When Qin Yu woke up in the Jinyiwei offices, he found He Lan standing beside the bed with a grim expression.

Qin Yu said nothing. He sat up quickly and tried to get out of bed, but He Lan grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back down.

“What are you doing!” Qin Yu shouted angrily.

“I could ask you the same thing! You just went with your adopted father and attacked Zhanyuan in secret. Do you still consider Zhanyuan a brother? Have you forgotten that he saved your life back then? Qin Zichuan, I really misjudged you,” He Lan said in a fury.

Qin Yu was somewhat astonished, and only then realized that He Lan had misunderstood.

After all, he had indeed pretended to trap Huo Fenglie, but then what happened later…..thinking of this, Qin Yu instantly looked at He Lan with a cool expression. 

He Lan was driven into a rage by this look. He grasped Qin Yu’s chin and said: “I fucking fell in love with you! I’m a fool!”

Qin Yu’s expression went blank, and his originally cold aura suddenly went still. “You…..were only moved by your lower body. Don’t pretend to be a romantic sap.”

He Lan was almost driven crazy. Just as he was about to speak, Qin Yu directly gave his opinion: “Between the Jinyiwei and the Dongchang, which is the one trying to hurt Zhanyuan? I don’t think you understand anything at all. Or is it that your cousin is on guard against you?” Qin Yu’s expression went cold again, and he said, “Get out of here, you know-nothing person. Don’t get in the way!”

Ignoring his injuries, Qin Yu jumped up to leave, but was stopped by He Lan: “What do you mean by that!”

Qin Yu said frankly: “My adoptive father is on the Empress Dowager’s side, and has wanted to protect Zhanyuan from beginning to end. It was your cousin and his men who actually tried to kill Zhanyuan under the emperor’s orders!”

He Lan’s expression froze. He didn’t doubt Qin Yu, but instead asked: “W….why? The emperor and Zhanyuan are good brothers who are loyal to each other, ah! And Zhanyuan is the least likely person to threaten the throne…..”

“The mind of an emperor is difficult to predict. Who knows why?”

. . . . . . .

Looking at his familiar surroundings, Liu Zhenqing felt a chill in his heart.

This was Yuan Jue’s study, where Liu Zhenqing had often taken him to discuss and handle government affairs.

Liu Zhenqing closed his eyes. Then he took a deep breath and walked straight to the desk, upon which sat a book. This book recorded records, anecdotes, and interesting stories about the Yuan clan’s legendary emperors and empresses.

After reading the title, Liu Zhenqing was no longer surprised. Yuan Jue’s actions proved that he knew Liu Zhenqing was back.

Without stopping, Liu Zhenqing walked quickly to the back bookshelf.

Liu Zhenqing didn’t know what was happening outside, and he couldn’t just sit and wait for death.

He recalled that there was also a secret passage here.

Liu Zhenqing quickly found the mechanism. With a click, the secret door opened before Liu Zhenqing, but what met his eyes was a narrow closet. This was completely different from before, as if it had been modified by someone so that nobody could use it to escape.

Zhenqing felt no dismay, but instead stared in shock at the thing hanging in the closet.

It was a hollow three-tiered Rubik’s Cube made of a rare cold-hued gradient jade, with a blue and white tassel hanging from the bottom.

That was the Huo family’s jade, a token of love given to him by Huo Fenglie and something he’d lost after his death. How could it be here?!

Liu Zhenqing took it down immediately. The warm jade in his hand warmed his heart. Just like Huo Fenglie, the outside was hard jade, but the inside was warm.

Before he could feel the joy of regaining something lost, he heard footsteps approaching from behind.

“Did the sight of the jade cause you to lose your judgment? There is a mechanism behind the secret compartment – the original secret passage.”

Liu Zhenqing’s expression was unsurprised. He unhurriedly tied the jade Rubik’s cube to his waist.

“I couldn’t escape anyway.” Liu Zhenqing turned around and looked at Yuan Jue, who had appeared behind him.

