My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

The sky was dark and gloomy, with thick clouds like spilled ink pressing heavily on Qingfeng Mountain.

The wind whipped up dust and sand, sweeping across the withered grass with a low, mournful whimper, as if setting the stage for a silent trial.

"Yao Jingyuan has been plotting to kill me..." Ye Fan spoke, his tone still flat and emotionless, not at all like he was talking about something that concerned his own life or death.

"I'm afraid it's not just about jealousy and rivalry, but also about ensuring that no one will mention that 'new land policy' after I'm gone..."

Every word was crystal clear, spreading like thunder across every corner of the Great Flame Kingdom through the invisible sky.

"As for Shu Jingwei, you..." He looked at the empress, whose face was pale and who was trembling all over.

"You may not want me to die, but you don't want to offend too many people by implementing new policies, which would make your throne unstable."

"Ye Fan" continued speaking, his tone carrying a judgmental undertone.

"You are selfish and cold-hearted, only caring about your own power and position. Yao Jingyuan is vicious and greedy. He not only wants to get rid of me, his old enemy, but also wants to eliminate any future troubles and protect the interests of his family."

"My fate was already sealed in the unspoken understanding between the two of you. The only difference is that he was the one who directly handed over the knife, while you... were the one who closed your eyes and pretended not to see anything."

He slowly came to a conclusion.

"No! No! I didn't! I didn't know! I didn't know he poisoned me!!" Shu Jingwei finally broke down, screaming and tears streaming down her face, whether from fear or anger, she couldn't tell.

"Ye Fan! Don't you dare slander me! How could I... how could I condone his poisoning of you! What good would that do me?!"

Yao Jingyuan also shouted hoarsely, the veins on his neck bulging like earthworms: "You're talking nonsense! What new land policy! What poisoning! You made it all up!"

He suddenly turned to Shu Jingwei, his eyes bloodshot, his finger pointing at the phantom of "Ye Fan" as if in a spasm, his voice shrill like a mouse whose tail had been stepped on.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please see the truth! It's him! It's that sorcerer Lin Ye who used his magic to slander us! He wanted to destroy the Great Flame! Your Majesty! Kill him! Kill this sorcerer!"

However, their rebuttals seemed so weak and powerless at this moment.

The Great Flame Kingdom beneath the sky had long been completely engulfed by boundless grief and rage!

[Commoner Zhang Liang: New land policy! The poll tax is merged into the land tax! Lord Ye! Lord Ye! So you... have always been thinking of us peasants!]

[Commoner Liu Wen: Our land! Our livelihood! It's all been cut off by these beasts!]

[Commoner Liu Qing: Poisoning a loyal official! Ruining national policy! All for personal gain! Shu Jingwei! Yao Jingyuan! You two despicable people deserve to die! Cut into a thousand pieces!]

[Commoner Li Hua: Lord Ye... Even in your dying moments, you thought of the people and the country... But what has this country, this court, done to you?!]

[Wang Le, a commoner: Kill them! Avenge Lord Ye! Seek justice for the people!]

……

The people of the Great Flame Kingdom in the sky were filled with murderous intent, but Shu Jingwei paid no attention to them.

Her attention was now entirely focused on "Ye Fan" in front of her.

She had witnessed Ye Fan's extraordinary abilities.

After he disappeared, I had missed his methods more than once.

She wouldn't have been willing to abandon him if he hadn't threatened her position.

But now that he's dead, he's no longer a threat!

Moreover, those peasants were getting increasingly temperamental, and she couldn't really kill them all.

And that bitch Yao Jingyuan is stirring up trouble. If Ye Fan could come back, I wish her well...

Thinking of this, Shu Jingwei's spirits lifted.

"Ye Fan—no! Fan Lang! Fan Lang, listen to me! Look at me!"

The anger and fear on Shu Jingwei's face vanished instantly, replaced by an expression of endless regret and heartache.

She even disregarded imperial dignity, staggering and almost tumbling off her horse, her eyes red-rimmed and tears streaming down her cheeks, looking genuinely distressed and heartbroken.

She reached out her hand toward the phantom of "Ye Fan," her voice trembling uncontrollably.

"It was my fault! Fanlang! It was all my fault! I was blinded by that scoundrel Yao Jingyuan, and seduced by his sweet words and flattery! I have let you down, and I have let our little Douzi down even more! I am not human! I am a bastard!"

She took a few more steps closer, mimicking Xi Shi holding her heart, and offered it out with both hands.

"Fanlang, I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong! Please come back, please come back!"

"If you're willing to come back, I'll immediately have that bastard Yao Jingyuan executed by slow slicing! Tortured into a thousand pieces! To avenge you!"

She made the promise, her gaze fixed on "Ye Fan," trying to catch any fluctuation in his emotions.

Seeing that "Ye Fan" still didn't react, Shu Jingwei's mind raced. Suddenly, she seemed to have thought of something and excitedly spoke up:

"Fanlang! Didn't you always want to be my empress? I'll make you empress right now, okay! I won't care even if you become a ghost!"

"If you are willing to return and continue to assist me, I will immediately announce to the world that I will make you my Empress!"

She spoke faster and faster, becoming more and more excited, as if she herself was moved by the "unparalleled deep affection" she was portraying.

"I will make up for what I owed you in the past, tenfold, a hundredfold! For the sake of our past relationship, for the sake of Xiao Douzi, please come back!"

"I need you! The Great Flame needs you! Little Douzi is still so young, she needs me, her mother, too!"

With tears streaming down her face, she perfectly portrayed a devoted woman who had "suddenly realized her mistakes," as if the cold-hearted empress had never existed.

"Shu Jingwei! You vicious woman! You slut! You want to kick me while I'm down?!"

Upon hearing the words "death by a thousand cuts," Yao Jingyuan was struck dumb, and the last trace of color drained from his face.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he could no longer pretend. He suddenly turned his head and began to curse at Shu Jingwei, his voice distorted by extreme fear and anger.

He realized that this woman wanted to use him as a pawn to appease public anger!

However, faced with Shu Jingwei's performance, which can be described as award-winning, and the "generous" reward she promised,

Ye Fan did not react at all; the semi-transparent gray figure did not even turn its head.

He simply floated closer to Lin Ye, slowly but with unwavering determination.

She moved even closer to Lin Ye's arms; the little girl, sobbing uncontrollably, still tried to keep her tearful eyes open and stared at him without blinking.

Shu Jingwei's outstretched hand, intended to touch and hold him back, was comically frozen in mid-air.

The carefully crafted tears, regret, sorrow, and expectation on her face... all the complex emotions froze instantly under the other party's complete disregard.

Then it shattered inch by inch, twisting into a stiff expression that was a mixture of disbelief and embarrassment.

A burning sense of shame scorched every inch of her skin, making her extremely uncomfortable.

When Ye Fan's gaze fell upon Xiao Douzi's tear-streaked face, all his indifference melted away like thin ice under the sunlight.

Instead, there was an overwhelming sense of tenderness, longing, and reluctance to part.

He reached out and hovered his hand, seemingly with lingering affection, beside Xiaodouzi's wet cheek, as if wiping away her scalding tears.

"Ling'er, be good... Ling'er, don't cry..." His voice was soft, but full of care.

"Daddy... Waaah, Daddy, don't go..." Little Douzi seemed to have foreseen something, and she cried even more heartbreakingly.