We are standing on the imperial hunting grounds when suddenly an assassin tries to kill His Majesty.
I managed to subdue the assassin and under His Majesty command I ordered my men to investigate and found evidence that he was sent by the prime minister.
Days after.
At court I present that evidence to His Majesty while my friend Wu An presented evidence of the prime minister corruption and set up to frame the Qi family. I wasn't interested in having more achievements, I only wanted justice.
-ZHOU RU! - shouts the emperor.
All ministers kneel.
-How dare you! You are above millions and under one person. You are this emperor father-in-law, the crown prince grandfather, isn't that enough to you?
-Your Majesty, please investigate, I'm innocent – pleads the prime minister.
-You still dare to claim you are innocent? - Shouts the emperor while throwing the evidence on the prime minister's face.
-Hear my orders. The prime minister is greedy, wanting what does not belong to him, he dared to frame a loyal general, accepted briberies and caused common people to suffer and he tried to kill the emperor. He and his family are to be arrested and beheaded in 7 days.
My heart thunders in my chest. Mother, father, brother, sister.... Finally, I avenged you.
-The general Qi is to be honored as The Loyal General and Duque of Wei. If any of his descendants are found, the title and properties will be passed to the oldest male.
When the emperor speaks, I notice his gaze on me. Does he know who I am? No, impossible. If he knew, he would never allow me to be alive, much less to have troops under my command.
I remain silent. There is no point in announcing my identity as General Qi son. The title won't bring my family back, I have no sons and I have no desire for power. All I wanted was to avenge my family so they could rest in peace and reincarnate without grudges.
I feel suddenly empty. All these years I had nothing but revenge on my mind and now, after the prime-minister death, I don't know what to do.
I end up resigning from my post and giving back the military power to the emperor. I take my wife and my concubines with me to the countryside while where we live in peace.
Many years after, when the emperor died, my wife and concubines kneeled in front of me.
It turns out that they were all sent by the emperor to spy on me. I never had any sons or daughters because he ordered them to drink a pregnancy prevention medicine. My best friend Wu An and my adoptive father were also his people.
The emperor knew that the prime minister framed my father, but my father had too many troops under him and the emperor was scared that one day my father would use those troops against him so he decided to pretend to believe in the prime-minister words and executed my family.
He knew about me and let me live to be a sharpen blade to go against the prime minister.
I was already an old man and it was a shock to great for me to handle it.
Zhao Bai! How dare you let my family die and use me! I swear that I will make you pay for it in the next life! - was the last thought I had before my heart stopped beating.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back into the past, when my adoptive father first brought me to the capital.
This time, I will have true revenge.
