The situation in the city of Ying had reached its most critical point.
Wei Yun had to return.
But he didn’t expect that upon his return, he would receive the tragic news from the Marquis of Nanping’s mansion.
On Wei Yun’s way back from the state of Yidan, Emperor Qi He, Prince Xin, and Empress You discovered clues.
Knowing that Emperor Qi He had regained consciousness, Prince Xin and Empress You could no longer restrain themselves.
Because they knew very well that if they missed such an opportunity, they might never have a chance to turn the tables again.
This was a gamble of desperation.
Prince Xin, eager to gain control of tens of thousands of troops, began to threaten and tempt the Marquis of Nanping, who had always remained neutral and was known for his integrity.
Wei Yun had already secretly warned the Marquis of Nanping through Qi Ji, who was sent by Emperor Qi He to replace Prince Xin at the frontier.
However, ultimately, due to Prince Xin’s collusion with the prince of the Yidan kingdom, the Marquis of Nanping met his demise in the distant borderlands.
Along with him, thousands of soldiers from his fiercely loyal camp were trapped and massacred, suffering heavy casualties.
Even Qi Ji, the heir to the Marquis of Nanping’s estate, was secretly captured by Prince Xin and thrown into a private prison.
On the night of Wei Yun’s return, he and Princess Zhao Shuwei visited him.
“It’s my fault for not being able to save Qi Ji in time,” Zhao Shuwei, dressed as a man and wearing a silver mask, said with lowered eyebrows and a heavy tone in her voice.
Wei Yun stood in the courtyard for a long time, clenching his fists within his wide sleeves.
“Wei Jing!”
He called out loudly, his eyes filled with a frosty ferocity.
Wei Jing immediately leaped forward, landing in front of Wei Yun, and bowed respectfully, “My lord.”
“Where is Sheng Yueqi now?” Wei Yun’s voice became even colder, as if enveloped by an aura of deadly calm.
“He has reached the outskirts of Yingdu City,” replied Wei Jing respectfully.
Upon hearing this, Wei Yun immediately snatched the long sword from Wei Jing’s hand and headed out of the courtyard.
Seeing Wei Yun turning to leave, Zhao Shuwei hurriedly said, “My lord, Prince Xin has now completely surrounded the forbidden palace, and the Empress Dowager Yu has taken control inside. My father has been trapped in the Astrological Pavilion for a day and a night…”
“If the princess can find a way out, then you can surely find a way back in,” Wei Yun interrupted her before she could finish.
As Zhao Shuwei paused, Wei Yun turned back to look at her, “At this moment, you should not be here. You should be by your father’s side. Do I really need to remind you of this?”
In the courtyard, where the shadows of trees danced and the light of lamps was dim, Zhao Shuwei stood, her expression hidden behind the mask, but her phoenix eyes shimmered slightly.
As Wei Yun said, Prince Xin was launching a palace coup that very night, aiming to seize power.
And in such a tumultuous and dangerous night, it could also be her opportunity.
That night, Xie Tao slept restlessly.
In her dreams, there was always someone dragging a sharp long sword, its tip scraping against the white jade steps with a sharp noise, blood droplets falling from his wrist, staining the hilt, sliding down the blade, mingling with the blood of others that had touched the sword, and then dripping onto the ground.
His crown fell off, his belt stained with blood, his hair disheveled, and his clothes fluttering.
Yet, she could never see his face clearly.
At that time, her mobile phone by the pillow was emitting a faint golden glow, but Wei Yun, in another time and space, could no longer hear the sound of the stars moving.
For the air was filled with a dim mist of blood, the heavy scent of blood sprayed when swords and knives cut through people’s necks.
The screams of countless people overlapped with the sound of swords clashing, arrows tearing through the air…
The forbidden palace, which had witnessed several generations of the Great Zhou dynasty, had turned into a purgatory at that moment.
Wei Yun stepped up the blood-stained steps, and Prince Xin stood at the top.
Seeing Wei Yun approaching with a sword, Prince Xin’s face turned ashen. He snatched a longbow from someone nearby, pulled out a long arrow from behind him, and placed it on the bowstring, aiming the sharp arrowhead at Wei Yun as he ascended step by step.
Unfortunately, the speed of a bullet is incomparable to that of an arrow.
In the moment the arrow was shot, Wei Yun raised his sword to block, the blade cutting through the arrow and splitting it in two.
On the day of Wei Yun’s return, Nian Jitang appeared.
He intended to take Shao Junkang back to the third space-time but was stopped by Wei Yun.
“Since the third space-time does not plan to kill him, then I have no reason to let him live and leave this place.” Wei Yun had already tolerated this man once.
This time, he would not let Shao Junkang go.
Nian Jitang’s slightly chubby face showed a bit of struggle, and it took a long while before he said, “Well… Lord Wei, this matter has nothing to do with my boss or me. I was just released…”
He had a lot to explain, but in his haste, he couldn’t say much.
“People stay, you can go,” Wei Yun’s attitude was still very firm.
“Alright,” Nian Jitang scratched the back of his head, his brain spinning, and he even thought of an excuse to go back.
