Chapter 55 A noble figure in the Golden Palace, behind the curtain...

Pei Yuan said to the people around him, "Take the young general away and keep a close watch on him."

The man walked up to Pei Shu and said, "I'm sorry, young general."

Pei Shu pushed the person away, "Get out of my way, I'll walk myself."

Pei Yuan turned to leave, but stepped on something hard. He moved his foot away and found it was a gold ingot. His sinister eyes narrowed as he looked towards the end of the iron chain bridge. The guards, hidden behind others, crouched down and then quickly stood up, their eyes gleaming as they looked down.

When it's time to change shifts, leave behind the group.

"I'm rich! I'm rich! All this gold is mine!"

Once you've walked the entire length of the plank road and found a place to hide, no one will be able to find you.

But the light ahead was blocked by a shadow, a massive figure stretching out and trampling the path in front of it. The figure was completely encased in chilling armor, with only a pair of cold, indifferent eyes visible.

The soldier's smile was stiff, like a slow, stuck machine, taking a long time to react before contorting into a look of fear. He clutched his chest and took a few steps back, stammering, "General."

"What are you afraid of? Are you just feeling guilty?"

Pei Yuanmai took a step forward, his gaze landing on the bulge in the man's chest. "What's hidden in your bosom?"

"N-nothing, I really didn't take anything from inside."

That's a stupid explanation; it's an admission of guilt.

Pei Yuan's voice was sarcastic: "Do you think you're lucky enough to get these things out of here?"

The soldier was heartbroken. He took back the few pieces of gold from his chest, knelt on the ground and begged, "General, I was just momentarily blinded by greed. Please forgive me for the years we fought together. I promise I will never do it again."

The lieutenant noticed the abnormality and rushed over. Fearing that he would incur Pei Yuan's wrath for his negligence, he immediately drew his sword.

"General, you risked your life to quell the rebels on the front lines, but unexpectedly, a traitor has emerged in the rear. If everyone were like you, where would the army's prestige be!"

He remembered that this kid was usually loyal to the general, so how come he couldn't resist this little temptation?

"General, I haven't been home for eight years. I just wanted to do my best to be filial when I went back. I was wrong, General, I will never do it again."

The sound of kowtowing echoed loudly on the floor, which greatly annoyed Pei Yuan. Soon after, a bloodstain appeared on the floor, and the thumping sound became even louder and more eerie.

It sounded exactly like the sound of a hollow gourd.

The lieutenant felt a chill run down his spine. "Are you crazy? Stop it right now."

But the soldier didn't stop, continuing his stiff movements. With a crisp crack, half of the soldier's head was knocked off, like a broken gourd, empty inside, just a shell.

The two of them gasped.

The kneeling soldier crawled forward, begging for mercy, his cracked face still pleading, "Please spare me."

The lieutenant snapped out of his daze and quickly poured some oil from the iron pot next to him. The flames engulfed the soldier, and after a few insects crawled out of his body and were burned away, the soldier finally stopped moving.

Pei Yuan's face was extremely grim. "All troops, listen to my order: if anyone steals gold from the tomb again, they will be executed immediately."

The guards stared wide-eyed, terrified, and even those with ulterior motives dared not move.

It's just that this inhuman, ghostly appearance is too terrifying and disgusting.

Nobody wants to be the second hollow gourd.

Pei Yuan turned to leave, but the armor on his shoulder and neck suddenly moved. After a sharp pain, his expression froze for a long time, remaining in shock.

The lieutenant glanced at him and asked cautiously, "General, are you alright?"

He looked down and noticed a tear in the armor at Pei Yuan's feet. He said, "I'll have someone repair the general's armor right now."

Pei Yuan's expression finally changed. "No need, you can go down."

After the lieutenant left, Pei Yuan closed his helmet and walked towards the cave entrance. The guard was startled. "General, this place is dangerous. What are you doing...?"

"I'm here to check, just in case anyone else has any ulterior motives."

Pei Yuan chased the armored men who were carrying the load out, telling them to "wait at the cave entrance."

