Chapter 139: Hazy
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After instructing his deputy to lead the team away, Bai Shiyan turned and headed back to the teahouse he had just passed by, ascending to the second floor private room.
Ever since the night he had dealt with Pan He, he had only received news from Liu Zhongming. This was the first time he had seen him in a long time.
They had grown up together and were as close as brothers, so with just one glance, Bai Shiyan noticed that Liu Zhongming had changed a lot.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on what had changed, maybe it was the stillness in his posture, or the light in his eyes.
He used to say that his cousin was an old soul, but compared to the person in front of him, Liu Zhongming back then seemed much more naive.
“Zhongming, what happened?” Bai Shiyan asked.
Liu Zhongming was puzzled by his strange question and asked back, “What happened?”
“You…” Bai Shiyan struggled to express his feeling, “when I first came in, if it weren’t for your age, I would have thought it was Uncle sitting here. How come you look so old even though you’re still so young?”
Liu Zhongming chuckled and didn’t argue with him.
“It’s obviously your eyesight that’s not good. Why are you asking me what happened?” He motioned for Bai Shiyan to sit opposite him and handed him a few sheets of paper. “Take a look.”
Bai Shiyan picked them up and asked casually, “Did things go smoothly with Pan He?”
“Smoothly. We asked everything we needed to ask. We’ll observe him for a few more days before sending him on his way.”
Bai Shiyan glanced at him with the corner of his eye and indeed felt that the person in front of him was quite different from before. However, he was quickly drawn to the content on the paper.
“Liao Guangming actually found out? This is not good timing,” he said.
“Yeah,” Liu Zhongming leaned against the window and quietly watched the endless crowds below. He slowly said, “News from Luo City said that Liao Guangming disappeared as soon as he entered the border of Luo City.”
“Disappeared?” Bai Shiyan was surprised and immediately flipped back, “Even the subordinate of the Jinxiu Ying was lost. This is really ruthless.”
“If he doesn’t want to die, he has to be ruthless,” Liu Zhongming sighed, “The problem is not here, but that someone must have persuaded him at this time, otherwise, why would he be so desperate?”
Bai Shiyan reviewed the clues.
“It certainly won’t be Qi Wang’s side. They’ve been wanting to swallow the Jinxiu Ying for a long time. Ren Rui is probably biting at their heels. It won’t be Tang Shicheng either. The more Ning Wang helps, the faster Liao Guangming will die. Liao Guangming won’t believe either side’s words.”
The two looked at each other.
There was only one candidate left.
Bai Shiyan was confused, “This matter has nothing to do with Huai Wang. He doesn’t have any troops in his hands. Does he hope to save Liao Guangming and then use him for himself? If the emperor sees which side Liao Guangming has sided with, won’t he just die.”
“Huai Wang is watching Liao Guangming, that’s one thing,” Liu Zhongming explained, “I think his main target is me. Recently, the emperor has been very fond of my sister and often stays at Lijing Palace. Everyone is afraid of anything happening to my sister’s stomach.”
“I’ve been in frequent contact with Jinxiu Ying lately, and he figured out what I want. If he keeps Liao Guangming alive for one more day, I won’t get Jinxiu Ying for one more day.”
Bai Shiyan suddenly understood.
They spent a lot of time slowly pushing the wheels of the car, and finally, they began to turn.
The position that Zhongming sought and the dual control of both sides by Concubine Liu will tear apart the stable situation in the court for several years.
“Not only did someone blow the whistle on Luo City’s side, but my people in Jinxiu Ying also said that someone had started to spread money and wanted to set fire to my backyard.”
Liu Zhongming sneered. He was determined to get Jinxiu Ying, so now he will consider the money that others put in as someone contributing to the merit box.
Before long, Huai Wang would find out who received the money, and naturally, he would stop.
“My sister said that she would be careful on her side. I also asked Aunt to go to the palace to see her often. Liao Guangming cannot be given a chance to return to the capital.”
Bai Shiyan knew what he had to do. “I will go back and send people to stop him.”
