My Darling, Coax Me.

CHAPTER 73: The Truth.

　　Once tears lose control, they're not easy to stop.

　　Yun Ling had rarely experienced such moments in her life.

　　The more he tried to comfort her, the harder she cried.

　　Her arms wrapped around his neck, her face buried in his neck, refusing to look up.

　　In the end, Xie Jue was helpless. He gently laid her on the soft bed, leaned down and gently sucked away her tears, kissed her swollen eyelids, his voice low, “Don't cry, okay?”

　　“If you keep crying, I'm afraid I really won't be able to control myself and go kill Xiao Jujian.”

　　Her tears could shatter all his reason.

　　Yun Ling immediately shook her head frantically, holding him to prevent him from leaving.

　　He closed his eyes and said nothing.

　　He didn't know how long it had been before she slowly opened her eyes, her red-rimmed eyes filled with a hazy mist of tears. After crying for so long, her voice was hoarse, “No.”　　

       “His neglect and aversion to me are actually nothing to me. He sees me as a thorn in his eye, and I won't care about him in the future.” Yun Ling gradually calmed down, “I'm fine, it's just that I'm a little sad for a while.”

　　Even she couldn't control why her emotions were suddenly so overwhelming.

　　But she knew she wouldn't be heartbroken by such things again.

　　She tried to open her eyes wide, staring straight at him, her eyes shimmering with tears, her eyelashes still wet, but she said seriously, “The sudden grievance is probably because I saw Your Highness.”

　　She lay on the bed, her black hair scattered, a few strands falling across her cheek. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, making her look both frail and pitiful.

　　She softly, earnestly explained that it was because she had seen him.

　　Xie Jue gently wiped away the tears clinging to her eyelashes, lowered his head and kissed her reddened eyes, her upturned nose, her cheeks, and finally her lips.

　　His touch was light, a gentle comfort he had never shown before.

　　“As long as you don't cry, everything is fine.”

　　Yun Ling mumbled a muffled “Mm,” sat up, and threw herself into his arms.

　　Her emotions had subsided, and she was now completely calm.

　　Leaning her cheek against his broad, warm chest, she suddenly remembered something, “Does Your Highness still want me to admit my mistake?”

　　Xie Jue held her, his body stiffening.

　　After a moment, the tightly furrowed brows relaxed, the gloom dissipating. He slowly lowered his head, his fingers cupping her cheek, lifting it, his thumb stroking it before he leaned in and kissed her.

　　He kissed her tender lips, deepening the kiss slowly.

　　Without any concealment, he admitted,

　　“When you cry, I forget everything else.”

　　Her tears were a weapon that pierced his heart.

　　After an unknown amount of time, Yun Ling tilted her head back, her neck aching slightly, before gently pushing him away. She leaned against his chest, her breathing evening out.

　　“There's something I want to ask Your Highness.”

　　After crying, her rationality returned.

　　The reason why her brother and the Princess divorced, they both tacitly didn't tell her, not even her grandparents.

　　Since neither of them brought it up, the reason must be very serious, something that cannot be shared with outsiders.

　　Their relationship had been harmonious; although her brother was quiet, she could see his care for the Princess. And the Princess's affection for Xiao Qibai was even more evident.

　　It certainly wasn't due to any incompatibility.

　　The cause was that the Princess found something in her brother's study that shocked her, even causing her to go into premature labor. Since it was discovered in his study, it means her brother hid something from her which she then discovered.

　　And this thing was devastating, unacceptable to the Princess.

　　Her brother offered no explanation, and the Princess's distress and despair were understandable.

　　Otherwise, she wouldn't have called herself foolish.

　　Yun Ling pondered, and the only thing that could be considered a fatal event among them was—the deceased Yu Fei.

　　When she first returned to the Xiao residence and learned of Yu Fei's death from the Princess, Yun Ling was shocked.

　　Before she left the Palace, Yu Fei was in perfectly good health, showing no signs of an early death. How could she have suddenly fallen ill and died? It was so sudden that even the Princess didn't have time to see her one last time.

　　But back then, Yun Ling didn't think much of it. Now, thinking about it, how can someone fall ill so suddenly? The symptoms don't seem like a disease, but rather... poison!!!

