Fuxi Gazing at the Sky
Lu Mansion.
Ren Xuan sat in the corridor, feeling as comfortable as if he were at home.
Ren Xuan held a cup of tea and took a sip leisurely.
After finally closing a case, he thought he could finally return to his "daily tea-drinking life" for a short time.
But he heard the sound of horse hooves outside the mansion gate. Before he could put down his teacup, Yue Anshan rushed in.
Yue Anshan's voice was filled with anxiety: "Old Ren! Something happened!"
Yue Anshan held onto the door frame with one hand, panting as he said, "The Emperor—plotted against Your Highness at Zhengde Gate!"
Ren Xuan paused and placed the teacup back on the low table: "What's going on?!"
Yue Anshan was furious: "This morning, the Emperor appointed Qin Xuan as Crown Prince. Before he even finished reading the edict, fighting broke out at Zhengde Gate."
Ren Xuan frowned slightly and motioned for him to continue.
Yue Anshan: "The Emperor plotted against his own son at Zhengde Gate. Your Highness was surrounded at Zhengde Gate and has since disappeared. I heard that Lu Xiyun led Your Highness out of the encirclement, but they lost contact after escaping. Our people can't contact Your Highness, and everyone is in chaos!"
Ren Xuan listened, but he wasn't too surprised. Fratricide was a common occurrence in the Qin family.
Ren Xuan pondered for a moment: "Is the Queen seriously ill?"
Yue Anshan was stunned: "What?"
Ren Xuan calmly analyzed, "The Emperor's sudden attack on Your Highness must be due to the Empress's serious illness. Capture a few people from the Imperial Hospital and bring them to my house to find me."
Yue Anshan nodded worriedly and left in a hurry.
It was late at night when a middle-aged man in gray cloth was brought into Ren's mansion by Yue Anshan.
Yue Anshan introduced in a low voice: "This is Imperial Physician Zhao, someone close to the Empress."
Ren Xuan nodded slightly, motioned for the imperial physician to take a seat, and personally poured him a cup of tea.
Doctor Zhao took the teacup, his hands trembling slightly. "General, you don't know that everyone in the palace is on high alert right now. A careless word..."
Ren Xuan vowed, "Don't worry, my lord. No third person will know what we discussed today. How is the Empress's condition?"
Doctor Zhao wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Your Excellency, the Empress's condition...is an old one, and we can't control it."
He hesitated, clearly worried. "A few days ago, after the Queen summoned Prince Jin to the palace, his condition worsened... He even began to worry excessively and lost his appetite."
Prince Jin? Ren Xuan lowered his brows, already having some guesses in his mind.
——The Queen is probably going to settle something with Qin Huaizhang.
···
In the Prince of Jin's mansion, Qin Huaizhang sat alone under the lamp with a haggard face. When he heard that Ren Xuan was coming to visit, he did not refuse, but quietly let someone in.
Ren Xuan clasped his fists and saluted: "Your Highness."
Qin Huaizhang waved his hand: "No need, I believe you have heard about the situation in the palace."
Ren Xuan asked directly: "Your Majesty, why did His Majesty suddenly want to kill His Highness Prince Xiang?"
Qin Huaizhang sighed deeply, not hiding his expression. "It was my eldest sister-in-law... She asked me to tell Xiyun's fortune."
It was clearly destiny, but Qin Huaizhang easily guessed it.
In the imperial family, fate is supposed to be hidden in the misty sky, and even saints cannot get a glimpse of it.
Qin Huaizhang spent half his life practicing Fuxi's technique of peeping into the sky, but there was never a moment when he could see the trajectory of his destiny so clearly.
In the past, every time I did divination, it was like looking at flowers through the fog. I had to do repeated deductions to get a glimpse of it.
But when I calculated Xiyun's fate for my eldest sister-in-law that day, the thread of fate was not concealed at all, as if all this had long been a secret of heaven.
If Xiao Shu were the emperor...
No... In the outline drawn by the thread of fate -
Xiao Shu will definitely become the emperor.
This thread of fate is too straight and too decisive, without any possible variables or forks in the road.
Qin Huaizhang's understanding of Fuxi's magic taught him that fate was never absolute; there was always a chance of change. Yet, what he saw that day seemed as if everything had already happened.
