Zhong Wan had yet to fully recover from his serious illness, and as such, he wasn’t in good shape mentally and physically. After his moods had gone up and down like rolling waves, he really couldn’t stand it anymore. He closed his eyes to rest for a short while. Once he opened his eyes again, Yu She had already entered the compartment.

Yu She placed the letter written in blood aside. Noticing Zhong Wan’s poor complexion, he frowned. “Do you feel unwell?”

“No..” Zhong Wan guessed that his complexion did not look good. He laughed at himself. “I scared and surprised myself.. Don’t laugh at me.”

“In any case, you’ve studied under Imperial Preceptor Shi for a few years.” Yu She’s expression was calm. “Even if they can’t compare to you, they won’t go as far as to betray their country.”

Zhong Wan looked down. Said in a soft voice, “How are you going to handle.. the matters regarding Beijiang?”

Yu She did not give him an answer to that. Instead, he asked, “Can you guess what the chief of the Beidi tribes wants to do?”

Zhong Wan’s chest hurt a little. Afraid that Yu She would notice, he didn’t dare to massage that area. He pretended to ponder, then secretly adjusted his breathing. After a good while, he said, “I think he sent people to find you not only because he wanted an extra layer of protection.”

Yu She furrowed his brows a shade. “Speak.”

“The two of you know his plans. Later on, no matter which one of you goes to Beijiang, that person would be on higher guard against the other. As such, it’d be hard for this plan to be carried out any further. In this case..” Zhong looked at Yu She.? “There are two possibilities. First, you and Xuan Qiong would want to use the fighting in Beijiang as a weapon to kill the other. Both of you would want to make the other party accompany the troops to battle. This way, the two powers in the court would balance the other. On the contrary, both sides would not go out to battle. Thus, the chief of the Beidi tribes would have time to stabilize his position in Beijiang. At that time, after they had stayed in our border and seized enough army provisions and took enough prisoners, he would have the strength to fight his brothers. When that moment comes, the chief would just leave without taking any responsibility, relying on that fact that the court didn’t want to go to war.. There’s an eighty percent chance the court wouldn’t care about the things he had plundered, and let him go.”

Yu She had listened quietly. He said, “What’s the second possibility?”

“Naturally, it’s to send out the troops,” said Zhong Wan. “However, it probably wouldn’t be any of you two. There’s a great chance that after you and Xuan Qiong fought openly and maneuvered covertly for a long time, both parties would be in a deadlock. Afterward, the two of you would settle for the next best thing and push Xuan Jing to accompany the troops.

“Then that’s even more simple. Since the chief of the Beidi tribes would have raised enough military forces, he could cooperate with either you or Xuang Qiong, or both of you, to eliminate Xuan Jing. This way, the chief would receive a promise from the future emperor. Then he could take back the grasslands by force any time he wanted. The new chief is very clear about the trends in our court. He has grasped onto tightly what the court finds crucial to survival. And he sure knows well that among the three of you, Xuan Jing’s power is the weakest. Therefore..”

In Zhong Wan’s gaze existed a bit of jest. “He did not send this letter written in blood to Xuan Jing. Do you think this is likely?”

After Yu She had heard his words, the corners of his lips rose slightly. He said in a low voice, “If Xuan Jing knew he was being looked down on, he’d grow furious..”

A light chuckle escaped Zhong Wan’s lips. “Of course, this is only my guess.. The only thing the chief of the Beidi tribes probably did not foresee was that you would absolutely not care about him. Heir, you have already beheaded the envoy. Now that the second path has already cut off, what are you going to?”

Yu She did not respond.

Zhong Wan did not rush him, and waited for him in silence.

A good while later, Yu She held back his nausea as he frowned and said, “I will request to go on the campaign.”

Shock collided into Zhong Wan. Before he could respond, Yu She said, “Otherwise, how could I make the emperor recognize me in a legitimate way?”

“You..” Zhong Wan deliberated on what kind of tone to use. “Really? You’re willing to have the emperor recognize you?”

Yu She said, “No.

“But there’s already no other option.

“Whether it’s Xuan Jing or Xuan Qiong who ascends the throne, they won’t let me live.” Yu She seemed as if he were talking about someone else’s matters, tone relaxed. “If I want to survive, then I must seize power. But how? Use this position as an heir to a First-Ranked Prince?”

Zhong Wan expended a lot of energy to say, “I simply feel.. that you hate the emperor, and don’t want things to be smooth for him.”

