novelraw Chapter 818 - 796: Confrontation
Chapter 818 - 796: Confrontation
This is not a letter from the Marquis to the King of Sangnan, but a letter from Marquis Zhenbei to his son Xie Jue.
Ting Feng, if you see this letter, it means I have died on the battlefield, the Marquis Mansion is in ruins, and your situation with Shouyu and Zhixu must be extremely difficult. Yanyang no longer has a place for you, and you will face the temptation of power or vengeance from Sangnan. I am wondering now, if my sons truly find themselves at the moment of life and death and make a choice that goes against the family teachings and loyalty, will I be disappointed?
Perhaps I would be, but my sons are in their prime, outstanding among men, and I don’t want you to meet me in Huangquan. So, if you truly come to a dead end, then go to Sangnan.
Your birth mother is the Great Princess of Sangnan, who unexpectedly entered the Marquis Mansion. You are the only legitimate bloodline of Sangnan. I have an agreement with the King of Sangnan to acknowledge your identity, preventing the day when my sons have no retreat and no place to defend. The King of Sangnan promised me that if you returned to Sangnan, he would grant you the title of a prince and allow you to live peacefully in Sangnan.
Royal power and wealth are like passing clouds; in one lifetime, gains and losses are hard to determine, loyalty and filial piety difficult to maintain. Returning to Sangnan is not the wish of your father, but our Marquis Mansion has been loyal and righteous for generations, worthy of our conscience and morality. The loyalty of our Xie family, who died on the battlefield for generations, is enough to exchange for my sons to live a peaceful and calm life.
Even if you return to Sangnan, I will not blame you.
To hell with loyalty and righteousness; the loyalty of several generations of the Xie family is enough. You should live the life you want!
I hope this letter finds you well!
The letter concludes with the private seal of Marquis Zhenbei and the Great Princess.
To prevent others from imitating his handwriting and forging letters, Marquis Zhenbei’s private seal is quite unique, with different marks according to the odd or even number of words in the letter. Besides his sons and close subordinates, not many people know about this, not even Emperor Jianming of the Yuwen Dynasty. This letter is indeed handwritten by Marquis Zhenbei.
Xie Jue’s eyes brimmed with tears. Seeing his father’s letter again after so many years stirred emotions within him, tears filled his eyes. The sudden passing of his parents back then left him no time for a final farewell. This has always been Xie Jue’s greatest heartache. The regret accompanying this pain is why he was delayed a night on the road due to an eye ailment. Had it not been for the delay, if he had arrived in the Capital City half a day earlier, perhaps all the tragedies could have been avoided. He would have led his army openly into the city, and Yuwen Jing would not dare to act rashly; the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion might have escaped disaster. Even if punished afterward by Emperor Jianming, the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry could have found a way to cover it up.
Those regrets, sorrows, and midnight remorse haunted him for many years!
Now seeing the letter from Marquis Zhenbei again.
Xie Jue was overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
His father had always been loyal to the Yuwen Dynasty, serving tirelessly unto death without regret, and he also did not allow his sons to rebel. Back then, he merely mentioned going to Ningzhou to gather reinforcements as a precaution, and his father strongly opposed it. He was unwilling for a rift to deepen between the Marquis Mansion and the Emperor, willing to risk life and death. However, he foresaw that if the Yuwen Dynasty wiped out the Xie family entirely, with no place for his sons to retreat, he would be willing to forgive their betrayal. They would no longer need to be loyal to the Yuwen Dynasty, could live a carefree life, and need not worry about infamy. No one in this world, besides him, had the right to accuse his sons.
But Marquis Zhenbei Mansion would never have imagined that his sons would overthrow the Yuwen Family and ascend to the throne themselves!
This was worlds apart from what he had envisioned!
An era’s hero, a battlefield warrior, to the end, Marquis who was ever loyal assumed the greatest disloyalty might be that after his death, his sons would leave Yanyang to live in Sangnan.
"Ting Feng..." Fang Chuning stood by, heart aching, unwilling to remind him, seeing Xie Jue had been staring at the letter for a long time, emotions surging, no longer caring about his surroundings.
Xie Jue took a deep breath and slowly said, "This is indeed my father’s letter."
"The High Priest can also verify if this is the Princess’s private seal!" King of Sangnan spoke as the eunuch beside him walked over to Xie Jue, intending to take the letter. Xie Jue instinctively withdrew it, then came to his senses and handed the letter to the eunuch.
The eunuch handed the letter to Du Fang, the High Priest, who had a unique position, above the sons of the King of Sangnan, and had been like an invisible person since the banquet began.
"The High Priest has also always questioned Prince Yan’s identity. This letter is enough to prove his lineage, but if it isn’t enough, I have another letter here written by the Great Princess to the High Priest back then," King of Sangnan confidently said, "The handwriting of the Princess should be recognizable to the High Priest."
The High Priest’s gaze fell on the letter handed over by the eunuch, lightly opened it, and said indifferently, "Fine, bring it all together. Just the letter alone isn’t enough to prove Prince Yan is the Princess’s son; I could also say that this was colluded long ago by you and Marquis Zhenbei."