From noble mtl dot come
September 25, Wei Manor.
At noon, Wei Changtian stepped down from the horse-drawn carriage, surrounded by a crowd.
He was still wearing the same clothes as when he left, looking even more… plump than before.
Good grief, although he was imprisoned, he didn’t suffer at all, except for not being able to go out!
He ate delicacies from land and sea, drank fine wine.
Every day was either eating or sleeping, how could he not get fat?
It could be said that, aside from occasionally worrying about whether Qiuyun would be rescued and how he would be judged, Wei Changtian had been living a relatively carefree life since his rebirth.
And the final result was quite satisfactory.
Qiuyun was rescued.
He was exiled to the border.
Note, not exiled to the border as a soldier.
There was a huge difference between the two.
“Son, what are you thinking?”
Qin Cai Zhen’s voice came from beside his ear, the plaque on the gate was still the same.
“Nothing.”
Wei Changtian smiled and stepped over the threshold.
Dad’s back!
……
Although Wei Changtian had temporarily returned, he would have to leave again soon.
According to the final “verdict”, he was required to leave the capital within three days, and could choose any of the seventeen cities on the border as his destination, but couldn’t bring his family.
This was understandable.
After all, it was “exile to the border”, not “going to the border to enjoy life”.
The three-day deadline started from today, so Wei Changtian still had two days to settle his affairs in the capital.
Back in his own courtyard, three old hens were jumping up and down, warmly welcoming him.
They didn’t know what their master had gone through, only wondering why no one had fed them for a while.
Among the “cluck cluck” sounds of the chickens, he entered the inner room, where Qiuyun was lying on the bed, tearfully gazing at him.
“Master!”
Her voice was very weak, and from her movements, it seemed like she wanted to sit up.
“Don’t move, lie down.”
Wei Changtian quickly pressed her back down, then turned to Lu Jingyao and Yuaner, who had followed him from the Heavenly Prison, and said:
“You two go out, I’ll spend some time alone with Qiuyun.”
“Yes.”
The two women nodded and quietly exited the room.
They actually had a lot to say to Wei Changtian, but they also knew they should give Qiuyun the opportunity first.
The door was closed lightly, and Wei Changtian looked at Qiuyun with a smile: “I heard you’ll be able to get out of bed in a few days?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Qiu Yun nodded, recalling the rumors that Yuan’er had told her about.
Most of those rumors were about why Wei Changtian wanted to kill Liu Yuanshan.
One version said it was to avenge her.
Qiu Yun didn’t know why Wei Changtian did it, but whenever she thought about the Cloud Mother Pearl, which even the emperor wouldn’t give, but was somehow obtained by the young master from who-knows-where, she felt like this matter was related to herself.
Thinking about this, tears started falling from her eyes.
“Oh no, why am I crying again?!”
Wei Changtian wanted to wipe away Qiu Yun’s tears, but his hand was caught by a small hand just as he extended it.
Qiu Yun cried while tightly grasping Wei Changtian’s hand, stuttering:
“Y-you, why are you so good to me?”
“I-I’m just a servant, my life is worthless, I can die anytime…”
“Stop!”
Wei Changtian frowned, his tone suddenly becoming serious: “If you don’t even value your own life, then why did I risk my life to get that Cloud Mother Pearl for you?”
“I…”
Qiu Yun immediately realized her mistake.
She didn’t know what to say, and only gripped Wei Changtian’s hand even tighter, as if afraid he would get angry and leave.
However, Wei Changtian wasn’t angry, just a little helpless.
He knew that in this world, the concept of “people having different social statuses” was deeply ingrained, and it wasn’t easy to make Qiu Yun understand what “all lives are equal” meant.
“Qiu Yun…”
After a moment, Wei Changtian changed his approach: “You may be a servant, but you’re my servant.”
“And besides, you’re my woman.”
“You should know that just because of this, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill even the prime minister, let alone the emperor.”
“Young Master!”
Hearing such treasonous words, Qiu Yun hastily reached out to cover Wei Changtian’s mouth.
