Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “No, I plan to have you send someone to deliver them safely to Huo Fenglie.”

Li Jinshu raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked: “You trust me so much?”

Liu Zhenqing smiled even more brightly: “Do you know who I am?”

Li Jinshu was taken aback: “Liu Xiaozhu.”

Liu Zhenqing’s smile grew. He shook his head.

Li Jinshu asked again: “Are you trying to say that you’re the general’s wife?”

“Willow catkins and apricot blossoms cannot be kept,” Liu Zhenqing suddenly said without context.

Li Jinshu’s originally playful expression froze: “How…..do you know about that poem?”

When he first met Liu Zhenqing, Li Jinshu had said this to him. It was only the two of them at that time, so it was impossible for anyone else to know. Was it a coincidence? Impossible!

“Prince Li, is the injury on your right ring finger alright?”

Li Jinshu’s eyes widened. His ring finger had only been injured once. He had been drunk and teasing Liu Zhenqing, and was injured by Huo Feihan.

Injuring an envoy would cause problems for Huo Feihan, but he was the one who’d harassed someone first, so the three of them ultimately decided not to mention it to anyone.

Li Jinshu looked at Liu Zhenqing in bewilderment, his mind full of suspicion. Many impulsive thoughts popped up, constantly tormenting his nerves.

What was going on? He had already investigated Young Master Liu’s situation very thoroughly. In terms of his age and his friendships, it was impossible for him to know what had happened back then. 

This was too bizarre. He needed answers!

“Who the hell are you! Who told you these things?”

At first, Liu Zhenqing had wondered if Li Jinshu was aware of his identity, so he designed this trap. But it was very far-fetched. Logically speaking, Li Jinshu and Liu Zhenqing had only met a handful of times, so he shouldn’t recognize him at all. Those who could recognize Liu Zhenqing were only those who knew him extremely well, so it was unlikely that Li Jinshu knew he was the actual Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing made bold arrangements based on this. And in the conversation just now, it was certain that if Li Jinshu knew his identity, he wouldn’t have wasted so much time talking nonsense.

“Do you want to know?” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile.

Li Jinshu’s expression turned sinister as he seemed to get what Liu Zhenqing meant. “The condition is to send them away safely?”

“I want to receive Huo Fenglie’s reply,” Liu Zhenqing said. “I’ll tell you upon receiving it.”

“I don’t like being threatened like this. If the answer isn’t interesting, then…..”

“Prince Li is going back on his word. I don’t like this either. You clearly should have let them go when I arrived, so I must do more than required……” Liu Zhenqing looked at him with contempt.

Li Jinshu smiled and said: “Of course I’ll keep my word. Rest assured, I will arrange for someone to send them off right away and ensure they are delivered to General Huo. After all, this is the only way to truly prove that I’m inviting you as a guest, and not…..trying to start a war, ah.”

Huo Fenglie was leading his troops back to the western battlefield, and Li Jinshu was not free of pressure. 

Presently, Li Jinshu arranged for a carriage to accompany the envoys to the border. 

And as for Liu Zhenqing, he was naturally moved into the palace with Li Jinshu.

Li Jinshu had originally thought that the masters hiding in the shadows would find an opportunity to act and rescue Liu Zhenqing, but unexpectedly, even when Li Jinshu gave him openings, they didn’t take action. It was as if they were truly content to stay here as guests. Their silence was eerie, and made Li Jinshu uneasy.

However, such uneasiness didn’t affect his mood. Li Jinshu observed the man in front of him, whose features were quite similar to those of Liu Zhenqing, and drank with a smile, and went to touch the back of Liu Zhenqing’s hand.

Liu Zhenqing evaded easily. He turned his head to look at Li Jinshu and said doubtfully: “What on earth does the prince see in me?”

He asked himself: this body isn’t as good-looking as I used to be, and I haven’t revealed much talent in front of Li Jinshu, so why am I being targeted? There were plentiful beauties around Li Jinshu, and even had even looked down upon the eldest princess.

Li Jinshu wasn’t discouraged. Instead, he lifted a lock of hair from Liu Zhenqing’s shoulder and played with it between his fingertips, saying with a smile: “At first, I was just curious.”

“Curious?”

“Yes, ah, curious. How could that little brother who was living a miserable life without Liu Zhenqing suddenly change his ways and marry someone else? So I wanted to see what was so charming about you. Or if there was some kind of scheme,” Li Jinshu said.

“Life is long. It’s not uncommon to fall in love with somebody else,” Liu Zhenqing said speechlessly.

