On the day of the final graduation ceremony at Zhiyuan Academy, Jiang Ziqi had thought he would not see Ye Zhao.
But in truth, when he saw the figure appearing beneath the academy’s corridor, he froze.
*Is that Ye Zhao? He actually came?*
From a distance, the moment their eyes met, Ye Zhao offered a smile. "Jiang Ziqi."
He stepped past several students he had been conversing with and walked toward Jiang Ziqi.
He looked no different than usual—his speech, his bearing, his gaze, his movements, even the curve of his smile were exactly the same. But only Jiang Ziqi knew who truly resided beneath that all-too-familiar skin.
Jiang Ziqi forced a slightly stiff smile. Before he could speak, the other man had already reached his side.
Ye Zhao naturally patted Jiang Ziqi on the back. "Here so early?"
Jiang Ziqi’s body trembled involuntarily. He tried his best to keep his expression natural. "Why are you here?"
"I’m not allowed to come?" Ye Zhao arched an eyebrow slightly and asked in return.
"No. You can! Of course you can!"
The two stood very close. It wasn't as if they hadn't been close before, but never had Jiang Ziqi felt that Ye Zhao’s mere presence beside him was a form of pressure.
He knew clearly that the person standing there was, at his core, Tianshu!
The Lord Tianshu who could turn clouds into rain with a wave of his hand!
Ye Zhao seemed not to notice Jiang Ziqi’s tension. He smiled candidly. "I’ve been home on leave for too long, and my mother couldn't stand it. Knowing today is my last day at Zhiyuan Academy, she insisted I come no matter what."
"Haha, is that so?"
"Mhm."
Jiang Ziqi gave a hollow laugh, and Ye Zhao hummed in response. Then, the two of them suddenly fell into an awkward silence.
"Sigh..." Looking at the man before him who was trying his best to hide it but whose body remained rigid, Ye Zhao suddenly let out a soft sigh. His gentle eyes held a hint of the vicissitudes of time. "I told you, I will always be Ye Zhao."
Suddenly, Jiang Ziqi’s voice caught in his throat.
Their eyes met. The reflection in his pupils was indeed Ye Zhao, yet... it wasn't Ye Zhao.
Jiang Ziqi realized his state of mind had been seen through, despite thinking he had hidden it well.
"Heh—" He let out a soft laugh and asked the man before him, "Is the current Ye Zhao still the brother who shared life and death with me, Jiang Ziqi?"
There was trepidation in his words, unease, and a sliver of cautious probing.
The voices of passersby drifted in from the surroundings from time to time, but between the two of them, there was only silence.
After a brief pause, Ye Zhao smiled. His narrow eyes crinkled slightly, like a sea of stars filled with starlight—deep, yet touched with mystery. The emotions in his eyes were clearly those of reminiscence, of mourning, and a complexity and depth that was difficult to decipher.
"Shared life and death?"
The four words rolled gently off his tongue, like a tender murmur or a self-reflection. He looked at Jiang Ziqi and said, "No one shares life and death with me. Do you understand?"
Jiang Ziqi was stunned. He...
Before he could fully process the meaning behind those words, Ye Zhao slowly paced to Jiang Ziqi’s left.
Standing side by side, they gazed at the distant crowd. After a pause, Ye Zhao’s voice rose again.
"We have been friends for over a decade. Ye Zhao is me, and Tianshu is me. A name, a segment of life—too many people have appeared by my side, coming and going, living and dying."
Jiang Ziqi did not understand the full meaning of his words, but the weight contained in his tone was not hard to perceive. He suddenly felt that the name 'Tianshu' was not just a title, not just an existence that made him instinctively want to prostrate himself in worship just by hearing it.
*He is a person,* Jiang Ziqi suddenly recalled Ye Zhao once saying.
Ye Zhao’s voice paused for a moment.
"My current identity is indeed Ye Zhao, and barring any accidents, it will remain so in the future. However, I am no longer the Ye Zhao you thought I was."
His words were very clear. Jiang Ziqi remained silent.
"Fine, I understand."
Ye Zhao did not ask what he understood. Between the two of them, it seemed something had changed, yet also as if nothing had changed at all.
"Ye Zhao!"
A child’s clear shout came from around the corner.
Ye Zhao turned his head and smiled in the next second. He looked at the child standing there, puffing out his chest like a little fighting cock, yet possessing a hint of awkwardness and nervousness in his demeanor. Ye Zhao beckoned him. "Out to play? Come here."
Beside the child was Pei Yunting.
Wei Yang put on an act of not wanting to listen, but his feet honestly shuffled toward Ye Zhao.
Once he was close, Ye Zhao suddenly scooped Wei Yang up and teased, "You’re heavier than you were a few days ago. It’s time to slaughter you and sell you for money."
This sounded like he was talking about a pig.
Wei Yang was stunned, then he exploded.
"Ye Zhao, how dare you!!"
Not long had passed since the day of the intimidation and threats, yet the little fatty had already regained his usual spirit. Not only was Ye Zhao not displeased, but there was even a hint of amusement in his voice. "I am bigger than you, so of course my 'dare' is bigger than yours."
