FID – Chapter 829

Chapter 829: She Doesn’t Believe It

Beneath Liu Yusheng’s slender arms, the old woman’s body stiffened completely, the aura surrounding her turning even more frenzied than before.

And then—she burst into laughter.

The laughter was sharp, choked, more heart-wrenching than crying.

“I’ve saved his child again—ha… ha-ha-ha-ha!”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha!” The laughter became uncontrollable, sending her rocking back and forth in hysteria.

The entire inner chamber was filled with that twisted laughter.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty…” Liu Yusheng’s eyes were red as she choked back sobs, calling to her over and over, tightening her embrace. “Don’t be like this—please don’t…”

“Don’t be like this?” the Empress Dowager repeated softly, then suddenly shoved Liu Yusheng away, eyes full of hatred. “Don’t be like this? Then what do you want from me? What do you all want from me?”

Her voice rose into a shriek of anguish.

“What more can I do?” she cried. At the end of her fury, her voice collapsed into despair. Her eyes were bloodshot, yet no tears came.

Her tears had long since dried up. Her eyes were like a winter river—parched and cracked.

“He killed my grandson. Feng Qingbai killed my grandson,” she said, glaring at Liu Yusheng, pronouncing each word slowly and clearly. “Princess Consort, my grandson was only a month old. Tell me—what crime did he commit?”

Liu Yusheng froze. Her eyes widened little by little in shock.

“The ground was covered in blood—all from my grandson’s tiny body! When I arrived, he was nothing but a mangled lump of flesh and bone! They smashed him to death—smashed him! His head had a gaping hole, blood was pouring from his ears!” The Empress Dowager suddenly reached out and gripped Liu Yusheng’s arm with terrifying force, as if she wanted to crush her bones. “Why could he be so cruel? Why?! Am I not supposed to hate him? How could I not hate him?!”

“No—no, it’s not true!” Liu Yusheng shook her head frantically. “Your Majesty, Feng Qingbai wouldn’t—he couldn’t! This has to be a mistake, it must be! Feng Qingbai would never do something like that—”

“I saw it with my own eyes!”

“Did you see him, Feng Qingbai himself, throw the child?!”

“Would a man like him need to do it himself?! At the time his reputation was at its peak—his blood-soaked methods terrified countless people! All he had to do was give the order—there were more than enough people willing to do his bidding!”

Liu Yusheng refused to believe it. No matter what, she couldn’t accept that Feng Qingbai could be so cruel. That was her Brother Axiu—her Brother Feng Qingbai.

“He lost his mother at a young age. He’s endured pain and suffering beyond what most could imagine! He was abused from the age of six, so he of all people would never turn around and inflict that same cruelty on an innocent newborn! He has his limits; he has his principles! When he returns, I will ask him! I swear, when Feng Qingbai comes back, I’ll get to the bottom of this! Your Majesty, I promise—I will give you an answer!”

Leaving the Empress Dowager’s chamber and returning to the side hall, Liu Yusheng was still overwhelmed. Her heart was in turmoil.

She had never imagined the Empress Dowager’s hatred for Feng Qingbai stemmed from this.

She had personally witnessed her infant grandson’s brutal death, and the blame pointed straight at Feng Qingbai.

In a royal power struggle, eliminating the enemy’s bloodline was a common tactic. The ruthlessness of those who rise to the throne is often beyond comprehension.

But still, she firmly believed—Feng Qingbai would never do such a thing.

Once Feng Qingbai returned, the truth of this matter would come to light.

She looked out the window. The sun was blazing, yet she felt an unmistakable chill creeping over her body.

It was already the end of August.

Feng Qingbai, when would he finally come back?

Back in the bedchamber, after Liu Yusheng left, the Empress Dowager dismissed Qin Yi and slowly walked over to sit beside the bed.

She sat there blankly, lost in thoughts unknown.

In her mind, Feng Qingbai was already the murderer—who else could it be, if not him?

But why could Liu Yusheng be so certain, so unwavering, in her belief that it wasn’t him?

After watching the court from the cold shadows of the harem for so many years, could she, the Empress Dowager, possibly understand Feng Qingbai less than Liu Yusheng did?

