CH 121

Chapter 121: Separation

All around was the sound of muffled water, the voices and light on the shore seemed to be separated in another world.

Qu Chenzhou vigorously stepped on the water beneath his feet and saw that Madam Bai was instinctively pressing down on him, struggling to reach the surface. He quickly grabbed her by the back of her neck and pushed her down into the water.

Almost at the same time, something swept past their heads with a whistling sound, and was silently swallowed by the sound of water.

Just then, the servant they had seen at the Moon Cave Gate was screaming in terror in the corridor.

If he hadn’t suddenly glimpsed the intruding servant, he wouldn’t have made up his mind so quickly. But now his escape route was only this narrow path.

Madam Bai’s body became heavier and heavier, and he was pressed under the water. He could only use all his strength to lift her up. Fortunately, the lotus pond was not too deep, and he could still barely touch the bottom with his feet.

Through the water’s surface, he could see the crowd quickly gathering towards them, with the sound of splashing water all around. It was unclear how many people jumped down.

Qu Chenzhou’s eyes were closed, but he knew he was being dragged by someone, while his hand was still tightly holding onto Madam Bai’s clothes, refusing to let go. 

“I saw it!” shouted a servant, “This slave pushed Madam Bai into the water!” 

Someone was pulling his hand and kicking his arm, he couldn’t wipe the water off his face. All he knew was that he was holding onto Madam Bai tightly. 

He couldn’t let go. 

His mind was in chaos – Zhongming was not far away, he must… he must be able to come in time. 

“Kill him! Kill him!” 

Qu Chenzhou curled up his body, but the expected pain did not come as a clear young voice rang out in front of him, shouting down to the angry mob. 

“Don’t move!” the young man ordered sternly. “Someone, go find Uncle and Cousin, and fetch the imperial physician!” 

Qu Chenzhou’s eyes suddenly reddened, and the tense string suddenly relaxed as he could no longer hold onto Madam Bai’s clothes.

It has been a long time since he heard this sound last time, but he still recognized who the person was.

“Master,” someone hurriedly reminded him, “someone just saw this slave push the lady into the water. His heart is malicious! He must be severely punished!”

The young man sneered, “He is a slave under my Liu family. Life and death punishment will be decided by my second brother. Do you want to teach my second brother how to manage people?”

The person laughed along and dared not say anything more.

Kneeling on the ground, Qu Chenzhou panted heavily and grabbed the moon-white dress in front of him. “Madam Bai…”

The young man had a cold and arrogant expression, not squatting down, but grabbed the hem of the dress and shouted, “Uncle will come over immediately. Shilei can accompany Auntie, there is no need to worry about anything else.”

Qu Chenzhou finally relaxed, Qingchi heard his whisper. It was meant for him to know that Shilei had been by Madam Bai’s side all the time.

Although he didn’t know how Zhongming had talked to Liu Qingchi or what he had said, finally…after such a long time, they were all together again.

Regardless of why he could have a second chance at life, he just wanted to kneel down and thank the heavens.

Soon, footsteps came from the entrance of the Moon Cave Gate, and a familiar voice was particularly clear among them.

“What’s the matter?”

Immediately, someone stepped forward and said, “Shizi, someone just saw with their own eyes that this slave took advantage of no one being around and pushed Madam Bai into the lotus pond, but accidentally fell in himself.”

Liu Zhongming didn’t even glance down at the ground, only asking Liu Qingchi, “Where is Auntie?”

“She’s with Shilei, and a physician has already been sent for,” Liu Qingchi replied.

Liu Qingchi walked up to them and pointed in a certain direction when he saw the Bai family had also rushed over.

Bai Shining didn’t stop walking and only tapped the back of Bai Shiyan, indicating for the person to stay behind, then strode away from the crowd.

With their uncle there to take care of Auntie, they didn’t have to worry anymore, and the rest was simple. All they needed to do was say a few words and get the person back quickly, and everyone would feel at ease.

Liu Zhongming glanced at the person at his feet, who looked a little disheveled but thankfully wasn’t injured.

When he left in the morning, Qu Chenzhou repeatedly warned him to put away his meaningless regret and self-blame. Since he was in this position, he should do what he was supposed to do.

