◎The Empire and Liu Xiniang—Who Do You Choose?◎

Xie Heng quietly watched the woman standing before him. Her face was pale, her body unwell. Thinking of the timing of his correspondence with Xuanshan, Xie Heng knew that for Ji Ruifang to appear here now, she must have traveled day and night.

She stared at him with deep eyes, carrying coldness and a bloodthirsty satisfaction.

Xie Heng had long grown accustomed to such bone-devouring gazes. After thinking for a moment, he looked back at the military tent and ordered: “Find someone to watch over the Director and take good care of her. I’ll have tea with Palace Master Ji.”

Upon hearing this, Qingya went to make arrangements. Xie Heng led Ji Ruifang into a nearby tent. After they sat down, Qingya brought in tea, placed it on the table, and then withdrew.

Only Xie Heng and Ji Ruifang remained in the tent. Xie Heng lowered his eyes to pour tea, his tone indifferent: “Palace Master Ji has come urgently—what is the matter?”

“As soon as I woke up, your subordinate Xuanshan interrogated me,” Ji Ruifang chuckled lightly. “I heard you want to ask me about Chu Yi.”

Xie Heng’s expression didn’t change. He pushed the tea toward Ji Ruifang: “Chu Yi was Wang Lianyang’s confidant back then. According to what Zheng Biyue said, she was present when my mother died, so I want to find her to confirm what happened. But she fled to Jiangnan six years ago. The Supervision Department tracked her trail and discovered she entered your Ji Rui Palace.”

As Xie Heng spoke, he looked up at Ji Ruifang: “Name your conditions.”

“I have no conditions,” Ji Ruifang’s expression was calmly. “I can tell you about her.”

This surprised Xie Heng. Ji Ruifang hated him because of the Cui Qingping incident years ago, and now he and Luo Wanqing had joined forces to kill Xie Minran—Ji Ruifang had no reason to help him.

But since Ji Ruifang was willing to speak, he didn’t interrupt, only raising his hand: “Please.”

“I met her in the palace back then. I had just arrived in the Central Plains and found everything novel. I went to play in the palace and became friends with her.”

Ji Ruifang recalled the past with a slight smile: “It was just making an acquaintance, until six years ago when she suddenly fled from the palace. At that time, I had failed to rescue the Cui clan, Minran was coerced by Xie Minsheng to imprison herself on Liufeng Island, and I had also built Ji Rui Palace. She happened to write to me, saying she wanted to take refuge in my palace. I brought her into Ji Rui Palace, and from her I learned what had happened in the palace.”

“She said she wasn’t Wang Lianyang’s person.”

Ji Ruifang spoke. Xie Heng was somewhat surprised. Ji Ruifang said calmly: “She was Li Zong’s person, always placed beside Wang Lianyang.”

Xie Heng paused. He suddenly realized something and looked up coldly.

Ji Ruifang said calmly: “On the tenth day of the sixth month six years ago—the day your mother died—she woke up in the morning and received a message from Li Zong’s people, saying to follow Wang Lianyang’s arrangements for everything that day. That day, Wang Lianyang first went to see Li Zong, then summoned all the Wang family’s elite into the palace. Wang Qingfeng led Chu Yi and others to surround Weiyang Palace. Wang Qingfeng produced an imperial edict from somewhere, demanding that Cui Lianyi and Li Shengzhao reveal the hidden location. When Cui Lianyi wanted to verify the edict’s authenticity, Wang Qingfeng made his move. It was then that your mother arrived at the palace with her people. Your mother let Cui Lianyi and Li Shengzhao escape, but she was surrounded.”

These details Xie Heng already knew. He pressed sharply: “After my mother was surrounded, did she just surrender?”

“Of course not.”

Ji Ruifang shook her head, recalling: “Your mother seemed to have received advance notice and knew Wang Lianyang and the others were falsely transmitting imperial edicts, so she desperately searched for Li Zong in the palace. Wang Qingfeng led Chu Yi and others in pursuit. Finally, Chu Yi found your mother in the great hall, and at that time…”

Ji Ruifang looked at Xie Heng and said gravely, “Li Zong stabbed her.”

