Chapter 78: Being Honest with Each Other

She suddenly felt like she had stepped into a boundless quagmire, and her whole body was sticky.

Unable to bear it any longer, Jiaoran covered her eyes and squatted down. If this was a dream, she would wake up immediately. It is said that if you close your eyes in a dream, you will wake up in reality.

Even though she closed her eyes, Zhu Su's voice still reached her ears, "If you think all this is an illusion I fabricated, then when you return, someone will soon reveal the truth to you."

Jiao Ran covered her ears again. She didn't want to listen at all. "True or false, does it really matter?"

Zhu Su paused, hesitated for a moment, then asked doubtfully, "Don't you mortals pursue love and hatred throughout your lives? If someone loves you, you're willing to give everything for them. If someone hurts you or harbors hatred towards you, you seek revenge. The revenge for your mother's murder, the grudges of your parents, in your eyes, are nothing at all?"

Jiao Ran said, "I don't want to dwell on the past. Whether my mother was the proprietress of Huiying Inn or a daughter of an inestimable royal family, I don't care. What happened to them, who killed whom, who betrayed whom, it has nothing to do with me."

Zhu Su sneered, "You are truly ruthless."

She also felt that "I don't care what happened before I was born, how I was born, or what kind of suffering the woman who gave birth to me suffered."

Zhu Su clapped his hands. "Very good. I hope you will do the same. Even if you see more truths in the future, don't change who you are today."

"I won't, don't worry. I wouldn't shed a single tear for someone who never raised me and didn't take care of me for even a single day after giving birth to me. Besides, I don't care who my biological father is."

Her hands were shaking violently, and her ten fingers slowly clenched together.

"From now on, I will live for myself, not for past grudges."

"If it was really your adoptive mother who killed your biological mother, are you sure you can be with Mu Jin peacefully?"

Jiao Ran interrupted him hastily, "As long as he doesn't know, it's fine. That way, things between us can continue as usual."

"I don't want to waste my sorrow or pain on those who have left me, and I'm determined to avoid those who disturb my heart. I want to be with the one I love forever."

"How long is that?"

"Until the day I lose my life."

Zhu Su sighed, "Then... I hope you can achieve your wish."

When the last word was spoken, Jiaoran had already opened his eyes.

Next to her was Mu Jin. When he saw her wake up, he quickly hugged her and said, "You slept for a long time, longer than me. Where did you go? Why did you come back so late?"

Jiaoran didn't tell him. For some reason, she remained silent. Then she smiled and hooked her arms around his neck. "Why? You miss me, don't you?"

Mu Jin expressed her fear, "I've been sleeping a lot lately. I don't know if there's something added to the herbs. I got those from Qianlin Garden. I don't need to get them anymore, and I'm not going to take them anymore."

Jiao Ran sighed, "You're too suspicious. You always have wild thoughts. You don't even trust Chai Che."

"So where did you go last night?"

Jiao Ran said, "I was just playing outside. Chai Huifei dragged me to Jinlin Garden, and I was able to get rid of him later."

"Is it true that Chaiche didn't do anything to you?"

Jiao Ran smiled and said, "He married my senior sister. How dare he hurt me? If he really hurts me, my senior sister will definitely not forgive him."

"You look very pale, as if your blood and qi are not in good condition?"

Jiao Ran hummed, "Chai Che sealed several of my acupoints. Now my blood circulation is not smooth, and I look pale."

"I'll find a way to solve it in the next few days, don't worry."

Jiaoran said no, "I'm not worried, really."

"Jiao Ran, the two of us..." He thought for a moment, "The two of us should be honest with each other, okay?"

Jiao Ran asked, "Then tell me quickly."

"say what?"

"You're hiding things from me. I want to know if you're hiding a lot of things from me."

Mu Jin quickly denied it, "No, of course I didn't hide it from you, and I won't in the future."

Jiaoran dozed off, feeling very tired. "Sleep a little longer, please stay with me for a while, I'm so sleepy."

Mu Jin said okay, and then took off her clothes along her shoulders, "You go to sleep."

Jiaoran was startled, "I'm really sleepy, I don't want to..."

He said he knew, he knew, but he still insisted on undressing her. When he saw that there was no wound on her body, he felt relieved and put her clothes back on. "Go to sleep."

Jiaoran breathed a sigh of relief. The monster was quite magical. The blood-sucking weapon it released didn't leave any trace.

