Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Phoenix Palace.

After everyone learned that the elderly Teng couple had killed the Sixth Princess, they all turned their cold gazes towards Teng Yi, who lowered his head, not daring to meet their eyes.

His heart was in turmoil, filled with shock, astonishment, shame, and most of all, guilt towards his wife.

Shen Zhinuo's little belly rose and fell: "After those two old bastards killed my sixth aunt, what happened to them?"

SYSTEM: "The Sixth Princess's chief maid rushed to the shop to find Teng Yi, which rarely happened before. Teng Yi knew something urgent had occurred and hurried home, only to find the cold body of the Sixth Princess waiting for him."

"He threw himself over her body, weeping loudly, asking what had happened, how could someone who was fine in the morning be gone just like that? The elderly Teng couple initially didn't want to tell the truth, only saying that the Sixth Princess had suddenly fallen ill and passed away."

"But Teng Yi, having lived with the Sixth Princess for many years, knew she had always been healthy and had no illnesses, so he didn't believe his parents' words. Seeing them evasive, as if hiding something, he insisted on reporting to the officials regardless."

"Only then did the elderly Teng couple confess. Teng Yi, in disbelief, collapsed to the ground, then declared they were mad. Despite his parents' efforts to dissuade him, he still sent someone to report to the officials, and the officers came and arrested the elderly couple."

"Teng Yi declared he couldn't let his innocent wife's death be in vain, but since the murderers were his own parents, he couldn't kill them himself to avenge his wife. So he could only choose to report to the officials."

Everyone was somewhat shocked, and Shen Zhinuo was also surprised and admired Teng Yi's courage: "Daring to murder a royal princess, didn't my sixth uncle fear that my grandfather would execute the entire Teng family?"

SYSTEM: "With his parents killing his wife, Teng Yi was so enraged that he stopped caring about the consequences and harbored a destructive thought: 'If we can't live well, then let's all perish together.'"

Shen Zhinuo: "What was the court's judgment?"

SYSTEM: "At that time, the world was in chaos, and the authority of the Daxuan royal family had waned. The Teng family was the wealthiest in the area and very influential, so the court sentenced only the elderly couple and the involved servants to execution after autumn, without affecting other members of the Teng family."

Shen Zhinuo sighed: "My sixth uncle's willingness to sacrifice his own family for justice isn't entirely reprehensible."

SYSTEM: "From a fair perspective, or from the Sixth Princess's perspective, Teng Yi seems commendable."

"But after Teng Yi reported his parents to the officials, the elders of the Teng family held a clan assembly, saying he was unworthy of being a son, and struck him from the family registry."

Shen Zhinuo was at a loss on how to judge such a matter and continued to ask: "What became of my sixth aunt's foolish son?"

SYSTEM: "You mean Teng Shuyou. His mother was killed by his beloved grandparents, and his grandmother was arrested and sentenced to death by his father. Teng Yi became very cold towards him afterwards, ignoring him. The boy's world collapsed, and he couldn't bear it, running away from home in a fit of anger. At that time, the world was in chaos, and he later met an accidental death outside."

Although the Sixth Princess was now heartbroken by her son, hearing of his death outside, she couldn't help but shed tears, quickly wiping them away for fear of being seen.

Teng Yi, feeling wretched, wanted to go to his wife's side, but just as he was about to stand up, he was pressed back by the 14th Prince.

Shen Zhinuo asked again: "What about Teng Yi?"

SYSTEM: "With his wife dead and his family in ruins, he abandoned his vast family business, found a rundown temple, and knelt before the Buddha all day chanting sutras for the Sixth Princess. Later, he brought his life to an end, dying alone and cold in the temple."

After hearing this, Shen Zhinuo didn't know what to say for a while, and after a long pause, she sighed: "The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law can indeed be deadly."

With everyone dead, there was nothing more to ask. Shen Zhinuo climbed down from Di Guihong's lap, walked over to the Sixth Princess, and opened her little arms: "Sixth Aunt, hug."

The Sixth Princess forced a smile, picked up the chubby little girl, and afraid that she would notice her expression, pressed the little girl's head against her shoulder, gently rocking her.

As she rocked, she remembered how she had once rocked her You'er like this many years ago, and in an instant, tears filled her eyes. Unable to hold back, she handed the little girl to the Crown Princess, barely holding back her sobs, and bowed to the Empress and the Virtuous Consort: "Your daughter is feeling unwell and must take her leave."

