Emperor Wei chuckled again. These two had interacted this way for nearly twenty years; even in their old age, nothing had changed.
He then recalled something and spoke up. "Aside from the Yulin Guards Wei Feng dispatched to Ye Zhao’s side, I have assigned hidden guards to protect him. Furthermore, you two must remain vigilant. The mastermind behind the scenes is hidden deep; even now, we have no leads."
They were already aware of the earlier assassination attempt on Ye Zhao. Hearing Emperor Wei mention it now, both men grew serious.
Pei Shian pondered for a moment. "Is it the same group that tried to kill me at the foot of Bushi Mountain that day?"
"Indeed," Emperor Wei nodded. "After that day, for some reason, that group set their sights on Ye Zhao."
"Speaking of which, Ye Zhao remained hidden in the Capital for twenty years. In the end, it was actually they who discovered his identity first. My Vice Minister of Revenue is truly something else; he managed to keep me completely in the dark."
He shook his head and laughed, sighing at his own oversight.
At this mention, the other two fell silent for a moment. Indeed, the boy had been right under their noses for so many years without them noticing a thing. It was quite embarrassing.
After a long pause, Pei Shian spoke up. "Your Majesty."
"Hmm?" Emperor Wei responded.
Silence followed for a few heartbeats before Pei Shian spoke again. "Does Your Majesty also believe that Ye Zhao is Tianshu’s son?"
Pei Shian’s expression was slightly strained as he looked directly at Emperor Wei.
Their gazes met. Emperor Wei paused. "What does the Duke of Anguo mean by that?"
This was the second time Pei Shian had asked this. He had asked Wei Xiyang not long ago, and now he was bringing it up again.
Wei Xiyang frowned, finding it strange. "What exactly are you trying to say? At this point, Ye Zhao’s identity is plain for all to see. What is there left to doubt?"
After a long silence, Pei Shian finally spoke. "You all say he is that man’s son, but I feel..."
"That it is him."
"Tianshu." Pei Shian’s voice was low and slow. His gaze swept across their shocked faces before falling upon the chessboard in front of him—or perhaps into the void beyond it, his eyes turning hazy.
"Perhaps I am mistaken. But from the first moment I saw him, I had this feeling. It came without rhyme or reason, and I cannot explain it even to myself."
The air grew still for a moment.
Wei Xiyang took a swig of wine, not turning to look at him. His tone was cold. "I think you’ve gone mad."
Only now did they realize why Pei Shian was so good to Ye Zhao. It wasn't a case of "loving the house and its crows" because of his relationship with that man; it was because he saw Ye Zhao as that man himself.
Obsession had clouded his eyes. Wei Xiyang, however, was a man who only acknowledged reality. Rational and stubborn, he saw things in black and white, following a straight line to the end.
He slammed his bowl onto the table with a heavy thud. Looking at Pei Shian, he said, "Tianshu and Ye Zhao are clearly two different people. Their temperaments are worlds apart. If there weren't other evidence to prove Ye Zhao’s identity, who would ever think those two were father and son? Pei Shian, wake up."
Pei Shian’s expression remained calm. He asked, "How well did you really know Tianshu?"
Wei Xiyang paused, then countered, "You don't know what kind of temperament that man had?"
"I do. But perhaps, what we saw..." Before Pei Shian could finish his soft sentence, Wei Xiyang cut him off.
"You are still deceiving yourself!" Wei Xiyang stared at him. "Now you’re even doubting your own memories of spending time with Tianshu! There is such a massive difference between the two, yet you insist on playing the blind man?"
Pei Shian went quiet for a moment, then looked up at him, his eyes clear. "I am not blind, nor am I mad. It is simply what my intuition tells me."
"Wei Xiyang, think about it calmly. Aside from his appearance, is there really nowhere else where Ye Zhao resembles Tianshu?"
At this question, Wei Xiyang answered with certainty, "There is! Those strange phrases Tianshu used to say—I’d say the boy has learned them to perfection!"
"Fine. Even if Ye Zhao learned them from Tianshu, how much could he have learned? How much time could he have actually spent with Tianshu?"
"Ye Zhao’s life from childhood to adulthood has been thoroughly investigated. Have you found any trace of Tianshu?"
Wei Xiyang choked on his words, then frowned, his face turning solemn. "No traces were found, but Tianshu was a man capable of leaving no trail for anyone to find."
"..."
When a stubborn person settles on an idea, they become invincibly confident. Pei Shian sighed. "Fine."
He relented, choosing not to pursue that line of questioning with Wei Xiyang. He changed his approach. "Let’s set aside the previous question for now. Put those external factors aside. Looking only at Ye Zhao and Tianshu as individuals—have you truly never had a single moment while facing Ye Zhao where you felt like you were interacting with Tianshu?"
Wei Xiyang thought quietly for a long time. His mind was a complete blank; he couldn't come up with anything.
Was there?
He didn't feel it at all. He only felt that when he faced Ye Zhao, he was mostly angry. As for anything else...
He. Had. Absolutely. No. Impression!!!
Wei Xiyang: "..."
Seeing him standing there looking dazed, his mind wandering off to who-knows-where, Pei Shian knew he had asked the wrong person. How could he expect someone as thick-headed as Wei Xiyang to notice such nuances?
"Sigh... forget it. Just act as if I never asked."
Pei Shian gave up.
Wei Xiyang snapped back to his senses. After a while, he spoke. "So many years have passed. Some things... should be let go."
The words seemed to hold a double meaning or a deeper significance, causing the room to fall silent.
Then, Emperor Wei broke the stillness. "I have had little contact with Ye Zhao, after all. It is difficult for me to answer the Duke of Anguo’s question."
"But I feel that even if he were, he is no longer the Tianshu of old."
