In the middle of the night, the dew was heavy. On the official road, the sound of horse hooves and the rolling of carriage wheels grew closer, startling the birds resting in the distant forest, causing them to flutter away. Under the cover of night, a gray carriage was speeding along, moving forward quickly. Before long, three forked paths suddenly appeared ahead.
The coachman, wearing a bamboo hat, glanced around, flicked the reins, and headed towards the rightmost path. However, instead of entering the fork, he crossed the grass and continued straight ahead. The tracks quickly disappeared into the grass, leaving no trace.
Half an incense stick later, a few horses caught up, stopping hesitantly at the fork. This was the only road out of the capital, usually bustling with carriages and horses, making the tracks on the ground a chaotic mess, impossible to distinguish.
The riders exchanged glances, unsure which path the carriage had taken, and dared not act rashly. Within a few breaths, another fast horse arrived. The rider, dressed in a dark embroidered robe, was a young eunuch with a pale, beardless face. The deep black token hanging from his waist clearly indicated his identity—he was from the Eastern Depot.
Seeing him arrive, the others quickly rode closer. “Reporting to the lord, we were incompetent and… lost them…” The next second, a whip whistled past the speaker’s face, narrowly missing his eye and leaving a two-finger-long blood mark. “Spare me, my lord, spare me!” “You lost track of a broken carriage? Useless bunch!” Zhao Qing’s expression was cold. “Begging me for mercy? Hah, better think about how to explain this to the Chief Eunuch when we return.” “Hyah—”
*
Wang Zhihe glanced back, confirming that he had shaken off the tail that had been following him since leaving the capital. He sneered, “Damn, a few castrated chickens think they can catch me? Even if they were reassembled, they wouldn’t be qualified.” Compared to an ordinary coachman, the man was taller and more robust, with a proper appearance, thick eyebrows, and big eyes. However, the scar at the corner of his eye added a hint of roguishness. He whistled a few times, took out a piece of naan from his pocket, took a bite, and continued on his way.
The wheels rolled over stones, causing the carriage to jolt a few times. A low groan came from behind, as if someone had bumped into something, but it quickly quieted down. Wang Zhihe turned his head at the sound, just as a night breeze lifted the curtain. Through the gap, he saw a young man lying on his side on a carpeted carriage floor, his face turned towards the door.
His breath caught. The boy in the darkness was dazzlingly pale, his features exquisitely carved like a jade doll. His slightly red eyelids were tightly shut, his delicate brows furrowed, sleeping restlessly, yet clearly exhausted. The carriage’s wild ride hadn’t woken him. Whatever he was dreaming about, his full, shapely lips pouted in grievance, then parted slightly, letting out soft murmurs, like the whimpers of a young beast.
“No, don’t…” “I’m not…” “Dad, Mom…” Wang Zhihe watched as a tear slid from the boy’s eye, disappearing into his thick, dark hair. He withdrew his gaze, dazed, not focusing on the road ahead. Perhaps the naan was too dry; he chewed for a long time without swallowing, finally taking a sip from his water pouch. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he clicked his tongue, “Tch, how can a grown man be so pale? Must’ve grown up eating tofu.” He looked like a little girl, and quite a pretty one at that. Muttering to himself, he slowed the carriage, making the ride smoother.
After a long journey, as dawn approached, Wang Zhihe yawned, found a random clearing to stop, tied the horse to a nearby tree to graze, and climbed into the carriage to rest at the front.
An hour later. “Ugh…” Xie Jinning, groggy from sleep, sat up, rubbed his eyes, and stretched, his joints cracking. He had been chased all night in his dream, waking up sore all over, as if the nightmare had come true. He closed his eyes and pounded his body a few times, only to realize something was off. The ground beneath him was hard, nothing like his soft bed, and the fur in his hand was short and coarse. Wait, he didn’t have a fur blanket on his bed!
Xie Jinning opened his slightly swollen eyes, realizing he was sitting on the ground. Observing the surroundings, with wooden walls and narrow windows, it seemed he was in a carriage. He had never ridden in such a simple carriage before, small and cramped, unable to stretch his legs, forced to curl up. Inside, apart from the wooden board for sitting, there was nothing else.
“Ahe, Ahe!” He frowned in dissatisfaction, calling out, “Who arranged this carriage for me? My bones are about to break.” Hearing no response, Xie Jinning rubbed his waist. The carriage wasn’t moving, so he stood up, half-bent, and lifted the curtain to look outside. All he saw were dense woods and overgrown weeds, completely unfamiliar, unlike any place he remembered visiting. Where was this? No, wasn’t he at the Xie Family? How did he end up here?
“Yo, you’re awake.” The sudden voice of a stranger startled Xie Jinning. He grabbed a bundle beside him, holding it protectively, and glared at the unfamiliar man at the door, taking the initiative, “Who are you, and where is this? Aren’t you afraid the Xie Family will trouble you for bringing me here?” What, did he think he was a kidnapper?
