When Huo Fenglie emerged, Yue Xuqian felt that his guest was in a trance. He was clearly fine when he went in, but now he seemed as if his essence had been sucked out by an alluring spirit.

When it was time for acupuncture, Huo Fenglie concealed himself while taking off his clothes, and when he came out, his hair hung loose to one side. This was strange no matter how one looked at it.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

Even though one sentence drove this person back, Yue Xuqian was more thoughtful, and noticed that Huo Fenglie’s shoulder seemed to be stiff on the side with the loose hair. There must be something wrong, so he took a peek while Huo Fenglie was getting dressed.

As a result, Yue Xuqian suddenly didn’t feel good.

Those…..those obvious teeth marks were not there before the medicinal bath!

Yue Xuqian took a deep breath, unable to imagine what Huo Fenglie had done for half a shichen after going in.

Or what Young Master Liu had done to Huo Fenglie.

After all, looking at Huo Fenglie’s dazed appearance, it was clear that he was the “victim,” ah.

Yue Xuqian had thought of many ways to test him before, but it was fine now. If someone said that this clear evidence meant nothing, he wouldn’t believe it even if he died.

So it was a one-shot kill, and there was no need to try again later?

After looking at Huo Fenglie, Yue Xuqian immediately lost interest.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and nobody was disappointed when there was finally big news from the Lord of Qi.

Yue Xuqian had sent his own shadow soldiers to investigate, and He Lan cooperated with them.

It was soon discovered that the Lord of Qi stopped going out recently. He seemed to be nervously preparing for something, and the blacksmith shops were also working on weapons day and night, as if they were in a hurry. The batches of weapons piled up were more exaggerated than anything Yue Xuqian had ever observed.

“It seems that they’re aware of the failed assassination and are worried we will find them here, so they told the Lord of Qi to process them quickly and make as many as possible, then transport all the weapons out. They should be planning to give up this location,” Liu Zhenqing said.

“En, you’re right, that’s how I feel. I saw that the Lord of Qi looked extremely desperate. When his favorite concubine came to see him, he scolded her away in anger without having any other thoughts at all,” He Lan said with a scoff.

“Do you want to arrest him immediately?” Qin Yu looked at Huo Fenglie.

Huo Fenglie said contemplatively: “No.”

“If he is arrested, dead men tell no tales. We can only use shady means to get rid of the Lord of Qi,” Yue Xuqian said indifferently.

Liu Zhenqing said: “Although we’re letting go of a small fish, we can still catch the big fish. It’s worth a try. Otherwise, with how cautious they are, we may lose another chance to seize the truth. And the emperor will know how to deal with the Lord of Qi, so this isn’t a problem. The trouble is……”

Yue Xuqian looked at Liu Zhenqing in astonishment. The others were used to it, but Liu Zhenqing’s performance took him by surprise. After all, how could such a talent be a good-for-nothing in the capital?

The current Young Master Liu did look a bit like Liu Zhenqing. It was no wonder Huo Fenglie was addled by him.

“The trouble is tracking them, right? I’ll have my shadow guards follow them to the end. There are so many things, and their goal is huge, which makes it perfect for tracking.”

Liu Zhenqing shook his head and said: “I fear they’ll use the water transport. Once the water transport connects with the sea transport, it will be too difficult to track them.”

“If they want to do it this way, the preliminary preparations will definitely take time. We can only watch them at that time,” Qin Yu said.

No one had a better way. They could only watch.

Huo Fenglie’s condition had stabilized after the medicinal baths and acupuncture. He planned to take He Lan’s place tonight and do the handover at that time, making it less likely that they would miss important news.

Qin Yu was still a little behind, so he could only continue to cultivate. 

That night, Yue Xuqian accompanied them to wait in the courtyard, chatting casually.

Setting aside the initial negative implications left by Yue Xuqian’s testing of Liu Zhenqing, they all lived in harmony afterward. 

It could be said that Yue Xuqian was liking Liu Zhenqing more and more. After all, it was easier for a clever person to get along with other clever people.

During the conversation, Qin Yu and He Lan marveled at Yue Xuqian’s strategic talent many times.

He Lan couldn’t help but finally say: “To be honest, a man like Young Master Yue could be ranked in the top three, so why did you stay in Jiangnan? Maybe if you go to the capital now, you will be the next prime minister.”

