Chu Yue was dragged onto the carriage by Zhao Jun in a daze, his mind completely filled with Xing Li’s image. Zhao Jun kept chattering endlessly beside him, but Chu Yue did not hear a single word.
Chu Yue remembered the last time he saw Xing Li was on a freezing, snowy night five years ago. The snow that night fell with exceptional density, wrapping the mountains and rivers in a thick layer of white. The accumulation was so heavy that even the bright sun over the next three days failed to melt it in the slightest.
Chu Yue did not know when the snow eventually melted because he had died on that pale earth three days later.
That day, Xing Li stood atop the ridge of the roof, his deep, abyss-like eyes gazing fixedly at the lattice window of Chu Yue’s room, looking like an elongated snowman. Waking up in the middle of the night and tossing and turning unable to fall asleep, Chu Yue simply put on a thick cloak, opened the window, and let a gust of blowing snow sweep across the room. Shivering slightly, Chu Yue sat down by the window to enjoy the snowy scenery.
Vaguely catching sight of the tall snowman amid the biting cold wind, Chu Yue was startled. Even though the person on the roof was wrapped in wind and snow, that upright posture was instantly recognizable.
His chest felt as though it had been pierced by something. Employing his lightness skill, Chu Yue landed before Xing Li and said coldly, “What are you still doing here?”
Xing Li’s frost-bitten lips moved, but no sound came out. Chu Yue immediately took off his own cloak and used his hand to brush the accumulated snow off Xing Li’s shoulders. Upon touching the other man’s body, he discovered that Xing Li was wearing only a single, thin layer of dark brocade clothing, and his body was ice-cold to the bone.
Chu Yue threw the cloak onto Xing Li’s shoulders and snapped irritably, “If Lord Xing wants to practice some kind of extreme freezing martial arts, you can go somewhere else. There is no need to practice it for me to see.”
A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of Xing Li’s lips, lacking his usual cold arrogance and carrying a bit more warmth.
The two stood face to face in the heavy snow. Seeing Xing Li’s nearly triumphant smile made Chu Yue feel even more uncomfortable, as if the other were mocking him: Look, you still cannot bear to watch me suffer. Even though you know I lied to you and hurt you, your heart still softens. Even with the enmity of your master’s murder standing between us, you still cannot bring yourself to strike when I am right before you!
Thinking of how his master had died at Xing Li’s hands, the look of deep hatred in his eyes became entirely apparent. “What business do you have with me?”
“It is so cold.”
These words spoken by Xing Li sounded like a lie; he did not look the slightest bit cold. “I am not practicing any freezing martial arts. I just did not dare disturb you.”
“Then why did you still come?”
Xing Li merely stared blankly at Chu Yue like a block of wood, uttering not a single word.
“Come inside!”
Creeped out by his stare, Chu Yue turned around, pushed off the ground with his feet, and returned to his room, with Xing Li following closely behind.
Chu Yue closed the window, turned back, and said, “Speak.”
Once inside, the charcoal fire burned brightly. The snow on Xing Li’s body instantly melted into water and soaked his clothes, making him genuinely cold instead.
Clutching his cloak in his hands, Xing Li sat down by the charcoal brazier and said, “The Crown Prince of Cheng’an’s rebellion was actually a frame-up by the Prince of Jingchuan. It will not be long before His Majesty clears the wrongful case of the Cheng’an Prince’s Estate.”
“What!” Chu Yue was greatly startled. “A frame-up by the Prince of Jingchuan?”
Xing Li nodded. “Yes. I know you do not believe it, but the evidence is conclusive. I made a trip to Yuzhou and investigated the ins and outs regarding the iron mine, discovering that the miners have an inseparable connection with Jingchuan; almost all of them are Jingchuan people.”
With a sarcastic chuckle, Chu Yue sneered, “Back then, they claimed the iron mine was embezzled by the Cheng’an Prince’s Estate, and they even dug out forged weapons! Was that not also considered conclusive evidence?”
“Are so-called pieces of evidence trustworthy?” Chu Yue gave a bitter laugh. “It was nothing more than killing two birds with one stone!”
The words Xing Li had yet to finish choked in his throat. Chu Yue walked back to the bed, lay down fully clothed, closed his eyes, and said, “You can leave now.”
Acting as if he had not heard, Xing Li continued, “You know Zuo Zhengying, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, right?”
Too lazy to speak with him, Chu Yue closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. Not waiting for Chu Yue to acknowledge him, Xing Li went on, “Zuo Zhengying is a man of the Prince of Jingchuan. He once planned to kill you in the Ministry of Justice, but I took you back to the Shadow Guards ahead of time. Now Zuo Zhengying has confessed to everything. I know you still harbor deep doubts, but once the case is closed, I will hand all the case files over to you so you can judge for yourself.”