With that, she turned and left.

Teng Yi quickly stood up, not caring about proper etiquette, gave a hurried bow, and chased after her.

He caught up with the Sixth Princess outside Phoenix Palace, but before he could apologize, the Sixth Princess spoke first: "Teng Yi, let's divorce. You'er will be with you."

---

Outside the city.

Cen Chengfeng, his eyes blurred with drunkenness, perked up at the mention and got up from the couch, placing the wine jar on the table and resting his face on it: "Talking about this, it's been ages. Why bring it up now?"

Liang Quan chuckled: "Just thinking, I'm getting old, who knows how many years I have left? I want to find my roots, see if I can find my parents."

Cen Chengfeng reached out and patted Liang Quan's head, sighing: "Kid, it's rough."

Liang Quan: "No matter how rough, Shifu, tell me again. Last time you told me, I was too young to remember. This time, tell me in detail."

Cen Chengfeng lifted the wine jar, took another swig, wiped his mouth: "Alright, let's talk. We've got nothing better to do."

Liang Quan leaned his face against the wine jar, watching Cen Chengfeng, listening quietly.

Cen Chengfeng pointed at him and laughed: "Back when His Majesty and I found you, you were just as obedient as you look now. Who knew you'd turn out to be such a troublemaker?"

Liang Quan pushed away his hand that was almost poking his face: "Where did His Majesty find me?"

Cen Chengfeng rested his head on his hand, recalling: "That spring, His Majesty had just pacified several southern counties of Daxuan, leading troops northward, passing by Liangzhou, His Majesty's ancestral home, and suddenly felt like going into the city to take a look."

Emperor Chengwu left the main army fifty miles outside the city to rest, taking a few close guards including Cen Chengfeng, and rode into the city.

At the foot of the mountain outside Liangzhou city, they met a group of refugees, seven or eight in all, ragged and thin, digging wild vegetables by the stream with their bare hands, rinsing them in the stream water and eating them directly. Seeing their desperate condition, perhaps the vegetables were too bitter, a few of them started retching.

Seeing their desperate condition, Emperor Chengwu stopped with his guards, took out provisions from their horses and distributed them, telling them to head south quickly, saying that several southern counties were distributing houses and land, and those who arrived early could get good land.

The refugees accepted the provisions, thanked them earnestly, and hastened southward.

Once they departed, Emperor Chengwu and his guards led their horses to the stream for water, hearing rustling in the grass nearby, as if something was moving. Suspecting a snake, they unsheathed their swords and crept forward cautiously.

Pushing aside the waist-high grass with his sword, they found a little boy lying on his back in the grass.

The boy was about two or three years old, naked, with his hands and feet tied, and a piece of cloth stuffed in his mouth.

The child, either too young to grasp the situation or inherently brave, remained silent, just blinking his big black eyes, struggling like a silkworm in spring, trying to free himself from the ropes.

Emperor Chengwu, a father himself, was deeply moved by the sight, carefully cut the ropes, removed the piece of cloth, picked up the child, took an outer garment from a guard and wrapped the child in it.

The boy remained silent, gazed at Emperor Chengwu for a moment, and then broke into a smile.

Emperor Chengwu adored lively children, and the boy's radiant smile only endeared him further. He took the child to the stream and tenderly washed away the grime, took out a piece of flatbread from his pocket, broke it into pieces and fed it to the boy.

The boy, famished from who knows how long without food, was ravenous, reached out from the robe, grabbed the bread, and devoured it hungrily, like a young wolf.

Emperor Chengwu, afraid he might choke, broke it into smaller pieces and fed him bit by bit.

As Emperor Chengwu sat by the stream tending to the boy, a guard's call suddenly reached him. The guard's tone was laced with anger, so he picked up the child and walked over.

Following the guard's pointing finger, he saw an iron pot lying in the grass a few steps away from where the boy was hidden, still warm, the grass beneath it scorched, obviously just used.

After Emperor Chengwu looked at the pot, the guard pointed again, and Emperor Chengwu noticed a stone stove by the stream, apparently just covered with dirt, dug up to reveal half-burnt wood still smoking.

