After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 139

Chapter 139: “Hong Xue”

“I know why you’ve come to find me.”

The silver-white knife was placed on the table, and the prisoner of Prince Kang looked down, his eyes lowered.

He heard a voice coming from the other side: “The knife you have, I took it. Now—”

The person on the other side pushed the knife towards him, and he saw the pale, slender fingers on the hilt. “It has been returned to its rightful owner.”

The prisoner stared at the knife for a long time before speaking in a hoarse voice, “Thank you, Lord Zhou… for your kindness.”

He didn’t say what was hidden within his words, but both of them understood. If Zhou Xun had exposed the fact that he was holding the knife during the banquet, even though he was technically Prince Kang’s “slave,” he would have ended up with his body in pieces.

“No need to thank me. If you must thank someone, thank yourself. You weren’t planning to use that knife to assassinate the emperor, were you?”

The prisoner accepted the knife. He said, “If Prince Kang hadn’t been so preoccupied with Zhou Cai’s matter these past few days, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to sneak out of the inn.”

“Zhou Cai again?” Zhou Xun couldn’t help but feel a strange mix of helplessness and amusement when he heard this. “It’s remarkable that he’s still involved with Prince Kang. I heard that when he was in Yunzhou, he leaked the defense documents to the Northern Wei in order to earn merit. This matter…”

“That matter is indeed true. Of course, in Prince Kang’s eyes, Zhou Cai is his naive and lovable friend. Zhou Cai is just so perfectly fitting—he would block him from whipping someone in the street but say, ‘If you’re really angry, go ahead and hit me,’ and when he teased him, he’d blush and quietly ‘scold’ him. Who wouldn’t find such a ‘friend’ special? Especially when, in Prince Kang’s eyes, Zhou Cai would later innocently show him his study. If you were Prince Kang, you’d think his imprisonment was his own fault.” The prisoner sneered, “Zhou Cai is a smart man.”

“I don’t think he’s smart. If he were truly clever, he wouldn’t be in the imperial prison now,” Zhou Xun replied with a faint smile.

“I know many things about Prince Kang,” the prisoner suddenly said, staring hard at Zhou Xun, his back involuntarily straightening. “Things about Prince Kang’s manor, the Northern Wei, the capital, General Li…”

He spoke faster and faster. “There’s much more, a lot more I know… Lord Zhou, you’re closely connected to the emperor, right? I saw the emperor looking at you frequently during the banquet. I know many things, many pieces of intelligence. The Northern Wei has shown disrespect to Jingguo. I am useful, I can help…”

“Your sister is still with General Li, right?” Zhou Xun interrupted abruptly.

“My sister… she just tells me to endure. Yes, if I don’t endure now, how can I live a peaceful life? But I can’t accept being just a plaything. Every time I am under him, I just want to vomit.” The prisoner sneered. “Living like this for a lifetime, how is it any different from being dead? I can’t convince myself that this is the life I was meant to live…”

Zhou Xun looked at him silently.

He stared at him and suddenly thought of someone else, another mad prisoner. That person had once gone through an experience similar to the prince of Xinyue, but before plunging the knife into the emperor’s body, he had been fortunate enough to meet someone from another world.

“That knife of yours should indeed be driven into an enemy’s neck,” Zhou Xun said slowly. “But not now. Have you considered… death’s retreat? By the way, what’s your name?”

When the prisoner heard the word “name,” his dull eyes lit up.

“Hong Xue,” he said. “My name is Hong Xue.”

…

Half an hour later, the two parted ways at “Luhuan Nong.”

Bai Yuxing climbed down from the tree. He thought there was nothing else to see, so he began to walk back. Zhou Xun glanced in his direction from a distance but didn’t say anything.

However, he vaguely remembered seeing Lu Xiandao leave just as he had arrived. Did these two have some connection?

Zhou Xun thought for a moment and then let out a small, amused laugh. He knew that Bai Yuxing must like Zhang Lingsu, and recently, Zhang Lingsu was about to marry. The emperor had once mentioned to him while holding the invitation that Xiao Wu was efficient and had thick hair, and the Ministry of Justice praised him endlessly. Since Xiao Wu was so capable and had thick hair, always calling him Xiao Wu wasn’t ideal. So, he decided to give Xiao Wu the surname “Mao” and add the character “Li” to it, calling him “Mao Li Xiao Wu” from now on.

Looking at it this way, it seemed like both of them probably knew that Zhang Lingsu was getting married and had come here to drown their sorrows in alcohol. However, when Lu Xiandao left, his face was clearly not very good, as if he had become too cold.

Zhou Xun didn’t dwell on it any longer.

He walked along the edge of the water, but his steps gradually slowed down.

He heard footsteps behind him, steadily following him!

Who was following him? Was it his enemy, or someone with ulterior motives?

Zhou Xun walked slowly and then suddenly quickened his pace!

He knew that there was a small alley ahead that would lead him out of here and onto a wider street. But just before he reached the alley, he heard a voice from the side: “Lord Zhou.”

The voice was strange yet familiar. Zhou Xun turned around and saw Prince Kang!

What a disastrous day. Behind him was one group of people, and in front was another, and he had no idea what either group intended. Zhou Xun could only smile bitterly and say to Prince Kang, “Today, His Highness Prince Kang certainly knows how to make things lively.”

