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Zhao Xiang didn't ask again, "Why is the Emperor afraid of you?" He didn't know whose son Shengxiang was, but from the day Zhao Pu brought the child into the house, he knew Shengxiang was no ordinary child, but rather someone of royal lineage. After a long silence, he clearly understood the magnitude of this crisis for Zhao Pu, and Shengxiang obviously hadn't told Zhao Pu about "the Emperor wanting to kill me." "Father doesn't know?"

Shengxiang laughed again, "Father would be terrified if he knew."

"What do you plan to do?" Zhao Xiang asked.

Shengxiang gently pulled away from Zhao Xiang's grasp, one finger at a time, and slowly turned his back again. "I will not commit suicide, I am not a loyal subject—" He paused, then suddenly added, "The people who want to kill my friend are all experts, and the military patrol cannot save him."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Xiang suddenly realized something and immediately questioned sharply, "What do you mean? Could it be that you—"

"Second Brother!" Shengxiang interrupted him, "The Emperor wants to kill me, and so many other people want to kill me. I don't want my friends to die, I don't want to die myself, and I don't want my family to be implicated, so—so—"

He suddenly turned to look at Zhao Xiang, "Second brother, you just heard it, 'Saving Yu Cuiwei is unacceptable to the world—unacceptable to the world, first and foremost unacceptable to the Prime Minister's residence! You—and Father—kick me out!'"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiang felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His ears rang, and he remained stunned for a long while before asking, word by word, "What did you say?"

Shengxiang looked at him and said one word at a time, then backed down: "If I don't die, the Emperor won't be at ease, and Father will save me. He won't let Father off the hook—but I don't want to die—so—so—anyway, things have been a mess at home lately. I've gotten myself into a huge mess, and many, many people want to kill me. Since that's the case, since that's the case—you and Father should kick me out... Otherwise, do you want Father and the Prime Minister's mansion to die with me?"

Shengxiang's face was expressionless as he spoke, showing little sign of pain. Zhao Xiang stared at him in astonishment. After a few words, Shengxiang had retreated to the courtyard gate, about five zhang away from Zhao Xiang. He continued, "I've gotten myself into a huge mess. If you don't kick me out, something terrible will happen to my family, maybe someone will die... How can you bear to let Taibo and Xiaoyun die with me? Right? So—" He actually laughed, "You and Father can have a huge tantrum and kick me out."

"You...you..." Zhao Xiang was filled with shock and anger, with a thousand words to say, but he couldn't utter a single one in his defense. If the Emperor wanted to kill Sheng Xiang, besides kicking him out, could he really expect Sheng Xiang to die for the sake of the Prime Minister's residence? He paused, his voice trembling: "With your spoiled nature, if I really kicked you out, could you survive?"

Shengxiang frowned and said seriously, "I will come back to see you every Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival from now on. If I go to the north, I will bring back a mink fur; if I go to the south, I will bring back a beautiful woman..."

Zhao Xiang was taken aback, then angrily retorted, "When can you ever say something serious? Now... what time is it now! Nonsense! You've never stopped being a fool in your entire life! How long do you intend to keep joking around?"

Sheng stuck out his tongue and pointed to the large characters on the wall, "These things are terrifying, tear them down quickly." He clapped his hands, preparing to make a quick getaway, but Zhao Xiang coldly asked again, "When do you want to leave?"

Shengxiang turned around and made a face, "Tonight."

Zhao Xiang paused for a moment, then said stiffly, "Father... he absolutely couldn't do it..."

Shengxiang looked at him with a smile, "It's good that you can do what Dad can't, anyway—Second Brother looks so scary..." After he finished speaking, he slipped away and disappeared without a trace before Zhao Xiang got angry.

As Zhao Xiang watched Sheng Xiang's departing figure, what was the feeling behind this child, who had been extravagant, wasteful, playful, and lazy since childhood, saying, "You and Father, kick me out..."? He was not tolerated by the world, and first and foremost, he was not tolerated by the Prime Minister's residence... Half of what made him unacceptable to the world was the Emperor's murderous intent, and the other half was the friendship of his friends, but what made him unacceptable to the Prime Minister's residence... Zhao Xiang suddenly shuddered—could it be the knot in his heart that he could not forgive?

A gust of wind blew by, bringing a biting chill to the air; this winter was colder than last year.

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Bright Moon Enters My Embrace, Only You Know

Shengxiang had been gone for a long time and hadn't returned. Wenren Nuan was looking out the window. Yu Cuiwei laughed and said that Shengxiang wouldn't be angry for so long. Just then, Shengxiang excitedly dragged three large boxes back and said as soon as she entered the door, "We're doomed, we're doomed! We can't stay at home anymore! I don't know what kind of enemy Da Yu has come to kill birds in our woodshed. It's terrifying! We have to run away quickly!"

Wenren Nuan was drinking tea by the window when she heard this and choked. "Now... escape?" She sent a message to Wan Yuyuedan, asking him to send reinforcements to the Prime Minister's residence in Kaifeng. If she escapes now, where will the elite troops of Biluo Palace find her?

Yu Cuiwei glanced at Shengxiang with a smile, "Where do you think you're going to escape to?" The Prime Minister's residence is not a place to stay for long. Shengxiang lacks experience in the martial world. Where can you take him?

