After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 149

Chapter 149: Zhou Cai’s Ordeal in Haitang City

Zhou Cai walked alone on the street, his thoughts scattered.

Wearing a cloak, he deliberately avoided everyone. If anyone looked at him, he would tremble like a frightened bird, his body shaking uncontrollably. Some people found him strange, while others ignored him completely; his fear was often self-inflicted.

He looked no different from a beggar. His once fair and delicate face had been marred by a scar on his forehead, left there from the day Rong Fen smashed a vase on him, ruining his once handsome features. His current destitution in the outskirts of the capital was a result of overhearing a conversation between two officers escorting him to an abandoned temple a few days ago.

Not only did Zhou Xun plan to humiliate him, but he also intended to kill him today to eliminate any future trouble!

By sheer luck, Zhou Cai escaped from the temple and began his life as a drifter. He dared not return to Jiangzhou—it was no longer under the Zhou family’s control. Nor did he dare to seek out King Kang in the borderlands; it was far too dangerous. Along the way, he drank dirty water, stole steamed buns, and scavenged leftovers outside restaurants. The former handsome top scholar had now become a thief, shamelessly eating scraps without a shred of embarrassment.

Where could he go now? He had no idea. Zhou’s mother and Zhou Wanwan had left with King Kang, but while his mother might beg King Kang to search for him, Zhou Wanwan certainly would not. Yet, King Kang was his last hope, the only one who might find him in his wandering state.

Zhou Cai woke up in a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the capital, now home to many refugees. It was his only refuge. However, he immediately sensed something amiss as he woke—

His bundle was gone!

The bundle contained nothing valuable, just some dried buns and items for personal hygiene, such as twigs for brushing his teeth. Even now, he clung to his habit of cleanliness, grooming his hair by the pond every day.

He scanned the area and saw a few burly men on the other side, smirking maliciously at him with crossed arms. Zhou Cai bit his lip. Though the insult burned, he couldn’t afford a confrontation. As a fugitive, attracting the authorities would spell disaster.

He swallowed his anger and prepared to leave, but it seemed the men saw his silent retreat as a sign of weakness—or an opportunity to bully him.

The stolen bundle was just the beginning.

Before Zhou Cai realized it, he was surrounded. To his horror, one of the men stepped forward with a grin and groped his backside.

“I’ve heard some men are even better than women. Let’s see if it’s true.”

“Nice and firm. A fine figure.”

“Looks better than the ones in the brothels. Oh, you dare hit me? I wonder what that face…”

“Not bad-looking, though the scar on his face is a shame. But since we don’t have any women, we’ll just make do with him.”

Terror engulfed Zhou Cai as they examined him, not for his beauty, but for his anatomy—as if he were nothing more than an object. They dragged him into a corner as he struggled desperately. Just when it was about to begin, his head struck a wall.

When he woke again, it was night. His clothes were torn, blood dripped from his head, and his body bore bruises from the beating. However, his lower body remained untouched; the men, fearing they might kill him, had fled.

Now even the temple was unsafe for him. Zhou Cai washed his head by the lake, but as he climbed up from the water, he saw Zhou Xun’s expressionless face beneath the surface—just as it had been that winter day.

He wandered aimlessly for a long time until he arrived at a certain place.

A brothel on the outskirts of the capital, one even more wretched than the lowest of brothels.

This establishment housed women with festering sores, male courtesans, and other undesirables. Adjacent to it was the infamous Pleasure Lane, catering to the twisted desires of certain nobles. Here, one could find amputated “playthings,” castrated men surgically transformed into “women,” and boys with grotesquely bound feet.

Were it not for such places, one would never imagine how vile human desires could be.

But Zhou Cai was starving.

After much searching, he found some discarded food outside one of the brothels. He clung to it, devouring it ravenously. Before he could finish, the guards’ shouts startled him.

“Thief!”

“Catch him!”

Zhou Cai ran clumsily, his twisted ankle slowing him down.

But as he fled, his pursuers suddenly gave up. He stumbled into someone, immediately crouching down with his hands over his head, bracing for a beating.

To his surprise, a familiar voice spoke: “You are…”

Zhou Cai looked up in a daze.

The man was equally shocked upon seeing his face. Under the illuminated street behind him, Zhou Cai vaguely recognized the man.

He looked familiar… Wasn’t his name Liu…

Liu Zhe?

“Don’t make a sound,” Liu Zhe said. The lights illuminated his face, making him look like a savior descending from the heavens. He covered Zhou Cai’s face with a cloth and said, “Let’s get out of here first.”

Zhou Cai, trembling under the cloth and overwhelmed by his filth, nodded.