Li Jinshu shook his head and said: “If you’ve ever met someone as talented as Liu Zhenqing in your life and fallen in love with him, how could you ever fall in love with someone else? Liu Zhenqing’s death back then carved out a piece of many peoples’ hearts, but the degree of loss varied.”

Liu Zhenqing was momentarily at a loss for words: “That’s an exaggeration.”

“It’s not an exaggeration,” Li Jinshu said with a smile, “because I’m one of them.”

Liu Zhenqing stared at Li Jinshu in shock. Li Jinshu had sincere feelings for him?

He shook his head and said: “I heard that you humiliated him. I fear Prince Li is just teasing me.”

Li Jinshu raised his eyebrows and said: “At first, I didn’t believe I could actually have sincere feelings. I just wanted to conquer and possess him, like the best wild horse in the grasslands. How could I not desire him? But he died, and no matter how many years passed, I never met anyone who piqued my interest again. Day after day, I always felt like something was missing. I was bored, alone, and had no motivation to do anything. If I had known, I would have never allowed him to return to Great Zhou, even if I had to force him. I would have given him a good life and kept him by my side.”

Liu Zhenqing’s expression changed minutely.

Li Jinshu continued with a smile: “Like me,Huo Fenglie was greatly affected. You only had to see his expression on the battlefield to know that after Liu Zhenqing died, his heart was empty. His feelings were the most sincere, so how could he like somebody else?”

Li Jinshu’s eyes gleamed as he spoke: “So I was very curious about what kind of person could change Huo Fenglie’s heart. After meeting you, I was initially a little disappointed. I felt that you were just an ordinary stand-in, and felt that such a substitute scheme was illogical. I’ve found many people more similar to him than you, his cousin, but they were boring and put me in a bad mood, so I killed them all. I’d thought such a scheme wouldn’t work on Huo Fenglie, but after seeing how the two of you got along, I felt that he was genuinely treating you like Liu Zhenqing.”

Li Jinshu smiled and said: “I was just trying to play with you, but…..”

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“It turns out you and he really are alike. Similar in resemblance and intelligence, with enough cunning in just a few words that it’s difficult for people to guard against you. If I hadn’t gone back and carefully thought it over, I would have been deceived by your appearance. But the process of almost getting scammed was also very fun.” Li Jinshu narrowed his eyes like a satisfied cat. “I haven’t felt so alive…..in a long, long time.”

Li Jinshu looked at Liu Zhenqing greedily: “I already missed one. In order to make my life less boring, I’m willing to give anything to keep you by my side forever.”

He hooked Liu Zhenqing’s hair and pressed it to his lips. When he leaned in to kiss him, Liu Zhenqing pushed him away.

Looking at Liu Zhenqing’s expressionless face, Li Jinshu seemed to behold the person from that year.

He abruptly grasped Liu Zhenqing’s chin and said: “I’ll tell it to you straight. You can’t go back. Even if Huo Fenglie leads his troops to attack, he won’t be able to devour Xiheng. I will not hesitate to drag the common people of both countries into the water, but would Huo Fenglie dare? Even if he does, the emperor of Great Zhou may not agree, and I have final say in the Kingdom of Xiheng. If they are willing to give you to me, I’m willing to negotiate any terms.”

Li Jinshu smiled and moved to kiss Liu Zhenqing, but a murderous aura suddenly swept over him. He quickly dodged, and a flying knife smashed a hole in the stone bench right where he had been sitting.

Shadows swayed amongst the trees. The palace guards went to pursue the person who’d thrown the weapon, but their qigong skills were certainly not enough to catch up.

Li Jinshu scoffed coldly and said to Liu Zhenqing: “Forget it. You want to struggle for a while, and I have patience. When Huo Fenglie has no choice but to give up on you, you’ll realize there is no hope. Just obey me and I’ll make you royalty, which is better than being a general’s wife.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “It doesn’t matter if I’m royalty or a general’s wife. I just know that I belong to Huo Fenglie.”

“So straightforward.” Li Jinshu raised his eyebrows with a smile.

“And I don’t think things will turn out as you expect.” Liu Zhenqing’s eyes slowly narrowed.

Li Jinshu laughed and said: “I was able to coerce Liu Zhenqing back then. And you?”

Liu Zhenqing raised his eyebrows: “Yeah, you were able to coerce him back then because he was under so much pressure, but now……”

“You’re trying to say that he cares about the common people of Great Zhou, the tens of thousands of soldiers in the Huo Family Army, and everyone around him, but you don’t have such a kind heart? So you don’t care if we fight and become enemies because of you?”

