“Ultimately, whether we cooperate or not, Your Majesty, please give a clear answer.”
Seeing that Li Yuhan sitting across the table still hadn’t responded, Zhang Yuge had already lost his last shred of patience.
“Zhang Qingyao, do not be insolent!”
Li Yuluo scolded sharply.
“I’m asking the Emperor, not you,”
Zhang Yuge retorted impatiently.
Li Yuluo was left speechless, choking on her words, hesitating to speak further.
She glanced at Li Yuhan beside her, also puzzled by his silence.
In truth, Li Yuluo hoped her imperial brother would reach an agreement with Zhang Yuge.
What the girl didn’t know was that a powerful foreign soul was hidden within Li Yuhan’s body.
She believed that with just the two of them, they couldn’t possibly stand against the Five Great Families.
Yet, Li Yuluo was unwilling to urge her brother in front of Zhang Yuge, fearing Li Yuhan might misunderstand and think she was colluding with Zhang Yuge.
At that moment, the man in the black robe slowly removed his mask and placed it on the table.
“Now, Young Master Zhang should believe me, right?”
Li Yuhan lifted the brim of his black hat covering his head and revealed his true face.
Zhang Yuge nodded respectfully.
“Your Majesty, please give any orders. Whether it’s assassination or poisoning, as long as it is something a commoner can do, I will do my utmost to accomplish it.”
“No need for assassination or poisoning. You only need to wear this mask,”
Li Yuhan said.
Zhang Yuge picked up the strange mask on the table and examined it carefully.
“Please continue, Your Majesty.”
“In three days, a grand Rain-Calling Ceremony will be held in the palace. At that time, the Hundred Civil and Military Officials and all the Noble Families will be present. The person responsible for the rain ritual is the National Preceptor, but I must personally oversee the ceremony.”
“You want me to impersonate the National Preceptor and perform the rain-calling in your place?”
“What does Young Master Zhang think? No assassination or poisoning needed—just dancing and chanting.”
“No problem,”
Zhang Yuge agreed readily, then asked,
“But why suddenly hold a Rain-Calling Ceremony, Your Majesty?”
Li Yuhan felt there was no reason to hide the truth and explained honestly.
“The south has suffered months of drought. The people are starving and desperate. The ministers petitioned me to hold this ceremony. But I suspect they are beginning to doubt that the National Preceptor is actually me. This is their way of testing me.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuge rubbed his chin, frowning deeply in thought.
He asked Zhang Qingyao beside him,
“Xiao Yao, is there a drought in Ningzhou?”
Zhang Qingyao shook her head.
“No. Although the weather is hot and dry, it hasn’t reached drought levels yet. There is still some rainfall.”
“How about other regions outside Ningzhou? Any drought there?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t think so…”
Zhang Qingyao replied uncertainly.
Zhang Yuge nodded thoughtfully, then said to Li Yuhan,
“Your Majesty, I came from Ningzhou, which is among the southernmost prefectures within the Great Zhou borders. But I’ve never heard of a severe drought back home—certainly not bad enough to require a rain-calling ceremony.”
Now, it wasn’t just the Li brothers who were stunned, but even the Underworld Blood God King was taken aback.
“You say… there’s no drought in the south?”
Li Yuhan asked in disbelief.
“Yes, truly none,”
Zhang Yuge affirmed.
A mocking laugh echoed in his ear.
No need to guess—it was the fake Li Yuluo laughing again.
“Ah, I never expected it. So all the Hundred Civil and Military Officials are traitors, haha…”
Li Yuhan’s face darkened as he muttered to himself.
“Why is this happening? Is it really necessary to go this far just to test my identity?”
What chilled him most was that among all the officials, not a single one dared to expose this pathetic lie.
“Indeed, if it was just to test whether the National Preceptor was actually you in disguise, there’d be no need for such a show. They could just arrest the Preceptor directly. But these people went to such lengths to force you to attend the Rain-Calling Ceremony—so you appear before everyone and expose yourself to all eyes.”
“But what’s the meaning of doing this?!”
Li Yuhan’s temper flared as he shouted at the fake Li Yuluo before him.
Yet no one else noticed his unusual outburst, as if it were only his own private drama.
“It’s not hard to guess. Think about it—your Empress Yun recently became pregnant, right?”
the other party teased.
“Though the child in her womb isn’t yours, no one outside thinks so.”
Li Yuhan’s expression gradually turned pale as if realizing something.
“The Yun family knew long ago the child wasn’t mine, so they plan to kill me during the Rain-Calling Ceremony?”
“Correct, that’s exactly it,”
the fake Li Yuluo smiled devilishly.
“Your brother is still alive but has become a woman. Everyone else believes your brother is dead; now you’re the only heir left in the Li family. If you die, the child in the Empress’s womb can inherit everything. Besides, if the Emperor is assassinated publicly during the ceremony, they can easily frame some sect or family, killing two birds with one stone.”
Li Yuhan fell silent, completely withdrawn.
He had suspected the Empress was unfaithful, perhaps secretly involved with some palace guard.
He himself had been drugged for years, his vitality lacking, unable to satisfy the harem—one cause for the Empress’s infidelity.
Recalling the years Yun Zhiruo had stood by him, Li Yuhan had once wanted to find an opportunity to abort the child and give her another chance.
But the truth hit him harder than ever.
“The Empress wants my life…”
“Li Yuhan, didn’t you recently send someone to investigate who kept poisoning you?”
Li Yuhan looked toward the fake Li Yuluo.
“Have you found out now? Probably not, right? Brother, there’s no need to complicate things. Just bring people and turn the Empress’s residence upside down. That would be easier.”
“…The poison… was the Empress’s doing?”
“Yes.”
“She started poisoning me right after marrying me?”
“Yes.”
“So from the start… she was never on my side.”
“Brother, I wish I could comfort you, but that’s the truth. Your Empress has been with the Yun family from the beginning, working for them. Everything she said to you was a lie to gain your trust. Maybe she even calls you an idiot behind your back when talking to her family, hahahaha.”
Li Yuhan sitting across suddenly grew silent again, likely lost in thought.
Zhang Yuge didn’t disturb him.
“Well then, Young Master Zhang, here’s to a pleasant cooperation.”
Suddenly, the man’s tone became warm and enthusiastic.
For some reason, seeing Li Yuhan’s smile gave him a chilling sensation.