That year, although Li Jinshu had taken the Xiheng army away and temporarily resolved Liu Zhenqing’s crisis, Xiheng soon made a comeback. Taking advantage of the death of Great Zhou’s commander, they united with other countries to take over Great Zhou in one fell swoop. Huo Fenglie took over Huo Feihan’s position in the west, but the situation was difficult.

That period was also the last chance to deal with the Three Kings, and Liu Zhenqing was worried and anxious each day. Coupled with his injuries and poisoning, his health was deteriorating day by day, and his mind was in turmoil.

To him, he and Yuan Jue were completely on the same page, so he never thought Yuan Jue would have something to do with this matter. 

He took for granted that the information relayed to him by Yuan Jue was true, and thought Huo Fenglie was just young and afraid. Thinking about it now, that was the biggest insult to Er-gou.

Huo Fenglie had once said he’d liked him since he was very young, that he’d been secretly in love with him for many years, but hadn’t expressed his feelings because he knew Liu Zhenqing treated him as a younger brother. Therefore, Huo Fenglie wanted to wait until the world was at peace before “bothering” him with this matter.

Liu Zhenqing had seen the wounds beneath the tattoo, which were frequent and deadly during that period.

Huo Fenglie didn’t know whether or not he would die on the battlefield, and didn’t want to have any regrets, so he mustered up all of his courage and chose the worst possible time to send a letter like this along with the battle report, expressing his love in full to his beloved. But Liu Zhenqing’s reply appeared to be a rebuke of his wishful thinking, warning him not to set his sights on him, and rejecting him harshly out of disgust for his feelings.

Soon after, he had received a letter from his good brother Yuan Jue, forging the relationship between Liu Zhenqing and Yao Hua and letting Huo Fenglie know how hopeless his feelings were. That apart from helping Liu Zhenqing win the war, he was no longer qualified to stand by his side.

From then on, Huo Fenglie no longer wrote privately to Liu Zhenqing and only sent battle reports, and Liu Zhenqing was unaware of it all.

Later, Liu Zhenqing died and Huo Fenglie went halfway crazy, but he still did his utmost to support Liu Zhenqing and his brother’s dream.

He lived like this, not caring about life or death, until he met a hermit who gave him all kinds of hints, making him want to hope for something even as he didn’t dare to. Hopelessly waiting for a miracle to happen.

Eight years later, Huo Fenglie discovered that Liu Zhenqing had returned. This person had rejected him harshly at the outset, and upon his return, he didn’t reveal himself to Huo Fenglie and just wanted to escape. So Huo Fenglie didn’t dare take the initiative to recognize him, and only wanted to keep Liu Zhenqing and protect him.

Liu Zhenqing was unaware of Huo Fenglie’s feelings, and Huo Fenglie just thought he didn’t want to face them. So even when Liu Zhenqing asked, he didn’t dare to admit it. He didn’t want to face another ruthless rejection from him.

Even when Liu Zhenqing took the initiative to flirt with him later, he thought it was a test, an accident, or a primitive instinct, but never dared to actually believe Liu Zhenqing liked him.

Even when Liu Zhenqing made it clear later on.

Huo Fenglie was still uneasy. He had always been hesitant to fully possess Liu Zhenqing, and also worried that when Liu Zhenqing returned to the capital and saw Yao Hua, he might change his mind. 

So Huo Fenglie had been waiting, giving Liu Zhenqing the opportunity to make a different choice.

Even though it was a struggle for him, he didn’t want Liu Zhenqing to experience any more suffering in this life.

But now…..

“You didn’t receive it?” Huo Fenglie asked in astonishment.

Liu Zhenqing had thought everything through. Suddenly, he raised his hands, held Huo Fenglie’s face, and kissed him hard right in front of everybody.

Everyone was shocked. Yuan Jue’s eyes flickered and he looked away, but he was unconsciously clenching his teeth.

“I’m sorry, it was my mistake. I was deceived. I didn’t know you’d confessed to me when I replied to that letter. Fenglie, I never rejected you, I just……lost the opportunity to answer.”

He had lost an entire lifetime, all because of Yuan Jue.

Huo Fenglie stared at Liu Zhenqing in a daze, never having expected such a reversal. His Qing-ge had never hated him.

Liu Zhenqing could no longer control his temper. He turned around and rushed toward Yuan Jue, punching him directly before he could react.

The emperor of the dynasty was knocked back by the blow. He staggered back a step, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, his head turned away. Everyone present was shocked.

