That mistress had been in a family of poverty ever since she was little. When she caught Cui San's eyes and was kept as his mistress, she had managed to experience better days. How could she have experienced a scene like this before? Once she was brought here, her legs have already gone weak.
Everyone waited for an hour before the assistant county magistrate returned from his search, and truly brought back a bag of silver ingots.
Maiden Lu spoke once she saw it, "That's right. As others speak of Doctor Sun being unsoiled by corrupted practices, having nothing but bare walls in one's house, where could he get such a hefty sum of money from?"
The county magistrate weighed it in his hand. It was around thirty ingots in total, even more than his annual wage. If they only contained medicine fees, it really should not have been this much.
That woman exclaimed in protest with flowing tears, "A few days ago, I fell ill and truly did send for Doctor Sun, but I have only given what I was charged. I have never seen this bag of silver ingots in my life!"
The assistant county magistrate was not moved by this, "It would take one to detour around the entire Anping city to travel from your manor to Baoning Hall, and there were two other medicals by the Cui family in between. Yet you've chosen to travel so far just to see Sun Jiming. Why is that?"
The woman mumbled to herself, then paused, before cowardly looking up at Cui San.
His wife's imposing methods had caused a fire in Cui San's stomach, so he couldn't stop himself from saying aloud, "Because she is pregnant! Doctor Sun specialized in obstetrics. I am the one who asked her to make that trip!"
As Maiden Lu listened, she gave a cold laugh, "Then isn't everything clear now? She's pregnant, thus she decided to make use of the fact that she is loved to get rid of the wife. She made arrangements with Doctor Sun, beguiled him with money and oppressed him with power, to coerce him into harming me!"
Cui San said angrily, "You are speaking nonsense!"
The woman cried and said, "I did not! How dare I?!"
"You wouldn't dare? Didn't you once try to instigate Cui San to bring you back to the Cui family?!" Maiden Lu raised her head, "Sir, Lord Commander, once I knew that this woman was conversing with Sun Jiming, I sent people to investigate them in secret. I found that Doctor Sun and this whore's father used to be old friends. With this relationship, added with some money, are they still insufficient to prove everything?"
The county magistrate looked at the elder, "Is this true?"
Doctor Sun sighed, "Her father was once my patient, and after that, we became chess friends and often kept in contact. That is all there is."
Maiden Lu laughed a cold laugh, "Often came in contact, and that's all there is?"
The county magistrate said in a gentle voice, "Doctor Sun, ever since I succeeded the post of magistrate, I've heard of your name. If you said that you've misjudged and issued a wrong prescription, it would still be possible; however, Maiden Lu claimed that you are harming lives for money, this is not just manslaughter. If you are found guilty, you would be taken care of as murderers would. You will receive a death penalty. What more do you have to say?"
Doctor Sun laughed bitterly, "Matters have progressed to this state, what more is left to be said? Only, I find it difficult to believe that, all this time I have cured illnesses and cured people, but in the end, the illnesses have certainly been cured, yet the hearts of people were not!"
The county magistrate furrowed his brows. This statement was incomplete, and a cloud of confusion was upon it. In the venue of the court, one speaks of evidence. Sun Jiming's statement brought with it his vexation and frustration, yet he could not explain himself. To put it in another way, he had seen that all the evidence that had been gathered, and there was nothing more left for debate, thus he gave up.
"Is that supposed to mean that you admit guilt?"
Doctor Sun closed his eyes and did not utter a word.
The county magistrate made a request at Cui Buqu and Prefecture Magistrate Yuan, "Both my Lords, is there anything else that needs to supplement? If not, I will allow someone to bring them to the cells."
Cui San immediately said, "Lady Zhou is pregnant, can parole be granted to her?"
The county magistrate replied in displeasure, "Your mistress is involved in a murder case, yet you still wish for parole?"
Right then, it seemed as if Cui San wanted to say something else, but Cui Pei rushed in a hurry, yet his entry was forbidden by those who manned the entrance, not allowing him into the chaos.
"Please forgive me for being late!" Cui Pei panted as he said.
Ever since he heard of this case evolving from manslaughter to murder, he had been running around looking for ways to relief Sun Jiming of his sentence.
"These are written prescriptions I've found from both Baoning Hall and Doctor Sun's house, more than one thousand in total, these were the prescriptions he issued for these patients all these years, they haven't—haven't fully collected. Yet these prescriptions have never been wrong. Also, just now when I heard Doctor Sun got himself involved in a murder case, I wrote a letter to appeal for mercy, and on it are fifty handprints of the people of this county. They have all been recipients of Doctor Sun's kindness. As matters are pressing, I have only managed to gather this many. Please give me more time, at least half of the people of Anping city will be willing to give their handprints!"
