CH 57

Consort Yun looked at him, the worry in her eyes clear at a glance.

“Mother knows, I am very strong and have the ability to protect myself. I have prepared for this matter a long time ago. I really won’t let anything happen to me.” Fu Zhiyu comforted her, “It won’t take more than a few hours, we will follow up soon. This time, just listen to me, okay?”

Consort Yun looked directly into his eyes, and finally nodded.

To prepare to escape, she quickly changed her headdress full of beads and her luxurious clothes, put on the simplest and lightest clothes, and took nothing else, nor did she take another look at the things she was leaving.

Fu Zhiyu was prepared. He was riding a carriage from his residence. This carriage was specially made, and the hidden compartment was enough to hide a person.

It was getting dark, and Fu Zhiyu took advantage of the night, just like last time, to pass the poorly inspected gates without accident, and headed to his residence.

The capital was calm, like a pool of stagnant water, but there was an undercurrent surging inside.

Yuan Jiangxing’s private soldiers received the message from him and were divided into two teams. One team arrived at the Yuan residence and the other team came to Wang Zhao’s residence.

The man who led the team saluted Fu Zhiyu and said, “The Yuan family is doing well. According to your instructions, all the gold, silver and furs are left, just taking the people.”

Old Master Yuan was a bit pedantic by nature, and he was unwilling to leave at first, but after one sentence sent by Yuan Jiangwen, he was persuaded.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to leave, but with an identity like the Yuan family, it’s destined to be noticeable, and when others use you to threaten Consort Yun and Wang Zhao, how do you expect them to choose? What are they supposed to do?”

Old Master Yuan didn’t have many weaknesses, and what he cared about most was his little daughter and poor grandson whose fate was bad. He sighed and went with them. 

During the time of the four countries gathering, people came and went in the capital much more actively than before. The city gate had not been under martial law recently. With a little disguise, it was passed without an accident.

According to Fu Zhiyu’s arrangement, they would meet again after passing through the city gate and going to the house outside the capital, where fast horses and carriages were prepared to take them to Jiangnan as quickly as possible.

It was not difficult to escape. Fu Zhiyu knew that according to this plan, one could actually escape at any time. The difficulty was the aftermath, in order not to turn the escape into a flight.

Emperor Qingyuan would have to die this time, and there was no turning back.

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Fu Zhiyu returned to his residence. After he had done all these things, he sat in the hall for a while, then Rongrong came over and rubbed against his leg, raising his puppy eyes to look at him.

“I have to send you and Ah Tang away too,” Fu Zhiyu murmured, lowering his head and stroking Rongrong’s fur, “We can’t leave anyone behind.”

He let out a long sigh, only to feel that the stagnant air in his chest also disappeared with the departure of the Yuan family and Consort Yun.

He was not afraid of anything now, and a truly new beginning was just around the corner.

In fact, the two families, Xue and Lin, were nothing, but Xie Ke…

Part of the reason Fu Zhiyu stayed was because he was wary of him, but Xie Ke was crazy about him alone. As long as he was still here, there should be nothing wrong with his mother and the Yuan family.

He just hoped that everything would really go as he wished, and everything would go well.

Shen Yang didn’t go back to his mansion. He had nothing to do there. He just used an excuse in front of the emperor to come back to talk to Fu Zhiyu. Now that the goal had been achieved, he didn’t need to pretend that there was an urgent matter at the Ministry of Justice. 

The carriage turned around in front of Wang Zhao’s residence, and then followed Shen Yang’s instructions and left the city.

This time, it was already late at night when he returned to the hunting ground. Shen Yang didn’t eat anything today, but he didn’t feel hungry at all. He stayed in the carriage for a long time in a daze, thinking about something.

After returning to the hunting ground, he didn’t report to the emperor according to the normal procedures, but took a shortcut. The soldiers guarding the path were the guards of the Xie family. They glanced at him and let him pass.

It was in this state of disorientation that Shen Yang entered Xie Ke’s tent. His eyes were blank, and he walked as if he was floating. Today, he was dressed in all white, and at first glance he looked like a ghost.

Du Yin was talking to Xie Ke. He was taken aback when he saw Shen Yang come in. Once he recognised the man, he stopped talking at once, feeling that something was wrong.

After Xie Ke saw She Yang’s strange appearance, he first frowned, and then asked with concern: “How is Zhiyu? Did he take his medicine properly?”

Shen Yang shook his head. He stood in the centre of the tent, as if looking for a place to sit, but halfway there, he suddenly sat on the ground as if something had drained the strength out of his whole body.

“What’s the matter?” Xie Ke also obviously felt that he was really abnormal. He stood up all of a sudden and said nervously, “Is something wrong with Zhiyu? Say something.”

Du Yin also felt that the atmosphere was wrong. As soon as he heard Fu Zhiyu’s name, his eyelids twitched. Knowing that this was something he couldn’t control, he turned and went out very sensibly, leaving these two people alone in the tent.

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Shen Yang’s eyes were blank as if he looked at a point in the void. After a while he murmured: “I… did something wrong in my previous life, I know, I admit my mistake, but, could it be that in this life… I’m still wrong in the end?”

