The two of them carried on like primary schoolers, trading barbs back and forth in a lively, relentless spat.
Pei Shian let out a long breath and looked at Pei Yunting beside him, whispering, "I’m fine."
With that, he gently pulled his arm from the other man’s grasp.
"Will you two stop? If you keep arguing, it’ll be late. Do you still want to see the night scenery or not?"
The bickering between Ye Zhao and Wei Xiyang came to an abrupt halt. They both turned away, refusing to look at each other like sulking children. Pei Shian gave a helpless smile; from the past until now, these two still loved to squabble.
"Of course we’re going. Where to next?" Ye Zhao was the first to speak. Taking Wei Jiaojiao’s small hand, he walked straight past Wei Xiyang toward the bridge. "Should we go to the watchtower for wine, or go look at the river lanterns?"
He listed a few suggestions, then looked back to see Pei Shian and the others still standing there. He tilted his head. "Hurry up! What are you dallying for?"
"Yusong, where do you want to go?"
Xie Yusong snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Ye Zhao. A trace of startled suspicion lingered in the depths of his eyes, but he masked it well, replying with polite warmth, "We were just wandering aimlessly anyway. We don't have a specific destination, so joining you sounds perfect."
"Great!" Let’s go!
Having just finished his spat with Wei Xiyang, Ye Zhao was still in high spirits. He led the way with Wei Jiaojiao in tow, followed by Pei Shian and his companion, with Xie Yusong’s group bringing up the rear.
As they crossed the bridge, Ye Zhao chatted with those behind him. "Ten-Mile Bridge, Ten-Mile Bridge... it doesn't look like ten miles at all. Why give it such a name? Heh..."
Ye Zhao chuckled.
"It’s only because the first person to call it that was truly too famous. The story he left behind on this bridge has been told and retold so many times that the name eventually stuck," Xie Yusong explained, turning his gaze from the lantern stalls lining the road. He asked with a hint of curiosity, "You’ve never heard of it?"
"Of course I have."
Ye Zhao answered as he walked, his tone nonchalant. "It’s the story of Young Master Tianshu holding an umbrella for a beggar as they crossed the bridge, right? Back when I was in the junior class at Zhiyuan Academy, it was in the textbooks. The teacher kept lecturing us to learn from Young Master Tianshu’s example and blah, blah, blah..."
"Pfft—" Xie Yusong couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Why do you sound like you have such a deep-seated grudge against the story?"
Ye Zhao replied, "Naturally. The first time I ever got a caning at Zhiyuan Academy was because of this."
"Oh?" The others couldn't help but feel curious. Even the little girl, Jiaojiao, looked up at him.
To this day, Ye Zhao remembered exactly why he had been beaten. He felt no embarrassment, sharing it as a joke. "I was young and ignorant... Back then, the teacher who hit me asked what I had learned from Young Master Tianshu’s act of kindness."
"I said, 'If you do a good deed, you should let others know. Spreading the word of a kind act is also a use for kindness.' Then the teacher asked me, 'And what else?'"
"What else? Nothing else." Ye Zhao smiled. "The teacher said I lacked spiritual perception and gave me a light tapping. It didn't hurt, but at first, I couldn't understand why he looked at me with such disappointment. Then one day, I suddenly understood. I wasn't wrong, and neither was he."
"He just wanted me to be like all the other children and give him a trite, overused answer. He wanted me to talk about being kind and benevolent, about having a heart of gold, about... all sorts of positive buzzwords. He didn't need me to express my own opinion."
The footsteps of the people behind him came to a sudden halt. They stared at the back of the man walking ahead, their expressions turning somber.
"You don't like Zhiyuan Academy," Pei Shian said, his voice a mix of sighing lament and complex emotion.
Ye Zhao looked back, his smile mischievous and a bit wicked. He teased, "You're only just realizing that?"
This was a direct admission.
No one noticed that Princess Xiyue’s expression shifted slightly, as if she were hesitating or doubting.
"If you don't like staying there, why not go somewhere else?" The group caught up to his pace.
Ye Zhao sighed. "I can't. My mother likes it. But anyway, I’ll be liberated in half a year, so it doesn't matter much now..."
