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墨書 Inktalez
After Pei Guanjing's death, the other princes of the realm would no longer be a threat.
Thus, Pei Guanjing's death was scheduled for a month after Pei Yongshang was executed.
Chang Country announced to the world that the leader of the rebel forces, Pei Guanjing, had been captured and would soon face execution.
The world was shocked.
At this time, Pei Guanjing commanded the most valiant soldiers in the capital, and his military prowess was unmatched. He had previously kept all the princes constrained within their territories, preventing them from making any reckless moves, with Lou Yu being the only exception.
In the dark and damp prison of Chang Country, a suffocating atmosphere filled every inch of air.
Pei Guanjing's hands were tightly bound by heavy iron chains that hung from the ceiling, suspending him in mid-air. His body was covered in whip marks; where his skin had been torn open, blood flowed freely, sticking to his tattered clothes and making him look utterly disheveled.
Once upon a time, Pei Guanjing seemed like an immortal descended to earth—tall and imposing, with an extraordinary presence. He commanded thousands of troops and struck fear into the hearts of many. At that time, clad in armor with eyes sharp as an eagle's, he inspired awe wherever he went.
But now, fate had played a cruel joke on him. He had been reduced to a mere shadow of his former self, hanging helplessly from iron chains as a prisoner without any power to fight back.
The guards, seeing him fallen from grace, instantly transformed their previous reverence into boldness for humiliation.
Every day, they routinely wielded their whips, striking down mercilessly on Pei Guanjing's already battered back.
With each crack of the whip meeting flesh, a dull thud echoed through the air as if each blow aimed to crush his bones.
Yet, Pei Guanjing remained eerily silent. No matter how much the guards beat and scolded him, he did not utter a word. He merely cast a faint glance at them before turning his gaze towards the sky in a daze.
He often tilted his head slightly, gazing directly at the only small window in the cell.
Though the window was small, it allowed a sliver of light from the outside world to filter in. He stared quietly, not uttering a word, as his thoughts seemed to drift far away, making everything in the cell feel irrelevant to him.
On this day, after the usual whipping, the jailer had just left when Pei Guanjing heard someone approaching slowly.
He recognized that familiar yet loathsome voice as the person coldly commanded, "Open the door."
Pei Guanjing frowned slightly.
Then he heard an even colder voice call out, "Pei Guanjing."
Turning to look, he saw Lou Yu, the current Emperor of Chang Country.
In just a few months since their last encounter, Lou Yu appeared even colder and more ruthless than before.
Despite being dressed in luxurious robes adorned with glaring dragon patterns, his expression was far from good; the weariness etched on his brow was impossible to conceal.
Surely, Lou Yu had been through a lot these past years?
A faint smile curled at the corners of Pei Guanjing's lips. If he was suffering, then Lou Yu shouldn't expect to fare any better.
As Lou Yu stepped into the dungeon, an extremely unpleasant aura rushed toward him.
The air was thick with the mingled stench of blood and the scent of Pinewood, a combination that was both pungent and nauseating. The metallic odor of blood was overwhelming, laced with a hint of decay, while the Pinewood, which should have been fresh, was now tainted by the blood, creating a bizarre and repulsive aroma.
This smell permeated every corner of the dungeon, making him feel utterly disgusted.
Lou Yu furrowed his brow, raising a hand to cover his mouth and nose, his eyes filled with revulsion. In the dim light of the dungeon, his figure appeared particularly stern, and that foul scent seemed to invade his nostrils more with each passing moment, heightening his irritation as he quickened his pace toward Pei Guanjing's location.
Lou Yu had wrestled with his decision for quite some time before ultimately deciding to confront Pei Guanjing.
For five years, since the day he faced Pei Guanjing in battle while advancing toward the capital, he had not slept a single peaceful night. Now that Pei Guanjing had been captured, he felt torn between wanting to see him and wishing to avoid him.
He hesitated to meet because Pei Guanjing was now merely a prisoner, the very person who had troubled him for five years; he found it beneath him to face him. Yet, he also felt compelled to see him due to the current whereabouts of Ye Chen.
