◎Criminal Father Luo Qushu, Leaves This Letter◎

As this thought surfaced, Luo Wanqing felt her eyes sting with tears.

She tentatively reached out and touched the envelope. She didn’t know why—perhaps because the answer she had been seeking for so long was about to be revealed—she felt an inexplicable dread and fear.

Her heart beat rapidly, and though she tried desperately to control herself, her hands couldn’t help but tremble slightly.

Just as she gently picked up the envelope and was about to open it, sounds suddenly came from below.

Both Xie Heng and she reacted simultaneously. Xie Heng swiftly swept past her, grabbing the box, while Luo Wanqing clutched the letter. Each leaped out through the nearest window!

At the same time, bells suddenly rang loudly throughout Jinding Temple, with disciples crying out urgently: “Master Uncle has collapsed! Someone has broken into the temple!”

“Come quickly! Come quickly!”

Jinding Temple was thrown into chaos. Luo Wanqing and Xie Heng landed on the ground, vaulted over the courtyard wall, exchanged a smile, and quickly returned to the Xie residence courtyard just as they had come.

When they returned to the courtyard, Zhuque was still guarding the small courtyard gate. Xie Heng entered the courtyard first, and Zhuque immediately called out sharply upon hearing the sound: “Who?!”

“Me.”

The moment Xie Heng responded, Luo Wanqing used his voice as cover to leap into her room. Xie Heng jumped over the rooftop and landed directly in the corridor, blocking Zhuque, who was preparing to rush in.

Zhuque looked at Xie Heng standing in the corridor wearing only light clothing and holding a small box, and couldn’t help but be stunned. He looked toward the back courtyard in surprise: “Young Master? When did you go out?”

“Wandering around at midnight—do you need to manage that too?”

Xie Heng glanced at him and turned to go back to his room. Zhuque came to his senses and said urgently, “No, Young Master, you should tell me when you go out. If something happens to you while I’m on night watch, everyone will eat me alive…”

Before he finished speaking, Zhuque instinctively caught something thrown at him—it was half a bag of gold pearls.

Zhuque was stunned. When he realized what it was, he was instantly delighted: “With Young Master’s skills, what could happen to you? I’ll leave now.”

With that, Zhuque immediately weighed the gold pearls and withdrew from the courtyard. Xie Heng smiled at his retreating figure, then turned and boldly pushed open Luo Wanqing’s door.

Upon entering, he saw Luo Wanqing sitting on the footstool by the bed, looking at the letter in her hands by moonlight.

She still hadn’t opened it. Xie Heng thought for a moment, lit a lamp, and with the weak flame protected by his hand, walked over to sit beside Luo Wanqing, asking softly: “Why aren’t you opening it?”

“What do you think he would write?”

Luo Wanqing spoke softly. Xie Heng watched the lamp flame stabilize under his hand and said calmly: “What is Xiniang afraid of?”

Luo Wanqing didn’t speak. Xie Heng’s word “afraid” suddenly made her realize why she had been hesitating to open the envelope from the beginning.

She thought carefully and said slowly: “I once thought I understood my father very well. So from imprisonment to joining the Supervision Department, I always firmly believed my father was innocent.”

But she had discovered in the Dark Pavilion that her father was a spy planted by the Wang family in the Cui family.

She discovered her father had killed Li Guiyu’s master.

She discovered her father knew people like Zhang Qiuzhi, that he had come to Jiangnan regardless of his family’s safety for inexplicable reasons.

Was her father truly a good man, as innocent as she had thought?

Had he never betrayed the Cui family back then, and was he still have stood on the Cui family’s side until the end?

And such a mysterious man—did he truly love her mother, love her, and her brother?

If the answer was negative, if he was a traitor to the Cui family, if she was the child of a criminal, how should she conduct herself, how should she face Xie Heng beside her?

She had experienced being hated by a loved one, and she had experienced hating someone.

If Xie Heng hated her…

Luo Wanqing gripped the envelope without speaking. After a long while, she said in a low voice: “Young Master… could you let me read it alone first?”

Hearing this, Xie Heng paused, thought for a moment, then nodded: “Alright.”

With that, he was about to get up, but just as he rose, Luo Wanqing suddenly said: “Young Master.”

