The morning market gradually stirred to life. The air was filled with the rhythmic cries of street vendors, creating a scene of bustling clamor.
Wei Yang held Ye Zhao’s hand, allowing himself to be led aimlessly through the streets. His small face was a mask of frustration and reluctance.
They had walked this particular street three times already!
Ye Zhao meandered without purpose, as if he himself did not know where he was headed. He simply walked slowly, incessantly. Any path would do; there was no fixed direction, no destination in mind. He was like a traveler lost upon his own journey.
Wei Yang had been worn down until his temper was gone. He didn't want to say a word. His small lips were pouted in clear displeasure, yet he still refused to let go of Ye Zhao’s hand, trudging along beside him.
"Would the young gentleman like a bowl of noodles?"
As they passed a noodle shop, a waiter greeted them warmly. "Our noodles are springy and the broth is rich. One taste and I guarantee you'll be back for a second bowl!"
After walking for so long, Wei Yang was both exhausted and famished, but he guessed that the man beside him would likely offer no reaction.
He patted his empty little stomach pitifully and dismissed the waiter listlessly. "We aren't eating noodles."
But in the next heartbeat, Ye Zhao turned and walked straight toward the shop. The waiter’s face lit up as he shouted, "Two guests, coming in!"
Caught off guard, Wei Yang was dragged along for a few steps. By the time Ye Zhao sat down on the long bench of the noodle stall, Wei Yang still looked like he hadn't processed what was happening.
"Eh?!" Wei Yang cried in shock. "I’ve been calling you for ages with no response! So, you actually wanted to eat noodles?"
Without waiting for an answer, he nimbly sat down at the table, his face alight with excitement. "Come to think of it, we haven't had breakfast yet. If you were hungry, you should have said so earlier!"
"What else do you want to eat? Let's go get that too."
"Oh, right, I almost forgot—you want noodles right now." Wei Yang prattled on to himself for a moment before suddenly remembering the task at hand. He looked at the waiting waiter and took the initiative. "Two bowls of Yangchun noodles."
"Right away!" the waiter shouted toward the stove. "Two bowls of Yangchun noodles!"
The noodles were served quickly. The bowls were filled with a milky-white broth, and the steaming noodles were garnished with a few sprigs of bright green scallions. The sight and aroma were enough to whet anyone's appetite.
Without another word, Wei Yang pulled out a pair of bamboo chopsticks and took a large slurp of noodles. Seeing that the man beside him was staring at his bowl without moving, he urged, "Eat! Weren't you hungry?"
Ye Zhao remained motionless. Wei Yang’s little mind whirled, and he figured he knew why Ye Zhao was hesitating. "Don't worry! This Prin— I have money! Just eat, don't be afraid!"
There were too many commoners around, so Wei Yang caught himself halfway through and changed his self-address.
His small hands fumbled through his waistbelt and sleeves. He paused, then suddenly bent down and pried a large pearl off his shoe.
With a smug expression, Wei Yang waved the pearl in front of Ye Zhao’s eyes. "See? I told you I had money! At worst, I'll just give this to the stall owner as payment for the noodles."
Wei Yang had been talking all morning without a single response from Ye Zhao, but this time, the man finally spared him a flat, indifferent glance.
"I don't want to eat."
His expression was far too calm, devoid of any emotion, as still as a wooden puppet. Wei Yang didn't notice anything amiss, only asking, "Oh, then what do you want to eat?"
Ye Zhao repeated, "I don't want to eat."
"Alright, I get it, I get it." Wei Yang’s chopsticks paused as he was about to bring more noodles to his mouth. "...Then what *do* you want?"
His tone carried a hint of helplessness.
Ye Zhao’s eyes, as still as stagnant water, slowly drifted toward the surrounding crowd. Unlike before, the passersby finally seemed to enter his field of vision, as if he were truly seeing them now.
"Are you sad because of the Duke of An?"
Wei Yang ate his noodles in small bites, the excitement gone from his face. "I heard people say your bond was extraordinary. Are you very sad right now? If you are, then just cry. You'll feel better once it's out."
As he spoke, Wei Yang didn't notice his own eyes turning red. Ye Zhao’s gaze finally shifted from the crowd to the boy.
"Once, I fell from the stone steps and it hurt like death. The Duke of Zhen told me that a real man doesn't shed tears easily. But the Duke of An told me: 'Cry, you'll feel better once it's out. Once you're done crying, it won't hurt anymore.'"
"I want to be a hero like the Duke of Zhen! But..." Wei Yang paused, his mood clearly dropping. "But in the end, I listened to the Duke of An. I chose to have a good cry. It’s not so bad to become a hero after I’m done crying!"
As he spoke, the thought that he would never see the Duke of An again made his eyes well up. It looked as though he was about to give Ye Zhao a live performance of a breakdown in the next second.
"Shut up." Two words were uttered in a slightly raspy, indifferent voice, instantly cutting off Wei Yang’s impending flood of sorrow.
Wei Yang pouted and gave Ye Zhao a disgruntled look. "Do you regret it?"
He was referring to the fact that Ye Zhao had chosen the lives of the city's people over Pei Shian.
