Chapter 226 Painful Events
Ji Heng walked away, leaving Yin Zhan standing there alone. The usual cheerful smile on his face had disappeared, leaving only gloom.

He could hear the murderous intent in Ji Heng's words, as well as the eager joy. He suddenly felt a little nervous, nervous that time was running out, so he turned around and left quickly.

Ji Heng entered the palace, walked through the corridor and passed through the hall. Eunuch Su led him into the emperor's study and then stepped out of the door.

Ji Heng walked in and saw the young emperor sitting at the table with a thick stack of memorials on it.

"Your Majesty," he said straight to the point, "the time has come."

Emperor Hong Xiao raised his head from the memorial and looked at Ji Heng.

At first, others thought that Ji Heng's loyalty to Emperor Hong Xiao was not a good choice. When King Cheng was still alive, Emperor Hong Xiao's power was declining and he could be replaced by King Cheng at any time. After King Cheng's incident, everyone realized that this emperor, whom they had always been pessimistic about, was a real sleeping lion. From the beginning, Ji Heng keenly selected the most powerful person.

But the relationship between the monarch and his subjects was not reliable, and there seemed to be some suspicion of mutual exploitation. Moreover, since Emperor Hong Xiao was suspicious of the right prime minister, how could he not be wary of Ji Heng?

But Emperor Hong Xiao knew that it was not the case. There was a strange relationship between him and Ji Heng, perhaps a sympathy for each other, or a common hatred for the enemy. Ji Heng was not only a bargaining chip and a reliable minister to Emperor Hong Xiao, but in some ways, Ji Heng could also be regarded as a trustworthy friend in his lonely imperial career.

Perhaps it was because Ji Heng had told him his plan from the beginning, or perhaps it was because Ji Heng had always abided by the duties of a minister. He seemed to act recklessly, but in fact he had accurately grasped the distance, so that Emperor Hong Xiao had no reason to doubt him.

"Have you really decided?" Emperor Hong Xiao asked, "I don't want you to take any risks."

"Your Majesty, I have been planning this for many years. If I hadn't done it, others might not have succeeded. By then, all efforts would have been in vain." Ji Heng's expression remained unchanged. "I have made up my mind. Please grant your majesty's approval."

Emperor Hong Xiao let out a long sigh.

Yes, he knew this day would come a long time ago. It was not easy to get to this point. The complete defeat of King Cheng and the return of Yin Zhan were all in their control. They planned carefully, but when the time came, they realized that so many years had passed. Time flies.

"Ji Heng, you must come back safely." Emperor Hong Xiao said.

"Yes," Ji Heng smiled, "Whether it's for Your Majesty or the Ji family, I will... kill him with my own hands."

Eunuch Su stood at the door, as if he didn't hear anything. His expression remained unchanged, but he sighed in his heart. It is said that if you are honored in front of others, you will suffer behind their backs. Others only see the pride of His Majesty and Duke Su, but who knows how difficult their lives have been in recent years.

Just don’t say it.

……

Yin Zhan returned to the Yin family.

It was still early when he came back from the palace, but everyone in the mansion thought he was not there because he locked himself in the study as soon as he returned. When Yin Zhan came out of the study at nightfall, the servants were startled. Yin Zhiqing said, "Father, you are at home. I thought you were out."

Yin Zhiqing has lost some weight these days because Ji Heng and Jiang Li are engaged. But she is warm and cheerful after all, and has tried hard to get over it, at least not immersed in pain.

Yin Zhan glanced at her, and Yin Zhiqing was startled by his gaze, which was extremely cold, as if he was looking at a stranger. Although Yin Zhiqing knew that Yin Zhan always loved his brother the most, he had never looked at her with such eyes, and she couldn't help but take a step back.

At this time, Yin Zhili came over from the other side and happened to see them, so he said, "Dad, Zhiqing."

"Brother." Yin Zhiqing was a little scared and hid behind Yin Zhili. Yin Zhili looked at Yin Zhan strangely. Although Yin Zhan was strict with Yin Zhili on weekdays, he was smiling most of the time. But today, there was not a single smile on his face, which was almost scary. Yin Zhili was also stunned and heard Yin Zhiqing whispering behind him: "What did you do wrong again to make father angry?"

Yin Zhili was confused, he didn't do anything. At this time, Yin Zhan said to Yin Zhili: "Zhili, come with me."

Yin Zhili had no choice but to follow.

