noble families that intended to rebel at that time."

"Yes." Pei Wenxuan responded, "Your Highness has also joined forces with these noble families, haven't you?"

"If I don't take over this job from the family, someone else will take it over. By then, I'm afraid Chuan'er won't even have a way to survive."

"Your Majesty also understands," Pei Wenxuan leaned against the wall, "So after your Majesty forced Su to death and completed the Northern Expedition, he proposed to cultivate immortality. It was not that he was satisfied after taking revenge, but he knew that Daxia no longer needed a tyrant like him, and it was time for Daxia to recuperate."

"In the past eight years, the Han family has risen, and the aristocratic family has fallen. The aristocratic family is now at the end of its strength. He cannot force people to death, otherwise it will be a disaster for both sides. So he chose to cultivate immortality and ask for the way, so that His Highness can become the eldest princess of Zhenguo and represent the will of the emperor to govern the country. As for Shangguan Ya, he can't move, and he dare not move. He can only plan for another opportunity and make a decision."

"I am the head of the Han clan, and Your Highness is the representative of the aristocratic family. You and I check and balance each other, and we are allies. In the remaining twenty-two years of Daxia, we will recuperate and finally usher in a prosperous era again."

"But twenty-two years,"

Li Rong raised her eyes and looked at Pei Wenxuan.

"But twenty-two years,"

On the other side, Su Rongqing looked at Su Ronghua in front of him and smiled bitterly.

The two people, in different spaces, sighed together: "It's too long."

It grows so long that it is unrecognizable, making people forget what it originally looked like, making people unable to see the way forward and also forget the way back.

Then the swordsman looked around in confusion, swinging his sword recklessly, hurting others and himself.

Those who become ghosts are condemned to hell, and they will do whatever it takes to kill their loved ones by mistake.

Who remembers the original intention of the Northern Expedition to reform the system, who remembers the purpose of blocking the tyrant.

Who remembers for whom the court promised the Northern Expedition?

I also forgot the promise I made to you under the long corridor, that I would never break my promise to you.

Only two figures were left in the mud, separated by the veil of time, each holding a long sword, serving as a beacon to each other, as they passed each other.

Now the wheel of fate turns again, and it's time to make a decision.

Pei Wenxuan looked at Li Rong quietly: "Your Highness, the past is known. Are you going back to Qingzhou?"

Su Rongqing poured the last cup of tea into the tea bowl and looked up at Su Ronghua: "Brother, the story is over, Huajing, are you still staying?"

Li Chuan watched the palace gates open one by one. Above the main hall, two rows of bronze palace lanterns with Vermillion Bird beads went up to the top of the main hall. On the golden throne at the end of the main hall, Li Ming, wearing a black imperial robe and a crown with twelve tassels on his head, had a similar but older face. He stared at the bright and indifferent young man in front of the palace gate. He watched him quietly, and an old voice came from above: "Crown Prince."

Li Ming said with sadness in his eyes: "You are finally here."