“Ktja’r agef, yea cbk P tjnf cb mtblmf,” rjlv Te Vtf. “Coafg P’nf yffc rb kliioei obg rb wjcs sfjgr, la’r cba fjrs ab mtjcuf bnfgcluta. Rfnfgatfifrr, P tjnf ab vb atlcur atja ub jujlcra ws tfjga. Yatfgklrf..”

Te Vtf ibbxfv ja Itbcu Qjc jcv rkjiibkfv tlr cfza kbgvr.

Otherwise, how could we keep on living?

Yu She only wanted to hear such sappy and cringy words and not say them himself. As such, he said, “The emperor is clear on Xuan Jing’s aptitude. From the very start, he had never thought to let him inherit the throne. He also doesn’t like that Xuan Qiong relies on Prince Yu too much. These past years, the emperor relied heavily on him yet also guarded heavily against him. He does not want for the imperial authority to fall into Prince Yu’s hands after his death. For this reason.. he’s a bit biased toward me. Naturally, this has nothing to do with my aptitude. However, by chance I am the most suitable person now.”

Zhong Wan fell silent for a while. “What about after he recognizes you as his son? You.. truly want to accompany the troops and fight in the north?”

“Of course not.” Yu She shook his head. “The emperor is not in good health.. So I can’t leave the capital.”

“Then you..” Zhong Wan was startled. He shifted his gaze to the letter written in blood on the desk. In flash, realization hit him. “Before you accompany the troops out of the capital, you will present that letter to the emperor.. Naturally, the emperor would not allow you to leave.”

A faint smile appeared on Yu She’s lips.

Zhong Wan thought of all angles. Nodded. “It’s possible that Xuan Qiong doesn’t know the chief of the Beidi tribes contacted you. I’m afraid he’d actually assist the emperor in recognizing you.”

Yu She took a deep breath. “If so, then everything will be alright.”

Yu She rose to his feet. “There’s no time to waste. I have to enter the palace to pay respects.. and make the emperor feel that I am sincere in wanting to recognize my ancestors.”

Zhong Wan knew that he was unwilling, and felt pain for him. Hesitating, he said, “How about.. I accompany you?”

All of a sudden, Zhong Wan thought this was possible. He got up and said, “Let me accompany you. That way, you don’t have to say anything. I’ll speak for you. I will tell the emperor that for the past many years, you have always thought of him as your father. But many vile characters came between you two, creating misunderstandings between you two. I’ll come and I’ll beg him. I’ll kneel for him. I’ll beg him while kneeling. I can even cry as I kneel! In any case, he should already be aware of what I would say. Should know that one of you two must give in. I’ll come. I’ll come..”

The more Zhong Wan thought of this, the more fitting he found it. “I’ll change clothes..”

“Stop playing.” Yu She couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “You’ll go speak to him?”

Zhong Wan nodded. “Yep. I don’t care about face!”

“But I do.” Then Yu She frowned. “I had really hoped that you wouldn’t know any of this. So how could I let you see this with your own eyes? I definitely will not.. lower my head to him in your presence.”

Before Zhong Wan could argue, Yu She said, “Furthermore, what kind of identity can you use to talk to the emperor? A slave’s? As a former successful candidate of the highest imperial service exam? Or.. as the principal consort of an heir?”

For a moment, Zhong Wan fell into a daze. Then his outer ears grew slightly red. He couldn’t stop the corners of his lips from tilting up. He tried his best to hide his face, and focused on the proper business first. “Trust me. If I’m the one who speaks, it’ll be much more effective. Also, I’m used to doing such things. It’s true. I can even ingratiate myself properly with a ninth-rank minor official in that frontier. I..”

“Just because you’re used to doing these kinds of things,” said Yu She indifferently, “isn’t a reason I’ll accept for you to insult yourself grievously.”

Zhong Wan stared blankly.

“Since you’ve already cut ties with your past now, and have entered my family, then you must abide by the rules of my family,” said Yu She. “I shouldn’t waste any more time. I won’t stay to chat with you. You ought to think about it clearly whether or not you should use the same methods for handling Xuan Rui to handle me.”

Then Yu She left. Zhong Wan stood in place. For a good while, he did not react.

Wasn’t he an advisor?

The situations that were humiliating, the situations that were unbearable, the situations that others despised.. Shouldn’t he be the one to handle those?

“Moreover..” said Zhong Wan absentmindedly. “Why did his words sound like I’m a remarried..”

This was the first time that Zhong Wan’s act of monopolizing all the bad things had been refused. He found it very hard to get used to. In a daze, he returned to Yu She’s bedroom, uneasy for a good while.

