CH 34

Even Old Master Yuan and his wife didn’t know about this matter, in order not to frighten them. Fu Zhiyu just told them that he still had something to tell the two uncles, and his mother consort asked him to bring gifts and letters, so it took him a longer time.

They didn’t know he brought the entire living person of Consort Yun here.

By the time they finished speaking, it was already a little late. Fu Zhiyu stuffed his reluctant mother into the carriage. According to the arrangement, the Yuan family gave a lot of fur as a return gift, all piled in the carriage.

When the palace guard lifted the curtain, he saw Wang Zhao playing with a snow-white fox fur, and there was a pile of fur of different colours towering up next to him. This was not as neat as when he went out and looked quite messy.

However, it was not up to the guard to express his opinion. He glanced as perfunctorily as before and let the carriage in.

Consort Yun finally returned to the palace safely. In Liuli Palace, her confidant maid Caiyan covered up for her, saying that Consort Yun was not feeling well and went to bed early. Caiyan finally relaxed when she saw her master coming back.

“Nothing happened, right?” Fu Zhiyu asked habitually. Seeing that Liuli Palace was calm now, he knew that everything was fine.

“There was almost an accident,” Caiyan patted her chest, frightened. “For some reason, the banquet didn’t go well. It was said that some generals drank too much and talked nonsense, which made the emperor unhappy. He dropped his wine glass on the spot and was about to leave the table.

The emperor was angry and bored, so he wanted to come to Liuli Palace to get some air. The eunuch came and brought the message, saying that the palace should be prepared. The master was angry, and very angry, so pay more attention.

When this slave heard this, this slave was so worried! I only thought about how to delay some time. Who knew that the emperor would not come. I sent the eunuch to inquire and it turned out that the emperor was persuaded to go back halfway through. The banquet is still lively now, and he probably won’t come tonight.”

Although Fu Zhiyu was prepared to deal with the accidents, he hadn’t expected this to happen. Fortunately, nothing went wrong.

Consort Yun also breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a while, and then asked curiously: “The emperor is so stubborn, who can persuade him to go back?”

Caiyan said: “It’s Xie Ke, the imperial guard, the young master from General Xie’s family. I heard that the emperor valued him very much recently and listened to his words a little bit. Now Xie Ke is a big celebrity in the palace.”

Consort Yun knew this name a long time ago. She couldn’t help but look at her son; but of course she saw Fu Zhiyu frowning again.

What was Xie Ke trying to do?

Fu Zhiyu did everything thoroughly and was prepared for such an occasion. If someone came suddenly, Caiyan would be able to block them, saying that Constor Yun had fallen asleep and wouldn’t accept visitors. If the emperor came, Mingdao would also be on guard. The banquet place was far from Liuli Palace, and the sky was dark. Fu Zhiyu asked Mingdao to set up arrows on the sides of the path in advance. It didn’t matter if there was an injury or not, Emperor Qingyuan was very cautious. This time the banquet happened to invite the generals stationed all over the country. If the emperor suspected that someone tried to ambush him, he wouldn’t have much mind to come to Liuli Palace.

There were many ways to disrupt the emperor’s plan, and it was not difficult to delay him for a while.

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Consort Yun looked at Fu Zhiyu’s face, but there was a bit of doubt in her heart. It stood to reason that this Xie Ke was her son’s saviour and now he had helped Liuli Palace again. Why did Xiaobao hate him so much?

Xiaobao was a gentle person, and if he could hate someone like this, there must be something wrong with that person.

As she pondered, she took another look at Fu Zhiyu, only to hear her son immediately change the subject.

“It’s getting late, Mother should rest early,” Fu Zhiyu said softly, “I’m tired too, and I’m very sleepy.”

After taking care of his mother, he turned and went back to his bedroom. Yuan Mingdao was reading at his desk. When he saw Fu Zhiyu coming in, he hurriedly ran over, took his hand and asked him to sit down.

