Forced by the double pressure from the Great Yan-zhi and Farida – or more precisely, from the strength of the troops in the hands of Herong Ling and Vaziri – Helian Zhuo finally convicted Wei Zhao with “conclusive evidence.”

After all, Farida was the victim, and Helian Zhuo had to give her an explanation, otherwise she would go back to her parental home in a rage and complain to Vaziri. It might affect the relationship between Fuyu and Tiele, and Helian Zhuo couldn’t afford to take this risk.

On the contrary, the Great Yan-zhi was bold and careful, and her methods were clean and tidy. Even though Helian Zhuo had already guessed that she was the real culprit behind the scenes, there was no evidence to convict her.

Under such circumstances, as long as Herong Ling’s position was irreplaceable, it was impossible for Helian Zhuo to question the Great Yan-zhi. Otherwise, the seven clans of Fuyu would definitely be in civil strife.

The real culprit couldn’t be held accountable, and Wei Zhao, who had complete human and physical evidence against him, was the best scapegoat. Putting the matter on Wei Zhao’s head, Helian Zhuo would have an answer to Farida and didn’t have to offend the Herong clan.

But the anger in Helian Zhuo’s heart was already burning to the extreme, and he could hardly suppress it. It was true that he liked to torture Wei Zhao, but that was his own business, and he would never allow anyone else to do anything to Wei Zhao.

Last time, the Great Yan-zhi used Yi Yin’s hurting Pei Di to whip Wei Zhao, and Helian Zhuo warned her not to have any crooked thoughts about Wei Zhao again.

Not only that, Helian Zhuo also taught Pei Di a hard lesson. He bullied his younger brother while having more people to help but couldn’t beat him. And instead of reflecting on himself and practising diligently, he complained to his mother. It was really embarrassing.

For a while, the Great Yan-zhi was busy educating her son and paid no attention to Wei Zhao. When Helian Zhuo saw that she had restrained herself, he put it out of his mind and stopped paying attention to the harem’s trivialities.

Unexpectedly, the Great Yan-zhi’s forbearance of many days turned out to be a big covert move, intending to kill two birds with one stone, not only to get rid of Wei Zhao, but also to cause Farida to lose the foetus in her belly.

One day, he was going to remove the stumbling block of the Herong family. Helian Zhuo clenched his fists, showing the blue veins on the backs of his hands.

Once upon a time, Herong Ling and the Golden Wolf Army under his command were the greatest support for Helian Zhuo’s ascension to the throne, and the relationship between the two families could not be closer.

However, it is easy to share suffering, but it is difficult to share sweetness. Helian Zhuo became the king, and the daughter of the Herong family became the Great Yan-zhi, but the Herong clan became a thorn in Helian Zhuo’s eye, a thorn in his flesh that he had to get rid of.

Wei Zhao’s “murder of the king’s heir” should be a crime punishable by death according to the palace rules. But Helian Zhuo said to the Great Yan-zhi that she could punish Wei Zhao in any way she wanted, except that he had to be left alive.

The Great Yan-zhi’s anger was terrible when she heard this. She thought that if Farida pressed hard enough, Helian Zhuo would endure the pain and give up on Wei Zhao. Wasn’t he just a good-looking man? What was so rare about him? Wei Zhao’s identity was meaningless to Fuyu for a long time.

However, even under such circumstances, Helian Zhuo still wanted to keep Wei Zhao, which surprised the Great Yan-zhi and made her even more determined to get rid of Wei Zhao.

In Helian Zhuo’s heart, Wei Zhao was more important than she thought. Obviously, Farida also saw this. She knew that Wei Zhao was not the real culprit but she still forced Helian Zhuo to avenge her child.

It had to be said that the two women, who were at odds with each other, had a surprising degree of understanding when it came to dealing with Wei Zhao.

