Chapter 44 Chapter 44 Living in Peace
Xie Yunzhou seemed to be struck by thunder, and his body froze in place for a moment.
Lu Chen seemed oblivious to this. He curled his lips and said nonchalantly, "I still remember your courtesy name. It was during the autumn hunt seven years ago that the emperor personally gave it to you in front of all the court officials.
'During the rise of the Zhou Dynasty, the cuckoos cried on Mount Qi.' Mingqi, the emperor truly has high hopes for you.
Xie Yunzhou's face turned pale.
Watching Lu Chen's thin lips opening and closing lightly, he felt a faint dizziness in front of his eyes, and some things that he had deliberately forgotten rushed out of his mind, as if he was back to that rainy night in the palace outside the capital. The man screamed and cursed him as a bastard, and a pair of old and ferocious withered hands strangled his neck tightly, almost forcing him to breathe.
Xie Yunzhou closed his eyes tightly, his jaw lines tensed, and his teeth clenched.
Looking at him coldly, Lu Chen raised the corner of his lips and sneered, "If the emperor knew that for so many years you had been pretending to be ignorant while knowing the truth, playing the good uncle and nephew role with him... I wonder what he would think?"
Xie Yunzhou gripped the edge of the table tightly with his palms, glared at Lu Chen, and said with a hint of disbelief, "Lu Bingyan, are you threatening me?"
Lu Chen suddenly sneered, but his eyes became calmer. His face was pale as he spoke slowly, "Yes, I am threatening you."
"Now that the Lianghuai Salt Transport case has been exposed, Li Zhen and Xu Chong's activities can no longer be concealed. They can no longer escape responsibility. The emperor has long been dissatisfied with him. This punishment will inevitably affect his foundation. If nothing unexpected happens, his title of king will be in jeopardy. At this critical juncture, if someone were to reveal such a fatal incident, do you think the emperor would enthrone the crown prince, or would he take advantage of the situation and ask you to return to your ancestral home?"
Without waiting for Xie Yunzhou to say anything, Lu Chen raised his head, as if thinking of something funny, and curled the corners of his lips slightly, "By then, what can you do to keep her safe and secure? With such a prominent status, I'm afraid she will avoid you even more."
"Lu Bingyan!"
Xie Yunzhou's breathing became rapid, anger suddenly rose in his eyes, he took a step forward and glared at Lu Chen fiercely.
Lu Chen's brows darkened as he stared back without giving in, his voice growing colder: "Xie Mingqi, for the sake of our long-standing brotherhood, I will make this ugly statement clear to you today.
If you still have thoughts about me that you shouldn't have, I don't mind giving you a hand and pushing them away, and then we'll see how many more carefree days you can enjoy."
Hearing this, Xie Yunzhou could no longer bear it. He stepped forward, grabbed Lu Chen's collar, and punched him in the face. "Lu Bingyan, you and I have been brothers for twenty years, and you dare to threaten me with this?!"
Lu Chen raised his hand to wipe away the blood oozing from the corner of his lips. He turned his head with slightly red eyes and his voice suddenly became higher. "When you coveted my sister, did you ever consider that you and I have been brothers for twenty years?!"
Two pairs of dark, sharp sword eyes met each other, both filled with anger and hostility, with swords drawn and the situation on the verge of a fight, and neither was willing to give in.
After staring at each other for a while, Xie Yunzhou gritted his teeth and angrily said, "Lu Bingyan, are you crazy? You were involved in what happened back then. Aren't you afraid that you will be charged with the crime of deceiving the emperor? Do you think your life is too long to be involved in the secrets of the royal family?!"
Hearing this, Lu Chen lowered his eyes in disdain and sneered.
After a while, he curled the corners of his lips and sneered, "Mingqi, you're not cruel enough, and you can't do anything drastic, yet you were born into an imperial family. With your status and temperament, you'll only end up hurting others and yourself. How can you be worthy of giving her peace?"
Xie Yunzhou was so angry that the veins on his forehead were throbbing. He felt that he was really blind to have felt a bit of pity for Lu Chen. This guy was obviously extremely hateful and abominable, looking like a mad dog. Why didn't he let the assassin stab him to death with a sword?
