Favored concubine deposed empress? I'll seize your throne and marry you to a powerful minister.

Wei Rong was slightly alarmed. Wasn't the situation in the eastern neighboring country even more dangerous than that in the Great Jing?

"My half-sons have been setting traps one after another, poisoning me, staging a coup, and framing me, just waiting for an opportunity to get rid of me and stop at nothing to seize the crown prince position."

Ling Xianru spoke in a calm tone, as if recounting someone else's experience, but a hint of coldness flashed in her eyes.

"The late king was still alive, but he was powerless to completely suppress the strife among the royal family. In order to save my life and accumulate enough strength to protect myself, the nanny who took care of me took the initiative to set up a scheme to fake my death at the age of ten and send me out of the palace to be raised by a farmer."

"But you don't know that those people were ruthless and insane in their struggle for power. I lived a peaceful life for two years, but then they tracked me down and killed that entire farming family."

"My mother, Granny Yu, was very kind to me. She risked her life to save me and then told me that I could no longer stay in Donglin."

Otherwise, if he is not careful, a hidden arrow may pierce through him one day.

"So I began my exile. My father, in order to secure his throne, just watched us brothers fight amongst ourselves. To him, I was just a pawn to stabilize the court."

"I have been in dire straits countless times, surrounded by enemies on all sides, yet I have managed to escape by sheer luck. If there is any kindness I have shown, it is the nanny who has been so kind to me. But I have been living in a daze all these years. Apart from the purpose of avenging my mother, I have no other motivation to live. I live to take revenge, and if I die, that's it."

Ling Xianru paused, looked down and saw Wei Rong's blank expression, which amused him. He avoided the wound and pinched Wei Rong's chin.

"But you are different. Your appearance tells me that human life is as insignificant as an ant, yet an ant can shake a tree. I do not want to live because I love you, but to live and love you fourteen years from now."

"I came to Dajing not for you, but by a twist of fate. The struggles within the Eastern Lin royal family are a thousand times more ruthless than those in Dajing. The scenes of brothers killing each other and patricide and matricide never cease. I came to Dajing to watch from the sidelines as my brothers wrestled among themselves, suffering heavy losses."

As soon as Ling Xian finished speaking, the cave fell into a deathly silence.

The crackling of the firewood was made all the more distinct, and the mountain breeze blew through the cave, bringing a silent coolness between the two of them.

Wei Rong stared at him quietly, remaining motionless for a long time.

There was no shock or loss of composure, no sudden emotional outburst.

The high fever made her head feel heavy, but the tension that had been building up inside her for years was finally eased at that moment.

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She finally understood.

During his twelve years in the Great Jing court, he rose through the ranks and wielded immense power; he was never simply a subject scheming for power.

He was a foreign crown prince, living in hiding under an assumed name while infiltrating an enemy country.

For him, the Great Jing's empire, the court's infighting, and everyone's power struggles and ups and downs were nothing more than stepping stones for him to bide his time and accumulate strength.

What about her?

During the six months she endured loneliness in the deep palace, he repeatedly shielded her from disasters, paved the way for her, cleared away the fog before her eyes, and stabilized her precarious position as empress.

It turned out to be the case.

It turns out he was so shrewd in his planning, yet faced such difficulties at every step.

Ling Xianru's every step was no easier than hers.

When narrating the story, he only used a few words to describe it lightly.

But—sixteen years of being attacked from both sides and living in exile, can this be fully summarized in just a few words?

She slowly sat up and gently pulled away from his arms that were around her back.

The force was very light, and she was teetering on the edge; her body was covered in wounds, leaving her with no strength to exert.

But his stance was resolute.

Listening with envy felt like my fingertips were empty.

The warmth vanished abruptly, leaving only a handful of icy air.

He looked down at his dangling hand, the complex emotions surging in his eyes instantly subsiding into a deep, unfathomable silence.

He knew she would do this.

The worst mistake Wei Rong ever made in her life was trusting people too easily and giving her heart to the wrong person.

Xiao Heng's feigned warmth ruined her entire family, and from then on, she was extremely wary of anyone who approached her, showed favoritism, or showed tenderness.

There is no room for concealment or scheming.

What's more, he himself is an outsider who has concealed his identity and been lying low in Dajing for many years.

"So," Wei Rong finally spoke, her voice dry and cold, each word clear and devoid of any emotion, "the Prime Minister has come to Dajing with a purpose since the day he entered the capital."

It's not a question.

That's the settled conclusion.

Cold, decisive, and leaving no room for compromise.

Ling Xianru neither denied nor offered any explanation.

He was always calm and composed, and would never rush to explain himself in front of others. Especially when Wei Rong had become so cold, any explanation would only seem pale and contrived.

He stared intently at her pale, indifferent profile and said in a low voice, "My purpose is to conceal my identity and return to Donglin when the time is right."

I wasn't lying to her.

Even more so, he never thought about meeting again.

Fate never knows where it will take you or where it will push you.

Even though Ling Xianru was a man of exceptional strategy, he was still being pushed along by fate.

Looking at the person in front of her, Wei Rong realized for the first time that if she were to lose the prestigious position of Prime Minister, Ling Xianru would just be an ordinary mortal.

A mortal body.

He, however, was subject to struggle from birth, facing those methods with his own flesh and blood.

She had either never seen or heard of the struggle for the throne in the palace.

They are far more despicable than ordinary people.

If the wolf pack back then was also a trap, she didn't know how many times Ling Xianru had experienced such a desperate situation with no chance of survival.

My mind was in turmoil, and my head seemed even more dizzy.

Just then, Physician Qian arrived, accompanied by Yun Sheng.

Yun Sheng rushed to Wei Rong, held her shoulders and looked her up and down, left and right, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she was sure there were no fatal injuries. She then pulled her into her arms.

Physician Qian glanced at the two of them, then at Ling Xianru's slightly gloomy face, and dared not speak.

"Thank goodness you're alright, Rong-mei, otherwise I wouldn't know how to explain this to A-Xing."

The friendship between the young girls was genuine, and Yun Sheng's support for the Wei family was also genuine; of course, Yun Sheng didn't want anything to happen to Wei Rong.

"Lord Yun," Physician Qian said, forcing himself to speak, "why don't you let me examine Her Majesty's injuries first?"

Wei Rong pushed the person away, extended her wrist, and let Physician Qian take her pulse: "Brother Yun, there's no need to worry."

Aside from overheating from being submerged in water for too long, Wei Rong's other external injuries were not fatal. However, the injury on her leg had not fully healed to begin with, and this further exacerbated the situation, leaving her unable to walk for the foreseeable future.

Doctor Qian applied medicine and bandaged her up one by one, and then reapplied medicine to her legs.

"Let's go back to camp and rest. This undergarment was dried by body heat, so we need to change it quickly."

Yun Sheng had been waiting, and upon hearing this, she reached out to hug Wei Rong.

But someone was faster. Ling Xianru had already lifted Wei Rong up by the knees, and without even glancing at Yun Sheng, she went straight out of the cave and into the carriage.

Yun Sheng: "..."

"Is the Prime Minister giving me attitude?"

Physician Qian was covered in sweat: "That's not true. He's always expressionless."

Yun Sheng thought to himself, "Really? I would have believed it if I hadn't just seen Ling Xianru glare at me."