“What stupid things are you saying?” Xie Ke frowned, not caring about his messy psychological condition at all, just thinking about Fu Zhiyu, “How is Zhiyu? Is he alright? It should be very calm in the capital now, he can…”

After he said this, he was suddenly interrupted by Shen Yang: “It’s not only me who is wrong, you are also wrong, Xie Ke.”

Xie Ke didn’t understand and looked at him suspiciously.

“I know about Zhiyu’s rebirth, and I found it when he went out to look for Yuan Mingdao.” Shen Yang said; he seemed to have regained some sanity, and his speech gradually became clearer, “I originally wanted to confess these things to him in the carriage, thinking that… after making everything clear, maybe I can feel better, maybe Zhiyu can stop treating me as a stranger and will try to accept my help.

I also asked him: what do you really want?”

Xie Ke didn’t say anything; he actually wanted to know what the answer Shen Yang got from Zhiyu was.

He had also asked Zhiyu this question countless times. At various times and places, in various ways, he tried to find what Zhiyu cared about, what made him feel happy and what would make him feel that he, Xie Ke, was changing and was not that bad, but he never got an answer.

Shen Yang had a very good memory. When he read a book, he would never forget it, so he remembered everything Fu Zhiyu said clearly, and now he repeated it as if Zhiyu was standing in front of him.

He also deeply remembered Zhiyu’s expression at that time, calm, with some seriousness in his eyes. But there was nothing else, he didn’t find any hatred in it, as if Zhiyu really didn’t care about all those things in the past and he was the only one still brooding and begging for forgiveness.

Xie Ke also listened carefully and finally opened his mouth, not knowing how to react.

At that moment, he was grateful to Shen Yang that at least he was willing to tell him this.

He knew in his heart that Shen Yang was different from him. Although Shen Yang chose to betray in the end, before that, he had been loyal to his master and saved Zhiyu from danger. Unlike him, who could hardly pick out a few good things in his memories. Zhiyu would say such a long passage to Shen Yang from the bottom of his heart, but when it was Xie Ke’s turn, he wouldn’t say a word.

“Zhiyu said that I was successful in my two lifetimes. I think I have been confused for two lifetimes,” Shen Yang said with a wry smile. “You see, I have been trying so hard to find out what he wants, and I have self-righteously arranged for him to live a so-called peaceful life, but I have never thought about it the other way round. What does Zhiyu not want?

If I hadn’t used the method he didn’t want the most, we wouldn’t be like this. I have always been wrong, wrong until now.”

He took a deep breath, raised his head to look at Xie Ke, and then said, “I didn’t plan to tell you this, Xie Ke, you know in your own heart that there is no friendship between us, and it would be good if we didn’t draw swords against each other. But in the end, I still told you. I want you to wake up too, stop thinking that you are arranging something for Zhiyu, and give him respect. It is more important than all kinds of protection. I beg you, let him go.”

Xie Ke didn’t answer. He stayed frozen in place for a long time without speaking. The lights in the tent were a little dim, and Shen Yang couldn’t see his expression clearly.

“You go,” Xie Ke finally said, “let me… be alone.”

Shen Yang had already finished what he had to say. He stood up and walked out slowly. Halfway through, he turned around and said another thing as if he remembered something. “In fact, I have watched all your performances since I was reborn. I really find it very strange. Xie Ke, in my previous life, I always felt that you didn’t love Zhiyu at all. When I first came back, I was really surprised to see the things you did. I even wondered if someone else had occupied your body. But you do remember everything that happened before.

Xie Ke, I don’t believe in the lie of knowing your heart only after losing something. You are not that slow. After Zhiyu died, you lived as if you were fine, you didn’t miss anything. You couldn’t have been carefree for so many years before you understood.

You… are actually as presumptuous as I am in choosing what is best for Zhiyu, but using the means he least wanted, is that right?”

He seemed to have touched Xie Ke’s sore spot, which reminded him of some memories that he was very reluctant to remember, and he became emotional in an instant.

“Get out!”

Shen Yang seemed to have confirmed something with these two words. His expression became complicated for a moment, and finally he only glanced at Xie Ke with pity, turned around and left.

The lights in the tent flashed, and it seemed to become a little darker.

“…I’m changing, I’m… trying to get rid of the traits and practices that Zhiyu doesn’t like,” Xie Ke huddled up in place, his voice trembling and frightened, “027, is it really impossible for the two of us, Zhiyu and me…”

Unlike these two people who were now drowning in a whirlpool of emotions and couldn’t get out, 027, as a bystander, could still keep its sanity. It thought carefully and didn’t answer Xie Ke’s question immediately, but caught a point that neither of them had noticed.

“Why did Fu Zhiyu say that Shen Yang had been successful in both his lives?” 027 said suspiciously, “Forget about this life, but in the previous life, when he… wasn’t around, Shen Yang’s status… to be sure, he was just a traitor of the fallen emperor. With Fu Zhiyu’s impression of you so bad, why can he assume that Shen Yang must have had a good life following you?”