Chapter 224: A daughters last gesture

Han Shuying had not intended to stop outside the Empress’s chambers. She was going to speak with Empress Lihua about the events of the meeting and what plans she had for the General.

After the humiliation General Han Zheng had suffered before the ministers, Han Shuying knew her father would not let the matter rest. She needed to know what the Empress’s plan was and why she had deliberately provoked him.

She was halfway down the corridor when she heard voices through the partially closed doors of the Empress’s private study.

Han Shuying slowed down, immediately recognizing one of the voices she heard. It was Empress Lihua and one of the ministers, an official she did not recognize.

"...make sure General Han does not return to the capital. Let him never step foot inside this palace ever again."

Shuying stopped breathing.

For a moment, she wondered whether she had misunderstood. She moved closer to the doorway, careful not to make a sound.

Inside, Empress Lihua’s voice remained calm. "I don’t care how it is done. An ambush on the road, an attack by the rebels, even an unfortunate accident involving the weapons shipment. The explanation is irrelevant."

Han Shuying’s blood ran cold.

"General Han must die before he returns to the capital."

The official lowered his voice. "And if the shipment is attacked?"

"Then let it be attacked," Han Lihua replied. "We will blame the princesses for both his death and the loss of the weapons. It will give us everything we need."

Han Shuying slowly stepped away from the door. The first emotion that registered in her head was disbelief, then it morphed into anger before it became fear.

Her father had spent years treating her as though she were nothing more than a failed son, someone who could never become the heir he had wanted. He had told her she was useless. He had told her she should have been born a boy.

Yet, hearing that someone intended to kill him made something inside her twist painfully.

She hated him.

She hated what he had done to her.

She hated the person he had forced her to become.

But... he was still her father. And she could not simply stand there and allow him to ride toward his death without warning him.

Han Shuying turned and hurried down the corridor. She did not stop to think about what she would say.

By the time she reached the military courtyard, General Han Zheng had already begun preparing to leave.

Several soldiers were loading supplies onto horses while attendants secured maps and weapons to the side of his carriage. General Han Zheng stood beside the horses, speaking to one of his commanders, his expression as hard and controlled as it had been that morning.

Han Shuying approached. "Father."

General Han Zheng looked over his shoulder and his expression immediately darkened immediately he saw who it was. "What do you want?"

Han Shuying stopped several steps away. "There is something you need to know."

"I am busy."

She moved closer. "This concerns your mission outside the palace."

That made him pause.

Han Zheng dismissed the soldier with a gesture. "Leave us."

The soldier bowed and walked away.

General Han Zheng turned back to his daughter, the irritation he felt was evident on his face. "Speak."

Han Shuying swallowed, suddenly feeling very nervous. She had imagined this moment several times during the walk here, but none of those imagined conversations had prepared her for the reality of standing before him.

She cleared her throat. "The Empress ordered someone to make sure you don’t return from the mission."

General Han Zheng stared at her.

Han Shuying continued quickly. "I overheard her. She wants you dead before you return to the capital. She intends to blame your death on the princesses and use the weapons shipment as proof of rebellion."

For several seconds, General Han Zheng said nothing. Then he laughed. It was a quiet, humorless sound. "You came all the way here to tell me that?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"What do you mean by why?" Han Shuying frowned. "You need to be careful."

His expression hardened. "Why?"

Han Shuying looked at him. "Because you’re my father." At that moment she felt like the little girl she had been, begging for her father’s attention.

Something changed in General Han Zheng’s face. It wasn’t the tenderness she wished he would feel, neither was it gratitude,

Instead, he felt something closer to insult. "You pity me."

Han Shuying’s eyes widened. "No." How did he manage to twist her words?

"You heard that the Empress intends to kill me, and you came running." He raised a brow. "I’m sure that fact gladden your heart."

Han Shuying sighed in annoyance. "I came to warn you." During times like this, she wondered why she even bothered with the man.

"Because you pity me."

"I don’t pity you." Han Shuying bit out. We don’t have the best relationsship, but that doesn’t mean I want you dead."

