Chapter 3178 Are you really leaving?
He looked at Zhu Feng and said hoarsely, "So, to the Emperor, I am actually just a tool for atonement?"
Zhu Feng immediately said, "Of course not."
Ye Zheng stared at him without blinking: "Then what am I?"
Zhu Feng also looked into his eyes and said word by word: "You are nothing, you are Ye Zheng."
“…”
"You are my Ye Zheng."
This sentence didn't mean anything, but when Ye Zheng heard it, his eyes suddenly turned red, as if he couldn't bear the burning gaze of Zhu Feng, and he subconsciously turned his face to the side.
"Ye Zheng,"
Zhu Feng shouted these two words until he was exhausted. He said solemnly, "I don't know what Zhu Chengjin said to you, but since you chose to come back, I believe you understand in your heart. Your brother died in a foreign land because of me, and my life was indeed bought by him with his own life."
“…”
"If I were not the emperor, and if I had not implicated the country and the people with my own body, I would not hesitate to take my life if you wanted to."
Ye Zheng raised his eyes and looked at him, his gaze flickering as if it would break at any moment.
Zhu Feng said: "I cannot give you my life."
“…”
"Except for this life, I will give you anything you want."
Ye Zheng looked at him with red eyes for a long time, then suddenly smiled. That smile contained a hint of sharp irony, as if there was something hidden deep inside. He said softly, "Your Majesty, I'm not used to this."
Zhu Feng's gaze followed his, and he said slowly, "But you've followed me for so many years, you should know that what I say is true."
“…”
"You shouldn't be unaccustomed to it."
“…”
"Over the years, my weaknesses have become more and more, but you have always been there."
“…”
"If it means we can go back to the way things were before, I will pay any price."
Ye Zheng's eyes flickered even more violently.
He looked at Zhu Feng and repeated, "Whatever the price, you can pay it?"
Zhu Feng said: "Yes."
Although he was incredibly resolute when he said this, he was also nervous inside. As an emperor, as someone in this position, even if he had weaknesses, he couldn't let others take advantage of him easily. This was the survival instinct of people like him. But now, it seemed like he had exposed all his weaknesses to Ye Zheng.
The other party could easily take his life with even a soft thorn.
But he still asked, "What do you want?"
“…”
Ye Zheng looked at him quietly for a long time. He didn't know why. If the high-spirited and resolute Zhu Feng had said such words to him in the past, he would either think he was dreaming or wake up laughing in his dreams after hearing them. But now, with the matter already before him, he only felt uncomfortable.
I'm not feeling sorry for Ye Quan.
Instead, he felt uncomfortable because of the person in front of him.
He struggled for a long time before he said in a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty, please don't do this."
“…”
"I, I don't want anything."
"Ye Zheng——"
"emperor,"
Ye Zheng didn't wait for him to finish his words and interrupted him, his eyes red as he said, "Your Majesty can say such words, I think he must have thought it through clearly."
“…”
"Since you've thought it through so clearly, how could you not realize that some things can't be undone."
“…”
"I can't pretend my brother's death never happened."
“…”
"But, I can't hate the emperor."
"Ye Zheng..."
Having said that, Ye Zheng smiled bitterly again and looked up at Zhu Feng: "Not only can I not hate the emperor, I probably have to thank the emperor, and even more so my brother."
“…”
"If it weren't for him, the Emperor wouldn't have found me and rescued me from those people in the barracks. And after rescuing me, the Emperor has always kept me by his side and raised me. I am where I am today because of my brother's protection and the Emperor's care. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid my body would have rotted away by now."
“…”
"I've been thinking a lot these days. I can't pretend nothing happened and stay by the Emperor's side as before."
When Zhu Feng heard this, he felt as if a knife was stabbed in the chest.
When he spoke, his voice was hoarse: "Ye Zheng."
Ye Zheng continued, "But I also have to repay the emperor for all the care he has given me over the years."
Zhu Feng looked at him, his eyes reddened: "Do you really have to settle this with me so clearly?"
Ye Zheng lowered his head.
He was silent for a long time, then said, "I know that the emperor has been very troubled by Zhu Chengjin's affairs over the years. This time, he almost used the entire city of Jinling as the price. Although most of his forces were wiped out, he still escaped."
“…”
"As long as this person is still around, he will always be a scourge."
“…”
"These past few days, I've checked the ports he stopped at along the way and asked officials from various locations to collect his whereabouts and the people and supplies he took ashore. I speculate that he intends to head west."
Zhu Feng frowned.
"What?"
Ye Zheng looked at him, his face no longer showing any trace of the depression and loss he had felt during the past. Instead, he expressed a solemn expression. He said, "Now, under the Emperor's rule, the Great Yan Dynasty is thriving, its prestige and culture spreading far and wide. If he had contacted foreign powers along the way, it would inevitably have affected our country's reputation."
“…”
"I think we should find him and completely eradicate this cancer."
Zhu Feng opened his eyes wide and looked at Ye Zheng.
His eyes flickered, and he obviously had a lot to say, but when he reached his lips, he couldn't utter a single word. He could only watch his Adam's apple rolling up and down, as if something was tearing him apart inside his body.
Even though he didn't reveal a word, he could feel a pain deep in his bones, spreading silently throughout his limbs.
After a long time, Zhu Feng finally spoke, his voice so hoarse that it was almost just his breath.
"Is that what you intend?"
“…”
"You, you want to leave?"
“…”
"You want to leave me and go to the West to find Zhu Chengjin?"
Ye Zheng looked at him for a long time, then suddenly knelt on the ground and said solemnly, "I hope Your Majesty will grant me permission. This is the only, and probably the last, thing I can do for Your Majesty."
“…”
Zhu Feng looked down at him, his gaze like a pair of hands trying to rip his heart out of his body.
Even though nothing happened, he could already feel the bloody pain.
He whispered, "Are you really leaving?"
Ye Zheng lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "I hope Your Majesty will grant me this."
Zhu Feng looked at him for a long time and slowly closed his eyes.
A little moist warm light flickered from his tightly closed eyes, and finally disappeared.
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