Desire for Chaos (Part 3)
"What happened?" Chen Zhuangmu asked.
"Many ministers pressured Zhao Yi to confess to Wu Xuyou's crimes, but he remained silent." The young master's voice almost cracked.
Chen Zhuangmu felt that she had roughly understood some things, and she didn't want to say another word. She got into the carriage and headed straight for the palace.
Countless scenes flashed through her mind, but she was completely unaware of them. She could only feel the howling wind constantly blowing past her ears, and her anxiety grew.
Once they entered a narrow, deserted road, Chen Zhuangmu simply had the coachman stop the carriage and untie the horse, then she spurred the horse and rushed into the palace even faster.
When she arrived at the palace gate, she bent down and ran inside, ignoring the little eunuch's greetings. It wasn't until she was halfway through that she realized how long the road was, long enough to exhaust her.
But she was not one to give up easily; she held on to her last breath and crawled all the way to the main hall.
She had arrived in a hurry, wearing only a padded jacket and a single-sleeved shirt. Whether it was due to fear or the cold weather, she not only walked slowly but also trembled all over.
Chen Zhuangmu ignored him; she had no time to think about such things now. She had never seen her uncle's resolute gaze before, and she didn't believe it would be a simple assignment.
After a long time, she climbed up the steps and finally arrived at the main hall.
In the spacious area, several thick, coiled dragon staffs stood upright, majestic and lifelike. Standing beneath them, one could only feel intimidated and awkward. At this moment, Zhao Yi stood in the very center of the hall, countless ministers turning to look at him, some indifferent, some mocking, some sarcastic.
Having weathered countless storms, she no longer cared about people like him.
What chilled her to the bone was the emperor's gaze.
He was as silent and gloomy as a venomous snake, and as fierce and tearing as a lion. Yet he still used his best skill in concealing his true feelings, but in front of Shen Zhuangmu, his emotions were laid bare.
The emperor would absolutely not let Zhao Yi leave safely.
Behind the main hall, there would be a row of eunuchs, ready to respond to any sudden orders from the emperor or his ministers. Chen Zhuangmu moved to the doorway and peeked through the window. By sheer coincidence, a eunuch was standing there holding a small cup.
Fear, like a gentle stream, spread from the soles of her feet throughout her body. Without her needing to devise a plan, she had already embarked on this journey.
"Isn't this Princess Rongshu?"
"That's what one of the ministers said."
Upon hearing this, countless people wanted to turn around and look, but no one in the main hall dared to turn around. So they all strained their eyes to see if the princess was in a sorry state.
Chen Zhuangmu passed through those frightening eyes and stood with Zhao Yi in the main hall.
Surprisingly, the first thing Chen Zhuangmu heard was not the ministers' ridicule or the emperor's reprimand, but Zhao Yi's hysterical sarcasm.
"I've wronged you in the past, do you need to come here to mock me?!" He lowered his head, seemingly trying to hide the hatred in his eyes in the eyes of the crowd.
Chen Zhuangmu seemed not to hear, glanced down at him, and then looked fearlessly at her uncle who was sitting on the throne.
The emperor's face was ashen, his anger barely concealed, which was palpable in his eyes.
Chen Zhuangmu had no choice but to take the risk. She knelt down with a thud and said, "Your Majesty, the Deputy Envoy has never done anything to wrong Da Qun, he..."
“Recorder Shen.” A clear voice rang out, carrying a hint of coldness and aloofness. “He is from the State of Su. His purpose in coming here is to rebel and attempt to partition our country.”
Zhang Jiao's voice was neither sad nor arrogant, but it carried a slightly unsettling warning.
Chen Zhuangmu understood who the emperor had entrusted this matter to.
Therefore, Zhang Jiao did not lack allies; rather, he had been hiding his loyalty to the emperor.
No wonder the emperor made him follow Zhang Jiao; no wonder powerful ministers fell from power; no wonder my uncle looked fearless when I advised him to support a new minister—it turns out…
However, judging from the emperor's demeanor yesterday, the document was simply a fabrication!
Would Zhang Jiao do something like that?
The silence that had enveloped the imperial bridal chamber for a moment could be interpreted in countless ways. These seasoned officials were increasingly revealing their human flaws, mocking people and events that had little to do with them.
