Chapter 70: Starburst pendant
"Well, it’s not too late. Now that you know he is alive, you should go find him and make amends." This was the only advice she could give him. As a mother, the only thing she hoped for was for her son to be happy and healthy. If Li Jun was the one, then he should fight for it. "But you should rest first."
Yu Wen nodded. He wanted to go find Li Jun this very instant, but he also knew that he needed to rest; otherwise, it would catch up with him. Though it pained him to sit idle, he did as ordered.
He took three days of bed rest, and in those three days, he was going through Li Jun’s old posts. He went through all his posts from the day the account was created. Unlike him, Li Jun was a fun, outgoing person.
He had a lot of friends and threw a lot of parties. He was always smiling and laughing in each image and video, but no one knew the trauma and pain behind those eyes. He didn’t see it as well. He just added to it. Yu Wen regretted it. He regretted it so much.
Something else caught his attention as well. He happened to stumble upon Haku Ume’s photo. Li Mingze had erased a lot of her images from StarNet the year she died. He loved her so much that he didn’t want anything to remind him of what he had lost. Four years ago, after Li Mingze had long died, someone posted a picture of Li Jun as a toddler in his mother’s arms in a private group.
Around her neck was the same pendant he had in his possession. This just further confirmed what he now knew. Li Yu lied and took credit for something Li Jun did. He got up and opened his safe, hidden in his walk-in closet. The pendant was right where he had left it, inside a jewelry box.
He had taken great care of it over the years, even though Li Yu had told him she didn’t care if he threw it away. This revealed how dark and evil her heart was. She must have known that this pendant was important to Li Jun, but she still said he could throw it away.
Li Jun caressed the pendant, lost in thought. It was a radiant gold starburst design with a central diamond, hanging from a delicate chain. What he didn’t know was that Draco gave it to his daughter because her eyes reminded him of the stars over XXX skies. When his mother died, it was given to Li Jun, but Li Jun lost it the day he saved him.
Yu Wen was pretty sure Li Jun had no idea where it went. He wanted to give it back to him and thank him for saving him that day. He wanted to see Li Jun’s face when he saw the pendant he thought he had lost for years. But first, he had to confront Li Yu. He had to tell her exactly what he thought of her.
As soon as he was cleared by the doctor, Yu Wen did as he said he would. He went to the Imperial Palace mid-morning. The palace that was always joyous and peaceful ever since Xiu Ying took the throne was now gloomy and sullen.
Yu Wen could understand why. Xiu Ying had been paranoid lately, and her moves reflected as such. She had to be guarded against Li Zimo, and she was also terrified of Draco bringing the full force of Blue Sapphire down on her. She was desperate to protect herself, so she asked the imperial council to approve a two-hundred per cent increase in funding to the army.
The imperial council opposed her decision, stating that they weren’t at war with Helion. Approving such funds for the military was a waste. Plus, the treasury didn’t have that kind of money. They would have to cut funding elsewhere and redirect it to the army. Xiu Ying, after being denied her request, lost her temper for the first time in front of everyone.
Not only that, but the man who killed Li Jun died in prison, not from the torture he had been subjected to but from poison. Someone had slipped poison into the man’s food, so she couldn’t get answers from him. This made her even angrier, making the atmosphere in the imperial palace tense.
Li Yu, when she heard Yu Wen had requested an audience, was so excited that she put on makeup and made herself look ethereal. She had messed up her mother’s plans helping that man kill Li Jun and wanted to make things right. At least if she gets Yu Wen to her side, her mother’s anger would be abated.
She didn’t make him wait any longer. After making sure she looked perfect, she rushed over to see him. When she entered the lounge, Yu Wen was standing with his back towards her. She called out, "Wen-ge."
Yu Wen turned around, saying, "Don’t call me that."
Li Yu gritted her teeth. She thought he came here to make up with her. Li Jun, the biggest obstacle between them, was dead. They could repair their relationship and go back to how things were before, but his attitude right now didn’t seem to reflect such.
"I saved your life, don’t you forget that," she said, her voice trembling.
Yu Wen sneered and said, "Did you, really?"
Li Yu’s face turned pale. Her throat rolled as she swallowed. She was thinking, "What did Yu Wen know? Did he find out something?" She didn’t need to speculate any longer because he gave her an answer.
"Do you remember this?" he said, pulling out the pendant he was now wearing around his neck.
Li Yu did remember. How could she not? It was that bitch’s star pendant. Every hall in the imperial palace, before her father died, had her portrait with Li Jun and Li Mingze. She wore the same damn pendant like it was a good luck charm.
When she died, Li Jun wore it, which was why when Yu Wen asked to return it to her, she told him to throw it away. Why would she want that bitch’s things? Now she realized her mistake. She should have taken the pendant from him and thrown it away herself.
