Reborn Nine Times, the Tyrant Always Wants to Imprison Me - Chapter 22

She couldn’t recall how she had stumbled into the side chamber in such a daze. The shifting light and shadows in the corridor, the murmurs of voices by her ears—all had faded into a chaotic grayish-white void.

It wasn’t until Zhou Ling pushed the door open that she snapped back to reality. His face bore a trace of barely perceptible concern, yet his tone remained as languid and casual as ever.

“Fangru, why are you still here? We agreed—” Zhou Ling’s words were abruptly cut off by Fangru.

“Agreed?” Fangru lifted her head, her eyes hollow before igniting with a flicker of anger. “This is all your scheme, isn’t it? You arranged everything in advance! Wang Wu, Zhao Liu, and that Sun Qi! You deliberately brought in these three individuals, linking one clue to the next, just so I would personally ‘interrogate’ and uncover Gu Zhou’s incriminating evidence, solidifying his guilt! How cunning your heart is!”

Zhou Ling’s brow furrowed slightly, his tone calm yet weighty: “I have no need to do this. The chain of evidence was already complete—it was you who insisted on hearing it.”

“I don’t believe you!” Fangru’s voice trembled. “I want to see Gu Zhou. I need to hear it from him directly. Otherwise, I won’t trust a single word you say from now on!”

Zhou Ling silently regarded her for a moment, then shifted his gaze to Li Zuo, who had been standing quietly nearby. Li Zuo gave an almost imperceptible nod, indicating that everything had been arranged. Only then did Zhou Ling turn back to Fangru, his tone softening slightly: “Very well. I will let you see him.”

The next day, in a gloomy meeting room furnished with only a table and a few chairs, the air was thick with oppression.

Zhou Ling did not appear. Besides Li Zuo, there was another man with a stern countenance—Zheng Yu.

The two stood on either side at a distance, their gazes hawk-like, fixed intently on the two individuals seated across the table.

Fangru’s heart pounded as if it might leap out of her chest.

She anxiously looked at Gu Zhou, only to be surprised that he did not appear as battered and haggard as he had in the first lifetime.

Aside from being slightly thinner, he even seemed to be in reasonably good spirits.

“Gu Zhou…” Fangru’s voice was hoarse. “Is what they said true? Are you really the spy sent by the White Sun Society to liaise with the Baidi?”

Gu Zhou lowered his gaze, his voice eerily calm: “Yes. I did it all. I have betrayed the emperor’s grace and the trust of everyone.”

“Why?” Fangru’s voice quivered. “You were always the most loyal…”

“I was blinded by greed,” Gu Zhou interrupted, his tone laced with just the right amount of remorse. “The White Sun Society promised me high positions and wealth. I lost my senses for a moment… His Majesty has shown me immense kindness, yet I committed such a treacherous, ungrateful act. I truly deserve to die a thousand deaths.”

This statement drew a cold snort from Zheng Yu, who stood to the side, his face openly contemptuous.

Li Zuo remained expressionless, arms crossed.

Fangru stared intently into Gu Zhou’s eyes, trying to find any hint of deception: “Then tell me, how did you contact the Baidi? Where were the meetings held each time?”

Gu Zhou answered fluently, detailing several contact points and methods—every detail matching what had been obtained during the previous interrogations.

His repentance appeared sincere and profound: “Now I regret it every single day. I only seek death to atone for my crimes against the world.”

Zheng Yu muttered quietly to Li Zuo, “It seems we didn’t wrong him after all. A traitor is a traitor.”

Li Zuo gave a slight nod, seemingly satisfied with Gu Zhou’s performance.

Yet Fangru’s heart sank bit by bit.

“Gu Zhou, look into my eyes.” Fangru’s voice was almost pleading. “If you have any grievance, if someone forced you…”

“No one forced me.” Gu Zhou lifted his head. “I did everything willingly. Fangru, forget about a sinner like me.”

“No! I don’t believe it!” Fangru leaned forward, her lowered voice carrying a desperate plea. “Tell me the truth—was someone forcing you? Was it Zhou Ling? Tell me!”

The corner of Gu Zhou’s mouth seemed to twitch as he stared at her. “Fangru… do you believe in the ‘Truthful Pupil of No Delusion’ worshipped by the White Sun Society?”

Fangru froze, completely unable to follow this abrupt shift.

Gu Zhou continued murmuring, his gaze fixed on the blank wall as if staring at something invisible to others. “They said it was the guidance of the ‘Truthful Pupil’ that made me see my path clearly… That’s why I did those things. It’s strange… During my time in prison, once, even with my eyes closed, I seemed to see clearly… that little boy who always played with mud at the alley entrance next to my house. He was smiling at me…”

Zheng Yu sneered nearby, whispering to Li Zuo, “It seems this man not only became a spy but has also had his brain addled by the White Sun Society’s mystical nonsense.”

Fangru’s heart sank abruptly.

Gu Zhou had always been the most pragmatic, often jesting about “the Master not speaking of ghosts and gods.” How could he say such things now? Had he truly been bewitched by the White Sun Society’s heresy?

Li Zuo stepped forward promptly. “Miss Shen, time’s up.”

Fangru wanted to ask more, but two guards had already come forward to take Gu Zhou away.

Gu Zhou offered no resistance, obediently following the guards without looking back at her even once.

Zheng Yu watched Gu Zhou’s retreating figure and sneered, “Finally confessed. Such a traitor who sells out his country for glory doesn’t deserve to live.”