Qin Huaizhang's eyes were filled with deep sorrow. "If Xiaoshu becomes emperor, Xiyun will surely suffer disaster. His life span will only be twenty-six... I... have never seen such a clear destiny before."
Ren Xuan felt a chill run down his spine. Wasn't this all from a past life? The past, long forgotten, seemed to suddenly resurface in the blood, carrying the scent of blood and the warmth of death, slamming fiercely into his eyes once again.
Qin Huaizhang's face showed a painful expression: "I don't believe Xiaoshu would do such a thing. I know Xiaoshu's character best. Maybe there's something wrong with my divination skills, but I have been calculating over and over again... I calculated Xiyun, calculated my eldest sister-in-law, and even calculated myself..."
Prince Jin's eyes were somewhat empty. "But this doesn't feel like the future. It feels more like... the past that has already happened."
Qin Huaizhang stared at Ren Xuan with a burning gaze, his voice low and solemn: "Ren Xuan, do you feel that...something may have already happened?"
The past events flashed past one by one, drowning the turmoil in Ren Xuan's heart. He was silent for a moment, and finally spoke: "Your Highness, I do not believe in fate."
This resulted in Qin Huaizhang's long silence. He also wanted to stop believing in fate, but he couldn't.
Qin Huaizhang recalled the child's cold and chilling gaze in front of Zhengde Gate yesterday.
Xiao Shu looked at him across the river, his eyes dark and unclear: "Uncle Emperor, are you going to kill me too?"
Qin Huaizhang felt like there was something stuck in his throat, because his hexagram showed that the Empress's sister-in-law wanted to kill Xiaoshu, and the Empress's sister-in-law wanted Xingchuan to kill Xiaoshu.
Qin Huaizhang spoke hoarsely: "Ren Xuan... If this hexagram only concerned me, even if it was Xiyun alone, I would stop Xingchuan."
That’s right.
He saw a sea of blood, a mountain of corpses, and a pile of bones.
He saw that his nephew was dragging the people of the world into catastrophe.
How can he choose?
Ren Xuan whispered, "Your Majesty, you have white hair."
Qin Huaizhang shook his head helplessly: "That's too much... Since I can see the future so clearly, maybe if I calculate everyone's situation, I can still find a way to change it."
He looked at Ren Xuan: "Ren Xuan, strangely, your fate is the only one I can't understand. It's all chaos."
Suddenly, Qin Huaizhang's expression changed, his movements suddenly stopped, his brows furrowed, and a look of disbelief appeared in his eyes.
Ren Xuan called out tentatively, "Prince? What's wrong with you?"
Qin Huaizhang remained silent. His eyes were dazed, even a little horrified.
Ren Xuan's heart tightened: "Who did the prince just calculate?"
Qin Huaizhang said nothing, his face growing paler.
He suddenly started coughing violently, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, and his body trembled so much that he could hardly hold on.
Qin Huaizhang pressed his palm on the low table, bloodshot in his eyes, and he seemed to be pushed to the end by his so-called destiny.
···
Ren Xuan left the palace with a gloomy look on his face. Qin Shu was a man who was good at planning before taking action.
After so many years, I actually saw Qin Shu being hunted again. Needless to say, I’m not used to it.
Tsk, never mind, Ren Xuan took out the Yanshu.
The Queen had Prince Jin perform a divination, and he revealed everything about her past life: the three palaces and six courtyards, marrying the Princess of the Southern Palace, seizing military power in the Western Palace, and a whole bunch of other shit. Now the Queen is determined to drag Qin Shu down with her.
A single tree cannot make a forest: […Let him not be a human in his previous life.]
Wang Yue Gui Ren: "I have a radical idea."
Wang Yue Gui Ren: "You're rebelling, I'm tired of talking."
Guanwai Tieyi: "What does Qin Shu think?"
A single tree cannot make a forest: "Leaving voluntarily..."
What the hell? Voluntary? Ren Xuan's eyebrows jumped and his eyes narrowed.
The Emperor: "What do you mean by voluntary?"