Liu Qiao continued to guard Yuan Jue, preventing the others from approaching.

He Cong and the other guards made a racket. “Are you crazy? How dare you hit the emperor!”

In fact, they were baffled by the conversation between these people and had no idea what was going on. Or perhaps they didn’t dare to figure it out. But Liu Zhenqing had dared to hit the emperor regardless of the law or morality.

Yuan Jue was stunned as well. He turned his head to look at Liu Zhenqing, saying in disbelief: “You hit me? You actually…..hit me? You’ve never hit me before!”

Liu Zhenqing was so angry that he almost laughed: “I hit you. So what?!”

Yuan Jue’s eyes widened to the breaking point: “I plotted against you, killed you, and let the whole world curse you, but you didn’t get angry or take action. Now you attacked me just for this?”

Liu Zhenqing reached out and gripped Yuan Jue’s collar, saying: “You made me ignore his sincerity, made me hurt and wrong him! For me, this is more intolerable than anything else in the world!”

Yuan Jue’s pupils quivered as if he was unable to bear it. He was so furious that his entire body was shaking, and he sent Liu Zhenqing a vicious look. He had just wanted to test them and see how they would react after learning the truth, never expecting that Liu Zhenqing would fly into a true rage. Because of such a small matter, he finally saw Liu Zhenqing angry.

“Tell me, where is the letter? It was in your hands back then, where did you put it? Give it back to me!” Liu Zhenqing said fiercely. Since the jade Rubik’s cube was still here, was the letter…..

Yuan Jue just thought it was laughable and ridiculous: “You think I would keep that kind of evidence? I burned it as soon as it was received!”

Liu Zhenqing was so angry that his blood boiled: “Why did you do it! I can understand why you killed me, but why hurt him when he was protecting your empire! Are you crazy? What if he was affected on the battlefield? If something went wrong, who could replace him? How did I ever teach a fool like you!”

“I’m no fool!” Yuan Jue practically shouted. “If you united as civil and military officials, how would a powerless emperor such as myself cope? If you were soft-hearted and didn’t force him to hold the border, what would have happened to Great Zhou? The decision I made was worthy of an emperor. The two of you were my prime minister and my general, so you should have been focused on me rather than being distracted by other things!”

“You’re just making speculative arguments. It’s all nonsense!” Liu Zhenqing truly wanted to give Yuan Jue a beating. From the perspective of an emperor, he could even envision all of Yuan Jue’s previous heartless actions. But there was still one thing he really couldn’t understand.

A rational emperor would appease his general. Even if Liu Zhenqing didn’t have such feelings for Huo Fenglie at the time, as emperor, he should have told Liu Zhenqing to deal with it right away so that Huo Fenglie could fight at the border with peace of mind.

But Yuan Jue made the most foolish decision. Liu Zhenqing regarded him with a dark look, and Yuan Jue avoided his gaze.

Yuan Jue couldn’t admit that when he had received the letter from Huo Fenglie, the sincerity therein would have moved anyone’s heart. He felt that Liu Zhenqing would definitely be moved and devote his attention to Huo Fenglie, and that couldn’t be borne. He was Yuan Jue’s teacher and the prime minister of his empire. Liu Zhenqing should devote himself wholeheartedly to helping him rule and stabilize the country, and focus all of his attention on him.

He read the love expressed between the lines of Huo Fenglie’s letter and was in a bad mood, and almost instinctively destroyed it.

But when he realized what he had done, he regretted it. Not out of apology to those two people, but because he realized he had begun to forgo the most favorable situations out of selfish desire, and was acting recklessly. This was unbecoming of a qualified emperor.

Anything that affected an emperor’s emotions and rational judgement was an obstacle. He finally discovered that Liu Zhenqing……was his weakness. And he couldn’t allow this weakness to develop any further, so Liu Zhenqing must die.

He discovered the weakness and eliminated it himself.

But then Liu Zhenqing came back again, and when he realized this fact, he had no wish to eradicate his weakness again. Because he knew that the current Liu Zhenqing was a simple man without power or influence, and no longer Prime Minister Liu, who he had feared. Since he couldn’t endure letting him go again, he would find a way to monopolize him.

With his most useful wings cut off, without Huo Fenglie, Liu Zhenqing would no longer be a concern and Yuan Jue’s weakness would become his reward. It would be best to keep him by his side like a canary and watch him at all times.

But in the end, he still couldn’t best Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing no longer cared about what Yuan Jue was thinking. He was already disillusioned with Yuan Jue. Even though they had accompanied each other day and night and Liu Zhenqing had raised him like his own child, now that things had come to this, there was no lingering affection.

