TPATTHU Chapter 59
by VolareShen Zhejiang moved his fingertips, wanting to touch Xiao Zhinian to ease his pain, but he couldn’t lift his hand no matter what. He only managed to say, “I knew you would… cough cough… you would come. I believed in you.”
Xiao Zhinian lowered his head, his voice filled with a hoarse sob, “It must hurt a lot, doesn’t it? It’s all my fault, I dragged you into this.”
“Cough cough,” Shen Zhejiang’s voice floated weakly, “…Not you, don’t cry.”
“I’ll take you away. We’ll go home together.”
Xiao Zhinian scooped Shen Zhejiang into his arms, stood up, and walked toward the prison gate.
But at that moment, the damp and gloomy corridor suddenly lit up. The sound of orderly footsteps surrounded Xiao Zhinian and Shen Zhejiang.
Xiao Zhinian glanced around coldly, somewhat surprised to see Governor Yang stroll in from behind the group of jailers.
He hadn’t fainted. It seemed this was a carefully prepared trap.
Governor Yang looked at Xiao Zhinian, then turned his gaze to Shen Zhejiang, giving a fake smile, “Your Majesty, I trust you’ve been well.”
Xiao Zhinian said in a deep voice, “Get out of the way.”
Governor Yang stroked his beard and said, “Where does Your Majesty intend to go?”
“What business is it of yours?” Xiao Zhinian shouted sternly, embracing Shen Zhejiang as he walked outwards. “Get out of my way!”
Just then, a blade was held up in front of Xiao Zhinian, blocking his path.
Xiao Zhinian frowned. “Yang Shihui, are you rebelling?”
“Eh, Your Majesty is mistaken,” Governor Yang argued unreasonably, “The man in Your Majesty’s arms is a serious criminal. The Emperor is subjected to same rules as his people when he breaks them. Your Majesty is openly taking this criminal away. Are you trying to protect him? If so, how can Your Majesty convince the masses?”
“Whether my teacher is a criminal or not is not for you to decide! I’ll ask you again, are you going to get out of the way or not?”
Xiao Zhinian glared at Yang Shihui, wishing he could chop off his smug dog head on the spot.
Unexpectedly, Governor Yang spread his hands, and said coldly, “Your Majesty is indeed young and cannot see things clearly. Does Your Majesty want to see who is on whose side here? Today, Your Majesty is afraid it will be difficult to leave this place. Take him down, Governor!”
In an instant, the tension escalated.
Xiao Zhinian’s arm tightened around Shen Zhejiang, as he said each word with biting coldness, “I’d like to see who dares!”
Perhaps intimidated by his powerful aura, the jailers hesitated, staying where they were, nervously staring at Xiao Zhinian and Shen Zhejiang in the middle.
A deathly silence.
After a long while, Governor Yang strutted around, “What are you trash afraid of? He’s already a turtle in a jar, kill him and this Governor will reward you handsomely!”
Xiao Zhinian said fearlessly, “I have already drafted an order to send troops from the court, they will arrive soon. I know you are forced by Yang Shihui, and have no choice but to obey. Now I will give you a chance to redeem yourselves. If you don’t want to implicate your wives and children, take down this traitor Yang Shihui as soon as possible.”
A divisive tactic, making people even more uneasy.
Although Shen Zhejiang was weak, hearing Xiao Zhinian’s words, the corner of his lips slightly smiled, and he lightly touched the back of Xiao Zhinian’s hand with his fingertips.
The meaning was self-evident.
Xiao Zhinian squeezed Shen Zhejiang’s hand, giving him a reassuring smile, accepting Shen Zhejiang’s approval.
Sure enough, the jailers who had taken two steps forward suddenly took two steps back, deadlocked.
Everyone knew that plotting to usurp the throne was a capital crime. Success meant wealth and glory, but failure meant losing one’s head. Losing one’s own head wasn’t the main thing, the key was the family at home.
Moreover, Xiao Zhinian spoke seriously, not like he was faking it.
Having figured this out, slowly, some jailers actually turned around and blocked Xiao Zhinian and his group behind them.
This infuriated Yang Shihui. He glanced at the jailers who were gradually leaning towards Xiao Zhinian, waved his hand and ordered, “At the end of the road, dare to be so arrogant, take them all down!”
“Whoever captures Yang Shihui alive will be promoted and enfeoffed.”
Xiao Zhinian said.
Swords clashed, on the verge of breaking out.
The crisp sound of metal colliding suddenly rang out in the prison, and the polished firelight illuminated the blood-stained faces, blood flowing like a river, making it even more gloomy and terrifying.
“Careful!”
Shen Zhejiang exclaimed in alarm.
Xiao Zhinian immediately dodged, and almost at the same time, a cold, gleaming blade fell from above where Xiao Zhinian was originally standing, and the back of the blade reflected Xiao Zhinian’s calm and composed handsome face.
If he had been a step slower, Xiao Zhinian would have been split in half with one blow.
With a sweep of his long legs, he kicked away the person who was trying to sneak attack, but unexpectedly the person dodged it, and relentlessly continued to wield the knife and slash at Xiao Zhinian, like a piece of dog skin plaster, unable to shake him off.
Tsk, truly troublesome.
The skills were excellent, not like ordinary jailers.
“Mister, are you afraid?”
Xiao Zhinian couldn’t free his hands. After kicking away a jailer who was attacking him head-on, he smiled and asked Shen Zhejiang in his arms.
In the midst of the endless chaos, Shen Zhejiang’s voice was small, but it entered Xiao Zhinian’s ears with unparalleled clarity.
“With you here, I’m not afraid.”
His heart pounded.
No matter how many times, getting a response from Shen Zhejiang brought him joy as if it was the first time.
As the last howl fell, the chaos was settled.
Xiao Zhinian and Shen Zhejiang were forced back into the corner of the prison, with no way to retreat, watching Governor Yang approach step by step like a jackal.
“Your Majesty, oh no, you can’t call him that anymore,” Governor Yang kicked away a bloody corpse in front of him, and strolled up to them, smiling, “Taking over someone else’s nest, that is the correct term. Xiao Zhinian, that seat should not belong to you in the first place, and now it must be returned to its original owner.”
Xiao Zhinian said with sarcasm, “The country isn’t mine, does it belong to you? Ridiculous, with your half-buried old bones, you’ll probably fall headfirst into a coffin in less than two years.”
Governor Yang suddenly drew the saber of a jailer next to him, and held it against Xiao Zhinian’s neck, cutting open a bloody mark, and said coldly, “I might as well tell you now that you are about to die, this country is not yours, nor is it mine, but belongs to the one who truly sits on the throne.”
There’s someone behind him!
Xiao Zhinian pressed on, asking, “Who?”
Shen Zhejiang turned his eyes to Governor Yang, thoughtfully.
“Naturally, it’s my master. I think you have felt it too. The people who fought with you just now were not actually Yamen errand runners. They were waiting for this day, your death! It’s been almost twenty years! We finally waited until this day!”
Governor Yang suddenly became emotionally agitated for some reason, as if he was about to fulfill a long-cherished wish.
Unsuppressible joy leaped out of his face. He even walked back and forth frantically in front of Xiao Zhinian and the others, wanting to relieve the excitement a little.
Shen Zhejiang propped himself up from Xiao Zhinian’s arms, clutching Xiao Zhinian’s clothes, and asked Governor Yang, panting, “Did my father also know about this?”