Han Zheng stared at her. "You should have stayed away. For one...I don’t share your sentiments."

Han Shuying’s gaze lowered. "I couldn’t."

"Why?"

"Because you’re still my father." The words came out more quietly this time.

Han Zheng’s eyes hardened. "You’ve spent your entire life trying to become something you were never meant to be."

Han Shuying flinched. "Don’t."

"You wanted to prove yourself to me."

"I stopped doing that."

"Did you?" His voice became colder. "Then why are you standing here? What’s this sudden concern? This desperate attempt to save me after everything I’ve said to you?"

Han Shuying stared at him. "I don’t know what you want me to call it."

General Han Zheng stepped closer. "You want to feel like a good daughter. You want to tell yourself that despite everything, you still cared enough to save your father."

"That’s not why I’m here."

"Then go."

Han Shuying shook her head. "Father—"

"Go."

"The Empress is going to kill you."

"I heard you the first time." Han Zheng’s eyes flashed. "I have survived enemies far more dangerous than an Empress hiding behind palace walls."

"This isn’t about your strength."

"Everything is about strength."

"No," Han Shuying said firmly. "Sometimes it’s about knowing when someone is setting a trap."

Han Zheng’s expression became dangerously still. "You sound like your mother."

Han Shuying froze.

For the first time, something almost human crossed his face. Then it vanished. "I did not raise a daughter who would come running to me because she was afraid I might die."

Shuying stared at him. "I didn’t come because I’m afraid. I came because I thought you deserved to know."

General Han Zheng’s hand moved suddenly.

The knife flashed before Shuying even realized what he was doing. She instinctively stepped backward.

The blade struck the wooden pillar beside her head with a sharp crack.

Han Shuying froze.

General Han Zheng’s hand remained extended for a moment before falling slowly to his side. His voice was quiet. "I don’t want your pity."

Han Shuying stared at the knife embedded inches from her face. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She slowly turned toward him.

There was no fear in her expression now.

Only hurt. "You think that was pity?"

Han Zheng said nothing.

Han Shuying’s voice trembled. "I came here because you’re my father." She pulled the knife from the pillar. Her fingers shook around the handle.

"I came even after you told me I was useless."

Han Zheng’s expression did not change.

"I came even after you told me you wished you had a son."

Still nothing.

"I came even after you made me spend years trying to become the person you wanted."

Her eyes burned. "And you still think I came because I pity you?"

General Han Zheng looked away.

Han Shuying laughed once, bitterly. "I don’t pity you." She placed the knife on the table beside them. "I just hate what you’ve done to me."

That finally made him look at her.

"But you’re still my father." Her voice broke slightly. "And apparently I’m still stupid enough to care whether you live or die."

Han Zheng’s face tightened.

Han Shuying wiped quickly beneath one eye. "You can hate me. You can call me useless. You can tell yourself I was never good enough. But at least now you know someone is waiting for you to die." She stepped backward. "So when they come for you, don’t say nobody warned you."

General Han Zheng watched her turn. "Han Shuying."

She stopped.

For one brief second, she thought he might finally say something different. Something she had spent her entire childhood waiting to hear.

Instead, his voice remained cold. "Do not ever come to me like this again."

Han Shuying closed her eyes. Then she nodded. "I won’t." She walked away without looking back.

Han Zheng remained beside the horses, watching her disappear through the courtyard gates. His gaze eventually moved toward the knife she had left on the table.

For the first time since the Empress’s order had been given, his expression faltered. Not because he feared death.

He had never feared death.

What unsettled him was the realization that his daughter had heard someone wanted him dead and, despite everything he had done to her, had still run toward him instead of away.

General Han Zheng looked toward the road leading west. Then he looked back toward the palace. His eyes narrowed.

The Empress wanted him dead.

His daughter had warned him.

And somehow, the thing that disturbed him most was not the betrayal of the woman who intended to kill him. It was the loyalty of the daughter he had spent years convincing himself had never truly mattered.