Chapter 36
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What happened to Fu Zhen?
Hearing his senior brother’s name, Fu Nian hesitated for a moment and then tried to move closer, attempting to hear more.
“Forget about the medicine. I wouldn’t mind grinding his bones to dust.”
“……”
“……”
Seeing Chu Zhaoyi and Ze Wang seemingly preparing to move, the conversation didn’t stop. In order to avoid being discovered, Fu Nian had to leave in a hurry and couldn’t continue listening.
Back in his residence, he had planned to catch up on sleep, but now he felt completely awake.
He didn’t know what had transpired between Chu Zhaoyi and Senior Brother during the time he was dead. Nor could he discern whether Chu Zhaoyi’s words were just spoken in anger or if something had truly happened to Senior Brother.
The image of Senior Brother crying uncontrollably from the previous night continued to linger in his mind…
Seeing such a proud and strong person cry like a child was truly unsettling.
Hearing news of a serious illness from someone else’s mouth, especially when it’s about his former senior brother, the person who took the best care of him in their sect, if he could feel at ease about it, then it would be fake.
Fu Nian decided to inquire further. If the situation was true, he would definitely have to slip out of the palace to check on it.
At night, Fu Nian endured until Chu Zhaoyi left the study and returned to his quarters, and Ze Wang also retired to a side hall. Only then did Fu Nian dare to approach the study, trying to slip in during the shift change.
When Chu Zhaoyi was resting, the guards mainly concentrated near the inner palace, so the vigilance around the study would be relatively relaxed.
As he slipped in, the study was pitch black, and even moonlight was sparse.
Fu Nian didn’t dare to light a lamp, so he had to grope his way closer to where Chu Zhaoyi usually placed his memorandum sheets. He flipped through the new ones, hoping to find his senior brother’s handwriting.
In his previous life, Fu Nian remembered that Chu Zhaoyi always placed unread new memorandum sheets on the far left. However, Fu Nian flipped through them again and found that the dates of the memorandum sheets on the left were all in disorder.
After flipping through them all without any gain, Fu Nian could only put the memorandum sheets back and search for documents that Chu Zhaoyi had reviewed.
This time, he still found nothing.
Unwilling to give up, Fu Nian looked at the locked box on the desk. After a moment’s thought, he finally reached out his hand.
This box was used by Chu Zhaoyi to store relatively important memorandum sheets and letters, but it wasn’t the most confidential state affairs. Fu Nian quickly turned the lock, opening the box.
Inside were many letters, and from the look of the paper, they didn’t seem recent; they must have been written quite some time ago.
Fu Nian didn’t have time to spare. He picked up a letter, using the dim moonlight to read.
[Third day of the twelfth month, the first winter day Ah Nian left, I wonder when he will be willing to come back.] The paper had turned slightly yellow and moldy, indicating it had been written several years ago.
Fu Nian’s hand trembled slightly as he continued to read.
[Twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month, after the start of spring, if the national situation remains somewhat stable, I plan to head south under the guise of inspection to see Ah Nian. I wonder how he’s doing, whether he’s willing to come back.]…
Fu Nian remembered that the year after he went south, a war broke out in the northern border. So, when he had just left… Chu Zhaoyi had planned to find him.
Skipping past the irrelevant parts, Fu Nian turned to the left and read the newest-looking pieces of paper.
[Start of Mangzhong, it’s great. Ah Nian has returned to my side again. No matter how I hold him, he doesn’t resist. He’s willing to linger for so long, and he won’t run around anymore. He just doesn’t want to talk.] Fu Nian frowned upon reading this.
The notes didn’t have any years, only dates. But from the condition of the paper, he could discern that this note was definitely written after he left the palace.
Fu Nian contemplated that he hadn’t returned to the palace after leaving in his previous life.
With questions in his mind, Fu Nian completely forgot about searching for his senior brother’s handwriting and couldn’t help but continue flipping through the letters.
