Interpretation by the Bureau (Part Four)

As the cold winter gradually receded, the birds returned to Huijing with the vibrant spirit of spring, preparing to build their nests. One of them landed in front of a door.

"Get up! Get up!" The Dali Temple jailer was rudely driving it away when he turned to the clerk and said obsequiously, "We can't let this little bird get your clothes dirty, sir." As he spoke, he put the money into his sleeve and whispered, "It's right inside, you can see it from a little distance, sir, hurry up."

He disliked these lackeys more than anything in his life. He snorted coldly and strode in, as darkness gradually descended from his shoulders and covered his entire body.

He walked in a hurry, anxiously searching for something, and only felt a little relieved when he saw the third cell in the east row.

He walked over and said, "Xiao Zhong."

Xiao Zhong felt heavy-hearted. He had recklessly confessed to a host of crimes for the sake of his life and fortune. Was this the time for his execution? He lay on the wooden board, unwilling to listen.

"Wake up! You're sleeping so soundly!" Zhuo Jian shouted angrily.

This shout completely woke Xiao Zhong up. He sat up and, seeing the person in front of the door, became angry and said, "Why aren't you at home thinking about how to save me? What are you doing here?"

"How is my daughter?" Xiao Zhong asked anxiously.

He firmly said, "We'll talk about it later. Almost everyone in the court is biased towards Zhang Jiao now; I have practically no place to stand..."

“You’ve never had a foothold,” Xiao Zhong pointed out bluntly.

Zhuo Jian wasn't annoyed by the words, his usually stern eyes narrowed as he threatened Xiao Zhong, "I hope you live, but you'd better be polite to me."

“I’ve known you since before you took the imperial examinations, and you’re still the same mean-spirited person after all these years…” Zhuo Jian muttered about all the favors he had done for Xiao Zhong, trying to make Xiao Zhong understand that only he could save his life.

In this dimly lit prison cell, the scheming between two hearts intensifies. They have been inseparable friends for so many years, sharing many of their innermost thoughts with each other, but that doesn't stop the other from becoming their pawn.

"Have you forgotten how you infiltrated Zhao Qi's tent and harmed him? No one would have imagined that a dignified deputy general would be so insecure, actually..."

Zhuo Jian said urgently, "Shut up! This is your evil deed!"

Xiao Zhong got angry as soon as he heard this and said, "Are you really stupid or pretending? Can't you see that this is obviously the emperor's scheme? He's deliberately plotting against me and fooling those two kids. Shut up, you might as well not use your brain anymore! Tell me what's going on!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Zhuo Jian suddenly thought for a while and said, "I remember now. Before Zhao Yi left, he asked me what I thought of his father..."

Xiao Zhongdi's expression changed immediately. He said, "He's always been good at playing dumb to take advantage of others. He must have guessed it."

Zhuo Jian looked up in shock, but Xiao Zhong didn't have time to see what he meant. He said anxiously, "You'll die without even knowing how you died! Tell me what's going on outside!"

Zhuo Jian suddenly remembered the important matter and said, "Things are quite calm right now, except for the princess..."

The candlelight in the cell seemed to have gone out, and Zhuo Jian felt a darkness fall upon him. He subconsciously turned his head to look, only to see the emperor's face full of gentle smiles.

Yu Xingbei wore a bright yellow dragon robe, the dragon scales on his lower garment shimmering in the light. Even in the darkness, his majesty remained undiminished. "What's wrong with my daughter?" he asked, his voice unhurried, seemingly patiently waiting for Jian to continue.

After saying that, he added, "Since the envoy and the former Left Minister are so reluctant to part, let them stay in the prison with him." After saying that, the guards behind him marched in orderly steps and removed the sturdy golden saddle straps from the prison cell.

Yu Xingbei had no interest in seeing any of this and was simply thinking of returning to the palace when he heard the eunuch say, "Your Majesty, what about this jailer?"

Without even blinking, he said, "Kill."

He came out of the palace with few people, entering and exiting through the back gate of the Dali Temple. After getting into the carriage, he asked the eunuch, "Is there any news from the bridal chamber?"

The eunuch broke out in a cold sweat at this remark and replied, "Your Majesty, we haven't received it yet."

"No news from Tongshi either?"

"Your Majesty, there is none. By the way, Your Majesty, we have a lead on the princess."

Seeing that the emperor remained silent, the eunuch carefully lowered the curtain, the delicate tassels brushing against the wooden board without making a sound.

Huijing and Miaojiang are not far apart, but the area behind it is always damp, and even after so many days, Chen Zhuangmu still feels sticky and uncomfortable.

She had just woken up, but her body was not as comfortable as she had hoped. Her skin felt like it was being roasted by fire, and her throat was so dry that it hurt to open her mouth.

She tried to sit up, so she put her arms on the bed, but found that she couldn't get any strength in them and her hands went limp.

The woman who had fallen back into the makeup was stunned. What was going on?

There was no one in the room, and she didn't want to talk, so she practiced the movement repeatedly. Perhaps it was the resentment she had felt over the years that made her challenge her own body.

