Chapter 243 - Farewell
Translator: Transn Editor: Transnhistorical
Shangguan Ru was very surprised because Slave Huan wanted to see Lady Meng. Her mother was very dissatisfied with this killer, and her heart was filled with killing intent. Slave Huan also knew this. Despite this, she still followed the advice to contact her mother.
There were only two people left. When they were in bed, Gu Shenwei said to Maid Lotus: “I know it’s very abrupt, but I have to run away from the Stone Castle and go far away. It is no longer a place for me to stay.”
Maid Lotus was still as plain as usual. It was as if Slave Huan had only casually said a word, and she continued to support him as always. “This was never my place to be.”
This was enough. Gu Shenwei knew that Maid Lotus could be trusted, and was the only credible person in Stone Castle. After they escape together, he will tell her the whole truth. He had already made a grand plan in his heart and he needed this reliable assistant.
Maid Lotus did not know the true thoughts of Slave Huan but she only thought that this was their closest moment ever since the two had met.
The world surrounding Shangguan Ru was collapsing. Gu Shenwei’s entire plan for hiding was also falling, and at a faster speed. He had been hiding behind the twins, Luo Ningcha, and rarely had direct clashes with the big men in the fort. But when he was at the most vulnerable part of Golden Roc Fort, he had ignored the airtight net that was over his head.
When he started bypassing the protectors to make his claim, this big net immediately tightened around him. Gu Shenwei finally understood that he could not break the Stone Castle on his own. That’s right, he saw the huge cracks and used these cracks. Something was done, but it did not damage Golden Roc Fort.
Although several of the Supreme King’s sons had died, he would give birth to more, and the foundations of the Stone Castle had not wavered. The killer who only wanted to take revenge had even inadvertently become the sweeper of the Stone Castle and a tool for eliminating the weak.
It was all over. Gu Shenwei decided to make use of the cracks in the Stone Castle for one last time. Then he had to change the method and make a more direct and violent blow from outside the castle. This was his future plan.
When Shangguan Ru returned, Gu Shenwei reluctantly got up and dragged his broken body to meet Lady Meng.
Like her daughter, Lady Meng was very surprised to see Slave Huan. She thought that this two-faced boy should have already been far away. She had temporarily lost her power because of the turmoil a month ago. They would return to her sooner or later, but until then, she could not kill anyone.
In front of the mother and daughter, Gu Shenwei calmly stated the facts that have already been known: Yang Huan was the son of Yang Zheng, a servant of the Gu family in the Central Plains, and that he had infiltrated the Stone Castle for revenge.
He said that he had already exacted his revenge, but Shen Liang refused to let go of him, and used him by ‘follow the vine to get to the melon’ to get to the Tenth Young Master and then to Lady Meng.
There were very few lies in this passage, and Lady Meng silently listened to him. There were obviously many things that she had already knew about.
Shangguan Ru was astonished that he was originally a slave who she had snatched away from her brother. However, he was like a skillful face changer as he kept removing one mask after another. The pillars in her world had already crumbled, and only the pillar of Slave Huan was still barely standing. She suddenly felt terrified and feared that this was another collapse of the sky.
In order to temporarily ignore Shangguan Ru’s feelings, Gu Shenwei had to fight to obtain Lady Meng’s support.
“Some people say that you had been using my Ru’er and Fei’er to kill the other children of my Shangguan family.” Lady Meng’s views were similar to the views of Shen Liang.
Gu Shenwei had already thought that Lady Meng would have this question. “I have been around the Tenth Young Master. Have I ever touched even a strand of her hair?”
“And he had saved me several times. If he wanted to kill me for revenge, he wouldn’t need to do anything but sit back and watch,” Shangguan Ru said. He did not harm her even once regardless of how many masks he had.
Lady Meng Meng sighed. She did not expect that the daughter who she had raised as a boy since birth would act like such a simpleton. He did not necessarily save her life in good faith, he could have done it with ill intentions. However, her daughter had already fallen for him and a few words wouldn’t be enough to pull her out.
“This Shen Liang has some guts.” Although Lady Meng did not believe in Slave Huan’s loyalty, she believed what he said because there were many things that she already knew.
“Blademaster Shen Liang must have found a new backer.” Gu Shenwei knew very well that he could only challenge him and would never dare to challenge the Tenth Young Master and Lady Meng.
“A new backer? All of the young masters are in disorder and they are either dead or imprisoned. Even old Eight had abandoned his wife and wouldn’t return to the Stone Castle. Can he still find any backers?”
“The Mistress is losing power. Whoever benefits the most is the person who is his new backer.”
Lady Meng looked at Slave Huan, and she suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. If her son had such cleverness, she would not be left alone and have to solve everything by herself.
“The second, third and fifth oldest sons were left in the fort. They were all kept in jail. The second son is one of my people. This time, I was the worst hit. The third oldest child had no roots. That leaves the fifth eldest.”
Gu Shenwei remembered Zhang Ji’s evaluation of the Fifth Young Master when he said, “Reckless and unmotivated.” He almost said that there was also a Shangguan Hong, but closed his mouth at the last moment as there was no need to cause an even bigger mess. What he wanted was just an opportunity to escape.
“What my lady said is correct.”
Lady Meng’s face became resolute. Her struggle in the Stone Castle was never relaxed and was always restless. She was always ready to attack regardless of whether it was at the peak of her favor or at the bottom of her fall.
