My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 67

Midnight – Imperial City

The imperial guards, following the Emperor’s signal, pursued the assassin who had suddenly appeared in the inner palace. At this moment, in the brightly lit Southern Study, only the Emperor’s figure cast a shadow from his elevated position.

Wu Ming’s form silently landed on the roof ridge to the right of the Southern Study. His hawk-like, sharp eyes pierced through the night to look at the brightly lit hall.

It was not easy to lure away the Emperor’s constant guards, but now they had received intelligence that the current Dark Division Commander of the Jinyiwei in the capital was not the real person but merely a decoy. So, as long as enough bait was offered to lure away those dozen or so guards, today would be when the Emperor’s defenses were at their weakest.

–This opportunity would only come once.

Wu Ming’s palm was covered with a silver-white glove, silk-like yet silver, reflecting a cold, chilling light under the moonlight.

He was skilled in many martial arts but particularly excelled in unpredictable palm techniques. Since he was assassinating the Emperor, he would naturally use the most confident and reliable method–those who truly died under his palm would never have any chance of resurrection.

Wu Ming had a very ordinary face, so ordinary that even if someone knew him, they wouldn’t notice him at first glance in the bustling streets. He was very satisfied with this trait because he wasn’t a martial hero but an assassin who yearned for power and status.

One day, he would use his martial prowess and intellect to stand at the pinnacle of power… The Emperor and princes were merely ghosts under his hand, pawns in his game.

He lowered his body, about to dash toward the shadows of the hall, when suddenly his back tensed. Cold sweat prickled like needles all over his skin. The intuition honed from thousands of life-and-death battles made Wu Ming abruptly change his movement. He turned sideways and slid to the other side of the roof, directly facing his previous hiding spot.

There, a figure in dark flying fish robes of the Jinyiwei had silently appeared. The Embroidered Spring Blade at their waist remained undrawn as they stood with hands behind their back, quietly looking at Wu Ming, who felt an instinctive sense of dread and trembling from the depths of his heart.

After Wu Ming’s only son had been killed by Yu Luocha, he broke through his cultivation stage in overwhelming grief and hatred. Now, he had already reached Grandmaster Great Perfection. Yet now, without even engaging, this person made him feel such danger. Thinking about it, only those old monsters who had long withdrawn from the world could cause such a feeling.

But such people had all signed treaties with the imperial court to retreat to mountains or seas, not concerning themselves with worldly affairs. How could they possibly be at the Emperor’s command?

And wearing Jinyiwei clothes no less!

–Who exactly was this person?!

Wang Lianhua looked at Wu Ming with interest. This man’s movements were intriguing, from a lineage he had never seen before.

Indeed, the Central Plains were interesting, much more entertaining than overseas.

“State your name,” he said calmly, with natural arrogance.

Wang Lianhua didn’t really care about the other’s name, but he knew his daughter would certainly be interested.

“This humble one is Wu Ming,” Wu Ming rubbed his fingers hidden in his sleeve, not wishing to waste time here. “May I ask why senior is here?”

Wang Lianhua smiled. “Aren’t you people searching throughout the capital for the Jinyiwei Commander? Now that I’m standing before you, why won’t you admit it?”

Wu Ming’s expression changed.

“Wu Ming? That name isn’t very auspicious.” Wang Lianhua’s lips curved in mockery, speaking carelessly, “Does it mean ‘nameless one’ or ‘lifeless one’? Well, it doesn’t matter.”

“Let’s say you’re both.”

As the words fell, Wang Lianhua’s form had already appeared before Wu Ming!

…

At first, there was room for counterattack, but as the techniques progressed, Wu Ming felt that the person before him was like mist, like water, like a cloud—everywhere yet nowhere to be found.

He gradually became frantic until Wang Lianhua casually turned out a palm technique. Wu Ming’s face immediately showed great alarm:

“The Ruyi Orchid Hand?! How can you use it?!”

