Chapter 50

After coming out of Qingyun Temple, Xiao Ziyu was still a little distracted.

The threshold of the temple was extremely high, and he forgot to lift his foot and nearly tripped and fell to the ground.

Hua Zhen helped him up and said, "Be careful, donor."

Xiao Ziyu stood firm and confirmed with him, "Is your abbot really not here?"

Hua Zhen said truthfully: "Master's whereabouts are uncertain. If he hadn't come back on his own initiative, it would be difficult for us to see him on weekdays."

Xiao Ziyu nodded, his eyes scattered: "No need to send me off."

Seeing that he was in a trance, Hua Zhen still advised: "It is inevitable that there are people with similar faces in the world, so please don't worry too much."

No, Xiao Ziyu retorted in his heart, not only the face was similar, the Wang Jun in the portrait was clearly himself hundreds of years ago.

As excited and nervous as he was when going up the mountain, he was as dejected and confused when going down the mountain. He went down the stairs step by step, his back straight and not losing his composure, but his heart was already in turmoil.

He originally wanted to find some clues in Qingyun Temple. If he could meet the old abbot, maybe he could even explore the past. He thought he had been prepared for a long time. The worst case scenario was that there would be no news. After so many years, all he wanted was to find out the truth of that year.

Unexpectedly, the facts still gave him a blow. Hua Zhen didn't know much about that period of history, and he just heard the general framework from the old abbot's few words, but the result was shocking enough.

Yuan Heng did not eventually ascend the throne to become emperor.

Xiao Ziyu was extremely confused and couldn't figure out the reason. Before one mystery is solved, more mysteries emerge.

Since Yuan Heng had no ambition to become emperor, why did he endure in the deep palace for more than 20 years? Why was he in a hurry to expand his territory and attack the Kingdom of Shu when his own foundation was still unstable?

Xiao Ziyu shook his head slightly. He knew Yuan Heng's ambition better than anyone else. If he just wanted to seek revenge on the old emperor, he could have just gotten rid of him during the palace coup. There was no need to put him under house arrest and force him to write an edict to establish a crown prince, making his position as the crown prince seem reasonable.

Until he entered the Eastern Palace, Yuan Heng's idea had not changed. If he could outlast the old emperor, he could become king with full legitimacy and even deal with all the gossips behind him.

What changed his mind?

If Yuan Heng didn't ascend the throne, where did he go?

Xiao Ziyu didn't dare to think about it too much. He focused his attention on the stone steps under his feet and walked an hour instead of half an hour. Looking back at the mountain, the outline of the temple disappeared, just like an old story that has been buried for years and should not be disturbed by outsiders.

The sun was high in the sky, shining brightly on the asphalt road. From a distance, it looked like the road was covered with a layer of water film. Xiao Ziyu felt his face getting hot, his lips getting dry, and there was a thin layer of sweat covering his forehead to the tip of his nose, but he felt a chill in his heart.

Back at Blue Sea, the security guard on duty at the club was shocked: "Why is your face so red? Did you have a heat stroke?"

Xiao Ziyu shook his head to indicate that he was fine. He did not say that he was so frightened that he lost his soul. He almost tripped and then did not know where to go after going down the mountain. He walked in a daze for more than an hour before he remembered to take a taxi.

The elevator door opened and Yuan Heng and Yuan Ye happened to come out. They didn't expect to run into him here.

Yuan Ye yelled, "Sister-in-law, where have you been? You didn't even have lunch."

Yuan Heng walked forward, stretched out two fingers and touched behind Xiao Ziyu's ear, feeling the burning temperature. He frowned: "What's going on?"

Xiao Ziyu had been thinking wildly all the way, and when he returned to Blue Sea, he felt inexplicably timid, not knowing how to face Yuan Heng. But when he really saw this person, he felt relieved for no reason, "I went out to do something."

Fortunately, Yuan Heng didn't ask him what he did, but just said: "Didn't you take a taxi?"

"I'm lost." Xiao Ziyu said honestly.

