The lamplight flickered, and the four characters “Father, please open” on the envelope atop the desk table swayed along with it.

Ah Zhao’s handwriting had improved considerably compared to before.

Chu Ling reached out and gently traced his fingers over them, then raised his head to look at the young man A’Jiu, who had left and returned.

Vice General Zhong had been invited out by Chu Ling again, leaving only the two of them in the room once more.

“Ah Zhao told you she wanted to come back?” Chu Ling asked.

A’Jiu frowned: “Does that even need to be said? She went to such great lengths, deceiving so many people to play along with her act, all just to come back here.”

Is that so? Wasn’t it because she caused trouble in the capital? This young man probably didn’t know about Ah Zhao hitting someone.

Given that it concerned a young lady’s reputation, Vice General Zhong and the heir of Prince Zhongshan surely hadn’t mentioned it to these postal soldiers.

Chu Ling remained silent.

“So you’re not letting her come back?” A’Jiu pressed.

Chu Ling nodded: “That’s right.”

A’Jiu made a sound of acknowledgment and shrugged: “That’s a matter between you father and daughter. You can decide for yourselves. I’ll take my leave now.”

He had just come to ask, and now that he knew the result, that was enough. With that, he turned and walked away.

Chu Ling watched him, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk table—once, twice, three times—

The young man suddenly spun around.

“Why won’t you let your daughter come back?” he asked with an displeased expression, then smiled with feigned understanding. “Is it because she’s too troublesome?”

“My daughter is not troublesome at all,” Chu Ling shook his head and said decisively.

One’s own child is always good no matter what. A’Jiu curled his lips. He should leave, he really should have left already. It was just that his curiosity was too strong!

“I’m ill,” Chu Ling suddenly said, looking at A’Jiu. “Quite seriously ill.”

A’Jiu’s body stiffened. His gaze fell on Chu Ling—this military official in his forties had a sturdy build, bright eyes, and a ruddy complexion—

“You can’t tell, can you? I’m hiding it,” Chu Ling said with a smile. “No one knows.”

As he said this, he waved the letter from Young Master Xie.

“If they knew, Young Master Xie probably wouldn’t have written to befriend me.”

No one knew, yet now Chu Ling was telling him directly?

Was this trust?

The young man A’Jiu never felt pleased by trust. All trust in this world led to death.

It seemed he wouldn’t be walking out of here tonight.

He deserved it. Who told him to keep asking questions, seeking his own doom?

A’Jiu smiled self-mockingly, yet showed not the slightest fear or panic.

“So when I can no longer hide it, this place will become very lively. For safety’s sake, I sent my daughter away. If she returns to the capital and lives at home, my family has nothing to do with military power, and she can live peacefully and steadily,” Chu Ling continued, looking at A’Jiu. “I can’t tell her these things. I can only act the part of a hard-hearted, cruel father. When the dust settles here in the future, she’ll understand.”

A’Jiu looked at Chu Ling, made a sound of acknowledgment, and couldn’t help but say: “But I think Miss Chu understands very well right now.”

Chu Ling asked: “What did she tell you?”

“She didn’t tell me anything,” A’Jiu said with a frown.

This was the truth. That girl had told him nothing but lies before. After her identity was exposed, she stopped telling him anything. She had only sat before him, crying silently.

A’Jiu was silent for a moment, then said: “She knows you’re ill, and she also knows why you won’t let her come back. She understands all your intentions.”

Chu Ling looked at the young man’s face, was also silent for a moment, then smiled gently: “Good. As long as she understands, I can be at ease.”

A’Jiu gave a scoffing laugh.

Chu Ling looked at the young man and asked with a smile: “What? You think what I said is wrong?”

“I don’t think you’re wrong,” A’Jiu said, looking at him with a trace of mocking smile at the corner of his mouth. “I just think that people are indeed all selfish. The saying that parental love is selfless is all a lie.”

Chu Ling smiled: “So you still think I’m wrong. What do you mean by that?”

“General Chu, you say you’re doing everything for Miss Chu’s good, so you hide your illness from her and absolutely won’t let her come back no matter what, to keep her from being drawn into the danger here,” A’Jiu said. “Everything you’re doing is for her good, to let her live a stable life.”

