Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The latticed door flew open. Framed in the doorway was not his confidant, but a group of men in black he had never met before. The leader, wearing an official robe embroidered with a leopard, spoke expressionlessly:

"This humble official is Li Baopu, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Yongzhou. You are requested to come with me, sir."

The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner was a local official responsible for self-inspection and self-correction.

He held a lower rank than the Supervising Censor of the Censorate in the capital, Yejing, but their duties, regardless of scale, were the same: to investigate officials and impeach dereliction.

This man...

He had seen him by Prince Su's side before; he seemed to be one of the Prince's trusted confidants.

Xiao Shengjue's facial muscles twitched. He came to his senses abruptly and put on a show of calm. "Did Prince Su send you? Are you aware this is openly defying His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Prince Su was merely a Feudal Prince. No matter how much power he wielded within his fief, he could not compare to His Highness the Crown Prince, the heir apparent of the Jin Dynasty and the future Son of Heaven.

How dare he move against the Crown Prince's man? Wasn't this a blatant slap in the Crown Prince's face?

Bao Pu maintained a deathly expression. His dark gaze fell upon the chest full of banknotes, and he said flatly, "The Supervising Censor is guilty of embezzlement and extortion. The evidence is conclusive. Take him away."

Xiao Shengjue, regaining his composure, raised the IOU he had prepared in advance. "This is a loan! Which law of the Jin Dynasty forbids officials from borrowing money?"

Bao Pu's eyes shifted slightly upward to look at the IOU in his hand, and he gently reminded, "Please look at the handwriting on it?"

Xiao Shengjue instinctively looked down and immediately froze, rooted to the spot. The signature had somehow vanished, leaving only a blank space.

In other words, this IOU was invalid.

"They claim you invented pretexts to extort bribes. To prove your innocence, you will come with us."

Xiao Shengjue staggered, nearly falling to the ground. How had the once upright and principled Prince Su become so despicable? To deal with him, he had even set such a trap...

A vague sense of familiarity washed over him. Wasn't this the same trick they had used against the Zhu family before?

Could it be that Prince Su was seeking revenge for the Zhu family?

Impossible, absolutely impossible...

His chaotic thoughts shattered. One idea flashed through his mind like lightning, causing Xiao Shengjue to tremble slightly.

Was Zhu Qinghou really dead?

"He's not going to die."

Zhu Qinghou lay on the soft couch in the inner chamber, lazily curled up in a soft, fluffy fox fur robe.

Even on such a warm spring day, he felt cold. Fortunately, the fox fur robe was long enough to cover his ankles.

Although he wanted to crush the man completely, this was, after all, Yongzhou. If something happened to Xiao here, it would likely implicate Li Zhen.

Once he was allowed to return to Yejing, no matter how serious the charges, the outcome would likely be a heavy-handed investigation followed by a light punishment.

Li Zhen sat beside him, a large empty space between them, his head bowed as he reviewed scrolls.

One lying, one sitting, under the gentle sunlight, it held a sense of tranquility.

"He can die."

Zhu Qinghou was still imagining Xiao Shengjue's expression when discovered, so amused he wanted to laugh, yet regretting he couldn't witness it firsthand. Suddenly, he heard a calm, indifferent voice. He looked over. Li Zhen's expression was impassive as he turned the scroll.

His posture and demeanor were utterly calm and proper, as if the ruthless words hadn't come from him.

"...What?" Zhu Qinghou was somewhat surprised. "You want to kill him?" He sat up slightly, adjusting to a more comfortable position against the soft pillow. "That won't do."

"...Why not?"

Li Zhen set down the scroll and turned his head to "look" at him. Though his face showed no ripples, Zhu Qinghou seemed to detect a hint of confusion—clearly hating Xiao Shengjue, wanting him dead, so why stop it?

"This is Yongzhou," Zhu Qinghou said.

Yongzhou was Li Zhen's territory. If someone died here, Li Zhen would inevitably be implicated.

Such an obvious thing; how could Li Zhen not see it? Zhu Qinghou was beginning to wonder.

"As long as you wish it..." Li Zhen's tone was low and obscure, inexplicably carrying a hint of temptation, "...what does any of that matter?"

What did this mean...

That if he wished it, Li Zhen would take care of Xiao Shengjue for him?

Zhu Qinghou looked up at him, his gaze traveling upwards. He saw the other's jet-black hair neatly tied back with a snow-white ribbon. Below the white silk blindfold, a coldly handsome, strikingly beautiful profile was revealed.

His words were so ruthless, yet he appeared the very picture of a righteous gentleman.

Zhu Qinghou suddenly felt the urge to tease him again. Unable to resist, he leaned forward, arching his back to tug at the hair ribbon.

The ribbon was the same color as the blindfold, its four strands hanging separately on either side, reserved and aloof.

"You'll kill him for me? Alright then." Zhu Qinghou's tone was light, tinged with levity. He released the ribbon, lazily rolled over, and fell backward into Li Zhen's lap.

His movement was unsteady, his body swaying, nearly tumbling off the low couch. At the critical moment, a pair of hands encircled his waist, catching him firmly.

Before Li Zhen could react, he had already securely caught the slender, gaunt youth in his arms. The sudden warmth caused his entire body to stiffen. He warned in a low voice, "...Stop fooling around."

Zhu Qinghou was accustomed to this contradictory manner of his and paid it no mind. Pillowing his head on Li Zhen's knee, his fingers playing with the hair ribbon, he waited for Li Zhen's response.

Li Zhen did not push him away, seeming to be restraining himself. Even his voice grew deeper. "I will help you."

Having Li Zhen help him deal with Xiao Shengjue was undoubtedly an excellent method. After all, the one to offend the Eastern Palace and bear the consequences would be Li Zhen, not him, Zhu Qinghou.

