Chapter 77 Past Events "You saved her, but what about you?"...

Ji Huaiyi arrived at the Duke's mansion on a morning after the autumn rains had ended. Shen Yun had been on leave for half a month, and even the Emperor had inquired about his health in court that day.

If it weren't for Yingxiao's message, even he would probably have thought that Shen Yun had contracted some serious illness.

When he hurriedly entered Jingyuan Residence and kicked open the study door, he found that the person was no different from someone who had contracted a serious illness, and had already become a ghost-like figure.

His face was terribly pale, with a deep bruise around his eyes. When he noticed the light coming in from outside, he frowned slightly, as if he wasn't used to the light.

Ji Huaiyi walked towards him in a few steps, his tone somewhat angry at his lack of ambition, "If I had known you would turn out like this, I would have sent you to the Northern Frontier to separate from Lin Shutang for a while. Maybe that would have helped you come to your senses."

Shen Yun seemed not to have heard his words, showing no reaction whatsoever. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of her chest, she would have looked no different from a dead person.

Ji Huaiyi placed his hands on the table and leaned over to look at him. "Chen Yun, I told you, you shouldn't have done that in the first place!"

"It is an indisputable fact that the Lin family has colluded with the enemy. The Tian Shu Guard is ordered by the Emperor to eliminate the traitors. Why do you want to stop them?"

“You took on Lord Gu’s job, but you deliberately let most of the Lin family escape, and you even brought Lin Shutang back to Yujing, right under the Emperor’s nose, to secure for her the title of legitimate wife of the heir.”

"You saved her life, but what about you?"

"Is military merit really just a marriage certificate?" Ji Huaiyi pressed, thinking he could finish speaking calmly, but he couldn't help but fall silent in the end.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yun's eyelids finally twitched.

Ji Huaiyi stared at him and chuckled sarcastically, "All these years, you've stayed at the Imperial Training Ground. Is it because your spirit has truly been worn down to dust, and you're content to be confined to the capital's mansions, indulging in the pleasures of life? Or is it simply that you and the Emperor have an unspoken understanding that although you hold the title of General of the Guards, you can't command troops or make deployments. What's the difference between training troops and a mere instructor? You're just wasting your time on a sinecure."

Ji Huaiyi became increasingly indignant as he spoke. He felt ashamed that Ji Huaiyi had treated him like a brother, and he thought he was one of the few people who knew the inside story of what happened back then.

Unexpectedly, Shen Yun had kept this from him for so long. Just how much had he been secretly carrying all these years?

If he hadn't gone to the northern frontier and learned some things, probably no one would have imagined that Shen Yun had made such a deal with the Emperor.

Xi Yue acquired the crossbows, and naturally, they didn't just use them in the Battle of Heishongling. Long before Heishongling, Xi Yue had already inflicted heavy defeats on Sheng's army multiple times with these improved machines.

At that time, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince were also vying for power in the capital city.

Amidst national turmoil and foreign aggression, the Tian Shu Guard spread throughout the states, secretly acting on behalf of the Emperor to eliminate any treacherous or treacherous individuals.

It was Shen Yun who abandoned his post, stopped the Tian Shu Guards, and took on this task himself.

The Emperor was of course willing. To be able to relinquish military power in exchange for a woman was a very worthwhile deal for him, so why not?

When war breaks out, the king relies on his pillar ministers to stabilize the borders and secure the country, and the world is at peace, yet he fears their overwhelming power.

This has been the case in every dynasty.

He admits it!

"How did you know?" Shen Yun finally spoke, her voice hoarse and hoarse.

Ji Huaiyi looked at him with his hands behind his back. His face had become noticeably thinner, and his once dark eyebrows and eyes now seemed ashen, with a dimness in his gaze. His exposed wrist bones were bony, his shoulders and back were slightly hunched, and his whole being exuded an air of dejection.

"You're really hopelessly infatuated with Lin Shutang." Ji Huaiyi said, annoyed. "Have you forgotten why I went to the Northern Frontier in the first place?"

He did intend to expose the Third Prince directly with the account book that day, but fortunately Shen Yun saw through his plan in advance and stopped him.

Later, he decided to play along and pretended to be demoted and sent to the northern frontier to secretly investigate the soldiers who survived the Battle of Black Pine Ridge.

