Shen Shangling had been worried that he would fall onto Lu Xiao and create a cliché scene of throwing himself into someone’s arms. To his surprise, Lu Xiao’s reaction was lightning fast. Just as he was falling backward toward the bed, he felt a dull thud behind him. Simultaneously, a tremendous force collided with him, sending him flying forward. By the time he regained his senses, he had fallen heavily onto the floor beside the clothes rack. It felt as if his bones were about to break; the pain made his nose ache instantly, and he lay on the floor, unable to get up for a moment.
Lu Xiao’s expression was gloomy. He never allowed anyone to approach him without his permission, let alone fall onto him. This was the instinct of a lone wolf, honed over years of living in perilous situations. Elbowing someone away was a natural reflex, but just now… when his elbow had struck Shen Shangling, he had felt the soft, smooth skin through the thin undergarments. Lu Xiao subconsciously glanced at his arm that had just elbowed the man away, feeling a sudden sense of repulsion. How can a man have skin as tender and delicate as an infant’s? It’s disgraceful. That momentary contact even stirred an inexplicable irritability within him.
“Your Highness?” a personal guard’s voice came from outside the door. “Wen-ge’er is here. He says he wants to see Your Highness, he wants to” The guard paused, then added, “He wants to see Old Shen…”
Jiang Sanwen was the son of Physician Jiang, and because Physician Jiang held a transcendental status in the manor, no one in the Dingbei Prince’s manor dared to slight Jiang Sanwen. Not to mention, the Prince had always been indulgent toward the little fellow. The guard dared not fail to report that Wen-ge’er wished to see the Prince.
Upon hearing the guard’s words, Lu Xiao’s sharp gaze softened.
“Old Shen?”
He didn’t even look at Shen Shangling, who was still sprawled on the floor, struggling to rise in pain. As he rose to put on his clothes, he said with gentle surprise, “Old Shen is—” Before he finished, he realized something, and his gaze shot toward Shen Shangling.
Shen Shangling, who had just managed to recover a bit and was struggling to stand, froze upon hearing “Wen-ge’er.” He hurriedly wiped away the tears of pain from the corners of his eyes and looked toward the door, only to find himself locking eyes with Lu Xiao. He quickly averted his gaze, lowered his eyelashes, and tried his best to shrink into the background.
Lu Xiao remained composed and walked to the door. Looking at the small child brought by the personal guard, Lu Xiao slowly crouched down, though a heavy, deep emotion seemed to press down in his eyes. This child was his brother’s posthumous son. Only a few people knew that this was the greatest secret of the manor.
Back then, his father and brother had died one after another in battle, a tragedy involving a monstrous conspiracy. His father had achieved great martial merit and treated scholars with courtesy, winning the hearts of the people in the court. At that time, his brother—the heir to the Prince was both a scholar and a warrior, famous as a youth and a legendary Confucian general. The powerful and wealthy in the capital all praised him, and countless scholars considered it an honor to be associated with him. The heir’s wife also came from a powerful, aristocratic family… Perhaps all of this had been an eyesore to the old Emperor and certain others.
When his father died in battle, he had already sensed that something was wrong. Later, his sister-in-law died in childbirth, and shortly after, his brother met with an accident… At that exact time, one of his brother’s concubines was pregnant. He had immediately arranged for her to “die” and escape, thus saving the child. Unfortunately, the concubine died of illness when the child was only a few months old. He then sought out his childhood friend, Jiang Yuanlin, who was traveling as a wandering physician, and placed the child with him, instructing him to tell the world that the boy was his own son.
When the child turned three and was of an age to begin his studies, he used the excuse that Physician Jiang had once saved his life to bring both Jiang Yuanlin and the child into the manor. To outsiders, his kindness toward the boy was merely out of respect for the physician. In reality, Jiang Sanwen was his brother’s orphan, his own flesh and blood. He wanted to avenge his father and brother, yet he also wanted to preserve this last remnant of their bloodline.
