Chapter 22 The True and False Desires to Seize a Subject's Wife

She couldn't remember how she walked into that side room in a daze; she only felt that the light and shadow in the corridor and the voices around her had all faded, turning into a chaotic gray-white.

Until Zhou Ling pushed open the door and entered, his face showed a hint of concern that was hard to detect, but his tone remained as casual and lazy as ever.

"Fangru, why are you still here? We made an appointment..." Zhou Ling's words were abruptly interrupted by Fangru.

"An agreement?" Fangru raised her head, her eyes vacant, then a flame of anger ignited within them. "This was all your conspiracy, wasn't it? You arranged it all along! Wang Wu, Zhao Liu, and that Sun Qi! You deliberately brought these three people here, one link after another, just so I could personally 'interrogate' Gu Zhou and uncover the evidence against him, solidifying his guilt! You have such a ruthless heart!"

Zhou Ling frowned slightly, his tone calm yet weighty: "I have no need to do this. The chain of evidence is already complete; it is you who insisted on hearing it."

"I don't believe it!" Fangru's voice trembled. "I want to see Gu Zhou. I want to hear him speak for himself. Otherwise, I won't believe a single word you've said today!"

Zhou Ling looked at her silently for a moment, then turned his gaze to Li Zuo, who had been standing quietly to the side. Li Zuo nodded almost imperceptibly, indicating that everything was arranged. Only then did Zhou Ling look at Fang Ru again, his tone softening: "Good. I will let you see him."

The next day, in the gloomy meeting room, there was only a table and a few chairs, and the air was filled with a depressing atmosphere.

Zhou Ling did not appear. In addition to Li Zuo, there was also Zheng Yu with a cold face.

The two men stood a short distance away, one on each side, their eyes fixed on the two people sitting at the next table like hawks.

Fangru's heart nearly leaped out of her chest.

She looked at Gu Zhou eagerly, but was surprised to find that he was not as scarred and haggard as he was in her first life.

Aside from being slightly thin, his spirits were actually quite good.

"Gu Zhou..." Fangru's voice was hoarse, "Is what they said true? Are you really a spy sent by Baiyang Society to contact Bai Di?"

Gu Zhou lowered his eyes, his voice calm and even: "Yes. It was all my doing. I have failed the Emperor's grace and everyone's trust."

"Why?" Fangru's voice trembled. "You were clearly the most loyal..."

“I was blinded by greed.” Gu Zhou interrupted her, his tone carrying just the right amount of regret. “Bai Yang promised me a high-ranking official position and a generous salary, and I was confused for a moment… His Majesty has treated me with immense kindness, yet I have committed such a treacherous and ungrateful act. I deserve to die a thousand deaths.”

These words made Zheng Yu, who was standing to the side, snort coldly, his face showing undisguised contempt.

Li Zuo stood with his arms crossed, expressionless.

Fangru stared intently into Gu Zhou's eyes, trying to find a clue: "Then tell me, how did you contact Bai Di? Where did you meet each time?"

Gu Zhou answered fluently, providing detailed explanations of several contact points and methods, every detail matching what had been obtained during the previous interrogation.

His confession appeared sincere and profound: "I regret my past actions every day, and I only wish to die to atone for my sins."

Zheng Yu whispered to Li Zuo, "It seems he really wasn't wronged. A traitor is a traitor."

Li Zuo nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied with Gu Zhou's performance.

However, Fangru's heart sank little by little.

"Gu Zhou, look me in the eyes," Fang Ru's voice was almost pleading. "If you have even the slightest grievance, if someone is forcing you..."

“No one forced me.” Gu Zhou raised his head. “It was all my own choice. Fangru, forget about me, this sinner.”

"No! I don't believe it!" Fangru leaned forward, her voice low and pleading. "Tell me the truth, is someone forcing you? Is it Zhou Ling? Tell me!"

Gu Zhou's lips seemed to twitch slightly as he stared at her and said, "Fangru... do you believe in the 'True Eye of Innocence' enshrined in the Baiyang Society?"

Fangru was stunned, completely unable to keep up with this abrupt turn of events.

Gu Zhou continued muttering, his gaze fixed on the empty wall, as if staring at something unseen by others: "They said it was the 'True Eye' that guided me to see the path ahead... that's why I did those things. It's strange... during my time in prison, there was a time when, even though my eyes were closed, I seemed to see clearly... the little boy next door who always played in the mud at the alley entrance, he was smiling at me..."

Zheng Yu chuckled and whispered to Li Zuo, "It seems this person not only became a spy, but his mind has also been bewitched by the Baiyang Society's mystical nonsense."

Fangru's heart sank suddenly.

Gu Zhou has always been a very pragmatic person. He used to often jokingly say, "The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits." How could he say such a thing now? Could it be that he has really been bewitched by the heresies of the Baiyang Society?

Li Zuo stepped forward at the opportune moment: "Miss Chen, it's time."

Fangru wanted to ask more questions, but two guards had already stepped forward and taken Gu Zhou away.

Gu Zhou offered no resistance and obediently followed the guard away, never looking back at her once.

Zheng Yu watched Gu Zhou's departing figure and sneered, "Finally, he confessed. This kind of traitor deserves to die."

Fangru stood frozen in place, Zheng Yu's words echoing in her ears, but her heart was filled with icy coldness.

Everyone thought Gu Zhou deserved what he got, but only she sensed the unnaturalness beneath that perfect confession.

A profound sense of confusion and a deeper sense of unease overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.