Yin Zhan took Yin Zhili into his yard and walked into the study. He even drove all the servants at the door of the study to the gate of the yard and asked them to guard at the gate of the yard. In the whole huge yard, there were only Yin Zhili and Yin Zhan.

The servants were used to Yin Zhan's decisive personality, so they didn't even show any curiosity and went to guard the gate of the courtyard. Yin Zhili was puzzled, wondering how important the next words Yin Zhan was going to say to him were, which was why he arranged so carefully.

As soon as he entered the door, Yin Zhili asked, "Dad, what happened?"

Yin Zhan just looked at him without saying anything. Yin Zhili had never seen such a complicated look in Yin Zhan's eyes. He usually said what he wanted to say directly and didn't say what he didn't want to say. He was clean and neat, never dragging his feet. Today, the way he looked at Yin Zhili was like a drowning person struggling desperately, which was frightening.

Yin Zhili felt inexplicably uneasy, and he asked again: "Dad?"

After a long, long time, Yin Zhan finally said, "Zhili, there is one thing I must tell you. Your biological mother is still alive."

Yin Zhili opened his eyes wide in surprise and stuttered for a moment. He said, "How, how could it be? Didn't mother..." die when giving birth to him. This was the fact that everyone told him.

"She is not your biological mother," Yin Zhan said in a deep voice, "Your biological mother is the current Queen Mother."

Yin Zhili took a step back, his face suddenly pale, he said: "Dad...you..."

"You are the son of the Queen Mother and me, Zhili." Yin Zhan said.

With just one sentence, all the causes and effects were instantly clear. There was no need to ask more questions or doubt anything. Yin Zhan's expression explained everything. After spending so many years with Yin Zhan, Yin Zhili already knew what expression Yin Zhan had when he told the truth.

That's the expression I have now.

"No, impossible..." He knew it was true, but emotionally, Yin Zhili couldn't accept it. He had only one thought in his mind: he was having an affair with a woman! This disgusting crime would accompany him for the rest of his life!
But Yin Zhan just looked at him, just like he had taught him countless times in the past, and said, "You know I won't lie to you."

Yin Zhili suddenly realized.

All the things that he never understood before, seemed to be clear all of a sudden. For example, why did almost no one in the mansion mention his biological mother? When asked about Yin Zhan, Yin Zhan didn't seem to care. He never took the initiative to talk about Yin Zhili's biological mother, but Yin Zhan didn't like the current Madam Yin very much. Sometimes he felt that there might be someone cherished in his father's heart, but there was no clue about that person. Now he understood that person was the current queen mother.

From Yunzhong to Yanjing, from King Cheng to the Jiang family, he didn't understand why Yin Zhan did this or that, and Yin Zhan never gave him a reason. Now this reason appeared, so justified, but Yin Zhili couldn't accept it.

"What do you want me to do?" Yin Zhili sneered, "You want to marry into the Jiang family because you have evil ambitions! I am the Queen Mother's son, so what? Because the current emperor is not the Queen Mother's biological son, the Queen Mother still hopes that I will inherit the throne. Do you want to usurp the throne? How dare you do such a thing! I don't have such a mother!"

With a "slap", Yin Zhan slapped Yin Zhili hard on the face.

He said in a deep voice: "I won't allow you to insult her!"

Yin Zhili retorted with red eyes: "If you have done it, don't be afraid of what others say!"

"When I met her, she was still the daughter of the Lin family. We loved each other, and I was going to propose marriage! The Lin family was greedy and vain, so she married the emperor's brother after receiving the marriage. The emperor didn't cherish her, and she lived a life worse than death in the palace. If I hadn't appeared later, she would probably have died in the palace. Yin Zhili," he called Yin Zhili's name with his full name, as if he was extremely angry, "I forced her, your mother is innocent! She could have not given birth to you, at least that way she wouldn't have to have a handle or be in danger, but she still gave birth to you because she couldn't bear it! You can hate me, but you can't hate your mother, she has done nothing wrong to you! Do you understand?"

Yin Zhili couldn't help but shed tears. Men don't shed tears easily, but he didn't know what to do at the moment. He couldn't blame the queen mother, because she risked her life to give birth to him, and he couldn't blame Yin Zhan, because Yin Zhan raised him for so many years and taught him carefully. Who could he blame? Who could he blame?

A miserable wail escaped from his throat.

Yin Zhan looked reluctant, he knew that this was tantamount to torture for Yin Zhili. But he knew his son's temperament, he was too soft-hearted, to put it in a good way, he was kind, to put it in a bad way, he was indecisive. Yin Zhili was soft-hearted, so he couldn't harden his heart towards the Queen Mother.