"Then what do you want to do afterward? Is there anywhere you want to go?" Pei Shian asked.
Hmm...
Ye Zhao gave the question serious thought before answering, "Well... there isn't really anywhere I *must* go or anything I *must* do. But if possible, I’d quite like to go on a spontaneous journey. Just go wherever the wind takes me. The world is so big; it’s enough for me to wander for a lifetime. When I get tired or can't walk anymore, I’ll just crawl back home and—wait for death. Yeah, that sounds pretty good."
Ye Zhao nodded to himself in affirmation. However, the others didn't know how to respond to such words; their hearts felt heavy and complicated.
A crisp, tender voice rang out. Wei Jiaojiao tilted her small face up and asked, "By yourself?"
Ye Zhao looked down and replied, "It wouldn't be bad to find a like-minded friend to go with."
His tone was casual, utterly indifferent. This proved that when he had made those plans earlier, he hadn't considered having anyone by his side. He had only envisioned himself...
Though Wei Jiaojiao was young, she understood his meaning. She felt a sour, swelling ache in her heart, and her mood inevitably dipped. "Then you should definitely find someone to go with you. Otherwise, what will you do if you get scared?"
"Pfft..." Ye Zhao stopped and let out a light laugh. He reached out, scooped the little girl up, and settled her in the crook of his arm. He chuckled, "Scared? I’m not afraid. Only children are afraid of the dark, or being alone, or all sorts of things."
"How about Jiaojiao comes with me?"
Ye Zhao was joking, but the little girl thought about it with a very serious expression before saying firmly, "No. I have to stay with my father and mother. When I grow up, I can go play with you, but not now."
"Pfft... Hahaha..." Ye Zhao was tickled by her solemn answer.
Then, the little girl thought for a moment longer, her eyes suddenly lighting up. "But you can let my Grandpa and Grandpa Pei go with you! My Grandpa used to grumble all the time, saying things like, 'We agreed that once the country was stable, the three of us would travel the world and see all the great mountains and rivers. It was all a lie!' He always calls you a stinky bastard, too..."
Gah!
Wei Xiyang was startled out of his wits. He hurriedly interrupted his granddaughter before she could say more. "Hey, Jiaojiao!"
Ye Zhao looked at the girl in his arms, then at Wei Xiyang, whose face was flushed red with either shame or annoyance. He was completely bewildered, unable to follow the logic. What did she mean by "the three of them agreed"?
And why was he being called a stinky bastard? Where did that come from?
Fortunately, Pei Shian spoke up in time to ease Wei Xiyang’s embarrassment. His voice was calm as he said, "Jiaojiao has mistaken you for someone else. However, if there ever comes a day when you truly wish to leave the capital and travel the four corners of the earth, Wei Xiyang and I would be very willing to accompany you for a stretch of the journey. After all, we have been waiting for this day for a very long time..."
Pei Yunting pursed his lips tightly, saying nothing. No emotion could be read on his face. The other two also remained silent. As onlookers, they understood the current psychological state of the three men even better than Ye Zhao, the person involved.
Ye Zhao knew nothing, while Pei Shian and Wei Xiyang were interacting with a Tianshu whose memory was a complete blank, all while carrying the weight of the memories shared between the three of them.
Melancholy, sentimentality, and even... a sense of it being unworthy. Pei Yunting abruptly turned around and strode away.
The group watched his retreating back. Ye Zhao was confused. "What’s wrong with him?"
Xie Yusong sighed inwardly. "It’s nothing. He probably just remembered some urgent matter."
In truth, he and Princess Xiyue more or less understood Pei Yunting’s current state of mind. A moment later, Princess Xiyue also turned to take her leave.
As she left, she heard Ye Zhao encounter his parents behind her. Madam Ye asked him, "Did you meet any girl who caught your eye?"
Ye Zhao held Wei Jiaojiao up with both hands, presenting her to his mother. He said with a straight face, "I won't hide it from you—I’ve fallen for this little beauty at first sight! I’ve already decided to marry her as my little wife."
Ye Zhao smiled at Wei Jiaojiao. "Come, call her Mother."
Looking at the pair of "statues" that were Ye Zhao’s parents, the little girl cooperated perfectly and called out, "Mother!"