That night, Fangru tossed and turned, Gu Zhou's words about "seeing the little boy" and his overly fluent confession repeatedly intertwining in her mind.

A thought suddenly flashed through her mind: she had seen it in the old files of the Dali Temple. Bai Yang would use a secret drug to control people's minds. Those poisoned would become mentally confused and more likely to believe in and rely on so-called "divine pronouncements".

The next morning, she found Zheng Yu.

"Lord Zheng, could you please do me another favor?" Fangru asked solemnly. "Next time you bring water to Gu Zhou, please secretly leave behind his drinking bowl and find me some herbs."

Zheng Yu looked surprised: "What do you need these for, young lady?"

“I suspect that Gu Zhou’s mind was disturbed and that he did not confess in his true heart.” Fang Ru lowered her voice. “He mentioned seeing the neighbor’s boy who was no longer alive in court, which is not normal. The case file records that Bai Yang has a secret poison that can cause such hallucinations, making people mentally fragile and more easily manipulated.”

Zheng Yu was skeptical, but seeing Fangru's resolute attitude, he eventually complied.

He found some herbs and managed to keep the bowl that Gu Zhou had used.

Fangru immediately prepared a simple poison test reagent using herbs, carefully scraping off the remaining saliva traces from the rim of the bowl and mixing it with the reagent.

A moment later, the reagent indeed showed the dull color recorded in the case file.

"Look! Just as I suspected!" Fangru showed the result to Zheng Yu, "He was indeed poisoned by the Baiyang Society's 'Mind-Bending Powder'!"

Zheng Yu frowned as he looked at the strangely colored reagent: "This...doesn't this just prove that he and Bai Yang are deeply involved? Otherwise, why would the other party use this poison on him?"

"On the contrary!" Fangru's eyes were burning. "Baiyang would only use this poison on core members who needed to be controlled, not those he truly trusted! This proves that Gu Zhou may not have surrendered voluntarily, and may even have been framed! Lord Zheng, we must help him!"

She then took out another carefully prepared antidote packet: "Please make sure you find a way to mix this medicine into his drinking water tomorrow."

Zheng Yu hesitated for a moment, but seeing the unwavering determination in Fang Ru's eyes and the evidence before him, he finally nodded emphatically: "Okay!"

The next day, Zheng Yu acted according to the plan.

During the re-interrogation, shortly after Gu Zhou drank the bowl of water, the confusion and numbness in his eyes gradually faded away. Although he was still haggard, his eyes regained their former clarity, and when he answered questions, he no longer gave the same fluent but empty confession as before.

Zheng Yu suppressed the feelings that were quietly growing in his heart for Fangru. He knew that the most important thing at this moment was to clear Gu Zhou's name.

He found an excuse to send the guards away and secretly arranged for Fangru to see Gu Zhou again.

In the cramped cell, only the two of them remained.

The former brilliance in Gu Zhou's eyes had returned, but they were now filled with heavy pain and urgency.

“Fangru,” he said in a hoarse voice, almost squeezing the words out between his teeth, “I am not a traitor. A year ago, I was secretly ordered by the court to infiltrate the Baiyang Society.”

Fangru stared in astonishment, hardly believing her ears.

Gu Zhou continued urgently, his gaze fixed on her: "I thought it was for the sake of the country, and I was willing to risk my life. My previous deliberate distancing and coldness towards you was not my true intention! I was afraid... I was afraid that if the Baiyang Society discovered my undercover identity, it would implicate you. They are ruthless, and I absolutely cannot let you be in danger!"

Upon hearing this, Fangru's heart skipped a beat.

It turns out that his inexplicable distance and coldness after the engagement were not due to a lack of affection, but rather because he was afraid of bringing this enormous risk to her!

A wave of bittersweet emotion, mixed with an indescribable pity, instantly welled up in her heart, causing her to choke up.

Looking at the man before her, who was carrying a heavy burden alone, imprisoned yet still wholeheartedly protecting her, she felt both heartache and regret.

She couldn't help but think that if he had been honest with her earlier, she wouldn't have been so confused!

Even if it were a mountain of knives or a sea of ​​fire, she would definitely choose to face it with him, rather than leaving him to struggle alone in conspiracy and loneliness as he is now.

He took a breath, a glint of his former sharpness flashing in his eyes: "Later, I gained the trust of the leader of the Qingmu Altar of the Baiyang Society, and was about to access the core secrets... But at that moment, my contact with the imperial court was completely cut off, and all orders came to an abrupt halt. I became a kite with a broken string, trapped in the enemy camp, caught in a dilemma!"

His voice trembled with excitement: "Until that day, the Qixi Festival, when I saw Zhou Ling harassing you on the street... at that moment, I suddenly realized! It wasn't a communication breakdown at all; it was Zhou Ling! He orchestrated it all! He had long harbored lustful thoughts towards you, wanting to steal your wife, and he saw me as an obstacle. The so-called treason was just a fabricated charge he made to put me to death!"

"Fangru," Gu Zhou's hands gripped the cold bars tightly, his knuckles turning white, "I'm not a traitor, I've been framed! Please... only you can save me now!"

This enormous truth exploded in her mind like a thunderbolt.

Fangru staggered, her heart churning with shock, heartache, and sudden realization.

It turns out that Gu Zhou, this seemingly weak and simple-minded scholar, actually harbored such a tragic secret and a deep sense of protectiveness beneath his dull exterior.

Looking into the anxious yet clear eyes behind the fence, she nodded firmly without hesitation: "I believe you. I will definitely get you out."