This time, Qu Chenzhou insisted on coming to the Western Garden, not just for Madam Bai, but also for the rare opportunity to see people who couldn’t be reached in the deep palace.

They needed to know more, so what did a little suffering matter?

Liu Zhongming felt inexplicably ashamed by the scolding. He was afraid to retort or show his anxiety, and even wished he could switch places with Qu Chenzhou so he would suffer less.

Fortunately, everything was still okay.

Qu Chenzhou didn’t call out to him as they had agreed before, so it seemed that Auntie wasn’t in any immediate danger.

Everything was still okay.

“Shiyan, don’t worry. Auntie will be fine,” Liu Zhongming sighed and shouted behind him, “Steward Lin, take him down and wait for me to deal with him when I get back.”

How could Steward Lin ever be in such a scene? He was already holding his breath, and now he was even more nervous and had cold hands and feet. He was pushed by someone next to him before he hurriedly nodded and greeted the people to come forward.

Qu Chenzhou was not yet helped up when people rushed into the Moon Cave Gate again. The palace people opened the way, and Yu Dexi and Liu Qingru supported Emperor Yu on both sides.

The people kneeling by the Lotus Pond were making noise.

“What’s going on?” Emperor Yu asked displeased, “Everything was fine. Who is causing trouble?”

Liu Zhongming glanced sideways at Bai Shiyan, bowed down again, and said, “Your Majesty, it is the fault of me not disciplining my subordinates properly and alarming Your Majesty. I will take the person back and punish him severely.”

Since he said it so vaguely, no one around him dared to speak out of turn. Liao Guangming had a request for him, so he just pretended not to hear and turned his face away.

But someone next to him chuckled twice, “Shizi is really good at speaking. I just heard that it was clearly Shizi’s servant who had evil intentions and pushed Madam Bai into the water. How did it become ‘lax discipline’?”

Liu Zhongming raised his head and saw Ren Rui gloating, but he looked at Bai Shiyan with no smile in his eyes, realizing it clearly.

Qu Chenzhou had warned him before that Shilei had escorted Ren Rui back to the capital, and Shiyan had refused to let Ren Rui come to the Northern Bureau. Someone like Ren Rui must have resentment in his heart.

Now suddenly adding a mouth to this, it is obvious that he is trying to sow discord between their two families and not intending to let this matter go lightly.

“Shut up.” Qi Wang followed behind Emperor Yu and sternly rebuked.

Emperor Yu had already heard the meaning of the words and frowned, “Zhongming, is what he said true or false?”

Liu Zhongming had no choice but to step forward and say, “Your Majesty, I have just arrived and have not yet inquired about the whole situation. I dare not make a hasty judgment.”

Suddenly, Bai Shiyan, who had been silent all along, stood up and grabbed Liu Zhongming’s sleeve. “Zhongming! Why didn’t you tell me earlier that it was this slave who pushed my mother into the water?”

“Bai Shiyan!” Liu Zhongming scolded in anger. “Didn’t you hear me say that I haven’t clarified the situation yet? Do you trust others or me?”

“You…”

“Shiyan,” Emperor Yu interrupted their argument and looked around at everyone. “Who knows what exactly happened?”

Someone kneeled and walked forward, stammering, “Your Majesty, I was serving at Fang Cao Ting and was about to come over to change the tea. I just turned around and saw this slave pushing Madam Bai, and then they both fell into the water.”

Following the person’s gaze, Emperor Yu saw the person crouching behind Liu Zhongming and became very angry. “How dare this slave have such malicious thoughts! What is the point of teaching him a lesson! Drag him out and beat him to death with clubs!”

Before Liu Zhongming could speak, Mu Jingzhao, who had been silent all along, was scared and shouted, “No!”

Emperor Yu’s hazy gaze shifted over to him, and Mu Jingzhao didn’t dare to make a fuss anymore, only murmuring softly, “It’s a good day today, killing people…is never a good thing.”

Suddenly, Qu Chenzhou, who had been quiet all this time, crawled past Liu Zhongming and begged for mercy with his head down, “Your Majesty, spare my life! Spare my life!”

Liu Zhongming’s mind tightened, almost bursting out in anger – this person was simply a reckless lunatic, leaving the green mountains behind without fear of running out of firewood. Why bother rushing to make a hasty decision?

