“What nonsense are you talking? Feel the scar on your arm and you still defend the murderer?”
Following his father’s words, Chen Qi touched the scar on his arm. He stared at his father’s enraged and distorted face and calmly spoke, “Father, did you really not care about your son’s life to frame others? If I had truly died in that assassination, would you have felt even a trace of pain?”
Prince Pinghuai was stunned, taking a step back. He stared intently at Chen Qi’s expression, his face twisted with anger, forcing an unnatural smile, and asked, “What nonsense are you talking?”
Chen Qi sighed. Born into the royal family, he had long prepared himself for many things, but truly knowing that his own father used him as a pawn to frame others brought a bitterness that was hard to ease in a moment.
“Has Father ever considered that His Majesty sending Fourth Uncle to his fiefdom was actually a means to protect him?”
Prince Pinghuai stood there, stunned.
For a moment, his mind went blank. In the next instant, countless chaotic thoughts flooded his brain. He watched Chen Qi turn and walk out. He staggered a couple of steps to the door and shouted loudly, “Stop! Explain yourself clearly!”
The moonlight shone down like cool water. Chen Qi walked away slowly without turning back. He was truly tired of these disputes.
Since bringing You Yuji back, Si Que had not let go of her. Leaning on the beauty’s couch, Si Que casually removed the mask from his face, allowing You Yuji to continue sleeping in his arms. After being carried back to the room, You Yuji nestled in Si Que’s arms for two more quarters of an hour before lazily waking up and opening her eyes.
“Awake?” Si Que looked down at You Yuji.
You Yuji nodded and said softly, “Woke up from hunger.”
Only then did Si Que let her go and called for the maid to bring in dinner.
A table full of dishes, all to You Yuji’s taste. Though she felt quite hungry, once she actually sat at the table, she couldn’t eat much.
“Is there nothing you particularly want to eat?” Si Que asked her.
You Yuji thought seriously for a while, then shook her head and finally just pointed to the plain congee on the table, asking the maid to serve half a bowl to eat.
After eating, just as the dishes were cleared away, Baisui came running in from outside, his four little paws dirty. Laughing, You Yuji picked him up. Baisui had now grown into a full-sized cat, and You Yuji could no longer easily hold him with one hand. His dirty paws dangled and he meowed as You Yuji pressed him onto the table. You Yuji took a cloth and wiped the mud from his paws.
Every time Baisui tried to struggle, his forehead would get flicked by Si Que.
He whimpered and settled down, his chin resting on the table, resigned to his fate.
Si Que frowned in distaste and said, “Did he fall into a dung pit?”
You Yuji curved his lips into a smile and said, “He must have been fighting with other cats again. Last time I saw him leap off the wall, a few stray cats napping in the shade scattered in all directions. He pounced and pinned a lion cat into the muddy water by the roadside, scratching and biting. Poor thing, its snow-white fur was all dirtied.”
“Meow.” Baisui let out a listless cry, trying to turn over, but got flicked on the forehead again.
The mighty cat king was thus pinned on the table and tormented, very unhappy that his underlings couldn’t see this.
Finally, his dirty paws were cleaned, and You Yuji let him go. Baisui immediately jumped down and disappeared in an instant.
You Yuji watched Baisui dart away with a smile, then yawned lazily.
“Sleepy again?”
You Yuji nodded, barely able to speak before yawning softly again.
Si Que immediately instructed the maid to prepare hot water for a bath.
When Lady Jing entered, she saw Baohe and two little maids carrying empty wooden buckets out of the bathing room. She frowned and asked Baohe, “Aren’t you going in to assist?”
Baohe’s eyes sparkled as she replied, “His Highness is there; we aren’t needed!”
Lady Jing tilted her head to look inside. She saw that You Yuji and Si Que had just risen from the beauty’s couch and were heading toward the bathing room.
Lady Jing quickly walked in and, before You Yuji and Si Que entered the bathing room, went in to inspect it first. The floor was covered with non-slip cotton mats. Still not reassured, she took another large cotton mat from the cabinet and laid it on the floor.
As You Yuji and Si Que stepped inside, she looked at You Yuji with concern, “Walk slowly, always hold onto something, and be careful not to fall.”
You Yuji nodded, “I know.”
Only then did Lady Jing leave.
With the door to the bathing room closed, Si Que was still looking in the direction of the door. He asked, “Sister, do all your people think I am unreliable?”
You Yuji, holding onto the armrest of a chair, sat down and looked at him with a smile, “Reliable, very reliable. Come and help me.”
Si Que then walked over to You Yuji, squatting in front of her, and first removed her socks and shoes. He held You Yuji’s jade-like foot in his hand, gazing at it for a moment before he couldn’t resist biting her white toes lightly.
You Yuji’s ankle retracted slightly, and she frowned, whispering, “Stop fooling around. That’s not appropriate.”
Si Que felt there was a deeper meaning in her latter words.
He pondered it for a moment before starting to untie You Yuji’s clothing. The thin garment slipped to either side, revealing a light purple undershirt and a matching chest wrap. Because it was summer, the chest wrap was also made of light material. Underneath You Yuji’s undershirt, her slightly protruding belly was visible to Si Que.
After watching for a moment, Si Que reached out to touch it.