Yuan Jue watched him turn, the jade cube swinging slowly. He still stood tall and graceful, with an incomparable presence.

Yuan Jue fixed his eyes on him, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say. Finally, he asked: “Do you have anything to say to me?”

Liu Zhenqing regarded him coolly.

In the face of such an expression, Yuan Jue’s heart churned.

“You don’t? You can say that you’ve worked hard and made great contributions, that you’ve been wronged, that the whole world owes you.”

Liu Zhenqing’s gaze was distant. In fact, in the seven days after his death, his soul had drifted in the sky. He saw with his own eyes how Great Zhou, which he had protected with all his heart and soul, carved his name on the sinner’s column of the Twining Dragon Jade Pillar, saw how the common people and the court denounced his crimes. He had originally expected to be deeply sad. But no waves stirred his emotions at that time. He only felt endless fatigue and wanted to reincarnate quickly, to forget his memories of this place and get away from it all.

He wasn’t a person of fortitude, and just wanted to escape when he encountered pain.

Now, as Yuan Jue tried to taunt him into speaking, he really didn’t know what to say.

There was only one question on his mind: “Where is Huo Fenglie? I knew something must have happened when he didn’t show up, so what did you do?”

Yuan Jue likely hadn’t expected Liu Zhenqing to forgo asking him anything else, and instead ask about Huo Fenglie. His expression twisted briefly.

“I sent the Jinyiwei to assassinate him. Even if he didn’t die, he won’t be completely unharmed. You won’t see him again,” Yuan Jue said bluntly.

A look of anger finally appeared on Liu Zhenqing’s face: “Why deal with Huo Fenglie? He’s your great general who guards the country. Without him…..”

“You taught me not to put all my eggs in one basket. Huo Fenglie has been my great general all these years, and I’ve only been able to rely on him. But in fact, I’ve trained many military officers. When he went south this time, I just wanted to see if the military strength of my Great Zhou would be useless without him in the military camp. Even though he is a god of war, without him, the enemy will be a little bolder at most, the border a little more unstable, but my kingdom will not be destroyed.”

“Settling for the next best thing? That isn’t something a wise emperor would do. You can be on guard, but haven’t you relied on him for so many years because you know his loyalty is absolute?” Liu Zhenqing questioned. “He’s been busy with this matter of rebellion!”

Yuan Jue said coldly: “No emperor can tolerate a general with too many merits. You should understand this after going south. Those people only have Huo Fenglie in their eyes, not me. I was able to accept this before because Huo Fenglie didn’t want to live, and it was safe. But now he does want to live, and he cannot be controlled. That is dangerous. Not to mention, he’s going to kill me, isn’t he?”

Liu Zhenqing was shocked. “What nonsense are you saying? How could he…..”

“He can, especially since you’ve returned to him. If he knew how you died, would he let me off?”

Liu Zhenqing’s pupils shrank, and he felt an invisible pain in his heart.

Wearing an indifferent expression, Yuan Jue slowly raised one arm toward Liu Zhenqing. There seemed to be a flash of silver light in his sleeve.

Liu Zhenqing almost instinctively wanted to dodge, but he froze instead, going pale in an instant. With a bitter smile, he slowly raised his eyes to stare at Yuan Jue.

Yuan Jue’s expression went slightly stiff. Feeling the heaviness of the object on his arm, he gradually lowered it.

There was a hidden spring-loaded arrow in his sleeve. Liu Zhenqing had created it and given it to Yuan Jue for self-defense. There were only two people in the world who knew of its existence, a weapon kept in reserve for a critical moment.

And that year, the arrow that hit Liu Zhenqing in the chest was Yuan Jue’s, mixed in with a volley of other arrows. Because of the sleeve arrow’s difference in destructive power, the pain was naturally different. Liu Zhenqing, who had experimented with the device, understood everything the instant that arrow hit his chest, even if he didn’t see the person who shot it.

Having learned from history, Liu Zhenqing had indeed foreseen that he would one day outlive his usefulness. But he never expected that Yuan Jue would want to kill him so early on.

