Le Yuanhou had been waiting anxiously. As soon as Ji Xinhe stepped foot into the inn, he rushed to greet her, "Xinhe!"
"Dad."
Overwhelmed with emotion, Le Yuanhou couldn’t hold back his tears. He took a good look at Ji Xinhe, making sure she was unharmed, finally letting out a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness you’re alright, if you weren’t, I would’ve regretted it forever."
"Don’t worry, Dad. Look at me, I’m fine. I never undertake anything without certainty, so why are you so worried?"
Ji Xinhe hadn’t seen Le Yuanhou for seven years. Ever since she married seven years ago, she hadn’t returned to the capital city even once. First because of the political situation, and second because it was inconvenient due to the great distance and her lack of free time.
After all, although she had always conducted herself with restraint in public, seldom stepping outside, she only refrained from appearing in public as a royal concubine. The economic development of Yu State wasn’t simple to manage. She was always busy, so she hadn’t been able to make amends. When the situation between Yu State and the imperial court became increasingly tense last year, she realized there was no possibility of returning to the way things once were between Yu State and the Emperor. Therefore, she immediately sent someone to fetch Le Yuanhou to Yu State.
Who would’ve thought that something like this would happen?
After seven years, half of Le Yuanhou’s hair had turned white, and he had aged considerably. He looked desolate, perhaps due to the torment he underwent while being forcibly returned to the capital.
"It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have had to risk coming to such a place on your own," said Le Yuanhou, filled with guilt.
Xinhe reassured him, "Dad, no need to blame yourself. What’s done is done, and there’s no use dwelling on it. I have a pretty clear idea of what happened. The important thing is that we are both safe and sound now, and that’s enough."
Le Yuanhou nodded repeatedly, "That’s good, that’s good."
His voice choked up as he continued, "When I saw you on Zhuque Avenue in the capital that day, my heart nearly leapt out of my chest. When I was captured, I didn’t regret as much as I did when I saw you risking danger by coming to such a place for my sake. It’s all my fault."
Xinhe smiled faintly, "Dad, let’s return to Yu State after this and live without any constraints from the Emperor. I won’t let you be wronged anymore. Let’s not bring up the past again."
Le Yuanhou nodded heavily, then asked, "What about...Lady Sun?"
The look in Xinhe’s eyes suddenly turned cold, "She won’t live."
A look of sadness flashed across Le Yuanhou’s eyes, but he simply sighed in the end, "After all the years we spent as husband and wife, in the end, she is the one who wanted me dead the most. It’s really hard to tell who is genuine in this world."
Xinhe asked, "Father, do you know the cause of Mother’s death?"
Le Yuanhou was taken aback, "She died of difficult labor while escaping from our enemies."
"Do you know that the ones who pursued and tried to kill Mother were not enemy troops, but assassinators sent by the late Emperor?"
Le Yuanhou’s face turned deathly pale, "You, you, what..."
"Father, do you know why Mother died? It was because she stumbled upon the late Emperor’s plan to seize the throne. Lady Sun told me this herself. As for Mother’s death, isn’t it obvious to you whether or not it’s related to her? The Late Emperor had Mother killed for two reasons. First, to keep the secret, and second, wasn’t it also to open up a position for Lady Sun? Thus enabling her to better control you?"
Le Yuanhou’s face turned deathly pale. Any remaining affection he had for Lady Sun disappeared completely.
No matter what, even though Lady Wu had been dead for over twenty years, she was still the last line that Le Yuanhou couldn’t bear to cross.
Xinhe knew why Lady Sun hated the Le Family. She was, in the end, merely a pawn, yet she yearned for more, like her husband’s love. But Le Yuanhou had already given all his love to his deceased first wife. All he could offer to Lady Sun was trust, and nothing more. How could Lady Sun not harbor resentment? But the dead cannot be blamed, so the blame was shifted to the living. That’s why she hated Le Yuanhou. And she hated Ji Xinhe, the daughter of Lady Wu, even more!
"Father, please rest. I think I’ve said enough. Take your time to think it through. Tomorrow morning, we’ll hit the road," Xinhe said.
Le Yuanhou’s complexion paled. He sat there stunned, not sure if he’d heard clearly, but after a while, he nodded.
Bringing up Lady Wu’s death was a cruel matter for Le Yuanhou, but Xinhe felt that some things he had to face, and some truths he had to know. At least, knowing Lady Sun’s true wickedness could ensure that in the future, anything related to Lady Sun would not affect Le Yuanhou anymore.
Xinhe turned and walked out.
Outside, Xiaoyu had already been waiting for a while. Seeing that Xinhe had come out, she hurriedly said, "Madam."
Xinhe asked calmly, "What is the situation in the capital?"
Xiaoyu bowed, lowered her voice, and said, "As soon as we left, Li Junyan was captured. After all, with all of our people gone, it would be easy for the imperial court to capture her. As soon as the court captured Li Junyan, they reported back to the Emperor, only to find out that Li Junyan was an impostor. The Emperor was furious and ordered Lady Sun to be caught. But before they could catch her, she went to them herself."
"I see."
Xiaoyu continued, "Then Lady Sun, surprisingly valiant, admitted directly that the person was not Ji Xinhe, but her daughter. She begged the Emperor to spare her daughter. Naturally, the Emperor found it suspicious and was furious. He ordered a thorough investigation into the incident. Eventually, they found out that you conspired with Lady Sun to rescue Le Yuanhou."
"Where is Lady Sun now?"
"The Emperor was furious at the time and ordered that Lady Sun be executed immediately. Normally, Li Junyan, as Lady Sun’s daughter, should have been executed as well—when the Emperor is angered, not even the nine familial exterminations are spared. It’s impossible for the daughter to escape when others are to be executed. But amazingly, Lady Sun wasn’t afraid and seemed to have said something to the Emperor. Afterwards, he ordered Li Junyan to be released while Lady Sun should be executed in three days."
Xinhe sneered, "Quite a tactful move by Lady Sun. I didn’t expect that after getting to this point, she still had an ace up her sleeve."
"An ace that can only save her daughter’s life, and nothing more. Li Junyan is useless. Even if she’s alive, it’s not a great threat to us. If Madam is really worried..."
Xinhe shook her head, "There’s no need. Li Junyan is just a small pawn and poses no real threat. I’m just curious about what Lady Sun said to the Emperor that made him let Li Junyan go. Could it be that Lady Sun has any compromising information on the Emperor?"
Xiaoyu frowned too, also at a loss, "I can’t say. But Lady Sun is cunning. She has been serving the royal family for over twenty years. Perhaps she has been holding onto some secrets or compromising information of the royal family that could make the Emperor flinch. After all, it couldn’t possibly be that the Emperor let Li Junyan off out of sudden sentimentality, right?"
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