Qin Yu nodded in agreement.

Yue Xuqian gave a slight smile and said nothing.

He Lan was really curious, and said: “The Yue family is considered to have a solid foundation. Don’t you want to have a prominent official position and be famous throughout the ages? I’ve seen a great many scholars waiting for the Imperial Examinations to become an official. As long as there is a great scholar in the family, no one would refuse to join the court. Especially when there was a shortage of talents in the past few years, the Imperial Examinations made many exceptions. If you go to the capital, you will probably be treated like a treasure by the emperor.”

Yue Xuqian gave a slight smile and said: “Many people have told me this.”

He Lan and Qin Yu were loyal to the court and couldn’t help but want to recruit talents when they saw them. Yue Xuqian was naturally familiar with such talent-seeking, but Liu Zhenqing was the only one with a somewhat indifferent look in his eyes. This was probably not only because the Liu family could not join officialdom, but that they were also more worried about their distant relative Liu Zhenqing, which Yue Xuqian could understand.

After a moment of thought, he took a sip of wine and spoke what was in his heart, which he seldom did: “Maybe it’s a natural inclination. Our Yue family is not as iron-blooded as the Huo family. If I had not met a master whom I sincerely served, I would have rather been a mediocre person and stayed in the south to live a stable life.”

“A master? Young Master Yue, you dare to say this?”

“Why wouldn’t I dare? Look at my friendship with Fenglie. You all won’t speak carelessly, and even if you did, no one would believe it. So I will tell you straight, it was after seeing the Great Zhou Dynasty that Liu Zhenqing maintained at that time that I decided not to be an official.”

Liu Zhenqing was stunned for a moment, and felt that he had been inexplicably scolded. Hadn’t this guy been defending him when they arrived?

Qin Yu and He Lan had already changed their minds about Liu Zhenqing after what happened before. Upon hearing what he said, they couldn’t help but want to speak out to clear Liu Zhenqing’s name.

Yue Xuqian laughed: “I didn’t say he was bad. The situation in the capital was not optimistic at that time, with internal and external troubles. I thought about it for many years and asked myself whether I would do better than him in his position. That would have been a fatal mistake. I analyzed it and found that if the new emperor was unable to secure his position, the remaining three kings each had their own shortcomings, and no one was suitable to support the Great Zhou Yuan clan.”

In fact, Yue Xuqian had been hiding in the south at that time and felt that the Yuan family would soon meet their demise, so he didn’t want to emerge and sacrifice himself. He was not as foolish as the Huo family.

“So I didn’t dare take the risk of becoming an official. After that…..Liu Zhenqing saved the Yuan clan’s lives by sacrificing himself and Huo-dage. It was such a tragedy, so cruel, ah. You all have your own loyal people, but you must have been taught since childhood that emperors are merciless. My ancestors were wealthy, and I received all the honors I deserved. I didn’t have any dreams that needed to be realized, so I naturally had no motivation and didn’t bother.”

As supporters of the Yuan clan’s Great Zhou Dynasty, He Lan and Qin Yu naturally felt that what Yue Xuqian was wrong, but…..they seemed to understand thoroughly.

Thus, they didn’t say much more.

Qin Yu said curiously: “You seem to know very well what Liu Zhenqing has done.”

“Because I was very curious about how he survived that situation. Eight years after his death, I often studied some of his practices back then. It took me a long time to understand many of them, but they were still incomplete.”

“Ai? Come on, say it, we’re all very curious. What did he do? Why did he gain so much infamy?” He Lan said.

Such a conversation caused Liu Zhenqing to feel inexplicably embarrassed, as if he was wearing a disguise and eavesdropping on how others were analyzing him.

Yue Xuqian thought deeply. “For example, what you mentioned before. The current Prime Minister Jiang was once the Deputy Prime Minister, and he brought together a group of officials to reorganize the cabinet and replace Liu Zhenqing’s influence so that the new emperor could smoothly transition to power.”

“I did hear that he was suppressed by Liu Zhenqing.” He Lan looked at Qin Yu.

Qin Yu nodded. He had naturally heard it inside the palace.

