Chapter 67 "If you missed me, why didn't you come sooner..."
Inside the Qifeng Palace, Emperor Deyuan was reading an urgent report.
The report came from the delegation he had sent to Uxi two months earlier. It stated that the group had successfully arrived at the Uxi royal court, delivered the emperor's edict to the Uxi people, and agreed on a friendly treaty between the two states. Both sides exchanged generous gifts and, as agreed, returned the soldiers and civilians they had captured in previous battles.
Emperor Deyuan's expression gradually relaxed as he read this section. However, the next two paragraphs caused his brows to furrow abruptly and his face to change drastically. After reading them for a moment, he closed the book and sighed, "Such a strange thing exists in the world!"
As if he couldn't believe it, he unfolded the memorial again, read it carefully once more, and then pondered for a moment before summoning the eunuch.
"General Xie should have fully recovered by now, right?"
The eunuch respectfully said, "The general has been resting at his residence for many days, so there shouldn't be any major problems."
Emperor Deyuan nodded and ordered him to come to see me immediately.
......
In the main courtyard of the Xie residence, A-Lian and Liu-Quan helped an elderly man with a full head of white hair walk out of the courtyard, his steps unsteady.
The main room was brightly lit. The maid had just changed the incense sticks, which were buried in the ashes of the incense burner and were quietly decaying. The faint fragrance of the incense quietly seeped into the air, unnoticed by anyone.
Xie Zhuo covered his half-open collar and said to the young woman beside him who was turning a small porcelain bottle over and over again, "Why are you so persistent?"
Over the past few days, Xue Mingyao has invited several doctors to examine his wounds and remove his scars, determined to restore his body to its original state. The one who was just escorted away by the servant was the old military doctor who had treated Xue Chongyi's health; he was over seventy years old and Xue Mingyao had invited him from afar.
Her energetic and impulsive nature was exactly like Xue Mingyao, who used to care about every single hair on his head. Xie Zhuo secretly enjoyed it, but on the other hand, he hoped that she would stop caring about his scars.
"You don't cherish your body, but I'm not allowed to? Besides, it can spoil the mood during sex," Xue Mingyao said.
Those scars were too heavy, each one a reminder of the suffering Xie Zhuo had endured. And the fact that all that suffering was for her sake was something Xue Mingyao still found hard to accept.
Xie Zhuo loved her so deeply, so why did he leave so decisively back then?
She handed him the porcelain bottle containing the ointment, saying, "Remember to apply it morning and night."
Xie Zhuo took the things, thinking that she was still disgusted with him.
Then she said, "If you don't want me to see it, then I'll ask Ah Lian to help you. I'll ask him if you've been applying it regularly. Also, you still need to treat the injury to your throat."
Xie Zhuo agreed and turned his head to the other side, facing the small golden lion-shaped incense burner by the window. Wisps of sweet fragrance emanating from the lion's mouth drifted gently to his nose.
Xie Zhuo's heart stirred, and he walked to the window and bent down to smell it.
A gentleman seeks out fragrance.
"Why are you suddenly using this?" he asked.
Xue Mingyao replied somewhat awkwardly, "There's still quite a bit left in the sachet box; it would be a waste not to use it. You like the scent, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have fallen for the Beauty Intoxication Poison in the Southern Frontier."
Xie Zhuo nodded and sat back down next to Xue Mingyao.
The sweet fragrance quietly flowed between the two of them, climbing up their clothes and hair, like a spider's web, entwining them together in countless threads, just like back then, when she imprisoned him by her side, and her scent filled the air.
He didn't want that smell back then, but she would force it on him every time. She would sneak over while he was reading, sit down next to him, or sit directly on his lap.
Xie Zhuo looked down at the half-arm's distance between him and Xue Mingyao, thought for a while, and then reached out to put his arm around Xue Mingyao's waist.
Xue Mingyao looked at him blankly, and Xie Zhuo lifted her up smoothly and placed her on his lap.
Xue Mingyao was a little stiff at first, unsure of what to do with her arms and legs, but then she relaxed a bit, wrapped her arms around him, and pressed her head against his chest.
Xie Zhuo was filled with mixed emotions. He stroked her hair and whispered, "I was poisoned not just because I liked this fragrance, Xue Mingyao. I have been missing you a lot."
"If you missed me, why didn't you come looking for me sooner?" Xue Mingyao said earnestly. "The Great Zhou is a vast sea of people. I couldn't find you, but you were able to find me."
Xie Zhuo found it difficult to answer.
"We broke up like that back then, wouldn't it be humiliating for me to come looking for you again?"
Xue Mingyao said softly, "So you have to make something of yourself, come back in glory, and then hide your identity to appear in front of me, tease me, and make fun of me. That way, I'll be the one who gets humiliated."
Xie Zhuo did not deny it; deep down, he did not want to apologize for those things.
Xue Mingyao continued, "I know that what you said on the day we had our big argument was sincere. You felt that I wasn't worthy of your affection, and what you said before about wanting to get revenge on me wasn't entirely a lie."
Xie Zhuo was silent for a while, then sighed, "Those weren't lies, but they weren't the truth either."
Xue Mingyao looked at him in confusion, "You really are perplexing, Xie Zhuo. What I don't understand is why you wouldn't stay if you liked me in the first place."
“You want to get rid of me,” Xie Zhuo said in a muffled voice. “I can’t very well beg you to let me stay.”
Xue Mingyao's eyes widened. "When did I ever want to get rid of you?"
Xie Zhuo frowned as well. "We agreed on a two-year period. Before the two years are up, you're asking me whether I'm leaving or staying, what my wishes are. Isn't that just a way of telling me to get rid of you?"
