The tax fraud case and Imperial Examination case were concluded together. All the evidence and prisoners had to be taken back to the capital for trial, and the investigation team would go back collectively. Naturally, Bai Su also took Bai Yu’s body home.

Qin Yu and He Lan should have left together. After all, they had come down in the name of investigating the Imperial Examination case, and the tax fraud case could be considered extra credit.

But in the end, due to the amount of money missing from the ledgers, they officially received an Imperial edict to continue the investigation, so they stayed to act together with Huo Fenglie.

However, only Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing knew about the involvement of rebels behind the scenes. They also learned about the death of the Minister of Revenue, which meant that the trail had gone cold again. It could be seen that this group of people had acted decisively and anticipated the enemy’s movements. Even Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but secretly admire their ability to cut them all off with one small move.

They arrived at the pier, and everyone saw Bai Su off.

Bai Su stood next to Liu Zhenqing, waiting for Huo Fenglie and the others to check for safety issues using their martial arts training.

“Are you really not coming with me? The Imperial Examination case is over, and the Liu family wasn’t involved with any of it. The Liu family will definitely be released after we return home, so why should you stay?”

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t explain it. In fact, what they were involved in was not the Imperial Examination case, but the rebel case.

“You forget, I was originally going south.”

Bai Su gave him a doubtful look. No matter how he had planned to settle down in the south, after encountering this kind of unforeseen event, shouldn’t he go back to comfort his family and decide on a different time to depart?

However, Bai Su thought about it and suddenly smiled, saying: “Are you worried about Zhanyuan?”

Bai Su’s statement was so ambiguous that Liu Zhenqing couldn’t laugh or cry. It was all Liu Xiaozhu’s fault. Even amnesia couldn’t help him escape this.

Liu Zhenqing smiled. “No way, I just happen to be on the road with Brother Huo and the others.”

Bai Su pretended not to hear it, and only thought that Liu Zhenqing wanted to follow Huo Fenglie. He said: “Among them, Zichuan is the most astute in his work, but it’s a pity that Yundu keeps disrupting their pace. Only you are stable. It is indeed more helpful to have you giving them advice.”

Liu Zhenqing gave a dry smile and said: “It’s good that I won’t hold them back.”

“Zhanyuan…..” Bai Su wanted to say something about the state of Huo Fenglie’s body. Huo Fenglie had nearly fallen ill when Liu Zhenqing fainted that day, but he felt that it was his brother’s private matter and couldn’t be talked about casually, so he could only say: “I’ll leave Zhanyuan to you.”

Liu Zhenqing felt a little helpless upon hearing this. These people had really misunderstood. He couldn’t help but speak further, “I haven’t been interested in Brother Huo for a long time…..”

Bai Su understood Liu Zhenqing’s meaning. During these days of spending time together, none of them were blind. It could be said that Huo Fenglie completely regarded Liu Zhenqing as one of his own, and also as someone important. Bai Su was the brother who had known Huo Fenglie for the longest time, and he had never seen him get along with another person like this. He had personally verified that Liu Zhenqing was different.

He thought that Qin Yu was right, and that Huo Fenglie must have thoughts about him. As a good brother, he was naturally happy to see this result. It was better than holding onto hopeless memories.

And Liu Zhenqing originally admired Huo Fenglie. He didn’t believe that after losing his memories, he could not fall in love with him after spending so much time together.

So Bai Su was more inclined to think that they were still going around in circles, but there was a knot in their hearts. It was not convenient to say anything else, but this could add fuel to the flames.

Bai Su suddenly said: “There is something I want to tell you. I wonder if you heard about that rumor after losing your memory.”

“What rumor?”

“The one about Prime Minister Liu’s grave.”

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes turned helplessly. Suddenly hearing this, he trembled and was even more embarrassed than before. Why bring up such a thing without rhyme or reason?

Bai Su said with frustration: “In fact, his tomb was in the wilds back then, and anyone could go there and humiliate him wantonly. Back then, someone asked me to go to his grave and spit on it. I considered it, because at that time I had just been notified that…..and I was a little out of control. But I didn’t go. Even though I was resentful at that time, I couldn’t do something contrary to my convictions. In fact, I kind of admired him, and didn’t want a formidable person like him to be treated like this in the end. It’s fortunate I didn’t go, because after that, I discovered that he was very important to Zhanyuan. Even though the outside world spread rumors that he had killed Huo-dage , implicated the Huo family army, and coveted Sister Huo.”

