Chapter 41
After everyone had lunch, Jiang Yingyue grabbed Jiang Weiqiu and refused to let go, dragging him to the academy to sort out the registers together.
Jiang Weiqiu hadn't been particularly keen on going at first. Before his sister forcibly dragged him away, he'd even put on a cheeky smile and asked Wei Zhen what his plans were, suggesting they should go together. But when he met Wei Zhen's "kind" smile, he decided to go with his sister.
After watching the Jiang family's carriage leave, Wei Yan and Cheng Zi also wanted to go ahead.
Chu Miaomiao, who was not very willing to be alone with Wei Zhen, was about to ask Wei Zhen what he was doing when Wei Zhen interrupted her: "Then we'll say goodbye now."
Wei Xi and Cheng Zi bowed and then disappeared into the crowd.
"Don't bother them today."
Wei Zhen held Chu Miaomiao's hand and walked slowly. Chu Miaomiao glanced awkwardly at their intertwined hands and said softly, "There are so many people on the street, and hugging and tugging between men and women will attract gossip." She made a gesture to withdraw her hand.
Unexpectedly, Wei Zhen held on even tighter, not allowing Chu Miaomiao to escape at all.
"You weren't like this when you were in Pingzhou."
“…”
As soon as she said this, Chu Miaomiao recalled the embarrassing scene when she proposed to Wei Zhen in public.
Looking back now, she was really bold, but her mother was already looking for a man for her at that time, and she couldn't think of a better way to stop this, so she could only borrow Wei Zhen to block it for her.
Chu Miaomiao touched her nose guiltily: "Didn't I already apologize?"
"And then you abandoned me." Wei Zhen showed a rather sad expression, as if he had suffered a great injustice. "It was you who forced me into Prince Ping's mansion, it was you who said we were going to get married, and it was you who ran away from the marriage."
Chu Miaomiao felt like cold sweat was about to break out.
"Before, I was your head of the household and your study partner, always doing what you wanted. I thought this matter was over." Chu Miaomiao gritted her teeth and whispered, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is too petty."
"Since you've already spoken so highly of me, wouldn't it be a shame for you to know people if I weren't really so petty?"
Chu Miaomiao was shocked by this strange frankness. It took her a long time to utter, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is truly eloquent."
"Your Excellency is too kind."
“…I don’t actually mean to praise you too much.”
"I know." Wei Zhen smiled slightly, "You are telling the truth."
Chu Miaomiao was completely speechless and almost couldn't help rolling her eyes. She could only mutter in her heart, "How shameless."
Suddenly, she seemed to remember something, and she took out the ink seal from her waist pouch and handed it to Wei Zhen: "Since you are okay, I think it's time to return it to its original owner."
Wei Zhen was stunned, obviously not expecting Chu Miaomiao to return it. He shook his head gently and said, "When I gave it to you, I told you that keeping it by your side meant that you would remember me day and night."
Seeing Chu Miaomiao about to say something, Wei Zhen suppressed his smile and said, "If you insist on returning it to me, I will be heartbroken."
"...Since you insist so much..."
Chu Miaomiao silently put the jade seal away, and Wei Zhen raised a satisfied smile at the corner of his lips.
"Come to think of it," Chu Miaomiao looked at the group of people walking towards her, a little puzzled, "Why are so many people walking in the opposite direction?" She turned around and looked, "Ah'Lu and Young Master Cheng were also heading in that direction just now."
Wei Zhen replied calmly, "Do you still remember the governor of Weizhou who was assassinated on New Year's Eve?"
Chu Miaomiao nodded.
"His execution time is approaching."
Chu Miaomiao opened her eyes wide.
"Beheading."
*
When Weizhou Jiedushi Cai Shan's crimes—embezzling disaster relief funds, falsely accusing and persecuting imperial officials, and fostering local bandits—were exposed, public outrage erupted. As Cai Shan and his accomplices were escorted to the execution ground, the crowd erupted in fury, some shouting insults and others hurling obscenities. The once arrogant official now sat slumped in his prison cart, exposed to the spitting and reviling.
