On the way back to the palace, Gu Qingyan's sedan chair was extremely quiet.
When leaving the palace, Qin Wei stood beside the sedan chair, but when returning to the palace, it was Ying Zhi who stood beside him.
"Your Majesty, we have arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony."
Yingzhi's voice rang out, and Gu Qingyan was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He staggered a little when he stepped down from the sedan chair.
"You may serve outside. I wish to be alone."
Sitting in the empty hall, Gu Qingyan finally couldn't hold back and slumped onto the table, tears streaming down his face.
Qin Wei... why Qin Wei of all people...?
Qin Wei had been by his side since he could remember. At that time, almost no one looked up to him, the heir of the Prince of Xiang. Even servants could trample on him.
Qin Wei always protected him, enduring countless beatings and hunger for him. During the most difficult times, he had to rely on the food that Qin Wei brought back to survive.
But now that the truth has come out, it turns out that Qin Wei had always wanted to kill him.
Then why not take action sooner!
Gu Qingyan felt a huge lump in his throat, and he could never forgive his mother for causing her to fall off the cliff.
Therefore, he had to kill Qin Wei himself.
Ah Yan... How could Qin Wei still have the nerve to call me that!
As night deepened, Yingzhi was sweating profusely outside, anxiously wondering what to do since the Emperor hadn't eaten his dinner.
Yingzhi finally couldn't hold back any longer and walked into the Hall of Supreme Harmony with his back bent.
"Your Majesty, it is already late at night."
At this moment, Gu Qingyan was no longer hunched over his desk, but was instead reviewing memorials with a blank expression.
"I am not sleepy."
"Your Majesty, you can't be so careless about your health." Yingzhi knelt down. "You haven't even had dinner, and you have to go to court early tomorrow morning. Your Majesty, if the Empress Dowager finds out, she will be heartbroken."
Perhaps because Yingzhi mentioned Jiang Yu, Gu Qingyan's expression changed several times, and he silently stood up.
"Have the imperial kitchen prepare some simple food and send it to Zhaoning Palace."
After saying this, Gu Qingyan put down the vermilion brush in his hand and walked out of the hall.
......
"Yingzhi, you've got some nerve."
On the palace path, Gu Qingyan's words, neither too light nor too heavy, immediately made Yingzhi, who was already bent over, bend even more deeply.
"Now they even dare to bring up their mothers directly."
Since his mother fell off the cliff, even Ling Mama and Wanji never mentioned his mother in front of him. Almost everyone kept their conversation about his mother a deep secret.
"Your Majesty, spare my life!" Yingzhi knelt down immediately. "Eunuch Qin... said that if Your Majesty does not cherish your health, he should mention the Empress Dowager."
Seeing Yingzhi's hesitant manner, Gu Qingyan's face gleamed with coldness in the moonlight. "What else did he say?"
"Say...say there's no need to shy away from mentioning the Empress Dowager. His Majesty misses her very much."
Silence, a silence that lasted for the length of an incense stick.
Gu Qingyan turned around and changed the direction he was walking, heading straight for Qin Wei's small house.
Normally, Qin Wei, as the chief eunuch, had a separate room to rest in.
The room was almost completely unfurnished, looking no different from an ordinary servant's room.
Gu Qingyan pursed his lips. When they were at the Prince of Xiang's residence, Qin Wei had almost always lived and ate with him.
He had seen Cen Hai's house before, and it seemed worlds apart from the one in front of him.
Gu Qingyan sat down at the desk, on which were several old books, clearly frequently read. Gu Qingyan gently opened the books, and the words on them were very familiar.
These were his favorite books when he first started learning.
Suddenly, an envelope tucked inside the book fell out. There was no ink on the cover of the envelope. When Gu Qingyan opened the envelope, the contents of the letter made his eyes widen in shock.
“Ayan.”
Upon seeing those two words, Gu Qingyan clenched his hands.
“I’ve been thinking about how to tell you about the mistakes I made. Lately, I’ve been having trouble sleeping almost every night. I think the day when you know the truth is getting closer.”
“I was so wrong. When I learned that my wife had fallen off a cliff because of me, I knew there was no way to undo it.”
"Ayan, I'm sorry."
The handwriting on the letter was completely different from Qin Wei's handwriting in Gu Qingyan's memory. No wonder he had been investigating Qin Wei for so long without finding any clues.
"Actually, I hate my past life more than anyone else, and I hate my present life even more." There were tear stains on the paper as these words were written. "Now I understand my heart very clearly. Ayan, I don't want you to get hurt in any way."
"It's utterly ridiculous of me to say something like that."
"But Ayan, you must believe that no matter what, there will always be someone who loves you."
The letter was clearly not finished yet; Gu Qingyan stared at the half-blank page for a long time before making a move.
Gu Qingyan tore the letter into pieces, one by one.
"Qin Wei, may we never meet again in this lifetime or any other."
When Gu Qingyan stepped out of Qin Wei's room, the pent-up anger in his chest vanished, and he strode towards Zhaoning Palace.
Inside Zhaoning Palace, Gu Qingyan finally felt hungry and drank large mouthfuls of porridge to fill his rumbling stomach.
Lying on Jiang Yu's bed, Gu Qingyan slowly closed his eyes.
Mother, I have figured it out.
It is true that Qin Wei has been kind to me, but it is also true that he has betrayed me. Since that is the case, let's settle our debts and have no further entanglements.
But Mother, it's all my fault for misjudging people, which caused you to fall off the cliff.
Under the quilt, Gu Qingyan gripped the mattress tightly. "Mother, you must take good care of yourself. After I've settled things here, Father and I will come to find you."
Qin Wei's body, along with Qin Wei himself, vanished completely, as if he had never existed in this world.
Yingzhi replaced Qin Wei as the head eunuch by Gu Qingyan's side, and everything he did was extremely in line with Gu Qingyan's preferences, thus ending a silent war.
News of Jing Zhao's death was gradually released.
At the city gate of the capital.
Gu Qingyan helped Jiang He up and looked at the Pei family father and daughter in front of him, with a whole cart full of luggage beside them.
"Thank you both for saving me this time. Otherwise, I would probably be in the underworld by now." Jiang He bowed deeply to the Pei father and daughter.
"We've come here this time to repay the kindness we received last time."
The head of the Pei family looked at Gu Qingyan and said, "Emperor of Daqing, I'm sure we'll meet again someday."
"Looking forward to seeing you again."
Gu Qingyan smiled innocently, "I hope I can grow even taller by then."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
The head of the Pei family laughed loudly, "Until we meet again."
Pei Zhi, standing behind him, also smiled and said, "Until we meet again."
After saying that, the father and daughter waved and left the capital. Gu Qingyan and Jiang He also headed towards the palace.
Almost simultaneously, the smiles on the lips of Gu Qingyan and the Pei father and daughter, who were walking in opposite directions, slowly faded.
When we meet again, we'll probably be enemies.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com