Recalling the circumstances of the boy's discovery, Emperor Chengwu's expression darkened with realization, wrapped the child in the robe, tucked him into his arms, tied with a belt, mounted his horse, and galloped off in pursuit.

The refugees were already running, hearing the hoofbeats, looked back, saw them chasing, and scattered in different directions.

Initially, Emperor Chengwu held a sliver of hope, thinking maybe they were overthinking, human hearts couldn't be so evil. But seeing them flee for their lives, he knew they were right.

In a rage, Emperor Chengwu pursued the burliest of them, the very man who had addressed him earlier, and with relentless fury, whipped him to the ground, continuing his assault until the man lay motionless.

The personal guards also caught up with the other men, brought them back, and threw them together. Those men wailed and begged for mercy, claiming they didn't know what wrong they had committed.

Seeing them still feigning ignorance, Emperor Chengwu pulled the child out from his robe and held him up in the air. The men immediately fell silent, guiltily lowering their heads.

Emperor Chengwu tucked the child back into his robe, rode his horse a short distance ahead, and waited, instructing Cen Chengfeng to interrogate the men.

Cen Chengfeng, along with the personal guards, first gagged the men, then proceeded to beat them mercilessly. After beating them, they interrogated them, and if there was any sign of lying, they gagged them again and beat them once more. After repeating this several times, the men no longer dared to hide anything and confessed everything.

This group of refugees wasn't made up of good folks. They had previously engaged in thievery and banditry, but they lacked real skills and mostly preyed on honest folk.

Later, as the empire fell into chaos, people fled from one place to another whenever battles broke out. Gradually, refugees were everywhere, and the land became desolate.

These scoundrels, not wanting to be drafted by various factions, also fled for their lives. Along the way, they committed many evil deeds, either stealing food and drink from others or harassing women. When they were starving, they even resorted to cannibalism, utterly deranged.

A few days earlier, they had come across a group of traveling refugees on the road about a hundred miles away, and this child was among them.

The child had been well taken care of by his family, with fair and tender skin, not particularly thin, and could be said to be the chubbiest child they had seen during that time.

These monsters harbored evil intentions, incited chaos, and took advantage of the confusion to steal the child, intending to keep him as emergency food for when they ran out of provisions.

That day, after finishing the stolen provisions, they found a spot near the stream, washed the child, set up a pot, lit a fire, and prepared to cook him.

After Cen Chengfeng and the others completed the interrogation, they were furious. They led the personal guards in another brutal beating, shattering the men's teeth, breaking their fingers, and disfiguring their faces before reporting back to Emperor Chengwu.

Emperor Chengwu listened, his face grim, and through gritted teeth, he uttered one word: "Kill."

As soon as he spoke, the little boy in his arms, who had somehow peeked out, holding half a piece of bread, clapped his little hands and mimicked with a smile: "Kill, kill."

Earlier, Emperor Chengwu had asked the child for his name and age, but the boy stayed silent. Emperor Chengwu had initially thought the child was mute, but now he realized the boy could speak, and his first word was "kill."

Emperor Chengwu grew even more fond of the child, feeling that the boy was particularly suited to his liking. He pulled the boy out of his robe, held him in his arms and rode back to where the men were. He deliberately asked the child, "Who to kill?"

The child pointed at the men on the ground with the hand holding the bread and repeated the word: "Kill."

Emperor Chengwu laughed heartily, exclaiming, "Good lad!" He then gave Cen Chengfeng a meaningful look, turned his horse around, and rode off toward Liangzhou City with the child.

Cen Chengfeng and the others stayed behind, slowly stabbing the men to death with their swords, then gathered some dry wood and set them on fire.

After listening quietly, Liang Quan asked, "So, if it weren't for Your Majesty and you passing by, I would have been eaten by those beasts?"

Cen Chengfeng patted Liang Quan's head and sighed, "Our Quan is blessed with great fortune."

Liang Quan: "Did His Majesty try to find my parents and family?"

Cen Chengfeng nodded: "His Majesty also has children and understands the pain of separation. To help you find your family, he led the army ahead while I stayed with you in Liangzhou City for a few days."

"We sent people in several directions to search for your family, but even after traveling over a hundred miles in each direction, we found nothing."

"Or rather, there was no way to search. At that time, refugees were everywhere, and there were countless families who had lost children. Almost no family was intact."

