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

I don't know how much time passed.

Finally, footsteps sounded outside the hall again.

The leader of the Imperial Guards, who had just been ordered to arrest the man, stumbled in.

The color drained from his face, his lips trembled, and his teeth chattered.

He stumbled and fell to his knees, his forehead slamming onto the gold-brick floor with a dull thud.

He lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise his head.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

The team leader's voice trembled, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a deep sense of fear.

Shu Jingwei's brows furrowed sharply, and the cruel smile that still lingered at the corner of her mouth suddenly froze.

She stared at the person trembling on the ground, and slowly approached, each step slow and heavy, her dragon-patterned gold boots making a thud on the ground.

She stopped in front of him, looking down at him, and squeezed out two words from her thin lips, each word deliberate and chilling.

Where are they!?

"Your Majesty... Yao... Yao Jingyuan..."

The team leader trembled, his shoulders hunched, and he cried out in a sob-like voice.

"He...he ran away!!!"

……

……

At this moment, Yao Jingyuan had already walked out of the palace gate with a leisurely air.

He raised his head, squinted at the sky, then lifted his robe and steadily sat down in the carriage that had been waiting at the palace gate for a long time.

"Let's go."

He gestured with his chin toward the coachman.

The carriage wheels rolled over the bluestone slabs, making a rumbling sound, and slowly headed towards the courtyard that Yao Jingyuan had just bought.

Yao Jingyuan lifted a corner of the car curtain and glanced outside.

Beside the carriage, a large group of soldiers followed, their armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight, their scabbards swaying rhythmically with their steps.

Each and every one of them was a face he knew all too well—

Those were all his men, his personal guards whom he had personally trained.

He lowered the curtain, leaned back against the carriage wall, and let out a long breath.

comfortable.

When he sent those comments, he knew that Shu Jingwei would definitely not let him off the hook.

"That woman..." he chuckled, tapping his fingers lightly on his knee twice, "She's probably furious right now, isn't she?"

He had specially arranged for a carriage to wait at the palace gate well in advance.

Although he could better monitor the woman's every move from inside the palace, once he posted that comment, he completely broke off all pretense of civility.

You won't be able to stay in the palace anymore.

What is a royal palace?

That's Shu Jingwei's stronghold.

Although he was fearless, Shu Jingwei dared not kill him.

After all, he already had his own trump card, and if she killed him, all the anger of the common people would be directed at her alone.

But it's better to come out just in case.

After all, most of his influence is still outside the palace and cannot enter. It is not only safer for him to come out, but it is also better for him to develop and do things.

So the moment he finished sending the comment, he didn't even glance at the reactions from all sides on the screen. He grabbed his valuables, which he had already packed, and turned to leave.

This time, I sat in a swaying carriage, surrounded and protected by a large group of guards.

He finally had some free time and leisurely looked up at the reactions of the people on the sky.

……

With Yao Jingyuan joining in, the sentiment in the comment section shifted again.

The people are now basically divided into three factions, and the three groups are arguing fiercely, with the barrage of comments being densely packed.

The first group consisted of people who were somewhat moved by Shu Jingwei's explanation, and their tone was tinged with a sigh.

[Commoner Liu Sandou: In the end, he's just a pitiful person. Sitting in that position, he's been overwhelmed by the recent betrayal of the party, and he probably spoke recklessly in a fit of anger.]

[Commoner Chen Wei: People need face, trees need bark. His Majesty has already bowed his head in front of the whole world, what more does he want? Does he really expect her to kneel down and kowtow?]

……

The second group believed Yao Jingyuan's words more.

[Commoner Zhang Tou: Bah! That woman Shu Jingwei is vicious from head to toe! She even coerced Lord Yao to harm Lord Ye! Poisonous woman!]

[Commoner Wang Xiao: What Lord Yao said is probably the truth; he was forced into it. How could a mere subject dare to oppose the emperor? When the emperor commands death, the subject has no choice but to die. Who can say that this predicament is entirely false?]

……

[Commoner Wang Ting: They're all bad news!]

Another comment appeared.

This comment represents the thoughts of many ordinary people.

Everyone chimed in with agreement.

[Commoner Li Chen: You're right! They're all in cahoots!]

[The common people's Zhao Gao: A tyrant and a treacherous minister, they've always colluded and plotted together, now their infighting is nothing more than dogs fighting over scraps!]

[Commoner Zhang Ruo: Shu Jingwei's ruthlessness is real, but Yao Jingyuan isn't any better! Have you forgotten what he did before? All the money he embezzled, all the people he harmed—was he wronged in any way?]

……

This faction of people neither believed nor sided with anyone.

They only recognize one person—

[Commoner Yang Wen: Only Lord Ye truly cares about us.]

[Commoner Song Wu: Lord Ye is gone... Who in this world will still value our lives?]

……

The funeral continued against the backdrop of the sky.

Incense smoke curls around the room, and white banners hang low.

The time has come to seal the coffin and bury it.

Several coffin bearers dressed in plain clothes slowly walked forward.

They bent down, their hands resting steadily on either side of the coffin lid.

The coffin lid began to slowly close.

The wooden edges rubbed against each other, producing a dull, teeth-grinding "squeak-squeak."

The sound stretched out little by little, as if something was saying its final goodbye. With each sound, the air in the mourning hall seemed to freeze a little more.

Just as the coffin lid was about to close completely—

The little one in Lin Ye's arms suddenly struggled, her small hands gently pushing against his chest.

Lin Ye felt the struggle and looked down, only to meet Xiao Douzi's upturned face.

His eyes were brimming with tears, his lips were pressed into a pale line, and he was trembling uncontrollably.

She was holding back, holding her breath deep in her throat, as if afraid that if she made a sound, she would lose control.

Lin Ye understood, and he loosened his grip, gently setting her down.

The moment Xiao Douzi's feet touched the ground, her knees buckled, and she swayed to the side—

My legs are numb.

She panicked, staggered, and flailed her small hands wildly in the air before being steadily supported by Lin Ye beside her.

She had put on a new white mourning dress over her clothes, with a larger neckline that revealed the delicate outline of her collarbone.

The wind blew in from the entrance of the mourning hall, causing the sleeves of her mourning clothes to bulge and deflate, making her look like a tiny ball, like a white silk flower blown by the wind to the front of the coffin.

After regaining her footing, the small figure stumbled and rushed toward the coffin.

She stopped in front of the enormous coffin.

The coffin, painted jet black and glossy, lay before her like a silent mountain.

The pallbearers noticed her and stopped what they were doing.

The group exchanged glances, then turned their questioning gazes to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye waved his hand slightly.

The pallbearers understood and stepped back with their hands hanging down.

Little Douzi pounced on it.

She lay face down on the edge of the coffin, tiptoeing so that her chin could rest on the cold coffin rim. It was a little uncomfortable, but she didn't care.

She looked inside.

Ye Fan lay quietly inside, his face serene, with even a faint smile on his lips, as if he were just asleep, as if he would open his eyes at any moment and call her "Little Duzi".

Little Douzi finally let her tears fall after holding them in for so long.

pat.

pat pat pat.

Tears fell to the ground, instantly absorbed, and dark flowers bloomed on the gray ground.

"Father—!"