Chapter 94 Coup d’état

Chapter 94: Coup

"Lord Archon......"

The area outside the emergency room was dead silent. He Xiaoman had come to give his report, but seeing the Archon's pale, worn-out face, he hesitated to step forward.

"What is it?" The Archon looked up at once, his voice a little hoarse.

After two or three seconds, he recognized the new-style uniform of the National Security Bureau.

It must be someone from the National Security Bureau, here to report on the interrogation.

"......Did the interrogation turn up anything?"

"The prisoner couldn't take the physical pain and confessed," He Xiaoman reported seriously. "He's a member of the Imperial delegation. He tried to kill you because......he's a war hawk. This is the interrogation report."

Since he was with the Imperial delegation, he got past the guards. And because he's a war hawk, killing Zhu Shinian would completely kill any chance of peace talks.

The Archon nodded, his eyes looking strangely blank and distant.

He Xiaoman got the feeling the Archon wasn't doing well, and maybe this wasn't the best time to bother him.

His boss had told him that if the Archon was busy, he should just give the report to Secretary Zhang—after all, the Archon could probably guess the outcome anyway.

"How's Mr. Gu?" the National Security Bureau staff member hesitated before asking. "We really owe Mr. Gu today."

"He's still not out of danger." The Archon lowered his eyes and said softly. He Xiaoman couldn't see his face, couldn't tell what was going through his mind.

He Xiaoman and the others never expected Gu Zhen to be that sincere. For peace, he'd gone that far—instinctively lunging forward to shove Zhu Shinian out of the way.

Even the NSB agents standing closest might not have reacted as fast as he did.

"Thank God Mr. Gu was there. If something had happened to you, there's no way we could keep negotiating with the Empire."

Zhu Shinian shook his head. "If he doesn't wake up......it's the same thing, really."

The Empire wouldn't believe the Resistance's investigation report. No matter what, once Gu Zhen—the biggest voice for peace—was gone, they'd restart the war without a second thought.

The military and medical conglomerates would keep raking in profits from the war, while the royals and nobles kept squeezing the people with taxes and quietly lined up political asylum in case they lost.

Nobody would care about the soldiers who died. Nobody would care about the growing number of refugees.

He Xiaoman was frozen for a second, then remembered to check what the Empire was reporting through a VPN.

"Gu Zhen deserves to die. The Empire and His Majesty raised him up, and now he's trying to collude with the rebels and let those pariahs into parliament?"

"The commander's scared before the fight even starts—that's treason!"

"Your Majesty, sentence Gu Zhen!"

Under the Empire's state media articles, the comments were packed with demands to punish Gu Zhen harshly.

Just days ago, Gu Zhen was an Imperial hero. Now he was a traitor everyone was cursing. They hoped the traitor would never wake up—or better yet, that the Resistance, which already hated him, would leave his body out in the wilds, with no grave to rest in.

Even the NSB agents, who had always hated the Empire with a passion, were stunned by what they saw.

They hated Gu Zhen, sure, but they never imagined the Imperials would want him dead just as badly.

It took He Xiaoman a while to figure out that this was probably the Empire's war hawks building momentum for a coup.

Even the occasional comment saying Gu Zhen didn't deserve this got drowned out fast by shouts of "rebel collaborator," "spineless," and "coward."

.......

This wasn't the first time Zhu Shinian had waited outside the ER at the Resistance Central Hospital.

Every time, his hands and feet went cold on their own, his mind went foggy, and his soul felt like it was floating above, staring down at his own pathetic self.

He was a coward at heart. Even after losing so many people who mattered, he still couldn't accept anyone leaving.

There was still so much he wanted to say......that he never got the chance to tell Gu Zhen.

He had never hated Gu Zhen.

He never thought Gu Zhen was disgusting. He never wanted to die just because he'd come back to him.

Even the hate came from the same place as the love.

He hated that Gu Zhen didn't love him enough. He hated that Gu Zhen didn't love him the way he loved Gu Zhen.

Gu Zhen, we actually......had a child once.

A child I killed with my own hands, all because of the war.

If Gu Zhen died without ever knowing that child existed, then who else in the world could ever understand the pain Zhu Shinian carried from that child's brief existence?

Or maybe this was heaven's punishment—letting Gu Zhen reunite early with that child who never got to live, while leaving him here to suffer, to drown in guilt, to burn in torment.

Zhu Shinian waited outside the ER for a full day and night.

He watched the medical staff come and go, watched the evening sun sink outside the window, and after a long while, the light of dawn crept back in.

Now, Zhu Shinian was afraid of the daylight.

Almost a full day and night had gone by. The longer it dragged on, the slimmer Gu Zhen's chances of pulling through got.

The political situation was shifting by the minute, and Zhu Shinian couldn't just stay here forever, waiting for news that might never come.

"Lord Archon, we've got an urgent report."

His aide, Xiao Zhang, ran up to him, out of breath.

