Chapter 692: Alone and alone
"Once you enter the mansion of a marquis, it is as deep as the sea. From now on, Xiao Lang is just a passerby..."

Looking at the distraught Liu Xunyi muttering to himself, Zhao Chen couldn't help but reveal a hint of guilt in his eyes.

Countless times, Zhao Xie wanted to say something, but every time the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back. He looked hesitant and hesitant, which made people suspicious.

"Am I really being too sentimental..."

Liu Xunyi's right hand tightly grasped the letter, his nails piercing through the bamboo paper and deeply embedded into the flesh, oozing out a trace of bright red blood.

"Master, why are you doing this?" Zhao Yu looked at the letter in Liu Xunyi's hand with complicated eyes, and said with pity, "As the saying goes, 'there are many beautiful women in the world', why do you have to be obsessed with Sister Xin alone?"

"Xin'er... why is she so heartless?" When Liu Xunyi said the word "Xinner", his heart felt a sharp pain again, causing him to hold his breath subconsciously, and his lips and teeth trembled slightly uncontrollably.

"Maybe Sister Xin knew that your fate had ended, so she wrote a loveless poem so that..." Zhao Yu's eyes were erratic and his words were hesitant, "so that you would forget her and avoid being trapped in love all day and being unhappy."

"No..." Liu Xunyi murmured, "Her handwriting is beautiful and elegant, just like flowing water, and she wrote it in one go without any hesitation or pause. This shows that she must have been calm and composed when she wrote this poem. If she had any thoughts about me at the time, she would not have written so freely. I don't understand, even if Xin'er hated me, she shouldn't be so indifferent to me, at least... she should have written it quickly, full of grief and indignation."

"hiss!"

I don't know why? When Liu Xunyi said this, Zhao Yu's face suddenly became a little nervous, and he laughed dryly: "I didn't expect that just a few lines of words... Master could see so many things?"

"What do you mean, young prince?" Liu Xunyi's eyes moved, and he looked at Zhao Xie meaningfully.

"No...nothing..."

Although Zhao Yu tried his best to hide his inner uneasiness, he was still too shallow compared to Liu Xunyi. Therefore, under the gaze of Liu Xunyi's sharp eyes, Zhao Yu suddenly felt uncomfortable all over, and even didn't know where to put his hands.

"Young Prince, why are you acting so strange today?" Liu Xunyi asked suspiciously, "Could it be that what I just said... is wrong?"

"No...no." Zhao Yu's face straightened and he said quickly, "I just feel sorry for Master."

After saying this, Zhao Yu seemed to be worried that Liu Xunyi would notice the flaw, so he asked, "You should be able to recognize that this is Sister Xin's handwriting, right?"

"It is indeed Xin'er's handwriting, but..."

"Hey!" Zhao Yu interrupted hastily, "As the saying goes, 'a short pain is worse than a long one'. Since Sister Xin has let it go, why should Master keep thinking about it? In fact, it is not a bad thing to cut the Gordian knot. At least... the current result is good for everyone."

"Your Highness is right." The more radical Zhao Yu became, the more confused Liu Xunyi felt. He hesitated and asked, "Your Highness, can you tell me the details of your meeting with Xin'er..."

"Master, do you like today's food?" Before Liu Xunyi finished speaking, Zhao Yu deliberately changed the subject, apparently not wanting to face Liu Xunyi's questioning directly.

"This……"

"Little prince!"

Before Liu Xunyi could speak, a hurried voice suddenly came from a distance.

Then, Rongfu, with an anxious look on his face, trotted over, bowed slightly to Liu Xunyi, then knelt in front of Zhao Xie and said, "Young Prince, the Prince is looking for you."

"When?"

"Now."

"Now?" Zhao Yu was stunned, and couldn't help but mutter in his heart, "What's the matter?"

Hearing this, Rongfu looked at Liu Xunyi with some hesitation and was reluctant to speak.

"Master is one of us, so you can talk as you please." Zhao Yu was worried and asked impatiently, "Is my father looking for me... a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Young prince, don't worry. The prince is looking for you because the deputy privy councilor, Lord Qian, is visiting." Rong Fu comforted him, "The prince asked you to go over and say hello."

"Huh!" Hearing this, Zhao Yu heaved a sigh of relief and said thankfully, "It turned out to be Lord Qian. I thought..."

