It was so quiet in the Yangxin Palace that the only sound that could be heard was the light sound of rain outside.

Emperor Jingcheng turned around and took a deep look at the young man standing in the hall.

Now, after so many years, this person has changed a lot, only his back is still straight, like a pine or a cypress. The family motto of the Lian family of Fudu Mountain Villa is like engraved in the bones of every member of the Lian family.

The eyes of the siblings were extremely similar. Every time he saw him, Emperor Jingcheng felt as if he was seeing the first time he met Wei'er fifteen years ago.

Emperor Jingcheng had been ill for many years. He sat down slowly without calling himself "Zhen" and said, "I know you hate me, but that was the best choice for me at that time."

"I never wanted to sit on this throne. I know why you don't kill me now, and I also know that you will kill me with your own hands one day."

Fifteen years ago.

During the reign of Emperor Yongjia, Emperor Jingcheng was still Prince Xiao. When the fight for the throne was the most intense, he was almost caught up in the vortex of conspiracy several times.

Emperor Jingcheng was just a prince at the time, in his early twenties. He was young and energetic, and was troubled by everything, so he asked to leave his fiefdom and walked away.

However, his young eldest son, his mother, and the two concubines he had already taken into his house were detained in the capital to prevent him from having any rebellious thoughts in his fiefdom.

It was on the way to his fiefdom that Emperor Jingcheng was assassinated, seriously injured and unconscious. He was rescued by Lian Youwei who came down the mountain to shop and was taken to Fudu Villa to recuperate.

After Emperor Jingcheng woke up, he had completely lost his memory. He could not remember who he was. He only remembered the stunning figure who saved him before she died.

Lian Youwei is the eldest daughter of the Lian family. She inherited the famous Fuxue Sword Technique from Fudu Villa. She is extremely talented. Her sword energy is as cold as frost, but her face is as beautiful as a lotus. She is gentle and amiable, yet she is also tough and has a strong character.

The love between men and women takes root in every little bit.

At that time, they were all sincere in their love and were not fussy about trivial matters. Lian Youwei married Emperor Jingcheng at the age of 20 at Fudu Villa and became his wife.

And they both made a vow to be together for life.

They soon had a son.

But he didn't know that one of his concubines in the royal palace far away in the capital was already pregnant when he chose to leave the capital. They gave birth to a son and a daughter. Together with the eldest son, they are now the eldest prince, the second princess, and the third prince.

In Fudu Villa, a few years of ordinary but happy days passed, and King Xiao's memory gradually recovered.

In the process of fighting for the throne, his other brothers died or were injured, the royal family declined, and in the end, the only adult royal family member who could inherit the throne was the missing King Xiao.

The seriously ill Emperor Yongjia sent many people to search for him who had been missing for many years.

After regaining his memory, King Xiao recalled the ancestral precept that royal descendants were not allowed to get too involved with underworld forces, and he felt panic-stricken.

He chose to confess his identity to Lian Youwei, but subconsciously concealed the fact that he had concubines and children in the capital, and only said that he would return after finishing his business in the capital.

He must go to the capital.

No matter in what capacity.

He felt sorry for Lian Youwei, and even more sorry for the children and concubines who grew up without his care. No matter what, he had to go back to see her.

Moreover, if he did not leave on his own initiative, Emperor Yongjia would sooner or later find out about Fudu Villa. If they found out... he couldn't imagine what would happen.

Lian Youwei was worried, so after King Xiao left, he comforted Jingjue, who was only six years old at the time, and went to the capital quietly.

Emperor Jingcheng stroked the plum blossoms in the vase on the table. Even though so many years had passed, he still remembered it clearly, as if it happened yesterday.

He remembered the look of disbelief on Wei'er's face when she discovered that he had a concubine and a child.

He loves Lian Youwei.

Love you very much.

Naturally, I also know Lian Youwei's character.

A person who is as gentle as water, but terrifyingly decisive when it comes to matters of principle.

In the past, when they drank under the moon, Merlin danced with swords for him to see, but that time when she drew out the Snow Sword, it was to break up with him.

"Although it was not your intention, since you have a concubine and a child, you are no longer the lifelong couple I, Lian Youwei, want. No girl in the Lian family will share a husband with another girl."

Lian Youwei's eyes were slightly red, but her tone was indifferent. She reined in her horse and the tip of her frosty sword left a mark on the ground.

Emperor Jingcheng remembered every word she said, which was calm, rational and clear.