The most anxious of all was the emperor, seated on the dragon throne. His hands were clenched into fists hidden in his sleeves, and he breathed heavily when no one was watching. Should he abandon Chen Zhuangmu? This was the person he had carefully nurtured for so long.
Chen Zhuangmu's eyes were sharp, yet they concealed a pleading look, a gaze truly reminiscent of her mother's.
"How dare you barge in like this! What are you doing here?!" He rolled his eyes, completely oblivious to the reactions his words elicited from the crowd.
He looked directly at his father-in-law behind him and shouted, "Guards! Serve poison!"
"What……"
"……this……"
The ministers all turned to look, secretly exchanging unspoken words right under everyone's noses.
"Your Majesty, this matter concerns only me and has absolutely nothing to do with her!" Zhao Yi's eyes suddenly turned red, and he knelt down and moved forward more than half a step, his eyes clearly threatening.
But Chen Zhuangmu ignored his words and stared intently at the approaching poisoned wine.
As her father-in-law approached, she swiftly turned and grabbed the glass of wine in front of Zhao Yi, swallowing it down in one gulp before anyone could react.
After finishing her drink, she wiped her mouth and slammed the glass to the ground with all her might, making several loud "ping-pong" sounds.
"Makeup curtain!"
Zhao Yi ran over and caught her as she was about to fall. Trembling, he checked Chen Zhuangmu's pulse. She took the opportunity to lean close to his ear, but many guards had already lined up in formation at the gate, their spears pointed directly at Zhao Yi.
"If you want to leave with a whole corpse, confess your sins." It was Zhang Jiao's cold-blooded voice again.
Seeing that Zhao Yi's arrogance was gradually waning, the guards and eunuchs seized the opportunity, grabbed his shoulders and chin, and poured a cup of wine down his throat in an instant.
The two immediately lost consciousness and were dragged away by the emperor with a wave of his hand.
The ministers had no choice but to rub their necks and think carefully about who they should entrust their lives to.
After this incident, all the ministers swallowed their prepared words and soon left the court session.
Zhang Jiao clutched the sign in her hand, her usual aloof demeanor replaced by a furrowed brow and a look of intense resentment that drew sighs from passersby.
Even gods have their troubles!
As people walked down the steps, the lush green sky grew lighter and lighter, soon to clear up.
Inside a dark little house, two shallow breaths were heard, as if someone had woken up and their breathing was not as regular as before.
"..." Chen Zhuangmu straightened up and looked around at her surroundings.
But there was nothing around them. In the dim light, they could barely make out the four walls, which seemed to have been custom-made to imprison them.
Chen Zhuangmu looked closely before remembering Zhao Yi. She patted his face and shook his body, finally waking him up.
Zhao Yi was still not fully awake, his eyelashes were still drowsy, and the face behind the heavy makeup was becoming clearer in his eyes. The feeling of having lost her and then regaining her made him grab her arm tightly.
"The dressing table!" he exclaimed in surprise.
"I'm fine." Just as Chen Zhuangmu was about to continue comforting him, she saw a blinding ray of sunlight reflecting off the door not far away.
The door opened, and stood a tall eunuch with scrolls displayed on a tray in his hand.
The man Shen Zhuangmu recognized was a eunuch outside the Daqing Palace.
"Princess, Vice Envoy." The eunuch greeted them, and they took the opportunity to stand up.
"This is what His Majesty prepared for the two of you. Take a look and then set off."
After the eunuch finished speaking, he walked out, leaving one door open so that sunlight could see the words on it clearly.
"Follow him, get on the carriage, leave the city, find a way into Xiyao County, and search for the remnants of the previous dynasty. Don't alert them."
The words, brief and simple as could be, left Chen Zhuangmu feeling a pang of sadness. Had she misunderstood her uncle? Was it really just a matter of sending him on a mission?
The two followed the young eunuch through the winding dirt road, and a simple carriage suddenly came into view. The carriage was small and had no decorations. There was a simple curtain hanging from a window, a horse, and a coachman.
With Zhao Yi's help, Chen Zhuangmu boarded the carriage. The two sat in the front, while he sat next to the carriage driver. Seeing that the driver's throat hadn't moved for a long time, he couldn't help but feel a chill.