Liu Zhe took him away. Behind them, someone from the Pleasure Lane called out, “Young Master Liu, your ‘Diao Lan’…”

Diao Lan, of course, wasn’t a real plant but a code word for something else. But Liu Zhe was already gone, leaving in a carriage with someone in tow, vanishing without a trace.

…

Zhou Cai soaked in a wooden tub, staring blankly at the sky. Bucket after bucket of water was changed until his grime was washed away.

Finally, he began to sob.

Then came the food. Surprisingly, Liu Zhe kindly provided him with a meal. Zhou Cai devoured it ravenously, his former elegance as a noble scholar completely gone. Outside, Liu Zhe fanned himself, frowning as he looked in.

“…Forget it,” he muttered, shaking his head. “At least his face is still usable. The scars… they’re quite unique.”

Looking at Zhou Cai, he thought of the always cold and distant Zhou Xun. The Ministry of Revenue’s deputy minister had never acknowledged him, as though he could see through him at a glance.

Excitement coursed through him again. Zhou Cai resembled Zhou Xun, sharing half of the same blood.

Zhou Cai’s blood would taste like Zhou Xun’s blood.

Zhou Cai leaned against the chair, panting heavily after finishing his meal. Liu Zhe finally entered. Zhou Cai looked at him fearfully—this man he had once disdained. After a long time, he finally whimpered tearfully, “Brother Liu—”

“Brother Liu, I… I have nothing left…”

Liu Zhe listened to his sobs and thought his voice sounded even better than the boy he had found in Pleasure Lane, the one made into a “Diao Lan.”

And this was a top scholar—Zhou Zhuangyuan.

Using him for amusement was certainly more satisfying. Moreover, Zhou Cai was healthy and unlikely to die easily. As a former Hanlin scholar, breaking such a man would be all the more rewarding. And as a fugitive, no one cared about Zhou Cai’s life or well-being.

Zhou Cai wept in his arms, thinking only of using Liu Zhe’s help to contact King Kang and have him take him away from here.

In Liu Zhe’s embrace, he formed his plan.

…

“A source reported seeing Zhou Cai being taken to Liu’s residence through a side gate. It’s unclear how they encountered each other,” a subordinate reported.

“Liu Zhe?” Zhou Xun was surprised. He hadn’t expected Zhou Cai, even in such dire straits, to find someone willing to shelter him.

“The Liu family’s dealings have always been unsavory,” he said. “We’ve been too busy with Northern Wei to deal with them, but once that’s settled, they’ll be dealt with.”

“Yes.”

“Keep an eye on Zhou Cai and confirm his whereabouts. King Kang will send someone to find him. The ‘General’ is actually after the patriarch of the Ye family. They’ve already begun to act,” Zhou Xun instructed. “Now, let’s go check on him.”

When Zhou Xun opened the door, the Ye family patriarch was cowering in the corner. Seeing Zhou Xun, he pointed at the spilled food on the floor, trembling, “The food! It’s poisoned!”

Beside the scattered rice grains lay a dead rat, belly up for some time.

Zhou Xun glanced at the food and said to the Ye family patriarch, “She’s come for you.”

“I… I…” The patriarch wept bitterly. “I’ll give you everything—all my wealth. Just make her leave me alone, please. I don’t want to die. I don’t…”

“So many years have passed. What use are such words now?” Zhou Xun said, turning to his subordinates. “Clean this up.”

“Yes.”

The subordinates quietly cleaned the room. Zhou Xun continued, “Letting you stay here any longer is not a long-term solution. In that case, I’ll arrange for you to move somewhere else.”

The head of the Ye family was overjoyed and expressed his gratitude profusely. As Zhou Xun left the room, one of his subordinates said, “Sir, are you planning to use the opportunity of transferring the Ye family head to lure those people out?”

Zhou Xun neither confirmed nor denied it. He looked up at the sky and asked, “In a few days, isn’t the Emperor going to hold a ceremony at the altar to boost the morale of the military and civilians?”

The subordinate replied, “Yes.”

“Then arrange the transfer on that day,” Zhou Xun said.

The subordinate said no more and left to carry out the order. He didn’t know what Zhou Xun was planning, but Zhou Xun’s plans had never gone wrong.

After leaving the place, Zhou Xun headed to the Princess Fukan’s residence. To his surprise, he didn’t see Lu Xiandao there that day but instead encountered Bai Yuhang.

“Old Lu has been busy lately. The people of Northern Wei have infiltrated and are causing trouble, and he’s been everywhere catching people—especially corrupt officials,” Bai Yuhang said with a blade of grass in his mouth. He had apparently been entertaining the princess with jokes, eliciting peals of laughter. “Such turbulent times! Thankfully, the Emperor is competent.”

