ITOTIABSAM | Young General | 107
Directly calling out the prince's name, Xie Ye's words were quite disrespectful, but Luo Shaoning didn't immediately rebuke him because he couldn't understand why Xie Ye would know about his relationship with the Crown Prince.
Clearly, they hadn't revealed it to each other.
Suspecting the other was playing tricks, Luo Shaoning quickly regained his composure and casually deflected, "Master Xie is joking. My humble life is not worthy of the Crown Prince's pity."
But Xie Ye was firm, "He will."
Unable to express the strange mix of feelings inside, feeling both eerie and a hint of sweetness, Luo Shaoning didn't dwell on this issue further. Instead, he pretended not to care, "If Master Xie says so, then it shall be."
"From what you're implying, it seems that the Crown Prince will emerge victorious."
Otherwise, how could a mere prince have the ability to overturn the Xie family's case and challenge the current emperor's mistakes.
Reaching out to tease the rabbit in the grass basket, the black-haired youth hmmed softly and didn't look at him again.
Luo Shaoning: "Evidence."
Even if it's fortune-telling, you still need to write something down or read palms and faces, analyze a few sentences properly. Just giving a result, how can anyone believe it?
Xie Ye: No evidence.
Believe it or not.
He didn't speak, but his expression was vivid. Luo Shaoning instantly understood. But how could the matter of inheriting the throne be left to the elusive whims of fate? Unfortunately, before he could speak again, an imperial guard, signaled by Gu Cong, appeared out of nowhere and skillfully escorted Luo Shaoning out, supporting his arm.
1101: "He'll come back."
The protagonist wasn't going to give up that easily.
Xie Ye: "Let him come."
Anyway, he wouldn't relent and let Gu Cong take risks.
Upon seeing the youth exhibit his decisiveness, Gu Cong didn't doubt him at all, nor did he delve further. Even when the courtyard quieted down again, Gu Cong's face was full of curiosity. "And me?"
"What's my ending?"
Xie Ye: "High position, heavy responsibilities, lonely until old age."
Gu Cong's expression suddenly became serious.
"But it's okay," deliberately pausing, Xie Ye continued to write, "because I'm here." The predetermined fate in the original work became completely null and void the moment he gave up fleeing marriage.
Gu Cong couldn't hold back his smile. "Is this your way of saying you want to grow old with me, Madam?"
Xie Ye tilted his head and kissed his lips gently. "What does the General think?"
Throughout eternity, they would always find each other.
Even death couldn't separate them.
---
Just as predicted by 1101, the protagonist, resilient as ever, was chased out of the city several times, only to sneak back in a few times, until it was certain that Gu Cong had no possibility of being swayed. Then he left Sanggan City, urging other generals.
After Luo Shaoning left, the lives of Gu Cong and Xie Ye quickly returned to their previous tranquility.
Gu Cong's initial description was accurate. In the ancient times with limited transportation, Sanggan City felt truly remote, almost like it was at the edge of the sky. Luo Shaoning's failure indirectly proved the neutrality of the General's Mansion. No matter how fierce the political struggles were in the capital, the unpredictable winds of the capital were difficult to affect the peace of this place.
The only one worth worrying about, Qin Bo, was actually extremely safe because he was guarding the ancestral hall for Gu Cong. After all, the General's Mansion was full of loyalists. At such a critical juncture, who would dare to use Qin Bo's plaque to threaten Gu Cong? Just a slight leak of information would definitely lead to public outcry and loss of popular support, giving the opponent an opportunity to turn the tables for free.
As if guided by an invisible hand, several months later, snow fell in Yanjing. Just like in the original work, Yan Beilin led the generals who were not loyal to Gu Cong into the palace, deposed the Empress Dowager who was guarding the old emperor's bedside with his own hands, and at the same time, threw the Fourth Prince, his own brother, into the dungeon.
Dust settled.
However, Xie Ye fell ill for several days in a row.
Who asked him to be the antagonist who lived until the end of the plot? The day when Yan Beilin successfully seized the throne was very close to his death node.
Old Doctor Qian, who personally came to the mansion to diagnose him, furrowed his brows repeatedly. "Strange, this pulse condition, it seems neither alive nor dead, like boiling water in a pot, floating without roots, yet still holding on to a thread of vitality. I have never seen anything like it before."
1101: Well, in the original timeline, its host did indeed die.
As the small world derived from the protagonist approaches its conclusion, about to completely depart from the original plot and take shape, the tumultuous merging of two destinies is not something that can be both alive and dead, or dead and alive.
The truth that modern medical equipment couldn't detect was actually noticed by an old Chinese doctor.
Fortunately, Doctor Qian didn't dwell too much on this matter. Even though Xie Ye had no external injuries, Doctor Qian still followed his own diagnosis and prescribed some anti-inflammatory and hemostatic soup medicine.
1101: Well, its host in the original work did indeed get shot through the heart with an arrow.
Ancient people are truly miraculous.
As for Gu Cong, he took a few days off and stayed by Xie Ye's side without leaving for a single step. On the morning when Yan Beilin became the new emperor by decree and rightful succession, Xie Ye finally opened his eyes.
It was just beginning to dawn, and he lay in the warm and soft fur. The north wind was howling outside the window, but it was warm inside the room, with a charcoal basin burning and wisps of white smoke drifting out through a deliberately left gap.
The man lying next to him probably hadn't slept well for a long time. His eyes were distinctly dark, and the stubble on his chin, like bamboo shoots after the rain, had been forgotten to shave.
Intense drowsiness enveloped Gu Cong, and he held Xie Ye tightly, as if sensing something. His eyelids twitched slightly, but he didn't wake up. Instead, almost reflexively, he raised his hand and stroked the young man's back.
