These fairies want me to deal with them every day.

But this made Ye Bingluan's heart tighten slightly.

She smiled, but it seemed so forced.

So what's your answer?

Wei Tu calmly looked at the young empress and said, "I did it."

Why do this?

Ye Bingluan raised her head and asked.

Wei Tu also looked directly at the other person.

"I should be asking you why you put him in this position."

Upon hearing this question, Ye Bingluan's eyes glazed over for a moment.

Of course she knew why he was placed in this position. The Dugu family was the maternal relatives of the Shang Kingdom. Since the late emperor, their status had been extremely important. Dugu Xun was indeed a talented military commander, but because of his personality, too many people disliked him. Therefore, Ye Bingluan rationally transferred him away from the army.

She knew that hiding him would provoke protests from the Dugu family. Ye Bingluan, who had not yet fully established her own power base, would not allow such turmoil to occur. Therefore, she would place him in a position that was still somewhat important and acceptable to everyone.

It's not that we're blind to the truth, it's just that we were forced by the circumstances.

But what momentarily distracted the young empress was not these reasons that had already surfaced in her mind.

She wouldn't explain the reasons or tell the other person the cause.

She just looked at the boy with a somewhat sad expression.

"Am I not the emperor?"

I am the emperor, why should these choices be questioned by others, and why should I explain my reasons?

Wei Tu nodded. “You are indeed the emperor… You are the supreme ruler of this country, but precisely because of this, you know that in most cases no one can disobey your orders. Although you don’t have to bear the consequences, what is ultimately damaged is everything that belongs to you.”

He calmly explained the reasoning to the other party.

However, Ye Bingluan felt that these words were not gentle at all; they were like a lecture, like forcing her to do something she didn't like, even if it was the right thing to do, but she felt very uncomfortable.

If it were during that time, when they were struggling to survive between Jiuyang City and Chaoge, she might have been happy to hear such words, but... but it's now.

She didn't want to hear it.

So, in a moment of inexplicable emotion and impulse, she looked at the boy, squinted her eyes, and said in a deep voice.

"You knew who he was, and you still did it, didn't you?"

The girl's gaze didn't stir much in Wei Tu; he had a premonition, so he didn't find it strange at this moment.

He simply nodded, readily acknowledging it all.

“I know who he is, but it has nothing to do with what he did.”

"Then why didn't you bring the person to me first? Why did you do this yourself?"

"Am I not the Imperial Advisor?"

Wei Tu asked with a smile.

But this smile only made Ye Bingluan appear even more furious.

An inexplicable impulse caused Ye Bingluan to slam her hand on the table and stand up.

"But he is Dugu Xun! The only son of the Dugu family! I am the emperor, don't I even have the right to handle such matters?!"

Faced with Ye Bingluan's anger, Wei Tu remained calm. He simply watched calmly, not getting angry because of her anger.

Or rather, this performance wasn't unexpected; it was just that it was similar to what I had expected, which made me slightly disappointed.

Hmm... Of course he feels that way too, but he doesn't show it, so he just says it calmly.

"Hmm, I understand now. You want me to reattach his arms and legs?"

Ye Bingluan didn't know why she had acted so impulsively, but words spoken are like water spilled—they cannot be taken back. Besides… she was the emperor; she had no reason to contradict herself.

Even though she noticed the strangeness in her emotions, and although she didn't know what was causing it, and even though she felt some regret, she wouldn't, couldn't, apologize.

She shook her head, looking somewhat troubled and tired, and sat down again.

"No need, he's already dead."

"Oh."

"Their whole family is dead, including Dugu Ming, whom you met a few days ago. The entire mansion was massacred."

Wei Tu actually understood something, but he still smiled as he looked at Ye Bingluan.

"Isn't this a double celebration?"

Ye Bingluan slowly raised her head to look at Wei Tu.

"You know why I said this."

"Since you know so much about my whereabouts, what's the point of asking?"

Wei Tu said with a smile.

Ye Bingluan gripped the sleeve of the dragon robe tightly.

His fingers were clenched so tightly that his knuckles even began to turn white.

"You know what I want to ask, so why are you pretending to be stupid?!"

Ye Bingluan stared intently at the boy, seemingly filled with disappointment.

Then, very quickly, she saw genuine disappointment in his eyes.

He shook his head slightly as he looked at himself.

The emotions in her eyes made my heart feel as if it had been suddenly gripped, tight and painful.

"Actually, the answer doesn't matter. I'll tell you that I didn't do these things, but if you hope I did, or if you don't believe I didn't... you can do whatever you want. After all, you're the emperor, Ye Bingluan. Why care so much about my answer? Aren't you the emperor?"

Yes... I am the emperor.

Only you can decide the direction of things; whatever you want it to be, that's what it should be.

You should let things go the way you want them to.

Why should I care about other people's answers? I just want the truth to be what it is... as long as...

But why am I so conflicted and unable to face it?

Is it because of him?

But why did their reunion turn out this way?

Ye Bingluan seemed to have lost all her strength, leaning back in her chair, her head slightly lowered, not looking at him.

What will you do next?

Wei Tu thought for a moment, "I will go back to my sect."

"That Shang Kingdom..."

"I will not be coming again, so you should seek another position as Imperial Advisor."

Ye Bingluan got the answer she wanted.

Yet it seemed as if even breathing was difficult, not because of what the other person had done, but simply because of something that had happened to her own emotions.

She knew, she knew everything.

Wei Tu turned and walked towards the door, but then he suddenly stopped, as if he had thought of something, and looked back at the young empress who had not raised her head.

"To be honest, I've never felt that the Imperial Advisor was anything important to me... It's just that, more or less, you were once quite important to me."

He opened the door and went out.

The wind blew in.

The girl lowered her head, enduring it.

I endured the pain, letting only one tear wet the back of my hand.

She wasn't a child who had done something wrong, because she was the emperor.

An emperor cannot make mistakes.

25. The fragrance of incense fills the air, reaching the capital of Chaoge.

A tear falls, and that's it.

You can pretend it never happened.

But once someone leaves, can you really pretend they never existed in your world?

Ye Bingluan looked out the window. His figure walked away easily, but it couldn't be assumed that he had never been there, because he had already given her the choice.

No matter what I do, he will accept it.

This isn't what makes Ye Bingluan sad; what's most upsetting is that sentence, the one she still can't process.

He will not come to Shang again.

His meaning was very simple: unless there were special circumstances, well... what special circumstances could there be?

He will be his own emperor on earth, and he will be his own carefree immortal.

The two will never cross paths again; this may be their only meeting in this lifetime.

Should I feel relieved?

Ye Bingluan found it hard to let go.

A fierce, cold wind was blowing through the doorway, which was not closed.

When the footsteps sounded again, Ye Bingluan fantasized for a moment that perhaps it was that boy reappearing in front of her and saying: "Actually, I don't think things are over yet. There are some things we can still discuss."

But he wouldn't say something like that.

She was very proud; she was the Empress of the Shang Kingdom, a being above all others.

He was also very proud. Even though he always smiled gently, the sharpness hidden in his smile was sharper than a needle hidden in cotton.