Within only an hour, fifty handprints were already his limit. Cui Pei did not rest for even a second, and now sweat has drenched his back and clothes.
The county magistrate sighed, "Fourth Young Master Cui, I will not be the judge of this murder case, it should go through the Three Bureaus and then reported to the Emperor, only then will the final verdict be deemed."
Cui Pei said, "I know, however with these written prescriptions and letter of appeal, it should bring some benefit to Doctor Sun, and perhaps the sentence will be more merciful!"
As Doctor Sun looked at the thick stack of issued prescriptions and red-coloured handprints, those old eyes reddened for a moment as he remained in silence.
Maiden Lu spoke angrily, "Fourth Uncle, Sun Jiming and Maiden Lu schemed to cause me harm, how dare you still beg for mercy on his behalf!"
Cui Pei, "Third Sister-in-law, I have trust in Doctor Sun's character. He would have never done such a thing!"
Maiden Lu was provoked by his words that she looked up, yet gave a cold laugh, "Fine! Fine! Every one of you from the Cui family is ganging up against me!"
Cui San warned her in a low voice, "Have you had enough? Once you've had enough, go home!"
He attempted to take Maiden Lu's hand but was flung aside.
"If I am making a scene, then what are you doing?!" Maiden Lu hissed these words through her teeth.
Cui San was stunned by the veins that spread over her eyes and could say nothing for a moment.
The county magistrate pondered and said, "The inside information within this case is complicated. Once I have rearranged the evidence, on another day…"
Personally, he pitied Doctor Sun, but pity cannot help one to relief themselves from their sentence, so he could only do what was within his abilities, which is to procrastinate the case for a few more days.
"There is no need to pick another day." Cui Buqu suddenly interrupted.
He cast Maiden Lu a look, something that looked like a smile that wasn't a smile, "There is something I do not understand, so I wish to ask you."
Maiden Lu bit her lips and straightened her back, her hands that rested on her front tightened their grip on her handkerchief.
Cui Buqu, "This man Cui San, had great ambitions but lacked capability, possesses an endless amount of resentments, he is strict to others but lenient with himself. In past years, he had committed many acts of disgrace which you bear shame for, and now he has gotten himself a mistress who is with child. He went so far to the point of wanting your life. So why are you still speaking for him, and rounding up his lies?"
Maiden Lu's face turned pale.
Cui Buqu pointed at Cui San, "Is a leech like him worthy enough for you to abandon justice for unjust, to abandon your life for his?"
Cui San was utterly out of breath, "Speaking in such a way about me, you unfilial…"
Before he could finish, Cui Pei raised his foot and delivered a kick, sending him to the ground.
The county magistrate barked angrily, "In the court, how dare you create such insolence! Lock them all up!"
Prefecture Magistrate Yuan spoke coldly, "Cui San disobeyed the rules and roared in court. How will he be taken care of by the law?"
The county magistrate replied to him readily, "Thirty whips!"
On the left and right, Cui San was pressed to the ground and whipped without a second word.
His cries rang in the hall. The county magistrate waved his hand, and the constables used a cloth to gag Cui San, allowing him to just wail through cold sweat.
Cui Pei looked away, pretending that he'd seen nothing.
After thirty whips, let alone shouting, Cui San lost the strength to even speak. He could only groan.
Yet no one spoke to allow a doctor to see to him. Cui San could only drag his badly mutilated ass and sprawl on the ground of the court, half-dead.
Both of Maiden Lu's eyes were watery as she turned away and avoided his gaze.
Cui Buqu took the piece of prescription that claimed someone's life, before randomly taking another piece from the other stack of prescriptions.
"Sun Jiming had treaded the doctor's path for decades and not once has he erred. Otherwise, the people of Anping city would have long drowned him in their spits. Is this the case, County Magistrate He?"
As County Magistrate He watched Cui Buqu asking himself, he nodded, "That is correct."
Cui Buqu laughed briefly, "The handwriting on this issued prescription is certainly similar to the handwriting of the past prescriptions issued by Doctor Sun. No differences could be seen, yet within perfection lied an imperfection. From one aspect, there is a burst seam."
County Magistrate He immediately asked, "Where?"
Tapping the written prescriptions, Cui Buqu spat a word out, "Ink."