A single tree cannot make a forest: [We have people at the Zhengde Gate... The Queen's idea was so sudden, and Lu Xingchuan didn't even have a day to prepare. Guess how long we've been preparing? Originally, after His Highness asked Prince Jin that question, we were going to kill them straight away. But then Lu Xiyun rushed in with a sword in hand. His Highness was stunned for a moment, then followed him and "escaped"...]
The most loyal of all: "?!!"
Guanwai Tieyi: […So Qin Shu has been preparing for a rebellion?]
Wangyue Guiren: [So if Lu Xiyun doesn't show up, Qin Shu would have already ascended the throne, right?]
A single tree cannot make a forest: "...You can think of it this way."
Ren Xuan stared at the string of words without moving for a long time. After a long while, he slowly put away the letter.
Lu Xiyun risked his life to fight his way into Zhengde Gate, in exchange for Qin Shu's rebellion being stopped.
Good man, the current emperor... he really needs to kowtow to Lu Xiyun. Lu Xiyun has made an indelible contribution to the fact that he and Qin Shu have been able to have a loving father-son relationship to this day.
···
At night, the lights in Hanyun Martial Arts School were still on.
When Lu Xiyun staggered in, supporting someone, the disciples of the martial arts school were preparing to take roll call during the night patrol. When they saw that figure, they all surrounded him.
“Brother Lu! It’s Brother Lu!!”
"Brother Lu, are you injured? Come quickly, bring some medicine!"
"Would you like something to eat? The kitchen still has hot—"
For a moment, the entire front porch was in chaos.
Lu Xiyun glanced at himself, who was at most a little dirty, and then glanced at Qin Shu, whose shoulder wound was still bleeding, and suddenly felt that the focus of these little guys was a little wrong.
The young man rubbed his brow helplessly and said, "Alright, don't surround me for now. Please bring me some medicine and warm water."
The disciples finally came to their senses: "Oh! Good!"
Lu Xiyun thanked him and then helped him into the house. After the door closed, the outside was still bustling, but the house was quiet.
Qin Shu stared at him.
Lu Xiyun helplessly explained: "It's nothing. Shi An asked me to help with a case before. I got along well with these guys, so I just taught them a few moves and paid for the construction of this martial arts school. Don't worry, they won't betray us. Besides, they don't know you."
Lu Xiyun placed the man on the couch, tore off the blood-stained robe from his shoulders, then took out a small porcelain bottle from his arms and poured the light yellow powder inside onto the wound.
Qin Shu frowned slightly.
Lu Xiyun glanced at him and asked, "Does it hurt?"
"Um."
"Don't bear it. All the medicines given by father are like this. You are much better than me. It took me a long time to take the medicine before."
Qin Shu's eyes were heavy: "I haven't seen it."
Lu Xiyun paused, his tone quickened, and he said dissatisfiedly: "What's so good about this?!"
Lu Xiyun pulled off a piece of bandage and bent down to wrap it around the man, wondering, "That blow shouldn't have hurt you, why didn't you dodge it?"
Qin Shu shook his head and said calmly, "I didn't notice."
Qin Shu lowered his eyes. He saw that move, but he didn't dodge. For a moment, his memory pieced together like a shattered mirror. He saw someone carrying him out of the blood mist, his steps stumbling and his breathing unsteady.
Maybe he should be hurt more seriously so that he can know what it feels like.
Lu Xiyun turned around, wrung out a hot towel and handed it over: "Wipe your face, it's almost as dirty as the Beggar Gang's."
Qin Shu took it and paused for a moment: "I'm a beggar, do you still want me?"
Lu Xiyun glanced at him, feeling rather troubled: "That wording doesn't sound right."
The young man thought for the right words: "I can support you."
Qin Shu laughed softly, feeling a little relieved.
He suddenly realized that the peace of mind that fame, wealth and power could bring him could be easily obtained by being with this guy.
There is no need to worry about it, and there is no need for everyone to bow down to him, as long as he is still here.
Qin Shu spoke slowly and asked softly, "Are you going back to the Imperial City?"
He thought for a moment and then said, "If you don't go back, I can also not go back."
The last note falls quietly in the night.
It was as if he could really abandon that bloody imperial city with just one sentence.
The young man looked at him quietly without answering. That's right, how could Lu Xiyun let go of the Imperial City?
Qin Shu nonchalantly said, "It's just a joke."
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