“Oh? I didn’t expect a youngster like you with such a poor name would know good technique names.” Wang Lianhua’s palm technique contained vicious internal energy, and the variations were more bizarre and formidable than when Wu Ming had used it earlier. “Though this palm technique is somewhat interesting, it’s too simple to learn, boring.”

“You–!!”

Wu Ming had spent three months learning the Ruyi Orchid Hand, which was already considered genius-level compared to those who needed five, ten, or even more than ten years to see results. But if this person before him had truly learned the Ruyi Orchid Hand with just a glance…

Wu Ming’s eyes turned cold, and his palm technique changed again.

–Drunken Lying Cloud Seven Killing Hand!

“Hmm, this is interesting. But not difficult either… See, is this how it’s used?”

–Hunyuan One Qigong!

“Qigong, eh? This one’s energy can easily be disrupted. I suggest learning something else, but you’ll need to survive tonight first.”

–Great Hand Seal!

Wu Ming’s hands suddenly expanded more than double in size, containing abundant internal energy, purple-red with visible blood vessels.

Wang Lianhua made a finger-blade that nearly sliced off Wu Ming’s fingers, his expression disgusted. “…This is too ugly, take it away.”

Wu Ming’s face reddened, and in his extreme anger and shock, he spat out a mouthful of blood!

…..

“Don’t pursue a desperate enemy too far. Why not come down and join me for a cup of tea?”

Wang Lianhua’s eyebrows slightly moved as he watched Wu Ming staggering away. He landed as lightly as if he had wings on his back and looked at the Emperor standing at the door of the Southern Study.

Wang Lianhua was somewhat surprised. Xiao Yin’er had asked him to stay in the capital pretending to be the Jinyiwei Commander, more than half to conceal her whereabouts from the Emperor. But since Xiao Yin’er had left, Wang Lianhua had not appeared before the Emperor, only letting him know that he was present.

“She is a child I watched grow up, of course I recognize her.” The Emperor stepped aside and raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.

Wang Lianhua didn’t stand on ceremony either. He walked straight past the Emperor and strode into the Southern Study that so many court officials dreamed of entering.

The current Emperor was not someone who favored extravagance. The Southern Study wasn’t a bedchamber, but the side hall was fully equipped with tables, chairs, and tea sets. However, neither man seemed inclined to move there.

The Emperor handed a cup of tea to Wang Lianhua, who naturally accepted it and casually found a step, lifted his robe, and sat down.

The Emperor was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, “Years ago, when she returned from the jianghu, the first time she met me, she also sat there talking to me in this manner.”

Wang Lianhua paused in his tea-drinking motion and asked, “What did she say?”

“She said… she had come to help me stabilize the nation,” the Emperor also, just like that time, held his tea, lifted his dragon robe, and sat on the steps. “She said she was with child but too lazy to marry.”

Wang Lianhua drained the tea in his cup, then played with the empty cup between his fingers.

The two men sat side by side, one with a relaxed posture, the other with a straight spine and proper bearing even while sitting on the steps.

Wang Lianhua suddenly spoke, “Your Majesty is wary and calculating even with the child you watched grow up. Yet the other two sons who want your life are allowed to run wild. You truly are a good father.”

There was considerable sarcasm in his words.

Letting Wu Ming go was equivalent to letting go of evidence of the Grand Prince’s conspiracy to assassinate the Emperor. The Emperor’s intention to smooth over this matter was obvious.

“The reason Zhen allowed them freedom is not because they are Zhen’s sons, but because they are still useful to Great Ming,” the Emperor replied.

The hall door of the Southern Study was slightly ajar, and moonlight tried to enter but was blocked by the golden candlelight near the door.

“They are first the princes of Great Ming, and only then Zhen’s sons,” the Emperor answered. That handsome face, which had once been pursued by many women in the capital, showed only calm indifference. His words were calm to the point of cruelty. “If they cannot lure out more sludge and filth for Zhen, naturally it will be time for reckoning.”