“Prince Li really likes to hold people hostage, doesn’t he? But what I mean is that he had to worry about too many people back then, and was too busy to handle it all. But if he had focused on dealing with you……” Liu Zhenqing smiled slowly. The gleam in his eyes made Li Jinshu’s heart skip a beat. It was just like the look in Liu Zhenqing’s eyes when he looked at him during the competition and crushed him.

Li Jinshu inexplicably took a step back.

Liu Zhenqing stood unhurriedly: “I’m tired. I’ll take my leave now.”

Having said this, Liu Zhenqing went back, and Liu Qiao naturally followed him in the shadows.

Li Jinshu stood in amazement. Tonight’s interaction with Liu Zhenqing made him feel even more mystified, and combined with his previous suspicions, a most unlikely and incredible idea suddenly occurred to him.

The person standing before him had looked exactly like Liu Zhenqing back then.

With such doubts, Li Jinshu couldn’t sleep that night. And the next day, before he could seek out Liu Zhenqing, trouble came to find him.

The young emperor had come from afar to visit, Empress Dowager Ci Xi had sent some people, and clan relatives had come as well.

Li Jinshu had said he had the final say in Xiheng, which was indeed the case, but as the young emperor grew up, the ministers around him had ulterior motives. Many forces second to only him had previously been calm, but he had made such a shocking move this time by stealing someone else’s wife, and Huo Fenglie had come with a large army, so the forces in Xiheng had gradually grown dissatisfied with him.

It was unknown who instigated it, but news had spread that he was bored and had nothing to do, so he wanted to fight Huo Fenglie. This completely disregarded the interests of the Kingdom of Xiheng.

You can start a war to seize land and conquer other countries, but how can you fight for the sake of fighting?

Normal people would think that such grounds for war was impossible, but since it was Li Jinshu in question, those in power in Xiheng thought it could be the case. After all, Li Jinshu had often caused trouble over the years just because he was bored or had a disagreement. It was often difficult for them to guard against such things, and this time the matter was too big and out of proportion.

Therefore, these people approached him one after another. Even if Li Jinshu continued to act on his own, he still had to deal with them, which made him somewhat beleaguered. 

Gradually, he came to realize that something wasn’t right. How could these people be so bold and even unite to go against him? Although this was bound to happen sooner or later, it felt like everything was being brought forward now. Was it really just because of the conflict with Great Zhou?

Li Jinshu was no fool. After some inquiries, he discovered that they had all received mysterious messages previously, and there were also rumors that he had gone mad. They were compelled to unite and come to test Li Jinshu’s current state.

When Li Jinshu realized what was happening, he simply laughed and sighed with feeling, because he understood that this was the work of Liu Zhenqing. It turned out he was this capable?

When the twins were delivered to the border, the army had just stopped and Huo Fenglie had already arrived.

In fact, the time difference between these things shouldn’t have been so short. Liu Zhenqing had arrived early in the morning, but made arrangements before meeting Li Jinshu.

Since Li Jinshu dared to plot against him, Liu Zhenqing would naturally bring out all of his grudges, new and old. If he didn’t cause internal and external problems for Li Jinshu, he wouldn’t be Liu Zhenqing.

When the twins woke up, it was to the sight of their uncle and mother. The were shocked and aggrieved, filled with remorse and guilt, and couldn’t help but shed tears.

“Sorry, Second Uncle, sorry…..” The two of them apologized to Huo Fenglie with all their might.

Li Xingruo didn’t stop them. She only asked: “How was your Uncle Liu?”

The two of them could only recount what happened when they met up with Liu Zhenqing.

After listening to this, Huo Fenglie understood that Liu Zhenqing intended to reveal his identity to Li Jinshu. Without saying anything more, he turned around and left.

Huo Yunci and Huo Yunqian were even more upset when Huo Fenglie didn’t scold them at all.

“Mother, we’re useless.”

“Mother, we made a mistake.”

Li Xingruo let out a sigh and said: “Now that you know you were wrong, work hard to become stronger in the future. Ensure that you’re the ones saving others, and not the ones who need to be saved!”

The two children donned serious expressions and nodded firmly.

“Second Uncle will definitely rescue Uncle Liu, won’t he?” Huo Yunci asked.

Li Xingruo said with a smile: “He will. Your Second Uncle…..will do better than your father.”

The two of them didn’t know why their mother would make such a comparison. Just as they stood up to ask if they could help, Huo Yunqian suddenly felt something in his sleeve. When he took it out, it turned out to be a letter.