　　Yu Fei was the Emperor Jingning's favorite, but Emperor Jingning is now bedridden, with the Crown Prince serving as regent. Naturally, there would be no issue of Palace intrigue or poisoning for favor.

　　So, who could have killed Yu Fei, and why?

　　Is Yu Fei's death related to Xiao Qibai?

　　She knew her brother wouldn't tell her the answers to these mysteries. But she guessed His Highness would know.

　　Xie Jue responded, “Ask.”

　　Yun Ling looked up at him and asked directly, “My brother and the Princess are divorcing, and I keep thinking it's related to Yu Fei. I suspect Yu Fei's death wasn't from illness, but that someone murdered her. Does Your Highness know about this? Who killed Yu Fei?”

　　Her words hung in the air, leaving a moment of silence in the room.

　　Xie Jue kissed her lips, his eyes still lowered. 

　　He said softly, “It was me."

　　Yun Ling's pupils dilated in shock. “What…”

　　Yu Fei... he killed her?

　　But Emperor Jingning had countless concubines, and he never seemed to care about them. Why would he kill Yu Fei?

　　Was it because of Yu Fei's plot to push the Princess into the water to marry Xiao Qibai?

　　This thought flashed through her mind, but Yun Ling immediately dismissed it.

　　No, it definitely wasn't that reason.

　　Her brother was loyal and upright, not someone easily manipulated. Therefore, even after marrying the Princess, he wouldn't be controlled by Yu Fei.

　　His Highness wouldn't have killed Yu Fei for that reason.

　　Then, what could the reason be…?

　　Looking at his deep, stern eyes, a terrifying thought suddenly flooded Yun Ling's mind.

　　“Could it be that the person behind the poisoning of Empress Zhaohui, the person His Highness has been investigating all these years, was Yu Fei?!”

　　Xie Jue nodded, confirming her guess, “That's right.”

　　Besides the Empress, there were other people who participated in the murder of Empress Zhaohui. At that time, Empress Zhaohui had already become wary of the Empress. If Yu Fei hadn't conspired with the Empress, Empress Zhaohui wouldn't have drunk that fatal tonic.

　　However, Xie Jue wasn't in the Palace when Empress Zhaohui was poisoned; he didn't witness what happened and could only confirm that the Empress was the culprit.

　　If it weren't for Li Youfu, a close confidant of the Empress who defected, Xie Jue wouldn't have known that others were involved in his mother's death.

　　However, too many years had passed, and all traces of that time had vanished, the clues severed, making it incredibly difficult to investigate.

　　But in any case, it was just the women in the old Emperor's harem.

　　Xie Jue wanted to promote and trust Xiao Qibai, so he entrusted this matter to him. Xiao Qibai did not disappoint, and soon found a lead.

　　But unexpectedly, just when he was about to get close to the truth, the clues suddenly stopped abruptly, cut off by someone.

　　It was truly bizarre.

　　Yun Ling knew about this too. She remembered her brother bringing back news from Huai Prefecture before she ran away.

　　But then, it seemed that the man who brought back the news from Huai Prefecture died in prison, and the clues were cut off again.

　　“Since the clues are broken, how did Your Highness find out it was Yu Fei?”

　　Xie Jue held her back, “The clues were cut off again and again, which means there was a problem with someone close by. There's no point in investigating further.”

　　“Besides Xiao Qibai, Chen Zhan, and you, no one else knows about this. There wouldn't be a problem with me or Chen Zhan, and you're not here, so the problem must be with Xiao Qibai. Following the trail, I found out the truth.”

　　Yun Ling looked at him with confusion, “Someone close to my brother leaked the news? Who was it?”

　　Xie Jue's thin lips curled into a cold smile, “Who else could it be? Of course it was Xie Jinjia.”

　　“Xie Jinjia's pursuit of your brother was allowed by Yu Fei. Through Xie Jinjia, Yu Fei could learn of Xiao Qibai's movements. Even without knowing exactly what Xiao Qibai had discovered, knowing his movements was enough for her to cut off the clues.”

　　“Yu Fei is really good at scheming. She designed Xie Jinjia to marry Xiao Qibai. Firstly, she was determined that after the matter was exposed, with the reputation and family style of the Xiao family, Xiao Qibai would be able to protect Xie Jinjia. Secondly, with Xie Jinjia by Xiao Qibai's side, she could know his movements and further conceal the clues.”