"If you really have the ambition and responsibility of a man, you should take on your responsibilities in the capital, including your concubines and children. Now that things have turned out like this, it is not your fault or mine. It is fate that plays tricks on us, but they are even more innocent."

"You are not only Jingjue's father, but also their father."

"In the palace, women regard their husbands as their gods. I am not even Youwei. Jingjue has his uncle Abai and my father as his grandfather. He has no shortage of male elders to take care of him. I can raise him well."

"There is no divorce or amicable separation in the martial arts world. Today, you and I will draw this line as the boundary and never see each other again."

He couldn't even open his mouth to ask her to stay, and could only watch her ride away.

Yue Lao pulled the wrong red thread, and the mockery of heaven on him went far beyond that. He was afraid that the matter of Fudu Villa would be discovered, so on the one hand, he sent a message to Wei'er to be on guard or move directly, and on the other hand, he tried his best to cover it up in front of Emperor Yongjia.

Finally, on the night of Emperor Yongjia's death, he thought that as long as he became the emperor, everything would be over.

That night, he knelt in front of the dragon bed. His father waved his hand, and the secret guards brought in a sleeping child and a bloody sword.

That is the Snow Sword.

The sword that Wei'er always carries with her.

Emperor Yongjia said in person that except for Jing Jue, none of the 237 people in Fudu Villa survived.

Jing Jue was also forced to use the royal secret medicine, and after waking up he would not remember anything from the past.

Emperor Yongjia secretly summoned several ministers and hired assassins to form the Falling Moon Sect, together with the royal court masters, to massacre the people of Fudu Villa, leaving only the royal heir.

He spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot. This was the last lesson his father taught him before his death: the emperor is ruthless.

The things that are hard to let go of are those that you cannot get what you want, or, after getting it, lose it forever in an almost tragic and hopeless way.

The day before he ascended the throne, he lost his beloved, and from then on, every day was filled with torment and memories were everywhere.

Emperor Jingcheng even began to complain.

He resented why Ying Jingjue came to the world. If he had not come, Fudu Villa would have escaped the disaster, and his Wei'er would still be alive.

So since Ying Jingjue woke up, although he took care of the child in every way, he never held the child again.

Wei'er's tomb was in Fudu Villa, so he concealed her real name Lian Youwei, built a cenotaph for her, and posthumously named her Empress Wenrui.

Fearing that Ying Jingjue would be bullied, he picked a woman with a clean background and a gentle personality from among the very few concubines in the harem as the successor empress, and had Ying Jingjue raised by the queen, listed in the imperial genealogy, and became a legitimate son.

Emperor Jingcheng originally thought that the matter of Fudu Villa would be gradually buried with the passage of time.

Until the third year after he ascended the throne, when Jingjue was nine years old, he saw Lian Yubai participating in the imperial examination.

The current Regent of the Dasheng Dynasty is Lian Shenwei.

Wei'er's most beloved younger brother.

When he saw him at the palace examination, he accidentally knocked over the teacup and didn't even dare to acknowledge him.

Because the young man who was answering questions in the examination room with a smile on his face was very different from the pure-minded young man in memory who was free and unrestrained with a sword and wanted to make a name for himself in the world.

He came for revenge.

Over the years, the court officials and all the participants who decided to massacre the Fudu Villa were killed one by one.

Wei Li is not the first, nor the last.

What he couldn't do, Lian Shenwei did, and he has come to this day with the reputation of being a treacherous villain.

Although Emperor Jingcheng did not want to be the emperor, he also did not want the Ying family's kingdom to be destroyed in his hands.

He dared to give Lian Shenwei such great power, firstly because, after Lian Shenwei's revenge, he would let a more capable person whom he favored take that position, so as not to shake up his empire; secondly, because, no matter what, Lian Shenwei would not really harm Ying Jingjue.

Juer is the only bloodline left by his elder sister. He is Juer's uncle and has the affection of growing up with Juer.

Although Juer is sometimes too sentimental, he lacks decisiveness when it comes to matters concerning people close to him.

But he is only fifteen years old. He has the ambition to govern the country and the talent to be a wise ruler. All he needs is experience and growth.

These things would not only be given to him by Lian Shenwei, but also by him as a father and an emperor.

Emperor Jingcheng knew in his heart that in addition to revenge, Lian Shenwei also solved many cancers in the court. Every time he killed a minister, although many of the people who replaced him were regarded as his cronies, those people would only be Juer's connections and team in the future.

The longer he stays in the court, the more stable Juer's path will be after he ascends the throne.

