◎Young Master Xie Heng, distant greetings on your blessed day◎

Wait for him.

Looking at these words, Luo Wanqing felt like laughing.

He truly foresaw everything, thought through everything, yet gave himself no path to live.

He said to wait for him, but he was alone in the Eastern Capital, under Li Guiyu’s control. With no one to rescue him, how was she supposed to wait?

Wait to collect his corpse, or wait to hear news of his death, like in the previous life of her dreams?

But what could she do?

Do not sacrifice our cause for my life, do not obtain what I do not desire.

He had already made this request. He had given up on his own life, telling her that his wishes were more important than his life.

He had said it so clearly—

“Our great cause is built upon white bones as steps—my life is no more precious than others'”

How could she bring herself to destroy everything they had painstakingly arranged over so many years, all their efforts, just to save him alone? That was his life’s work, all of their life’s work.

He was unwilling, leaving only her to struggle alone.

She sat quietly at the table, wanting to cry yet wanting to laugh. In this state between tears and laughter, she inexplicably felt hatred arise.

She hated him.

What reason was there to use his own life to kill Li Zong?

When he killed Li Zong, did he think of her even once?

Time and again, he promised her, yet always chose to abandon her for others, for his great cause, for his everything.

Luo Wanqing cried and laughed, finally unable to restrain herself as she swept all the documents off the table in one violent motion.

Just then, Li Shengzhao’s voice came from outside: “Xiniang, may I come in?”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing struggled to control her emotions, turning her head away without responding.

Li Shengzhao thought for a moment, then lifted the curtain and entered the room.

He looked at Luo Wanqing standing behind the table with clenched fists, his gaze falling on the scattered letters on the floor.

He immediately scanned the handwriting on it. Luo Wanqing remained silent. After hesitating for a long while, Li Shengzhao finally spoke: “Why don’t you take a walk with me?”

“I’m sorry,” Luo Wanqing said hoarsely, “Right now I…”

“You should make a decision, shouldn’t you?”

Li Shengzhao spoke, and Luo Wanqing understood his meaning.

She looked up, somewhat surprised at the young man standing in the doorway. Li Shengzhao thought for a moment, then took an umbrella from a nearby ceramic jar, saying gently, “Xiniang, come. I’ll accompany you for a walk.”

Luo Wanqing hesitated for a moment, then finally followed his words and walked out the door.

Li Shengzhao tore off the paper seals from the umbrella at the doorway, opened it, and then held it over Luo Wanqing’s head as they walked outside.

The rain wasn’t heavy. Luo Wanqing listened to the sound of fine raindrops falling on the umbrella as Li Shengzhao said gently, “In the past, Lingshu, Zigui, Chang’xi, and I often went out together, especially on rainy days. Chang’xi liked to take boats on the lake outside the Eastern Capital. She said that when it rained, she felt this world had a different realm, and being with us was especially peaceful.”

Luo Wanqing listened quietly without speaking. Li Shengzhao continued in a calm tone, “The first time Chang’xi met Qingya was because she collided with his boat. He was with friends, and we had quite a few siblings. After the two boats collided, Qingya’s friend argued with Zigui. Then Qingya came out to speak. Zigui couldn’t out-argue him, so Chang’xi, listening, came out to help. As soon as she left the boat, Qingya fell silent.”

Luo Wanqing didn’t know why, but hearing Li Shengzhao speak of these distant memories, the anger from before gradually subsided.

She only felt a sadness flowing through her heart. Without Li Shengzhao needing to describe more, she could imagine what a gentle, beautiful girl that must have been. And that Cui Zigui, who would argue with Qingya—he must have been a somewhat tongue-tied young man from a great family who never put on airs.

Those were all Xie Heng’s relatives.

“Not long after, we encountered Qingya again at my aunt’s—that is, Lingshu’s mother’s place. Only then did we learn that Qingya was the intelligence chief of the Cui family’s hidden network, extraordinarily clever. What happened next, you can probably guess—the two of them began secretly corresponding. That was when Uncle and Father Emperor were most intensely promoting the Great Xia Code. When the law was implemented locally, local officials deliberately damaged the law’s reputation, making various wrong judgments, or simply couldn’t understand the Great Xia Code at all, causing public resentment to boil over with controversy everywhere. At that time, Qingya suggested that the Cui family’s promotion of this law brought no benefit to the Cui family itself, so it would be better to abandon it.”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing was startled. Li Shengzhao smiled, “You didn’t expect that, did you? The person who insists most strongly now was the one who gave up earliest back then.”

Listening, Luo Wanqing instantly understood the reason: “Because…”

“Because too many people were sacrificed.”

Li Shengzhao’s voice was hoarse. Luo Wanqing looked at him and noticed his eyes had filled with tears.

“Chang’xi was killed by Qingya’s hand. Before she died, she was still telling Qingya not to let her die at Lingshu’s hands—she feared Lingshu would feel guilty. If Qingya felt guilty toward her, then he should protect Lingshu for her. Even in death, she was paving the way for Lingshu.”

As Li Shengzhao spoke, Luo Wanqing’s heart was gradually squeezed tight. Li Shengzhao continued, “And Zigui voluntarily let Chang’xi transform him into a medicine person. This process was very painful, but to prevent Lingshu from being controlled by Li Zong, to let Lingshu actively take the Bone-Sinking Incense and gain Li Zong’s trust, Zigui endured it. He used his entire body’s blood to exchange for Lingshu’s blood.”

