She had been at a loss until something happened recently. Mo Li had accidentally frightened her, causing her to break the bracelet that Lu Hanxing’s mother had given her. She was so mad she vented her anger by beating Mo Li. When she finally calmed down and saw Mo Li’s frightened expression, she recalled the time when she was bullied by Ling Long before finally regaining her senses.
Fu Yin definitely did not want to become like Ling Long or Lu Hanxing or anyone who was evil. Her own mother had a foul tongue but never did anything truly evil. Although her mother was very calculative, she had taken money out of her own pocket when the family was in financial need. If she turned evil for the sake of revenge, her mother would never forgive her in the afterlife.
As such, before Lu Qi left for battle, Fu Yin prayed to her mother and swore that she would abandon her revenge if he returned safe. Now that Lu Qi had returned safely, she no longer doubted herself and poured her heart to wholeheartedly love him. Lu Qi was a simple man and did not find anything strange with her sudden change. Instead, he treated her even better than before.
This day, Fu Yin walked towards the hall and found many servants standing on the steps outside the study room. Puzzled, Fu Yin walked towards Mo Li and asked her what was going on.
“Sister Yin’er, I was just about to inform you. Young Master instructed Housekeeper Wu to gather all servants who entered the study room here.” Although she had been beaten by Fu Yin, Fu Yin had apologised to her after and Mo Li did not bear a grudge. She continued, “But I do not know what is going on.”
At that point, Lu Qi walked forward with a stern expression. “On June 2nd, a letter went missing from my room. Whoever stole it, admit your mistake now.”
That letter had been given to him by a spy he had sent to General Zhenhai’s residence. The reason why he was reinvestigating this old matter was because the spy had been discovered by Yan Zifang. However, the spy managed to escape to the Lu Residence. There, he informed Lu Qi about the letter. This was how Lu Qi discovered a spy in his own residence.
Lu Qi continued, “Everyone who is allowed to enter my study room has been gathered here. None of you will be able to handle being tortured. Therefore, own up to your mistake honestly and avoid being tortured.”
No one spoke but Fu Yin nervously trembled by the side.
“Not speaking?” Lu Qi’s gaze turned cold. He ordered, “Lock everyone up and interrogate them. Don’t blame me if you lose your life!”
Fu Yin observed the fearful expressions in all the servants’ eyes and she did not want to implicate the innocent. She was just about to admit her wrongdoings when Mo Li rushed forward and kneeled down.
Mo Li cried, “It…it is me…”
Fu Yin was shocked. How could it be Mo Li? She was clearly the one who burned the letter!
Mo Li’s voice trembled as she confessed, “I accidentally knocked over a cup of tea on the table when I was cleaning the room that day. The tea spilled over one letter and as I was afraid of being scolded, I brought the letter out to dry it. Unfortunately, the ink on the letter was smudged horribly. I was afraid that Young Master would punish me and I threw the letter away.”
Lu Qi’s eyes narrowed and cursed, “Damn servant. How can I be sure that what you said is true? Did someone order you to destroy the letter?” He ordered Housekeeper Wu to drag Mo Li down to interrogate her.
Housekeeper Wu and a few other servants stepped forward to drag Mo Li away. Fu Yin recalled Ling Long’s tragic death and she hurried forward to stop them.
“No, don’t touch her, this is not her fault!” She had burnt the letter and she could not drag any innocent person into the matter.
Lu Qi instructed, “Take her away.”
Fu Yin struggled against the servants for a while but suddenly felt a sharp pain from her abdomen. Mo Li screamed, “Sister Yin’er… blood… blood!”
Fu Yin lowered her gaze and saw a pool of blood below her.
“Yin’er!” Lu Qi rushed towards her in panic. Fu Yin’s complexion was pale and her face was drenched in sweat but she refused to accept the hand Lu Qi extended to help her. “No…don’t punish Mo Li…” Pangs of pain shot from her abdomen, causing her to scream.
Lu Qi was worried to death and he hollered, “What is happening now? Why are you still talking about that!”
“Forgive Mo Li…” She did not want to use one life to exchange for another.
“Alright, alright, I promise.” Lu Qi stared at the pool of blood on the floor that seemed to continue growing as fear gripped his heart. He begged, “Yin’er, let me carry you back to the room, alright?”
“Swear. Swear on our love. If you break this vow, we will break apart and I will never meet you again.” Fu Yin gasped through her panted breath. Her vision was slowly turning dark.
“Yes! I will swear on our love!” He was willing to sacrifice everything for her.
Fu Yin smiled weakly before losing her strength and fell into his arms.
“Call the physician!” Lu Qi shouted.
“Call…call the midwife…” With an arm around Lu Qi’s neck, Fu Yin weakly whispered, “I think I am about to give birth…”
“What?!” With panic gripping him, Lu Qi was at a loss of what to do. His steps started becoming smaller and he stammered, “What…no… aiya, hurry, hurry, call the midwife!”
Fu Yin hugged Lu Qi tightly and heard the strong beats of his heart as she rested her head on his chest. She was immediately at ease. Once the child was born, she was willing to spend her life with him.
Chapter 63.2: Forward
The sun rays of the setting sun shone on the building and night was approaching. The military flag spread its corners and fluttered in the wind. Sheng Chumu stood alone at the stand and looked far into the distance. He had undergone a huge change; his appearance was cold and hard, as though he had been carved out using a knife. His skin was burnt by the blazing sun and it seemed to shine with cold rays. His deep eyes carried a mysterious feeling.
“That is the direction of Guangzhou City.” Du Ning remarked, “Your mother has met up with mine and my mother has been pushing me to persuade you to at least pick one.”
“Good things should not be enjoyed alone. You pick first and I will take the rest.” Sheng Chumu turned to look at his good friend.
His worried mother was afraid that he would have to go to the borders again and had been trying to set him up on a blind date recently. She brought all the portraits of Chang’an’s rich girls. However, his heart constantly had one person in it. He thought that he would be able to get rid of his feelings after staying at the border for a period of time. However, when he returned to the court that day, his feelings came rushing back in a flood when he caught a glimpse of her. He desperately wanted to rush to her and ask her whether she had him in her heart. The trip to the border was wasted.
Du Ning did not laugh at Sheng Chumu’s words. Ever since Fu Yin disappeared, he had not laughed ever again.
Sheng Chumu knew Du Ning’s feelings but remained professional and asked, “Have you met Fu Tao?”
Du Ning answered, “Yes, I did. He praised your observation skills in the siege at Prince Zhao’s residence. Lu Qi had ordered him to head to Prince Zhao’s study room to retrieve the letter that the Crown Prince had given Prince Zhao. He found it but did not know the use of it. However, he did not want to pass it to Lu Qi and lied that he did not find the letter.” Du Ning took a letter from his pouch and said, “He told me to pass this to you.”
“He does not know that I have already…” Sheng Chumu could not even bear to say Fu Rou’s name. “We are no longer together.”
“You and the Fu family have the same enemy. At least you are in a better position than me, no one in the Fu family knows of my existence even after I lost Fu Yin.” Du Ning grabbed a silver flask attached to his waist and drank two mouths from it.
There was wine inside the flask. He did not know when he started having the habit of bringing wine around with him. Every time he thought of Fu Yin, he would drink to ease the pain in his heart.