Chapter 111
The final battle in Jingzhou was far more difficult than they had imagined. The people outside the city attacked like madmen, and the people inside the city defended like madmen. They fought fiercely, and the battle lines were stretched back for a full month.
With Jingzhou proving unsuccessful after a prolonged siege, Cheng Junshi and his men in Luocheng grew increasingly anxious. Tang Qi and his forces had fought their way back to Jingzhou from Juecheng, causing widespread unrest and panic. The once bustling streets of Luocheng were now deserted, with everyone locked in their homes, as if these square cages were the safest places in the world.
Although Cheng Junshi was also locked in the Cheng Mansion, he was not unfamiliar with news of the uprising army, thanks to the broken bowl that would occasionally appear at his door.
Along with the bowls often came letters, the ink flowing freely, making it easy to recognize whose handwriting it was. When the writer was in a good mood, the handwriting was bold and unrestrained; when in a bad mood, even the characters became wrinkled and messy. When Cheng Junshi read them, he could almost see the writer's aggrieved face.
Sometimes a few flowers would be tucked into the letters. Although most of them were already wilted or even withered when Cheng Junshi received them, he didn't mind at all and carefully put them in vases to keep them.
He never replied to the letters. In fact, even now he didn't know how Tang Qi, who was in Jingzhou, managed to send him a letter from so far away. Cheng Junshi had never seen the messenger. That person would cover the door with a broken bowl, and hidden under the inconspicuous tattered corner was what Cheng Junshi cherished and looked forward to the most.
The war continues. Los Angeles may be far away, but the world is one. War rages here, and smoke billows there. Where can one find safety?
On the day he resolved to leave the Cheng residence, he saw the broken bowl again at the gate. It was as if that person could see right through him from a thousand miles away. Tang Qi's letter contained very little, only an address. It told him that if he wanted to leave Luocheng, he should go to this place.
Cheng Junshi put away the letter and stayed in his room for a long time until Bo Yang knocked on the window again. When he came out of the room, he was carrying a bundle.
He didn't go to see Cheng Du; to be more precise, he didn't have the courage. He had never known how to bring things up with his father, so he spent the whole night writing a letter, putting down everything he should and shouldn't have said.
The ink dried and the paper was used up; the sky was already bright.
However, he still ran into Cheng Du before leaving home; to be precise, Cheng Du called out to him.
When Cheng Junshi turned around, he was still a little surprised. He didn't expect his father to get up so early. After all, he had deliberately chosen this time to leave quietly, as Cheng Du would not have woken up at this time on weekdays.
However, once he saw his face clearly, the slight doubt that had arisen vanished completely—Cheng Du also spent the entire night without sleep.
From the moment the candles were lit in the room all night, Cheng Du knew he was about to leave.
"Father," Cheng Junshi called out.
Cheng Du didn't say anything, but took a few more steps toward him. He didn't know when it started, but Cheng Junshi had to look down at him.
When he smiled, even the corners of his eyes wrinkled. Cheng Du's back was no longer as strong as he remembered. Back then, when he leaned on Cheng Du's shoulder, no storm could come his way, and Cheng Junshi could sleep soundly with his eyes half-closed. But now it was different. Countless people were adrift in the chaos of the world, and he could no longer sleep peacefully, nor could he feel at ease being sheltered.
He was going to walk into the storm.
"There's something I haven't given you yet," Cheng Du said.
“I used to think you were too young and was afraid it would harm you. Now that I’m old, you little rascal have grown up so fast. I know what you’re going to do. Take it with you to clear your name.”
Cheng Junshi's eyes narrowed slightly: "What is that?"
"What you've been looking for."
He was taken aback for a moment, then listened with a mixture of anticipation and fear as the person opposite him continued, "They've been looking for this for a long time."
Yes, it took twelve years to find.
Even Cheng Junshi himself searched for it for a long time after returning from Jinan that year, so long that he began to doubt whether the thing really existed.
Where is it?
"Yan Zhao loves you very much," Cheng Du replied, seemingly unrelated to the question.
"I love her very much too."
“When she passed away, you were wearing a vest.” He continued, “She sewed it herself; Yan Zhao wasn’t very good at needlework.”
At this point, Cheng Du suddenly chuckled: "She wouldn't let me help, saying she insisted on sewing it for you herself."
Cheng Junshi listened quietly, not understanding the meaning behind his father's words. The next moment, an almost impossible idea popped into his mind.
He suddenly froze, staring intently at the person opposite him. Cheng Du's gaze was calm, as if he had been waiting for a long time on the other side of the truth, and his son had finally boarded the right ship.
When the garment, which had been stored away for twelve years, was finally cut open, the long-overdue truth was revealed to the world. Cheng Junshi could no longer control his trembling hands; back then, his mother had hidden him away, sacrificing everything to preserve hope.
Hope in every sense of the word.
She hid her most precious things in the person she loved most.
The garment he wore back then was now so small it could hardly be called a garment anymore; it was like a tattered rag, just like the twelve years he had spent growing up alone.
“You always knew that, didn’t you?” he said in a hoarse voice.
“You hate me.” Cheng Du took the cloth, spread it out in his hand, and squeezed it tightly, still feeling a little warmth. “I hate myself too.”
