We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Chapter 1049 Qiu Bai's Family Background

Li Che gazed silently at Qian Bin's statue, his eyes swirling with emotion.

After a long while, he took three sticks of incense that had been prepared from Huai En and lit them with the ever-burning lamp on the incense table.

Then he stepped back three steps, bowed deeply to the statue, and inserted incense into the incense burner.

The wisps of smoke rose straight up, swirling around the benevolent face of the statue.

Li Che turned around and looked at the grieving officials behind him: "Let's offer incense to Master Qian. This place will be open to the public for a long time. All officials of Daqing can come in to pay their respects when they miss their old friends and teachers, whether they are attending court or not."

"May the spirit of our forefathers live on in this pavilion and in our hearts."

Following instructions, everyone silently stepped forward, took incense from the incense tray held by Huai En, lit it, and bowed, offered incense, and kowtowed in turn before the statue of Qian Bin.

The smoke curled and filled the quiet space on the third floor.

The old man's statue stood silently, his gaze seemingly transcending time and space, still watching over the civil and military officials who guarded the empire, and also watching over the young emperor.

. . . . . .

After everyone left, Li Che stood quietly in front of Qian Bin's statue for a long time. Only after Huai En added oil to the lamp for the third time did he sigh softly, turn around and leave Lingyan Pavilion.

When they returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, it was nearly dusk.

The guards on duty in front of the palace were carrying out their routine handover.

Li Che could see from afar that the palace guard on duty today was Qiu Bai.

He was holding his sword, squatting in front of the white marble steps, his head nodding off.

Li Che was taken aback at first, then found himself both amused and exasperated.

He walked over quietly and lightly touched the white boots with his foot.

"Huh?! Who!" Qiu Bai was startled and almost jumped up. His hand instinctively went to the hilt of his knife, and his eyes instantly switched from confusion to sharpness like an eagle's.

Only after seeing the emperor himself standing there with a smile did he breathe a sigh of relief.

He immediately panicked and knelt on one knee, clasping his hands in a fist and pleading, "Your Majesty, I have failed in my duty! Please punish me!"

Li Che noticed the obvious dark circles under his eyes, but he wasn't angry. He just laughed and scolded, "You little rascal, Qiu Bai, were you slacking off and taking a nap while on duty?"

"I think you've been living a life of ease in front of the Emperor for too long, and your bones have become loose! If an assassin really comes, will you protect me, or will I protect you?"

Qiu Bai's face flushed red with embarrassment, and he lowered his head even further: "Your subordinate knows his mistake! He will never dare to do it again!"

Inwardly, however, she was filled with resentment. It was all Prince Yan's fault. Last night, he insisted on dragging her to the Heaven and Earth Pavilion and they drank until the wee hours of the morning.

Li Che glanced at him, but didn't bother to investigate further; he had other things to ask.

He stepped into the hall and said, "Stop pretending, come in with me."

Qiu Bai's heart skipped a beat. He wondered why His Majesty had summoned him alone. He then followed him into the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Li Che sat down behind his desk, but did not immediately deal with the memorials.

Instead, he reached into a hidden compartment on the bookshelf behind him, took out a small booklet, and began to slowly and methodically flip through it right in front of Qiu Bai.

Qiu Bai stood respectfully below, his hands clasped at his sides, his heart growing increasingly uneasy.

His Majesty's demeanor... something just doesn't seem right.

But I've been quite diligent these days. Apart from drinking with the Prince of Yan last night, I don't seem to have made any major mistakes.

Could it be that he went out for drinks and entertainment yesterday, and that tattletale watchman saw him and reported it to His Majesty?

That bastard... I'll eat him alive sooner or later!

Just as Qiu Bai was feeling uneasy, Li Che's finger stopped on a certain page, and his gaze also fixed on it.

He raised his head and looked down at Qiu Bai: "I remember you came from a powerful family. Due to internal strife within the family, you committed serious crimes such as killing your own brother, colluding with bandits, and harming more than ten members of your own clan, which is why you ended up in the convict camp... Is that what happened?"

Qiu Bai suddenly looked up, his face drained of all color.

His lips moved a few times before he managed to utter a sound with difficulty: "Your Majesty, please understand. I... I did commit an unforgivable crime back then, but Your Majesty did not abandon me and took me under your command, which is why I am where I am today."

"This kindness and virtue are something I could never repay, even with my life..."

Li Che raised his hand, stopping him from saying anything more about loyalty.

Li Che had no intention of digging deeper or bringing up old grievances.

He had seen Qiu Bai's character over the years.

The military officers who came from the criminal convict camp back then were all vicious criminals. I dared to use them back then, so naturally I can't bring up old grievances now.

The reason I initially chose Qiu Bai was because he was educated and quick-witted, and I wanted to keep him by my side to do things.

After observing Qiu Bai, Li Che realized that Qiu Bai was quite methodical in his actions. If he really wanted to fight for the family property, he would never resort to colluding with bandits. There must be more to the story.

But Li Che hasn't asked about it all these years; after all, everyone has some secrets.

The reason for asking this question today is something else entirely.

"I don't mean to bring up your past mistakes." Li Che's voice softened a bit. "Which general from the criminal convict camp hasn't committed some offenses? Wang Sanchun was a bandit leader back in the day."

"Besides, I have seen everything you have done over the years."

Hearing this, Qiu Bai's tense nerves relaxed slightly, but his doubts deepened.

Since it's not about questioning someone, why did Your Majesty suddenly bring up this old case?

Fortunately, Li Che didn't leave him puzzled for too long.

He lowered his eyes, his gaze returning to the booklet in his hand, his finger lightly tapping the yellowed pages.

“The Qiu family of Jingzhou…” Li Che slowly read the record in the booklet, “According to the records, it originated in the Spring and Autumn Period and has been passed down to the present dynasty for more than 740 years.

"The family genealogy is well-organized and the lineage is extensive. Although it is not a top-tier clan, it can be considered a well-established and prominent family in Hubei and Hunan."

"Qiu Bai, you are the twenty-ninth generation descendant of the Qiu family. Although you are from a collateral branch, you are recorded in the family genealogy with a given name and courtesy name. Am I right?"

"Boom—" Qiu Bai felt as if a thunderclap exploded in his mind, making his eardrums buzz.

He looked incredulously at the pamphlet in the emperor's hand, his blood rushing to his head and freezing instantly.

Your Majesty... How could Your Majesty know, and how could you know so much detail?!

"Your Majesty..." Qiu Bai's voice changed completely, and he even took a half step back uncontrollably.

For many years, he had presented himself as a poor man, and no one had ever associated him with the Qiu family. He thought that this secret would be buried with time.

Li Che took in his reaction, closed the booklet in his hand with a soft 'snap'.

"It seems my intelligence was correct," Li Che said slowly. "Back then, I thought you were clever, well-educated, and methodical in your work; you were a promising talent."

"I didn't expect you to be so good at hiding your true colors."

"Your background is far from that of a powerful family; you're clearly from a legitimate aristocratic family."