“But as for Ah Yin…” A trace of complexity flashed in the Emperor’s eyes. “She is very intelligent, different from others.”

“She resembles her mother.”

“So much so that Zhen once considered establishing a female heir.”

The Emperor was normally dignified and majestic. Almost no one could guess or understand his true thoughts. In earlier years, there were still people with whom he would share such thoughts, but since the death of his only blood sister, Yan Liluo, this Emperor had never spoken of these innermost plans to anyone else.

But now, he was speaking of his most secret intentions to a jianghu wanderer with whom he had no relationship to speak of.

It wasn’t because of Wang Lianhua as a person.

It was because of Yan Liluo, because of Yan Hongyin.

Wang Lianhua was surprised upon hearing this.

It wasn’t that he thought Xiao Yin’er unworthy, but he knew how these noble families viewed jianghu people, let alone the imperial family with their strict bloodlines.

Although Xiao Yin’er also carried imperial blood, given that her other biological father was him, she shouldn’t have entered the Emperor’s consideration for heir apparent.

Moreover, although Great Ming had allowed women to serve in official positions since its founding, there had never been a female emperor or heir. If he truly wanted to establish a female heir, the storm the Emperor would face would not be as simple as the current succession struggle between his two sons.

The Emperor seemed to guess Wang Lianhua’s thoughts and smiled faintly. “If Zhen didn’t wish it, you would never have been able to recognize her. She would forever be the imperial child of Zhen and Consort Li, Great Ming’s unquestionable Grand Princess. If her abilities and qualities far surpassed her brothers, and her temperament was more suitable for ruling a nation, why couldn’t Zhen establish her as heir?”

“This world should be ruled by the capable.” The Emperor’s voice contained a cruelty distinctly different from the jianghu world—this was the ruthlessness of battlefield slaughter and court swordplay, where a single move could cause bloodshed for thousands of miles. “As Zhen is, so Ah Yin can be.”

“But…”

A trace of helplessness appeared in the Emperor’s eyes, yet for the first time, it also revealed softness.

“This child Ah Yin, appearing cold and firm but actually kind-hearted and soft.”

“The eldest and second sons, these two brothers raised together, have long been outwardly harmonious but inwardly ruthless, showing no mercy to each other. Though they know little about her, they still harbor thoughts of pulling her in and using her.”

“Yet she remembers that the eldest once took her horseback riding as a child, so she gave him a medicinal pill difficult to find in the world; she also remembers studying in the same school with the second son, copying punishment assignments together, so she also gave the second son something to save his life.”

“In this succession turmoil, if Zhen issued an edict to purge, the Jinyiwei would certainly carry it out. But by then, the Jinyiwei would become a poisoned blade in the heart of the next emperor.”

“She sees clearly. Seemingly for self-preservation, she’s unwilling to participate in the succession struggle, but in truth, for her, watching the eldest and second sons destroy each other or die at others’ hands is already her limit. She certainly cannot raise a blade against the two of them.”

“Even that Lu Gang, who always wore a false face around her, she did not personally execute.”

The Emperor, seated high in the hall, had long remained in the palace, but in this world, if he wished to see something, there was certainly nothing he couldn’t see.

“This child Ah Yin remembers every drop of kindness and goodness shown to her. But if she were in a high position wielding power, her soft heart would one day turn to dust, and her spirit would collapse.”

By then, it would be a national disaster, a calamity for the people.

“…What a pity.”

The Emperor’s eyes were quiet. Though he spoke of pity, there was no sigh.

Wang Lianhua’s finger traced the rim of the teacup, saying coldly, “There’s nothing to pity. Her age is not much younger than the two princes. If she were truly a suitable heir candidate, her current situation would probably not be much better.”

The Emperor’s gaze flickered, and his voice actually carried a hint of laughter. “Indeed, Zhen is old, yet still unwilling to accept it. If she were even younger, it would be most suitable.”

“After all, though Zhen is unwilling to age, Zhen never evades death.”