Having said this, Zhao Xie's voice stopped abruptly, and he turned to smile awkwardly at Liu Xunyi.

Although he didn't say it explicitly, Liu Xunyi knew in his heart that Zhao Xie was worried that Prince Rong would blame him for entering the palace to see Zhao Xin without permission.

"Master Qian would not come to visit you for no reason. He came to visit me unexpectedly today. There must be something important. No, I have to go and see!"

After saying this, Zhao Xie suddenly stood up, without even bothering to say goodbye to Liu Xunyi, and ran out of the garden as if escaping.

Looking at Zhao Xie's hurried back, Liu Xunyi became more and more confused.

"Master Liu, please do as you please. I will take my leave..."

"Rongfu, please stay!"

Suddenly, Liu Xunyi, who seemed to be thinking about something, called Rongfu and said thoughtfully, "If you have nothing to do, can you chat with me for a few minutes?"

After saying that, Liu Xunyi took out a bulging purse from his sleeve and stuffed it into Rongfu's hand.

"I don't deserve any reward without any merit. Sir Liu, what are you doing..."

"Just a few words of idle chat." Liu Xunyi said frankly, "To be honest, I want to ask you something. But I won't force you. If you don't want to answer, you don't have to. As for this money, just treat it as tea."

"Thank you, Master Liu, for the reward!" Rongfu bowed to Liu Xunyi and thanked him. At the same time, he quietly put the purse into his sleeve. "I wonder what you want to know?"

"Let me ask you, on the night of April 2, can you accompany the young prince to the palace?"

"This..." Rongfu looked embarrassed, hesitated for a while, and then nodded slowly, "Yes."

Liu Xunyi was secretly delighted and said, "Let me ask you again, did you encounter Qin Wei outside the palace gate?

"Master Qin?" Rong Fu rolled his eyes and said smartly, "I understand! Master Liu wants to ask about the beating of Young Master Qin, right?"

"This..." Liu Xunyi was hiding his true feelings and pretending to be embarrassed.

"I know that Lord Liu and Lord Qin are close friends, so I want to seek justice for him. Is that right?" Rongfu looked confident and looked at Liu Xunyi with a proud look in his eyes. "That's right! You are indeed a person close to the young prince. You are really smart and can see through things."

Liu Xunyi took advantage of the situation and praised Rong Fu with a few words of compliments, and he was so happy that he forgot himself.

"I kindly advise you, sir, let the matter be over and no one should mention it again." Rongfu advised seriously, "It was the young prince who taught Sir Qin a lesson. If the dispute continues, he will suffer sooner or later. Sir Liu is Sir Qin's friend, why not go back and persuade him."

"Little brother, what you said is absolutely right. That's exactly what I meant." Liu Xunyi said modestly, "But I want to know, what happened that night? Why did the young prince teach Qin Wei a lesson for no reason?"

"In fact, this matter cannot be blamed on the young prince. If anyone is to blame, it should be blamed on Lord Qin himself for being blind and deliberately bumping into the blade."

"Oh?" Liu Xunyi asked with interest, "What do you mean?"

"At that time, the young prince wanted to lead his men into the palace, but was harassed by the imperial guards. Just when he was angry, Lord Qin suddenly showed up to cause trouble, and spoke eloquently and mysteriously in front of the young prince. Do you think he was asking for a beating?"

"Huh?" Liu Xunyi was secretly surprised and asked cautiously, "You mean... Qin Wei took the initiative to find the young prince, and it was not that the young prince met Qin Wei by chance?"

"Of course!" Rong Fu swore confidently, patting his chest and saying, "At that time, the young prince was teaching the commander of the Imperial Guards a lesson. If it weren't for Lord Qin's sudden appearance, how could the young prince let it go given his character?"

"What did you mean when you said Qin Wei was 'eloquent' and 'mysterious' in front of the young prince?"

Rong Fu curled his lips and said contemptuously, "The young prince has always disliked him because of Princess Xinde's matter and didn't want to pay attention to him. But unexpectedly, Lord Qin made random comments about Prince Rong and Princess Xinde. He said something like 'it's about the life and death of the prince and the princess...' and so on. What is this called? This is called 'you can survive if it's sent by heaven, but you can't survive if it's sent by yourself'. As expected, Lord Qin completely angered the young prince, so he was severely punished. But..."

