Chapter 82: Pian Feng, you are cold-hearted, cold-tempered, cold-spoken, and cold-hearted...

Zhu Hao had been floating in the boundless darkness for who knows how many years, perhaps a hundred years, perhaps a thousand years. When she fell into the endless black and gray world again, her heart was no longer able to withstand the slightest ripple.

I don’t know how many dark days and nights I endured. In the hazy state, intermittent whispers floated into my ears, sometimes clearly audible, sometimes distant like smoke.

"Why did the young prince bring General Yu back? In His Majesty's eyes, General Yu is clearly dead. Moreover... the young prince killed General Yu with his own hands in front of His Majesty... If His Majesty knew..."

"It is precisely because General Yu is already dead in Your Majesty's eyes that the Young Lord dared to order his men to dig him out from the mass grave!"

"General Yu was utterly loyal to Daying, yet he met such a fate! Ever since the new emperor ascended the throne, everyone in the court has felt insecure. Even with good advice, who would dare to speak out? If... if His Royal Highness Prince Ling were still alive..."

"Hush, hush, hush! Be careful with your words! Who knows if there are any spies of that immature emperor in Fengzhai..."

"Sister Chenghua tells us to keep quiet, but she's the one who's calling the tyrant emperor loud and clear... If there really were spies, the child emperor would have caught you, Sister Chenghua, first."

“…”

"Huh? Why did I see... General Yu move?"

"Really? Let me see... isn't he still lying there peacefully? He's been lying like this for three or four days straight... Besides, General Yu was already poisoned by Gelsemium elegans during his audience, and he was definitely going to die! Young Master's sword strike was intended to leave General Yu's body intact... Who knew that after he was dug out of the mass grave, he was still breathing. Alas, even so, General Yu is now just lying there waiting to die..."

"That... I saw it too! I learned some martial arts from Brother Xiangyu, so I have sharp eyes. There's no way I'm wrong!"

"Humph, I think you guys are blinded by the mushrooms you ate... Ah! General Yu is sitting up!"

When Zhu Hao opened her eyes, she was greeted by seven or eight unfamiliar faces. Some were holding wet handkerchiefs, some were carrying medicine, some were holding porridge...all of them were staring at her with bated breath.

Her head was buzzing, and the slightest movement caused a dull pain in her forehead. The sword wound in her chest was tearing at her nerves.

If the sword tip had deviated another half inch, Zhu Hao could be certain that he would have to cross the Yellow Springs Road again, float to the Three Lives Stone, pass by the Wangxiang Terrace, and follow the ghost shadows into the endless Naihe Bridge.

Hey...wait!

“…Mirror…mirror…”

The hoarse voice, like gravel rubbing against each other, was completely different from his past self. The young boys and girls surrounding the bed seemed to have been pardoned and scrambled to reach for the square mirror on the table.

The square mirror reflected a male face. There was an old knife scar across his left cheek. His eyebrows were like sharp blades, slanting into his temples. His narrow eyes were surprisingly clear. His wheat-colored skin was dry and puffy, revealing the sharp heroism of a veteran in the battlefield.

As soon as she moved her left hand, the person in the mirror also raised his hand. She frowned, and the person also frowned. As soon as she opened her mouth, a young man beside her hurriedly stuffed a piece of flower cake into her mouth. The man in the mirror also puffed up his cheeks and chewed the cake, with fine sugar crumbs on the corners of his mouth.

Why...why did she become a man?! And who is he?

"I want to see... me..." She coughed violently for a long time, stretched out her legs, and fell back on the couch, "I want to see Song Xieqing!"

…

In a spacious yet extremely plain room, Song Xieqing was half leaning against the window, his snow-white undershirt draped loosely, revealing a piece of bandage wrapped around his chest. He was turning a celadon teacup, holding a scroll of memorials with wet ink and sloppy handwriting.

The young man standing by stole a glance and saw that his young master's face was still pale with illness. He couldn't help but curse Yu Shu a thousand times in his heart. The young master had gone to such extremes to save his body and put on a show in front of the emperor, and he was so good! He actually stabbed the young master in return! Although this knife helped the young master clear his suspicion in front of the tyrant emperor, how could he dare to stab so deep!

Song Xieqing casually tossed the memorials he had read into his bamboo box. These were merely copies he had secretly ordered, not the originals. He sipped his tea and asked, "Xiangyu, is General Yu awake?"

The young man named Xiangyu suppressed his anger and nodded obediently, "Yes, I'm awake. I heard from Sister Chenghua... that it was General Yu..."

He nodded, "I'm not very clear about this. Hiss, no wonder, the poison of Gelsemium elegans is incurable. Even if Young Master used rare and precious medicine to keep General Yu alive, it would be too late. Now he can escape from the underworld, which is weird! In this case, it's normal for his mind to be a little unclear... Young Master, is that right? As soon as General Yu woke up, he asked for a mirror to look at himself. When he saw himself in the mirror, he was so scared that he kicked his legs and fell backwards on the bed. Oh, General Yu was always shouting that he wanted to see Song Xieqing..."

Xiang Yu looked up at the memorial his wise, brave, and handsome young master had just received. "Who did he say he wanted to see?"

"Song Xieqing." Xiang Yu spread his hands and said, "Young Master, you haven't heard of this man's name, have you? Neither have I... I think General Yu must have made it up while he's still half-conscious! Or maybe Song Xieqing is just some scoundrel out there on the street! Young Master, I've already ordered someone to investigate, but there's no clue yet..."

"No need to check." Song Xieqing interrupted, "I will meet him in person tonight."

…

"I'm telling you, your master is none other than Song Xieqing, the one I want to see... Yes, his name is Song Lang, but his courtesy name is Xieqing... Fine, fine, he's not called Xieqing, and he doesn't have a courtesy name... Then I want to see Song Lang, your master, okay? Okay, I won't call him by his first name, I want to see your young master, the current imperial tutor, okay? Do you agree?"