“Pick some good hands,” Liu Zhongming took out a map and showed it to him, “All the roads that can be taken from Luo City are marked on it.”
“Now everyone probably knows about Liao Guangming’s whereabouts. Both Qi Wang and Ning Wang will send people to intercept him, but Huai Wang’s side will certainly have someone to help. We must avoid colliding with them, no one can fall into their hands.”
“Liao Guangming will fight even harder when he is desperate, so we must be cautious. If we fail to kill him this time, all our previous efforts will be in vain. If there is another time, it will not only be a difficult problem.”
“Huai Wang was able to restore the declining Ren Rui, and we cannot let him get involved with Liao Guangming.”
“I understand,” Bai Shiyan solemnly put away the map and asked, “Did you inform Fang Wuyang’s side? What did Chenzhou say?”
“I borrowed some people form Fang Wuyang, but he is not here. The news came not long ago, Chenzhou is not home so I haven’t asked.”
“Where did he go?”
“Jinping Village. He said there are still some things he needs to confirm, so I asked Fang Wuyang to take him there.”
Bai Shiyan asked casually, “Isn’t the matter with Pan He settled? Why did he go there?”
Liu Zhongming hesitated for a moment and answered truthfully, “I’m not sure. He said he would tell me when he figures it out, so I didn’t ask much.”
Bai Shiyan had originally planned to leave, but turned back at the door and asked another question.
“Zhongming, how are you and Chenzhou…doing?”
“Fine. Why?” For some reason, this was a very simple question, but Liu Zhongming’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. He grabbed Bai Shiyan and asked, “Why do you ask?”
“Nothing…” Bai Shiyan thought of the image of Qu Chenzhou begging him, and him reluctantly comforting him, “There is nothing wrong, it’s just my mother’s unfounded worry. She said that both of you are stubborn and she’s afraid that you will always argue, so she asked me to ask you from time to time. You are older than him after all, so you should be a bit more accommodating to Chenzhou.”
Liu Zhongming was speechless.
Who was older between him and the little fox, he couldn’t really say. He didn’t mind his aunt’s worry, but when Bai Shiyan suddenly asked, he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
Or perhaps it’s because Chenzhou that always keeps his heart from settling.
“Did Chenzhou say anything bad about me to you and Aunt? Why is Aunt so worried?”
“No! No! No!”
“Bai Shiyan quickly denied with a flurry of words, afraid that he might accidentally leak something and ruin Qu Chenzhou’s plan – although he still didn’t know what Qu Chenzhou had arranged.
Seeing the suspicious look from Liu Zhongming, he quickly changed the subject.
“Oh right, Qu Chenzhou reminded me of something else. He said that when Jiang Xingzhi’s letter is revealed when Liao Guangming falls, Qi Wang’s attention will be drawn to the Northern Bureau, especially if Ren Rui is involved. So be careful.”
This reminder was necessary, and Liu Zhongming silently nodded. They walked downstairs together until they were about to part ways, and then Liu Zhongming suddenly asked another question.
“Bai Shiyan, if you had to live your life again and became a slave, who would you hope would buy you?”
“Of course it would be my little Jiaojiao,” replied Bai Shiyan without hesitation.
He had already been betrothed this year to a girl from the split branch of the Liu family. They grew up together, and she was the one he always liked to bully as a child. Her nickname was Jiaojiao.
“I knew it.” Liu Zhongming smiled.
Now it was Bai Shiyan’s turn to feel uneasy. “Zhongming, why are you asking such a strange question again? Did something happen with Chenzhou?”
“No,” Liu Zhongming urged Bai Shiyan to mount his horse and leave, waving goodbye.
If it were him, Liu Zhongming thought, he would also hope to have another chance to see his Little Fox and happily buy him back home.
But… the person Qu Chenzhou begged wasn’t him.
The carriage was moving fast, crushing the stones on the ground, bouncing and jolting.
Qu Chenzhou was already feeling groggy and leaned against the carriage wall. With this sudden jolt, he fell to one side onto the soft couch.
He touched his forehead and found that he was even hotter than when he first got on the carriage. Not only was he dizzy, but his bones also ached.
