He had captured Mu Boxiu, so naturally he was well aware of his family background. Excluding the Fei Long Wei, among the sixteen guards of the Southern and Northern Imperial Guards, none was harder to enter than the Jin Wu Wei. Located at the top of the Southern Palace Guards, serving before the emperor, it was extremely prestigious, and almost all entrants were sons of meritorious officials and nobles. Mu Boxiu did not come from a high-ranking background, and despite his outstanding abilities, becoming a general in the Bao Tao Wei would have been his peak. How did he enter the Jin Wu Wei?
Mu Boxiu continued to remain silent, and Fu Shen continued to guess, “Was it because someone recommended you? Did you choose to keep silent out of gratitude?
Mu Boxiu seemed determined to remain tight-lipped. This reaction only further confirmed Fu Shen’s speculation. He sneered coldly, “Deep feelings and righteousness?”
“There’s something General Mu probably doesn’t know,” Fu Shen said boldly, “I’ve always believed in courtesy before force and never kill indiscriminately. My men have been investigating you but were careful not to alert you.
“So, why did you suddenly abandon your wife and family and flee in a hurry? You even went so far as to fake your own death and disappear from the world?”
Mu Boxiu was suddenly stunned.
He suspiciously asked, “Not you?”
Fu Shen: “What are you hiding?”
Mu Boxiu was clearly wavering but still hesitant to believe Fu Shen. Fu Shen thought for a moment and said, “Your willingness to risk death suggests that someone wants you dead. And since I have questions for you, my men would never act against you before seeing you in person.”
He stared at Mu Boxiu, his pressure from years of battlefield experience overwhelming, pressing Mu Boxiu down so he couldn’t lift his head: “Who is that person?”
Mu Boxiu was not a fool who would help someone count money after being sold. Fu Shen was not trying to trick him, and he could quickly understand the key points.
“I advise you to think carefully,” Fu Shen said, “You’re in my hands, and you’ll die either way.”
If you’re going to die, at least take someone down with you.”
The context was mostly clear. Even if Mu Boxiu didn’t speak, given enough time, these clues would be enough for Fu Shen to uncover the person behind this.
He was willing to waste time here with Mu Boxiu, which meant Mu Boxiu still had value. If he spoke well, he might live a few more days.
Mu Boxiu fell silent again, and this time Fu Shen did not rush him. After a moment, he finally gave up resistance and spoke with difficulty.
When I escaped to Dongwang Village, I noticed someone was following me, so I stole a corpse from the ancestral hall, dressed it in my clothes, deliberately leaving behind the jade ring I always carried, cut off its head, and then threw the headless body into a dry well. I buried the head in the forest behind Dongwang Village, and now it’s probably nothing but bones. This way, if someone discovers the body, those pursuing me would know that I was dead.
After faking his death, Mu Boxiu wanted to continue fleeing south, but before leaving the county, he was caught and brought back by the Northern Yan army that had been following him for days.
Yan Xiaohan stared at his gradually reddening ear roots and laughed softly, reaching out to pinch his earlobe: “I thought you would trick someone into your bed and then get bored, but it turns out, my lord… still quite likes me?”
Nonsense, his eyes were completely transfixed, how could he not like you?
Fu Shen pinched his waist and said righteously: “Keep your hands to yourself, stop touching randomly. Let’s talk business.”
Yan Xiaohan obediently responded with an “En”, but momentarily carried a hint of pride in his tone, immediately caught by Fu Shen: “Don’t say ‘En’ so sarcastically, say it again properly.”
Yan Xiaohan: “…”
Jokes aside, returning to the main topic after traveling eight thousand miles, Fu Shen said: “Even if the Emperor doesn’t let you intervene, you’ve definitely investigated privately. What have you discovered?”
Yan Xiaohan did not confirm or deny, instead asking: “Why are you so interested in this case?”
Fu Shen: “Curiosity.”
Yan Xiaohan: “You’re not someone who meddles in others’ affairs. What relationship do you have with Mu Boxiu?”
Fu Shen narrowed his eyes: “Since you’re asking, I want to ask too – did you come find me today with absolutely no connection to the Mu Boxiu case?”
Yan Xiaohan quietly stared at him, the two confronting each other in silence.
“Alright,” Yan Xiaohan was the first to concede, “I’m not suspecting you, just have some questions…”
Fu Shen sat alone in his room until late that night after interrogating Mu Boxiu. When he finally felt hungry, he discovered the tea and rice left in the corridor had long gone cold.
During his time recuperating at the Yan residence, he seemed to have never thought about the word “hunger.”
A warm, soft thing pressed against his lips, and then Yan Xiaohan’s voice sounded from above: “Open your mouth.”
Fu Shen bit into the item in his hand. The freshly made pastry was sweet and soft, melting in his mouth. He remarked, “It’s a bit sweet.”
“I think so too,” Yan Xiaohan placed the plate on the table and poured him a cup of tea. “The cook was heavy-handed. I’ll tell her to use less sugar next time.”
Fu Shen asked, “Did you just have the kitchen make this? Didn’t you eat enough at dinner?”
Yan Xiaohan replied, “You ate too lightly at dinner. Eat something before bed to avoid being woken up by hunger.”
Fu Shen awkwardly touched his nose.
“By the way, that Dr. Du of yours, he doesn’t seem to be from the Central Plains?”
“Yes,” Fu Shen said, “he’s from the Southwest. What about it?”
Yan Xiaohan: “I just looked at the prescription he wrote for you. His medication is different from doctors in the Central Plains. I think he only specializes in setting bones and connecting meridians, not in nourishment.”
I’ll have Shen Yice come and take your pulse later, prescribe some nourishing medicine, maybe some medicinal diet… Taking medicine often hurts the appetite, so you should eat well normally.”
Since they had a dispute over Fu Shen not drinking the medicine, managing his medication had basically become Yan Xiaohan’s responsibility. In this aspect, Yan Xiaohan had absolute authority and was not to be questioned. Not exaggerating, if Yan Xiaohan wanted to poison Fu Shen one day, Fu Shen might not even notice.
He would remind Fu Shen about various things, and Fu Shen would respond halfheartedly. Suddenly, he felt that continuing like this was quite nice. This room, originally a bit large, was now just right with an additional Yan Xiaohan.
A soft piece of clothing fell on his knee. Yan Xiaohan bent down to lift him from the wheelchair: “Hold onto your clothes. Let’s go take a bath.”
The mountain villa still used bathtubs, with no screen, only a curtain dividing the middle. Fu Shen curled his legs sitting in the bathtub when he suddenly heard Yan Xiaohan ask from the other side, “Who helped you bathe in the past few days?”
Fu Shen immediately answered, “Xiao Zhongshan, of course.”
Yan Xiaohan, recalling how he usually helps this lord bathe, belatedly felt a twinge of jealousy.
He usually had Xiao Qun push his wheelchair to the bathhouse and would support himself against the wall to sit down. Only Yan Xiaohan could carry him; even Yu Qiaoting had to avoid suspicion. Yan Xiaohan: “…”
He gave up trying to read too much into it and, after a while, resignedly lifted Fu Shen out of the water and back to the bedroom: “I’ll get the medicine. First, wring out your hair… hm?”
Fu Shen suddenly grabbed his collar, pulling Yan Xiaohan close, and raised the corner of his lips with a finger.
