Zhu Yu – Chapter 122

Fan Changyu, still reeking of alcohol from her drinking the night before, changed into the clean robes brought by Xie Wu. Seeing Xie Zheng’s men harnessing horses to a carriage as if preparing to go out, she grabbed two large steamed buns from the breakfast tray and headed outside.

This action amused Xie Zheng. “Are you that hungry?”

Fan Changyu ignored him and climbed into the carriage, munching on her bun.

The steamed buns from the City Lord’s mansion were soft and fragrant, much better than those served in the army.

Xie Zheng hadn’t felt hungry, but watching her eat suddenly made him want to try one. He leaned against the other side of the carriage, staring at her for a moment before asking, “Are they that good?”

Fan Changyu, realizing he hadn’t eaten anything this morning either, generously offered him the other bun in her hand. “Here, take it.”

Instead of accepting it, Xie Zheng leaned forward and restrained her other hand. He took a bite of the half-eaten bun that was meant for her mouth.

Fan Changyu glared at him angrily. He chewed and swallowed nonchalantly, then nodded. “It is quite sweet.”

His double entendre made Fan Changyu’s face flush with embarrassment and annoyance. She retorted furiously, “You’re just copying what I said!”

Xie Zheng raised an eyebrow. “How does taking a bite of your food relate to ‘copying what you said’?”

Seeing Fan Changyu’s slightly confused expression, Xie Zheng paused for a moment before asking, “Do you think that when someone bites the same food you’ve eaten, it means they’re copying what you said?”

Fan Changyu nodded honestly and asked, “Isn’t that what it means?”

Xie Zheng rubbed his temples, speechless. “What on earth has the old man been teaching you?”

Fan Changyu mumbled, “I figured that out on my own from reading books.”

This response both amused and exasperated Xie Zheng. He looked at her with half-raised phoenix eyes and said, “Well, aren’t you quite the scholar.”

Fan Changyu wasn’t foolish; she could tell this wasn’t a compliment. She quickly finished the last bun and said, “We spent money on advisors during wartime. Now that we’re not at war, I’ll hire a tutor for myself.”

Xie Zheng replied, “There’s no need to go to such trouble.”

“‘Shi’ means to pick up or collect; ‘ya hui’ refers to others’ words. To pick up others’ words and use them as your own often implies plagiarism or imitation.”

His voice was deep and magnetic as he patiently explained the idiom. The fierce aura of a military general faded, replaced by an elegance that Fan Changyu couldn’t quite describe.

Noticing her distraction, Xie Zheng lightly tapped her forehead and said, “From now on, come to me for two hours of study each day. Otherwise, when the old man returns and sees how you’ve turned out, he might have a fit.”

Fan Changyu, rubbing her forehead where he had tapped her, forgot her anger upon hearing about Master Tao. She asked, “Do you have news of your adoptive father?”

Xie Zheng’s eyes darkened slightly. “No, but it’s certainly connected to Wei Yan.”

His voice turned ice-cold as he finished speaking.

Just then, the carriage came to a stop, and Xie Shiyi’s voice called from the front, “Master, we’ve arrived.”

Xie Zheng stepped out of the carriage first, extending a hand to assist Fan Changyu. She was wearing a fitted outfit and easily jumped down with her long legs, turning back to raise an eyebrow at Xie Zheng.

The autumn sunlight filtered through the tree leaves, dappling her face. The smile playing at the corners of her mouth was a radiant blend of youthful masculinity and femininity—pure, bright, warm, and vibrant.

Seeing her smile, Xie Zheng’s lips curved slightly. “I was worried you might pull at your wound.”

Fan Changyu dismissively said, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

She walked along the path strewn with yellow leaves. Xie Zheng followed a step behind, yet managed to grasp her hand precisely. “I know, but I worry it might hurt you.”

His words caught Fan Changyu off guard, causing her heart to skip a beat.

She turned her head to look at Xie Zheng but saw him gazing straight ahead. He said, “We’re here.”

