Time was running out for Zhu Xuri, but it was also running out for Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu!
They had to quicken their pace, rescue Cong Fei, obtain the antidote, and return to the capital.
Thus, on the third day of their arrival at Taoyuan territory, Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi decided to put their plan into motion.
Because Zhu Xuri trusted Tan Yue greatly, after arriving at Taoyuan territory, he was solely focused on his own affairs and paid no attention to Tan Yue.
He naturally had no idea that Tan Yue had already delivered the antidote for the่ (gu) to the dungeon over the past two days.
Cong Fei had woken up on the morning of the second day and could accompany them.
They therefore discussed and decided to leave Taoyuan territory during the night of the following day.
They would take the same path they had descended, and it was estimated that by the time Zhu Xuri's men discovered their absence, they would have already left Maoshan.
However, there were still some details that required their careful attention.
First, they needed to get Dong Shuang and Cong Fei out of the dungeon without anyone noticing. They had to do this when it was getting dark and the prison was not being closely watched. Cong Fei and Dong Shuang would first need to be hidden in Tan Yue's room, without being discovered by anyone.
This task was not difficult, considering Zhu Xuri had been too busy lately to even glance at Cong Fei.
But the second point was rather challenging.
That was how they were to leave Tan Yue's room. Every night, guards would come to the door to check if Tan Yue was present, and occasionally they would even speak a few words with Tan Yue to confirm that someone was indeed asleep in the bed.
How could they prevent the guards from realizing that Tan Yue had left?
As everyone fell into anxious deliberation, Tan Ye suddenly spoke, "Let me stay here and impersonate Xiao Yue."
"What?! That won't do!"
Upon hearing Tan Ye's words, Tan Yue's immediate reaction was to refuse, "Isn't that like sending yourself to your death? Even if you manage to fool them for this one night, you'll be discovered first thing tomorrow morning. You'll either have to reveal our whereabouts or be tortured to death. Impossible, I can't leave you here!"
Even though Tan Ye was a less-than-ideal father, having been muddled and confused for so many years, Tan Yue still refused to abandon him at this moment.
Tan Yue tugged at Tan Ye's clothes, "Don't be foolish! We've finally reunited as a family, so we must leave together! Xiao Xing has already been safely sent away, and he's waiting for us in Qin Prefecture City!"
"Listen to me!"
However, Tan Ye's expression became exceptionally calm at this moment, "I am old, and I am a person with no future aspirations. I don't know what I've lived through in this life. Perhaps I shouldn't have been alive in this world at all. When the people of the Tan clan all died here years ago, I should have died with them!"
Tan Ye gave a bitter smile, at this juncture, he drew a conclusion about his life, "Heaven gave me a chance to live, but I did not cherish it. I had no feelings for your mother, yet I married her for the sake of procreation, and I failed to provide her with a stable life, causing her to toil her entire life, and finally die in such grievance!"
He held Tan Yue's hand, "I had two excellent children like you, but I was unaware of it. I thought giving birth to you was enough, and for all these years, I completely failed to do what a father should do. Living in a daze, I don't know what I've actually done!"
Tan Ye sighed, his eyes distant, "I married Liu Rumei, but I couldn't give her the life she wanted. I merely treated her as a substitute for A Shu, so when she gave birth to that child, it shamed me. I don't blame her for raising another man's child for several years. Originally... I ruined my own life, so who can I blame?"
Tan Ye lowered his head and finally released Tan Yue and Tan Xing's hands, "Now, letting me stay here is the only compensation I can offer."
He seemed to have thought everything through clearly, "I want you both to live well, both of my children, you must live well! I have already failed your mother once, I cannot fail her a second time."
He patted his chest, "This old body of mine can't do anything anymore. If I die, I die, what's the big deal?"
He then looked at Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu, "Although I don't know your identities, I can see that you are not ordinary people. This time, I entrust both of my sons to you! You must ensure they live the lives they desire. My old bones owe you, and I will repay you in the next life by becoming an ox or a horse!"
As he spoke, in the dim candlelight, Tan Ye's eyes had turned red.
"No! I don't want to!"
Tan Yue, like Tan Xing, was a stubborn child. Even though he had resented Tan Ye for years, he could not stand by and watch Tan Ye seek death, "There must be another way, there must be another way! Let's think about it again, shall we? All of us can leave here safely, there must be a way, right?"
But as he spoke, even his own voice began to tremble.
He knew there was no such way!
Tan Ye stepped forward and gently embraced Tan Yue, "Xiao Yue, don't cry."
Tan Yue couldn't help but sob, curling up in his father's arms in such helplessness for the first time.
Song Chaoyu knew that this might be their only and best option.
Even Cong Fei, who had just woken up, sighed upon hearing Tan Ye's words, "The truth is cruel, but it is indeed so. We cannot all leave here safely. Even my body doesn't know how long it can hold on. If I can't make it on the road, please don't worry about me. Leave me behind, and I will contact the Cong family myself. It will be a matter of fate, and I will not blame any of you. You have already saved me!"
"Yes!"
Tan Ye also nodded, looking at Tan Xing and Tan Yue with emotion, "For so many years, I, as a father, have treated you far too poorly. Now I finally understand what a father should do, so let me do this! If I survive, and any one of you gets into trouble, then my life truly has nothing worth mentioning, don't you agree?"
For some reason, seeing Tan Ye like this reminded Song Chaoyu of his own mother, Concubine Liu.
He wondered how she was doing in the capital.
Was she also worrying about him day and night?
Finally, it was Mu Changxi who stepped forward and definitively settled the matter, "Since that is the case, then let it be so. Uncle Tan... will stay here."