Notes on Longevity

Chapter 88 Anzhi Angrily Kills the Second Prince, Wenren Gently Advises Zhang Ze'an

Upon seeing "Zhang Ze'an," the Second Prince's image of Zhang Ze'an holding a knife at him in his dream truly appeared in his mind. However, the person holding the knife was not Zhang Ze'an, but Li Chengru.

He quickly remembered what he had done that day.
"What, didn't expect that?" Zhang Ze'an glared at him, his teeth clenched as if he wanted to devour the Second Prince, chewing the bones to pieces.

"How dare you! I am a prince! What do you want to do by killing me? Are you plotting a rebellion?" The second prince roared in a low voice, sweat beading on his forehead. He dared not speak aloud, because the knife was pressed tightly against his neck, and any slight movement could very well result in him killing himself.

"So what if he's a prince? Does being a prince give you the right to kill people at will, or to use your princely status to forcibly take women?" Zhang Ze'an roared. He reached out and gripped the back of the knife that Li Chengru had pressed against the Second Prince's neck, then slowly moved it away.

Seeing this, Li Chengru did not stop them, but simply put the knife down.

A hint of doubt flashed through the Second Prince's mind upon seeing this. What was he planning to do?
But the next moment, Zhang Ze'an's fist struck the Second Prince directly on the bridge of his nose. The Second Prince fell to the ground, feeling a burning sensation on his nose and something flowing out from it.

"ah!."

Zhang Ze'an jumped onto the Second Prince's bed and started raining punches on him, shouting, "So what if I killed a prince? So what if I killed a prince? You can kill twenty or thirty people from the Pear Garden, so why can't I kill you? You'an and Xiaoshuang were about to get married, and it was because of you that they were forced to their deaths! I'm hitting you, so what if I kill you?"

Zhang Ze'an roared, and Li Chengru stood to the side seemingly expressionless, but his heart was also restless. Listening to what Zhang Ze'an said, he also wanted to go up and punch and kick the Second Prince.

They were a newlywed couple whose love story could have been a beautiful one, but it was ruined because the second prince coveted their beauty.

"I'll teach you to be arrogant! I'll teach you to be presumptuous! I'll teach you to be born a prince! I'll teach you to bully others with your power! I'll teach you to treat human life like dirt! I'll teach you..."

Zhang Ze'an punched the Second Prince's face again and again, the face already swollen, bruised, and almost rotting. Deep tear tracks marred his face; clearly, he was gritting his teeth, almost powerless. He had unleashed all the resentment he had accumulated over nearly two years onto the Second Prince. Yet, instead of feeling relieved after avenging himself, why was he crying?
His punches seemed to land on the Second Prince's body, but in reality, each punch landed on his own heart. The suffocating sadness pounded on his heart with each falling fist.

He regretted that he had listened to the Second Prince's words. Just as Li Chengru had told him, it was just a small matter. Everyone has things they are afraid of, and Li Chengru was no exception.

If he had thought the same way he does now back then, none of that would have happened. He could have seen Yang Youan in his top scholar's red robes, riding the precious horse bestowed by the emperor, and then he could have had someone accompany him in a grand ceremony to propose marriage at the opera house. He would have been able to drink at Yang Youan's wedding.

But everything was so disappointing.

We always start to regret things after we've lost them, always saying "what if" or "if only." But "what if" and "if only" can never be undone.

This was also the reason why the Second Prince had been having nightmares and feeling anxious and fearful every night before.

After Yang You'an's death, he reported the case to the prefect of the capital. Perhaps in his desperation, he received no response after submitting the report, at which point he realized his naiveté. How dare they arrest a prince?

Later, he went to the palace every day and brought up the matter every time the emperor held court, but the emperor did not take it seriously and said, "So what if a top scholar died? Let someone else take his place."

As a result, the emperor forbade him from entering the palace again, and having no other choice, he wrote a letter to Li Chengru:

"Seeing the words is like seeing the face."

