Chen Yi released Yuan Nanyu as agreed.

Unlike when Yan Sikong and Yuan Shaoxu were escorted, Yuan Nanyu was not locked in a prison car. Chen Yi gave him a horse. He wore light armor and stood on the tall horse. Suddenly, he regained the heroic spirit of a general.

But his face was exposed to everyone, with only a few strands of hair covering the tattoo on his forehead.

The team sent by Feng Ye to pick him up had already been waiting outside the camp.

Chen Yu and Yan Sikong stood in the camp, looking at Yuan Nanyu's back, each thinking about something.

Suddenly, Chen Yu signaled to his men, and the man came to Yuan Nanyu's horse holding a wooden box, opened it, and presented it to him with both hands.

Yuan Nanyu took a glance, then reached out, took out the things in the box, and held it high in front of him.

It was a mask, slightly different from one he had worn before, and it was obvious that it was an effort to imitate it.

The early morning sunlight leaked through the two eye holes on the mask and fell on Yuan Nanyu's face. The golden pupil light that penetrated the morning light seemed to possess Buddha nature at this moment, solemn and sad, overlooking the suffering of all living beings.

Yuan Nanyu stared into the golden pupil like a possessed man, until his eyes could no longer bear the burning sensation.

He closed his eyes, and suddenly, he realized something. He took a deep breath, gently let go of the mask, and let it fall to the ground. He pulled the reins, and the horse's iron hoof crushed the mask to pieces - the mask he had relied on so much and thought he would never be able to take off in his life.

Then he ran towards the camp gate without looking back.

Yan Sikong opened his lips slightly, but in the end he could not say anything. He just whispered softly: "Yu'er, take care."

Chen Yu's face turned pale, and he turned and left without even waiting for Yuan Nanyu's horse to leave the camp gate.

Yan Sikong kept watching Yuan Nanyu and Feng's army reunite, because he knew that if he looked once more, it would be one less time. So he just kept watching until Yuan Nanyu's figure completely disappeared from his sight.

Yan Sikong no longer felt happy or sad, but more of an "end". The mission he had been carrying was finally, finally completed.

Finally, I am free from worries.

Yan Sikong wanted to return to the camp, but was taken to Chen Yi's central military tent.

Chen Yu gave Yan Sikong a seat, waved his attendants away, and said calmly, "Sir, I kept my word and released Quewang. Are you satisfied?"

Yan Sikong said coldly: "Thank you, Your Highness."

Chen Wu said with a wry smile: "Guess what Feng Ye would give in exchange for you?"

"Your Highness, haven't you had enough of this trick?" Yan Sikong sneered, "Why not attack the city like a man?"

Chen Yi was unmoved: "I wish Feng Ye would come out of the city like a man and fight me, instead of sneaking into the camp and getting nothing in return."

"Then Your Highness, please use me to challenge him." Yan Sikong said with a mocking look on his face, "After all, Your Highness is not so naive as to think that Feng Ye would trade his kingdom for me."

Chen Yu stared at Yan Sikong and said, "Feng Ye won't do that, because he knows that I can't bear to kill you."

Yan Sikong looked at Chen Yi calmly.

Chen Yu approached Yan Sikong and gently lifted his chin: "But...what if I am willing to give it up?"

Yan Sikong stared into Chen Yi's eyes, and the two of them looked at Jing'er in secret.

Chen Yu bent down and kissed Yan Sikong's lips, gently and without hostility, not as full of aggressive murderous intent as before.

Yan Sikong didn't even blink.

Chen Yu took a quick sip, licked the corner of his mouth, and laughed softly, "Why, you don't believe it, do you?"

"I believe it." Yan Sikong said calmly, "But it doesn't matter whether I believe it or not, I have to seal the wild letter."

"Yes, sir, you are absolutely right." Chen Yu traced Yan Sikong's cheeks with his fingertips, and suddenly changed the subject, "Do you know that the happiest days of my years in the East Palace were when you came to teach me."

