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For a moment, all eyes fell on Ye Shu.
Under the watchful eyes, Ye Shu forced himself to calm down and cleared his throat. “I am loyal to His Majesty. Why must you wrong me?”
“It’s easy to know whether you’ve been wronged or not,” Mu Jiuqing sneered. “Could it be that Minister Ye forgot his background?”
The background of the original owner, in fact, was mentioned in the book.
The original owner’s father was once the commander-in-chief of three militaries and had fought everywhere on behalf of the late emperor, achieving illustrious military exploits. When the original owner was young, his father had engaged in a covert operation with the foreign enemies, which resulted in heavy casualties for Changlu.
His father was taken under escort back to the capital and he was punished along with his entire family by execution.
His father had a harem with numerous concubines, in addition to their children. The original owner was born to a maidservant in the mansion and, being only seven years old at the time of the incident, was sent to the palace from person to person to save his life.
If so, the reason for the original owner’s betrayal…was to avenge his family?
Ye Shu instantly understood.
The reason the original owner approached Jin Wang was most likely insincere.
Right from the start, he wanted to use his brotherhood with Jin Wang to kill the late emperor and the other princes, and then take advantage of Jin Wang’s trust to kill him with the greatest of ease.
Mu Jiuqing was right, the original owner wanted to use the lives of the Jin clan to avenge his family; debt for blood must be paid in kind.
The more Ye Shu analyzed, the colder his heart became.
Help! This time, even the past ten years of their relationship have become a false premise.
How could he give a plausible explanation this time???
Ye Shu’s face was pale and his undergarments were instantly drenched in a layer of cold sweat.
Jin Wang simply said in his insipid tone, “Are you done?”
Jin Wang reached out and put his arm on Ye Shu’s shoulder, who shuddered in reflex as he was taken into Jin Wang’s embrace.
“Finish this matter and handle this more cleanly.”
After that, Jin Wang walked Ye Shu back to the carriage in his embrace.
The carriage curtain was then lowered to block out the sounds of hauling and footsteps from outside.
As the carriage continued to move slowly, Ye Shu was seated on a small couch by Jin Wang, who was in a rare silence, his state of mind indecipherable to Ye Shu.
Ye Shu quietly sized him up, and asked in a low voice, “Y-Your M-Majesty… You don’t believe that traitor’s outright lies, d-do you?”
“Why wouldn’t Gu believe it?” Jin Wang asked back. “Back then, when the Ye clan was wiped out, you had resentment rankling in your heart and deliberately approached to use Gu, premeditating retaliation. This course of action makes sense.”
“But……”
Jin Wang ran his fingers across Ye Shu’s face, felt the slight shudder of the man next to him and said in a low voice, “You always look like this every time you are afraid. Gu can’t tell if you are really afraid or if you are just pretending.”
Ye Shu bit his lip and didn’t reply.
There was still the sobering soup on the tiny table by the couch. Jin Wang took a glance at it and asked, “Why didn’t you put the drug in?”
Ye Shu was startled. “How did you…”
“Mu Jiuqing. Gu knew he was hiding in the deserted courtyard,” Jin Wang said. “You were there for so long earlier today. Gu could guess what he said to you.”
“…Didn’t he ask you to drug Gu?”
Ye Shu burst into fright.
This man…was testing him again.
He deliberately allowed Mu Jiuqing to operate in the capital, letting him find the opportunity to get in touch with Ye Shu and thus test whether Ye Shu, when all was said and done, would betray him or not.
For so many days, Jin Wang had been indulgent and accommodating to him all for the sake of this moment.
What kind of hellish drama was this???
Ye Shu’s heart cried out from the endless grievances, but he tried his best to maintain his composure. “Yes, he asked me to keep you in the capital and drug you unconscious so that he would have the opportunity to assassinate you.”
Given the current situation, it was already unnecessary to lie in the presence of Jin Wang.
This man had never believed any of his falsehoods.
“Why didn’t you follow the agreement?” Jin Wang asked.
“Would you believe me if I said I couldn’t do it?”
“I believe so.” Jin Wang smiled as he leaned close to him. “If you had drugged the liquor, you wouldn’t have gotten off the boat alive.”
Ye Shu’s fingers tighten the hem of his garment, and kept his silent.
