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墨書 Inktalez
After Pei Guanjing's death, the other princes of the realm would no longer be a threat.
Thus, Pei Guanjing's death was scheduled for a month after Pei Yongshang's execution.
The state of Chang announced to the world that the rebel leader Pei Guanjing had been captured and would soon be executed.
The world was shocked.
At this time, Pei Guanjing commanded the most valiant soldiers in the capital, and he was a master tactician who had previously kept all the princes confined to their territories, preventing them from making any reckless moves, with Lou Yu being the only exception.
In the dark and damp confines of Chang's prison, a heavy atmosphere pervaded every inch of air.
Pei Guanjing's hands were tightly bound by heavy iron chains that hung from the ceiling, suspending him in mid-air. His body was covered in whip marks, with gashes that bled profusely, his blood mingling with his tattered clothes, leaving him in a pitiful state.
Reflecting on the past, Pei Guanjing had once seemed like an immortal descended to earth—tall and imposing, exuding an extraordinary aura as he commanded thousands of troops and struck fear into the hearts of many. At that time, clad in armor with eyes sharp as an eagle’s, he commanded respect wherever he went.
But now, fate had played a cruel joke on him. He had been pierced through the bones of his ribs and lost all his former glory, left helplessly dangling from chains as a prisoner without any power to fight back.
The guards, seeing him in such a diminished state, quickly shed their previous respect and replaced it with boldness to humiliate him.
Every day, they routinely whipped him, striking his already battered back again and again.
The sound of the whip meeting flesh echoed dully each time, as if they aimed to crush his bones.
Yet Pei Guanjing remained silent as if he were dead. No matter how much the guards beat and cursed him, he never uttered a word. He merely cast a faint glance at them before looking past them into the air, lost in thought.
He often found himself gazing slightly upward, his eyes fixed on the only small window in the cell.
Though tiny, the window allowed a sliver of light from the outside world to seep in. He stared at it quietly, without uttering a word, his thoughts seemingly drifting far away, as if everything within the cell had nothing to do with him.
On this day, after the usual whipping, as the jailer had just left, Pei Guanjing heard someone approaching slowly.
He recognized that familiar yet detestable voice. The person coldly commanded, "Open the door."
Pei Guanjing frowned slightly.
Then he heard an even colder voice call out, "Pei Guanjing."
Turning his head, he saw Lou Yu, now the founding emperor of the Chang Kingdom.
In just a few months' time, Lou Yu seemed even colder and more ruthless than when they had faced each other on the battlefield.
Despite being dressed in luxurious robes adorned with glaring dragon patterns, his expression was far from pleasant; the weariness etched on his brow was impossible to conceal.
Surely, Lou Yu must have had a particularly difficult time these past years?
A faint smile curled at the corners of Pei Guanjing's lips. If he was suffering, then Lou Yu could expect no better fate.
As Lou Yu stepped into the dungeon, an overwhelmingly unpleasant aura rushed toward him.
The air was thick with the mingled stench of blood and the scent of Pinewood, a combination that was both pungent and nauseating. The metallic odor of blood was overwhelming, laced with a hint of decay, while the Pinewood, which should have been fresh, was now tainted by the blood, creating a bizarre and repulsive aroma.
This smell permeated every corner of the dungeon, making him feel utterly disgusted.
Lou Yu furrowed his brow, raising a hand to cover his mouth and nose, his eyes filled with revulsion. In the dim light of the dungeon, his figure appeared particularly stern, and that foul scent seemed to invade his nostrils more with each passing moment, heightening his irritation as he quickened his pace toward Pei Guanjing's location.
Lou Yu had wrestled with his decision for quite some time before ultimately deciding to confront Pei Guanjing.
For five years, since the day he faced Pei Guanjing in battle while advancing toward the capital, he had not slept a single peaceful night. Now that Pei Guanjing had been captured, he felt torn between wanting to see him and wishing to avoid him.
He hesitated to meet because Pei Guanjing was now merely a prisoner, the very person who had troubled him for five years; he found it beneath him to face him. Yet, he also felt compelled to see him due to the current whereabouts of Ye Chen.
