Final Chapter: Demystification
Wen Youqing felt slightly displeased upon hearing this, but she still obediently let go of his hand, and Zhao Song softly collapsed onto his horse.
Li Yin walked over and gently checked the man's breath. The breath was still there, just a little weak, but there was still hope.
She took out a pill from her person and gently brought it to Zhao Song's lips, but just as her hand was about to touch it, a hand with distinct knuckles grabbed her wrist.
Wen Youqing snatched the things from Li Yin's hands and said, "You can't touch him, I'll be unhappy. You can only touch me."
Li Yin was not displeased upon hearing this, but explained why Zhao Song could not be killed. "King Song received kindness from the Li family when he was young. In the guarantee he wrote to Li Qinglu, he promised to protect all people with the surname Li in the world."
Wen Youqing listened and said, "But that doesn't mean he won't ruthlessly kill your Li family."
Li Yin nodded upon hearing this. She said, "Your speculation is correct, but he knows about what happened back then. I want to ask him to fulfill my wish."
Wen Youqing said, "Okay." But he spoke very softly, and no one around heard him. He said, "I will leave the person at the Wen residence for now, and you can ask him questions properly."
Li Yin nodded, and then he saw Wen Youqing twist her wrist and slash at Zhao Song's neck. The sword was slightly off-center, avoiding a vital point, but it looked frightening, with blood splattering high.
When a drop of blood was about to fall on Li Yin, it was a trivial matter that no one would have paid attention to. However, when it caught Wen Youqing's eye, he reacted quickly and blocked it. A slightly bright red flower then bloomed on Wen Youqing's green sleeve.
He sheathed his sword with a backhand motion, then took the Imperial Guard badge from his waist and shouted to the crowd, "Song has been executed. If anyone else lays down their weapons, they can be treated leniently."
The chaotic crowd fell silent in an instant, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. First, one person looked left and right, carefully placed the weapon in his hand on the ground, and then raised his hand above his head. Then one person after another did the same.
Afterwards, Li Yin led her men back to the Wen residence. To her slight surprise, Wen's mother was standing at the door, waiting for her.
Ding Zishan looked slightly haggard. When she saw Li Yin, there was no shock in her eyes. She just stared straight at Zhao Song. When she saw him arrive, she quickly ordered the people around her to take Zhao Song away.
Li Yin didn't ask any questions, but he vaguely felt that Lady Wen and the Prince of Song must have a good relationship.
Li Yin also went in, but she was there to treat people. She followed the others to the most secluded courtyard of the Wen family mansion, where a withered tree stood quietly.
Li Yin glanced at it, then looked away. She had already administered acupuncture, and Zhao Song's life was saved. The loving look in Ding Zishan's eyes when she looked at Zhao Song gave her a rough idea of who the courtyard was built for.
Inside the palace, in the Chaoming Hall, the lights shone brightly during the day, and wisps of smoke rose from the room.
Wen Lan had been standing still since Wen Youqing left, but for some reason, after a report of victory came, Emperor Ming Yingzong suddenly slammed his hand on the table and made her kneel down. She didn't know how she had displeased this man again.
She had no choice but to kneel respectfully, her knees ramrod straight. She didn't know how much time had passed, but the man showed no intention of telling her to get up.
A series of rapid hoofbeats came from outside the hall. She looked up at the sound, but her hands clenched tightly into fists.
Upon seeing the person who had arrived, she smiled gently.
Emperor Yingzong then bent down and reached out his hand to her. She hesitated for a moment, but still reached out her hand. Emperor Yingzong took her hand in his and gently rubbed it, then lifted her up.
However, after kneeling for so long, she suddenly stood up and her blood rushed to her head, making her dizzy and lightheaded. She lost her balance and fell straight into Emperor Ming Yingzong's arms.
Emperor Yingzong glanced at her indifferently, then looked at Wen Youqing who was bowing.