“I don’t hate you,” Cheng Junshi finally said.
The person opposite him looked up at him, seemingly in disbelief.
“I’m just afraid,” Cheng Junshi said, still keeping his head down, “I’m afraid you don’t care about her, I’m afraid you just want to give her up.”
“I don’t want her to be someone you can disregard. She’s my mother, and I don’t want her to be forgotten.”
“She is your mother, and she is also my wife,” Cheng Du said in a hoarse voice. “I have never forgotten her for a single day.”
Their hearts were bound together, pierced by the same arrow called Jin Yanzhao.
When Cheng Junshi mounted his horse, his father was standing at the door, watching him go like a father for the first time.
With his only thought in mind, he rode alone, speeding all the way to the address left by Tang Qi.
As dusk fell, an abandoned courtyard came into view, eerily quiet.
Cheng Junshi reined in his horse, his brow furrowed. This place was far from what he had expected. But Tang Qi would never harm him, so Cheng Junshi suppressed his doubts and pushed open the creaking wooden door.
The courtyard was deserted, with only withered branches and fallen leaves.
He cautiously entered the room, his expression wary. Before he could react, dozens of figures suddenly rushed out of the house. Before he could even draw his sword, a cold iron blade was pressed against his neck.
Immediately afterwards, a person walked slowly out of the main hall. He was not wearing armor and was surrounded by his subordinates.
Upon seeing who it was, Cheng Junshi's pupils contracted sharply, his hand on the hilt of his sword froze instantly, and his face, filled with hostility and doubt, turned into disbelief: "The...the Imperial Censor?!"
Yun Qi nodded slightly, looked at Cheng Junshi, and said in a calm but gentle tone, "Junshi, you've come."
Cheng Junshi's ominous premonition grew stronger: "What, what exactly is going on!"
“This place is not a stronghold of the rebels,” Yun Qi said bluntly, his voice steady. “It is an old property of mine that has long been abandoned. Someone had someone specifically come to see me before. He was certain that you are strong-willed and loyal, and that you would not remain in Luoyang after learning about the events in Jingzhou. You would definitely come looking for me. And Jingzhou—is now a dead end.”
The armies of the north, south, and north converged on Jingzhou; blood was so thick it covered the ground. That place was teeming with ghosts. Those who survived weren't necessarily human.
Cheng Junshi's expression changed drastically, and he instantly understood Tang Qi's scheme. He had deliberately lured him here so that Yun Qi would trap him here and prevent him from going to Jingzhou.
As he turned to leave, the swords and knives thrust even deeper into his body.
"Why? Sir, why are you imprisoning me here!"
A surge of anger, blinded by their collusion, rushed to Cheng Junshi's head, and his voice trembled.
He didn't understand why Yun Qi would actually join him in the deception. He also didn't understand Yun Qi's reasons for doing so.
“It’s not detention, it’s protection,” Yun Qi corrected, looking at him. “I can’t watch you go to your death any longer.”
He was determined to keep Cheng Junshi here and not let him set foot in Jingzhou.
as well as?
Cheng Junshi looked on incredulously.
The man opposite swallowed hard and continued, "I wronged your mother once, so I cannot let you go to your death today."
He stood there, completely stunned: "Wh...what do you mean?"
“You should know how your mother died, right?” Yunqi said.
Cheng Junshi tensed up instinctively and stared at him silently.
"I nodded in agreement to that secret decree back then," Yun Qi said, his voice tinged with guilt but without regret. He would still nod in agreement if given the chance to do it all over again.
Back then, concealing the truth was the fastest and most effective way to maintain the stability of the imperial court.
The Shuo Dynasty could not withstand years of turmoil and had to immediately develop its economy. Sacrifices were inevitable in the face of the greater good.
Jin Yanzhao was the first victim to agree.
Cheng Junshi suddenly felt a pain as if his heart had been ripped out and trampled on the ground.
Even a settled truth could still stab him in the heart.
"My lord," Cheng Junshi said, his expression filled with grief, struggling to suppress his emotions, "if you truly wish to help me, then let me go to Jingzhou! I don't want them to charge into battle while I can only hide under the eaves like a coward! My lord! Let me go! Even if I die, I will die alongside them!"
In his excitement, he took a step forward, and the tip of his sword immediately drew blood.
"Halt!" Yun Qi shouted in a low voice, looking at his eyes, which were reddened with emotion. His tone softened slightly but remained firm: "His actions may be arbitrary, but his intentions are clear. They do not see you as a coward. It is precisely because they regard you as a brother that they do not want to see you sacrifice yourself in vain. The matter of Jingzhou is settled. The troops of the South and North are stationed in Jingzhou, and the rebel army has reached the city gates. Whether they win or lose, His Majesty will no longer be able to sit peacefully on the dragon throne."
"If they have no future, you are the only future."
Cheng Junshi stood there, stunned, as if all his strength had been drained away. The hilt of the sword on his neck loosened, and he looked at Yun Qi's familiar yet now utterly unfamiliar solemn face, feeling a sudden bitterness in his heart.
Tang Qi had accurately predicted his personality and his respect for Yun Qi, leaving him no room to resist.
He was still trapped here.
It's located somewhere not too far from Jingzhou.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
