Chapter 142
Lin Shuge didn't know how he got back. His mind was in a mess. He forced himself to go back to the county government office. There were some things he needed to verify personally. When he looked up, Yang Yan came out and asked him, "Master, are you back?"
Lin Shuge nodded and walked straight towards the official residence. In the past, the county government office had not been renovated, so Lin Shuge and Lu Yuechuan worked together. Later, Lin Shuge asked craftsmen to renovate the county government office, and the two of them had separate offices. It is not the end of his shift yet, so Lu Yuechuan should be in the official residence.
Yang Yan saw that he looked flustered and pale, so he followed him and asked, "Are you feeling unwell, sir? Do you want me to help you go and rest?"
"Ayan, don't worry, I'm fine. I just want to ask Achuan something." Lin Shuge said softly.
Yang Yan wanted to say something but stopped himself. He had seen Lin Shuge remain calm even when a knife was pressed against his neck. But today he looked as if something big had happened. It really made people worry that the Huns might be attacking.
Lin Shuge walked quickly to the official residence. Lu Yuechuan, who was about to go fishing after finishing his work, looked outside and saw his boss with an unpleasant face. He hurriedly said, "Sir, I have finished my official business."
"Achuan, let me ask you something. What is Mr. Xie's name?" Lin Shuge looked unusually serious, and Lu Yuechuan was inexplicably frightened.
"Why did you suddenly think of asking this, sir?"
"Tell me first." Lin Shuge insisted.
"Okay," Lu Yuechuan's head was full of questions, not knowing why he was suddenly interested in Mr. Xie's name, "Mr. Xie's name is Su Wen."
Xie Suwen, Xie Suwen, so that's how it is.
"Where is Mr. Xie?" Lin Shuge closed his eyes and asked again.
"Who are you asking about, sir? Mr. Xie's name is Xie Yi, and his courtesy name is Boxuan." Seeing that his face was getting uglier and uglier, Lu Yuechuan asked, "Sir, what's wrong with you?"
Lin Shuge remembered that he had asked Brother Xie Chen if his name was Bo Xuan. Xie Chen did not deny it. He calmed himself down and opened his mouth with a hoarse voice, "Where is Young Master Xie?"
"Mr. Xie's given name is Chen. What on earth happened to my Lord?" Lu Yuechuan saw that he had a sad look on his face for some reason and he couldn't bear it, so he stepped forward and asked.
"It's nothing. Don't tell anyone what I asked you today." Lin Shuge brushed away Lu Yuechuan's hand that was about to help him, and spoke after a moment's pause.
As the sun was setting, when Lin Shuge went out, he saw a large patch of sunset glow on the horizon. The colors were brilliant and the beauty was breathtaking, just like some people, heart-stirring.
He sighed silently, everything had a plan. Lin Shuge suddenly remembered that when they first met, Xie Chen once asked him what he thought of Young Master Xie. Later, he showed his literary talent and martial arts. If he had not been carefully cultivated by a noble family, how could he have such knowledge and martial arts at such a young age?
He didn't know how he felt at the moment. Should he be angry that Xie Chen had kept it a secret from him? Did he ever think of not telling him for the rest of his life?
One should still feel sorry for him for having to go through all these things at such a young age. He closed his eyes and thought about how Xie Chen had finally escaped after all his relatives were killed, but ended up falling into the hands of the Qiang people, and finally reached the northwest after a life-and-death experience, and had to hide his identity to survive.
That's why he risked his life that day. The Xie family became rich through military achievements, so he thought of joining the army and trying to find a way out by having scars all over his body.
Lin Shuge's heart was filled with bitterness. He finally understood why he found it so difficult to speak when facing his own questioning.
You little bastard, why didn’t you tell me earlier that I’m not worthy of your trust?
He locked himself in the room for a long time. Lin Xuan hadn't seen him come out for a long time, so she hurried to the door of Lin Shuge's room, knocked on the door and said, "Brother, it's time to eat. The dining hall prepared your favorite dishes today."
"Ah Xuan, I'm not hungry, don't worry about me." Lin Shuge replied.
