Chapter 106: Passing Away
“This Chen is here to take Qinghe away.”
Zhao Huan suppressed the fury and grievance in his heart as he spoke before Li Feng.
“You should know where she is, correct?”
A flicker of guilt flashed in the depths of Li Fengâs eyes. “This Fenghuang does not know what you are talking about.”
Following that, a trace of impatience surfaced in her gaze as she looked at Zhao Huan.
“If you have no other business, return to your Yuehe Palace immediately.”
“Heh!”
Zhao Huan laughed, but the mirth did not reach his eyes.
He truly had not expected that even at this stage, Li Feng would still play the fool in front of him.
“This Chen thought that after several hundred years, the prejudice in your heart would have dissipated. I never imagined that you simply did not care at all.”
“Is it true that regardless of whether this Chen schemed against you back then, you would never have fallen in love with me?”
Li Feng’s expression changed instantly upon hearing Zhao Huan’s question.
“Since you already know the answer in your heart, why bother asking it aloud?”
“Is it not better to play the fool?”
Zhao Huanâs face turned completely ashen.
“So thatâs how it is.”
He gave a cold smile, his eyes hollow and filled with self-mockery.
His surge of love had long been worn away by these several hundred years of torment. Now, learning from Li Fengâs own mouth that everything was merely the result of his own forced insistence, he finally reached his breaking point.
“Then why did you not just kill this Chen with a single sword stroke back then?”
As Zhao Huan spoke, his facial expression became distorted and terrifying. His entire body trembled with agitation. One could only imagine how much of a shock Li Fengâs words had dealt him.
“Why let this Chen continue to live a lingering, wretched life?”
“Do you not feel that you are being cruel by doing this?”
Zhao Huanâs accusatory and blaming eyes made a chill run down Li Fengâs spine.
She initially did not want to pay him any mind, but seeing Zhao Huan grow increasingly out of control, she finally could not help but respond.
“Was this not what you always sought?”
She threw the question back at Zhao Huan. “If this Fenghuang had truly killed you with a sword back then, what would have happened to Qinghe?”
“Do you not love her very much?”
Years ago, Li Feng and Hua Shan were a pair of mutually enamored lovers. Unfortunately, before their marriage, Li Feng was schemed against by Zhao Huan because she was already carrying Hua Shanâs child. This led to the birth of Li Qinghe.
This had always been a hurdle Li Feng could not cross and a thorn in Hua Shanâs heart. The reason this matter had not been mentioned for several hundred years was out of consideration for Li Qingheâs innocence. Regardless of the circumstances, she was still a descendant of the Phoenix Clan.
No matter how much Li Feng disliked Zhao Huan, she could not change the fact that Li Qinghe was the child of both of them.
“Then what about Li Lan?”
Zhao Huan countered Li Feng. “You claim that Hua Shan was the person you loved most, so why did you repeatedly go behind his back and allow other men to bear children for you?”
“Do you not feel that your so-called love is incredibly cheap?”
“Enough!”
Seeing him become more and more demonic as he spoke, Li Feng slammed her hand on the table and stood up. “What do you know?”
She roared in anger, “If not for your scheming back then, how would this Fenghuang have suffered such a massive loss of Yuanqi?”
“It was Hua Shan! He saw this Fenghuang fretting over the matter of heirs and being pressured by the Clan Elders. Otherwise, how could he have brought himself to drug this Fenghuang and personally deliver me to anotherâs bed?”
“And the cause of all these consequences is you!”
Seeing Li Fengâs hysterical appearance, Zhao Huan could not help but be shocked.
He had always thought it was Li Feng who had betrayed Hua Shan, secretly allowing other men to have her children. He never would have imagined that Hua Shan would actually send the woman he loved to another man’s bed.
This realization caused his footsteps to stagger backward repeatedly.
“How could things have turned out like this…”
Zhao Huan still did not believe Li Fengâs words. “You are lying to me, right? Yes, that must be it.”
“It must be that you are unwilling to admit your betrayal of Hua Shan, so you are deliberately telling these lies to deceive this Chen.”
Seeing Zhao Huanâs refusal to believe the truth, Li Feng did not bother to say more.
“Believe what you wish.”
She waved her sleeve dismissively. “In any case, the relationship between this Fenghuang and him is currently very good.”
“If you wish to leave, this Fenghuang will not stop you. But if you are still thinking of plotting anything else, do not blame this Fenghuang for being merciless.”
Years ago, she had spared him for the sake of the child. But a child could not be his protective talisman forever. Moreover, now that everything had been laid bare, she would no longer show him any face.
“I want to take Qinghe and leave this place.”
It is said that no grief is greater than the death of the heart. Having learned the entire truth, Zhao Huan completely gave up his struggle. The gaze he directed at Li Feng no longer held the previous madness; all that remained was a flat, dead calm.
“You should know who took her away.”
Zhao Huan did not speak in riddles with Li Feng. “My request now is very simple: to live a peaceful life with her.”
“In the future, I will never appear before you or him again.”
He had played the fool and acted deaf and dumb for several hundred years; that was enough. It was time to wake up and live the life he wanted.
Li Feng frowned. “Are you serious?”
She still found it hard to believe that Zhao Huan would give up so easily. She knew well how much of an enduring person he was. For hundreds of years, he had stayed within the Yuehe Palace, never taking a step out. That was not something an ordinary person could achieve.
Could he truly do as he said?
Zhao Huan knew that no matter what he said now, Li Feng would not believe him. He did not expect her to believe him immediately either. He simply insisted, “I know that in the past, it was my obsession that caused so much harm to you and Hua Shan.”
“But several hundred years have passed, and I am tired.”
“From this moment on, this Chen hopes that what should be in the past is allowed to stay in the past.”
“Now, this Chen only wants Qinghe to leave with me.”
He understood Hua Shanâs character very well. Hua Shan had taken Li Qinghe because she must have discovered a secret regarding himâa secret that even Li Feng likely did not know. Otherwise, Li Feng would not be standing here so calmly listening to him talk so much nonsense.
Zhao Huanâs softened tone caused Li Feng to unconsciously soften her heart as well.
“This Fenghuang will give you an explanation regarding Qingheâs disappearance,” Li Feng stated calmly. “However, you must promise this Fenghuang that you will never appear in the Phoenix Clan again from this day forward.”
Since she could not bring herself to personally take his life, she could only banish him from the Phoenix Clan and act as if none of this had ever happened.
A few days later, news spread from the Yuehe Palace that Zhao Guijun had committed suicide by taking poison.
This news shocked Li Xuanyue so much she felt “burnt on the outside and tender on the inside.” It was as if everything had been coordinated.
Translator’s Note: Hi everyone again! Wow, what a heavy chapter. The history between Li Feng, Hua Shan, and Zhao Huan is so messy. Yuanqi (ĺ ć°) refers to one’s vital energy or source of life, and losing it often means physical or spiritual weakness. Poor Li Xuanyue, she’s trying to change her fate but the palace drama keeps escalating!
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