"You! You!" Wei Yang was choked up, angrily thumping Ye Zhao’s chest with his fists. "How can you be so disrespectful to your elders! I’m going to tell my Imperial Father!"
He sounded quite serious, but it was obvious these were the words Emperor Wei used to scold him.
Ye Zhao looked down at the chubby little face, his smiling eyes seemingly hiding something deep within. Seeing that he had stopped talking, Wei Yang instead felt a bit uneasy.
"Why aren't you talking? Are you mute?"
Ye Zhao sighed inwardly. "You’re too dazzling. So dazzling that I’m speechless."
"..."
Wei Yang didn't understand at first, but from Ye Zhao’s expression and tone, he gathered it wasn't a compliment. He lowered his head and seriously inspected his entire outfit, then snapped, "Nonsense! What’s wrong with what I’m wearing!"
Ye Zhao said honestly, "It looks good! Extremely good! Can't you see I can barely keep my eyes open?"
Still using that tone, Wei Yang was so angry he grabbed Ye Zhao’s collar and shook him hard. "Then what did you mean by those words just now!"
Ye Zhao: "It means I’m praising your looks."
Setting aside the two onlookers, even at his young age, Wei Yang could see through Ye Zhao’s nonsense and began to pester him relentlessly.
Ye Zhao was getting a bit of a headache from the noise. Losing the desire to tease further, he took the initiative to plead for mercy. "Alright, alright, just take it as me talking nonsense. You are the most handsome. You are the number one beautiful man in the world, okay...?"
Wei Yang huffed a few times, looking both proud and awkward. "I... I’ll just be second. Number one is Lord Tianshu."
"Pfft—" Ye Zhao burst out laughing.
Jiang Ziqi also suppressed a laugh from the side, saying nothing.
The four of them walked slowly, strolling through the academy. After a while, Ye Zhao still couldn't resist giving Wei Yang a subtle hint. "Little fatty, don't you feel heavy wearing all that gold?"
Gold threads, silver coins, eastern pearls, and jade were all piled onto his body. At first glance, it was indeed magnificent, but it also carried a faint air of a nouveau riche. In Wei Yang’s eyes, however, the more fine things he decorated himself with, the better and more handsome he looked.
He said with no lack of pride, "Of course not. How is this heavy?"
So Ye Zhao asked, "Everyone has a love for beauty; regardless of age or gender, everyone wishes to present their best self. But you just said the number one beautiful man in the world is Lord Tianshu, yet he doesn't seem to like wearing gold and silver, nor does he care for powder or jade ornaments."
This...
The question stumped Wei Yang for a moment. He had seen the portraits in the Hall of Eternal Light many times. Indeed, as Ye Zhao said, Lord Tianshu in the portraits was dressed simply, with no redundant accessories to be found on his person.
Seeing the child in thought, Ye Zhao reached out and patted his head. "Good things aren't necessarily better the more you pile them on. What suits you is best."
As he spoke, he slowly began to remove the multiple jade pendants and redundant decorations from Wei Yang’s waist, offering a mysterious smile. "If you want to attract the gaze of others, you must also pay attention to the method. Do you know what 'understated luxury' is?"
Wei Yang didn't understand the strange things Ye Zhao was saying. He watched as Ye Zhao bundled up the pile of decorations removed from his body and handed them to Pei Yunting, remaining uncharacteristically quiet.
Before this, no one had ever spoken to him like this.
Ye Zhao’s large hand held Wei Yang’s small hand as they walked slowly. With the cold autumn approaching, the trees in the academy began to look bleak, rustling loudly whenever the wind blew.
"Everything you have is superficial; only you as a person are real. Clothes, shoes, pearls, jade, gold, and silver—including your status and your appearance—no matter how precious they are, they are merely foils for you."
His leisurely voice rang out as the four of them walked in pairs along the path.
The two behind them listened to the principles Ye Zhao was teaching the child. They did not interject or interrupt, listening quietly.
"Whether a friend can connect with your heart depends on your character. Whether you can be remembered or even adored by someone upon your first meeting depends on your personal charisma. Everything you obtain depends on your ability."
Wei Yang only half-understood, but he caught Ye Zhao’s last sentence and asked, "Like the things I ask from Imperial Father—is that also my ability?"
Ye Zhao nodded. "Of course it counts. Whether you get it by throwing a tantrum or by using sweet words, it all counts."
Wei Yang was happy; so this was also a kind of ability of his.
"Of course, that is also because His Majesty is willing to give. If you were facing someone else, and they were unwilling to give you what you wanted, what would you do then?" Ye Zhao asked with interest.
The little fatty furrowed his tiny brows and stated overbearingly, "Then I’ll snatch it."
"How will you snatch it?" Ye Zhao looked down at him and asked.
This was a difficult question to answer. Wei Yang thought hard for a long time but couldn't come up with an answer.
Ye Zhao let out a soft laugh, tilting his head slightly. He said with a casual smile, as if unintentionally, "Then you try every possible method. Regardless of whether the outcome is good or bad, you’ll only know after you’ve done it."
"But, you must also remember one thing: once it's done, do not regret it. If you think you will regret it, do not do it."