　　Yun Ling took a while to recover before asking, “Did the Princess know about this?”

　　“I don't know,” Xie Jue said, “Yu Fei kept it from her from beginning to end. She knew that if things were exposed, neither of them would have a good outcome. By keeping it from Xie Jinjia, I might spare her life, considering her innocence.”

　　Yun Ling's expression turned serious.

　　No wonder.

　　If Yu Fei was the one who did it, then everything she had done made sense.

　　No wonder she tried so hard to arrange for the Princess to marry into the Xiao family.

　　Yu Fei! It was Yu Fei!

　　Yu Fei killed Empress Zhaohui—resulting in two deaths! He naturally wouldn't let her go for killing his mother.

　　Yu Fei deserved to die.

　　But Yu Fei also arranged for the Princess to marry Xiao Qibai, his trusted minister. How could he possibly allow his confidant to be connected to his mother's murderer!

　　Therefore, there were only two possibilities.

　　Either he would no longer favor the Xiao family, or the Xiao family would completely sever ties with Yu Fei.

　　“How did Your Highness handle it?” Yun Ling was eager to know what happened back then.

　　“When I discovered the truth about Yu Fei, I gave Xiao Qibai two choices,” Xie Jue said, “First, I demanded he divorce his wife and cut ties with Yu Fei. Second, if he refused to divorce her, the entire Xiao family would never receive my favor again.”

　　That's exactly what happened.

　　Yu Fei was the murderer of his mother, making the Princess the daughter of his mother's killer. Since Xiao Qibai married the daughter of his mother's killer, he couldn't possibly continue to favor him.

　　The only way for the Xiao family to sever ties with Yu Fei was for Xiao Qibai to divorce his wife.

　　But Xiao Qibai didn't divorce the Princess in the end, so…

　　“Grand Tutor Xiao was about to retire, your father is incompetent, and Xiao Qibai bears the future and burden of the entire Xiao family. He couldn’t choose against the Xiao family,” Xie Jue explained, resolving Yun Ling's doubts. “He's also a deeply affectionate man. Xie Jinjia suffered a miscarriage in an accident; he said her health wasn't fully recovered, and divorcing her then would have risked her life.” (T/N: The new baby is their second child; the first was lost around the time of the Yu Fei case. So basically, she had two pregnancy during her marriage.)

　　“Therefore, Xiao Qibai knelt outside the East Palace for three days, willing to personally poison Yu Fei to prove his loyalty and sever the connection.”

　　“I agreed. And I spared Xie Jinjia's life.”

　　Yun Ling's eyelashes trembled, “So Yu Fei... was killed by my brother.”

　　“Yes.”

　　So that's how it was.

　　Her brother personally killed the Princess's mother. Once this was exposed, there would be no possibility for them.

　　Yu Fei was deeply guilty, but to the Princess, Yu Fei could have been killed by anyone, just not Xiao Qibai.

　　No matter how deep the affection, no matter how unavoidable the circumstances, the chasm of a murdered mother, the blood feud, created an insurmountable deadlock.

　　There was no solution, only divorce.

　　No wonder her brother ultimately only said, “It's fate.”

　　Yes, fate is cruel.

　　In the end, it seems no one was wrong.

　　His Highness avenged his mother, he wasn't wrong.

　　Her brother, to protect the Xiao family's future and the Princess's life, personally killed Yu Fei, he wasn't wrong.

　　The Princess couldn't continue living with her mother's murderer, she wasn't wrong either.

　　But still... it was all hopeless.

　　Yun Ling closed her eyes tightly.

　　——

　　Yun Ling pushed open the door and smelled a strong medicinal scent.

　　The Princess's body had been weakened during childbirth, and she had been constantly taking medicine.

　　Seeing Yun Ling, Xie Jinjia lifted her listless, weary eyes and softly said, “Ah Ling, you're here.”

　　After learning the truth about that year, Yun Ling finally understood why the Princess had been so traumatized that she went into premature labor.

　　Her own husband personally killed her mother. For anyone, this would be an unbearable pain.

　　Yu Fei wasn't a good person, but to the Princess, she was a good mother.

　　Yu Fei had attached herself to the subsequent Empress to gain favor, all for the sake of paving the way for her daughter.

