Chapter 108 Prior to the Rebellion

When Xuan Zhi turned angry at her, Zuo Xin’s eyes immediately got drowned in tears. Uncle Zhi and Li Yi were both speaking for that piteous girl. At least she was worried about Xuan Zhi’s health. Now that both his trusted men were taking her side, Xuan Zhi even grew angrier. “Azhi, I just want you to get better soon.” “Miss Zuo Xin, you really ought to pay more attention to courtesy as an unmarried girl.” “Azhi, the medicine is getting cold. Finish it first.” Zuo Xin laid the tray down, still holding the bowl. She was trying to feed Xuan Zhi herself. That was the girl, always looking weak and always ready with tears. Somehow, Xuan Zhi didn’t feel comfortable seeing Zuo Xin even though she was only caring for him. His beloved girl, Shui Yinzhu, would never shed tears for a word or two. The princess looked delicate, but she was mentally tough. Every drop of her tear would be for real pain. The more he looked at Zuo Xin, the more he felt cheesy of her. Xuan Zhi gave up on his medicine and strode out of his room, leaving her behind. He didn’t want to waste his time on her. Uncle Zhi and Li Yi were standing right outside of his room. As Xuan Zhi walked out, he saw the two of them. “Uncle Yi, Uncle Zhi, I was meant to talk to you. Send Zuo Xin away in a couple of days and get her some money so she can live her life.” Zuo Xin was still in his room, but her cry sounded more miserable. Everyone was heartbroken for it. Li Yi couldn’t stand it as he stood up for Zuo Xin. “Your Highness, Miss Zuo doesn’t even have a family. I beg you to keep her.” Compared to Li Yi’s well-mannered persuasion, Uncle Zhi was being direct. He preferred Zuo Xin to Princess Shui Yinzhu. That princess almost got Xuan Zhi killed! “Your Highness, when you were in a coma, it was Miss Zuo that fed you medicine and meals. She even helped clean your body. She gave up the reputation of an unmarried lady for you. How is she supposed to marry anyone else?” Xuan Zhi was enraged. He wondered if he had been too kind to his subordinates that they forgot their limit of authority. “She gave that up herself shamelessly. What do I have to do with it?” “But...” The two of them were still trying to speak for Zuo Xin. But Xuan Zhi didn’t intend to give them a second chance. He glimpsed at them coldly. “Send her away. Don’t make me say it again.” Xuan Zhi never required Zuo Xin to serve him from the very beginning. He had been in a coma, and his followers helped an outsider by letting her touch his body. Xuan Zhi got more furious at this. The only woman he would like to have physical contact with was Shui Yinzhu. “Yes.” Li Yi and Uncle Zhi had to take the order. “How is the situation inside the imperial palace? Is Yinzhu alright?” Xuan Zhi asked as he looked at Li Yi. No matter how uncomfortable Li Yi was at that moment, Xuan Zhi was the boss. He answered, “the princess has recovered. Everything is fine.” “Okay, I see. Send the medicine to my study, and don’t let Zuo Xin do it. I’ll make sure you get punished if she comes to disturb me again.” As he finished the conversation, Xuan Zhi left his bedroom. He was no longer supposed to act on impulse. In order to save Shui Yinzhu, he had to overthrow the Empire of Yun. His eyes used to be fixed on his Yinzhu. But the hero should be coming back. Xuan Zhi had always been a good general. He had to cheer up for the woman he loved. Conquer the world, and she would have a safe place to live. This was how a great hero rose. No one expected that Zuo Xin would hang herself after knowing that she’d be sent away. Luckily, someone found her on time. It was a guard named Xiaojing. After that, it wouldn’t be proper for Xuan Zhi to drive her away. Most importantly, his first priority was to overthrow the Empire of Yun and save Shui Yinzhu. The funny thing was that Zuo Xin chose to commit suicide in her own room instead of out in the wild. She did it exactly during lunchtime. If Zuo Xin didn’t show up for lunch, people would notice her disappearance immediately. And she kicked the stool exactly when Xiaojing came to look for her. Why did it all happen right on time? As the old saying goes, there are never that many coincidences. Or there wouldn’t be that many of those who succeeded in committing suicide. The innocent girl Zuo Xin had changed. She was no longer the girl bullied by her prostitute stepmother or the stupid daughter in the Zuo Family. Shui Yinzhu wished she could grow stronger to better protect herself and earn a better life. She did remember that part. It still remained unknown whether it was Xuan Zhi’s charisma or his pure love for Shui Yinzhu that attracted Zuo Xin. Maybe the girl had been so short of love in her childhood that jealousy was her only nourishment while she grew up. After her suicide, Zuo Xin appeared to be much quieter. She was no longer approaching Xuan Zhi brazenly. Instead, she stayed behind. Xuan Zhi no longer detested the girl and never forced her to leave again. As most people had been speaking for her, Zuo Xin got to stay. She somehow achieved her goal of staying with Xuan Zhi without being a bother. Gradually, he was getting used to her. At the same time, she was more than just a lovely girl. As the kind and reasonable girl moved everyone with her smile, she had become a shrewd woman. When it came to Xuan Zhi, the remnants of the Kingdom of Xuan were glad to see him changed. Their leader was finally