Xie Heng turned to look at her while protecting the lamp flame. Luo Wanqing gripped the envelope and couldn’t help asking: “Aren’t you worried that I might read the letter first and hide something?”

Xie Heng didn’t speak. After a moment, he said gently, “Xiniang, that’s your family letter. After you read it, if you feel it’s inappropriate for me to see, you can burn it.”

Luo Wanqing was startled. Xie Heng looked at her warmly: “I accompanied you tonight to retrieve this item, not in my capacity as Director of the Supervision Department. If you burn it, I’ll find another way.”

With that, Xie Heng seemed to think of something and said earnestly: “And no matter who you are, to me, you are my Liu Xiniang.”

These words struck directly at Luo Wanqing’s heart. Her eyes flickered, and she couldn’t help asking: “If If-I’m saying if—you were Li Guiyu, would you hate me?”

“I wouldn’t.” Xie Heng seemed to know what she was talking about and spoke calmly: “I would only feel regret.”

“My father killed his master,” Luo Wanqing reminded him.

“Grievances and debts have their rightful owners,” Xie Heng smiled and said, “What is there to hate about you? If you and I had enmity from a previous life, I would only tell you that I still love you, but regret that we cannot be together. Xiniang,” Xie Heng walked in front of her, holding the lamp and half-kneeling down. The firelight illuminated her face as he spoke softly: “Perhaps you don’t think so, but in my heart, from the day you led me out of Snow Spirit Valley, you are my wife. Your crimes are my crimes, and I will never harm you.”

He would only make amends for her.

With that, Xie Heng reached out to grasp the envelope and said gently: “Open it.”

Luo Wanqing looked into his eyes, suppressing her inner panic, and said slowly: “I’ve hidden something from you.”

Xie Heng gazed at her, seeming to understand. Luo Wanqing forced herself to look at him and squeezed out through clenched teeth: “In the Dark Pavilion of Fengyu Pavilion, I saw my father’s records. He was a death warrior for the Wang family, planted as a spy in the Cui clan.”

Hearing this, Xie Heng’s eyes showed a smile.

“I know.”

This “I know” finally allowed her long-suspended heart to settle safely into his warm palm.

Luo Wanqing couldn’t help asking: “You knew I was deceiving you?”

“I could guess.” Xie Heng nodded, then smiled as he reminded her: “You were shocked and surprised when I mentioned that your father killed Jiang Fengwan, wanting to dig to the bottom of it all. But when I mentioned that Xiang Sizi told you about getting your father released from Fengyu Pavilion, you did not react at all.”

With his intelligence, how could he not guess that she already knew?

“You don’t blame me?”

Luo Wanqing couldn’t help asking. Xie Heng thought about it and said slowly: “I do care, because I hope you would love me more and trust me more. But I also think that with all the hardships in this world, it’s good for you to be more cautious.”

With that, Xie Heng looked down at the envelope and encouraged, “Open it.”

Luo Wanqing looked at him quietly. For the first time, she so clearly perceived that throughout this journey, Xie Heng had always been behind her.

He was always like that night when she became famous in the Eastern Capital—silently following her, accompanying her growth, waiting for her to turn back.

He didn’t mind her deception, endured her entanglement with Li Guiyu, gazed at her figure from afar in the night, and secretly rolled up her name with Jiang Shaoyan’s at the Matchmaker Temple.

His love was to lead her through rebirth, send her on the path to heaven, watch her step onto the azure cloud platform, become an eagle soaring in the sky, spreading her wings to fly high.

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing her motionless, Xie Heng couldn’t help but speak softly.

Luo Wanqing lowered her eyes, suppressed her emotions, and said softly: “Nothing.”

With that, she scooted over and said hoarsely: “Come sit beside me.”

Xie Heng did as told, holding the lamp as he sat beside her. The lamplight fell on the envelope as Xie Heng said calmly: “Xiniang, I’ll hold the lamp for you.”

Luo Wanqing responded, took a deep breath, and opened the envelope.

Though the paper was thin, it contained several pages. Luo Wanqing solemnly opened it as Xie Heng adjusted the angle of the lamplight, moving it over the letter.

What met her eyes was Luo Qushu’s handwriting. From the script, compared to his usual writing, these characters had deeper ink, as if each stroke was carefully considered and more difficult to write. Luo Wanqing scanned those characters one by one, and at the very top of the opening, she saw:

“My daughter Qingqing, may you be well upon reading this.

