Lu Dahai felt that something was very strange about what had happened that day.
During the ceremony to confer an additional title on the Holy Maiden, he had lowered his head and considered how to tell his father about Chu's newly appointed Holy Maiden.
Then he looked up and discovered that everyone was acting strangely!
Not only were his colleagues cold toward him, even the minor officials who usually fawned over him seemed desperate to avoid him.
The Minister of Rites, who had always valued him, had even given him a fierce glare!
An inexplicable unease rose in Lu Dahai's heart.
Could my secret have been exposed?
His heart began pounding at the thought.
He and his father had only recently made contact and exchanged a few letters. Surely no one could have found out!
After turning the matter over and over in his mind, Lu Dahai decided to pack his belongings and prepare to flee. Marquis Jinyang had acknowledged him as his son, after all.
Once he reached Qi, wouldn't his status and abilities guarantee him a bright future?
Just as Lu Dahai was packing his gold, silver, and valuables, his trusted attendant Liu Ping suddenly came stumbling in.
Panting heavily, he cried in panic, "Disaster, my lord! Soldiers have surrounded our residence!"
Lu Dahai jolted in shock. The exquisite jade cup in his hand slipped to the floor and shattered into pieces.
A moment ago, he had still been debating whether to bring this set of jade cups his father had sent him. Now all he felt was fear that he would never be able to leave.
Even as he braced himself for the worst, Lu Dahai clung to a sliver of hope. He grabbed Liu Ping and instructed him, "Go tell Wang Zhi to have my father come and save me!"
When Marquis Jinyang first found him, all their messages had been passed through Wang Zhi. Liu Ping was the only person in the vice minister's household who knew about it.
Liu Ping said anxiously, "My lord, none of us can get out now!"
Lu Dahai's face twisted. "Find an opportunity and act! This is our only chance to survive! Do you hear me?"
Liu Ping nodded repeatedly.
Suddenly remembering that there were still things in his study, Lu Dahai hurried over at a run, hoping to destroy the evidence.
But the moment he reached the study door, he found the Minister of Justice standing there.
Du Muqing sneered. "Oh? Why are you so flustered, Vice Minister?"
Damn it, this bastard usually looks so respectable, yet behind everyone's backs, he does things beneath even pigs and dogs!
Cold sweat poured off Lu Dahai, but he knew that at a time like this, he had to remain calm.
He composed himself and said, "What makes you say that, my lord? I was merely in a hurry to attend to official business. May I ask what brings you here?"
Du Muqing was about to answer when he saw his subordinate emerge with several letters.
"My lord, we have found the evidence."
Yue Zixin presented the letters with both hands.
Lu Dahai's eyes widened. Without thinking, he lunged forward to snatch them, only to be pinned firmly in place by the soldiers.
The Prefect of the Capital strode over and mocked him. "What's this? A cornered dog trying to leap over the wall?"
Lu Huaiying bowed to Du Muqing and asked, "My lord, is the evidence conclusive?"
Du Muqing nodded. He took the letters, opened one, and read aloud, "My son Qizhi, your father has finally found you... Endure your time in Chu a little longer. When the time is ripe, I will bring you back to Great Qi and name you the Heir of Marquis Jinyang..."
Lu Dahai listened with eyes bulging in fury and struggled nonstop. One of the soldiers restraining him kicked him hard behind the knee, finally forcing him to settle down.
Both Du Muqing and Lu Huaiying stared at him with icy eyes, wishing they could kill this treasonous spy on the spot!
Fortunately, they had heard the Holy Maiden's thoughts. Otherwise, who knew how much longer Lu Dahai would have kept selling them out!
Lu Dahai and everyone in the vice minister's household were taken to the Ministry of Justice's prison.
During the days of interrogation that followed, Lu Dahai stubbornly refused to confess, insisting that he had been framed. Every day, he hoped Marquis Jinyang would send someone to rescue him.
Before long, however, Liu Ping whispered to him, "My lord, I spent some silver to have someone secretly send a message, only to discover that Wang Zhi had fled long ago!"
Lu Dahai's vision went black.
He had suffered so much, and everything he had done had been for his father. Yet this was how it had ended!
Why? Why had it come to this?
Later, he finally broke under torture and confessed everything.
Emperor Chu Ming immediately sentenced him to execution by beheading.
Even as he was escorted to the execution ground, Lu Dahai kept looking around, still clinging to one last shred of hope.
The commoners gathered in a circle, pointing at him and talking.
"Look! That's Lu Dahai, the spy who colluded with the enemy!"
"I heard he was even the Vice Minister of Rites!"
"He was already such a high-ranking official, yet he still betrayed his country. What was he thinking?"
"Apparently, his birth father is a marquis in Qi..."
"So what? Look at him now. Does that man care what happens to him?"
As Lu Dahai listened to the murmurs around him, a trace of remorse finally stirred in his heart.
If I hadn't contacted Marquis Jinyang, I would still be the illustrious Vice Minister of Rites today!
Suddenly, Lu Dahai spotted two familiar figures in the crowd.
They were his adoptive father and mother!
The two elderly people, their backs stooped and their hair graying, supported each other as they stood quietly in the crowd watching him. Tears had long since covered their aged faces.
Lu Dahai could not help weeping.
Now, they were probably the only people who would shed tears for someone like him.
He had known since childhood that he was adopted. After being mocked for his family's poverty, he had come to look down on his adoptive parents, who farmed on the outskirts of the capital, and sworn that he would rise above the crowd.
After earning his scholarly credentials, he feared that others would scorn his origins, so he distanced himself from his adoptive parents even further.
Once he became Vice Minister of Rites, his birth father contacted him and promised to make him heir to the marquisate. He had believed it all, only to meet this end.
Lu Dahai had never imagined that the people who would come to see him one last time would be the adoptive parents he had always despised.
As for the birth father who had repeatedly promised to bring him home, he had never come to see him even once.
Lu Dahai lowered his head in shame, unable to look at his adoptive parents' faces again.
The official overseeing the execution glanced at the sun and shouted, "The noon hour has arrived! Carry out the execution!"
At the order, the executioner lifted his broad saber, sprayed a mouthful of wine over it, and brought it down in one clean stroke.
In the instant before his head fell to the ground, Lu Dahai took one last look at his adoptive parents.
If there is another life, let me serve you as an ox or a horse to repay your kindness.
System: [Host, you have successfully helped Chu eliminate a spy colluding with Qi. Points +500]
Chu Siqing was puzzled. [Huh??? I didn't do anything!]
[Could Father have told Imperial Uncle after hearing my thoughts?]
The system reasoned, [That must be it.]
In truth, he had not found the specific reason. For some unknown reason, certain things seemed to have been blocked from him.
Chu Siqing was delighted. [Looks like I'm doing a pretty good job as Holy Maiden!]
It was time for another visit to the Heavenly Derivation Pavilion. Carried by Nanny Li, Chu Siqing entered the palace with Princess Consort Yu.
After entering the Heavenly Derivation Pavilion, Princess Consort Yu handed her daughter to Tu Qingchen. "Sorry for the trouble, State Preceptor."
Tu Qingchen took Chu Siqing and said, "Rest assured, Your Highness."
Chu Siqing got her wish and found herself in the handsome man's arms. Yet she noticed that Tu Qingchen was looking at her with a complicated expression, as though he even felt a little sorry for her.
Chu Siqing: *???*
What was going on here?
Before you continue