The Mad King's Heir

AN: Tomorrow is my Birthday. I will try to upload early.

Yu Wen had never imagined that his father was a traitor colluding with spies from Helion. How was that possible? He was always preaching to him about serving and protecting the people of Aurelia selflessly and courageously. He instilled in him values rooted in honor, duty, loyalty, and integrity.

How could a man who taught him all that be a traitor? His mother must have seen wrong or misunderstood him. Lu Anu, as though knowing what he was thinking, said, "I didn’t want to believe it either, but I saw it with my own eyes. When I asked him... he insisted that this was for the good of Aurelia."

"He said if Li Mingze continued ruling Aurelia, we would all perish. He mentioned something about seeing the future and that he had to do something before it was too late... He had this look in his eyes that I couldn’t recognize. He wasn’t the man that I had fallen in love with."

Yu Wen’s already pale complexion turned ashen. He couldn’t believe it. It made no sense. Li Mingze was a tyrant, but why collude with the enemy to remove him from power? Wouldn’t that harm Aurelia? "What was their plan?" He asked with a slight tremor in his voice.

"I don’t know. I didn’t want to know. I told him I wanted no part of it, and I didn’t want you to be involved either. He made a promise to me that whatever he was going to do, you would not be implicated. To protect our assets, I divorced him. That way, if he were ever prosecuted, they wouldn’t confiscate our properties or send us to exile," she explained, and Yu Wen finally understood.

His parents, though divorced, would still meet in private. He couldn’t understand why, but it made sense to him now. They couldn’t let go of each other. His mother was right to hide it from him.

Discovering that the man he admired as a protector had betrayed his people felt like the ground had collapsed beneath him. He felt both rage and sorrow stirring up within him. "The crime of treason is public execution, confiscation of family assets, and the entire clan is exiled with hard labor."

"Li Mingze’s methods were cruel, but the law is clear. The officials he executed... he never pursued their families’ assets or exiled their families. He simply executed them with no trial. He was sparing their families. Others couldn’t see it, but I saw the pattern," she explained.

Hearing her say that, he pursed his lips, his fists clenched. He recalled what Li Jun said just before he died. Li Mingze was a madman, but he had a justification for every decision he made.

"I just wish I had told you sooner. You have been so focused on finding out the truth of what happened that day, but your father must have committed such a heinous crime that Li Mingze couldn’t forgive. At least he didn’t execute him in public," she continued, her eyes sour. She loved him and had begged him to let this go for her sake, but Yu Hu was just as stubborn as Yu Wen. He chose treason over his family, and there was nothing she could do or say to change his mind.

"You did what you thought was right," he said to her, thinking that if he had known the real reason behind their divorce, he would have refused to inherit Red Valkyrie and associate with his father. He would have hated him for betraying his country and being a hypocrite.

"As for Li Jun, something has been bothering me," she finally said. Her son couldn’t see it, but she could tell that his feelings towards Li Jun were more than just a fling. Otherwise, why would he barricade himself in here, looking like his world had crumbled?

Yu Wen met her gaze and asked, "What is it?" His mother was exceptional. She was so intelligent that before they divorced, she was Red Valkyrie’s military strategist. Her high IQ, combined with her analytical sharpness, situational awareness, and ability to synthesize complex data into actionable plans, had led them to several victories on the battlefield. He would never take her intuition lightly.

She tapped her phone, and a floating screen appeared. Displayed on it were Li Jun’s recent activities. Just like her son, she had taken an interest in Li Jun, so much so that she began to follow his every move. This was the first person her son had shown interest in. If this was going to be her future son-in-law, she wanted to know everything about him.

"I feel like his behavior leading up to this was off. Almost every night in the last few weeks, he would be with a different girl. It’s like he was trying so hard to sell this idea that he was a wastrel who only likes drinking and women," she said, pulling up all the posts of Li Jun with beautiful ladies.

His brow arched, having realized that his mother had been busy spying on Li Jun. "You have been stalking him?" he exclaimed.

"Oh, don’t you judge me. It’s called an investigation. If you are going to marry him, at least I should know everything about him," she said with no shame at all.

"Mum!" Yu Wen was so shocked by her shamelessness that he didn’t realize she said, "are".

Lu Anu replied, "What? I am just saying. Anyway, his foundation received a large payment enough to last at least two decades, his employees were all relocated, and so was that kid he plays cards with."

"I noticed. He has been moving strangely like... he knew something big was coming," said Yu Wen, piecing all the pieces together.

Lu Anu smiled proudly, saying, "Bingo!... He had to have known what Xiu Ying was planning and went along with it."

"This was his endgame. That’s why Draco did nothing. He must have planned to fake his death. But did he really have to go this far?" he said, the gloomy cloud that had been hovering above him dissipating quickly.

"Think about it. As long as he is alive, he is a threat to both parties because he is the legitimate heir. Even if he gives up his title, he would always be a thorn in their side, more especially with Blue Sapphire’s backing. If he wakes up one day and decides he wants to be the Imperial King, can either of them stop him?" She said, and the answer was clear.

Yu Wen could see it clearly now.