Zhou Xun glanced at him unexpectedly and said, “Your relationship with him has improved quite a bit recently.”

Zhou Xun had said something similar to Bai Yuhang before. That day was during Zhang Lingsu’s wedding. The Emperor had made a dashing appearance before leaving to continue working, while Zhou Xun stayed to finish the banquet. After the banquet, Bai Yuhang left with Lu Xiandao. The atmosphere between them didn’t seem tense, even somewhat harmonious. A few days later, when Zhou Xun ran into Bai Yuhang, he mentioned it. He remembered Bai Yuhang’s casual reply then: “Birds of a feather, I suppose. Old Lu’s pretty decent.”

He used to say, “Who could get along with that deadpan face?”

But this time, Bai Yuhang hesitated, lowered his head, and scratched it. He neither acknowledged nor denied the improved relationship. After a long pause, he said to Zhou Xun, “Catching those people must be a hassle, right? The other day, I saw Lu Xiandao catch someone involved in enslaving and killing others. But because of that man’s father, his connections, and some rules… Lu Xiandao didn’t execute him.”

At that moment, Zhou Xun understood. Bai Yuhang, who had previously gotten along better with Lu Xiandao, now seemed to have a falling out, and this was the reason.

Zhou Xun thought for a moment, then sat down beside Bai Yuhang, who was seated on the steps. “Being in the court, there are many times when one is forced to make compromises. You think Lu Xiandao is unwilling to uphold justice or punish offenders. But sometimes, the rules force one to act in such a way.”

“…” Bai Yuhang didn’t respond, still looking a bit upset, scratching his head. “In my eyes, a murderer should pay with their life.”

“Sometimes, though, there are other ways to make people suffer or, if the injustice is too great, find another excuse to punish them next time,” Zhou Xun said. “Moreover, as the Deputy Commandant, Lu Xiandao isn’t just lenient toward others. Even if he were the victim, unable to exact justice, he would still order that the offender be released.”

“That’s boring,” Bai Yuhang muttered after a long pause. “But I guess that deadpan would indeed do that.”

The knot in Bai Yuhang’s heart eased slightly. Zhou Xun patted him on the shoulder and left. When he entered the courtyard, he saw Old Master Shen still walking around. The elder’s health had improved significantly, and he was now in good spirits, wandering everywhere. Upon seeing Zhou Xun, he chuckled, “Oh, here to see me again? You’ve been doing well lately!”

Zhou Xun sat down to chat with him. The old man first complained about how his legs weren’t recovering as quickly as they had in his youth, then remarked, “I heard the Emperor is holding a ceremony in a few days. I might go out and join the excitement. Staying cooped up indoors has been stifling.”

Zhou Xun asked, “Master, do you still remember how you were ambushed in Youhuang Alley? How did they find you?”

“How would I know? I’ve always kept a low profile. Who’d have guessed they’d discover where I lived?” The old man waved dismissively. “But going out to see a ceremony won’t matter. They all know I’m no longer in charge. Why would they attack me now?”

He spoke with such confidence and finality that his decision was unshakeable. Zhou Xun thought for a moment and said nothing more.

He advised Old Master Shen to take care of himself before leaving. As he departed, he looked up at the sky, his gaze lowering slightly.

There was a trace of heat in his eyes.

Seven days later, during the Emperor’s ceremony,

Everything would come to a resolution.

…

These were tense times, with communication with Northern Wei being a capital offense. Zhou Cai racked his brain and finally devised a way to send a letter in code.

He believed Prince Kang would receive it.

After enduring a long period of wandering, his days at the Liu family estate were extraordinarily comfortable. Liu Zhe had arranged for him to stay in a small courtyard on the outskirts of the capital, guarded heavily inside and out. Zhou Cai was deeply grateful for his help.

Even the person delivering his meals was mute.

He hadn’t expected Liu Zhe to treat him so well. This thought filled him with a mixture of pride and scorn. He felt that even at his lowest, he could still rely on those who admired him to rise above his circumstances.

Everything was ready; all that remained was for Prince Kang to come for him. As for what had transpired in the brothel that day, he contemplated whether to have Liu Zhe “keep quiet.”

Liu Zhe had indeed shown great care for him. Over the past few days, he had eaten and drunk well, and Liu Zhe had even sent in many clothes for him, though they were slightly ill-fitting. The garments were beautiful nonetheless. However, Zhou Cai couldn’t understand why Liu Zhe hadn’t yet arranged for a physician to treat his injuries.

He could understand it to some extent—after all, he was a fugitive, and finding a discreet doctor was no easy task.

