Chapter 46 He waited until he returned to the capital, and he…

“My father is about to be beheaded, as are my uncle, my eldest cousin, and my younger cousin… I can’t accept that they’re all going to die. But when I think about how cruel they were to me, I can’t help but resent their heartlessness. Also, I only recently found out that my two half-brothers were sent away by my father beforehand. He was capable of protecting the children, but… he didn’t want to protect my brothers and me, and… he never even thought about protecting my mother.”

When they were still in Yuyang Prefecture, Liu Qingyue went to see Liu Qingyan and Madam Su.

At that time, he discovered that Su's two sons were missing, and he thought they had gone to rebel with their father.

It wasn't until he returned to the capital that he learned they hadn't joined the rebellion and had been hidden away elsewhere long ago.

Thinking of this, Liu Qingyue felt a little resentment towards him.

But... the thought that he would die soon still made him feel a little reluctant.

"You tell me, am I particularly terrible? He treated me like that, yet I still can't bear to let him go. I can't bring myself to truly hate him, and I can't help but resent him either. It makes me seem like a very awkward person."

Qin Ren couldn't bear to see him cry, and seeing his face covered in tears made him feel a little sorry for him.

He took a tissue out of his pocket, bent down slightly, and wiped away his tears.

He's been making alcohol lately, and even though he's wearing new clothes, he still smells faintly of alcohol.

Liu Qingyue smelled the alcohol on him and frowned, asking, "Have you been drinking?"

"No, didn't I tell you? I've been helping Prince Ying make alcohol recently, so I guess I got it on myself by accident."

As Qin Ren said this, he raised his hand and smelled it.

He's been working with alcohol for the past two months and has gotten used to the smell of it, though he himself hasn't been able to detect any alcoholic odor.

Qin Ren: "It wasn't from drinking alcohol; it's probably the smell from when they were making the alcohol."

After saying this, Qin Ren thought of what Liu Qingyue had just said and gently comforted him again.

“You’re not wrong. It’s not shameful for a child to want their parents’ love. When I was little, I also thought about my parents and fantasized about whether I would be happy if they hadn’t died. Your father used to love you, so it’s not strange that you feel reluctant to let him go. If you feel sad, cry it out. Once you’ve cried and felt better, don’t dwell on the sadness for too long. You still have your brother and your mother. Take good care of yourself for their sake.”

"Really? Don't you think I'm annoying?"

"No, you're acting like a normal person. If someone has no personal feelings at all, they're just a cold-blooded animal."

Modern people always pursue refined egoism, but being too refined and selfish is very lonely.

Liu Qingyue is just an ordinary person, and a person from ancient times at that, so he cannot be judged by modern standards.

Qin Ren didn't think it was a bad thing for him. He thought that such a person was simple, kind, and humane.

You don't have to worry about someone betraying you for personal gain when you're with them.

Thanks to Qin Ren's patient guidance, Liu Qingyue's mood improved somewhat.

He wiped away his tears and began to ask Qin Ren about his future plans.

"Are you planning to stay in the capital from now on?"

“If you’re in the capital, I’ll naturally stay here.”

Liu Qingyue suddenly became flustered, probably not expecting Qin Ren to say that.

He wondered if Qin Ren already knew his identity.

Otherwise... why would Qin Ren suddenly say that?

What does it mean that since he's in the capital, he naturally stays here?

Liu Qingyue couldn't help but feel a little flustered. He wanted to ask Qin Ren if he knew his identity.

Just then, the little servant's voice rang out from outside.

“Young Master Yue, a young lady has come looking for you outside. She says her name is Xu Yuandie.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Qingyue was taken aback for a moment, and then quickly took Qin Ren to the next room.

Xu Yuandie was Liu Qingyue's best friend; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the two were childhood friends.

They had a good relationship before, and now that they learned that the Liu family was in trouble, they naturally wanted to come and visit them.

Liu Qingyue didn't want the other party to see Qin Ren, not because she thought Qin Ren was anything shameful.

Rather... he hadn't figured out how to introduce Qin Ren to the people he knew before.

