Yi Wenjun 10

What happened to Xiao Chuhe made those who cared about Xiao Ruofeng realize that Yi Wenjun would never lift a finger to save him. And with her current cultivation realm, she had no fear of being caught in the crossfire herself.

No matter how Xiao Chuhe, Xiao Lingchen, and Xiao Ruofeng's subordinates and friends rushed about trying to find a way to save him, after they had nearly cost the Azure Dragon Envoy his life, Xiao Ruofeng ultimately slit his own throat at the execution ground.

He had indeed made arrangements for Xiao Lingchen beforehand. After he was sentenced, several loyal former subordinates of Prince Langya took Xiao Lingchen away from Heavenly Revelations.

After Xiao Ruofeng slit his throat and died, Emperor Mingde issued an edict: although the former Prince Langya, Xiao Ruofeng, had committed treason, in consideration of his past contributions to Northern Li, his punishment would not implicate anyone connected to him. And Yi Wenjun, as Xiao Ruofeng's sole surviving wife, was granted the Prince Langya Residence and elevated to Prince Langya's principal consort by Xiao Ruojin, in the name of placating the generals of the Langya Army.

Ye Xiaoying, who had been the most loyal to Xiao Ruofeng, continued to be entrusted with important duties by Emperor Mingde.

Yet none of these attempts at appeasement could satisfy Xiao Chuhe. He continued to work tirelessly to clear his royal uncle's name, until Emperor Mingde finally demoted him to a commoner and exiled him to Qingzhou.

Not long after Xiao Chuhe left Heavenly Revelations, he was attacked. His whereabouts were unknown, and no one knew whether he was alive or dead.

When Yi Wenjun heard the news, she nearly died laughing. Did Emperor Mingde love this son of his or hate him?

If he loved him, not only had he chosen Qingzhou, the most prosperous region of Northern Li, as his place of exile, but Yi Wenjun could also see that Xiao Ruojin had banished Xiao Chuhe from Heavenly Revelations at this time because he feared the noble clans who had grudges against Xiao Ruofeng would make a move against Xiao Chuhe.

The emperor could do no wrong; the ones in the wrong were those political enemies who had impeached and framed Xiao Ruofeng. If Xiao Chuhe really succeeded in clearing Xiao Ruofeng's name, they would be the ones to suffer.

Thus, with this internal turmoil not yet fully settled, Xiao Ruojin could only temporarily exile his favorite son.

As for why one might say he hated this son, it would be more accurate to say Xiao Ruojin was naive. He himself had only just killed his own younger brother, Xiao Ruofeng. How could he be so certain that keeping watch over those restless noble clans would guarantee Xiao Chuhe's safe arrival in Qingzhou?

With Yi Wenjun now at the Divine Wandering realm, she had sensed that the people pursuing Xiao Chuhe were the Wrathful Sword Immortal, his second son's master, and the chief eunuch Jinxuan, who was in league with his seventh son.

Unless he was fooling himself into believing that his sons all loved and respected one another, why had he only kept watch over the noble clans' forces and not those of his own sons?

As for when Yi Wenjun had broken through to the Mystic Spirit Wandering Realm, it was quite a coincidence: it had been not long after Xiao Ruofeng's death.

There was a saying that the three great joys in life were a promotion, a fortune, and the death of one's wife. In truth, replacing "wife" with "husband" worked just as well.

Perhaps it was because she felt that, no matter how chaotic Heavenly Revelations became, she could stay out of it and cultivate her Heavenly Devil Instruction while enjoying a life of luxury. In any case, after becoming the principal consort, Yi Wenjun naturally broke through to the Mystic Spirit Wandering Realm.

Once she had stabilized her realm and the chaos in Heavenly Revelations had subsided, Yi Wenjun, who had been holed up there all along, finally had the leisure to go out and look around.

The first place she went was Snow Moon City, where Baili Dongjun was.

She had often heard that Snow Moon City's four sights of wind, flowers, snow, and moon were truly rare. And Baili Dongjun was also a rare... friend? One with whom Yi Wenjun had no tangled grudges or affections.

But when Baili Dongjun saw Yi Wenjun, he was somewhat displeased. "Wenjun, do you hate our senior brother that much? He was quite innocent too, wasn't he? The ones who really used you were your father and Emperor Mingde. Even for your son's sake, you shouldn't have been so heartless."

All right, Yi Wenjun took back what she had thought before. Baili Dongjun could no longer be considered a simple friend.

"I don't hate him. Apart from Xiao Lingchen, I have little connection to him. Why should I have helped him? Dongjun, that's a ridiculous question. It's like asking Brother Yun why he didn't save Xiao Ruofeng, who once helped clear General Ye's name.

"Just because I was his concubine in name, did I have to devote myself to him selflessly? Listen to that—I was only a concubine, not even a wife. Why should I have?"

Baili Dongjun continued drinking and said nothing more.

Yi Wenjun looked at the drunkard lost in a drunken haze and inwardly praised her past self for severing the roots of love. She only had to look at Wen Qiushui, who had once been stupid to death, and then at Baili Dongjun, who had become a drunkard. Sure enough, staying away from romance was the right choice.

As for Baili Dongjun's current dejected state, Yi Wenjun knew a thing or two about it.

Back then, the people of Beyond the Heavens had still schemed to make Ye Dingzhi learn the Void Thought Art. If Baili Dongjun had not arrived in time, Ye Dingzhi would have nearly had his internal force drained dry by Yue Fengcheng and died.

In the end, Ye Dingzhi had turned misfortune into fortune and instead drained Baili Dongjun and Yue Fengcheng of their internal force. Although he succumbed to demonic influence, he retained his senses and brought Beyond the Heavens under his control.

Because of Baili Dongjun's relationship with Yue Yao, even when Yueqing continued to make trouble after Ye Dingzhi became sect master, going around forming alliances in an attempt to restore Northern Que, Ye Dingzhi turned a blind eye and let her be.

Later, the whole of the lands beyond the borders submitted to Ye Dingzhi. Grateful to Xiao Ruofeng for clearing his father's name, and persuaded by Baili Dongjun as well, Ye Dingzhi had no intention of attacking Northern Li or anything of the sort. Though he was the undisputed number one under heaven at the Ghost Immortal Realm, he was now busy doing business with the Shadow Sect, Nanjue, and the Northern Barbarians.