Fan Changyu remembered that when they returned to the mansion, the sky had just cleared after a snowfall. When she woke up and pushed open the ornate window, she saw it was snowing again outside.
Perhaps because she had slept her fill, she felt refreshed and clear-headed, though her body was still a little sore.
She was also a little hungry.
Fan Changyu went to the trunk with practiced ease to find her own clothes, but after rummaging to the bottom, she found only outer robes, with no matching inner garments.
The parted bed curtains were lifted by a well-defined arm. From forearm to shoulder, it was covered in faint red scratch marks, and there was even a faint bite mark on the shoulder. The man’s just-awoken voice was low, rich, and husky. “Not going to sleep a little longer?”
Fan Changyu answered honestly, “I’m hungry.”
Xie Zheng seemed to let out a low chuckle. He threw on a robe and got up. The muscles of his waist and abdomen were clearly defined, and the faint red scratches were even more numerous across his sturdy shoulders and back. The armor he wore was stained almost entirely with the blood of others, yet the most severe injury on his own body was just a piece of scraped-off flesh on his left palm.
The chaotic memories from before came flooding back. Fan Changyu lowered her head, not daring to look any further, and only heard him say, “I’ll have someone bring food.”
Only then did Fan Changyu ask, “Do you have any of my other clothes here?”
Xie Zheng turned back to look at her.
Fan Changyu said, “There are only outer robes in that trunk.”
The last time, she could make do with her waterlogged middle layer of clothing, but this time, her garments were thoroughly soaked in blood. Fan Changyu couldn't possibly make do with them, and the one she was currently wearing was borrowed from him.
Xie Zheng said, “I haven’t prepared any yet. Wear mine for now. I’ll have a set sent over later.”
Fan Changyu didn’t think anything was amiss. After a moment’s thought, it seemed to be the only option, so she nodded.
A nimble old woman quickly set the table in the outer room. After a simple wash, Fan Changyu ate three bowls of rice before stopping.
The snowy day was gray and gloomy, making it hard to tell the time. After the meal, Fan Changyu looked at the hourglass in Xie Zheng’s room and frowned. “It’s not even noon yet?”
It was already the Hour of the Dragon when they returned from the palace. He had then fooled around with her for a long time afterward. Fan Changyu felt like she had slept for quite a while. Had only four hours passed?
Xie Zheng was drinking tea. Hearing her question, he suddenly pressed a hand to his lips and gave two low coughs, a rare hint of unease appearing on his handsome face. “It’s the second day of the month.”
Fan Changyu’s large, clear eyes stared blankly for two breaths. When she realized what he meant, her face instantly darkened.
This wasn’t just four hours later—a whole day and night had passed!
The Li and Wei Factions had been vanquished, and the little emperor was nowhere to be found. With so many urgent matters at hand, how could he sit so idly by!
Xie Shiyi arrived with a stack of documents for Xie Zheng. Before he even reached the door, he heard a loud series of crashes from inside. He steeled himself and said, “Master, Gongsun says these memorials require your attention.”
“I know. Just leave them at the door.”
The voice that came from inside was as crisp as ever, but his breathing sounded a little unsteady.
Xie Shiyi’s ears turned bright red as he put the things down and left.
Inside the room, Xie Zheng was pinned to the floor by Fan Changyu, who had him in a leg lock around his neck. Gazing at her slightly agape collar, his breathing deepened. “My dear ancestor, now that you’ve let out your anger, how about you get up? If you don’t, we might as well not get up at all today.”
Fan Changyu’s face was flushed red. She squeezed her legs tighter and glared. “You’re still talking nonsense!”
Xie Zheng grabbed one of her feet with his uninjured hand and suddenly exerted his strength. Fan Changyu felt the world spin, and in the next moment, she was the one being pinned down.
A hand slipped inside her wide-open collar and gave a squeeze that was neither light nor heavy. This time, Fan Changyu’s face was truly hot enough to smoke. She struggled even harder, snapping, “You… bastard!”
Xie Zheng’s breathing had already become ragged. He lowered his head slightly to look at her, his eyes pitch-black. “Haven’t we done things more bastardly than this?”
“You!” Fan Changyu was speechless with anger. Now that she was truly at his mercy, she learned to show strategic weakness. “I… I’m still sore.”
Her large, clear eyes darted toward the door. “And… Shiyi is looking for you. With so many matters at court, aren’t you going to look them over?”
Her timid yet unwilling-to-admit-defeat appearance was utterly endearing. Xie Zheng felt an itch spread from the roots of his teeth. He cupped her jaw and nibbled her lips from the inside out before finally letting her go.
Once freed, Fan Changyu immediately pulled her robes tight and sat far away from him. Looking both annoyed and embarrassed, she said, “I don’t want to wear your clothes anymore. I want my own.”
Xie Zheng reached out with a long arm and pulled her back, burying his face in the crook of her shoulder and chuckling. “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
His breath tickled her shoulder. Fan Changyu expressionlessly pushed his face away. Her eyes were downcast and her lips were pressed tightly together, feeling inexplicably vexed.
