So, after Duke Yan heard that negotiations between the Ruler of Eastern Lin and the Demon God had broken down, he sought another path, searching for ancient texts about the Demon God.
When the people of Hezhou wanted to build the Abandoned Infant Pagoda, he donated money to Master Qiao, then summoned Gu Ming's divine soul to recuperate there for ten long years.
He wanted Gu Ming to help him!
To help him kill the East Lin people, to kill the Ruler of Eastern Lin who had ordered the attack on his wife and child!
After hearing all this, the Empress Dowager finally could not hold back her tears. "Twenty years ago, you already knew the killers were East Lin People, yet you never told me they had murdered your wife and daughter. You did it because..."
She suddenly understood Duke Yan's unspoken anguish.
Duke Yan curved his lips into a smile uglier than tears. "What difference would telling you have made? Back then, Great Xia was not as prosperous as East Lin. East Lin repeatedly encroached on us, and Great Xia had no way to hold them accountable. The man I wanted to kill stood too high. I could only find a way myself."
Twenty years earlier, this vast, resource-rich land had long been coveted by outsiders. Faced with East Lin's provocations, the Late Emperor had considered the bigger picture and endured them for years.
After the Late Emperor abdicated, the Empress Dowager helped the emperor ascend the throne. She intervened in state affairs behind the scenes, acting with the force of thunder and lightning, and the government rapidly flourished.
Before his death, the Late Emperor had handed military command to the Ninth Prince.
Years later, East Lin sent troops to invade Great Xia's borders. Without hesitation, the Empress