"After searching for a few days without success, we couldn't delay any longer. I had to take you to catch up with His Majesty, who then decided to keep you by his side, personally caring for you day and night."

Liang Quan: "So, did His Majesty give me my name?"

Cen Chengfeng nodded: "Yes, there was a spring near the stream where we found you, bubbling endlessly. His Majesty said he hoped you would thrive like that spring and live a good life."

Liang Quan nodded: "A good name."

Then he muttered, "That fool Thirty-seven, His Majesty named things based on what he saw. What's wrong with Liang Water?"

Cen Chengfeng didn't understand and asked in confusion, "What are you muttering about?"

Liang Quan then explained the matter of naming the top fifty guards, mentioning names like Liang Feng, Liang Shui, and Liang He. Upon hearing these, Cen Chengfeng couldn't help but slap the table and burst out laughing.

Liang Quan: "...What’s so funny?"

Cen Chengfeng laughed for a good while before stopping, "I told you to read more books, but you refused. No wonder Number Thirty-Seven despises you. If you had named me 'Liang Feng' or 'Liang Shui,' I would have beaten you up."

Liang Quan ignored him and asked again, "Master, when you and the Emperor found me, I was already three years old. I didn't cry, didn't speak much, and didn't know who my parents or family were. Do you think I was a fool?"

Cen Chengfeng: "Nonsense, all three-year-olds are like that."

Liang Quan shook his head: "If a three-year-old is smart, they can be incredibly smart."

Cen Chengfeng: "I don't know about that. I've seen many three-year-olds, but you're the only one I've interacted with."

Liang Quan: "Then how did I become a guard? Did the Emperor intend to train me as a guard from the start?"

Cen Chengfeng: "Kid, I've told you all this before. Have you forgotten everything?"

Liang Quan: "I was young then, I can't remember. Master, please tell me again."

Cen Chengfeng continued: "When we picked you up, no matter what we asked, you didn’t know a thing. Although you weren't mute, you could only say the word 'kill' at first."

"To be honest, we suspected you might be a bit slow. So the Emperor called a doctor, who said you had suffered a great shock, which made you forget everything—your family, your name. It was normal for your temperament to change, but with proper care, you might gradually recover. And indeed, the doctor was right. Later, you turned out just fine."

"Although you seemed foolish at the time, you had a sharp eye. Among so many people, you only clung to the Emperor, always clinging to him. The Emperor was very fond of you and kept you by his side, even carrying you in his arms during battles."

"But you were something else. No matter how big the scene, you never seemed scared. Instead, you got pumped at the sight of blood, always shouting 'kill, kill, kill.'"

"At first, the Emperor planned to send you to the Queen to be raised, but seeing that you were different from ordinary children, he was worried you’d scare the Queen, the Crown Prince, and Princess Lanzhen, who were also young at the time. So he thought better of it."

"He kept you by his side through battles for over two years, until after a nasty battle. Then he had me find a place to settle you, had me teach you martial arts, and find a tutor to teach you to read, intending to train you as a general."

"But you, as stubborn as ever, disliked reading from a young age, only cared for swords and knives, and were quite brutal."

"Once when you were a child, you sneaked into the kitchen while I wasn't looking, grabbed a kitchen knife, and chased after my best laying hen. You killed it with two chops. You were only five or six years old then. Tsk tsk, so brutal."

Liang Quan: "Master, did you hit me then?"

Cen Chengfeng: "That was my best laying hen, which I had raised for a year, and you went and ruined it. Of course, I wanted to hit you. But you had blood all over your face, pointed at the twitching hen, grinned at me, and said 'eat meat.' How could I hit you after that?"

Liang Quan asked concernedly: "Did I get to eat the chicken?"

Cen Chengfeng: "Yes."

Liang Quan: "Who ate the chicken legs, you or me?"

Cen Chengfeng rolled his eyes: "You ate both chicken legs."

Liang Quan glanced at the cleanly gnawed chicken leg bone on the table in front of Cen Chengfeng, somewhat disbelieving: "Master, you didn't fight me for them?"

Cen Chengfeng rolled his eyes again: "I wanted to, but you little rascal held one in each hand. Every time I reached out, you bared your teeth at me. I never stood a chance."

Liang Quan laughed and flopped onto the table, then after a while asked: "What happened next?"