"General... We don't mean to make things difficult for you, but whether Young Master is willing to see you still depends on your opinion. The message has been delivered to the Song Mansion. General, please wait a little longer."

Chenghua stood quietly outside the house, and was about to persuade him again when she suddenly saw a tall and slender figure slanting down on the bluestone ground. She slightly widened her eyes and looked up. Seeing the person coming, Chenghua hurriedly wanted to kneel down, but Song Xieqing raised his hand to stop her from bowing. Chenghua understood, but refused to be negligent. She bowed deeply and then quietly retreated.

"Is it so difficult for me to see your master? You keep saying that he saved me. If that's the case, he must have some ulterior motive. Does he want to discuss something with me? Or does he want to find out something from me?" Zhu Haoxu paced back and forth in the inner room, clutching his wound. "When will he finally show up?"

Zhu Hao's patience was almost exhausted. She turned around suddenly and was about to rush out, but the door was opened wide before her.

The air in the yard was filled with spring breezes, and she was caught off guard when she met a pair of eyes that were neither sad nor happy, and as quiet as a deep pool.

"Song..."

"How dare you! How dare you call the young master by his name?"

Zhu Hao looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man in black clothes with a high ponytail walking quickly towards him. Behind him were five or six personal guards with swords hanging from their waists.

Before Zhu Hao could say much, Song Xieqing had already passed her and entered the inner room. Before she could react, she was inexplicably carried inside by the guards on both sides, staggering to her knees on the ground.

The man sat high up at the table, his personal guards burning incense and serving tea, some even adjusting the position of the candlesticks very carefully. Whether it was the incense or the tea, everything was done with unobtrusive care. The man at the table had a frosty face, and he didn't even bother to look at her. His whole body exuded a coldness that kept people at a distance, and Zhu Hao couldn't help but frown.

So... was this the real him? The Song Xieqing from a hundred years ago, unknown to her?

Song Xieqing raised his chin slightly and said, "Sit down."

The person behind him immediately released his grip and pushed Zhu Hao onto a low chair on the side.

She still remembered him, but Song Xieqing obviously had no impression of her... Thinking of this, Zhu Hao lowered his eyes and looked at his rough, broad hands that belonged to a man. Zhu Hao suddenly understood. Oh, given her current appearance, it was understandable that he didn't recognize her...

However, this was the Ying Dynasty a hundred years ago, there was no way Song Xieqing would recognize her!

But Zhu Hao refused to give up. Why did he become so cold and distant? Why did he act so arrogantly in front of her? Zhu Hao didn't like him like this.

"You... really don't recognize me? Song Xieqing."

Zhu Hao saw the corner of the man's lips twitch almost imperceptibly, and a pair of emotionless eyes finally glanced at her reluctantly.

As a court official, Song Xieqing naturally recognized a general who had served in two dynasties, but why did Yu Shu's words seem so strange? It was as if he had left a love affair and then betrayed her...

"How dare I not recognize General Yu?" He spoke respectfully, but every word was as cold as ice. "Two years ago, General Yu accompanied Prince Ling on an expedition to Qingdi. The two armies were about to engage in a major battle, but the general and His Highness disappeared..."

After a long and arduous journey back home, he was captured by Jiang Zhi's men the moment he set foot in Yingdu. He was unjustly charged with murdering a relative and collaborating with the enemy and treason. Jiang Zhi, without questioning or trying him, simply pinned the blame for Prince Ling's disappearance on him. In court, Jiang Zhi sentenced him to be torn apart by five horses. Song Xieqing had no choice but to ask for the task, but when he drew his sword, the tip missed his heart by an inch. Although all the officials in the court knew this, Yu Shu had already declared his failure to Daying when Jiang Zhi summoned him, and had drunk Gelsemium elegans on his own...

"I'm not Yu Shu." Zhu Hao watched his every word and movement and asked tentatively, "I am..."

"Young Master! I see this man is truly ill! Could it be that the poison has not yet subsided..." Xiangyu said seriously, "Could it be that he was possessed by an evil spirit in the mass grave?"

"You little brat are possessed by an evil spirit and have been taken over by a ghost." Zhu Hao glanced at him sideways.

Xiangyu was young and full of energy, intending to fight to the death with Zhu Hao. Just as he was about to roll up his sleeves and argue, he felt a sharp glare coming at him. Xiangyu immediately fell silent and dared not say another word.

"General Yu, why don't you say anything?" Song Xieqing's tone rarely showed any change. "Go on, who are you?"

Seeing him like this, Zhu Hao sneered inwardly, wanting to keep him in suspense, so he said slowly, "Young Master, I... I dare not say."

Song Xieqing: "Why?"

She sighed mournfully, nearly shedding tears. "My identity is ridiculous. If the Young Master heard it, not only would he not believe it, but he would be furious. He might even throw me into a dungeon to sleep with rats. You're still in a bad mood, so cold-hearted and cold-hearted... If the Young Master were to be displeased after hearing this... I'm afraid I'd be bloodied right there! That's why I dare not speak. I'm afraid."

"..." Song Xieqing sneered, "Then do you know that saying this to me will also make me unhappy?"

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The author has something to say: Pianpian's body is temporary and she will return to her own body soon.

Xiangyu: "Could it be that he was possessed by an evil spirit in the mass grave?"

Zhu Hao: "You little boy have been possessed by an evil spirit and have been taken over by an evil ghost."

Zhu Haoxinxin: Wait a minute... I am indeed dead, and I have indeed been a ghost... If that's the case, then isn't it that I took over General Yu's body as a vessel? This little guy is right, General Yu is indeed... possessed by a ghost [scared]