The hospital elevators were packed in the early morning, and Xiao Zhang was too thin-skinned to fight the staff and patients for a spot.

Zhu Shinian took the intel from him and glanced at it—the Empire couldn't hold back any longer.

Gu Liancheng, who'd long since stepped back from the front lines, had launched a coup overnight and taken control of the military. He publicly condemned his own grandson, Gu Zhen, for seeking peace with the rebels, and declared he'd fight them to the death.

"Has something happened on the Empire's side?" Xiao Zhang asked cautiously, seeing Zhu Shinian's expression darken.

"Don't worry too much, sir. General Qian has been on standby at the front lines at full combat readiness. Whenever they launch a surprise attack, we should be prepared......"

The hallway outside the ER was brightly lit but eerily quiet, so empty that Xiao Zhang's voice seemed to bounce off the walls.

Zhu Shinian stood up. The words "Rescuing" glowing above the emergency room door were somewhat glaring.

He couldn't wait for Gu Zhen to wake up.

He couldn't......see Gu Zhen one last time either.

"Prepare the helicopter," he took a deep breath. "I'm going to the front lines personally."

"Sir, you're going to the front lines yourself, this is..." Xiao Zhang was stunned. Zhu Shinian going to the front personally—that was way too dangerous.

"General Qian doesn't understand Gu Liancheng. He's different from others—he's a madman who stops at absolutely nothing."

Gu Zhen wasn't frightening, and neither were the Federation's people. Everyone fought for gains and losses, weighing in their minds which costs were worth it and which weren't.

That way, it just came down to who had better tactics, who knew their enemy better.

But Gu Liancheng was different. His tactics had no set patterns, almost impossible to predict using conventional logic.

Since declaring independence, the resistance had been sweeping forward with unstoppable momentum—first rolling through city after city in a triumphant march, then sending the Federation retreating in defeat. Now their morale was at an all-time high.

He couldn't let Gu Liancheng crush the resistance's fighting spirit at such a critical moment.

"Xiao Zhang, I recall you've got a leg injury, right? Don't come to the front lines with me. Stick around the capital for now, with Governor Lin and Director Jiang."

"Of course I'm going with you," Xiao Zhang said hastily. "My leg healed up a long time ago. It used to ache on rainy days, but it's much better now."

"You stay here," Zhu Shinian stood up, turning back to glance one last time through the emergency room door at the unconscious Gu Zhen. "Stay... and look after Mr. Gu for me."

Xiao Zhang was taken aback. Though he'd served Zhu Shinian for some time, it took him a moment to catch the implication behind his words.

In the resistance zone, plenty of people wanted Mr. Gu dead.

If no one kept an eye on him, Mr. Gu might very well die in this hospital.

Xiao Zhang hated the imperial nobles too, but Mr. Gu had saved the Lord Archon's life. He couldn't help but feel grateful, and he couldn't repay that kindness by failing to look after Gu Zhen for Zhu Shinian.

"Then I'll get the helicopter ready for you. Please take care of yourself out there on the front lines."

"Mm," a faint, reassuring smile spread across Zhu Shinian's pale face. "I will. When Director Jiang... and Governor Lin come by tomorrow, tell them I said hello."

The Lord Archon was always like this—even when he could barely handle his own stuff, he still thought of comforting others, to keep them from worrying about him.

Xiao Zhang's heart ached seeing how pale he was. He wanted to walk Zhu Shinian to the helicopter himself, but remembering his orders, he didn't dare leave the operating room door.

He hesitated, then texted the colleague who'd taken over his deputy post, telling him to make sure the Lord Archon got some shut-eye on the helicopter.

Around nine in the morning, Director Jiang arrived at the ward door. He didn't ask where the Lord Archon had gone—Zhu Shinian had likely already explained things to him.

A chief physician recognized him and immediately came forward.

Director Jiang briefly assessed the situation with him, and then, for some reason, the doctor suddenly led Director Jiang toward his office.

Xiao Zhang's heart tightened with a sense of foreboding. He quietly followed and pressed a miniature listening device against the closed office door.

"...Mr. Gu's injuries are severe. Even if resuscitation succeeds, there's a high probability he'll fall into a prolonged coma."

"In some cases, maintaining life support... may also be a burden to the patient himself. Our medical resources and capabilities are also quite limited, and the difficulty of resuscitation is considerable for us."

Xiao Zhang's pupils abruptly contracted.

He'd been deputy to the resistance zone's top leader for nearly two years—how could he be dumb enough not to read between the lines?

The doctor's meaning was clear: as long as Jiang Huaiyan gave the nod, he could let Gu Zhen die silently, without anyone suspecting a thing!

He suddenly recalled that back in the capital, Mr. Gu and Director Jiang had once been bound by a family-arranged engagement, but both seemed to regard it as a disgrace, and later they became as hostile as bitter enemies.

If there was anyone in the resistance zone who, for both public and private reasons, wanted Mr. Gu dead...

It had to be Director Jiang.