He said he would listen to her, but she was clearly the one being bullied!
By the time Xie Zheng brought the memorials Xie Shiyi had left at the door into the room to read, Fan Changyu had already retrieved a broadsword from the armory and was practicing in the courtyard.
As fine snow drifted down, she brandished the broadsword in the courtyard, the air whistling with her movements. With every slash and chop, her eyes glinted with killing intent, as if she were hacking at some person imagined in the vast, snowy sky.
Xie Zheng propped his elbow up and watched for a while, a faint smile gracing his eyes. He then lowered his gaze and continued reading the memorial in his hand.
When he came to one particular document, the end of his eyebrow lifted slightly. “The Military Governor of Lingnan has come to the capital at a time like this?”
Fan Changyu had just finished a set of broadsword forms. Hearing this, she leaned on her sword and turned her head to ask, “Is this Wei Yan’s backup plan?”
Xie Zheng shook his head. “The spies report he came to the capital alone.”
Just then, Xie Shiyi hurried into the courtyard to report, “Master, Madam Wei requests an audience.”
Xie Zheng’s eyes narrowed slightly. He simply said, “Show her to the front hall.”
A short while later, Xie Zheng went to the front hall with Fan Changyu.
Madam Wei was dressed in plain white mourning clothes. Upon seeing Xie Zheng, she knelt without a word.
Fan Changyu didn’t know what was going through Xie Zheng’s mind, but she was certainly startled by Madam Wei’s sudden action. By the time she came to her senses, Xie Zheng was already reaching out to help her up. “Aunt, what is the meaning of this?”
Madam Wei refused to rise. Her face was exceptionally pale, but she managed a faint smile. “Marquis, please do not address this humble servant so. I am not worthy of it.”
Xie Zheng’s gaze hardened. “No matter what Wei Yan has done, I will always see you as my aunt.”
But Madam Wei shook her head, her expression sorrowful. “This servant is truly unworthy of being called ‘aunt’ by the Marquis. I was merely granted protection by the Prime Minister, allowing me to live secretly in the Wei Mansion for over twenty years and raise Xuan’er…”
Fan Changyu sensed something unusual. Xie Zheng slowly asked, “What do you mean by that?”
Madam Wei mournfully revealed the hidden truth. “I was originally the daughter of a minor official’s concubine; I could never have hoped to marry into the Prime Minister’s family. My family arranged for me to be the replacement wife for a sixth-rank official. That official’s son was several years older than me… I was unwilling and secretly pledged my life to a household guard. To save money to marry me, he joined the army. When the official came to propose, I was already three months pregnant. When my family found out, they wanted to force me to have an abortion. I ran away to the military camp to find Xuan’er’s father, but who would have known that Xuan’er’s father had died in battle…”
As Madam Wei spoke of this, her eyes were almost numb, yet clear tears still slid from their corners. She gave a bitter smile. “At that time, I was truly in utter despair. My family chased me to the military camp, saying they would drag me back to be drowned in a pig cage to give the official’s family an explanation. I thought, since it was death either way, I might as well end my own life and join Xuan’er’s father.
“As I was about to smash my head against a pillar, someone stopped me. The Prime Minister claimed the child in my womb as his own, saying he would come to my home to propose marriage soon. He suppressed the matter of that day, and to this day, very few people know about it. The Prime Minister said that Xuan’er’s father was his subordinate general. He had originally intended never to marry again, but his family was pressuring him. It just so happened that I, with a child in my womb, had nowhere else to go. It was a solution that served both our needs.”
“Wei Xuan is not Wei Yan’s son?” Complex emotions churned in Xie Zheng’s eyes.
“He is not.” Madam Wei shook her head. “The Prime Minister is a man who abides by propriety. All these years, the only time he would come to my courtyard for a meal was during the new year festivals, and that was only to prevent Xuan’er from being looked down upon by the servants.”
She looked at Xie Zheng sorrowfully. “I have come today to beg the Marquis. I am but a woman and do not fully understand the things the Prime Minister has done. But he showed great kindness to both me and Xuan’er, a debt so profound that I can only do my best to repay it. I implore the Marquis, for the sake of Xuan’er taking that blow for you, to spare the Prime Minister’s life!”
Fan Changyu was astonished, never expecting so many hidden details behind Madam Wei and Wei Yan’s marriage.
The hand with which Xie Zheng was supporting Madam Wei lost its strength. His expression was unreadable as he asked, “Wei Yan… never remarried… for Shu Fei?”
Madam Wei shook her head. “That, I do not know. But for a man of the Prime Minister’s character, if he truly had a past with Shu Fei, I do not believe he could have done something like burning Shu Fei and her unborn child to death.”
Hearing this, even Fan Changyu, who hated Wei Yan to the bone, began to feel that something was amiss.