Hearing this, Xie Heng’s face remained expressionless, but he gripped his cup tightly and repeated: “Li Zong saw my mother and still wounded her?”

“Yes.”

Ji Ruifang nodded, then continued: “Li Zong stabbed her, then Yang Chun injured her. When Chu Yi arrived, she heard Li Zong ask her if she was willing to reveal the location of the gunpowder warehouse, and he could pardon the Cui clan’s death sentence. Your mother refused to acknowledge it, saying she didn’t know what Li Zong was talking about.”

Ji Ruifang continued, picking up her teacup and recalling the details Chu Yi had told her: “Li Zong then asked her, if she didn’t know, how did she enter the palace? The gunpowder that destroyed the palace wall was so powerful—dare she say the Cui clan didn’t secretly possess such explosives? Your mother said she truly didn’t know, that she had entered after the palace wall was destroyed, and the wall’s destruction had nothing to do with her.”

Xie Heng listened quietly, analyzing: “Li Zong wouldn’t believe it.”

“Correct.” Ji Ruifang nodded. “Your mother also knew this, so she asked Li Zong whether he didn’t believe or didn’t want to believe. When Li Zong hesitated, your mother took the opportunity to escape. This action enraged Li Zong, so he sent elite forces to hunt her down. And then, you arrived.”

Xie Heng listened, his eyes trembling slightly: “I arrived—what then?”

Hearing this, Ji Ruifang chuckled lightly: “You were temperamental and supremely talented. When you entered, everyone panicked. Li Zong knew you would do anything for your mother, so he urgently deployed the three grandmasters Zheng Daochu, Yang Chun, and Wang Qingfeng to hunt you down. He didn’t expect you to be far stronger than he had imagined—you broke through to the inner court alone. After your mother saw you, she suddenly gave up resistance, chose to sever ties with the Xie family, and committed suicide in the palace.”

Xie Heng said nothing. Ji Ruifang seemed pleased and said slowly, “Chu Yi told me that everyone was stunned at the time, but later understood. You were just a youth then. No matter how strong you were, you shouldn’t have been able to break into the inner court under the siege of three grandmasters. You were deliberately let in for Cui Muhua to see. If Cui Muhua hadn’t committed suicide then, perhaps Zheng Daochu or Wang Qingfeng—one of them would have killed you in front of Cui Muhua with a single palm strike. Your mother,” Ji Ruifang smiled, “died because of you.”

“Li Zong never intended to kill her?”

Xie Heng’s voice was hoarse as he understood. Ji Ruifang nodded: “No, he originally wanted to use the Cui family members as hostages to force your mother or Cui Qingping to reveal the gunpowder warehouse’s location.”

“Why was he so convinced the Cui clan had a gunpowder warehouse?”

Xie Heng couldn’t understand. Ji Ruifang looked puzzled: “Didn’t you understand what your mother said? Whether he didn’t believe or didn’t want to believe.”

Didn’t believe, didn’t want to believe.

One word’s difference, but completely different starting points.

When Cui Muhua died, she had already understood—Li Zong believed not that the Cui clan had a gunpowder warehouse, but that the Cui clan with a hundred thousand elite troops, wealth rivaling the empire, students throughout the court, and who had written the Great Xia Code to constrain nobles and officials, including the imperial family.

What difference was there between such a Cui clan and holding a gunpowder warehouse capable of leveling the Great Xia?

“He was always afraid of you, so claiming Cui Qingping secretly created powerful explosives and mass-produced them without telling him—this alone was enough to keep him awake at night. Such suspicion was the sharpest blade for the Wang and Zheng clans. Even if Li Zong hadn’t acted then, as long as the Cui family was imprisoned, the Wang and Zheng clans would have countless opportunities to strike. Cui Muhua had already figured this out, then—the Cui clan members in the Eastern Capital couldn’t escape. She originally wanted to fight desperately. If she had left the imperial palace, she might have been able to lead the Cui family in fleeing that very day. But you came.”