Xing Li stood up and came to the side of Chu Yue’s bed. “His Majesty has ordered me to take you and Chu Yi back to the palace. Once the dust settles, a grand succession ceremony will be held for you.”
With his eyes closed, Chu Yue asked, “Are you finished?”
“Chu Yue!” Xing Li called out, but after a long while, there was no movement.
Failing to wait for the rest of the words, Chu Yue opened his eyes.
Only then did Xing Li ask cautiously, “Can we reconcile?”
Disdainfully, Chu Yue retorted, “Reconcile?”
Xing Li hid both hands inside his cloak, gripping them until his knuckles turned white. Despite trying his utmost to suppress it, he still appeared extremely constrained, finally asking in a tone that was practically pleading: “Can you forgive me?”
Chu Yue’s eyes turned crimson. Yet, instead of losing his composure, he merely let out a soft chuckle. “Lord Xing’s martial arts are peerless across the realm, and you are also a favorite in the Emperor’s inner circle. There is truly no need to debase yourself before someone like me. I am a criminal wanted by the court, and you are the court’s hunting dog. Since I must flee, it is your duty to capture me. As for the process, neither of us was wrong in our respective stances!”
“Therefore, there is no talk of reconciliation between us, let alone forgiveness. Since we are destined to be on opposite sides, we can only fight to the death!”
“Fight to the death!” Inside the carriage, Chu Yue muttered to himself, repeating those four words.
Some grievances ought to fade away with the wind. Having already died once, he had let them go.
In this lifetime, he could forgive Xing Li for the harm he had inflicted upon him, and he could forgive Xing Li for killing Master Liu Du. He could even forgive the Emperor’s disdain and persecution of him. But he could absolutely never forgive the Emperor’s merciless eradication of the Cheng’an Prince’s Estate. How could biological brothers be so ruthless!
He was his uncle, after all. In his father’s eyes, the Emperor was like a father figure, yet this father sought to annihilate the entire Cheng’an Prince’s Estate over a mere shred of suspicion!
All the hatred from his past life surfaced bit by bit in Chu Yue’s mind, but besides hatred, what else could he do? Go start an actual rebellion? Chu Yue could not bring himself to do it; he loved this vast and boundless territory of Great Wei, and he loved its people who lived and worked in peace.
Because Emperor Hongxuan had no male heirs, Chu Yue was brought into the imperial palace at the age of twelve and cultivated as the crown prince candidate. The teachings he received did not allow him to commit treason, and loving the people as if they were his own children was already carved into his bones and coursed through his blood.
Had it not been for Noble Consort Hui dramatically causing Emperor Hongxuan to gain a son in his old age, Chu Yue certainly would have become a sage-like emperor. Pity that fate loved to toy with people so much; Noble Consort Hui bore a son in a single stroke and had him established as the crown prince.
Everyone regarded Chu Yue as a joke, but Chu Yue remained completely at ease. Was there any job in this world more exhausting than being an emperor? Probably not!
From then on, Chu Yue accompanied Zhao Jun, fighting crickets and listening to music—practically taking on every single vice a profligate young master was supposed to have, short of visiting brothels.
Even so, such an attitude could not let the Emperor sleep in peace. As long as Chu Yue lived, he remained guilty.
Recalling Xing Li’s words from that snowy night about taking him and Chu Yi back to the palace, Chu Yue found it utterly laughable. Going back meant certain death; not going back meant he ultimately had not escaped it anyway.
He only wondered how Chu Yi was doing, and whether the Emperor had spared him.
Pondering to himself, Chu Yue figured that once he had some spare time, he should make a trip to the Cangming Liu family; Chu Yi was most likely still over there.
“Hey, hey, Lingze, what are you daydreaming about?”
Inside the carriage, Zhao Jun shook Chu Yue until his head spun. Regaining his senses, Chu Yue smiled and said, “Morning exercise left me a bit weary. Sorry, where did you leave off?”
“You child, I have been talking for half a day, and you were not listening at all. Good words are not repeated twice, and I am tired too. I am not saying anymore.” Zhao Jun crossed his arms and leaned back, looking thoroughly disgruntled.
Scratching his head, Chu Yue thought: Who are you calling a child? Forget it if you are not talking, I am the one who let you take advantage of me.
Since Zhao Jun was ignoring him, Chu Yue simply lifted the carriage curtain to look at the bustling crowd outside. The carriage came to a stop in front of a tea house.