“At that time, those old ministers were ready to kill each other. Prime Minister Liu only said one thing — don’t dirty the palace,” Qin Yu recalled.

He Lan shook in response. “So cold.”

Liu Zhenqing touched his face in embarrassment, annoyed at being forced. 

Yue Xuqian smiled slightly and said: “He was quite amazing, as he should be. Isn’t it funny that a group of old fools were ignited by a group of people with ulterior motives and wanted to destroy everything Liu Zhenqing built?”

“What do you mean?” Qin Yu said.

“Think about when they proposed it.”

Qin Yu frowned. “The first two kings were dead, and the third was about to lose.”

“The emperor had not yet reached the age of taking over the reins of government, but they chose such an awkward time. Hadn’t they just finished using Liu Zhenqing and found him to be an obstacle, so they wanted to kick him away before the emperor took charge? This way, couldn’t they take power themselves and control the right to speak in front of the emperor?” Yue Xuqian gave a slight smile and said: “If nothing else, do you think that many of the other ministers were like Liu Zhenqing, willing to risk their lives to support the little emperor? After sharing Liu Zhenqing’s power, would these few people not control the emperor? Even worse, could there be someone with evil intentions who wanted to take advantage of such laxity to rebel against the army? To turn the tide?”

As they followed Yue Xuqian’s suppositions, Qin Yu and He Lan’s expressions gradually changed.

“Although I have no evidence, what I said may be something Liu Zhenqing worried about and considered when he was in office, so…..”

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes flashed. Yue Xuqian was indeed a member of the Yue family. Like a fox, he actually analyzed it completely.

“That…..I also heard that he conveniently imprisoned a group of loyal veterans in the Imperial Prison…..” He Lan said. It was his cousin who had just taken office at the time and was forced to follow the orders to imprison them, so He Lan was relatively clear on this.

Yue Xuqian said: “This part is just my guess. I think it had something to do with the last king. That person was very capable, and Liu Zhenqing was probably afraid of implicating these pillars of the Imperial court. As long as they were imprisoned in advance, who would think of venting their anger by killing them? It was certainly an excellent way to save their lives. When the last king was defeated, didn’t the emperor immediately let them go? He also became a wise emperor in the hearts of the veterans. I think it was Liu Zhenqing who deliberately played the part of a villain and asked the emperor to cooperate. This would be more conducive to the emperor’s future administration and regaining the hearts of the people. Although there is no evidence, and I don’t know exactly what he was thinking at the time. After all, weren’t all those ministers not harmed at all?”

In fact, Liu Zhenqing didn’t remember much about it. There were too many things going on at the time, and locking up the old men was just a trivial matter. He only remembered the sight of them cursing him until they were foaming at the mouths.

There were actually many clever people like Yue Xuqian in the world, who could analyze and guess the possible causes and effects, but they might not necessarily believe it even if they did guess. 

Because of their two previous experiences, this guess sounded very reasonable to He Lan and Qin Yu.

“Is there more, is there more?” He Lan was addicted.

“There is. For example, imprisoning the royal family and ostracizing clan members.”

“En, I heard that the Three Kings were planning to leave the capital, but Liu Zhenqing didn’t allow it, so the Three Kings rebellion was because of him.”

Yue Xuqian gave a light scoff and said: “People in the world are stupid. No official would say such a thing.”

Yes. He Lan and Qin Yu didn’t dare to speak.

“Actually, I don’t feel it’s right either. Who knows if they had any intentions of betrayal? If there was a problem, wouldn’t it be better to let the tiger go back to the mountain?

Qin Yu nodded.

Yue Xuqian smiled and said: “As long as we don’t look at the issue with animosity, there were still clear-headed people. The Three Kings rebellion began as early as when the former emperor was on the throne. Even if the crown prince succeeded the throne, he may not have been able to stabilize it. It was just that they were keeping a low profile at the time. From the first time Liu Zhenqing confronted them on the crown prince’s behalf, he should have understood what these people were thinking. Then the crown prince was killed and the new emperor succeeded the throne. The three kings were a serious concern, and it was safest to keep them close. Otherwise, he might not even have had the chance to help the new emperor slowly develop on a single-plank bridge.”

He Lan and Qin Yu felt their hearts surge uncontrollably upon hearing this.