Ji Ruifang smiled at Xie Heng: “Between your life and hers, she chose you.”

She gave up that slim chance to secure a path to life for her child and husband.

By committing suicide in front of Xie Heng, she feared he would pursue the cause and effect.

She wanted Li Zong to feel at ease about Xie Heng.

“You were, after all, the legitimate son of the Xie family. If they could avoid killing you, they still didn’t want to act. Your mother cleared you from involvement, so everyone just crippled you and left you a way to live.”

Ji Ruifang continued: “On the day you were imprisoned, Chu Yi was sent out to eliminate several of the Eastern Capital Cui clan’s intelligence networks overnight. She heard from her companions that your mother knew about the events in the palace—this information was deliberately released by Li Zong to catch several Cui clan intelligence networks. Then they interrogated for a month straight, uprooting the Cui clan’s intelligence network in the Eastern Capital almost completely. After everything had settled, Cui Qingping died in the palace, and the Cui clan was executed by your order… Chu Yi suddenly felt a sense of crisis. She realized she wouldn’t live long, so she found an opportunity to escape from the palace.”

“So among those who knew the twists and turns of this affair, everyone except her died.”

Xie Heng understood and nodded: “She ran quickly.”

“But it only bought her two more years,” Ji Ruifang shook her head. People from their organization need to take medicine regularly. After she escaped, she died before you even reached Jiangnan.”

“Organization?”

Xie Heng listened, somewhat puzzled: “Wasn’t she from the Central Imperial Bureau?”

“Could the Central Imperial Bureau have someone like her?” Ji Ruifang spoke mockingly. “Don’t you know what kind of character those greedy, cowardly eunuchs under Yang Chun are?”

Hearing this, Xie Heng was startled. He suddenly realized: “Li Zong has others working for him?”

“A cunning rabbit has three burrows. Do you think Li Zong can only use the Supervision Department and Central Imperial Bureau?”

Ji Ruifang smiled: “Since his time as Crown Prince, Li Zong has had his death warriors. These death warriors were all trained from childhood—from the moment they opened their eyes, they existed as Li Zong’s death warriors. This group is Li Zong’s true confidants.”

Hearing this, Xie Heng felt an ominous premonition rising in his heart.

“What organization do they belong to?” Xie Heng stared at Ji Ruifang, unconsciously rubbing his teacup.

Ji Ruifang shook her head: “They report directly to His Majesty with no fixed designation. Each person corresponds to a superior, layer upon layer. The bottom-level death warriors don’t even know whom they serve. Chu Yi had long harbored rebellious thoughts, so she observed and discovered that her master should be His Majesty.”

“There should be some designation,” Xie Heng continued pressing.

Ji Ruifang thought for a moment, then finally said: “Chu Yi called her origin ‘the Pavilion.'”

Hearing this, Xie Heng’s pupils contracted sharply.

He gripped the teacup tightly, controlling his wildly beating heart. He stared at Ji Ruifang, finally realizing something was wrong.

“Why are you telling me this?”

He studied Ji Ruifang: “Don’t you want to avenge Xie Minran?”

“I do.”

Ji Ruifang smiled. She looked at Xie Heng, who was trying hard to control himself, and said slowly: “As soon as I woke up, Li Guiyu came to find me. He told me that just telling you these things would be revenge.”

Hearing the name “Li Guiyu,” Xie Heng finally understood Ji Ruifang’s purpose.

He stared at Ji Ruifang, listening as she spoke like watching a show: “So I came overnight. I just wanted to see what you’d look like knowing these things. If you hadn’t proposed the Great Xia Code back then, the Cui clan might not have fallen. If you hadn’t entered the palace then, your mother might not have died. Thinking of these things, do you feel guilty and heartbroken? Do you wish you could die? Though probably not—after all, you’re used to it.”

Ji Ruifang smiled mockingly: “You seem to always be making choices, always sending your relatives and friends to their deaths. After sending so many, perhaps you don’t care anymore. Now you have another opportunity—”

Ji Ruifang raised her hand and lightly tapped Xie Heng’s chest, asking as if watching a show: “Li Guiyu asked me to ask you: the Cui clan’s empire and Liu Xiniang—”

With that, Ji Ruifang raised her eyes: “Who do you choose?”