At this moment, seeing Pei Guanjing suddenly smile at him only fueled Lou Yu's anger further.
"Pei Guanjing!" he gritted his teeth and asked coldly, "Are you still not going to tell me where Ye Chen is?"
He had privately inquired with several people in Pei Guanjing's army and received responses indicating that Ye Chen had been missing for five years and had not been secretly taken away by Pei Guanjing. Some even bluntly stated that Ye Chen was already dead.
Thus, he had come personally to question Pei Guanjing: "Pei Guanjing, what have you done with Ye Chen? You can no longer protect him; hand him over to me, and I will ensure you receive a complete body."
Pei Guanjing turned his head away and ignored him.
If he knew where Ye Chen was, would he have ended up in such a predicament? Would he allow Lou Yu to ride over him?
Lou Yu noticed that Pei Guanjing did not respond, and upon hearing his question, the expression in his eyes dimmed instantly.
A sense of foreboding surged within Lou Yu. Could it be that Ye Chen had encountered some kind of accident? Otherwise, with Pei Guanjing's temperament, he would never allow Ye Chen to leave his side for even a moment. Moreover, as a Tian Qian, how could he go so long without marking his Kun Ze to comfort him?
The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became.
Over the past five years, his private informants had thoroughly searched through Pei Guanjing's military ranks, yet no one had seen Ye Chen. Everyone claimed that Ye Chen had been missing for five years or was already dead.
"Pei Guanjing, I will ask you one more time: where have you taken Ye Chen? Are you..." Lou Yu's voice unconsciously trembled.
Pei Guanjing remained silent.
Seeing his lack of response, Lou Yu's anger flared as he caught sight of the wounds on Pei Guanjing's body. He shouted, "Who beat him to such a state?"
A guard stepped forward, trembling and stammering, "It was... it was me."
The guard had expected to receive a severe beating in return but was taken aback when he heard Lou Yu say, "Well done. Bring me the whip."
The guard cautiously handed over the whip, and Lou Yu snatched it away.
Then, Lou Yu unfurled the whip and struck Pei Guanjing heavily across the back.
The force he used was immense; even the guard standing nearby felt a shiver of fear at the sound of the whip striking flesh.
Yet they still could not hear a single cry of pain from Pei Guanjing; all they heard were Lou Yu's words echoing: "Pei Guanjing, didn’t you love Ye Chen very much? Then why didn’t you protect him? Why, after five years, do you still not know whether he is dead or alive? Pei Guanjing, why did you take him away from Lan Prefecture? If it weren’t for you, Ye Chen could have been by my side today."
"Do you know he is still carrying your child? How can a Kun Ze survive in such chaotic times? Without Xin Xiang and without a husband, how is he supposed to live? Since you have him, why don’t you cherish him properly and leave him alone in Chongzhou?"
Faced with this barrage of questions, Pei Guanjing found himself unable to respond to any of them.
For five years, he had been reflecting on whether he had truly made a mistake. Why did he leave Ye Chen in Chongzhou? Even when Liu Jin tried to stop him, he should have taken him away; after all, he was his husband, the one who could care for him for a lifetime. Why had he entrusted him to someone else?
In the end, however, he had still entrusted him to Liu Jin.
He could not find Liu Jin’s body because it was beyond recognition. At first, he held onto hope, believing that Liu Jin had taken A Chen away. But as time passed, all his spies had scoured the entire Tianqi without finding any trace of them.
So he erected a grave marker for Liu Jin. As for Ye Chen, he thought that when he died, he would hold onto the things Ye Chen had used in life and be buried together with him—of course, if there was a complete body.
Ye Chen remained elusive; there was no sign of life or death. He found it hard to close his eyes.
Pei Guanjing lowered his gaze in sorrow. Blood from his wounds dripped onto the ground, leaving a trail of crimson stains.
Lou Yu grew tired of waiting and seeing that Pei Guanjing remained silent and unresponsive. Frustrated, he threw down the whip and turned to leave.