"Since our parting amidst the green hills and clear waters of those years, several years have passed. I recall that after our parting at Fuyang, you entrusted me with a wish: to protect An'an. I will fulfill that wish. But now An'an is powerless. The prince has long coveted Xiaoshuang, An'an's unmarried wife. I have clashed with the prince on several occasions with him. Although we averted the immediate danger, the prince has become reckless. Not long ago, he killed twenty or thirty families of his fiancée, humiliated Xiaoshuang, and drove her to suicide. An'an also went mad because of this and drowned himself in the river. I reported it to the authorities, but the prefect dared not act because of the prince. I went to the palace, but His Majesty still did nothing, only confining the prince to his bedchamber. An'an is powerless and writes this letter to ask what you should do, brother. An'an awaits your reply. Zhang An'an. Late autumn, early winter, 20th year of Wenshang." But Li Chengru received the letter in the late summer of the 22nd year of Wenshang.

After the Second Prince learned that Zhang Ze'an talked about this matter in the main hall every day, he lived in constant fear, afraid that one day his father would be persuaded and Zhang Ze'an would threaten to kill him. As a result, he dreamed every night of Zhang Ze'an or Li Chengru coming to kill him with a knife.

And now, that day has finally arrived. He was beaten beyond recognition by Zhang Ze'an's powerful punches, bleeding from all seven orifices. Now he could no longer hold on. He closed his eyes in numb pain, and the last bit of fear he had left vanished with Zhang Ze'an's final punch.

Zhang Ze'an sat there, panting heavily, his eyes glazed over. He thought about the scene from that night and the sight of Yang You'an being pulled out of the river and lying there quietly. Tears streamed down his face.

Looking at Zhang Ze'an's appearance and then at the closed door, a sharp glint flashed in Li Chengru's eyes. He then turned to Zhang Ze'an and said, "Alright, you can go now. I'll handle the rest."

"What are you going to do?" Zhang Ze'an turned his head blankly, looking at Li Chengru with a sob in his voice, and asked, "Aren't you leaving?"

Li Chengru smiled and said, "After killing the prince, how could I just leave like that? Of course, I would go to the emperor to apologize."

“I killed the prince, so I’m the one who should go. What does it have to do with you?” Zhang Ze’an got off the bed and looked at Li Chengru with a firm gaze.

Li Chengru shook his head and patted his shoulder. "You have a family business. If you go, you'll be pushing yourself and your uncle into a mountain of knives and a sea of ​​fire. I'm different. I have no ties. Besides, the emperor owes me a life. I'll get away with killing a prince."

“But…” Zhang Ze’an wanted to say something, but Li Chengru interrupted him, “No need to say anything, go back. In this situation, I can only protect myself, not you. Go back, don’t worry your uncle. And don’t worry, I won’t die! If you go, I might lose another friend.”

"I'm not being cowardly this time." Zhang Ze'an opened his teary eyes and looked at Li Chengru with some excitement.

"You're not timid, everyone has things they're afraid of, it's nothing, don't take it to heart."

Zhang Ze'an understood Li Chengru's good intentions from these words. He could have easily killed the Second Prince with a single blow, but he didn't, choosing to leave the opportunity for himself. He didn't want Zhang Ze'an to live forever in the shadow of protecting Yang You'an, and he also wanted him to move on from what happened back then.

"Alright, let's go." Li Chengru smiled and pointed to the door at Zhang Ze'an.

"So I'm really leaving?" Zhang Ze'an walked towards the door, but couldn't help turning back to look at Li Chengru. Actually, he still didn't want to leave; he wanted to go with Li Chengru.

"Let's go." Li Chengru said softly, a smile always on his lips. "Be careful when you leave the palace, don't let anyone find out, otherwise I really won't be able to protect you."

As Zhang Ze'an walked to the door, upon hearing Li Chengru's words, he couldn't help but look up at the sky and sob, "I'll wait for you to come back and have a drink with me."

"it is good!"

Zhang Ze'an opened the door and, with a startled roar, left the palace through the night. "The Second Prince is dead?"

(End of this chapter)