He'd better not have said that, for as soon as he did, Li Huaiyu gained momentum and pointed to the tip of her own nose: "Others dare to overthrow their lord, let alone me? In the eyes of the people, I am the Dan Yang Princess, guilty of ten evils and capable of doing anything to seize power! You still don't cut like a knife!"

  Li Huailian lowered his eyes, seemingly thinking seriously for a moment, before asking: "Does the imperial sister want the throne?"

  Li Huaiyu sneered: "Do you think I care?"

  "The will left by Emperor Xiao, I did not destroy it, it is still hidden in the Ming Mountain Palace." Li Huailian said, "If my imperial sister is willing to help me with something, I am willing to abdicate voluntarily."

  The emperor who would stop at nothing to take control is now willing to abdicate? Huai Yu thought it was truly absurd, clenched her fists and stared at him for a while before snorting: "You first tell me what's going on."

  "Find Ning Wanwei for me." Li Huairan lowered his eyes, "She abandoned me at the critical moment, I want to find her and ask what she was thinking."

  Did Ning Guifei abandon him and leave? Huai Yu was a bit surprised. After thinking about it, she rolled her eyes: "You didn't learn my straightforwardness, but instead learned to be evasive like Zi Yang Jun. If you're worried about someone, just say so; if you want to reunite with someone, just say that. What's the point of beating around the bush?"

  His cheekbones clenched tightly, Li Huailin said in a hard voice: "I'm not worried about her, I just want to find her."

  "In that case, I won't be able to help you." Xiang Yu patted the dust off his hands and said, "Whether or not you ascend to the throne has nothing to do with me. Who ends up sitting on the throne also has nothing to do with me. If you want to find someone, go look for them yourself."

  Li Huailian's face sank, and he glanced at Jiang Xuanjin, who seemed to think that the Empress's words were not a problem at all. He spoke in a low voice to her: "Are you tired? Qing Si has prepared breakfast for you, go ahead and have some."

  "How about you?"

  "There's still something I want to say to him."

  She raised an eyebrow and looked at him, then at Li Huailin. Huaiyu scratched her head: "If you want to beat him up, just call me. You're not suitable for fighting with him, I'm more convenient."

  A hint of a smile appeared in his eyes, Jiang Xuanjin nodded and saw her out.

  The gate closed and the hall darkened a bit. Li Huailian's whole body of murderous aura was no longer concealed, frowning at the person in front of him: "What do you want to do?"

  Sitting down on the chair, stroking his robe, Jiang Xuanjin said slowly and deliberately: "Your imperial sister was very concerned about you. Before she discovered that you had murderous intentions towards her, in her heart, you were more important than me. So I want to know, now that things have come to this, does she want to kill you to avenge herself?"

  It was a certainty, he deliberately put the dagger on the side table, Li Huaiyu didn't even look at it, shouting loudly and scolding loudly, but didn't think of killing him directly. Just now, there were only three people in the main hall, no one knew that the emperor had arrived at Yicheng, even if Li Huailun died here, no one would know who killed him.

  However, she still couldn't bear to take action.

  His lower jaw tightened slightly, Jiang Xuanjin was somewhat displeased: "You ordered me to give her the poisoned wine, she doesn't resent you, but resents me so much that she wants to kill me."

  What's going on?

  Li Huailian pursed his lips and said with averted head: "She doesn't want to kill me, you do."

  Jiang Xuanjin hated him, he didn't know why, but his hatred was even deeper than that of the imperial sister. All along the way, he could feel it. If not for sending him back to see the imperial sister, this person would have sent him directly to the Yellow Springs at Fengyue.

  "May I ask why?" He did not deny it, but asked him instead.

  Li Huailian sneered: "What else can regicide be? Now that you, Zi Yang, are the only one in power, killing me would allow you to directly contend for the throne."

  Shaking his head indifferently, Jiang Xuanjin said: "I was born and received the teachings of loyalty to the monarch, listened to words of benevolence and righteousness, and had no greedy thoughts towards the throne. What I am doing now is just trying to avenge my personal grievances."

