Chapter 105: Do you know what these four years were like for me?

Chapter 105: Do you know what these four years were like for me?

"I'll still remember you even if you die here."

"No need to remind me."

Xie Yan paused for a moment but didn’t turn back. His expression was cold and indifferent, like biting winter wind sweeping over snow-covered bare branches, sending snow tumbling down with a chill.

"Anyway, your mouth is so venomous that even a tiger, a wild boar, or a wolf looking for food would be poisoned by you."

Lu Mingchao blinked and pondered for a moment.

It seemed that Xie Yan and Shu Yuan had unresolved issues from their past.

"I was the one who burned all the portraits and letters about you in the palace!"

Behind them, Shu Yuan was so anxious that he slapped the ground, the dust making him cough, as he continued, "If you leave me behind, the former emperor will be angry from beyond the grave."

"If I bring you back, Huaiqian will be pissed too," Xie Yan said seriously.

Shu Yuan's eyes widened, and he shouted, "Huaiqian?"

"Is it Henger?"

His voice brimmed with excitement and joy.

Before Xie Yan could respond, Shu Yuan went on, "It must be Henger. When the former emperor was alive, he spent his free time pondering Henger's courtesy name, waiting until Henger grew up to bestow it."

"The former emperor probably mentioned this in the letters he wrote to you."

"It's great that Henger is still alive."

Shu Yuan's voice broke as he spoke.

Xie Yan sighed and finally turned around, hoisting the sobbing Shu Yuan onto his back. "The Xie family really owes you."

"Back then, the family elder despised you but couldn’t do a thing about it."

"It's surprising that you found me out here in the middle of nowhere."

"Don't tell me this is some kind of surprise."

Shu Yuan wiped his tears. "It's not that the Xie family owes me; it's that the Xie family is honorable, upright, and values loyalty."

Xie Yan raised his eyebrows. "Rare for Supervisor Shu to speak sense."

"Let's skip the formalities and get to the point."

"Alright, I'll get to the point." Shu Yuan lowered his eyes and said word by word, "I can mobilize the former emperor's secret guard."

"The former emperor suddenly died, the new emperor took the throne, and the Xie family was massacred. At that time, you were on the northern border and couldn't get back to the capital. Since most people didn't know you existed, the chances of you being alive are high."

"So, after faking my death in a sacrificial burial, I've been searching for you."

"Four years, Xie Yan. I've been hiding and searching for you for four long years."

"Do you know what these four years were like for me?"

"I'm just a disgraced eunuch favored by the emperor, not up to the task. But you're different; you're a Xie family son."

"Some things can only be done by you to make them legitimate."

Xie Yan's heart sank, and the deep-seated blood feud within him surged like the wind-swept sea, waves crashing one after another, threatening to drag him into a nightmare.

Lu Mingchao keenly sensed Xie Yan's change in mood and gently tugged at his sleeve. "A Yan, don't rush, take your time, there's plenty of time."

Xie Yan breathed deeply, nodded at Lu Mingchao, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips.

"Shu Yuan, there is no need to provoke me."

"You were once a disciple of the Baupu Academy's headmaster and were once famous. Your body was purified when you entered the palace, but not your talent or your intellect."

"Don't forget the glory of defeating scholars in debates on the Baupu Academy's debate stage, never losing."

"I wouldn't risk revenge without being certain of victory."

"While avenging the dead is important, the safety of the living is even more important."

"Shu Yuan, if you ever plan to manipulate me into rash revenge in the future, think harder about Huaiqian. He's the last bloodline of my cousin."

Shu Yuan, behind Xie Yan, fell silent.

Lu Mingchao lowered her brows and silently thought about the information.

The headmaster of Baupu Academy, Yu, was a great Confucian scholar and had many disciples, revered by scholars of Daqian.

Every year, thousands of scholars wanted to be his students but could only leave disheartened.

His disciples always passed the imperial examination.

Headmaster Yu once said that his disciples might choose not to enter officialdom, but had to pass the imperial examination.

Unexpectedly, the Chief Eunuch serving the late emperor, Shu Yuan, had such an extraordinary background.

She had underestimated Shu Yuan.

Didn't Shu Yuan entering the palace after castration almost make Headmaster Yu die of anger?

Xie Yan suddenly stopped, setting Shu Yuan down. "Mingchao, the axe."

Shu Yuan said, "Not to the point of killing to keep him quiet, right?"

Hearing this, Lu Mingchao retrieved an axe from her storage and handed it to Xie Yan.

To Shu Yuan, it appeared Lu Mingchao was hiding an axe under her thick cloak.

She's carrying an axe around!

Shu Yuan's eyelid began to twitch. "Miss Lu, have you always been this wild?"

"You didn't use to be like this before."

In his memory, the daughter of the Yongning Marquis family was delicate and lively yet graceful, mastering the four arts of the Chinese scholar at a young age, excelling among her peers in the capital.

The only flaw was her single-minded obsession with Gu Huai in her naïve youth, which led her to secure an engagement.

The late emperor once jokingly said that although Gu Huai appeared cold and aloof, he would eventually be tamed by the fiery Lu Mingchao.

At that time, Lu Mingchao and Gu Huai were still young.

Who would have thought that Miss Lu of the Yongning Marquis family would eventually marry the fourth son of the Xie family, who was raised in the northern border.

Lu Mingchao smiled faintly, "The past is the past. Now, I'm a wildling. Is that a problem?"

Shu Yuan unhappily touched his nose and shifted his gaze towards Xie Yan, "Why are you chopping birch wood?"

"A bow," Xie Yan said calmly, his tone tinged with a faint smile, "The past is the past. Mingchao likes archery. If she wants to learn, I'll teach her."

Shu Yuan frowned slightly. Is Xie SiLang going to sink into the mundane life of a wife, children, and a warm kang?

Lu Mingchao, disliking Shu Yuan's gaze, picked up a small stick and poked his wound again, listening to his painful breath, enjoying his discomfort.

Lowering her voice, she said, "Eunuch Shu, don't cause trouble. Otherwise, I'll poison you and bury you under that tree we just passed."

"And don't make Xie Yan regret saving you, or else."

"Anyone who makes Xie Yan unhappy, I'll make sure they regret it."

"I have hidden guards!" Shu Yuan said indignantly.

Lu Mingchao poked him all over with the stick and pulled out a command token, "Well, now you don't."

"In a while, the shops under my name will open and I'll need help."

"The hidden guards under you are used to fighting and killing, so they probably can't handle the administrative work of being a shopkeeper or accountant."

"But they can at least handle odd jobs, watching the shop, and manual labor."

"Your men have been running with you through wind and rain for four years. They need to stop and rest."

"A string stretched too tight will eventually snap."

"Shu Yuan shot back, 'If a person rests for too long, they'll become useless.'"

"Lu Mingchao smirked, 'Not bad, that rhymes.'" "He's the one who made your father cry."