The Legend of Zhen Huan: Year after year, we share the spring breeze

After walking for about a cup of tea, a palace nestled among ancient cypress trees suddenly appeared before their eyes. The copper nails on the vermilion lacquer gate gleamed coldly in the sun, and the three gilded characters "Qingliang Palace" under the eaves stung Qi Yuebin's eyes.

She stopped abruptly, her chest heaving violently, her fingertips digging deep into her palms.

"My lady..."

Just as Xiao Yunzi was about to speak, Qi Yuebin had already flicked his sleeves and walked in quickly.

The newly placed twin lotus flowers in the courtyard's lotus pond were in full bloom, with a few koi fish swimming around among the lotus leaves. The courtyard was so clean it was almost deserted, devoid of any breath of life, as if time had frozen in a distant afternoon.

The door of the main hall was half-open, and the flickering candlelight inside could be vaguely seen. Qi Yuebin took a few quick steps and pushed the door open.

An Lingrong was leaning on a rosewood armchair, fiddling with the tea lid with her slender fingers. When she saw her coming, she didn't stand up, but just raised her eyes and smiled faintly.

"Princess Wen," Qi Yuebin's voice was as cold as ice, "Who allowed you to come here?"

An Lingrong slowly put down her teacup. "You're joking, Concubine Duan. Is there any place in the Old Summer Palace that I can't visit?" She tapped the table with her fingertips and suddenly lowered her voice. "But you, Your Majesty, have come to this Qingliang Palace many times over the years in the dead of night to admire the things and recall the past, haven't you?"

"Get out." Qi Yuebin spoke each word with a stern voice, "Don't dirty this place."

An Lingrong ignored her anger and teased, "You want to investigate the secret we shared about Huan Yixiang with Nian Shilan. Have you found any evidence?"

Today, when Xiao Yunzi went to Xinghuachun Pavilion to invite her, she had already expected the matter to be exposed. She did not panic at the moment and said calmly: "My skills are inferior to others. I am willing to accept the loss."

"It's easy for you to admit defeat."

An Lingrong took out a piece of paper from her sleeve and shook it open with a rustling sound. There were several names written on the paper, and each name was followed by the official title and place of origin.

"These are all generals who have fought for their country. I respect these men who defend their country the most. It's a pity that you've used your past relationship with the Qi family to blackmail them and drag them into this mess of the harem!" She suddenly leaned close to Qi Yuebin, her breath on his face. "Tell me... if they were convicted because of you, how would you face your grandfather and father in the afterlife?"

Qi Yuebin sneered, "They have accepted the Qi family's favor, so naturally they have to work for the Qi family. This is only natural."

"You're wrong. These soldiers are loyal and righteous! Even if Qi Buchi hadn't been there, there would have been Zhao Buchi and Li Buchi to find them!"

Her voice suddenly rose. "Do you think the Qi family has shown them any favors? What a joke! Gold will always shine. They shouldn't be loyal to the Qi family, but to this vast land and the people of the world!"

Qi Yuebin remained unmoved, a hint of sarcasm appearing at the corner of his lips. "Princess Wen, what's the point of saying these hypothetical words?"

Qi Yuebin has always been strong-minded, and ordinary words cannot hurt her heart at all.

"Then I want to ask you, why are you so intent on investigating the matter of Huan Yi Xiang? We have always kept our distance, haven't we?"

"Mind your own business?" Qi Yuebin sounded as if he had just heard something ridiculous. "You brought me to this Qingliang Palace, don't you know why I'm doing all this? And you still dare to say mind your own business? It's ridiculous!"

An Lingrong sat back in her chair and spoke after a long while, "Do you want to avenge Nian Shilan?"

"So what?"

Qi Yuebin still had that indifferent expression.

But it was this expression that touched An Lingrong's nerves. She suddenly jumped up, clamped her wrist with one hand, and dragged her into the inner hall.

The inner hall was terribly cold.

The four walls were empty, with a rosewood altar in the middle. White candles on both sides were burning brightly, and three sticks of fragrant incense rose up and met in mid-air. Several plates of offering fruits and a dish of crab meat cakes were placed neatly - these were Nian Shilan's favorite snacks during her lifetime.

On the wall behind the altar hung a portrait as tall as a person. In the painting, Nian Shilan was wearing a golden court robe, the cinnabar between his eyebrows was dazzlingly bright, and there was a faint smile at the corner of his lips.

"In front of her—" An Lingrong suddenly exerted force and threw Qi Yuebin fiercely onto the altar, "Say it again!"

Qi Yuebin stumbled and bumped into the edge of the table, causing the offerings to fall over. The plate of crab meat cakes shattered, and the snow-white porcelain fragments scattered everywhere.

She looked up and met the eyes in the portrait.

Her lips trembled violently, and her pale lips opened and closed several times, but she only uttered a few broken syllables: "I... I..."

"You don't dare to say?" An Lingrong leaned forward and grabbed Qi Yuebin by the collar: "You were the person Nian Shilan saw the most before her death! You know the reason for her death better than anyone else!"

"It was obviously you!" Qi Yuebin suddenly broke free from her grip, "You instigated her to commit suicide!"

"I admit it, but I promised her: to protect the Quan family's lives, to let you raise Wen Yi, and to never vent my anger on you because of old grudges. Which of these things did I fail to do?"

Before she finished speaking, she pointed at the portrait with her left hand and fiercely pinched Qi Yuebin's chin with her right hand, forcing her to turn towards the portrait. Her voice suddenly rose, "Now, ask her, does she hate me? Does she blame me?!"

Nian Shilan in the portrait still had a smile on her face. A ray of sunlight penetrated the window lattice and fell right into the corner of the person's eye, making the smile seem a little gentler.

"If you really want to avenge her..." An Lingrong pointed out the window in the direction of the Qinzheng Palace, "Go and kill the Emperor now! If you dare, I will kneel right here and let you do whatever you want!"

Qi Yuebin's face flushed red, his eyes burning with uncontrollable anger. He violently waved her hand away and shouted, "Do you think I don't want to? How could I not want to? If I didn't want to, I would have told the emperor about what Concubine Sun did!"

But I am the daughter of a military family. Each of the Qi family's thirty-six mottos is deeply engraved with the words "loyalty to the emperor and patriotism." These four words have long been ingrained in my bones and blood, becoming a belief that I will never betray in my life!

At this point, her eyes were red with emotion, and her chest was heaving violently. Then she raised her arm, pointing her finger directly at the portrait, her voice trembling, "She was like this too, adhering to these things her entire life. You said before that she exhausted herself because she couldn't hate the emperor. I tell you, that's not the case. You underestimated her, and you underestimated us..."

Her voice suddenly rose. "She lost her will to live because the faith she had upheld since childhood collapsed. You don't understand this feeling. You don't understand our perseverance at all!"