This matter must be concluded. Liu Zhenqing looked at Huo Fenglie and rapidly thought up countermeasures.

Huo Fenglie had regained his composure. He took a step forward, sword in hand, and the people around them immediately grew uneasy.

Seeing Huo Fenglie’s actions, Liu Zhenqing knew that if he gave the word, it wouldn’t be impossible to forcibly suppress the throne and its forces. But not only would there be heavy casualties, the Huo family would also bear the world’s infamy. After all, Emperor Yuan Jue had done no harm to the nation on the surface.

Moreover, it was a gamble to try to safely connect with the Huo Family Army outside while they were surrounded. If they weren’t careful, they would be buried along with Yuan Jue.

There were so many foreign envoys here…..right, the foreign envoys……Liu Zhenqing had a flash of inspiration, but before the plan could form, somebody suddenly broke into the palace. 

It was Zheng Wei. He Cong’s eyes shifted slightly, and he immediately called: “Is Director Zheng here to protect the emperor as well?”

The arrival of another master put a lot more pressure on Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie.

Liu Zhenqing looked sideways at Zheng Wei, only to find him slowly lowering into a bow as he greeted everyone: “Your Majesty, I have received a message from the Kingdom of Xiheng that says…..they have invited the Huo family’s young master and young lady to Xiheng.”

“What!” Liu Zhenqing was shocked.

Huo Fenglie’s expression also changed at once.

Zheng Wei continued: “I sent people to track them down after receiving the letter, but it seems the two young ones were kidnapped from the hunting grounds, and never followed the procession back at all. According to the time, they have long been out of tracking range.”

Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie exchanged glances. They realized that Li Jinshu must have lost his mind, but what did he intend to do? 

In the next moment, Zheng Wei gave them the answer by delivering a letter directly to Liu Zhenqing.

Taken aback, Liu Zhenqing opened it and saw Li Jinshu’s handwriting. He laughed angrily after reading it, but skewed his eyes at the same time.

He placed the letter in front of Yuan Jue.

Yuan Jue glanced at it, and his expression changed slightly.

The words in the letter were teasing, but the gist of it was that he would exchange the twins for Liu Zhenqing. It seemed that the one Li Jinshu had actually wanted to kidnap the previous night was Liu Zhenqing himself. However, Liu Zhenqing had been involved in the matter of Jian Shuang’s rebellion at the time and he wasn’t given a chance, so he kidnapped the twins to threaten him into an exchange.

Li Jinshu was a madman. Liu Zhenqing actually didn’t know if he had discovered his identity and thus took such an action.

But this happened at the opportune time, letting Liu Zhenqing enjoy a cool easterly wind.

Liu Zhenqing said: “Have you read it clearly? You know what kind of person Li Jinshu is. He knows my identity, so he must be using every means to snatch me away. The remaining bloodline of the Huo family is now in his hands. Without Huo Fengile to lead them, how effective do you think the Huo Family Army will be under the military officers you’ve trained? Can they defeat Li Jinshu? After all, it isn’t absolutely certain that Huo Fenglie can beat him.”

Yuan Jue’s eyes narrowed slightly. Then he smiled: “Then let the great general who guards the country lead the troops to rescue his niece and nephew, and let Young Master Liu stay behind to ensure his safety and not allow Xiheng a chance at him.”

Huo Fenglie shifted. His eyes, filled with icy killing intent, fixed on Yuan Jue.

Liu Zhenqing scoffed: “These envoys in the capital aren’t blind or deaf. Unless you kill them all, they’ll definitely realize that something is wrong. For example, that General Huo’s relatives were held hostage by Xiheng and he wanted to rescue them, but the emperor of Great Zhou was at odds with him and used his fiance as a hostage. Once such news spreads, do you plan to revisit the tragic memory of being besieged by various nations again?

Yuan Jue’s expression turned ugly. He knew he couldn’t control Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing gestured to Liu Qiao, who hesitated for a moment before lowering his sword and hastening to Liu Zhenqing’s side.

He Cong immediately rushed forward to shield Yuan Jue. 

Those opposite did as well. 

But in the next moment, Liu Zhenqing bowed to Yuan Jue and said: “Your Majesty, envoys from the Kingdom of Xiheng have openly kidnapped people on Great Zhou’s territory and challenged its dignity. This humble subject requests your permission to assist the general who guards the country in sending troops to rescue the hostages in order to send a message to Xiheng, and so that the envoys from neighboring countries can all see that although our Great Zhou is gentle, infringement will not be tolerated.”

