Chapter 42: Heartfelt Exchange

“I, Li Yunli, am not a cowardly or weak person…”

As soon as the night passed, the news swiftly reached Li Yunli’s ears.

The shadow guard did not dare to hide anything and described the entire situation in full detail, leaving nothing out.

“That man had just admitted to being a soldier of the Wei army, then immediately turned and cursed the Shijun. The Shijun struck and killed him on the spot!”

Li Yunli had originally been preparing to go out to meet Qing Nian but was stopped by this matter.

She furrowed her brows and listened quietly, finding it odd. She then asked, “Where is Shijun now?”

The shadow guard hesitated. “Shijun clearly said he would personally report to Your Highness. He claimed that the man insulted him and deserved death, but no matter what, the criminal should not have been executed immediately. We hadn’t even begun the interrogation, and now the trail has gone cold!”

This particular shadow guard was more talkative than the others.

Li Yunli rubbed her temples. “Leave for now. Go find Shijun and bring him to me. I will ask him myself.”

The shadow guard immediately took the order and turned to leave.

Just then, Yun Chu arrived at the door, bumping right into the furious shadow guard who was about to storm out.

“Shi… Shijun?!”

The shadow guard’s eyes scanned him up and down but dared not say another word.

Yun Chu was dressed in plain white robes, without a crown on his head. In his hands, he held a whip—clearly here to receive punishment.

Realizing he had no place in what was about to happen, the shadow guard touched his nose awkwardly and swiftly climbed over the wall, disappearing from sight.

Yun Chu pushed the door open.

Inside, Li Yunli was reading a book, the cover obscured by her hand.

She had already heard the commotion outside. Looking up and seeing Yun Chu’s attire, she was unsurprised. Closing the book, she turned her gaze toward him.

Her expression remained calm as she spoke. “So, it wasn’t an act of uncontrollable rage, but rather a deliberate decision?”

Yun Chu stepped forward, knelt before her, and offered the whip with a lowered head. His voice was solemn. “Yes.”

“Why?” Li Yunli lowered her gaze. The whip he held was made of the finest cowhide. What was the hidden story behind this?

“What was your connection to that man? Did he forge passage documents under your orders? Was he one of your people?”

“No, he wasn’t!”

Even though Yun Chu had come to admit guilt, he didn’t dare to take responsibility for everything.

He quickly explained, “That man was a soldier of the Wei army, but he was not mine. I had my reasons for killing him, and I have come to receive Your Highness’s punishment.”

As he spoke, he tried to press the whip into Li Yunli’s hands.

In the past, when he pretended to be obedient by her side, admitting mistakes and offering himself for punishment was a common occurrence.

If she accepted the whip, it meant she was willing to listen to his explanation. If she was in a good mood afterward, she might let him go; if not, he would simply endure a whipping before being forgiven.

He was too familiar with this process.

If she did not take the whip, he could not speak.

A sense of unease crept into him. She wasn’t taking it, meaning she was still deliberating and doubting him.

But how could she possibly know about these past unspoken understandings between them?

She withdrew her hand and said in a detached voice, “Throw it away.”

Yun Chu stiffened.

Then he heard her say, “Stand up.”

Seeing him remain motionless, Li Yunli directly took the whip from his hands and tossed it aside.

Yun Chu instinctively flinched, expecting pain, but it never came. Slowly, he looked up.

Li Yunli’s expression held a hint of helplessness as she reached out to help him up, her tone not entirely cold. “Stand up.”

He stood, but his body remained stiff, unsure of what to do.

Li Yunli guessed that this must have been one of the rigid rules imposed upon him before. She felt both annoyed and uncomfortable.

It seemed she would have to break quite a few of his habits.

She gestured toward a chair in front of her desk. “Sit and talk.”

Yun Chu looked at her in silence but did not move.

“If you had disappeared after killing that man, I would have assumed you had deceived my trust and would not be kind to you,” Li Yunli said coldly. She took a deep breath and added, “But you came to me afterward, which means you have hidden reasons to explain. I have given you my trust, so you should sit down and explain clearly!”

At this point, continuing to resist would only be his own stubbornness.

Yun Chu obeyed, sat down, and answered, “Yes.”

“Yes what?” Li Yunli snapped. “Explain!”

Yun Chu swallowed and said, “That man was one of Ah Si’s people. He likely came to Yongzhou after the fall of Wei and was later contacted by Ah Si. Your Highness knows that I…”

His voice grew hoarse, and he paused to cough twice.

That slight pause was enough for Li Yunli to grasp the truth in an instant.

“So, you didn’t know he was a Wei soldier at first, and when you were helping me capture people, you unintentionally caught him. You couldn’t hand him over to the shadow guards for interrogation, so you had to kill him yourself?”

If he had handed him over, who knew what details about Ah Si or the remaining Wei loyalists might have been uncovered? He didn’t dare take that risk.

Li Yunli tapped the ground with her toe, looking at him.

“No, Your Highness, I did not,” Yun Chu said anxiously. He heard the hint of suspicion in her tone but found himself unable to refute her reasoning. After a moment’s hesitation, he said earnestly, “I was not afraid to hand him over—I simply did not wish to.”

“Not afraid, but unwilling?”

Li Yunli frowned. “And to me, what difference does that make?”

Yun Chu’s gaze fell upon the book in her hands—The Book of Changes.

He said, “I can offer Your Highness my absolute loyalty, my life and death are yours to command. To Your Highness, I can be but a fallen leaf, a handful of dust, insignificant and worthless, and I will accept it willingly.”

Li Yunli frowned but did not interrupt him.

“But to them, I am the Third Prince of Wei, the core of their vengeance against Chu. I have devoted my life and soul to Your Highness. Without me, the remaining Wei loyalists are no more than autumn crickets—they will never rise again. However, Your Highness, I still have my own desires.”

His gaze slowly lifted, meeting hers.

“If they can no longer continue their cause, I hope the remaining Wei people will not suffer from unending hatred, that they will not be hunted to extinction. The world is vast—there should be a place for them, one where they do not have to fight in my name or live in disgrace, holding onto vengeance until death.”

“And so, I did not want him to be interrogated. Once captured, he would not have survived anyway. Rather than die after enduring torture, he should have met a swift and dignified end by my hands.”

His voice was clear and unwavering as he looked at her.

Li Yunli studied him for a moment before smiling faintly. “What a well-spoken argument. Is this how you deceived me in our past life as well?”

Yun Chu’s expression froze.

“…No.” He shook his head in panic, his body instinctively dropping to kneel.

“Do not kneel,” she ordered.