If Wei Zhao had died, the Great Yan-zhi would not mind being hated by Helian Zhuo. Anyway, he wouldn’t only hate her. The throne of Fuyu had always been rotating between the lords of the seven clans. Helian Zhuo couldn’t do without the support of her family, so he wouldn’t do anything to her.

However, Helian Zhuo also made it clear that Wei Zhao’s life must not be harmed, and the Great Yan-zhi couldn’t openly violate the order. At least this time, she could not let Wei Zhao die at her own hands.

The Great Yan-zhi had nowhere to vent her anger, so her only aim could be Wei Zhao. She ordered someone to bring the whip soaked in salt water and flicked it in the air. She heard a crackling sound, and the whip hit the ground heavily.

Hearing this sound, the dungeon guards couldn’t help trembling all over, as if the fierce whip had hit them. On the contrary, Wei Zhao, who was tied to the cross, looked as usual, without a single ripple in his eyes.

“Are you not afraid?” The Great Yan-zhi raised the whip, took two steps back and looked at Wei Zhao with a scrutinising gaze.

Wei Zhao hooked his lips and said calmly: “What’s the use of being afraid?” It wasn’t as if they would let him go if he was afraid.

The Great Yan-zhi was furious and without another word lashed him fiercely.

With a snap, a long and deep bloody mark immediately appeared on Wei Zhao’s chest.

“Oh…” Wei Zhao bit his lower lip tightly to prevent himself from making another sound.

Still unsatisfied, the Great Yan-zhi lashed him seven or eight times in a row. Only when Wei Zhao lost consciousness did she stop.

After having Wei Zhao awakened with cold water, the Great Yan-zhi laughed sharply, “Helian Zhuo, the person you fell in love with is no better than that.” She wondered how she had fallen in love with Helian Zhuo in the first place, and whether it was worth it.

Hearing the Great Yan-zhi’s words, Wei Zhao, who had just regained consciousness, couldn’t help laughing. How could Helian Zhuo love him? This poor woman, she seemed to have found the wrong opponent.

“What are you proud of?” The Great Yan-zhi raised her eyebrows, showing a haughty smile, “So what if Helian Zhuo loves you so much? In front of the power, you are nothing to him!”

Didn’t Helian Zhuo know that Wei Zhao was innocent? He knew. But he couldn’t afford to offend Farida, nor could he offend her, so after all, he fulfilled their wishes and let Wei Zhao fall into her hands.

As for Helian Zhuo’s request to keep Wei Zhao alive, the Great Yan-zhi could only guarantee that he was alive when he went out of the dungeon, and whether he could survive in the future was none of her business.

When she thought of this, the Great Yan-zhi’s anger rose again, and the whip in her hand became more and more fierce. Once Wei Zhao couldn’t bear it and passed out, she would tell someone to wake him up with cold water.

After the cycle was repeated several times, the Great Yan-zhi’s maid reminded her that Wei Zhao would die if she continued to beat him. The Great Yan-zhi was also tired, so she stopped, but ordered that no one was allowed to treat Wei Zhao.

The dungeon was cold and damp, and Wei Zhao was drenched all over. As long as Helian Zhuo didn’t come to save him in time, he would undoubtedly die in a few more days, but that would have nothing to do with her.

Wei Zhao was suddenly taken away because of the “murder of the king’s heir”, and Yi Yin was dumbfounded when he heard the news.

How could it be? How could Wei Zhao possibly do such a stupid thing that harmed himself and others? Wei Zhao didn’t fight for favour, he didn’t fight for the throne, there was no need for him to do it at all, right?

Yi Yin instantly realised that Wei Zhao had been framed, but he was young and weak, and Helian Zhuo ordered his nanny to look after him, so he couldn’t even get out of the gate of the Northern Courtyard, let alone do something for Wei Zhao.

Yi Yin had never hated his powerlessness more than at this moment. If Wei Zhao’s tendons were ruined because of this incident, what would be the point of his rebirth?

Wei Zhao was not a weak and pretentious person. If his tendons were not cut, if there was no more possibility of escape, he would never become so desperate and gloomy as he was in Yi Yin’s memory.