However, Wei Changtian caught her wrist, his eyes very serious.
“I’m not joking. The emperor means nothing to me compared to you.”
“You, Yuan’er, my parents, Cai Ling… you’re the people I care about.”
“I can do a lot for you, but I don’t want those things to become meaningless.”
“Do you understand what I mean?”
“…”
Qiu Yun stared blankly at Wei Changtian, and only nodded heavily after a long while.
“Young Master, I understand… I’ll live well from now on.”
……
After leaving the room, Wei Changtian immediately went to see Wei Xianzhi and Qin Caiyue again.
Although Wei Changtian had gained a lot of weight in the past few days, these two people looked even more haggard than before.
Poor parents.
In the secret room, the three of them first discussed where to be “exiled” to, and quickly reached a unanimous decision – Shu Province.
From Wei Xianzhi’s perspective, Shu Province was Liang Zhen’s territory, and with someone watching over them, his son would at least be less likely to encounter accidents.
From Qin Caiyue’s perspective, Shu Province was the territory of the Heavenly Net Sect, and with someone watching over them, his son would at least be less likely to encounter accidents.
From Wei Changtian’s perspective, Shu Province was the next small map for Xiao Feng, and going there would earn him system points… and with Liang Zhen and the Heavenly Net Sect watching over him, he would at least be less likely to encounter accidents.
The three of them reached an agreement and, after settling this matter, chatted for a while about the future “development path” of the Wei family.
Neiwei and Hualingwei would leave Xuanjing Bureau within three months, one to join the Forbidden Guard, and the other to return to the Censorate.
Although Xuanjing Bureau still retained three guards, losing Hualingwei meant losing the immense power of “supervising all officials”.
This “power struggle” dealt a significant blow to the Wei family, but Wei Xianzhi and Qin Caijuan didn’t regret it.
To be honest, even if Ning Yongnian wanted to exchange the entire Xuanjing Bureau for Wei Changtian’s life, they would probably agree.
In fact, if it weren’t for Wei Zhao Hai’s intervention, Ning Yongnian would have truly planned to take over the entire Xuanjing Bureau.
It could only be said that a second-rank master’s face was still quite impressive!
After discussing for half a day, the three of them finally determined the Wei family’s 16-character “development strategy” for the near future.
Low-key operations, stirring up trouble in Liu Xu, keeping an eye on Shu Province, and leaving a way out.
Therefore, Wei Changtian’s trip to Shu Province was, on the surface, a punishment, but in reality, he was shouldering the heavy responsibility of “pioneering” for his family.
“Son, when you arrive in Shu Province, go to Tian Luo Temple first and visit your grandfather. Also, deliver this letter to him.”
Qin Caijuan said as she handed over an envelope.
The grandfather she mentioned was none other than Qin Zhengqiu, the master of Tian Luo Temple.
“I know, Mother.”
Wei Changtian nodded and took the envelope, then raised his eyes to see another envelope appear in front of him.
It was the “life-saving letter” he had given to Wei Xianzhi that night.
It seemed to be of no use for now.
“Father.”
Holding the envelope, Wei Changtian thought for a moment before asking, “Have you read this letter?”
“No.”
Wei Xianzhi’s eyes were complex.
He indeed hadn’t read the letter, but thinking about the value of its contents, which was equivalent to two guards of Xuanjing Bureau, made him feel a bit uneasy.
“Changtian, I know you’re hiding something from me and your mother.”
“You don’t want to say it, and we won’t ask.”
“However, you must remember to be extremely cautious in your actions from now on!”
“Shu Province is not the capital; many things you’ll have to decide for yourself, and we can’t help you…”
“…”
This was the first time Wei Changtian saw Wei Xianzhi so talkative.
He listened until the end, then hesitated for a long time before finally putting the “life-saving letter” back on the table.
“Father, you should keep this letter.”
“If the Wei family encounters a major crisis in the future, just show it to Ning Yongnian, and it should be enough to get us through.”
“…”
Wei Xianzhi stared at the envelope, then heavily patted Wei Changtian’s shoulder.