Before this controversy could settle, another major corruption case emerged from the Ministry of Personnel, led by Prince Ning Jiang Yunqiao. The high-ranking officials and number of people involved made it the most significant court scandal in Nanrui in nearly a decade. Prince Ning was stripped of her position and confined to her royal residence, severely damaging Yunqiao’s faction.
Yunqiao was trapped in her residence. I wanted to visit her but ultimately didn’t. We were no longer as close as before, and my visit would only be interpreted as a provocation.
I just wanted to know if she had truly tried to harm me by tampering with the golden cup. Although I believed An Jin wouldn’t lie to me, I wondered if there was a misunderstanding. Was the person An Jin sent reliable?
After much consideration, I decided to consult An Jin, but he suggested using this opportunity to deal Jiang Yunqiao a final, devastating blow, ensuring she could never rise again.
An Jin smiled meaningfully, saying, “To achieve great things, one must seize every opportunity. When you need to be ruthless, you can’t leave any room for mercy. Your opponents are like wild grass on the plains – given the slightest chance, they’ll resurrect.”
His words weren’t wrong, but I couldn’t bring myself to be so cruel. Based on An Jin’s current style, this time he wanted to make Yunqiao lose not just her heir apparent status, but possibly her royal identity, or even her life. If she alone suffered, that would be one thing, but if it implicated A Fu and her husband…
“Let me think about it,” I shook my head, holding his hand. “Promise me you won’t act yet.”
An Jin helplessly looked at me, and after a long while, he nodded and agreed.
Next, I found Liu Hua and asked her to secretly arrange a meeting with the imprisoned High Priest.
This was the first time I saw the High Priest’s appearance.
She was extremely pale, with only a faint light color on her lips, dry and peeling. Her large eyes lacked luster, and when looking at someone, she seemed somewhat dazed.
Liu Hua dismissed the others, giving us a private space. The High Priest stared blankly ahead, as if lost in some beautiful memory, a faint smile at the corner of her mouth.
“High Priest,” I called her name and smiled at her.
After a long while, her gaze finally focused on me, immediately showing panic. “Is-is it you? Why are you here? What else do you want?!”
“Don’t be nervous,” I stared into her eyes. “It seems you’re not doing well.”
She gradually came to her senses, fear and hatred flashing across her face. “Stop pretending. Since you’ve already achieved your goal, why are you looking for me?”
“The High Priest seems to have misunderstood me,” I frowned. “What goal?”
“Who else could it be?!” she hissed hatefully. “I didn’t expect you to look simple and weak, but act so ruthlessly! Isn’t this just to take revenge on me?”
“Revenge on you?” I sneered. “Didn’t you have a secret affair in the temple? Were you framed or set up?”
She was speechless, mumbling, “No… it’s a misunderstanding, I don’t even know him…”
“Don’t know him?” I stared at her. “So he’s a villain who broke into the temple? Such a heinous criminal should be immediately executed. How about I request his immediate execution right now?”
Her face turned deathly pale, trembling all over. “No—” she suddenly knelt down.
“Please, Your Highness Yu Wang, I made a mistake before. Please forgive me…”
I glanced down at her. Priests guarding the temple were not allowed to marry, and the High Priest especially needed to observe strict rules until death. However, she had broken the rules. This time her actions were exposed, not directly by me, but mostly related to An Jin.
“Rest assured, I actually came here to confirm something with the High Priest,” I deliberately pursed my lips, looking down at her with a slightly tilted angle and narrowed eyes, a posture I learned from An Jin that could make one look more imposing. “As long as the High Priest answers honestly, I might find a way to protect your lover and settle your family.”
She hesitated before asking, “What is it?”
“When I had my first trial, you tampered with the golden cup. Whose idea was it?”
She was stunned, thinking for a moment before saying, “Prince Ning.”
“Are you sure?”
She lowered her head. “Prince Ning personally discussed it with me, absolutely true.”
An Jin indeed hadn’t lied to me.
For some reason, I felt a huge weight lift, like putting down a massive stone. Yet with this stone’s removal, some disappointment emerged. I didn’t expect Yun Qiao to actually do this.
She was unkind to me first – should I be unjust to her in return? Before I could think more, the day after meeting the High Priest, another bombshell news arrived.
The High Priest suddenly provided a new testimony, admitting she had conspired with Prince Ning Jiang Yun Qiao and the Grand Councilor to try to sabotage the heir’s two trials, though they had coincidentally failed. This was another major case involving the current Prince Ning and the Grand Councilor. The Emperor ordered the Censorate, Court of Judicial Review, and Ministry of Justice to jointly investigate thoroughly, and if proven true, to severely punish those involved.
I was stunned. I had secretly met this High Priest just to confirm whether Yun Qiao had done that thing, but who would have thought she would reveal everything the day after our meeting?
Liu Hua privately praised me, saying she didn’t expect the Yu Wang to deliver another heavy blow. This time, they would find it hard to recover. I could only smile bitterly – even if I said I didn’t do this, would anyone believe me?
Just then, the Emperor suddenly summoned me.
“Father must have loved Mother deeply.”
There was no doubt that Father and Mother had once deeply loved each other. They met under the Qixi Lovers’ Bridge, released sky lanterns together, and walked through the misty bamboo sea of Fenzhu. They had also performed music together, making others envious. The imperial historians recorded that Father had filled Mother’s palace with wisteria flowers because she loved purple, and that Mother had once surprised Father on his birthday by secretly bringing back the Wushan red fish he had always longed for, causing him to shed tears.
Such love was no less profound than mine and An Jin’s. Yet, this love ultimately descended into despair.
Emperor Hong sighed and nodded repeatedly. “Indeed. I only understood this much later.”
Father’s family was once a renowned noble clan in Nanrui. However, their generations-long plan was to overthrow the Jiang imperial clan. From childhood, Father bore his family’s mission, and even his meeting with Mother was deliberately arranged by his family. After that forced palace coup, Mother fled, burning down the palace that held countless memories and destroying their love.
I have reason to believe that the ease with which the imperial uncle later broke through the capital and eliminated Father’s rebel clan was due to Father’s pain and regret after losing Mother.
I even suspect that perhaps the moment Father learned of Mother’s death during childbirth, he had already lost all hope and wished to die. Thus, he chose to take his own life in the already burned palace, attempting to follow Mother’s path.
“No matter how deep the love, it can still turn into a tragedy,” Emperor Hong suddenly turned to look at me, his gaze sharp. “A Yao, who do you think was more at fault in this tragedy?”
I stood frozen.
He continued, “It was your Mother. If she had detected Father’s family’s conspiracy early and stopped them, things would never have escalated. Her excessive tolerance and blind trust harmed her, not only creating this tragedy but nearly destroying the empire.”
He paused, then patted my shoulder. “So A Yao, are you going to follow your Mother’s old path?!”