After sending Qin Ren to the next room, Liu Qingyue took out a small mirror and carefully looked at her face to make sure she wasn't so ugly that she couldn't be seen by others. Only then did she let the servant let him in.

Xu Yuandie didn't come alone; she brought four people with her.

A servant, a maid, an old woman, and a baby a few months old.

Liu Qingyue knew that the child was Xu Yuandie's.

When he and his father left the capital, Xu Yuandie was already pregnant.

Now that so much time has passed, Xu Yuandie's child is already several months old. It really does seem like time flies.

The sight of two handkerchiefs being handed to each other should have been a very touching scene.

However, to Liu Qingyue's surprise, his close friend seemed to have changed a lot in the year they had not seen each other.

Xu Yuandie married relatively early, at the age of fifteen.

She was the one among their close friends who had the worst marriage.

Because her husband's family was not considered prestigious, she was unable to conceive after marriage and was frequently mistreated in her husband's household. Her husband would sometimes beat her.

At that time, Liu Qingyue often went to see her and even had a big fight with her husband's family over her affairs.

Logically speaking, they were childhood friends, and Liu Qingyue treated her so well; she should be very grateful to him.

However... people's hearts are complicated, because from childhood to adulthood, Liu Qingyue has always been one step ahead of her in everything, and even their family backgrounds are very different.

She was mostly quite self-conscious in front of Liu Qingyue.

Furthermore, after she got married, she was unable to conceive, which made her inferiority complex even more pronounced.

She always felt that Liu Qingyue had helped her back then only to see her make a fool of herself, which made her feel extremely embarrassed and resentful.

Unexpectedly... the tables turned, and in just two short years, the two of them switched places.

The Liu family was raided and their property confiscated overnight because of the fourth prince's plot to rebel.

Although Liu Qingyue survived by chance, she lost the protection of her family, and even her own brother was dismissed from his official post.

After two years of effort, she not only successfully became pregnant, but also gave birth to a son as she had wished.

Now that her status in her husband's family has improved, even her mother-in-law treats her with great respect, which makes her feel more joyful and happy than ever before.

She came here this time because she wanted Liu Qingyue to see her precious son.

Her good life now is all thanks to her good son, whom she had begged and pleaded for.

Xu Yuandie said with a smile, "It's been more than a year since we last met. You still haven't seen my child, have you?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Qingyue immediately began rummaging through his belongings. He hadn't expected Xu Yuandie to bring her child over, and he hadn't prepared a gift for her child beforehand.

Seeing this, Xu Yuandie guessed that he wanted to give her child a gift.

She really wanted to say that it wasn't necessary, but now that the Liu family was in such a state, Liu Qingyue was having a hard time making ends meet, and probably couldn't afford any gift.

But seeing Liu Qingyue's flustered appearance, she was somewhat eager to see his embarrassed state when he couldn't produce a gift for their first meeting.

The thought that the once-glorious young master of the Liu family couldn't even afford a gift for his best friend's child made her think the scene before her was quite amusing.

Liu Qingyue searched for a long time but couldn't find anything of value.

They used all their valuables on the way back to bribe the soldiers for the rest of the Liu family.

Regardless of their relationship with the rest of the Liu family, they couldn't completely ignore everyone's plight.

Especially those elderly, weak, women and children who were implicated, the rebellion had nothing to do with them, but they were implicated in such a serious crime just because they were in the Liu family.

Liu Yu couldn't bear to see her relatives being bullied on the road, so she spent all the money she had to prevent them from getting into trouble.

The small courtyard where they live now was bought with money borrowed from Liu Yuze's former friends.

Since Liu Yuze had no money left, Liu Qingyue naturally didn't have any valuables on her.

Fortunately, Qin Ren brought him a lot of rare and interesting things when he came today, so he could afford to give him a gift.

Liu Qingyue pulled out an adorable wind-up chick from among those things.

Qin Ren found this wind-up chick when he returned to the modern world to pack his things.

Because it doesn't need batteries, only a spring to run, and the material is glow-in-the-dark, he brought it along to ancient times as well.

