AUBTN -Chapter 188 Their Identities

He directly addressed the acting officials Zhao Ming and Sun Dehai as Vice Commissioner Zhao and Chief Eunuch Sun. On the surface, it seemed like a concession—but in reality, it was a reminder to the Empress Dowager that they were the rightful masters of these two offices.

As for his next sentence, it was an outright refusal of the Empress Dowager’s “kind” suggestion to summon Su Hewan and Yu Qing.

The Empress Dowager narrowed her phoenix eyes and cast Shen Jue a long, penetrating look.

She knew well—neither of these two men were easy to deal with.

Her objective for today had already been achieved. Pressing further would only backfire.

“Enough. You’ve both survived a great calamity—you must be exhausted. Return and rest for now. We’ll discuss the specifics at tomorrow’s morning court,” she said lightly, waving her hand in dismissal.

“Your servant (this minister) takes his leave.”

The two bowed once more, then turned and exited the Cining Palace.

The moment they stepped beyond the palace gates, the evening wind, tinged with cold, rushed toward them.

It swept away the cloying incense from inside the palace—but not the gloom weighing on their hearts.

Along the long palace corridor, the two walked side by side in silence.

The setting sun stretched their shadows long behind them, lending an air of desolation and loneliness.

For powerful officials at the end of their road—this was what it looked like.

After an unknown stretch of time, Lu Yan finally broke the silence. His voice sounded especially low in the vast, empty corridor.

“In that cave… what secret was hidden behind that stone wall?”

He didn’t look at Shen Jue. His gaze remained fixed on the towering palace walls ahead, as if the question had been asked casually.

Shen Jue’s steps faltered for a brief moment, then he let out a soft chuckle tinged with self-mockery.

“I knew it—nothing escapes the eyes of Commander Lu.”

“Now that the Empress Dowager is sharpening her blade against us, we’re nothing more than fish on the chopping block. Shen Jue, are you still going to keep things hidden?” Lu Yan turned his head, his gaze sharp as a torch.

“Aren’t you afraid I might turn around and pledge allegiance to the Empress Dowager—trade your secret for boundless wealth and power?”

The words were half a test, half a provocation.

But Shen Jue didn’t even lift his eyelids. He simply continued walking, his voice calm, without a ripple.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh?”

“Because you, Lu Yan, are a lone minister—and a loyal one.” A faint, mocking curve appeared on Shen Jue’s lips.

“The one you serve is the imperial authority of the Li dynasty—not any single person currently in power within the palace. To side with the Empress Dowager would go against your family’s honor—and against the path you believe in.”

Lu Yan fell silent.

After a long moment, he let out a deep sigh, filled with indescribable complexity.

“The one who understands you best in this world… really is your opponent.”

Yes—Shen Jue was right.

He could die. He could lose. But he would never betray the bottom line he upheld.

And that—his enemy saw more clearly than anyone else.

The thin layer of ice between them, formed by suspicion, quietly shattered at that moment.

In its place, a strange sense of mutual respect began to grow.

Shen Jue stopped walking and turned slightly to face him. For the first time, there was no calculation or mockery in his eyes—only the same gravity Lu Yan carried.

“Since we’ve come this far, there’s no need for riddles between us anymore.”

He paused, lowering his voice to almost a whisper:

“Assistant Minister of Rites, Su Wenyuan—colluded with the enemy, betrayed the nation, embezzled disaster relief funds. Three years ago, his entire family was executed… leaving only one daughter, who was taken into the palace as a slave.”

“Commander Lu… do you still remember this case?”

Lu Yan’s pupils suddenly contracted.

How could he possibly not remember?

That was a wrongful case fabricated single-handedly during the time when Prince Ning’s power had reached its peak.

Su Wenyuan had been upright and incorruptible. Simply because he impeached Prince Ning’s brother-in-law in court, he was framed with such a grave crime, ultimately leading to the destruction of his entire family.

“So, Chief Shen has investigated it as well. Makes sense—now that Miss Su is by your side, you would naturally want to uncover her background.” Lu Yan’s voice turned somewhat hoarse.

“And Yu Qing, who is by her side, has been her personal maid since childhood.”

“That’s right.” Shen Jue nodded.

“You and I both know that case was a complete miscarriage of justice. But back then, we were focused on consolidating our own positions and had no intention of confronting Prince Ning head-on, so we both chose to stand by and do nothing.”

Those words were cruel, but they were the truth.

At the time, the life or death of a mere Assistant Minister meant far less to them than their own power.

“The emblem on the stone wall,” Shen Jue continued, his voice carrying a trace of strain even he himself didn’t notice, “is the totem of the former Dayuan imperial family. And the surname ‘Su’ was the royal surname of that dynasty.”

Lu Yan’s body stiffened abruptly, as if struck by lightning!

Su Hewan… was a surviving descendant of the former imperial family?

This possibility was far more terrifying and deadly than anything he had imagined!

No wonder Shen Jue had lost his composure, even going so far as to destroy the evidence at all costs.

If this identity were exposed, forget Su Hewan—even those connected to her would be dragged into an abyss of eternal damnation!

“But you and I both understand,” Shen Jue said slowly as he looked at Lu Yan’s shocked expression, revealing an even deeper secret, “the two people currently in Yuyuan are no longer the original Su Hewan and Yu Qing.”

Lu Yan did not refute it.

Yes—he had noticed it long ago.

That lively, rebellious glint in Yu Qing’s eyes—so out of place for this era—was not something a lowly palace maid could possess!

And later, their words and actions, the unheard-of vocabulary they used, their insight and temperament far beyond women of this time… all confirmed it.

“Their souls do not belong here,” Lu Yan stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Yes.” Shen Jue gazed toward the distant horizon, where the setting sun was as red as blood.

“But no matter who they are or where they came from, they occupy these two bodies. The identities of Su Wenyuan’s daughter and a remnant of the former dynasty cannot be escaped. In peaceful times, such an identity might remain buried forever. But now… if the Empress Dowager chooses to investigate, it will become a blade hanging over all our heads.”

The two fell into silence once more.

The truth was cruel.

The ones they had fallen for were souls that did not belong to this world—but the bodies those souls inhabited carried the heaviest and most dangerous fate of this world.

News that Lu Yan and Shen Jue had been stripped of their power spread like wildfire through the capital’s various offices.

The once-bustling Northern Command Office of the Jinyiwei and the Eastern Depot suddenly became deserted.

When the wall falls, everyone pushes it; when the tree collapses, the monkeys scatter—such has always been the cruel logic of the world.

Yet amid this bleak and oppressive atmosphere, there was one place that was thriving against the tide.

The women’s chamber of commerce in the southern city, along with its flagship store “Huaxiangrong,” flourished anew after the return of Su Hewan and Yu Qing.

With the return of their two pillars, everyone regained their confidence.

The fear and unease caused by their disappearance vanished completely.

“No, this alone isn’t enough!”

Inside the chamber’s meeting hall, Yu Qing slammed her palm on the table, her eyes gleaming with excitement.