Ye Zhao had imagined that the residence of Lord Tianshu, the man hailed as the legendary "Number One," would be a display of magnificent grandeur. However, when he arrived, he was met with a different sight.
There was no opulence, no elegant atmosphere—it was simply... minimalist. Very minimalist. Extremely minimalist.
There were no superfluous decorations, ornaments, or utensils. The entire room was themed in shades of black, white, and gray; not a single bright color could be found. Ye Zhao could only use the term "austere" to describe this room, which felt almost devoid of human desire.
As soon as Ye Zhao stepped inside, he felt an oppressive atmosphere. Even though a circle of maidservants and guards stood outside, the interior was so silent that he could seemingly hear nothing but his own breathing.
"This..."
Ye Zhao uttered a single word but didn't know how to follow it. He wanted to praise it, but the words wouldn't come; he wanted to complain, but he didn't know where to start. This was because certain parts of the room did, quite unexpectedly, align perfectly with his personal tastes.
"Does the Young Master wish to bathe?" Two other palace maids waited for a moment, and seeing no orders from Ye Zhao, they stepped forward to ask.
Though he was a bit tired, Ye Zhao still wanted to soak in a hot bath before sleeping. "Very well..."
A short while later, just as Ye Zhao was comfortably soaking, he suddenly heard a knock at the door.
"What is it?" Ye Zhao called out.
A maid replied from outside, "Reporting to the Young Master, the Fourth Prince has gone missing. The guards are searching everywhere for him."
*Hmm? The Fourth Prince?*
*Isn't that Big Fat Jin?*
As he was thinking, he heard the faint sound of the maids negotiating with someone outside.
"We have just come from the room. Only Young Master Ye is inside bathing; we have not seen His Highness the Fourth Prince."
"Truly?"
"He is certainly not here with us."
"..."
By the time Ye Zhao finished dressing and stepped out, the searching guards had already left. He looked at the distant glow of torches and asked the maids at the door in confusion, "Jin... ah, no, the Fourth Prince—can he really get lost inside the palace?"
Ye Zhao was genuinely perplexed. Looking at the commotion, it seemed the entire palace had been disturbed.
The two maids guarding the door looked at each other. One replied softly, "It is dark, and the Fourth Prince is occasionally mischievous. He likely found a place to rest and didn't return to his own palace, nor did he send word. That is why..."
Ye Zhao understood. The kid had played until he was tired and then flopped down in some random corner of the palace, leaving everyone else to worry and search frantically.
Ye Zhao: "...It seems this happens often."
*Otherwise, why would you all look so used to it?*
The other two maids smiled, offering a silent confirmation.
"What a brat!" Ye Zhao summarized in his mind, no longer worried. "Come tidy the room tomorrow. I'm tired and want to rest. You all should sleep early too."
With that, he closed the door, walked straight to the bed, and fell fast asleep.
The maids outside exchanged glances upon hearing his instructions. Before long, they all went to rest, leaving only the night watch outside in case Ye Zhao needed anything during the night.
But if the heavens could give Ye Zhao another chance, he certainly would not have chosen to indulge in that moment of early sleep.
***
The next day, everyone had already arrived at Tingfeng Pavilion when Ye Zhao finally made his late appearance.
The moment he entered, Pei Shian looked up and froze.
"You..." He paused, then asked suspiciously, "Why are you suddenly dressed like this? Those clothes you're wearing... they seem to be Tianshu's?"
Though he spoke in a questioning tone, the reality was undeniable.
When the Crown Prince and the others saw him, they were also stunned.
Ye Zhao stood in the center of the room wearing a heavy long robe, a long sash cinching his waist. His figure looked slender and tall, and his entire aura seemed sharper and more imposing than usual, though his handsome face currently wore a look of bitter resignation.
As he walked behind the desk to sit, he said helplessly, "They are his. I just grabbed something at random from the wardrobe in Chuiyu Pavilion."
"Do you know about the commotion the Fourth Prince caused last night?"
Of course they knew; likely no one in the palace didn't. Pei Shian nodded. "Yes."
But why was Ye Zhao suddenly mentioning the Fourth Prince?
Then they heard Ye Zhao say, "Then you certainly won't guess where that brat was hiding last night."
Even now, Ye Zhao felt a lingering shock when he recalled waking up this morning face-to-face with Big Fat Jin. He didn't keep them in suspense and revealed the answer directly: "Do you know? When I woke up this morning, I saw him right next to my pillow!"