Tonight brings rain, Yangzhou is cold and desolate, the brush is cold and ink dry, making this letter difficult to write. Yet thinking that perhaps one day, my daughter might find another path and become a heroic figure, I write this letter again. If you can see this letter, your father has likely returned his soul to hell to face the karma of this life, and my daughter has become an outstanding person with the power to protect herself. To resolve the doubts in my daughter’s heart, your father specifically leaves this letter to tell of my background and past. I hope my daughter will read it carefully and grant forgiveness.

Your father’s original name is unknown, and birth details are unclear. I was born already within ‘the Pavilion,’ trained as a death warrior, callous and calculating, without joy or sorrow, particularly skilled in long-range assassination. At eight, my arrows never missed their mark. At nine, I was arranged by ‘the Pavilion’ to be sent to the Wang family’s Fengyu Pavilion, given the name Luo Shuangye.”

Reading this, both Luo Wanqing and Xie Heng couldn’t help but exchange glances.

Initially, they both thought “the Pavilion” referred to Fengyu Pavilion, but now it was clear that this “Pavilion” was another organization.

Luo Wanqing’s heart grew more puzzled, and she couldn’t help but continue reading.

“Fengyu Pavilion was no different from ‘the Pavilion,’ and your father was already accustomed to it. However, I met a friend, a descendant of a criminal minister with exceptional talent, named Jiang Fengwan. Fengwan treated people with sincerity, and through years of life-and-death friendship, your father was moved by his sincerity, and we became sworn brothers. Afterward, Brother Jiang traveled the martial world and became a generation’s Sword Saint, while your father carried out missions for Fengyu Pavilion, posing as a merchant’s son in the martial world, wandering as a knight-errant.

Upon reaching adulthood, to conceal my identity, I was required by Fengyu Pavilion to find a woman to marry to reassure the Cui family and facilitate entry into the Cui clan. Logically, I should have married a female spy from Fengyu Pavilion, but the Pavilion worried about your father’s close association with Fengyu Pavilion and required me to find another woman. Though your father was loyal to the Pavilion, I also despised being a chess piece. It happened that at this time, due to an injury, I encountered your mother, and out of selfish desire, I drew your mother into this conflict.

Your father was born cunning and cold, originally only seeking a woman to conceal my identity. I didn’t expect Zelan to be so pure and kind that over time, she made your father begin to feel love and regret. But perhaps because your father was unwilling to face this, I hadn’t yet realized my feelings until you were born.

When you were born, your father could see that your foundation was ordinary, but your meridians were extraordinarily broad and flexible beyond normal people. According to the Pavilion’s rules, when we servants bore children, the Pavilion would come to observe at age three, and if there were talented ones, they would be taken by the Pavilion. Shangchun was naturally difficult to train in martial arts, but you were different. When your father held you as an infant and realized you might be taken away by them, I first had thoughts of betraying the Pavilion. I also finally understood that my feelings for Zelan and you siblings were not false.

However, your father had no way to retreat and could only fight for my family.

To conceal your talent, your father sought medical advice and encountered Zhang Qiuzhi, a colleague from the Pavilion who was similarly troubled by this matter, and we became good friends. Zhang Qiuzhi was my subordinate. He found medicine that could control your meridian growth, deceiving the Pavilion’s observers.

However, your father remained constantly anxious, not daring to let you and Shangchun learn martial arts. But from childhood, you displayed extraordinary talent—tenacious character, excellent comprehension, often able to draw inferences in martial arts, making your father’s heart fearful and uneasy. I could only deliberately suppress and disrupt whenever you showed your edge, making you learn medicine with your mother while seeking opportunities to completely leave the Pavilion.

To escape the Pavilion, your father sought various methods. The Pavilion’s power was not something your father alone could overturn, so I could only seek to earn merit and pardons. In the eighth year of Changshun, your father received secret orders from the Wang family to accompany the Cui family head in escorting the Third Prince for peace negotiations with the Northern Rong. The Wang family promised that if your father completed the mission, I could leave Fengyu Pavilion. Upon receiving the secret order, your father knew this was an excellent opportunity and immediately informed the Pavilion.

