CH 112.1

Chapter 112.1 – What’s There To Fear?

Xie Yuan, who was far away in the Rong State, has had some difficult times recently. Although he was born amidst difficulties and experienced many setbacks when he was young, ever since he arrived at the North, all the setbacks and difficulties that he had experienced seemed to have gone away.

He had a talent that could shock the world, and after only showing a little bit of it in the North, he was pulled in and recruited. Then he easily gained the trust of a medium-sized tribal leader and planned his development for over a decade. When the Rong State was established and the tribe leader became the Emperor, he naturally became the prime minister, his position only beneath one person and above myriad people. And because he was also married to the Rong Emperor’s daughter, the latter always trusted him and relied heavily on him.

It could be said that Xie Yuan’s years in the North had been very comfortable. Even at the kingdom’s beginning, when he was in a difficult time, he was able to grow and make people rely on him, and it made him feel very satisfied. As the saying says, when the tide rises, all the ships will also rise with it1. It was needless to mention the glory and wealth that came along afterwards.

In the eyes of others, Xie Yuan’s life was already successful and enviable enough.

But a person’s heart would always crave for more, and Xie Yuan’s ambition had never been inferior to anyone else. If Rong didn’t have the tradition of glorifying martials arts and admiring the strong, and if Rong had not been so hostile towards outsiders, he might have kicked the Rong Emperor from the throne long ago.

Unfortunately, it was not the case, so he could only watch as the “useless” Rong Emperor hold the highest position while he himself had to bow his head to him. As days passed, the unwillingness in his heart grew stronger, and the hatred he had suppressed inside grew bigger and bigger.

When Xie Yuan was young, his life was not easy. He was protected by loyal subordinates of the Xie family and managed to escape, but the world had already fallen into the hands of his enemy. Even if the other party didn’t notice him, the fish that slipped through the net, his subordinates had always worried about being persecuted if his identity was exposed. From the earliest memory he could remember, he had always lived in hiding, never living a peaceful day.

Later on, he met the Lu family who had also been on the run. Maybe it was sympathy between those in the same plight, or perhaps it was actually because of mutual distrust, but the groups eventually came together. The Lu family was rich, with a hundred years of foundation. Under their protection, Xie Yuan finally lived a stable life for several years.

Of course, life had not been easy for the Lu family either, especially since the family head was dead, leaving only two orphaned daughters.

Xie Yuan had always been intelligent, even from childhood. While using the Lu family’s last resources to grow up quickly, he also wanted to infiltrate them to annex their power. And if you wanted to annex the Lu family, wasn’t the simplest way to just become the son-in-law of the Lu family whose bloodline was already on its last ropes?

It’s just that the Lu family still had two daughters left. It couldn’t have two son-in-laws, they both had to be him!

The grew up together as childhood sweethearts, and Xie Yuan was handsome and intelligent. It was easy to make both the Lu family daughters fall in love with him. But the blessings of Ehuang and Nuying2 was not easy to enjoy, especially when Xie Yuan was still living under someone else’s roof. So in the end, he decided to cook the uncooked rice3.

Noble families had always attached great importance to reputation – although the Lu family at that time had already fallen, since the deed was already done, they could only recognize it.

Xie Yuan was very good at calculating, and had helped Qi Bo and the others before with his advices, earning him the favor of some of the Lu family members. The marriage was completed, and he married both the daughters of the Lu family, becoming its only son-in-law. However, it also exposed his ambition to some people.

It was a time when Xie Yuan was complacent in his youth. He thought that he had seen a smooth path ahead of him, and even calculated the steps necessary for him to rise again. Unfortunately, they were all just a mirage in the end.

The two Lu family daughters became pregnant and died during childbirth, and the two children left behind became the new masters of the Lu family. There was also a boy among them, so Xie Yuan’s identity became a bit inconvenient.

Most importantly, Xie Yuan was still too young at that time. He thought that having children would strengthen their bonds and stabilize the people’s hearts. He didn’t know that he gave the Lu family successors when his own foothold there was not stable yet, so he became dispensable.

Xie Yuan had never forgotten the subsequent suppression and coercion that followed, until he was forced to leave Liang State.

Winter in the North was very cold. Xie Yuan fell ill as soon as he entered the northern lands, with only a few of his loyal subordinates with him. He could be said to be destitute and near the end of his road. But over twenty years had passed, and everything was different now.

Snow was still falling heavily outside the courtyard, and thick fur clothes were draped over Xie Yuan’s shoulders. He didn’t look back, just looking at the heavy snow fluttering in the courtyard, then suddenly asking, “Meng Fei, tell me, who was the one who made the move this time? Can we still escape with our body intact?”

The subordinate who had just put on the fur clothes on Xie Yuan lowered his eyes, and replied in a deep voice, “Milord will definitely be able to turn the situation around, the current situation is not too bad.”

Xie Yuan fixed his collar and nodded, “Yes, what would be so hard nowadays?”

It’s only the Lu family forces that they had won over going out of control once again, it’s only someone was hiding in the dark and targeting him, it’s only the Rong Emperor being suspicious of him, the relationship between monarch and minister torn apart…

He was not that destitute man from twenty years ago, what is there to fear?

With this thought in mind, Xie Yuan no longer looked at the snow, returning to the house with his clothes straightened.

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