Jin Wang sighed. “You didn’t follow the agreement with the traitor to strike Gu. In fact, Gu should spare your life. It’s just that those words just now, Gu really took them to heart.”
He lifted the curtain and looked out of the window, saying, “We are still half an hour from the palace. Gu will give you this much time; if you can give Gu a convincing explanation, Gu can spare your life. Otherwise…”
Jin Wang took a brocade box from his bosom, inside of which was a pill.
“This is highly toxic. Take it and you won’t feel any suffering, it’s the last concession Gu will give you.”
Silence reigned inside the carriage.
Ye Shu looked at the brocade box on the table and suddenly felt a pang in his heart.
Not long ago, the man had pressed him here and kissed him tenderly, yet now took out a poison and forced him to give an explanation.
He was without doubt the monarch.
Ye Shu couldn’t blame him for that.
As time passed, Jin Wang, with a calm expression, leisurely sipped some tea.
They weren’t far from the palace by that time. Looking into the distance, one could even see the palace’s bright lights through the night.
Jin Wang lowered the curtain and was about to say something when he was suddenly pressed against the window.
He instinctively fought back and grabbed the young man by the throat.
However, in the next second, Jin Wang froze.
A tear fell from the young man’s eye.
Jin Wang subconsciously let go of his hand.
Ye Shu pressed Jin Wang’s shoulder; his eyes red and his voice trembling, “Mu Jiuqing was right. You were right. I’ve been lying to you.”
Jin Wang’s heart sank.
“I’ve been lying to you since I first met you thirteen years ago.”
Ye Shu chuckled. “I was determined to use you, letting you avenge my family on behalf of me. After you’d killed your father and brothers and seized the throne, I would then kill you to avenge the extermination of my family.”
Jin Wang’s voice was low and hoarse as he said, “Then why have you kept me alive until now?”
“Why have I kept you until now? You’re so extremely intelligent, why can’t you even understand this…” A trace of pain flashed in Ye Shu’s eyes before he closed them. “Because I’m in love with you.”
Jin Wang was stumped.
Ye Shu lowered his head, seemingly mustering up his courage, and placed a trembling kiss on the corner of Jin Wang’s lips.
The bitter taste of tears then welled on his lips.
With a brief kiss, Ye Shu tilted his head, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I was determined to take revenge, yet I, against reason, fell in love with my own foe. All these years, I avoided you and even went so far as to cooperate with foreign enemies, just to make myself firm in my determination.”
“Tonight was my last chance, but I still couldn’t do it.”
“I’m so useless…”
Jin Wang’s expression changed. “A-Shu…”
He was about to continue when the horses’ hooves rattled outside and the carriage stopped.
They have already arrived in the palace.
“Looks like I’m out of time,” Ye Shu lowered his eyes to hide a trace of self-deprecation. “But, still, thank you. No matter what your objectives were, these few days in the palace have finally fulfilled my dream.”
Jin Wang’s throat went dry as he looked into the young man’s moist, red eyes. Is your dream to be…with Gu?
However, he didn’t have time to ask as Ye Shu suddenly straightened up, in his hand the pill that had appeared in his grasp at some point.
“I’m sorry, A-Yuan. I am unworthy of your trust. May we meet again in the next life…”
Saying that, Ye Shu raised his head and took the pill.
Jin Wang fixed his eyes on him.
Nothing happened.
Outside the carriage, the personal attendant quietly said, “Your Majesty, the palace is here.”
Ye Shu’s eyelashes quivered as he opened his eyes. “Why am I…?”
Jin Wang breathed a silent sigh of relief and kneaded the space between his eyebrows.
That was an explanation he had never thought of.
But…it was also the most infallible one.
“You are indeed Gu’s nemesis…” Jin Wang picked up the man across from him and pulled him into his embrace. “If you don’t want to be seen, cover yourself.”
A few moments later, Jin Wang carried Ye Shu out of the carriage.
Ye Shu buried his head in Jin Wang’s embrace, covering up his eyes which were red from crying.
The imperial guards then knelt down and Jin Wang, steadily looking forward, carried Ye Shu into the palace.
Even when they had reached a great distance away, Ye Shu was still sobbing, asking, “How could I……I wasn’t poisoned?”
“Stupid, that wasn’t a poison.”
“……Haven’t seen you be this stupid.”
Author’s Note:
Ye Shu: Haven’t seen you so good at acting in accordance to the plot.