The rumors surrounding him were growing more intense by the day, yet at this moment, he was being mercilessly ridiculed by none other than Jiang Ziqi.
"Hahaha... Oh, you’re killing me, Ye Zhao!" Jiang Ziqi was doubled over with laughter, clutching his sides. "With the way you are, if you actually became a monk, you’d probably end up being the ruin of the entire Buddhist order."
Ye Zhao: "..."
"Is it really that funny? You’ve been laughing forever. That’s enough," Ye Zhao said, his face darkening as he sat stiffly by the zither table. He shot Jiang Ziqi a sidelong glance, warning him not to push it; he still had some dignity to maintain.
Pei Shi’an, who had listened to Jiang Ziqi’s entire recount of the events, merely smiled without a word, leisurely stroking the strings of his zither.
"Fine, fine, I’ll shut up. I’m done laughing," Jiang Ziqi conceded, seeing the look on Ye Zhao’s face.
"Speaking of which, has the date for your wedding with Miss Li been set?" Ye Zhao suddenly remembered. "When is it?"
"It’s set. Next spring, the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. You absolutely have to come for the wedding wine," Jiang Ziqi said with a bright, hearty grin.
"Naturally."
After all the effort spent on that matter, it would be a pity not to drink the wedding wine, Ye Zhao thought.
Jiang Ziqi then extended the invitation to Pei Shi’an, who also accepted with a smile.
Ye Zhao asked a few questions regarding the affairs of Fengyun Tower, and Jiang Ziqi gave a brief update.
The *Fengyun Report* and the *Fengyun Column* had now stabilized in the Celestial Capital. His next move was to expand their scale and influence into the surrounding prefectures and counties. As for the formal establishment of Fengyun Tower as a physical headquarters, there was no rush; they still lacked sufficient manpower and a deep enough foundation.
Hardship truly is the best catalyst for growth, Ye Zhao couldn't help but muse. "Jiang Ziqi, you’ve grown up..."
He finally understood the importance of a steady approach and recognizing the right timing.
Jiang Ziqi paused, his expression turning strange. "Ye Zhao, when you say things like that, it really makes me feel like you’re older than my father."
Ye Zhao: "..."
Get lost!
Giving him a dry look, Ye Zhao quietly poured himself some tea. "I have no desire to be your ancestor..."
Lines of frustration appeared on Jiang Ziqi’s forehead. He snatched the tea from Ye Zhao’s hand and downed it in one gulp, feeling speechless and stifled. "Enough, you think I enjoy this?"
Ye Zhao let out a light chuckle, no longer bickering with him.
He looked up. In the distance, the summer scenery was at its peak, with lush green trees providing ample shade. The three of them sat in the academy’s pavilion, watching the students come and go in silence. Ye Zhao enjoyed this moment of tranquility, his heart feeling a sense of peace.
"Ye Zhao," Jiang Ziqi called out after a while.
"Hmm?" Ye Zhao responded lazily.
"You’ve changed quite a bit, too..."
Ye Zhao turned his head to look at Jiang Ziqi. The latter was watching him quietly; it seemed like a casual remark made in passing, yet it carried a hint of earnestness.
Seeing the look in his eyes, Ye Zhao’s heart skipped a beat.
Jiang Ziqi looked at him and suddenly broke into a smile. "But you’re still Ye Zhao. You always will be."
In that moment, Ye Zhao didn't know what Jiang Ziqi was thinking, but he was indeed Ye Zhao, and he always would be—he wouldn't be anyone else. He gave a soft "Mm" in response.
Pei Shi’an watched the two of them, who seemed to have reached some sort of unspoken pact, and lowered his eyes in silence. He had noticed Ye Zhao’s increasingly obvious changes just as Jiang Ziqi had. It wasn't just his habits, but his temperament and style of doing things. Jiang Ziqi had finally been unable to suppress the panic in his heart; he was afraid that Ye Zhao was no longer the person he once knew...
Having received Ye Zhao’s response, Jiang Ziqi seemed very happy, his face lighting up. "Right, the Qixi Festival is in a few days. Ye Zhao, you should start considering your own lifelong matters as well."
The heavy atmosphere was swept away instantly, and no one mentioned the previous topic again.
The Qixi Festival was also known as the Great Matchmaking Event for the single men and women of the State of Wei—a chance for "single dogs" to find a partner. But just hearing those words made Ye Zhao’s mood drop a notch. He sighed. "How is it that even you’ve started saying this? Sigh..."
"Oh?" It seemed he wasn't the first to bring it up, Jiang Ziqi thought.
Then he heard Ye Zhao lament, "My mother has been buzzing in my ear about this every single day lately. She wishes I could just grab a wife off the street that day and bring her home to bow before the ancestral tablets immediately."
"Hahaha... Who told you to stay without a sweetheart for so long?" Jiang Ziqi teased him.
Likely seeing that Jiang Ziqi was about to get married had reminded Ye Zhao’s mother that her own son had reached the age to start a family. It was just a pity for Ye Zhao; he currently had absolutely no intention of doing so.
"It’s more free being a monk. Thinking about it that way, leaving home to join a monastery doesn't seem so bad..." Ye Zhao mused. Of course, he was joking.
The other two didn't take his words seriously either.
"I think you should forget it. Even if you wanted to join a monastery, I doubt any place would be willing to take you." Remembering the incident with him reciting Buddhist scriptures, Jiang Ziqi wanted to laugh again. He managed to suppress it and continued, "But you really have reached the age to marry. It’s not too late to start looking around."
Ye Zhao leaned against the stone table, propping his head up with one hand. His long lashes lowered slightly, obscuring the emotions in his eyes. "But I don't want to."
"What?" Jiang Ziqi didn't quite understand what he meant.
Pei Shi’an looked up at Ye Zhao. The latter’s gaze was fixed on the tabletop, appearing as if he were lost in thought or perhaps just dazed. "Guarding one person, spending a lifetime together, forming a family with them... Yes, it sounds like there’s nothing wrong with it, and it’s certainly not an error. But Jiang Ziqi..."
He raised his head and looked at his friend. "Just imagining that outcome brings me not a single shred of joy. I only feel a heart full of shackles, weariness, and... oppression."
Ye Zhao stood up and walked slowly to the edge of the pavilion. With his back to the two of them, he said, "I don't really want to hear about this anymore..."
And so, Ye Zhao left.
Jiang Ziqi stared blankly at his retreating back. "This... what... what’s wrong with him?"
He didn't understand, nor could he comprehend it. But Pei Shi’an understood somewhat. He suddenly asked Jiang Ziqi, "Do you think the old Ye Zhao would have disliked the idea of marriage?"
Jiang Ziqi: "...Probably not?"
His tone carried a hint of doubt; he couldn't be certain of Ye Zhao’s past attitude either.
"Regardless of how he was before, for the current him, finding a beloved to spend a lifetime with is a difficult task. Starting a family with just anyone would be a shackle to him."
"Forget it, you still don't understand." After saying this, Pei Shi’an saw the confused expression on Jiang Ziqi’s face and suddenly sighed. He said slowly, "He will never have feelings as deep as your affection for Li Yunrong, nor does he want to. In the past, in the present, and in the future—it will remain the same."
His voice sounded distant, carrying a faint trace of weight and complex emotion. Jiang Ziqi couldn't grasp the meaning behind it until one day, much later, when he finally understood just how heavy those feelings truly were.
***