Afterward, your father accompanied the family head north. At that time, your father thought that when I returned, I would be a free man.”

Reading this, Luo Wanqing’s heart trembled. She remembered that the year he left the Eastern Capital, he was indeed very happy.

Her mother, along with her brother and herself, was worried and frowning, concerned about the hardships he would face in the northwest. But he seemed completely unaware, taking the family out for a meal at a restaurant, and even singing all the way home.

When he left the next day, Yao Zelan brought the siblings to see him off at the city gate. He showed no reluctance, only telling them: “Wait for me to return! Everything will be fine when I return!”

“According to the imperial edict, the Cui family head led us to escort the Third Prince to the northern border. After exchanging hostages and alliance documents, and after the border troops withdrew, we were to follow the Cui family head to the station in the northwest for a year to observe the Northern Rong’s sincerity. In the third month, we departed from the Eastern Capital. In the early fourth month, we reached the border and exchanged alliance documents and hostages with the Northern Rong. On the fifth day of the fifth month, the Cui family head received news that the hostages and alliance documents had reached the Eastern Capital. Following imperial orders, he withdrew troops, letting soldiers return to their homes. Ten days after the withdrawal, on the night of the fifteenth day of the fifth month, the Northern Rong launched a surprise attack on the city.”

The fifteenth day of the fifth month, Northern Rong’s surprise attack.

As Luo Wanqing read this, she felt something was wrong, but couldn’t quite grasp what. Beside her, Xie Heng sat with an unclear expression in the lamplight, the corners of his mouth slightly curved.

“That night, the Cui family head sent ten urgent rescue letters, transmitted by flying eagles back to the Eastern Capital, while simultaneously using his general’s authority to urgently conscript troops from the ten border cities, demanding that Heyu Pass immediately send troops for rescue. I also immediately notified the Pavilion and the Wang family. Three days later, I received a message from the Pavilion requiring daily reports on border conditions, full support for Cui Qingping while maintaining my identity as a Wang family spy to cooperate with the Wang family. At the same time, Fengyu Pavilion required me to find opportunities to open the city gates and welcome the Northern Rong into the city.”

Luo Wanqing’s heart tightened as she looked at this choice, feeling somewhat afraid.

Fortunately, she immediately saw Luo Qushu continue writing.

“However, though your father is a despicable person, I also understand righteousness for family and country. Having practiced medicine with your mother for so long, I was unwilling to become someone she would despise. Therefore, though I received orders from the Wang family, I continued to delay while following the Pavilion’s requirements to fully assist Cui Qingping’s resistance. Initially, your father still wanted to hold back, but the war was fierce, enemy forces outnumbered our army several times over, blood soaked the city walls, corpses piled up like mountains below the city, acquaintances died one by one, and civilians lived in constant fear.

One day, when the enemy’s offensive was particularly fierce, after a day of bloody battle and changing city defenses at night, I encountered a young girl at the base of the city wall, throwing herself on her brother’s corpse and weeping bitterly. Her brother was about the same age as Shangchun, and for a moment, my heart felt as if pierced by knives, as if I saw my child. My heart was heavy with sorrow—all people under heaven are parents, all are children to someone. Today, this brother and sister have fallen to such a state—how do I know that tomorrow my children won’t be the same? For every arrow your father concealed, one more son of Great Xia might die. Your father didn’t know why he acted—for country, for family, or himself? I only knew that, hearing the young girl’s crying that night, I returned to the city tower, and from high atop the wall, I drew my bow in the darkness to take the enemy general’s head.

From that day forward, whenever enemy military leaders gave orders, I would kill them as they came. The Northern Rong generals feared death, and morale scattered greatly. I gained the Cui family head’s appreciation, was recognized as a gentleman and confidant, and was determined to live and die together, jointly defending the border. However, after defending bitterly for a month, from within Heyu Pass came no news, no soldiers were seen, no provisions heard of, arrows were nearly exhausted, swords broken, and armor shattered.

On the thirteenth day of the sixth month, the Cui family head vomited blood in his tent. The next day, when the Northern Rong army attacked the city again, the defending general saw the situation and advised the Cui family head to abandon the city and retreat. The Cui family head, thinking of the civilians, defended the city without retreating.

On the twentieth day of the sixth month, provisions were exhausted, and civilians were all evacuated, led by soldiers to Heyu Pass for refuge. The defending general again advised retreat, but the Cui family head defended the city without retreating.