Fangru stood frozen, Zheng Yu’s words echoing in her ears while her heart turned icy cold.

Everyone believed Gu Zhou deserved his punishment, but only she sensed the unnatural perfection beneath his confession.

Overwhelming confusion and deeper unease flooded through her like a tidal wave.

That night, Fangru tossed and turned. Gu Zhou’s daytime words about “seeing the little boy” and his overly smooth confession intertwined repeatedly in her mind.

A thought suddenly struck her—she had once seen in old Dali Temple records that the White Sun Society used a secret drug to control minds. Those poisoned would become dazed, more susceptible to believing and relying on so-called “divine revelations.”

Early the next morning, she sought out Zheng Yu.

“Lord Zheng, could I ask for your help once more?” Fangru said with grave seriousness. “Next time you bring water to Gu Zhou, secretly keep the bowl he drinks from and help me gather a few medicinal herbs.”

Zheng Yu looked surprised. “What does the young lady need these for?”

“I suspect Gu Zhou’s mind has been affected, and his confession isn’t voluntary,” Fangru whispered. “His mention of seeing a long-gone neighbor boy in court is anything but normal. The records mention a secret poison used by the White Sun Society that causes such hallucinations, making victims mentally fragile and easier to manipulate.”

Though skeptical, Zheng Yu saw Fangru’s determination and ultimately complied.

He obtained the herbs and managed to secure the bowl Gu Zhou had used.

Fangru immediately prepared a simple toxin-testing reagent from herbs, carefully scraping residue from the rim of the bowl and mixing it with the solution.

After a moment, the reagent indeed turned the murky hue described in the case files.

“Look! Just as I suspected!” Fangru showed the result to Zheng Yu. “He was indeed poisoned with the White Sun Society’s ‘Mind-Bewildering Powder’!”

Zheng Yu stared at the strangely colored reagent, his brow furrowed. “This… doesn’t this precisely prove his deep involvement with the White Sun Society? Why else would they use such a poison on him?”

“On the contrary!” Fangru’s eyes blazed with intensity. “The White Sun Society only uses this toxin on those they need to control, not on truly trusted core members! This just proves that Gu Zhou likely didn’t join them willingly—he might even have been framed! Lord Zheng, we must help him!”

She then produced another carefully prepared packet of antidote. “Tomorrow, you must find a way to mix this into his drinking water.”

Zheng Yu hesitated for a moment, but seeing the unwavering determination in Fangru’s eyes and the evidence before him, he finally nodded firmly. “Alright!”

The next day, Zheng Yu carried out the plan.

During the subsequent interrogation, not long after Gu Zhou drank the medicated water, the haze and numbness in his eyes gradually faded. Though he still looked haggard, his gaze regained its former clarity, and his responses to questions were no longer the smooth but hollow admissions of guilt from before.

Suppressing the budding affection he felt for Fangru, Zheng Yu knew that clearing Gu Zhou’s name was now the top priority.

Finding an excuse to dismiss the guards, he quietly arranged for Fangru to see Gu Zhou again.

In the narrow cell, only the two of them remained.

Gu Zhou’s eyes, once again sharp, were now filled with profound anguish and urgency.

“Fangru,” he rasped, the words almost forced through his teeth. “I am not a traitor. A year ago, I was sent on a secret imperial mission to infiltrate the White Sun Society as a spy.”

Fangru stared in shock, hardly believing her ears.

Gu Zhou continued urgently, his gaze locked on her. “I thought I was serving the country, willingly risking everything. My earlier coldness and distance toward you were never my true intentions! I was afraid… afraid that if my cover was blown, you would be implicated. Their methods are ruthless—I couldn’t let you be endangered!”

Fangru’s heart clenched at his words.

So his sudden aloofness after their engagement hadn’t been due to fading affection—it was because he feared dragging her into unimaginable danger!

A wave of sorrow and indescribable tenderness welled up in her, catching in her throat.

As she looked at this man who had borne such a heavy burden alone, imprisoned yet still striving to protect her, she felt both heartache and regret.

She couldn’t help but think: if only he had confided in her earlier, she would never have doubted him!

Even if it meant facing fire and steel, she would have chosen to stand by his side rather than let him struggle alone in conspiracy and isolation.

Catching his breath, a flicker of his former sharpness returned to his eyes. “Later, I gained the trust of the White Sun Society’s Green Wood Branch leader and was on the verge of uncovering their core secrets… but then, my contact with the court vanished completely. All instructions stopped abruptly. I became a kite with a severed string, trapped behind enemy lines, unable to advance or retreat!”

His voice trembled with emotion: “Until that Qixi Festival, when I saw with my own eyes Zhou Ling harassing you on the street… that was when I suddenly realized! It was never about losing contact—it was Zhou Ling! He orchestrated everything! He had long harbored improper intentions toward you, wanting to seize another man’s wife, and saw me as an obstacle. The so-called charges of treason and colluding with the enemy were entirely fabricated by him to eliminate me!”

“Fangru,” Gu Zhou’s hands gripped the cold prison bars tightly, his knuckles turning white, “I am not a traitor—I was framed! I beg you… now you’re the only one who can save me!”

This shocking truth exploded in her mind like a thunderclap.

Fangru staggered back a step, her heart surging with shock, heartache, and sudden understanding.

So this frail scholar, this foolish young man—beneath his reserved demeanor lay such a tragic secret and unwavering devotion.

Gazing into those urgent yet clear eyes behind the bars, she nodded firmly without hesitation: “I believe you. I will definitely save you.”