After hearing what he said, Lin Xuan was so anxious that she was pacing around outside the door and ran to call Lin Qingyuan.
"Ayuan, something must have happened. Did elder brother have a fight with Erlang? I saw him go to Pingxiang today." Lin Xuan analyzed.
"No way, how could Erlang quarrel with eldest brother? I'll go find Erlang." Lin Qingyuan thought that Xie Chen had been leaving early and coming back late these days, and he and Lin Xuan had never met each other. Maybe they really had a quarrel.
"Hey, wait, I think you shouldn't go yet. I'll go and test what Big Brother has to say. If they really had a fight, then we'll go." Lin Xuan said slowly.
When she knocked on Lin Shuge's door again, she saw Lin Shuge walking out with a normal expression, "Brother, what are you doing..."
"Let's go and eat. Ayuan, stop hiding and come out." Lin Shuge looked at Lin Qingyuan who was hiding in the distance.
"Brother, are you okay?"
"It's okay, what can happen to me?" It is unknown whether something will happen to anyone.
Lin Qingyuan looked at the slightly fierce expression on his brother's face in horror, patted his chest, and looked at Lin Xuan. Fortunately, he did not offend his elder brother.
The night was very quiet. After finishing his meal, Lin Shuge sat in the yard and looked at the sky. The stars were vast and the night breeze blew, bringing a hint of coolness.
Lin Shuge was wearing a cool summer shirt. He took a sip of the Lihuabai wine at hand. The aroma of the wine went into his throat. He gently closed his eyes and felt a little drowsy.
He didn't wake up until someone picked him up horizontally, "Zhong Xuan?"
"Brother, why are you sleeping here? It's windy at night and you'll catch a cold." Xie Chen carried him into the room and put his outer robe on him. "Why aren't you asleep yet? Are you waiting for me? Why did you drink so much?"
Seeing that Lin Shuge didn't say anything and just looked at him, Xie Chen asked again: "Brother, are you angry?" He kissed Lin Shuge's eyes, "Brother, don't be angry. It's my fault during this period. I will be done with my work in a few days. Then I will accompany you to do anything."
Unexpectedly, Lin Shuge was still looking at him. Xie Chen felt uneasy when he was looked at. "Did I do something wrong?"
"How could you do anything wrong? If there was any mistake, it was my fault." Lin Shuge finally spoke, but he ended up rebuking Xie Chen.
Xie Chen hurried forward and put his arms around him, "Brother, I'm so tired. I was so busy today that I didn't eat."
Lin Shuge sneered, knowing that he would make himself feel sorry for him.
Xie Chen felt a little flustered and looked at him cautiously. The two of them were speechless. Xie Chen became more and more flustered and hurriedly told him about the interesting things in the military camp.
"I have someone make the armor that brother mentioned, and distributed it to the Musket Battalion today. They wore the new armor and proudly went to show off to others. They were almost beaten. Lao Zhang even put it on and showed off in front of me. I don't want his armor. Didn't brother say that he would draw a blueprint and make one for me himself?" Xie Chen said while observing his expression.
Lin Shuge replied to him indifferently and said that he wanted to rest. Xie Chen had no choice but to shut up. Seeing that he wanted to wash up, he hurried to help get water and hand him a towel, but Lin Shuge avoided him.
"Brother, what's going on?"
"Nothing. Oh, by the way, I want to sleep alone today. You can go back to your room."
Xie Chen had an expression as if the sky had fallen. He grabbed Lin Shuge's hand, then walked forward and hugged him tightly from behind, as if no one could separate him from Lin Shuge.
Lin Shuge snorted in his heart. Doesn’t he like hiding things from others? Let you have a taste of this too.
"What is this for?"
"Brother, what happened? Please don't scare me, okay?" Xie Chen held his hands tighter. Lin Shuge felt a little uncomfortable and moved slightly. Xie Chen then loosened his grip a little, but still held him tightly.
"Zhongxuan, are you hiding something from me?"
Xie Chen's heart was pounding, and after a long while he finally said "hmm".
"Is it what I asked you before?"
