By evening, Xie Kaiji had left due to prior commitments. After he departed, Xiao Yanshi wrapped himself in his quilt and lay down again, but he remained sleepless, tossing and turning until he ended up irritating his wounds.
Xiao Yanshi frowned, his restricted mobility making him increasingly frustrated.
After some thought, he got up slowly and, leaning on the table for support, made his way to the window.
It hadn’t snowed for several days, but the evening air outside was growing increasingly frigid. Xiao Yanshi picked up a cup and downed the remainder of the cold tea.
On the table sat the tea, refreshments, and lunch that Xiao Yanzhi had sent over before Xie Kaiji left, along with a large bowl of medicine. Beside the bowl sat a box of candied fruits.
Since when has my brother been so attentive?
Before he was eight, he had never eaten candied fruits while taking his medicine.
Well, it’s bitter and sour in my mouth right now; having one wouldn’t hurt.
Xiao Yanshi stroked his chin, his feet moving uncontrollably toward the table to open the box and pick one out.
One is enough; too many would be cloying.
Thinking this only a moment before, Xiao Yanshi betrayed his own logic after eating the first one might as well have another.
He didn’t know where these candied fruits were bought; they weren’t the usual sickeningly sweet type, but held a hint of apricot fragrance in the aftertaste. After eating four or five, his appetite felt whetted, and even his tongue felt refreshed.
Xiao Yanshi ate seven or eight in one go before snapping back to his senses, feeling a bit sheepish.
The box was made of premium peach wood, exquisitely carved with intricate, elaborate patterns, though it lacked a final coat of paint.
He hadn’t noticed it earlier, but as Xiao Yanshi examined it closely now, he realized those didn’t look like mere patterns; they resembled some form of ancient script.
Xiao Yanshi traced them with his fingertips, feeling subtle, unpolished splinters. He paused in surprise. A box bought from a shop for candied fruits should merely be packaging; even if carved exquisitely, it shouldn’t be such fine peach wood, nor should it be missing the final color.
It was as if… this box was unfinished, a mere semi-finished product.
Xiao Yanshi took the box to his bookshelf, rummaged through it carefully, and sure enough, discovered an ancient tome hidden at the bottom.
Three hundred years ago, the previous dynasty’s general, Feng Heqiu, discovered the Wuli tribe in the southwest.
The Wuli tribe resided deep within the southwestern mountains, isolated from the world. Living far from the Central Plains, they naturally developed a writing system entirely distinct from that of the Central Plains.
General Feng Heqiu was defeated and gravely wounded, only to be saved by an ordinary woman of the Wuli tribe.
Though they shared no common language, the woman was kind-hearted, not only treating Feng Heqiu’s wounds but also finding ways to hide him from her own people.
The Wuli tribe lived away from the turmoil of the world, carefree and happy. Feng Heqiu and the woman grew close over time, eventually bearing a child.
Feng Heqiu hid among the Wuli for three years, unaware that the outside world was searching for him in a frenzy. With neither a living person found nor a body recovered, Feng Heqiu remained a general in title.
It wasn’t until a wandering old man stumbled upon the entrance to the Wuli tribe by chance that everyone realized Feng Heqiu was not dead.
During those three years, Feng Heqiu had already integrated into the Wuli tribe. Yet, with the wars in the Central Plains raging on, he ultimately promised to quell the conflict within three years, pledging to return to the Wuli once the world was at peace.
Alas, the world descended into chaos, with warring states and endless conflict.
Ten years later, when Feng Heqiu finally secured peace in his region and returned to that secluded paradise deep in the southwestern mountains, he found the entire Wuli tribe annihilated.
Feng Heqiu was consumed by grief, and upon tracking down the mastermind behind the slaughter, he discovered it was the very sovereign he had served with unwavering loyalty.
Xiao Yanshi turned to the final page and frowned slightly.
The ancient book was incomplete; the latter half had been torn away. However, as he flipped back to the title page, he saw an imprint identical to the patterns on the wooden box.
This tome was a translation, containing only a few pages of Wuli text. Each page held only two sentences.