After all, Shao Junkang was doomed to die, and it didn’t matter whose hands he died by.
And the bald guy’s affair had been exposed, and he had rolled down from the position of the chief and was now being escorted back to the divine realm for questioning.
Now, in the third space-time, his boss was the one with the highest official rank.
So, Nian Jitang straightened his back and left.
Without Shao Junkang, it would not be so easy for Prince Xin to kill Wei Yun.
After all, although Shao Junkang could make firearms, he was still a rookie in using them. He had tried to assassinate Wei Yun twice but never hit the vital spots, resulting in no serious harm.
Blood flowed all night, with corpses scattered everywhere.
The entire Forbidden Palace was almost turning into a city of blood.
And on this night, Xie Tao, who was in another space-time, woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t fall asleep again.
Her heart could not settle down.
Later, wearing a thin nightgown, she stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the dark sky above the small garden, holding her phone in her hand.
She stood there all night long.
Until the dawn broke, and a slit tore through the dark sky, revealing a pale blue color, the light of thousands of miles fell, illuminating every corner of the Great Zhou Forbidden Palace.
Blood flowed, and corpses were everywhere.
Prince Xin was defeated.
The elite cavalry, which had always been under Wei Yun’s control, finally showed its true colors that night.
Light cavalry entered the city, silently.
With just a thousand men, each possessing extraordinary strength and martial arts, Wei Yun won against Prince Xin despite being outnumbered in the standoff.
And the large army that Prince Xin had secretly dispatched outside the city of Ying was blocked outside the city gates by the army promptly deployed by Grand Tutor Xu Dian.
The two armies faced each other, neither making a rash move.
Thus, the situation went beyond Prince Xin’s calculations, and his own people ultimately failed to enter the city.
The sky gradually brightened,
Despite being only September, the early morning was shrouded in a layer of misty fog.
The Prince of Xin was thrown into the dungeon, awaiting his fate.
On that day, Emperor Qi, seeing that the situation had finally settled down, felt the tension that had gripped his mind for two days and nights, despite still being ill and persistently adhering to taking his medicine, loosen. He fell ill once again.
In the moment before slipping into unconsciousness, he grasped the hand of someone he had always looked down upon, someone he had ignored, but who had chosen to accompany him in his time of life and death crisis, helping him resist the impending danger from Empress You, Princess Yu He, and ordered her to administer poison to Empress You.
Zhao Shuwei went to see Empress You, who always carried herself with grace but never accepted the unjust treatment Emperor Qi showed towards Prince Xin, their mutual son.
Seeing Empress You in her current disheveled state, Zhao Shuwei sighed and said, “Who Father Emperor likes, who he wishes to accommodate, who he favors, or even who he entrusts power to… This should not be something Mother Empress can influence.”
Empress You sat on the phoenix seat, initially just staring at Zhao Shuwei and the maid, Qi Shuang, who had pushed open the palace doors, letting in the faint golden sunlight that scattered across the floor.
But upon hearing Zhao Shuwei’s words, she suddenly looked at her, saying, “Heyu, if you truly think so, you wouldn’t have sacrificed yourself so selflessly to help His Majesty.”
As Empress You spoke, she carefully assessed the Princess Heyu, who she had never regarded highly.
Though her birth mother was humble, the beauty bestowed upon her was truly breathtaking and unparalleled.
Zhao Shuwei always wore a smiling face in public, even towards the lowly servants in the palace, she was always gentle and kind, though she was a princess, she still had a somewhat petty demeanor.
If it weren’t for her habit of pleasing Helan and Yue, perhaps in this deep palace, she would have to be more like a piece of straw.
Empress You had always regarded her as a useless ornament, but now, she suddenly realized that this was not a rotten piece of wood to the core; this was clearly a dagger with hidden sharpness, a knife stripped of rust.
“Heyu, I misjudged you before,” Empress You’s gaze grew colder and more desolate.
She chuckled coldly.
For many years, Empress You had endeavored tirelessly for Prince Xin, winning over hearts, all in hopes of giving her son a chance to compete with the Crown Prince once again.
She only considered the Crown Prince as her son’s enemy.
But she had never expected that within the harem under her nose, there lurked another ambitious figure.
“Mother Empress, this is the wine Father Emperor has given to you.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shuwei merely raised her hand and pointed to the cup of wine Qi Shuang was holding on the tray, saying faintly.
“You, just drink it.”
At that moment, just as he stepped out of the palace gates, Wei Jing hurriedly arrived. “My Lord!”
“Young Master, Young Master he…”
Wei Jing’s hand clenched the sword tightly, unable to utter the second half of the sentence for a long time.
Wei Yun already had some bad guesses when he saw his demeanor like this. His fingers suddenly curled, his throat inexplicably tightened, “Where is the person I asked you to save?”
Wei Jing and the person beside him, Shao Liyin, looked at each other, and instantly both knelt in front of Wei Yun.
“My Lord, when subordinates found the location of Prince Si’s secret prison, Young Master… he’s already, he’s already gone.”
