Untouchable Lovers-Chapter 131 - 121 Already Dead
Chapter 131: Chapter 121 Already Dead
“Why?” Chu Yu asked in surprise.
Liu Ziyue lowered his head and toyed with a bamboo whip on the ground, rolling it back and forth. “Sister, have you forgotten the origin of that guy who carried the scent?”
Chu Yu was slightly taken aback. She only vaguely remembered that Moxiang was a gift from a noble, but she had forgotten the specific details.
She strained to recall the information she had initially reviewed about the concubines, the content recorded on the brocade scroll. A passage surfaced in her mind, instantly illuminating the fog, prompting her to exclaim, “It was Prince Xiangdong!”
She remembered! Moxiang was a birthday gift from Prince Xiangdong, Liu Yu, to Shan Yin’s Princess!
Prince Xiangdong, who was referred to as the “old Emperor” in the treasonous ballad with the line, “a monarch arises from the heart of Xiang.”
...
Now, as Liu Ziyue sought to deal with Prince Xiangdong, he found the presence of the man Prince Xiangdong had sent to Shan Yin’s Princess bothersome and casually had him killed.
So that was the case!
Liu Ziyue coldly smiled and said, “As a monarch arises from Xiang, I have killed his men and I’ve killed him too. I’d really like to see how he plans to become Emperor!” His words were filled with murderous intent. After speaking, he suddenly remembered Chu Yu was still upset, his expression sadly falling. He tugged at Chu Yu’s sleeve and grasped her hand again, whispering, “Sister, don’t be mad at me. If I had known how much you liked that boy, I wouldn’t have killed him. Now that he’s dead, let’s do this—I’ll issue a decree tomorrow for officials everywhere to search for beautifully scented handsome youths to send a few more your way.”
He paused and added, “The scent on that boy wasn’t even pleasant, not as nice as yours, Sister.”
Chu Yu’s hand was held by his fervent grasp. His palm was so intensely warm, yet his heart was so cold, a realization that deeply moved her. She sighed and said, “There’s no need to gather handsome youths. I’m not quite interested in that type anymore. You needn’t issue a decree to avoid further objections from your ministers.”
Liu Ziyue proudly declared, “Sister, there’s no need for you to worry about that. After I killed Old Man Dai, court sessions became much quieter. No one dares to shout at me anymore. From now on, if anyone dares to criticize me, I will kill them!”
Chu Yu said reservedly, “I came to the palace today to tell you that I can stop being mad at you, but you must also promise me one thing.”
“What is it?” Liu Ziyue, hearing Chu Yu relenting, was immediately elated, ready to agree to anything. Only when facing his sister did he completely forget to act like the Emperor, always feeling as if he were returning to the past.
In front of Chu Yu, he wasn’t the ruler of a nation, but a hapless Crown Prince whose position and even life could be lost at any moment, only feeling safe and comfortable next to his sister who was willing to look after and protect him.
Sister was his sibling, companion, and even mother. He could no longer remember his mother’s face, but he still remembered how his sister painstakingly applied medicine to him when their father, the Emperor, had punished him as a child.
In this world, the only person he would never harm was his sister, and she was also the only person he completely trusted and relied on.
Lost in thought, Liu Ziyue almost missed the sound of Chu Yu speaking. By the time he realized it, Chu Yu had already finished speaking.
Liu Ziyue instinctively said, “Okay, I promise you… uh, Sister, could you repeat that, what was it?”
Chu Yu, suppressing her anger, repeated her earlier words: “I said, I won’t be angry, but in the future, you cannot kill court officials arbitrarily based on your own emotions and whims.”
Liu Ziyue did not expect Chu Yu to make such a request, and couldn’t help but frown, his eyes darkening with irritation, “Neither this nor that is acceptable. Sister, why have you become as nagging as those old men?”
His expression and tone were somewhat frightening. If it had been before, Chu Yu would certainly have been scared into silence, but now, looking at Liu Ziyue, strangely enough, she felt no fear at all. She stared directly at him and said distinctly, “Emperor, your country still needs people to help you govern. If you kill them all now, who will help you run the country?”
She could acutely feel that Liu Ziyue wouldn’t become angry at her request.
Liu Ziyue, following her line of thought, considered it and then responded lightly, “That’s true. If I kill them all, then I’d be left to take care of everything myself, which would be exhausting enough to kill me. Sister, I promise you.”
