Shaojun riding the sea

Chapter 205: Child's Innocence
Shi Xuanling was awakened by a nightmare. She subconsciously reached out to touch the side and said, "Ayue, has your fever subsided?"

However, the hand suddenly touched nothing. There was no trace of the young man beside her pillow. Shi Xuanling was shocked and her eyes widened suddenly. Sure enough, the other half of the bed was already empty, leaving only -

A farewell letter.

The first time he saw the letter, a bad premonition suddenly emerged in his heart, and Shi Xuanling almost instantly guessed where Yue Wujiu was going.

As expected, as she read the sad words in the letter, Yue Wujiu's repeated mumblings while gritting his teeth in the midst of a high fever echoed in her ears:
"I will not, never...let Lan Yubai leave the imperial city alive."

She took all precautions, but still couldn't stop him from going alone for revenge!

She was too tired during this period. On the one hand, she was busy taking care of A Yue, and on the other hand, she had to go to the pagoda to detoxify Princess Zhaoyin from the incense poison.

After Lan Yubai was exposed, the things he sent her were naturally unusable. She knew something was wrong with the so-called "calming incense" as soon as she smelled it. Fortunately, Princess Zhaoyin was exposed to it every night, and although the poison in her body was quite severe, her life had not yet been extinguished, and there was still a chance to detoxify and heal.

That's why she was so busy that she couldn't hold on and fell into a deep sleep last night. But she never expected that A Yue would "take action" while she was sleeping!
The hands holding the letter could not stop trembling, and Shi Xuanling's heart fell into the abyss. She remembered Lan Yubai's clear statement in the mourning hall that night: "If it were me, he should have killed your little lover long ago, so that you would not fall deeper and deeper into the trap and be bewitched into what you are today!"

Lan Yubai is a madman, he will not show mercy, definitely not. He will even blame the Yue family for the pain of losing his wife. If A Yue falls into Lan Yubai's hands now, he will definitely be in great danger!

Besides, he was still ill and had a high fever. How could he survive fighting with only one man and one sword?
"No, it won't happen. It's still in time. It's definitely still in time. Ah Yue, wait for me..."

-

Snow was flying in the bamboo forest, the sky was stained with blood, and there was a chilling and murderous atmosphere in the air.

In the sword formation, the young man's eyes were bloodshot, and his whole body looked like it had been fished out of water of blood. Even his long eyelashes were covered with blood. Countless Lan family guards were wounded and fell beside him, but he never stopped and was still fighting tirelessly.

Lan Yubai, who was sitting high on his horse not far away, gripped the reins tightly, his eyes solemn, and snorted coldly: "Brother, I underestimated you. Your swordsmanship not only did not become rusty during the exile, but it has also improved by leaps and bounds. It is so terrifying. It's a pity that no matter how strong you are, you are just a body of flesh and blood. How can you, with just a sword and a life, defeat the countless masters raised by my Lan family?"

Lan Yubai's ridicule did not disrupt the young man's swordsmanship. He still fought for his life in the wind and snow. In fact, Lan Yubai had already seen that Yue Wujiu's illness had not yet recovered, and the only reason he could hold on until this moment was probably because of his hatred for him.

If he were to fight alone today, he would probably have died countless times at the hands of Yue Wujiu's sword.

The wind grew stronger, the snow grew heavier, and a strong smell of blood floated in the bamboo forest. Finally, after being attacked again by surprise and with a knife wound running through his entire back, Yue Wujiu's body was shaky and he could no longer hold on. The long sword in his hand pierced into the mud, and he fell to his knees. In an instant, he was surrounded by the remaining Lan family guards.

"Ayue, give up your sword. Your brother-in-law will leave you with an intact body."

Lan Yubai dismounted from his horse and stepped into the wind and snow. His white hair fluttered in the wind, looking cold and strange. His slow footsteps finally stopped in front of the dying young man.

"The Yue family's heir, who was once famous in the imperial city, is now dying in a miserable state in the bamboo forest on the outskirts of the city. It's really unpredictable... retribution is inevitable."

Lan Yubai looked down at Yue Wujiu under the tree. When he heard the words "retribution will come", the young man trembled all over and finally reacted. He raised his head with difficulty and looked at Lan Yubai with a bloodstained face:
"You, who are you... Are you a descendant of the Feng family? And who is Feng... Feng Qiyun... What is the deep blood feud between you and my Yue family?"