He figured that Liu Qingyue couldn't easily leave the house and must be quite bored at home alone, so he brought this little toy over to give to her.

Liu Qingyue had played with similar toys when she was in modern times.

He took out the wind-up chick and said to Xu Yuandie somewhat embarrassedly, "My family is down on its luck now, and I don't have much money, so I can't give you anything nice. But this little toy is very fun and is perfect for a child your age."

After saying this, Liu Qingyue patiently taught Xu Yuandie how to use the toy.

Xu Yuandie had never seen such a toy before. Seeing Liu Qingyue explaining it to her with great interest, she felt that Liu Qingyue was showing off to her again.

Xu Yuandie's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. She reached out and pushed the toy away, saying to Liu Qingyue with a look of disgust, "My son can't have this kind of frivolous plaything. He's going to study for the imperial examinations in the future."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qingyue was taken aback for a moment, and then had no choice but to put the things away.

He felt that Xu Yuandie was acting strangely today; her tone of voice sounded somewhat harsh.

However, considering that they had grown up together, he couldn't get angry over just one sentence from her.

Just as Liu Qingyue turned around, wanting to change to a better gift...

Xu Yuandie spoke again, "You don't need to trouble yourself. I brought him here not to ask you for any gift. I know what your family's situation is right now. You can't possibly offer a presentable gift."

Seeing her impolite manner, Liu Qingyue felt a little unhappy.

He frowned and asked, "Then why did you come here?"

"Of course I want to see just how pathetic you are now."

"You? How could you..."

"Didn't you visit me when I was down on my luck?"

"Xu Yuandie, are you out of your mind? I went there to help you get revenge when you couldn't conceive before. You think I went there to make fun of you?"

Xu Yuandie couldn't conceive at the time, and her husband's family members went around belittling her.

When Liu Qingyue found out that she had been beaten, she was very worried about her situation and brought people to her door to support her.

Unexpectedly, he disregarded his own reputation and sent an unmarried young man to support her, which she saw as him making a fool of himself.

Liu Qingyue was so angry she almost laughed, and nearly couldn't resist slapping her.

"Isn't that right? If you hadn't made such a scene at my house before, I wouldn't have had to wait so long to see my husband. My miserable life is all thanks to you."

"What nonsense are you talking about? He used to beat and scold you all the time before I went to make a scene. He didn't care about you at all. If I hadn't made a scene, he wouldn't have restrained himself like that afterward. As for why he doesn't see you, it's not because I made a scene, but because he found a mistress. He's just making excuses."

Xu Yuandie was furious. "You're the one talking nonsense! You can't get married yourself, so you're deliberately smearing my husband. My husband isn't that kind of person. We have a son now, and we'll have more children in the future. You're just stirring up trouble and sowing discord because you're jealous that I have a husband and you don't."

"Who says I can't get married? I'm not married now not because I can't, but for other reasons. Also, wake up! I'm not jealous of you at all; I'm just telling you a fact. Your husband is so ugly and short. Why would I be jealous of you? He had that mistress two years ago, before my family's troubles happened. Why would I be jealous of you then?"

Ugliness and shortness were exactly what Xu Yuandie found offensive.

She couldn't accept that Liu Qingyue, now in such a sorry state, could still arrogantly mock her husband for being ugly.

Xu Yuandie: "You were abandoned when you fled with your family, so you're no longer innocent. Your family even rebelled, your reputation is ruined, no one would dare to want you now, you're someone nobody wants..."

Before she could continue her rant, Qin Ren from the next room couldn't resist pushing open the door and entering Liu Qingyue's room.

When Qin Ren arrived, the Liu family consisted only of Liu Qingyue, Qi Shi, Guard Yi, and a small servant.

Later, after Liu Qingyue drove away Guard B, Madam Qi could tell that their relationship was unusual and that she also saw her child's little thoughts, so she simply took Guard B with her and went out.

So now, besides Liu Qingyue, the only other members of the Liu family are Qin Ren and that little servant.

The young servant was timid and didn't seem to have been properly trained.