As soon as she closed her eyes, she remembered that three years ago when she was serving him, she undressed him and wiped his body, and found that he had several bruises on his body that looked like they were caused by needle pricks.

Jiaoran sat up suddenly. No wonder he wanted to undress her to check. She called out to Mu Jin, "Mu Jin——"

He came back and said, "Why don't you sleep anymore? Make up for your sleep. Sleep a little longer, or I'll wake you up and eat."

Jiaoran's words were stuck in her mouth. What else could she ask? Should she ask him if he was covered in wounds after his blood was sucked out?

She felt that her hands and feet were cold. No wonder he was such a tall man, but in this governor's mansion where people had no worries about food and clothing, he was as thin as a piece of paper and his hands and feet were always cold.

"Mu Jin, I like you so much."

He was stunned for a moment, then he pursed his lips tightly as if about to smile and said calmly, "I knew it a long time ago. The first time you saw me, I knew it. You were fascinated by me."

Jiao Ran grabbed his hand and placed it on her cheek, eager to hold him close to her. "What about you?"

He seemed to see her panic and hugged her in his arms, "A little more than you."

"ah?"

"No matter how much you like me, I only like you a little more. If one day you want to hate me, I hope you hate me a little more than I hate you."

Jiao Ran didn't understand, "Why do you say that?"

What she wanted to ask was why he thought she would hate him one day.

But his answer was, "If you hate me a little more than I hate you, then you will be a little more cruel than me. If that day really comes, I am willing to die in your hands."

Jiao Ran buried her face in his neck. "In this world, the person I love most is you. You are the only one I can love. My sword will never point at you."

As if swearing an oath.

Not to the sky, but to herself.

The real autumn has arrived, and the trees in the Governor's Mansion are silent.

Twenty-four states were in turmoil, endangering the royal family. The governor of Zhangzhou allied with Ganzhou, and Zibo rebelled.

The royal family also wanted to appease Xiutu because Xiutu was adjacent to Ganzhou. If Xiutu also joined in, the rebellion would be too powerful and it would be even more difficult for the royal family to quell it. Xiutu's military strength was not weak among the twenty-four states.

The Chief Secretary of Zibo presented a greeting card.

There are now two options before Chai Yu. One is to kill the little emperor promoted by the Chai family and go to war together with Ganzhou and others. The other is to avoid it and wait for the imperial edict from Chang'an.

Whether to continue to live in peace in a corner or to attack Chang'an all depends on his decision.

Although he had long harbored the thought of rebellion, he was still considering whether this was the best opportunity.

Chai Yu stared at the dead branches on the ground without saying a word.

He turned around and looked at his second son, Chai Che, and said, "Draw your sword, and let Dad see if your skills have improved."

Chai Che raised his toes and kicked up a dry branch. "This is my sword."

"It's just a dry branch, how can it be made into a sword?" He found it a little funny.

"Because in my son's eyes, a dead branch or a sword can be used to show my ability."

Chai Yu smiled. Sometimes he really enjoyed his second son's calm arrogance, but he still threw his sword to his son. "This sword has been with me for twenty years. I have killed one hundred and one people with it."

Chache gently stroked the sword that had drunk blood, "A sharp weapon that kills people must be stained with blood, so that the sword will yearn for new blood to be shed on its blade."

A fallen leaf fell between the father and his son.

Chai Che said, "Fallen petals are not heartless. They turn into spring mud to protect the flowers. New leaves will grow next year."

He wanted to hint to his father that human life is just like this leaf. Birth, aging, sickness and death are common to all human beings.

However, Chai Yu's lips suddenly turned pale. "You suffered a lot on the way to find Mu Jin so that I could survive, so you resent me in your heart."

Chai Che said no, "If I hated my father, I wouldn't have brought Jiao Ran back with me, just so that you could have two blood men to use."

"In that case, don't say those discouraging words in the future."

"Dad, can you promise me to stop practicing magic? Otherwise, one day you might go astray."

"Magic skills? What do you know, kid? That's a divine skill, a magical skill that can make people immortal. As long as Dad can master it thoroughly, I will pass it on to you in the future. Our branch of the Chai family will live as long as the heaven and earth, and be as immortal as the sun and the moon."

But Chai Che felt that people walking in the world are like duckweed in the water and green leaves on branches. Everything in the world has its destiny. Duckweed cannot stay in one place, green leaves will wither with the seasons, and people's lives are also full of changes.

The setting sun is like blood, dyeing the maple leaves red.

"There's someone I want to bring to see Dad."

"who?"