It was him. It had to be him!

And if it wasn’t?!

If it truly wasn’t… then wouldn’t the hatred she’d carried for five long years be nothing but a cruel joke?

She couldn’t have hated the wrong person!

Her fingers slowly curled into a tight grip as she turned her face toward the window. The sun was blindingly bright.

And yet even standing under such fierce sunlight, it couldn’t warm a heart that had already died.

After the great defeat in the war between Dongyue and Nanling, all of Dongyue had fallen into chaos.

The newly enthroned emperor had died on the frontier, leaving the throne vacant once more. 

The Dongyue royal family had plunged into another round of deadly infighting over succession.

The power struggle had entered a white-hot phase.

At this moment, no one had the time or energy to investigate the new emperor’s cause of death.

According to Xue Zhong, the late emperor’s strategist, it was the King of Nanling who killed him.

This was a blood debt that Dongyue could not leave unavenged—otherwise, they’d become a laughingstock to the entire world.

But even if they wanted revenge, the country first needed a ruler.

While the Dongyue royal family plunged into a brutal struggle for the throne, Nanling’s army began withdrawing and returning to the capital.

Cheng Sheng remained stationed at Yigu City to hold the line. The reinforcements Qin Xiao had brought were sent back north to guard the borders, while Qin Xiao himself returned to the capital to await trial.

Feng Qingbai, however, did not accompany him.

Qin Xiao was accompanied by Shi Kewei.

As for Shi Kewei—he’d made the trip for nothing. He had raced forward in pursuit, only to miss Qin Xiao entirely and even arrive too late to witness the major battle between the two armies.

As soon as he landed, he was ordered to return the same way—a journey in vain.

The mighty general was left completely deflated.

“Your Highness, we’re not returning to the capital with them?” Wei Zi asked, standing behind the man.

“It’s already late August. My brother-in-law is getting married in mid-September,” Feng Qingbai said with a smile, “If I don’t make it back in time, I’m afraid he’ll hold a grudge for life. Tell the crew to set sail for Yunzhou directly.”

For Zhiqiu’s wedding, Shengsheng would surely go back for it. If he went to the capital first, he truly wouldn’t make it in time.

By taking a direct route from the border to Yunzhou, he could cut the travel time in half. If they hurried, they might just make it.

He wanted to see the person he cared about the most in the shortest time possible.

“Should we send a letter back to the capital and inform the Princess that we’re heading directly to Yunzhou?”

Feng Qingbai nodded. “Use the fastest channel to send the letter.”

If Shengsheng received the letter before leaving the capital, at least she could feel at ease on the way back.

These past days, she must have been worrying about him a lot.

The ship set sail, gradually leaving the border as Cheng Sheng and the others watched them off.

Meanwhile, in the Liu family courtyard, the atmosphere was exceptionally lively.

With less than a month left until the wedding, Liu Zhiqiu was energetically bouncing around in front of the elders every day, checking every item related to the wedding.

He justified it by saying, “A wedding only happens once in a lifetime, so everything must be perfect.”

Liu Muqiu followed him around like a little tail, blushing with embarrassment, but unwilling to leave him for long.

“Muqiu is really going to be completely taken by this brat,” Grandma Liu commented teasingly, her eyes full of laughter.

“What’s the big deal? If Muqiu is happy, and Zhiqiu is happy, then that’s all that matters,” Grandpa Liu said. “It’s like me and you. Don’t I just let you scold me every day, and I still stand here letting you do it? That’s the way a couple should get along.”

“You’re really something! When did I ever scold you every day?” Grandma Liu retorted unhappily. She huffed, feeling like the old man was making her sound like a quarrelsome shrew.

“Look at you, look at you! See, just saying a few words and you’re already angry, yelling so loud. Let the people outside hear, is this not you scolding someone? Thankfully, I have a good temper, and I never argue with you.”

Grandma Liu was so worked up that she opened her mouth to scold him, but when she saw his teasing look, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

The younger generation around them all turned their heads, their faces turning red as they tried to suppress their laughter.