There was a noise from the small door in the distance. Zhou Cai immediately rose from the couch, feeling unusually weak these days, likely due to the toll of his previous wandering.

Liu Zhe entered, followed by a woman carrying a box.

A female doctor? Zhou Cai wondered.

Seeing Liu Zhe, Zhou Cai smiled. Liu Zhe smiled back, gently asking a few questions before suddenly stroking Zhou Cai’s hair. “You have nowhere else to go now. In that case, have you ever considered staying by my side?”

Zhou Cai was both proud of his own allure and inexplicably moved. Still, he hadn’t forgotten Prince Kang and merely replied softly, “…Thank you, Brother Liu, for taking me in.”

“I brought a good bottle of wine,” Liu Zhe said. “Shall we drink together?”

Zhou Cai joined Liu Zhe for a drink. As he sipped, he glanced at the woman nearby and wondered what her purpose was.

The wine was strong. As Zhou Cai drank, he began to feel lightheaded. He struggled to hold onto his cup as his eyelids grew heavy. In his blurry vision, he saw Liu Zhe leaning toward him, his silhouette resembling the savior he had once encountered in a desolate alley.

Zhou Cai giggled foolishly. He leaned closer, as if to kiss him.

Liu Zhe looked at him and smiled.

“So much like Zhou Xun… my Zhou Xun. But Zhou Xun is colder and far more beautiful. Still, wearing his clothes makes you resemble him more… Not bad. He is Zhou Xun, and you will be my Zhou Xun. From now on, I’ll call you Ah Xun…”

At that moment, Zhou Cai’s foggy mind finally registered something. He tried to scream in terror but collapsed weakly onto the couch.

Liu Zhe lifted his ankle.

“Quite a few scars on his soles. Oh well, wrap them up; they’ll be unnoticeable,” he told the woman. “You can start now.”

“A grown man’s feet are difficult to work with,” the woman said. “It’ll take a while, and I’ll have to do it in stages.”

“Then take your time. Don’t kill him. Start with the feet; we’ll deal with the rest later,” Liu Zhe instructed. “And keep a closer watch. Don’t let him send out any more letters.”

Zhou Cai slipped into unconsciousness, unable to hear what was said outside.

…

In a small town in Yunzhou, Jing Kingdom:

“Miss Zhou,” the guard said respectfully, “here’s a letter from the capital. Please deliver it to the prince.”

Zhou Wanwan walked gracefully, accepting the letter with a smile. The guard, seeing her take it, departed.

In recent days of escape, Zhou’s mother had fallen ill and was now bedridden, reliant on others even for basic needs. But Zhou Wanwan wasn’t by her side. Instead, she was pouring all her efforts into winning over Prince Kang.

Prince Kang had been in a slump lately, often drinking and calling out names like “Hongxue” or “Xiaoxue” while drunk. Zhou Wanwan knew these referred to a former slave of his, but she didn’t care.

When sober, Prince Kang would tirelessly ask if anyone had found Zhou Cai—his “red rose” Xiaoxue and “white moonlight” Zhou Cai. Having lost Xiaoxue, he couldn’t bear the thought of losing Zhou Cai too. Zhou Wanwan knew he cared more for Zhou Cai than Xiaoxue.

Yet here, in his exile, Zhou Wanwan was the only woman of marriageable age by his side. Inevitably, they grew closer. Still, Zhou Wanwan knew Prince Kang thought of Zhou Cai when he looked at her. His politeness was merely because she was Zhou Cai’s sister.

Though she and Zhou Cai resembled each other somewhat, as a woman, she lacked Zhou Cai’s beauty.

But being a woman gave her other advantages in the competition. Zhou Wanwan’s reputation was ruined in Jing Kingdom; marrying another wealthy man in Northern Wei would be difficult. And how could she find someone better than Prince Kang, who was already so close?

She had calculated all this clearly.

Thus, she leveraged Zhou Cai’s situation to stay by Prince Kang’s side. Over time, the servants began treating her as the mistress, calling her “Miss Zhou.” Even when Prince Kang was away, letters were entrusted to her for delivery. But that wasn’t enough—Prince Kang’s heart was with Zhou Cai, and she refused to be a titular consort.

As long as Zhou Cai lived, she couldn’t marry Prince Kang.

In a secluded spot, Zhou Wanwan opened the letter. She quickly read its contents and, even faster, crumpled it into a ball and tore it to shreds.

It was a plea for help from Zhou Cai.

She didn’t dare dispose of the fragments, so she kept them on her person. Soon, she heard Prince Kang returning.

Zhou Wanwan greeted him with a radiant smile. Prince Kang, rubbing his head, looked weary and asked, “Any news?”

“None yet,” Zhou Wanwan replied.