He spoke only one sentence, yet it pointed out the most obvious and crucial point. He sighed, "More than twenty years have passed..."
Could Tianshu still be the same as he once was?
In a hundred years of human life, there is the cycle of birth and death—the natural order.
So, was the person who had returned now still Tianshu?
The three men remained speechless for a long time.
Until a world-shaking shout vibrated against their eardrums, striking directly at someone's heart.
"Stinky Donkey Three!!!"
Instantly, the old General Wei bolted out. His roar was even louder than the thundering crash of the door being flung open.
"Who shouted that?!"
"Step forward and face me!"
Wei Xiyang rushed out like a whirlwind, giving the four princes outside quite a fright.
Just then, a laugh rang out from the entrance of the side hall. "Stinky Donkey Three, Happy New Year!"
Faster than words could describe, a snowball flew in from outside and smacked General Wei square in the face.
"!!!"
Everyone was stunned.
At the doorway, Ye Zhao and Eunuch Babao were doubled over with laughter.
Wei Xiyang squeezed his eyes shut and wiped the snow from his face.
The next moment...
"YE! ZHAO!!!!!"
A roar echoed through the sky above the Imperial Palace, causing the snow on the eaves to tremble and fall.
"Eh? What is it, Lord Duke of Zhenguo?" The culprit showed no self-awareness whatsoever. He answered brightly and loudly, poking his head in with a cheeky grin.
Wei Xiyang’s face was flushed red. "Who gave you permission to call me that?!"
Ye Zhao adopted a thoughtful expression, asking doubtfully, "Stinky Donkey Three?"
Wei Xiyang didn't speak, but the fire atop his head was visibly burning hotter. His eyes were fixed deathly on Ye Zhao, his meaning clear.
Ye Zhao pondered for a moment, then had an epiphany. "Oh, no one really. I just felt like trying the name out. I didn't expect the Lord Duke to come running out so suddenly, hahaha..."
"Bullshit!" Wei Xiyang’s gaze shifted, landing on the person beside him. He barked, "Was it you, you pale-faced, black-hearted fellow, who told him?"
Eunuch Babao lightly flicked his horsetail whisk and bowed respectfully. "The Lord Duke misunderstands. How would a lowly servant like me dare?"
However, the cunning glint in his eyes was plain for all to see.
Bullshit! If it wasn't him, who else could it be?
After so many years, that title had been dug up again today. Wei Xiyang’s anger hit the ceiling. "If not you, then who?! You’re the one most practiced at pretending to be polite and 'lovable'! Only that pair of bastard father and son fall for your act—don't try it with me!"
The smile on Eunuch Babao’s face cooled, though his tone remained unchanged. "Lord Duke, one must speak with evidence. Which of your eyes saw me telling Young Master Ye that you are called Stinky Donkey Three?"
*Thwack.* It was as if another arrow had pierced his heart. Wei Xiyang’s expression turned even more unsightly.
Ye Zhao chimed in from the side, "Exactly! I called for Stinky Donkey Three, I didn't call for you. You’re the one who suddenly ran out on your own!"
"You are not allowed to say those three words!" Wei Xiyang put on a fierce face, looking aggressive.
But Ye Zhao wasn't afraid of him now. Since Babao had already said the man wouldn't actually do anything to him, and now that he had something to hold over him, there was even less to fear.
Ye Zhao teased, "Fine, I won't say it. Otherwise, what if you try to bite me?"
Wei Xiyang’s expression froze. He involuntarily dazed off. In his memory, it seemed someone else had once said the same thing.
That man, dressed in black, had leaned back lazily in his chair. His handsome face had been filled with mock worry as he said slowly, "Fine, I won't call you that then. Otherwise, it would be bad if you tried to bite me."
Back then, he had been so angry he truly wanted to bite the man.
"?" Seeing Wei Xiyang suddenly fall silent, Ye Zhao was puzzled.
"Lord Duke of Zhenguo?"
"Old General Wei?"
"Stinky Donkey Three?"
Good, that got a reaction.
"I said you are not allowed to call me that!"
Though he emphasized it again, Wei Xiyang’s anger didn't seem as explosive as before, which was quite baffling.
Seeing that the old General’s reaction wasn't as fun as before, Ye Zhao felt the game had lost its charm.
"Sigh... fine, I won't call you that."
How boring...
He then pivoted to a friendly tone. "Eunuch Babao and I are going to see the plum blossoms. Does the Lord Duke want to come along?"
The change in face was far too fast.
One second he was infuriating the man to the point of jumping in rage, and the next he was extending an invitation. Where did he get the confidence that the man would agree?
The Crown Prince and the others all thought the same thing.
The result was exactly as expected.
The Duke of Zhenguo refused with a stiff face. "What’s so good about plum blossoms? If you want to go, go!"
With that, he crossed his arms and refused to even look at the other.
Fine. Ye Zhao nodded. "Oh, then we’re leaving..."
Having said that, he waved his hand and turned to walk away. Eunuch Babao caught Emperor Wei’s eye, bowed, and followed.
Emperor Wei, standing by the door of the inner room, shook his head with a laugh. "As soon as Ye Zhao enters the palace, he makes off with my Babao. Heh..."
Seeing the Duke of Zhenguo stride toward the inner room, only to suddenly veer off toward the outer door after a few steps, the Emperor asked curiously, "Where is the Lord Duke going?"
Wei Xiyang’s back stiffened. He shouted back, "It’s too hot inside. This old official is going out to catch a breeze."
With that, he hurried away.
Pei Shian and Emperor Wei laughed. Who couldn't see through Wei Xiyang’s intentions? He simply loved saying the opposite of what he felt.
The four princes remained silent in unison. "..."
They hadn't expected the Duke of Zhenguo to be like this. They had been mistaken...
***
