CH 21

Chapter 21 Fang Wuyang 

With permission from the person in the room, Qu Chenzhou was led across the threshold and knelt, in the center of the reception pavilion. 

The moment he entered the door and raised his eyes, he saw Liu Zhongming sitting near the bookcase. The shining hexagrams that once described him as the “destined person of heaven” had disappeared, and were replaced by nothingness. 

Just like it had in his previous life. 

Back then, he had naively thought that the disappearance of this hexagram wasn’t usual, and meant that everything was fine. Even if the emperor were to ask him, he could speak boldly without a doubt, but he did not expect that a truly terrible hexagram would appear in only a few years. 

He didn’t recognize the young man next to Liu Zhongming, but he seemed familiar. Counting the people around Zhongming that he hadn’t seen before, he had a general idea about the identity of the other party. 

“Is this our Little Brother Qu?” A playful voice sounded above his head and a hand pinched his chin to force him to raise his face. 

“Zhongming, did I tell you just now that when that child’s mother was young, she was a famous beauty within Baxiang. I think she would’ve been rated  as the best had she entered the palace. Even though she wasn’t very young, she could make my heart throb and jump around every time I saw her. A real jewel in the dust.” 

A grin appeared on the seemingly innocent face: “Looking at his profile, Little Brother Xiao Qu seems to have inherited his mother’s looks. Tsk tsk, it’s a pity that Du Quan insisted on hurting him. Just imagine how much money was lashed out by these whips! Had he sent him to a brothel to pick up guests instead, he would’ve definitely done well as a cash cow.”

Qu Chenzhou lowered his gaze. Neither did he look at Fang Wuyang, nor was he surprised. Since Zhongming doubted him, he would’ve definitely had sent someone back to his hometown to investigate his life. 

At this point, he was not worried. 

What else was there to be discovered about his life? He was nothing more than a slave from life to death. 

But he was afraid it was exactly this fact about him, that gave the impression of a strong sense of discord. 

Liu Zhongming’s gaze was fixed on him. He paid no attention to Fang Wuyang’s long-winded rambling. He put down his teacup for a while, then asked: “Do you still have a fever?” 

Upon hearing this question, Qu Chenzhou vaguely remembered that when he was unconscious, he felt that his internal organs were getting hot, but his whole body was very cold. However, he had no extra energy to think about what happened. 

He never expected that Liu Zhongming would find out that he had a temperature and take him back to his bedroom. 

This kind of seemingly non-existent warmth made his throat choke a little. He paused for a moment before answering: “There’s no fever anymore, thank you for the concern.” 

“It turns out you’re not mute,” Liu Zhongming smiled softly: “Do you still remember my question?” 

The answer again was silence. 

“Oh, forcing a confession?” Although he didn’t care about Liu Zhongming’s affairs, it never prevented Fang Wuyang from sticking his nose in between: “I can do that.”

The force on his chin disappeared. A hand then grasped the iron chain dragging on the ground, and Qu Chenzhou’s hands were lifted over his head. 

Feeling the pulse on his wrist pass through the other’s fingertips, Qu Chenzhou closed his eyes. 

He was sure of who this person was—as he had guessed, it was Fu Wuyang.

Liu Zhongming had mentioned him many times to him, but he had never had the opportunity to meet him.

He had heard that when the Liu family was destroyed, it was Fang Wuyang who was waiting outside the city to receive Liu Zhongming; but unfortunately, he couldn’t stay with the future emperor for the rest of his time. 

Not long after the night of the forced abdication, Fang Wuyang had tried his best to take away the imprisoned Jingchen from the palace. But he had failed to get away and had died under a sword. 

During the time he spent in the dark prison when he was dying bit by bit, he had heard Jing Chen choke out Fang Wuyang’s name repeatedly while leaving slashes on his body. 

He had thought that once he died, the grievances from his previous life would disappear,  and he didn’t expect to meet him again so soon. 

“Sir,” Fang Wuyang smiled innocently, but he said to Liu Zhongming, “if I help you get the answer, will you reward me…” 

He didn’t have the chance to say anything before he was coldly interrupted by Liu Zhongming: “Fang Wuyang, did I give you the permission to touch him?” 

The two who were standing and kneeling – they were both surprised.

Fang Wuyang was stunned for a moment. He then scanned Qu Chenzhou from top to bottom several times, and suddenly smiled tenderly: “Oh, I was wrong. No wonder Shiyan told me not to be nosy. It turns out that Young Master had long been aware of the unpolished jade, and knew to cherish the weak. I shouldn’t have forgotten.” 

Before Liu Zhongming could become angry, he flew away with a string of laughter. 