  "What's my grudge?"

  Raising her eyes to look at him, Jiang Xuanjin's gaze was icy: "Your Majesty issued an imperial edict, sentencing the eldest princess to death and forcing me, a humble minister, to bear the blame of an innocent person. Doesn't that deserve some retribution?"

  "Unbelievably looking back at him, Li Huailin's pupils contracted, 'You suddenly left Kyoto, raised troops and rebelled, just for this?'"

  "Is this reason not enough?" Jiang Xuanjin pinched the armrest and slowly stood up, "Does Your Majesty know why Princess Chang would kill Li Shan?"

  It's been rumored in the world that Princess Chang was cruel and harmed innocent people for power, but Li Huailian had never thought of asking her about it before. Now that he mentioned it, he suddenly asked: "Do you know?"

  "At first I didn't know either, but after she went to prison, I heard Qing Si mention some old things. So I sent someone to investigate. Didn't expect to actually find something."

  Walking up to him, Jiang Xuanjin looked down at him: "Pingling King Li Shan, who once broke into the imperial harem of the previous emperor and used despicable means to insult the mother of a nation. The previous empress died on your birthday, not from a difficult labor, but from shame and indignation."

  Li Huailian shook his head, almost without thinking: "You're lying!"

  Li Shanming said that Empress Dowager loved him, but was forcibly taken by the previous emperor, and had no choice but to secretly communicate with him.

  "Your Majesty, if you don't believe me, you can go and ask others." Jiang Xuanjin said expressionlessly, "At the beginning, more than a hundred palace maids in the imperial harem were dismissed by him, with over half of them dying unnatural deaths. However, there are still some people who know the truth and are living in hiding outside the capital."

  "No." Li Huailian said stubbornly, "I don't believe it."

  He didn't care whether he believed it or not, Jiang Xuanjin continued: "To do such a thing that is against the heavens and violates the norms of human relationships, the previous emperor had confined Li Shan to Pingling and did not allow him to enter the capital again. This was already showing consideration for his relatives and being kind-hearted. But it seems that the King of Pingling does not know how to be grateful. Taking advantage of the previous emperor's death, Your Majesty and the Crown Prince were young and helpless, he once again entered the capital, attempting to seize power."

  "Your Majesty thinks Pingling Jun is a good person and has helped you a lot. But does he know, in places where you can't see, what is he doing?"

  "Using the Son of Heaven to order the vassals, to seize wealth and usurp power, and even harboring evil intentions towards the Empress Dowager."

  A gloomy look in his eyes, Jiang Xuanjin said: "The eldest princess was too lenient, this has disrupted human relationships and lost humanity. Such a person deserves to be tortured to death."

  His face turned whiter, Li Huailin took two steps back and muttered in a low voice: "You deceived me, Pingling Jun is an upright and honest person, he wouldn't do such things"

  "I, your humble servant, merely told Your Majesty the reason why Princess Chang killed Pingling Jun." Jiang Xuanjin said, "Let me tell you, you have never been on the side of justice. All the things you've done are evil, assisting the tyrant and harming the good, hurting all those who were kind to you, eliminating loyal ministers. The situation has fallen to this point today, entirely because of your own doing, with no relation to anyone else!"

  The words were like a hammer, heavily smashing into his heart. Li Huailin's face was shocked, and he stumbled underfoot, almost unable to stand steady.

  "Li Huaiyu was also wrong." Softening his tone, Jiang Xuanjin shook his head and said, "She shouldn't have protected you so well, she shouldn't have made you think she's a bad person. You're actually a good person, but you're much worse than her, and you don't deserve her protection at all."

  "Shut up!"

  "What's done is done, yet you're still afraid of what others might say?" Jiang Xuanjin sneered, "When Your Majesty used me to hurt her heart, did you ever think about how much pain she would endure?"