Finally, when her arms were sore and weak, she mustered her strength and leaned against the wall behind her.

All her strength drained away, and sweat poured from her forehead, slowly trickling down her neck. She had a feeling that something had gone wrong with the process of removing the curse.

Her body felt like it was being roasted by dry firewood, like a piece of dried meat. She couldn't find her own voice. She raised her hand to brush her hair down, but saw the bulging mark on her arm.

It was short and thick, and it seemed to be slowly wriggling. She immediately screamed, but her throat was filled with a tearing pain and no sound came out.

Her heart was pounding, but then she felt dizzy and fell back onto the bed.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she felt herself being shaken. A little sweet water slipped into her lips, but when it reached her tongue, she realized that the water tasted earthy.

At that moment, she couldn't care less about anything else; she swallowed large gulps, coughing from the speed. Just then, she opened her eyes.

Zhao Yi was busy wiping the water off her face with a handkerchief. Chen Zhuangmu let him wipe her face, and after he finished, she turned her back to him and didn't want to say a word.

"Zhen Zhuangmu?" Zhao Yi leaned closer, wanting to see what was wrong with her. Shen Zhuangmu stared blankly at him, seemingly seeing nothing at all; her eyes were empty.

Zhao Yi was most afraid of her spacing out, so he sat on the edge of the bed and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

It would have been better if I hadn't asked, because once I did, Chen Zhuangmu got furious.

She wasn't angry at Zhao Yi, but at herself. Looking back on her life, it seemed she had always been waiting. As a child, she waited for her mother; as an adult, she waited for evidence from her uncle; and now she was waiting for someone to rescue her life.

This seemed to be a trap, and she was trapped inside. She was always on the defensive.

A warm hand rested on his arm, and he remained silent. In that silence, Chen Zhuangmu began to understand.

The world is fleeting, and its true nature lies entirely in one's own mind.

She turned around and asked softly, "What were you doing just now?"

Zhao Yi moved closer to the middle of the bed, supporting her under her armpits and pulling her up, intending to hold her in his arms. But as he moved, he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," Zhao Yi said.

Miao Xin peeked in through the door, looking very uncomfortable, his hands hanging down in front of him, as if he didn't know whether he should go forward.

Chen Zhuangmu could tell that this person definitely had something to say, and asked, "What do you want?"

But as soon as she asked the question, she realized that something was wrong with the person beside her. As he spoke, his body trembled, and his eyes suddenly darkened.

"What are you hiding from me?" Chen Zhuangmu asked somewhat curtly.

"It's not that I'm hiding it from you, it's just that I don't know how to bring it up," Miao Xin said slowly from the corner.

Shen Zhuangmu shot Zhao Yi a sharp glare. He had the courage to look into Shen Zhuangmu's eyes and said, "Do you remember when I burned down the Miao village when I was sixteen?"

"Yes, I remember." Chen Zhuangmu had a premonition that this was no small matter, and she didn't want to listen to his nonsense, so she said, "Just tell me directly."

“There was a Gu master who recognized me and put something in the Gu-removal room, so the first time I failed to remove the Gu.”

After listening to Chen Zhuangmu's explanation, she nodded without much reaction and continued, "What does she want to do?"

"I'll give my life for theirs before she'll lift the curse," Zhao Yi said.

The three of them knew that "they" were the group of people Zhao Yi had massacred in the village a few years ago. For a moment, the room fell silent. Miao Xin said loudly, "If you ask me, we don't need to pay attention to her. The solution must be written in the book. Let's look for it again."

"No need, it's just a life, I'll give it to her." Zhao Yi said lightly.

Now that the situation is clear, Chen Zhuangmu's mind is still completely blank. How could so many things have happened?

She seemed to have used up all her shock and sadness along the way, and now she felt somewhat helpless, as if she were in a dream.

Fortunately, her mind was calm for a moment.

"You mean, she put something in the antidote chamber, causing me to fail to cure the poison but still survive, because she wanted to kill you?" Shen Zhuangmu raised an eyebrow at Zhao Yi, her eyes flashing with the word "absurd."

“At first, I also felt that she was doing a thankless job. If she could tamper with the antidote room, why didn’t she put some poison in our food to kill us? After questioning her several times, she only said that she would only save us if I died.”

Zhao Yi's voice was very calm, as if this was just a routine matter of what to eat for breakfast. He continued, "Zhuang Mu, I know you want to ask her, but we have already found a second way to remove the curse, so we don't need to pay attention to her anymore."

Shen Zhuangmu felt even more confused. What was going on? It was like being played a huge joke on her.

She was completely bewildered, but when she looked up, she saw Miao Xin staring at Zhao Yi with a furrowed brow. Suddenly, she realized that things weren't so simple.

"Miao Xin, what will happen if I agree?" she asked.