He had given his all, and he’d thought that Yuan Jue would understand his sincerity, that even if he grew more guarded as his heart hardened, it wouldn’t come until many years later. At that time, he would either die early or retire to the countryside, and Yuan Jue might not necessarily be merciless. This was the child he had taught, after all, and he thought Yuan Jue would be benevolent toward him.

But in the end, he was wrong.

He didn’t know when things had begun to go astray, and in the moment, he only felt disheartened.

So disheartened that he never spoke of it.

“I never told Huo Fenglie, and I never intend to in this life,” Liu Zhenqing said lightly.

When Yuan Jue heard this, a trace of anger flashed through his expression. “You don’t intend to tell him. Is your heart too soft, or do you not want to stir up chaos for the sake of this world and my father? Up to now, you haven’t scolded me at all. I killed you, I betrayed my teacher and brought dishonor to him. I was treacherous and faithless, ah. Don’t tell me that you don’t hate me for the way I treated you, that you don’t blame me for everything I did afterward!”

Yuan Jue laughed as he said this, but his laughter sounded extremely unnatural.

Liu Zhenqing frowned slightly. He couldn’t understand Yuan Jue’s reaction, and asked uncertainly: “Do you…..regret it?”

“No, why should I regret it? You were indeed the most powerful person in the dynasty and had complete control over me, the Son of Heaven. You had overstepped your authority and were doomed to fall to your death!” Yuan Jue said coldly: “You were the chief target of public criticism in the eyes of all, and were unable to wash yourself clean. If I didn’t punish you, how could I rule the nation or explain it to the people!”

“What about now? Do you still think I deserve to die?” Liu Zhenqing asked cooly. 

Yuan Jue didn’t answer, just staring at Liu Zhenqing.

“You’re still paranoid, so you plan to kill Huo Fenglie first, and then…..kill me again?” Liu Zhenqing said softly, “You shouldn’t do such a thing. Fenglie is a member of the Huo family. He won’t turn his sword against you – it goes against his beliefs. And I’m no longer Liu Zhenqing. I can’t do anything to hurt you. If you’re smart, you’ll pretend to see nothing and know nothing.”

Yuan Jue laughed: “You went to him without even knowing what you meant to him. Huo Fenglie has never been a qualified member of the Huo family. In his heart, the iron rules of the Huo family have always come second. He is entirely for you. With one word from you, let alone kill me, he would destroy my Great Zhou Dynasty.”

Liu Zhenqing was stunned. He hadn’t expected Yuan Jue to understand Huo Fenglie’s feelings for him like this. Didn’t Er-gou usually keep his emotions under lock and key? Those who knew only had a rough idea, and even Liu Zhenqing wouldn’t dare to make such an assertion.

When he saw Liu Zhenqing’s frown, Yuan Jue smiled: “Do you know where your ashes are?”

Liu Zhenqing thought of the tattoo. Yuan Jue probably knew about it, which was why Huo Fenglie’s feelings for him had formed such an impression in his mind.

But in the next moment, Yuan Jue’s words stunned Liu Zhenqing.

“That was the first time he explicitly confronted me. He cremated you, and buried your ashes beneath the willow tree in the General’s Manor courtyard. Whenever he was in the capital, he would stand by that tree practically day and night and wouldn’t let anyone get close to it. Not even me.”

Liu Zhenqing was dumbfounded. This wasn’t about the tattoo?

Right, it was impossible to use all of the ashes for the tattoo mixture. So the remaining ashes were all under that tree – the tree whose branches he had broken?

Liu Zhenqing immediately recalled the night Huo Fenglie brought him back to the General’s Manor. When he came outside, he had found Huo Fenglie holding a jar of wine under that tree.

The Huo family had said that he never slept inside, but instead slept beneath that tree every time he was at the General’s Manor.

His ashes were under the tree, and that tree had also been planted by Huo Fenglie…..