Wei Jing lowered his head and finally uttered this sentence.
When he rushed there, Qi Ji, the prince of Nanping Marquis Mansion, had already disappeared without a trace.
In that instant, Wei Yun seemed to be struck by thunder, staggering back a few steps. The blood-stained cold white face was full of disbelief.
Around him were soldiers who had just experienced a bloody battle. They watched the young Imperial Advisor standing there with disheveled hair, eyes filled with bloodshot veins.
“Zhao, Zheng, Rong!”
Wei Yun almost squeezed out these three words from between his teeth, his eyes full of hostility.
He drew the sword from Wei Jing’s hand, then mounted his horse. Gripping the reins, the horse lifted its front hooves, neighed, and then dashed away in a cloud of dust.
“My Lord!”
Sheng Yueqi chased out a few meters, but it was too late.
On this day, the Imperial Advisor Wei Yun stopped the rebellion of Prince Xin. On this day, the collusion between Prince Xin and the Kingdom of Yidan, exchanging a large amount of silver and betraying each other for the truth of several victories in major battles, was exposed to the world.
Also on this day, Wei Yun took up his sword and charged alone into the prison of the Dali Temple, personally executing Prince Xin.
The situation seemed to have temporarily settled down.
But this was just what the common people thought.
Little did they know, a greater storm was yet to come.
On the day of Qi Ji’s burial, Sheng Yueqi finally saw Wei Yun, who had locked himself in his room for two whole days.
Wei Yun’s eyes still appeared cold and calm, as if nothing in this world could shake his icy heart.
But Sheng Yueqi knew, deep down, the torment Wei Yun was enduring.
Although Sheng Yueqi had not interacted much with the Crown Prince, he knew that the Crown Prince was not just Wei Yun’s savior but also his only close friend since returning to Yingdu.
To be acknowledged as a close friend by Wei Yun was of great importance.
Losing such a close friend must be agonizing beyond measure.
The copper pendant was placed in a box on the desk by Wei Yun.
When Sheng Yueqi entered the room, he sensed it.
There was still some kind of connection between him and the copper pendant, which had once belonged to him. So, upon seeing Wei Yun dressing by the screen, Sheng Yueqi paused for a moment, then poured the last remnants of his gold powder into the incense burner on the table.
Then he picked up the copper pendant and walked into the inner room, handing it to Wei Yun. “My lord, don’t forget this.”
Wei Yun remained expressionless, appearing even colder and more distant than before, with a hint of melancholy in his eyes.
But when he caught sight of the copper pendant as he lowered his gaze, his expression visibly flickered.
In the end, he said nothing, just took the copper pendant from Sheng Yueqi’s hand, held it, and then lifted the curtain, walking out.
At the moment he stepped out of the door, Sheng Yueqi had already timely returned to the desk in the outer room, igniting the gold powder in the incense burner with a fire lighter.
Seeing Wei Yun’s figure pass over the threshold, Sheng Yueqi thought to himself that this distance should be sufficient.
As long as within a certain range, with the attraction between the copper pendant and the phoenix tail scale, the gold powder would bring forth the person who originally belonged in another time and space, just as Wei Yun usually ignited the gold powder incense.
As the thick smoke began to swirl, the outline of the girl gradually became clear, and Sheng Yueqi knew that his calculations were correct.
It was raining from the sky at some point, but Wei Yun neither carried an umbrella when he went to Qi Ji’s grave nor on his way back.
Wei Jing, who had been following him closely, was even more cautious than before, seemingly more frightened than ever.
On such a gloomy day, with the annoying patter of rain, it seemed fitting for a farewell.
Wei Yun remained silent throughout.
No one could know what was going on in his mind.
Xie Tao had been standing in the corridor for a long time, watching him in the pouring rain, when Wei Yun, dressed in an indigo brocade robe, appeared in the courtyard. Almost at the moment she saw him, she grabbed the oil-paper umbrella leaning against the railing, opened it, and ran towards him, stepping on the rainwater on the steps.
When Wei Yun heard the familiar footsteps, he subconsciously looked up and saw the girl in a pink-purple jacket, light-colored jeans, and a pair of white canvas shoes holding a smoke-blue oil-paper umbrella running towards him.
He paused in his steps, standing in the courtyard, letting the rain gradually soak his clothes, shoulders, and even his thick black hair.
“Wei Yun…”
Xie Tao ran up to him, as if she wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what to say at this moment.
She tiptoed, trying hard to shelter him under the umbrella, shielding him from all the rain.
Even her own back was wet from the rain, but she didn’t notice.
When Xie Tao hugged his waist, she still stubbornly held the umbrella above him. As she looked up at him, she didn’t say anything, but inexplicably, Wei Yun, who had been calm for the past few days, couldn’t help but redden his eyes when he saw the blurry light and shadow reflected in her clear eyes. He clenched his teeth, pursed his lips, and eventually couldn’t hold back the tears.
Only her,
Could make him, at this moment, like a bursting dam, unable to control his emotions like a rushing flood.
Always her,
Makes it impossible for him to maintain the facade on the surface.
