……

Three days later, Zhao Gao was taken to the execution ground and executed by lingchi.

The execution ground was crowded with people, and the onlookers were talking about it.

Zhao Gao was tied to the rack, his body covered in blood and he was dying.

He looked at the crowd around him, his eyes not showing any fear, but rather full of calmness.

He knew that he would definitely die today.

His only regret was that he never got to see Concubine Li again.

"Execute!" The supervising officer gave the order, and the executioner raised his knife and began to execute Zhao Gao by slicing.

Zhao Gao's screams echoed through the sky, and the onlookers were horrified.

Ying Yuan stood on the high platform, watching all this coldly, without a trace of pity in his eyes.

He had only one thought in his mind, and that was to make Zhao Gao pay the price!
……

The lingchi punishment lasted for three full hours before Zhao Gao finally died.

His body was thrown into a mass grave and left to be eaten by wild dogs.

Ying Yuan looked at this scene and did not feel the slightest pleasure in his heart. Instead, he felt even more empty and lonely.

He lost the woman he loved most and also the enemy he hated most.

He seemed to have lost the whole world.

He slowly closed his eyes, and two lines of tears slid down his cheeks.

……

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, ten years have passed.

Ying Yuan is no longer the high-spirited young emperor, but has become a mature and steady middle-aged emperor.

He worked hard to govern the country and put it in an orderly manner, making the country strong and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

He won the admiration of people all over the world and became an emperor of all ages.

However, deep in his heart, there is always a scar that cannot be healed.

That is Concubine Li.

He could never forget Concubine Li, nor that unforgettable love.

He often came to Concubine Li's tomb alone and stood there quietly for several hours.

He would tell Concubine Li about his worries and also express his longing for her.

He even fantasized about how great it would be if Concubine Li were still alive.

……

On this day, Ying Yuan came to Concubine Li's tomb again.

He stood in front of the tomb, looking at Concubine Li's name on the tombstone, his heart filled with sadness.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice behind him: "Your Majesty..."

Ying Yuan turned around suddenly and saw a woman in white standing behind him.

The woman has a beautiful face and a refined temperament, she is none other than Concubine Li!

Ying Yuan rubbed his eyes in disbelief, thinking he was hallucinating.

"Concubine Li... is that you?" Ying Yuan's voice trembled, his eyes full of surprise and confusion. The woman smiled slightly and nodded: "Your Majesty, it's me."

Ying Yuan rushed forward excitedly, hugged the woman in his arms, and held her tightly, fearing that she would disappear again.

"Concubine Li, it's really you! I... I thought... I thought I would never see you again..." Ying Yuan's voice was choked and his eyes were filled with tears.

The woman gently stroked Ying Yuan's back and said softly, "Your Majesty, I am not dead. I am always here."

"But...but...the palace maid said...that you hanged yourself..." Ying Yuan raised his head and looked at the woman in confusion.

The woman smiled and said, "Your Majesty, that was just a plan of mine. I knew that Zhao Gao would be executed, and I didn't want to see Your Majesty suffer for me, so I came up with this idea."

"Strategy?" Ying Yuan was stunned for a moment, then he understood what the woman meant.

His heart was filled with emotion and joy.

It turns out that Concubine Li is not dead, she has always been there!
"Concubine Li, why...why are you doing this?" Ying Yuan asked.

The woman looked at Ying Yuan, her eyes full of tenderness: "Because I love you, Your Majesty."

Ying Yuan was shocked. He didn't expect that Concubine Li would say such a thing.

He always thought that Concubine Li loved Zhao Gao.

But now it seems that he was wrong.

Concubine Li smiled softly, her eyes moving with tenderness: "Your Majesty, how could I bear to leave you? This is just a way to escape from the eyes and ears of the traitor Zhao Gao."

Ying Yuan held Li Fei's hand tightly, as if he wanted to rub her into his own bones and blood. For ten years, he had been thinking about these hands day and night, and now he finally touched them again. The ecstasy of regaining what he had lost almost swallowed him up.

"Where... where have you been all these years?" Ying Yuan asked anxiously, with a barely perceptible tremor in his tone.

Concubine Li gently pulled her hand away, took a step back, and bowed: "I have been living in seclusion in Mount Zhongnan for many years, practicing hard, just to meet Your Majesty again one day."

Ying Yuan was even more confused. Mount Zhongnan? Cultivation? Why did this sound like the tricks of a charlatan? He was a man of great talent and meticulous thinking, but now facing Concubine Li, he was like a young boy, and his IQ dropped to zero in an instant.

"Practice?" Ying Yuan repeated these two words with a hint of doubt in his tone, "You...what did you learn?"

Concubine Li smiled mysteriously and did not answer directly. Instead, she took out a jade pendant from her sleeve and handed it to Ying Yuan: "Your Majesty, please take a look."

Ying Yuan took the jade pendant, which was warm to the touch, crystal clear, and faintly exuded a fragrance. On the jade pendant was carved a lifelike phoenix, spreading its wings and ready to fly, lifelike.

"This is..." Ying Yuan looked at the jade pendant carefully, and his doubts grew even more.

"This is the Phoenix Jade Pendant, which can ensure your majesty's good health and longevity." Concubine Li explained.

Ying Yuan sneered in his heart. This was clearly a trick used by the quacks. He was about to expose it, but he saw Concubine Li's face suddenly changed, she covered her chest and groaned in pain.

"Concubine Li! What's wrong with you?" Seeing this, Ying Yuan hurried forward to support her and asked with concern.

Concubine Li looked pale, with beads of sweat oozing from her forehead. She said weakly, "Your Majesty...I...I have a relapse of my old illness..."

"Old illness? What old illness?" Ying Yuan was shocked and asked quickly.

Concubine Li closed her eyes in pain and said intermittently: "It's... it's... the cold poison... it will attack every full moon night..."

Ying Yuan was even more confused. Cold poison? Is there really such a thing in this world? Although he didn't believe in ghosts and gods, he had to believe it when he saw Concubine Li's painful expression.

"I... I will call the imperial physician right away!" Ying Yuan said, and was about to get up to call the imperial physician.

Concubine Li grabbed him and said weakly, "It's useless... Your Majesty... This cold poison... can only... only... Phoenix blood... cure it..."

Phoenix blood? Ying Yuan was stunned. Where is the phoenix in this world? This is obviously nonsense!
"Concubine Li, you... don't talk nonsense!" Ying Yuan tried to remain calm and consoled her, "There is no such thing as phoenix blood in this world. You must be too tired. Just take a good rest."

Concubine Li shook her head, her eyes filled with despair: "Your Majesty...I...I really...can't do it anymore..."

Ying Yuan looked at Concubine Li's painful expression and felt extremely anxious. Although he did not believe Concubine Li's words, he did not want to watch her die. (End of this chapter)