Xie Chen did not answer, but asked: "Brother, what did you hear today?"
Lin Shuge pulled his hand away, turned to face him, "What do you think? Mr. Xie." He emphasized the last three words.
Xie Chen's eyes suddenly widened and he looked at Lin Shuge in disbelief. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't.
"Or are you not Mr. Xie? I vaguely remember you said your last name was Wei and your first name was Zhongxuan," Lin Shuge pressed on step by step. Xie Chen retreated step by step until he could no longer retreat. Lin Shuge said again, "Instead of your last name being Xie and your first name being Chen."
"Brother." Xie Chen looked at the sadness that flashed across his eyes, "Brother, I was wrong. I hid it from you at the beginning..."
"Then what happened next? Why didn't you tell me? Were you afraid of implicating me, or didn't you believe me?" Lin Shuge's face was full of frustration and loneliness, and he tried his best to find an answer.
Xie Chen's heart was like a stormy sea. He looked at Lin Shuge woodenly with tears in his eyes, "How could I not believe my brother? It's just that I was in danger that day. After the Xie family was destroyed, everyone was in danger. After my mother sent me out, even my father's family was afraid of being implicated, so they directly cut off all ties with the Xie Mansion. No one in Yandu dared to have anything to do with the Xie Mansion. Later, because of some things, I didn't dare to reveal my identity until I met my brother. I knew that my brother was an upright person, different from those people, but I was afraid that my brother would be implicated, so..."
"What happened next? You dared to do that to me...why didn't you tell me?" Lin Shuge's eyes gradually turned red, and his voice was choked with sobs.
"Every time I want to explain things clearly to my brother, I don't know how to say it when the words come to my lips. The affairs of the Xie family can easily become a bottomless abyss if we are not careful. I don't want my brother to be trapped in it." Xie Chen felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife, and he put down his outstretched hand silently.
"Really? Go out first and think about it carefully. What would you do if I encountered the same thing?" Lin Shuge pushed him out of the house.
"I will eliminate all dangers and will not let my brother come to any harm." Xie Chen remained unmoved. Instead, he curled his lips into a smile, his tone more firm than ever before.
Lin Shuge felt more and more bitter, "So this is why you don't want to tell me?"
"Brother, you are all I have." Xie Chen raised his hand to wipe away the tears from his eyes. "This road is too dangerous. I don't know what will happen to me, but I hope my brother will live a long life. Sometimes I think, if I were just Wei Zhongxuan, I could live my whole life with my brother, but I am not. I have a blood feud, and I must go this way."
Lin Shuge dodged him, "What about now? Now that I know, what are you going to do?"
Xie Chen pressed him down on the chair, "Brother has his own things to do, I will take care of Xie family affairs..."
"So our relationship now still has to be divided into you and me, right? You take care of everything, and I pretend not to care, then why should we be together? Mr. Xie, please go out, I want to rest." Lin Shuge was so angry that he turned sideways and didn't look at him.
Xie Chen half-knelt in front of him and held his hand, "Brother..."
"Don't call me that. Master Xie is such a person. I can't bear for him to call me brother."
"Brother, don't say that... I will tell you whatever you want to know, but I will never let you get involved in this matter. You just saved a person out of kindness. His name is Wei Zhongxuan, and he has nothing to do with Xie Chen." Xie Chen's voice was unstable, and he pulled Lin Shuge's sleeve like a drowning man grabbing a life-saving straw.
Lin Shuge was so angry that he laughed. Great, you have even thought of all this. It won’t implicate me, right? That’s great.
"Go out, I'm tired and don't want to argue with you anymore." Lin Shuge pointed a finger outside the door, his finger trembling slightly.
"Brother..." Xie Chen's voice was filled with panic.
"I told you to get out, did you hear me?" Lin Shuge interrupted him fiercely, and then tears suddenly flowed down his face. He had never lost his composure like this before. The wind blew in through the open window. Xie Chen stood up and looked at him for a while, then walked over and closed the window. "Brother, have a good rest."
Lin Shuge wiped away his tears and sat quietly beside the bed.
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