Cheng Zi followed all the way, looking coldly at the disheveled Cai Shan with a resentful sneer on his lips.
He finally has his day!
When they arrived at the execution ground, the prisoner was made to kneel on the scaffold. The soldiers stood at a distance in front of the scaffold, spread out in a semicircle to block the angry people out and maintain vigilance.
Wei Yan and Cheng Zi, standing in the crowd, were facing the execution platform, looking at Cai Shan who was kneeling on the ground.
The official supervising the execution read out the crimes of Cai Shan and others in public. Those words did not enter Cheng Zi's ears, but turned into specific scenes before him -
The raging flood broke through the dam and ruthlessly took away the men, women, and children who were struggling desperately.
A dilapidated home.
Ragged refugees.
The back of a father busy resettling disaster victims.
In the dark night, a raging fire engulfed the prefectural government office.
The mother, who struggled to push herself out of the fire, was knocked to the ground by the burning crossbar.
The screams of men and women.
After the fire was put out, the prefectural government office was dark and the charred corpses were carried out.
As well as the officers and soldiers from the Jiedushi’s military camp who came to deal with the aftermath.
The scenes of the past flashed through Cheng Zi's mind one by one, causing him to involuntarily clench his teeth and fists.
With the overseeing officer's resounding "Execute," the gleaming sword fell with a swift movement, sending gasps of surprise through the crowd. Although the perpetrators were corrupt officials who exploited the people, most people were still so frightened by the bloody scene before them that they closed their eyes.
Even the usually daring Wei Yan blinked and pursed his lips, clearly feeling a bit uncomfortable. Cheng Zi, on the other hand, watched without blinking as the murderer of his family was beheaded.
After a moment of dead silence, the crowd seemed to come to their senses. Some shouted "Well done!" while others quietly left. A group of people in mourning rushed forward to collect the bodies of several of the men. Only Cai Shan's body was wrapped in a straw mat and thrown onto a nearby cart.
That will be taken to a mass grave and thrown away.
Cai Shan's actions were unacceptable to heaven and law, and the sages would not allow his family to collect and bury his body. Furthermore, Cai Shan's case had widespread consequences, implicating many of his family members. His direct descendants had been beheaded, exiled, or sent to the military, and his collateral branches might not dare to intervene at this time.
"It would be too easy for him to die like this." Cheng Zi said bitterly, "Such an unforgivable person should be executed by slow slicing!"
"Our dynasty hasn't used the punishment of lingchi for many years." Wei Yan looked at him. "If you still can't get rid of your hatred, I'll go get his head and hang it on your parents' grave as a token of apology."
Cheng Zi snorted coldly: "Is that kind of beast worthy?"
Wei Yan nodded, feeling that this was true. As the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed, she decided to leave as well.
"Back?"
Cheng Zi let out a long breath.
For many years, he had been obsessed with revenge for the tragic death of his parents. Many times in the middle of the night, he heard his mother's heartbreaking screams as she was engulfed in flames, saw his father lying quietly on the ground, letting the flames devour him, and saw each of the charred bodies.
The burden of dozens of lives in the Weizhou prefecture rested on his shoulders, nearly suffocating him. Ever since his master rescued him, he hadn't dared to let up a bit, fearing he wouldn't be able to master martial arts and avenge his parents. Countless times, he wished he could rush back to Weizhou and slay his enemies, but he was too weak at the time, and returning would only lead to his own death.
He had no choice but to endure it and bury his hatred deep in his heart. In order not to worry his master, he forced himself to put on a smile.
The hatred was merely buried, but it never disappeared. Instead, it grew stronger because it had been buried for so long. When he learned that Cai Shanyin, who had been hiding in Victoria, was going to Beijing to meet the emperor, the hatred became so strong that he could no longer suppress it, and he could no longer endure it.
On New Year's Eve, when the sky was filled with dazzling fireworks, he took action on the way back home from the palace.