At the end of the secluded path stood a separate courtyard. Dozens of black-armored guards stood watch outside. Upon seeing Xie Zheng, they all dropped to one knee. “Marquis.”

Xie Zheng nodded slightly and ordered, “Open the gates.”

As the red-lacquered doors slowly swung open, a mother and son inside the courtyard looked up towards the entrance.

Fan Changyu, delighted and surprised, quickly walked into the courtyard. “Qianqian?”

Yu Qianqian was equally shocked and pleased. She grasped Fan Changyu’s hands, looking her over. “I never thought I’d see you here…”

She then urged her son, who had grown considerably taller, to greet Fan Changyu. “Bao’er, this is your Aunt Changyu. Quick, say hello.”

Yu Bao’er glanced towards the gate, and seeing only Xie Zheng had entered with Fan Changyu, he turned to her and said, “Aunt Changyu.”

After this greeting, he nervously squeezed his hands hidden in his sleeves and asked, “Where’s Sister Changning?”

It had been nearly half a year since he had last seen Changning at the Prince of Changxin’s mansion. He didn’t know if she had been rescued or taken elsewhere by those people.

Fan Changyu patted his head and said, “I only just found out you were here. Ning’er is at home. We’ll bring her over later.”

Yu Bao’er visibly relaxed and obediently agreed.

Yu Qianqian, seemingly aware of Xie Zheng’s identity, appeared somewhat flustered upon seeing him again. “Thank you, Marquis, for your kindness in rescuing us.”

Xie Zheng avoided Yu Qianqian’s bow, simply saying, “It is our duty as officials.”

This subtle form of address made both Fan Changyu and Yu Qianqian sense something unusual.

Just then, Xie Shiyi hurried into the courtyard, apparently with urgent news to report but hesitant to speak due to the crowd.

Xie Zheng said, “You all chat for now,” and left the courtyard.

After Xie Zheng departed, Yu Qianqian sat down with Fan Changyu and poured her some tea. She then asked, “The Marquis is still your husband, right?”

After being taken back by Qi Min, she knew little of recent events. Now, learning that Xie Zheng was the Marquis of Wu’an, she was unsure of the current situation between him and Fan Changyu.

Fan Changyu held her teacup, thought for a moment, and said, “Not really. Our marriage was fake from the start.”

Yu Qianqian’s hand paused as she poured her tea, thinking Fan Changyu was now following Xie Zheng without any official status. She looked at Fan Changyu with complex emotions and sympathy. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up such matters…”

Fan Changyu brushed it off. “It’s no big deal.”

Seeing her genuinely unbothered, Yu Qianqian relaxed a bit. She then shook her head and smiled, “You’re so carefree, I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse… Well, with your military achievements, you’ll surely be granted an official position in the future. Living on a government salary, you won’t need to worry about marriage.”

Fan Changyu was confused by this sudden turn to the topic of marriage. She coughed and said, “That’s still far off.”

Yu Qianqian sighed and asked, “So you and the Marquis plan to continue like this?”

Fan Changyu scratched her head, pondering the meaning of “continue like this.” Master Tao was still missing, Wei Yan hadn’t been overthrown, and the Meng family’s injustice remained unresolved. With so many pressing matters, of course, they needed to settle these issues before thinking about marriage.

So Fan Changyu nodded and said, “This is fine for now.”

The sympathy in Yu Qianqian’s eyes grew more evident. She hit Fan Changyu’s arm and scolded, “You foolish girl!”

She then sighed deeply and advised, “I know the Marquis is an extraordinary man. No woman in the world wouldn’t admire such a hero. But he will marry someday, and if you follow him without any official status, you’ll only hurt yourself in the end.”

Fan Changyu finally realized Yu Qianqian’s misunderstanding. She scratched the back of her head awkwardly and said, “He wants to marry me, but I think it’s not the right time yet…”

Yu Qianqian was speechless, realizing she had worried unnecessarily.

