Aside from not daring to let Wei Qingyan know that he had already recognized her, Shi Yu did not wish to hide anything else from her. He answered truthfully, “It was Lady Wei who agreed. She personally went to Huangshaling to change his burial clothes. She asked me to take his body to Bei Ling so he could witness with his own eyes how I would avenge him.”
So it was Mother who had him do this? Wei Qingyan’s hands beneath her sleeves suddenly clenched tightly.
“Why would Lady Wei go to Huangshaling?” Shi Yu shook his head.
After Wei Qingyan was taken away by the monk, just as he was thinking about how to use this male corpse to deceive Lady Wei, she arrived. She didn’t even try to probe whether he had seen the real Wei Qingyan or whether he had discovered the Wei family’s secret.
He had always known that Lady Wei was strict with Wei Qingyan to the point of near indifference, but he never imagined she could be so heartless. Worried that she might secretly search for Wei Qingyan’s body and inadvertently reveal clues about Wei Qingyan’s identity, he sent people to follow her to clean up any traces in time. Unexpectedly, she didn’t search at all.
“Lady Wei didn’t explain her reasons. Changing the burial clothes and sealing the coffin took only a quarter of an hour, and then she immediately rode back to the capital.” She didn’t even look back.
A chill ran down Wei Qingyan’s spine.
Once the coffin was sealed, it would never be opened again. How could a quarter of an hour be enough to properly prepare the deceased’s appearance? The rumor that Mother had fallen ill from grief over her death in battle was false. In reality, she had secretly left the capital under the pretense of recuperating. Was she worried that Shi Yu might discover her identity?
Upon seeing Abu’s face, which had not yet decomposed, Mother could guess that it was her substitute. With her identity not exposed and the Wei family safe, Mother could return to the capital with peace of mind. Yet she had Shi Yu take Abu to Bei Ling.
As time passed, the body would decay beyond recognition, making it difficult to distinguish, and providing a reason not to open the coffin. Mother exploited Shi Yu’s feelings for her, making him commit the madness of keeping the body by his side.
The result of this was to lead those who didn’t know she was a woman to speculate that Prince Rong had a preference for men, or to believe that Prince Rong had a deep brotherly bond with Huguo Jiangjun. But the Emperor knew she was a woman.
As an emperor who enjoyed the company of thousands of beauties in his harem, he probably wouldn’t think his younger brother liked men. Instead, he would conclude that Prince Rong had long known she was a woman and had fallen deeply in love with her.
Delaying his return to the capital with the body was also to conceal her identity from the world. The more Shi Yu acted this way, the more convinced the Emperor would be that the body was hers, and he would never suspect that she was still alive.
Why did Mother insist on proving to the Emperor that she was dead? Or was it that the Emperor wanted her dead, and Mother, understanding the Emperor’s intentions, had to confirm her death to protect the Wei family and her beloved Wanyi?
Mother never searched for her among the mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Did she never consider that perhaps she was still alive?
Wei Qingyan remembered that before she went off to battle, Mother had given her a Jinglei.
“Mother hopes for your triumphant return, but for the sake of the Wei family, I must prepare for the worst. This was obtained through contacts in the martial world. If you find yourself in a situation where survival is impossible, pull the fuse. That way, no one will be able to discover you are a woman.”
When the Jinglei exploded, shattering her body to pieces, it would indeed be impossible to determine her gender. Exactly.
Mother understood her, knowing she would not abandon Huguojun and flee alone but would fight to the last moment. And indeed, it was at her last breath that she pulled the fuse.
The Fat Monk said that if he hadn’t arrived in time to deflect the Jinglei, she would have been utterly annihilated.
Wei Qingyan struggled to steady her voice. “I heard that Your Highness was impeached by the officials because of this matter. Why didn’t you explain to everyone that it was Lady Wei who instructed it?”
After the Emperor ascended the throne, he had always been wary of Shi Yu. If he believed that Shi Yu and her, who commanded a hundred thousand Huguojun troops, were so close that he even knew the secret of her being a woman, the Emperor’s wariness would only deepen. Even if the Huguo Jiangjun died, there were still eighty thousand Huguojun troops. He would surely set up defenses against Shi Yu everywhere, even scheme against him.
Someone as intelligent as Shi Yu, how could he not think of these things? Yet he…
Shi Yu’s expression was cool and detached. “Whether I say it or not, the situation is no different. Moreover, that was also my own wish.”