The coachman turned out to be mute.
She suppressed the turmoil in her mind and waited for the carriage to take her to the designated location before discussing things with her entourage.
The carriage swayed along, and Zhao Yi swallowed a cup of unpleasant medicine. His stomach kept churning with acid reflux, but he forced it down with a bitter expression, pondering how to remove the heavy veil from his face.
Chen Zhuangmu wasn't feeling well either. Her health wasn't good to begin with, and the two or three major events that had happened today had dampened her symptoms. She was lost in thought and didn't feel particularly uncomfortable.
She still believed she had done the right thing by saving Zhao Yi, because she was certain that the medicine she had swallowed was seriously problematic.
A few days ago, she secretly contacted Li Chu to discuss some matters, and last night she rushed to research information. Gu worms can absorb all the poisons in the world. Shen Zhuangmu wasn't sure if she would have drunk that cup of wine so readily if she hadn't been certain she wouldn't die, but she was certain that her only thought at the time was to save him, only to save him.
She dared not imagine how disappointed her uncle would be, and she had no idea what to do now.
Her uncle wasn't a man who enjoyed fighting. Despite the lingering unease she felt about years of kinship and dependence, she regretted not having found a chance to clarify things with the emperor.
As she sensed the carriage turning one bend after another, Chen Zhuangmu lost interest in looking out the window and was resting with her eyes closed when the carriage stopped.
The curtain was suddenly flung open, and Zhao Yi's voice came through, "Dressing curtain, come here."
As soon as the two of them stood on the ground, the driver turned the horse around and rode back with a clattering sound.
"We've just left the city gate, this is the only way he can take us," Zhao Yi said as he turned around, took Chen Zhuangmu's arm, and walked away.
“That man is mute.” He pulled out the map he had hidden in his arms, mentally located the spot, and continued walking along the dry mud.
"Hmm." Chen Zhuangmu didn't react much. Things had come to this point, and she could only move forward, trying to find out the results as soon as possible so she could return to the city.
“This stretch of road is barren, but after a while we’ll find places to buy snacks and run inns. Let’s rest there,” Zhao Yi said first.
She nodded, silently regretting her habit of going out without money. This was the first time she had ever felt so lonely.
Zhao Yi took in her reaction, his heart growing increasingly complicated. He sighed inwardly, then noticed that on a patch of dry land, a dozen trees were growing to the south.
Each one stands tall and proud, embodying the unique tenacity and resilience of winter.
"Look," Zhao Yi pointed to it, "even in the dead of winter, the tree still stands straight. When we get back, we'll fertilize it ourselves, okay?"
Looking out from behind the curtain, it was indeed true. In the empty space, there were only a dozen or so trees standing tall, as if they had appeared out of nowhere. But looking at them again, one could feel that this land was created just for them.
The two continued walking, each lost in their own thoughts, and did not walk fast. There was no curfew in Qun Dynasty, and most of the people in the area worked full-time, so there was no need to worry about not having a place to stay at night.
The silence that followed calmed their slightly fluctuating emotions until a single sentence shattered their peace.
"I've kept something from you." Zhao Yi's heart was pounding with anxiety. "I am indeed a citizen of Su."
Chen Zhuangmu stopped in her tracks.
She suddenly looked into his eyes. "I know you're not Zhao Yi."
She became suspicious when he mentioned that he didn't often go to the military camp and his courtesy name. That night, she went to investigate and was not too disappointed when she learned that his identity was not Yun.
Thinking to himself that although the two of them had helped each other, their initial motives were not pure, so it was only right that they kept a backup plan for each other.
But Zhao Yi had deliberately brought this up now, which inexplicably irritated Shen Zhuangmu. She couldn't suppress it, so she strode towards him, grabbed his collar, and asked, "Why are you only telling me now?! When did you arrange all this?"
Zhao Yi let her pull him along, and seeing her angry because of him made him feel even more guilty. He had never felt so empty inside.
"I originally intended to keep it to myself."
He protected Chen Zhuangmu's hand, "Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts. Zhuangmu, if I tell you, will you believe me?"
Chen Zhuangmu's eyes flashed coldly as she glared at Zhao Yi. "I've never doubted your feelings for Da Qun." She abruptly released the clothes in her hands. "I couldn't sleep at night thinking about how to save you! I don't care where you're from, I don't want you to die!"