Thinking of his past life, where this child had died of illness in the winter… Lu Xiao appeared calm, but his heart felt like it was being scorched by boiling oil. In his previous life, he hadn’t protected this child well; he had been too busy plotting revenge, neglecting the child, and was ultimately unable to snatch the boy’s life back from the jaws of illness. In this lifetime, he would have to watch over him with the utmost care.
“Your Highness,” Jiang Sanwen said, his voice crisp and full of vitality as he offered a polite, mature greeting. “I heard from Father that you returned to the manor yesterday. Was the journey smooth?”
“It was.” Lu Xiao’s voice was unexpectedly raspy as he picked up Jiang Sanwen. “Wen-ge’er… how have you been these past few days?”
He had returned to the manor last night and had first gone to Wutong Courtyard, wanting to see the child who was still alive in this life. Not wanting to disturb the sleeping child, he hadn’t intruded. Now, feeling the lively little fellow in his arms and hearing the child’s crisp voice, his turbulent heart gradually settled.
“I went to Old Shen’s courtyard earlier, but Old Shen wasn’t there,” Jiang Sanwen said clearly. “Father said Old Shen was with you, Your Highness. Is he here?”
Lu Xiao narrowed his eyes. When did Shen Shangling ever have contact with this child? In his past life, there was absolutely no contact. Shen Shangling was extremely arrogant; he wouldn’t even deign to glance at someone like Jiang Yuanlin, let alone a small child like Jiang Sanwen.
“Have someone deliver a set of clothes to that person in the room,” Lu Xiao instructed his personal guard, his thoughts shifting. “Just ordinary clothes will do. Burn all his previous garments and seal off that courtyard. Place him in a small room in the rear wing of the side courtyard. Aside from his personal effects, seal everything else in Qiyu Courtyard.” He paused, a scoff escaping him. “Also, send out the order: call him ‘Snow Demon’ from now on.”
The guard was momentarily stunned but quickly acknowledged the order, feeling internally puzzled. Snow Demon… is it the “demon” I think it is? This term carried an extremely derogatory connotation in the Great Yin Dynasty. Even decent families wouldn’t use it for the concubines they kept. After the great shamanic upheaval a century ago, the term “demon” was associated with witchcraft and chaos. After the movement was quelled, only the soul-stealing lead courtesans in brothels were referred to by such names.
Hearing the name “Snow Demon,” the guard realized that the once-pretentious Mr. Shen had likely lost the Prince’s protection entirely. It was evident that the Prince now viewed him merely as a tool for amusement. No wonder the Prince had him change into those kinds of clothes last night… Tsk.
After giving the orders, Lu Xiao coaxed Jiang Sanwen by promising to take him to find Old Shen after breakfast, then carried the boy away from the doorway of the study. He had already seen Jiang Yuanlin leaning against a pillar in the corridor, winking at him.
“Speak,” Lu Xiao said after walking over and ordering someone to take Jiang Sanwen to breakfast. “What on earth is going on?”
It was barely dawn. What could Shen Shangling have possibly used to bribe Jiang Sanwen, allowing such a small child to be so impatient to find him early in the morning?
He had returned from Jibei and naturally had to make some moves after his rebirth. In his past life, he knew exactly who had betrayed him and who had remained loyal… his grudges and debts were almost entirely clear in his mind. After returning to the manor last night, he hadn’t had time to talk much with Jiang Yuanlin; he had first silently dealt with a few people before going to see Shen Shangling to vent his rage. Therefore, he had no idea what had happened to cause Jiang Sanwen to seek out Shen Shangling.
Jiang Yuanlin chuckled. He and Lu Xiao were close friends and were used to living freely, so he didn’t stand on ceremony. “The Prince is truly blessed,” Jiang Yuanlin blinked mischievously, lowering his voice. “I couldn’t tell before, but does Your Highness have an interest in men? Last night, you had that beautiful scholar—” He knew Lu Xiao wasn’t interested in men, but seeing Shen Shangling dressed in those clothes and serving in the study last night… he couldn’t help his curiosity.