It was from Liu Zhenqing to Huo Fenglie. Li Xingruo quickly opened it and read through it. She rushed out to find Huo Fenglie, but he was nowhere to be seen.

On the other side, Li Jinshu was furious when the envoys returned. He needed Huo Fenglie’s reply in exchange for Liu Zhenqing’s answer, and now that answer was tormenting him even worse. He didn’t dare accept his own fantasies, but intuitively felt that everything was as he had guessed.

However, Huo Fenglie hadn’t replied. What was wrong with him? Didn’t he want to reassure Liu Zhenqing, who had turned himself over in exchange for his family’s children?

As Li Jinshu raged, the young emperor of Xiheng heard the commotion and came with his men. Others also came over to investigate the situation, but Li Jinshu was in a bad mood and had even less patience to deal with them. Fuming, he turned around and left.

He arrived at the villa where Liu Zhenqing was staying, and when he went to open the door, a dart flew over and lodged in the wood as a warning.

Li Jinshu scowled. He heard the sound of water inside, which was clearly Liu Zhenqing taking a bath.

He had built a peerlessly exquisite residence for Liu Zhenqing, which had its own private hot spring pool. It was cold here in the winter, but Liu Zhenqing had decided to enjoy himself unscrupulously on enemy territory. This kind of leisurely, fearless attitude was even more like the person in his thoughts.

Li Jinshu went to the window near the hot spring pool and knocked.

“Prince Li?” Liu Zhenqing’s lazy voice came from inside. “Why have you come to my place?”

The trouble Liu Zhenqing had caused for Li Jinshu had prevented him from bothering him for quite a while.

Li Jinshu said with a frown: “The two little devils have been sent back, but Huo Fenglie didn’t send a reply.”

There was silence inside.

Liu Zhenqing leaned against the poolside. The steam had turned his white cheeks pink, and his dark eyelashes seemed as if they were covered in thick ink, his slightly furrowed eyebrows adding to his charm. He stopped playing with the jade Rubik’s cube in his hand.

Liu Zhenqing was somewhat distressed at getting no reply from Huo Fenglie. It seemed Er-gou was angry. Just as he was deep in thought, footsteps approached from in front of him.

He was startled – wasn’t Li Jinshu outside the window?

When he looked up, a familiar figure appeared before him.

Liu Zhenqing’s pupils shrank, and he opened his mouth wordlessly. The man pulled him out of the water and into a tight embrace, then kissed him.

At this time, Li Jinshu outside the window was aware of nothing: “I did as you said, but you can’t blame me for him not cooperating. It’s not that I didn’t keep my word. If you don’t believe me, you can tell your guard to take a look.”

Liu Zhenqing was suffocated by Huo Fenglie’s kiss. He was truly helpless and could only simultaneously listen to the sounds outside.

He’d known Huo Fenglie would come looking for him once he led the troops here, so he’d left a letter specifically asking him to be patient, to hold back and wait for the right opportunity. Hadn’t he read it?

Liu Zhenqing smacked Huo Fenglie in embarrassment. He couldn’t allow him to be exposed here.

But Huo Fenglie really did seem to be angry. He didn’t obey, but kissed him even harder. Just as he had lost control that night, he was silent and red-eyed. He held him and kissed him fiercely, as if to vent the pain he had experienced in recent days with no care for anything else.

Liu Zhenqing wasn’t wearing any clothes to begin with. His face reddened even more, and he was a little flustered. As expected, you shouldn’t bully honest people too much. If you did, this was the result. 

As Li Jinshu was speaking, the sound of water suddenly got louder. He assumed Liu Zhenqing was angry and disappointed, and was taking his frustration out on the hot spring water.

Li Jinshu’s eyes shifted, and deliberately provoked: “But if you think about it, this is normal. After all, his fiance exchanged himself and moved into another man’s house. As a man, Huo Fenglie should be angry and try to save face, but he could also give up on you.”

Liu Zhenqing truly didn’t hear a word Li Jinshu said. He was being pressed down in the pool by Huo Fenglie, and could only cover his mouth with his arm and endure in silence the beginning moves that he wasn’t quite accustomed to.

Very soon, the sound of the water grew a bit strange.

As Li Jinshu spoke, he frowned slightly. As an amorous prince, he was naturally familiar with the pattern of these sounds. But Liu Zhenqing was the only one inside, so he didn’t think about it that way. He just thought that Liu Zhenqing was absent-mindedly stirring the water.