Then she added, "Father."
*Boom—*
Ye Zhao’s parents were stunned on the spot. Wei Xiyang’s mouth fell wider and wider, his eyebrows shooting up higher and higher. He looked at Ye Zhao with utter disbelief.
Two seconds passed before everyone finally reacted. Two roars of fury overlapped.
"Ye Zhao!!!"
Facing his mother’s glaring eyes and Wei Xiyang’s ferocious expression—looking as if he were about to draw his sword and hack him down the next second—Ye Zhao’s heart inevitably quailed. He instinctively set Wei Jiaojiao down and forced a stiff smile, explaining to the two of them, "I... I, don't be angry! I was just joking."
"Joking? Can you use a girl’s reputation as a joke?!" Madam Ye scolded.
Wei Xiyang quickly pulled Wei Jiaojiao away from Ye Zhao and hid her behind him. He looked at Ye Zhao as if he were a predator, his eyes full of suspicion. He also cursed, "You stinky bastard! You actually have designs on my granddaughter? Have you no shame?!"
Madam Ye immediately chimed in, "Exactly! Look at how old you are! How could you even say such a thing?!"
Ye Zhao tried to explain, "I... I, no, it’s not like that. I just said it casually, you guys..."
Before he could finish, the two of them pressed closer. "You can't say it casually either!!"
Perfect synchronization once again.
At this moment, Ye Zhao felt like his mother wasn't his mother anymore. He really was just making a joke, just a bit of loose talk. He wasn't such a beast that he wouldn't even spare a five-year-old girl.
"Dad~~~" Ye Zhao looked to his father for help, quickly darting behind him. He was truly terrified; if he couldn't win the fight, he could at least hide.
To his surprise, after standing in silence for a long time, his father suddenly turned and whispered in his ear, "Son, it’s not that I’m against you, but shouldn't we wait a couple more years before we marry her into the family?"
"Otherwise, it’s..." not exactly easy to make a move, is it?
His father didn't finish the sentence, but that subtle look in his eyes made the meaning crystal clear. Ye Zhao’s expression slowly turned to one of horror. *This really is my biological father!*
*This... really is my biological father...*
The same sentence, two different meanings: the first was being shocked beyond measure, and the second was a "kneeling-to-the-heavens" type of heart-clutching helplessness. In his father’s eyes, just how much of a beast was he??
Ye Zhao mentally wiped his face, telling his father with a forehead full of black lines, "No, no, no, Dad. I’m not marrying her, I’m not. I was really just joking."
"Oh..." His father realized and nodded.
But he didn't expect an even greater crisis was yet to come. Their "whispered" conversation had been heard loud and clear by everyone else.
Xie Yusong was speechless. Pei Shian feigned deafness. Madam Ye was radiating a thick, dark aura. Her gaze toward the father and son was blazing with heat, and she spoke almost one word at a time, "Ye. Yuan! You and your son... your allowance for this month and next month... is completely gone!!!"
The father and son snapped their heads up simultaneously, their faces wearing identical expressions of terror.
"Mother!"
"My Lady!"
"Hmph!" Madam Ye gave a cold snort, flicked her sleeves, and strode away.
Ye Zhao hurriedly threw out a parting word, "I have something to do, I’m leaving first! See you at the academy!"
With that, he and his father rushed after her. "Mother, let me explain!"
"My Lady, listen to your husband!"
Ye Zhao: *I’m dead! Having my allowance docked is the end of me!*
Father Ye: *It’s over. My wife is angry. Without my stipend, how am I going to survive?*
"Pfft—hahaha!" Xie Yusong burst out laughing. Watching the Ye family of three disappear into the distance, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Sigh, Madam Ye is truly formidable. One can't help but be impressed."
The corners of Pei Shian’s mouth also carried a faint smile. His eyes followed the retreating figure, his expression focused and gentle. "A life like this... I imagine he likes it."
"Hmm?"
The others were puzzled at first, but then they slowly grasped the meaning behind his words. Tianshu staying in such a family, enjoying the happiness of an ordinary person... was this what he liked?
Xie Yusong fell into deep thought. By now, he was becoming more and more convinced of the truth behind a certain rumor.
***
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