Cen Chengfeng: "If you don’t like reading and don’t understand military strategy, you’ll never make it as a general. I thought since the Emperor entrusted you to me, even if I couldn’t raise a general, I shouldn’t let you go to waste. So I focused on teaching you martial arts. Fortunately, you were diligent in your training and didn’t need my urging."

"Then one day, you sneaked out to play and brought back two little beggars, saying you wanted to feed them. After eating, you didn’t let them leave. I thought, one more or two more, it's all the same, so I raised them too. But you couldn’t stop picking up kids and eventually brought back seventeen or eighteen. The courtyard couldn’t hold them all, so we had to move."

"I've been leading you boys for many years, until that year when His Majesty was in danger on the battlefield, nearly dying along with the Crown Prince. When I heard the news, I took you all and rushed to His Majesty's side, and since then, I've stayed by His Majesty's side to ensure his safety. Later on, you gradually became His Majesty's secret guards, but you already know all this."

Liang Quan was sprawled over a wine jar, his face marked by the jar's edge. He lifted his head, rubbing his face with his hands: "Shifu, do you think my family is still alive?"

Cen Chengfeng: "Don't dwell on it too much. His Majesty couldn't find them back then, and later you secretly searched for them yourself without success. Whether they're alive or not, just think of them living happily in some scenic part of Daxuan."

Liang Quan nodded and asked again: "Shifu, why do I feel like I resemble you?"

Cen Chengfeng laughed heartily: "I've raised you for so many years; of course you'd take after me."

Liang Quan also laughed and asked: "Why do I also feel like I resemble His Majesty?"

Cen Chengfeng: "Of course you do. His Majesty took you in, eating and sleeping together for over two years. Even the way you ate as a kid was just like His Majesty's. Although His Majesty never said it directly, everyone could see that he treated you like a son."

Liang Quan stopped laughing: "Shifu, I mean, why do I feel like I look like His Majesty?"

Cen Chengfeng nodded: "You do look like him. When His Majesty found you by the stream, he mentioned you looked like him and said he had a son who, if alive, would be about your age. Later, when we couldn't find your family, His Majesty said it was as if heaven, seeing him lose a child, had sent you to him."

Liang Quan was hearing this for the first time and asked curiously: "Who was the child His Majesty lost?"

Cen Chengfeng shook his groggy head: "I don't know. His Majesty didn't go into details back then."

Then, he patted Liang Quan's shoulder: "Don't keep dwelling on the past. You're not young anymore. Why not take advantage of your good health to settle down and start a family? His Majesty has already given his permission, why are you dragging your feet? If you get hurt on a mission and lose an arm or a leg, I doubt any girl would still want you."

Liang Quan pushed his hand away: "Shifu, you're kidding. People like us live on the edge, never knowing when we might lose our heads. Why bring misfortune to a girl?"

With that, he stood up: "Shifu, His Majesty needs me. I'll head back to the city now and visit you another day."

Cen Chengfeng didn't stop him, just lay down on the couch with an empty wine jar: "Don't go wandering off for no reason. Take good care of His Majesty and think about your future. I still want to hold a chubby grandkid before I die."

Liang Quan smiled, initially intending to clean up the table, but seeing the mess, he simply moved the table to the floor to clear the couch. He helped Cen Chengfeng lie down properly, fetched a blanket from the cabinet to cover him, placed the remaining silver under the pillow, and then closed the door as he left.

He led his horse out of the small yard, hopped on, and rode back to the city as the sun set.

After entering the city, he didn't go directly to the palace but instead went to a cosmetics shop.

He stood at the corner across from the shop for a while, watching as it was about to close, then walked over. Following the shopkeeper's recommendation, he picked out a box of rouge that was currently popular among the young ladies of the capital, paid, and left. He then rode to the southern part of the city, found an inconspicuous inn, and stayed there.

After dinner, he lay down on the bed, fully clothed, and fell asleep.

When the night was deep and quiet, he got up, leaped out of the window, climbed onto the roof, and made his way across the rooftops to a three-courtyard house a couple of streets away.

Standing on the neighboring roof, he watched a particular room for a while, then gracefully descended into the courtyard, approached the window, gently pushed it open, and silently entered. He walked quietly to the bedside, drew back the curtain, and gazed at the sleeping girl for a long time. Only when the faint sound of the night watchman's clapper was heard did he gently place the slightly warmed rouge under her pillow.