Chapter 47. Cheng Yu, You Shouldn’t Have Come
Arc 2 : Historical Power Conspiracy Nightmare.
Twelfth month of the lunar year, a group of envoys from Cheng Kingdom brought ceremonial gifts to the capital to congratulate King Yuan Yan on his accession to the throne.
Du Yan received the envoys from Cheng Kingdom who came from afar in the main hall. The one leading the team was the white-bearded old minister of Cheng Kingdom, Mo Zi, who was also a famous Legalist scholar.
Du Yan had heard of this man a long time ago. Besides, he also knew that Mo Zi was an important official who made great contributions in Cheng Yu’s path to unifying the country. The Cheng Kingdom, which had been in decline for a long time, was completely renewed by the reform initiated by this man.
Du Yan scanned the envoys below one by one but did not see any familiar face.
But thinking about it, it was normal. Cheng Yu had lived in the capital of Yuan Kingdom for ten years, and many people have come to congratulate this King Yuan. If he came here without disguise, mixed in with the envoys, it would be like not taking his own life seriously.
Du Yan felt it would be better if the other party didn’t come. After all, what he was going to do next was really vicious. Even though Du Yan comforted himself that villains didn’t need conscience, he still felt a little bit reluctant.
Du Yan sighed inwardly, feeling that the next time he fell into a dream, he must not choose a character like this that requires long-term interaction. No matter how weak his EQ is, after spending day and night together, it will always give birth to some feelings.
When it came time to take action, he really couldn’t get over his concerns.
Even at the banquet to entertain the envoys, Du Yan still kept looking at the faces of the envoys from Cheng Kingdom from time to time, trying to find some familiar traces in their actions.
Du Yan was not married yet and does not have a side consort either. On this occasion, Yuan Ning was sitting next to him.
Although Yuan Ning was simple, her intuition was very sharp. She noticed Du Yan’s actions, leaned over, and asked in a low voice: “XiongZhang, are you looking for King Cheng?”
(*Xiong Zhang= Elder Brother)
Du Yan glanced at her and said: “Cheng Yu is King Cheng, come to the capital of my Yaun Kingdom, unless he is tired of living.”
Yuan Ning pouted: “Why do you say it so terribly? Although Cheng Yu is already King Cheng, we still have a friendship since we grew up together. XiongZhang, you obviously miss him, but you pretend not to care.”
Yuan Ning didn’t pay attention for a moment, and the voice was a little loud, so Mo Zi, who was closest to them, heard it.
At this time, the atmosphere at the banquet was quite relaxed, and Mo Zi from below asked: “Just now, I accidentally heard the eldest princess mentioning our lordship in her words?”
Du Yan did not hide it, raised his cup and said with a smile: “King Cheng and Gu, XiongMei can be regarded as growing up together, and now they have been separated for a long time, Ning’er misses her old friend a little.”
Mo Zi did not shy away from the fact that King Cheng had been a hostage in Yuan Kingdom, and said with a smile: “Back then, our lordship was a hostage in your Kingdom, and Your Majesty and the eldest princess also have a deep friendship with each other since childhood. If the eldest princess is interested, it would be a good opportunity to create a good story.”
Du Yan smiled and said: “If King Cheng has this intention, Gu think this is feasible.”
As soon as Du Yan said this, Yuan Ning glared at him. However, at this moment, Du Yan didn’t have the time to appease Yuan Ning. He just used this to sound out one or two.
Finally, he found that the person who sat at the bottom and seemed to have the lowest status in the envoy group trembled slightly when he heard this. The wine in the bronze cup spilled on his sleeves.
With a specific goal in mind, the more he observed, the more familiar he felt with that man. From his kneeling posture to his movements when raising a glass, including the movement of lifting chopsticks to eat, they were all very familiar.
After just a moment’s observation, Du Yan was certain that the man must be Cheng Yu in disguise.
As expected, he came. Du Yan was somewhat stunned. He felt mixed emotions and couldn’t tell what he felt.
“XiongZhang, you were not serious just now, right? I have always regarded King Cheng as Gege, please don’t…” Yuan Ning saw Mo Zi, and the people beside him start talking below, so she lowered her voice to talk to Du Yan.
Du Yan, however, gave an unrelated answer: “Do you think that the person sitting at the end looks a bit like Cheng Yu?”
Upon hearing this, Yuan Ning looked over subconsciously. Although she had not spent more time with Cheng Yu than Du Yan, she had always been attentive. After looking at him for a while, she said: “They are somewhat similar, but they look completely different, probably just some resemblance between them.”
Du Yan didn’t say anything more. His original intention was just to reveal a slight flaw here to pave the way for the next step.
Yuan Ning turned her head and looked at Du Yan again, and suddenly smiled: “In fact, it’s XiongZhang who misses King Cheng too much. When you miss someone, flowers are not flowers, trees are not trees, and everything will carry the shadow of that person.”
