The Blood Crown - Chapter 177

Yan Sikong took a deep breath and quickly explained, “Feng Ye, listen to me. Back then, Ah Li went to find Xiao Liu because he had a personal relationship with him and felt guilty for throwing him off the horse, so he went to deliver medicine. The stolen military token was orchestrated by Xie Zhongren, who instructed Ye Li to seduce Xiao Liu!”

Feng Ye nodded slowly. “Continue.”

“Xie Zhongren is now in prison. He will eventually confess to framing your father. You can’t blame me for this!”

“I don’t believe a single word you say.” Feng Ye sneered, “It just so happens that your loyal servant went to find Xiao Liu before the incident, that you didn’t attend the banquet that night, that Xiao Liu knew my father’s military token was hidden in the jade belt, and that the route Xiao Liu used to lead the Feng family troops up the mountain was exactly the same as the one we discussed. When you urged me to revolt, and I refused, you must have felt extremely resentful seeing the Feng family troops out of your control.”

Yan Sikong replied sternly, “I was injured that night and was resting in the Crown Prince’s tent! Are you really so dense? If it were me, how could there be so many mistakes? What benefit would it bring me to do this? It’s clearly someone trying to frame me. Even if you don’t believe me, you can’t just accuse me based on preconceived notions!”

“Fine, we’ll wait for that eunuch to confess.” Feng Ye curled his lips into a cruel smile. “But you knew that the dog emperor was going to betroth Xi’er to you and kept it hidden from me. Is that also unjustly accusing you?”

Yan Sikong was stunned.

“Later, I recalled that once I went to pay my respects to my aunt, she hinted at your situation. She must have heard the news then but couldn’t mention the unconfirmed engagement due to concerns about Xi’er’s reputation.” Feng Ye said coldly, “If you had told me at that time, there wouldn’t have been this mess. But you didn’t say anything because you wanted to marry her, you wanted to become the son-in-law, didn’t you?”

Yan Sikong’s lips trembled, and he said softly, “… Yes, I thought at that time that you were just being whimsical. What man doesn’t marry and have children? I thought…”

“You thought that since we both had to marry eventually, of course, you would marry a noble lady.” Feng Ye’s face flashed with a hint of savagery. He grabbed Yan Sikong’s chin. “You never truly cared about me. Looking back, I realize you approached me and accepted me unwillingly, only because I was the heir to Prince Jingyuan. If I didn’t have this status, you would have discarded me like an old shoe.”

Yan Sikong’s jaw ached from the grip, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. He gritted his teeth and said, “Feng Ye, do you really feel nothing? Do you not care at all about whether we had feelings for each other?”

“Heh.” Feng Ye chuckled twice. “That’s a good question. I did think you had feelings for me until I became a prisoner, no longer the influential Prince Jingyuan. That’s when I woke up.”

“If I really had no feelings, why would I risk my life to save you!” Yan Sikong felt his blood surge. He thought he could deceive his enemies with countless lies, but could not convince the person he cared about the most? 

“You saved me, just to…” Feng Ye released his grip on Yan Sikong’s chin and opened his hands. “You thought I wouldn’t know what you brought with you? My father is dead, and I am the only legitimate successor of the Feng family. The Datong Prefecture still supports the Feng family. You saved me so I could command the Datong army, retake the capital, and help you… seize power.”

Yan Sikong stared blankly at Feng Ye, unable to respond.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Feng Ye’s eyes were filled with cold fury. “You wanted to do this back then, but my father was unwilling. Your ambitions go beyond avenging Yuan Mao and destroying the eunuchs. What you want is—”

“The world,” Yan Sikong said, closing his eyes. His nostrils felt a sting, and tears nearly fell. “Indeed, that was my purpose for coming to you, but what I seek is not power or profit. What I, Yan Sikong, have always wanted is peace and security for the country.”

Feng Ye looked at him expressionlessly.

Yan Sikong’s voice trembled. “I thought you also had such lofty aspirations. Didn’t we make such a promise when we were young?”

“You are not worthy to mention our youth!” Feng Ye suddenly shouted angrily.

Yan Sikong was shocked, staring rigidly at Feng Ye.