Gu Shenwei knew that he should retreat. Lady Meng will not tell him a detailed plan, but regardless of what she thinks in her heart, Shen Liang will bear the brunt of the attack, which will be enough to give him a moment of respite.
“You shouldn’t stay at Ru’er’s anymore. It’s inappropriate.” Lady Meng did not ignore such details even in such a critical moment. “Go find Master Hong and hide at his place.”
“Yes, my lady.” When Gu Shenwei had retreated to the door, the name of Shangguan Hong has appeared in his mind for the third time. Suddenly he realized that he and Lady Meng have committed a common mistake. “It may not be the Fifth Young Master.”
“What?”
“Blademaster Shen’s backer may not be the Fifth Young Master.”
“What are you thinking?” Lady Meng was a little interested.
“My lady has lost her powers. The people who would benefit the most can not be the Fifth Young Master. He has always been his wife’s rival. His temper is reckless, and the king does not like him much. Shen Liang would not choose him as his backer.”
“Shangguan Tian,” Lady Meng said the name of the Second Young Master. She suddenly became enlightened by Slave Huan’s reminder. The second child was the biggest beneficiary. Although he had always supported himself, he must have borne a grudge against her because she did not help him when he was in trouble.
“Wasn’t second elder brother caught by Shen Liang? Shen Liang pushed all of his responsibilities to assassinate father onto second elder brother.” Shangguan Ru did not understand the intentions of her mother and Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei went out of the house to let the mother and daughter speak in private. In fact, everything was clear. Shen Liang framed Shangguan Tian and then pledged loyalty to him. By using a loss for a win, the Second Young Master had become firmly held in their hands. Zhang Ji said that Second Young Master did not have a great talents and bold visions, which was exactly the qualities that the ambitious Shen Liang had wanted in a puppet.
The place where Shangguan Hong lived was not far from Lady Meng. On the surface, she was taking care of him, but she was actually putting him under surveillance.
It was a very small yard. At the front of the court was a rock garden and a small forest. It was almost impossible to see the situation inside while walking down the road. This was in accordance to Lady Meng’s arrangements with Shangguan Hong.
The maid left after saying a few words, and Shangguan Hong was stunned and intimidated. It was as if his own plot was about to be exposed. After the maid had gone away, he kept talking to Slave Huan about what Lady Meng had been saying. Without any particular hints, he decided that he was only providing accommodations and had no other responsibilities. He was greatly relieved and was a little more enthusiastic about receiving Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei did not understand Zhang Ji’s thoughts. Although Shangguan Hong was easily controlled, it was too bad as it was incomplete. Even a person who is 100 times more clever than Zhang Ji could hardly bring this son of the Supreme King up to any decent standard.
Gu Shenwei did not intend to care about other people’s affairs and he repeatedly thought about his escape plan. He had nothing to do, and can only wait. The key to success was Maid Lotus. She must watch the movements within the fortress at all times, obtain a waist token, and choose the best time to find Slave Huan and escape together.
The sooner the better, Gu Shenwei thought. His words were always full of loopholes. Apart from Shangguan Ru, no one would believe it too much. After Lady Meng’s removal of Shen Liang, she would certainly not let go of Slave Huan. He only hoped that he could be on the very bottom of the list of deaths.
This was the result of the lack of power in one’s hands. He formulated the plan, but he could not control the direction of the plan’s development and was at the mercy of chance.
This time, “chance” did not favor Gu Shenwei as it once did.
On the next day, everything in the Stone Castle was as usual, and nothing had happened for the whole day. Lady Meng did not make the first move to take revenge on Shen Liang. Lady Meng, the Second Young Master, and Shen Liang did not search for the escaped prisoner either. All the conspiracies were carried out in secret.
As the darkness fell, the conspiracy began to surface as it opened its mouth and prepared for a large meal.
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus did not appear for the whole day, and came together in the evening.
Shangguan Hong flattered the Tenth Young Master on her arrival but he wavered during his greeting. Calling her “Tenth Young Master” would cause the Supreme King to lose face, but calling her “younger sister” seemed too casual. He didn’t know what to think and finally blurted out “Young Master Sister.”
Shangguan Ru pushed the elder brother out of the way. “You’re not allowed to eavesdrop while we chat.”
Shangguan Hong was often bullied by Shangguan Ru and Master Yu in school, so he willingly complied and obediently loitered outside. Zhang Ji had told him that the farther he was away from whatever conspiracy, the better. If it was possible, he would rather be hiding in the foothills of Jade City.
Shangguan Ru brought out a waist token, a saber, and two swords; these were all items that Slave Huan needed. The things she wants to say were simple: “Run away, my mother will betray you. She has already gone to see father to prove that everything you have done had was by Eighth brother, and that Shen Liang was your accomplice. I overheard it.”
The thing that Gu Shen Wei was most worried about had happened. Lady Meng not only pushed him to the very top of the death list but also used him to wipe out her other enemies.
He looked into Shangguan Ru’s dark eyes and stared. He was afraid of what he would find and he wanted to look away. He was also afraid that he might miss something. He suddenly realized that this was farewell.
He hadn’t made a perfect lie to explain to her about a lot of things, however, she would still choose to unconditionally believe it.
“Everyone has the chance to trust another person in their life and I give this opportunity to you.” This was what Shangguan Ru had used to say to Slave Huan, and Gu Shenwei was in the midst of a surge of emotions. Suddenly there was an uncontrollable impulse of wanting to tell Shangguan Ru about the truth, especially that the seventh chapter of Wayless Qigong that she had in her hands was fake.