419 Being Able to Grasp It, but Unable to Let It Go (2/2)
Ning Que nodded.
The Empress said, ”You should know about my true identity now.”
Ning Que shook his head, and confusion could be seen on his face.
The Queen smirked and said, ”You're such a naughty child. I do not understand why the Headmaster of the Academy would take you as a student.”
Ning Que smiled and said, ”Alot of people have asked that question.”
The smile on the Empress faded, and she looked at him calmly and proudly. She said emotionlessly, ”Xia Hou is my big brother. I was once the saintess of the Devil's Doctrine.”
Ning Que had already found out this so-called secret of the Tang Empire in Tuyang City when he heard the conversation between Second Brother and Xia Hou. However, he did not expect that the Empress would acknowledge it blatantly without any cover.
That was why he was extremely shocked.
The Empress looked at him and said, ”I am very curious about what happened between you and Xia Hou. He is ruthless, and enjoys killing, especially on the battlefield. However, he is not the idiot that His Majesty and you believe that he is. He knows very well that it is not in his favor to kill the disciple of the Headmaster of Academy.”
Ning Que spoke after a bout of silence, ”Two years ago at the Northern Mountain Road on Min Mountain, when General Xia Hou's subordinates attempted to kill Princess Li Yu, I was there.”
The Empress parted the begonia branches before her and walked into the imperial gardens with her hands behind her back.
Ning Que followed her and looked at her back with appreciation.
When they arrived by the calm lake and stood before the flowering trees, the Empress said, ”He did this behind my back. I even suspect that it was the Divine Hall that used his name to do it.”
She turned around and looked at Ning Que quietly. Then she said, ”You are a cultivator now. You should know that if it was me or General Xia Hou who had actually ordered the attack, you and Li Yu would have not survived.”
Ning Que thought of the two cultivators in the upper Seethrough State beside Xia Hou and agreed silently. He said, ”If this incident was arranged by the Divine Hall, Your Majesty would not be able to find any evidence since they belong to General Xia Hou anyway.”
The Empress smiled and replied, ”Perhaps I might not be able to convince Lee Yu, but I guess that you, at least, would change your mind about what happened at the Northern Mountain Road two years ago.”
Ning Que said, ”Lin Ling wanted to kill me in the Wilderness.”
He knew that the Empress would definitely know who Lin Ling was. She would also know about the incident, where they were ambushed by the Horse Gang, so he did not need to explain too much.
The Empress said, ”I still don't think that the incident with the Horse Gang has anything to do with Xia Hou.”
Ning Que replied, ”I agree with Your Majesty. I don't think that Lin Ling informed General Xia Hou before doing it. But after the incident, Xia Hou admitted that he had attempted to kill me again north of Hulan Sea.”
The Empress said, ”Lin Ling would not do anything that would harm the interests of Xia Hou. He would not attempt to kill you unless he knew that only either you or Xia Hou would survive.”
Ning Que shook his head after a moment of silence. He said, ”I used to only be an ordinary soldier in the City of Wei. I had never seen General Xia Hou, and he had never seen me. We have no other grudges besides these two incidents.”
The Empress looked into his eyes and asked, ”Are there no other grudges?”
Ning Que replied, ”Yes.”
The Empress bent her knees slightly and bowed.
Ning Que was greatly shocked and moved away to avoid her bow. He asked hurriedly, ”Your Majesty, what is this for?”
”What happened before has already been handled by Mr. First. Besides that, if there is really no other grudge, can Mr. Thirteen allow him to retire peacefully for my sake.”
The Empress remained in a half-bent bow before the flowering trees in a demure manner.
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Walking on the crowded Vermilion Bird Avenue, Ning Que looked outwardly calm, but his emotions rippled violently. The God-stunning Array that the Emperor had brought him to see and the bow that the Empress had given him were all pressures that he could not bear.
The Empress had even mentioned Mistress Jian in the imperial gardens. Ning Que only remembered the rumors in Chang'an then, and remembered that the two women were as close as sisters.
All these did not affect his emotions.
What had truly affected his emotions were other things.
The war in the northern Wilderness was at a stalemate. The Tang army did not care about victory, and problems had arisen within the West-Hill Divine Palace. It seemed that they might just call for a truce and resume the war in the future.
This meant that Xia Hou would return in autumn.
Ning Que had long known that Xia Hou was from a Desolate Man tribe. He naturally understood why the Northeast Border Military was so gentle in this war.
Xia Hou was not as gentle as he was being now toward other enemies.
Ning Que was no longer afraid of Xia Hou due to the support from the Academy. However, he did not know what to do after Xia Hou's return.
His Majesty had tried to give him hints in the palace, and the Empress had personally asked for a favor. They had done this not because they were afraid that he, a cultivator in the Seethrough Realm, could stir up any trouble. They just did not want to involve the Academy in this matter and stir up even more trouble about Xia Hou's retirement.
The Academy respected the law of the Tang Empire and the Headmaster of the Academy prohibited all students from interfering in any court matters. Eldest Brother had allowed Xia Hou to retire and it seemed that Ning Que's revenge was at its end unless he used the last method.
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