Prefecture Magistrate Yuan took both those prescriptions and smelled both of them, before asking in confusion, "They truly smell different."
"The past prescriptions that Doctor Sun issued were all written in Shenyan Ink, a low-quality ink. Although this type of ink is similar to high-quality and middle-quality ink, manufactured with a kiln, Shenyan Ink was made from soot, and it's different from the other two. For a medicinal hall's usage, they would not need decent quality ink to write prescriptions, so other than these usual prescriptions, the other prescriptions from Baoning Hall should have also been written with Shenyan Ink."
"This piece of written prescription," Cui Buqu shook the piece of prescription that claimed someone's life, "used high-quality ink. Although the handwriting is closely similar, the ink's colour is rich, and its strokes are smooth, the smell of rosin is evident. Would it make any sense to purchase a high-quality ink on purpose just to research in handwriting, so that it would make everything grander?"
County Magistrate He also saw through it, "That's right. Go, send people to the Sun residence and take the ink that Sun Jiming uses on a daily basis, take them all here!"
Cui Buqu took his time saying. "After you have taken them, don't rush back, go instead to the Cui manor and take the ink grind from Cui San's study and bring them all here as well."
Cui San immediately raised his head!
He who had been beaten until his life was hanging by a thread like a dead duck with a withering neck straightened all of a sudden, stretching long with both his eyes brimming with fear.
Especially when he was watching the deep, meaningful smile Cui Buqu was giving him, that look of his that was like watching a demonic ghost sprawling up at him yet could not, for the time of its death was near.
Cui Pei glared at Cui San with a look of disbelief. The latter didn't try to disguise himself, thus his expression proved everything.
Let alone Prefecture Magistrate Yuan and County Magistrate He, even if it had been Cui Pei himself, they could all catch a glimpse of the truth from Cui San's reaction.
Cui Buqu smiled faintly, "From what I am aware of, Cui San's manor was never in peace. The couple did not get along and bickered as often as they ate. Yesterday, when I was a guest in the Cui family, I witnessed both of them pushing and shoving as they entered, simmering in resentment with each other. Cui San kept a mistress outside, and surely it would be very difficult to keep it a secret from Maiden Lu. Arguments between both of them are unavoidable. This written prescription that has claimed someone's life was not written by Sun Jiming, but it came from the hands of Cui San. The person he wanted dead also wasn't the innocent Maiden Chen, but his very own wife Maiden Lu!"
Even if Cui Pei was emotionally prepared, as usual, he was stunned wordless and became as idle as a wooden chicken.
Cui San wailed, vaguely saying things like "You are spouting nonsense" or something like that, but his mouth had been gagged, and he could not speak clearly.
"According to Sun Jiming's confession, he said that he did, in fact, write such a prescription before. However, it did not have that medicine made from toad venom on it. This also means that someone had received orders to add the toad venom in the prescription in secret, and he didn't realize that an accident by the entrance would have exchanged those medicine packages, finally killing Maiden Chen. After Cui San knew of the incident, he was terrified, and thus allowed someone to destroy the original prescription, before imitating Sun Jiming's handwriting and made a wholly new one, hoping to cast the blame all onto Doctor Sun." Cui Buqu's gaze met Cui San's, and smiled as he asked, "Am I correct?"
Cui San could not speak, so he could only shake his head wildly.
Cui Buqu turned towards the employee who was currently shivering now and hadn't said a word, "Seen it all, didn't you? If Cui San refused to admit guilt, then you would be pushed out by the Cui family to be their scapegoat. Do you think that your head can be reattached after it has been chopped down?"
The employee immediately sprawled to the ground and shouted in a loud voice, "It's the master's family! It was San Lang who ordered someone to add toad venom into those packets of medicine. I am oblivious to everything!"
County Magistrate He pressed on, "Why would he do that?"
The employee rambled on his own, "I don't know, I don't…He wants to kill the mistress!"
County Magistrate He pressed even more, "After it was done, the handwriting on the prescriptions were your doing?"
"No, no! No! This prescription was written by him before it was passed to me. He even reminded me time and time again that this matter cannot be leaked!" The employee bowed repeatedly at Doctor Sun, "Doctor Sun, I am not a decent person, but it was not my choice! If I lost my job in the medical hall, then my family will be left homeless!"
Doctor Sun sighed a breath and closed his eyes, neither looking nor speaking.
The assistant county magistrate who left to search Cui San's study had returned.
