The Rebirth Of The General Who Always Sees Himself As A Replacement

Chapter 78: Then What Else Can I Do?

“Lizhu, in our past life, I went to look for you in the bitter frozen lands of Ningguta. But… I couldn’t find you there.”

When he heard these words, Mu Zhiming’s breathing stopped short and he stopped walking.

Although Mu Zhiming had vaguely guessed that Fu Yi might also have been reborn, he never dared to be completely certain about it.

However, now that he had been cornered into a dead end, was Fu Yi willing to reveal his true self with these words, even if it would make him lose face?

Mu Zhiming slowly clenched his fists at his sides, holding back all the fury within him. With his jaw tightly clenched, Mu Zhiming coldly asked: “Even if you had found me there, what difference would it have made?”

“Lizhu.” Fu Yi took out a plain handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the water that had been spilled on the low table. “I know that you blame me and that you hate me. I know that you hate me for not being able to protect you and let you suffer the way you did. Lizhu, I’m sorry.”

“Fu! Yi!” Unable to stand it any longer, Mu Zhiming turned around and angrily glared at him: “I don’t hate you, the one I hate is myself! I hate myself for being so stupid, for not being able to see through you before. For not being able to see the beast hidden below your human facade. Had I been able to see it, my father, my mother, Ji’an, the Noble Consort…. None of them would have ended up dying the tragic way they did….”

As he spoke, Mu Zhiming was overwhelmed with grief and despair. With bloodshot eyes, Mu Zhiming continued: “If I had seen through you, the reputation that the Mu Family had carried for a hundred years wouldn’t have been destroyed in my generation. If I had been aware of it all, the honorable Mu Family would have never been maliciously accused and burdened with the eternal crime of having committed treason!”

As soon as he heard these words, Fu Yi became even more shocked than he already was. Fu Yi stood up, and with hurried steps, approached Mu Zhiming: “Lizhu, why are you saying these things?” Right at that instant, it seemed as if Fu Yi had an epiphany, so he said next: “Now I understand. Lizhu, listen to me. In our past life, after ascending the throne, I revealed the whole truth to the world about how it was Fu Qi who had plotted against Ji’an and the Mu Family. I cleared your name and restored the innocence of the Mu Family. Unfortunately, by then, you had already died on the way to exile, so you were unable to know about it. Lizhu, you can beat me and insult me all you want. You’re right, I’m worthless. If only I had seized the throne earlier, if only I had gone to look for you earlier, you wouldn’t have…. you wouldn’t….”

Fu Yi’s face portrayed sadness, to the point that tears were about to fall from his eyes.

“What are you talking about?” Mu Zhiming couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and looked at Fu Yi in disbelief, astonished at his despicable shamelessness: “In our past life, it was you who forged the evidence. It was you who wrote the memorial. It was you, who said in conjunction with the Crown Prince, that my Father and King Xian’s intention was to usurp the throne! All that was clearly done by you!”

Fu Yi’s expression turned dumbfounded in an instant. With his mouth slightly open, unable to say a word for a moment, Fu Yi finally spoke: “Lizhu…. am I really such an ungrateful person in your eyes? If I were to tell you that I never did the things you mentioned, would you believe me?”

As soon as these words reached Mu Zhiming’s ears, he froze as well. After coming back to his senses, Mu Zhiming didn’t know where to set his gaze. With a frown, Mu Zhiming lowered his head and muttered repeatedly: “Impossible…..”

Fu Yi asked him: “Who told you all those things? It was Huo Xin wasn’t it?”

Mu Zhiming suddenly raised his head to look at Fu Yi.

After all, it had indeed been like that. One day before his exile, Huo Xin visited Mu Zhiming in prison and said exactly that.

At that time, Mu Zhiming was kneeling on the floor, shackles clenching his wrists, as he desperately begged Huo Xin to tell him the truth, for Mu Zhiming didn’t want to die without knowing it.

Then, Mu Zhiming heard the truth from Huo Xin’s mouth, which had devastated him and left him in a state of desperation.

The one who had betrayed him turned out to be none other than his closest friend, his confidant. King Su, the one who he had admired since childhood. Fu Yi, who had claimed to love him.

Mu Zhiming refused to believe it at first. However, when he heard the news on his way to exile through the frozen lands, that Fu Yi had ascended to the throne, Mu Zhiming realized that it had all been a plan orchestrated by Fu Yi.

King Su, who had been neglected since childhood, had finally benefited from the situation. By seizing the opportunity where the Crown Prince had killed King Xian, King Su seized the throne through a revolt.

But at this very moment, Fu Yi was telling Mu Zhiming that he had done none of those things.

Whether lies or truth, the wind and clouds were treacherous1 at the time. In the midst of the struggle for political power, which one is lying? Which one is telling the truth?

“Lizhu!” Right when Mu Zhiming’s mind was lost in confused thoughts, Fu Yi stepped forward, grabbing him by the shoulders. “The entire Jail Department is full of the Crown Prince Fu Qi’s people. How can you believe Huo Xin’s words, but not mine?” There was a certain undisguised sense of desolation in Fu Yi’s tone.

Mu Zhiming removed Fu Yi’s hands and stepped back, looking alert: “In my previous life, only you have frequently gone in and out of the Study of the Mu Residence. And it was in that place where the forged evidence was discovered.”

“Yes, it is true. But the Jail Department has also planted their own people in the Mu Residence!” Fu Yi defended himself out loud. “I don’t blame you for suspecting me. After all, I’m in the spotlight, while those in the Jail Department are hiding in the dark. Since you couldn’t see the full picture, you were misled by slanderous rumors. I know that you believe that those documents were the evidence that I forged with my own hands. But Lizhu, you must remember that the Jail Department has planted their eyes and hands in the Mu Residence in this life as well. You must be careful with your words and actions.”

In his head, Huo Xin’s arguments from his past life intertwined with Fu Yi’s defensive excuses, filling Mu Zhiming’s mind with a tangle of deafening noises that gave him a horrible headache. Trying his best to remain calm, Mu Zhiming said: “And yet, as soon as King Xian’s accusation of rebellion was settled, you married the daughter of the Commander of the Imperial Army.”

“What else could I have done?!” Fu Yi suddenly screamed. “I watched with my own eyes how you all died miserably, one after another, at Fu Qi’s hands. If I hadn’t married her, how could I have made a stand against the Crown Prince? How could I restore your innocence and Fu Ji’an? Lizhu, tell me, what else could I have done?!”

Mu Zhiming incoherently replied: “I don’t know…. I don’t know…”

“Lizhu, you obviously know very well.” Fu Yi said in a low, dark tone of voice, as if he was filled with sadness. “In our past life, you liked me, didn’t you? That moment in the courtyard of the Mu Residence, when I kissed you, you didn’t push me away. Was I wrong? Lizhu, the person I love is you. It has always been you. It doesn’t matter if it’s in this life or the previous one, it is you.”

“Lizhu, do you believe me?”

Footnotes

风云诡谲 fēng yún guǐ jué; Chinese idiom. It refers to a rapidly changing and unpredictable situation, often associated with complex and intricate political or social dynamics. It implies that things can quickly shift, and the outcome can be unexpected or difficult to comprehend.