When Xi Yu opened his eyes once more, he found himself at the execution ground in Kyoto, with a blade held against his neck by the executioner.
A string of curses involuntarily welled up in Xi Yu’s heart.
The events of a few minutes prior immediately rushed back into his mind.
“Prime Minister Xi, are you still going to struggle?” The official presiding over the execution platform couldn’t help sighing. It was a case of pitying a generation’s hero reduced to such a plight, a hero cherishing a hero, yet, in the end, imperial decrees were difficult to defy.
“Why call him Prime Minister Xi? Do you really think he is a virtuous prime minister of an era? He’s simply a treacherous official who colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country; everyone ought to put him to death.” The common folk below also discussed animatedly among themselves.
“You can’t put it that way. Prime Minister Xi indeed did many things for our Daqing and its people in the past. Wasn’t the current emperor even helped to the throne single-handedly by him?”
“Hmph, that’s all the more reason why his crime deserves death. Our Son of Heaven is wise and virtuous; how could he allow a prime minister’s interference in state affairs to usurp the authority above the Son of Heaven? According to the law, this crime warrants the extermination of his entire clan.”
“There’s no one left in Prime Minister Xi’s family anyway, who else is there to exterminate? Didn’t his father and eldest brother both die in that struggle for the crown? And they all died paving the way for His Majesty today.”
Sighs also burst forth from the crowd, their hearts filled with unnamable emotions.
Only Xi Yu remained utterly calm. Even though his martial arts were advanced enough to take on a hundred opponents single-handedly and twist off an enemy’s head with his bare hands on the battlefield, he did nothing now, not because he couldn’t, but because he didn’t want to…
He was waiting. He was waiting for that imperial edict. Even up to this point, Xi Yu refused to believe that Ye Weifeng truly wanted to kill him.
He was Ye Weifeng’s teacher, his childhood sweetheart a few years older, his favored intimate companion. They had weathered so many storms together, surviving through life and death.
Now that Ye Weifeng had smoothly ascended to the throne of the Son of Heaven, having firmly grasped in his hands everything they once viewed as hopelessly out of reach, it was precisely at this moment that Ye Weifeng issued an imperial edict to have him beheaded immediately, under the absurd pretense of colluding with the enemy.
He knew clearly that the one thing he was least capable of doing in this lifetime was betraying him. He had given him everything he could possibly give, and now only this life remained; yet even this life, he wanted to take.
With the blade pressed against his neck, Xi Yu was still making excuses for Ye Weifeng in his heart. It must have been those cabinet ministers forcing him, using his weaknesses to blackmail him, leaving him no other choice than to issue this imperial edict.
When the execution was truly about to take place, the imperial edict staying the executioner’s hand would surely be delivered. How could Ye Weifeng possibly bear to kill him?
Admitting this fact made Xi Yu feel even more agonizing than being killed; it was no different from reducing everything he had previously given to the status of a joke. How could he possibly be willing to admit it?
When Xi Yu was placed under detention, his fiercely loyal subordinates had long since prepared to storm the prison and rescue him. Yet when they broke through the cells and appeared before him, he refused to leave, completely chilling his subordinates’ hearts.
“His Majesty will not kill me. He is simply trapped in a difficult position right now; soon he will issue an edict to release me.” Xi Yu sat in the dungeon. The ordeal of imprisonment had made him appear much more haggard, robbing him of his former brilliant and refined demeanor, yet he remained utterly steady and resolute.
“Prime Minister, can you still not see the truth? The Son of Heaven merely used you as a stepping stone to ascend the throne. Now that his goal has been achieved, to him, you are an obstacle.” His most loyal subordinate bitterly begged Xi Yu to leave with them.
Yet Xi Yu stubbornly remained unmoved. “I will not allow you to speak of him that way.”
Ever since he was thrown into prison, he began waiting for the imperial edict from Ye Weifeng pardoning him. Until he was sent to the execution ground, this wait had lasted for a full month, yet he still had not waited for it.
