Su Wenzhong lowered his eyes, as if he had aged by over a decade in an instant.
"I’ve said all I can. If you don’t believe , go ask His Majesty," he finally said, sitting on his chair and closing his eyes.
Xie Yun stood up, looking down at Su Wenzhong’s aged and weathered face from above. Although filled with resentnt, mories from the past involuntarily flashed through his mind.
He recalled Su Zixiao as a child, being punished with hunger for not morizing his books, sneaking out with him in the middle of the night to steal chicken legs to eat;
He rembered Su Wenzhong getting inspired occasionally and teaching him how to write;
And when he passed the imperial examinations at the top, Su Shoucheng would boast everywhere, saying his Attendant Student had beco a top scholar, insisting that one must never forget any prosperity...
Those mories, fleeting like smoke, were all bitter, yet even in the most bitter tis, faint light always managed to seep through the cracks.
Su Wenzhong’s last words caused a spark of realization in Xie Yun’s mind.
Why did he bring up His Majesty?
He claid it was in hope that Xie Yun could protect Su Zixiao for the future of the Su Family, but what did this have to do with the Emperor?
Xie Yun stared at Su Wenzhong and said, "Letting live is the Emperor’s decree."
Su Wenzhong’s murky eyes abruptly widened, exclaiming in a loss for words, "How did you—"
Seeing his reaction, Xie Yun said nothing more, turned, and left Su Wenzhong’s study.
He seed to have found the answer.
In the distance, Song Zhi approached with a sword: "Has Vice Minister Xie finished speaking?"
Xie Yun replied, "Not a word of truth, nothing worth talking about."
Song Zhi called together the imperial guard: "In that case, I shall carry out the Holy Decree and take Su Wenzhong and his companions away."
Xie Yun’s eyes dimd as he spoke, "I will soon enter the palace to et with His Majesty and plead for Su Wenzhong... there’s a good chance he can remain alive, so Commander Song, please ensure nothing happens to him before the Ministry of Justice issues their findings."
Song Zhi was slightly taken aback, then imdiately bowed with respect: "Thank you for the reminder, Vice Minister Xie."
Xie Yun gazed deeply at Song Zhi before lifting his head to look at the distant mountains, hazy and boundless.
Song Zhi allowed him to et with Su Wenzhong in advance and was so respectful not because he was persuaded, but because he was loyal to the Emperor, and the Emperor valued Xie Yun;
Su Wenzhong, despite disliking him, still raised the grandson of a political enemy to adulthood not just to provide Su Zixiao with a dependable support, nor to fear trouble from Gu Chengluan.
Gu Chengluan died too early, and since the old Marquis entrusted Xie Yun to Su Wenzhong, he would no longer ddle unnecessarily.
Su Wenzhong raised him safely because... it was the Emperor’s decree;
In the beginning, during the spring examination in the year he passed as an Advanced Scholar, it was presided over by the then Crown Prince, now the Emperor, and from that ti on, the Emperor began to assist him;
He was able to successfully reverse the verdict against the Xie Family, continually advocate for the establishnt of won’s education without being impeached, and even be nad the top scholar by the forr Emperor, all perhaps influenced by the Emperor’s hand...
Xie Yun was a man who held himself in high regard, but he did not believe that the Emperor’s protection was due to his abilities alone.
If the Emperor acted this way simply to win people’s hearts, and if Xie Yun was a valued courtier, then why, over the years, did the Emperor never ask anything of him, as if it all was done on a whim?
The answer is in the sky.
The answer, what is it?
Are there still Xie Family mbers alive? Or did his grandfather make a plea to the Crown Prince before he died? Or perhaps soone in the Xie Family had a private relationship with the Emperor... one suspicion after another, he dismissed himself.
However, he couldn’t question an Emperor like he could Su Wenzhong.
Xie Yun walked out of the Su Mansion and saw the individuals detained by the imperial guard, pausing in his steps, lowering his eyes:
"Zixiao."
Su Zixiao had been stripped of his battle armor and weapons, wearing only a black long robe, his tall body slightly hunched, hair disheveled, eyes blankly staring ahead.
Two imperial guards watched him from both sides as he stood at the entrance of the Su Mansion, helplessly watching one Su Family mber after another being taken away by the imperial guard amid the servants’ cries of pain and sorrow.
"Xie Yun," Su Zixiao looked at Xie Yun, his eye sockets gradually reddening, "Did you know long ago that I’d never be able to lead troops into battle again, since Gu Lan and the others returned to the Capital City?"
Xie Yun lowered his eyes, avoiding Su Zixiao’s gaze.
Once, when gathering evidence of Su Family’s cris, Su Zixiao’s eyes montarily flashed before him, but ultimately reason prevailed over the years of friendship he shared with the young man before him.
