After the ghost-hunting master descended the mountain, his fame spread throughout the capital.

Xie Jinchen took half a step forward, leaned close to Emperor Cangqi, and lowered his voice to a very low hue:

"Those women from prestigious families who painstakingly arranged marriages for me before, ostensibly to find me a good match, were actually... trying to get me married and have children as soon as possible, right?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Cangqi's pupils suddenly contracted.

"And then?" Xie Jinchen's voice was even softer, yet icy. "Using the blood of my offspring to perform your evil magic, tracking the whereabouts of my mother's reincarnation, even attempting to use blood as a sacrifice to perform that heaven-defying art, is that right?"

Emperor Cangqi's bloodshot eyes were filled with horror, as if the most secret corner of his heart had been suddenly exposed to the light of day.

Xie Jinchen straightened up, as if enjoying his terrified expression, and continued in a calm yet cruel tone:

"Unfortunately, I disobeyed. So, you felt I had escaped your control and become a threat that had to be eliminated. So... you wanted to kill me, didn't you?"

He chuckled softly, a laugh devoid of any warmth, "What a laughable father-son relationship."

Jiang Dusheng had been observing coldly, but upon hearing this, the disgust in his eyes almost materialized.

After a violent coughing fit, Emperor Cangqi finally regained a sliver of clarity from his shock and rage. He stared intently at Xie Jinchen and hissed:

"So, so during those years, the women you were betrothed to either suddenly fell seriously ill, or their families were plagued by misfortune, and there were even rumors that you were a cursed jinx, destined to kill off your wives and have no children..."

He coughed violently from excitement, his words broken and intermittent, yet he stubbornly roared:

"It was you, you yourself, who secretly spread this?! Just to prevent me from succeeding?!"

Before Xie Jinchen could answer, a deep voice came from behind the inconspicuous door of the side hall:

"It wasn't him."

The side door was gently pushed open, and a tall figure slowly walked out. "It's me."

The visitor was Xie Dai, who had been assassinated and buried in Qingzhou.

Xie Jinchen looked at Xie Dai, his face showing no surprise, but his eyes darkened, and he said:

"I thought you intended to remain hidden in the shadows forever and never show yourself again."

His tone was flat, revealing little emotion.

Upon hearing this sound, Emperor Cangqi, who was on the dragon bed, struggled to sit up abruptly, his fingers gripping the brocade quilt tightly.

"You... Xie Dai! You really didn't die!"

This roar exhausted his last bit of strength, causing him to cough violently again.

Xie Dai walked steadily to the dragon bed and stopped a few steps away. His face was thinner than before, but his posture was still upright.

Xie Dai's gaze was calm, yet it seemed to contain a raging torrent.

"Chu Yan," Xie Dai called him by his name, "How could I die before you? It's time to settle the score between us after all these decades of grudges."

He paused, a deep pain and tenderness flashing in his eyes, "I promised Achu that as long as you are alive, I will never die."

After speaking, he turned to Xie Jinchen beside him, his eyes instantly becoming complicated, filled with guilt and pride.

He said slowly, "Chen'er, your father... is very pleased."

"You knew my death was a scheme, you knew that my pushing you to the Crown Prince's side and dragging you into this court struggle was for ulterior motives, yet you still... went this far."

"You did better than I expected."

Xie Jinchen listened quietly, his face still expressionless, but the fingertips of his hand hanging at his side curled up almost imperceptibly.

He remained silent for a moment, then finally asked the question that had lingered in his mind for many years, his voice hoarse:

"Tell me. You know, I've been investigating for so many years. I want to know... why did my mother become his woman back then? And why did she marry you later?"

Xie Dai did not answer immediately, but instead turned his gaze back to Emperor Cangqi, who was almost out of breath due to the intense emotional turmoil, and a smile appeared on his lips.

He took a step forward, closer to the dragon bed, and slowly spoke, each word piercing Chu Yan's heart:

"Chu Yan, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time."

He paused deliberately, enjoying the madness churning in the other person's eyes, "Ah Chu, she... is not your biological sister at all, nor is she some phoenix reincarnation predicted by that old bald monk Hong An."

"What...what did you say?!" Emperor Cang Qi was struck as if by a heavy hammer, his eyes widening in shock. His hoarse voice trembled with astonishment. "No...impossible! You're lying!!"

Xie Dai seemed satisfied with his reaction and continued in a calm tone:

"Oh, right, there's something else I forgot to tell you. Achu's body isn't there anymore. Because..."

Xie Dai paused again, his gaze fixed on Chu Yan's distorted face, and said, word by word:

"Your trusted advisor, the Imperial Preceptor Shi Qinglian, is my son."

"puff!"

Emperor Cangqi could no longer withstand the successive blows and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, staining his bright yellow nightgown and front red, a shocking sight.

He reached out his trembling hand, wanting to lunge forward and grab Xie Dai, but Xie Dai casually dodged to the side.

Emperor Cangqi missed his target and fell awkwardly beside the bed, only managing to stay upright thanks to sheer willpower.

Xie Dai watched him struggle indifferently, without the slightest pity in his eyes, as if he were looking at a trapped beast making a desperate last stand.

He sneered and continued, "The late emperor was wise; how could he not know that the so-called Mandate of Heaven can bring both auspicious omens and prestige, but also endless calamities and covetousness?"

His voice carried a hint of emotion, "So, less than three months after the divination caused such a stir, the real eldest princess was secretly sent out of the palace by the late emperor and entrusted to a trusted confidant to raise in secret. She was sent far away from this place of trouble, only hoping to live a peaceful and happy life."

Xie Dai paused, his gaze like an icicle piercing Emperor Cangqi:

"And Achu, who remained in the palace and became your obsession in the future... was nothing more than an abandoned baby who was carefully selected and had no blood relation to the royal family."

Xie Dai looked at Chu Yan, who was on the verge of collapse, his eyes filled with mockery and contempt:

"Unfortunately, the late emperor calculated everything, guarding against the maternal relatives and powerful ministers, but he failed to foresee... that the son he raised with his own hands would be a heartless scoundrel who wouldn't even spare his half-sister!"

Xie Dai's voice suddenly turned stern: "Before the late emperor passed away, he dismissed all his attendants and summoned me alone to tell me everything."

"He said his greatest gratitude wasn't for creating such a prosperous era, but for sending his true child out of the palace, saving her from your clutches! That was the last thing he could do for his daughter as a father!"

At this point, Xie Dai's tone became low and heavy with heartache, "After learning the truth, my feelings were complicated and hard to describe. If it weren't for that switch back then, I would never have met A Chu."

"But I feel sorry for A-Chu... From the moment she was chosen to enter the palace, her life no longer belonged to her."

"Her entire life seemed to be lived for others; did she ever truly live a single day for herself?"