“My lord, the time has come. Proceed with the execution.” The subordinate urged the presiding official. However, which scholar serving in an official capacity hadn’t received favors from Xi Yu in the past? He let out a long sigh, looking at Xi Yu, once the object of admiration for countless people, now reduced to such a state.
“Wait a little longer.”
“My lord, it’s the hour of the horse (noon)! We can’t wait any longer!” The subordinate urged.
The presiding official could delay no longer and had to pull the execution token for decapitation from the bamboo cylinder, intending to toss it down.
At that very moment, a figure clearly wearing the attire of an imperial palace guard appeared on horseback, galloping toward the execution ground.
Color reappeared in Xi Yu’s ashen eyes. He knew it, Ye Weifeng still had feelings for him.
Xi Yu and Ye Weifeng had met when they were ten, Xi Yu went to the battlefield for him at fifteen, blocked an arrow for him at twenty, and offered up the entire Xi family clan at twenty-five to help him seize the throne. Every single instance, Ye Weifeng must surely keep them engraved in his heart; he would never forget.
Yet in the next second, Xi Yu fell from heaven straight into hell as he heard the imperial guard unfold the imperial edict in his hand.
“Prime Minister Xi Yu has colluded with the enemy, betrayed the country, repeatedly usurped imperial authority, and interfered in state affairs. Simply beheading him immediately is insufficient to establish the majesty of imperial power. By special order, he shall be subjected to dismemberment by five horses and the torment of skinning and sinew-pulling, to serve as an example of justice.”
The reading of the imperial edict broke the final shred of hope in Xi Yu’s heart. A mouthful of fresh blood gushed from Xi Yu’s chest and spat out.
Xi Yu let out a loud laugh, though the laughter was agonizingly bitter and resigned. “Lezhi, Oh Lezhi! You truly harbor not a single shred of affection for me!”
Even unto death, he couldn’t bear to utter a single harsh word against Ye Weifeng. It was right at this juncture when he was about to die that Xi Yu transmigrated over, and he was nearly driven to vomit blood of anger himself.
Though it was anger caused by the original host, of all things, this pathetic, wronged scapegoat gong shared the same name as him, while the one who betrayed him shared the name Ye Weifeng, almost as if reenacting past events all over again.
Or perhaps this was truly his and Ye Weifeng’s past life, where the original host was himself, and the current Son of Heaven was truly the paper character Ye Weifeng from antiquity.
Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly, who was dreaming after all, what exactly was reality, and who could say for certain? At the very least, those memories and the pain Ye Weifeng brought him were real, regardless of which lifetime it was.
Yet he, Xi Yu, would never commit the same mistake again, nor would he ever fall into the same river twice!
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, looking very much like an Asura returning from the halls of Yanluo. Perhaps in the past, he had used this terrifying visage to single-handedly frighten and defeat the enemy forces.
Everyone present was startled by his expression, momentarily at a loss for how to react. Taking advantage of this opening, Xi Yu stood up and shook off the ropes binding him. As the top-tier general excelling in both civil and martial arts the following day, how could mere hemp ropes trap him?
Previously, the original host simply took this as proof that Ye Weifeng couldn’t bear to truly kill him. But now he understood, it was because Ye Weifeng was certain the original host would never resist any of his edicts.
What trapped the original host wasn’t these hemp ropes; it was the original host’s wholehearted devotion to Ye Weifeng.
Xi Yu grew even angrier. How could anyone trample sincerity to this extent? “I want to see His Majesty!”
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire scene erupted in an uproar. A death row inmate had broken free of his restraints right in front of them and was even clamoring to see His Majesty, wasn’t this sheer madness?
