Eunuch Chang hurried forward and said softly, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."
Emperor Ye Yao waved his hand, signaling him to step aside, then looked up at Ye Jingyu. "You said that besides this evidence, you have something else you want to show朕. What is it?"
"Your son has brought someone. Father Emperor will know when he sees them." Ye Jingyu beckoned to the eunuch behind him.
A moment later, the eunuch brought Ying Xiao into the study.
As soon as Ying Xiao entered the study, he knelt on the ground. Then, he looked up at Emperor Ye Yao and respectfully addressed him as 'Your Majesty'.
Emperor Ye Yao scrutinized him. Seeing his features becoming more and more familiar, he was shocked. "You are the son of Duke Ying?"
After Duke Ying died in prison, the Duke Ying's mansion was sealed, and the whereabouts of this child were unknown. He had searched for him for a long time, and eventually, someone reported that he had died tragically in the suburbs.
So he was still alive!
Ying Xiao bowed again. "Your Majesty, Ying Xiao, son of a sinner, pays his respects on behalf of his father, and also conveys his father's dying wish to Your Majesty."
He took out a folded letter from his怀.
Emperor Ye Yao quickly asked Eunuch Chang to bring the letter over.
As soon as the letter was in his hands, he quickly unfolded it.
Although the envelope was new, the letter inside was already yellowed.
The entire page was written in blood.
The first two characters were: A Yao.
Upon seeing the familiar words, Emperor Ye Yao's eyes welled up with tears.
The letter eloquently described how Ying Zhao had been framed and why he had gone to the palace to meet Consort Liang in secret.
It stated that he had received a family letter from Liu Lanxue's mother country and had merely delivered it to Liu Lanxue, but because he had offended someone, a loophole was exploited.
He did not directly state who he had offended, only that the matter was of great importance and he feared the letter falling into the wrong hands. He wished to meet Emperor Ye Yao and inform him in person.
Seeing Emperor Ye Yao's eyes filled with regret after reading the letter, Ying Xiao's eyes also reddened. "When Father gave me this letter, he intended for me to find an opportunity to deliver it to Your Majesty."
"Unexpectedly, the villains acted too quickly. Before I could see Your Majesty, they colluded with officials to seal Duke Ying's mansion and secretly sent people to hunt me down."
"I have been in hiding for many years, constantly looking for an opportunity. Fortunately, I had the assistance of Prince Yu, otherwise, my father's injustice might never have been revealed to the world."
Emperor Ye Yao looked at Ying Xiao's face, which was almost identical to his old friend's when he was young, and felt even more remorseful. "It was my incompetence back then that caused your father to suffer such injustice."
If he had been more cautious, careful, and calm in his actions back then, perhaps such a tragedy would not have occurred.
"Rest assured, I will investigate this matter thoroughly and restore your father's innocence!"
Ying Xiao's eyes misted over, and he kowtowed heavily. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Father, please forgive your unfilial son for making you wait so many years. Now, I have fulfilled your wish and finally cleared your name!
Emperor Ye Yao clenched the letter tightly and closed his eyes. After a long while, when he opened them again, his eyes were filled with a murderous aura. "Guards, go and bring Luo Yun'e to me!"
Eunuch Chang, having received the order, immediately bowed to instruct the young eunuchs. However, before the young eunuchs could even go to summon someone.
A servant rushed in from outside, "Your Majesty, this is bad! The Empress has hanged herself!"
"What?" Emperor Ye Yao stood up abruptly.
The others in the room were also startled.
Ye Jingyu's brows furrowed deeply.
The servant knelt on the ground. "Someone from Fengqi Palace has come to report that Her Highness is no longer breathing!"
Emperor Ye Yao suddenly felt his strength drain away and sat back in his chair. After a long while, he let out a long sigh and waved his hand. "I know. You may leave now."
The servant bowed and left.