He couldn't help but sneer back, "Of course I'm not as ruthless and cruel as you, or would you do anything to the extreme? Otherwise, with Jiu Niang's kind nature, how could I be forced to break off my relationship with you and run away from you again and again?"
A sudden pang of pain pierced his heart, and Lu Chen's anger turned into a smile. His dark gaze fixed on his face, "Qiqi and I were married when we were young, and we've been together forever. We love each other deeply. Even if she and I have some disagreements now, she will return to me sooner or later. Xie Mingqi, if you dare to have any ideas about her, don't blame me for having ideas about you."
Xie Yunzhou licked his back teeth, raised his chin slightly, and spoke in a sarcastic tone, piercing Lu Chen's heart with every word: "After all, aren't you afraid that I will take advantage of the situation? Lu Bingyan, it seems that you know very well in your heart that she no longer needs you. Even if it's not me, she will have someone else.
She is still so young, in the prime of her life, with a beautiful face and a good temperament. As long as she wants, there are plenty of good men who want to marry her home. Sooner or later, she will marry another man and have children with him..."
"dream!"
Lu Chen suddenly interrupted with a sharp shout, his tongue pressing hard against his teeth. When he spoke again, the corners of his eyes were already red. "She is the only one in my life, and she can only have me in her life. If anyone dares to touch her, I will kill him! You must die before I can let you go."
Hearing this, Xie Yunzhou gritted his teeth and sneered twice. Not wanting to stay any longer, he turned around and picked up the horsewhip, spun it twice, and put it on his waist. He raised his head and smiled at Lu Chen, then pushed back, "Okay, I'll wait for you to kill me."
After arguing, without caring about Lu Chen's reaction, Xie Yunzhou turned around and quickly walked out of the backyard government office. Without stopping for a moment, he rode his horse all the way to the end of the long street. Only then did he look at the clouds in the sky and exhaled heavily.
No matter how much hatred and anger he felt in his heart, there was one thing Lu Chen was not wrong about.
After all, his identity was a hidden danger. If he didn't find a way to remove it as soon as possible, it would sooner or later cause greater chaos and even implicate others. How could he have the right to have any delusions about her?
The situation in the court was different now. The emperor's health was getting weaker and weaker year by year. Although he had no interest in the court, he was born and raised in the royal family. How could he not see the emperor's hidden intentions? Even after several attempts, he was just deceiving himself and pretending to be deaf and dumb.
Feeling indescribably irritated, Xie Yunzhou reined in his horse and looked far away in the direction of Shangjing. He unconsciously tightened the reins in his hands, and his joints gradually turned blue and white from the force, leaving deep red marks on his palms.
Well, come to think of it, Li Zhen was not wrong to scold him back then. Wasn’t he just a bastard?
Born with dirty blood, it can never be washed away in this life.
Zhe Rou took Shui Qing to a pharmacy under the name of the Ye family, reported the name of Shen Jiuniang, and explained the purpose of their visit. The shopkeeper quickly sent someone to invite Ye Yian.
When they were in Suzhou, Ye Yian witnessed with his own eyes a rude man breaking into her house, and she suddenly left without saying goodbye. Ye Yian was very worried about her at first, and for this reason, he even went to the government office to find Xie Yunzhou to inquire about the news.
It was not until later that he found out that the man seemed to be her husband, who came after her divorce and wanted to take her back. He was not a vicious criminal. Only then did he feel relieved. After wandering around silently for a few days, he returned to Chuzhou. However, along the way, he couldn't help feeling a sense of melancholy in his heart.
She never imagined that she would come to Chuzhou one day.
When Ye Yian heard the letter, he became very excited. He had been planning to take a boat south to Qiantang to visit his friends. As soon as he arrived at the ferry, he turned back and hurried to the pharmacy to see Zhe Rou.
"Jiu...Jiu Niang!" He walked too fast and a layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, sparkling in the sunlight.
Seeing Ye Yian, Zhe Rou stood up with a smile and greeted him, "Mr. Ye."
The two chatted for a while, and Ye Yian asked about Lu Chen in a reserved manner. Zhe Rou just said that Lang Zi had grown cold to her after making a fuss for a while, and had agreed to part ways with her from now on.