Ye Zhao fell silent again.
"The Duke of Mingde said we would never see the Duke of An again."
Wei Yang was baffled by Ye Zhao’s reaction and kept stealing glances at him, but he couldn't make heads or tails of it.
Only, Ye Zhao wasn't wearing the teasing smile he usually had when messing with the boy. He was unnervingly calm and elegant.
Being too curious or talking too much usually led to poor results, and that was exactly the situation Wei Yang faced.
He watched with wide eyes as Ye Zhao picked up his own noodle bowl, walked over to a slop bucket, and with a flick of his wrist, dumped the steaming noodles into the waste. Wei Yang’s heart seemed to drop into the bucket along with them.
It took a long moment for Wei Yang to react. "Ye Zhao!"
"Ugh... I—I’m going to tell Imperial Father!"
With red eyes, Wei Yang sniffled and turned to run away.
He had followed Ye Zhao all morning on an empty stomach, and just when he finally got a bite to eat, Ye Zhao dumped it all?!
Who wouldn't be furious?
Wei Yang no longer cared if the man was Lord Tian Shu; even if he was, he didn't want to be friends with Ye Zhao anymore!
He stomped away for a few steps, then turned back to see the culprit actually having the gall to sit back down in his seat. His anger flared anew, and he ran off completely.
After a brief rustle of movement, a fresh bowl of steaming noodles was placed on the table.
Ye Zhao looked up and was momentarily dazed by the person sitting opposite him.
"You're back."
Perhaps because he hadn't spoken for a long time, Ye Zhao’s voice was dry and hoarse. He said, "I thought you weren't coming back either."
Dressed in a dark blue scholar's robe, Pei Shian’s expression was placid. He asked, "Besides me, who else has left you?"
"Many people." Ye Zhao’s gaze drifted toward the void, as if looking back at the figures submerged in the long river of his memory. He said slowly, "Many... so many that I can no longer remember their faces."
He continued, "If you hadn't come back soon, I'm afraid I would have forgotten you as well."
He would not keep a memory of someone who couldn't return; it was simply too painful.
It sounded like a heartless thing to say, yet Pei Shian couldn't help but pause. He said, "That is why I hurried back."
"Heh..." Ye Zhao let out a small laugh and said softly, "Where did he hide you? I truly couldn't guess."
Pei Shian replied, "Bushi Mountain."
Hearing this answer, Ye Zhao felt a flash of genuine surprise and self-mockery. Who could have imagined that Xie Changlin had hidden Pei Shian in such a place?
"The apprentice truly surpasses the master. Xie Changlin really led me on a merry chase this time."
Ye Zhao sighed with emotion. Recalling Xie Changlin’s eerie smile and strange final words before his death, he finally understood what the man had meant.
He had been mocking him—mocking how Ye Zhao had been deceived from head to toe.
In truth, Ye Zhao really had been fooled.
Pei Shian pulled a pair of bamboo chopsticks from the container and handed them to Ye Zhao. He said calmly, "Were it not for the events of those years, he would still be that brilliant scion of the Xie clan. He had a blood debt that had to be repaid. I do not resent him."
Ye Zhao glanced at him, moved his stiff fingers, and took the chopsticks. "You certainly have a broad mind. Truly, a Prime Minister’s heart is large enough to sail a boat in."
Pei Shian knew that the man before him had likely been hit hard by Xie Changlin’s deception; it was only natural for him to be a bit prickly.
But hearing those words, Pei Shian smiled and began to speak of things Ye Zhao didn't know.
"The night I disappeared, I had a faint premonition that the person sending assassins after you might be him. So, I went to his manor to seek the truth."
"He admitted it, and he told me the truth of what happened back then. Later, he made a bet with me, and then he drugged me."
Pei Shian looked up at Ye Zhao and said calmly, "We bet on whether you would save me. He said you wouldn't, because in your eyes there is only the state and the people; you have never cared for any individual. I thought he made sense, so in truth, there was only one choice in that bet."
Ye Zhao paused, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I'm sorry I didn't exceed your expectations."
Pei Shian shook his head gently. "This is already very good. I hope you remain the person you were. Perhaps he hoped for that as well."
That "he" gave Ye Zhao pause. He asked with a mix of uncertainty and suspicion, "You mean Xie Changlin?"
"Yes."
Ye Zhao couldn't help but laugh. "He wanted me to go mad—to be as mad as he was. It would be best if I ended up abandoned by everyone, an enemy to the whole world."
Pei Shian fell silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. After a long while, he sighed softly. "Perhaps he did hate you, but in his heart, he must have been happy to see the prosperity and strength of the current Great Wei."
During all those years in the imperial court, was there truly not a single moment where what Xie Changlin did for Great Wei came from a sincere heart?
Pei Shian didn't believe it.
Even at the very end, Xie Changlin hadn't killed him. Was there truly not a shred of their past friendship remaining?
Ye Zhao lowered his eyes and remained silent for a long time before finally replying, "Perhaps."
"But there is one thing he didn't know."
Ye Zhao said tonelessly, "The reason I haven't gone mad is simply because I have already been mad before."
***
