This had nothing to do with the theory of bloodlines, but it was related to the innate inequality of human society. Xu Le recalled what Huai Caoshi said back then and couldn't help but laugh at himself.
Humans hated betrayal because it brought about extreme insecurity. It was always the hardest to defend against a sneak attack from one's companions. Therefore, no matter whether it was the Federation or the Empire, the punishment for traitors was always the heaviest in all the moral codes. For example, Mu En right now, but it did not include himself.
The "noble" blood of the Bai Jin Huai family flowed in his body. When he turned from a hero of the Federation to a crown prince of the Empire, even many people in the Federation did not think that it was a betrayal. They only thought that it was a melodramatic arrangement of fate. However, in the Empire, there was absolutely no one who dared to mention or even think about how many young people of the Empire he had killed on the battlefield and even assassinated members of the royal family.
If he was just an ordinary person, he would have been killed by countless cold words and blades when he had cold-bloodedly betrayed the Empire and then shamelessly betrayed the Federation. Understanding this, one could understand Mu En's helpless choice a little more.
Under a big banyan tree by the road, when the two were about to say goodbye, Mu En asked, "What do you plan to do in the future?"
"A few days ago, I told someone that I don't have any choice right now. I can only hope that the two sides can stop fighting. This really has nothing to do with morality, justice, or humanity. To use a perhaps inappropriate analogy, this war to me is like a father and mother picking up a kitchen knife and hacking each other at home. What can I do as a son? "
"You're right. This is a natural choice."
Mu En patted his shoulder sympathetically. After thinking for a moment, he said directly, "I may be going back to the organization soon. At that time, I may need to use your name."
"You're going back?" Xu Le frowned and asked, "Now, including the Federation, everyone knows that you're a traitor. How are you going to go back?"
"Tang Zhizhong and Qi Dabing are already dead. You should be able to guess that the people in the organization will attribute their deaths to you. My mission back in the organization is to use the evidence provided by the intelligence bureau to expose Qi Dabing's true colors."
"Who will believe the evidence you provide?"
"When it comes to things like evidence, you can believe it when you need it. For an organization that has fallen apart and is being cursed by countless people who originally supported them, the most important thing now is to survive. As long as the evidence can give them an excuse to change and survive, they will believe it."
"Can you make it clearer?"
"Under the direct command of His Highness, I will lead the entire resistance organization and carry out extensive cooperation with the royal family to establish a united front to resist the invasion of the Federation."
Mu En said calmly, "I believe that most of the comrades in the organization will agree with this approach."
Xu Le shook his head and said, "There are two people that the resistance group hates the most. One is the dead Kaedun, and the other is Huai Caoshi, who leads the intelligence agency. They will never agree to cooperate with her."
"I'm not talking about the Princess." Mu En smiled and said, "I'm talking about you, the Crown Prince."
…
…
Holding the fruit knife with steady fingers, he cut the thin skin. Since he could repair the delicate structure with his naked eyes and hands, it was very easy for him to cut the apple. Almost in the blink of an eye, seven rings of thin skin were gently peeled off. He held the white apple like a lantern and brought it to Aunt Susan's mouth.
Aunt Susan looked at him with a smile and shook her head to show that she didn't want to eat it. Her expression was still haggard. She looked at him quietly and asked, "Little guy, who are you?"
Hearing this question, Xu Le knew how to answer. Whether it was when he was escaping in the small courtyard or when he came back this time, Aunt Susan could sense his difficulties and rarely asked him about these things. In fact, he could have directly stated his identity and believed that Aunt Susan wouldn't treat him differently because of this. But when he thought of her current physical condition, he didn't want to shock her too much.
Thinking of what the doctor said earlier, his mood was a bit gloomy. The results of the comprehensive medical examination were not very good. The delicate noble lady of the past had become an auntie in the market with her arms akimbo. Behind the dramatic life were too many hardships of life, especially the hardships in the early years, which had caused great damage to Aunt Susan's body. Now, with the addition of the cold and fear, all of it broke out. Although it wasn't life-threatening, she needed a long time to recuperate.
"I work in the intelligence agency. Well, I should be considered a not small official." Xu Le smiled and replied, "Those criminals who kidnapped you mainly wanted to take revenge on me. It's my fault for involving you."
"You have already apologized many times." Aunt Susan looked at the black hair under his brown hair, coughed twice and said with concern, "Is the palace no longer investigating you? You have to continue to dye your hair. Otherwise, it will be terrible if people see it. "
"I'm not a fugitive. What are you afraid of?" Xu Le rubbed his hair and explained, "Dyeing my hair is mainly for convenience."
Aunt Susan sighed and said, "Little guy is always lying. This is the Second Royal Hospital. If you are just an ordinary official, how can I live here?"
"You know?" Xu Le replied in embarrassment.