Hearing that Ye Yian was going to take a boat south, it was exactly what she wanted. Zhe Rou smiled and said, "I am also thinking of settling in Yangzhou. It is also on the way to Qiantang. Why don't we go together?"
Ye Yian naturally agreed happily.
The next day, the boat arrived in Yangzhou. Zhe Rou said goodbye to Ye Yian with a smile, and took Shui Qing to change to a fishing boat. They turned to the prosperous Pingjiang Prefecture and circled there for a day. She asked about the prices of several places, but they were all too expensive. She also heard that Yanziwu outside the city had beautiful scenery and the rental price was much cheaper, so she decided to go and take a look.
Leaving the densely populated Pingjiang Prefecture, the surrounding noise gradually became sparse. When she got off the boat and arrived at Yanziwu for the first time, Zhe Rou felt a little helpless when she saw the completely unfamiliar streets and alleys in front of her. Fortunately, Shui Qing was by her side. Having one more person always made her feel more at ease.
Yanziwu is a place with mountains and water. The distant mountains are faint and the grass and trees are lush. A pool of autumn water flows around the valley. At dusk, if you look out into the distance, you can see the distant village with smoke lingering in the air.[1] Most of the people in the valley make a living by fishing and growing rice. They all have legitimate livelihoods and are quite simple. It is a good place to live.
Zhe Rou quickly made up her mind, asked around, looked around at several houses, and finally decided on a quiet courtyard at a moderate price.
This small courtyard is not very spacious, only the size of one entrance, and its location is not very eye-catching. The furniture is neither new nor old. To be precise, the house is only barely habitable, and many things still need to be purchased by yourself.
In fact, she had enough money and could afford to rent a more expensive place to live, but she was a woman from another place who had just arrived and was unfamiliar with the place. She was most afraid to show off her wealth, so she first found a simple and ordinary house to live in, and could look for other places later.
Needless to say, there was a persimmon tree planted in the yard. The crown of the tree was tall and straight, and the branches and leaves were lush and graceful. Half-green and half-red persimmons hung on the branches. When the autumn wind blew, the leaves rustled and were full of vitality. Zhe Rou liked it very much at first sight.
The owner of the house was a slightly plump middle-aged woman named Wu. She had a round face and looked quite friendly. The neighbors called her "Mrs. Wu".
Zhe Rou claimed to be a widow who had been unable to find a relative to live with. Seeing that she was a single woman with only a little maid named Shui Qing by her side, Madam Wu couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. She went home and brought back a half-grown puppy, saying that she wanted to raise a dog to guard the house, so that idle men would not dare to come and provoke her easily.
Zhe Rou smiled and said nothing more. She told Shui Qing to keep the little yellow dog and added an extra three hundred coins to the rent as a thank you for Madam Wu's kindness.
She soon settled down in Yanziwu, but life was not as comfortable as she had originally imagined.
Just like when she was on the road, she always slept restlessly at night, often having chaotic and fragmented nightmares, which all ended with Lu Chen's death. She was always so frightened that she woke up in the middle of the night, covered in cold sweats.
On the one hand, she hated herself for being so indecisive. Now that she had decided to end everything, what did his life or death have to do with her? On the other hand, she couldn't help but have chaotic dreams all night long. Even the strong tranquilizers she took didn't seem to help.
Zhe Rou endured the first few days in agony and finally made up her mind that she could not continue in this state of confusion.
She calculated the small change in her hand. After deducting the daily expenses such as buying clothes and groceries, she still had enough to buy some common herbs and prepare some simple medicines to sell in the pharmacy.
In fact, she could practice medicine, but whether she was seeing patients or sitting in the clinic, she would have to show up in public. She didn't know... she didn't know if Lu Chen was still alive, or if he had sent people to look for her everywhere... In short, it was better to be cautious.
Having made up her mind, Zhe Rou began to be busy all day long, collecting herbs, cleaning them, and preparing them. However, the finished medicines she made were never taken to the pharmacy. She knew in her heart that she just needed to keep herself busy, otherwise... otherwise she would feel empty in her heart and would inevitably have random thoughts.
Only when you are physically tired can you sleep soundly at night and have a dreamless sleep.
A few days passed quickly, and Zhe Rou thought she had concealed it very well, but she didn't expect Shui Qing to see that she was worried.
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