Chapter 6: Resentment

Chapter 6: Resentment

"Boo-hoo-hoo, Master, you're finally back! Fuzi has missed you so much I've wasted away to nothing..."

Cheng Yi blinked and found himself face-to-face with a big chubby face streaked with tears.

His lips were pressed together as if he might cry, and his eyes were rimmed with red.

In those eyes, besides hurt and longing, there was even a hint of accusation.

"Cut it out."

Cheng Yi shot him a disdainful look, his expression saying, "If you dare cry, I'll hit you."

Then he looked him up and down—still round and plump.

"Where'd you lose the weight?"

The man before him choked, then forced his tears back, but took the chance to push his luck.

"I lost weight everywhere—all over. You just can't see it, Master."

The familiar face made Cheng Yi's heart ache. He didn't call him out on the lie, but instead indulged him by giving him all his favorite snacks.

Fuzi cried tears of joy. Though a year had passed, his master still favored only him.

Truly, no one could take his place in the master's heart.

"Master, you must take Fuzi with you this time! Fuzi will die without you!"

A distant memory came rushing back into Cheng Yi's mind.

Fuzi was his personal attendant, a servant born into the Duke's household. His grandfather had been the estate's former steward.

He had followed at Cheng Yi's heels since childhood—always calling him "Master" this and "Master" that—his master was his whole world.

But a year ago, Cheng Yi had secretly left for the frontier without telling his mother or elder brother. He could only leave Fuzi behind to cover for him.

It had really done Fuzi wrong.

In his previous life, Fuzi had also wept and begged to go with Cheng Yi, but Cheng Yi not only refused to bring him along—he sent him to serve Xie Yulin instead.

Fuzi was utterly loyal to him and was great at taking care of people.

He had sent his most trusted, reliable person to Xie Yulin's side, yet what Xie Yulin gave him in return was nothing but Fuzi's bones.

Xie Yulin had explained teary-eyed that Fuzi had drowned while saving him.

Cheng Yi had felt racked with guilt, blaming himself, unable to sleep at night.

But Fuzi had grown up following Cheng Yi around fishing and catching shrimp—he was an excellent swimmer.

Besides, though plump, he was agile and strong. How could he possibly drown in a pond only waist-deep?

It was all because of what Cheng Yi had ordered.

He was the one who had ordered Fuzi to protect Xie Yulin with his life.

So the one who owed Fuzi was Cheng Yi himself—and the one who killed him too.

But now, recalling the years of being deceived and used by Xie Yulin, how much of Xie Yulin's words could be trusted?

Whether Fuzi truly died saving him, or whether Xie Yulin had killed him directly, Cheng Yi couldn't be certain.

At the thought, a sharp pain stabbed at Cheng Yi's chest.

"Master! If you don't agree, I'll cry right here, I swear! Fuzi belongs to you in life and in death. If you abandon me in the marquis's mansion again, I might as well die!"

Seeing that his master wouldn't budge, Fuzi immediately threw a fit.

He had originally thought that without his service, his master would surely not eat well or sleep well.

But who would've guessed—it was him who couldn't eat or sleep, missing his master.

Cheng Yi snapped out of it.

The grim expression on his face from thinking of Xie Yulin instantly softened at the sight of that chubby face.

"Look at you, so spineless."

Cheng Yi made a face, yet his voice unconsciously softened.

"Fine, you can come."

"Hooray! Thank you, Master!"

Fuzi was overjoyed.

Cheng Yi looked around the familiar courtyard.

Though he didn't live at the marquis's mansion often, the yard was still kept spotlessly clean, and the servants never dared to slack off.

A moment later, Lu Zhun and Wei Xiao walked in.

"Master."

They were the ones who had just dragged Nanny Hu out.

The two had also grown up by Cheng Yi's side—not only his personal guards, but brothers who had been through thick and thin with him.

He had once believed they were people he could trust with his life.

But one of them had turned on him.

Someone had stomped all over his trust and crushed it.

Cheng Yi lowered his gaze, burying a dark look deep in his eyes.

"How'd it go?"

