"Nanny, why are you speaking up for that wicked villain Ji Shiyou?
He led troops to invade our Wu Man Kingdom. To resist the foreign enemy,
my three elder brothers died on the battlefield.
He forced my father and mother to death, and killed over five hundred of my people.
For all these things, how have I wronged him?
By the way, you all call him Your Majesty, have you been bribed by her?"
Mingyue couldn't believe that Nanny Yang would speak for Ji Shiyou.
"Princess, please come with this old servant."
Nanny Yang pulled Mingyue to the back hall's sleeping quarters and quietly told her something.
After listening, Mingyue was completely stunned.
Mingyue was in a daze for a moment, then suddenly stood up and rushed out of Lanyue Palace.
In the study, Ji Shiyou sat on the dragon throne, his eyes closed, resting.
Then, with a bang, the door was kicked open.
Mingyue stormed in, a gleaming dagger in her hand.
"Ji Shiyou, you scoundrel!"
Mingyue roared and lunged forward.
The dagger in her hand stabbed directly at Ji Shiyou's chest.
Ji Shiyou sat in his chair and saw Mingyue's face full of rage.
His expression was a little surprised. Logically, Mingyue and her servant should be reunited.
She should be happy, and there shouldn't be time to find trouble with him.
What happened, and she was trying to kill him again?
However, the dagger was already upon him, and he couldn't just wait to die.
He extended his right hand and struck the table. m..oΓg
Using the force of the pushback, along with the chair he was sitting on,
he slid backward, dodging Mingyue's attack.
It was just that he was weak now, and his speed was slower than usual.
Mingyue's dagger missed, and she pressed forward.
Flipping the dagger in her hand, she pressed it against Ji Shiyou's neck.
"Why did you hide it from me?"
Mingyue suddenly threw the dagger to the ground and roared at Ji Shiyou.
Just now, Nanny Yang had quietly told her.
Her parents and brothers were not dead.
Instead, Ji Shiyou had arranged for them to be in a safe place in Wu Man.
Living well as ordinary people.
So she had come to find Ji Shiyou to get a clear answer.
She had originally thought that Ji Shiyou, to achieve his imperial ambitions,
had invaded Wu Man Kingdom regardless of their affection for each other.
But now it seemed there was another hidden reason.
She just didn't understand why Ji Shiyou hadn't told her.
Why hide it from her alone? In Ji Shiyou's heart,
was she just a vase, someone who couldn't bear any pressure?
Her parents and brothers were not dead, of course she was happy.
But she wanted to ask Ji Shiyou why he lied to her.
Everyone knew the truth, and only she was kept in the dark.
Did she have to be heartbroken and devastated to look good?
And thinking about how she had been trying to assassinate Ji Shiyou these past few days,
even not wanting to live and actively seeking death,
Mingyue felt like a joke.
"You know? I told them not to tell you for now.
I can't explain to you, I can only say.
Invading Wu Man was not my intention.
I'm sorry, I've disappointed you."
Without Mingyue saying it, Ji Shiyou had guessed.
Mingyue already knew the truth, but he had promised not to reveal Qinglan Shangren's identity.
Therefore, he also couldn't say.
Everything he had done to Wu Man Kingdom was to fulfill Qinglan Shangren's mission.
But to prevent Mingyue from being sad, he had defied Qinglan Shangren's orders.
He would rather endure the torment of "Shi Qing" every month and secretly protected Mingyue's family.
"Even if you had unavoidable reasons, or something huge,
couldn't you have told me?
I could have shared the burden with you and resolved it together.
Why did you hide it from me? Was I not allowed to know?
I believe you had reasons you couldn't speak of for annexing Wu Man.
I could have not asked, but why did you hide the fact that my relatives were still alive?
Let me misunderstand you and kill them.
Could you bear to watch me, because of the loss of my loved ones,
be in unbearable pain and suffer nightmares every night?
In your heart, what do I count for? Tell me!"
Mingyue's words were like knives, each one dripping with blood, as she questioned Ji Shiyou.
"Hiding it from you was my fault.
Watching you suffer also caused me pain.
Many times, I couldn't resist telling you the truth.
But I still held back, because if you knew the truth,
you wouldn't hate me to the bone like you do now and try to kill me.
It would be easy for someone with ulterior motives to discover it and endanger your family.
Also, hiding it from you was your father, mother,
and your elder brothers' joint decision. I could only do as they said.
They also wanted to protect you, and there were things they didn't want you to know.
They didn't want you to bear too much, but the result was the opposite.
This matter has caused you even more harm."
Ji Shiyou held Mingyue in his arms, comforting her agitated emotions.
"My father and them told you to hide it from me? Why?"
Mingyue was confused. She didn't know what secrets lay between her family and Ji Shiyou.
So she broke free from Ji Shiyou's embrace.
Looking at Ji Shiyou, she wanted his explanation.
Ji Shiyou walked to the door and asked the attendants to withdraw.
He instructed Dongnan to guard the door, then turned back and closed the windows.
After that, he recounted the events of three years ago to Mingyue.
Of course, it wasn't about Qinglan Shangren, but about the crisis in Wu Man Kingdom.
Three years ago, Ji Shiyou was forced to send troops to Wu Man Kingdom.
Although he had promised Qinglan Shangren, he didn't want Mingyue to be sad and disappointed in him.
So he delayed sending troops to Wu Man. He had already made up his mind.
He would break his oath and disobey his master's orders.
Just then, a mysterious guest arrived and changed his decision.
This person was Mingyue's elder brother, Yun Shu.
Yun Shu entered the palace in disguise, and Ji Shiyou didn't recognize him.
He almost mistook him for an assassin and killed him. Knowing it was him, Ji Shiyou was greatly surprised.
Yun Shu was the Crown Prince of Wu Man and the next ruler. He would not easily leave the imperial city.
His appearance in the imperial palace of Langyue Kingdom, and in disguise to see him,
must mean that something had happened in Wu Man Kingdom, and he was worried about Mingyue's safety.
As expected, the news Yun Shu brought shocked Ji Shiyou.
Because Yun Shu had come to him for help, asking him to send troops to Wu Man and rescue the Emperor of Wu Man.
The story began thirty years ago, when there were no Langyue, Tianlang, and Wu Man kingdoms.
The entire continent had only one country, Tianxuan Kingdom.
The name Tianxuan Continent also originated from this.
Tianxuan Kingdom had been the overlord of the continent for a thousand years.
But nothing in the world is permanent. Thirty years ago,
due to the last Emperor of Tianxuan being weak and incompetent, Tianxuan Kingdom collapsed.
The continent was divided into three, and Tianxuan Kingdom was replaced by the current three kingdoms.
At that time, Ji Shiyou's father was the Prime Minister of Tianxuan Kingdom.
Mingyue's father was the general guarding Wu Man, and the late Emperor of Tianlang was just a tribal leader.
The three of them, by chance, became regional overlords and divided the world.
When Ji Shiyou left Wu Man, he had already gained the approval of Mingyue's family.
They had long regarded him as their own son-in-law.
Yun Shu's visit to him this time was to ask for his help.
Because the Emperor of Wu Man had recently discovered that the Wu Man throne was unstable.
Not only that, but their family's lives might also be in danger.
So he sent his eldest son to secretly leave the palace and seek help from Ji Shiyou, his prospective son-in-law.