Following him was the eldest grandchild of the Cui family, Cui Fei. Likely it was because of the change of events in the Cui family, added with the assistant county magistrate reaching their doorsteps, Cui Yong knew that the case of Doctor Sun was not so simple, so he had sent Cui Fei over to listen. However, Cui Fei was forbidden entry, and he instead waited with the rest of the people outside.
The assistant county magistrate was skilled in his duty, for not only did he bring the brush and ink grinder from Cui San's study, but he had also even brought the papers and scrolls that were on his bookcase, as well as papers that he had thrown away.
He laid everything in categories so that everyone could see them clearly. Among the papers that Cui San hadn't managed to throw away, more than half of them were copied medicine prescriptions, and if one were to take a closer look, they were prescriptions of Doctor Sun's. As for his usual exercises, they were mostly copies of calligraphies from famed aristocratic families of each dynasty.
In these years that Cui San was held in Boling, not allowed even a step out, he was idle and loafing about, passing each day by wasting his time away. The only hobby he could show was this set of skills to make flawless imitated copies of other books.
As he witnessed everything to this point, Prefecture Magistrate Yuan shook his head, "A pity you were careless and wasted Maiden Lu's attempt of borrowing someone else's knife to commit a murder. Had you been more discreet, perhaps you could have lived in disavow for a little while longer."
Cui San's face was as deathly as ash, and finally, he gave up struggling. Seeing that he had calmed himself down, County Magistrate He allowed someone to ungag him.
County Magistrate He spoke in a dull voice, "Maiden Lu, as things have progressed to this point, do you still wish to persist your lies?! How did you find out that he wanted to kill you?"
Maiden Lu laughed all of a sudden, and said in a despairing voice, "When someone who sleeps on the same bed with you suddenly wishes you dead, pray tell which husband or wife would not be able to tell? After all, I have already said just now, that the maidservant Song Yu who served Maiden Zhou was spying for me. That day was a comedy of errors, he failed to kill me, and hearing that the medicine packages were switched, what was given to me was simply ordinary medicine, then I would have known that something would happen to someone else. He was terrified, and sought out a secret meeting in his study with the employee, thinking I would not have heard of it."
County Magistrate He asked angrily, "You knew that an innocent man was involved, yet you did not file a report and instead elected to help a criminal to victimize innocents by concealing the facts about him!"
"To be husband and wife a day is a hundred days of grace. I have always thought of giving him another chance, to let him see clearly the good in me, then perhaps he would look back." Two trails of warm tears flowed down her face, Maiden Lu cried in silence, "If the incident this time was exposed, then the third line of the Cui family would be finished. Our children would never be able to raise their heads, so I thought that I would help him for one final time, help him to conceal this lie of his…"
"I don't need your help! You poisonous woman, you are only using this chance to murder Maiden Zhou!" Cui San strained his neck to accuse her, "Don't feign anything, I care nothing for it!"
"Excellent!"
Cui Buqu clapped thrice, feeling not even a single ounce of pity. He laughed instead, "Maiden Lu, once Cui San is brought to trial, you may then die out of love for him. In the yellow springs of the afterlife, both of you can follow each other in life and death. There's no need to disgust all of us here."
As he finished speaking, he turned towards County Magistrate He, "Cui San has committed murder, Maiden Lu is an accomplice, the Chen family lost one person and two lives. According to the laws of Sui, how would this be judged, and how will the statement be presented, I wager you already have a clear idea about it?"
County Magistrate He put his hands together and said, "Commander, be at peace, I will definitely deal with it with the utmost impartiality."
Cui Buqu nodded and left together with Prefecture Magistrate Yuan.
"Young Master Cui, may I have a moment of your time?" Cui Pei called after him.
"No." Cui Buqu did not even turn around, his footsteps never stopped.
Outside of the county's bureau, Zuoyue guards and a horse carriage awaited.
Prefecture Magistrate Yuan made Cui Buqu stay for a moment, "The kindness of the Yu family has made me a new man, although I haven't returned for many years, not a single day has gone by where I've forgotten about it. About junior apprentice sister's matter, I only got to know afterwards. However, during that time I was simply a commoner with no status, thus I couldn't go against the Cui family, and therefore was unable to avenge junior apprentice sister."
As he spoke until this point, he laughed bitterly, "Even with the status I possess now, perhaps I could just make things a little difficult for them, but I definitely could not do it as thoroughly as you did. The younger generations have surpassed the older, and you finished the things I could not. Thank you."
Yuan Sansi bowed towards Cui Buqu.
