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41: Confession

Three days after Nangong Piaoran left, Hua Jianli was at the imperial palace of An city in West Zhi to ascend the throne. The news quickly traveled to Ye Yin. Along with the news came an urgent letter pleading for Ye Yin to hurry to An city in order to become prime minister.

When he finished reading the letter, Ye Yin smiled silently. He wrote a brief letter saying he could not go, and then sent the letter off on a pigeon.

Hua Jianli was definitely panicking, otherwise he wouldn't ask him to come personally. This was the reason why he had not gone to An city. He only hoped that Hua Jianli would be unaware forever, otherwise with his personality, he would definitely blame himself, which would affect the new dynasty. He did not want Hua Jianli to feel guilt either. He had few friends and did not want one of his true friends to live forever blaming himself. Fortunately he had already passed on the important government decrees to Hua Jianli early on. However, there were still a few more he had to write, he just didn't know if he had enough time left.

Watching the pigeon fly away, Ye Yin sighed deeply.

When Rouge entered, Ye Yin was lying by the window sill on an embroidered couch, reading a book. His head was partially tilted, his hair still yet to be combed, hanging a little disheveled behind him. His hand that was holding the book appeared pale and weak. Blue veins protruded conspicuously against his pale skin.

"Drink some medicine!" Rouge lowered her gaze, trying to hide her worry.

Ye Yin obediently drank the medicine in one gulp. He looked at his own hand, laughing derisively at himself. "Who knows if I'll last until Nangong Piaoran returns."

Rouge grasped his hand. "If you know you're unhealthy, then why don't you rest? Do you want to shorten your life?"

Ye Yin laughed. "I don't have much time left, I'm afraid, so I want to do things I've been meaning to do."

Rouge's eyes flashed with pain. She said with difficulty, "You will be fine."

"Rouge, do you hate me?" This thought had lingered on the back of his mind, but he had never had the courage to ask.

Rouge froze. After a long time, she shook her head. "No! I have never hated you."

Ye Yin's eyes filled with grief. His unease was nearly imperceptible. "Rouge, you should blame me. Did you know that day you didn't have to have been... I could have saved you, but I didn't. I sacrificed you for my own objectives. Rouge, I am sorry! I know that whatever I do, I can't make up for my wrongs. I..."

"Is that why you blocked that sword for me?" Rouge asked calmly. "Actually, I already knew everything.

Ye Yin froze. Rouge spoke slowly, "I heard overheard your conversation with young master Hua that day. I originally wanted to ask you a question, but..."

Ye Yin smiled bitterly. "So you heard everything. But you still don't blame me?"

Rouge shook her head again. "I don't. I never have."

Ye Yin lowered his gaze and fell silent. For a moment, all was silent.

A gust of wind blew. Outside, the tree leaves rustled. A few fluttered to the ground. The osmanthus flowers had already withered. Although their fragrance remained in the courtyard, the temperature had dropped greatly.

Rouge walked over and closed the window. "It's cold, stop sitting next to the window so often. It's very easy to get sick. Your body can't withstand that right now.

Ye Yin nodded. "Rouge, I heard that after I was wounded, it was you who took care of my wounds. Do you have medical knowledge?"

Rouge poured a cup of tea for Ye Yin before speaking. "I learned from my maternal grandfather. My grandfather used to be an imperial physician and was very skilled, but unfortunately, he did not know how to treat animal illnesses." Rouge's gaze turned somewhat sad. After a while, she resumed: "You already know my past, except perhaps you didn't know my maternal grandfather was an imperial physician. My two grandfathers were good friends. Because he hated being restricted, with my fraternal grandfather's help, he was able to be reassigned to the countryside. However, Chu Feiye slaughtered my entire family for a military achievement. Grandfather was able to secretly smuggle me out. He never wanted me to take revenge, because I, a powerless girl, would not be able to even touch Chu Feiye. So I listened to his words and lived peacefully in the countryside, but later... After grandfather was killed by Qi Chengfeng, I lived only for revenge."