Prince Kang coldly stared at him. After a long while, he smiled. “You’re the one who harmed Cai’er, aren’t you? Fine, let’s not bring up the past. I know, you’re now the emperor’s favorite.”

Saying this, he extended his hand, seemingly intending to flirt by pinching Zhou Xun’s chin. After Zhou Xun avoided it, he sneered. “But I wonder if the emperor is willing to make a deal with me—use you to exchange for Cai’er in prison?”

“So, His Highness Prince Kang intends to kidnap me. But there’s one thing that’s rather unfortunate,” Zhou Xun said.

“One thing? What thing?” Prince Kang sneered.

“Perhaps Prince Kang should join the queue,” Zhou Xun said. “Today, there might be more than just Prince Kang’s men trying to kidnap me.”

“Zhou Xun, what are you doing here?”

Another voice suddenly sounded nearby. Zhou Xun turned around and saw Li Miao and Xie Zhengqing. Li Miao had a scruffy beard and looked tired and dusty, as if he had just returned from outside the city. Xie Zhengqing looked at him with a surprised expression.

A phrase suddenly popped into Zhou Xun’s mind.

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the first to retreat was the person secretly following Zhou Xun, then the gritting teeth of Prince Kang. Prince Kang was about to make a harsh remark, but Zhou Xun had already said, “As of now, Zhou Cai indeed has a solid crime against him. He should be forced to labor, but if Prince Kang truly wants him, he could ask the emperor. Though it will cost some money.”

“How much money?”

Zhou Xun held up his fingers in a “ten” gesture. “A hundred thousand taels.”

Prince Kang: ………

“A hundred thousand taels??”

“What’s wrong? Prince Kang can pay ten thousand taels to buy a slave, but can’t pay a hundred thousand taels to buy back his ‘close confidant’?” Zhou Xun said. “A hundred thousand taels is nothing more than a little pain for Prince Kang. Is Zhou Cai not worth even a slave to you?”

“That slave… Cai’er is not something he can compare to,” Prince Kang’s face darkened. “He’s just a slave, yes, just a slave.”

At this point, Prince Kang thought of that slave again. These past few days, he had been busy outside dealing with Zhou Cai, and he wondered what little Xue was doing at the inn now.

Thinking this, a surge of anger rose within him. Surely, these past few days without him, little Xue must have been very happy.

Zhou Xun sneered at his words. He couldn’t be bothered to figure out whether Prince Kang was trying to persuade others or convincing himself. In any case, he had nothing to say to people who didn’t speak or act like humans.

“Prince Kang should hurry back and prepare the hundred thousand taels,” Zhou Xun said, recalling something the emperor had once said and using it here. “Shipping is included.”

He said this expressionlessly, and Prince Kang, consumed by rage, swirled his sleeve and left.

With Prince Kang gone, only Li Miao and Xie Zhengqing remained. Li Miao, observing the scene, asked, “What does ‘shipping is included’ mean?”

Zhou Xun didn’t even lift his eyelids. “It means sending Zhou Cai into exile, without needing Prince Kang’s special carriage to pick him up.”

Li Miao: …

After a long pause, Xie Zhengqing sighed. “Ah, I remember when I first met Zhou Cai. He was still the ambitious young man back then. How did he end up like this, with the Northern Wei…”

In Xie Zhengqing’s eyes, everyone was good—Zhou Xun was good, and Zhou Cai was good.

“That’s because we didn’t know him well back then, just his face but not his heart. As a person of Jingguo, colluding with the Northern Wei, his nature is rotten,” Li Miao spat.

Zhou Xun hadn’t expected Li Miao to react so strongly. Li Miao then said, “What’s wrong? Our Duke of the Protectorate’s title wasn’t just given. Decades ago, my grandfather was a great hero in the war between Jingguo and Northern Wei.”

At this point, Li Miao became animated. He led the group to sit back down at Luhuan Nong. Xie Zhengqing sat there with a distracted expression, while Li Miao went on with enthusiasm. He generously told the entire history of the Li family—generations of heroes, generations of loyal martyrs. Then, he said that his dream was to become a loyal martyr as well, just like his grandfather had taught him.

“But there’s one thing I really don’t understand,” Li Miao said, after drinking some wine, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction. “My grandfather always said he wanted to move his younger brother into the ancestral tomb. He mentioned it some years ago, and now again, saying that if he doesn’t do it soon, no one will remember him once he’s gone. I really don’t get it—what’s the point of moving a traitor into the family tomb? For decades, my grandfather hated him and forbade the family from speaking of him. Whenever he was mentioned, he was regarded as the disgrace of the family. But for some reason, these past few years, he keeps talking about moving him into the ancestral tomb.”

“Perhaps when people grow old, they become sentimental,” Xie Zhengqing comforted him.

Li Miao shook his head. “That person was my grandfather’s younger brother. On paper, he was legitimate, but in reality, he was born to a prostitute, so his roots were bad. The Duke of the Protectorate raised him, but in the end, he repaid kindness with betrayal, stealing the battle plans for the Northern Wei. Fortunately, he was stopped in time. If it weren’t for my grandfather’s war merits, Emperor Gaozong would have held the Duke of the Protectorate’s family accountable. And since childhood, he and my grandfather never got along. Later, my grandfather came to despise proud and arrogant sons born out of wedlock. How could he possibly feel soft toward him?”