Pei Yuan acted cautiously, yet he ventured alone into the dangerous area to investigate. Although the others found it strange, they dared not disobey.

Reaching the inner palace gate, he removed his armor and helmet, revealing Pei Yuan's terrified and resistant face. "No, go back, go back..."

But he kept walking forward uncontrollably, his mouth wide open.

The black, multi-legged insects scurried out of the gold and all crawled into Pei Yuan's mouth until his face was completely expressionless.

*

Hidden in the corner, Cangyu's legs were suddenly tugged. Looking down, he saw Little White, its fur tangled from the rain, its clean little white paws covered in mud, whimpering pitifully.

He whispered, "Xiaobai, why are you here? It's dangerous here, go back quickly and tell Grandpa not to worry about me."

Xiaobai tugged at his trouser leg, pulling him forward, asking, "Where are you taking me?"

He couldn't resist the little thing's persistence, hesitated for a moment, then bent down and followed Little White.

The little creature was very clever, deliberately choosing tricky spots to avoid the guards. Zangyu and it made their way to the foot of the eastern side of Black Mountain. Then Little White stopped and looked ahead.

The prison vans were packed with people and sent into Black Mountain, so crowded that they looked like livestock cages.

The purpose of bringing these people here from so far away is self-evident.

Zang Yu also saw two unexpected people.

Fang Ruo, covered in filth, fell to the ground and cried loudly. Madam Fang rushed to a cage and tried to hold on, but was forcefully pulled away by several soldiers who shouted, "Get out of here!"

“You’ve got the wrong person. My husband isn’t trying to join the rebels; he was captured.”

"Great, so they're all from the same family. Arrest them all."

Fang Ruo cried and tried to chase after the prison van, but the old man with a cane covered her mouth and took her away.

Seeing Fang Ruo being taken away by her grandfather, Cang Yu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He patted Xiaobai's head and said, "Go back quickly and don't come in."

He followed the prison van all the way to the detention center, climbed over the high wall from the back, and saw the guards changing shifts below. "The orders from above are that this group of people will be put into the furnace for gold refining today, so we must keep a close eye on them."

As night fell, the moon was obscured by dark clouds, making visibility dim. A melodious flute tune drifted out, and the guard wondered, "Who's playing the flute?"

No sooner had they finished speaking than they felt as if they had been pricked by needles in their necks, their lips turned purple, and they all collapsed.

Zang Yu jumped in, broke the lock on the cell door, and brought Fang Ruo's parents out. "Come with me."

"Zangyu, I'm so glad you're alright. Your grandfather has been worried about you." Madam Fang wiped away her tears, and the others in the prison rushed out in droves, causing a commotion in the military camp.

“The prisoners have escaped; catch them.”

Zang Yu rummaged through the corpses on the ground, saying, "Quickly put on their clothes and sneak out now. Your daughter is still waiting for you."

Fortunately, the two remained somewhat calm and did not run away immediately like the others. They changed their clothes and said goodbye hastily without saying much.

"Who are you, kid?"

Someone spotted him, and Cangyu turned and ran, but in his panic, he was pulled into a tent.

"Xiao Wenxin? So the Grand Preceptor was imprisoned here."

As he spoke, he noticed two other people inside. One of them wore a bright yellow dragon robe and a jade belt, but his timid eyes couldn't support his wealth. The other person, on the other hand, was as dignified as the moon and the breeze, and even in his eunuch's clothes, he exuded a certain nobility.

Zang Yu sized the man up from head to toe, then pressed his sword against his face: "The Wen family's dog emperor?"

"How dare you! What are you doing!" The man in the dragon robe was startled.

A handsome eunuch stepped forward, blocking their way. "Seeking revenge?"

"You know how many people want to kill the emperor. How much wealth has your Wen family's emperor plundered from the people? How many people, despite having only a few acres of fertile land, are still heavily in debt? How many people died in the severe drought in Jiangnan? Do you know?"

