Cen Yi died, charged with treason.
—Treason, who could have thought that one day the Cen family would be accused of this, and it was Cen Yi too. The generals in Hanzhou City did not believe it, the people did not believe it, and even Cen Yelan himself did not believe it.
The Cen family has guarded the northern border for hundreds of years. There are countless memorial tablets in the ancestral hall. Many of them were buried on the battlefield, but there has never been anyone who collaborated with the enemy or betrayed the country.
But Cen Yi is dead, and he died at the hands of Cen Yelan.
That day, Cen Yi died, and Cen Yelan vomited blood and fainted as soon as he returned to the city. He was injured, and due to his emotional ups and downs, he developed a high fever that day and lay in bed, unconscious.
Su Chenzhao gave Cen Yelan an acupuncture. Yuan Zheng stood by the bed, looking at the pale-faced Cen Yelan. Cen Yelan was always strong and tough, as if indestructible, but at this moment, Yuan Zheng sensed a bit of fragility in him, as if he could not bear the burden. Any slightest damage would cause him to collapse.
This reminded Yuan Zheng of the year when Cen Xi died and Cen Yelan returned to the capital. Cen Yelan became more and more taciturn, just like the spear in his hand, sharp and exposed. Even when he sat quietly, he was full of indifference that kept people at a distance.
Cen Yelan looks cold and unkind, but he values affection, especially family affection. This is probably because he was born an orphan, and the more he lacks something, the more he values it.
Now there is only Cen Mo left by his side, and he killed Cen Yi. How can Cen Mo not hate him?
Yuan Zheng suddenly felt distressed. He touched Cen Yelan’s hand. The joints were cold and slender, yet the fingers and palms were rough with thick calluses. Yuan Zheng gathered his fingers that were in his palm one by one and held them. He suddenly felt at ease.
Yuan Zheng thought, He wanted to be with Cen Yelan.
Not a thought, but a desire. This thought had never been so clear and distinct.
Cen Yi was also the hereditary Marquis Wangbei, but he was a criminal and could not have a mourning hall with the ceremony of the marquis, a prince, or a general.
The people below were hesitant and had to ask Yuan Zheng for instructions.
Yuan Zheng thought for a moment and asked them to simply set up a mourning hall. He also ordered Cen Yelan’s deputy general, Qi Ming, to go to Beicang Pass.
He originally thought that Cen Yelan would sleep for another two days, but he didn’t expect that he would wake up the next day with a calm expression, without any loss of control as yesterday at all.
He went to the mourning hall to see Cen Yi. Cen Yi was lying in the coffin, his eyes covered with a three-finger-wide white cloth. He was neatly dressed, and it was impossible to tell how much pain he had endured before his death.
Cen Yelan propped one hand on the coffin, silently looking at Cen Yi, thinking of what Cen Yi said before he left, “Little Uncle”, he thought, Cen Yi might have hated him for so many years.
The brotherly friendship and mutual support were fake, only the hatred was real.
Cen Xi told him to keep an eye on Cen Yi, but he didn’t even notice such deep hatred.
Cen Yelan never understood Cen Yi.
Cen Yelan’s internal organs were aching. He exhaled softly and whispered, “Brother…”
What to say? It seemed like there was nothing to say. Cen Yelan was distracted and thought, Maybe Cen Yi didn’t want to listen either.
Cen Yelan closed his eyes and said nothing more. He raised his legs and walked towards the door. Before he reached the door, he saw Cen Mo rushing towards him from a distance. He subconsciously wanted to support Cen Mo but was knocked back a few steps by him. He felt pain in his body, and Cen Yelan looked down and saw that Cen Mo was stabbing him with the wooden spear.
Cen Mo shook off Cen Yelan’s hand and stabbed him with the spear again. The child’s voice was a crying mixed with hatred, “Give my father back to me!”
Cen Yelan’s throat seemed to be blocked, and he remained silent.
Cen Mo’s eyes were red, and he fiercely stared at Cen Yelan, like a little wolf cub, “Why did you kill my father? You are a bad person, you are not my little uncle!”
Cen Yelan opened his mouth and said, “Mo’er…”
Cen Mo’s tears fell down. He wiped them and sobbed, “I want Father. Give Father back to me.”