Qi Min had said that Wei Yan orchestrated the Jinzhou case, leading to the deaths of the Crown Prince and the Sixteenth Prince, all for Shu Fei and the child in her womb.
Wei Yan had no son. If he later had the power to carry out a bloodbath in the imperial palace, drive the Old Emperor from the throne, and install a rootless child as the new emperor, with such means at his disposal, why would he still burn Shu Fei to death?
She looked at Xie Zheng. He said to Madam Wei, “Wei Yan’s crimes will be announced to the world after a full investigation, and he will be dealt with accordingly. Madam, please return for now.”
Since he had put it that way, Madam Wei could not plead any further. She kowtowed once more and departed in sorrow.
Only then did Fan Changyu say, “Wei Yan has been captured. I’ll take some men to search his mansion and see if we can find anything.”
Xie Zheng said, “Gongsun has already searched it once. Wei Yan is a cautious man. Since he decided to force the abdication, he was also prepared for defeat. Any letters that could be destroyed were burned to ashes. Nothing can be found.”
At this point, his tone paused slightly as he looked at Fan Changyu. “Teacher was held captive by him in his mansion after entering the capital. He has now been brought back to the Xie residence. You can go see him later.”
Fan Changyu was both surprised and delighted. “Foster Father has been found?”
Xie Zheng nodded.
Fan Changyu immediately said, “Then I’ll go see Foster Father now.”
Xie Zheng had someone lead Fan Changyu over. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she heard Changning slamming the table. “I want Big Sister!”
“Your big sister went to quell a rebellion.” It was an old but resonant voice. “You little doll, don’t cause trouble. You’re deliberately helping that boy disrupt my game!”
Fan Changyu walked quickly to the door and called out, “Ning Niang.”
Changning, who had rested her entire chin on the Go board, turned her head almost instantly. Without even bothering to put on her shoes, she ran towards Fan Changyu in her silk socks with her arms outstretched. “Big Sister, hug!”
Fan Changyu lifted Changning with one arm and looked at Tao Taifu. Though he was still scrawny, he didn’t seem to have suffered at all. The sorrow she had been brewing on the way over got stuck in her throat. In the end, she could only manage a dry, “Foster Father.”
Tao Taifu, holding a game piece, gave a faint “en.” He glanced at Fan Changyu and said, “I hear the girl has been promoted to the third rank. Quite an improvement.”
Fan Changyu felt she should be modest, so she replied, “It’s all because Foster Father taught me well.”
Who would have thought that Tao Taifu would languidly lift an eyelid and say, “I didn’t teach you much. It was that boy who taught you, wasn’t it?”
Perhaps due to the guilt of having slept for a whole day and night, Fan Changyu blushed from her face to the tips of her ears. The base of her neck was probably red too, but she was wearing a rabbit fur scarf to cover the numerous marks there.
Tao Taifu knew this was a simple-minded girl with thin skin. Thinking of her honest nature and how she would inevitably be taken advantage of by that cunning boy in the future, he couldn’t help but puff out his beard and glare. “So what if he taught you? What’s there to be embarrassed about? Not to mention that he’ll have to marry you from my home with a grand eight-bearer sedan chair in the future, but just the fact that he’s your senior brother makes it his duty to teach you!”
The moment Fan Changyu heard Tao Taifu’s lecture, she subconsciously sat up straight and replied resoundingly, “Foster Father’s lesson is right!”
Only then was Tao Taifu satisfied. He softened his tone and said, “Come, sit down and play a game of Go with your foster father.”
Yu Bao'er, who had been forced to play for the better part of the day, let out an inaudible sigh of relief and quickly made room for Fan Changyu. “Aunt Changyu, please.”
Fan Changyu was speechless.
As she racked her brains for her next move, Tao Taifu continued to ask her intermittently about the situation in the capital. “The Li family has fallen, and that old fellow from the Wei family has also reached this point. You know what that boy plans to do next, don’t you?”
Fan Changyu nodded. She was about to place a white stone but suddenly looked up and asked, “Grand Tutor, may I ask you something about Wei Yan?”
Tao Taifu’s wrinkled eyelids lifted slightly. “Are you asking for yourself, or for that boy?”
Fan Changyu said, “I’m asking for the truth of what happened seventeen years ago.”
Tao Taifu smiled. “You, you…”
He placed the game piece in his hand back into the bowl, picked up the teapot warming on the small red-clay stove, poured a cup, and took a shallow sip before looking at the falling snow outside the window. “That brat has probably gone to the prison to see Wei Yan by now.”
Fan Changyu said nothing. She had sensed earlier that Xie Zheng seemed to want to see Wei Yan alone, which was why she had suggested visiting Tao Taifu after Xie Zheng mentioned he was at the residence, giving him time to go see Wei Yan by himself.
Tao Taifu said slowly, “Wei Yan has no son. That brat was raised under his care, and he truly raised him to be exactly like he was in his youth. Once his mind is set on something, not even ten bulls can pull him back…”
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