A man dressed in a dragon robe stepped out from behind and cursed in a sly voice, "What nonsense are you talking about? Fifteen years ago, the late emperor was in power. The young emperor only ascended the throne a few years after the late emperor's death. He was young and helpless. Why should he be accused of this crime?"

"Anyway, there isn't a single good person in your Wen family."

Fifteen years ago, a couple starved to death in their home, and their young child was dragged and eaten by stray dogs, but was rescued by a traveling doctor. In the same year, in the imperial palace in the capital, amidst endless dancing and music, the emperor indulged in revelry with several women, and then died a violent and absurd death.

That was when Zang Yu was just learning to speak, but he will never forget it.

"Then you should come to me, I am the emperor." The boy coughed incessantly, his mouth covered with a handkerchief, when he unexpectedly coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

Zang Yu immediately realized that the two had switched identities.

"Your Majesty," the little eunuch cried incessantly, taking out medicine to feed him, but Wen Qianchu refused to take it.

"No need, I know how much time is left."

The young eunuch choked up, "If we could hold on a little longer, we might be able to develop an antidote."

Wen Qianchu smiled silently. The antidote wasn't absent; it was just that Prince Li wouldn't provide it. The chess piece in his hand was no longer obedient; he used it to pressure and force him to submit, just like the obedient puppet he had been as a child.

All of the old emperor's sons had died, leaving only him, the youngest of them all.

No one asked for his opinion before pushing him onto the throne and controlling him for half his life with puppet strings.

He was given too little time to make his own decisions. If he had more time, even just ten years, he might have been able to turn things around.

Zang Yu sheathed his sword, not because he no longer hated the man, but because the sickly fellow was already on the verge of death, and his intervention would have been pointless.

Wen Qianchu looked up at Cang Yu, her eyes filled with no hatred, but rather with a good impression of this spirited young man who had unexpectedly barged in.

Within those somber palace walls, Wen Qianchu had never seen such a vibrant person, so clear in love and hate, so impulsive and reckless, leaving behind a vivid and complex tapestry of emotions.

I have no regrets about dying at his hands.

"I still have one thing to finish right now. After that, I'll give you my life."

Seeing that he had calmed down, Xiao Wenxin said, "His Majesty wants to blow up the furnace, are you going to stop him?"

"......he?"

Was there a wise and discerning emperor among the Wen family?

“Even if His Majesty has a thousand faults, he has never thought of harming the people. Without the protection of his parents above and without the assistance of good ministers below, His Majesty’s life is already very difficult,” the little eunuch said, crying. “If you want to kill someone, kill me instead. Don’t hurt His Majesty anymore.”

Heavy footsteps echoed outside the tent, accompanied by the cold clang of armor. "Your Majesty, please come with me to see the general."

The young eunuch picked up the cloak, wrapped it tightly around his head inside the hat, and said with tears in his eyes, "Your Majesty, I'm going now. Please be careful."

After speaking, he straightened his back, walked with an upright posture, and completely transformed into a different person, truly exuding the aura of a monarch.

*

Inside the tent, Pei Yuan was wiping his sword. Outside, there was a commotion. He asked impatiently, "What's going on?"

The lieutenant replied, "Someone released those prisoners, and we are about to bring them back."

Pei Yuan calmly said, "No need to arrest them, just kill them on the spot."

The lieutenant was startled. "Then... alchemy in a furnace?"

"We'll talk about it later." The cleaned sword gleamed even brighter, reflecting Pei Yuan's pale, indifferent face as he rubbed his right fingers together in a calculating manner.

The lieutenant found it strange, as the general never wore a thumb ring; he had only ever seen this habit of rubbing a thumb ring on the late emperor.

"What about the child?"

The lieutenant was stunned for a moment before realizing that he was referring to His Majesty.

"We're already on our way. There's been some unrest in the military camp tonight. Why does the general want to see His Majesty now?"

Pei Yuan's eyes were still cold, and now there was an indescribable emptiness in them. He spoke in a low voice, and in the shadows illuminated by the firelight, the deputy general vaguely saw the gloomy and unpredictable late emperor.

“I can’t wait any longer. I’ve missed this child so much all these years.”