"I didn't even check my phone when I was lost." Yuan Heng said.

Xiao Ziyu took out his cell phone and saw a long list of missed calls, including those from Yuan Heng and Yuan Ye. He had muted his phone before entering the mountain, and after coming down the mountain, his mind was filled with so many thoughts that he forgot about this one.

"What happened?" he added.

"My dad's condition isn't good. He fell into a coma early yesterday morning," Yuan Ye frowned. "Come and call my brother, and let's go to the hospital."

It was no small matter that the hemiplegic patient was in a coma. Xiao Ziyu had no time to rest himself, "Let's go together."

The family's driver, Lao Zhao, was already waiting in the parking lot. Yuan Heng took out two bottles of soda water from the trunk, unscrewed the caps and handed them to him: "Drink some water."

Xiao Ziyu felt thirsty and his throat was burning. He took the water bottle and took small sips, like a kitten licking milk.

Yuan Ye glanced at the rearview mirror from the front row and said with emotion: "Sister-in-law, you are so civilized when drinking water."

Xiao Ziyu didn't say anything. His high ponytail was a little untidy, with a few strands of hair falling out from his temples. Yuan Heng looked him up and down and noticed a small patch of gray on his jeans: "How did you get that?"

When he was going down the mountain, he missed a step on the stone steps and hit the wooden railing on the side of the road. Xiao Ziyu didn't expect the other party to observe so carefully, so he covered it up by saying, "I accidentally fell."

In front of outsiders, Yuan Heng did not say much. Xiao Ziyu secretly thought that if Yuan Heng questioned him at night, he would deny it to the death, because Yuan Heng definitely didn't even know the place called Qingyun Temple.

Prepared himself mentally, he secretly observed the two brothers. Their father was in a coma after the accident, and neither of them reacted much. Yuan Ye put on headphones to listen to music, while Yuan Heng stared at him for a while and then began to browse files on the spare tablet in the car.

He could sense the brothers' resistance to their father, but he didn't dare to ask too much. The family affairs of the wealthy have always been a taboo, and behind the scenes there were many cases of fathers and sons becoming enemies, and brothers fighting each other.

The sanatorium was built in a secluded area, with trees planted on both sides of the road. There was no one to appreciate the artificial lake, and turning the car in felt like entering a secluded cage. Xiao Ziyu noticed that Yuan Ye in the front row took off his headphones.

The top floor has always been independent, and even the elevator requires a card to reach it directly. The last time I came here, the waiting room was full of directors. This time it was much quieter. The expert doctors had just finished a consultation and they all looked unhappy.

Xue Jinling was sobbing quietly in the corner. The nurse was taking care of her and reminded her, "Mr. Yuan is here."

Yuan Qian'an is bedridden, Yuan Ye is still acting like a young master, and the only person at the scene who can be called "Sir" is Yuan Heng. But he ignored everyone and walked straight to the attending physician: "What's wrong with my father?"

He looked stern and sounded earnest, as if he was filled with worry, but Xiao Ziyu saw the emotion between his brows, which showed a hint of impatience.

"There are no problems with the twice-weekly physical examinations, and there are no changes in medication." The attending doctor was also confused and said conservatively: "There are many reasons for sudden fainting. We have to wait for the test report to come out."

Yuan Heng nodded slightly, his emotion undetectable: "I'll go in and take a look."

"Mr. Yuan hasn't woken up yet," the nurse reminded him, "He has just been transferred out of the intensive care unit."

Yuan Heng pretended not to hear and went straight to the ward. Yuan Ye hesitated for a moment and stayed by Xue Jinling's side. "Mom, don't cry. This disease is prone to recurrence. I don't need to worry about it."

Xiao Ziyu and Yuan Heng entered the ward, the door was closed, and a faint smell of decay came from the room. Xiao Ziyu had been ill for several years and was very familiar with this smell. Even if he cleaned, burned incense and bathed every day, he could not resist the decay of his body from the inside out.

