Chapter 697: Humans Are Not Plants
Liu Xunyi told Su He his secret. In addition to admiring Su He's character and being grateful for his care for him, he actually had another thought that he was unwilling to admit, which was to take this opportunity to completely sever his emotional entanglement with Zhao Xin.

That's right! In the depths of Liu Xunyi's heart, an unbelievable thought had indeed emerged irresistibly, which was to give up the bitter entanglement with Zhao Xin, and from then on they would go their separate ways and never meet again.

This was the last bit of rationality buried deep in Liu Xunyi's heart. No matter Qin Wei and Zhao Xie's earnest advice, or Zhao Yuan and Su He's earnest teachings, Liu Xunyi sneered on the surface, but in fact his mind was as clear as a mirror. He had already pondered the pros and cons of the matter countless times, and he was clear about the priorities and right and wrong.

Zhao Yu once said something that was unpleasant to hear, but very true, "Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin broke up. Although this ending is cruel, it is at least a good thing for most people."

Liu Xunyi also knew clearly in his heart that with the inevitable marriage between Song and Mongolia, his chances of reversing the situation were slim.

Don't listen to his words. Even if he assassinates the Mongolian envoy and destroys the marriage between the two countries, Zhao Xin will never marry him, and the two of them will never run away. By then, the emperor, the court, and even the entire Song Dynasty will be angry with them. There will be no place for them in the world. Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin will most likely end up dead without a burial place.

However, reason is reason. Even if Liu Xunyi thought everything through, it is still impossible for him to give up Zhao Xin on his own initiative.

Therefore, Liu Xunyi willingly asked for death in front of Murong Bai and spoke frankly in front of Su He, all in order to force himself to break off his relationship with Zhao Xin. If he died, if he could not find an opportunity to assassinate the Mongolian envoy, he would naturally not be able to disrupt the marriage between Song and Mongolia, thus indirectly achieving the outcome that "most people" wanted to see.

In a helpless way, he passively forced himself to give up Zhao Xin.

This is Liu Xunyi's greatest effort and self-sacrifice for the "righteousness of family and country".

Having said that, once Liu Xunyi finds an opportunity, he will definitely rekindle his old relationship with Zhao Xin at all costs. Liu Xunyi also knows this very well. Therefore, the only thing he can do is to try not to find such an opportunity.

Human emotions are the most complicated things in the world. He is the one who is drowning in the sea of ​​love and disregarding everything. He is also the one who is cruel and cuts off the ties of love. On the one hand, he cuts through all the difficulties and dangers to meet Zhao Xin, but on the other hand, he is digging his own grave, cutting off his own retreat, and desperately obstructing all possibilities between himself and Zhao Xin...

In the end, how much suffering did he have to endure? How much pain did he have to endure? Only Liu Xunyi knew it best.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed by like a flash.

April 8th, evening.

Qin Wei followed Zhao Yuan's order and came to the study room of Tianji Pavilion alone.

"How's Xun Yi doing lately?"

Faced with Zhao Yuan's straightforward question, Qin Wei was stunned at first, and then he bowed and answered: "My Lord, Brother Liu has been recuperating in Tianji Pavilion recently, and everything is normal."

"As usual?" Zhao Yuan's eyes flashed with suspicion, "This is not like his character."

"Yes!" Qin Wei smiled bitterly, "Brother Liu has been very cold to me these past few days. It seems... he has noticed something."

"You have already reconciled your differences, why is he like this?"

"I'm also surprised." Qin Wei pondered, "Brother Liu's indifference to me is not obvious, but... a feeling that is hard to explain. But my intuition tells me that Brother Liu no longer trusts me."

"Oh?" Zhao Yuan raised his eyebrows, "Could it be that he already knows that you asked the young prince for the secret letter?"

"Brother Liu did go to see the young prince, but the young prince understood the seriousness of the matter and should... not tell him."

Zhao Yuan shook his head and said, "The young prince is still young. It is almost impossible for him to conceal the truth from Liu Xunyi without revealing any flaws."