Chu Ling nodded: “That’s right. I imagine all parents would make such arrangements for their children.”

A’Jiu’s phoenix eyes were full of mirth: “Yes, every parent is like this, wanting their children to live stable and prosperous lives, to achieve merit and success, to rise to higher positions, to wear gold and silver, eat fine food and drink good wine, to be the envy of all—”

Mm. Chu Ling looked at the young man. Whether every parent was like this, he wasn’t certain, but he could be certain that this young man’s parents were the same.

“But,” A’Jiu’s eyes lost their mirthful glint. “That’s only what the parents themselves think. They presume it’s for their children’s good, presume that’s what a good life is, and moreover, they’re not doing it for their children—they’re doing it for themselves.”

Chu Ling looked at him without speaking.

A’Jiu looked at him, enunciating each word: “For your own peace of mind, to move yourselves with your own sacrifice.”

“You don’t care at all what your children truly want in their hearts, don’t care how heartbroken they’ll be when they face all this in the future.”

“They wear gold and silver, and with every bite of food they eat, they’ll think: this was obtained through my parents’ sacrifice. What they wear isn’t gold and silver—it’s their parents’ blood-soaked clothes. What they eat isn’t food—it’s their parents’ flesh.”

“Day and night they’re trapped in pain, regret, and self-blame. This is the good life you parents think you’re giving them.”

“You’ve made your sacrifice, you have no more worries, but what do your children’s sorrow, grief, and heartache matter? As long as they have a stable life, good food and drink, and prosperous circumstances, that’s enough. They shouldn’t be ungrateful and fail to appreciate their parents’ good intentions.”

In the brightly lit room, the young man’s voice echoed hoarsely, his face full of mockery.

“You parents can do whatever you want, because you’re the parents, you make the decisions. But please, stop saying that it’s for your children to have a good life.”

“That’s really not for your children’s good life—it’s only for you yourselves to have a good life.”

Chu Ling looked at him as the gentle smile on his face faded and his eyes became profound.

The mockery in A’Jiu’s eyes dispersed, replaced by vexation. Why had he spoken all this nonsense, and to a stranger at that?

No one spoke, and the room became eerily quiet.

“Very well,” Chu Ling nodded, breaking the silence. “I understand now. It’s getting late, and you still have a journey ahead. You should head back first.”

A’Jiu said not a word, turned, and strode out, pulling open the door and walking out with large steps, eyes straight ahead, brushing past Vice General Zhong standing outside the door and hurrying away.

This time Vice General Zhong didn’t immediately go inside, but stared at the young man’s retreating figure.

Sure enough, just as he was about to step out the main gate, he came back again.

Vice General Zhong rolled his eyes, didn’t even look at the young man as he walked past him, and entered the room.

“What else did Ah Zhao tell you—” Chu Ling asked.

“I already said she didn’t tell me anything!” A’Jiu interrupted him irritably.

Chu Ling smiled, said nothing more, and gestured with his hand for him to speak.

A’Jiu looked at him: “You told me something so important about yourself, and you’re just letting me walk away like this?” He raised his head arrogantly. “I’ll say it again—your daughter and I have no relationship whatsoever. Her life or death has nothing to do with me, and my life or death is also of no consequence to her.”

So don’t misunderstand that Ah Zhao was deeply in love with him and refrain from killing him to spare her heartache? Chu Ling laughed heartily.

“Young man,” he said, tapping his finger on the letter on the desk. “Didn’t you just say so yourself? You only came to deliver a letter. Now that it’s delivered, your task is complete. Since other matters aren’t your task, what harm is there in knowing about them?”

A’Jiu glanced at him, said not a word, and turned to leave.

“Furthermore,” Chu Ling said from behind him, “if someone truly posed a threat to me, even if my daughter were deeply in love with him, I wouldn’t spare him. A man who would harm me would inevitably harm my daughter. For my daughter’s sake, I would definitely eliminate him.”

A’Jiu waved his hand: “I wish your daughter good fortune in never meeting such a person.” With that, he strode away.

This time he walked out the main gate and disappeared into the night, not returning again.

Chu Ling withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyes to look at the letter on the desk.

“What a pity,” he said softly. “If there really were such a man, I probably wouldn’t live long enough to eliminate him.”