Yu Qianqian pretended to be angry, and Fan Changyu honestly revealed her background. Yu Qianqian’s expression changed several times before she said with complex emotions, “Despite the enmity between your families, the Marquis treats you so well. His sincerity is as clear as day.”

Fan Changyu smiled gently. “I won’t let him suffer from a guilty conscience for the rest of his life, nor will I allow my maternal grandfather to be wrongly accused for eternity.”

Infected by Fan Changyu’s determination and spirit at that moment, Yu Qianqian also smiled and said, “Then keep investigating. If you hit a dead end, you might try looking into the Sui family.”

Fan Changyu asked in surprise, “The Sui family?”

Yu Qianqian nodded.

She only learned of Qi Min’s true identity after being rescued by the Black Clothes Cavalry.

Before, she had only felt that Qi Min’s relationship with the Prince of Changxin’s household was strange. Lan Shi and Zhao Xun were ostensibly servants of the prince’s household, yet they were constantly guarding against the prince’s people.

At first, she had guessed that the Sui brothers were not on good terms, given they were not full brothers.

Later, when the Prince of Changxin and Sui Yuanqing successively lost power, Qi Min played a game of deception with her and Bao’er, going so far as to kill his aunt, the Princess of Changxin, who had treated him like her own son. Only then did Yu Qianqian realize how terrifying he truly was.

At that time, his face was splattered with the blood of the Princess of Changxin whom he had just killed. He placed the dagger in the hand of the princess’s body, which had not yet stiffened, to create the illusion of suicide. Unfortunately, Yu Qianqian had accidentally pulled back the curtain and witnessed the scene. The look Qi Min gave her when he raised his head still haunted her nightmares.

He was like a viper lurking in the darkness, coiled and waiting for the perfect moment to strike fatally.

Yu Qianqian said, “I always felt that Qi Min seemed to harbor a particular hatred for the Sui family. When the Crown Princess of Chengde chose the Sui family as Qi Min’s hiding place back then, there must have been a reason.”

The speaker may be unaware, but the listener takes note.

On the way back from Yu Qianqian’s place, Fan Changyu was lost in thought.

Xie Zheng rapped his knuckles on the low table in the carriage and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Fan Changyu said, “Qianqian mentioned that Qi Min seems to hate the Sui family. When the Crown Princess of Chengde hid him with the Sui family back then, it probably wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision.”

Xie Zheng narrowed his eyes. “The Prince of Changxin is dead, and Sui Yuanqing is still in my custody. Once we capture Qi Min and bring him back, we’ll interrogate him thoroughly.”

Fan Changyu asked, “When Shiyi came to find you earlier, was there news about Qi Min?”

Xie Zheng nodded. “The Black Clothes Cavalry has found him, following Li Huai’an.”

During the last raid by the Black Clothes Cavalry, the Li family’s death squads and the imperial shadow guards with Qi Min had helped him escape. Xie Zheng had lost their trail.

Li Huai’an secretly left Lu City to rendezvous with Qi Min, inadvertently leading Xie Zheng’s men right to him—

The torrential rain had stopped, but water still dripped from the eaves of the dilapidated temple. Below the eaves, the puddles were stained a lurid rouge.

Corpses littered the ground, their blood dyeing the rainwater red.

Li Huai’an lay at the temple entrance, blood trickling from his mouth. Seeing Sui Yuanqing approach Qi Min with a spear, he struggled to get up and stop him, but it was too late. He could only cry out hoarsely in anguish, “Your Highness, run! Run quickly…”

Sui Yuanqing stepped on Li Huai’an’s hand, staring at his pain-contorted face with a sneer. “The Li family truly excels at breeding loyal dogs. Pity your loyalty is misplaced.”

He walked step by step towards Qi Min, who sat by the fire. The tassel below the spear tip, stained red with blood, dripped thick droplets onto the temple’s stone floor as he moved.

Outside the temple, the Black Clothes Cavalry, having dealt with the remaining death squads, saw Sui Yuanqing about to take Qi Min’s life and shouted, “The Marquis orders us to capture him alive!”