“Is the Master tired from going out?” He asked with concern, “I prepared a bowl of almond milk, it’s warm on the small stove, drink it, and you can sleep better at night.”

Fu Zhiyu felt soft at the sight of him, stroked his hair and said “Okay”. Yuan Mingdao was really like a soft little animal to him, so sweet that it was as if all the unhappy things had gone away at once when he was near.

After bathing, Fu Zhiyu drank the sweet and fragrant almond milk while sitting comfortably on his bed. He put down his other hand casually but touched something hard and cold on the bed. 

It was a bloodstone box, the same as last time.

Xie Ke couldn’t get in now, but he would leave the box.

Recently, a few more servants had been added to Liuli Palace. Fu Zhiyu wondered which one had managed to put it on his bed.

While thinking, Fu Zhiyu put the bowl of almond milk aside, wiped off a layer of sweet liquid on his lips, and then picked up the box. He wanted to throw it away directly, but thinking of what happened today, he hesitated a bit.

Was it a coincidence that Xie Ke persuaded the emperor to return to the banquet, or did he really know that Consort Yun was not in Liuli Palace?

There was nothing wrong on the palace guards’ side. Fu Zhiyu had experienced their inspection methods several times and knew that there was basically no problem there.

He was mainly worried that the emperor or someone else would suddenly visit Liuli Palace, or that other servants in the palace would find out that the owner of the palace had disappeared inexplicably, and then they would be caught in the act.

There were so many servants in Liuli Palace, and apart from Caiyan and Caimei, the maids who had accompanied his mother consort to the palace, the rest could not be trusted, not to mention that there were also spies placed by the Crown Prince and the Third Prince.

Now there should be one more spy.

Fu Zhiyu stared at the box for a long time, and finally reached out to open it.

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There was nothing in it except a note. This time there were more words on the note, saying: Are you having fun with your mother in the Yuan residence? I also prepared gifts for the uncles, and they have already been delivered. Zhiyu, you can do whatever you want from now on, don’t worry, I will protect you.

Fu Zhiyu’s face suddenly became cold. Xie Ke really knew about Consort Yun’s absence but no one else found out. Why would he know?

He quickly burned the note, and just like last time, he put the bloodstone box in the hidden compartment by the bed, then lay on the bed, turning over and over for a long time, unable to fall asleep.

Xie Ke’s hand stretched out too long and too fast. Playing again, he really performed better than in the previous life. Perhaps, the original plot got in the way in the past, otherwise there would be no need to spend ten years on the part of the plot that concerned Fu Zhiyu.

He thought about the escape that he had discussed with his two uncles. In fact, the imperial family was not a real obstacle. Although it was tightly guarded, it was not without loopholes. It was not difficult to exploit a loophole. Just like today, as long as you planned thoroughly, there was hope of success.

Only Xie Ke was the biggest instability factor, and he was destined to be the biggest enemy in Fu Zhiyu’s life.

The same night, Xie Ke was guarding the emperor’s banquet, but he was in a completely different mood than Fu Zhiyu. In front of many generals, he didn’t know how many glasses of wine he had drunk, and his face was a little red.

“A young and promising man!” The cavalry general stationed in the north was one of the highest-ranking generals in the banquet. He patted Xie Ke vigorously on the shoulder and said with a burp, “Nineteen years old this year… Are you married? Come on! I know General Xie, so let me introduce you! Say, which girl do you like? Say it boldly, I will snatch her for you!”

“No need,” Xie Ke was just a little drunk but his head was still clear, “I have someone I like, and I just want to marry this person.”

You don’t need to snatch him, Xie Ke thought silently, what’s the point of snatching? Those who are snatched will escape. He was going to slowly trap Zhiyu like a spider weaving a web, lock him tightly, and Zhiyu would always belong to him and would never escape again.

The cavalry general was so drunk that he didn’t hear Xie Ke’s words clearly. He fell to the ground, laughing foolishly and muttering: “I… when I was your age, I was married a long time ago! It was the girl I had a crush on for a long time, hehe…”

Xie Ke disliked his drunkenness and stayed away subtly. He had to admit that he was somewhat upset and jealous when he heard this.