Yet because he was Xi Yu, the grand general who had turned the tide of battle with just a few hundred men and led Daqing to a crushing victory over the enemy forces; the brilliant, literary-talented prime minister of an era who had carried out numerous reform contributions for Daqing’s prosperity;
The Emperor’s tutor, dearest friend, the person he trusted and grew closest to…
The crowd momentarily hesitated to make a decision. The presiding official, who had received favors from Xi Yu, pleaded with the imperial guard. “My lord, take Prime Minister Xi to see the Emperor. You also know how much His Majesty used to value Prime Minister Xi; it’s hard to say whether his heart might change. You must know that once a person dies, they cannot be brought back to life.”
That was true. What if Xi Yu really died and the Emperor regretted it? Those of them serving by the Emperor’s side knew how close Xi Yu and the Emperor used to be and how deeply the Emperor used to rely on Xi Yu. Frowning, the imperial guard hoisted Xi Yu onto a horse.
“Sit tight, Prime Minister.”
Xi Yu smiled. “Your horsemanship has improved much compared to the past. It seems you’ve put in quite a bit of arduous effort.”
The man in front gripping the reins froze for a moment. He actually remembered him! Having received a single critique from him in the past, he had practiced furiously and diligently for half a year, thinking he would never again have the opportunity to showcase it to him. He never expected that at a time like this, he would actually notice…
Upon bringing Xi Yu into the imperial palace, the imperial guard couldn’t help offering a word of caution. “His Majesty has been sleeping poorly recently; he is prone to worry and easily angered.”
It meant that Xi Yu should humble himself and submit in order to survive, rather than clashing head-on. Xi Yu remembered this kindness.
“Thank you,” Xi Yu said. Just as the imperial guard turned to leave, he heard Xi Yu call his name. “Yuansi…”
Shangguan Yuansi’s footsteps paused, stirring a thousand layers of waves in his heart. He actually remembered his name.
Xi Yu tidied his hair ribbon. He had always paid the utmost attention to his appearance; no matter what happened, the last thing he wanted was to be seen in an unseemly state.
It was just a pity that, after the torment of a month’s imprisonment, he had grown far too thin and frail. Though still handsome, his spirit appeared somewhat weary.
He quickly deliberated in his mind: now, in order to stay alive, playing the role of a grandson was unavoidable. His goal in seeing Ye Weifeng this time was to coax him into not killing him, being able to bend and stretch was the hallmark of a true hero.
Xi Yu steeled his resolve, then knocked on the door. At the call of “Enter,” the very first moment he pushed open the door and laid eyes on the current Son of Heaven, all the mental preparations Xi Yu had just made became an utter waste of effort.
The person before him looked identical to Ye Weifeng. He himself probably looked identical to the original host, save for the fact that he carried his memories from the past while Ye Weifeng did not.
Yet this still did not obstruct the urge in Xi Yu’s heart to kill the person before him. He hated him. He hated the deception, hated being set up in a trap, hated how he made his devotion look like a foolish joke.
This predicament was identical to that of the original host in this world.
Only, no amount of hatred could be displayed at this moment. Right now, he was the Son of Heaven, while Xi Yu was a condemned minister fresh from the execution ground; angering him would only cost him his life.
Thus, Xi Yu suppressed the fury in his heart, began polishing his acting skills, and played the emotional card on Ye Weifeng.
“Lezhi.” He called out to him. Lezhi was Ye Weifeng’s courtesy name, which back then had even been bestowed upon him by the original host himself.
As Ye Weifeng’s imperial tutor, everything Ye Weifeng knew had been taught to him by the original host, whether it was the Four Books and Five Classics, stratagems, or the grand principles of governing the realm. The original host held nothing back, devoting himself entirely to the task, only to fail to nurture a good disciple.
Instead, he raised an ungrateful ingrate!
Ye Weifeng turned around and looked at Xi Yu. Xi Yu couldn’t read his expression, only feeling that he was as deep and unfathomable as standing in mist.
He heard Ye Weifeng say to him, “You’ve come, Xi Yu.”