Wei Xiao was energetic and hot-headed, while Lu Zhun was steady and rational. In both fighting skill and brains, they balanced each other out.

In the future, they would become Cheng Yi's right-hand men.

But at this moment, both their faces still looked young.

The two fierce generals of future battles were, for now, just a pair of inexperienced boys.

Wei Xiao was the first to speak:

"Something unexpected happened, Young Master Lin. That wicked servant's identity might not be so simple—someone could be pulling her strings."

Cheng Yi was a bit taken aback.

In his past life, he'd been so consumed by rage he'd cut her down with one stroke of his sword, never knowing her identity was anything unusual.

"What happened?"

Cheng Yi's gaze was icy, calm yet eerily oppressive, like it could squeeze the breath out of you.

The two men couldn't help but shudder.

They felt the young master was unusually terrifying today—his presence even more gut-wrenching than the Grand General holding the northern frontier.

Wei Xiao instinctively swallowed hard, frozen, unable to answer for a moment.

Lu Zhun quickly stepped forward and bowed:

"Reporting to you, Young Master—that wicked servant was just silenced."

Having grown up at Cheng Yi's side, they knew from a single glance what to do with that kind of servant.

They didn't need to know why—they just had to follow orders.

But when the wicked servant saw them move without hesitation, she panicked and, desperate to save her skin, blurted out she was acting on someone's orders.

The two were stunned, but no matter how they pressed her, she wouldn't budge, insisting only on seeing Cheng Yi.

They had no choice but to drag her back with them.

The incident happened on their way back to Yuxiu Pavilion.

Who'd have thought someone would dare commit murder in broad daylight at the Marquis Zhongyong's estate?

The old hag took a poisoned needle to the head and dropped dead on the spot.

The two were shocked, but after searching the whole estate, they found no trace of anything suspicious.

"This is our failure—please punish us, Young Master."

Cheng Yi's gaze darkened, and after a long pause, he uttered two words in a low voice.

"It's fine."

The cold, emotionless tone made both men's hearts tremble.

The young master's presence was truly terrifying.

Was this really the young master they'd grown up following?

"You're dismissed."

Only after the two had left did a figure silently appear beside Cheng Yi.

He stayed hidden in the shadows, silent and invisible.

"Investigate."

"Yes."

The shadow vanished in a flash, like a ghost.

Cheng Yi stared at where the shadow had vanished, his eyes dark and unreadable.

He stayed motionless for a long time, like a statue.

That night, Cheng Yi lay on his bed fully clothed.

He was swallowed by darkness, yet his presence churned and raged like a storm.

He feared all of this was just an illusion born from his lingering obsession after death.

Those ridiculous ten years kept washing over his mind, leaving him unable to sleep.

He didn't sleep a wink all night.

The next morning, Fuzi waited early outside the door, ready to go in and help his young master get ready at the usual time.

But before he could go in, he saw his young master approaching from outside, covered in morning dew.

As he turned, he met Cheng Yi's dark, brooding eyes.

Like a demon crawling out of hell, cold and black, as if they could drag you, body and soul, into an endless abyss of darkness.

Fuzi was so startled his whole body stiffened, and he didn't dare move.

It wasn't until Cheng Yi's voice came from beside him that Fuzi snapped out of it.

When he turned around, his young master was already inside, looking as calm as ever, as if what he'd just seen was all in his head.

"Did anyone come by looking for me today?"

Cheng Yi asked casually as he took a face towel from a servant.

Fuzi's eyes brightened.

"Young Master, you're amazing—someone did come."

"Master Lin sent word he's hosting a banquet at Zuijing Tower."

"Second Young Master Liu, Second Young Master Zhou, Third Young Master Jiang... all the young masters you used to hang out with are all there."

"They want to throw you a welcome-back banquet."

Cheng Yi paused for a moment, then quickly regained his composure.

"Is that so?" He let out a light laugh. "Then I guess I have to go."

As everyone knew, Lin Beixiao was Cheng Yi's best friend, someone he'd always looked out for.

After a year away from the capital, it was only natural for his friend to throw him a welcome-back banquet.

