Feng Jiu’er withdrew her gaze from the corpse on the ground, glanced sideways at Di Wu Ya, then let her eyes fall on the crowd below.

“Imperial Guards, Dragon-Guarding Army—you are all good soldiers who protect the emperor and defend the nation.”

“No matter who you followed before, I ask that you open your eyes now. The man standing beside me at this moment is the true Di Wu Ya.”

Feng Jiu’er looked toward Di Wu Ya again, a hint of pride flickering in her eyes.

“He is the War God Prince beloved by the common people—and he is also the Di family’s true Crown Prince of years past, Di Wu Ya.”

“It’s not too late for you to wake up to the truth now. As for these men in black robes—seize them!”

At Feng Jiu’er’s command, Zhan Luori led the Imperial Guards to surround the remaining black-robed men.

The rest of the Imperial Guards and the Dragon-Guarding Army watched it all unfold without making a single move.

“He is not!” Ye Xuening, left dying on the eave by Di Wu Ya, called out weakly.

“He is not Di Wu Ya—the real Wu Ya was murdered by them! This man is not Di Wu Ya!”

No sooner had Ye Xuening’s words fallen than two figures, one in black and one in white, leapt up onto the rooftop.

The man in white was Long Buqu; today he wore no mask, showing his true face.

The other man wore a black robe and a hat, his head bowed the entire time so that no one could make out his face.

Feng Jiu’er looked toward her uncle—even she had no idea who this person he’d brought along was.

“You lie!” the man shouted, pointing agitatedly at Ye Xuening.

His voice carried a touch of age, yet was full of vigor.

Feng Jiu’er frowned and fixed her gaze unblinkingly on the man who had spoken.

The man took a deep breath and lifted the hat off his head, revealing his face to everyone present.

The instant Ye Xuening looked up, the face that met her eyes was painfully familiar, and she collapsed weakly back onto the roof tiles.

“Elder Feng?” Feng Jiu’er looked at the man in black, her brow furrowing slightly.

Indeed—the man Long Buqu had brought was none other than Elder Feng, who had been hiding away in Zhao Family Stronghold all along: Qin Huai, a former subordinate of Di Dingtian.

For the sake of Feng Jiu’er’s and Qin Huai’s safety, Long Buqu had not even told Feng Jiu’er about this.

“It’s General Qin.”

“How can it be General Qin?”

“It really is General Qin.”

Among the soldiers present, a number had once served under Qin Huai.

Back then, these men had been mere teenagers; now they were no longer young.

“It’s General Qin—Great General Qin Huai. He’s come back.”

“Great General Qin Huai has finally returned.”

Many of the older soldiers were overcome with emotion at the sight of Qin Huai.

The younger soldiers, for the most part, simply chose to obey orders—if a general told them to stop, they certainly wouldn’t move another inch.

What’s more, Qin Huai had once been a fearless and brilliant general; even those who didn’t know him personally had heard tales of his heroic deeds.

Qin Huai looked at everyone and raised his hand, visibly moved.

He lowered his head, reached into his robe, and pulled out a cloth pouch.

Before everyone’s watching eyes, Qin Huai untied the pouch and drew out a yellowed letter along with a smaller cloth bag.

“This is a letter given to me by the emperor of that time, Zhan Bufan.”

“In it, he wrote that he had long been poisoned by Empress Dowager Ning—who was then merely Consort Ning—but by the time he realized it, it was already too late.”

“Knowing his life was nearing its end, the late emperor gave me this letter, along with this item, and told me to leave.”

Carefully, Qin Huai untied the small cloth bag in his hand and drew out a large piece of jade—the imperial seal that had been missing for so many years.

Qin Huai raised the imperial seal high, facing everyone present.

The instant the crowd below recognized what was in Qin Huai’s hands, they immediately dropped to their knees.

“Long live the emperor, ten thousand years!” Resounding voices rang out across the palace grounds.

Qin Huai looked at the crowd and waved a hand.

“Empress Dowager Ning knew that the late emperor, Zhan Bufan, had no interest in the throne. To ensure her own son became king, she did not hesitate to poison the late emperor—a crime so monstrous it deserves death.”

“In his letter, the late emperor Zhan Bufan further stated that Zhan Qingcheng was in truth the orphaned heir of the Di family.”

“He commanded me to wait for the right moment, and then to reveal Zhan Qingcheng’s true identity to the world and return the throne to the Di family.”

“Today, before all of you, I shall fulfill the late emperor Zhan Bufan’s dying wish and return the imperial seal to the Di family’s Crown Prince, Di Wu Ya.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Qin Huai cradled the seal in both hands, stepped forward, bent his knees, and knelt before Di Wu Ya.

“Your Highness, today I return this seal to its rightful owner!”

Qin Huai was overcome with emotion; even his voice trembled.

After all these years, the matter could finally be laid to rest—how could he not be moved?

Di Wu Ya accepted the seal, a trace of melancholy in his eyes.

A gentle breeze swept past, and a breathtakingly beautiful woman appeared at his side.

Feng Jiu’er grasped the arm with which Di Wu Ya held the seal and raised it high.

“Long live His Highness the Crown Prince, ten thousand years upon ten thousand years!”

Yu Jingfeng and the Twelve Flying Dragon Riders echoed loudly from below, “Long live His Highness the Crown Prince, ten thousand years upon ten thousand years!”

At once, thousands upon thousands of voices rose up across the palace: “Long live His Highness the Crown Prince, ten thousand years upon ten thousand years!”

Feng Jiu’er turned her head to look at Di Wu Ya, the corners of her mouth lifting into a joyful, sweet smile.

Meeting her gaze, the melancholy in Di Wu Ya’s eyes vanished without a trace.

So many people had been sacrificed for the sake of a single throne—surely no one wished for such a tragedy to ever play out again.

Di Wu Ya’s true identity had finally come to light.

Zhan Luori led the Imperial Guards in dealing with all the black-robed men on the spot.

That very day, the gates of the imperial city opened once more, and the Dragon-Martial Army, the Long family’s troops, and the Zhao family’s troops marched into the city together.

Within just a few short days, every last remnant of Ye Xuening’s and Zhan Lingtian’s faction within the city had been swept away.

Great changes took place both within and beyond the palace—the city’s Imperial Guards were entirely replaced with Zhan Luori’s men, while the Dragon-Guarding Army was now made up primarily of the original Dragon-Martial Army.

During this period when nearly everyone was busy, in a villa on the outskirts of the imperial city, an old man and a young woman sat leisurely fishing by a lake.

“Grandfather, is something wrong with your bait? Why isn’t there any movement on my line at all?”

The moment Feng Jiu’er’s words fell, Long Di beside her broke into a delighted laugh.

“Oh ho, someone come quick—I’ve got a bite!”

“Coming, Old Manor Master!” Long Yan rushed over with a wooden bucket in hand.

With a splash, a fat, plump fish was dropped into the bucket.

Long Yan re-baited Long Di’s hook and dropped the line back into the lake.

“Old Manor Master, that’s already your sixth one—your skills are impressive!”

Long Yan beamed at Long Di, but the moment his eyes met Feng Jiu’er’s, the smile vanished from his face at once.

“Young Miss, would you like some flower tea? I’ll go prepare it right away.”

Long Yan tossed out the remark, hurried over, and then hurried right back off again.

Long Di turned to look at the young girl nearby, smiling happily.

“Jiu’er, it seems the problem isn’t Grandfather’s bait after all—it’s that our little girl has something on her mind.”

“Haven’t seen him in a few days—missing someone, are we?”