jdhmnovel Chapter 1300 Confession
Chapter 1300 Confession
She thought the palace was heavily guarded, so how could Min Yue possibly escape?
Her voice was as cold as ice: "She escaped? I sent three hundred guards to watch over her, and you're telling me she escaped?"
The guard captain trembled, his forehead pressed against the cold ground, and answered in a trembling voice, "Holy Maiden, spare my life! The assassin Min Yue's helper disappeared in the direction of the secret passage on the west side of the palace wall. I have sent men to seal off all the exits, but there has been no trace of him to this day!"
The saintess's pupils contracted sharply as she suddenly remembered that when the Lord of the Heavenly Mandate Palace was still alive, he had dug a secret passage in the palace specifically for emergency use.
Now that the Palace Master is dead, there are not many people who know the entrance to the secret passage. Min Yue's ability to find it accurately must be due to the assistance of Rong Jue's people.
Her heart sank, and she waved her hand: "Alright, get up. Issue my orders: issue a nationwide warrant for the arrest of Min Yue. Anyone who provides clues will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold; if he is captured alive, he will be ennobled as a marquis. In addition, immediately conduct a thorough investigation of the remaining members of the Heavenly Mandate Hall, especially the Grand Protector Rong Jue, and make sure he is brought to justice!"
"Your subordinate obeys!" The guard commander felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly got up and left.
The saintess stood alone in the cold palace, gazing at the gradually stiffening body of the corpse, her mind in turmoil.
Just then, someone rushed over and urgently reported, "Holy Maiden, the King is not well!"
The saintess's expression changed drastically, and she immediately rushed to the bedchamber of the King of Wu.
On his sickbed, King Wu was on his deathbed, his withered fingers tightly gripping the brocade quilt, his cloudy eyes filled with regret.
He gazed at the saintess standing before his bed, his voice hoarse and terrifying, each word filled with unspeakable pain: "Sister, I was wrong, terribly wrong!"
The saintess's eyes reddened as she held his hand and gently comforted him, "Your Majesty, don't get agitated. Tell me slowly."
King Wu gave a bitter laugh, his breathing becoming increasingly rapid. "I'm afraid I don't have much time left. I've made many mistakes in my life, but the biggest mistake I ever made was trusting that poisonous woman, Min Yue!"
He coughed violently, a trace of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. The saintess quickly handed him a handkerchief to comfort him: "It's not your fault. She gave you the medicine, making you fall completely into her lies when you were vulnerable!"
King Wu said guiltily, "It's my fault for making Ayan and Wanwan suffer. Sister, I have no face to see them again. What should I do?"
The saintess's fingertips brushed against the cold back of the king's hand, and tears finally rolled down her cheeks, dripping onto his withered hand and spreading into a small wet patch.
She said softly, "Your Majesty, please don't say such things. Ayan and Wanwan have never blamed you."
Her voice choked with emotion, filled with endless heartache: "They are all your family, and they would only worry about you ending up in this situation, especially Wanwan, who stayed up all night brewing herbs to save your life!"
The King of Wu was breathing heavily, his chest heaving.
A painful struggle flashed in his cloudy eyes: "But in the end, I believed Min Yue's lies, let down A Yan, and watched helplessly as Wan Wan was framed by her, almost losing her life!"
He clenched his fist tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, blood seeping through his fingers. "What a failure I have been as a ruler! I couldn't even protect my own family, and I'm being manipulated by treacherous people!"
The saintess quickly pressed down on his trembling hand and gently comforted him, "It's not your fault. Min Yue had planned this all along. She used the power of the Heavenly Mandate Hall and your trust in her to set traps everywhere. At that time, you were being eroded in your mind by her slow poison, and you were often out of your mind. Many of your decisions were not your own."
She paused, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes. "Besides, I was also at fault. I should have dealt with her immediately, regardless of the consequences!"
King Wu slowly shook his head, his breath growing weaker and weaker: "Sister, you don't need to make excuses for me. I know it was my own lack of willpower, my greed for her false tenderness, that led me step by step into the abyss."
He paused to catch his breath and murmured, "I want to make amends, but I don't even have the courage to see them. Sister, do you think they'll ever forgive me?"
The saintess held his hand tightly, her tone firm: "No, Ayan and Wanwan are both loyal and righteous people. Although they have grievances in their hearts, they have never truly hated you. You should believe your elder sister."
A glimmer of hope flashed in the eyes of the King of Wu, his voice so faint it was almost inaudible: "Really? Really? They really don't blame me?"
The saintess nodded with tears in her eyes, "Ayan is waiting outside the palace right now, just waiting for you to wake up so he can see you one last time. Wanwan has also specially prepared some medicine, saying she wants to feed it to you herself."
She held the head of the King of Wu and slowly helped him up. "Look, they have never given up on you, and you cannot give up on yourself."
With her help, King Wu sat up and looked out of the palace, as if he could already see Ayan and Wanwan.
A slight smile appeared on his lips, a smile he hadn't shown in a long time, but tears welled up in his eyes again: "I'm sorry to them. When I get better, I will definitely make it up to them. I will tear that vicious woman Min Yue to pieces and avenge them!"
The saintess said softly, "Revenge is not urgent. Your most important task now is to recover your health."
She picked up a spoonful of warm medicine, blew on it, and held it to the lips of the King of Wu. "Here, drink this bowl of medicine and rest well. Once you're fully recovered, we'll go together to capture the remnants of the Heavenly Mandate Palace and let the people live in peace. That would be a way of giving back to Ayan and Wanwan, and to all those who have been wronged."
King Wu obediently opened his mouth and drank the spoonful of medicine. The bitter taste filled his mouth, but he felt a warmth in his heart.
He knew that he owed Ayan and Wanwan too much, and he might never be able to make up for it in this lifetime. But he was willing to spend the rest of his life trying to protect them, to protect the palace that he had once pushed into the abyss, and to protect the millions of people of Li Kingdom.
Perhaps the medicine worked, because he fell into a deep sleep after drinking it.
The saintess covered him with a brocade quilt, then quickly walked out of the palace with a worried expression.
She gripped Lin Yiwan's arm tightly and asked, "Wanwan, is there any hope for your uncle?"
Lin Yiwan's expression was complicated and solemn. She said in a low voice, "Mother, I have done my best, but his body is too worn out. All I can do now is use good medicine to keep him alive and let him live as long as possible!"
The saintess squeezed her eyes shut, and two streams of tears fell down her cheeks.
Zhan Yan reached out and patted her shoulder: "Mother, don't be too sad. We will stay by Uncle's side during his illness!"
The saintess nodded: "Good, good children, you are all very filial. Your uncle is very happy to know that you don't blame him!"
Zhan Yan said with a complicated expression, "He is still our uncle after all, and what he did before was not his intention!"