His Rui

Xi Ling's death changed Xi Manor completely.

After burying his son, Xi Ying never went to Imperial Palace. He would spend all the time in his study room.

Every day the shadow guards would come and tell him that they didn't find Li Rui anywhere and every day he would send them again to look for Li Rui.

'She can't leave him until his or her last breath.' That was what Xi Ying would murmur sometimes. His shadow guards who would hear his words looked confused at his crazy behavior of finding Li Rui.

For four years, he never went to visit Li Rui and now when she had left, he was not leaving anyway to hide for her. It was a bit unreasonable.

But they could only obey their master who was Xi Ying.

Amidst this, Xi Ying also started the investigation to find out who poisoned his son, Xi Ling. The investigation only included a few selective shadow guards …those how lived away from Xi Manor.

As all this continued, the war on the borders was also continuing.

The news of General Li, Commander Li, and soldier Yi Lei disappearing amidst the war came, and then came the news that Li Clan committed treason by giving their ancestor's book of war strategies to the enemy country.

The Imperial decree to execute Li and Yi Clan in front of all the people was passed. The while Empire went into chaos with this shocking news.

But Xi Ying did nothing except wait.

He had expected that Li Rui would come out now but she didn't. Even on the day before the execution of Li and Yi Clan, he didn't get any news of Li Rui.

That night, Xi Ying went to Plum Courtyard for the first time in the past four years. The whole manor was silent and no one came to know that Lord Xi suddenly went to Li Manor that night.

It was on that night, he saw how Plum Courtyard truly looked like.

The weeds outside at the entrance of the courtyard were grown long. So long …they couldn't grow like this in just a month unless they were not cut before for a very long time.

Xi Ying saw all this with blank eyes.

He then went inside.

The inside of the courtyard looked clean but it was so vacant.

He saw no furniture or decorative items that he would ask the steward to send to Plum Courtyard. For a moment, Xi Ying would have believed that perhaps Li Rui never accepted them because of her anger towards him that he isolated her in Plum Courtyard but then he saw a bowl of so-called porridge on the dining table.

That kind of food …even the servants of Xi Manor didn't eat it.

Xi Ying suddenly remembered his son's words.

'The maids said that Mother didn't love Xi Ling and they used to badmouth her.'

And then he remembered what he had said to An San.

'Did I ever starve her? Did I ever raise my hand on her? Did …'

He said many things because he had been ignorant.

That night, he called the steward inside his study and interrogated him …until the chubby steward didn't spat out whatever happened in his absence ….how the people in Plum Courtyard were actually treated in his absence.

And after knowing everything, Xi Ying asked his shadow guards to take away the steward and …kill him.

The servants of Xi Manor didn't sleep that night.

The whole Xi Manor was enveloped in terrified silence.

Coincidentally, Xi Ying's shadow guards finally came with the results of the investigations that night.

They were his most capable shadow guards so Xi Ying was not surprised when he found that they had found everything in such a small time.

However, the revelations were something that made his heart colder than before.

Xi Ling was poisoned by two different people with the same poison. Before it was the physician brought by An San who poisoned Xi Ling and then it was a physician again brought by An San who changed the previous one suddenly.

Then, Xi Ling called An San inside his study.

"The investigation results say that the physicians brought by your poisoned Xi Ling."

An San was terrified after hearing Xi Ying and immediately kneeled down on the floor with a 'plop'.

"M…M…Master…"

He couldn't let out anything except this word.

Xi Ying coldly glanced at his shadow guard who didn't say anything and then called his other shadow guards.

"Make him reveal everything."

He told them as they held An San in their hands.

"Use An Ping."

Xi Ying ordered them mercilessly making An San's face go pale at his words. He screamed that his brother was not at any fault but the shadow guards cruelly dragged him away.

Early morning, Xi Ying's shadow guard brought him the news that Li Rui's mother committed suicide and died last night.

Xi Ying just frowned for a moment and then dismissed his shadow guard. A shichen later came the news that the dead bodies of General Li Heng, Commander Li Diu, and soldier Yi Lei had been bright from the borders.

Xi Ying silent heard the news and after hearing it he just asked his shadow guard.

"Any news about Li Rui?"

The shadow guard silently lowered his head answering his master's question silently.

Xi Ying opened his mouth to say something but suddenly looked confused for a moment. A moment later, he waved his hand to dismiss the shadow guard.

The Li Clan and Yi Clan were also executed that day …but no news of Li Rui came.

Xi Ying had now stopped eating or drinking anything making his shadow guards worry about him.

That evening, some ministers from the Imperial Court came to Xi Manor to meet Xi Ying but Xi Ying didn't meet them. They left silently after waiting for an hour but Xi Ying's shadow guards told him that they wanted him to go to the Imperial Palace.

Because the Emperor had gone crazy.