twinty:
Enigma05:
Moonstruck:
Yes. This explanation is even more confusing.
It's a bit hard to explain the complicated political intrigues. I translated with ChatGPT as below:
The Core Answer
Telling the truth would cost Wei Yan far more than staying silent.
Reason One: Political — The Truth Would Destroy His Power Base
After seizing power through a palace coup, Wei Yan carefully constructed his public image as "a victim framed by the Emperor, who ultimately fought back and prevailed."
The official version he released blamed General Meng Shuyuan entirely for the Jinzhou massacre. Under this narrative, Wei Yan appeared relatively clean.
But the real truth was:
- He had once been a pawn in the Emperor's scheme
- He knew the tiger tally was fake and that the Emperor was the true mastermind
- He chose to maintain the lie in order to consolidate his own power
- He even ordered the assassination of Wei Qilin and his wife to silence the witnesses
The moment he told Xie Zheng the truth, all of this would be exposed — and the legitimacy of his entire rule would instantly collapse.
Reason Two: Culpability — He Was Also Complicit
Wei Yan bore indirect but real responsibility for Xie Linshan's death:
- He knew the truth about Jinzhou yet chose to bury it
- By letting Meng Shuyuan take the blame, he also covered up the real reason behind Xie Linshan's tragic death
- He ordered the hunt for Wei Qilin and his wife, personally destroying the very evidence that could have cleared Xie Linshan's name
To tell Xie Zheng the truth would be to admit, with his own mouth: "Your father died unjustly — and I was one of the people who kept that injustice alive."
This was not just a political risk. It was a moral weight he could not bring himself to face.
Reason Three: Psychological — Guilt and Cowardice Coexisting for Seventeen Years
The story makes this explicitly clear:
Allowing his good friend Meng Shuyuan to be wrongly condemned, and ordering the pursuit of his orphaned descendants — this decision lodged itself like a thorn in Wei Yan's heart, and was never removed.
Wei Yan was not without conscience. He always knew he had done wrong. But instead of confessing, he dealt with his guilt by suppressing it through power and silence.
As seventeen years passed, the thorn only drove deeper — and the longer he waited, the heavier his guilt became. Silence had become his only shield, and he no longer had the courage to speak.
Reason Four: Practical — Xie Zheng Was a Threat to Him
As the son of Xie Linshan, Xie Zheng had every natural motivation to uncover the truth and seek justice for his father.
For Wei Yan, the less Xie Zheng knew, the safer he was. Voluntarily revealing the truth would be like handing a blade directly to his enemy — an act of extreme political danger.
As long as the truth remained uncontrolled, keeping Xie Zheng in the dark was Wei Yan's most rational choice.
Reason Five: The Ending — Silence Ultimately Destroyed Him
Ironically, the power Wei Yan gained through silence eventually crumbled the moment the truth came to light:
- He was abandoned by all those around him
- He was defeated in battle and took his own life
- He died carrying his crimes and infamy with him
He believed silence was a shield protecting him — not realizing that the very same shield had become the prison that trapped him.