"Your Yue family's ancestors were unkind and unjust. They were willing to be the blades in the hands of the Kuang family, eliminating dissidents for the dog emperor, and killing all of his former brothers, but what did they get in return?" Lan Yubai sneered, staring at Yue Wujiu in a pool of blood, and said faintly: "Good brother, since you are going to die anyway, your brother-in-law will be merciful and let you die with a clear conscience. Do you really think that I am the only culprit behind the extermination of the Yue family?"

As soon as these words came out, Yue Wujiu's pupils shrank suddenly, and he stared at Lan Yubai instantly. However, Lan Yubai sneered even more and said word by word:
"All I did was add fuel to the fire and stir up trouble. Wasn't it the man on the throne who actually ordered the killing of the Yue family? You kept calling that man 'uncle' and repeatedly went to him to ask for an order to overturn the case, but you were foolishly touching his reverse scale. Do you know why he was so furious and told you never to mention the Yue family case again?"

"Because the real culprit behind the scenes is none other than...himself."

Yue Wujiu's body trembled, and his breathing began to tremble, but he still subconsciously gritted his teeth and retorted: "You, you are talking nonsense..."

"My child is naive and stupid. Am I talking nonsense or are you afraid to face the truth? You have always believed that your uncle was deceived by treacherous people and executed your father and the Yue Manchus, right? Little did you know that the person who wanted your father to die and wanted the Yue family to be doomed the most was him. He is the culprit and your real enemy who destroyed your family!"

The most cruel truth was suddenly revealed in the wind and snow, shattering the boy's heart.

During those years, Lan Yubai had indeed set up every step and done many things. His purpose was just as Ning Jiuniang said, which was to kill someone with a borrowed knife and arouse the king's suspicion towards the Yue family.

Lord Yue had made great military achievements, and the Yue family soldiers were loyal, but they were not loyal to Emperor Yun, but to Lord Yue. Since ancient times, it has been a taboo for kings to be more powerful than their masters. Lan Yubai cleverly took advantage of this and pushed the Yue family into a desperate situation step by step.

After the battle in Kua Cang Valley, Lan Yubai ordered people to compose a ballad and taught the local people to hum it. He then took the opportunity to spread the ballad to the imperial city and reach the ears of Emperor Yun.

The content of the ballad was nothing more than praise and respect for Marquis Yue, but there was a line in the song that obliquely used an allusion to the previous dynasty. The local people could not understand it, but Emperor Yun knew it as soon as he heard it and immediately became suspicious of Marquis Yue.

In addition, with Lan Yubai's instigation, the conflict between Queen Wei's family and Marquis Yue became extremely intensified. The ministers in the court reported to the emperor one after another, saying that the Yue family army was arrogant and only recognized Marquis Yue but not the emperor, which made Emperor Yun even more displeased.

Lord Yue obviously noticed the change in Emperor Yun's attitude. He went to the palace several times to ask for an audience, but Emperor Yun always made excuses and refused to see him. Just when he was in deep distress, Lan Yubai appeared at the right time and "considerately" offered calming incense to his father-in-law.

Marquis Yue trusted Lan Yubai so much, how could he know that the "strange fragrance" he sent would confuse people's minds? Since then, Marquis Yue often saw some incredible illusions, and the dispute between the Yue family army and the Wei family intensified. Marquis Yue was caught in the middle and could not calm down. His pain became more and more severe. At this time, Lan Yubai, the "good son-in-law", came to him and led Marquis Yue into the Qionghua Temple to recuperate.

Yue Hou's heart was calm for several days, until that night, when the old abbot of Qionghua Temple finished reading scriptures for Yue Hou, took him to an ancient well in the back mountain, and guided him to look into the well.

Legend has it that this ancient well is extremely magical. On every full moon night, people with sincere hearts can foresee their own future by looking at the water in the well.

Seeing that Marquis Yue was gloomy all day long and worried about state affairs, the old abbot took him to the ancient well on a full-moon night to take a glimpse of his own fate.

Yue Hou originally did not believe in these strange and supernatural stories, but under the cold moon that night, he looked into the ancient well and really saw an incredible illusion.

After that night, Marquis Yue fell ill. He wrote a secret letter to Emperor Yun, and this time, Emperor Yun was finally willing to see him.

"Guess what your father saw in the well of Qionghua Temple that night? That's why he took the initiative to enter the palace, meet the emperor, and ask the emperor to release him--"

Lan Yubai narrowed his eyes slightly, lowered his head and looked at Yue Wujiu mockingly, with a cold smile, he slowly uttered five words:
"The punishment shall be death."