He could vent his anger and exact revenge without expending a single soldier or weapon. Wasn't that good?

Zhu Qinghou stared at the white silk in his hand, pale, thin, and utterly unblemished. For four years, Li Zhen had spent every day with this covering his eyes.

He didn't dwell on it further. "I don't want your help. You shouldn't kill him either."

After this, even if Xiao Shengjue didn't die, he wouldn't fare well.

Letting him return to Yejing wasn't unacceptable.

He did want Xiao Shengjue to apologize to Zhu Liujun before leaving, for his past words, "Born of lowly status, fit only to be a concubine."

But the situation was still uncertain. If Xiao Shengjue still intended to harm his sister, it might be impossible to guard against. It was better they not meet.

The youth in his arms was exceedingly fickle—one moment wanting his help, the next adamantly refusing it.

Li Zhen said nothing, gently stroking Zhu Qinghou's hair. Zhu Qinghou had tied it up haphazardly with a silk ribbon, loosely and sloppily. With the slightest touch, it scattered like mist, falling softly into his palm.

In the afternoon, the deep inner hall was shrouded in a dim, hazy light. Shifting beams of light floated and drifted, leaving the furnishings half-lit and indistinct.

Zhu Qinghou wound a strand of hair around his finger, unable to decipher the meaning behind the other's silence. Was he agreeing not to interfere, or was he determined to get even for him?

Anyone with eyes could see the latter was a thankless task. Li Zhen shouldn't choose that.

But...

After four years apart, he found Li Zhen's thoughts increasingly inscrutable.

"Xian Pu, don't kill him," Zhu Qinghou urged repeatedly, fearing Li Zhen might do something foolish.

After a moment, Li Zhen finally let out a soft "Hmm," as if in agreement.

Zhu Qinghou breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt a twinge of regret. The guy was delivered right to his doorstep, and he had to let him go.

If he had been his old self, if Xiao Shengjue dared to belittle Zhu Liujun, within three days, he would have made Xiao Shengjue kneel before his sister and beg for forgiveness.

Li Zhen seemed to see through his thoughts. Behind the white silk, his lashes fluttered slightly, his pitch-black, sightless eyes holding a strange calm.

The surroundings were dim, dark.

When Xiao Shengjue was brought into the dungeon, he managed to maintain a semblance of composure. He was the Crown Prince's man, with a father who was the Censor-in-chief. Once back in Yejing, no matter the charge, he had ways to escape unscathed.

The drip-drip-drip of water trickled down from cracks in the stone.

Two hours later, his composure was gone. Kneeling on the ground, trembling all over, his thoughts churning, with his life on the line, what came to mind was not the Eastern Palace, nor the Censorate, but a figure in goose-yellow and green.

A young maiden in her blooming years stood on a tower, turning her head with a light, graceful smile, calling him by his childhood name, "Ziwan, I will help you. From now on, no one in the Censorate will dare bully you."

"Ziwan."

In his delirium, he seemed to truly hear that voice echo in his ears.

Xiao Shengjue lifted his head and saw that figure appear before him, holding a lantern that cast a warm, yellow-green glow.

Zhu Liujun looked down at him quietly, her expression neither pleased nor angry.

Xiao Shengjue clung to the bars, as he had done every time he sought Zhu Liujun's help in the past, filled with desperate hope: "Qing Xi, Qing Xi, you've come to save me, haven't you?"

Even though the iron bars separated them and he couldn't touch her, Zhu Liujun couldn't help but take a step back. Softly, she asked, "‘Born lowly, fit only to be a concubine’—were those your words?"

Back then, when the Zhu family was impeached by the Xiao family and the entire clan was imprisoned in the Chief Justice's jail, she had waited with all her heart for her fiancé, for her Ziwan to come save her.

She waited anxiously in the dark, cramped cell for a long time, only to receive those words: "Born lowly, fit only to be a concubine."

The one who had climbed high relying on her Zhu family's influence was him. The one who kicked them when they were down and demoted his wife to a concubine was also him.

Xiao Shengjue stiffened abruptly, his fingers gripping the bars. He looked up, with a look of tender devotion, pleading, "Those were all nonsense! If I hadn't said that, I'm afraid my father and mother wouldn't have tolerated you..."

Zhu Liujun held the lantern, its faint glow softening her features. "In that case, go tell your father and mother." She turned and walked away, ignoring the man begging in the cell, and strode down the corridor until she reached another figure.

She stopped, hesitating, seemingly unsure what to call him. "...Prince Su."

Who would have thought Prince Su would seek justice for her? Could it be Xiao Yu's doing?

Prince Su, eyes covered with white silk, holding a long staff, dressed in black lapels and white robes, stood in the pitch-dark corridor like a beautiful, ghostly apparition. His expression was calm, his voice very soft: "What did you call me?"

After asking, he fell silent for a moment. Even he couldn't understand why he had asked.

Zhu Liujun was caught off guard by the sudden question, momentarily at a loss.

Searching her heart, she and Prince Su had never been close before—merely acquaintances who exchanged nods. She would bow to Prince Su, and he would give a slight nod in return.

Seized by a whim, Zhu Liujun blurted out: "...Brother-in-law?"

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Author's Note: While writing this chapter, I wondered what to call one's brother's husband. Thought about it for a long time and still felt 'brother-in-law' sounded most natural.

Mini Theater:

Xian Pu: Got myself a wingman, help me keep Xiao Yu here [Please]

Xiao Yu: Hahaha, seeing that scumbag suffer makes me happy [Fist pump]

Sister: ...Brother-in-law? Husband-of-brother? What exactly should I call him? [Question mark]