His words seemed to carry a hidden meaning, yet no one knew the story behind them.
Wei Yang found it strange and asked, "What if I only realize I regret it after I’ve done it?"
Ye Zhao thought for a moment and replied, "Then it’s too late. If you can't turn back, then simply charge forward. Make the best of a bad job—be wrong until you are beyond redemption and there is no place left for you in this world."
These slightly nonchalant words caused the two behind him to pause.
One shouldn't teach a child such things.
Fortunately, Ye Zhao still had a sense of propriety and quickly added, "Of course, don't learn from me. My path is different from yours."
"Hmph~" Wei Yang looked disdainful. "This Prince won't learn from you."
"Heh... good." A faint smile hung on Ye Zhao’s face as he softly echoed, "Good, don't learn from me."
Just as he finished speaking, he saw someone walking toward them from ahead. His eyes lit up, and he called out respectfully, "Duke of Anguo!"
...Ye Zhao paused. His expression remained unchanged as he also offered a greeting. "Lord Pei, you came today as well."
Pei Shian nodded. "Mhm, I came to take a look."
After a pause, he added, "After all, I likely won't be coming here much in the future."
He had come to Zhiyuan Academy solely for Ye Zhao. Now that the person in question was leaving, why would he stay here to teach the zither?
"Indeed," Ye Zhao agreed.
After that, the group continued their leisurely stroll through the academy.
"The wound on your head hasn't healed yet?" After a short while, Pei Shian asked.
Ye Zhao’s fingers twitched. He lowered the hand that had instinctively reached for the gauze wrapped around his forehead and gave an indifferent "Oh." He said dismissively, "A minor injury. My father is making a fuss, insisting I keep it on until not a single scar remains."
"Be careful in the future. Do not take risks like you did that day. Although I know that even if I say this, it won't be of much use, but..."
Pei Shian stopped walking and turned to look at Ye Zhao’s profile, his expression serious. "I do not wish to see you depart before my eyes ever again."
"I do not know if there will be another chance to meet again. This feeling... do you understand?"
Ye Zhao fell silent, his eyelids drooping slightly. "I’ve made you worry."
Pei Shian had heard these words enough, both in the past and the present. He didn't want to hear them anymore.
He said nothing and continued walking forward.
"No matter when, do not let your hidden guards be too far from you. If anything happens, they can protect you in time."
"I’ve noted it."
Question and answer—both their voices were too calm. Within that tranquility, however, there was a faint sense of suppression, like an unknown undercurrent lurking beneath a still lake.
"I heard from Master Ye that you wish to leave the capital to travel for a while?"
"Yes."
"Then go."
Ye Zhao’s footsteps suddenly stopped. His gaze fell upon the bluestone path before him. He didn't move or speak, his thoughts unknown.
Glimpsing Ye Zhao’s silent state from the side, the two behind them finally sensed that the atmosphere was somewhat off.
Pei Shian walked a few paces further, then turned back. Seeing the others standing still, he asked calmly, "What is it?"
Ye Zhao looked up at Pei Shian, deep emotions hidden in the depths of his eyes. Pursing his lips, he spoke. "Are you truly willing to let me leave the capital?"
Regarding this question...
No one else was passing by. In the silence, Pei Shian’s voice slowly rose. "Whether you leave or stay has never been for me to decide, has it?"
He spoke very slowly, every word clear.
Beneath that calm, rippleless surface, how much helplessness and... disappointment was hidden?
"Sigh... as expected, I still can't hide it from you," Ye Zhao—or perhaps he could be called Tianshu—sighed.
Jiang Ziqi suddenly realized that the old former Prime Minister knew. He knew that the person standing before him remembered everything.
"I will return."
A breeze blew past, making the leaves rustle. A few half-green, half-yellow fallen leaves spiraled down. The eyes of the two men watching each other did not waver for a single moment.
Ye Zhao looked at Pei Shian. Though his words were as gentle as before, they now felt more like a solemn promise.
"Give me a month. I will return to Heaven’s Capital." Ye Zhao paused, opened his mouth, and finally said those words. "I will give you an explanation."
An explanation for the events of those years.
Pei Shian did not say it was good, nor did he say it was bad. However, he finally showed his first faint smile in days, even if the curve was so slight it was almost a mistake of the eyes.
"In the end, I still have to wait for you." He sighed softly, his gaze toward Ye Zhao filled with longing, yet also with the ease and joy of a matter finally settled.
Ye Zhao turned his back. Only then did Jiang Ziqi and the others clearly see the solemnity and gravity on his face.
"This is the last time."
His robes fluttered slightly as Ye Zhao slowly walked away. Pei Shian watched him go until his silhouette disappeared at the end of the road.
"The last time..." Pei Shian looked up at the sky and murmured softly, his voice holding a hint of daze and doubt, and a touch of lingering slowness.
It seemed as if a long time had passed, but it was only a brief moment before he slowly broke into a smile.
"Father, he...?"
Pei Yunting keenly sensed something was wrong with Ye Zhao and frowned.
Pei Shian did not answer, only smiling without a word. Pei Yunting suddenly understood that his guess was correct.
Tianshu had truly remembered the past...
***
