Yan Zhiyu did not go to find his son at all. Instead, he went directly to Yu Xiuxian’s quarters.
The old man seemed to know he would come, as he was sitting on the bed waiting for him. Before Yan Zhiyu could even ask, Yu Xiuxian said, “He indeed gives me a very familiar feeling, reminding me of the late Emperor.”
Yan Zhiyu’s steps halted, his brow furrowing deeply. Even Grandfather felt this way?
He had shared a bed and pillow with Ling Lie for five years, living together day and night, so feeling that someone looked like him was already strange enough. Now, the Grand Tutor, who had taught Ling Lie for over twenty years, said the same thing. The entire situation was beginning to feel rather absurd.
“But I am worried this is a trap,” Yan Zhiyu hesitated and said. “The feeling he gives me is somewhat like A-Lie. If it were merely a coincidence, that would be one thing, but I am afraid someone is intentionally orchestrating this. After all, the truth behind A-Lie’s death still has not been thoroughly investigated.”
Yu Xiuxian shook his head. “It is easy to pretend to be someone for a short time, but very difficult to keep it up indefinitely. You might as well observe him a little longer. At least for now, I haven’t seen any malicious intent in him; he is someone who can be used. As for the matter concerning the late Emperor, you can safely leave it to your elder and second brothers to investigate. The most urgent task right now is still to stabilize the hearts of the people. In this matter, you can listen more to his ideas. If you cannot make up your mind, come find me again.”
Yan Zhiyu let out an imperceptible sigh, smiled at Yu Xiuxian, and said, “I understand. Grandfather, please don’t worry.” After exchanging a few more words, seeing that Yu Xiuxian’s face showed signs of fatigue, he told him to rest well before truly setting out to find his son.
Xiao Yunshuo was playing with his cousins and felt somewhat reluctant when he heard they had to return. It took Yan Zhiyu urging him twice before he unwillingly got up and scampered back.
Having grown up in the imperial palace since he was small and lacking other siblings, the people who could keep him company could be counted on one hand. Consequently, every trip outside the palace always appeared exceptionally exciting to him.
Yan Zhiyu knew his son was lonely, so he scooped him up in his arms as they walked out and coaxed, “How about I have your little friends sent over to play with you tomorrow?”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunshuo’s mood immediately improved, and he transformed back into his happy little self.
The two had eaten some snacks in the morning, so they hadn’t eaten much for lunch. Once they finished eating, Yan Zhiyu brought the child along to take a nap.
At that moment, the rain began to drizzle down once more, bringing a chill to the air.
He reached out to pull a small quilt over his son, pondering whether he needed to change to something thicker. Winter clothing would also need to be made quickly; the little fellow grew fast, and if the clothes turned out to be the wrong size, they could still be altered.
Thus, he called someone inside and rattled off a series of instructions before finally standing up and heading toward the writing desk.
It was precisely at this moment that Ling Lie arrived, carrying a small parcel of pastries and tea leaves, and asked whether he could commandeer the kitchen for a moment.
Yan Zhiyu merely glanced at him without saying much, letting someone lead him over.
After a short while, Ling Lie returned carrying a food tray. Atop it, aside from the pastries, were two cups of steaming hot milk tea.
He handed one cup to Yan Zhiyu and said, “The weather is cold; warm yourself up. I added sugar, so you should like it.”
The latter sentence was somewhat redundant, yet not entirely unnecessary. It was what Ling Lie used to always say, though after they had been together for a long time, there was no longer any need to explain everything.
Yan Zhiyu picked up the milk tea and took a sip. It was indeed the flavor he was accustomed to drinking.
His thumb rubbed against the cup’s surface, and his fingertips quickly brushed against the steaming warmth.
After a long silence, he asked, “Have you ever met the late Emperor?”
“No,” Ling Lie replied. “The Empress Dowager should have investigated. I have always resided in Changyang and only entered the capital once all these years.”
Hearing this, Yan Zhiyu’s gaze darkened, and an indefinable emotion stirred within his heart.
Before that emotion could spread, Ling Lie spoke again, “However, I understand him very well, and I understand you very well, too.”
Yan Zhiyu abruptly looked up, but Ling Lie had already turned around to tidy up his own writing desk.
“Stop messing with that.” Yan Zhiyu raised his chin and called him back, saying, “You are going to approve different ones today.”
Ling Lie turned back to look at him, and seeing him sitting as stiff as a board, could not help chuckling. He pulled over a chair, sat down opposite Yan Zhiyu, and asked, “Which ones?”
Yan Zhiyu pointed to the stack of undecided memorial reports nearby.
Ling Lie immediately reached out to gather all those reports, conveniently taking a stack of paper as well. After reading each report, he wrote down his comments and processing methods on the paper, tucked it into the report, and handed it to Yan Zhiyu.
Yan Zhiyu held the cup of milk tea, sipping slowly while his gaze remained fixed on the Prince Regent’s head bowed as he wrote.
This was the first time he had ever looked at this face so seriously.
Although Ling Lie and Ling Dong truly looked similar, upon closer inspection, differences could still be discerned.
Their bone structure was alike, but Ling Lie’s facial features were sharper, firmer, and possessed an innate, overbearing dominance, while his complexion was a healthy wheat color. On the other hand, due to his chronic illness, Ling Dong’s skin carried an unhealthy pallor, and his features were restrained and subdued, lacking Ling Lie’s domineering presence, yet possessing instead a faint, fragile aesthetic of decay.
Cough, cough. Ling Lie pressed his fist against his lips, coughing a few low times. Raising his eyes, he crashed into Yan Zhiyu’s appraising gaze, offered a faint smile in return, and then lowered his head once more to continue reading the memorials.
