BXG - 19

Coughing Blood

Qu You took a step back, and Zhou Tan stood there watching her, his amber eyes calm yet profound. For the first time, she felt the full weight of his unrelenting authority.

A young official of just twenty-one years, already holding the rank of fourth grade in the imperial court, destined to become the youngest chancellor in the history of the Yin dynasty—his mind was naturally leagues ahead of hers.

She had been observing him all along, always finding him inscrutable.

Now she realized that even Zhou Tan’s outward composure was an act. The polite question he asked upon waking—"What do you want?"—was merely a courtesy. While she doubted him, his suspicions of her ran far deeper.

Qu You found herself unconsciously retreating until her back touched the folding screen. She steadied herself by gripping one end of it: “I brought the physician to save your life, managed the household without meddling, and never overstepped my bounds… I’m not saying this to claim credit. But I want an honest answer from you: what exactly are you suspicious of me for?”

“The day you woke me, you offered freedom in exchange for saving my life. That wasn’t a fair trade,” Zhou Tan’s gaze drifted past her to the screen before quickly shifting away. “You don’t touch the family wealth, refuse power, and even defy your own father on my behalf. Tell me—shouldn’t I suspect someone who does all this?”

What kind of twisted logic was this? Qu You was exasperated: “If I saved you and supported you, does that mean I did something wrong?”

“How could anyone possibly save me without ulterior motives? What is your position? Who sent you?” Zhou Tan replied coldly. “Why are you so determined to interfere in Gu Xianghui’s case? Why show me kindness?”

“As for the first question, Yan Wuping tested you at Fangxin Pavilion, and I believe you acted because you couldn’t stand idly by, wanting justice for these women. But what about the second question?”

He stepped closer, his lean shadow cast onto the screen, enveloping her within it: “I’ve asked you more than once—who do you serve? What do you want?”

“If you can believe that I seek justice for these women, why can’t you believe that I simply wanted to save you, with no ulterior motives?” Qu You shouted angrily. “As for who I serve, Lord Zhou, if you’re so suspicious of me, surely you’ve already investigated me thoroughly. If you haven’t found anything, then you resort to testing me. At the root of it, you simply don’t believe anyone would treat you this way out of genuine goodwill.”

Zhou Tan fell silent, his eyes flickering with a complex emotion—whether shock or suspicion, Qu You couldn’t tell. After a moment, she suddenly remembered something.

“You admitted earlier that you orchestrated this entire scheme, and I became involved out of sympathy for these women. But what about you? Let me guess—you’re doing this solely to bring down Peng Yue, aren’t you? Gu Xianghui’s life, the lives of these women—they’re nothing but pawns to you, right?”

She saw Zhou Tan’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard, then lowered his gaze.

His lashes quivered pitifully, his voice hoarse yet resolute: “Yes.”

“Didn’t you foresee this when you guessed I was part of your plan? Your manipulation of me, my supposed sympathy—it’s all the same to them. Haven’t you heard the rumors? I am exactly the kind of person who doesn’t hesitate to use underhanded means.”

He spoke rapidly, his face growing pale, forcing him to steady himself against the screen.

Qu You tightly closed her eyes, her mind swirling with countless thoughts.

From the moment Zhou Tan awoke, two opposing emotions had clashed within her: sympathy and suspicion, justification and doubt. She constantly oscillated between the irrational belief that “he doesn’t seem so bad” and the rational acknowledgment that “he has done these things.”

As a historian, she should have approached him with neither love nor hate, with no emotional bias whatsoever.

Yet when she opened her eyes again, she realized with stark clarity—and a hint of panic—that it was impossible for her to view him purely rationally anymore.

Because the man before her breathed, his heart beat—he wasn’t some cold historical figure but a living, breathing human being.

Living alongside him, influencing each other daily, her subjective emotions toward him were now inseparable from her objective judgment.

Thus, even though Zhou Tan had just confessed to using Gu Xianghui’s life as leverage for political maneuvering, she didn’t feel the disdain she expected. Instead, her first reaction was disappointment.

Disappointment that Zhou Tan truly lived up to his reputation in the historical records. Disappointment in his ruthlessness.

Perhaps the fleeting look of helplessness on his face when Gu Xianghui fell had misled her into misjudging him. Against all evidence, she had irrationally believed him to be a righteous man. Now that his true nature was revealed, all that remained in her heart was icy disillusionment.

Zhou Tan seemed to read the disappointment and coldness in her expression. His lips trembled as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.

“People say Lord Zhou will stop at nothing,” Qu You said slowly. “Today, I’ve finally witnessed it…”

“So I said, you can believe that you fight for these women out of indignation—but why show me sympathy?” Zhou Tan snapped, gritting his teeth as if speaking slower would betray the tremor in his voice. “I’m not a good person. Why do you act as though you’ve only just realized this? You know full well what I am, yet you still extend kindness to me. Do you expect gratitude, or do you have some other purpose? It’s better to clarify now than for me to uncover it later.”

“Go ahead and investigate me—a sixth-rank official’s daughter married off to you as a last-ditch effort to save your life. See if you can find any ulterior motive,” Qu You scrutinized him, unable to resist adding a barb. “Zhou Tan, you’re pitiful. After committing so many misdeeds, you’re too afraid to trust even a shred of genuine goodwill from others.”

With that, she turned her back on him, refusing to look at him any longer.

She had known all along that such actions were within his character. So why couldn’t she remain calm?

At that moment, He San knocked hesitantly on the door: “Master, the coroner has returned with his report.”

Zhou Tan remained silent for a long while. Qu You sensed him take a step forward, as if intending to respond, but for some reason, he didn’t speak.

Hesitantly turning around, she was met with the sight of Zhou Tan’s face drained of all color. Leaning heavily on the screen, he bent over, gasping for breath. When he noticed her turning, he instinctively stepped back, nearly losing his balance.

Startled, Qu You rushed to support him.

The familiarity of the action instantly brought back memories of when Zhou Tan first awoke—how he had leaned on her for support, the scent of sandalwood lingering around his amber eyes, momentarily captivating her.

But this time was far worse than when he was recovering from his injuries. Supported by her, Zhou Tan began coughing violently, as if struggling to breathe.

Qu You tried to hold him steady, but they both collapsed to the ground. He clutched her sleeve tightly, much like she had gripped him earlier, his neatly tied jade crown loosening against her shoulder.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Qu You asked anxiously, but received no reply. Lowering her head, she forced herself to focus—and immediately felt her blood run cold.

Zhou Tan was thin, his crimson official robes slightly loose and his sleeves overly long. One glance revealed that the fabric near his cuff was noticeably darker than the rest. Just moments ago, when he failed to speak, he had coughed up an entire sleeveful of blood!

He San knocked again, hesitantly, from outside.

Zhou Tan wiped the blood from his lips with trembling hands. Unable to evade any longer, he fumbled in his robes and produced a small celadon bottle, pressing it into Qu You’s hand.

“Help… help me…”

Presumably, it contained medicine he carried with him. Qu You uncorked the bottle and asked urgently: “How many pills should you take?”

Zhou Tan furrowed his brow, emitting a pained groan. Unable to hear clearly, she leaned closer.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Tan grabbed the nape of her neck. Before she could dodge, her chin collided painfully with his collarbone, as if he had forcibly pulled her into his embrace.

The intimacy of the position froze her in place. She could hear his heartbeat again, her body stiffening involuntarily. At the same time, she finally made out his words:

“Help me… get rid of it… Don’t let me see… see…”

With a violent shove, he knocked the celadon bottle from her hand. It shattered against the other side of the screen.