“So carefully nurture Your Majesty’s third son, and don’t think about my Ah Yin.” Wang Lianhua snorted.

Wang Lianhua had no desires from the Emperor, no fear, and naturally no respectful demeanor. In fact, with him alone with the Emperor in the hall, it should be the Emperor beside him who ought to be worried.

“That’s right.” But the Emperor showed rare good temper, tolerating Wang Lianhua’s attitude without any intention of taking offense. “Let’s hope the third son can prove himself worthy, otherwise Ah Yin might have a difficult time in the future.”

Wang Lianhua said unhappily, “…Aren’t the Divine Marquis Mansion and Liu Shanmen enough for you to use?”

The Emperor thought for a moment. “The Liu Shanmen is too greedy and incompetent, the Divine Marquis Mansion too direct and lacking in methods. The Jinyiwei is still indispensable.”

Wang Lianhua also knew that given Yan Hongyin’s temperament, she indeed had no intention of putting down the Jinyiwei. He immediately sulked in silence.

After a while, the Emperor suddenly said, “Zhen has long heard of the Thousand-faced Gentleman’s name. Now that we meet face to face, may Zhen have the honor of seeing your true appearance?”

Wang Lianhua raised an eyebrow.

There were many in the world who wanted to know his true appearance, but the number of living people who had actually seen it could be counted on one’s fingers.

The Emperor spoke softly, “When Liluo fell ill and passed away, Consort Li was buried, but Zhen did not let Zhen’s own sister be humiliated by being entombed with a consort’s status.”

Wang Lianhua felt his heart skip a beat, and he asked, “Is this a trade?”

The Emperor paused for a moment, his voice slightly lower, “If sir says it is, then let it be so.”

“Clean water and towels have been placed in the side hall. Sir may use them as you wish.”

Wang Lianhua sat in place for a good while, silently, and then stood up and walked to the side hall.

…..

When Wang Lianhua came out, he was still wearing that Flying Fish uniform, but the mask and disguise on his face had been removed, and his figure was slightly different from before.

Time had always favored the beautiful. After so many years, it had only left some traces of maturity on that divinely sculpted handsome face, merely adding a different kind of charm and elegance, without any signs of aging.

The Emperor’s eyes carried complexity, and he suddenly smiled, saying, “Zhen once told her that over the years, no matter how beautiful a face was in the past, after many years it would show signs of aging, so what was there that couldn’t be let go of? She only said that there was only one Wang Lianhua in the world, and only those who had truly seen him would understand that some perfect things are difficult even for time to destroy.”

“It seems she was always right.”

Wang Lianhua: “…One of you is an emperor, and one is the head of the dark envoys. When you get together, is this what you talk about?”

“You should know that Zhen never gave up on finding a few handsome men for her to marry. She had no intention of remaining faithful to you either, but she just wasn’t interested in anyone Zhen found.” The Emperor said this while looking at Wang Lianhua again, shaking his head and sighing, “How did she ever meet you back then?”

Those who could match Wang Lianhua’s appearance couldn’t compare to his charm and elegance; those with outstanding talent and skill were three degrees weaker in appearance.

Wang Lianhua gritted his teeth. “…Yes, how did I ever meet her?”

Although his life had not always gone as he wished, he had always lived happily, except for Yan Liluo. She not only disturbed his peace of mind from the beginning but also thoroughly calculated him once, directly making his later life colorful yet overshadowed by her name.

The Emperor stood up gracefully, walked to the imperial desk, and knocked on the desktop a few times in a unique manner. Then he pulled out a hidden box and took out a small, exquisite jade urn containing ashes.

Very true to his promise, he personally handed it to Wang Lianhua.

However, Wang Lianhua hesitated.

“She… did Ah Yin know about this?”

The Emperor looked at Wang Lianhua and said, “Her passing was not sudden. Before leaving, she had seen the city walls and people of Great Ming, had also sat with me by candlelight sighing deeply, and had made arrangements to protect her daughter. The only person she didn’t see was you.”