Yuan Jue’s expression was unsightly. He knew Liu Zhenqing’s intentions. They planned to overstep their authority, not to take his throne, but so that from then on, the emperor would be unable to touch them. And they were using Li Jinshu to do it.

Li Jinshu’s military exploits were so great that no other military official in Great Zhou could match him. He was also proficient at getting other countries to share Great Zhou between them. Moreover, this extraordinarily powerful person was a madman who only took what he wanted. There was no possibility of negotiating a deal with him.

As long as Li Jinshu was determined to possess Liu Zhenqing, Yuan Jue couldn’t touch them if he wanted to secure his throne. 

Therefore, Liu Zhenqing had found an equilibrium in order to counterbalance his power.

Faced with such a situation, Yuan Jue clearly had little choice. But on second thought, this was equivalent to giving him an opportunity and risking half his own life. He couldn’t guarantee that Liu Zhenqing wouldn’t kill him for the sake of the country. Thus, now was the time for everyone to take a step back. 

Yuan Jue’s mind changed several times before he finally said: “Young Master Liu is right. I will immediately issue an edict for the general to lead troops in pursuit.”

Such a step brought relief to everyone.

Just as Yuan Jue was about to prepare the Imperial edict, he heard Liu Zhenqing call out: “Wait.”

Everyone grew nervous again.

Liu Zhenqing said with a mocking smile: “Your Majesty’s word is as good as gold. You should grant a marriage to me and Fenglie now, otherwise it would be inappropriate for me to follow the general. Besides, if I’m the general’s wife, Prince Li will be despised by the world if he forces me to stay, and it will also put Great Zhou even more in the right.”

Yuan Jue gave Liu Zhenqing a dark look.

Soon, with two Imperial edicts in hand, Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie safely left the palace.

When he saw Liu Zhenqing walk away unhesitatingly without even sparing him a glance, Yuan Jue felt an uncontrollable discomfort. He warned himself to not be hasty, that there was still a chance.

Back at the General’s Manor.

It was already daybreak by this time, and the manor was in chaos after receiving the news.

Seeing Li Xingruo standing in the small Buddhist chamber with a somber face, Liu Zhenqing walked inside and held her trembling hand.

Li Xingruo lashed out in anger: “Those little brats are really going to learn a lesson this time about acting rashly!”

Liu Zhenqing turned around as Huo Fenglie approached the door and said to him: “We’ll go on the expedition tomorrow. You go to the military camp to prepare. I’ll stay here.”

Huo Fenglie hesitated. He started to say something, but Liu Zhenqing cut in: “Don’t waste time. Yuan Jue won’t dare act rashly right now, and Liu Qiao is still with me.”

Huo Fenglie nodded, then turned and got to work.

Liu Zhenqing pulled Li Xingruo to sit down and said: “The one Li Jinshu wants is me. According to his character, he won’t be hard on the two little ones, and they’ll be treated to tasty food and drinks.”

Li Xingruo looked toward Liu Zhenqing, her fierce eyes now filled with worry.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.” Liu Zhenqing turned his head toward the tablets. “I failed to protect their father last time, but this time…..I won’t allow them to get hurt again.”

Li Xingruo stared blankly at Liu Zhenqing, and finally leaned against his shoulder in a somewhat fragile manner.

“Did you have a confrontation with Yuan Jue?” she asked tiredly.

Liu Zhenqing didn’t give her the full truth. He only said: “Yuan Jue discovered my identity. He still fears me, but he can’t go without Huo Fenglie’s protection, so he had no choice but to let me go.”

“Hmph, ungrateful bastard,” she cursed.

Liu Zhenqing grinned and said: “By the way, I’ve already requested the Imperial edict. I’m now a member of the Huo family, Sister-in-law.”

Li Xingruo said with a laugh: “Wait until you bring the two little ones back, then we can hold the wedding before anything else goes wrong.”

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes flickered. He didn’t respond to this topic, but said faintly: “Don’t worry, I just want to live a good life with Er-gou and not cause any trouble.”

Li Xingruo said with a sigh: “En, he waited two lifetimes before he finally got you.”

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but ask: “I heard my ashes are under the willow tree here?”

“I wanted to tell you before, but never found the chance,” Li Xingruo said. “Isn’t it crazy?”

Liu Zhenqing smiled: “He likes me crazily and wanted to be closer to me.”

Li Xingruo didn’t disagree, but added: “He also wanted to be buried with you after he died.”