"In my bed!" Ye Zhao ground his teeth.
The others were instantly shocked. "The Fourth Brother was in your bed?"
"How did Little Fourth end up in your bed?"
The first was the Crown Prince, the second was Prince Rong.
Ye Zhao explained, "He came to find trouble! No... he went to Chuiyu Pavilion to wait for me, but I returned late last night. The servants thought he had already left, but who knew he was hiding under the bed?!"
"Then he crawled out in the middle of the night, threw all my things into the bathwater, and then climbed into my bed to steal my covers!!!"
The more Ye Zhao thought about it, the more his teeth itched with irritation. He slapped the table in indignation.
He had wondered why he felt so hot while sleeping last night; as it turned out, a little fatty had crawled into his blankets. The boy was like a furnace—how could it not be hot!
To make matters worse, when the little fatty was caught doing something bad after waking up, he actually acted like he was in the right.
*"Hmph! This is Lord Tianshu's room, why should you get to stay here?"*
*"This is Lord Tianshu's bed, Lord Tianshu's blankets, Lord Tianshu's things! I won't let you use them!"*
*Damn it!*
Looking at his clothes which had been soaking in the bathtub half the night, Ye Zhao had wanted to beat the little idiot to death right then and there.
But since the boy had better "reincarnation skills" than him, Ye Zhao couldn't actually hit him. He could only be childish in return, deliberately pulling Tianshu's clothes out of the wardrobe to wear. He had then sauntered away elegantly while the child stomped his feet in a fit of rage.
The Fourth Prince, Wei Yang (Big Fat Jin), who had secretly wanted to avenge his past grudge against Ye Zhao, had finally vented his resentment last night and succeeded in his revenge.
But in the blink of an eye, a new grudge had been formed between the two.
"Hahaha..." Prince Rong burst into laughter on the spot. Judging by Ye Zhao's expression, he could imagine how lively the scene must have been this morning. "It's been a few days since I last saw him, but Little Fourth's capabilities have certainly grown!"
The Crown Prince and the others also couldn't help but smile, finally understanding the reason for Ye Zhao's attire.
Hearing Prince Rong's words, Ye Zhao's face darkened another shade.
The Crown Prince suppressed a laugh. "Fourth Brother is still young. Please be patient with him, Young Master Ye."
Ye Zhao replied directly, "I wouldn't dare. It is the Fourth Prince who should be patient with me."
The group wanted to laugh even more upon hearing this.
After a few more jests, they finally began their official business.
After this ordeal, Ye Zhao's efficiency improved significantly—he wanted to finish this task quickly so he could leave the palace! He didn't want to face the sudden attacks of that brat every other day! If he didn't die of anger, he'd die of fright.
***
Meanwhile, a massive storm was quietly brewing elsewhere.
Song He had gathered Minister Qian and Minister Li to look through the Yulin Guard's various records regarding Ye Zhao over the past period.
The very first entry caught their attention.
*"The fifteenth day of the sixth month, night. Duke Anguo was ambushed by assassins at Mount Bushi. The identities of the attackers are unknown; one escaped. That same night, Ye Zhao appeared at Mount Bushi and escaped unscathed. Intentions unknown; pending investigation."*
The three men exchanged glances, seeing the same thought in each other's eyes.
—So the Yulin Guard had targeted Ye Zhao this early?
They continued reading.
*"The twentieth day of the sixth month. Ye Zhao unexpectedly encountered unknown men in black at Wantong Alley in the west of the city. The opponents were highly skilled in martial arts; Ye Zhao was wounded, and they intended to silence him. Ye Zhao possesses no martial arts but fortunately escaped. Reason unknown."*
*"The fifth day of the seventh month, Wanhua Garden. Captured a man in black tailing Ye Zhao. Investigation confirms he likely belongs to the same faction as the assassins on Mount Bushi. The Grand Princess mistook Ye Zhao for Tianshu's son and gifted him a silver bracelet, which was later reclaimed by County Princess Xiyue."*
The records even included supplementary dialogue from when the events occurred. It was incredibly detailed!
They truly wouldn't have known without looking; the information was eye-opening. They hadn't expected the Grand Princess to have met Ye Zhao so early on.
After that were records of daily trivialities. The three watched for a while and lost interest, so they divided the stack of "little black books" and began reading separately.
