Chapter 831: Weeping Blood and Beating Chest
Zhao Yuan is not only Liu Xunyi's savior, but also a kind father and mentor who raised him and trained him to become a talent. He not only extended his life, but also gave him the value of survival and a bright future.

If it weren't for Zhao Yuan, he might have starved to death on the streets of Qianzhou.

If it weren't for Zhao Yuan, a helpless little beggar begging on the street would never have become a well-fed and well-clothed, accomplished official in the imperial court.

If there was no Zhao Yuan, there would be no Liu Xunyi today?

Therefore, it is difficult to express with one emotion what Zhao Yuan means to Liu Xunyi.

Although their last days together were not pleasant, Zhao Yuan was furious because of Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin's lingering relationship, and even intended to abandon Liu Xunyi, but compared with the twenty years of nurturing and cultivation, what were these gaps?
The flaws do not outweigh the merits, and will not affect Zhao Yuan's position in Liu Xunyi's heart at all.

He never expected that after a short trip of just a few months to Mobei to escort his bride, he would be separated from Zhao Yuan in the Yin and Yang realms, forever.

The sudden bad news was like a bolt from the blue to Liu Xunyi. He could not believe it for a long time, and was unwilling to believe that Zhao Yuan would die suddenly without any warning.

After standing there in a daze for a full hour, the flustered Liu Xunyi slowly accepted the cruel reality and admitted that the scene before him... was no joke.

In an instant, emotions burst out like a river bursting its banks, Liu Xunyi felt as if his legs were broken, as if he had lost his parents, he couldn't stop crying and was in agony.

He didn't know how he had crossed the high threshold, or how he had knelt before Zhao Yuan's spirit.
With tears in his eyes, he stared at Zhao Yuan's spirit tablet, feeling as if his body was being cut piece by piece with a knife. The pain of thousands of arrows piercing his heart and the suffering of burning in the fire, the inner torture was no less than a slow slicing, making his breath dry, his heart trembling, and even the blood flowing in his body gradually coagulated into paste.

Recalling the past, every bit of her experience with Zhao Yuan came to mind one after another, and every scene jumped into her mind, making Liu Xunyi, who was overwhelmed with emotion, sometimes mutter to herself, sometimes cry out to the sky, sometimes beat her chest and stamp her feet, and sometimes stand there like a wooden chicken...

His heart was burning, like a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting, the world turned upside down. His heart was broken, making stone men cry and iron Buddhas sad.

Deep in love, Liu Xunyi struggled to get up, rolled and crawled beside Zhao Yuan's coffin, crying hoarsely, heartbroken...

From the beginning to the end, Qin Wei had been standing behind him silently, without stopping him, without persuading him, and without even a word of comfort. He just stood there silently, watched silently, his eyes turned red silently, and tears flowed silently.

As dusk approached, Liu Xunyi, who was walking alone in the cold and panic, seemed to have exhausted all his strength. His blood-curdling wailing gradually stopped, and his face, which was covered with tears, was full of panic. His red and swollen eyes were filled with grief. He knelt straight in front of Zhao Yuanling like a lost soul, like a wooden sculpture, an iron spear, or a stone tablet.

Only his hands, swaying slightly as he continued to throw paper money into the fire basin, showed that he was still a living person with flesh and blood, love and hate.

"Ugh!"

After an unknown amount of time of silence, Qin Wei, with a solemn expression, slowly stepped forward and lit several candlesticks in the hall one by one, gradually emitting a faint yellow hue to the dark mourning hall.

When Liu Xunyi's gloomy and miserable face gradually appeared in the candlelight, Qin Wei was slightly startled and let out a meaningful sigh.

"Brother Qin..." Finally, the depressed and exhausted Liu Xunyi said the first words after entering the mourning hall, his voice was extremely hoarse, "How did the Marquis... die?"

Hearing this, Qin Wei's eyes moved, and he subconsciously glanced at the solemn black gold coffin. His throat moved slightly, and he said lightly: "He died suddenly."

"Death by sudden death?" Liu Xunyi reached his hand into the brazier, ignoring the fierceness of the fire, and gently turned over a few pieces of unburned paper at the bottom of the brazier. He asked absentmindedly, "The Marquis had no illness or pain, and had always been in good health. Why did he die by sudden death?"

"In fact, the internal injuries of the Marquis have not healed since the battle with Luo Tianjin in Luoyang City last year." Qin Wei explained calmly, "During the time when you were away from Lin'an, some changes happened in the court, which made the Marquis angry and unfortunately passed away..."

"Something has happened?" Liu Xunyi's movements paused slightly, and a hint of suspicion flashed in his eyes. "What's the matter?"

"You just came back. I will explain it to you slowly later..."

"No!" Liu Xunyi interrupted, "Tell me now."

Seeing Liu Xunyi's tough attitude, Qin Wei couldn't help but frown. After a moment's hesitation, he slowly spoke: "In short, the West House impeached the East House to the Emperor, and the Marquis... suffered the consequences."

"The West Palace impeached the East Palace?" Recalling it carefully, Liu Xunyi's face gradually became extremely ugly, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Is this matter... related to me?"

Qin Wei's eyes sparkled, and he consoled her: "It's all God's will, you don't have to feel too guilty..."

Although Qin Wei did not directly answer Liu Xunyi's question, his words "don't feel too guilty" undoubtedly confirmed that Zhao Yuan's death was closely related to Liu Xunyi.