It had been a long time since someone had cared for him. On the contrary, Zhong Wan found it hard to grow accustomed to. He paced about in the room. After he had finished his evening meal, Yu She still had not returned. He lay on Yu She’s bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

After waiting for one hour, he heard footsteps outside. Zhong Wan draped his upper outer garment over his shoulders. Indeed, Yu She had returned.

Yu She glanced at Zhong Wan. Unhappy, he said, “Didn’t the imperial physician say you have to sleep early?”

“I woke up after a nap,” said Zhong Wan, lying with his eyes open. Uneasy, he said, “How did it go?”

Yu She’s expression wasn’t very good. He drank a sip of tea. “Not much happened. I didn’t speak clearly, but he knew my intention. It was very unexpected. Unavoidably.. he lectured me as I knelt? and listened.”

Zhong Wan looked Yu She from head to toe, still somewhat in a daze. Then..

Then not long from now, Yu She would become an imperial prince?

Yu She turned to look at Zhong Wan. “What are you thinking about now?”

“I.. think.. in the future, you won’t be accompanying the troops to battle in the north. How will we deal with the matters of Beijiang?”

“Any method is fine, as long as it stops the chief of the Beidi tribes from getting what he wants.” Hatred flashed in Yu She’s gaze. “In order for power, he lured our army to run a punitive expedition against his own people. There’s an eighty percent chance he’s a lunatic.”

Zhong Wan couldn’t help but smile.

He looked at Yu She with a profound gaze. After thinking about the words he had said, he couldn’t stop himself from falling into a daze again.

When he had first returned to the capital, Lin Si had told him that Young Prince Yu’s temperament had changed immensely.

Afterward, Zhong Wan and Yu She met a few times in an embarrassing manner. Several times, Yu She had shocked him. Merely seven years had passed, yet Yu She had actually changed completely, becoming a different person.

But during this moment, Zhong Wan looked at the person he loved who stood before his very eyes. And he couldn’t look away.

No matter how many sarcastic comments Yu She directed at him, he would not take it to heart, merely feeling a bit sorrowful.

They truly had been separated for too long.

But no matter how much he changed, Yu She was still the person he yearned for during his youth.

Later on, after he had discovered Yu She had been tormented step by step until his current state, Zhong Wan felt that even if Yu She changed to the point of becoming inhumane, it wouldn’t be his fault. He had been pushed until ths point.

However, after some more time had passed, the closer Zhong Wan was with him, the more he could sense the Ziyou that was hidden in his adult body.

He was still someone who subdued himself and observed proprieties. Still someone who had a lot of benevolent integrity.

Despite the hardships of one’s life that would bring about destruction to oneself, the crossing of many dangers, even if the course of his life was full of frustrations and dashed hopes that changed him beyond recognition, his youth self had high morals.

Whether it was outside temptations or the virgin Zhong Wan who always accompanied him, Yu She had his own rules, and would not do anything that was slightly out of proper conduct.

Even if Zhong Wan himself really wanted it, to the point where he became “pregnant.”

Speaking of which, when it all came down to it, why hadn’t Yu She agreed to deflower him yet? He had gone through much suffering these many years and it hadn’t been easy. In the end, how much should he suffer, and how much punishment should he receive before he could be intimate with Yu She? Before he could have the qualifications and fortune to move his tongue, and slip his hand in passing into the collar of Yu She’s top?

Back then, Zhong Wan had just touched him a little, and Yu She had tore his hand away resentfully. And Yu She had even called him frivolous.

Zhong Wan laughed, half pained and bitter.

Once the news of his pregnancy had come out in public, who knew how erotic or romantic those new story books in Jiangnan and Jiangbei would be like?

Outsiders would just think his life was dazzling and beautiful. However, only those who had experienced it themselves would understand the suffering that existed deep within the harems of the nobility.

Yu She noticed that Zhong Wan did not speak for a long time, the latter’s expression sorrowful and full of distress at first. Afterward, it grew more loose in values. Yu She couldn’t help but grow aghast. “What are you thinking of now?!”

Zhong Wan muttered to himself, “I’m thinking about when you’d finally f*ck me..”

Shock painted Yu She’s face.

During a life and death crisis, in the face of justice for their home country, this person..

“Just a while ago..” said Yu She with a lot of effort. “The emperor actually asked about you.”

Zhong Wan snapped back to his senses, shocked. “What did he ask about?”

Yu She ground his teeth. “There’s a rumor in the palace that our love moved the Heavens. As such, the Heavens responded, bestowing me a son. And it’s in.. your belly.”