Rebirth of Poisoned Empress, by 颜若优雅

Chapter 25

Fu Yunxi's residency wasn't big. It's size and area were comparable to Shen Liang's Chonglin Courtyard. Perhaps it was because too many things had occurred and piled on Fu Yunxi's shoulders but his father, who had worked hard to raise him was seriously ill in bed and the courtyard was messy and chaotic. The chickens and ducks that should have been caged and locked up ran across the yard but regardless of whether it was Fu Yunxi, the courtyard's owner, or Shen Liang, his guest, no one bothered with it. 

"You can say it now. Your identity," after leading them into the front hall, Fu Yunxi directly stated, evident that he had no intentions of being toyed with.

"Shen Liang, heir of the Marquis Donglin Manor," Shen Liang didn't bother going around in circles with him either.

Fu Yunxi scowled, "You're Shen Liang? You're different from the rumors."

Recently, gossip and the Marquis manor's scandal regarding Shen Liang had swept across the Imperial City. Everyone had heard some form of gossip and Fu Yunxi was not any different. However, before today, when Fu Yunxi heard the gossip, he was indifferent towards it. Now that Shen Liang sat before him though, Fu Yunxi suspected that the rumors and talk were deliberately designed and orchestrated by this boy himself.

"90% of all rumors are false. For instance, consider the rumors of you cheating on the civil service exams."

"You!" Fu Yunxi glared at him as his anger boiled over. His eyes widened and burned on Shen Liang. 

However, Shen Liang didn't seem to mind, "Your anger towards me serves no use or purpose. Whether or not you truly cheated, you know better than me. Fu Yunxi, your anger should be directed at those who have wronged you, and not me."

"Do you know who it was?" hearing his words, Fu Yunxi snorted before standing up. His gaze was intense. He wasn't stupid. Since Shen Liang dared to mention this matter, then it was evident he also had a hunch on the identity of the perpetrator.

"Know, but I'm not obligated to tell you anything," Shen Liang continued calmly despite Fu Yunxi's hard to conceal anger in his gaze, "Fu Yunxi, in terms of literary and scholarly talent, you exceed anyone else. However, you don't know how to adapt and yield to circumstances. Are you still anticipating the day when the Justice Department would discover the truth and return you your justice and innocence? Don't be naive. What is justice? What is innocence? In the face of absolute authority, they mean nothing. This world has always been ruled and defined by the strong. The only justice and innocence are served by those who sit at the top."

Fu Yunxi was a smart man. Shen Liang believed he understood his words. If it weren't to serve the purpose of severing Qin Yunshen's opportunities and roads and prevent this man from scheming and conspiring for Qin Yunshen, Shen Liang would not have bothered telling him anything.

"You wish to recruit me, but what can you give me? Young master Shen, excuse my bluntness, but while you are right that I fell to this degree due to my negligence and while my title as an unprecedented scholar bought me fame and glory, it also delivered my downfall due to my powerlessness. However, you are only an unfavored heir. If I were to follow you, what benefits can I reap?"

Shen Liang spoke too bluntly. It would be a lie to say his words weren't offensive, but Fu Yunxi was an intelligent man and Shen Liang's words also ignited within Fu Yunxi, the desire and pursuit for power. Only with enough power and authority could he prove his innocence and regain what originally belonged to him.

"I can't give you anything, but I can help you drag down the person who wronged you, have your case retried and return to you, your innocence, name, and glory. I can allow you to return to your service at court and can also allow your father to recover his health."

Both were smart people and neither of them talked in circles.

"My father's illness..."

"Lung disease, isn't it? But not a terminal disease," when speaking of his father, Fu Yunxi was startled before concern and heartache once again swarmed over him. Shen liang interrupted Fu Yunxi's words. Perhaps a lung disease was deemed incurable by most ordinary people, but the medical code had explicitly transcribed that while the prognosis and treatment took longer and more effort, it wasn't hard. In order to pull Fu Yunxi to his side, Shen Liang couldn't just deliver empty promises. That was also why Shen Liang decided to pay Fu Yunxi a visit this early on. In his previous life, when Qin Yunshen had successfully pulled Fu Yunxi under his wings, Fu Yunxi's father had already passed away from his lung disease. 

"You..."

"Yunxi, cough, cough... are there guests?"

Fu Yunxi was gazing at Shen Liang intently, as though assessing the boy's credibility and authenticity when a voice, followed by a series of heavy dry coughs, interrupted his train of thought. The curtain that led into the left hall lifted and a thin and withered figure came out. Fu Yunxi hurriedly stood up to help him, "Dad, why did you come out? It's too windy out here. You should head in and lie down."

He was Fu Yunxi's father, Fu Ying. As he was dragged into the civil exams' fraud case, Fu Ying's fell severely ill and hadn't been able to recover since.

"Cough, cough, ...It's, it's alright. It's rare for friends to come and pay us a visit. I'll just given them my greetings. Cough, cough..." Fu Ying was able to finish his words in one breath but was seized by another round of severe coughs. It was as though he was coughing his lungs out. Shen Liang's brows furrowed almost undetectably, but Qi Yue and Qi Xuan's concern and worry were plastered clearly on their faces. Although the other party wasn't by any means related to them, they could not conceal nor suppress their compassion and sympathy.

"Don't say anything anymore, Dad. Sit down first and drink some water," Fu Yunxi led him to his seat uncomfortably, clearly upset and distressed, before he headed into the hall to bring out a glass of water. Fu Ying felt better after taking a few sips. He raised his sallow face and gave the guests and apologetic smile, "I apologize. I've allowed you to see a disgrace."

"This uncle is too polite. Illnesses come in a variety of ways, and no one is capable of completely avoiding and escaping its grasps. We can only settle for ways to cure it," Shen Liang shook his head with a slight smile. Since his previous life, he has lacked any fate with elderly guidance and relationships. Fu Ying's sallow and haggard face indeed lacked beauty and grace, but his apologetic smile inexplicably made Shen Liang feel warm.