After that, although Xiang Shaolong continued searching for Fang Zheng's whereabouts on Ying Zheng's orders, he never found Fang Zheng again. In truth, Fang Zheng had already decided not to appear before Xiang Shaolong anymore.
After interacting with Xiang Shaolong several times, he had discovered the protagonist's greatest flaw: he was too soft-hearted.
He was soft-hearted not only toward women, but also toward enemies—even enemies who wanted his life. In a sense, Xiang Shaolong was practically a bleeding heart. Once Fang Zheng had confirmed that this could not be changed, there was nothing he could do about him.
Xiang Shaolong was soft-hearted and sentimental. There was a reason he ended up in that situation.
Although the novel ultimately attributed Ying Zheng's desire to kill Xiang Shaolong to the saying, "Once the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dogs are cooked," Fang Zheng believed Xiang Shaolong himself bore a great deal of responsibility.
In short, he was too soft-hearted.
Even an arch-enemy like Guan Zhongxie had ultimately been released by Xiang Shaolong out of mutual admiration between heroes. A person like that was not merely unfit to be a general; he was not even fit to be an official. Ying Zheng's desire to kill Xiang Shaolong was not without reason. Even if Xiang Shaolong remained utterly loyal to Ying Zheng, his "bleeding-heart" nature could very well cause him to inadvertently betray certain secrets at some point. If Fang Zheng were in Ying Zheng's position, his only choice with someone like Xiang Shaolong would be death or exile.
Otherwise, keeping such an important minister around might get him killed someday.
Xiang Shaolong could have changed this outcome, but he did not. He was constrained by history. He believed history would unfold that way and that he could not change it. So he