In the early seventh month, trees fell behind the city, vegetation was completely consumed, yet the Cui family head still defended the city without retreating.

On the seventh day of the seventh month, the Northern Rong used the Third Prince as a hostage to force open the city gates, shaking military morale. Two days later at midnight, your father received a letter from Brother Jiang, saying that using His Highness as hostage was at the Wang family’s instruction. His Highness was his disciple, more precious than life, and he had obtained the Wang family’s permission to save His Highness. But he needed to infect himself with smallpox as a plague seed, so that after His Highness entered the city, he could use the smallpox plague to force open the city gates. However, Brother Jiang was unwilling to bring disaster to the country and people, and asked me to shoot him dead outside the city after he saved His Highness. He also informed your father that Lady Xie had committed suicide in the palace, the Crown Prince and Empress had disappeared, the entire Cui clan was imprisoned, the Eastern Capital had long considered him surrendered, believing the ten border cities had fallen. Everything was a conspiracy by the Wang and Zheng families. He told your father to inform the Cui family head that there would be no provisions and no reinforcements, and to have the Cui family head prepare early.”

At this point in the letter, the handwriting became chaotic and uncontrolled, with ink stains and what appeared to be water marks.

Reading this, Luo Wanqing finally understood why her father had personally shot and killed the first brother of his life.

Though her father had deliberately avoided using any words describing emotions, at this moment she still felt her eyes sting with tears, as if she were in Yuezhou city that year, defending from the fifth month through the sixth month to the seventh month.

Defending a city that couldn’t be defended, waiting for reinforcements that would never come.

“The next day, Brother Jiang arrived as promised. I drew my bow and personally shot him, killing him with an arrow. I was pained and hateful, wishing I could take his place, but what could I do? I could only fight desperately to save His Highness and repay my brotherhood. My act of shooting Brother Jiang drew personal inquiry from the Cui family head. I told him the truth, and all the generals were shocked, willing to follow the Cui family head whether to surrender or rebel, all according to the Cui family head’s choice. However, the Cui family head still trusted His Majesty and defended the city without retreating. Yet that night, a battle report came from Heyu Pass: Thirty thousand civilians who had moved from the front lines to the rear were shot and killed by the defending general in front of Heyu Pass. Upon hearing this news that night, the Cui family head’s hair turned white overnight.”

Luo Wanqing gripped the paper tightly, her eyes gradually moistening, pursing her lips, unable to speak.

While Cui Qingping defended bitterly without retreating, Cui Qingping still maintained a thread of hope, waiting for court rescue.

What came from the rear wasn’t news of rescue, but news that the Heyu Pass defending general had shot and killed the civilians he had painstakingly evacuated, treating them as enemy troops.

Thirty thousand civilians, weaponless, slaughtered in the darkness before the city gates, using the fresh blood of thirty thousand innocent people to achieve the full glory of the Wang and Zheng families, the merit of saving the country!

“The next day, the Cui family head ordered family retainers to lead troops in retreat while finding your father, wanting to send something to Jiangnan, hoping your father would help. Your father immediately used all channels within the Pavilion. The Pavilion seemed to know in advance and sent Zhang Qiuzhi to wait outside Heyu Pass. The Cui family head secretly sent an item under escort to Jiangnan, then told your father the method to unlock this item, ordering your father to first return to the Eastern Capital, retrieve a hairpin from the head of the Yin Master Lady Xie, then find another place to hide. In the future, if a reliable person could be found, this item would be given to them.

Your father obeyed the command to leave, using my spy identity to pass through Heyu Pass. However, less than three days after leaving, I heard news that the city had fallen. Your father didn’t know what had happened and could only first follow the Cui family head’s command, return to the Eastern Capital, and retrieve the phoenix hairpin. However, after returning to the Eastern Capital, I learned that the Eastern Capital had never known the actual time when fighting began at the front lines. The rescue letters sent by the Cui family head seemed never to have reached the Eastern Capital.”

Luo Wanqing was startled, finally realizing where the sense of impropriety she felt earlier when reading about the fifth month battle lay.

Luo Qushu wrote that fighting began in the fifth month, but in the eyes of all Great Xia people, when the Eastern Capital learned of the fighting, it seemed to be close to the seventh month.