This clue was pried out by Shen Yun from the mouth of the man he captured in the gambling den. He was once a lowly soldier under Zhou Ziyang, but he was afraid of death and later hid under the corpse of his comrade to escape.

After Ji Huaiyi went to the northern frontier, he followed the information provided by that person and indeed found someone there who seemed to be related to the battle of Black Pine Ridge.

However, he was seriously injured and couldn't remember many things.

Ji Huaiyi had been seeking medical treatment for him until recently, when he finally vaguely remembered.

According to him, he served as a scout under Zhou Ziyang. During the Battle of Black Pine Ridge, when General Zhou was besieged by the Western Yue and was at his last gasp, he thought he had received reinforcements, but instead, he received reinforcements from the "Western Yue" with red-lacquered arrowheads.

Ji Huaiyi was not surprised after hearing this, assuming that the group of people must be the Third Prince's men.

With the addition of this group, the battlefield was in chaos, and it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe.

Fortunately, General Zhou remained calm in the face of danger and immediately shot through the left eye of one of the leaders, near the sun's eye socket.

Although it is unknown whether he died on the spot, the scout was greatly encouraged and immediately picked up his spear and fought recklessly.

Unexpectedly, he later witnessed it firsthand: someone beside Zhou Ziyang suddenly stabbed the warhorse beneath him, startling the horse and causing General Zhou to be seriously injured and unable to fight back.

Morale plummeted, and the Western Yue forces crushed the Ling.

"The leader must be Lu Bingyan. As for the person next to my cousin, I initially thought he was one of the Third Prince's men, but after returning to the capital and reviewing the files from that year, I discovered that the information on five of them was fabricated. The files show that they were transferred to the Jizhou Garrison after the war, and soon after, they all died of illness."

"Shen Jun, do you think I should continue investigating?"

At this point, everyone already knew the truth.

Ji Huaiyi's throat tightened involuntarily, and a chill ran up his spine. He gritted his teeth and said, "It wasn't just Xiyue that killed my cousin, but also that crossbow and the Third Prince's behind-the-scenes manipulation."

"And His Majesty..."

The wind suddenly blew violently against the doors and windows, making a creaking sound that almost masked the sound.

Even though the autumn rains have stopped, the biting autumn wind still carries a hint of winter's chill.

The capital is in turmoil, and the border is in turmoil. The Emperor needs the Zhou family to guard the border, but he also fears that if the Western Yue are forced to retreat, the Zhou family will rise to power and become too powerful to threaten the Emperor.

So, on the surface, he appeared to be seriously ill and watching his sons fight, but in reality, he was in control of the whole situation and achieved three goals with one move.

This not only prevented Shen Yun from rising to prominence, but also eliminated Zhou Ziyang to prevent the Zhou family from using their achievements to their advantage, and also cut off one of the Crown Prince's arms.

Over the years, Shen Yun has always blamed Zhou Ziyang's death on herself.

Because after he left the military camp that day, Xi Yue suddenly launched a counterattack. In the Battle of Heisongling, the flank was weakened due to the loss of the commander Shen Yun. Zhou Ziyang was unable to hold the line alone and the entire army was eventually wiped out.

But they were all just pawns in the Emperor's hands.

Today, His Majesty suddenly questioned Shen Yun in the court.

Ji Huaiyi knew that what he had done during this period of time must have not escaped the Emperor's eyes.

But he actually allowed them to investigate to this extent, which was a warning from the power of the emperor.

Even knowing the truth, they were powerless to do anything about it.

“Shen Yun, I didn’t come to you today to persuade you. If I could really persuade you, you wouldn’t have been entangled with Lin Shutang for so many years and still be so stubborn.”

"I once asked you if you regretted it? Looking back now, I was wrong." He lowered his head and chuckled softly. "I was too arrogant and presumptuous, thinking there was another possibility between you two."

If there has to be one possibility, it might be that no one in the Lin family survived.

Shen Yun could certainly take Lin Shutang away secretly, but the outcome wouldn't be any better than it is now.

Throughout his life, Lin Shutang could only live in anonymity, hiding his identity and never seeing the light of day again.

To be fair, if he had been in Shen Jun's position back then, he wouldn't have been able to do any better.

He will only hate it more.