Yan Zhiyu’s heart gave a slight tug at his smile, and he secretly curled his lip.
After realizing the differences between these two faces, he actually found himself somewhat unaccustomed to it. Especially that smile just now; it had looked somewhat weak and delicate, which he was truly not used to.
Shaking his head to cast away those messy thoughts, Yan Zhiyu lowered his gaze to read the reports Ling Lie had reviewed. Upon reading them, the thoughts he had just pushed down resurfaced, bringing along all those previously unacknowledged notions to roast his heart like a fire.
Not only the handwriting, but even the way of handling affairs was identical to Ling Lie’s.
Yan Zhiyu couldn’t help raising his head again to look at the person across from him. That person read the memorials at an extremely fast pace, pausing for a moment of thought before beginning to write on the paper. Yan Zhiyu did not know whether Ling Dong had ever handled state affairs before, but he knew that he himself had not, and he knew what he had looked like when he first handled state affairs; it certainly hadn’t been as practiced as Ling Dong.
Could it really be that he has returned?
The moment that thought popped up, Yan Zhiyu’s fingers trembled uncontrollably. He almost wanted to throw caution to the wind and ask him directly, but the thought of his sleeping son and the secrets he was hiding from Ling Lie instantly turned that impulse of courage into smoke, scattering it away.
Let me test him a bit more. What if this truly is some sort of conspiracy?
Grandfather also said that a facade can be kept up for a moment, but not for a lifetime.
Even if there really was someone who understood Ling Lie so well and knew him inside out, it was only understanding; there surely must be more things that could prove the truth.
Yan Zhiyu lowered his eyes to look at the paper in his hands, but his heart was in complete turmoil. He was entirely unable to see the contents written on it, his mind filled only with that absurd glimmer of hope.
“Empress Dowager?” Seeing him staring at that piece of paper for a long time, Ling Lie asked with some confusion, “Is there a problem?”
Yan Zhiyu stiffened, put down the paper, and said, “No, nothing. You wrote very well.” With that, he picked up his brush and began copying the replies Ling Lie had written, then moved on to the next report. After reading a few in a row, his breathing grew somewhat unsteady.
His time governing was still brief, and up until now he only remembered the names and temperaments of the inner court ministers, which Grandfather had told him about. Local officials were even worse; he couldn’t even remember the names of the officials stationed in each region, let alone anything else, as he was completely in the dark about everything else. Probably no one else in the court could make sense of it either, except for Ling Lie.
He remembered every official he had appointed. Back then, Ling Lie would occasionally mention these matters to him and even teach him a bit about how to deal with these people. It was just that Ling Lie had only spoken offhandedly at the time, and he hadn’t taken it to heart. Now, recalling it, what was written on these memorials was practically indistinguishable from what Ling Lie had taught him back then.
Yan Zhiyu raised his eyes once more to look at Ling Lie, only to be caught red-handed. Ling Lie smiled and said, “Why is the Empress Dowager starting to slack off?”
“Who is slacking off?” Yan Zhiyu frowned, put down his brush, and stood up. “We just want to check on His Majesty.”
With that, he walked briskly toward the bed.
Ling Lie glanced at the messy handwriting on Yan Zhiyu’s memorial report, laughed inwardly without exposing him, and lowered his head to continue working.
Seeing this, Yan Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief. Only when he grasped his son’s hand did that trembling heart finally find an anchor. At this moment, he didn’t care that the little fellow was still sleeping; he simply wanted someone to accompany him, so he bent down, kissed his cheek, and gently woke him up.
Xiao Yunshuo was sleeping soundly and felt somewhat dazed upon being suddenly woken up. He blinked blankly at Yan Zhiyu for a moment before softly calling out, “Daddy.”
Yan Zhiyu pulled the child into his arms, and the child’s warm little body solidly placated his heart.
Xiao Yunshuo leaned against his chest, tilted his head, and stared blankly as Ling Lie worked. After a long moment, he finally spoke up, “Imperial Father.”
Ling Lie’s brush paused. He did not answer, merely turning his head to offer his son a gentle smile, then turned back to continue writing.
Seeing that he was being ignored, Xiao Yunshuo rubbed his face, hopped down from Yan Zhiyu’s lap, and scampered over on his short legs to climb onto Ling Lie’s lap.
This time, Yan Zhiyu did not stop him; he wanted to see what kind of reaction the Prince Regent would have.
The Prince Regent… the Prince Regent had no particular reaction.
Naturally, Ling Lie was aware of Yan Zhiyu’s little scheme, but at this moment he genuinely didn’t know what else he could do, since he certainly would never have ignored his own son in the past.
Fortunately, Xiao Yunshuo had a thick skin and didn’t find his imperial father’s indifference strange in the least. Once he climbed onto Ling Lie’s lap, he sat up straight, sticking out just the top half of his head to peer over at the desk, even reaching out to grab the paperweight.
Ling Lie found it amusing, so he simply lowered his head to press his chin down on his son’s head, saying, “Don’t move around.”
Xiao Yunshuo pushed upward with his hand, shoving his imperial father’s big head away, and said unhappily, “Imperial Father has a big head, heavy.”
Ling Lie let out a low laugh.
Their interaction was so natural it was as though they were always meant to be like this.
That thought in his heart became increasingly certain, yet thinking of the events of the past two days, Yan Zhiyu suddenly harbored a slight wish that this was all just his illusion.
If Ling Lie had truly returned, then the act he had put on before him these past days, had it already been thoroughly exposed?