Sure enough, when Liu Xunyi heard Qin Wei's answer, her already dry eyes were once again covered with tears filled with guilt and anger. "Tell me...what exactly happened?"

"The East Mansion spent so much manpower, material resources, and financial resources on Luo Tianjin, but failed to recruit him. This matter made the emperor feel uneasy." Qin Wei said slowly, "Later, a group of ignorant people in Lin'an emerged to stir up trouble. In the final analysis... this matter was still caused by the East Mansion's poor handling of the matter and letting the wolf into the house. Later, you and the princess... repeatedly entangled, and even used the Mongols to threaten the emperor, which completely angered the emperor. He vowed to investigate thoroughly and would not tolerate it. On the other hand, the West Mansion, because of the successful negotiation with the Mongols, eliminated the military threat for the Song Dynasty and made an unprecedented contribution. As one thing went up, the other went down. The emperor trusted the West Mansion very much and was very dissatisfied with the East Mansion."

"This……"

"Besides that, there is also the Yunya Town incident." Qin Wei continued, "Rumors are spreading in the court, and everyone believes that the bloody incident in Yunya Town was caused by... you. So, the East Palace has caused another disaster. Since this matter involves the Mongols, the emperor attaches great importance to it."

"and after?"

"Later, with the instigation of the West Palace, all officials came together to advise the emperor, impeaching all officials of the second rank and above in the East Palace in the name of 'eliminating treacherous officials and supporting the government.'"

"what?"

Qin Wei's shocking news made Liu Xunyi unable to suppress her inner shock any longer. She said in disbelief, "You mean... the Prime Minister and the Marquis are also among those impeached?"

"Not only are they on the list, but they are ranked first." Qin Wei said bitterly, "In a rage, the emperor severely punished the prime minister, the marquis, and more than half of the officials in the East Palace. Among them, the prime minister and the marquis were dismissed from office and imprisoned pending trial. The others... were punished, dismissed, or demoted. In short, the court was shaken, and the whole East Palace was in mourning."

"This……"

Shocking news came one after another, leaving Liu Xunyi overwhelmed and confused, unable to recover for a long time.

"No one expected that this purge would affect such a wide range of people and have such a great impact, that even the prime minister of the dynasty was imprisoned." Qin Wei choked up and said, "The Marquis could not bear the humiliation in prison, and he was so angry that he..."

"It turns out... I was the one who killed the Marquis..." Liu Xunyi stared at Zhao Yuan's spirit tablet with shame. His body was shaking like a sieve due to his emotional excitement. "It turns out... I am the culprit..."

"Brother Liu, you can't be blamed for these things..."

“No!” Liu Xunyi’s heart ached, and he shook his head repeatedly, “If I hadn’t been so obsessed with the princess, if I hadn’t insisted on saying goodbye to her face to face, if I hadn’t agreed to escort her… the Prime Minister and the Marquis would never have suffered this disaster. It’s me, everything is my fault!”

"Clap! Clap! Clap..."

Before he finished speaking, Liu Xunyi suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself hard. In an instant, his cheeks were bruised and blood was flowing from his mouth and nose.

"Brother Liu, the dead are gone, don't do this!"

Qin Wei was shocked, and hurried forward to grab Liu Xunyi's arm, and tried to dissuade him: "If the Marquis knew about this, he would not want to see the person he values ​​most belittle himself and humiliate himself like this! At least... at least we are alive, and there is hope as long as we are alive..."

During the argument, Liu Xunyi burst into tears and fell into Qin Wei's arms. She punched the ground like raindrops, smashing the bluestone floor tiles into pieces, but she still couldn't relieve the pain in her heart.

"The dead cannot be resurrected! Why blame yourself for the past?" Qin Wei hugged the tearful Liu Xunyi tightly and smiled with tears in his eyes, "The most important thing is that I was not implicated in this storm, and you did not die on the way. You and I, brothers, have survived the disaster and will surely have good fortune in the future..."

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi slowly pushed Qin Wei away, looking him up and down with a tangled gaze, puzzled: "Why were you able to escape unscathed? Why did they call you 'Marquis'..."

"Do you remember my situation before we separated?" Qin Wei's eyes flashed with a sinister look as he recalled the past. "The Marquis and Lord Jia teamed up to harm me. They asked me to falsely accuse the young prince and make me the scapegoat of the East Palace..."

"That's right!" Liu Xunyi suddenly realized, suddenly grabbed Qin Wei's arm, and asked impatiently, "How are you going to solve this matter? Are you really going to do it according to their wishes..."

"Of course not!" Qin Wei sneered, "If I had followed their wishes, how could I have lived to this day? How could I have replaced the Marquis and become the new master of Tianji Pavilion?"

"New...master?" Liu Xunyi was horrified and speechless.

"That's right!" Qin Wei said proudly, "When the emperor personally asked me about the whole story, I did not follow the instructions of Lord Jia and the Marquis, but... told the truth. Afterwards, although the emperor was furious, he did not blame me. Instead, he praised me for my loyalty and courage. Not long after, the East Palace was purged, and I... was confusedly conferred the title of 'New Tianji Marquis' by the emperor, and took over the Tianji Pavilion from the Marquis. In terms of official rank, although I am not as good as the former Marquis, I am at least a dignified third-rank official."

……

(End of this chapter)