Liu Zhenqing’s hand unconsciously reached for the jade Rubik’s cube, and his heart began to ache. This tormented him more than all of the emotions he had experienced in this confrontation with Yuan Jue combined.

His expression naturally caught Yuan Jue’s attention, and his eyes glinted sharply.

“You care so much? Weren’t you a romantic and a chaser of beautiful women? Even the Empress Dowager was devoted to you. Why are you really with him now that you’ve returned?” Yuan Jue said sarcastically: “You clearly wanted to leave the capital as soon as you came back, and even succeeded in leaving. You could have chosen not to return. You wanted to leave in both lives, but came back for him. Is he so important?”

Liu Zhenqing regained his senses and said: “He’s important. The most important.”

Yuan Jue’s expression immediately turned ferocious: “You thought he was the most important back then too, didn’t you! You thought he was more important than me! It was obviously you who raised me. When you tried to leave, you were going to go with him and leave me alone. You didn’t care about me anymore, did you!”

Liu Zhenqing stood in shock: “What nonsense are you on about?”

“I’m not talking nonsense. When you died, you only looked to the west. Who was there in the west? Only him!” Yuan Jue said furiously. “I betrayed you, I killed you, but you didn’t even spare me a look of resentment.”

Liu Zhenqing was puzzled. Had he looked to the west at that time? He wasn’t aware of this, but there were indeed many people he couldn’t let go of before he died. He was particularly worried about Huo Fenglie on the western battlefront, because he had recently sent a scolding letter in reply to him, and felt rather guilty and regretful afterward. He found it understandable that a young person would be afraid of the battlefield and death, and that he shouldn’t have been so harsh.

So back then, he had been looking…..to the west, where Huo Fenglie was?

Just as he was thinking, he heard the sudden sound of tiles breaking on the roof. In an instant, countless murderous auras attacked from all directions, as if different forces had collided with one another.

Liu Zhenqing only saw a figure flash before his eyes, and then he was being embraced by someone.

The familiar presence instantly relieved him.

There was the sound of blades clashing, and an angry Liu Qiao soon held Yuan Jue hostage at swordpoint. He Cong and several guards also landed not far from Yuan Jue, but didn’t dare get closer. They could only fix their eyes on the kidnapped emperor.

The perimeter of the study was surrounded by archers.

Liu Zhenqing paid absolutely no attention to either situation, and simply gazed up at Huo Fenglie.

He found Huo Fenglie looking at him in a daze. The sadness pain in his eyes had dyed them red, just like when his internal strength had gone haywire.

“Are you alright?” Liu Zhenqing asked.

Huo Fenglie’s eyes seemed to be filled with grievances. His face was abnormally pale, which was obviously the aftereffect of poisoning. His body must still be affected even after detoxification, but it wasn’t a dire problem overall. 

“Qing-ge…..” Huo Fenglie was speechless, unable to say anything else. He just hugged Liu Zhenqing and kissed his forehead, heartbroken beyond words.

But in the next moment, he raised the Chunjun Sword, and under the gazes of everyone, the loyal general leveled his sword at the ruler he served.

Everyone present sucked in a breath of cold air.

This was proof of a rift between subject and ruler.

“You deceived me. Are you worthy of him?” Every word Huo Fenglie spoke was like a sharp hidden arrow, full of killing intent.

Yuan Jue had deceived Huo Fenglie into thinking that someone else had killed Liu Zhenqing, so Huo Fenglie had always loyally assisted him. Even though Yuan Jue never vindicated Liu Zhenqing, he’d just thought the emperor was unsure and didn’t want to take the risk of confronting public opinion. He had seen Yuan Jue staring at the calligraphy paintings Liu Zhenqing had left behind more than once, and was completely fooled by the genuine emotion he expressed.

“Huo Fenglie, he is the emperor! Think this through!” He Cong shouted: “By holding the emperor hostage, do you want to bear the stigma of plotting to usurp the throne and causing the world to fall into chaos?”

Liu Zhenqing was also stunned. He looked at Huo Fenglie and felt a pang of heartache. Yuan Jue’s words were true.