“Why are you telling me all this?”

As soon as Luo Wanqing spoke, tears fell. She understood his meaning and couldn’t help but laugh with some resentment, “Are you telling me that Xie Heng owes you all so much that he should die?”

“I’m telling you that every choice he made was not because he didn’t care about you.”

Li Shengzhao spoke solemnly. Luo Wanqing was stunned.

She hadn’t expected Li Shengzhao to say this. She stared at him blankly as he continued, “He cares. From the very beginning, he knew he shouldn’t get involved with you, shouldn’t be with you, but he couldn’t control himself, repeatedly violating the position he should maintain. Before I left the Eastern Capital, he was still at Qianqiu, taking the medicine Qianqiu gave him every day. He slept well, ate well. He told me he wanted to live longer, wanted to accompany you longer. I don’t know why he committed regicide, why he used such an extreme method to solve the problem. But I know he likes you, he cares about you. Loving you is the only time in his life he stepped out of line. He cares about you far more than you think.”

“What exactly…” Luo Wanqing’s voice trembled slightly, “Are you trying to say?”

“Xiniang, I’m no different from him. Some decisions we cannot make,” Li Shengzhao handed the umbrella to Luo Wanqing, saying in a deep voice, “but you can.”

Luo Wanqing looked at the umbrella handed to her, hearing Li Shengzhao say softly, “Inside the Eastern Capital, there’s a secret passage connecting to Ziyun Mountain not far outside the city. It’s almost complete. Our army can enter the city through this passage. Within the capital, there are only five thousand elite soldiers; other troops are stationed in the suburbs. Ten thousand men would be enough for me to besiege the palace and control all the great families and generals in the capital. You could take him away in the chaos.”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing raised her eyes, incredulous.

She understood the weight of Li Shengzhao’s words. If she took Xie Heng and fled, even if it appeared unrelated to Li Shengzhao, this would forever be grounds for criticizing his illegitimate claim to the throne.

Seeing the surprise in her eyes, Li Shengzhao couldn’t help but smile, “But you rescuing him, you drawing Li Guiyu’s attention and giving me the chance to infiltrate the Eastern Capital with troops—this matter has nothing to do with me. I’m simply attacking at the right moment, while you happen to be rescuing someone. Afterward, I’ll issue a warrant for your arrest. From then on, you’ll no longer be Director of the Supervision Department.”

But for someone of her grandmaster level, a warrant meant nothing.

And for her, the choice between Xie Heng’s life and the Director’s position required no balancing.

Listening to Li Shengzhao’s words, she confirmed, “So what I need to do is draw attention in the city and distance myself from you?”

“Yes.”

Li Shengzhao answered decisively. He stared at Luo Wanqing seriously, “I cannot give you any assistance. Currently, around the Eastern Capital are stationed armies of two princes and great families, all waiting for a result—to see who between Li Guiyu and me is the treasonous minister. So I cannot help you or attack; otherwise, these people would immediately think I’m trying to rescue Xie Heng and unite to attack me. Infiltrating the Eastern Capital through the tunnel, directly controlling the capital, killing Li Guiyu and ascending the throne—this is currently the only way to save him while protecting me.”

“But this way, Xie Heng’s connection to you can never be cleared,” Luo Wanqing said hoarsely. “In the future, whether you’re promoting the Great Xia Code or doing anything else, when people oppose you, this will be their reason to denounce you.”

“I know.”

Li Shengzhao looked at her, asking with a smile, “But what does that have to do with you? The decision is yours to make, Xiniang.”

Li Shengzhao smiled bitterly, “I’m too weak. I don’t want to bear the fate of being the one who makes that choice. Whether to choose Lingshu or a stable future—”

Speaking thus, Li Shengzhao pressed the umbrella into her hands, saying seriously, “You choose.”

Luo Wanqing didn’t respond. Li Shengzhao handed over the umbrella, nodded once, then turned and left.

Luo Wanqing gripped the paper umbrella, watching his retreating figure as he walked toward the camp. He walked alone in the rain, exposing his entire back completely and defensively to her.

For martial artists, this was taboo.

Luo Wanqing watched his retreating figure, understanding his meaning.

The choice was whether to let her rescue Xie Heng, making his imperial position unstable, with people repeatedly rising in rebellion in the future.

Or to stay behind.

If Xie Heng were here, he would choose the latter.

Xie Heng always said he was cold and cruel, called himself selfish and self-serving, but Luo Wanqing knew clearly that he never valued his own life highly.

If it were up to him to choose, he would make a decision that resulted in fewer casualties for everyone.

But what about her?

Making her choose between Xie Heng and the future.

At that moment, she suddenly understood Xie Heng’s difficulties somewhat. She stood quietly in the rain holding the umbrella, listening to the sound of rain hitting it, involuntarily looking up.

The moment she looked up and saw the umbrella’s surface, she was surprised to discover that after being washed by the rain, the originally clean white interior gradually revealed large patches of peach blossoms.

Beside them was Xie Heng’s familiar handwriting, with an inscription:

Walking alone on a rainy night, gifting flowers to fill your head.

Young Master Xie Heng, distant greetings on your blessed day.