Seeing Si Que’s expression, You Yuji asked, “What kind of look is that?”
Si Que seemed to come back to his senses and withdrew his hand. He stood up, bent down closer to You Yuji, and reached behind her to unfasten the clasp of her chest wrap.
He said, “I just never thought I would ever be a father.”
You Yuji grabbed his lapel, lightly resting her face against his chest, and listened carefully to his heartbeat. She half-lowered her eyes and said softly, “You will be a good father.”
“Really?” Si Que seemed to be asking You Yuji, but also himself.
To be honest, he lacked confidence.
A summer downpour had halted the army’s progress back to the city. Tents were set up, but rainwater still poured in.
The atmosphere in the army was tense.
When they set out, they were sent off by family and friends, each soldier eager to achieve great feats and make a name for themselves. Even without military honors, witnessing Ning Kingdom’s surrender would have been a notable event.
But in the past six months, defeat after defeat, like this torrential rain, had extinguished the ambition and enthusiasm they left with.
You Heng listened to the sound of the rain outside, turning a small knife in his hand. In the past six months, given You Heng’s usual character, he would have been at the forefront of every battle. However, he hadn’t been. The soldiers in the camp gossiped that General You had grown old and become afraid of death.
In truth, You Heng’s transformation began after receiving a letter from You Yuji.
To this day, You Heng still harbors doubts about what You Yuji mentioned in the letter, and he is even more inclined to disagree. However, he followed You Yuji’s advice and avoided engaging in direct combat with Ning Kingdom’s brute force army as much as possible.
You Jiamu was also in the tent, pacing back and forth, deep in thought.
Finally, You Heng looked up at him and asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” You Jiamu smiled but offered no explanation. He stopped pacing and sat down in a corner.
As their return to the capital approached, his hesitation grew over whether to eliminate Chen Anzhi before they reached the capital. Throughout the journey, he had tried several times to place Chen Anzhi in perilous situations, but each time, Chen Anzhi managed to escape unscathed by sheer luck.
You Jiamu was extremely frustrated.
He could only devise ways to place Chen Anzhi in danger, but he dared not personally kill him due to Chen Anzhi’s status.
He despised himself for only being able to engage in these underhanded tactics, wishing he could personally cut off Chen Anzhi’s head and feed it to the dogs! But he couldn’t…
He hated himself for being young and powerless. All he could do was bury his hatred deep inside and desperately resort to sneaky methods. He had hoped that by joining Brother Yuanyi on this expedition, he could earn some military merits, but…
You Jiamu bowed his head in frustration. He realized that even if he earned merits, he could not act as he pleased. A subject is always a subject; the gap between classes and statuses cannot be bridged.
Chen Anzhi came in, drenched from the rain, bending over to protect the roast chicken he held in his arms.
“Jiamu, I brought this for you!”
You Jiamu looked at Chen Anzhi, his face beaming with a bright smile for the person he loathed, calling out happily, “Brother-in-law, you are so good to me!”
Chen Anzhi nodded to You Heng and turned to You Jiamu, smiling, “Come, eat it while it’s hot.”
“Okay!” You Jiamu hurried over, tore off a drumstick, and took a big bite, his eyes squinting with satisfaction.
“Don’t rush, eat slowly. I’ll be going now.”
“Okay, take care, Brother-in-law!”
As soon as Chen Anzhi left the tent, You Jiamu immediately spat out the chicken in disgust.
You Heng, watching You Jiamu’s contrasting reactions, couldn’t help but laugh heartily.
You Jiamu’s face fell as he looked at You Heng in despair, muttering, “Brother Yuanyi, is it extremely important to be born lucky?”
You Heng was silent for a long time before he nodded, “Under normal circumstances, yes.”
You Jiamu pressed his lips together, saying nothing, but his face was full of defiance.
After leaving, Chen Anzhi joined several soldiers to distribute that day’s dinner. By the time he was done, his clothes were completely soaked. He returned to his tent, changed into dry clothes, and repeatedly wiped the rain from his hair. He felt as if the rain had soaked not only his clothes but also his very skin.
Wangjiang sat quietly among the crowd, watching Chen Anzhi in the distance.
“Qingshan, eat this,” Brother Hu tossed a white steamed bun into his bowl.
Wangjiang withdrew his gaze and thanked him.
That day, he had jumped into the Lian River, leaving those chasing him with a determined back. At that moment, disheartened and desperate, he only wanted to use his death to hide his secret with Chunxing, preserving her innocence. Being saved by Brother Hu was an accident.
The Lian River was turbulent, and when he woke up, he was no longer in the capital but had arrived in Gong City.
Brother Hu was not a good man; he was a tyrant in Gong City. He said that living aimlessly was pointless and asked Wangjiang if he wanted to go to the border to make a fortune with him.
Wangjiang hesitated for three days, looking towards the capital, before finally catching up with Brother Hu’s departing group.
Brother Hu asked his name, and he said he was called Qingshan. He wished for Wangjiang to completely disappear along with the secret he fought to protect.
Brother Hu laughed heartily, slapping his shoulder, “Good, good! As long as the green hills remain, there’s no fear of running out of firewood! Good omen!”
The commotion reached Chen Anzhi’s ears, and he looked over, frowning when he saw Wangjiang among the crowd.