[No matter how I kiss him, Ah Nian doesn’t resist. But his body is so cold, no matter how I hold him, he doesn’t warm up.] [The lotus root and osmanthus powder that Ah Nian used to like, he refuses to eat now. He’s come back, so why is he being stubborn and not eating?] [Ah Nian still refuses to talk, perhaps he needs to be coaxed properly.] [The brand on Ah Nian’s body is still there, the waist token is still there, even the heart Gu is there. Just cleaned the bloodstains off his body, for what reason should Royal Uncle seize Ah Nian and bury him in the ground?] As he flipped further back, the dates came closer to the day he died, and the emotionless expression on Fu Nian’s face tightened little by little.
This…
He suddenly remembered a long time ago when his senior brother teased about the “dummy” in the quarters, saying Chu Zhaoyi’s peculiar preferences were hard to praise, and that it was far more disgusting than hugging a dummy.
For a moment, a very absurd thought crossed Fu Nian’s mind.
But no matter how abnormal Chu Zhaoyi’s mind was, he wouldn’t… go crazy to this extent, right? Plus, it was already Mangzhong, the weather was getting warmer. If raw meat was left outdoors, it would start smelling bad after a few hours, let alone a person so large…
Fu Nian quickly dismissed this thought.
Just as he was about to continue flipping through, he heard footsteps from outside.
In a hurry, he hastily closed the box and leapt onto the rafters.
Before long, he saw Li Gonggong entering with palace maids, carrying a lamp. He first lit the lamp in the study, changed the incense, and then said to the palace maids behind him, “Tidy up in a quarter of an hour, make sure everything’s clean, and then bring the hot tea. Don’t let His Majesty see you.”
Fu Nian held his breath on the rafters.
Avoiding the palace maids’ gaze and sneaking out wasn’t difficult, but just now, not finishing reading those letters made him feel uneasy.
After leaving the study, it still wasn’t dawn. Fu Nian hurried back to his room and laid on the pallet, his mind in chaos.
Right, Senior Brother had also mentioned that after he died, there wasn’t even a grave for him, and the people in the palace couldn’t mention his death.
He initially thought that Chu Zhaoyi was angry at him for leaving, so he didn’t want him to rest in peace or be buried with ease. He didn’t even want to spend money building a tomb for him.
Now it seemed that Fu Nian’s understanding of why he couldn’t rest in peace had taken on a new and daring interpretation.
Tonight, he had to sneak into the study once again. He must figure out what exactly was going on with that box of letters. Before that, he had to leave the palace and check on his senior brother, Fu Nian thought to himself.
In the afternoon, after Fu Nian finished his day’s work, he slipped out of the palace while the gates were still unlocked.
He had no family, no friends, and couldn’t find a suitable reason to leave the palace. So, even though the gates were open, he still had to sneak out discreetly.
Running from the Imperial City all the way to Fu Zhen’s residence, the sun hadn’t fully set yet.
This time, there weren’t as many imperial guards stationed around Fu Zhen’s residence, so Fu Nian dared to use the main entrance.
The courtyard was still eerily quiet, whether it was due to the approaching autumn or some other reason, it seemed even colder than the last time he had come.
Familiar with the route, he entered the main building. Before he could reach for the entrance to the secret chamber beneath the floor, he heard a hoarse voice from the bedroom.
“Who’s there?” The breathing was heavy, and the voice was completely devoid of its former clarity.
Fu Nian quickly turned and rushed towards the bedroom.
There he saw Fu Zhen, who had always been graceful and handsome in public, now lying weakly on a pallet. The towel on his forehead was disheveled, and the basin of water nearby was drying out.
“Lord, it’s me, Lian Nian.” As he spoke, he tried to approach.
Fu Zhen growled weakly, “Don’t come any closer!”
“…”
“Who allowed you to come! Get out!” The low, hoarse voice roared fiercely.
“I unintentionally overheard that you, Lord, are suffering from an illness. Nobody ordered me; I secretly slipped out of the palace myself. Lord has been kind to me, both in sentiment and reason. I should come to visit.” Fu Nian paid no heed to the other’s roar. He went on to add water to the basin, wet the towel again, wrung it dry, poured a cup of water, and used his hand to test the temperature on the forehead. “Have you taken your medicine—”
Before he could finish, Fu Nian saw Fu Zhen knock the water from his hand.