"Let's go to Bingzhu Temple!" Shengxiang announced, proudly dragging in the box. "Look, look, I've prepared clothes for both men and women, plus shoes, boots, hand warmers, brocade pouches, ginseng, red dates, padded jackets, earthenware pots, fishing rods..."

Yu Cuiwei was taken aback, then laughed, "Bingzhu Temple? Why would Young Master Shengxiang want to go there? It's not fun."

"Legend has it that when martial arts villains are being hunted down by the entire martial world, they all flee to Bingzhu Temple," Shengxiang said with a smile. "And since there are so many heroes and warriors who want to vanquish demons, of course the more demons there are, the better, don't you think?"

Yu Cuiwei laughed. "Going there isn't difficult, but getting in is," he took a sip of tea, sat up, and fanned his cheeks, which were burning from being covered by the brocade quilt, "and living isn't easy."

When Yu Cuiwei uttered the words "Living is not easy," it was as heavy as Mount Tai. Shengxiang glared at him, "If you could go back alone, this young master would of course, absolutely, inevitably, and certainly not accompany you. Unfortunately, you can't go back alone. You brat." He turned to Wenren Nuan, pointing at Yu Cuiwei, "When will Da Yu's injuries heal?"

Wenren Nuan listened with a smile, and after thinking for a moment, said, "Three years."

"Huh?" Shengxiang opened his mouth wide. "Three—years—does this young master have to accompany him for three years? Absolutely not! This young master has many things to do. I absolutely cannot accompany Dayu to eat at Bingzhu Temple. I'll get fat."

Yu Cuiwei said softly, "You don't have to accompany me." His affectionate smile was indeed very charming. "I won't die."

“I’m going to accompany you anyway,” Shengxiang said, glaring at him.

"I won't die..."

Yu Cuiwei smiled even more gently, but was interrupted by Shengxiang: "Don't even think about asking me to throw you into some pigsty, chicken coop, rabbit hole, or goat hole. I patted my chest and said I would save you, so you can't refuse to let me save you, and you can't hang yourself or jump off a cliff. That's a matter of my face."

Looking into Shengxiang's wide, perfect eyes, Yu Cuiwei said softly, "If I were a little girl, I would be completely captivated by you." He sat up. "When do we leave?"

"Now," Shengxiang said smugly, pointing to one of the boxes of women's clothing, "I've never seen Dayu actually wear women's clothes. At most, he's dressed in something neither male nor female. You two take your clothes and go to Baitaotang on Quyuan Street for dinner, and wait for me." His box of clothes contained both elegant and delicate garments, as well as alluring and seductive ones. Wenren Nuan exclaimed, "Ah! You want us to go to Baitaotang to change?"

Shengxiang nodded, "You all go say goodbye to my father now. You brat, change into men's clothes first, then drive the carriage to Baitaotang for some wine and women. After dinner, you all change into women's clothes. That's it."

"So, Bai Tao Tang is a brothel?" Wenren Nuan laughed and looked at Yu Cuiwei. "Then I'll have to rely on Brother Yu's guidance. A brothel... I've wanted to go for a long time, but unfortunately, I've never been."

Yu Cuiwei raised his eyebrows and turned his eyes. He looked very handsome, but he bit his lip and chuckled, saying, "Well... of course."

"After you change your clothes, if there's a customer who looks particularly fair and honest, like a upright and honest official, and wants some money, then go ahead. I'll be waiting for you outside the city." Shengxiang arranged in a serious tone, "You'll definitely recognize that wonderful customer at a glance. We'll meet at the City God Temple in Zhuxian Town outside the city at the second watch of the night."

Wenren Nuan was taken aback. "These... were you arranged just now?" She didn't know that Shengxiang could do so much in such a short time, and he didn't seem to have left the Prime Minister's residence.

Shengxiang looked at her with a smile, "I had a fight with Second Young Master Zhao just now, and then I came back."

"That was—something you arranged before?" Wenren Nuan was even more confused.

Shengxiang gave her a hard knock on the head. "You clever brat."

She paused, her mind growing increasingly unsettled. Shengxiang had ordered them to seek refuge at the Prime Minister's residence, and then wanted to lead them away again. Wasn't he afraid of bringing bloodshed to the Prime Minister's mansion…? Why go to the Prime Minister's mansion first, and then escape? Firstly, to divert attention and cover their tracks; secondly, because the Prime Minister's mansion was heavily guarded and the enemy dared not act rashly; and thirdly… could it be that Shengxiang had arranged this long, long ago—that they take him away! It wasn't that Shengxiang was leading them on a desperate escape, but that he had arranged for them to take him away from the Prime Minister's mansion… to leave the Prime Minister's mansion… as an excuse to force himself to leave home?

For some reason, when Wenren Nuan thought of the words "previously arranged", she felt an ominous and uneasy feeling welling up from the bottom of her heart.

Is Shengxiang really leaving the Prime Minister's residence? If so, why...?

To wish to save Yu Cuiwei is a kind of chivalrous spirit from Shengxiang; but perhaps, it is more of a near-suicidal...a kind of sacrifice...

She gazed at Shengxiang, and like most people, she couldn't discern anything in Shengxiang's smiling eyes; she only felt they were flawless and unfathomable.

Afterwards, she and Yu Cuiwei packed their things. She changed into Shengxiang's clothes, and according to Shengxiang's arrangement, she bid farewell to Zhao Pu and took a carriage to Baitaotang on Quyuan Street for a meal.