The only pity is that he failed to succeed.
He had originally gone to assassinate with the determination to die together, but at the moment of danger, a figure flashed before his eyes——
Cheng Zi turned his head slightly to look at Wei Yan beside him, and warmth gradually appeared in his eyes.
He always thought that he had no attachments in this world and would not hesitate to sacrifice his life for revenge. But when he was really faced with life and death, he found that he actually couldn't bear to die.
It turned out that, without realizing it, he already had someone he cared about.
He couldn't bear to leave her side, let alone be separated from her by death.
Seeing Cheng Zi staring at him blankly without saying a word, Wei Lu called out to him in confusion, "Cheng Zi?"
Cheng Zi smiled slightly. He liked her calling his name.
"Are you stupid?"
Cheng Zi blinked. It’s just that this girl’s words are sometimes speechless.
"How is that possible!"
"Then why haven't you said anything for so long?" Wei Yan's tone was somewhat reproachful, but his face was cold. "Let's go home."
"Prince Yu's Mansion?"
Wei Yan glanced at Cheng Zi in confusion: "What else? Are you really stupid?"
"Seriously speaking, Prince Yu's Mansion is your home, but not mine." Wei Yan called Prince Yu's Mansion their home, which made Cheng Zi somewhat happy, but also somewhat disappointed.
I don't know why Cheng Zi suddenly cares about this issue, but what he said made Wei Yan unhappy: "If your mother hears this, won't she be sad?"
Cheng Zi choked.
"Since you entered Prince Yu's mansion, when did mother ever treat you as an outsider? It's true that you have no blood relationship with my father, but we have already regarded you as family over the years. You say such things for no reason. Aren't you an ungrateful person?"
Facing Wei Yan's suspicious gaze, Cheng Zi felt both touched and amused.
"No. I will always remember the kindness shown to me by Master, Luoshagu, the Princess, and the Prince."
After hearing this, Wei Yan looked away with satisfaction.
"And you."
Wei Zhen paused and looked at Cheng Zi with a frown.
"If it weren't for you, I might not be standing here."
Wei Xi turned his face away indifferently and continued walking forward.
"You don't need to thank me. I didn't go to Victoria just to help you."
Wei Xuan slowly unpacked his thoughts, "Cai Shan has been entrenched in Weizhou for years, and the Saint can no longer tolerate him. In recent years, power has gradually been consolidated in the Saint's hands, and Cai Shan will be eliminated sooner or later. Your assassination of Cai Shan is equivalent to giving the Saint an opportunity to investigate and prosecute him, and handing this matter over to the Crown Prince is also the Saint's way of building momentum for the Crown Prince. I am involved in this, firstly to help you, secondly to help the Saint and the Crown Prince, and most importantly for myself."
"What do you mean?" Cheng Zi was quite interested.
"The Saint's partiality towards the Crown Prince is clearly visible to everyone in the court. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Crown Prince will inherit the throne. As long as my father is alive, the power of the Prince of Yu's Mansion will remain. If my father is gone, what will happen to the Prince of Yu's Mansion, which is closest to the center of power? What will become of Ah Zhi and me?"
Wei Xuan's eyes were dark. "Cai Shan is my token of allegiance. I need them to see my ability, and more importantly, I want them to see my loyalty."
"So I got involved in Cai Shan's incident, and also in the struggle between the Crown Prince and Prince Su." Wei Lu looked at Cheng Zi, his eyes flickering. "Logically, I shouldn't have involved you. After all, you're the head of a sect, and getting involved in this kind of struggle would only bring you trouble. But don't worry, I'll try not to involve you in the future."
Cheng Zi said with a carefree smile: "When have the martial arts world and the imperial court ever truly been separated? What's more, you call me your uncle-master?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Xi also smiled brightly.
"Thank you very much, uncle."
Uncle Master.
Cheng Zi smiled bitterly in his heart.
What if Wei Yan started calling him "Master Uncle" from now on? He still preferred her calling him by his name.
It's all your own fault!
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