Yin Zhan didn't care whether Yin Zhili hated him or not. He was only worried that Yin Zhili would not recognize Lin Roujia.

"You have royal blood in your veins." Yin Zhan said to him briefly and firmly: "Listen, next, I am going to do something, it is very dangerous, maybe I won't come back. If I can't come back, everything in the Yin family will be handed over to you, and the queen mother will also be implicated. Promise me to protect your mother."

Yin Zhili paused in his crying and looked at Yin Zhan. He realized something and asked, "What do you want to do?"

"It's time to settle the grudges from the early years." Yin Zhan said, "I'm not afraid to accept the result, I just can't let go of you and your son."

Yin Zhili shook his head: "No, don't do it."

"There is no turning back." Yin Zhan suddenly laughed. His smile was as hearty as ever, but there was a paranoid madness in his eyes. He said, "My fate was determined from the moment I met your mother. I have lived my life for no one but her. Zhili, it's the same for you. This is your fate. I will clear the obstacles ahead for you, but you have to do the rest by yourself. You must not fail at the last hurdle. All the people in the Yin family and my troops will be handed over to you in the future."

He said it so seriously, as if he knew that he would never come back. Yin Zhili's heart suddenly surged with deep sorrow. But he still shook his head and said, "No, no." It was unclear whether he was resisting the fate imposed on him or rejecting the unknown future that he did not want.

But at the same time, he also understood that Yin Zhan had started to prepare for this many years ago. He taught himself the art of war and the way to govern people. Now it seems that this was probably a plan that started long ago. Maybe since he was born, or even when he was in the Queen Mother's womb, Yin Zhan and the Queen Mother had already planned a future for him that was extremely brilliant in their eyes - to own the world.

"You are lying to me, aren't you, father?" Yin Zhili looked at Yin Zhan beggingly, "I am not the Queen Mother's son. You are lying to me because you want me to do what you say, right?"

This gentle and handsome nobleman was the best in everyone's eyes. How could he have been so humble before? Yin Zhan just hardened his heart and said, "I didn't lie to you. The year Roujia gave birth to you, Concubine Liu framed her. In order to prove her innocence, she went to Hongshan Temple to face the wall and meditate on Buddha. It was there that she gave birth to you..."

Speaking of the past, Yin Zhan seemed to recall the past. Those were days of fear and trepidation, trying to prevent the entire Hongshan Temple from leaking secrets. Now those days of fear and trepidation are over. And the future seems to be approaching a dead end.

This might be his fate, and he had no choice. Yin Zhili couldn't help but tremble again. He had never felt so helpless before. Yin Zhan said, "Zhili, I don't care what you think now, but there is no time. I have to tell you what's going to happen next, and you must listen..."

No sound could be heard in Yin Zhan's yard. Outside, Yin Zhiqing sat next to Mrs. Yin and asked worriedly, "Did Yin Zhiqing get into trouble? I just saw Dad's face, it was really scary."

"No." Madam Yin comforted him gently, "Your father has always loved Zhili, so even if Zhili really made a mistake, he would not blame her too much."

Yin Zhiqing thought about it and felt that what Madam Yin said was true, so she was relieved. This was true. Yin Zhan's love for Yin Zhili was obvious to all. It was said that fathers favored their daughters, especially since Yin Zhiqing was the youngest daughter. However, everyone could see the difference between Yin Zhan's attitude towards Yin Zhiqing and Yin Zhili.

Fortunately, Yin Zhiqing has been used to it since she was a child, and Yin Zhili is also very good to her.

"But they have been in there for so long and haven't come out yet, which is really worrying." Yin Zhiqing said, "Yin Zhili was sad for a while because of the matter of the second Miss Jiang a few days ago. If he gets scolded by his father, it will definitely be worse."

Madam Yin looked at Yin Zhiqing and sighed in her heart. Everyone said that Yin Zhili was sad because of Jiang Li's matter, so was Yin Zhiqing? This fool, he had lost a lot of weight and looked haggard, but he was still thinking about others. He was just like her, with a beautiful and smart face, but he was actually at a disadvantage compared to anyone else. She couldn't help but feel sad.

After a long time, Yin Zhan walked out of the yard. When he came out, his eyes were cold and his face was gloomy. None of the servants dared to come forward. Yin Zhiqing and Madam Yin did not dare to say anything. He walked out of the yard and went straight out of the gate of Yin Mansion. It was so late, and he didn't know what to do.