Feng Ye’s broad chest heaved as he seemed to suppress an overwhelming rage. “When we met in the capital back then, I was only eighteen, foolish and proud, infatuated with you. I could only see how charming you appeared on the surface, not knowing how malicious and filthy you were inside. You took advantage of my deep feelings for you, deceiving and using me to achieve your goals by any means necessary. Even after I exposed you several times, as long as you softened your stance, I couldn’t help but lean towards you.” Feng Ye’s voice became more intense, his breath heavy and his gaze fierce like a beast. “I still don’t understand what kind of spell you cast on me back then that made me dance to your tune?”

Yan Sikong felt a sharp pain in his heart and a sense of disorientation. He couldn’t believe that their years of deep feelings had become nothing but manipulation and deception in Feng Ye’s eyes, as if all their sweetness, joy, fighting side by side, and shared progress were worthless.

Even with Yan Sikong’s eloquence, he couldn’t find a word to convince Feng Ye now.

Feng Ye stepped closer, towering over him, and spoke the cruelest words. “It’s a pity that this time your plan will fail. I, Feng Ye, will never trust you again in this lifetime.”

Yan Sikong’s heart felt as if it had been pierced at that moment. His eyes were already bloodshot. “Feng Ye, you… I may have deceived you, but I never… never meant to harm you.”

“Really? That’s only because I was still useful. If one day I were in your way, you would definitely kick me aside without hesitation,” Feng Ye sneered. “Yan Zilian promoted you, treating you like a teacher and father, with immense favor, but before his bones were even cold, you had already turned against the eunuchs. What can you not do?”

“Should I just accompany the hopeless aristocracy to their deaths? Besides leaving behind a reputation after death, what meaning is there?” Yan Sikong said tearfully, “You should understand better than anyone why I turned against the eunuchs!”

“Yes, for revenge.” Feng Ye shook his head slightly. “For revenge, you can do anything, sacrifice anyone. Unfortunately, I realized this too late.”

“For revenge, I would sacrifice everything, but only you…” Yan Sikong choked, “Only your life is something I would willingly trade my own and my ten years of planning for. I may have deceived you, but I also saved you. Am I truly worthless?”

Feng Ye looked at the tears hanging in Yan Sikong’s eyes. His heart had already gone numb with pain. His body trembled slightly, and he slowly narrowed his eyes. “If you hadn’t saved me, Xue Bo would have come. Did you really think my father and I were unprepared? You saved me for your own sake. Don’t pretend to be so deeply affectionate. This has always been a meticulously planned scheme, from the very beginning!”

Yan Sikong fought to keep his tears from falling, unable to describe the despair in his heart. He had anticipated that Feng Ye would resent him, but he never expected their relationship to become so wretched. In Feng Ye’s words, everything he had done was false, and all the affection they shared was also fake. Feng Ye was denying everything.

“Scheme…?” Yan Sikong, in extreme pain, couldn’t help but laugh. “A scheme? From the beginning? From the start, you came to find me. From the start, you said you liked me. From the start, I never thought of involving you. It was you, Feng Ye, who said you would protect me and make sure I was safe!” He couldn’t help but shout.

Feng Ye’s eyes brewed with a storm of fury. He said through gritted teeth, “How long are you going to keep up this pretense? Is there anyone more hypocritical and cunning than you in this world?”

“What are you talking about? What pretense?”

“From the start, you deliberately helped me tame Zui Hong, lured me to find you…” Feng Ye’s breath was uneven. A person who could draw a two-stone bow at eighteen seemed to lack the strength to finish his words. “You pretended to be my childhood friend, gaining my trust. After discovering that I was infatuated with you, you were willing to use your body to keep me under your control, all to make the Feng family useful to you!”

Yan Sikong was struck as if by lightning. Despite his intelligence, he couldn’t understand Feng Ye’s words. 

Pretend? Childhood friend? What on earth was Feng Ye talking about?

Feng Ye stared fiercely at Yan Sikong, speaking with intense hatred, “You are not Yan Sikong.”

Yan Sikong stared blankly at Feng Ye. That simple sentence was increasingly incomprehensible to him. Not Yan Sikong? He was born Yan Sikong. What did it mean to say he was not Yan Sikong? He opened his mouth, and his voice came out from his chest, but it was hoarse and unrecognizable. “What are you saying… Are you… crazy? I am Yan Sikong?”