“You scoundrel, so you admit it?” Liu Zhongming shouted angrily, grabbing Qu Chenzhou with one hand and pushing him forcefully.

Amidst the shocked cries of the crowd, Qu Chenzhou was once again pushed back into the lotus pond, his face upturned.

“Forgive me Shizi!” He struggled in the water, sinking and floating, as if he was about to run out of strength, but he didn’t dare climb up to the shore. He could only weakly cry for help: “Shizi! This slave won’t dare to do it again!”

Liu Zhongming didn’t even look at him and said to Bai Shiyan, “Bai Shiyan, are you satisfied with this explanation?”

Bai Shiyan was still angry with him and turned his head to look at the struggling person in the water, sneering.

“My mother’s safety, can it compare to the life of a dog slave? And drowning him so easily, isn’t it letting him off too easily?”

Emperor Yu was like watching his two children sulking and playing peacemaker, laughing, “Bai Shiyan, Zhongming has shown his sincerity. Your mother is the most important thing, hurry and go see her.”

“Your Majesty…”

Bai Shiyan was about to say something, but someone came running from the other side.

The person was originally running towards Bai Shiyan, but when he saw Emperor Yu present, he fell to his knees with a thud and loudly said, “Greetings to Your Majesty, Greetings to the Empress.”

Yu Gonggong stepped forward and rebuked, “What’s the matter, why are you in such a panic?”

The man looked at Bai Shiyan and kowtowed, “The imperial physician just checked and said that Madam Bai was frightened and will give birth prematurely.”

Bai Shiyan stood up suddenly and exclaimed in surprise, “How could this be!”

“The midwife has already gone in, General Bai and the others are waiting outside,” the man lowered his head and stole a glance at Liu Zhongming.

“The Madam said it was the slave of Shizi’s house who pushed her and caused her to fall. General Bai is very angry and said… he wants to take the person back and personally tear apart the dog slave.”

“No way!” Liu Zhongming suddenly became angry, “Your Majesty, I bought him, if he is to be beaten or killed, it should be my decision.”

“Outrageous!” Liu Qingru scolded him beside Emperor Yu and looked at Emperor Yu’s face, “Kneel down now!”

Liu Zhongming pursed his lips and knelt down, looking aggrieved. “Your Majesty, please forgive me…”

Mu Jingzhao was fidgeting anxiously beside him.

Just now when Qu Chenzhou raised his head, Emperor Yu had caught a glimpse of his appearance in an instant. Seeing his son’s hopeless look, he understood everything.

“A bunch of foolish children.”

Bai Shiyan refused to back down and also knelt down, kowtowing to the ground. “Your Majesty! This dog slave, I must take him away! I also implore Your Majesty to help my mother, and ask Shizi to give an account to my Bai family.”

“Why is he so audacious? Who instructed him? I will get to the bottom of this!”

This was the first time everyone present had heard Bai Shiyan refer to Shizi as “Shizi”. This statement was particularly alarming, and they exchanged glances while calculating in their hearts.

“Shiyan, you have been playing with Zhongming since childhood. Your words carry weight. I will make the decision to have you take him away.” Emperor Yu said sternly. Not seeing Liu Weizheng present, he turned to the side and instructed, “Qingru, you should also properly discipline Zhongming.”

He gave Mu Jingzhao a fierce look.

There was no need to say anything more, as everyone else knew that the Emperor Yu was dissatisfied with Shizi for going mad over a mere slave. Seeing Ning Wang’s expression of worry and anxiety, they feared that this incident was no different from the absurdity of last time.

“Let’s go,” Emperor Yu pressed down on Liu Qingru’s hand, indicating that she should stay behind. Then he said to Bai Shiyan, “Let’s go take a look at your mother first.”

Bai Shiyan waved his hand, and the guards accompanying him pulled Qu Chenzhou out of the lotus pond. Then, he caught up with Emperor Yu and took over Liu Qingru’s position.

As they turned around the corner, he glanced sideways.

Passing through the crowd gathered at the edge of the lotus pond, he saw the wolf-like eyes of Ren Rui.

He was an ambitious madman. His master behind him had always wanted him to replace you.

Qu Chenzhou had told him this before.

Indulging Ren Rui will inevitably lead to a day when this dangerous person can be used.