At this moment, seeing Pei Guanjing suddenly smile at him only fueled Lou Yu's anger further.
"Pei Guanjing!" he gritted his teeth and asked coldly, "Are you still not going to tell me where Ye Chen is?"
He had privately inquired with several people in Pei Guanjing's army and received responses indicating that Ye Chen had been missing for five years and had not been secretly taken away by Pei Guanjing. Some even bluntly stated that Ye Chen was already dead.
Thus, he had come personally to question Pei Guanjing: "Pei Guanjing, what have you done with Ye Chen? You can no longer protect him; hand him over to me, and I will ensure you receive a complete body."
Pei Guanjing turned his head away and ignored him.
If he knew where Ye Chen was, would he have ended up in such a predicament? Would he allow Lou Yu to ride over him?
Lou Yu noticed that Pei Guanjing did not respond, and upon hearing his question, the expression in his eyes dimmed instantly.
A sense of foreboding surged within Lou Yu. Could it be that Ye Chen had encountered some kind of accident? Otherwise, with Pei Guanjing's temperament, he would never allow Ye Chen to leave his side for even a moment. Moreover, as a Tian Qian, how could he go so long without marking his Kun Ze to comfort him?
The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became.
Over the past five years, his private informants had thoroughly searched through Pei Guanjing's military ranks, yet no one had seen Ye Chen. Everyone claimed that Ye Chen had been missing for five years or was already dead.
"Pei Guanjing, I will ask you one more time: where have you taken Ye Chen? Are you..." Lou Yu's voice unconsciously trembled.
Pei Guanjing remained silent.
Seeing his lack of response, Lou Yu's anger flared as he caught sight of the wounds on Pei Guanjing's body. He shouted, "Who beat him to such a state?"
A guard stepped forward, trembling and stammering, "It was... it was me."
The guard had expected to receive a severe beating in return but was taken aback when he heard Lou Yu say, "Well done. Bring me the whip."
The guard cautiously handed over the whip, and Lou Yu snatched it away.
Then, Lou Yu unfurled the whip and struck Pei Guanjing heavily across the back.
The force he used was immense; even the guard standing nearby felt a shiver of fear at the sound of the whip striking flesh.
Yet they still could not hear a single cry of pain from Pei Guanjing; all they heard were Lou Yu's words echoing: "Pei Guanjing, didn’t you love Ye Chen very much? Then why didn’t you protect him? Why, after five years, do you still not know whether he is dead or alive? Pei Guanjing, why did you take him away from Lan Prefecture? If it weren’t for you, Ye Chen could have been by my side today."
"Do you know he is still carrying your child? How can a Kun Ze survive in such chaotic times? Without Xin Xiang and without a husband, how is he supposed to live? Since you have him, why don’t you cherish him properly and leave him alone in Chongzhou?"
Faced with this barrage of questions, Pei Guanjing found himself unable to respond to any of them.
For five years, he had been reflecting on whether he had truly made a mistake. Why did he leave Ye Chen in Chongzhou? Even when Liu Jin tried to stop him, he should have taken him away; after all, he was his husband, the one who could care for him for a lifetime. Why had he entrusted him to someone else?
In the end, however, he had still entrusted him to Liu Jin.
He could not find Liu Jin’s body because it was beyond recognition. At first, he held onto hope, believing that Liu Jin had taken A Chen away. But as time passed, all his spies had scoured the entire Tianqi without finding any trace of them.
So he erected a grave marker for Liu Jin. As for Ye Chen, he thought that when he died, he would hold onto the things Ye Chen had used in life and be buried together with him—of course, if there was a complete body.
Ye Chen remained elusive; there was no sign of life or death. He found it hard to close his eyes.
Pei Guanjing lowered his gaze in sorrow. Blood from his wounds dripped onto the ground, leaving a trail of crimson stains.
Lou Yu grew tired of waiting and seeing that Pei Guanjing remained silent and unresponsive. Frustrated, he threw down the whip and turned to leave.
