"Your Majesty..."
Lu Qing wanted to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Emperor Jin interrupted him.
"Let's not speak in formalities today." He shook his head at Lu Qing, "Today, I didn't call Chao here because I wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with you.
These past few days, I haven't had a single night of restful sleep. Yishaen's words have been echoing in my ears, and there's no way to dispel them."
"Why must Your Majesty take that sorcerer's nonsense to heart?"
"No, it's not nonsense; what he said is actually the truth that I've lacked the courage to admit for all these years." Emperor Jin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again, "The struggle for the throne back then was truly brutal, so brutal that even after winning, deep down I feared the throne's instability, feared a repeat of history.