Imperial Father loved him dearly and worried that he might be bullied by his Imperial Elder Brother in the future. When granting him his fief, he also gave him an army of a hundred thousand soldiers.
That army of a hundred thousand became a thorn in Imperial Elder Brother’s side. Even without this matter, there would have been other excuses to take it back.
Besides, if he mentioned Lady Wei, it would inevitably lead to many other things, and her identity would no longer remain hidden.
Wei Qingyan’s heart ached with bitterness. Her mother had gone to Huangshaling, yet she had allowed her to be shattered to pieces, left to die without a burial place, without any regard.
But Shi Yu had sacrificed everything for her.
Yet, he was precisely a member of the imperial family.
She said, “Does Your Highness know that the General has a place called Yulan Shan in Ling County, Yuzhou?”
Shi Yu looked at her quietly.
He did not know about this, nor did he understand why Wei Qingyan was asking.
Wei Qingyan gave a faint smile. “The General said that once she helped the Emperor pacify the realm, she would resign and retire to Yulan Shan, thereafter living as a leisurely person tending to flowers and plants.”
She had never intended to cling to power.
The treasure beneath Yulan Shan was something she had obtained by chance. She had originally planned to distribute part of it to the soldiers and keep part for her mother to enjoy her later years in peace when the day of retirement came.
But the imperial family had betrayed her.
Her mother had abandoned her.
Shi Yu’s hands clenched tightly, veins bulging.
It took immense restraint for him not to step forward and pull her into his embrace, but he also could not bring himself to speak.
He understood how cruel it was for Wei Qingyan to learn of Lady Wei’s actions, yet some things she could only judge correctly by knowing the truth.
But his heart felt as if it were being sliced by a knife.
He closed his eyes, not daring to look at her any longer.
The surroundings fell into silence.
But this silence did not last long.
The sound of clashing swords rang out.
Jing Zhe and Dong Cang hurriedly drew their swords, and Shi Yu instinctively shielded Wei Qingyan behind him.
Wei Qingyan’s eyes showed surprise.
Before Shi Yu now was Chang Qingnian, a woman he had met only three times.
He had never been one to show tenderness toward women.
As Shi Yu shifted his feet, he realized it was inappropriate. After a moment of silence, he explained, “This prince does not wish to see blood spilled here.”
Wei Qingyan gave him a deep look, then turned her gaze toward the distant fight.
Several men surrounded a woman, who seemed to be seriously injured. Wherever she went, drops of bright red blood fell.
She resisted with all her might.
Dong Cang stayed by Shi Yu’s side to protect him, while Jing Zhe had already stepped forward with his sword drawn.
With Jing Zhe’s assistance, the woman was able to catch her breath. She tore off the hem of her clothes and turned her head to use the cloth strip to bind her heavily bleeding arm.
As she turned, Wei Qingyan caught a clear glimpse of her profile. Her pupils contracted, and with a light tap of her toes, she was instantly before the woman.
It was Yan Lan!
Yan Qing’s sister!
“Are you alright?”
Wei Qingyan’s eyes checked Yan Lan’s injuries, but her hand accurately seized a man charging toward them.
With a crack, Wei Qingyan snapped the man’s neck.
Meanwhile, Jing Zhe had already taken down two others.
The men were of mediocre skill. Seeing Jing Zhe and Wei Qingyan’s formidable martial prowess, they hastily dropped their knives. One of them pleaded, “Spare us, great heroes. This is my wife. She tried to run away from home, so I brought my brothers to chase her down.”
“Thank you both for saving me,” Yan Lan expressed her gratitude to Wei Qingyan and Jing Zhe, then angrily retorted to the man, “You’re lying! You’re clearly bandits.”
“I’m not lying. It was your husband who gave you to us,” the bandit shouted defiantly. “You’re already one of us now. Who knows, you might even be carrying a child.”
The words “one of us” drained the color from Yan Lan’s face.
Unbearable memories flooded her mind. She raised her sword, ready to plunge it into the bandit’s heart.
But someone moved faster than her.
All the bandits were killed with a single slash to the throat, their eyes wide with disbelief as if they couldn’t comprehend how they had met their end so swiftly.
Wei Qingyan’s dagger dripped with blood. She casually wiped it clean with a handkerchief, sheathed it in her boot, and clasped her hands together.
With eyes lowered and a serene expression, she murmured, “Refrain from all evil, cultivate all good. To eliminate evil is to uphold goodness. Amitabha, may the Buddha show mercy.”
As her words faded, faint wisps of Black Qi drifted toward her…