Chapter 60
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“Your Majesty, Lord Yao requests an audience. He’s been waiting outside the Chengyuan Hall.”
“I know.” Chu Zhaoyi sighed, stood up from the bed, and before leaving, he glanced back at Fu Nian, who was still lying on the bed. “Take good care of your injuries. If I have the time, I’ll come to see you again.” After saying that, Chu Zhaoyi didn’t wait for a response and quickly walked out of the Imperial Hospital.
Fu Nian remained motionless in his original spot.
Fu Nian laid still for a while before attempting to get up.
As he stood on the ground, Fu Nian instinctively leaned against the wall, biting his lip and silently cursing Chu Zhaoyi in his heart.
Taking advantage of the early hour, Fu Nian managed to persuade the eunuch guarding the entrance of the Imperial Hospital with silver to let him out for an hour.
He hurried to the Imperial Attendants Bureau, and with great difficulty, he leaped onto the eaves of the walls. Hiding in the shadows of the trees, he searched for the figure of Rendong.
Not long after, Fu Nian spotted a young guard in light armor coming to change shifts.
Seizing the opportunity when no one was around, Fu Nian threw a small pebble at Rendong’s feet.
He threw a few more, and Rendong looked around suspiciously.
Fu Nian took the chance to leap down from the tree branch and landed in a nearby thicket just outside the Imperial Attendants Bureau.
In no time, Rendong dashed out alone, looking left and right.
“Rendong,” Fu Nian stood up and called out when he saw him approaching.
“Brother Lian!” Rendong smiled and hurriedly ran back. “What happened to you? I heard that you were wanted a few days ago…” Rendong’s words trailed off as he noticed Fu Nian’s left arm, securely wrapped in bandages. “I wanted to visit you at the Imperial Hospital a few days ago, but I was stopped by the Imperial Guards and not allowed in.”
“I fell when I was being pursued. It’s not a major injury,” Fu Nian casually replied, unwilling to explain the true reasons. “Anyway, how did it go with your return to the Imperial Attendants Bureau for duty?”
Rendong quickly responded, “It went smoothly, thanks to your help with the arrangements. I owe you…”
“Help me investigate something,” Fu Nian didn’t engage in pleasantries and interrupted, “I’m sorry, I’m in a bit of a hurry. I just escaped from the Imperial Hospital and need to return.”
Rendong nodded and glanced at Fu Nian’s casually mentioned “not a major injury.”
Fu Nian retrieved a note he had prepared earlier from his sleeve. “Investigate the records of Chengyuan Hall. According to the dates listed on this note, check the event records for that time period, including the comings and goings of Chengyuan Hall members. Record who went in, which court Doctors and officials entered, and any unusual behavior should be noted. Pay particular attention to a person named ‘Fu Nian,’ and document any information related to him.”
“Understood.” Rendong looked at the note again and seemed to recall something. “This name sounds a bit familiar. I think I heard it before while I was on duty in the library.”
Fu Nian asked, “Heard it before?”
“There was a palace maid who was learning to read characters. She said, ‘Even a dog has such a fancy name…'” Rendong paused and asked, “Brother Lian, are you sure there’s no mistake in the name?”
Calling him a dog, that’s fine. Fu Nian sighed and pursed his lips. “Positive it’s this name. Just think of it as a person disguising themselves as a dog. Just focus on the investigation.”
“Alright.”
After giving a few more instructions, Fu Nian hurriedly left.
The journey from the Imperial Attendants Bureau to the Imperial Hospital wasn’t too far, but given his current physical condition, even a slightly fast pace caused every nerve in his body to ache and tingle as if his tendons were about to snap.
Climbing back into the Imperial Hospital, Fu Nian had no choice but to lie back on the bed obediently.
In the afternoon, he grew bored and began flipping through medical books on the bed. Suddenly, he sensed some commotion outside.
The light and stealthy footsteps were reminiscent of something he had once practiced in their martial arts sect, and Fu Nian couldn’t help but become alert as he watched outside the window.
As expected, a head suddenly peeked down from the eaves, and without waiting for Fu Nian’s consent, the person forcefully broke in through the window.
“Senior Brother!” Fu Bie’s voice was a mix of surprise and joy, but as soon as he realized his voice was too loud, he hurriedly silenced himself.
“How did you come here?” Fu Nian saw that it was Fu Bie and tried to sit up as straight as possible, not revealing any discomfort on his face.
Fu Bie lowered his voice and whispered, “Of course, I sneaked out of the Ministry of Punishment. They didn’t give me a hard time; they fed me these past few days. They just didn’t allow me to move around freely. Even when I needed to use the restroom, someone had to watch me. But when I heard that you had a serious injury from the fight in the hall with the guards, I thought of a way to escape quickly. Senior Brother… how did they beat you up? Was it ordered by that Emperor or someone else? We’re assassins after all; if it was—”
Fu Nian didn’t let Fu Bie finish and gestured for him to hush. “I’ve told you countless times; I’m not your senior brother!”
After scolding him, Fu Nian looked at Fu Bie, who appeared indignant. He quickly explained, “The situation that day was more complicated than you think, and I can’t explain it properly. Don’t get involved recklessly. Just by claiming to be my son, you’ve already caused me trouble. Anyway, put the window back in place.”
Fu Bie pursed his lips, didn’t resist, and silently turned to repair the window he had just removed.
After a moment of silence, he couldn’t hold back and spoke again, “Once your hand gets better, let’s escape from the palace together.”
