Bai Han smiled more mockingly, "Because in his heart, you are the true heir. The true heir of the Han family cannot bear a stigma. Although he framed the Bai family, poisoning hands on the wedding day are not considered a gentlemanly act. In the eyes of the world, I am a petty person who schemed for personal gain, while you are a hero who guarded the borders with awe-inspiring might."
"Under my command, every single soldier, every person, belongs to Father. They are not here to protect me, but merely to monitor me. Monitoring my every step, to see if I am following Father's intentions. Also, to monitor if I have any thoughts of replacing you. If I do, then I too would become a second son of the Han family who bravely sacrificed himself to eliminate the rebellious Bai family."
"So tell me, how should I resist, how should I escape with Xi'er?"
At that time, he admitted, he had thought of going all out.
However, if he died there, what would it change?
Except that everyone would believe that Father, in order to quell the rebellion and frame the Bai family for treason, had sacrificed his own son, a tragedy most pitiable.
And the truth of the matter, no one would ever know.
Therefore, he chose to hide, chose to obey his father, chose to pretend to be very interested in his father's schemes, to appear as if he was merely lusting after Bai Xi's beauty, and to be angry and humiliated by Xi'er's affection for someone else. To allay his father's doubts and suspicions, he even personally brought the heads of Little Xi's father and brother to her, deliberately provoking her anger and pain.
But in truth, his heart was also being cut like a knife at that moment.
During those days, under the guise of obeying his father, he slowly learned all the facts. He learned that the Altar of Heaven Hall had been built without anyone noticing, and that Little Xi was the sacrificial offering. At the same time, he was also secretly planning how to take Little Xi away.
It didn't matter if she hated him.
Even if she killed him herself after escaping, to avenge her family, he would not hesitate.
His original plan was to secretly take Xi'er away from the Han family and, on the way to the Altar of Heaven Hall, use a highly skilled disguise artisan he had coincidentally met to swap her out silently, and then leave.
But he never expected that the night before his plan was finalized, Han Mo had stealthily infiltrated the Han family, intending to rescue Little Xi.
He was panicked, angry, and in pain.
Panicked because his plan had been disrupted, angry because Han Mo had everything, everyone's love, yet still wanted to snatch Xi'er away. So, when he left, he chose to step forward and stop him.
It was only when Xi'er died in Han Mo's arms, and at the hands of his own sword, that he regretted it.
Of course, there was nothing good to say about these things, because... they were in the past.
Han Mo: "You say I received all the love since childhood, while you had nothing. You're likely overthinking it. At least your mother's love for you was genuine, whereas I lost my mother at a young age. You say Xi'er is the light of your life and you don't want to lose her, but you used dark methods to try and bind that light to your world, without considering her willingness."
Bai Han looked at Han Mo before him and offered no rebuttal.
Han Mo said finally, "That person did not love me, which is why he wanted to pass down the entire Han family to me. He loved himself. The reason he felt I had the right to inherit the Han family was because I am the eldest son, born of the principal wife, whereas your mother, before following him, belonged to someone else as a singing girl. He did not want people pointing fingers and gossiping; that was all..."
He knew that person's selfishness.
It was just that he thought, at least on the surface, things would be handled properly.
Now it seemed, he had indeed managed the surface, because he made others bear the brunt of everything that would be criticized.
In the past, he only thought of him as mediocre, lacking in ability. But now, it seemed... he had underestimated him. He truly understood the 'ways of officialdom.'
Bai Han was somewhat lost in thought.
Yes, he had felt that way back then, and that was why... he himself had tasted bitter fruit.
But what was the point of saying all this now?
"Han Mo, I called you here not to explain anything to you, nor to prove that I did nothing wrong, and certainly not to make you pity me. I only wanted to vent my past anger and resentment towards you. That's all. Of course, I also know that my sins are unforgivable and immense, and I deserve a thousand deaths, but I hope to repay everything I owe Xi'er from the previous life."
He was willing to cherish her, dote on her, like a brother, like a father, to repay what Little Xi had lost because of him.
But in this life, like the previous one, apart from the ability to foresee the future, he had nothing.
And Han Mo...
Han Mo looked into Bai Han's eyes and said lightly, "If that is how you think, then our goals are aligned. Let the grievances of the previous life end with your death back then. Besides, Xi'er doesn't remember anything. I hope you will not utter any alarmist remarks in the future, and I will definitely protect Xi'er well."
His words were firm, carrying a hint of threat.
Bai Han said lightly, "I am not trying to threaten you. Initially, I was just jealous of you, not wanting you and Xi'er to rekindle your past affection, which is why I opposed this. However, later, I was not just targeting you. It was because I knew that the events of the previous life had not ended."
Han Mo's brows furrowed instantly upon hearing this: "What do you mean 'not ended'?"
Bai Han said lightly, "On my deathbed in the previous life, I had a dream. In the dream, I saw the moment the Altar of Heaven Hall opened, with a surge of spiritual light. And Xi'er was bound to a dragon's head cast in pure gold, hanging there, her blood slowly flowing into the formation... I thought it was just a dream, but then you told me that the Han family still existed, and that Xi'er's body had been sealed in a tomb by the Han family."
Han Mo's pupils constricted slightly: "You mean... someone still wants to open the Altar of Heaven Hall, and the sacrificial offering is still Xi'er!"
Bai Han nodded: "That's right."
Han Mo frowned: "According to what you said back then, that person was at the end of his life, desperately trying to open the Altar of Heaven Hall for spiritual power to prolong his life. But he's likely been dead for hundreds of years now, what reason would he have to do that anymore?"
As for the current Han family... whether it was the compassionate Han Cai or the unrestrained Han Rui, they seemed not to know much about the things in the ancient tomb, let alone the Altar of Heaven Hall.
Or perhaps... they were simply hiding it.
Bai Han said lightly, "After my death, did you pay any attention to Father's affairs?"
Han Mo said lightly, "I didn't pay attention, but my subordinates reported that he died not long after your death."
Before Bai Han spoke of these matters, his feeling towards his father was one of coldness and selfishness. From the moment his mother died, in his heart, his father was no longer a father, but a murderer of his mother.
Therefore, from then on, he worked hard on his own, carving out a world for himself.
But when he achieved some success, his fatherly love began to overflow. His guilt towards his mother, his debt to him, all came rushing back... Unfortunately, he no longer needed it.
And during the time of his death, he was in a coma, so he wasn't very clear about it.