He agreed quite casually, without any sincerity. Chu Yu knew achieving this much was already good, and she paused, pushing no further. Seeing Liu Ziyue still stepping on the bamboo whip on the ground, she said amicably, “Then, Emperor, regarding that ballad…”
Seeing her soften, and knowing that this storm was over, Liu Ziyue felt relieved and blurted out his plans, “I have already decreed that Prince Xiangdong, Prince Jian’an, and Prince Shanyang must come to Jiankang. Sister, this time, please don’t stop me. Even if I don’t kill them, I must keep a tight watch to prevent any rebellious plots.”
To prevent another bout of madness from Liu Ziyue without her knowledge, Chu Yu studied the familial relationships of the Liu Family. Prince Xiangdong Liu Yu, Prince Jian’an Liu Xiu Ren, and Prince Shanyang Liu Xiuyou were all uncles of both Liu Ziyue and Shan Yin’s Princess, and generally, these three had good relations among themselves. Therefore, Liu Ziyue decided to capture all three at once.
Chu Yu hesitated for a moment, then tacitly approved of Liu Ziyue’s actions. These three were likely key figures in any rebellion; if they were imprisoned or even killed early, perhaps no one would emerge to contend for Liu Ziyue’s throne in the future.
This idea, although selfish, was indeed an instinct for self-preservation.
Moreover, since Liu Ziyue had not immediately killed the three men, Chu Yu also decided to first meet these three uncles and then determine what to do next.
Now that she had resolved to stand by Liu Ziyue, she focused on eliminating any potential for rebellion before slowly considering other matters. For this goal, she had to bury her guilt towards Moxiang, harshly telling herself that it was a rational choice.
************************************************
In the garden, as Chu Yu pondered what kind of person Liu Yu was, hundreds of miles away, Liu Yu was also worried about his journey.
“Are you saying that my trip to Jiankang will really be safe?” Liu Yu asked after a long silence in a quiet study provided by the local officials where his entourage was resting.
“Please be at ease, Prince Xiangdong. Even though meeting His Majesty might be frightening, your future honor and glory will surely be boundless,” a figure in dark green responded while browsing for books on the shelves, speaking in an organized manner.
Although the speaker was addressing a member of the Imperial Family, his attitude was not very respectful. His tone was so indifferent, it was as if the two were strangers.
Unable to find the book he wanted after searching for a while, the man stepped out. He appeared to be about eighteen or nineteen years old, with extremely attractive and charming features, a face as smooth as jade, lips as red as cinnabar, and long, narrow phoenix eyes that were softly enticing. Despite looking like a beautiful woman, his actions and demeanor hid a resilient hardness.
Seeing the young man emerge, Liu Yu sneered sarcastically, “Two years ago, when I sent you away, it was merely a casual favor. Of all the people, you were the one I least expected anything from. Yet surprisingly, you are the only one who has brought me news at this time.”
Softly, he said the young man’s name: “Moxiang.”
This young man was Moxiang.
Two years ago, a male concubine who knew nothing but to serve with his beauty, yet now he seemed completely transformed.
Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are publish𝒆d on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.
=================================================
Alright! Another reveal!
Actually, when I “killed” Moxiang at the beginning, I didn’t expect such a huge reaction from everyone. But after the deed, I realized I was wrong. Faced with the collective sentiments on QQ and in the posts, all I could do was ruefully smile and think to myself, Moxiang isn’t really dead ><
However, I couldn’t disclose the truth because it ties into a later plot development, it’s a foreshadowing. In my original plan, it might have taken until volumes four or even five to reintroduce him, so when I casually announced a memorial service for Sunday, it was also a reminder to myself to keep tight-lipped and avoid spoilers~~
Over these few days, seeing everyone’s regret for Moxiang, I started worrying that I wouldn’t be able to hold out, that I might reveal the truth prematurely. Yesterday, while writing, I found myself involuntarily wanting to bring Moxiang back, accidentally writing Liu Se as Moxiang, which caused a big laugh…
To avoid keeping this on my mind and inadvertently causing more blunders, I slightly adjusted the structure, letting Moxiang resurrect prematurely…
Whew, for those who thought Moxiang was dead, sorry…actually, it wasn’t death…it was feigned death…
And some previous scenes have been explained here.
I didn’t kill off a character just to advance the romantic feelings between Chu and Rong; his death served a purpose. Earlier, I also laid out what seemed like trivial foreshadowing, mentioning that Moxiang was a gift from the nobility to Shan Yin’s Princess.
Last thoughts: Practicing Silent Zen is really hard. Several times, I almost couldn’t resist telling everyone that Moxiang wasn’t dead…now, let’s just spill it all at once.
Because we’ve brought Moxiang “back to life” early, tomorrow’s memorial service is also cancelled~~