"My Lord, what you mean is... Brother Liu already knows that the young prince and I are secretly communicating?"

"Not necessarily!" Zhao Yuan sighed, "But at least he has doubts about you, and even no longer trusts the young prince."

"Why?"

Faced with Qin Wei's confusion, Zhao Yuan did not explain, but changed the subject and asked without reason: "Have you ever heard of a person named 'Su He'?"

"Su He?" Qin Wei thought for a moment, then his eyes suddenly changed, and he said hurriedly, "I remember now, Su He was a member of the Mongolian bride-receiving team. It is said that he has some friendship with Brother Liu."

"Three days ago, Liu Xunyi encountered some trouble in the suburbs of the city, and it was Su He who helped him escape."

"It is true." Qin Wei's heart tightened, and he quickly complimented, "I didn't expect that the Marquis knew even such a small matter."

"I sent you to monitor Liu Xunyi, why didn't you report this to me?" Zhao Yuan asked, "Do you think this is an insignificant matter?"

"I dare not!" Qin Wei was terrified and hurriedly bowed his hands to apologize, "It's because I know nothing about Su He's background. I wanted to report to the Marquis after I found out..." "So how did you find out?" Zhao Yuan interrupted, "Who exactly is Su He? What position does he hold in Mongolia?"

"My Lord, Su He is from Chifengling. He has no official position and is considered a martial artist who has joined the imperial court." Qin Wei replied carefully, "He is known as the 'fastest swordsman in Mobei' and is quite famous in the northern frontier. It is said that his ancestors were trusted servants of Temujin. Even Su He's weapon, the Blood Shadow Sword, was awarded to their family by Temujin."

"So, this person is a martial arts master?"

"Is the second place on the Dragon Elephant Ranking just a name?" Qin Wei guessed, "Su He's martial arts... may be better than Brother Liu's."

"Dragon Elephant Ranking?" The anger on Zhao Yuan's face gradually subsided. He looked at Qin Wei, who was confident, with a meaningful look, and said with a half-smile, "You even know about the 'Dragon Elephant Ranking'. It seems that you have put a lot of effort in this period of time."

"The Marquis taught us that 'know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger'. Last year's trip to Luoyang made me realize that the court and the martial arts world are all part of the world. Although we are officials appointed by the court, we cannot ignore the martial arts world, and we cannot despise those martial arts ruffians. Instead, we must recruit the best among them to serve the court, so that the country can be rich and the people can be strong." Qin Wei said humbly, "Even the Prime Minister and the Marquis appreciate the talents in the martial arts world, how dare I claim to be noble?"

"Even the common people have to be divided." Zhao Yuan said in a secretive manner, "Those who are brave but not wise can be used by us. Those who are wise but not brave can also be used by us. But we must be extremely careful and cautious against those who are both brave and wise. In the past, Luo Tianjin was definitely a leader in the martial arts world, but because he was so capable, he was unwilling to be inferior to others and even wanted to rebel against the court. When dealing with such people, there is no need to reason with them. It is best to directly eliminate them completely."

"Subordinates, please remember this!"

“You should not only remember it, but also understand it.”

"Yes." Qin Wei rolled his eyes and asked carefully, "Why did the Marquis mention Su He for no reason?"

"Because the West Mansion reported us to the emperor, and almost made the prime minister lose face." Zhao Yuan said in a deep voice, "The cause was Liu Xunyi and Su He met alone."

"Hiss!" Qin Wei was secretly surprised, but did not dare to interrupt rashly.

"Qin Wei, it is better to watch more than to listen, it is better to remember more than to watch, and it is better to do more than to remember." Suddenly, Zhao Yuan changed the subject and asked with a hint of meaning, "If there is a person who is both brave and wise, but is unwilling to submit to the arrangements of the court. I ask you, how should we deal with this person?"

"I don't know what the Marquis is talking about..."