Liu Zhenqing thought to himself that he had dug up the grave and then calmed down after venting his anger, and probably regretted his behavior at that time. Therefore, Bai Su felt that he was rather important to Er-gou. After all, they were like family back then.

Liu Zhenqing wasn’t bothered by Er-gou in this matter. It was normal for young people to be impulsive.

“Do you know what Zhanyuan did when he returned to the capital that year?”

There was really no need to remind him of the matter of digging up the grave, crushing the bones, and scattering the ashes. Although he was a modern person and didn’t care about the state of his corpse, it still sounded a little unnerving.

Liu Zhenqing was awkward and didn’t answer, but Bai Su didn’t seem to wait for a response.

He said directly: “I saw with my own eyes that he was wearing armor still stained with blood when he rode Chen Jiangyue and rushed straight to the tomb. I was accompanying Madam Huo at the time, because she insisted on cleaning Prime Minister Liu’s tomb.”

As Bai Su spoke, he recalled the shocking scene of seeing a Huo Fenglie he almost didn’t recognize.

“Zhanyuan rode to the tomb and practically rolled off his horse. His face looked like that of a dead person. Regardless of Madam Huo’s dissuasion, he dug the grave up with his bare hands. At that time, I just foolishly watched from the side as Zhanyuan burst into tears. He was more and more in disarray. His hands could gradually no longer be seen, and he seemed to be injured, with blood dripping from his body as he moved. It all flowed onto the lid of the coffin. Madam Huo stepped forward and slapped him, but she couldn’t sober him up. He didn’t seem to believe the man could have died like this. He directly opened the lid of the coffin and frantically tried to pick that person up. In the end, he found that the body would fall apart if he moved, so he could only sit in the coffin holding the rotting bones and cry bitterly all night long.”

Once Bai Su finished speaking, he looked at Liu Zhenqing and was taken aback. Although Liu Zhenqing’s face was expressionless, his eyes gradually shone with moisture and he was in a daze, as if he had been struck by lightning.

Bai Su said in astonishment: “Brother Liu, you…..”

Liu Zhenqing murmured: “It…..was like this? How could it be like this?”

Bai Su gave a bitter smile and said: “It was probably because he was so shocked. It was said that when he heard the news, he rushed back all night without stopping.”

Such a long distance?!

“I really…..had never seen Zhanyuan like that.” Even when his brother passed away, although he cried sadly, he just silently took over the responsibility of the Huo family army and acquiesced to the Huo family’s mission. But at that time, he cried like a helpless child and finally looked despondent, as if he could lie down in the coffin at any time. It shocked Bai Su greatly.

It was not easy to say how specifically sad Huo Fenglie was, so he just sighed. “Most of the rumors are exaggerated, but what I saw was true. The destruction of bones and ashes was just a rare cremation. Although I don’t understand why the burial method of remote ethnic groups was used, Zhanyuan did secretly cremate Prime Minister Liu.”

Looking at Liu Zhenqing, who could hardly react, Bai Su continued: “I say this because I want to tell you that the rumors about Zhanyuan’s resentment of Prime Minister Liu are actually false. Others, including Zichuan and Yundu don’t understand, but I do. He acts the way he does because he hates others mentioning Prime Minister Liu in front of him, because they always do so with malice. He doesn’t want anyone to touch things related to that person, and doesn’t want anyone to criticize him. As a result, the rumors became more and more exaggerated. In fact, I think Zhanyuan still has deep feelings for that person. After all, he watched Zhanyuan grow up.”

Bai Su couldn’t tell the person in front of him how Huo Fenglie felt about that person for fear of it having the opposite effect, but he also needed to make sure that this person didn’t have a grudge about the feud between the two families. This was to facilitate their future progress. With Huo Fenglie’s temperament, it would likely be difficult for him to make this clear himself.

In fact, Bai Su really didn’t know whether Prime Minister Liu had anything to do with Huo-dage’s death, but due to recent events and the attitudes of Madam Huo and Zhanyuan toward that person, he believed that it might have been another desperate situation.

Bai Su knew that good brotherhood came slowly and with difficulty, and hoped that everything would go well, but he could only help so much.

After saying what needed to be said, he said goodbye to everyone, boarded the ship, and left.

Everyone followed with their eyes, but Liu Zhenqing was in a daze.

“What’s wrong?”

A deep voice suddenly sounded in his ear, shocking Liu Zhenqing’s heart. Turning to look, although that person’s handsome features were still like that of a sheathed sword, full of coldness and danger, his expression held a highly reserved concern. Even back then, he was naturally cold and handsome. It was hard to imagine that such a face could appear like the situation that Bai Su described. 

