It seemed Shen Du’s words were not false. Han Shiyuan was indeed Zhang Baohuan’s brother, and more importantly, a survivor of the Jinxiu House injustice from years ago.
“This…” Zhu Yan didn’t know what to say. At this moment, she felt some regret. Perhaps she shouldn’t have exposed Han Shiyuan in front of so many people.
“What exactly is going on?” After calming down for a while, Zhu Yan looked at Shen Du again.
Shen Du didn’t respond to Zhu Yan’s question. Instead, his deep eyes fixed firmly on Han Shiyuan. “Still not willing to admit it?”
Han Shiyuan held his head in his hands, collapsing to his knees. Recalling the past made his expression break down. Zhu Caiwei quickly came forward and embraced him.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Han Shiyuan tightly hugged Zhu Caiwei, apologizing. “I was useless, I was so useless…”
“No, it’s not like that,” Zhu Caiwei, seeing her beloved man weeping bitterly, felt great pain in her heart. She quickly comforted him, “It’s all in the past, it’s all over. Is what they’re saying true? I just want to hear the answer from you. Is what they’re saying true?”
Zhu Caiwei couldn’t accept the reality before her, and even more, she couldn’t believe that the man she had trusted so deeply had deceived her for so long.
Han Shiyuan nodded, and this nod completely devastated Zhu Caiwei.
The two sat face to face on the ground. Tears still hung on Han Shiyuan’s face, his expression becoming blank as if lost in memories.
“Back then, in the Jinxiu House case, so many people died unjustly. Not a single person was willing to seek justice for them. So many years have passed, and the case was just buried. It’s all because of my incompetence, all because of my uselessness!”
“So Zhang Baohuan is indeed your brother?” Zhu Yan quickly asked. Even though she already knew the answer, she needed to hear Han Shiyuan say it himself.
Han Shiyuan nodded again. “After the incident, our Zhang family was sentenced to execution of nine generations. Zhang Baohuan used his connections to save me, but he couldn’t protect my sister. Why? I’ve never understood why. Why did he save me but couldn’t save my sister?
I hate it so much. I hate that he couldn’t protect my sister, and I hate myself for being useless. From that moment on, I decided I would no longer have any connection with the Zhang family. My mother’s surname was Han, so I took her surname and named myself Han Shiyuan.”
“Perhaps he had no choice,” Zhu Yan suddenly spoke. “Haven’t you considered how difficult it must be for him by the Empress’s side? Serving a ruler is like living with a tiger. You should understand this principle.”
“Huh…” Han Shiyuan let out a cold laugh, looking at Zhu Yan with an extremely pitiful gaze.
“What do you understand? You haven’t seen that scene of blood flowing like a river. How can you deeply feel and speak of the principle that one’s fate is not in one’s own hands? If you had seen so many people beheaded, blood flowing everywhere, and my sister still comforting her young children, saying death is just a form of release, and those innocent children happily lying on the execution platform waiting for someone to cut off their heads, you wouldn’t say such things.”
Zhu Yan was deeply shocked, speechless, her fists clenched. In her heart, there was only sympathy and pain.
Han Shiyuan’s words seemed to make her see that unbearable scene – bodies with heads cut off one by one, not even sparing those young children… It was such a cruel image that one couldn’t bear to think about it in detail.
Everyone fell silent, and no one tried to persuade Han Shiyuan to be kind anymore.
Shen Du also remained silent. The atmosphere had changed from warm to oppressive. Even the full moon in the sky no longer seemed gentle but had turned pale.
This was an unjust case, and the number of people who lost their lives in it was countless.
As a survivor, the burden Han Shiyuan had carried in his heart all these years was beyond anyone’s comprehension.
Han Shiyuan held his head and wept bitterly, seeming to recall past events again, cursing his incompetence.
The Zhu family also shed tears, while Zhu Caiwei remained speechless, stunned.
After a long while, Zhu Caiwei slowly stood up. She had never imagined Han Shiyuan would have such a background, even involving Zhang Baohuan, the Empress’s favored man. The relationships involved couldn’t be explained in just a few words.
This man had deceived her. Even if he had his reasons, he had still deceived her feelings.
Zhu Caiwei couldn’t accept this situation at the moment. Without a word, she turned and entered her room.
The atmosphere was extremely heavy. Except for Han Shiyuan’s bitter weeping, no one said a word.
It was hard to know how to handle such a situation.
Originally, the Zhu family had agreed to Han Shiyuan’s request to voluntarily marry into their family, but now… with his different identity, they were caught in a dilemma.
Finally, Zhu Kuo had servants take Han Shiyuan to a room to rest, bringing this scene to an end.
The Zhu family members also returned to their rooms, leaving only Zhu Yan and Shen Du in the courtyard.
The two remained silent, sitting there for a long time.
The night breeze was cool. A sudden gust made Zhu Yan shiver.
“Are you cold? Should we go back to the room?” Shen Du said in a deep voice, though he showed no intention of returning.
Zhu Yan shook her head.
Tonight’s events had been very shocking for her. She didn’t know how to process it all. Even if she went back to her room and lay down, she wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully.
“What do you think about all this?” After what seemed like a long time, Zhu Yan finally spoke. Shen Du, who had been lost in thought, suddenly came back to his senses.
“What can I think? Since everything is related to that case from years ago, we must first clarify what happened back then.”
“But in his current state, can we get any results from questioning him?” Zhu Yan’s voice was very low, almost like a mosquito’s hum. Perhaps affected by her emotions, she now lacked the energy to speak.
“Of course not right now. We’ll ask another day.”
Zhu Yan nodded, followed by another silence.
After a while, Shen Du let out a long sigh, full of helplessness. “It’s getting late. Let’s go back.”
Zhu Yan stood up, and it was then that she realized they were still at the Zhu residence. It was already late at night. Were they going to return?
“This…” Zhu Yan awkwardly pointed at the sky. “It’s so late. Do you still want to go back?”
“If you don’t want to go back, you can stay.” Shen Du’s rare show of leniency surprised Zhu Yan.
At this moment, a servant of the Zhu family came to report that Zhu Kuo had already prepared rooms for both of them.
It was late, and the night breeze was cool, so the two were invited to stay at the Zhu residence.
Zhu Kuo had arranged everything for them. Zhu Yan felt warmth in her heart. “Since Father has already prepared a room for me, I won’t go back. Husband, please do as you wish.”
“…” Shen Du was momentarily at a loss for words.
The servant’s meaning was clear that Zhu Kuo had prepared rooms for both of them, but now Zhu Yan seemed to imply that she wanted to stay alone at the Zhu residence.
Was she trying to send him away?