Yan Sikong recalled the years when he taught in the East Palace, and sighed in his heart.

"I look forward to seeing you day and night. At first, it was because your lectures were very interesting, unlike other teachers' rigid and serious ones. I loved listening to them. Later, I became more and more dependent on you, and believed in your words as if they were the truth. After my mother died, you became the only person in the world who would call me Mi'er. I regarded you as a relative, and even as..." Chen Mi's voice became smaller and smaller as he spoke to the end, "I want you, just like I want the position of crown prince, or even the throne. In fact, I have known for a long time that if I were not the eldest prince of Dasheng, you would not treat me well, but I still don't want to believe that you have only used me from beginning to end, without a trace of true love."

Yan Sikong said calmly: "Your Highness is wrong. Your Highness has a deep affection for me, and I have a teacher-student relationship with Your Highness. I once wanted you to be the emperor and wanted to assist you. It was absolutely true, but things have changed since then, and you and I have ended up in this situation."

"Who should be blamed? Me or you?"

“…It’s all fate.”

"Fate, it's all fate." Chen Yu laughed softly, "I don't know the fate of others, but I know that I am destined to be an emperor. If not, God would have pressed me to death in the mire, but I got up again and again."

“Maybe.”

"Sir, you once hoped that I would become the emperor. What about now? Do you hate me now?"

Yan Sikong said: "There is no such thing as hatred between you and me."

"If I say that all the grudges between you and me are written off..." Chen Yu looked at Yan Sikong quietly, "Would you be willing to help me again?"

Yan Sikong narrowed his eyes: "Your Highness, do you still dare to believe me? No one in this world dares to believe me."

"Because I can't bear to hurt you." Chen Yi's big hand stroked Yan Sikong's face, "Sir, you are so smart, can't you hear it? I'm giving you a chance."

Yan Sikong finally understood that Chen Yu really had murderous intentions towards him.

Chen Yi was right. Without placing a heavy bet, how could he lure Feng Ye into the game? If he were Chen Yi, he should really cut off one of his ears and give it to Feng Ye.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Chen Yu continued, "The road to becoming an emperor is destined to be lonely, otherwise how can one be called 'a lonely man'? But I still hope that the person who will accompany me to the end is you, sir."

Yan Sikong asked: "Even if I agree, will His Highness believe me?"

Chen Yu stared at Yan Sikong without answering.

He couldn't answer because the answer was already there.

Yan Sikong has already said it all. He has betrayed so many people over the years. No one in this world would dare to trust him, Yan Sikong.

Yan Sikong imagined that Chen Yi was just hesitating in his struggle, but in the end, the desire for the throne would prevail over everything.

Does Chen Yu like him? He must like her since he has been seeking her for so many years but failed to get her.

But so what.

Not everyone in this world is like Feng Ye...like...

Thinking of Feng Ye, Yan Sikong felt lost in his heart.

Chen Yu held Yan Sikong in his arms: "There is no one else like you in this world, but I don't think you are the one."

Yan Sikong did not respond.

"But..." Chen Yu's eyes suddenly turned sinister, "I am destined to get everything in this world, and you can't be an exception."

Being held by Chen Yu was like being entangled by a poisonous snake. Yan Sikong felt a chill down his spine.

He knew in his heart that if the price was high enough, this student who always claimed to love and respect him and who he had brought up would not even leave him with a complete body.

——

In order to avoid causing any disturbance and to save Yuan Nanyu's face, the group secretly entered the Forbidden City and headed straight for Prince Jingyuan's Palace.

The moment he saw Feng Ye, Yuan Nanyu dismounted from his horse, knelt heavily on the ground, and kowtowed hard.

Feng Ye's face was as pale as paper. In just three days, he had lost a lot of weight. He walked slowly to Yuan Nanyu and whispered, "Que Wang, you have suffered. Get up."

Yuan Nanyu trembled and said, "I have committed a serious crime. I beg Wolf King to punish me."