After reading a long stretch of routine entries, the dates suddenly jumped. Song He sat up straight in his chair. "The fifteenth day of the eighth month, the Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet. Ye Zhao was surrounded and attacked by assassins at the South City Gate. Afterward, for reasons unknown, he suddenly appeared in the Imperial Palace. Reason unknown; investigation yielded no results?!"
This was a supplementary record of that day's events. His voice rose, the shock and suspicion within it clear.
The other two looked at him, the tragic incident that occurred at the South City Gate suddenly surfacing in their minds. They hadn't expected the cause to be Ye Zhao...
"Then how did Ye Zhao appear in the palace that day?"
Hearing his follow-up question, the other two fell silent.
Minister Li coughed lightly. "If even the Yulin Guard doesn't know, don't ask blind questions."
*Fine, it seems to be a secret that cannot be spoken.* Song He shut his mouth.
Next, Ye Zhao's daily life over the past year unfolded slowly before their eyes. Every detail, large and small, was scrutinized by the three men from beginning to end without missing a single word.
Suddenly, Song He let out a sound of surprise and doubt. "Eh?"
"What shocking thing have you seen now?" Minister Qian asked casually without looking up.
Song He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he quickly scanned the contents of the following pages. Then, he looked up and said, "I am becoming more and more convinced that Ye Zhao is Lord Tianshu."
"Hmm?"
The other two looked up. Song He's face was flushed, whether from excitement or agitation, or perhaps both.
Urged by their looks to speak quickly, he revealed a smile and said with profound meaning, "We all know Lord Tianshu had many talents, but of them all, what do you think was his greatest?"
"Mastery of the human heart!" Almost instantly, the other two thought the same thing without hesitation.
Seeing their expressions, Song He knew they had guessed the answer. He beckoned them over. "Come look at the events recorded in this book. Look closely."
As they walked over to flip through the book in Song He's hand, Song He said with absolute certainty, "Does this not look exactly like Lord Tianshu's handiwork?"
The expressions of Minister Qian and Minister Li grew increasingly solemn as they read. From the first meeting between Jiang Ziqi and Li Yunrong to every subsequent interaction, everything had been orchestrated by Ye Zhao's design.
It was like a script meticulously crafted specifically for the two of them. Li Yunrong's heart had fallen into the designed trap step by step as the plot progressed, sinking deeper and deeper. Every word and action could not escape the palm of this director behind the scenes.
The terrifying part was that the heroine of the story was completely unaware, still immersed in the beautiful dream that had been woven for her...
Song He continued, "Predicting the human heart is not difficult, but to be able to calculate to such an extent—I can only think of Lord Tianshu!"
"Recall back then, who in the entire court could escape Lord Tianshu's grasp? No one. Even Xin Muyi, Xiao..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Minister Qian suddenly began to cough loudly, as if he were trying to hack up his lungs. While coughing, he kept shooting meaningful looks at Song He.
Song He: "?"
He had been speaking happily and hadn't noticed Minister Li's expression. He was still wondering: *What's wrong with old man Qian? Why did he suddenly look like he's deathly ill?*
The next second, Minister Li, who was standing before him, suddenly slammed the little black book onto the table, turned around, and strode away.
"?" Song He watched the man's departing back and turned a confused gaze toward Minister Qian. "What's wrong with him?"
*And why did you suddenly stop coughing?*
Minister Qian looked at him with "dead fish eyes," as if looking at an idiot.
He said, "Ye Zhao's style of calculating people indeed has quite a bit of Lord Tianshu's flair. But did you forget who the person being calculated is?"
Having said that, he didn't bother to say more. He turned and sat back in his chair, not even glancing at Song He, who remained frozen in place for a long time.
Song He: ...*It's over. I've done Ye Zhao a great disservice!*
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
吹雨阁 | Chuiyu Pavilion | Tianshu's residence within the Imperial Palace.
听风阁 | Tingfeng Pavilion | The pavilion where the characters gather to work/discuss.
魏阳 | Wei Yang | The name of the Fourth Prince (Big Fat Jin).
江子期 | Jiang Ziqi | A character mentioned in the surveillance records.
李云容 | Li Yunrong | Minister Li's daughter, mentioned in the records.
不世山 | Mount Bushi | A mountain where an ambush took place.
万同巷 | Wantong Alley | A location in the city where Ye Zhao was attacked.
万花园 | Wanhua Garden | Ten Thousand Flowers Garden.
羽林卫 | Yulin Guard | The Imperial Forest Guard/Imperial Guards.
小黑本 | Little black book | The surveillance logs/notebooks kept by the Yulin Guard.
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