The man was dressed in green, but his toes and sleeves were stained with blood. However, the blood was not his. Emperor Yingzong smiled slightly when he saw this. It was truly a blessing from heaven that he had been given such a person.
He smiled and said to Wen Youqing, "Whatever reward you desire, I can grant it to you."
Wen Youqing raised her eyes and said to Emperor Yingzong, "Your Majesty, I only want a drop of Your Majesty's heart's blood."
As soon as these words were spoken, the surroundings fell silent. Li Changde's eyes widened, and cold sweat poured down his forehead. Wen Lanke stared straight at Emperor Yingzong of Ming.
To everyone's surprise, Emperor Yingzong simply smiled faintly and readily agreed.
Emperor Yingzong asked Li Changde for a small knife, dismissed the crowd, and left the two members of the Wen family behind. He then peeled off a layer of his clothes and pointed the sharp end at his heart.
Wen Youqing stared intently, while Wen Lan lowered her head, her expression unreadable.
Emperor Yingzong looked at Wen Youqing with great satisfaction and smiled. Twenty-five years ago, a national advisor told his father that a sharp blade would be born in Dayuan, but that blade belonged to one person. If he wanted to blame him, he would have to give him the blood of the royal family.
The Imperial Advisor has never been wrong in observing the heavens; this matter, though seemingly impossible, has come true.
Without hesitation, he plunged the blade down, and blood flowed down the edge, one or two drops falling gently and quietly into the jade cup.
He frowned slightly, but a smile remained on his face. He covered his chest with one hand and handed the jade cup to Wen Youqing with the other.
Wen Youqing stepped forward and took it. Her fair fingers, with slightly bent knuckles, easily touched his fingertips. In that instant, another voice entered his mind.
The voice was majestic and solemn; it belonged to Emperor Yingzong of Ming, who was sitting in the high hall.
But along with the sound came a series of images.
In the picture, the young Emperor Yingzong of Ming is dressed in white. Although the white is simple and elegant, it exudes a noble air about him.
He stood under the bridge, gazing at the person on it. The person was dressed in white like a lotus flower, with delicate eyebrows and eyes, as beautiful as a fairy. The corners of their eyes were lowered, carrying a sense of sorrow, which added to their melancholy.
Just looking at her makes you want to walk up to her and whisper to her, "Why are you so sad, young lady?"
Before he could even step forward to ask her anything and try to make her laugh, she smiled, a smile as gentle as snow melting in the mountains or the end of a long, drizzling rain.
He was stunned for a moment before he noticed that someone had already come to that person's side and the girl was handing over a sachet embroidered with the character "Li" to indicate her identity.
The Li family, is it Li Qinglu?
He smiled softly, a smile that held both surprise and resentment.
The scene then changed to a high courtyard in the imperial palace. He knelt down in front of the man and handed him a bowl of medicine, but as soon as he reached the man, it was pushed away, and half of the bowl spilled onto his sleeve.
The brown stain on Emperor Ming's robe was particularly noticeable. He softened his voice and said to the person, "Qinglu, stop like this. Drink your medicine first."
The woman smiled softly upon hearing this, her eyes reddening and filled with tears. When she saw him, she closed her eyes, her hair casually draped over her shoulders, and said, "You, let me go."
With a "crack," the bowl shattered. Suddenly, he grabbed Li Qinglu and pulled her out, pinning her against a pillar on the stage. He then reached out and ripped off Li Qinglu's clothes.
Then the scene changed again, and the surrounding area was filled with the noise of gongs and drums. He was drunk and pulled Li Dai, who was dressed in red, and said, "She is no longer a virgin."
Upon hearing this, Li Dai remained unmoved and said, "I don't care about these things; I only want to marry her."
He smiled softly, then turned and left.
But then the surroundings changed, yet remained the same; only the people were gone, and fires raged all around, with Li Qinglu standing amidst the flames.
Emperor Yingzong tied her to a horse and returned to the same courtyard in the palace.
This time she was more obedient, which pleased Emperor Yingzong.
He would arrive late at night, whispering cautiously in Li Qinglu's ear about matters of the court.