Liu Zhenqing stared in shock.

“With no tombstone, and no real burial. He wanted to be cremated after dying in battle, then have me bury him with you.” Li Xingruo said: “It’s fortunate that you like him too. Otherwise, if he was unilaterally crazy, wouldn’t you be annoyed to death?”

Liu Zhenqing recalled the events that occurred when they went south, and smiled: “That would never happen, I would have fallen in love with him right away.”

Li Xingruo looked at him speechlessly: “How is that possible? So many people liked you back then, but I never saw you return their affections. You may have seemed amorous, but in fact, it’s difficult for you to have sincere feelings for anyone.”

“I only have one heart. How can it be moved just because someone made overtures?” Liu Zhenqing defended himself.

Li Xingruo slanted a look at him. Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “There’s something I want to discuss with you.”

“What?”

“You going with the army.”

“Do I need you to tell me that?” Li Xingruo rolled her eyes.

Then Liu Zhenqing said: “Please keep an eye on Er-gou for me.”

Li Xingruo’s expression shifted.

That night, Huo Fenglie finally returned from his work.

Everything had been prepared, and they would set out the next morning.

He didn’t find Liu Zhenqing at his Sister-in-law’s, so he went to the courtyard and saw Liu Zhenqing with a jug of wine. Sitting beneath the willow tree, he fiddled with the willow branches while twisting the jade Rubik’s cube in one hand.

“Qing-ge,” Huo Fenglie called out, practically flying to Liu Zhenqing’s side.

When Liu Zhenqing saw him coming, his eyes curved in a smile and he patted the spot beside him.

Huo Fenglie sat down obediently, and was about to inform Liu Zhenqing about the situation when Liu Zhenqing snuggled into his arms.

Huo Fenglie’s heart moved. He couldn’t help but raise his hands to hug Liu Zhenqing tightly. He took a deep breath and seemed to find a trace of calm in the chaos.

Liu Zhenqing nuzzled him leisurely, then raised his eyes to give Huo Fenglie a smile, saying: “Er-gou, do you still remember what you wrote in that love letter to me? I want to know what it said.”

Liu Zhenqing was really curious. How would the seventeen-year-old Huo Fenglie have confessed his feelings to him in such a crisis-ridden situation? 

Huo Fenglie was taken aback, not having expected Liu Zhenqing to ask this question directly. He felt somewhat uncomfortable and regretful, but mostly, he was embarrassed.

“That…..” Huo Fenglie said a bit nervously.

Laying in Huo Fenglie’s arms, Liu Zhenqing looked up and raised his hand to grasp Huo Fenglie’s chin, saying: “Tell me, I’m curious.”

Huo Fenglie lowered his eyes to gaze at him affectionately and said: “Actually, it doesn’t count as a letter.”

“Huh?”

“It was a journal.”

A confession journal?

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t know how to express my feelings to you, but after every battle, I would write something about you…..”

Liu Zhenqing listened to Huo Fenglie’s cool, gentle voice as he told him the story. Many of the contents were things that Liu Zhenqing already knew.

The first throb of his heart, the first reason for jealousy, the first time he understood the uneasiness of his mind, the first time he secretly competed with a love rival.

The first time they kissed, the first time he made a promise…..

It recorded the young Huo Fenglie’s unspeakable thoughts. He had so much love but no way to express it, so he could only write it down in detail, hoping that the other person would understand.

Liu Zhenqing listened for a long while, unable to snap out of his stupor. When he regained his senses, he saw his own face completely reflected in Huo Fenglie’s dark eyes.

He couldn’t help but say: “I want that journal.”

Huo Fenglie stared blankly. But it had been burned by Yuan Jue, ah.

Liu Zhenqing said mindlessly: “I want it. You must give it to me. So for the rest of your life, you must continue to write and re-record everything. I’ll do the same, and we’ll record together.”

He was going to spend the rest of his life making Huo Fenglie confess to him again, and would also let the other know all of his feelings.

Huo Fenglie’s eyes lit up, and he nodded firmly.

Liu Zhenqing smiled, and couldn’t help but tease: “When you wrote before, did it include…..the panic when you first dreamed about it…..the fluster you felt when you first imagined it?”

Huo Fenglie’s face instantly went red: “No…..”

“You didn’t write it down? How insincere, ah.” Liu Zhenqing smiled and leaned forward to kiss Er-gou, then stretched out his hand and did as he pleased with Huo Fenglie’s stiff lower body.

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Chapter 143 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 145