“Is Xing Li inside the tea house?” Chu Yue turned back to ask Zhao Jun.
“He is always here on his day off. Do not tell me you forgot?”
“How could I? I remember now. I slept too much, so my brain is inevitably a bit muddled.”
As soon as he finished explaining, Chu Yue leaped down from the carriage. Zhao Jun exited after him and waited until the coachman brought over the low stepping stool before descending.
The tea house was packed with people. The guests were all gathered around the storyteller’s table in the hall, listening intently to whatever tale was being told while most of the dining tables in the hall remained vacant.
Chu Yue and Zhao Jun found a table and sat down. A waiter immediately hurried over solicitously to take their order for tea. After the tea was ordered, Chu Yue scanned his surroundings and asked, “Where is he?”
Frowning, Zhao Jun raised his chin to gesture toward the private rooms on the second floor. “Upstairs in the private room! Do not tell me you forgot that too? Why would he squeeze in among all these people?”
It was already mind-boggling that Xing Li could even come to a tea house. Years had passed, things had changed, and people and places were no longer the same—what was so strange about squeezing into a crowd? Though that was what Chu Yue thought, he still feigned sudden realization and said, “I forgot. He likes quiet and dislikes crowds.”
Following Zhao Jun’s gaze, Chu Yue glanced at the tightly shut doors and windows of the upstairs private room. “How do you know for sure he is here today?”
Not wanting to disturb the patrons listening to the story, Zhao Jun leaned close to Chu Yue’s ear and whispered, “I saw him come in when I went to your house this morning. The waiter led his horse away, so he definitely is not leaving anytime soon.”
Chu Yue nodded and looked up once more, his heart beating uncontrollably faster as he stared at the closed doors and windows.
With a loud crack, the storyteller struck his wooden block. Both Chu Yue and Zhao Jun gave a start from the sudden fright. They heard the storyteller by the long desk vividly recounting, “Let us return once more to that Crown Prince Minhua. Previously, we mentioned how the crown prince was born looking like an immortal descended to the mortal realm—as for his romantic exploits, I shall temporarily set them aside. Today, let us talk about how exceptionally talented the Crown Prince was in literature, truly a literary star descended from the heavens!”
“You said the Crown Prince was the True Lord Erlang descended from the heavens the day before yesterday, and today he has turned into a literary star!”
A child’s voice rang out from within the quiet crowd, interrupting the storyteller’s train of thought. The storyteller’s mouth stiffened slightly as he scanned the crowd back and forth, unable to figure out where that little child had been squeezed.
Stroking his graying beard, the storyteller smiled and said, “This little bookworm listens with exceptional attentiveness indeed. The Crown Prince was adept in both literary and martial arts, capable of manifesting as any deity. As mere mortals, how could you and I know which specific immortal mortal coil he was transformed from? It is nothing more than making an analogy! There is no need to take it too literally, no need to take it too seriously, haha.”
Chu Yue found it utterly ridiculous. Considering the crown prince’s age of barely seven years old, how could he possibly have romantic exploits?
And where on earth did they see exceptional literary talent? Was he really a child prodigy who was a literary star incarnate? It seemed the dog Emperor truly took great pains, elevating the crown prince from childhood as a child of the heavens to be revered by all the common folk. It was just that these local legends were far too comical, even managing to hype up romantic escapades.
Shaking his head, Chu Yue pulled his gaze away from the crowd and cast a glance back toward the private room on the second floor. Past events from his previous life emerged vividly before his eyes once more, making him feel terribly stifled and inspiring a sudden impulse to run away!
“How about we just leave?”
Wondering why on earth he had impulsively followed Zhao Jun to the tea house, Chu Yue immediately regretted it.
“Leave?” Zhao Jun balked. “We have finally come out, why would we go back?”
“It is not about going back to the estate, we can go somewhere else.” Chu Yue glanced at the crowd, the storyteller’s voice echoing powerfully from within, and feigned disgust as he said, “It is too noisy here!”
Zhao Jun expressed astonishment. “Did you not used to love lively places the most?”
At a loss for words, Chu Yue realized that a sudden drastic change in personality did not quite seem appropriate—people might start suspecting his brain was broken. He could only sit dejectedly in his seat, sipping tea and staring heavily at the tea set.
He had no idea when Zhao Jun had left the table. When he looked up again, Zhao Jun was no longer in his seat. Chu Yue stood up. Being significantly taller than these common folk, he raised his gaze and discovered that Zhao Jun had actually run up to the storyteller’s desk, pushing the storyteller off to one side.