After that brief diversion, Bai Yi returned to his usual self. He rubbed his head and said, “Xiao Shiyun, you scared me to death. Do not do that again. My IQ is not high enough to play along with your acting.”
Xiao Shiyun replied, “Then you really do not handle surprises well. Do not cause me any trouble in prison over the next few days. If anyone bullies you, show them that same fearless, defiant attitude you had today. Do you understand?”
A fearless, defiant attitude. The choice of words was sharp, fitting for the Xiao Shiyun who was now an Emperor. However, Bai Yi still missed the original Xiao Shiyun. Silence was the best etiquette for a man.
The former Xiao Shiyun would not say more than three sentences a day in university. He was the standard cool, aloof college student who appeared distant on the surface but was actually quite warm underneath. He used to ask Bai Yi what he wanted for dinner. If Bai Yi said he was not eating, Xiao Shiyun would simply stop talking and focus on his own work. If Bai Yi said he was eating, Xiao Shiyun would bring back two portions of food and never once asked Bai Yi to pay him back.
When they worked part time together at a coffee shop, Xiao Shiyun would thoughtfully send notes on how to make various coffees to Bai Yi and ask if he understood. If Bai Yi said yes, Xiao Shiyun would give his usual reminder: “Come to me if there are any problems. I am always here.”
Now, looking at the current Xiao Shiyun asking if he understood, Bai Yi felt a flicker of hope. He hoped the thoughtful, warm Xiao Shiyun would return. He was simply suffering from amnesia and would surely remember one day.
“I understand. Rest assured, I know how to protect myself. Do you have anything else you want to say to me?”
Xiao Shiyun used a corner of his clothing to wipe away the traces of ointment from his fingertip, acting as if nothing had happened. He spoke with a harsh tone. “What else do you want me to say? That your brain does not work well?”
“You should just stop talking. Pretend I never asked that last part.”
Xiao Shiyun had intended to leave, but he was suddenly curious about what Bai Yi had expected him to say. “Clearly you were the one anticipating something. What did you want to hear?”
Bai Yi replied, “You should have said something like, ‘Come to me if there are any problems,’ because you used to say that to me all the time.” If one listened closely to the underlying meaning, the words held a strange sense of intimacy, but Bai Yi did not notice.
“I used to say that to you?” Xiao Shiyun frowned. “Who else has said that to you?”
Bai Yi said, “You.”
“I never said that. If you dare to mistake me for someone else, you are dead.”
“Forget it. You have amnesia. It is normal that you do not remember.”
Xiao Shiyun had dug this hole for himself. He had impulsively pretended to be the person Bai Yi described, only to end up feeling a surge of irritation. He grabbed Bai Yi by the collar. “Do not mention him again. If I find you mentioning him again, I will have your head.”
But you are clearly the same person. Bai Yi knew he could not be mistaken. It would take time to reform this psychologically twisted Emperor back into a sunny college student; he could not rush it.
“Xiao Shiyun, can you try to lose your temper less in the future? A bad temper makes it easy to develop hyperthyroidism. Look, if you do not lose your temper, no one can do anything to you. Let’s speak more gently from now on, okay?”
Bai Yi truly felt Xiao Shiyun had a terrible temper. Getting angry and frowning every day would make him die seven or eight years earlier than someone who remained calm.
“I cannot. Who do you think you are, trying to manage me? Stay here. Whether I let you out or not depends on your performance.”
Xiao Shiyun was occupied with many matters. The poisoning incident involving the Second Prince and the Empress Dowager’s faction was not yet resolved. She had sent Bai Yi to poison him, clearly not realizing that Bai Yi lacked the brain for such a task.
Someone brought over ink, brushes, and paper. Xiao Shiyun handed a prepared confession to Bai Yi. The paper stated that Bai Yi, under interrogation by the Ministry of Justice, had confessed that the Second Prince’s consort had given him the Nine Cauldron Red poison. The consort was a woman from the Western Regions and the daughter of the Empress Dowager’s younger brother. She appeared to be a woman who had just married into the family and could not cause much trouble. On the contrary, she was the most deceptive and dangerous factor. Xiao Shiyun had waited a long time for this opportunity to uproot them.
