Seek justice and restore peace to the world!
The Guangwu Emperor, sitting high on the stage, frowned tightly. Dark undercurrents were surging violently in his eyes as he looked at the fair complexion of the woman below.
The supreme ruler of this dynasty suddenly recalled his brothers from many years ago.
Those eventful past events flashed through his mind like a tidal wave.
He still remembered the life - and - death naval battle on Poyang Lake more than thirty years ago.
It was the greatest crisis in his life, and there was almost no chance of winning in a direct confrontation.
It was brothers like Lan Yuanyi and Xu Ying who risked their lives to lead troops to besiege the Tianwan Army from the wooden bridge in Jiangdong overnight. Only then did they achieve the "Battle of Longwan", which laid the foundation for the establishment of the Great Ye Dynasty.
That battle was extremely dangerous, and everyone went into battle with the determination to die.
Lan Yuanyi slapped Song Huairen on the shoulder and laughed boldly, "It doesn't matter if I die! But the hope of establishing the Great Ye Dynasty must not be destroyed by the Tianwan Army. You must survive, you must survive! Hahaha..."
Thirty - odd years had passed in a flash, filled with bloodshed, battles, and intrigues...
Dozens of them fought side by side, hacking their way out of the thick darkness and founding the Great Ye Dynasty.
But who could have known?
More than thirty years later, they were falling apart one by one, facing the struggle for power and desire.
If they had known this outcome back then, would Lan Yuanyi still have sacrificed himself to protect him?
Would Lan Yuanyi still have slapped him on the shoulder and boldly declared, "It doesn't matter if I die! But you must survive!"
The Guangwu Emperor slowly closed his eyes and sighed silently.
He didn't understand why all that they had done in the past had ultimately led to them raising their swords against each other and cutting off each other's heads.
When he opened his eyes again, the emperor's sharp gaze was covered with frost. He said in a low voice,
"Today is a reward banquet. It's not appropriate to conduct investigations here... Minister Di, I'll leave the case of the crown prince's plague - making to you."
"Lan Jinshu, hand over the witness to the Supreme Court and wait for the trial result!"
"This humble girl obeys!"
The Guangwu Emperor had lost the mood he had when he first entered the imperial garden. He left the subsequent reward arrangements to Eunuch Cen and left with a flick of his sleeve.
The naive girl, who was unaware of the court's inside story, had no idea whose subordinate the Supreme Court was. She just happily agreed.
The two men kneeling on either side of Caiyu, however, knew very well that handing the crown - prince case to the Supreme Court meant that the witness might die unexpectedly in prison, and the crown prince would surely be safe.
This was well within their expectations.
It was a conclusion drawn from their repeated setbacks in front of the Guangwu Emperor.
So be it.
Sheng Jiangli secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
That witness should have died earlier anyway. It was good that he was about to die in the Supreme Court.
With the witness dead, even if Caiyu found out that the crown prince was safe, she would have no way to pursue the matter.
As long as she didn't pursue it further, the Guangwu Emperor wouldn't be enraged. Maybe, it would just fade away like this!
Moreover, Caiyu had unexpectedly won the opportunity to retrial the Lan family case, which they had struggled for many years without success. This was the most important thing.
But Song Yinghuai on the other side didn't look so good.
He thought deeper than Caiyu and even Sheng Jiangli.
Today's incident seemed to have been easily suppressed by the Guangwu Emperor, and it seemed that everyone's wishes had been fulfilled.
But wasn't it always unusually calm before a storm?
The more the Guangwu Emperor handled it like this, the more uneasy he felt.
Moreover...
After briefly lifting his mental alarm, the man's surging anger burst through the dam like a flood, breaking through his rationality and rushing down with boundless force.
With a furious look in his black eyes, he stared at Caiyu and Sheng Jiangli, who had stepped aside and were whispering under a tree, openly acknowledging each other.
Seeing them chatting and laughing, with a long - lost bright smile on Caiyu's face.
But that smile wasn't for him.
