“Not everyone in the Zhan family is a villain — and besides, you yourself are also a member of the Zhan family.”

Emperor Ji’s long sigh seemed to carry within it all the bitterness and sweetness of an entire lifetime.

“Princess Lengxing, just think how much kindness your Zhan family once received from the Di clan. You may be loyal to the Di clan, but even if Zhan Bufan fell short of you in that, at the time, at least, he harbored no disloyalty.”

Feng Jiu’er looked at Ye Luocha — this was somewhat unexpected. “You…”

“Her real name is Zhan Lengxing. She is the late Emperor Zhan Bufan’s own paternal cousin, of the current Zhan imperial clan.”

“I have no such cousin!” Zhan Lengxing had harbored unrelenting hatred for Zhan Bufan all this time.

Emperor Ji said, “That coup all those years ago was not started by Zhan Bufan. On the contrary, it was Zhan Bufan who put an end to that battle.”

Emperor Ji knew a good deal more than Ye Luocha did.

Ye Luocha had been wounded at the time and had fled in panic with the Second Prince, never learning what had happened afterward in the capital.

In order to quell the fighting and protect the Di clan, Zhan Bufan had nearly lost his own life in that very battle.

Though he survived, he suffered grave injuries that would later sow the seeds of his own untimely death.

The serious illness that plagued Zhan Bufan stemmed from that very battle — and the reason he’d been wounded was that he had been trying to save the then-Crown Prince, Di Wuya, who is now the Zhan imperial clan’s Ninth Prince, Zhan Qingcheng.

“I saw it with my own eyes — Zhan Bufan was struck by two sword blows while trying to save Wuya, but I myself was gravely wounded at the time and unable to help him.”

Even now, thinking back on that battle, it remained etched into her very bones!

“Like you, I too suspected that battle had been instigated by someone within the Zhan family, but I know for certain it was not Zhan Bufan who started it.”

“And after that battle ended, the late Empress was still alive, though gravely wounded — she passed away from her illness not long after.”

Zhan Qingcheng had said nothing this whole time, his eyes still fixed on the figure in the bed, his expressionless face gradually filling with sorrow.

Emperor Ji glanced at him before continuing, “Zhan Bufan knew at the time that there must be a traitor within the Zhan family, yet even he himself had no idea who it was.”

“Because of his grave injuries, he feared he wouldn’t be able to protect the Crown Prince’s ascension to the throne in his capacity as Prince Shezheng.”

“The late Empress was mindful of this too — before her death, she personally drafted an edict on the late Emperor’s behalf, passing the throne to Zhan Bufan, but also had Zhan Bufan leave behind a decree stating that, ten years later, the throne would be returned to the Crown Prince.”

“Also present at the time was the late Empress’s senior fellow disciple — who is none other than the current Empress Dowager Ning.”

“Empress Dowager Ning knows martial arts?” Feng Jiu’er looked utterly astonished. She had met the Empress Dowager several times herself and had never once noticed such a thing.

“She does, but she’s frail, and hasn’t fought in many years. Now, after being plagued by illness for so long, she’s even weaker than an ordinary person.”

Jiu’er nodded — that explained it. The Empress Dowager’s health had indeed always looked far too frail.

Emperor Ji went on, “At that time, the Crown Prince had not yet recovered from his grave illness, so after Zhan Bufan ascended the throne, he claimed to have brought back his own illegitimate son with Ye Xuening — who would later become the Ninth Prince, the very same one who is now the Ninth Prince.”

“Zhan Bufan announced publicly that the Ninth Prince was sickly and frail, and had him raised within the Ningxi Palace, under Consort Ning’s care. For several years, the Ninth Prince was never seen by anyone — only I went in secret to visit him, along with Zhan Bufan and Consort Ning, who looked after him.”

“Later, Zhan Bufan’s injuries worsened, and he passed away not long after taking the throne, with the throne then passing to the current Emperor Qiwen. When Zhan Bufan died, Wuya held no real power, and Consort Ning had no ambition to contend for power either — which was how they were able to remain in the Ningxi Palace, and just like that, ten years went by.”

“Ten years later, Wuya had grown into adulthood and emerged as a young man. Having vanished for ten years, and having grown ever more striking in appearance over that time, no one ever suspected that he was the very same Crown Prince from before.”

The honored title of “War God, Ninth Prince” had been earned by Zhan Qingcheng himself after reaching adulthood, won through his own strength in battles fought far and wide.

“That’s how it all happened. Zhan Bufan truly was not our enemy — quite the opposite, he was Wuya’s benefactor. Without Zhan Bufan, Wuya likely would never have had the chance to grow to adulthood at all.”

Ye Luocha had never imagined that the man she had hated for all these years was, in fact, the greatest benefactor of the Di imperial clan!

For a moment, overwhelmed by conflicting emotions, she found she couldn’t say a single word.

She didn’t know how much time had passed before she suddenly remembered something and fixed her eyes on Emperor Ji. “Then… the Third Prince…”

“You assumed I had taken the Third Prince away, but in truth, I assumed just as you did — that you were the one who had rescued him…”

Emperor Ji’s face fell, and Ye Luocha looked equally devastated.

In a battle as fierce as that, even skilled fighters like themselves hadn’t escaped unscathed — how much less a newborn infant?

The palace had been awash in slaughter and engulfed in flames everywhere — how could a small infant have survived without some skilled rescuer’s help?

The Third Prince was, in all likelihood, already…

Feng Jiu’er bit down hard on her lip. The Ninth Imperial Uncle’s grip on her hand tightened all at once, painfully so.

But she only bit down harder on her own lip, refusing to give herself any chance to cry out.

The Ninth Imperial Uncle’s heart must be aching terribly right now — of his two brothers, one lay unconscious on a sickbed with no telling when he might wake, and the other…

Emperor Ji continued, “In those early years, Wuya couldn’t recall anything of the past at all. Later, with my frequent reminders, once he recovered from his illness, he gradually began to remember a few things.”

After that, Di Wuya’s memory was restored, though that, too, had taken several more years.

“Empress Dowager Ning has always cherished Wuya dearly. Having no children of her own, she’s cared for him as though he were her own son — for all these years, I have remained grateful to her for it.”

Yet to the people of the Zhan dynasty, Emperor Ji had always remained a threat to be wary of.

The current Emperor Qiwen was nothing like Zhan Bufan had once been. Now that he was emperor, his officials all had their own factions and interests, and none of them would ever hand over everything they had for the sake of some former dynasty’s crown prince.

And so Emperor Ji had lived all this time in careful secrecy, never letting anyone know he was still alive — eventually, even Empress Dowager Ning lost all word of him.

By the time Zhan Qingcheng reached adulthood, the Tianzun Sect that Emperor Ji had secretly nurtured had already begun to grow in strength. Once Sect Master Di Wuya took it over, it developed within just a few short years into a great underground organization.

“Then that decree from all those years ago, the one that was to return the throne…” Ye Luocha stared at Emperor Ji — even if Zhan Bufan had done the Di clan a great kindness, the throne and the realm itself were no small matter.

“It’s in the Empress Dowager’s keeping.” Zhan Qingcheng, who had stayed silent this whole time, looked at her and spoke in an indifferent tone, as though the matter had nothing to do with him at all.

“As things stand now, the realm’s fate has long been settled — a single decree changes nothing. Without real power in hand, even with the decree, it would only bring ruin upon myself, and drag the Empress Dowager down with it.”

Most importantly, the nation was at peace now and the people content — and to stir up bloodshed merely to put himself on the throne was something Di Wuya would never deign to do.