It was supposed to stay like this forever, but the appearance of one person shattered this tranquility.
A child suddenly appeared in the palace. He was very cute, but his eyes and brows looked very much like Li Qinglu's. Emperor Yingzong was watching a play with Li Qinglu at the time, but he saw the child by chance.
He called the child over and held her in his arms. He looked closely at the child's features and felt that she resembled him in some ways. He calculated that the child was born when he was in the arms of the opera stage.
He felt slightly uneasy and looked at Li Qinglu, whose eyes were lowered as she quietly cried.
In the middle of the night, a fire suddenly broke out there. The child disappeared, but the charred body of an adult woman was left behind.
He gritted his teeth, hating his own flesh and blood to the core; if it weren't for her, none of this would have happened.
The fire that night was huge, illuminating half the sky.
What no one knew was that there were originally two children, who looked exactly alike, an older sister and a younger sister, but they got separated on the way.
Yu Ling stumbled upon Zhao Song's place and met him under that tree, thus gaining a temporary home.
Li Yin was then entrusted to the home of a man surnamed Li.
As his memory grew increasingly hazy, Emperor Yingzong was now middle-aged. His posture was more stable than when he was young. However, when he heard about the Li family of Jincheng, the tip of his pen paused slightly, and the thick ink fell onto the paper, also dripping into his heart.
He simply uttered a single word to the person beside him: "Kill."
Bringing back to the present, Wen Youqing looked at Emperor Ming Yingzong, but before he could make a move, Wen Lan pulled out the hairpin from her hair and aimed it at Emperor Ming Yingzong's neck, killing him with a glare that filled him with shock.
Before he died, he murmured only one word, "You..." and then breathed his last.
However, when she looked at Wen Youqing, she noticed some dissatisfaction in his eyes.
She asked, "You're not satisfied?"
Wen Youqing said, "Yes, but I feel that dying like this would be too easy for him."
Wen Lan simply smiled and said, "Relaxed? You and I have been lying low for years."
A palace coup suddenly broke out, and Emperor Yingzong died under mysterious circumstances. The empress tried to cover up the news, but rumors still circulated outside.
Wen Youqing returned, and Li Yin was waiting for him in the courtyard. He quickly dismounted, walked towards Li Yin, and hugged him tightly.
He rested his chin on Li Yin's neck and said, "Li Yin, your enemy is dead."
He just didn't know how to tell Li Yin about this; that man's death was too lenient.
Finally, late at night, he spoke to Li Yin. Li Yin listened and nodded, then cried again. Li Qinglu…
It turned out to be her mother.
But she didn't recognize him. Her memories of him were fragmented, and she could hardly remember what he looked like.
She lay in Wen Youqing's arms, and Wen Youqing gently brushed the hair from her face and said softly, "You met her, the strange person in the Jincheng Brothel. That day was her last day. She begged me to help her see you, and I heard her heartfelt words and helped her."
The night was deep and long, the lonely moon hung in the sky, all around was silent, and people felt desolate.
Emperor Yingzong of Ming suddenly died in the palace. It was divine will that the Wen family would be chosen. According to celestial observations, the Wen family was recommended, and Wen Youqing became emperor.
In the investiture hall, Wen Youqing wore a black robe with gold thread, embroidered with dragon patterns that looked lifelike in the sunlight.
He saw Li Yin, dressed in black with the same style as him but with a phoenix pattern, walking towards him step by step amidst the homage of the officials. He then walked towards Li Yin amidst Li Changde's surprised cry, "Your Majesty, no, this is against the rules."
He took Li Yin's hand, and the two walked together to a higher place.
The new emperor ascended the throne, granted a general amnesty, and the people lived in peace and happiness. He changed the era name to Jingming.
In the third year of Jingming, he acquired a princess.
In the fifth year of Jingming, a prince was born.
The emperor and empress were of one heart, a story that became a legend. For seventy years, they lived in harmony and slept hand in hand.
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