A hint of anger appeared on the man's face, and several sharp cold glints flashed in his eyes.
Suddenly, Sheng Jiangli reached up and fondly ruffled Caiyu's hair.
"Snap!"
Song Yinghuai felt as if the string of rationality in his mind had just snapped.
With red eyes, he strode over!
Sheng Jiangli had been on high alert for Song Yinghuai's actions and noticed him coming from afar.
His eyes flickered slightly, and he subtly protected Caiyu behind him, confronting the approaching Song Yinghuai.
"Prince of Yan," he coldly warned as he looked at Song Yinghuai's red eyes. "This is the palace, the imperial garden. Don't make a scene."
Song Yinghuai didn't look at him. He just looked past his shoulder at Caiyu and sneered, "Who said I'm going to make a scene?"
"It's good if you don't. It seems that the prince of Yan has known my background for a long time." Sheng Jiangli curled his lips. "No wonder the prince has been looking for trouble with me again and again."
Sheng Jiangli finally understood.
At first, Song Yinghuai had been arrogant and conceited when facing his relationship with Caiyu, but later he had always been like a jealous child, beating him up for no reason.
It turned out that he had known about his relationship with the Lan family and Shu'er.
Song Yinghuai sneered again. "General Sheng, you're overthinking. I never have the leisure to pick on insignificant people."
Was he implying that he was no threat to him?
Sheng Jiangli looked at him mockingly.
If he was really that confident, why was he rushing over to get involved now?
He was clearly panicked!
"Yes, your highness is right. I'm insignificant. Please stop staring at this insignificant person, your highness. Please go ahead!"
"I'm not here for you. I'm here to take Caiyu away."
Sheng Jiangli let out a laugh. "On what grounds? Your highness, have you forgotten that the emperor has just set Miss Shu'er free."
"Now she's Lan Jinshu, no longer Lan Caiyu. On what grounds can your highness take her away?"
Miss Shu'er?
What an affectionate name!
Cold air hissed through Song Yinghuai's teeth. His eyes were dangerous. "Her indenture is still in the Prince of Yan's Mansion. Until it's destroyed, she's still a servant in my mansion."
"The one who sold herself to the Prince of Yan's Mansion was Lan Caiyu, and that's the name on the indenture. What does it have to do with my Miss Shu'er?" Sheng Jiangli quickly retorted. "If your highness wants to find your own servant, go somewhere else. She's not here!"
Song Yinghuai clearly seemed unstable right now. If he took Caiyu away, who knew what kind of hardships she would suffer.
Just thinking about how roughly Song Yinghuai had treated Caiyu in the small wooden house that day, Sheng Jiangli wished he could fight him again.
There was no way he would let Caiyu go to Song Yinghuai at this moment!
"Slick - tongued!" Song Yinghuai snorted and stared straight at Caiyu. "Yuer, come back to the mansion with me."
"Shu'er, don't go with him."
The two men once again took on opposing roles, glaring at each other menacingly, neither willing to show weakness.
Caiyu met Song Yinghuai's cold gaze and felt a shiver in her heart.
She knew that she had done many things to disobey Song Yinghuai today, and he must be very angry.
She also thought that now that her identity had been made public, it would be better to talk to him as soon as possible.
After all, the two of them hadn't sat down and had a calm conversation for a long time.
She needed to tell him what was on her mind.
To express her gratitude for his long - term care.
To express her views on his love.
She still held a glimmer of hope. Maybe, now that she was Lan Jinshu, would everything be different?
Thinking of this, Caiyu gently parted her red lips. "Brother A'li, I'll go back to the prince's mansion with him first. I'll find you tomorrow about what I told you just now."
Sheng Jiangli looked at Caiyu in surprise. He could see the deep attachment to Song Yinghuai in her black eyes. His heart twitched, and he couldn't say a word of objection.
"Okay, see you tomorrow."
As Sheng Jiangli left, his eyes were full of warning. "Prince of Yan, I advise you to be rational with her. Otherwise, I'll never let you go!"