That day, Ye Chen went out to buy groceries as usual.
As he passed through the East Market, he noticed a crowd gathered around the notice board. Being of shorter stature, he couldn’t squeeze in no matter how hard he tried. He could only grab hold of a man pushing his way out of the crowd and asked, "Hey there, brother, what’s posted inside? Is there some big event about to happen?"
The older brother shook his head, a faint smile appearing on his face, though it never reached his eyes. He sighed, "What else could it be? The war is coming to an end." With that, he lifted his foot to leave, only to find the corner of his garment tightly grasped by Ye Chen.
"Who was defeated?" Ye Chen's voice trembled slightly.
The older brother wasn't angry; he waved his hand dismissively and said, "It was Pei Guanjing, the former Regent's adopted son. He is to be executed in Qiu Shui Street in a month. By now, it should have been four or five days since then. Ah, the unpredictability of life! I thought Young Master Pei had everything going for him—how could he lose? And to a prince who once caused Cangzhou to fall."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the older brother seemed to realize he had misspoken. His expression changed abruptly as he hurriedly pushed Ye Chen away and quickly departed.
Ye Chen stood there in a daze. When the crowd gradually dispersed, he squeezed forward and saw the notice posted on the wall.
Pei Guanjing and Lou Yu—he couldn't accept the death of either.
But now, he was just a common physician; what could he possibly do?
The only thought that crossed his mind was to see Pei Guanjing one last time.
Upon returning to the health clinic, Dou Ya had already sorted all the medicinal herbs.
As soon as Dou Ya saw Ye Chen come back, his eyes lit up. He ran towards him with open arms, calling out in a sweet voice, "Daddy, I’ve sorted all the herbs! Hurry and hug me!"
In the past, at this time of day, Ye Chen would always scoop Dou Ya up in his arms and praise him for a long while. But at this moment, Ye Chen was still lost in thoughts about what he had just seen. His legs felt weak as he trembled and sat down on a chair, looking utterly dejected as if he had lost his soul.
"Daddy, hug me! Daddy, hug me!" Dou Ya sensed that something was off with his father but couldn't understand what had happened. He could only reach out again and again, stubbornly asking for a hug.
Unbeknownst to how long Dou Ya had been calling, Liu Jin was awakened by the noise and stretched lazily as he walked out from the back room.
"What’s wrong with my precious grandson? If your father won’t hold you, then Grandpa will. Come here," Liu Jin said, his face filled with affection as he opened his arms wide.
Dou Ya, understanding and obedient, immediately leaped into his grandfather's embrace, sweetly calling out, "Grandpa."
Liu Jin first steadied Dou Ya in his arms before noticing Ye Chen standing nearby, lost in thought with a vacant expression. He frowned slightly, realizing that Chen Er must have learned about the situation in the capital.
He had intended to keep this matter from Ye Chen, but now that it had come to pass, he found himself at a loss for words of comfort. After all, that man was Dou Ya's father; it was too cruel to let such a small child lose his father. He simply couldn't bring himself to do it.
After a moment of contemplation, Liu Jin spoke softly, "If you want to go, then go. I will send secret guards to escort you north, but whether or not you can save him is something you must weigh carefully. Remember, you must come back alive. Dou Ya is still so young; losing one father is already pitiful enough—he cannot lose you too."
Ye Chen seemed to hear the words as he slowly turned his head towards Liu Jin. With a bend of his knees, he knelt down with a thud and bowed three times heavily before standing up and rushing back to his room to pack.
Liu Jin held Dou Ya in his arms, watching Ye Chen's departing figure with mixed emotions.
Dou Ya looked on in confusion at the direction his father had gone and curiously asked his grandfather, "What is Daddy going to do? Why did he leave so quickly?"
Liu Jin forced a smile and comforted the little one in his arms, "Daddy is going to bring your father home. Are you happy, Dou Ya?"
Dou Ya often heard others say that he didn't have a father. Now that he heard that Daddy was going to bring him home, he instantly became excited and clapped his hands cheerfully, exclaiming, "Happy!"
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