Chapter 106: It Turns Out There Was More Than One Person After All
Lin Miaomiao heard Li Yanhe’s words and, for some reason, guessed that Li Yanhe must have discovered something.
Li Yanhe noticed the expression on Lin Miaomiao’s face and forced a bitter smile before saying, “That day, the emperor and the empress had a fierce argument.”
“At that moment, the empress looked at the emperor and said, ‘If you truly cannot tolerate the spread of such rumors, then you should have supported me and Li Zheng from the start.’”
“‘Although I don’t love him, he would have given me freedom. I wouldn’t have had to come here, to become the person I least wanted to be in my life.’”
“After the empress said those words, the emperor was furious. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and slapped the empress across the face.”
“At that time, I never imagined that after being struck, the empress’s expression would be so calm. She fell to the ground, while the emperor sat beside her.”
“When they both calmed down, the empress slowly stood up and said to the emperor, ‘I agree.’”
After finishing, Li Yanhe sighed deeply and continued, “The emperor never expected the empress to say such a thing. It was only later that I understood.”
“Her agreement was the plan that led me to Da’an Pass.”
Hearing this, Lin Miaomiao felt, for some inexplicable reason, a pang of sympathy for Li Yanhe.
She glanced at him, and he said, “Do you know? Even if that day marked the equivalence of my life with the slaughter at this pass...”
Lin Miaomiao looked at him, and in that moment, she suddenly understood why Li Yanhe knew she was a time traveler.
Li Yanhe furrowed his brows and said, “I still remember what my mother told me when I left.”
“Your birth was the moment I hesitated in my decisions. You are my child, and I wanted to raise you responsibly.”
“Unfortunately, your father refused, and your mother could only helplessly send you away. After that, she never returned.”
Li Yanhe recalled the coldness in his mother’s eyes back then, and the last words she said to him: “I never truly belonged here.”
Lin Miaomiao lifted her head and asked, “Then how did you come to know that your mother and I don’t belong here?”
After a long moment, Li Yanhe looked up and said, “In truth, you’re not the only ones who came here from your world.”
Lin Miaomiao’s expression shifted suddenly, and she asked, “What do you mean by that?”
Li Yanhe met her gaze and said, “I was young and reckless then, unwilling to leave quietly. So, I sent people to investigate my mother, my father, and Li Zheng.”
He smiled bitterly and said, “But all I found was the entire story of how my parents met.”
“At first, I thought my mother, as a woman, couldn’t bear her husband’s treatment and was just speaking out of anger.”
“That was until I fought with the Nanman and captured a strategist.”
“The moment this strategist saw me, he said he had a set of military tactics. If I spared his life, he would willingly hand them over.”
Li Yanhe raised his teacup and said, “I initially thought it was just a way for this Nanman soldier to save himself. But when I saw the military treatise, I was amazed—it was a masterpiece.”
“He said it was called the Art of War by Sun Tzu, something I had never heard before. I found it very strange.”
“So, I investigated this strategist. To my surprise, he wasn’t a Nanman but from the Central Plains.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Miaomiao knew without a doubt that Li Yanhe had uncovered something significant.
Li Yanhe looked at Lin Miaomiao and said, “This is the biggest secret of my life. I have carried this secret while staying here.”
Lin Miaomiao glanced at him and said, “So the reason you dislike me is because I come from another dimension—just like your mother and that strategist?”
Li Yanhe shook his head and replied, “I don’t hate you. The only person I’ve ever truly hated is myself.”
Then he said, “But that’s not the whole story. Listen, I’ll tell you everything slowly.”
Lin Miaomiao nodded, unable to do otherwise, and continued to listen to the next part of Li Yanhe’s tale.
“Through my investigation, I discovered that the strategist’s name before wasn’t the same as now.”
“Moreover, he was dead. When they were burying him, the Nanman invaded their city, and his coffin was thrown into the wild outskirts.”
“At the time, I thought it was absurd, until later I overheard him muttering to himself.”