But this was enough to confirm his earlier hypothesis: the patterns on the box were not mere decorations, but the script of the exterminated Wuli tribe.
He touched the pages, lost in deep thought.
If the records in this book were accurate, few people knew of the Wuli tribe. The book mentioned several times that Feng Heqiu had gone to great lengths to silence the hundreds of loyal followers who had searched for him just to protect the Wuli tribe; even the old man who had led the way had not been spared.
So, was it truly, as the final surviving page suggested, the act of the sovereign Feng Heqiu served?
And what of this book in his hands?
Xiao Yanshi vaguely remembered acquiring it by chance while serving as a page in the palace. Theoretically, the palace was so strictly guarded that a text so vague, involving the secrets of the previous dynasty, shouldn’t have existed there.
Yet, looking at the book, he felt a momentary sense of bewilderment.
Was this merely wild, invented history, or…
Xiao Yanzhi and Xiao Yanyan had dinner with Xiao Mingquan. It was a rare occasion for the family to gather and chat, and the atmosphere was pleasant.
“I heard from Uncle Xiao that your Second and Third Uncles came to the estate the other day? And they brought clan elders with them?” Xiao Mingquan set down his chopsticks, watching as Xiao Yanzhi poured him fresh tea.
He didn’t drink it immediately, instead showing a hint of concern. For years, he had neglected Xiao Yanzhi significantly, and sitting at the same table as father and son suddenly felt somewhat foreign.
Fortunately, neither of them were complicated people. Xiao Yanzhi felt a warmth on his face as he experienced this rare care from his father. “It was just some trivial matters; nothing too difficult… thankfully, Ashi was there, so they didn’t get the upper hand.”
Xiao Yanshi had been unconscious for days, and Xiao Yanzhi had been terrified the whole time. He was looking for an opportunity to speak well of his brother to Xiao Mingquan, hoping to prevent Xiao Mingquan from harboring resentment over the marriage after he had already beaten him.
“You don’t need to praise him; I know Jingyun’s temperament. With him there, your Second and Third Uncles could never have gained a shred of advantage.” When speaking of Xiao Yanshi, Xiao Mingquan’s expression remained calm, but the intimacy in his tone was hard to miss.
Xiao Yanzhi lowered his eyes slightly.
He suddenly realized that whether or not he spoke well of Xiao Yanshi wouldn’t really have much impact.
Xiao Mingquan understood his second son, Xiao Yanshi, the best.
Xiao Yanzhi suddenly remembered a banquet from his childhood. Xiao Yanshi hadn’t yet followed Xiao Mingquan to the Northern Frontier, and their mother was still alive.
When the wine was flowing freely, the Duke of Lu pointed at Xiao Yanzhi and Xiao Yanshi, asking Xiao Mingquan, “These two sons are both of dragon-like grace; one possesses the spirit of a great general, the other has the talent to govern the world the Marquis of Pingbei is truly blessed!”
Xiao Mingquan had drunk a fair amount, but he still kept his composure. “My foolish sons are still young; the Duke is overly generous with his praise.”
Upon hearing this, the Duke of Lu shook his head slightly. “The Marquis shouldn’t be so modest,” he said, raising his cup with a bold laugh. “Tell me, Marquis, which son do you prefer?”
Xiao Mingquan paused for a moment before looking at the brothers sitting below.
At the massive banquet, Xiao Yanzhi sat properly at the table, taking only a bite of various dishes, already possessing the steadiness and poise of a miniature adult.
Then he looked at Xiao Yanshi, who was poking his head left and right, chatting with one person, tugging at his sleeves with another, and accidentally overturning his tea, wetting his legs… The little one peeked up, and seeing no one noticed, he wiped his legs with the clothes of the person beside him, causing the other person to push him away in irritation.
Xiao Yanshi was close friends with the little Prince of Fengyang, and it was the Prince’s clothes he had tugged.
Xiao Mingquan rubbed his cup and said, “My second son, Yanshi, is most like me.”
