Before Huo Sizhun could recover from the fact that his trusted subordinate had killed his son, the results of a deeper investigation dealt him another crushing blow. Huo Sizhun found the truth unbearable.
The person behind Xu Zhipeng was none other than his own nephew, his son's paternal cousin – Huo Qixiao! Huo Sizhun couldn't understand, truly couldn't comprehend, why his own nephew would harm his own son. They were of the same bloodline!
Since the mastermind was known, Huo Sizhun was determined to get to the bottom of it. Dragging his frail, ailing body, he interrogated Huo Qixiao all night. Upon learning that his nephew had killed his son out of jealousy for his son's excellence, Huo Sizhun was at a loss for words.
After discovering the truth, Huo Sizhun did not immediately kill Huo Qixiao. Instead, he continued to investigate him, and the more he dug, the more shocked he became.
It turned out that his nephew, at some unknown point, had infiltrated the imperial court and had incriminating evidence on many officials.
Even the deaths of the Huo family's old madam and the second wife, Huo Qixiao's mother, were not unrelated to this seemingly unreliable nephew.
They colluded with foreign tribes, framed loyal ministers and generals internally, controlled a large number of court officials, and in secret, forcibly seized others' property to train their private army.
With military strength, power, and financial resources all in their grasp, it was clear they were preparing to usurp the throne and overthrow the imperial rule!
All matters were cleared up, but before the emperor could execute the culprits, or before Huo Sizhun could avenge his son, several foreign armies had already gathered at the borders of the Great Yu Dynasty, intending to launch an invasion.
Huo Sizhun was already an old man, and he had recently suffered the pain of losing his son. Before he could even recover, the Great Yu Dynasty faced a national crisis, forcing Huo Sizhun to don his armor once more despite his illness.
Huo Qixiao remembered that by the time he was executed, the Great Yu Dynasty had already lost vast territories. Not only were there constant battles and unrest, but natural and man-made disasters also abounded.
On the day he was taken out for beheading, he saw that the Meridian Gate was already desolate. The onlookers were all clad in rags, and the capital seemed to be overrun by beggars.
The common people pointed and gestured at them. Some cursed them for deserving death, while others spoke of the young lady from the Chu family, saying she possessed the demeanor of an empress.
She had made preparations before the disaster struck and later provided medical care, saving the common people from hardship. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also kind-hearted.
It was rumored that a high monk from the Great State Temple had prophesied that the Chu family would produce a phoenix-like woman, destined to ascend to the imperial consort status, and it seemed this was indeed that woman.
Huo Qixiao knew the young lady from the Chu family; she was a renowned scholar admired by all, and her family maintained close ties with the Prince of Jianping's mansion. Although he was several years older than her, he had always admired her.
However, the young lady from the Chu family was not interested in Huo Qixiao, for she loved Huo Qiyuan. But now, one of them was dead, and the other was about to die, so it no longer mattered whom she loved or didn't love.
Yet, at the moment of his execution, Huo Qixiao still hoped for a miracle, or for someone to come and see him. But no one came to see him until his head fell to the ground.
…
When Huo Qixiao opened his eyes again, he thought he had descended into hell. But after looking around, he was surprised to find everything so familiar.
As he was still trying to understand what had happened, several servants arrived outside his door calling him. "Young Master, today is the birthday banquet hosted by Young Master Shen. Will you be going there directly, or will you be setting off with Young Master Feng from Wenhe Alley?"
"Young Master Shen… what time is it today? What year is it?" Huo Qixiao did not answer their question, lowering his gaze.
Because he didn't look up, the servants only saw his slightly trembling shoulders and did not notice the shock and strange smile on his face.
Hearing his question, the servants exchanged confused glances, wondering if the young master's brain had been addled by his constant indulgence in wine and pleasure. Otherwise, why would he not know what year or day it was?
Alas! He was a noble scion of a prominent family, yet his daily conduct was truly unbecoming. It was no wonder that the Huo family, whether the old madam or the master and madam, preferred the second young master, Huo Qiyuan, and looked down on Huo Qixiao.
While the Prince of Jianping's connection played a role, it wasn't entirely due to the Prince. The main reason was that the heir Huo Qiyuan himself was outstanding, bravely taking up arms to fight enemies at such a young age, bringing glory to their Huo family.
Regardless of what the servants were thinking at the moment, they were still servants. One of them stepped forward, glanced at the side of the person sitting in front of him, and then cautiously replied.
"Replying to the Young Master, today is the seventh day of the sixth month in the twenty-eighth year of Emperor Jing's reign, which is also the date of the Shen family's second young master's birthday banquet. You arranged this half a month ago."
"Twenty-eighth year of Emperor Jing's reign, twenty-eighth year of Emperor Jing's reign… Hahahahaha, hahahahaha…" Huo Qixiao murmured a couple of times, then suddenly burst into frenzied laughter.
His sudden outburst startled the servants standing by.
"Young Master, what… what's wrong with you?"
"Yes, Young Master, should we call for a doctor to examine you…"
Huo Qixiao pushed away the servants who tried to help him up and then drove them all out. "Get out, get out, all of you. Unless I summon you, none of you are allowed to disturb me without permission, do you hear me…?"
The servants were inexplicably driven out of the room, scratching their heads in utter bewilderment.
"What's wrong with this Young Master? Why did he suddenly…"
"Who knows what's wrong with him! Did you see it? His eyes were almost enough to scare me to death, bloodshot, as if he had lost his mind."
"Hurry up and shut up! You're too bold. If he hears you, be careful he doesn't have you beaten until your backside is bleeding!"
"Let's go, let's go, we're going back to drink!" The servants shook their heads as they walked out of the courtyard, leaving Huo Qixiao alone in the room, acting madly.
