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Home/ There’s A Beauty / Chapter 63 (Part 1)

The news that the Ninth Prince is going to marry the fifth young master of the Zhao family quickly spread throughout the capital. The rumors of the Ninth Prince being the reincarnation of Emperor Zongsheng has always been there. He first unified Kyushu, and now he is going to marry a young man also named You Shu, proving the authenticity of this statement. The common people talked about it with great relish, and no one in the imperial family was opposed to it. After reviewing the law, the courtiers confirmed that a man could marry another man, so they also acquiesced.

But in private, they were very contemptuous of You Shu. As a dignified man, instead of going to the battlefield to kill the enemy and make military achievements, he shamelessly relied on his bed skills and served the Ninth Prince to get the title. Now, he even agreed to marry into the royal family, and is willing to be subdued by another man like a woman. He is competing for favour with a group of women with no sense of shame. How could there be such a man in the world? If it was their son, they would rather strangle him to death the day he was born!

There are a lot of people who think this way, so in recent days, Zhao Zhizhou has been subjected to a lot of ridicule in the court. Therefore when he saw His Highness the Crown Prince, he didn’t have a good face.

Each house in the Zhao family also responded differently. The Old Master Zhao and the Old lady felt that they couldn’t lift their heads high, while the other houses in the family were both contemptuous and envious. On second thought, this was a great thing! In the future, the Zhao family will be recognised as Crown Princess’ family, and they will once again join the ranks of the aristocratic families. Their children and grandchildren will also benefit from it. You Shu is a man, so he can’t give birth to an heir, so they can also send a daughter of the Zhao family in the palace to conceive for him. Then maybe the child from the Zhao family would become the next emperor, wouldn’t that be wonderful?

However, there are many aristocratic families who have the same idea, and among them, the Empress’ family was in the most rush. They originally stood on the Ninth Prince’s side, but after rumours of the demon star spread everywhere, they were repeatedly instigated by the queen, so they switched to the Sixth Prince’s side. They even sent two daughters from their family into the sixth prince’s mansion, one as a main wife and the other as a concubine. Everyone in their family thought that prosperity and wealth were just around the corner, but they didn’t expect the sixth prince to be demoted as a commoner in the end, which was countless times more miserable than the eldest prince who was imprisoned for life.

If it weren’t for the Empress being the mother of the Ninth Prince, and the fact that they were the Ninth Prince’s uncle, Emperor Zhongkang might have punished them for the crime of treason. Although their family has not been exterminated, all those who held titles have been wiped out, and all those who hold official positions in the court have been removed. On the contrary, they are not even as good as a third-class aristocratic family.

In order to save the situation, when they heard that the crown prince wanted to marry the fifth young master of the Zhao family, they did not dare to oppose it. Instead, they selected women of the appropriate age from the direct branch and prepared to send them to the Crown Prince’s mansion to give birth to an offspring for the Crown Prince. They don’t need fame and titles, they only need to be connected with the prince by a direct line of blood. Besides, who knows what will happen in the future? Don’t look at the Crown Prince’s deep affection for You Shu, maybe His Highness will get tired of him in a few years. After all, a man is a man, with rough skin and thick flesh, and a rough temperament. How can he compare to a charming young woman with soft flesh and body?

Thinking this way, they brought their daughter into the palace for several consecutive days to meet the Empress.

The empress is living a very miserable life right now, there are only a few dozen people serving in such a huge cold palace. Her food and clothing are not as good as before, and there is no response when she sends people to Emperor Zhongkang, and the Ninth Prince is even more unwilling to come and visit her. Even if she feels regretful for everything she did, who can she turn to for forgiveness? Therefore, she quickly accepted the proposal of her natal family and took several nieces in the palace for training, planning to send them to Crown Prince’s mansion after his wedding.

Amidst the restlessness of all parties, You Shu was the calmest. Everyday, he moves back and forth as usual, following behind his master’s buttocks, almost to the point of being inseparable. After the court that day, his master was summoned by Emperor Zhongkang for a conversation. After that, a young eunuch walked up to him and said that the Empress had invited him to the cold palace for a talk.

You Shu looked at him carefully, then sniffed him without any trace, and nodded in agreement. The cold palace was very desolate, with only a few maids guarding in the front and back, and the decoration was also very simple and spacious, probably no one would believe that this is the residence of the Empress of a nation. As You Shu walked forward, he kept looking around, his eyes full of vigilance. When he reached the main hall, he heard a kind and gentle voice coming from inside, “Has Young Master Zhao arrived? Please come in.”

The little eunuch responded and pushed open the gate for the Young Master Zhao, and made a “please” gesture. You Shu stepped in, only to see the six huge carved hollow screens erected inside, dividing the spacious hall into two inner and outer rooms. In the outer room, there were seven or eight palace maids present, with low eyebrows and respectful expressions; Through the holes in the screen, the figure of a woman in red sitting on a high seat can be vaguely seen, but not too distinct.

You Shu saluted her from outside the screen, but he heard the woman say, “You will be getting married soon, so you don’t have to be shy, come in and talk to me.”

You Shu had no choice but to go inside. As soon as he walked around the screen, he felt a strange energy filling the air, as if it was a smokescreen. He immediately shook the Demon killing talisman hidden in his sleeve into his palm, and looked up at the throne, but where was the shadow of the Empress?

A few high pitched voices rang out, and then the energy enveloping the inner room suddenly dissipated, revealing the real scene. The Empress had died at some point, with a dagger stuck in her chest, lying at You Shu’s feet. Besides him and the Empress, there were four or five palace maids and two young girls dressed as nobles standing in the hall.