Xie Ye smiled contentedly and nestled into his arms.
But in reality, Gu Cong couldn't rest for too long. Remembering that he needed to brew medicine for Xie Ye, as soon as the hour arrived, he immediately woke up.
Then, he met a pair of pitch-black phoenix eyes gazing up at him.
Surprised and delighted, Gu Cong subconsciously touched Xie Ye's forehead to confirm that the high fever had indeed subsided. "Doctor Qian said it would probably take another two days for you to wake up."
He affectionately rubbed the palm of the man's hand and smiled, teasingly yet sincerely, "Maybe because I missed you a little."
With the high fever lingering, his voice was hoarse, but his speech was much faster, almost normal, and Gu Cong could best appreciate this change. Joyfully, he asked, "Xie Ye?"
Xie Ye responded with a simple "Hmm."
In the drowsy dreams, he had been repeatedly experiencing those days when his alter self was raided—crying, shouting, blurry-faced officials, bodies sprawled haphazardly, and the sight of women staring at him with lifeless eyes. Fortunately, when he finally opened his eyes, he saw Gu Cong.
Like dissipating mist, all the nightmares vanished.
"I was very worried about you too." Gu Cong tightened his grip on the young man's arm and, with restraint, kissed Xie Ye's earlobe. He hadn't shaved for a few days, so it was a bit prickly, but the usually picky young man didn't mind. Instead, he cooperated, letting himself be touched as if examining a recovered treasure.
It wasn't until most of the warmth under the covers dissipated that they settled back down together.
Sensibly, 1101 didn't mention the plot anymore.
However, what was supposed to happen eventually came. On the seventh evening after Xie Ye passed the death node, the door suddenly knocked.
It was snowing lightly outside at the time, and he was preparing lamb hot pot with Gu Cong. Lu Jin, who had come to share the meal, volunteered to open the door. Immediately afterward, he exclaimed in shock, "Your... Majesty?"
Even in the remote city of Sanggan, news of such major events, like the change of emperor on the throne, could still spread.
He had once seen this former Crown Prince from afar when he accompanied the general to court, but now, the Crown Prince appeared disheveled, dusty, as if he had been traveling day and night, holding someone covered by a heavy cloak, their face obscured. The horse behind him was breathing heavily, and there were few attendants accompanying him.
But why would the new emperor come to find the general just before the New Year? Shouldn't he be preparing for the coronation ceremony?
Unexpectedly, before Lu Jin could even greet him and remind the general to come out to greet the emperor, the new emperor spoke, calling out another name: "Where is Xie Ye? I want to see Xie Ye."
1101 exclaimed, "He actually came."
As the plot approached its conclusion, in the current situation, what General Yan Beilin should do most was to stabilize the situation in the capital and wait for the coronation ceremony to end. The world consciousness would naturally arrange various coincidences to deliver the antidote to the protagonist.
But Yan Beilin, without the perspective of a god, clearly couldn't wait.
After Luo Shaoning was poisoned, reason told him that Xie Ye must have been involved with the Fourth Prince to know about this in advance. But no matter how many people he sent to investigate, there was no connection between the two.
For over twenty years, Yan Beilin had never believed in any supernatural claims, but during Luo Shaoning's days of vomiting blood and fainting, he sincerely hoped that Xie Ye's "foresight" was true.
A cold gust of wind swept in, and acting faster than conscious thought, Gu Cong raised his hand to shield Xie Ye behind him.
"I mean no harm," Yan Beilin said, with snow piled on his shoulders, he removed his hood, skipping formalities and getting straight to the point. He looked past Gu Cong to the jade-like youth behind him. "If you can truly save Luo Shaoning, I will ensure the Xie family gets justice."
Justice.
The obsession belonging to his alter self pounded in his chest like artillery shells, but Xie Ye remained calm. "Your Majesty, do you have any evidence?"
Without evidence, mere words are empty. How can you absolve the Xie family's name without proof?
Yan Beilin nodded. "Of course." It had only been over a decade, surely there were still courtiers and eunuchs who knew the truth, not to mention, "I can have the late Emperor issue a decree personally to clear the Xie family's name."
"Wow, wouldn't that be the Emperor publicly admitting his mistakes in front of everyone? Seems like there's truly no familial bond between them," 1101 remarked.
With patience, Yan Beilin inquired, "What are your conditions?"
"If there are any other conditions, please state them as well."
"Your Majesty, you worry too much. The wish of the 'youngest son of the Xie family' has always been the same from beginning to end." Shaking his head, Xie Ye subtly signaled with his thoughts: "System."
Concealed by his sleeve, a small porcelain bottle containing life-saving medicine silently fell into his hand.
Without deliberately suppressing his aversion to the protagonist, Xie Ye nonchalantly tossed the bottle over. "This medicine can cure any poison. Whether you believe it or not depends entirely on Your Majesty's decision."
Yan Beilin fell silent.
He hadn't come alone on this journey; the imperial physician was with him and would be able to discern the truth.
Though he clearly believed in Xie Ye's "prediction," he didn't press further about the so-called "divine mandate," as if Luo Shaoning was his one and only exception.
In this world, aside from Luo Shaoning and his excessively greedy delusions, everything else is subject to human nature.
1101 rubbed its chin. "What should I do? I'm starting to like this protagonist a bit."
Xie Ye chuckled softly. "Oh?"
The next moment, Lu Jin's loud shouts came just in time: "General! The hotpot is burning! Quickly put out the fire!"
1101: !!
It retracted its previous statement.
The protagonist was indeed still very annoying.
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