"Hahahaha, I never expected, I never expected that I would have such a miraculous encounter! Rebirth! I was actually reborn! It seems even heaven is helping me!" Huo Qixiao stood by the washbasin, staring at his younger self in the water with a sinister grin.
"It is truly heaven-sent, heaven-sent… Huo Qiyuan, Huo Sizhun, and all those who abandoned me, this time, I will make you all pay the price!" Huo Qixiao looked at the person in the copper basin and suddenly violently overturned the entire washbasin, scattering water everywhere.
After calming down a bit, he sat down and began to sort out the timeline and the major events he remembered that were about to happen.
Reborn on the seventh of June, that means there are less than half a year until he will be abducted by Wang Bingchang. Fortunately, this timing is neither too early nor too late; he still has time to plan some things.
Thus, Huo Qixiao secretly made many changes in the following period. The very first thing he did was to proactively approach Wang Bingchang.
Because he realized that without Wang Bingchang's influence and the strong support of the people behind him, it would be wishful thinking, a fool's dream, to establish his own influence in the capital, a place teeming with nobles.
In fact, at this time, Wang Bingchang did not hold such great power, and he would even encounter danger a month later. However, it was precisely because of this dangerous incident that he took a significant step forward in the organization.
The reason he knew these things was through casual conversations he had with Wang Bingchang after they became familiar with each other in their previous life.
In the following time, relying on the knowledge he possessed, Huo Qixiao began to make his own arrangements in advance. More than a month later, on a certain day, he saved Wang Bingchang, who was severely injured, on the road.
Through this incident, the two successfully established a connection, marking a good start.
It is important to note that this connection was very different from the previous life. This time, Huo Qixiao not only saved Wang Bingchang's life but also, drawing on their several years of experience together in their past life, always considered his well-being, provided financial and manpower support, and handled everything for him.
Wang Bingchang saw everything Huo Qixiao did and remembered it in his heart. Besides being infinitely grateful, he also regarded Huo Qixiao as his only true friend.
They felt as if they had met too late. After helping each other a few times, they became sworn brothers. Therefore, in this life, their interactions did not involve coercion and temptation, with one being forced to accept, as in the previous life.
With Huo Qixiao's strategies and help in several crucial events, Wang Bingchang quickly gained favor and trust from his superiors.
And after he climbed to a certain position, he immediately used his resources to pave the way for Huo Qixiao. To the extent that later, when Wang Bingchang's true superiors assigned him tasks, he would outwardly obey but inwardly disobey.
While acting under the banner of his superiors, they secretly kept the benefits and important connections for themselves.
Although the two were constantly developing, their progress was not fast. It should be known that in this life, although Huo Qixiao met Wang Bingchang six months earlier, the latter was also in a period of ascent.
The reason Huo Qixiao was able to help Wang Bingchang gain favor and trust quickly was because he knew about some of the events that would happen to them.
Therefore, his intelligence could only be applied to matters related to the two of them. As for what would happen to others in the next six months, or what major national policies would be implemented in the latter half of the year, Huo Qixiao had no idea.
This was also his fault because in his previous life, he spent most of his time indulging in wine and pursuing women. He paid little attention to the people and events around him, so he didn't know which people were worth befriending or whom he could cultivate in advance.
After he connected with Wang Bingchang, the second person he sought was Xu Zhipeng, who had been his capable helper in eliminating Huo Qiyuan in his previous life. However, after secretly inquiring at the Prince of Jianping's mansion, he learned that there was no such person by the Prince's side.
Huo Qixiao only knew that he was a soldier under Huo Sizhun, but he didn't know when he had come to serve the Prince of Jianping.
Since Xu Zhipeng had not yet appeared, he decided to approach someone else. For example, the young lady from the Chu family, who had become famous by the time he was beheaded in his previous life, was someone he could plan for in advance.
Thinking of Chu Ruoqiao's future renown and her beauty when she grew up, Huo Qixiao couldn't help but feel a stir of desire.
Although he was several years older than her, as long as he treated her well while she was still young, and maintained a sweet courtship and a childhood friendship, he was confident that the young girl would fall for him when she grew up.
From then on, Huo Qixiao began to frequent the Prince of Jianping's mansion or find indirect ways to approach people from the Chu family, hoping to meet and get to know the young lady from the Chu family.
Heaven helps those who help themselves. After persistently seeking opportunities, he finally had a chance to attend a banquet at the Chu family one day.
Thus, the usually mediocre and lazy eldest young master of the Huo family suddenly changed his dissolute ways. At the banquet, he inadvertently displayed his literary talent and composed a poem on the spot. It was this poem that made Huo Qixiao the center of attention at the banquet, attracting many gazes.
In fact, this poem was originally written by a fallen scholar two years later. The scholar, despite his exceptional literary talent and vast knowledge, had failed the imperial examinations multiple times.
In the end, the scholar became disheartened and died of grief. However, after his death, someone inexplicably found his collection of poems. The world was astonished, realizing that the talent of the fallen scholar was so profound.
People lamented with regret, sighing that talent was envied by heaven. After the scholar's story spread, his poems and writings were recited by scholars for a long time afterward.
Huo Qixiao had also obtained his collection of poems in his previous life, and in the following years, he had continuously improved himself in secret. He was very familiar with the scholar's poetry, which was why he could recite it so fluently.
After all, the scholar had no fame in his previous life, and by the time his poetry collection was circulated, he was already reduced to bones. Therefore, Huo Qixiao felt no qualms about stealing the poetry collection and passing it off as his own.
Since Chu Ruoqiao gained fame for her talent, it meant she also had a fondness for poetry. By starting from this aspect, the two would have more common topics of conversation.