Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 1545 - 1540: Too Late for Regret

"Why wouldn’t he betray our Yan Kingdom? Didn’t you hear what the Empress Dowager said? That Murong Yan has a child with the Emperor of Zhou. If he hands the Yan Kingdom over to Zhou, his son can easily become the ruler of the world!" A clan member already believed the Empress Dowager Yan’s words. "How could he not want such a great thing!"

"But there’s no concrete evidence proving that the Regent Prince is indeed the Zhou royal husband Xiao Rongyan!"

"Indeed!"

"Empress Dowager, could there be a mistake?"

Most of the clan members, even if they feared Xiao Rongyan for holding significant power and suspected him of overpowering the Emperor, did not believe he would want to betray the Murong Imperial Family.

"Elders of the clan don’t believe it, do you?" The Empress Dowager Yan, like a trapped beast with bloodshot and wild eyes, looked at her personal maid, "Go bring my treasure box!"

The Empress Dowager Yan’s personal maid hurriedly responded, climbed onto the Empress Dowager’s carriage, took the treasure box out, and handed it to the Empress Dowager, raising it above her head.

She opened the box, drew out a bundle of parchment, and declared loudly, "These are letters Xiao Rongyan wrote to the Emperor as he traveled between various states over the years, using the ancient symbols of your Murong Clan. Even among the descendants of the Murong Clan, few can comprehend these symbols. Xiao Rongyan learned these ancient characters from you, the clan uncle, when he was young. The Regent Prince has issued decrees since he entered politics—surely you have seen his handwriting. I invite the elders of our clan to verify it!"

The eldest elder, with trembling hands, took the parchments from the Empress Dowager Yan and beckoned the servants holding lanterns to gather closer.

The lanterns swayed in the cold wind carrying snowflakes, casting flickering lights and shadows as the Murong Imperial Clan members huddled together, carefully discerning the content of the letters and verifying if the handwriting matched that of Xiao Rongyan.

These letters were once Murong Yu’s most cherished possessions, as they contained his brother’s longing for home, and he could glimpse aspects of his brother’s life through them. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

One could tell that these parchments had been frequently perused, as their edges had discolored.

But Murong Yu never imagined that these letters would someday become the key evidence proving his brother to be Xiao Rongyan, the world’s wealthiest merchant.

Murong Yu had instructed Empress Dowager Yan that, apart from the two of them, no one else should know Xiao Rongyan’s identity.

Xiao Ali knew because of his cleverness.

When Murong Yu was teaching Xiao Ali the ancient symbols of the Murong Clan, young Xiao Ali happened to see Xiao Rongyan’s letters arriving. He secretly memorized the symbols and, upon learning them, discovered his ninth uncle’s identity. From there, he also learned what his uncle had sacrificed for the Yan Kingdom and deeply respected him. Naturally, he kept his uncle’s identity a secret, never revealing a word to outsiders.

Murong Li never expected that the truth about Rong Yan being Xiao Rongyan would come to light before the Yan Imperial Clan members in such a manner.

"It’s indeed our Murong Imperial Clan’s ancient symbols!"

"This... this is indeed the Regent Prince’s handwriting!"

"What’s written on it?" Those of the clan who hadn’t studied ancient symbols asked anxiously.

"The letter says everything is well in the Wei Kingdom. Yan has befriended the King of Xihuai and has heard there is a renowned doctor in Wei, expert in treating difficult illnesses. Yan is searching for this doctor to save his brother, and he urges his brother to take care of himself!"

The second letter... the third letter...

Almost all of them urged Murong Yu to take care of his health while Yan searched for a renowned doctor.

This matches the situation of the late Emperor Murong Yu and Xiao Rongyan.

If they remember correctly, the late Emperor always favored the Regent Prince, and after the late Emperor’s health improved... it was because the Regent Prince secretly invited a renowned Zhou doctor for treatment.

"The Regent Prince is indeed Xiao Rongyan, married to the Zhou Emperor, has a child, and is the Zhou royal husband? But this royal husband is said to have died, so how could he be the Regent Prince?"

"That makes sense! If this royal husband hadn’t died, then whether it’s a Zhou sacrifice or a grand feast, the royal husband would be required to attend. With the Regent Prince in Yan, it’s impossible!"

The doubts lingering in the hearts of Yan Imperial Clan members became clear as Xiao Rongyan’s identity was confirmed.

"This can’t be! How can we hand over the foundation built by our Murong ancestors to Zhou? This is absolutely unacceptable! We must go... and meet the Emperor! Inform the Emperor of this!"

"Empress Dowager!" The Yan Imperial Clan members bowed before the Empress Dowager Yan, "Empress Dowager, the Emperor must be informed of this, please accompany us to see the Emperor!"

"Yes, please accompany us, Empress Dowager!"

Empress Dowager Yan looked at the clan members kneeling before her, tears streaming like broken pearls, "It’s useless. The Emperor and I have long known about this matter! But... that Murong Yan said he had broken off his relationship with the Emperor of Zhou! He was the late Emperor’s most cherished brother; before passing, the late Emperor entrusted the Emperor and the Yan Kingdom to Murong Yan! I am but a woman, susceptible to feminine emotions... Even though I knew, I couldn’t act decisively. I feared that revealing this would leave Murong Yan unable to continue living. But I never foresaw... I never imagined that I would be nurturing a wolf! A wolf that now turns around to devour us in the Yan Kingdom! Intending to drive me out of the Imperial Palace... to seize control completely over our Yan dynasty! I couldn’t foresee that Murong Yan was truly so ambitious!"

"How foolish!" The oldest clan member was so angry he continuously struck the ground with his cane, "While it’s understandable for the young Emperor to be deceived, how could you, Empress Dowager, also be swayed by Murong Yan!"

"It’s all my fault! I always thought... Murong Yan, being a descendant of the Murong family, would at least consider the late Emperor, the Murong Clan, and the Yan Kingdom’s foundation!" Empress Dowager Yan cried out in despair, nearly unable to stand, almost falling off the saddle, luckily the maid caught her, "I am the one who doomed the Yan Kingdom! The late Emperor and I had absolute trust in Murong Yan, which influenced the Emperor, leading him to trust Murong Yan completely as well. But... the trust from us cannot compare to Murong Yan’s own flesh and blood; how could the Emperor, his nephew, in Murong Yan’s heart compare to the child he had with the Emperor of Zhou!"

Empress Dowager Yan was beating her chest and stamping her feet, seemingly wishing she could die at that very moment, evidently already tormented by overwhelming regret.

"At this point, regret is meaningless, Empress Dowager weeping here is of no use, a solution must be sought!"

"Indeed, Empress Dowager, we must devise a plan. Fortunately, Murong Yan is not in the Yan Capital, so we still have a chance to turn the tables!"