"Changing her surname is a given, but Chengli’s daughter..." Xu Yunfan’s eyes turned cold. "She holds a deep grudge against Zhao Yu. She was just brought back, yet she’s already scheming to drive Zhao Yu away."
"Outrageous!" Old Sir Xu flew into a rage. "Does she really think that way?"
Xu Yunfan sneered contemptuously. "It’s more than just thinking about it. She actually asked Mom right to her face since when Chengli got another sister, claiming she doesn’t have an aunt."
"Ridiculous! Absurd!" Old Sir Xu panted heavily. "Does she really think bloodline is that important? Does she think her status is already higher than Zhao Yu’s?"
"Chengli is a refined man; I never expected his daughter to be so ill-mannered," Xu Yunfan said flatly. "Dad, it’s probably because she’s his only daughter that he spoiled her. But now that she has returned to the Xu family, we will properly discipline her on his behalf."
"I’m just afraid this seedling has grown crooked and will be hard to straighten," Old Sir Xu frowned deeply. "Bringing such a thing back... I’m afraid that after I die, I won’t have the face to meet the ancestors of the Xu family!"
Xu Yunfan was noncommittal. "If she really can’t be set straight, she can pack up and get out of the Xu family."
"Fine. We’ll just change Chengli’s surname for now." Old Sir Xu suddenly remembered something and instructed, "By the way, Yunfan, once your oldest brother returns, get ready. We need to prepare generous gifts to pay a formal visit to the Pei family."
Xu Yunfan hesitated for a moment. "I heard the Meng family went a month ago. Unfortunately, they didn’t even get to see anyone in charge."
"Indeed. Meeting the head of the Pei family is difficult." Old Sir Xu spoke with reverence. "Four hundred years ago, the Pei family was already a prominent and prestigious clan in Jianghuai. Alongside the Linsu Xie Family, the Yunzhong He Family, and the Nanling Cui Family, they were one of the four great surnames—a true aristocratic powerhouse."
Xu Yunfan looked solemn. "I understand what you mean."
Although all were prominent families in Jianghuai, the Xu family and Meng family were not even in the same league as the Pei family.
"Therefore, we must prepare our gifts carefully. Hopefully, they will catch the Pei family’s eye." Old Sir Xu frowned again. "Where are Chengli and his daughter right now?"
"I don’t know." Xu Yunfan was completely indifferent. "Mom said Chengli’s daughter has a fever. They’re probably at some hospital."
Old Sir Xu didn’t press the issue. "Have all his belongings been moved back to the Xu family’s home?"
"It’s mostly a bunch of old history books. They’re incredibly filthy. I had them put in the warehouse for now so Chengli can sort them out himself," Xu Yunfan said with a hint of disgust. "This way, he won’t come crying later that we messed with his things."
"I can always count on you to handle things well," Old Sir Xu said in relief. "You and your siblings are all so outstanding; it brings honor to my name."
After saying that, his expression immediately faded, clearly thinking of Ming Chengli, who had accomplished nothing of note. An archaeologist chasing after fake history—he was destined to be useless for the rest of his life.
***
The night sky hung low, ablaze with a multitude of stars.
A black car slowly drove into the Pei Family’s old house under the cover of night. The door opened, and someone stepped out.
The man had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, exuding an extraordinary, innate nobility. A careless smile played on his lips, giving him a cynical, playboy demeanor. He had a charming face that seemed perpetually open to girlfriends, just not long-term ones.
He strolled leisurely, unhurried, reminiscent of a richly-dressed young nobleman from ancient times, riding a fine horse down a long street. Without even looking back, he would steal the hearts of countless maidens.
"Young Master." Housekeeper Pei immediately stood up straight.
Pei Xuan hummed in acknowledgment. "What are you chatting about?"
Housekeeper Pei hesitated for a moment. "About how the child of the Jianghuai Xu Family was secretly switched out years ago..."
"Boring. Don’t want to hear it." Pei Xuan gave a lazy smile. With a stride of his long legs, he was already heading upstairs.