“…” Du Yan once again felt that Yuan Ning had really walked into the wrong movie set.
After the banquet, Du Yan did not return to his chamber but withdrew his attendants and walked along the corridor to the place where Cheng Yu once lived.
This morning, the first snow fell. Although it was not heavy, it brought a bone-chilling chill. On this cold, early winter night, the courtyard in front of Du Yan seemed even more desolate.
The place where hostage from the Cheng Kingdom lived was naturally located in the most remote and deserted place in the palace. After Cheng Yu left, this place became empty.
Du Yan pushed the door open and walked in, standing with his hands behind his back. A moment later, someone else pushed the door open and walked in.
“You are here after all.” Du Yan did not turn around but just looked at a void in the darkness.
“You invited me, how could I not come?” A familiar voice sounded.
Du Yan turned around and looked at Cheng Yu standing at the door. There was no light in the courtyard, but the moonlight was bright today, so he could see the person in front of him clearly. His face was not familiar, and it was still the ordinary face among the envoys.
“Even though I’ve disguised myself like this, you can still recognize me.” Cheng Yu walked forward and stopped one step away from Du Yan.
Cheng Yu is already a young man in his twenties, but Du Yan has not yet fully grown up. Gap closes, and Du Yan feels that he is completely enveloped by the other person’s figure.
This feeling of oppression made Du Yan a little uncomfortable, but as a ruler of a kingdom, he should not show weakness at this moment.
Du Yan raised his head slightly and looked directly at the other party: “Cheng Yu, you know very well that you and I will have to fight each other one day. Why did you still come?”
“I don’t know what will happen in the future, but I know that if I don’t come, I will regret it.”
Du Yan finally couldn’t look into those eyes anymore, so he turned his head slightly away: “There’s nothing here, it’s not a place for a long conversation.”
The two walked side by side all the way to the hall of Du Yan’s residence. After a while, the maid prepared everything, left respectfully, and closed the door.
On the table on a couch, a small stove was warm with a pot of wine. Several charcoal basins were lit in the hall, but they still couldn’t completely drive away the chill in the hall.
Du Yan played with the bronze cup in his hand and said: “Drink some to ward off the cold.”
Cheng Yu reached for the wine pot out of habit, but his fingers were a little out of control: “I’ve been away for a long time, and I’m not used to the cold here.”
Du Yan took the wine pot from him very naturally: “When I first met you, you were quite resistant to cold.”
Having said that, he raised his hand and filled Cheng Yu’s cup with wine.
Cheng Yu looked down at the wine in the cup and said: “This seems to be the first time I drink the wine you poured for me.”
Du Yan glanced at him and said: “You are now a king, and you are a guest from afar. It is only natural for me, as the host, to pour wine for you.”
Cheng Yu smiled and said: “Then I can’t fail to live up to your wishes.”
The two clinked their cup and then drank the wine in their cup.
Du Yan raised his hand and filled the cup again, and asked: “It took two months to go back and forth from the capital of Cheng Kingdom. The king is not in the court, are you not afraid of any chaos in the court?”
Du Yan could actually guess a little bit. Cheng Yu must have a backup plan if he dared to act like this. He just said it casually and didn’t think about getting any answer.
Cheng Yu did not hide it. He took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket and rubbed it on the junction of his neck and face. After a while, he peeled off a human skin mask from his face.
Cheng Yu’s familiar face appeared in front of Du Yan. He began to explain: “Some of my shadow guards have the same body shape as me. After putting on the mask, they can guard the capital for me for a period of time.”
Du Yan took the mask from Cheng Yu and said carefully: “You have many talented people under you.”
Cheng Yu said: “It was you who brought me to the Jucai Building in the first place that allowed me to secretly win over so many guest officials. Now that I think about it, have you been planning to send me away and help me ascend the throne since then?”
Du Yan said: “You think too much, I’m just curious.”
Cheng Yu just smiled and said nothing, not exposing the other party’s stubbornness. He took out a letter from his sleeve and said: “Let’s talk about the things in the past later. I just want to ask you one question, is what you said in the letter what you really think?”
Du Yan did not accept the letter, nor did he answer Cheng Yu’s question.
He was silent for a while and finally sighed: “What does it matter if it’s true or false? Our situation is the same in the end.”
“You…” Cheng Yu opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but suddenly he felt a strong sense of dizziness.
Cheng Yu thought he was drunk and rubbed his forehead, but the dizziness did not ease at all. He only felt that the person in front of him was gradually blurring, and the look in his eyes was even colder than the winter night outside the window.
He glanced at the wine in the cup and suddenly understood something. He smiled bitterly but didn’t say another word.
Du Yan looked at Cheng Yu lying on the table, sat on the couch for a while, then clapped his hands lightly and called the guards outside the hall to carry Cheng Yu away.
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