Sui Yuanqing flashed a crazed grin at the speaker, his eyes wild with the anticipation of imminent vengeance. “Xie Zheng’s orders mean nothing to me! Do you think I fear the poison you’ve given me? Once I kill this bastard, I’ll gladly join my father and mother in the underworld!”

Several Black Clothes Cavalry members rushed in to stop him but were sent flying by a sweep of his spear.

He pointed the spear tip at Qi Min’s throat, sneering, “You’ve been living under someone else’s name for over a decade. I suppose you have no last words…”

Qi Min calmly called out, “Brother Qing.”

A vein bulged on Sui Yuanqing’s temple, and he viciously slashed with the spear tip, opening a gash from the corner of Qi Min’s mouth to his cheek.

He snarled, “You’re not worthy of calling me that!”

Sui Yuanqing had been cunning and deceitful for half his life, yet this was the first time he’d been so thoroughly deceived.

Fifteen years of brotherly affection—all a lie!

The brother with the burned face and mercurial temper, who always gently called him “Brother Qing” and urged him to study hard—also a lie!

Qi Min’s face remained calm despite the blood from his split lip. He lowered his eyes and said, “At this point, I should still apologize to you. Whether you believe it or not, I never intended to harm you in the slightest.”

These words were like oil on fire. In his fury, Sui Yuanqing abandoned his spear and stepped forward to roughly grab Qi Min’s collar, shouting hoarsely, “Never intended to harm me? You just didn’t have the chance, right? My mother treated you like her own son. How could you bring yourself to—ugh…”

Before he could finish his question, Sui Yuanqing felt a sudden chill in his chest.

A metallic taste rose in his throat. He looked down to see a dagger plunged into his left chest, its handle gripped by Qi Min.

He struggled to raise his head, looking at Qi Min with a smile more painful than tears. “…Never intended… to harm me?”

Qi Min, without blinking, drove the dagger an inch deeper, coldly watching Sui Yuanqing’s convulsing body. “And you believed such words. You deserve to die.”

Suí Yuánqīng could no longer hold himself upright and collapsed onto his knees. Tears welled up in his bloodshot eyes as he pleaded, “…I’ve always… always regarded you as my elder brother…”

Qí Mín, his face expressionless, pulled out the dagger without a second glance at the lifeless body behind him. His voice was cold and venomous, “This is what the Suí family owes me!”

Li Huái’ān, who lay stunned at the dilapidated temple’s entrance, was utterly shaken by the sudden turn of events.

When Qí Mín stepped closer to him, he paused briefly and said, “I originally thought you were with them. Since you’ve shown loyalty to Gu, I’ll spare your life.”

Blood covered the half of Qí Mín’s face that had been cut, and he lowered his gaze slightly as he spoke, looking like a malevolent spirit cloaked in human skin.

Li Huái’ān, under that piercing gaze, felt paralyzed, as if he couldn’t move a muscle.

Outside the temple, a group of Blood-clad Riders noticed the shift in the situation and were preparing to attack Qí Mín together. But suddenly, a second wave of Shadow Guards descended from the temple roof, striking with lightning speed and killing the Blood-clad Riders in the blink of an eye.

Cold sweat drenched Li Huái’ān’s back—Qí Mín’s Shadow Guards hadn’t been annihilated at all!

He had planned for this from the very start!

Qí Mín looked coldly as a Shadow Guard searched a dead Blood-clad Rider’s body and pulled out a dark iron medallion. Picking it up, he tossed it to Li Huái’ān, his gaze as chilling as a viper’s stare. “Go, and bring Gu’s men back.”

Li Huái’ān caught the bloodstained medallion and turned to glance at the first corpse that had blocked Qí Mín’s path—Lady Lán, lying lifeless by the fire pit. A shiver ran down his spine.

Is this the person the Li family wants to support? Would he truly be a wise ruler once seated on the dragon throne?