"Don't forget, I was also a lady of a noble family when I was young. Although I was not qualified to see a doctor in the Royal Hospital, I came with my parents to visit a great noble. Even now, I haven't forgotten the beautiful plum forest in the back mountain."
Aunt Susan looked at him and smiled. Sweet memories of her teenage years flashed across her chubby round face.
"I said that I have a good relationship with the princess," Xu Le said with a smile.
Aunt Susan's expression suddenly dimmed. She gently grabbed his hand and said, "There is still no news from Paul. Can you help me ask?"
Xu Le was slightly stunned. He remembered what he heard that day and nodded.
…
…
Although not all the senior officials of the empire knew who Xu Le was, they soon had an answer close to the truth in the name of the Intelligence Department, but the answer was not a good one.
The reason why Paul's allowance had not been transferred to Aunt Susan's account was indeed because there was no electronic signature of him. The reason why Paul did not sign was not because he had no time to care about this matter when he was patrolling the front line with His Highness, but because he was missing on the front line.
Xu Le frowned as he looked at the latest missing person list sent by the military. Looking at the eye-catching name at the bottom of the page, the smiling face of the empire youth in the small courtyard that year appeared in his mind.
He had served in the Federal military for many years. He knew very well that the so-called missing person list often meant the list of the dead. However, because the bodies of the soldiers were not found, or under the heavy firepower of the enemy, they were directly turned into fragments nestled together with the mountains and rivers.
For the sake of Auntie Susan's health, he was not going to tell her the news. However, Auntie Susan's observation skills, which she had developed over the years in the slums, played a role at this time. She looked at the worry in Xu Le's eyes and spent the middle of the night forcing the truth out of him.
When Aunt Susan was a young girl, her family was destroyed. When she was a little older, her brother joined the West Woods Expeditionary Army. He wanted to earn military merits to restore the glory of his family, but unexpectedly, her brother never came back. It was not until decades later that she got the bad news that he was buried in a foreign land and a broken diary. After getting married, she could have lived a simple life, but her husband who loved her was taken away by illness.
Her life always fell into despair when she saw the most hope. Life was unfair to her, but she was strong. She stubbornly survived with her young son in the most dilapidated slums of the empire until she heard the news that her son was missing on the front line.
The endless pain and darkness instantly crushed Aunt Susan's spirit. Her body, which was already extremely weak, rapidly lost weight. In just two days, her cheeks were deeply sunken. She could only lie on the bed helplessly and sadly, staring blankly at the sky outside the window that was filled with the scent of plum trees.
Xu Le silently accompanied her, watching Aunt Susan move step by step toward death. He gently held her face, feeling the touch that was much thinner than before, and said with a smile, "It's good to lose weight. When Paul comes back and sees a more beautiful mother, he will be very happy."
Aunt Susan moved her lips with great difficulty, looked at him with a smile, and said in a hoarse voice, "These days … it's been hard on you. You don't have to … make me happy again."
"I'm not making you happy." Xu Le stood by the bed, looked at her face, and said calmly, "You have to live, because I will go to the front line to find him. I promise you, as long as he is still alive, whether he is captured by the Federal forces, abandoned in the valley, or lost in hell, I will bring him back alive and bring him to you."
The words were very calm, but there was a kind of firmness that made people have no choice but to believe it. It was like a stone silently smashed into an annoying wet mud. There was no earth-shattering sound, but it smashed a deep hole that was difficult to erase.
Some kind of brilliance slowly appeared in Aunt Susan's eyes, the brilliance of life. She gently held Xu Le's finger with a trembling hand and said, "I promise you, I will not … die, but you have to promise me … one thing."
"I will bring him back, don't worry," Xu Le replied.
"No, I want you … promise me, you … can't have anything happen to you."
…
…
In the early morning, in the suburbs of Jingdou where the morning light had just woken up, Xu Le, carrying a backpack, walked silently in the fields with Zhong Huoyan, who he had picked up from the Great Master Fan Manor.
"Brother, are we really going to Mo Hua Planet?"
"Yes."
"I remember that day in front of Auntie's grave, you said that you wouldn't go to that place until you could solve a certain problem."
"Yes, I miss the Federation very much, but I can't go back, I can't even see those people from the Federation, because I still can't find a way to solve that problem."
"Have you found it now?"
"Maybe soon."
"But still not."
"Yes, but I found a reason to go to Mo Hua Planet."
"What reason?"
"I like Paul. He is kind and cheerful. Of course, he also has a bellyful of untimely hot-bloodedness. He is a very good young man of the Empire, just like those very good young men of the Federation."
"I like Aunt Susan. She is a good person. Good people should live a long life, just like those kind-hearted aunties of the Federation."
"There is no reason for such a person to die because of war."
…
…
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