Chapter 626
A single stroke wipes the slate clean; a burning calf, not a good match for her.
Heavy troops surrounded the canyon.
Uncle Chen led his men to Zigui Canyon, where they found no living people, only a few Yue corpses and a skeleton that had been there for many years.
The skeleton was clean, without a trace of being eroded by weeds, and it was clear that someone had taken care of it.
"Lord Chen, there must be accomplices of the Yue rebels from Lingcheng here. I will go after them immediately."
Uncle Chen nodded, and then someone asked, "Then, sir, what should we do with these corpses? Should they be placed in a large pit in the suburbs as is customary?"
After a moment of silence, Chen Bo glanced at the skeleton again and hesitated before speaking, "Clean up all these remains and let the Inspector take a look at them at an appropriate time before proceeding with the rest of the work."
This situation was reported up through the ranks to the secret government, and it wasn't until two days later that it reached Li Xian.
For several days in a row, no definite news about Ying Hehua reached the imperial palace.
No special news reached the Lingcheng government office.
As late autumn arrives, the days are filled with wind and rain, with continuous downpours.
Li Xian couldn't understand how far Xu Zhi could go alone after being injured during the extensive search.
After his father arrived in Lingcheng, he was ostracized by Zhang Cang and Xu Fu and was unable to see Ying Zheng for many days.
All of this seems to be a replay of the events of Ying Zheng's later years.
On that very day, when he was extremely anxious and at his wit's end, two men entered his office late at night.
Lu Heng's appearance, taking advantage of the sea voyage, once again caught Xu Fu's eye. Li Xian never expected that accompanying him would be Crown Prince Dan's younger sister, Yan Yue.
Yan Yue was surprised when she saw Li Xian like this.
The former inspector has disappeared.
The black had turned crimson, the soul seemed much more weathered, and even the appearance was no longer taken care of, with stubble growing on the chin, making the already dull eyes appear even darker...
Lu Heng removed his mask, and Li Xian's eyes lit up slightly.
Lu Heng spoke for a long time, mentioning Li Si and Mo Qi, then Fan Zeng, and also Xu Fu and Li Xin, but he never brought up any news about Ying Hehua...
Once upon a time, information about these people was of utmost importance, allowing Li Xian to quickly see the intricate web of power within the court.
But at that moment, Li Xian could only manage a forced smile, unable to even manage a bitter one.
At this moment, Yan Yue appeared.
He subdued her instantly and grabbed her by the throat.
"Inspector Li!"
Lu Heng intervened to stop it.
Knowing that Lu Heng was the most skilled martial artist present, Uncle Chen had no choice but to draw his sword!
Li Xian stared at Yan Yue, "She has let you go time and time again, yet you want her to be abandoned by everyone? Yan Yue, have you seen her? What do you want to trade, or do you dare to come here to imitate your brother?"
When Yan Yue was choked, her veil was still on her face, she was having difficulty breathing, and her face turned red.
She certainly had the ability to go toe-to-toe with Li Xian, but they were here to help Xiao Lu retrieve Xiao Yan's wooden calf.
Yan Yue looked at Li Xian.
People only realize the heartbreak and deep regret after they have completely lost something.
Heaven gave Li Xian enough opportunities.
For example, the gift of a second chance, or the fact that he remembered his past life before she did.
But it was as if he was cursed; countless times, every single time, he missed his chance.
This was something that Yan Yue, Lu Heng, and Xiao Lu had agreed upon.
At that time, the situation down the mountain changed. Neither the Yue people nor the Qin people would openly let her go at this juncture.
The most dangerous place is the safest place.
After seeing the skeleton, Ying Hehua was greatly shocked, experiencing not only amnesia but also some mental instability.
She was breathing heavily, coughing incessantly, and trembling. She hadn't eaten much, and the water she vomited was almost tinged with blood.
If Lu Heng hadn't stopped her, she would have tried to take the skeleton with her when she left.
“This is too eye-catching, Your Highness. Please ignore these nameless remains.”
“This isn’t an unidentified skeleton.” She shook her head, gripping the real pen tightly, and emphasized to Lu Heng, “Look, the X and K on this—that’s Xu Kai, my grandfather. He’s here; his real remains were hidden here… No wonder Father couldn’t find him no matter what he tried…”
Why did he come here?
She spoke in Mandarin, which neither Lu Heng nor Yan Yue could understand.
"Hehua, what did you say?"
Yan Yue asked, but she refused to say anything more.
The moment they dragged her away from the skeleton, Ying Hehua's eyes surged with complex emotions, like a river bursting its banks.
In this world, too many things stand between true feelings.
Before leaving, Yan Yue lowered her head and asked, "You once said I should let go of my grudges and go back to Jicheng to live a free life. What about you?"
She refused to speak.
Lu Heng and Yan Yue lured the people away from the foot of the mountain. Xiao Lu kept saying that perhaps they could learn about Mr. Xu from his father.