"But what?" Liu Xunyi's heartstrings gradually tightened and his eyes became increasingly gloomy.

"But it seemed that Lord Qin was willing to be beaten." Rong Fu recalled, "Later, the young prince called him into the car. Lord Qin was covered with wounds, but he did not complain to the young prince at all. Instead, he was very positive and looked happy. It was as if...he could get a mountain of gold in exchange for a beating. Isn't that strange?"

"You mean... Qin Wei volunteered to be beaten because the young prince promised him some benefits?" Liu Xunyi's eyes flickered, and he vaguely guessed a clue in his heart.

"Eighty percent so."

"What's the benefit? What did they talk about in the car?"

"I don't know. There were only two of them in the car at the time, and the young prince specifically told us to stand farther away."

"hiss!"

Hearing Rongfu's answer, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but show a hint of contemplation between his brows. At the same time, the look in his eyes when he looked at the letter in his hand became more obscure and inexplicable.

"I wonder if Lord Liu has anything else to ask?" Seeing Liu Xunyi remaining silent, Rongfu took the initiative to ask.

"No more." Liu Xunyi was absent-minded and said perfunctorily, "Thank you! You can go back to your work."

"Lord Liu, please keep this a secret for me, because the little prince hates people gossiping about him the most..."

"Don't worry, this matter is known to heaven and earth, you and me, and no third person will know about it."

"That's great. I'll take my leave."

After saying this, Rongfu bowed to Liu Xunyi and left in a hurry.

"At the beginning, the mansion master's teachings to me were indeed true. He said, 'If you are unfaithful once, you will never be trusted again.' I used to be hesitant, but today... Qin Wei lied to me again and again, so I have to believe this sentence. But, what is Xin'er thinking? Why did she write this heartless poem by hand?"

With a mixed feeling of anger and sadness, Liu Xunyi slowly walked out of the gate of Prince Rong's Mansion.

At this moment, he was secretly certain in his heart that there must have been an unknown secret and twists and turns between the time he handed the wordless letter to Zhao Yu and the time he received Zhao Xin's heartless letter.

Once, he thought that Qin Wei was his life-and-death friend and was naturally trustworthy, but the result disappointed him greatly.

Later, he thought that Zhao Yuan was mature and prudent and would not collude with Qin Wei, but he was disappointed again.

Today, when Liu Xunyi placed his last hope on the simple-minded and inexperienced Zhao He, he suddenly discovered that Zhao He had already colluded with Zhao Yuan and Qin Wei and helped them deceive him.

At this moment, in the huge city of Lin'an, Liu Xunyi can no longer find anyone he can trust.

Even in the Xianwang Mansion in the past, Liu Xunyi, who was half human and half ghost, half loyal and half treacherous, had never felt such loneliness and solitude as today.

The world is so big, but there is no place for me to stay. Lin'an is prosperous, and the crowds are like the sea, but I can't find a close friend to confide in.

Now, Liu Xunyi even suspected that Ding Chou, the young man who had been delivering meals and washing clothes for him, might also be a spy planted by Zhao Yuanan around him.

"Ah!"

Thinking of this, Liu Xunyi wanted to cry but had no tears, wanted to laugh but had no sound. He was wandering in the streets in a daze, in a trance in the chaotic world, not knowing where he came from, and even less where he was going.

In the chaos, Liu Xunyi shuttled back and forth in the crowd like a zombie, and unknowingly, he wandered to a quiet street in the suburbs of the city.

"Black fan!"

Suddenly, a familiar yet unfamiliar call sounded behind Liu Xunyi, which shocked him. He subconsciously thought that he was having an illusion because of his upset.

However, when he shook his head, trying to figure out where he was, another voice sounded quietly.

"Black fan!"

This time, Liu Xunyi heard it clearly and it was definitely not an illusion.

Liu Xunyi, horrified, turned around abruptly, but the scene in front of him made his shocked and suspicious eyes instantly covered with a layer of tears.

At this moment, dozens of Xianwangfu disciples, led by Xu Heng, Ling Qing, and the Liao brothers, stood silently on the street. Their eyes were red, their expressions were angry, and their knives and swords were in their hands, reflecting the cold light that was breathtaking under the sunlight.

……

(End of this chapter)