Feng Ye’s voice trembled, his eyes bloodshot. “You are not Yan Sikong. You don’t deserve that name. You are just a thoroughgoing liar.”

“You’re crazy!” Yan Sikong shouted, “What nonsense are you spouting! If I’m not Yan Sikong, then who am I?”

Feng Ye revealed a cruel smile, but his eyes were cold, lacking any real mirth. He took a few steps back, lifted the curtain of the military tent, and shouted, “Come in, General Que!”

Yan Sikong stared at Feng Ye in a daze, unable to make sense of it. His mind was a chaotic mess, perhaps the most confused it had ever been. Countless tangled thoughts made his head ache. But amidst the chaos, a faint glimmer of understanding began to take shape. He was on the verge of grasping it but was too frightened to approach it.

He was terrified of his own guess.

Impossible, impossible, impossible!

Moments later, Que Wang lifted the curtain and walked in, silently looking at Yan Sikong. The mask covering his emotions made him appear mysterious and unfamiliar.

Yan Sikong was seized by a chill, trembling uncontrollably.

“Are you scared?” Feng Ye laughed softly, unable to contain his laughter. It was a chilling laugh that seemed to draw twisted pleasure from Yan Sikong’s pale face. “You’re scared, aren’t you? Didn’t expect him to still be alive, did you?”

“No…” Yan Sikong’s eyes could hardly tear themselves away from Que Wang. He had never experienced such a moment of intertwined extreme despair and hope. Intense emotions surged through his veins, almost tearing him apart.

Que Wang’s hand slowly moved to his face. When he touched the mask, he paused, and then tremblingly removed it.

Yan Sikong stared at Que Wang, momentarily forgetting how to speak, forgetting himself, forgetting everything in the world. He just stared at the face, at the face that was almost identical to his own, and the faint tattoo of a mark on his forehead.

Que Wang also looked at Yan Sikong with a very complex expression.

Feng Ye watched Yan Sikong and delivered the fatal blow. “You are not Yan Sikong. You are Yuan Nanyu.”

“Yuan…” Yan Sikong’s tears burst forth as he shouted hoarsely, desperately trying to break free from his restraints as if he were mad. “Yuan Nanyu! Yuan Nanyu! The person before me is my brother Yuan Nanyu, who I thought was long dead!”

Que Wang, now known as Yuan Nanyu, was startled by Yan Sikong’s sudden reaction. He looked at Yan Sikong’s tear-streaked face and furrowed his brow deeply.

“Yuan! Yuan!” Yan Sikong’s voice was now so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable. He cried out desperately at Yuan Nanyu, “You’re still alive, Yuan! You’re still alive… Yuan!”

Yan Sikong’s heart ached as if it were being twisted. At this moment, it felt like a dream. Yuan Nanyu was still alive! Still alive! After seventeen years, seventeen years of suffering because Yuan Nanyu had died in his place. He had risked his life for revenge. He had grown up year after year but rarely looked in the mirror. Every time he saw himself, he would think of Yuan Nanyu. He bore Yuan Nanyu’s life, living alone and in pain. He had never dared to hope that he would one day see Yuan Nanyu alive and standing in front of him!

Yuan Nanyu took a step back, his eyes slightly red. His chest was in intense pain. He clenched his fists and glanced helplessly at Feng Ye.

Feng Ye hesitated for a moment, but then his gaze turned resolute and cold again. “He is the best at deception. He cannot be trusted.”

Feng Ye’s words pulled Yan Sikong back to his senses. He cried, struggling to breathe. “He is Yuan Nanyu, Yuan Mao’s… youngest son, my brother. Yuan, I am… your second brother.” Why did Yuan Nanyu look at him with such unfamiliar eyes? Did he… regret being exiled in his place? Did he harbor resentment?

Upon hearing “second brother,” Yuan Nanyu’s eyes became misty. He bit his lower lip, opened his mouth, but his lips trembled, and he couldn’t produce any sound for a long time.

“Nanyu, speak!” Yan Sikong sobbed. “Do you resent me? Have you been wronged these years? Nanyu, don’t you remember your second brother?”

“I…” Yuan Nanyu took a deep breath, and after a long time, finally calmed himself enough to say, “I truly… do not remember.” 

(End of Chapter)