“Escape?” Fu Nian asked before realizing they had been captured.
—In Fu Bie’s eyes, he was an aggrieved victim. First, his only left arm had been broken by the Imperial Guards, and then he had been held down and beaten in the hall. Finally, he had no choice but to enter the Imperial Hospital, where he couldn’t even sit up straight.
Fu Nian was going to explain something, but he didn’t know how to begin. “Not escaping.”
“But if you don’t escape, are you just going to let them kill you? Even though you once served in the palace, they’ve beaten you like this—”
Fu Nian didn’t wait for his picked up junior brother to finish his sentence and interrupted, “Fu Zhen, that rotten old man, killed me once. He massacred so many people ruthlessly. Aren’t you loyal to that rotten old man as well?”
Fu Bie was left speechless by the scolding.
After a while, he couldn’t hold back and spoke softly, “How could Master possibly have killed you…?”
“It seems you really don’t know. In my previous life, I, Fu Nian, was poisoned to death by that rotten old man. After death, I wasn’t accepted by the underworld because of my heinous sins, so I continued to live to atone for them. It had nothing to do with his disgusting rituals.”
“But it was Senior Brother who betrayed the sect first! Master said when he poisoned you, he never intended for you to die outside, but to make you return. Senior Brother, didn’t you betray first for no reason?”
Facing these questions, Fu Nian wanted to shout something, but he ultimately held back.
Explaining why he had betrayed… it would definitely involve Chu Zhaoyi, and it would also involve many of the grudges and disputes between the former Emperor and Fu Zhen. On one hand, it was a complicated web of conflicts, but more importantly, he had taken on all the suffering of his previous life for Chu Zhaoyi, and it wasn’t worth it to throw it all away in a fit of anger.
Chu Zhaoyi should go down in history as a wise and benevolent ruler.
Thinking this, Fu Nian sighed and changed his tone. “Yes, I forgot my sense of gratitude and loyalty.”
Fu Bie clearly didn’t expect Fu Nian to admit so readily. For a moment, his eyes flickered with disbelief.
“Not only did I forget my sense of gratitude and loyalty, but I even intended to kill my master to vent my grievances.”
After saying this, he felt Fu Bie fall into silence.
He didn’t say anything either, just quietly concealed a dagger up his sleeve, ready to strike at any moment, and continued to pretend to read his book.
The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and Fu Nian didn’t rush him.
After waiting for a while, Fu Nian heard the young man in front of him speak again. “I will try to persuade Senior Brother to return to Distant Moon Sect. If you don’t leave, I won’t leave either. But tonight, I need to leave the palace to take care of Senior Brother Nineteen.”
“Didn’t Fu Nineteen die?” When Fu Nian heard this, he paused for a moment. “Dead people should be buried. What’s the use of keeping them in a stone coffin? They won’t come back to life.”
Fu Bie replied firmly, “He will. Master said he will.”
Fu Nian didn’t bother to argue with him.
Although he had also suspected that Fu Nineteen might still be alive, based on what he had seen—the fact that the old man could use mystical arts to preserve a corpse—Fu Nineteen’s situation was probably similar to his own when he died.
“I will come back,” Fu Bie said and then left the Imperial Hospital. Soon, he was out of sight.
This time, with a serious injury to his left arm, Fu Nian didn’t want to leave himself with a permanent disability. For the next two weeks, he spent most of his time in the Imperial Hospital, except for necessary trips to meet with Rendong after bribing the guards at the gate.
Chu Zhaoyi managed to visit him a few times during his busy schedule. Most of the time, he just checked to make sure Fu Nian was still in the palace and breathing before rushing off for his official duties.
“Move your arm a bit so I can see. Yes, extend it, now retract.”
On the day when the bamboo board was removed, Fu Nian looked at his left arm, which was covered in surgical scars. He followed the instructions given by Doctor Xu, who had a look on his face that said, “Please don’t come back again.” But he restrained himself from saying it out loud.
Fu Nian obediently extended his left arm and asked, “What about fighting? Will it be affected?”
After asking, he saw Doctor Xu make a grimace and mouthed something like, “Oh, the cruelty of fate.”
“As a person, one should value harmony. If it weren’t for matters of great importance to the nation, I would advise you not to resort to violence,” Doctor Xu said earnestly.
Fu Nian nodded repeatedly, expressed his thanks, and then walked out of the Imperial Hospital’s gate.
For the past half a month, there hadn’t been any useful news from Rendong. Limited by his ability to recognize characters and his slow reading speed, all he knew was that there were records related to “Fu Nian.” It wasn’t until midnight yesterday that Rendong came to deliver a message, saying that he was on night duty today, and he could let Fu Nian in to check for himself.
Returning to the Chengyuan Hall, Fu Nian first tidied up his dusty bed, then went to report to the instructor, settled the deductions from his monthly salary, and received his duties once again.
Once everything was in order, Fu Nian laid down on his bed.
Strange, he had been feeling dizzy since last night.
He had initially thought that getting a good night’s sleep would make it better, but when he woke up this morning, the dizziness persisted. Not only that, even looking at the food that used to be his favorite made him feel nauseous. He tried to eat a few bites, enduring the strange feeling, but after two mouthfuls, he gave up and put down his spoon.
Just a moment ago, he had walked back from the Imperial Hospital, visited the instructor, cleaned the room, and fetched water a few times. Even though he hadn’t started his shift yet, he felt much more tired than usual.
Fu Nian touched his earlobe and muttered softly, “Strange, I don’t have a fever.”
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