Cui Buqu said expressionlessly, "One can only have oneself to blame. I couldn't have anticipated that Cui San would attempt to kill his own wife and try to shift the blame onto others when he failed, dragging out such a case itself."
Yuan Sansi laughed bitterly, "Cui San is but only a leech on a huge tree. Cui Da only was the true successor of the Cui family. Once Cui Da's crimes are sentenced, the entire Cui family won't be going anywhere. Junior apprentice sister can now rest peacefully in the afterlife. For today's wish, I hoped to go to junior apprentice sister's grave, but the Cui family forbade her entry into their ancestral tomb. After I arrived here, I've yet to even find her grave, could Young Master Cui lead the way?"
Cui Buqu nodded, "This way."
The other had answered him so readily, Yuan Sansi was a little taken aback. He had originally thought that since Cui Buqu's methods were merciless and cruel, he would have held a grudge towards him for not being able to return on time to avenge the Yu family.
Maiden Yu's grave was not far from here, and as both of them took a horse carriage, they arrived very quickly.
Yuan Sansi looked at the overly simple grave before his eyes, and he couldn't help saying, "Do you have the intention to relocate? I can help you find a place where the scenery is prime, or the Yu family's very own ancestral grave. I think junior apprentice sister would be willing to return home to accompany her parents."
Cui Buqu replied plainly, "Death is like an extinguished flame; the so-called spirits of the deceased are simply for people to delusion or comfort themselves. If she had not led a pleasant life when she was alive, then what use is there to do these things when she is no longer consciously aware? If you had abide by the betrothal during that year and hadn't left without a word, it would have been better for her to marry you compared to Cui Er."
Yuan Sansi knelt next to the burning pot of fire, and piece by piece he burned the paper money he bought on the way. The light from the flames illuminated half of his face and also engulfed all the words he wanted to say.
The fire burned vigorously.
For a brief moment, he imagined that Yu Mo's spirit would offer him a little hint of comfort through the fire, but in the end, Yuan Sansi could not avoid admitting that Cui Buqu's words were right. Yu Mo was dead, and that he was just meaninglessly deceiving himself.
She needed no reparations.
What she needed was something he would never have been able to achieve.
"All these years, I have remained unmarried." Yuan Sansi said in a harsh voice as if he was saying it for Maiden Yu, and as if he was saying it for Cui Buqu.
"Because of your identity as the descendant of the Yuan Wei Royal family? Or was it because you carry a priceless treasure map on you, and on your shoulders you carry the heavy weight of resurrecting your nation?"
Colour drained from Yuan Sansi's face as he raised his head abruptly!
"You! You…" His voice was pitched, yet he suppressed it all of a sudden. He found it difficult to control his emotions, for even his tone had changed.
Cui Buqu rolled back his hands and stood, watching him silently and did not utter a response, as if those words did not come out from his lips.
"Right, you command the Zuoyue Bureau, what is there that you wouldn't already know? If you know, then I suppose the Emperor knows it as well. Was your trip to Boling this time to arrest me upon orders?" Yuan Sansi put the pieces together, and gave a smile that looked uglier than crying, "If I said that I have never bared the heart for treason, would you believe me?"
Both of them stared at each other, Yuan Sansi sat down on the ground flat and wiped cold sweat off his head, "You're going to scare me to death!"
Cui Buqu, "I wouldn't have guessed that Prefecture Magistrate Yuan was so timid."
Yuan Sansi said helplessly, "Anyone tasked with such a burdensome secret for decades would have also turned into a sparrow that feared the mere twang of a bow, alright?"
As the Han Dynasty came to an end, the Three Kingdoms rose, and after the Three Kingdoms, it was the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
The great unification of the Jin Dynasty did not last long. Western Jin moved east and became Eastern Jin, but Eastern Jin was only a small southern part of Shenzhou in the Central Plains. Another great piece of land was divided into sixteen governing regimes, historically called the Sixteen Kingdoms of Eastern Jin.
Long divided, must unite; every regime in the midst of battle welcomed the establishment of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Among them, the Wei Dynasty whom the Yuan clan had established was the predecessor of the Sui Empire.
Within that chaotic period in history, very few people were willing to reminisce it. In the process of the Wei Dynasty's destruction, it was like any other dynasty unwilling to decline. It had experienced its subject's fights for power, and the moving of capitals by its Emperors. As for Yuan Sansi, he was from the collateral branch of the Yuan clan, the descendant of the Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei.