“But she wasn’t born as a princess of Great Ming, my sister, or Ah Yin’s mother.”

“She was Yan Liluo.”

“Yan Liluo wouldn’t have liked the cold, magnificent imperial tomb, nor would she have wanted to see the grand but insincere grave rituals conducted once a year.” The Emperor handed the jade urn to Wang Lianhua and said softly, “Zhen has kept her long enough.”

“Take her away.”

Wang Lianhua pressed his lips together, accepting the urn that held surprisingly little weight, his eyelashes lowered.

The once bright, flamboyant, and free-spirited woman now had only this much weight to her.

“Zhen knows where Ah Yin is. Whether she is determined with that Loulan high priest, or wants to use Loulan as a future backup plan, or even those arrangements among the noble families in the capital—she knows what she’s doing, and Zhen can pretend not to know.” The Emperor said, “Thank you for this. After today, sir no longer needs to remain in the capital.”

“Let the Jinyiwei Commander leave the capital.”

Yan Hongyin had asked Wang Lianhua to stay in the capital. Others might not understand why, but the Emperor knew it was to guard against the jianghu people under the eldest and second sons. But tonight, Wang Lianhua had intervened, and that person had retreated in defeat. After this, no one would dare to think about assassinating the Emperor.

So, that child, Ah Yin’s heart… was really too soft.

Wang Lianhua’s silhouette gradually merged into the night. The Emperor stood in place and suddenly asked, “Did you ever have feelings for her?”

Wang Lianhua’s footsteps paused, but he didn’t answer. His figure was quickly swallowed by the darkness.

The Emperor returned to his imperial desk at the pinnacle of power and sat down steadily, as he had done day after day for decades. He picked up a memorial and habitually reached out to touch something, only to suddenly realize that the box was now empty.

He laughed self-mockingly, closed and locked the box, picked up the imperial brush, lowered his eyes with a solemn expression, and began to review the memorials.

…A solitary man indeed.

****

Wang Lianhua first took Yan Liluo ashes back to Lin’an Prefecture, then stayed at his house in Jinling for two days. When snow covered the branches of the pear trees, he thought for a night and decided to take her to the departing port where they had said goodbye years ago.

Carrying a jar of wine, Wang Lianhua found a high place overlooking the sea and sat down casually. The jade urn with her ashes was placed beside him.

–“If I die? Why do you ask this? Alright, alright… let me think. Hmm, think about it, I haven’t seen the sands of the desert, islands overseas, and many other scenes of the world.”

–“If I die, why not burn me to ashes and scatter them to the wind, wandering here and there? How romantic?”

–“It would also save me from having to stare at one person all day if I became a ghost, which would be boring.”

Halfway through the jar of wine, Wang Lianhua looked at the port below with ships coming and going. He narrowed his eyes and said softly, “In the whole world, only you know exactly how to provoke and anger me.”

Wang Lianhua’s alcohol tolerance was excellent, but today, with just half a jar of wine, he was already feeling intoxicated.

He placed his hand on the urn, and with a surge of internal energy, applied slight pressure. The cold white jade turned to powder, mixing with the original ashes.

A gust of wind came, and the white powder rose up in flurries, brushing past Wang Lianhua’s hair and cheeks, finally sweeping across the sky, through the mist, past the clouds, drifting into the world of mortal dust.

–“Did you ever have feelings for her?”

Wang Lianhua tilted his head back and closed his eyes. The last of the wine from the jar slid down his throat, carrying an indescribable bitter taste.

After a long time, he murmured:

“Yes.”

But in this world’s encounters, too many had beginnings without endings.

****

Great Desert · Loulan City

At the highest point of the altar, Yan Hongyin seemed to sense something and raised her head. The wind blew her hair, lifting it up and letting it fall.

Yu Luocha, who had been explaining the content of the Loulan altar murals and texts to her, turned to look at her and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Yan Hongyin paused, then said, “I just felt that today’s wind….is gently familiar in a way.”