getting serious about taking back their kingdom and ruling the world. They no longer had to live in hideouts. This was the day they had been waiting for! That day, Xuan Zhi made an announcement to recruit an army and build up his power. He officially stepped onto the path of rebellion to restore the Kingdom of Xuan’s power in the name of God as the Empire of Yun was leading the world towards chaos. Uncle Zhi and Li Yi were both moved to tears. That was quite rare to see a robust man and a bald old man bursting into tears. And then came the rebellion of the Kingdom of Xuan. In the beginning, they couldn’t do it on a large scale and had to keep a low profile. Otherwise, Yun Su would have them killed before they got enough soldiers. That wouldn’t be a good start. As the Empire of Yun ruled the entire world, the rebellion army had to find somewhere far away from the capital as its base. Xuan Zhi suggested Feng City. It would be relatively easy to hide an army in a city so far from the emperor’s reign. People in Huaiyang City would rarely think of this place. They had to carry out their rebellion plan secretly without alerting Yun Su. Thus, the training of the army became the most important part of the operation. Since Xuan Zhi used to be a general, he was knowledgable in military theories and would never start a battle without full confidence in its success. The invincible general was never a man without capability. He led all his people to Feng City, a place surrounded by sandstorms and desert, where people had to get through an enormous desert to enter. The isolated city would serve as a perfect base for the Kingdom of Xuan and its rebellion army. As long as they enforced a blockade, people in Huaiyang City wouldn’t even hear a word about them. They would have plenty of time to lay the groundwork and train their army. Everything was going on in secret. The remaining army of the Kingdom of Xuan started their plan on conquering Feng City. Since Xuan Zhi used to live in the city, he knew that the good-hearted people there hated injustice. In order to make use of that, he spread the truth about Princess Consort Yi killing her husband. Yun Hai, the beloved Lord Yi’s death enraged the people. With the propaganda of the spies sent by the people of the former Kingdom of Xuan, people were hearing more about the good side of Yun Hai. Furthermore, the spies even spread the truth about the old King Yun, currently the emperor’s father, killing his own father. Suddenly, the long-gone Yun Hai was respected as a god. Some said that he gave up the throne for world peace; some said that he took a step backward and came to Feng City for the benefit of the public. Everyone believed that he worked so hard to maintain the freedom and happy life people had in Feng city. They made him sound like the personification of Buddha and God. The good lord had a moving love story. Once told by the new storyteller in Feng City, everyone here was moved to tears, especially since many of them had met with Ruxin, the beautiful singer always in a white dress before. The perfect yet unlucky couple, Ruxin and Yun Hai, was separated by the evil-minded and jealous Princess Consort Yi and died one after the other. As the story spread, the unsophisticated people in Feng City got so angry that they surrounded the mansion of Lord Yi and forced Princess Consort Yi and her two children to go away. Soon afterward, the servants and guards in the mansion of Lord Yi ran away, leaving the empty mansion there. Xuan Zhi took charge of Feng City as it no longer had any leader. In order not to offend their worship towards Yun Hai, people from the Kingdom of Xuan didn’t move into the mansion of Lord Yi. They built a mansion elsewhere so as to show respect to the dead lord. Without any casualties, people from the Kingdom of Xuan took Feng City as their base. The only operation that had consumed manpower was the blockade of information. Yun Su didn’t learn that Feng City had changed hands until two years later. Even though Xuan Zhi gained control of the city, he never used violence against the local people. Instead, he treated them so well that they all got to maintain their happy life. This was only because Shui Yinzhu told him that she liked Feng City. Xuan Zhi, the righteous and heroic man soon earned the respect of these innocent people in Feng City. Soon, people in Feng City learned that doctors and the innocent in Huaiyang City had been hunted down and killed under the Empire of Yun’s brutal order. The young men in Feng City volunteered to join the rebellion army, fight under Xuan Zhi’s banner, and answer his command. As the new year came, Feng City was busy as usual. The upcoming war never cast any shadow upon the local people. Families gathered to welcome a good and prosperous new year on New Year’s Eve. The surviving people of the Kingdom of Xuan were enjoying their night. In the coming year, they would rally an army and train the soldiers so that they would be ready for the battlefield soon enough. Finally, these people would soon have the chance to fight for their dead fellows. Everyone gathered and waited for the morning of the new year. However, Xuan Zhi wasn’t among his people. Zuo Xin spent so much time looking for him that night but failed. Where was Xuan Zhi? For him, New Year’s Eve was a day when he didn’t need to worry about politics. The only night he could indulge himself in lovesickness.