Zhao Yi was about to silence Miao Xin, but Miao Xin gasped and blurted it all out. He said urgently, "Actually, it was Wu Ya who turned the tables. You killed all those poison masters back then. The older generation was arguing fiercely over things like medical and poison philosophies. And the day you arrived happened to be the day the poison masters were guarding the village. As for why there were so few people, it was entirely because of the suppression of Miao Zheng."

Seeing Zhao Yi's glare, he raised his voice even higher, saying, "Moreover, Sister Zhuangmu, he has already been infected with the Life-Binding Gu that is linked to you! If we try to forcefully remove the Gu, he will die!"

"The Continuous Life Gu?" Chen Zhuangmu exclaimed urgently.

“It’s just…” Miao Xin was eager to explain, but Zhao Yi pushed her out and slammed the door shut, leaving only the two of them in the small house.

"Why plant the Continuous Life Gu?" Shen Zhuangmu asked anxiously, trying to get off the bed.

"Do you think I'm not that awful?" Zhao Yi lifted her up by the waist, pulled her onto his lap, and covered her with the blanket.

"Why did you plant the Life-Sustaining Gu?" Chen Zhuangmu didn't listen to what Zhao Yi was saying at all, and met his gaze.

Zhao Yi wanted to ask again. In his eyes, whether or not there was a Lian Sheng Gu was completely unimportant. But as soon as he opened his mouth, he chickened out. If he continued like this, he would never be able to hear what she really thought.

He sighed and said, "It's my fault for not protecting you. When you came out of the Gu-dispelling room, Miao Xin said that it was a blessing from heaven that you could even catch your breath for a moment. He didn't know how long you could last. The Gu worms in your body were only an inch away from your heart meridian. You could be in danger at any time... If there were a Lian Sheng Gu, we could sense each other. I could detect any situation you might be in at any time, and we could fight together."

He spoke these words slowly and deliberately, seemingly without much interest. The sunlight swayed with the breeze, casting shapes in the low, cramped house.

Chen Zhuangmu was at a loss for words, unsure of what to say. She listened silently for a while, then paused, before finally saying, "Why are you like this..."

When she finally spoke, she realized her voice was trembling, her nose and eyes were stinging with tears, and she covered her eyes: "Giving up on being a normal person, that's so painful..."

No one understood the feeling of being torn apart by a hundred insects better than her, and no one was more familiar with the bitter taste of medicine. It seemed that every day was her last, and she had to live each day as if it were her final day. She had to consider whether she had enough life before doing anything. She had simply had enough of this inhuman existence.

How can you expect another person to live that kind of life because of her?

She felt her hand being gently pulled down, and her fingertips lightly wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes. She saw a pair of eyes, eyes she had depicted countless times.

"Zhuangmu, don't be sad. I'm really happy to have met you. I don't want to explain anything; I just wanted to do this." He didn't say anything about going through fire and water; instead, he stroked Zhuangmu's face, which was already dry of tears, again and again.

"I just want to ask you, do you think I'm awful?" Zhao Yi lowered his head, trying to see clearly what Chen Zhuangmu was thinking.

Seeing that Chen Zhuangmu did not show any surprise, and that something seemed to be brewing in his unfathomable eyes, he swallowed hard and said, "I don't care who I killed. At the time, I don't think I could tell who was good and who was bad. I probably would have just burned them all."

So that's what he was worried about. Chen Zhuangmu suddenly laughed. She stared at Zhao Yi, then suddenly stood up and hugged him tightly. Zhao Yi's heart trembled. He raised his arm behind her back and then lowered it again.

"Are you stupid? I'll always choose you." Her voice was tinged with a hint of laughter as she whispered in Zhao Yi's ear, "In fact, no one can guarantee that they'll always choose you in the moment of reason."

Hearing these firm words spoken for him, Zhao Yi was overjoyed. He let out a long sigh and pulled her into his arms, wanting to embed her into his body. He inhaled the scent of her neck and longed for the person in front of him to regain her vitality.

Zhao Yi hadn't hugged Chen Zhuangmu enough when she pushed him away. He wanted to hug her again, but she blocked him with her arm.

She deliberately put on a stern face and said, "So if I had believed you just now, you would have been dead?"

“…I was wrong…” Zhao Yi lowered his head slightly, pretending to sincerely admit his mistake.

But Chen Zhuangmu could clearly see that this was the kind of look that "he would do it again next time," but then she heard him say, "But Zhuangmu, even if the two of us were to generate Gu again, we might not be able to hold on for much longer. Wuya is also being evasive. We have no other choice."

"Does it hurt when the Lian Sheng Gu is planted?" Chen Zhuangmu suddenly asked.

It was just a small incision to put in an insect; it didn't hurt at all. But Zhao Yi looked at the woman in front of him and slowly lowered his head to her collarbone, whispering, "Take a look."

Chen Zhuangmu smiled, though she kept her lips pursed.

"I'm going to talk to that wizard." Chen Zhuangmu said, lifting the covers to get out of bed. Zhao Yi hurriedly bent down and grabbed her, saying, "You can't go."

Chen Zhuangmu deftly dodged, and Zhao Yi only managed to grab a wisp of her clothing.