Fuzi didn't catch the subtle shift in his young master's tone and immediately got busy picking out clothes for the banquet.

Cheng Yi, however, had someone fetch Steward Wu.

Wu An was the steward of the Marquis Zhongyong's estate.

Before he arrived, he had heard that Nanny Hu had caused trouble for the young master, and he felt a bit uneasy.

The young master had always been a rebellious one, and after a year of battlefield experience, there was no telling what he'd become.

Wu An figured Cheng Yi was probably going to punish him over the Nanny Hu business.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Yi did not mention Nanny Hu at all, only briefly asking about the affairs of the household over the past year.

Wu An answered them one by one.

Finally, Cheng Yi instructed him to go to the Duke's mansion and pick a steady, sensible nanny to serve by Wen Wanning's side.

Wu An was a little surprised.

"What about Nanny Hu?"

Cheng Yi glanced at him.

His gaze was calm and unreadable, but it made Wu An's heart skip a beat.

"That wicked servant's always loved stirring up trouble and running her mouth in front of my mother. Yesterday, she even had the nerve to talk about the emperor right in front of me."

"My mother has a soft heart and is easily influenced. A wicked servant like that can't stay by her side."

Wu An was amazed—young as the young master was, he was even more decisive than the heir.

"You're right, Second Young Master. I'll take care of it right away."

Wu An bowed without even thinking.

But just as he turned to go, Cheng Yi called him back.

Cheng Yi hesitated for a long moment, but in the end, he couldn't hold it in and asked.

"My father... how is he?"

Wu An was taken aback—the young master really had changed a lot.

In the past, the young master had only ever resented the Marquis, never asking about him, and even forbidding the servants from mentioning him. But now, he was actually asking about the Marquis on his own.

Wu An's eyes stung, and he felt a relief he couldn't put into words.

"The Marquis's temper has gotten stranger and stranger. This past year, he's barely left the house—he won't even go to palace banquets."

"He won't let any servants near him. He just sits alone in his room all day with the windows covered tight. Sometimes, he won't even see the heir."

The more Wu An talked, the more upset he got. He felt sorry for the Marquis, but he couldn't blame the young master for resenting him—the Marquis had never been much of a father.

But since Cheng Yi was finally asking about the Marquis on his own, he couldn't help but seize the chance to say more.

"These past two years, the Marquis's leg has been hurting worse and worse. He can't sleep all night, especially when it rains. He writhes in agony in his room, sometimes grabbing whatever's nearby and smashing it against his leg."

Wu An wiped away his tears.

"A few times, he's beaten his leg until it's all torn up, yet he still won't let servants near. He stays cooped up in that dark room all day—it's enough to drive anybody crazy."

"Second Young Master, I've watched the Marquis grow up since he was a boy. His heart is heavy, and he's suffering in both body and mind. These years, he's been living a life worse than death."

"I'm not asking you to understand him, just to not hate him so much."

Cheng Yi's face stayed calm, but only he knew the storm raging inside him.

As Wu An had said, he did resent his father—so much so that he forbade anyone from mentioning him in his presence.

In his past life, his elder brother had died with his eyes wide open, wronged so terribly, and yet his father just went on half-alive. He hated the killer, and he hated his father for being so useless.

Especially when he came back and found his mother driven out of her mind, he truly hated his father—he even wished it had been his father who died instead.

Later, he became the War God of Great Yao, the all-powerful Prince Wu'an, climbing higher and higher until he far outranked his father.

But because of his brother and his mother, he could never bring himself to see his father again, or even hear any news about him.

All he knew was that his father was alive—until he himself was dragged down, and the whole Marquis Zhongyong household ran with blood.

Now, listening to Steward Wu ramble on, he didn't let go of his resentment, but for the first time, he learned that his father had been suffering physical pain all this time.

Cheng Yi's throat went dry, and in the end, he said nothing.

That night, Cheng Yi showed up at Drunkard's Tower as promised.

The spirited young general, glowing with energy and cutting a dashing figure, became the center of attention the second he walked in.