Xia Guo spent a long time ferreting out the affairs of the Lin family. It turned out Lin Xiao's concubines had gotten pregnant before, only for the Lin household to force miscarriage-inducing drugs on them.
Yue shi's body had been damaged in those years, leaving her unable to bear more children. Qi Junmu could well imagine the reason for that damage—after having her own child taken away and sent into the palace, her postpartum depression must have been severe.
Qi Junmu thought that she had done this because she did not want Lin Xiao to have children with anyone else. Because of the Empress Dowager and because of Lin En, she could not have another child—so neither could Lin Xiao.
When Fuhua eventually married Lin En, everything in the Lin family would belong to Fuhua.
Deep down, Yue shi must have harbored a deep resentment toward the Empress Dowager—for tearing her away from her own child.
Of course, there was another possibility for why Lin Xiao had no children: the Empress Dowager would not allow her son to be slighted, so the Lin family could not have other children competing with Lin En for favor.
Lin Xiao agreed on the surface, but as the years wore on, discontent naturally festered—and that was when Lin Jiu entered the picture.
Lin Jiu's background was easy to verify. His father had died early, and his mother had raised him on her own.
She was a fallen official's daughter, running a small shop. Lin Jiu's teacher was a mediocre man with unremarkable learning—yet Lin Jiu's own assignments were exceptionally thorough and well-grounded, clearly the work of someone who had received special guidance.
Qi Junmu had sent people to question Lin Jiu's teacher, who said that every time Lin Jiu handed in his assignments, someone would come specially to collect them and make corrections.
Lin Jiu never stood out excessively in examinations—this, too, was by someone's explicit instruction.
Before the palace examination, all he needed to do was pass.
Lin Jiu understood this as well. Without power or influence, with only his mother to rely on, he could not afford to be too conspicuous.
After uncovering all of this, Qi Junmu could not help but laugh.
In Lin Xiao's eyes, Fuhua may have been nothing more than a pawn—one that would make Lin En catch the Empress Dowager's eye and win her heart.
Think about it: Prince Ying and the others' schemes must have been perfectly clear to Lin Xiao all along. He was only waiting for the right moment. When Lin En entered the palace, the crimes committed by Prince Ying and his ilk would all become offenses of deceiving the sovereign, and they would be swept away with perfect justification.
In the previous life, with Da Qi plagued by internal turmoil and external threats, Qi Junmu had handed Lin Xiao immense power—was that not the greatest possible boon he could have given to Lin En?
To confirm his suspicions, the rumor that Fuhua would be married off to the Western Di had in fact been deliberately set in motion by the Qi Junmu himself. It was also for this reason that Qi Junmu became even more certain that something was amiss between Lin En and Fuhua.
Qi Junmu naturally did not explain all his tangled thoughts and deliberations to the others. He skipped over the matter of having died once before and instead laid out the evidence he had uncovered regarding the Lin family and Lin Jiu.
Then, as the others fell silent, he turned his gaze to Wen Wan and said, "In truth, the Empress should know something of this matter in her heart as well."
The Wen family and the Lin family were connected by marriage. Wen Wan and Lin En must have known each other since childhood. As for how they had come to share each other's affections, Qi Junmu had no desire whatsoever to know.
Wen Wan rose to her feet, her expression changing abruptly. She said, "Your Majesty, this subject does not know what wrong she has committed to merit such a misunderstanding."
Wen Wan's expression wavered between alarm and uncertainty, as though she had been frightened. And indeed, she had just witnessed a court conspiracy—of course she would be shaken.
Qi Junmu's interest was plainly tepid. He said, "How could the Empress not know? Before our marriage, the Empress fell ill and nearly could not go through with the wedding."
Hearing this, Wen Wan knelt and said, "Your Majesty, you are well aware of what happened that day. Why bring it up again now?"
"I am well aware, of course. I have even fretted day and night over the Empress's frail health. Whenever you are unwell, I would spare no effort to bring every fine thing before you for your choosing." Qi Junmu said languidly, "Naturally, I know more than just that. I also know that on our wedding day, the Empress's illness was genuine—but that afterward, she deliberately bathed in cold water and purposely made herself ill as well."
"You and I are husband and wife. For whose sake did the Empress do all this?" Qi Junmu tapped the imperial desk and said, "Of course, in the Empress's heart, I am nothing but a lowly and despicable man."
The Emperor's voice was very soft, but Wen Wan's face went pale.
Wen Wan wanted to retort, but Qi Junmu no longer wished to hear her excuses.
As Emperor, once he turned his suspicions toward someone, he had no trouble uncovering every inconsistency. When he married Wen Wan, she had been ill—perhaps not deliberately so at the time. But later on, she had refused to let him close and had kept herself sick on purpose, and that much was true.
Wen Wan had enjoyed the favor and power he gave her, yet she had never once offered him any genuine feeling. Thinking back to how swiftly and pitifully he had died in his previous life—that suffocating, crushing despair—Qi Junmu felt a deep ache in his chest.
But he held it in.
He looked at Lin Xiao, his uncle, the man he had always trusted.
In the previous life, he had given immense power to the Lin family—the Imperial Guard, the West Frontier Army, the North Frontier Army. He had believed that his uncle, who had helped put him on the throne, would always stand by his side. But the human heart was hard to predict.
"Has Your Majesty been suspicious of the Lin family all along?" In the silent great hall, Lin En, who had remained quiet until now, finally spoke. His voice was clear and pleasant, nothing like Qi Junmu's cold tone.
Qi Junmu raised his brow and looked at him.
Lin En tilted his head. "I'm just curious. The Lin family hasn't done anything particularly questionable these past days. How did Your Majesty come to suspect the Lin family? Or is it just that all emperors are naturally suspicious by nature?"
In the previous life, Qi Junmu had harbored suspicions about many things before his death. But at the time, he hadn't been able to connect all the pieces, and Qi Junzhuo's disappearance had thrown him into disarray, making it all too easy for Wen Wan to succeed.
But in truth, Qi Junmu was not an emperor who easily doubted others.
In the previous life, he had trusted Wen Wan, trusted Lin Xiao—and because the matter of the swapped children was not something one could easily imagine, he had ended up in such a wretched state. In this life, he trusted Shen Nian, and he still trusted Qi Junzhuo. Even when all evidence pointed to Qi Junzhuo, he had never wavered in that trust.
Of course, as a sovereign, he was not lacking in necessary wariness.
So once his suspicions turned to Lin Xiao, he began connecting all the small details and verifying the most outrageous facts.
But he had no need to explain any of this to Lin En. Lin En did not understand him, nor did he understand Lin En. There was no point in baring their hearts to each other.
Lin En looked at Qi Junmu's cold expression, and a wave of helplessness washed over him.
They bore the same face, yet their stations were as far apart as clouds and mud. How could he not feel a trace of envy, a trace of jealousy, when facing Qi Junmu?
He had thought he had a chance. But before they could even make their move, everything had already come to an end.
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