Chapter 202 -

Chapter 202: Chapter

Yueqing did not turn back. She kept her back straight and her voice sharp and cold.

"Because Wenzhe does not use people who trust him as poisoned bait," she said without looking at him. "He does not hide behind a polite smile while plotting against everyone. You talk about survival, Xiao Chen, but you are turning into the very monster you claim to fight."

Xiao Chen stepped back as if she had hit him. A heavy silence fell over the courtyard.

Behind her, Nine crossed his arms and floated in the air. [System 009: Ouch. Right in the pride. Want me to get some popcorn?]

Yueqing ignored the system. She took a step forward and walked away into the dark hallway, refusing to look at him again.

Left alone in the courtyard, Xiao Chen stared at the empty space where she had stood. His hands shook into tight fists, and his chest rose and fell as her harsh words sank deep.

Back in the guest room, the heavy wooden door was still shut. On the bed, Wenzhe lay awake in the dim light. His dark eyes stared at the ceiling, and his jaw tightened.

Yueqing walked back into the guest room, pushing the heavy door open.

On the bed, Wenzhe sat up slowly, wincing slightly as he adjusted his weight. His face still looked a bit swollen from the lingering effects of the poison and injury, but his dark eyes were sharp and focused. As she stepped closer, he looked at her with a calm expression.

"Where did you go?" he asked quietly.

Yueqing walked back into the guest room, pushing the heavy door open.

On the bed, Wenzhe sat up slowly, wincing slightly as he adjusted his weight. His face still looked a bit swollen from the lingering effects of the poison and injury, but his dark eyes were sharp and focused. As she stepped closer, he looked at her with a calm expression.

"Where did you go?" he asked quietly.

Yueqing walked over to the bedside, reaching out instinctively to steady him as he shifted his weight.

"Just stepping out for some fresh air," Yueqing answered, keeping her voice even as she helped him settle back against the pillows. "You shouldn’t be moving around so fast. Your body is still recovering."

Wenzhe didn’t pull away. He just watched her closely, his gaze steady and searching, as if trying to read every thought hiding behind her eyes.

"I’m sorry," he murmured, his voice rough and quiet. "For not trusting you."

Yueqing froze, her hand pausing where it rested near the edge of the bed. She looked down at him, surprised by the sudden, honest admission from a man who usually kept his pride locked behind iron walls.

"Well, look at that," she muttered, a hint of dry humor in her voice as she looked down at him. "The great general is actually admitting he was wrong? Did the poison finally knock some sense into your head, or are you just running out of breath?"

Wenzhe didn’t take the bait. A faint, tired smirk touched the corner of his swollen lips.

"It’s about Xiao Chen," Wenzhe continued softly, his voice turning serious again. "I listened... I should have known you wouldn’t betray me to him. I was blind, letting my hatred for him cloud my judgment of you."

Yueqing let out a long breath, her sharp gaze softening just a fraction. She reached out, gently cupping his face with her warm hands, her thumbs brushing lightly against his cheek.

"If you really want me to forgive you," Yueqing said quietly, her eyes locked onto his, "then you are going to tell me the truth. Right here, right now."

She paused, waiting for him to meet her gaze before delivering the real demand.

"Tell me what actually happened between you and Xiao Chen all those years ago," she insisted, her voice firm. "Why do the two of you hate each other so much?"

Wenzhe looked away for a moment, his jaw tightening as old memories dragged him back to a past he had tried hard to bury. He took a slow breath before he started to speak.

"Years ago, when I was training in the military at a young age, I met him," Wenzhe muttered, his voice low and raspy. "We were both just twelve. He was a prince, yet he had been sent straight to the battlefield. I felt pity for him and became his friend."

He let out a dry, humorless sound that wasn’t quite a laugh.

"Xiao Chen looked weak back then, like someone you could easily bully," Wenzhe continued, his eyes glazing over with the memory. "Only I knew how dangerous he truly was. He may not have had the brute strength to fight you head-on, but he was the kind of person who would wait quietly and kill you when you least expected it."

Wenzhe paused, staring blankly at the blanket over his lap.

"We were known as a duo," he said. "I had the physical strength and the combat skills. He had the brains and the mind to strike in the most venomous ways. He was genuinely terrifying sometimes. But how could I blame him? Surviving in the palace wasn’t easy, especially after he lost his mother at a young age. How on earth could anyone expect him to stay in his right mind?"

The tension in the room grew heavier as Wenzhe reached the darkest part of the story.

"As the years passed, his hatred for the Empress only deepened," Wenzhe whispered. "He planned a rebellion to remove her from power and take the spot as crown prince. Since I was his best friend, of course he asked me to help. We were all just teenagers back then."

His hands curled into fists against the fabric of the bed.

"My family was related to the Empress, which already marked us as being on her side. I wanted to convince him not to cause a bloody rebellion, to find a cleaner way to get the throne. But I was a fool. There is no clean way to take a throne. It has to come by blood that is how it has always been."

Wenzhe closed his eyes, a look of deep pain crossing his face.

"On the night of the rebellion, right before I could sneak out of the estate and meet up with him, my mother drugged me," he said, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "I passed out in my quarters. By the time I woke up, his plan had already failed, and he was locked away waiting for punishment."

He swallowed hard, the weight of that night pressing down on his chest.

"The Empress suspected I was part of it. That should have gotten me killed, if not for my father. He lied and drugged me further to save my life, telling the Empress I was only pretending to be friends with the third prince to gather information for her."

Wenzhe shook his head bitterly.

"The Empress wasn’t stupid; she didn’t fully believe the lie. To test my loyalty, she ordered me to execute Xiao Chen’s men, the so-called loyal followers who were never actually loyal to him at all. They were spies planted close to Xiao Chen, and that was the real reason his plan failed in the first place. She wanted to silence them permanently."

His voice cracked slightly. "So I had to slaughter all of them right before his eyes."

When Wenzhe finally looked back up at Yueqing, his eyes were shining with a heavy, unyielding regret.

"Xiao Chen hated me to the bone after that," Wenzhe whispered. "His best friend. His second half. The person he trusted most in the world... betrayed him right before his eyes, and he had no way of knowing it wasn’t my choice."