The reception pavilion was quiet, and only the spring under the porch outside, shyly gurgled with the sound of water. The water drops gently splashed on the stones laid below; a refreshing coolness in the early summer. 

The person in front of him did not ask him anything more, and there were no other sounds. Qu Chenzhou waited silently for a moment, then softly said, “Thank you.” 

Liu Zhongming frowned. This person was almost tormented to death by himself. He didn’t expect him to say thanks, and it annoyed him a bit. 

Qu Chenzhou slept in a room outside his bedroom, covered in a sarong, for a day and two nights. He did not sleep well for those two nights, for the fear that he would dream of something that he shouldn’t dream of when he closed his eyes. 

Maybe it was also because of the lack of the origin of his anxiety that also frustrated him, he comforted himself. 

Otherwise, why would he have such a strong aversion and anxiety when Fang Wuyang was about to make a move. 

—-

Liu Zhongming missed his elder brother a little. After all, he was only seventeen years old. When encountering tricky things, he would always miss the person who had been supporting him since he was a child. 

This made him feel anxious and full of guilt. His brother had turned to bones under the soil, but he was still hesitating in his spring dream. 

His heart floating in the air gradually sank again, and he acted as if he didn’t hear the thank you from Qu Chenzhou: “Have you thought about what you want to say?” 

The answer to him was still silence. 

“You can take the time to consider, anyway, I have plenty of time. I am just afraid your master is not so patient.” He rang a handbell and called a person to come to the door: “Lock him outside.” 

The servant led Qu Chenzhou outside.

The iron chain that locked his hands was wrapped around the railing outside the study. Qu Chenzhou had only a few feet to walk around for his perimeter. Knowing that Liu Zhongming was watching him from within the house, he just sat on the steps and held his knees. 

Although this posture was not pretty, it was leisurely ease that he hadn’t experienced in a long time. 

There was no need to think about anything, and no need to rack his brain over every step of his path. 

The corpse mountain and sea of ​​blood had nothing to do with him. 

Finally, there was a whole afternoon where he could do nothing. He could just use grass to guide busy ants. One of the ants was carrying a huge piece of food residue and was caught by a raised soil slope. The ant dragged the food several times, but could not move. 

It looked pitiful. Taking the residue in his hand, he wanted to help send it to the hole under the steps. When he moved, he pulled the chains and made a clashing sound, only to realize that he couldn’t reach that far. He could only put it down regretfully. 

He stared at the residue that couldn’t reach the entrance of the cave and the ants that couldn’t find food. He was in a daze for a long time without realizing it. 

If it weren’t for him, would everything not turn out so bad? 

If he had never been born… would everything be fine… would everyone walk on their normal path? 

After dealing with the tasks at hand, it was almost noon. When Liu Zhongming stepped out of the threshold of the study, he didn’t intend to bother with that person, but that person sitting on the steps heard his footsteps and looked back.

Those slightly flushed eyes contained a sense of fragility and he quickly lowered his head to avoid staring at him. 

He was once again defeated by this gaze. 

Under his sign, the people on the side hurriedly untied Qu Chenzhou and led him to walk along the corridor to the reception pavilion. 

Liu Zhongming was not a slow person, and he walked rather fast. Thus, the servant afraid he couldn’t keep up, quickly began to jog. But Qu Chenzhou still had fetters hanging on his feet, so he staggered and fell on his knees after such a pull. He was dragged to the ground again. 

“Get up!” Seeing that the distance with the prince was being widened, the servant was so anxious he pulled him until he half-kneeled. 

Because his fetters were wrapped around his ankles, Qu Chenzhou’s hands were suspended in the air and he was unable to exert any force. After struggling for a while and still unable to get up, his stomach received a sudden pain causing him to curl up.

He had been beaten all year round and was already very familiar with this kind of thing. He endured the pain without saying a word. He held his head habitually, and was kicked at the waist. 

The third kick did not fall on his body for a long time. He panted slightly and opened his eyes. He saw royal blue clothes parked in front of him. A shadow bent down, put his hands under his armpits, and helped him stand up. 

Liu Zhongming waved his hand and ordered the man to retreat. Watching Qu Chenzhou pat his body in embarrassment, then as if he had finally recovered, Liu Zhongming personally took the chain and took the man to walk a few steps forward. 

“Qu Chenzhou,” he quickly stopped, turned around and asked: “Why didn’t you resist just now?” 

“Resist…” Qu Chenzhou murmured and repeated it as if he heard a joke. It took a long time before he curled his lips mockingly, and asked: “A person like me, how does the world want me to resist?”