"Dad has seen her many times, but I want to bring her to Dad alone."

"Many times? Oh, my daughter-in-law? She's less of a worry than that shrewish kid from Siyuyuan."

Jiaoran stepped into the maple forest, where the maple leaves were like fire, and she walked forward alone.

I don't know why Chai Che called her to this place.

I saw two figures in the distance.

One of them is——

Jiao Ran saluted impatiently and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency the Governor."

"Why are you here? How has Mu Jin been these days?"

Jiao Ran said, "Young Master is very sleepy and has been almost groggy these days."

"What's going on?" he asked Chache.

Cha Che said, "Perhaps the previous injury...has not yet fully healed. It should be healed in a few days."

"What are you doing here?"

Jiaoran was about to ask, "It was the Second Young Master who sent someone to look for me."

Chai Yu didn't understand what his son meant for a moment, and why he brought this woman to see him.

"Nothing, I was just worried that my father was worried about Mu Jin, so I called his maid to question him."

Jiaoran felt puzzled. He suddenly called her over, then said there was nothing wrong and told her to go back.

"Dad, don't you think she looks like a human being?"

Chai Yu asked, "Who?"

"Like—"

"shut up!"

It was with this scolding that Chai Che suddenly thought that perhaps he had already known it.

"Dad noticed?"

Perhaps from the moment she got the knife Xiao'er gave her, the way she held the knife was so much like her.

"Mu Jin is her child."

"I don't understand. Anyone who has seen her will see how much Jiaoran looks like her. Why don't you admit it, Dad?"

Chai Yu shouted, "Stop talking."

"If it wasn't her blood that saved Dad that day, I'm afraid..."

"Then capture Mu Jin and use him as well."

"Dad knows that Mu Jin is seriously injured and has lost too much blood. If he uses it now, he will die."

"I don't care whose blood it is. As long as the two of them remain in my hands, I would rather remain in this state of confusion, as long as they behave themselves and don't cause me any trouble."

"When Jiaoran was still in her belly, I swore to her that I would take good care of the child."

He sneered, "A woman who betrayed the Chai family and betrayed me is not worthy of your oath."

"Auntie has made great contributions to the Chai family. If she were still alive, she would definitely want us to treat the child well."

"Don't mention her again. Never mention her in front of me."

"I know that you are willing to sacrifice Mu Jin for my father's ambition, but Jiao Ran is her own flesh and blood. If my father wants her life, I will not sit idly by."

"So, you want to be my enemy for her?"

Chache said, "I just want Dad to not hurt her."

"If she stays still, I won't do anything. But if she tries to stop a chariot with a mantis arm or shake a tree with an ant, I will be the same as before."

Seeing that Chai Che wanted to say more, he raised his hand and said, "The Chief Secretary of Zibo wants to see you. Do you think we should meet or not?"

"The situation in the court is complicated right now, but His Majesty is not one to sit idly by and wait for death. I have served him before, and although this rebellion will take some time, it is not impossible for him to deal with it."

"So you think we should stay out of this mess?"

"Yes, if we borrow troops, they will never be content with a small favor from father. They must ask for half of our troops. But my son sees that the surrounding foreign tribes are ready to make a move. If the Xiu Tu forces weaken slightly, Chang'an will be busy suppressing the civil unrest and will not be able to send people to support us."

"Huh, just a few tribes, do you think I'm afraid of them?"

"General Yang stationed in Qingping reported that the local elders believe the coming winter will be the coldest in the past ten years."

"Are you afraid that those barbarians will become desperate and invade Xiutu to plunder food and supplies?"

"My son was just thinking that this was a possibility."

"Spread the news to the public that I was assassinated some time ago and cannot see any outside visitors these days."

Chache said, "Yes, son, I understand."

Mu Jin's hand trembled as she poured tea. "My uncle was assassinated? When did it happen? How come I don't know about it?"

Su Su thought for a moment, "It was some time ago, oh, one day after the young master was injured. No one knew about it at the time, and the news only came out later. Maybe even the eldest and second young masters only found out recently."

Mu Jin looked at the overflowing tea and asked, "One night, Jiaoran came home very late. She said she went to Jinlin Garden and was pestered by Chai Hui."

Susu could hardly remember. "It seemed like she came back very late one night, but I didn't know where she had been. When she came back, her face looked very bad, almost fainting, and she stumbled towards the young master's room. I wanted to help her, but she just told me to go to bed, saying she had a drink and was a little drunk, but I didn't smell any alcohol on her."