Yuan Qi'an lay quietly on the hospital bed, already on a ventilator. His face was dark and his condition was much worse than last time.

The instruments around him were beeping, and Xiao Ziyu felt surprised. In ancient times, when people reached this stage, they would basically prepare for their funeral. Now, he was being kept alive by instruments, neither dead nor alive. His son was indifferent, and his wife was panicked and had no idea whether it was lucky or unfortunate.

It is not a good thing to be forced to linger on when the time comes to let go.

Xiao Ziyu was distracted and inadvertently met Yuan Heng's eyes, and was suddenly startled. Yuan Heng's face was gloomy, even the impatience he had just shown was gone, leaving only a gloomy look between his brows. He stared at Yuan Qi'an motionlessly, as if he was looking at a piece of dead meat.

He flexed his fingers and couldn't help but pull at the corner of Yuan Heng's clothes: "Why are you..."

Yuan Heng's expression changed slightly, as if he realized his own misconduct, and he lowered his eyes to look at Xiao Ziyu: "Why, you've never seen a dying person before, are you scared?"

It is a taboo to talk about life and death in front of a sickbed. Yuan Heng did not shy away from it at all: "If you are afraid, just get out."

Xiao Ziyu shook his head, feeling that he was going to be scared by Yuan Heng. At this time, the door opened, and Yuan Ye and Xue Jinling also came in. The nurse followed behind them, and seemed to be more competent than the bodyguard.

Yuan Heng returned to his usual indifference. Seeing that Xue Jinling's eyes were still red, he comforted her perfunctorily: "The doctor also said it's not a big deal. Li Feng is here to watch over her. He will notify us if there is any situation."

The nurse was suddenly called and immediately said, "Don't worry, Madam."

Xue Jinling glanced at him with tearful eyes, with uneasiness, fear, and perhaps something else in her eyes, which Xiao Ziyu could not tell for a moment.

On the way out of the hospital, he was still thinking about the past. Xue Jinling had no career of her own and depended on Yuan Qi'an like a dodder. Yuan Heng was not close to her. Yuan Ye had no ability himself. Once Yuan Qi'an fell, the company would be in chaos.

The sultry weather in the morning was not without reason. There were thick clouds in the sky, and it looked like it was going to rain soon.

As usual, Lao Zhao sent Xue Jinling and her son back to the villa. Before they parted, Yuan Ye suddenly said, "Brother, why don't you go home and stay with Brother Xiao for a few days?"

Yuan Heng thought it was too much trouble: "Let's talk about it later."

Xiao Ziyu saw Yuan Ye pursed his lips and looked a little lost, and he could understand that feeling. If he encounters something unpleasant, he will want to rely on his senior brother who has taken care of him since childhood.

After seeing off Xue Jinling and her son, Yuan Heng wanted to take a taxi. As soon as he opened the app, he heard Xiao Ziyu's stomach growl next to him.

But the man wanted to save face, so he pretended that nothing had happened and raised his voice deliberately: "It will be even harder to get a taxi if it starts to rain later."

Yuan Heng didn't expose him and put away his phone: "Let's go eat something first, I'm hungry."

The sanatorium is adjacent to a residential area and there is no shortage of snack bars nearby. Xiao Ziyu pretended not to care at first, but after walking around, he was gradually assimilated by the diners who were exploring nearby restaurants. He stood in front of a restaurant solemnly and said, "I think this one is good."

Yuan Heng looked up and saw a milk tea shop.

Yuan Heng: "Milk tea cannot be eaten as a meal."

"Then you probably haven't tried taro paste Bobo," Xiao Ziyu retorted with reason, "You can drink it and chew it, it quenches your thirst and fills your stomach."

"You didn't have lunch," Yuan Heng said, "You need to have a proper meal."

"Okay," Xiao Ziyu also felt that drinking milk tea on an empty stomach was a bit unhealthy, but he couldn't let it go. He took a few steps and still muttered, "When we were on the crew earlier, Teacher Zhou..."

Yuan Heng paused and interrupted him, "Let's go buy a cup and try it."