　　Even before her death, she was still scheming for her daughter.

　　But sin is still sin.

　　Xie Jinjia leaned weakly against the bed and asked, “Has his divorce letter been delivered?”

　　Yun Ling shook her head. “I don't know.”

　　Xie Jinjia gave a wry smile, tugging at the corner of her mouth. “We'll divorce eventually. What difference does it make if it's sooner or later? He shouldn't have lied to me.”

　　Shouldn't have lied to her... making her a fool, living with her mother's murderer for three years... Where did he put her…?

　　Seeing her pale face, Yun Ling sighed softly, her tone somewhat bitter. “Sometimes I wonder if I was wrong three years ago. If I hadn't helped you out of self-interest, would you and my brother be in this situation today?”

　　Xie Jinjia lifted her eyes, stunned. “You know everything?”

　　Yun Ling nodded.

　　Xie Jinjia shook her head again. “No, it's not your fault. Ah Ling, how can you blame yourself? Even if you had tried to stop it back then, you wouldn't have been able to. You didn't know, I only found out later that my mother had brought all the Palace servants with her. If you had tried to stop her, she would have forced her way in; you couldn't have stopped her!”

　　“Besides, from beginning to end, I was the one who stubbornly pursued your brother. It has nothing to do with anyone else, and it's certainly not your responsibility. I just don't understand…” Xie Jinjia shed tears, “Why did he kill my mother?”

　　“I don't believe there's no reason, but he won't tell me. He won't tell me anything. Ah Ling, I'm in so much pain... I can barely breathe…”

　　Yun Ling's heart trembled.

　　The Princess only discovered in the study that Yu Fei had died at the hands of her brother, but she didn't know why.

　　Her brother hadn't told her.

　　She thought her brother would rather the Princess hate him than let her know what Yu Fei had done, and bear an even heavier, more painful burden.

　　But would this really lessen the Princess's pain?

　　Xie Jinjia was now in tears.

　　“I just want the truth, but he won't give it to me.”

　　“My whole life has been muddled, but I can't even find out what my mother did, why my husband killed my mother... I don't know why.”

　　“It's like... I'm a fool.”

　　They shared a bed for over three years... how could Xie Jinjia not know what kind of person her husband was?

　　Even if he didn't love her, he wouldn't have killed her mother for no reason.

　　She wants the truth, the whole truth.

　　Not some fabricated explanation, all for her own good.

　　Although, no matter what, she and he could no longer be together.

　　A heavy sadness permeated the room.

　　The door creaked open, pushed from the outside.

　　Xiao Qibai walked in slowly from outside through the dark night.

　　His eyes were as calm and dark as ink. “Jinjia, I'll tell you everything.”

　　Yun Ling stood up and left the room.

　　This was ultimately their matter.

　　……

　　A month later, Xie Jinjia's health improved somewhat, and she divorced Xiao Qibai, vowing never to see him again.

　　The child remained at the Xiao residence. She went to Guanyun Temple, determined to live a life of quiet contemplation and atone for Yu Fei's sins.

　　Yun Ling saw her off up the mountain.

　　No matter how reluctant she was, she knew that with such deep-seated hatred between them, there was no longer any possibility.

　　The carefree and innocent Xie Jinjia would never return.

　　Only three years had passed, yet looking back, it felt like a lifetime.

　　Yun Ling hugged her tightly, tears falling.

　　Xie Jinjia hugged her back, her eyes also red. “Ah Ling, the luckiest thing in my life was probably meeting you. It's given me some comfort.”

　　“Simple, happy, carefree, and a lifetime of happiness,” Xie Jinjia murmured. “That's what I wanted... but it's impossible now. I only hope that in our next lives, we can be sisters again.”

　　Tears fell into the air and were blown away by the wind. Yun Ling couldn't speak.

　　Xie Jinjia wiped away her tears, closed her eyes, hesitated for a long time, and finally spoke, “Ah Ling, I know that Sixth Brother spared my life out of mercy, and I know that my mother's crime of killing Empress Zhaohui is grave. I shouldn't expect anything more.”

　　“But as a daughter, there's one thing I still can't let go of. Ah Ling, perhaps only you in this whole world can help me fulfill this wish. I know it will be difficult for you, but can you... please help me one last time?”

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