Er-gou had truly been sad over his death. He had followed Huo Feihan to the battlefield since he was fifteen years old, and rarely returned. They saw each other at most once a year, and the last time they exchanged letters, Liu Zhenqing scolded him.

Damn, the more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt, ah.

Er-gou obviously had a lot of questions about what happened back then. No amount of suspicion would be too much, and Liu Zhenqing could understand the resentment, but yet…..

To be honest, Liu Zhenqing found it difficult to accept the situation described by Bai Su. It was really not as good as the initial rumors, in which case his mentality could be more broad and level.

When he was thinking wildly, Huo Fenglie suddenly grabbed his arm. “Did Yuzhou tell you something?”

Seeing Huo Fenglie’s sudden nervous expression, Liu Zhenqing was even more at a loss. At once, Huo Fenglie wrapped his arms around Liu Zhenqing’s waist and flew away.

He Lan and Qin Yu, who were conversing, saw this and their faces were full of confusion.

“Hey, Zhanyuan, where are you going? Aren’t we leaving soon?” He Lan shouted.

He heard a voice from far away, “Wait by the carriage.”

“What’s the matter?” He Lan asked doubtfully.

Uninterested, Qin Yu turned around and walked toward the carriage. He Lan stepped forward and put his arm around the other, saying: “Ai, you said Brother Liu stayed here for a purpose, and now the two of them are acting behind our backs. Is it…..hehehe.”

Qin Yu glanced at He Lan with disgust and turned his body to avoid contact with him. But He Lan continued to stick to him out of habit, pulling and tugging all the way back to the carriage to wait.

And at this time, Huo Fenglie had already brought the other person to a secluded place.

After setting him down, Huo Fenglie said anxiously: “Qing-ge, what did Yuzhou tell you? Your complexion was not quite right before.”

Seeing Huo Fenglie’s uneasy look, Liu Zhenqing was a little puzzled. Did this fellow not want him to know the truth about the grave digging? Was he afraid of being embarrassed?

Liu Zhenqing thought about it and decided to bring it up carefully. “Yuzhou just told me….that the matter of you digging up my grave was not consistent with the rumors.”

Huo Fenglie’s originally stagnate breathing seemed to have eased, but his brow was still furrowed as he said: “Is this the case?”

Liu Zhenqing looked at Huo Fenglie with some embarrassment. “He said you didn’t believe I was dead, so you dug up the grave in despair and cried. Is that…..?”

Huo Fenglie’s expression turned ugly when he heard him mention his death, but his tone was as calm as could be: “I only heard about it the year after, when the Three Kings Rebellion was clearly over. I thought everything was safe and I could go back and reunite with you after the war. Unexpectedly, I heard that you had died a year before…..so I couldn’t accept it.”

Seeing Huo Fenglie say it so simply, Liu Zhenqing became even more confused. “Yuan Jue hid it from you?”

“En, he said he feared it would affect the battlefield in the west.” Back then, he almost raised a hand to Yuan Jue.

Liu Zhenqing nodded. After all, the internal affairs were settled at that time, but the foreign enemies still remained. As a leader, it was reasonable that it could inconveniently affect him.

“It was my fault for being foolish. At that time, the enemy had suddenly become stronger. I only thought they intended to counterattack, but didn’t think…..”

At that time, Liu Zhenqing’s existence was not only feared by the Imperial court, but also by the surrounding wolves. Once he died, it was inevitable that those people would take advantage of the chaos and advance. Therefore, everyone unitedly attacked Prime Minister Liu, which also made the wolves understand that the Great Zhou Dynasty would not be in chaos just because the powerful minister died.

This was one of the reasons it didn’t matter that Liu Zhenqing was engraved on the list of sinners.

But seeing Huo Fenglie’s expression, Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but pat his head and say: “It wasn’t easy for you either. Thank you for your hard work.”

Huo Fenglie was taken aback, and suddenly remembered that person who went to the battlefield and beat him after hearing about the news of Qing-ge’s death. That was when he heard about it.

He almost died on the battlefield at that time, and the man contemptuously spoke the truth into his ear, leaving one statement behind.

“You are as useless as your brother, and didn’t protect him well. If I had known what would happen today, it would have been better to take him with me back then.”