That day, Ye Chen went out to buy groceries as usual.
As he passed through the East Market, he noticed a crowd gathered around the notice board. Being of shorter stature, he couldn’t squeeze in no matter how hard he tried. He could only grab hold of a man pushing his way out of the crowd and asked, "Hey there, brother, what’s posted inside? Is there some big event about to happen?"
The elder brother shook his head, a faint smile appearing on his face, though it never reached his eyes. He sighed, "What else could it be? The war is coming to an end." With that, he lifted his foot to leave, only to find the corner of his garment tightly grasped by Ye Chen.
"Who was defeated?" Ye Chen's voice trembled slightly.
The elder brother was not angered; he waved his hand dismissively and said, "It was Pei Guanjing, the former Regent's Adopted Son. He is to be executed on Qiu Shui Street in a month. By now, it should have been four or five days since then. Ah, the unpredictability of life! I thought Pei Gongzi had everything going for him—how could he have lost? And to a prince who once caused Cangzhou to fall."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the elder brother seemed to realize he had misspoken. His expression changed abruptly as he hurriedly pushed past Ye Chen and left in haste.
Ye Chen stood there in a daze. When the crowd began to disperse, he squeezed forward and saw the notice posted on the wall.
Pei Guanjing and Lou Yu—he could not accept the death of either.
But now, he was just an ordinary physician. What could he do?
The only thought that came to him was to see Pei Guanjing one last time.
Upon returning to the health hall, Dou Ya had already sorted all the herbs.
As soon as Dou Ya saw Ye Chen return, his eyes lit up. He dashed towards him with open arms, calling out in a childish voice, "Daddy, I’ve sorted all the herbs! Hurry and hug me!"
In the past, at this time of day, Ye Chen would always scoop Dou Ya up and praise him for a long time. But at this moment, Ye Chen was still lost in thought about what he had just seen. His legs felt weak as he trembled and sank into a chair, looking utterly despondent as if he had lost his soul.
"Daddy, hug me! Daddy, hug me!" Dou Ya sensed something was off with his father but did not understand what had happened. He could only reach out repeatedly, stubbornly asking for a hug.
Liu Jin was awakened by the loud cries of Dou Ya, who had been calling for some time. Stretching lazily, he stepped out from the back room.
"What’s wrong with my precious grandson? If your father won't hold you, then Grandpa will. Come here," he said, opening his arms with a loving smile.
Dou Ya, understanding and eager, immediately leaped into his grandfather's embrace and sweetly called out, "Grandpa."
Liu Jin securely held Dou Ya in his arms before noticing Ye Chen standing nearby, lost in thought with a vacant expression. He frowned slightly, realizing that Chen must have learned about the situation in the capital.
He had intended to keep this matter from Ye Chen, but now that it had come to pass, he found himself at a loss for words to offer comfort. After all, that man was Dou Ya's father; it was heartless to let such a small child lose her father. He simply could not bring himself to do it.
After pondering for a moment, Liu Jin spoke softly, "If you want to go, then go. I will send the Dark Guard to escort you north. But whether or not you can save him is something you need to weigh carefully. Remember, you must come back alive. Dou Ya is still so young; losing one father is already pitiful enough—she cannot lose you as well."
Ye Chen seemed to hear him and slowly turned his head towards Liu Jin. He bent his knees and knelt down with a thud, bowing deeply three times before standing up and rushing back to his room to pack.
Liu Jin held Dou Ya in his arms, watching Ye Chen's retreating figure with mixed emotions.
Dou Ya looked confused as she gazed in the direction her father had gone and curiously asked her grandfather, "What is Daddy going to do? Why did he leave so quickly?"
Liu Jin forced a smile and comforted the little one in his arms, "Daddy is going to bring your father home. Are you happy, Dou Ya?"
Dou Ya often heard others say she didn't have a father, so when she heard that her daddy was going to bring him back home, she became excited and clapped her hands cheerfully, exclaiming, "Happy!"
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