Huo Fenglie would turn his back on his family’s beliefs for him, and wasn’t afraid to kill the emperor.

Yuan Jue only gave a cold scoff.

“You! Go to hell!” Liu Qiao was incredibly furious. He hadn’t known the truth. If he had known, he would have invaded the palace nine years earlier and avenged Liu Zhenqing.

The blade in his hand nearly sliced Yuan Jue’s neck, but Yuan Jue didn’t move, and only gazed at Liu Zhenqing indifferently.

But it wasn’t so easy for Liu Qiao to take action, especially with the sound of bows being drawn around them. He instinctively stopped, because once he moved, the safety of Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing couldn’t be guaranteed.

Yuan Jue didn’t seem phased by Huo Fenglie’s aggression, and simply looked toward He Cong.

He Cong immediately said: “There is a master……guarding him……”

He Cong naturally recognized Liu Qiao. With such a master guarding Huo Fenglie, it would be impossible for them to easily succeed.

Yuan Jue looked back at Liu Zhenqing and sighed with a smile: “You really care about him. Your own personal guard didn’t learn his lesson and stay to protect you, but protected him instead. Did you think I wouldn’t kill you?”

The murderous intent on Huo Fenglie’s face instantly intensified. The Chunhun sword turned, and a cold glint of light flashed partially across Yuan Jue’s face.

Liu Zhenqing said: “No, I just sensed that something was wrong. In the worst case scenario, even with Liu Qiao protecting me, we might not have been able to escape unscathed. But if he protected Fenglie, there would be a chance of success.”

“A chance of success? Did you think you could kill the emperor and get out alive?”

Just as Yuan Jue spoke, a young eunuch rushed in to report: “Your Majesty, the Huo family army…..three thousand soldiers have surrounded the palace! They’re at a stand-off with the palace guards…..”

Yuan Jue’s expression changed several times. He looked toward Huo Fenglie: “I really underestimated you, Zhanyuan. As expected, you would do anything for him.”

After saying this, he looked at Liu Zhenqing and said: “The situation is like this, and it was so easy to achieve. How could I have trusted you?”

“You created this situation yourself. He and I have never had any rebellious intentions, and still don’t have any now. We’re just trying to protect ourselves,” Liu Zhenqing said calmly.

“Hahaha, no rebellious intentions?” Yuan Jue abruptly pointed at Liu Qiao and said, “What about him? He’s still alive, so the one he took away should still be alive.”

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback, and looked at Yuan Jue with some disbelief.

Yuan Jue said coldly: “How many things did you do behind my back? Do you think something like that wasn’t a betrayal of me?”

Qiao Jin, a remnant of the rebels, possessed the bloodline to inherit the throne, which was essentially a betrayal of Yuan Jue.

Liu Zhenqing came to a sudden realization that this might not be about that incident specifically. In the past, Liu Zhenqing had indeed done many things privately. He’d felt that there was no reason to tell Yuan Jue, or really didn’t want to tell him, but Yuan Jue found out through his own means. As long as he felt it was disadvantageous to him, no matter what Liu Zhenqing’s original intention was, Emperor Yuan Jue felt it was a betrayal.

As these incidents accumulated, the trust between master and disciple was worn away.

In suspicion and trepidation, Yuan Jue decided to kill him.

“Selfishness does not imply rebellion. I thought you would trust me.” Liu Zhenqing sighed. “So many people were chasing Liu Qiao. How could that child have survived? He would have died of illness long ago.”

“I wanted to trust you, but I dared not,” Yuan Jue said sarcastically.

Under Yuan Jue’s paranoid gaze, Liu Zhenqing said self-deprecatingly: “Today, Huo-dage, Yao Hua, and Jian Shuang are all gone. I’m not myself anymore, and I just want to be with Fenglie. Can you not just accommodate that?”

Although they could find a way to safely escape this situation, Liu Zhenqing didn’t know what to do next and was thinking about countermeasures. Suddenly, he felt the arms around him tighten.