They screamed “Killer” and immediately ran towards the outside of the hall. Obviously, the scene just now after the smokescreen was destroyed made them extremely terrified. You Shu bent over to closely examine the dagger with his name engraved on the Empress’ chest, and immediately understood everything.

This was a trap, just waiting for him to jump in. There were so many people who have seen it with their own eyes, even if he grows a hundred mouths, he wouldn’t be able to explain it clearly. Killing the Empress of a country is a crime that must be judged, and it will even implicate the murderer’s nine clans. Even if his master is the crown prince of the current dynasty, he may not be able to protect himself under the constraints of the country’s law and filial piety. That monster was killed by him three times in a row, and it was probably afraid, so it resorted to the trick of borrowing another’s knife to kill.

You Shu straightened up and frowned in contemplation. Upon hearing the sound of chaotic footsteps coming from outside the hall, he turned around and saw the palace maid leading many people in, including the master, Emperor Zhongkang, several ministers, and a line of guards. Except for the master, the rest of the people looked horrified.

“What’s the matter?” Even though he had already heard the palace maid tell the whole story on the way here, the Ninth Prince refused to believe a single word. He calmly examined the corpse, then looked at the boy whose complexion was a bit pale.

You Shu doesn’t care about other people’s suspicious eyes and fear, he only cares about his master’s feelings. When the master walked towards him, he couldn’t help but take a few steps back, his hands tightly clenched in his sleeves. He didn’t want to let go of the slightest change in his master’s expression; if he showed even the slightest bit of doubt, his heart would be crushed. A few teardrops welled up in his eyes unconsciously, but they stubbornly hung on his eyelashes and refused to fall, looking both embarrassed and pitiful.

The Ninth Prince’s heart tightened, but with everyone present here, he could only restrain himself. The person who died was his mother after all, so he cannot favour the murderer. However, even with a dozen eye witnesses and consistent testimonies, he didn’t believe that You Shu is the murderer. He would always believe him, no matter what.

“You Shu, tell me what happened.” Seeing the young man lower his head with slightly trembling shoulders, he immediately stepped forward and lifted his chin, looking straight into his eyes.

You Shu, who was planning to secretly wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, had to look back, and say word by word, “I didn’t kill her.” 

If the master shows any doubts about him, he really wouldn’t know how to maintain this relationship. Because his existence and his abilities are all too special, if he is not trusted wholeheartedly, only destruction awaits him in the end.

Even in the apocalyptic era when supernatural beings were everywhere, those who possessed mind reading skills would be completely exterminated. It can be seen how much of a taboo his presence is in this ancient era. The fear in his heart has always existed, and today is the time when he finally has to face it. As if he had made up his mind, he pointed to the side hall and said, “Let’s talk alone, and I’ll tell you everything.”

The Ninth Prince nodded and followed him. Although he didn’t show it on his face, he felt quite worried as if his path to become a husband seems quite difficult.

After the two of them left, Emperor Zhongkang ordered his guards to carry the Empress’ body to the couch and lay it flat, and then summoned all the witnesses to personally interrogate. Although everyone’s statement was consistent, this matter feels strange no matter how one looks at it. How could a person like You Shu commit murder in anger because the Empress wanted to give the crown prince a few concubines?

Inside the side hall, You Shu nervously nibbled on a piece of pastry and slowly recounted, “This matter started six hundred years ago.”

The Ninth Prince’s eyes flickered slightly, making a posture of listening attentively.

You Shu quickly stuffed two pieces of pastry in his mouth to relieve the tension in his heart, and then continued to talk about how he was driven away by Ada, met an old man, went up to the mountain to learn taoist art, was caught when he descended the mountain, recognized his parents, came to Shangjing to reunite with his master, and killed a monster three times… After a long time, his expression was still a little dull, as if he couldn’t extricate himself from the memories of the past. When he finally regained his senses and looked up, he saw that the master was already in tears, looking at him with an extremely obscure and complex gaze.

Only then did he panic, he reflexively leaned back, and then wanted to jump off the stool and run out. He has always been afraid of this moment because he never wanted his master to know that he is the You Shu who left without saying goodbye, the You Shu who made him die with regret, and the You Shu who made so many mistakes and couldn’t repent. What he was afraid of was not only his master’s suspicion, but also his hatred.

The Ninth Prince, who was silent, suddenly stood up and pulled the boy into his arms. He covered the back of his head with his big palms, and pressed his face firmly against his chest. When he tasted a salty taste at the corner of his mouth, only then did he realise that he was crying, so he didn’t want You Shu to see his fragile expression.

“Master, I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. I wish I had asked you back then before leaving.” You Shu also began to sob, tears and snot all dripping down on the master’s brocade robe.

The Ninth Prince shook his head, but couldn’t speak. He shed tears not because of pain, let alone resentment, but because of relief. When Emperor Zongsheng died, his only concern was: Did You Shu hate himself? You Shu gave everything for him, even not caring for his own life, but in the end, he was ruthlessly discarded like a piece of waste. So You Shu should hate him, right? Otherwise, he wouldn’t refuse to come back during his whole lifetime.

This feeling of guilt, remorse, daily prayer, and lifetime pursuit was deeply engraved into his soul, leaving it to his current self six hundred years later. That’s why the Ninth Prince developed a sense of disgust with the indecisive Emperor Zongsheng, to the point that he even despised himself. But now, You Shu told him that the reason why he didn’t come back was not because of resentment, but because of the unknown time skip.

Suddenly, he felt relieved, relaxed, and fulfilled. He couldn’t hold back his tears, nor could he hold back the urge to rub this person into his own flesh and blood. He tightened his arms around the boy and asked in a hoarse voice, “Did you hate Emperor Zongsheng when you left?”

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