"Liu Xunyi!" Zhao Yuan hit the nail on the head. "He was originally a loyal minister and a capable general of the imperial court. This kind of thing would never happen to him. But the situation is different now, because of a woman..."

At this point, Zhao Yuan seemed to realize that his words were inappropriate, so he changed his words and said, "Of course, since ancient times, 'a rage for a beautiful woman' has been passed down. Liu Xunyi is infatuated with Zhao Xin, so it is not surprising that he reacted like this. What I mean is that no matter what the reason, Liu Xunyi should not turn a blind eye to the orders of the court, and should not repeatedly disobey the orders. Although these few times have been close calls, if you let him go on, sooner or later there will be a big mess. The Prime Minister has always been prepared for a rainy day, and will not wait until the fire is burning before making plans. Qin Wei, you should understand what I mean."

"This……"

Zhao Yuan's words undoubtedly hit Qin Wei's soft spot, making him feel dilemma and not knowing how to respond.

"I ordered him not to leave Tianji Pavilion without permission, but he secretly ran to Prince Rong's Mansion in the middle of the night. I asked him to break off contact with Zhao Xin, but he asked the young prince to help him out. He swore to me that he would no longer have anything to do with Zhao Xin, but he turned around and asked the young prince to deliver a letter to the palace for him. Now, he is having a secret meeting with the Mongolian envoy. You and I know exactly what he wants to do." Zhao Yuan said word by word, "In just a few days, Liu Xunyi has made more mistakes than he has in the past ten years since he joined the cabinet. Now, my orders have become empty words in his heart, even worse than shit!"

"Snapped!"

Maybe out of chill, anger, or sorrow, when Zhao Yuan said the last sentence, he couldn't control himself and crushed the teacup in his hand, which shows how furious he was in his heart about Liu Xunyi's disobedience.
Qin Wei was horrified and kept persuading him, "My Lord, calm down!"

"Qin Wei, you are both Liu Xunyi's brother and a colleague of Tianji Pavilion. Tell me, how should I treat him?"

"The Marquis has been very kind to Brother Liu, even breaking the rules of Tianji Pavilion for him and showing leniency many times. He has already done his utmost." Qin Wei hesitated, trying to please both sides. "But Brother Liu was also confused for a moment. After all, he has known Princess Xinde for many years..."

Zhao Yuan's face darkened, his tone became harder, and he shouted, "If it was just the Tianji Pavilion, I could turn a blind eye. But now his nonsense has shocked the court, known to all the civil and military officials, angered the emperor, and given the West Mansion an opportunity to take advantage of it, and the prime minister lost face... Now that things have come to this, how can I pretend to be ignorant? I might as well tell you the truth, the West Mansion exaggerated in front of the emperor, and wanted to criticize the East Mansion as a traitor who destroyed the marriage between Song and Mongolia, and even implied that the prime minister deliberately indulged Liu Xunyi's misbehavior. The prime minister was very angry about this and strictly ordered me to control my subordinates and not let Liu Xunyi do whatever he wants, so as not to be caught by the people of the West Mansion again."

"This..." Qin Wei swallowed hard and hesitated, "I didn't know the situation would be so serious, I..."

"Right now, the Mongolian envoys are in Lin'an City. At this critical moment, any slight disturbance will be maliciously magnified by people with ulterior motives, thus causing an uproar in the court." Zhao Yuan said angrily, "For so many years, this marquis has always treated Xunyi as his own daughter. But this boy is trapped by love, blinded by his own greed, and acts recklessly without regard for the consequences, even forcing the entire East Palace to a dead end. Qin Wei, what do you think, how should this marquis discipline him?"

"I...I don't know..."

"Okay!" Seeing Qin Wei's hesitation, Zhao Yuan couldn't help but sneer and nodded, "Since you don't want to decide, why don't I decide for you."

"Master Hou..."

"Qin Wei!" Before Qin Wei could open his mouth to persuade him, Zhao Yuan suddenly changed his expression and ordered in a trembling voice, "Go... bring me Liu Xunyi's head."

……

(End of this chapter)