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback, and sent Huo Fenglie a questioning look, thinking he had come up with an idea. But Huo Fenglie only looked at him with concern, as if he was a fragile object he was afraid to break by accident.

“What’s wrong?”

“The Empress Dowager is gone?” Huo Fenglie asked carefully.

Liu Zhenqing nodded: “She drank poisoned wine not long ago. She wanted to leave with Jian Shuang on her own terms.”

Huo Fenglie was momentarily stunned. His eyes scanned carefully over Liu Zhenqing’s face: “Don’t…..don’t be sad.”

Liu Zhenqing was a bit sad. After all, an old friend had just died. But it had been Yao Hua’s own choice, so he respected it. But this shouldn’t be enough to put Huo Fenglie in such a state, as if he thought Liu Zhenqing would fall apart in the next second.

He was somewhat astonished and confused, when suddenly, he heard Yuan Jue laugh.

The two looked over to meet Yuan Jue’s mocking gaze.

“What are you laughing at!” Liu Qiao shouted angrily.

Yuan Jue stopped laughing, and said: “I’m laughing at the fact that whether it is human will or that of heaven, nothing can stop you two. But even when you’re together, you can’t communicate with each other. It’s ridiculous.”

“What?” Liu Zhenqing stared blankly.

With a somewhat delighted look on his face, Yuan Jue pointed at Huo Fenglie and said: “He was so cautious because he thought Yao Hua was your original lover, and that although you loved each other, you couldn’t be together. Even though he has you now, he still thinks he was your last resort. That if you had a choice, you wouldn’t choose him. It’s laughable, isn’t it?”

Liu Zhenqing was baffled. According to Yuan Jue’s words, did Huo Fenglie think that his relationship with Yao Hua was more than just rumors, and that they were practically engaged?

He turned toward the dumbfounded Huo Fenglie and said directly: “What does this mean? Did you misunderstand something? I never liked her like that, ah. From beginning to end, regardless of status, I’ve only liked you.”

Huo Fenglie was startled by Liu Zhenqing’s sudden confession, and said after a moment: “You…..didn’t like her? But back then…..”

Huo Fenglie abruptly looked toward Yuan Jue, who only raised his eyebrows and smiled at him.

“You wrote to me and said they were in love, that out of appreciation for Qing-ge, you planned to send her out of the palace so they could be together!”

“I lied to you,” Yuan Jue said bluntly.

Huo Fenglie’s face instantly paled. Liu Zhenqing really hadn’t expected this. Yuan Jue was crazy. Why would he do such a thing!

“When was the letter written?” Liu Zhenqing asked in shock.

Huo Fenglie said uncomfortably: “After I wrote to you to confess my feelings, and you rebuked and rejected me, I received a letter from him and…..thought it was true.”

“Wait a second!” Liu Zhenqing shouted. He grabbed Huo Fenglie by the arm and gave him a wide-eyed look. “What confession? When did you ever write me such a letter?”

In his previous life, he’d had no idea Er-gou liked him and never received such a letter. He had never rebuked or rejected him…..

Rebuked?

Could it be…..

Yuan Jue had dictated that letter while Liu Zhenqing was busy, saying that Huo Fenglie wanted to negotiate with the enemy, that the war was difficult and he didn’t want to continue fighting.

Liu Zhenqing was so furious that he wrote back right away and scolded Huo Fenglie severely.

He didn’t quite remember what he wrote, but he recalled that he had harshly asked him how he could have such thoughts, and whether he thought he was worthy of Liu Zhenqing or his elder brother. He warned him to put an end to such thoughts and guard the west well, or else he need not return.

So after he was reborn, Er-gou’s various odd behaviors were…..

The scenes that had bothered Liu Zhenqing during their time together in the south reappeared in his mind, and in an instant, he felt as if all the blood in his body was flowing backward.

What had he done to Er-gou?

What had Er-gou been thinking in those days he was alone?

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Chapter 142 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 144