“Get lost. I told you to get lost!” After shouting, Fu Zhen weakly pressed his hand to his chest, curling up on the bed. His breathing alternated between slow and heavy, occasionally he’d grip his chest with despair, as if he wished he could tear his flesh apart, “Is it that old fox who sent you to mock me? Or to watch me die?”
Fu Nian remained still.
The pain in his chest was so severe that it clouded his mind, yet he couldn’t fall into unconsciousness. High fever, total weakness—this condition was remarkably similar to the onset of poison in his previous life. However, in his last life, he had the support of the Heart Gu and precious medicinal herbs to alleviate the pain during a poison outbreak, making it less excruciating.
Fu Zhen’s current condition truly resembled the symptoms of his poison outbreak in the previous life.
Could it be… that back then, Fu Zhen had taken on the Gu for him?
Fu Nian recalled Fu Zhen’s tearful confession and remorseful expression at that time. He mentioned that he had been keeping his belongings from childhood and had missed him a lot. If it were indeed Fu Zhen, it wasn’t an unthinkable scenario.
“I’ll go call for the physician.” Fu Nian finished speaking and stood up from the bedside. “Since you’ve shown kindness to me, Lord, I won’t bear to see you in such pain.”
Before he could take a step, Fu Nian felt a sudden tug at the back of his collar. Though he didn’t fall, he understood that Fu Zhen meant for him to stop.
“The physician is useless, he won’t be able to heal me.” Fu Zhen’s voice was hoarse.
“Then—”
Fu Zhen didn’t wait for him to finish and directly interrupted, “If you truly don’t want to see me suffer, just kill me. There’s a longsword on the table.”
The idea of killing his senior brother with his own hands was something Fu Nian definitely couldn’t and wouldn’t do.
“Judging by Lord’s appearance, is it a poison outbreak? Is there an antidote in the residence?” After contemplating for a while, Fu Nian cautiously asked.
“Indeed, you’re Chengyuan Hall’s guard, you were able to recognize it as a poison outbreak…” Fu Zhen’s words were cut off by gritted teeth. He gripped the fabric covering his chest, enduring the intense pain that surged suddenly, his brows furrowed tightly.
Fu Nian: “I’ve read a bit of medical literature, and I can tell it’s a poison outbreak. However, I can’t discern the specific type of poison…”
“If you’re unsure, that’s correct. If I knew what poison it was, how could I have ended up like this…” Fu Zhen said, clenching his teeth. “The alleviating medicine is only available within the palace. Previously, that old fox would provide it to me on schedule. I’ve obediently followed his instructions—”
Fu Nian saw the words falter on his lips and hurried over, gently massaging Fu Zhen’s back.
He placed the wet towel back on Fu Zhen’s forehead and brought the water near his lips. “The alleviating medicine is only available within the palace?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of medicine is it? You’ve been kind to me—”
Fu Zhen intentionally interrupted with a mocking tone, “Forget it. If I let you steal palace possessions and then you report back to that old fox, I’ll truly be mocked to death.”
Fu Nian didn’t pay heed to Fu Zhen’s sarcastic response. “This time is different. Last time, you had me steal the imperial edict, which involved state secrets. I would never commit an act of treason. This time… you’re suffering from an ailment and need life-saving medicine. It’s not the same as treason.”
“…I don’t know the specific type of medicine. Each time, they only gave me a purse embroidered with a lotus flower. The ingredients inside are ground into a powder and mixed together.”
“I understand. I will complete the task.” After saying this, Fu Nian placed down the cup he had prepared for Fu Zhen. “May I inquire, when did you contract this poison, Lord? If the time since you were poisoned is not too long, I know of a skilled physician who specializes in detoxification.” Having probed, Fu Nian calmly waited for Fu Zhen’s response.
“It’s useless; it’s almost been ten years now.”
Nearly ten years ago.
Furrowing his brows slightly, Fu Nian recalled that it was also during that time that he had found the person to plant the Heart Gu for him.
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