The coachman, Wang Zhihe, yawned, “Young Master, now that you’re awake, get off the carriage, stretch your legs, and eat something. There’s still a long way to go.” “Where are you taking me?” Xie Jinning, having cried all night and not eaten a grain, was starving. But now wasn’t the time to eat; he needed to understand his situation first. He took a deep breath, imitating Xie Zhaoming’s authoritative tone when scolding servants, putting on a stern face, eyes wide, “Bold scoundrel! Since you know my identity, why don’t you take me back immediately!”
He raised his chin, looking down at the man, his haughty demeanor making his neck appear even longer, a delicate, white, and straight section, like tender lotus root. Wang Zhihe ground his teeth, grinning maliciously, “Are you threatening me?” A flicker of panic crossed Xie Jinning’s eyes, but he bravely continued, “Take me back, and I’ll be magnanimous, not holding you accountable for your crimes.” After a stick, offer a sweet date; he understood these things: “The Xie Family will also reward you handsomely.”
“Really?” “Of course!” Xie Jinning fumbled in the bundle, finding a hard object. When he took it out, he realized it was the jade pendant he had worn as a child. Later, he disliked its style and material, not being the fashionable and precious kind popular in the capital, so he stopped wearing it, letting a maid keep it. He didn’t know why it was here now. But there was no time to worry about that. He held it out to Wang Zhihe, “This is my personal item, worth a hundred taels of gold. I use this jade pendant as proof. When I return to the Xie Family, I will reward you a hundredfold.”
The price increased tenfold. Xie Jinning wasn’t good at lying, his ears turning red, but he still feigned confidence. Despite his disheveled clothes and slightly red nose, he carried the dignity of a noble young master. The mutton-fat jade lay quietly in his palm, the surrounding skin also white and flawless, making it hard to tell which was more precious. Wang Zhihe restrained his expression, quietly watching Xie Jinning. Seeing the hint of fear in his brows, he suddenly burst into laughter.
“I politely call you Young Master, and you really think you’re still the second young master of the Xie Family?” The undisguised mockery made Xie Jinning’s face gradually stiffen, his fingers tightening, “What do you mean?” “I think you’re still groggy from sleep.” Wang Zhihe said, “Yesterday’s commotion was so big, not just me, the whole capital, even the beggars know. You, the famous second young master of the Xie Family, are just a fake who took someone else’s identity.”
What? Hearing this, Xie Jinning’s body went rigid, his pupils trembling. “You think you’re here for no reason?” Wang Zhihe leaned closer, taking advantage of his daze, blowing lightly by Xie Jinning’s round, delicate earlobe, “That’s because the Xie Family doesn’t want you anymore.” “You—” Xie Jinning covered his ear, retreating a few steps, unable to refute. Dry eyes once again filled with tears, on the verge of falling. The hard jade pendant pressed red marks into his palm, the fine pain making him instinctively want to let go, but his body reacted first, gripping it tighter.
The pain in his heart was more intense than in his palm, like thousands of needles stabbing, making it hard to breathe. He remembered. Since yesterday, when that annoying eunuch leader said a bunch of inexplicable things in the ancestral hall, like “deceiving the emperor” and “execution of the whole family,” and looked at him with a strange, creepy gaze, everything changed. Then… he was told he wasn’t his parents’ biological child. Everything he had for the past sixteen years was all because he took Xie Zhu’s—whom he thought was an illegitimate child—place. It turned out he was the one who should have been kicked out of the house.
Breathing shakily, tears glistening in his lashes, he bit his lip, desperately trying not to cry in front of this man. Xie Jinning shook his head, his clear voice turning hoarse, “No, I don’t believe it. They couldn’t do this to me.” He pushed Wang Zhihe with all his strength, like a cornered, frantic little beast, his peach-colored eyes red as if about to bleed, “You’re lying!” Wang Zhihe, in a moment of clarity, saw a flash of bright color from the young master’s collar, but it was quickly covered by the intricate lapel, like an illusion.
He cooperatively stepped back a few paces under the light force, retreating to the carriage door, arms crossed, nonchalant. “Did you really think I was so capable, able to break through the Xie Family’s heavy guards, snatch you from the courtyard, and drive you here safely, without a single Xie Family guard finding us?” No Xie Family guards, but plenty of Eastern Depot dogs. Good thing I ran fast, he thought to himself. These words were like the last straw that broke the camel’s back. The person before him seemed to lose their spine, suddenly going limp.
The straight back slumped, and Xie Jinning sat down on the wooden board inside the carriage, unable to hold back his tears any longer. He still didn’t want to believe it, but a voice in his head kept telling him the man was right. They really didn’t want him anymore.