Xie Heng said nothing. Ji Ruifang might not understand Li Guiyu’s question—she didn’t know much. She should now only be following Li Guiyu’s instigation, knowing that telling him these things could force him into a desperate situation, so as soon as she woke up, she came to tell him this, to avenge Xie Minran.

But he knew, and Li Guiyu should also know, the weight of Ji Ruifang’s words.

“The Pavilion” belonged to Li Zong.

And Luo Wanqing’s father was a member of the Pavilion.

He had been reporting border affairs to Li Zong from beginning to end, which meant that from start to finish, except for the lie about the gunpowder warehouse, Li Zong knew everything.

Li Zong wasn’t deceived by the Wang and Zheng families, the frontline news didn’t fail to reach the Eastern Capital, there was no misunderstanding between Li Zong and Cui Qingping, Li Zong wasn’t ignorant of the frontline situation.

Rather, Li Zong had orchestrated everything from behind the scenes.

Xie Heng instantly understood why Li Zong, having seen that treasonous document and Yang Chun’s name on it, held no grudge against Yang Chun.

Initially, he thought this was Li Zong appeasing Yang Chun or having other plans, but now he understood—this was because it was Li Zong’s intention.

Li Zong had long targeted the Cui family. When the Wang and Zheng families told him about the gunpowder warehouse’s existence, Li Zong had already decided to completely eliminate the Cui clan.

So he had indulged everything the Wang and Zheng clans did, even having Yang Chun participate, encouraging these noble families to oppose the Cui clan. He gave the Wang and Zheng clans the power to expand their armies. He used the ten border cities to exchange for the Cui clan’s downfall.

Then, after the Cui clan was completely defeated, he supported him, because only he could accept everything the Cui clan left behind and balance these nouveau riche noble families.

With the Cui clan fallen, no family could constrain Li Zong like the Cui family had, no minister could talk and laugh with Li Zong as equals like Cui Qingping, arguing loudly when they fought.

Xie Heng felt absurd, wanted to laugh, and felt his blood growing cold bit by bit.

He recalled the past, clearly understanding that his sovereign, that suspicious and weak Li Zong, was far more sinister and scheming than he had imagined.

He knew Wang Lianyang was falsely transmitting imperial edicts, trying to force his son and wife into rebellion—he indulged it.

He knew the Cui clan was besieged at the border and fought to the last moment—he permitted it.

He knew everything, he added fuel to the fire, but no one knew.

The Wang and Zheng clans thought they had seamlessly deceived Li Zong.

And he, as well as Li Shengzhao, until today, they all thought Li Zong was deceived by the Wang and Zheng clans.

They all thought Li Zong didn’t know what happened at the border—he was just weak, afraid of conflict, so they always thought that as long as they were strong enough, they could persuade Li Zong to overturn the Cui clan’s case.

But at this moment, Xie Heng understood—Li Zong would never overturn the Cui clan’s case.

He would only push all responsibility onto the Wang and Zheng families. He would give the Cui clan a clean reputation, but he would never admit his own mistakes.

And to preserve his reputation, he would eliminate all clues that might discover he was the mastermind behind everything.

For example, that “Pavilion” member who had been reporting results to him from the battlefield—Luo Qushu’s only surviving child, Luo Wanqing.

Thinking of this, Xie Heng curled his fingers into a fist.

Li Zong would never let Luo Wanqing live.

Xie Heng was certain.

And if Li Zong wanted to kill Luo Wanqing, he only needed to offer sufficient conditions—for example, vindicating the Cui clan, or even implementing the Great Xia Code—then the entire Supervision Department, Qingya, Xuanshan, Zhuque, even Li Shengzhao…

Not one of them would stand on Luo Wanqing’s side.

In the torrent of human lives, one Luo Wanqing was too small—no one would care.

Except for him.

Except for the one living in his bones and blood—Cui Guanlan.