Seeing their master being bullied at home, they just stood there dumbly without reacting.

Qin Ren felt that such foolish servants wouldn't do, and it seemed he would have to spend money to arrange more people for Liu Qingyue.

Xu Yuandie was startled when she suddenly saw Qin Ren because she hadn't expected there to be other people in the Liu family.

She was afraid for two reasons: first, Qin Ren was a man and looked exceptionally tall; second, she hadn't expected anyone else to dare say such harsh words.

Seeing Qin Ren come over from the next room, she asked hesitantly, "Who are you? What are you doing at the Liu family's house? What's your relationship with me?"

Qin Ren glanced at Liu Qingyue, whose face was full of embarrassment, and then said, "I have come to the Liu family to propose marriage. Young Master Liu is as beautiful as an angel and gentle and kind. Even though the Liu family has suffered such a great disaster, there are still many people who want to marry him."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qingyue looked shocked and then shook her head at Qin Ren.

At this point, he had no time to worry about when Qin Ren had found out about his identity.

He thought Qin Ren said that on purpose to avoid further embarrassment for him.

The argument he had just had with Xu Yuandie about getting married wasn't something he cared about that much.

After experiencing getting lost, encountering bandits, going to the modern world, being forced into marriage by the Liu family, and the Liu family's rebellion, he no longer cared about getting married.

He argued with Xu Yuandie only because she deliberately misunderstood him. He was so angry that he spoke without thinking.

He didn't want Qin Ren to say something like wanting to marry him just to save face.

Xu Yuandie frowned: "You're talking nonsense. If you came to propose marriage, why would his mother have gone out? You two are clearly..."

Qin Ren stared at her coldly, "What is it clearly?"

Xu Yuandie felt uneasy under his gaze, and for some reason, she was a little afraid of the man in front of her. She had a feeling that if she continued to speak recklessly, this man would beat her up regardless of whether she was a woman or not.

Qin Ren: "Stop making a fool of yourself here. The Liu family's affairs are none of your business, an outsider. Instead of wasting your time meddling in other people's business, you should go back and take good care of your Yaozu."

The old woman beside Xu Yuandie glanced at Qin Ren with some surprise.

She whispered, "Huh? How did he know the young master's name was Yaozu?"

Qin Ren, with his sharp ears, overheard the old woman's words and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Holy crap, they really are called Yaozu?

Because Qin Ren is really scary, he looks like someone you don't want to mess with.

Xu Yuandie brought only young men and women with her, and she also had a baby with her, so she didn't dare to confront Qin Ren directly.

She glanced at Liu Qingyue resentfully, then left with her entourage in a haughty manner.

Liu Qingyue felt a little embarrassed and pursed her lips, wanting to send Qin Ren away.

However, when he looked up and met Qin Ren's gaze, he couldn't bring himself to say anything to send him away.

Finally, he looked at the young servant and said, "You can go out now. I have something to say to Brother Qin alone."

The servant glanced at him, then looked at Liu Qingyue, before slowly turning and leaving.

Seeing this, Qin Ren said to Liu Qingyue, "Your servant is no good; he seems a bit stupid. I'll be in the capital these few days, so I'll take you to buy a couple more people. That way, if you get bullied, no one will stand up to protect you."

Liu Qingyue was initially quite embarrassed. He hadn't expected Xu Yuandie to act this way, much less that they would start arguing.

Then, by appearing in such an awkward and disheveled state, he revealed his identity to Qin Ren.

Seeing Qin Ren looking completely unaffected, Liu Qingyue asked softly, her eyes red-rimmed, "When did you find out about my identity?"

"That was a long time ago, probably when you ran away from your wedding."

"So early? Then why didn't you say so before?"

"I guessed back then that your identity was probably similar to that of a woman, but I didn't know the specifics. Seeing that you seemed unwilling to tell me, I could only play along and pretend I didn't know."

"Then, you're not angry?"

He was angry because he had lied to him.

Also, he was deliberately plotting against him.

"What are you angry about? Things weren't good when we first met. I'm a man, and you're a boy. You were even... It's not wrong for you to be careful."