Whenever Ye Weifeng used to call out to Xi Yu in the past, he inevitably ended up getting his palms slapped with a ruler.
“Although we grew up together, I am three years your senior. How can you address me so familiarly by my given name?”
Later, after becoming his grand tutor, Xi Yu forbade him from using it even more. “Respect for teachers and the Dao. Since I am now your Grand Tutor, Lezhi should at least address me as Teacher.”
Ye Weifeng would merely smile and act spoiled around him. “Don’t put on airs with me. I just feel that calling you by your full name sounds much closer.”
At that time, he was the fifth prince born to a lowly birth mother and unfavored by the emperor, whereas Xi Yu was the cherished youngest son of Grand General Xi. If not for the past friendship between Ye Weifeng’s mother and Xi Yu’s mother, let alone interacting, the Xi family probably wouldn’t have welcomed him at all.
Yet Xi Yu was truly like his name—as bright and flawless as jade. He did not seek to befriend Ye Weifeng simply because he was a prince, nor did he distance himself because Ye Weifeng was unfavored.
He was a true gentleman.
Relying on this connection, Ye Weifeng managed the Xi estate with ease, and he and Xi Yu could well be considered childhood sweethearts growing up together.
Unfortunately, it was precisely because of this very connection that the Xi family ultimately met a tragic end where everyone except Xi Yu was put to death, and Ye Weifeng was the primary culprit.
He was calling him Xi Yu again. Whenever he heard that name, Xi Yu—regardless of which world he was in—figured nothing good ever followed.
Unlike the Ye Weifeng he knew, the Ye Weifeng before him now—perhaps due to ascending the throne—looked gloomy and unfathomable, harboring a deep cunning that made him hard to read.
Ye Weifeng gazed at Xi Yu, his expression far too complex to decipher. The events at the execution ground had reached his ears within a mere half-hour, and he naturally understood the cause and effect of Xi Yu’s appearance here.
It was just that, as Ye Weifeng rubbed the piece of jade in his palm, he had not yet decided whether or not to kill him.
Xi Yu observed Ye Weifeng’s expression and quickly laid the groundwork to sway him. “Lezhi, it is already springtime. That peach tree you and I planted in the past is likely about to bloom again. You always lamented not getting to taste the fruit from that tree; you will certainly get to eat it this year.”
Ye Weifeng stared at him unblinkingly. “And what about you, Xi Yu? Do you want to eat it?”
This answer was ambiguous, ostensibly speaking of the peach tree while in reality referring to Xi Yu’s life.
“I want to eat it with you.” Xi Yu spoke against his true thoughts, putting on an intensely affectionate act.
“Xi Yu, you have always been learned. Not even all the scholars in the capital combined can match the reputation of Prime Minister Xi. Do you know the meaning of cut-sleeve?” Ye Weifeng asked him.
How could he not know? The ancient sharing of the peach was, in reality, no different from homosexuality.
What on earth was he trying to say? Did he want to reminisce about cut-sleeve romantic history, or was he dropping hints to test and warn him? Xi Yu couldn’t figure it out. No wonder people always said that staying by a monarch’s side was like sleeping with a tiger.
“This subject does not know. I have never dared harbor any overstepping intentions toward His Majesty, and from now on I will strictly guard my boundaries,” Xi Yu replied.
Yet Ye Weifeng fell silent, his complexion turning somewhat unsightly.
Xi Yu’s mention of that peach tree was merely meant to make Ye Weifeng recall the past kindness the entire Xi family had shown him, hoping to evoke his sentimental attachment. In the end, it seemed to have zero effect on this hard-hearted, ruthless person.
That left only one path. Xi Yu hurriedly declared his loyalty. Wasn’t the charge slapped on him at the execution ground treason and colluding with the enemy, anyway?
Xi Yu quickly swore an oath to Ye Weifeng. “Your Majesty, you now handle all court affairs admirably. I suppose this subject can now step down. My ancestral home still holds a plot of land; why not allow this subject to return to his hometown?”
As long as he retired, he would pose no threat to Ye Weifeng. Surely this would be enough to let him off the hook, right?
Yet Ye Weifeng’s brows knitted even tighter. “You did this on purpose. Are you blaming Us?”
“This subject wouldn’t dare,” Xi Yu hastily replied, though in his heart he desperately wished to give him a slash with a blade; outwardly, he didn’t dare show a hint of it.
“Xi Yu, do not speak of leaving. We will not kill you.”
Xi Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Though he didn’t know which words had touched Ye Weifeng and made him spare his life, at least his life was preserved, wasn’t it?”
“However…” Before Xi Yu could finish letting out that breath, Ye Weifeng spoke again, fixing his gaze on Xi Yu. “However, the uproar you caused regarding the chieftains’ general ultimately blew up into quite a spectacle. If we do not give you some punishment, those senior ministers will likely remain unconvinced. How about this.”
Ye Weifeng stroked the jade in his palm, while Xi Yu grew somewhat tense.
“How about placing you in the Cold Palace?” Ye Weifeng played seductively with the jade in his hand while smiling at Xi Yu.
Yet that smile was incomparably chilling, sending a shudder through one’s heart.
Xi Yu suddenly felt the breath he had just released shoot right back up to his throat. He was a prime minister, yet he was to be treated like a consort and cast into the Cold Palace—what kind of absurdity was that?
Wasn’t this proclaiming to the entire world that he was the emperor’s kept favorite, that all his past strategic maneuvers were won by whispering sweet nothings in the imperial bedchamber, and that he was now abandoned by the emperor, completely stripped of his power to throw his weight around in court?
This was equivalent to completely invalidating everything Xi Yu had done in the past, destroying his reputation while stripping him of his authority. For Ye Weifeng, this was indeed a brilliant move, executed simply by humiliating him and dragging his dignity through the dirt.