Yi Yin was afraid of this kind of Wei Zhao, and he didn’t want him to become like this. After being locked in the house for half a day, Yi Yin finally couldn’t sit still. He avoided the sight of his nanny and maids, and secretly sneaked over the wall out of the Northern Courtyard.

In fact, Yi Yin knew very well in his heart that it was impossible for him to save Wei Zhao from the Great Yan-zhi just by himself; not to mention his current self, it would be impossible even if he had achieved the great martial arts skills of his previous life.

However, he couldn’t do nothing.

Yi Yin carefully avoided the guards and attendants in the palace and slowly moved in the direction of the Central Hall.

Unexpectedly, the road of the enemies is narrow, and he met his “enemy” before he reached his destination.

Pei Di, with a black fierce dog taller than him, was blocking Yi Yin’s only path.

Seeing Yi Yin, Pei Di smiled carelessly: “Little bastard, you come just in time, saving me the trouble of looking for you.”

After being beaten the last time, Pei Di had always wanted to take revenge on Yi Yin, but Helian Zhuo scolded him and the Great Yan-zhi also detained him, so he didn’t have a chance to go out at all.

Moreover, Pei Di felt ashamed of being beaten by his younger brother even though he had been helped, so he was patient and practised martial arts for several months with the master invited by the Great Yan-zhi.

Today, the Great Yan-zhi was not in her palace, and Pei Di took the opportunity to sneak out with Heisha, his black god he had raised since childhood, planning to wipe out his shame.

Looking at the tall, mighty, fierce black dog with smooth fur, Yi Yin shivered with fright, especially when the black dog showed its teeth at him.

Yi Yin had always been afraid of dogs. Not to mention such large dogs, even small pet dogs, let alone love them, he would subconsciously avoid them when he saw them.

He remembered the first time he met Jun Hua, who was still a little boy, holding a snow-white pug.

Jun Hua seemed to like him very much, waddling up to him, calling his name sweetly and giving him the puppy in his arms to play with.

Yi Yin didn’t hate Jun Hua, even though this child who was not related to Wei Su occupied all the emperor’s affection and even Wei Yang had nothing but envy for the little Jun Hua.

Jun Hua was very little at that time, and the dog that could be carried by him was naturally even smaller. It couldn’t reasonably have frightened anyone.

Unfortunately, Yi Yin’s fear of dogs was instinctive.

The little puppy barked twice in a small voice, Yi Yin panicked a little, subconsciously stretched out his hand and pushed.

Jun Hua was little and had a problem with his right leg. He was suddenly pushed by Yi Yin, who was five years older than him. He couldn’t stand and immediately fell to the ground.

“Oh oh…” Jun Hua was crying. He saw that the look in Yi Yin’s eyes was extremely aggrieved, making him feel guilty, but he didn’t know what to say.

“Woof woof…” The pug also joined the fun, making Yi Yin so upset that he didn’t even think of helping Jun Hua up first.

The nearby palace maids heard the noise and came quickly; some comforted Jun Hua, some teased the puppy, but no one cared about Yi Yin, who was standing nearby stupidly.

Wei Su had always loved Jun Hua and was very dissatisfied with Yi Yin when he learned about this incident, and Jun Hua, for a long time after that, never came to play with Yi Yin again.

Now, seeing Pei Di and the black fierce dog he was holding, Yi Yin suddenly realised that his fear of dogs was not innate, it had come from being scared by Pei Di when he was a child.

“Why don’t you say anything? Are you scared by my Heisha?” Seeing that Yi Yin was silent for a long time, Pei Di provoked him: “Little bastard, today I’ll show you what I’m capable of! Heisha, go!”

Yi Yin clenched his fists and said proudly: “Come on! Who is afraid of you!” Since it was a shadow from his childhood, he had to overcome it; he couldn’t be trapped in it for two lifetimes.

Previous / ToC / Next