Yue Xuqian took another drink and said: “I’m not sure about the other rumors yet, but I truly admire him for taking back the new emperor, winning over people’s hearts, establishing prestige, seizing power, ending the chaos of the three kings, and establishing capable ministers in the Imperial court and the six ministries. Who was not supported by him alone? He also dared to break tradition and let the Empress Dowager listen to government affairs behind the curtain in the early stages, have the Taifei help handle government affairs, and gave Huo-dage all of all the military power to guard the border. He took control of the court, gradually stabilized the new emperor, and stabilized the Zhou Dynasty. This was very, very difficult, and anyway, I couldn’t do it.”

He Lan and Qin Yu could only fall silent after hearing this, their expressions solemn and tragic. They raised their glasses to the moon in melancholy. A crunching sound disrupted the mood, and the three of them looked over to see Liu Zhenqing holding peanuts.

Seeing everyone look over, he smiled awkwardly.

Yue Xuqian said in amusement: “Why aren’t you concerned about your family affairs, ah?”

There was no need for Liu Zhenqing to speak. The other two assisted him by saying: “He’s lost his memory, so he doesn’t have such feelings.”

Liu Zhenqing nodded in response. Besides, it had been so long since it all happened, so what was there to say? It was embarrassing for the person listening.

Soon after, He Lan went to switch places with Huo Fenglie. During the handover, Huo Fenglie saw that he had a strange look on his face. When he asked and learned about their chat, his eyes darkened and he rushed back to the manor.

He went directly to Liu Zhenqing’s room and heard him call out: “You’re back? Come and tie me up, I’m sleepy.”

His tone of voice didn’t seem the least bit affected, and when he got closer, he saw that the other person was already lying in bed reading a book.

After not hearing a reply for a long time, Liu Zhenqing turned and saw Huo Fenglie looking at him blankly.

“What is it?” Liu Zhenqing leaned his head on one hand, looking at Huo Fenglie.

Huo Fenglie’s eyes flashed, but he didn’t say anything in the end. He had been useless back then, and bringing it up now would remind the other of unhappy things, so it was better not to mention it.

“Did you like the food today? You haven’t had it for a long time. I’ll ask the doctor if some fresh river food can be made for you tomorrow.”

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes instantly lit up when he heard this. “Good, good, good. The food lately has been bland. The grilled fish you cooked last time at Qingcheng Mountain was delicious. I want to eat it.”

“Okay.” Huo Fenglie smiled gently.

Under the candlelight, those focused and tender eyes with the look of having fulfilled the other person’s wishes truly made Liu Zhenqing’s heart move inexplicably.

It was as if he had wished for the stars in the sky, and Huo Fenglie intended to satisfy him.

But he was not so silly, and only asked teasingly: “Today, the doctor gave me medicine and said that all my injuries are healing, even the tooth marks. What about yours?”

Huo Fenglie, who was still in a state of tenderness, was instantly embarrassed when Liu Zhenqing said this. He simply said he was going to wash up, and then fled.

Liu Zhenqing was so amused at the sight that he couldn’t stop laughing. Sure enough, teasing Er-gou was the most fun thing in the world. However, they had been sleeping in the same bed for so long, and Liu Zhenqing was still being tied down. So why had Huo Fenglie not messed around from beginning to end?

He didn’t even sneak a kiss.

Of course, he didn’t want Er-gou to secretly kiss him. He didn’t have such a thought, but only felt that something was strange. After all, his sweetheart was right next to him, and he shouldn’t be able to bear it.

Likely because he had something on his mind, he woke up very early in the morning. Huo Fenglie untied his restraints and went to change places with He Lan. As a result, He Lan returned and came to see him excitedly, and Qin Yu happened to be there too.

They heard He Lan gossip: “Do you know where Zhanyuan is now?”

The two of them were taken aback.

Liu Zhenqing said: “Isn’t he spying?”

Qin Yu frowned: “Don’t keep us in suspense.”

He Lan glanced at Qin Yu and then said, fearing that there would not be enough chaos in the world: “He’s walking in the garden next door with a beauty. Hehe, unexpectedly, he kept it a secret from you two. Why, it turns out not to be the Yue family brother, but the Yue family lady.”

---

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter Sixty-Four << Table of Contents >> Chapter Sixty-Six