Suddenly, Lin Miaomiao stood up eagerly and asked, “What was he muttering about?”
Li Yanhe smiled bitterly and said, “He said he hated this damned place, with all its rules. Every day, whoever he met had to kneel and call him ‘my lord.’”
Lin Miaomiao couldn’t help but smile at Li Yanhe’s serious tone. She thought his manner was too rigid.
She pressed on, “And then? What else did he mumble?”
Li Yanhe took a breath and said, “He muttered about how desolate the outskirts were.”
“This place was nothing but a suburb, and he couldn’t stand it. The general was like a cold-faced ice block—so frustrating.”
“Every day felt like acting in a soap opera—bow to this person, kowtow to that one. There was no dignity or rights.”
Listening to this, Lin Miaomiao sensed that Li Yanhe was setting a trap for that man.
“So, I decided to test him and said, ‘Soap operas? I have a story for you—want to hear it?’”
Lin Miaomiao looked at Li Yanhe and said, “Did you actually explain what a soap opera is?”
Li Yanhe glanced at her and said, “He told me it was like the local opera here.”
Hearing this, Lin Miaomiao wanted to curse that man for being so foolish and indiscreet.
Li Yanhe noticed her irritated look and laughed, gently stroking his teacup. “So I told him the story that had been troubling me.”
“Then he patted my shoulder and said, ‘Brother, I didn’t expect you to fake it so well!’”
“‘But you look quite manly and masculine—how do you end up watching such bubblegum dramas?’”
Lin Miaomiao thought this man must have been crazy.
Li Yanhe looked at her and said, “He wasn’t crazy.”
“On the contrary, he was extremely intelligent.”
Lin Miaomiao suddenly looked up, puzzled by Li Yanhe’s words.
He smiled at her bewildered expression and said, “He told me he couldn’t change his habits; he was just conducting an experiment, stopping here for now.”
“He had a premonition that he would return home—as long as he woke from his dream, he could leave this place.”
Lin Miaomiao was surprised and said, “So this is dream-travel?”
Li Yanhe nodded and said, “He came here while asleep.”
Lin Miaomiao frowned, “That sounds unrealistic.”
Li Yanhe sighed and said, “According to his logic, it’s not impossible.”
“Suppose he came here as part of an experiment and claimed he was only asleep. Then perhaps he suddenly died in another timeline.”
“Or maybe he hadn’t slept for a long time, and when he finally closed his eyes, some door opened, bringing him here.”
Lin Miaomiao looked at Li Yanhe and said, “I guess he must have eventually died—after all, he said he wasn’t dead, only asleep.”
Li Yanhe nodded and said, “Indeed, he was struck in the heart by an arrow on the battlefield.”
Lin Miaomiao nodded thoughtfully. Li Yanhe looked at her and said, “He once told me that anything is possible in this world. My mother didn’t belong here either.”
Lin Miaomiao glanced at him and said, “Then show me the information you gathered about your mother.”
Li Yanhe smiled wryly, “You’re all so curious.”
Without a word, Lin Miaomiao began to carefully sift through the materials Li Yanhe handed over, paying close attention to every detail.
She realized that based on Li Yanhe’s narrative alone, there seemed to be no flaws.
But after poring over the documents, she noticed subtle clues here and there.
At the end of Li Yanhe’s files was a line in English: “There is only one truth.”
Lin Miaomiao found the dramatic phrase amusing and couldn’t help but smile.
She looked up at Li Yanhe and asked, “If others hurt you, why do you hurt me?”
Li Yanhe lowered his eyes and said, “I thought you would regret choosing my father, just like my mother did.”
“Like you—regretting meeting again, regretting boarding this ship, regretting meeting someone like me with a heart full of scars.”
Lin Miaomiao frowned and said, “Why should I regret anything?”
Li Yanhe looked at her and said, “People like me probably aren’t anyone’s first choice.”
Lin Miaomiao looked at him and said, “Do you want to hear about my past life?”