"Yes, Fifth Princess."
"You've got guts, haven't you? You're not married yet."
Xie Lingqin replied neither servilely nor arrogantly, "Your Highness, it's not yet..."
Before Xie Lingqin could finish speaking, two figures leaped out of the tightly closed door and instantly disappeared into a bamboo grove behind it.
It was the middle-aged man and the emperor.
Eunuch Ni immediately gave chase.
Xie Lingqin gave Xie Danling a secret look, and then she and Zihe chased after them.
Under the dark moonlight, green bamboos all around swayed in the autumn wind, their leaves rustling like ghosts.
The two men were identical, and could only be distinguished by their clothing and their aura.
"You're about to die, and you still have to make such a big fuss? After disappearing for so many years, do you still want to leave a lasting mark on history?"
Deep in the bamboo forest, the emperor sneered, looking at the middle-aged man, "Yuwen Yong, are you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?"
"Ha!" The man called Yuwen Yong sneered wistfully, "Why don't you think that I, as your brother, have been bored staying in these mountains for so many years and wanted to come and chat and have a drink with you?"
"Hmph, all these years, you have hated me the most, so why would you think of drinking with me?"
As the Emperor spoke, Eunuch Ni followed closely behind him. However, without the Emperor's permission, he stood calmly to the side, seemingly oblivious to everything around him.
"Yes, I hate you, I hate you so much. More than ten years ago, if it weren't for you, if it weren't for you..."
The Emperor's face tightened, and he sternly stopped him, "Yuwen Yong, you swore a solemn oath that this matter must not be mentioned again, otherwise..."
"Ha!" Yuwen Yong said, suddenly spitting out a mouthful of blood. "But I never expected that you would poison me and cause me so much grief for so many years. Now that I am about to die, it is only natural that I should let you come. No matter what, I should be buried in the imperial mausoleum."
"That's natural."
The Emperor remained composed, seemingly unperturbed by Yuwen Yongrong's accusations. He coldly watched as Yuwen Yongrong slowly, slowly sat down.
It happened so suddenly, yet it seemed as if everything had finally settled; this was exactly how it should have been.
"For so many years, I have allowed you to be a thief in Sanlitun and given you a way to live. You should be grateful to me."
"Heh!" A contemptuous sneer came from Yuwen Yong's mouth and spread out, "What you've given me has always been a dead end."
"That night, my men have been unable to find out if you were the one who did it." After a long silence, the Emperor asked, almost certain.
“Yes, that night, I was the one who assassinated you. It was all my doing,” the middle-aged man said, then laughed loudly, “But, Yuwen Shu, how come you didn’t die, ah…”
"You're far from being able to kill me."
Listening to their conversation from the shadows, Xie Lingqin was stunned.
Clearly, she was the one who assassinated the emperor that night, so why does Yuwen Yong, the idle prince who disappeared shortly after the emperor ascended the throne, claim that it was him?
"flutter……"
A mouthful of dark red blood finally spurted from Yuwen Yong's mouth, and then his entire body collapsed. In his last moments before closing his eyes, he looked at the Emperor and said, "My people, do not make things difficult for them. This is my final request."
"Of course, I will make sure they die a horrible death."
"you……"
"Yuwen Yong, in this world, with me here, there should be no you. It was like this decades ago, more than ten years ago, and it is like this now." The Emperor lowered his eyes, his face showing no emotion. Then, he calmly straightened his sleeves, waved his hand, and instructed Eunuch Ni, "Deal with those bandits first, then deal with him."
"yes."
People are gone, leaving only desolation.
The bamboo shadows sway gently.
Once Xie Lingqin was certain that the Emperor and Eunuch Ni had gone far away, she immediately rushed out, with Zihe following closely behind, and then they kept watch in all directions.
Xie Lingqin checked Yuwen Yong's breath, then took out a silver needle from her sleeve and inserted it into Yuwen Yong's philtrum.
"what you do?"
Suddenly, a hand reached out from the sky, as if to strike Xie Lingqin.
Zihe immediately raised his hand and repelled the intruder.
The man was about to attack again when Xie Lingqin glanced at him and said, "I'm saving him." The man immediately stopped and stared intently at Xie Lingqin as she inserted the acupuncture needles. Behind her, dozens of men dressed as bandits remained motionless with unwavering expressions.
"Cough cough."
Finally, Yuwen Yong coughed lightly and slowly opened his eyes.
“You’ve been poisoned for too long. I can only keep you alive for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. You can say your last words then,” Xie Lingqin said.
The man with the amused expression in front of him immediately stepped forward and helped Yuwen Yong up, saying, "Boss."
Yuwen Yong's cloudy eyes finally looked at him. "Tianxing, don't be sad. It was only a matter of time before I died. I've lived in this world for so many years, and I've been able to protect her and watch over her for so many years. It's all worth it."
"Boss, don't worry, we will continue to protect her, watch over her, and listen to your advice. Unless her life is in danger, we will never take action or put her in any danger or suspicion."
Tianxing looked pained, and his hand, which was tightly gripping Yuwen Yong's, was trembling.
"Good, good." A relieved and reassured smile appeared on Yuwen Yong's increasingly pale face as he slowly raised his hand and placed it on Tianxing's hand. "If one day we really appear before her, if she asks you to stay, you stay; if she asks you to leave, you leave; if... it is she who wants to leave, you take her with you. No matter where you are, the General's Mansion will never be her support."
"yes!"
The voice was strong yet kept extremely low.
"Are you talking about... Xie Lingqin, the eldest daughter of the General's Mansion...?"
Xie Lingqin suddenly spoke in a low voice, and her heart suddenly ached.
Yuwen Yong and Tianxing immediately looked at Xie Lingqin.
Xie Lingqin looked at the middle-aged man with a cold expression, "What exactly happened more than ten years ago?"
"I'm sorry, although you gave me half an incense stick's time to live, I cannot tell you."
"If..." Xie Lingqin suddenly switched back to a female voice, "I am Xie Lingqin."
Yuwen Yong's pupils visibly contracted, then a profound and complex expression flashed in his eyes before he smiled wistfully, "It's fate, it's fate."
Xie Lingqin, however, was somewhat anxious and crouched down to get closer, "What exactly happened more than ten years ago?"
“If you were Xie Lingqin, I…” Yuwen Yong suddenly laughed until tears welled up in his eyes, “If you were Xie Lingqin, I would be even less able to tell you.”
"Hello……"
Yuwen Yong closed his eyes, as if the pain had been released in an instant. With his eyes closed, his gaze fell on Xie Lingqin's back in the last moment.
Behind Xie Lingqin.
Beneath the green bamboo shadows, Yuwen Yao walked slowly. In the moonlight, his face was pale and flawless. He squatted down with Xie Lingqin and looked at Yuwen Yong, who was already lifeless on the ground. "Xie Lingqin, he is Xie Danling's father."
Xie Lingqin...
This book was first published by Xiaoxiang Academy; please do not reproduce it!
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