“Sign and thumbprint this. After you leave, your rank will be lowered by six levels, and you will serve as an Imperial Attendant in Jingqian Hall.”
Xiao Shiyun’s plan had been in motion for two months. Even before he had noticed Bai Yi as a person, the Provincial Governor of Jingzhou was already destined to be a criminal.
Bai Yi felt his brain was about to burn out. He had never liked mystery or political intrigue because he could not understand it, yet he had traveled into a political novel. It was a disastrous start. The forces in the court were chaotic, and choosing the wrong side could lead to his death. However, he had no other choice. Fortunately, Xiao Shiyun was his buddy and would not harm him.
“Can I choose not to?” Bai Yi asked sincerely. Why was he an official while Xiao Shiyun was the Emperor? Even worse, he was about to lose his only small position and become a servant in Xiao Shiyun’s hall. His status was lower than Laifu’s, his wealth less than a eunuch’s, and his pride less than the rib soup in the pot. If Xiao Shiyun told him to go east, he could not go west. Therefore, he was determined not to sign.
“Fine, you can choose not to sign. You will simply be killed by someone sent by the Empress Dowager, drowned by the rumors of the officials, or knocked unconscious and buried alive by secret guards. It is better to stay in my Jingqian Hall. At least you do not have to worry about your head being separated from your body.”
Xiao Shiyun knew what he was thinking and listed the simple outcomes Bai Yi had failed to consider.
Bai Yi tearfully pressed his red thumbprint and signed his name. “But I was originally innocent. It is your messy affairs that dragged me into this. I just wanted to be an honest official and did nothing.”
“I see the person with amnesia is you. The Provincial Governor of Jingzhou placed high on the capital list at age thirteen and became famous in Bianjing. At the age of twenty, you bribed officials to introduce you to the Empress Dowager. You gained power to sell private salt in Jingzhou, opened salt fields, and secretly organized the Salt and Iron Council to collect high membership fees from merchants.”
“Every single one of those acts is enough for you to die a thousand times. However, I know you do not have the brain for that. You should thank yourself for being an impostor and thank this face of yours for being ninety nine percent identical to the original Provincial Governor.”
Xiao Shiyun had carefully observed whether Bai Yi’s behavior matched the records in his file during their time together. He found that they did not match at all. The original Provincial Governor was a highly logical politician, hypocritical and calculating, who appeared charitable by providing disaster relief everywhere. He was so slippery that no fault could be found.
The person in front of him, however, slept until noon every day, was practically illiterate, and wrote in a crooked manner as if he had never participated in the imperial examinations or attended school. Xiao Shiyun had sent people to find the whereabouts of the original Provincial Governor, but there was no news. The only Provincial Governor was the person standing before him.
He questioned him, “Bai Yi, are you truly the Provincial Governor of Jingzhou?”
Being confronted with the truth felt like a sharp sword piercing through Bai Yi. The cold sensation combined with his terrible situation was overwhelming. Could he mention traveling through time? Would it be right to say it? It was practically against the laws of nature.
Previously he was certain Xiao Shiyun had amnesia, but now Bai Yi was certain he was the one with amnesia. “That is right, Your Majesty. I have lost my previous memories! I deeply regret the knowledge I cannot recover. It is like losing my own child. I think about it day and night and will never forget it.”
Having spoken so movingly, he hoped Xiao Shiyun would stop investigating the matter of the Provincial Governor. If asked where the original Governor went, Bai Yi wanted to ask Xiao Shiyun in return. Heaven could bear witness that he did not know; he had simply woken up in this position.
Xiao Shiyun was momentarily speechless at Bai Yi’s choice of words. The answer was already obvious. “I know you have no culture. Shut up.”