V2C146

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Xue Ying paused for a moment and whispered, “He… said that he didn’t kill Shi Yu.”

“Is that so?” Zhu Yan was stunned and spouted, “If he said it wasn’t him, then it definitely wasn’t.”

At this point, she remembered that Shi Ying personally acknowledged to her in the carriage that he had something to do with Shi Yu’s death, and her heart suddenly went cold – yes, she questioned him about the same thing initially, and all she got was acquiescence! He made it sound as if it was only natural for brothers to fight each other, and she even believed it to be true.

A proud man like Shifu would never defend himself, even if he was misunderstood by the entire world, he wouldn’t bother to raise his hand to wipe away those sticky cobwebs – but why would he tell the truth to Xue Ying alone?

Was he… so desperate to convince Xue Ying to marry him?

At this thought, Zhu Yan felt a burning flame rising straight to her heart, stomped her foot and said through gritted teeth, “No! No matter what, you can’t marry him!”

“But now that the emperor has issued the decree, what else can I do?” Xue Ying’s voice was feeble as she wept sorrowfully, “Ah-Yan, I believe that all people have a predestined fate in life – I am about to be installed as the Crown Princess and you will soon be married to my brother… Everything is already too late.”

“Who said that? It can’t be too late!” Zhu Yan, however, was not convinced and gritted her teeth, “It’s not too late!”

“Then what do you want to do?” Xue Ying lifted her pale face and smiled in anguish, “Now the emperor has sent the Royal Historian to the gate, if you want me to repent and run away at this time, how will father explain? How will the White Clan explain?”

“There’s always a way to give an explanation… first, let’s run away!” Zhu Yan got impatient and stomped her foot. Somehow, the thought that her best friend was about to marry her Master while pregnant with a child made her heart erupt into chaos – in this world, how could there be such unthinkable, upside-down and mismatched things happening everywhere?

Is Shifu out of his mind? Why did he want to marry Xue Ying? Was it because his sanity has been crushed after the five thunderbolts at the top of Meng Hua Peak that he would do such strange and absurd things?

No, she could not stand by and watch this happen!

However, just as the two were squaring each other, a sudden movement of the curtain could be seen outside, and a servant girl ran in nervously, whispering through the bedroom entrance, “Princess… the Royal Envoy who is coming to enthrone the Crown Princess is already a street away! The Queen Consort is all prepared to receive them, and has come to urge you to hurry and go out!”

A Royal Envoy to enthrone the Crown Princess? The Imperial Capital is moving so fast! Only last night he decided on a suitable candidate, and today he is already conferring the title? Such a thunderous action was worthy of his style.

Zhu Yan couldn’t hold back any longer and snatched the jade pendant for the investiture with her swift fingers, asking Xue Ying one last question, “Did he give you the Jade Bone?”

“Jade Bone?” Xue Ying was stunned for a moment, ” What’s that?”

Hearing her answer, Zhu Yan’s eyes suddenly lit up for a moment and grinned abruptly, “Great… It’s really not too late!”

“Ah-Yan, stop screwing around! What are you doing?” Xue Ying faltered and struggled frailly to get up, “Quickly, quickly give me back the jade pendant… The Imperial Envoy is about to arrive at the gate!”

Before her words could even end, the red silhouette changed in front of her eyes, and the person disappeared in a flash.

When Zhu Yan left the White King’s Palace, she headed in the direction of the Purple Palace – however, just as she ran out on the street, the path has been blocked off and soldiers guarding the road emerged, shouting, “The Imperial Historian is heading to the White King’s Palace under imperial orders! All idlers must clear the way!”

The Imperial Historian? Is he the one with the jade scroll to invest the Crown Princess? Is it already here?

Zhu Yan originally climbed up the wall with a single tap of her feet, ready to leave, but when she heard these words, she couldn’t help but stop in her tracks and look back at the incoming group of people. Suddenly, she stomped her foot, formed a seal with her fingers, and her body abruptly vanished into the daylight.

It was already noon outside, but in the inner Purple Palace the curtains were still hanging low, the shadows were heavy, and there was an eerie sense of coldness – a heavy shadow of death stealthily enveloping the heart of Yunhuang, was bringing an ominous foreboding.