  Li Huailian's eyelashes trembled, and his hand grasping the sleeve also turned pale.

  "I, your humble servant, have already repaid what I owed. Your Majesty cannot remain detached from this matter." He gently brushed off the dust on his shoulder. Jiang Xuanjin hooked his lips and said, "When you and I were both injured, she rushed to your side first. If you can't endure the same hardships as her, how can I be at peace?"

  "What do you want to do?"

  "Your Majesty doesn't want to see Ning Guifei?" Jiang Xuanjin said, "From Fengyue to Yixian City, she has been with us all the way."

  His flustered heart suddenly calmed down when he heard the three words "Ning Guifei", Li Huailun's eyes lit up. He asked: "Will you let me see her?"

  "It took so much effort just to let Your Majesty see her at this time." Jiang Xuanjin stepped aside, "Please."

  At first he was delighted, then a little angry. Li Huailin picked up his robe and strode out the door, thinking to himself in annoyance: since she had been with him all along, why hadn't she come to see him? Even if she were being held captive, couldn't someone have been sent to deliver a message for her? Was she deliberately avoiding him?

  When the archenemy was in front of her, she could actually abandon him and run away by herself. What's the point of saying that she loves him extremely? Even if he wasn't angry at the time, but thought she was clever, afterwards when thinking about it carefully, he would definitely be furious, in her heart, his weight had never been heavy!

  Following Jiang Xuanjin out of the door and into the car, Li Huailin asked in a bad tone: "Lock her up far away?"

  Jiang Xuanjin nodded.

  "You're so disgusted with me, are you preparing a trap for me to jump into?" Li Huailin frowned at him, "I can negotiate with you, as long as you let me and her leave safely, I'll give you whatever you want."

  Jiang Xuanyin didn't speak, silently staring at the wall of the carriage.

  Li Huailian didn't say another word and didn't wait for him to finish speaking. As soon as the carriage stopped, he quickly jumped down from the carriage shaft.

  "Your Majesty, slow down." The eunuch said in a low voice.

  No matter what he said, Li Huailian took a look at the courtyard in front of him and stepped inside.

  The courtyard was much cooler than outside, and as soon as he walked past the painted wall, paper money flew down from above, covering him all over.

  "How dare you!" Li Huailian angrily shouted, brushing away the ominous thing, "This kind of filthy thing also dares to sprinkle on me!"

  Snow-white paper money fell down, revealing a crystal coffin in the center of the courtyard. The coffin was filled with a large amount of ice blocks, and a person's shadow could be vaguely seen inside. A person kneeling beside it cried with red eyes, looked up at him for a moment, and then continued to scatter another handful of paper money.

  "Who's that?" Recognizing the person as one of Ning Yuwei's palace maids, Li Huailun was startled for a moment. An idea flashed through his mind, only to be violently dispelled by himself.

  It's impossible! How could Ning Yuwei possibly die? She didn't deserve to die!

  He looked around the yard and asked: "Where is your master?"

  Han Gu didn't answer, her hand holding the paper money was trembling.

  For some unknown reason, Li Huailian took big strides to walk over and grabbed her: "I'm asking you a question, can't you hear?"

  Before he could finish speaking, his gaze fell upon the crystal coffin beside him, and his words got stuck in his throat. Li Huailin was stunned, releasing Han Gu, and stood stiffly for a while. He reached out, slowly wiping away the dust on the coffin lid one stroke at a time.

  Her serene face gradually became clear, with eyebrows like the moon and thin lips like rouge. Ning Yuwei lay quietly inside, as if she was having a beautiful dream, with a faint blush on her cheeks.

  Chest tightness and pain, Li Huailin let out a low hum, thinking he might be dreaming. How could he dream of Ning Yuwei lying in a coffin? She should be lying on her imperial concubine's bed instead.

  He grasped the edge of the coffin lid and Li Huailin exerted himself violently, as if he wanted to pull her out.

