"Master, I have left the imperial palace and will never return. I came to bid you farewell today."
"What, you've left the imperial palace? How did that dog emperor bully you? Tell me, Master will avenge you."
Abbess Ming Hui’s heart was filled with complex emotions. Upon hearing that Liu’er was leaving the imperial palace, she instinctively knew the emperor had wronged her. She wanted to avenge Liu’er.
Yet, another feeling within her stirred with inexplicable excitement. Liu’er, as a child of the Su family, was finally separated from the son of their enemy. This would be a fitting tribute to their ancestors. However, seeing Liu’er’s dejected expression, she felt a pang of heartache.
"It's nothing, Master. Please don't worry. I'm not suited for palace life, so I'm leaving to make my own way in the world."
Liu Liu did not tell her Master about Mount Xiaoyao, for the time was not yet right. She didn't even know the current situation on Mount Xiaoyao. She would tell her Master once things stabilized.
Ming Hui knew that Liu’er must have had a falling out with the Emperor. Since Liu’er had left the imperial palace, they had no further reservations. The young girls in the nunnery were determined to kill that dog emperor and avenge their parents.
For so many years, she had only taught them to remember their blood feud. To suddenly tell them not to seek revenge would be impossible for them to accept. Now that Liu’er had left the imperial palace, they had no more worries.
"Alright. Be careful out there. Master will always miss you," Ming Hui hugged Liu’er, crying softly. Liu’er was flustered. Master had always been a strong person; why was she crying? She gently patted her Master’s back, "Master, what's wrong?"
"Liu'er, have you always wanted to know about your parents? Today, Master will tell you. Listen carefully and do not get agitated."
Ming Hui felt it necessary to tell Liu’er the truth. Since she was going into the palace to seek revenge this time, she might not return alive. If she died, Liu’er would never know her true identity. It wasn’t important if she didn’t know her identity.
But she still needed to find her brother and father. Although she didn't know if they were still alive.
"If Master doesn't want to say it, don't say it." Liu Liu remembered how heartbroken Master had been last time and worried she would be too sad. But this time, Ming Hui wanted to tell Liu’er. Because she had left the imperial palace and was no longer involved with that person.
Therefore, she could confidently entrust the secret to her. She didn't want her to seek revenge, only to live safely.
"No, Liu’er, I am not your Master. I am your paternal aunt. My name is Su Xinhe, and your name is Su Liuli. You have a twin brother named Su Liufeng."
Abbess Ming Hui, also known as Su Xinhe, looked at Liu Liu. Liu Liu felt as if she were listening to a fairy tale. Master was not her Master, but her own aunt. It was too strange. No wonder Master treated her so exceptionally well.
So she was her own aunt. Liu Liu suddenly felt a warmth spread through her.
That feeling of kinship, of blood relation. No wonder Master was willing to do anything for her. She was her own aunt. Liu Liu smiled foolishly. And she actually had a twin brother named Su Liufeng.
Thinking of a twin brother somewhere in the world, the happiness of coming into this world together was entirely different from that of a lover. It was a close bond of blood, a family member that would never change even in death.
"Then, what about my brother?" This was what Liu Liu wanted to know most. She was curious what her twin brother looked like? Did he resemble her?
Liu Liu’s thoughts raced. Beside her, Master’s tears flowed. Looking at Liu Liu’s eager eyes, she painfully lowered her head.
"Don't worry, Liu’er. Listen to your aunt," Abbess Ming Hui, or Su Xinhe, slowly sank into memories. Her face was pale, her lips trembling, suggesting that the events of that year were too painful for her.
Liu Liu tightly grasped her aunt’s hand, giving her strength. Su Xinhe looked at her niece, a flicker of relief in her heart. The Su family finally had heirs. Her tears flowed even more profusely.
"Twenty years ago, our Su family was a prominent household in Jiangnan. Once, your father visited a friend in the capital. That friend was the late Emperor Feng Buqing. At that time, he was a powerful general and a close friend of your father’s. He greatly admired your father's literary talent and recommended him to serve as an official in the capital.
However, our Su family had no officials throughout the dynasties, so your father was unwilling to enter officialdom. But like a destined disaster, that time your father visited the general’s residence, he saw a young lady in the general’s residence. That young lady was your mother.
Your mother was the daughter of Wen Jia, the Minister of War from the previous dynasty, named Wen Yao. Your mother was not only beautiful but also intelligent and virtuous. She had two close friends: one was Feng Buqing’s wife, the current Empress Dowager, and the other was the Empress of the previous dynasty. The three of them were exceptionally close at that time.
Later, your father moved the entire family to the capital for your mother. At that time, I was learning martial arts in the mountains, and few people outside knew that the Su family had another young lady. That year, in the imperial examinations, your father became the new Zhuangyuan and a Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy.
The Emperor of the previous dynasty was a dissolute and tyrannical ruler, and he had no heirs. Because he could not procreate, no one in the harem dared to conceive.
At that time, your mother was already pregnant. Feng Buqing then hatched a plan, asking the Empress of the previous dynasty to announce her pregnancy publicly, and then send our Su family's child into the palace to become the Crown Prince.
In fact, Feng Buqing harbored sinister ambitions. He merely wanted to gain the trust of the Emperor of the previous dynasty to plot for his empire."
Su Xinhe paused to catch her breath. Liu Liu was somewhat dumbfounded. She quickly poured her aunt a cup of tea. She never imagined that the events of that year were so convoluted and mysterious. Su Xinhe drank the tea, rested for a moment, and continued.
"But your father and mother were deeply in love. How could they send their child into the palace? Moreover, the Emperor was cruel and unjust. Therefore, they firmly refused.
That Feng Buqing offered a terrible idea to the Emperor of the previous dynasty. They framed our Su family, took your mother into the palace to await childbirth, and announced that the Empress was pregnant.
More than a hundred members of the Su family were all killed. Your mother, after giving birth to you two, felt remorse and entrusted you to a young eunuch, Ali, who had been taking care of her, hoping he would look after you. The young eunuch Ali was very fond of your mother and promised her that he would protect you. Then he died of a fall.
And you became the Crown Prince and Princess of the previous dynasty. But after only a month, Feng Buqing raised an army by night, killed the old Emperor, and became the new Emperor. The Empress of the previous dynasty, feeling guilty towards your mother, instructed Agʻao to send you two to the Liu family.
Because Liu Wenjie had always been upright, he would not abandon you. Agʻao promised the Empress of the previous dynasty. However, in the chaos, he lost your brother, and only sent you to the Liu Mansion. At that time, I had just arrived in the capital, grief-stricken, and went into the palace to kill the former Empress. She was barely alive and told me the entire story. I found Ali.
Ali, disguised as a palace maid, had already sent you to the Liu Mansion. I was determined to avenge the Su family and believed that you would be better off with the Liu family than with me, so I let you live as a young lady of the Liu family."
Liu Liu was stunned. This was just like a story, and she had become a character in it. And she had a twin brother, who she didn't know where he was. She took a deep breath.
No wonder Aunt was so determined to seek revenge. Anyone in her position would want revenge. But that Feng Xie was no ordinary person. If they rashly entered the palace, it would only be a suicidal act.
"Aunt, is that Agʻao Jiang Cheng?" Liu Liu could roughly guess. She never expected him to be her savior. He had fulfilled his promise so thoroughly for the sake of one person.
Su Xinhe wiped away her tears and thought for a moment. It was likely him. Although she didn't know how he eventually entered the palace and became the Grand Eunuch, that should be the Ali she knew. Otherwise, no one would recognize her identity.