“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!”
Cen Yelan was almost suffocated by the child’s accusations, “Mo’er, I’m sorry.”
Yuan Zheng’s expression shifted when he saw the hurried nanny at the door. Before he could pass through the archway, he had already heard Cen Mo’s accusation and immediately walked in.
Cen Yelan seemed not to see it. He squatted down and picked up the wooden spear that Cen Mo dropped on the ground. Cen Mo rushed over and snatched it away. “Don’t touch the things my father gave me!”
He pointed the spear at Cen Yelan. The spear was wooden and had no sharpness at all. Cen Mo held it tightly and was already quite ready. With red eyes, he said, “You killed my father, so I’m going to kill you!”
The nanny turned pale, hugged Cen Mo from behind, and said to Cen Yelan, “General, the Young Master was too sad for a moment, I don’t know where he heard nonsense from, he…”
Cen Yelan said, “No problem.”
“Take the Young Master away.” He paused, then said in a hoarse voice, “Keep an eye on him.”
Cen Mo started to make a scene, struggling wildly, and yelled, “Let me go, I want to see my father, you are all bad people.”
The nanny hurriedly covered Cen Mo’s mouth, but then she screamed because he bit her hand. Cen Mo jumped down and ran towards the mourning hall. Before he took two steps, Cen Yelan had grabbed his shoulder.
Cen Yelan lowered his eyes and looked at Cen Mo. Cen Mo couldn’t break free and stared at him fiercely. Cen Yelan said, “You want to kill me?”
Cen Mo’s eyes became redder, and kicking his hands and feet was completely useless. He said, “You killed my father!”
Cen Yelan nodded, “You can’t kill me now.”
He calmly said, “Cen Mo, if you want to kill me, be honest and obedient. When you grow up, you may have the strength to fight.”
“Take him away.”
Cen Yelan had never used such a cold tone with Cen Mo. He was stunned and in a dazed, as if he had never known him. When the nanny came to hug him, he even forgot to resist.
It was not until Cen Mo was taken away that Yuan Zheng said, “Why tell him that? Just tell him directly that his father—” He paused, glanced at Cen Yelan’s expression, swallowed the words ‘he deserved it’, and said, “Even if you didn’t shoot that arrow, Cen Yi would not have survived either.”
“Besides, you have no choice.”
Cen Yelan was silent for a moment, then calmly said, “He is still young and doesn’t understand.”
“Mo’er actually admires Big Brother very much.” Cen Yelan said, “Big Brother treats him strictly, so he wants Big Brother to spend more time with him and praise him.”
No child would accept that his father is colluding with the enemy and betraying the country.
And Cen Mo was still so young too.
Yuan Zheng looked at Cen Yelan and reached out to touch Cen Yelan’s forehead, but he dodged. He looked at Yuan Zheng with cold eyes.
Yuan Zheng smiled unnaturally and said, “I want to see if your fever has subsided. Why are you here so early in the morning?”
Cen Yelan did not answer and said, “Big brother will not leave any traces of the gunpowder buried in Beicang Pass—”
Yuan Zheng said, “I have already asked Qi Ming to go to Beicang Pass.”
Cen Yelan was stunned for a moment, looked at Yuan Zheng, and said, “Thank you.”
Yuan Zheng sighed and said, “How polite.”
Cen Yelan was much more sober than he thought. Cen Yelan killed Cen Yi on the charge of treason, but everyone in the north, from the generals to the common people, was skeptical.
People’s hearts are unstable, and changes will occur over time.
Cen Yelan wants to use evidence to prove Cen Yi’s guilt, so as to stabilize the army’s morale and stop the gossip.
As for Cen Mo, Cen Yelan thought, He would only be the Young Master of the Cen family, a Yan’s person1Just in case it sounds confusing, Dayan is translated as the Great Yan, which mean he’s the people of Dayan., and had nothing to do with the Hu people.
🥺 this is so sad Yelan loves Cen Mo so much and now Cen Mo hates him 🥺 I have to blame the foster father the most he’s a jerk and he’s not even alive to see all this happen.
My hearteu🥺