Lu Xiao suddenly recalled the sensation of that soft, smooth skin when he had elbowed the man away. A heat flared in his chest, and he slammed a palm against the pillar. “Get to the point.”
Jiang Yuanlin laughed again and recounted the events of the past few days between Shen Shangling and Jiang Sanwen. “Beekeeping? And he can perform folk storytelling… Journey to the West?”
Lu Xiao listened, his brows knit in silence. None of these things sounded like something Shen Shangling would do; in fact, the Shen Shangling of his past life had never exhibited such behavior. Lu Xiao ordered for Yutao and the others to be brought in, listening as they detailed every move Shen Shangling had made these past few days making ordinary clothes, asking for lard, asking for wood ash…
After listening, Lu Xiao waved his hand, dismissing them, though a chilling light flashed in his eyes. His first reaction was that Shen Shangling had also been reborn. But, first of all, Shen Shangling had been gloating and petty when he died; it was unlikely he would have been reborn alongside him. More importantly, even if he had been reborn, he wouldn’t be doing such nonsensical things.
“Interesting, right?” Jiang Yuanlin said with a smile. “Prince, that person used to be nothing but a ‘flowery pillow,’ but these past few days, he’s actually become quite interesting is the Prince going to interrogate him?”
Making soap… although it didn’t sound like witchcraft, it was certainly suspicious. He had never cared for the scholar, so he didn’t mind Lu Xiao’s attitude toward him. Whether he showed respect or humiliation, whether he was truly interested in men… those were the Prince’s own affairs. However, the Journey to the West stories Shen Shangling told had truly piqued his interest. Based on his understanding of Lu Xiao, he hated the man to the core to have humiliated him to this extent. He wondered if Lu Xiao would let the man live a few more days just for the sake of finishing the Journey to the West stories. Otherwise, with the methods of Lu Xiao’s secret guards, Shen Shangling wouldn’t last a single round of interrogation before being torn to pieces.
“No need,” a scoff flashed in Lu Xiao’s eyes. “Why use a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken?”
No matter how strange Shen Shangling’s actions were, he was a dead man in his eyes. But killing him right now would only grant this fake scholar the reputation of being a man who died rather than submit to power. That would be letting him off too easily.
“A silver-plated pewter spear—all appearance and no substance,” Lu Xiao sneered. “After Wen-ge’er finishes breakfast, I will call that man over, I will listen from behind the screen as well, just for amusement.”
“Prince, I’ll listen too,” Jiang Yuanlin said immediately. “In any case, Wen-ge’er is usually with me… I should know how this scholar is coaxing him.” He wanted to hear the rest of Journey to the West as well; hearing second-hand information from the boy wasn’t enough.
After the two reached an agreement and finished breakfast, Wen-ge’er was already clamoring to see Old Shen.
“Summon Snow Demon to the West Pavilion,” Lu Xiao commanded his personal guard. “Tell him to serve Wen-ge’er well.”
“Snow Demon?” Jiang Yuanlin froze, then gave a mocking laugh. “What a fitting name.” No, wait, can Shen Shangling really endure that?
“He’s just a coward who clings to his life,” Lu Xiao said coldly, before shifting the conversation to serious matters. “Wen Qiantan is coming to the capital.”
Jiang Yuanlin’s smile vanished instantly. “His silver collection in the south isn’t going well?”
Wen Qiantan was Lu Xiao’s trusted confidant, formerly serving as a clerk under the Governor of Fuzhou, managing all financial and logistical matters. Fuzhou was the Prince’s fiefdom—his base of power. Although Lu Xiao was currently staying in the capital, it was only to lull the old Emperor and his ilk into a false sense of security. Wen Qiantan, meanwhile, was secretly planning in Fuzhou, acting in coordination with Lu Xiao. Due to the winter disaster in Fuzhou, frequent wars in the north, and the court’s deliberate obstruction… Lu Xiao was currently extremely short of money. Wen Qiantan had disguised himself and gone to the south to secure a sum of secret funds, intending to return directly to Fuzhou afterward. His sudden detour to the capital… meant his fundraising had likely failed.