Yan Yue thought that they should have already met up with Xiao Lu's father by now. Therefore, they needed to hurry.
The lights in the government office flickered, creating an atmosphere of tension.
Yan Yue didn't answer any of Li Xian's questions, but changed the subject, talking about the current situation and telling him to think carefully about what the vacancy in the south meant...
But now, Li Xian has no spare time to analyze the factions in the court.
It is only when he no longer cares about power that one can see things clearly.
Yan Yue laughed, "Hehe, does the Prime Minister come here not to replace Wang Jian, nor to replace Ren Xiao, but simply to tour with the Emperor?"
Li Xian frowned and increased the pressure on his hand.
Yan Yue's face turned red.
Lu Heng admitted that he panicked.
"Lord Li! Jing Ke said you promised him that no matter what happened, you wouldn't lay a hand on the people of Ailao Valley! You swore an oath to him!"
Li Xian paused.
"...His Highness Yong'an often felt sorry for A-Yue in the past, please, Your Excellency,"
The moment Li Xian let go, Lu Heng pulled Yan Yue behind him.
Li Xian stared at Yan Yue for a moment, and saw in her eyes the answer he didn't want to realize.
A night wind suddenly rose, and light and shadow moved swiftly, leaving mottled marks on his robes. The shadows swayed slightly, and Li Xian could only hear Yan Yue speak, uttering words that pierced his heart.
Yan Yue said, "Li Xian, it's not that I want to hide her, it's that she doesn't want to see you, doesn't want to see any of you."
Li Xian asked in disbelief, "Did she tell you this herself?"
Yan Yue did not answer.
Li Xian's eyes narrowed, regaining their sharpness. "You've come to negotiate with me? She was taken away by the people of the Six Kingdoms! What do you know?!"
Yan Yue took a deep breath, recalling the past, her eyes resolute, "I don't know much. But I understand that at this moment, Yong'an has no desire to go back."
His eyes held an untouchable hope. "You really have seen her. She's injured, and now, only the Great Qin can protect her."
Yan Yue's men had retreated to the wooden frame. She recalled something from long ago: Ying Hehua had found the forbidden book "Lüshi Chunqiu" in Zhilan Palace. She advised Zhang Liang to stay in the Qin Palace, so devout that she didn't even care when her hands were cut by the bamboo slips. But on that day, she and Zhang Liang betrayed this devotion and sent the news of her going to Yongcheng to Han general Bao Yuan...
Yan Yue deliberately provoked Li Xian, "You don't understand what I'm asking. She married into the Chu family a few years ago; she's the wife of Fu Chu. The Chu people will protect her..."
"She is not."
“If that’s not the case, then I shouldn’t have found her in Chu.”
Having said that, the prepared hidden needles struck the groove in the wooden frame. The mechanism was already in place, and with a loud bang, a row of candles fell to the ground, instantly bursting into flames.
For two unparalleled masters like her and Lu Heng, stealing a wooden calf would be incredibly easy.
But she insisted on making a big show of herself.
Amidst the blazing flames, Yan Yue laughed through her tears, “Eighteen years. I’ve been an enemy of Qin for eighteen years. I never imagined that my hatred for Ying Hehua could be wiped clean like this. There was no life or death, just one person going mad.”
"She's sick. I hope she never remembers anything from the past..."
Yan Yue denied it, "She's not sick, she's insane! We've driven her insane!"
Li Si came at night with important matters to discuss, and when he saw the assassin grabbing his son, cold sweat broke out all over his body.
But he heard clearly what the woman said.
The voices of Mo Qi and Han Fei echoed through his memory once again.
"Ying Hehua was taught by Zhang Liang and was carefully nurtured by you in her early years. Sooner or later, the little princess will be driven mad by us." Han Fei asked Mo Qi why Mo Qi was still unwilling to leave the mountain despite Ying Hehua having written many letters to her over the years.
Mo Qi remained silent for a long time before finally saying in a low voice, "I don't want her to repeat the same mistake."
Before leaving, Yan Yue took the wooden scroll with her. She saw what was written on it: "[Ya/Married to Pei Ren Yan...]" Her expression was complicated.
"Zhang Zifang was not her ideal man."
"You are not a good match for her either."
The fire finally blazed up completely, illuminating half of the government office.
-
Xiao He rarely felt this instant connection with someone he had just met.
After months of traveling, how did the woman his wife called Aya end up becoming his youngest son's wife?
He overheard people gossiping and exclaiming that the woman was very beautiful, but unfortunately, she was mute. "Lord Xiao, it seems that the girl your son married is truly a mixed blessing."
He learned of Mu Du's affair and scolded his son for doing such an unjust thing.
But upon meeting him, Xiao He was stunned.
Her eyes were almost exactly the same as those of the person he had met fifty years ago.
"Miss Aya, what is your relationship with Mr. Xu?" (End of Chapter)