I also have a crush on my baby, and I had a crush on him in my previous life.

I wonder if he saw the note?

Xie Ke couldn’t help but recall Zhiyu’s face again. The last time he saw Zhiyu, he was so beautiful and cute. That must have been the cutest face in the world. It was cute when it was angry and cute when it was indifferent. He loved it so much no matter what.

After Zhiyu ran away in anger, Xie Ke regretted it again. He shouldn’t have been so reckless, but he really couldn’t hold back at that time.

It’s been too long since I’ve seen him…

In the previous life, when Zhiyu was this age, Xie Ke just wanted to avoid him and focus on his tasks. Later, he had some feelings but Zhiyu had already grown up.

He really missed Zhiyu’s teenage years, and missed the opportunity to see the naive and somewhat childish character of his lover. Zhiyu suffered, and it smoothed his edges and corners as he grew up. Every time Xie Ke thought of it, he regretted it and couldn’t wait to go back and kill himself in the past.

So God knows how happy Xie Ke was to be able to do it all over again. Zhiyu still had some baby fat on his face, was soft to kiss, his eyes were round and big, and apart from the fact that Zhiyu hated him because he remembered all those things from the past, he was back to being a real, pure teenager who dared to do anything.

The only thing Xie Ke could do was to do his best to protect such a Zhiyu.

I would really love to marry Zhiyu one day, Xie Ke thought with some anticipation.

The banquet was originally very boring, but Xie Ke felt happy because of this momentary association. When he returned to the courtyard at night, he had a smile on his face.

But when he entered the courtyard, his smile disappeared all at once.

“Why are you here?”

Shen Yang, standing in the courtyard, turned his head, glanced at Xie Ke and said, “Why is it that every time I come to see you, you’re full of alcohol? Zhiyu doesn’t like drunks.”

“Do you have the right to call him Zhiyu? You have to call him Wang Zhao.” Xie Ke sneered, too lazy to look at him, and went into the house alone. Nong Yu made a pot of tea and Xie Ke poured himself a few cups before continuing, “If you have something to say, say it. If not, get lost.”

Xie Ke was sure in his heart that if he included himself, there would be four people who had memories of the previous life. But he was the only one who could fully confirm this. Zhiyu had seen Shen Yang very few times, and so had Yuan Mingdao. The two of them should not be completely sure that Shen Yang had been reborn. Maybe they didn’t think about it at all. After all, Shen Yang’s performance so far was normal. Apart from stopping Zhiyu at the Fengyue House and during the Qionglin Banquet, he didn’t even say a few words.

As for Shen Yang, he didn’t realise that Zhiyu was also reborn, and he didn’t even know that Zhiyu’s stupidity was feigned.

Xie Ke didn’t want to clarify this point. He looked at Shen Yang, who was sitting opposite him, and raised his eyebrows with a sense of superiority.

“The matter of fraud in the imperial examination should be settled tomorrow according to the Crown Prince’s arrangement, right? Instead of stopping it, you have the leisure to come and sit with me?” In addition to what Xie Ke thought in his heart, he didn’t forget to be sarcastic, “Don’t forget, you are now the sixth-rank compiler of the Hanlin Academy, not the prime minister. When the time comes, you will go to jail. Don’t ask me to save you.”

Shen Yang smiled slightly, not panicking at all, and said, “I also ask you to worry less. The compiling at the Hanlin Academy is too boring. This is the opportunity prepared for me. How can I play the trick of rising without attracting the emperor’s attention first?”

The author has something to say: 

Consort Yun looks at Xie Ke→ Xiaobao has a very good temper, but he hates this man very much. This man must have something wrong with him.

Zhiyu looks at Xie Ke→The biggest obstacle in my life

Yuan Mingdao looked at Xie Ke→I have to find a chance to eliminate him one day

Shen Yang looks at Xie Ke→Old son of a bitch