Which remark of his exactly had angered him just now?
However, Xi Yu wasn’t a genuine ancient person after all; he didn’t hold reputation and integrity in such high regard. If the original body’s owner had been subjected to such humiliation as the emperor’s favorite, he probably would have preferred a clean slash with a blade, but Xi Yu genuinely didn’t care.
What use was reputation compared to life?
“This subject accepts the decree and thanks Your Majesty for the imperial grace.” He struck a posture of receiving the decree, yet this single kneel fundamentally drove their relationship straight into a dead end.
Ye Weifeng smiled. “Splendid. Then you shall report to the Cold Palace tomorrow. From this day forward, court affairs have nothing to do with you, and Our matters have nothing to do with you either.”
Xi Yu had always possessed the strongest desire for control over Ye Weifeng. In the past, he even exercised strict requirements over Ye Weifeng’s posture when writing. Hearing such words now should have triggered severe emotional fluctuations.
Yet at this moment, as Ye Weifeng looked at Xi Yu, he found him completely expressionless, as if he didn’t care in the least.
In truth, Xi Yu wasn’t expressionless; he was simply trying his absolute hardest to suppress his laughter. Such a wonderful thing—who in their right mind would want to deal with those tedious court affairs? If things went well, the glory went to Ye Weifeng the emperor; if things went wrong, he, this wicked prime minister, would take the blame.
Now that he could walk away scot-free, this was exactly what he prayed for.
Only the system coughed in Xi Yu’s mind. “Host, if you get cast into the Cold Palace, you might not see Ye Weifeng for ten days or half a month. How are you supposed to reform him like this? If he doesn’t repent, how will you complete the mission?”
Xi Yu conversed with it in his mind. “I want to complete the mission too, but the moment I see his face I want to vomit. I need to rest a few days before I can keep up the act.”
The system fell silent; what else could it say? “Fine, go hide in the Cold Palace for a few days first. But it’s agreed—just a few days! When the time comes, you’ll have to find a way out and show your face around Ye Weifeng more often.”
Xi Yu uttered an “Understood,” though nobody knew what schemes were brewing in his mind.
And just like that, Xi Yu was sent straight to the Cold Palace. When Xi Yu’s former subordinates heard the news, they nearly fainted from rage, wishing they could skin and debone the current emperor on the spot for daring to humiliate their lord in such a manner.
A man who had formerly been a grand general fighting on battlefields, and furthermore an elite prime minister standing above ten thousand people beneath only one, was now treated by the emperor like a consort, imprisoned in the depths of the palace—how utterly preposterous! What a supreme and humiliating disgrace.
They couldn’t endure it in the slightest. Yet Xi Yu remained as calm as if nothing had happened, letting the rumors spread across the imperial court while commoners debated the matter openly. He alone stood unshakeable.
He packed a single bundle, calling it his luggage, though Ye Weifeng hadn’t allowed him to bring anything besides a few changes of clothing. All the gold, silver, and valuables meant for bribing officials were completely barred from entry. One could easily imagine that while Ye Weifeng had spared Xi Yu’s life, he had no intention of letting him live in comfort.
Upon stepping into the Cold Palace, Xi Yu was instantly sent into a fit of hacking coughs by the heavy smell of dust. It was a place that hadn’t been cleaned in who knows how long, where even spiderwebs were visible.
As for the servants, likely acting under Ye Weifeng’s orders, they gave no pleasant expression whatsoever to Xi Yu, who was once a grand chancellor.
“Since you’re here, stop whining and complaining about this and that. Clean it up yourself,” a palace servant said impatiently to Xi Yu.
“Eunuch, are there any quilts? The weather is currently cold. Without quilts, surviving even a single night will likely be difficult,” Xi Yu said.
Yet the eunuch gave him no favorable look. “This is the Cold Palace; naturally, there is nothing here. If you want something, you have to trade for it with items. What is Your Excellency willing to offer in exchange?”
Xi Yu could naturally tell that the other party wanted to extract some benefits from him. However, Xi Yu didn’t have a single thing of value on him, as everything had been confiscated before entry.
With nothing in his pockets, the eunuch’s attitude toward him grew increasingly worse.
“Since you’re unwilling to trade anything, then Your Excellency can just freeze. If you really freeze to death, someone will be around to collect your corpse.”
In Daqing, naturally everyone had heard of Xi Yu’s name, even deep within the imperial palace. After all, the present Daqing court could be said to have been single-handedly sustained by Xi Yu. The eunuch certainly knew what kind of figure Xi Yu was.
However, a fallen phoenix is worse than a chicken. He was no longer a grand general, nor was he Prime Minister Xi; he was merely a prisoner who had just stepped off the execution ground and narrowly escaped with his life, practically stripped of any political future.
Furthermore, apart from Xi Yu, the entire Xi family was gone, meaning no one existed to back Xi Yu up.
For such a person, the eunuch naturally wouldn’t show much respect, even acting somewhat bossy and domineering toward him.
Xi Yu didn’t get angry either, simply going to grab the cleaning tools himself, only to call out to the eunuch just as the man turned to leave.
“Eunuch, there is a saying: fortunes turn like the wheel of fate. Have you heard of it?”
The eunuch sneered. “Naturally I’ve heard of it. Just like Your Excellency Lord Xi, who was once so glorious, yet ended up in such a state today!”
Xi Yu smiled. “Since you’ve heard of it, how can you be so certain that I won’t rise again?”
His tone was very calm, even gentle, yet the eunuch’s expression suddenly shifted, as if he had suddenly realized something.
“Whatever items Your Excellency requires, I will go fetch them for you right away.” His attitude grew significantly more respectful.
After all, a golden scale is not a creature of a puddle; one day, the heavenly scroll will descend from the ninefold heavens.