These were all Huai Xu's speculations. However, Huai Xu did not know Shen Baogen's true identity and only assumed that the other party was someone arranged by Zhang Bingzhi.
Having finally met, the two did not only engage in absurd acts, but also analyzed the current situation.
The two men's speculations coincided with his. Judging from Kong Xing's expression now, these speculations and Zhang Bingzhi's plan should be pretty much on par.
Huai Xu has always been clever. Song thought to himself with immense pride.
His young master is one of the most intelligent people in the world.
“I don’t care about anything else. Now I only want to ask you, how much do you know about Huaiyue?” He tapped the longevity lock with his fingers, his dark eyes veiled with coldness. “Think it over before you speak.”
Kong Xing's lips twitched, his expression becoming increasingly ferocious. He sized up Song Ting, but his gaze kept falling on the longevity lock.
"Master Kongxing spends his days with the ancient Buddha and the dim lamp, his state of mind is extraordinary, while I am just an ordinary person with limited patience, and so are the people under my command."
“The child is so thin, with delicate arms and legs. If those roughnecks touch him lightly, his neck might just be—” Song Ting gently grasped the longevity lock, and the silver lock shaped like a gold ingot instantly turned into dust, “—it shattered.”
"..." Kongxing's heart skipped a beat, and when he looked up, he met the other party's cold gaze.
This person already knows everything; there's no point in hiding it anymore. He has no intention of working for that old bastard Zhang Bingzhi.
"How can you, Commander, guarantee that my son is still alive?"
"You have no choice but to trust me."
"Can the commander guarantee that if I speak up, my son's life will be spared?"
"That depends on what you say. I'm not talking nonsense."
Clearly, Song Ting wasn't giving him a chance to negotiate. Their lives were already in this man's hands, and the only thing he could do was confess.
He exhaled slowly and heavily: "I don't know much. Zhang Bingzhi doesn't trust me much. He just tells me to do what he says and not to worry about anything else."
"But I overheard his subordinates reporting something, and I didn't hear what they said, but Zhang Bingzhi was very happy, saying that even God was helping him, and he also mentioned the surname Chu."
Chu is the surname of the imperial family, which is why Kongxing remembers it so clearly.
"I really don't know anything else besides that."
The damage to the longevity lock dealt a significant blow to the monk. If he had previously maintained the air of a high monk, he now revealed his old age, and his expression even carried a hint of pleading.
“I was just a pawn in their game, I really knew nothing. The crime shouldn't be borne by the child, I'll take full responsibility for my actions, he's so young, please spare his life…”
Song Ting had actually guessed that this would be the outcome. He just wanted to confirm one thing from Kong Xing, and now he had the answer—Zhang Bingzhi already knew Chu Huaixu's identity in advance.
He wasn't sure if Zhang Bingzhi recognized him by chance when he saw Huai Xu's face, or if he already had substantial evidence.
If it is the latter, then all their previous self-justifications will be in vain.
Once it is confirmed that Huaiyue is Chu Huaixu, neither the Empress Dowager nor Zhang Bingzhi will allow him to live.
This caused Song Ting's unease to continue to grow. Since reaching this position, he had rarely felt this kind of unease, as if some things had slipped out of his control.
For a fleeting moment, he even had the illusion that time had reversed, and he had returned to five years ago. At that time, the Duan Prince's mansion had been destroyed, and Huai Xu had been imprisoned, but he didn't know how to save him.
The bewilderment and helplessness she felt at that time still makes Song Ting feel heartbroken even now.
He suddenly missed Huaixu terribly. He really wanted to see him.
Thinking of this, Song Ting suddenly stood up.
Kong Xing, who had been kneeling on the ground, stood up and hurriedly took two steps forward: "Lord Song—"
“Your son is very cute,” Song Ting stopped and turned around. “As long as you cooperate with me, I will ensure that he is unharmed.”
...
I was unaware of the passage of time inside the room, and only when I came out did I realize that it was almost dawn outside, just as the monks in the temple were ringing the first bell.
Song Ting then returned to the courtyard where he and Huai Xu shared, accompanied by the distant and heavy tolling of the bell.
Young monks were already sweeping, just like when they first came up the mountain, one sweeping fallen leaves in front and the other sprinkling water behind.
The window creaked open, and a handsome man leaned lazily against it. He hadn't even tied his hair up yet, and his long, smooth, black hair was already loosely draped behind him.
She was still wearing a bright red dress, and when she looked up, she stretched out her arms and yawned, looking as lazy as a cat.
"Good morning, Commander. Judging from the looks of it, you spent the night in the Empress Dowager's room?" Huai Xu looked up and saw him too. He put his hands on the window and said sarcastically, "You're an outsider, aren't you afraid of being gossiped about?"
Song Ting thought he was probably jealous.
Every time he returned from the Empress Dowager's place, Huaixu would act the same way, making sarcastic remarks and complaining about the smell of perfume on him.
At first, Song Ting was not sure. He was afraid that he was just being delusional and that Huai Xu did not mean it that way at all.
He restrained himself, suppressing his thoughts, and dared not let himself think in that direction.
But time and time again, he finally couldn't help but have wild thoughts and felt that Huaixu was just jealous.
On the day they reunited, Huaixu mentioned him and the Empress Dowager, saying: "The Commander truly lives up to his reputation as the Empress Dowager's lackey; his favor has remained undiminished for so many years..."
Yesterday, after he forced the poison out of the Empress Dowager, he came to find Huaixu. Huaixu said something similar, his face full of disgust and displeasure.
...He's just unhappy. Whether he hates himself or not, he'll still be unhappy.
Song Ting's heart pounded because of this delusional thought. Meeting the man's ambiguous gaze, she approached him step by step.
As dawn broke, a ray of sunlight fell precisely on Chu Huaixu's face, making him appear as if he were bathed in light.
Suddenly, Song Ting vaguely remembered the scene from their first meeting on Zhuque Street eight years ago.
He was crawling on the ground like a dog when the spirited young nobleman, dressed in white, stood before him, extended his hand, and asked with a smile, "Do you want to come home with me?"
Sunlight shone on Chu Huaixu at that moment, and the young nobleman was handsome and spirited, every word he spoke carrying an undisguised arrogance.
Song Ting had never seen such a person before, and for a moment she felt that this person was just like the immortals who descended to earth in the storybooks.
And Chu Huaixu was indeed a deity; the little deity pulled him out of the darkness and gave him light.
He repaid kindness with enmity, dragging the deity down from his altar and casting him into hell, where he was covered in filth.
"What are you thinking, sir? Are you looking at my face again, thinking about your deadly old friend?"
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