"Get up! Now is not the time to punish you. I want you to atone for your sins with your merits."

Yuan Nanyu slowly raised his head, his eyes red and his face full of regret.

Feng Ye helped Yuan Nanyu up with one hand, his eyes scanning that face carefully. The more he looked, the more painful his expression became.

Yuan Nanyu looked at Feng Ye's deep eyes and knew that Feng Ye was not looking at him, but was "looking" at another person through this similar face, even though he no longer had the mask.

He knew this would happen.

He once told Yan Sikong, no, he told everyone, that he was reluctant to take off the mask because of the tattoo. It was true at first, he applied medicine all year round just to make the tattoo fade. After a few years, it would probably be too blurry to be seen. He had been looking forward to that day, the day when he would no longer have to bear the stigma of shame and show his true face to others.

But when Yan Sikong appeared, he knew that he would never be able to take off the mask in his life, because this face had been "owned" by a world-famous person. All those who looked at this face would not be thinking of him. He had a face that was attached to his own flesh and blood but did not belong to him.

He has neither his own memory nor his own face. He seems to have been born for another person. He seems to be just that person's shadow or substitute.

Any complaints?

How can I not complain?

But he would rather blame his fate than blame Yan Sikong, and he himself didn't even know why.

Feng Ye looked at Yuan Nanyu's face, and Yan Sikong appeared in his blurred vision. He felt his heart broken. He shook his head and murmured, "You guys... I can recognize you at a glance."

Yuan Nanyu smiled bitterly and said, "Unfortunately, not everyone can recognize it."

"How is he?" Feng Ye put one hand behind his back and clenched it into a fist. "Did Chen Yi make things difficult for him?"

Yuan Nanyu shook his head: "I don't know."

Feng Ye gritted his teeth and said, "I will get him back, no matter how many times, no matter how many times he escapes from me, I will get him back."

"He said he had left himself a way out," Yuan Nanyu said, "He has a way to escape."

Feng Ye's eyes lit up: "Really?"

"That's what he said, but..." Yuan Nanyu hesitated, "As he said, he is so smart, he wouldn't go to the enemy camp alone without any preparation."

"As early as when he was in Yunnan, he had already planted people in Chen Yu's army."

"Yes, that person once sent me a letter, but for the sake of secrecy, it was extremely difficult to contact him."

"He should have a way..." Feng Ye frowned and said, "He must, he must have a way."

Yuan Nanyu nodded: "While we wait for his news, we must also prepare for war."

"Forget it." Feng Ye patted Yuan Nanyu on the shoulder. "The position of the vanguard general of my Feng family army has always been reserved for you. Now that you are back, forget everything that happened in Chen Yi's camp. When God wants to give a man a great responsibility, he must first make his heart and mind suffer and his muscles and bones work hard. You must endure humiliation and take on heavy responsibilities, avenge yourself and the soldiers, and even more so, wipe out the shame and make up for your mistakes." He said in a deep voice, "Help me defeat Chen Yi!"

Yuan Nanyu's eyes turned resolute and cold, and a sly look flashed across his face: "I will go through fire and water, no matter what it takes!"

"Okay!" Feng Ye whispered, "Go and recuperate first. Tomorrow, I will take you to see someone."

"Who?"

"Yuan Shaoxu."

Yuan Nanyu's face changed, his eyes flickered, he didn't know how Feng Ye planned to deal with Yuan Shaoxu, if the military law was used, Yuan Shaoxu could die a hundred times. He wanted to plead for mercy, but he was ashamed to open his mouth, after all, he himself was a criminal.

Feng Ye said coldly: "I want you to interrogate him for me personally."

"Wolf King, he is indeed guilty, I..."

"What I want you to investigate is not that he falsely passed on the military order." Feng Ye looked at Yuan Nanyu steadily. He took a deep breath, as if he mustered up great courage before he dared to speak out, "I want you to investigate whether he lied about your and Yan Sikong's identities!"