The Duke of Lu had drunk too much and likely didn’t take it in, but Xiao Yanzhi had heard the entire conversation. His hand, hanging at his side, clenched, and his head dipped unconsciously.
In contrast, Xiao Yanshi, still clutching Xie Kaiji’s arm, asked Xiao Mingquan with a giggle, “Father, were you just calling me?”
Xiao Mingquan glared at him, and Xiao Yanshi stuck out his tongue, sensibly letting go of Xie Kaiji’s arm. “I won’t cause trouble anymore! Don’t be angry, Father…”
“Older brother?” Xiao Yanyan gently touched Xiao Yanzhi’s sleeve. Xiao Yanzhi regained his focus. “Hm, what is it?”
“Are you not feeling well? Father is talking to you.” Xiao Yanyan looked with concern at Xiao Yanzhi, who had been zoning out, and tapped him lightly.
Xiao Yanzhi smiled at her, reassuring her. “It’s nothing, don’t worry.”
“Mm.”
“If you’re not feeling well, go back and rest early.” After saying this, Xiao Mingquan seemed to realize his tone was a bit stiff, so he added after a moment, “These years, the estate has relied entirely on you to keep it afloat; it truly has been hard on you. In the future, if anyone else comes to pick up scraps, just have someone beat them out with sticks. While the estate isn’t as wealthy as other aristocratic families, we still have that much backbone.”
Xiao Mingquan had never spoken such a long sentence. Though his words were plain, Xiao Yanzhi’s eyes suddenly felt warm.
Afraid of losing his composure, he lowered his eyes and stared fixedly at the cup on the table. “Don’t worry, Father, I will watch over the estate…”
His voice was very low, and Xiao Mingquan felt that the figure looked weak. “Actually…”
Just as he opened his mouth, someone suddenly stood at the doorway. Xiao Mingquan looked up. “Jingyun?”
Xiao Yanyan exclaimed at the same time, “Ashi, how did you get up!”
Xiao Yanzhi blinked, the sourness in his heart vanishing, and stood up to welcome Xiao Yanshi. “Waking up and not calling anyone, and coming out in such thin clothes!”
The tone of concern was the same as ever, but Xiao Yanshi didn’t respond with his usual banter. Instead, he handed the ancient book to Xiao Yanzhi. “Brother, I know you are well-read and have read thousands of books. Can you help me look at this book? What do these two sentences mean? And these two paragraphs…”
Xiao Yanzhi subconsciously took it and flipped through. “This book… where did you get it?”
“It was in my room. I remember it was when I was a page in the palace…” Xiao Yanshi paused suddenly, shaking his head. “…I forget exactly where, but… it was definitely brought back from the palace.”
Xiao Mingquan was being ignored by the brothers, and Xiao Yanyan felt awkward. She walked over and tugged at Xiao Yanshi, reminding him in a low voice, “Ashi, Father is still sitting there. Isn’t it better to discuss this later?”
Hearing this, Xiao Yanshi acted as if he had just seen Xiao Mingquan. “Oh, you’re here too, Father…”
Xiao Mingquan: “…”
Xiao Yanyan: “…” I reminded you, but not so you would deliberately anger Father!
As if still unsatisfied, Xiao Yanshi walked over, picked up a pair of unused chopsticks, and grabbed a piece of meat. “Father, my thighs are still rotting, and walking is a chore, so I won’t pay my respects to you…”
Xiao Mingquan’s eyelids jumped; he felt this rebellious son was up to no good. Sure enough, Xiao Yanshi added, “Don’t worry, the respects I owe you, I’ll make up for by going to my mother’s memorial tablet to talk properly later. After all, I’ve slept too much these days; I seem to have a belly full of words that have been held back…”
“BOOM!” Xiao Mingquan was so angry he could have blown his beard off. “You rebellious son! See if you dare to disturb your mother’s peace!”
Xiao Yanshi set down the chopsticks. “Don’t worry, Father, the act of hugging my mother’s tablet and crying is something I would never do… at most, I’ll have her come to you in a dream, asking you to be better to your son in the future…”
Xiao Mingquan: “…”