"The Su Family has not been sentenced to execution by extermination, if you are innocent, the Ministry of Justice will naturally clear your na." Xie Yun said softly.
Su Zixiao clenched his fists, his teeth grinding loudly.
The guards next to him beca alert, shouting, "Su Zixiao, what are you going to do!"
This man was still a Colonel of the imperial guard this morning, and they were well aware of how dangerous he could be.
"I hate myself," Su Zixiao said, word by word.
Xie Yun frowned slightly, "What do you hate?"
"You imprisoned the entire Su Family, confiscated our ho, and might even annihilate our clan in the future, but right now, I can’t bring myself to hate you, still considering you a brother. How could I consider soone like you a brother?"
Su Zixiao’s eyes were filled with mockery, his inner energy surged, and suddenly, a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Xie Yun’s heart ached with bitterness. He opened his mouth to explain but found no words, only turning away, leaving the Su Mansion step by step.
He beca the first blade to pierce the Su Family because the Su Family was deeply sinful, harming others and themselves, tornting him for years... he had a million reasons to convince himself to stab, but as Su Wenzhong said—
At least, Su Zixiao had never done anything to harm him.
Xie Yun sighed lightly, perhaps those who said it were right; he truly was soone impossible to warm, willing to betray his ntor and forget恩 for a single truth.
The cool sumr night breeze carried the fragrance of magnolia blossoms, wafting into Step Lotus Hall.
But at this mont, the fragrance of magnolia was undetectable in Step Lotus Hall; the only scent was the savory spiciness of a small hot pot.
Since their return to the Capital City, it was the first ti Gu Lan and Rong Heng had sat down properly for a al of their long-awaited hot pot to celebrate the downfall of the Su Family yesterday, avenging Prince Rui and the soldiers who were killed.
All the Su Family officials in court had been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice’s dungeon, with Chief of Staff Zhou Xing personally interrogating, and various departnts jointly investigating the actions of the Su Family over the years.
As for the Empress Dowager, only a day had passed, and Rong Jing seed undecided on how to deal with her, as she was, after all, the Emperor’s own mother, and Gu Lan was in no rush.
Compared to that, she was more curious if Xie Yun had found the answer after eting with the Old Pri Minister Su.
"What answer?" Rong Heng asked.
"The reason why the Su Family raised him," Gu Lan replied.
Rong Heng fished out so at from the hot pot, dipped it in sauce, thinking to himself, he hoped this would be the first and last al of its kind for a while, else he feared he’d get inflad.
He was a doctor!
Yet his boyfriend continually made him eat high-oil, high-salt, high-spice unhealthy als! How was that reasonable!?
With such thoughts, Rong Heng quickly frowned and took out two candies from his pocket to calm his nerves.
As they ate the hot pot, they also had to be wary of Wei Chengyuan suddenly appearing out of the shadows to snatch so at.
After days of training, and with Gu Lan generously allowing Wei Chengyuan to learn Gu Family’s martial arts, Wei Chengyuan had beco increasingly adept at controlling the inner strength within his body, to the extent that he had almost fully assimilated these powers.
—Making him increasingly stealthy when sneaking at, catching everyone off guard.
Rong Heng sipped lightly on a thin wine, gazing at the boy across who was eating the spicy hot pot, rendering his slender lips a vibrant red, his dark eyes narrowing.
"Gu Lan, how old are you?"
Gu Lan replied, "Aren’t we the sa age?"
Rong Heng sighed, his gaze inexplicably dangerous: "There’s still three years until you reach adulthood."
Gu Lan only felt a shiver run through her waistband, understanding in an instant.
She took a sip of iced drink to disguise it, speaking regretfully, "Brother Heng still has three years until adulthood; I’ll sohow manage."
Rong Heng muttered under his breath, "Girls have their coming-of-age at fifteen, how nice."
"Rong Heng, are you thinking of running away from ? Still planning on finding a woman?" Gu Lan raised an eyebrow, naturally scolding him, never having been so grateful for her male disguise.
Rong Heng: "...Not thinking, and isn’t that supposed to be my line?"
Between him and Gu Lan, who looked more likely to seek out won? Before questioning him, could Gu Lan avoid making eyes at Gu Zijin while serving food?
Eating midway through casual conversations, Gu Lan had just ntioned to Rong Heng that she noticed the difference in attitude Song Zhi had towards her and Xie Yun after morning court yesterday, when Xie Yun climbed down along the ladder.
The evening breeze lifted Xie Yun’s black hair, the surrounding lanterns enveloping his white clothes.
He bowed slightly: "Excuse my intrusion."
Rong Heng retorted, "If you know it’s an intrusion, why don’t you climb back up?"
Xie Yun feigned deafness, smiling at Rong Heng: "I ca here actually seeking a favor."
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