"In the future, don’t let the Young Master catch you gossiping about this kind of nonsense," Housekeeper Pei scolded the servants. "Why should the Xu family’s trivial matters reach our Young Master’s ears?"
After speaking, Housekeeper Pei went to the kitchen to fetch a plate of pastries. When he went upstairs and arrived at the bedroom door, he found it wide open.
Pei Xuan was holding a book in his hands. Housekeeper Pei didn’t even need to look to know what he was reading—"Taichu Empress’s Autobiography".
"Young Master, you just returned from the Southern Region. You should get some good rest instead of reading," Housekeeper Pei said as he walked in and set down the plate. "It can wait."
"Get out," Pei Xuan said without even lifting his eyes. His voice was calm, betraying no emotion.
Housekeeper Pei had no choice but to back out and close the door. Thus, he didn’t see Pei Xuan tear the book in his hands a few seconds later, sneering coldly, "Total nonsense! Absurd drivel!"
A history book that had sold millions of copies, yet almost not a single event recorded in it was true!
Pei Xuan calmed himself down and looked out the window, his gaze distant. There were still three months until the New Year, yet a banner wishing "Good Luck in the 2026 Year of the Horse" was already hung outside.
It had been four years since he first opened his eyes to this future era. He had traveled to many places, but he had yet to meet the old friend he longed to see.
"Where are you now?" Pei Xuan’s voice was almost a whisper. "Don’t you want to come back and see Jiuzhou? Is it because... you don’t need me anymore?"
Finally, he let out a soft call that sounded like a sigh, "Your Majesty."
There was no response.
Pei Xuan closed his eyes and drifted into slumber alongside the long night.
***
At noon the next day, Ming Chengli arrived at the hospital carrying lunch, only to see his daughter looking back at him with dark circles under her eyes.
"Changying, did you pull an all-nighter?" Ming Chengli was startled. "Don’t study like that. Your health is more important! Your fever just broke, and you still need to get an IV drip today!"
He stepped forward, about to snatch the book away, but his gaze froze on five words:
Forty-Nine Days in Yunzhou.
This was a notorious massacre in the history of Jiuzhou. When the red-haired, green-eyed Hong Clan trampled through Yunzhou, Jianghuai bore the brunt of the assault. The citizens in the city were almost entirely slaughtered.
Ming Chengli had read about this period of history hundreds of times. Yet, every time he read it, it felt like a knife twisting in his heart.
"No one understands your old man’s dream..." Ming Chengli’s voice choked with emotion. "Back then, when the Hong Clan invaded, they killed so many people and burned so many books. The history of the Xuan Dynasty at its peak was completely severed just like that."
Shi Changying finally spoke. "Is the Pei family still around today?"
"If you mean the Pei family from four hundred years ago, then of course they aren’t," Ming Chengli sighed. "However, the current Pei family does have some ties to them. It’s said they were established by a branch family of the original Pei Clan."
Shi Changying asked calmly, "What about Pei Xuan?"
Ming Chengli was pleasantly surprised that she had actually absorbed the book’s contents and even remembered a historical figure like Pei Xuan. He immediately replied, "Pei Xuan led three hundred thousand soldiers to defend Jianghuai."
Shi Changying asked again, "And then?"
Ming Chengli paused, his expression turning somber. "In such a desperate situation... they all died in battle, of course."
Shi Changying closed her eyes. After a long moment, she let out a cold sneer. "I know he’s always had a lot of backbone, just like when he came to assassinate me in the middle of the night back then."
Ming Chengli was stunned. "What?"
Shi Changying said nothing more, returning her gaze to the book.
"Changying, today—" Before Ming Chengli could finish his sentence, the ward door was violently pushed open.
"So this is where you are, Chengli. You really made me look for you." Xu Yunfan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the father and daughter with an indifferent gaze. "You’re Shi Changying, right? Your aunt has woken up, and she’s waiting for you to go apologize to her."