"No way!" Xue Mingyao jumped off his lap, crossed her arms, and glared at him. "If I wanted to get rid of you, I would have just put a sack over your head and thrown you into the middle of the night. I wouldn't have asked for your permission!"
Xie Zhuo paused, then asked, "Why did you suddenly ask that?"
Xue Mingyao bit her lip. "Because I think you want to leave! After my brother hit you, you hated me so much that you stopped talking to me."
She still remembered Xie Qinglang being beaten to the ground and unable to get up. She went to help him up, but he pushed her away. She lost her balance, and her palm scraped against the ground, cutting a small gash. Such a small cut, yet it still hurt her to the core.
Before Xue Xingtai arrived, she had already warmed Xie Qinglang's heart, and he no longer rejected her advances. He would occasionally smile at her and even paint for her. But after the incident, his attitude changed drastically.
His gaze towards her was even colder than before, and he would tell her to get away the moment she touched him. She tried to coax him with kind words, threaten him with her temper, and even drag Xue Xingtai to apologize to him, but nothing worked.
Xue Mingyao was heartbroken. At that time, Xue Chongyi was sick and bedridden. Xue Xingtai urged her to return to the capital. So she asked Xie Qinglang with her last hope. If he was willing to accompany her, she would do everything she could to bring him back to the capital. If he was still determined to leave, then she would give him his freedom and never see him again.
Xie Zhuo looked up at her and slowly said, "I didn't hate you back then, I hated myself for not being able to fight back at all."
"What? You clearly said you hate me."
Xie Zhuo said helplessly, "Your brother hit me so hard. When people are in pain, they say all sorts of things..."
Xue Mingyao chuckled, then said sourly, "Back then you still knew what pain was."
Xie Qinglang was a quiet scholar, but his emotions were always written on his face, making him much more lively and interesting than Xie Zhuo. Xie Zhuo had forged his flesh and blood into a body of steel, and his temperament had changed accordingly. Only when he was angry and scolding her was he exactly the same as before.
But I can't argue with him every day.
Xie Zhuo said in a muffled voice, "I know what pain is now."
Xue Mingyao smiled, a hint of sadness in her eyes, "I wish you were still Xie Qinglang."
The fact that she missed out on Xie Qinglang filled her with immense regret. Xue Mingyao couldn't help but ask, "If I hadn't asked you beforehand, would you have chosen to stay by my side after the two-year term was up?"
Just as Xie Zhuo was about to answer, there was a knocking sound at the door, and Liu Quan's voice came in, "General, His Majesty has sent someone to deliver an imperial decree, ordering you to come to the palace for an audience immediately!"
......
When Xie Zhuo arrived at the palace, Emperor Deyuan looked at him with a rather strange gaze. After Xie Zhuo paid his respects, Emperor Deyuan hesitated to speak, and simply had someone give him a memorial.
"Xie Qing, I won't go into details; you'll understand as soon as you see it."
Xie Zhuo received the memorial and read it carefully.
Upon reading this, his expression immediately changed. "Your Majesty, how... how is this possible?"
Emperor Deyuan exclaimed, “I am also shocked. How can someone who has been dead for so long be brought back to life? But it is clearly written here that Cen Zongjing served in Wuxi for eight years, holding his post without yielding. The King of Wuxi respected his loyalty and righteousness, and now, thanks to the envoy from Great Zhou, he is specially released to return home. It is a blessing for Great Zhou to have such a loyal minister as him.”
The envoy urgently reported the news, all about Cen Zongjing.
The memorial stated that eight years ago, when Cen Zongjing was defeated and pursued by the Wuxi people, he exchanged his clothes with those of a dead soldier to fake his own death in order to escape capture.
However, he was wounded and eventually collapsed on the road, where he was captured by the Uxi people as an ordinary soldier. Cen Zongjing's injuries were too severe to treat, and he remained unconscious for several days. He was lucky to survive, and his identity was quickly recognized by the Uxi generals who knew him. He was then placed under strict guard.
At this moment, Nishikawa mistook the corpse for his own, thus announcing the general's death and holding a funeral for him.
King Wuxi, valuing talent, wanted Cen Zongjing to serve Wuxi, resorting to all sorts of coercion and enticement. However, Cen remained unmoved, steadfastly loyal to the Great Zhou and refusing to change his allegiance. King Wuxi was unwilling to kill him or release him, and the two sides remained at an impasse.
Eight years passed, and King Wuxi exhausted all his methods, but Cen Zongjing remained unyielding. King Wuxi found him useless, so he took advantage of the Zhou envoy's visit and returned him.
Xie Zhuo thought for a moment and said, "This matter is too bizarre. I dare not believe it for a moment. Perhaps some villains from Wuxi are impersonating the deceased General Cen and making up these lies to deceive the envoys of the Great Zhou.
Emperor Deyuan nodded, "Minister Xie's considerations are thorough; such a possibility certainly exists. In any case, he has already accompanied the delegation and is being escorted north by the Xichuan army. He will arrive in the capital in two or three days. When he arrives, we will know the truth immediately."
He looked down at Xie Zhuo, "Xie Qing, have your injuries from the beating fully healed?"
"Your Majesty, I have fully recovered."
"Alright, then you will lead the Jade Unicorn Guard to the outskirts of the capital to meet with the Western Sichuan Army and escort them to the palace."
Xie Zhuo felt a heavy weight in his heart. He took a deep breath and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."
"Go back and tell Yaoyao what happened, so she can be mentally prepared," Emperor Deyuan added.
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