"Come on, have a smoke, and give me a proper explanation."
After a brutal beating, Di Feijing, his face bruised and swollen, followed Shen Zhao to the rooftop of Nuanxiang Pavilion and sat down.
Shen Zhao even thoughtfully handed him a cigar.
"Big brother, you're a really nice guy."
Di Feijing puffed on his cigar and expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Shen Zhao.
Shen Zhao patted him on the shoulder and asked: "I just beat you with my front foot, and you went to your mistress to complain to kill me, so why are you so vicious?
Look at you! Even though I beat you to a pulp, I still knew my limits. I didn't mean to kill you, did I?
After all, Chu Liuxiang has never had blood on his hands, nor does he want anyone's life; you should know that.
Di Feijing shuddered and hurriedly apologized, "Big brother, it's my fault, I'm not human."
I shouldn't have told His Majesty about this. Please, considering my ungratefulness, just ignore it.
"Sure, sure, if you had shown this attitude earlier, there wouldn't have been so much trouble, right? Does it still hurt?"
"No, it doesn't hurt anymore."
"Then tell me, why did you impersonate Di Feijing and even have your face altered to look like his?"
"Big brother, I don't know what you're talking about..."
"I don't know, okay."
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhao immediately clenched his fist, and his knuckles cracked loudly.
"Let me help you remember."
Di Fei was so frightened that he immediately dodged, repeatedly shouting, "Big brother, let's talk this out, please stop hitting me, I really can't take your punches."
"If you don't want to get beaten up, then tell the truth now."
Upon hearing this, Di Fei took a deep drag of his cigarette before slowly saying, "To be honest, if I hadn't said this, I would have suffocated sooner or later."
My elder brother is right. Although my name is also Di Feijing, that's true.
But it's definitely not the Di Feijing that His Majesty is looking for. Someone approached me and insisted that I impersonate that person to get close to the Empress.
"Who are you? And what is your purpose in sending you to get close to the Empress?"
"I don't know either. A year ago, someone came to me and told me that as long as I didn't impersonate Di Feijing to get close to the Empress, I would enjoy endless wealth for the rest of my life."
"So you agreed?"
"How could I dare agree? I was just a menial disciple in the Chaotian Sect. Let alone marrying the Empress, I'd rather gouge my eyes out just by looking at her from afar."
But there was no way around it; that person was too ruthless, and I simply couldn't withstand it. That's why I agreed to have my face altered.
I just didn't expect that after meeting the Empress, it really was just as that person had said.
The Empress had no doubts about my identity and showered me with favor, granting me whatever I wanted.
"Since the Empress granted my requests, I've enjoyed a life of luxury and wealth that I never dared to dream of before in the past year."
"Oh, so you plan to continue living under this identity."
"Brother, do you want to hear the truth?"
"explain."
"I was both shocked and scared, living in constant fear, yet I also thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being flattered by everyone. It's hard to explain this feeling, so you understand, right, brother?"
"continue."
"Actually, the Empress has hinted several times that she wants to take things a step further with me, but how could I dare?"
Although I am lustful, I value my life even more. I can distinguish between enjoying myself for one day and enjoying myself every day. What if I get caught someday?
Even if I had nine lives, it wouldn't be enough for her to kill me. I'm genuinely terrified.
I tried to run away several times, but that person told me that if I left, my family would also suffer.
So I have no choice but to live like this, day after day, without any real connection.
To leave myself a way out, and also to make the Empress despise me,
That's how I made friends with a bunch of scoundrels, and we started causing all sorts of trouble in the city.
He spent every night in brothels, his aim being to change the Empress's mind and have her send me away.
Brother, you have no idea how unbearable it is to live with a knife hanging over your head like this.
Especially the way the Empress looked at me; it seemed full of tenderness, but I swear on my male intuition, it was more suspicion and scheming.
After all, unless the Empress has lost her mind, how could she possibly look at someone as filthy as me? Don't I know my own worth?
He has no money, no talent, and even his face has been surgically altered.
What exactly does she see in us? At best, we're just a substitute, a way to soothe her unrequited love.
Shen Zhao nodded: "I understand your current situation very well. So what do you plan to do next?"
Di Fei gave a bitter laugh: "What else can I do? I'm just a pawn in someone else's game, as insignificant as an ant."
"I'll live one day at a time, enjoying all the blessings I'm entitled to while I'm alive, so my journey on earth won't have been in vain."
Shen Zhao: "Then I wish you good luck."
Seeing that Di Feijing's words did not seem to be false, Shen Zhao had no desire to pursue the matter further.
Di Fei was only surprised by a discarded alt account from his previous life, and he had no energy to investigate how it got involved with the noble empress.
The most urgent task is to find the mastermind behind Di Feijing, based on the clues provided by Ying Chaoyun.
Di Feijing is the best entry point.
"Where is the person who arranged for you to get close to the Empress?"
"I don't know either. He always comes to me on his own initiative. I have no idea where he is."
"He didn't ask you to do anything?"
"No, they only asked me to do my best to stay by the Empress's side, to prepare some dishes for her from time to time, and to make my presence known to her from time to time. They didn't ask for anything else."
Shen Zhao fell into deep thought. After a moment, he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Alright, good luck."
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