Emperor Ye Yao summoned Eunuch Chang. "You go to Prince Lian's mansion personally and ask Prince Lian to enter the palace to see me. Remember, do not mention anything that has happened in the palace to him."
Eunuch Chang bowed and withdrew.
After he left, Emperor Ye Yao also asked Ying Xiao to leave for the time being.
In an instant, only the father and son remained in the room.
Emperor Ye Yao looked at his son standing below. He was now only in his teens, not yet an adult, but he had already become so mature and steady, possessing the demeanor of an emperor.
After Emperor Ye Yao's emotions surged, he suddenly felt a sense of desolation. He looked at Ye Jingyu with complex emotions. "I hit you back then. Do you hate me?"
He remembered that when he learned that Xue'er had been confined to the cold palace, he went to visit her. However, upon arriving, he saw that Xue'er had already taken the aphrodisiac.
He was the only one present at the scene, and he assumed that Ye Jingyu had injured Xue'er to protect himself. In his rage, he had slapped him.
He remembered that he had used all his strength in that slap, and the child had vomited blood at that moment.
Thinking back now, this child had truly been wronged over the years.
Ye Jingyu lowered his head and replied in a businesslike manner, "Your son dares not."
Emperor Ye Yao looked at his cold response and clenched his fists, a flicker of remorse and heartache crossing his eyes.
Enough, enough. In the end, he had wronged his mother and son.
Silence fell upon the room.
After a long while, Emperor Ye Yao looked at him with a complex expression. "I know in my heart that you have hated me all these years, but whether you believe it or not, there is something I must tell you."
"Back then, I did not fully believe that your mother consort had committed adultery. I loved her very much, and I knew what kind of person she was. I believed her."
"It was just that fate was not in our favor, and things ended up this way."
Ye Jingyu's body stiffened, and his fingers instinctively retracted.
Emperor Ye Yao saw his subtle reaction and shook his head with a bitter smile.
He must have thought that his words were just excuses to shirk responsibility.
"Enough, I am tired. You may go now." The man leaned back wearily on the dragon throne and closed his eyes to rest.
Ye Jingyu did not leave.
He raised his head and, for the first time, looked directly at the man before him, the man he called 'Father Emperor'.
The man, always decisive and possessing the sharpness of a king, now looked troubled, much like an ordinary father weary from family worries.
Ye Jingyu's gaze deepened. After a while, he asked an unrelated question.
"Father Emperor, since you didn't fully believe Mother Consort's affair back then, why didn't you go to see her immediately after you recovered?"
He remembered that the year he suddenly saw Duke Ying and his mother consort in a private meeting, he had been so agitated that his blood had rushed to his head, causing him to vomit blood. He had been ill for several days.
He had been recuperating in bed during these days. The harem was managed by the Empress, and the court was controlled by the Luo family. He had no time to attend to other matters, which he could understand.
However, at that time, their mother and son had been pushed to such a desperate situation by the Empress, with no way out.
If Father Emperor had gone to see them even a little earlier after recovering, even a little earlier, he would have witnessed what the Empress had done to his mother consort.
Then, perhaps everything would have been different.
Emperor Ye's body stiffened slightly. He opened his eyes and looked at his son below with a bitter smile. "Because I was not in the palace at that time."
Could it be said that fate played a trick on them?
Luo Zheng's memorial stated that Ying Zhao had died of suicide due to shame and inability to face the Emperor.
However, he knew Ying Zhao's character best and did not believe that Ying Zhao would commit suicide without seeing him first.
Even with Ying Zhao's suicide note, he had not fully believed it, as handwriting could be forged.
At that time, all the civil and military officials respected Luo Zheng, and as the new emperor, he had no support.
He knew that he would not hear the truth in court, so he secretly left the palace and went to Duke Ying's mansion, wanting to investigate discreetly for any clues.
Unfortunately, by the time he reached Duke Ying's mansion, it was already a different place, empty and deserted.
By the time he rushed back to the palace to find Xue'er, it was already too late.