Li Jinshu continued his provocations: “I suppose he would rather you die here now than go back shamelessly and make people criticize and point fingers at him.”

Liu Zhenqing was already rather dazed, and thought to himself: If Li Jinshu doesn’t stop talking and go away, I probably am going to die here.

He had naturally missed his Er-gou, and was also aroused, so he wanted to be bold and take things to their conclusion. But Er-gou seemed to be taking deliberate revenge on him, and went too slow, as if taking his time to confirm that he was really there. But it was truly torturous.

If not for Li Jinshu being here, Liu Zhenqing really wouldn’t have been able to hold back his voice.

Li Jinshu tried to persuade Liu Zhenqing to give up hope and stay with him peacefully. Liu Zhenqing had been turned over by Huo Fenglie. As he looked at the large tattoo that had appeared due to the heat, his eyes filled with ripples.

“Agh…..”

After such a long time, Li Jinshu was somewhat taken aback to hear a low groan. He started to push open the window, but was once again stopped by a dart.

He said impatiently: “I’ve said so much, but you haven’t said a word. Are you not broken-hearted? Or do you not believe me?”

But as Li Jinshu waited for a long time with a scowl, Liu Zhenqing inside looked at Huo Fenglie with tears in his eyes, a pleading look on his face as he reached out to push the person in front of him. Huo Fenglie stopped briefly, and only then did Liu Zhenqing move his arm away from his mouth.

Li Jinshu heard his hoarse voice: 

“I don’t believe you.”

That voice sounded somewhat plaintive. Was he crying tears of sadness? Li Jinshu’s brow furrowed, and he said: “You……”

Liu Zhenqing suppressed the trembling all over his body and clung closer to Huo Fenglie as he said: “I know he’ll come save me. Even if I angered him, he’ll still come, because he likes me so much that he can’t live without me, just as I like him. Nothing can come between us. I like Huo Fenglie the most, the absolute most.”

As Liu Zhenqing said this, he leaned in with a smile to give his puppy a comforting kiss.

With Liu Zhenqing confessing to him so close at hand, the anger in Huo Fenglie’s chest seemed to dissipate.

Li Jinshu outside said: “I didn’t expect you to be so…..naive.”

“I’m tired. Let’s just wait and see what happens next.”

Li Jinshu suddenly heard Liu Zhenqing’s voice become unstable and intermittent. With the accompaniment of the water, he couldn’t hear clearly. He thought that Liu Zhenqing was still affected even if he wouldn’t admit it, and smiled confidently. As long as enough time passed and the trust between him and Huo Fenglie collapsed, everything would be much simpler.

However, Li Jinshu was unaware that the problem between the two was not a collapse of trust, but a collapse of self-control.

It wasn’t until he was returned to bed that Liu Zhenqing realized Li Jinshu was gone and he could speak again. His head was dizzy, and he smacked Huo Fenglie unhappily.

“Bad dog, always playing games. Did you deceive me?”

He looked up and found Huo Fenglie observing him with burning eyes. Liu Zhenqing smiled apologetically and said: “Why are you here? Didn’t I leave a letter on Yunqian telling you to follow the plan?”

“I didn’t see it. I came to get you,” Huo Fenglie said in a resolute tone. It seemed he didn’t plan to say anything more, but instead just take Liu Zhenqing away.

“You fool, ah! Even if you and Liu Qiao can come and go freely, you’ll never be able to escape with me along,” Liu Zhenqing said.

“I know it won’t be easy. I’ll determine the route today and bring enough masters with me tomorrow to attempt it…..”

“Don’t. I have no plans to leave,” Liu Zhenqing said quickly.

Huo Fenglie’s expression instantly changed. He grabbed Liu Zhenqing’s arms and said in a rather unyielding tone: “Not allowed.”

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback. He realized that after being tricked by him, Er-gou had become a little disobedient, ah. It seemed he had indeed agitated him too much.

Liu Zhenqing could only ask: “Who do you think I’m staying here to deal with?”

Huo Fenglie stared blankly: “Li Jinshu?”

Liu Zhenqing smiled. He suddenly put his arms around Huo Fenglie’s neck and tilted his head back to look into his eyes.

“Fenglie, we must give up everything and leave in order to be together.”

Liu Zhenqing didn’t ask whether or not he was willing, because he already knew he would agree. And if he didn’t agree…..he would do everything he could to make him agree.

In short, once Liu Zhenqing made a decision, he would follow it through.

So he told Er-gou directly that they would leave together, and slowly explained to him his actual plan.

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Chapter 145 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 147