Yin Zhiqing said to Madam Yin, "Mother, I'm going to go see Yin Zhili."

Madam Yin nodded, and Yin Zhiqing quickly ran to Yin Zhan's yard. There was no one in the yard. When Yin Zhiqing opened the door of the study, she did not see Yin Zhili's shadow at first. She was still wondering why Yin Zhili disappeared in the blink of an eye. She was about to go out to the yard to look for him, but when she turned her head, her steps stopped.

Yin Zhili hid behind the door.

He was really "hiding" behind the door, as if he had been greatly frightened. He curled up into a ball, holding his head. Yin Zhiqing was startled and ran over quickly, asking, "Yin Zhili?"

Yin Zhili raised his head, and the words that Yin Zhiqing wanted to say suddenly came out of his mouth.

She remembered that she had never seen Yin Zhili cry. From childhood to adulthood, Yin Zhili had always been calm and composed, with a gentle smile on his face. Even when he was thrown off his horse during a duel, he smiled and comforted his family. Although Yin Zhiqing felt that Yin Zhili was sometimes too easy to bully and too soft-hearted, she was still proud of him deep down. Now that this fragile Yin Zhili appeared in front of her, Yin Zhiqing couldn't believe it for a moment.

She wanted to touch him, but she didn't know how to start. She could only lower her voice and asked, "What's wrong with you? What did your father say to you?"

The numbness in Yin Zhili's eyes frightened her.

"Hey, Yin Zhili!" Yin Zhiqing pushed him hard, "Don't scare me!"

Yin Zhili then slowly turned his gaze and looked at Yin Zhiqing. At this time, he suddenly understood something. No wonder Yin Zhan married a second wife. They were very affectionate before, but after Yin Zhiqing was born, he began to ignore Madam Yin and became a strange person. Yin Zhili used to think that it was because Yin Zhan was afraid that he would be suspicious and thought that his stepmother and stepsister would take away Yin Zhan's love, so he did it on purpose. Yin Zhili also felt sorry for Madam Yin and her daughter, but he also naively believed that it was because his father loved him enough and put him first in everything.

Thinking about it now, it all became a wishful joke. The reason why Yin Zhan did this was nothing more than to avoid being noticed by others and marry a second wife to have a child. I am afraid that he wanted to reassure the emperor and make people not associate him with Lin Roujia. The Yin family mother and daughter were simply a pair of victims. Yin Zhili didn't know whether he should feel sad for the Yin family mother and daughter, or feel disgusted by the selfish love between Yin Zhan and Lin Roujia.

Yin Zhiqing frowned. She really didn't like the way Yin Zhili looked at her. It was as if he was pitying something. She asked, "What's wrong with you? Did you get into some big trouble that made your father say you're like this?"

She was also confused. Even if Yin Zhan had been harsh in teaching Yin Zhili a lesson, Yin Zhili would not have behaved like this. Yin Zhili withdrew his gaze and stood up. He didn't know if it was because he had curled up for too long or for some other reason, but he seemed to have no strength at all and almost fell down. It was Yin Zhiqing who helped him up.

After he stood firm, he slowly turned his head, looked at Yin Zhiqing, and said, "Zhiqing, you and mother, go back to Yunzhong."

"What?" Yin Zhiqing was stunned, staring at him in disbelief and asked, "Why? Where are you and your father? Are you going back to Yunzhong together?"

"We may not be able to go back." Yin Zhili smiled at her, but Yin Zhiqing felt that his smile was uglier than crying.

"You and mother go back to Yunzhong as soon as possible. I will arrange the rest." After saying this, he stumbled out, ignoring Yin Zhiqing's questioning behind him.

……

The nights in the Duke's Mansion were still full of red flowers in winter, but the abundance of flowers did not bring any extra warmth. Instead, there was a sense of mysterious desolation.

Beside the flowerbed, someone stood with his hands behind his back. He was standing next to a tree. The tree was still a small tree, and had not grown up yet, welcoming its winter. It stood here, with its back straight, looking a bit stubborn, and another person emerged in Ji Heng's mind.

He curled the corners of his mouth and smiled.

"These flowers are blooming again." Situ Jiuyue said beside him.

Situ Jiuyue was dressed in black, with bells on her body, hair, and wrists. She had always been cold, but tonight she seemed a little strange.

"I'll ask you to take care of them while I'm away." Ji Heng said.