It was getting colder at night, and they shouldn’t have lingered in the cold wind for so long. But he was anxious and wanted to find a proper solution as soon as possible, so he and Fang Wuyang had been squatting on the rooftop of Jinping Village for several nights in a row.
In the end, he caught a cold.
At first, Fang Wuyang had been by his side and stayed up half the night with him. But when he saw that Qu Chenzhou’s condition was getting worse, he decided to return immediately at dawn.
Qu Chenzhou had ridden a horse for a while and had sweated, so he thought he wasn’t feeling hot anymore. But the sudden cold wind came back, and he had to switch to a carriage to rush back to the city gates.
They still had some way to go before reaching the city gates, and Qu Chenzhou was already lying on the soft couch, shivering.
“Little Brother Qu.”
The carriage slowed down, and Fang Wuyang caught up from behind on horseback, lifted the curtain, and entered the carriage, holding a bowl of medicine in his hand.
“Get up and drink some medicine.” He helped Qu Chenzhou sit up.
“On this whole journey, we didn’t see a proper pharmacy. We finally found a herbalist in the village. Drink up quickly. Wind-cold is not a serious illness. After a good sleep, you should be fine when we return to the capital,” said Fang Wuyang, handing Qu Chenzhou a bowl of medicine.
The brownish medicine tasted sour and bitter. Qu Chenzhou drank it all in one go and then collapsed onto the soft couch, unconscious.
The carriage curtain was drawn, blocking out the light from outside, and the inside of the carriage was dimly lit.
Flames seemed to ignite from nowhere, as if traveling through dried grass. At first, they burned the skin with small sparks, but then they fell into holes burned through the skin, roasting the organs within.
Qu Chenzhou’s breathing became heavy, and he wanted to lift his hand to touch his forehead, but his arm felt like a lead weight and he could not lift it. Instead, he began to pant and tremble uncontrollably.
The swaying of the carriage curtain rocked back and forth, and faint light occasionally pierced through. In a daze, it seemed like someone was talking outside.
“Qu Sitian…”
He wanted to scream uncontrollably at these three words, but his chest rose and fell like an old bellow, trapping his voice in his throat.
“Qu Sitian… The medicine… is enough,” someone said, lifting the curtain and leaning over him. A few fingers touched his face.
The fingertips were icy cold, but they ignited all the dried parts of his body, causing him to ache with pain. It felt like a million ants were gnawing at his bones and flesh, and he longed for relief.
He jumped up, grabbing those few fingers and biting them, licking and sucking them as if he were extremely thirsty, wishing he could swallow them down his throat forever.
The man sneered and slapped him hard across the cheek.
He fell back again, curled up and trembling, convulsing in waves. He felt emptiness all over his body, so empty that he wished he could die.
The man outside the curtain continued to offer him.
“Your Majesty…you can do anything you want…”
“He is enjoying himself…”
“Let him crawl over and beg you…”
Finally, Qu Chenzhou couldn’t help but breathe heavily, struggling and falling off the soft couch with a thud, like a fish out of water, desperately turning and twisting on the carpet.
His cold sweat soaked his heavy robe, and his fingers clawed at his collar like cramps.
Someone heard the noise and jumped into the carriage, ready to grab his hand.
Qu Chenzhou screamed in terror, as if he wanted to retreat, but he involuntarily grabbed the man.
Short moments of sanity and past nightmares alternated as he trembled and scratched at his own collar, as if he were being bitten by ants, rubbing the carpet into a mess.
The man seemed to be scared by his horrible appearance and quickly lifted the curtain and jumped out.
The light became dim again, and he fell back to the ground, weak and barely audible pain spilling from his throat.
“Don’t…”
His eyes filled with mist, and soon tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes. His voice was already hoarse, unable to stay conscious for much longer.
“Don’t…” he murmured weakly, “Don’t…”
Someone else stepped into the carriage and without a word, lifted him up horizontally.
“I beg you…”
He spat out the words like he was dying, his last bit of consciousness completely shattered.
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Thank You for the new chapter （*’∀’人）♥