The mocking insinuation of incompetence still remained in his ears. He looked at the person in front of him again. Huo Fenglie’s expression changed over and over, and a sudden impulse came over him. The redness in his eyes was nearly uncontrollable, and he suddenly lifted his hands to hug the person in front of him tightly in his arms. The force was strong enough to melt this person into his bones.

Liu Zhenqing was startled by Huo Fenglie’s sudden behavior. He initially thought it was unexpected, but when he thought of Bai Su’s description, he couldn’t help feeling a twinge of pain in his heart. He raised his arms and hugged him.

Liu Zhenqing returning the hug seemed to wake Huo Fenglie from the abyss, and he didn’t even need to take medicine to suppress it. He understood now that he was no longer holding bones.

This time he was warm, and could hug him back.

Liu Zhenqing let Huo Fenglie hug him for a while, and then inexplicably felt a little awkward. He patted him and pushed him away, saying with a smile: “I really thought the rumors were true at first, and it gave me a shock. When I saw you later, I wanted to hide away to avoid being affected.”

Huo Fenglie looked aggrieved and said: “How could that be possible?”

Liu Zhenqing retorted: “How could it not be possible? After all….” At this point, Liu Zhenqing suddenly paused.

Huo Fenglie’s eyes also flickered.

Liu Zhenqing was silent for a moment, and then looked at Huo Fenglie and said: “Have you really never resented me? Even though your brother’s defeat in battle was related to me?”

Huo Fenglie gave Liu Zhenqing a firm look and said: “I’m telling you, never.”

Liu Zhenqing stared blankly.

Huo Fenglie gazed at Liu Zhenqing with a pair of the most sincere, burning eyes.

“I don’t know what the situation was at that time, but I know that you would never hurt Da-ge.” Huo Fenglie said calmly: “Even if you could hurt everyone in the world, you would never hurt him.”

When Liu Zhenqing heard these words, all of the bones in his body seemed to shake slightly. He clearly hadn’t told Er-gou anything yet, which could be considered deliberate concealment, so he should know he was guilty. Why did Er-gou always react unexpectedly when it came to trusting him? There was what happened to Wangshu before, and now even his brother…..

He ground his teeth, somewhat at a loss. It was as if he was struggling with something, and daring to test something out. “You really believe in me? But I didn’t save your brother or those 100,000 in the Huo family army.”

“There is a difference between not being able to save someone and wanting to hurt someone.” Huo Fenglie frowned.

“I didn’t try my best to save them. It was my fault.”

Huo Fenglie’s expression turned a little unsightly. “You tried your best, and you were right. I believe that Da-ge never blamed you.”

Liu Zhenqing became even more agitated, saying: “I didn’t. I could have saved them, but they didn’t, they didn’t wait for me. It was my hesitation that delayed me. It was all my fault. You’re saying this because you don’t know the original situation. Your brother didn’t have to die! You should blame me and hate me.”

Huo Fenglie suddenly moved. He tugged the person in front of him and pressed their foreheads together, as if he could make the other party understand the emotions conveyed in his eyes. 

“Qing-ge, when my Da-ge and I went to the battlefield to lead the troops, that was the last time he and I saw each other. He only told me one thing. He said that if I held the power of the military in the future, no matter how things developed, rather than go with what the people around me were saying, it was better to stick to two points.”

Liu Zhenqing looked at Huo Fenglie blankly.

He knew that the Huo family were trained to “Fight and die for the country, and support the Great Zhou Dynasty to the death.”

This should be one of the things Huo Fenglie asked his brother to adhere to.

Huo Fenglie did say this.

His eyes became sharp, as if there were flames burning within the ice.

“The second point was — always believe in any decision made by Liu Zhenqing. Even if no one in the world is on his side, we will still be at his side.”

“I did what my brother told me to do.”

. . . . . . .

The General’s Manor, in the small Buddhist chamber.

Li Xingruo rambled while wiping the tablet.

“I heard that the second son of the Bai family is returning, and he’s bringing his brother’s body with him. There really…..are all kinds of strange things.”

“I wonder if it will bring out what happened back then, or if it will let my senior brother clear his name a little bit.”

Li Xingruo scoffed and poked the memorial tablet, saying: “Blockhead, have you ever been so angry that you want to beat people because you can’t stand others talking about him like this? Hehe, I don’t know if Yuan Jue has any conscience. But it doesn’t matter if he has no conscience. In any case, Er-gou is here, and he won’t let Senior Brother be wronged again.”

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Chapter Fifty-Three << Table of Contents >> Chapter Fifty-Five