"Of course." Situ Jiuyue replied, "I will take good care of them. If you don't come back, all these flowers will be mine."

"Situ, what you said is really unpleasant." Wen Renyao said dissatisfiedly, "It's really unlucky! Bah, bah, bah, there are no taboos."

The Duke's Mansion seemed to be more lively tonight than usual. Lu Ji and Kong Liu were also standing aside, but they were not as idle as usual. They all had solemn expressions, as if something big was about to happen.

Xiaohong seemed to sense that something was wrong with the atmosphere, and she stood on a tree branch, tilting her head to look at these people. She was usually very noisy, but today she said nothing and was extremely quiet.

Lu Ji asked, "When are you going to leave, sir?"

"tomorrow."

"Before you leave, don't you want to say hello to Miss Jiang Er?" Kong Liu asked hesitantly, "After all, you are engaged now, and she is your fiancée. It's better to inform her about this matter."

"No need." Ji Heng said, "She will be worried if she finds out."

Everyone was silent. Everyone knew how dangerous this trip was. Ji Heng and Yin Zhan were destined to have a life-and-death contest. They were baits for each other, and they were taking risky actions. Everyone had a back-up plan, and everyone wanted to be the last one to win. No one would give up, but it was uncertain who would be the final winner. Ji Heng had been planning for decades, and so had Yin Zhan.

Maybe even the difference between them is only a tiny fraction, it all depends on God's partiality and who gets more luck.

"I'm ready." Kong Liu said, "Everything has been arranged in Yanjing City."

"Okay." Ji Heng said, "Lu Ji, you will stay in Yanjing too."

"Sir," Lu Ji frowned, "It would be extremely dangerous for you to go alone this time. Now is a critical moment, and you must not make any mistakes. It is not the best idea to take risks."

"Yin Zhan's troops are staying in various places in Northern Yan, with Yanjing being the most important. He left as bait, and he won't bring many people with him. I want to lure him out, so of course I can't surround him with troops, but there are ways." Ji Heng smiled faintly, "This time, I have to kill him."

As he spoke, he slowly touched the branch of the small tree in front of him, then smiled, "He is the same."

No one seemed to know what happened in the flower garden of the Duke's Mansion. However, the light was on in General Ji's study.

Although he is still strong and energetic, he goes to bed early every night, saying that going to bed early and getting up early helps prolong life. Over the years, he does look stronger and younger than other old men of the same age. But an old general cannot be compared with a young general, just like the weapons and armor in this room, all rusted and covered with dust. Even if he wipes them frequently, they still look like a hero in his twilight years, which is a pity.

He walked slowly past these weapons, he reached out and touched the golden armor, the hard armor, the mighty spear, the fierce sword... Every time he walked past a weapon, he stopped and stood quietly for a while, as if he was recalling the glorious years in the past. His face showed some reminiscence, and finally, he walked in front of a sword.

The scabbard of the sword was inlaid with crystal rubies and carved with intricate patterns, and the sword body was snow-white, light and thin. When it was pulled out of the scabbard, it was so dazzling that one could not look directly at it, and a fierce murderous aura came to one's face.

This is a precious sword that has been used on the battlefield, named "Qingming". Starting from him and ending with Ji Minghan, Ji Heng refused to use the sword. He usually only used a fan. General Ji had told him many times not to use such fancy things, but Ji Heng just did not listen.

He liked things that could kill people in an instant and yet look elegant and beautiful.

General Ji took the "Qingming" down from the wall. He walked to the table, found a piece of cloth, and slowly wiped it.

As the cloth wiped the sword, it became brighter and brighter. Holding it in the hand, it seemed as if the sword was ringing and making clanging sounds.

"Old friend," General Ji wiped it lovingly and held it in his hand, as if he was facing a friend he had not seen for many years, or a brother who had fought on the battlefield together many years ago, "I am old, but you are still so fierce."

The sword is in the old general's hand, and one can vaguely see the scene of the past, when the young general held the sword, galloping on the battlefield, brave and fearless. Then time has hurriedly broken, things have changed, people have changed, the sword is the same, but the person is not the same.

He held the sword blankly, sitting there for a long time in melancholy. If others saw him, they would be surprised that this always cheerful and happy old man could be so sad.

He cleaned the sword, put it back into the scabbard and placed it on the table. The light burned quietly, illuminating the old general's eyes and the tears in his eyes.

"Minghan," he murmured, "It's been more than 20 years. It's time for us, father and son, to meet again."

(End of this chapter)