  "The person has been dead for a long time, the smell is very heavy, Your Majesty had better not open it." Jiang Xuanjin stood behind him, took three incense sticks and inserted them into the incense burner in front of the coffin.

  Li Huailian suddenly turned around, his eyes bloodshot: "Is it you?"

  Jiang Xuanjin looked at him calmly.

  "You hate me, come at me if you dare! Why did you have to lay hands on her?!" Li Huailin bellowed in rage, kicking aside the nearby incense burner and charging straight at Jiang Xuanjin.

  Fists clenched in extreme anger, not a single accurate hit, Jiang Xuanjin easily dodged, without explaining a word, and asked him: "Didn't you not want her? Haven't you been cold to her for a long time? What's the hurry now?"

  "You scoundrel!" A punch hit empty air, Li Huailian pounced again, roaring like a madman, "I want you to pay with your life for her!"

  "Pay with your life?" He chuckled and dodged his palm wind, Jiang Xuanjin said, "If anyone should pay, it's you first."

  His hands began to shake uncontrollably, Li Huailin missed several strikes, his face twisted in a grimace. He turned back to look at the person in the coffin. It felt like there were needles stabbing wildly in his brain, the pain made him let out a low growl, and he clutched his head with both hands.

  "It's fortunate for me that I can gain Your Majesty's favor through Princess Chang Le, and have a different view of you. I, your concubine, hold no grudges."

  "Your Majesty can't sleep? I'll sing two short songs for you."

  "All my glory was given by Your Majesty, if Your Majesty wants it back, I have no complaints."

  The hem of the palace dress fluttered up and slowly returned to calm, turning black and white. Li Huailian tightly grasped the dragon robe on his chest, panting urgently, but as if he couldn't breathe in air, his hands were painfully clenched with bulging veins.

  He hadn't even had time to say, hadn't had time to tell her, that he wasn't spoiled by the imperial sister anymore, and quarreling with her was just to get her to care about him a little more. Throwing her into the cold palace was just to make her come beg for herself. When Feng Yin put her in another courtyard, it was only because she was afraid of being harmed by others because of him, not that he was really angry with her. He liked her as much as she liked himself.

  He has a bad temper and is easily irritated, but only she can calm him down. He can't sleep at night, tossing and turning, but only holding her can he feel at ease. He can't leave her alone.

  Propping himself up, Li Huailin stumbled two steps back to the coffin and stubbornly lifted the crystal coffin lid.

  Even if it was kept in an ice coffin, the body would still rot quickly in June. As soon as the coffin lid was opened, a foul smell wafted out, causing everyone to retreat. But Li Huailin seemed completely unaffected, grabbing Ning Wanwei's hand and stubbornly pulling her into his arms.

  A deep scar ran across his entire neck, and Li Huailin's hand trembled as his Adam's apple rolled up and down, with bloodshot eyes.

  "The princess has taken her own life." Han Gu spoke up from behind him, "Please, Your Majesty, give the princess a moment of peace and let her go in peace."

  Suicide? Li Huailian turned back, looking at her in disbelief.

  Han Gu's eyes were red, her tone was very calm: "The day Liu Yunlie attacked the city, he brought people to the other courtyard to capture the princess. The princess knew they wanted to take herself to threaten Your Majesty, and under the circumstances that she could not escape, in order to avoid Your Majesty's difficulties, she took her own life to thank you for your kindness."

  The bright red blood spilled on the bluestone ground of the other courtyard, shocking everyone. Since ancient times, many imperial concubines have been weak and willing to die for their lord, but it's hard to find one in ten thousand. What virtue or ability does Li Huailin possess that he actually encountered Ning Guifei?

  "The princess had some last words for Your Majesty." Han Gu tried to calm herself down, but couldn't help the resentment in her voice. "She said that if in the next life you are a ruler, she will be your consort; if you are a commoner, she will be your wife. Just as long as in the next life you don't give birth to another face that looks like someone else's, and can devote yourself wholeheartedly to her, that would be enough!"