The emperor leaned back against his reclining bed and gasped for breath for a long time. His body had been getting increasingly worse in recent days, as if a force was extracting the life out of him, and every small movement required almost all of his energy.

“Don’t move.” Shi Ying leaned down from the front of the sofa and pressed his hand on his chest – every time he renewed his father’s life, it required a significant amount of spiritual energy.

“Da Si Ming, he… he went to the north,” the dying emperor opened his mouth when he started feeling slightly better, and spoke to his firstborn son, “ahem, to the Purple Terrace… the Green King’s House.”

“I know.” Shi Ying said quietly, “He came to say goodbye to me.”

“That guy… is really willful.” The emperor murmured, “He is already an old man… cough, and refuses to listen to anyone… when he said he was leaving. I asked him to bring some men with him… cough, but he refused to listen to me.”

“The Grand Master is risking his life for the greater good of Kongsang. I believe that with his cultivation, even if he can’t succeed, it won’t be difficult to get out unscathed.” Shi Ying’s voice was calm as he spoke to his father, “You are not in good health, so don’t worry too much about this.”

Nevertheless, there was no tenderness or concern in his tone, as if serving his father was just something that had to be done.

After a long time, the emperor suddenly asked, “Why did you… pick Xue Ying?”

“…” Shi Ying’s fingers resting on his knee twitched, but his voice didn’t waver, “You didn’t say that the Princess Xue Ying was not an option, correct?”

“Aye.” The emperor nodded and murmured, “But, why did you do this? Even if it was Consort Qing who killed your mother, now… ahem, you have already taken your revenge. Why… do you insist on being so vindictive that you must also claim the same woman that Shi Yu loved as your own?”

“You are belittling me too much,” Shi Ying’s eyebrows twitched slightly upon hearing his words, “I have my reasons for doing so, and I have thoroughly reflected on them before making my decision, it is not a matter of willfulness.”

The emperor frowned, “What are your reasons?”

Shi Ying didn’t give an answer, only stated, “I can’t tell you yet.”

The emperor fell silent and raised his drowsy eyes to examine his firstborn son – twenty years had passed, and the young man who cultivated in the Jiuyi Mountain since childhood had grown into a cold, upright youth, sitting by the candlelight of the inner palace, wearing the crown of the Imperial Prince, as handsome and dignified as a God. However, his eyes were cold, as if no light could penetrate them.

“…” The emperor glanced straight at his son for a long time before suddenly sighing, “Then… ahem, you have already given the Jade Bone to Princess Xue Ying already?”

“The Jade Bone?” Shi Ying jolted for a moment and shook his head, “No, I used the jade pendant yesterday.”

The emperor’s frown released for a moment and whispered, “What about the Jade Bone?”

“It’s still here.” Shi Ying ventured his hands into his bosom and brought out a jade hairpin with a translucent texture. The emperor gazed at that old object under the lamplight, his eyes shifting in a sophisticated manner, “The Jade Bone… is the knotted hairpin given to the Empress by the Emperor of Kongsang… Ahem, since you have chosen the Crown Princess, why did you only give her a jade pendant, but not use the Jade Bone?”

Shi Ying replied calmly, “In the Kongsang Royal Rules, there is no requirement that the Jade Bone must be used as a betrothal offering.”

“Cough, cough… he eve raise the Royal Rules to silence me at every turn.” The emperor looked at his firstborn son, and a flash of insightful brilliance crossed his cloudy eyes, “Shi Ying, why do I feel… cough, that you are indeed being reckless? You should think more clearly about important lifelong decisions…”

“…” Shi Ying fell silent, preferring not to answer on the subject.

“I’ve been a huge failure in my life, a terrible husband… ahem, and an even worse father. And all of this… stems from the fact that I made the wrong choice when it came to my marriage.” The emperor coughed feebly and lifted his withered hand, gripping his son’s wrist tightly, “Shi Ying, you are my firstborn son, I hope that you… cough, I hope that you will not repeat my mistakes and failures again.”

The father and son, separated by a lifetime of grievances, looked at each other in the depths of the palace, in complete silence.

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