Li Chenzhou sighed. "Uncle, don't believe only one side of the story."
Seeing that he stubbornly refused to admit it before him, Li Mingfu could do little else. He turned his gaze back to the rows of spirit tablets ahead. "Since Great Yong was founded, our Li Family has been loyal and heroic, serving the country with utter devotion, bending our backs to the task until death itself. I don't want anyone who endangers the nation to emerge from our family." His piercing gaze fixed on Li Chenzhou. "Although the Old Empress Dowager has retired, that doesn't mean she will tolerate anyone harming her children. Nor will I allow anyone to thrust our entire ******** into danger for the sake of his own ambitions."
Having said his piece, he swept his sleeve sharply and turned to leave without waiting for Li Chenzhou to explain.
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Li Chenzhou's lips. He was in no hurry to rise from the floor and remained kneeling there, gazing at his grandfather's spirit tablet before his eyes settled on his father's. The Li Family had been loyal and heroic, devoting themselves to Great Yong until their dying breaths, but what had they gained in the end? What lay behind his uncle's words was not merely blind loyalty, but fear as well-fear of Empress Dowager Jiang's tyrannical power. His uncle had indeed sacrificed much to preserve the Li Family, but that could not change the fact that he had lost all his edge. Too many members of the family had lost their insight into the world outside through lives of ease. Storm clouds shifted across the realm, and an unprecedented upheaval was about to come. Clinging to broken remnants of the past led only to death.
Li Chenzhou suddenly went