"Once it reached my generation, the Yuan family had already declined. Even if there still exist someone who posts as an official in court, it was impossible to form any relations. Before I went to the Yu family, my mortally ill late father summoned me to his deathbed, and he told me that the Yuan family has left behind a treasure stove, and in it were armours made of gold and silver, made to be used in the future once an army rises. Even if my generation could not make use of it, or neither could the next, this secret must be passed from generation to generation. This is the code of the Yuan family, it cannot be betrayed."
Yuan Sansi sighed, "For me to suddenly know such a grave secret, I have not been able to sleep or eat in peace, day and night I live in fear. When I was in the Yu family, I had a teacher who was willing to teach me patiently, and received warmth from apprentice mother and junior apprentice sister; but my heart still weighed down, and I felt even more terrified of telling that secret to anyone. Finally, there came a day when sire divulged his intention of betrothing junior apprentice sister to me. I thought for a while and finally decided to leave because I was afraid that I would drag them down. I was afraid that one day someone will know of this secret and reach our doors, and when that time comes, let alone me, junior apprentice sister and her family wouldn't be able to escape. If junior apprentice sister and I got married and had children… Why should another person bear the burden of this secret?"
Cui Buqu, "From the beginning of history, he who is king is often fickle and suspicious, you fear that if you had told this secret, the Emperor would become partially suspicious, and if he came to the conclusion that you still have a card up your sleeve, it would be even more difficult to save your life."
Yuan Sansi, "That is right. As someone by the Emperor's side, you are familiar with this way of thinking. Every man of power under the sky is the same. If the secret was unknown, then there would have been a sliver of hope. However, I wouldn't have guessed that you knew of this secret."
Cui Buqu said, "Someone betrayed you, and that person had once saved your life in your moment of despair. Both of you became sworn brothers and forged a relationship of close attachment. Once when you were drunk, you mistakenly told him about the Yuan clan's treasure stove. He engraved it to heart. After that, because he had offended someone from the Jianghu province, he begged for protection from the Liuli Palace and found my teacher, thus he told him."
Yuan Sansi laughed bitterly, "I guessed it was him. From that day onwards, I never touched wine again."
Cui Buqu, "Originally, I only knew about this; but only this time after you came to Boling and I was investigating your identity, did I manage to link the mysterious treasure of the Yuan family and you."
Yuan Sansi remained silent for a moment, "I have never been to the treasure's whereabouts. Thus I do not even know whether it exists or if it was fake. I could give both the location and maps to you. By taking junior apprentice sister into consideration, when you report it to the Emperor, could you perhaps avoid mentioning me?"
Cui Buqu nodded, "Deal."
Yuan Sansi released his breath, "Many thanks."
He burned the last piece of paper money before rising to his feet and patted both his legs that have gone sore.
"Rest assured. Presently, I am taking the post of an official in Boling. I will pay junior apprentice sister visits frequently, and send people here to pay her respects and protect her grace. I won't allow Cui San to do anything to it." Yuan Sansi laughed on his own, "This is what I can do for her. The only thing I could ever do."
Cui Buqu said, "In a while, I will seek you out. I wish to remain here for a little while more."
Yuan Sansi sighed lightly and patted his shoulder before leaving on his own.
Once Yuan Sansi left, all that's left was the carriage driver and two Zuoyue guards. All of them stood afar, not moving forward to disturb him.
Cui Buqu knelt down and took out a handkerchief, and little by little he wiped the tombstone clean.
His face was expressionless, but he certainly had the most absolute patience. Even as the sky dimmed, he would not descend into disconcertment.
There are many fools in this world.
Maiden Yu for example, and Doctor Sun. They were kind people who often helped others, yet they did not have the same strength to protect themselves.
Himself, however, who was Cui Buqu, was different.
He had a heart of steel, and many schemes hidden up his sleeves. He could help these people eliminate all forms of predators, and annihilate all thistles and thorns.
Cui Buqu gave a cold laugh.
"Be free; reincarnate well. In the next life—" He paused for a moment and said gently, "in the next life, let us not be mother and son again."
As his words dissipated, a trail of silk fell before his eyes.
It was light blue in colour and incredibly familiar.
Cui Buqu raised his eyes.
Between the branches where the remnants of dusk's light sat, a pretty face dropped and hung upside down.
Feng Xiao smiled and said, "Hey to this pleasant brother, what a coincidence to meet you in a place like this?"
Cui Buqu: "…"
Long divided, must unite: From the complete sentence, The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been. This is a quote from Romance of the Three Kingdoms