"You are a goddess, so you must enjoy the best, and cannot touch any filth, is that it? What right do you have? My daughter should have been a princess too! Not an adopted daughter! It's a pity she didn't know who her birth mother was until the day she died!"
"She doesn't know, her mother named her Ling Yin..."
Ling Yao pursed her lips. This matter, her father the Emperor had indeed wronged her. So what if she had killed someone? So what if Lu Tian Jiang knew? But her father the Emperor had done it for her...
"Lu Tian Jiang initially believed it and kept targeting you, but he later learned the truth, so, you told him?"
"That's right! I deliberately exposed a flaw, and he followed the trail to the Grand Princess of Da Jing, the noble Goddess! Then he began to retaliate against my imperial brother! Against you!"
Ling Yao shook her head, recalling past events, and the last bit of pity she had for the King of Ru Nan vanished.
"As a member of the royal family, just to legitimize your daughter, you colluded with foreign spies and shook the very foundations of Jing Country. You are simply mad!"
"I am mad, and why am I mad? Wasn't it forced upon me by him! I gave up everything for brotherhood! But what did he do! Do you know who instigated An Wang to kill me back then? It was him! Your father the Emperor, who wears a benevolent face but harbors a black heart!"
"Impossible! You're lying!"
Ling Yao could guarantee this matter, because Eunuch Bai Xi had mentioned in his notes that her father the Emperor was naturally weak and knew he wasn't cut out to be an emperor. He also didn't believe his brother was dead, so he sent many people to search, but they couldn't find the missing Third Prince, which is why he was pushed onto the throne by the ministers.
Eunuch Bai Xi, as her father the Emperor's confidant, handled all major and minor affairs. If her father the Emperor had such intentions, he would have been the first to know.
And that notebook, if it hadn't later recorded Grand Tutor Lu's conspiracy and the King of Ru Nan's strangeness, Eunuch Bai Xi wouldn't have intended for her to see it.
Therefore, the things in there were all true.
"If your father the Emperor had the intention to kill you, would he have tolerated you living under his nose for so many years? Touch your conscience, besides damaging Ling Yin's reputation for my matters, in what way has he wronged you? You should understand your father the Emperor. He couldn't bear to kill even An Wang's son, would he kill you, his own sibling?"
"You even know this." The King of Ru Nan gave a few unpleasant laughs. "As expected, his most cherished daughter. If you weren't a goddess, would he still care about you?"
"There are no 'ifs'. I am the goddess, and he dotes on me. You don't need to sow discord here. My father the Emperor has worked tirelessly for Jing Country his entire life, without any selfish motives. I will only respect him."
"Good, good, your father the Emperor is so great! I cannot compare to him. Kill me or flay me as you please!" The King of Ru Nan simply closed his eyes in dejection.
What was the point of arguing these matters anymore?
What was the difference between living and dying!
This life had been too tiring.
Love unrequited, losing a daughter in middle age, fratricide, and in the end, all efforts turned to dust.
"Tell me, did you participate in poisoning my father the Emperor?"
"Heh, is it that important?"
"I want to ask on behalf of my father the Emperor." Ling Yao paused. "Also, Second Imperial Brother has always regarded you as a father. Even though you have shown many flaws, he just won't give up. I think he also wants to know."
A corner of imperial yellow appeared at the door.
Ling Yao knew that her Second Imperial Brother's temperament was very much like her father the Emperor's.
Too indecisive, and in some aspects, stubbornly persistent.
She asked this question to make the final decision on this matter.
The King of Ru Nan opened his eyes, his gaze distant, as if reminiscing.
After a long while, he finally said, "Zhong Yi is a good child. Ling Yao, you are not like your imperial brother, nor like the Empress, but Jing Country truly needs a goddess like you. I believe Jing Country will become stronger. With you looking after Zhong Yi, he will also grow into a good emperor."
"I have disappointed him."
The hem of the clothes by the door swayed a few times.
Ling Yao asked, "Did you really participate?"
"Although I did not directly participate, I chose to turn a blind eye. He frequented Yu Xi Palace daily, and your Empress Mother was filled with sorrow. How could I not pay attention? But I was jealous, is that laughable? She fell in love with your father the Emperor, while I was still deceiving myself here. My vigil and devotion all became a joke."
"So, I watched your father the Emperor grow weaker day by day, then lose his mind, and finally, under the guise of him being ill, I sealed off Tai Yi Palace."
"Although Grand Tutor Lu could control the Emperor, with me here, I would not let him act recklessly. I controlled the palace, and he could do nothing. I could not let him disrupt Jing Country. I just... hated your father the Emperor."
Ling Yao had learned what she wanted to know. The figure by the door had also disappeared.
"Take him away!"
"Ling Yao!" The King of Ru Nan allowed the guards to apprehend him, offering no resistance, but he called out to her again.
"Tell me, your Empress Mother's death, it wasn't you..."
"I am not that insane!"
The King of Ru Nan breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Ling Yao's bulging abdomen and a glimmer of hope appeared, "Then, the child... the child..."
"Take him away!"
Ling Yao was impatient, her face cold as she walked away.
The King of Ru Nan, however, was not as lifeless as before. His head full of white hair made him look like a dying old man.
Outside, the sounds of fighting were deafening. It turned out Xiao Shan had already brought his men in.
The two groups of soldiers clashed, appearing to have just engaged without causing any casualties yet.
"Stop!"
With the King of Ru Nan's loud shout, the Western Suburb Camp, which already had low morale, retreated.
Upon seeing the King of Ru Nan, with his head full of white hair and being escorted, they were even more shocked and thrown into disarray.
How could the soldiers raised in the capital compare to the blood wolves who had fought their way through armies?
"Your Highness!"
"Your Highness!"
Xiao Shan strode through the crowd, his murderous gaze fixed on the King of Ru Nan upon seeing Ling Yao heavily guarded beside him.
The King of Ru Nan was intimidated by his aura, and knowing his cause was lost today, his life and death entirely in the hands of others, he couldn't help but plead, "Ling Yao, they were all tricked into coming by me. Now is a time when people are needed. Can you allow them to atone for their crimes?"
"Uncle, please don't joke. Just now they wanted to kill me to support your ascension. They were even more anxious than you. No matter how short of people Da Jing is, we dare not use such disloyal and unrighteous individuals. People must pay for their mistakes. They should have considered the worst outcome when entering the palace."
"Hmph!" A terrifying killing intent surged in Xiao Shan's eyes. His sharp gaze was like a drawn sword, his coldness almost piercing through one's bones.
He blocked Ling Yao's view, raised his hand, and instantly, a volley of arrows rained down.
The dozen or so generals leading the Western Suburb Army were turned into hedgehogs in an instant.
"All those who participated in the palace rebellion today will be expelled from the army and exiled to the border! Their three generations will be barred from officialdom!"