With this thought in mind, and with Wei'er in mind, he felt more guilty every time he saw Lian Shenwei's pale and thin appearance.

There were 237 lives lost in Fudu Villa, and not a single one was missing, but Lian Shenwei was still alive. So who died for him?

After the massacre at the mountain manor, he disappeared for three years, and the next time he appeared was at the imperial court. What Lian Shenwei had experienced during those three years, he never mentioned, so Emperor Jingcheng had no idea.

Lian Shenwei: "Don't worry, I won't kill you until Jing Jue can stand on his own."

His clothes were soaked, and he should have been cold, but he could feel his body temperature rising slightly, and there was a faint itching in his throat.

There was also an intermittent feeling of suffocation in my heart veins.

Emperor Jingcheng was silent for a while, then said, "Aren't you going to tell Jingjue your identity? If this continues, the first person he will have to deal with after he ascends the throne will be you."

Lian Shenwei warmed the back of his hands with a hand warmer.

Jingjue is Ajie's child. When he was paraded through the streets on horseback, he looked up inadvertently. After not seeing him for three years, Jingjue still looked exceptionally innocent.

When he asked to teach the child, he discovered that he had the desire and potential to become a wise ruler.

In this case, you just need to be a wise ruler, without having to think about the past or make a choice between hatred and family affection.

As an elder, he should shoulder his share of the blood feuds and foul name calling.

As for whether Ying Jingjue would kill him after ascending the throne...

In his current physical condition, I don’t know how long he can last.

If I can hold on for a few more years after this kid ascends the throne, I can serve as his whetstone for a few more years. That way, when I die, I can see my sister and have a clear conscience.

Emperor Jingcheng: "Yu Bai..."

Lian Shenwei frowned: "Don't call me by that name."

Lian family rules.

Anyone who is full of disgrace, has blood on his hands, violates morality... and slaughters innocent people is not worthy of being a descendant of the Lian family. Regardless of whether he is a direct or collateral descendant, his name will be forever removed from the family tree.

He abided by the family rules and removed himself from the family tree. Lian Yubai, who was clean in the family tree, had died at the age of seventeen.

Lian Yubai is a member of the Lian family, but Lian Shenwei is not.

Emperor Jingcheng was silent for a moment: "Are you here for Wei Li's matter?"

"He's dead. Nominate someone to take his place temporarily. Don't appoint him directly. The position will be held for three years." Lian Shenwei coughed.

Emperor Jingcheng nodded.

Lian Shenwei: "One more thing. I'm here to take away Sister's Fuxue Sword."

Emperor Jingcheng's expression finally changed: "No!"

"The sword has been with you for so many years, it's time to return it," Lian Shenwei said calmly, "The inheritance of Fudu Villa cannot be interrupted, the young marquis will be back soon."

"No," Emperor Jingcheng refused, and said in a deep voice, "At least not now. Even if he learns Wei'er's swordsmanship by accident, he is good at spears. He won't use the sword even if you give it to him."

"Regent King... I won't live for many more years."

The last sentence was spoken by the emperor, who was in a very bad mood all day, with a pleading tone.

Lian Shenwei stared at him for a long while before saying, "Okay. When I ask you for the sword next time, it will be time for Jing Jue to ascend the throne."

He left the Yangxin Palace without looking at the stunned Emperor Jingcheng.

Eunuch Li followed the order and prepared a rain-proof sedan for Lian Shenwei. He escorted him all the way out of the palace. Not long after he walked, he ran into Ying Jingjue standing beside the palace wall with an umbrella.

The young Chu Jun's eyes were deep, and he tightly grasped the handle of the umbrella in his hand. He looked up at the person sitting on the sedan chair.

In the dark rain curtain, the man was holding a hand warmer, with one of his exposed hands thin and pale. There was no smile on his face as usual, and when he lowered his eyes to look at people, there was nothing reflected in his eyes, which were cold and indifferent.

It was as if he didn't want to see him as a student.

Moreover, now in the imperial palace, in the eyes of others, Lian Shenwei did not get off the sedan chair or greet the king when he saw him.

He already had the attitude of a powerful official.

The young eunuchs who were carrying the sedan chair were trembling with fear.

Ying Jingjue didn't know that it wasn't that Lian Shenwei didn't want to see him, but that he was now so feverish and drowsy that he had no energy to deal with it.

Lian Shenwei forced himself to cheer up and curled his lips: "What's the matter, Your Highness?"

Ying Jing decided: "I have something to discuss with the Regent Prince. Please get off the sedan chair."