Perhaps there were many other paths to take in this game, but for Shen Yun at that time, it was the best choice that the young man could make after weighing the pros and cons.

"You have handed over all your escape routes to the Emperor. Now, Shen Yun, you still have no choice. You are a knife in the Emperor's hand, to be discarded if not used."

"If you abandon them, you will be unable to protect anyone."

“Avenge your cousin, take down the Third Prince, and become the sharpest blade in the Emperor’s hand. If not for yourself, then for Lin Shutang.”

Ji Huaiyi left the room and turned to look in the direction of the main house, where the doors and windows were tightly closed, and only Shen Yan, a little radish head, was squatting at the door drawing circles.

The servants behind him dared not stray too far and watched him from under the eaves.

A strong, surging wind swept through, swaying the shadows of the trees and making people squint.

Ji Huaiyi sighed and left Jingyuan Residence.

Yingxiao stood outside the study door the whole time, and even after Ji Huaiyi left, he still didn't dare to enter the room on his own.

He was unaware of the situation inside the room, only knowing that the prince had been in a daze for some time.

The lady never left that room again, and spent her days in a state of constant sleepiness.

He had no choice but to send a message to Lord Ji, not knowing whether it would be of any use.

As Yingxiao frowned, pondering what other options he could come up with, he suddenly felt a darkness before his eyes and a shadow clinging to his toes. He quickly looked up and saw the young prince standing in front of him.

Yingxiao was overjoyed and hurriedly wanted to call someone to prepare food for the young master, but he heard his master order, "Take this file to the Jizhou Garrison to find the person. If he is dead, dig up his grave for me."

Yingxiao shuddered and reluctantly accepted the reply.

Just as she was about to speak again, asking the prince if he wanted the servants to prepare anything, she saw the prince heading towards the main house.

-

Shen Yan had not seen his mother for many days, and the door to his bedroom was always closed every day.

Aunt Green Willow said that her mother needed to rest and was still sleeping, so she shouldn't be disturbed.

Shen Yan couldn't understand. It was already quite late, so why was her mother still sleeping?

He could only wait outside, but even as his great-grandmother called him back to Crane Garden, he still couldn't wait for the door to open.

Shen Yan was a very easygoing person, so the old lady never felt overwhelmed in taking care of him. He was also exceptionally patient; the less he saw his mother, the more energetic he seemed to become.

At first, his great-grandmother only allowed him to come for a few days, but later he became dissatisfied with only being able to come for a fixed number of days and hours, so he came every day without stopping.

It wasn't entirely because he was full of energy; she was just afraid that if he didn't come one day, his mother might wake up and open the door, but he wouldn't be able to see her.

He didn't dare to knock on the door or shout, because being disturbed while sleeping was a very unpleasant experience.

Shen Yan knew this and did not want her mother to suffer such a waste of time.

He squatted down and started counting the leaves on the leaves in the yard, one, two...

Suddenly, the darkness fell before her eyes. Shen Yan looked up and saw her father, who hadn't appeared for many days, standing in front of her.

He immediately stood up, but the thick clothes made it difficult for him to stay upright, and it took him a while to regain his balance.

"Father." He could speak very clearly now.

Shen Yun squatted down to look him in the eye and noticed that he seemed to have grown quite a bit taller. Upon reflection, she realized that he would be two years old after this winter.

Shen Yun looked into his eyes, which were exactly the same as his, and suddenly Lin Shutang's words from that day echoed in her ears: she said she felt disgusted.

Seeing this child, and knowing that this child is his blood relative, makes me feel disgusted...

He lowered his eyes, cradled Shen Yan's buttocks in his arms, and lifted him up.

Her gaze suddenly shifted upwards, and Shen Yan wrapped her chubby little hands around Shen Yun's neck, laughing happily. But before she could even enjoy herself for a moment, she heard her father's admonition, "Don't bother your mother."

"If there's nothing else, just stay in the Crane Garden."

Shen Yan's eyebrows drooped, unable to understand why his father could hold him so gently in his arms while uttering such cruel words.

On the way back to Heyuan, he found it hard to cheer up; he was listless, and his mouth looked like it was about to burst with oil.

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Author's Note: In the final stages, filling in the gaps... Update schedule may be somewhat irregular.

If I don't update by 6 PM, I'm probably living in the underworld (scratching hands) (bowing)