"And you? I risked everything to save you, and this is how I ended up. I deserve it."
"I thought you were a magnanimous person, but I didn't expect you to be so timid. Were you just pretending all along?!" The disappointment in Shen Zhuangmu's eyes pierced his heart deeply. These words struck his ears with a resounding force, bringing him a sense of peace he had never felt before.
He caught up with Chen Zhuangmu, pulled her into his arms, and forcefully held her with his arms despite her struggles.
"Makeup curtain... I..." He hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "How about I tell you everything?"
Seeing that Chen Zhuangmu still had a blank expression, he took a shallow breath, squatted down and said, "Come on, come up here."
She didn't move forward, nor did she lean on his back; she stood there like a straight tree, her face stern. Zhao Yi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her like this.
If Zhuangmu no longer cares about him, she'll definitely be out of breath.
He turned around and pulled Chen Zhuangmu up to his neck. She struggled a couple of times but still ended up on his back.
"There's such a rickshaw, might as well use it," she thought defiantly.
“Once we get through this stretch of road, someone will come to meet us.” Zhao Yi steadied her legs and continued, “I was born in a courtyard where there were many people, lots of snacks and delicious food. My mother was always around me.”
He was silent for a while. Chen Zhuangmu thought he was tired, so she put her hands on his shoulders and tried to get down, but he slapped her leg and pushed her back down.
"Lie down properly." He really didn't want to recall that time, so he forced himself to speak in a voice as calm as possible: "Later, I secretly went out to play and was captured by Princess Che and taken to the Che Prince's mansion. That woman poisoned my mother."
Zhao Yi didn't pause, as if he was afraid that if he paused, he wouldn't be able to say anything more. "Back then, the royal family had to select a son from their clan to send to the palace, which would implicate the entire clan. To protect her son, Princess Che sent me in."
"I stayed inside for ten years. When I was sixteen, I completed my training and was ready to take on jobs. According to the rules, I went there on this day to fulfill my wish."
He felt the person on his back gradually wrap their arms around his neck and gently press their face against his back. He felt less upset, as if there was a veil between them, and he couldn't feel anything.
"The only thing that kept me alive inside was my belief in avenging my mother. I stormed into the Prince Che's mansion with a knife, intending to kill those two scoundrels."
He paused, and the image of the bearded man with a pained expression appeared before him. "I saw that man use a dagger to slash the woman's neck. I was stunned, watching him then slash his own neck with the dagger. And then..."
"Qingzi." Chen Zhuangmu reached out her icy fingers and covered his lips, stopping him from blurting out his confession.
"I know you're not feeling well. Don't say anything."
Zhao Yi still had things to say, but he didn't dare let go of her hand or do anything else. He just waited for Chen Zhuangmu to lower her so he could continue talking to her.
He suddenly realized that he desperately wanted her to understand his past, present, inner self, and future.
"Qingzi." Chen Zhuangmu's stubborn expression slowly softened, and she unconsciously pouted her lips in grievance. She took a few breaths to compose herself before saying, "If my mother's matter hadn't been settled, I wouldn't have had feelings for you."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yi shook his head violently, quickly shaking off her hand and shouting, "What are you doing to me now..."
Chen Zhuangmu, annoyed by his interruption, covered his mouth with one hand: "I will not accept your feelings. No matter how much I think about it, I will not respond to you."
As she spoke, she took off a hairpin from her hair and handed it to him, saying, "This is a gift from you. This is the first time I'm wearing it today."
Logically speaking, Zhao Yi was the one who fell in love first in this relationship. Chen Zhuangmu's self-perceived naivety crumbled the moment she learned of his accident, and it was too late to undo what had happened.
"Qingzi." She lowered her head, barely able to meet his eyes, and said earnestly, "Let's handle this matter well and show the results to Uncle. Then we can get engaged, okay?"
"As long as you don't mind my three years of lifespan..."
"Waaah...!" With Chen Zhuangmu releasing his grip, Zhao Yi was finally able to speak clearly, urgently saying, "Let's go to Miao territory again, but you're not allowed to talk about your fate!"
They walked and stopped, secretly hiding their melancholy, and stepped into a new and bustling place.
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