Cui Qingping’s treason at the front lines, the consecutive fall of ten border cities—it was the Wang and Zheng families at Heyu Pass who turned the tide and stopped the eastward-advancing cavalry.

This was the news the Eastern Capital received, the past that everyone knew.

Luo Wanqing suppressed the shock in her heart and continued reading.

“Your father was angry and shocked in heart, but being of humble status and having little influence, I dared not strike a stone with an egg. I could only first seek the phoenix hairpin, intending to find Saint Zhao Crown Prince or the Empress, then make further plans. However, just after finding the phoenix hairpin, I heard that the Crown Prince and Empress in the palace had been denounced by Xie Lingshu and would be granted death in the palace. Subsequently, the Pavilion informed your father that Qiuzhi had been intercepted and killed on the outskirts of Yangzhou, and sent your father south to Jiangnan to find the item. If this item could be found, I would henceforth leave the Pavilion, with heaven high and sea broad, having my own life.

However, your father deeply knew the Pavilion’s motives were impure, and they were not good people. Otherwise, for two months, your father had been reporting every detail of the war to the Pavilion—with the Pavilion’s power, how could they let the Eastern Capital know nothing about the front lines? Something that the Cui family head would spare no effort to send back must be of great importance. If this item were rashly handed to the Pavilion, the injustice of the Cui family’s treason might never be cleared. But the opportunity I had waited decades for was right before me, and this concerned the extermination of families and clans. Your father dared not gamble with family members’ lives without authorization. Unable to decide for a moment, I could only bring my family to leave first and make plans later.

Unexpectedly, outside the Eastern Capital, I encountered an old friend again. Your father didn’t know why the Third Prince was in this place or what he had experienced, but your father knew that in this world, only Brother Jiang cared about him, and Brother Jiang was gone—this child had nowhere to go. But his background was too complex, and your father feared he would burden relatives and friends. After hesitating for a long time, it was my daughter who made the decision.

My daughter, perhaps you will forget in the future, but at that time your father asked you: if saving someone would cause trouble, perhaps even risk life, would you still save them?

You said that there should be justice and righteousness in the world, and even if it costs one’s life, one should uphold this righteousness. Therefore, your father guessed that if you were to choose, you would probably go to Jiangnan.

This might not be your choice, but it was indeed the choice in your father’s heart. Your father had seen the blood of the Cui family’s children and heard the weeping of the people on the northwest border. If I ignored this strange injustice, I would probably never be at peace for life. But your father understood that since Qiuzhi had been intercepted and killed, the matter of the token must be known by others. Your father coming to Jiangnan at this time would be watched, and death was only a matter of time—it would be difficult to end well. Therefore, I write this letter.

Your father guesses that, given His Highness’s temperament, if Qingqing is harmless, after your father’s death, when grievances are settled, His Highness should protect Qingqing’s peaceful life. However, human hearts are unpredictable, and worldly affairs change easily. If His Highness causes trouble, looking at all family members, the only way out lies entirely with Qingqing.

After your father’s departure, the medicine restricting Qingqing’s meridians will stop. With Qingqing’s talent and character, there may be other opportunities. This letter may never be known in a lifetime, but if Qingqing sees it, your father doesn’t know whether to be sad or happy. I only hope my daughter learns the circumstances and then plans her future path, putting herself first. If there is spare capacity, then pass this letter to a reliable person.

Your father’s life has been trapped in mud, callous and profit-seeking, yet blessed by heaven to have Brother Jiang as friend, Zelan as wife, and children Shanglan and Wanqing—most fortunate indeed. However, the moon waxes and wanes, and people cannot be perfect. The path Qushu chose was step by step unavoidable. I only hope my daughter can obtain a broad world and a free life.

Criminal father Luo Qushu leaves this letter.”

Author’s Note:

[Mini Theater]

Zhuque: “Young Master, you should tell me when you go out…”

Xie Heng: “Gold pearls, shut up, don’t tell anyone.”

Zhuque: “Woo woo woo, I have money to buy shoes now. Ever since Young Master started dating, I’ve begun getting rich!”

Quick resolution of the plot over 3 days, then return to the Eastern Capital.

Those who don’t like reading information content can wait three days, then it will return to the normal storyline.