Fan Changyu remembered that when they returned to the mansion, it was just after the snow had cleared. But when she woke up and pushed open the window, she saw it was snowing again outside.
Perhaps because she had slept enough, aside from some lingering soreness in her body, she felt refreshed and clear-headed.
She was also a little hungry.
Fan Changyu went to the familiar chest to look for her clothes to wear, but after searching to the bottom, she found only outer robes—no matching undergarments.
The parted bed curtains were lifted by a well-defined arm, revealing faint red scratch marks from the elbow to the shoulder. There was even a faint bite mark on the shoulder. The man's voice, just awakened, carried a low, husky tone: "Not sleeping a little longer?"
Fan Changyu answered honestly, "I'm hungry."
Xie Zheng seemed to chuckle softly before rising and draping his clothes over himself. His toned abdomen and the firm muscles of his shoulders bore even more faint red scratches. His armor had been stained almost entirely with the blood of others, and the most severe injury on his body was the missing patch of flesh on his left palm.
Memories of the earlier chaos flooded back, and Fan Changyu lowered her head, not daring to look further. She only heard him say, "I'll have someone bring food."
Then she asked, "Do you have any spare clothes for me here?"
Xie Zheng turned to look at her.
Fan Changyu said, "That chest only has outer robes."
Previously, her soaked undergarments from falling into the water had been passable to wear, but this time, her clothes had been thoroughly drenched in blood. There was no way to make do, and what she was wearing now was borrowed from him.
Xie Zheng replied, "Not yet prepared. Wear mine for now, and I'll have someone bring a set for you later."
Fan Changyu didn't find anything odd about this. After a moment's thought, it seemed the only option, so she nodded.
The efficient maids quickly set up the meal in the outer room. After a quick wash, Fan Changyu ate three full bowls before stopping.
The snowy sky was gray and gloomy, making it hard to tell the time. After the meal, Fan Changyu glanced at the hourglass in Xie Zheng's room and frowned. "Has noon not passed yet?"
When they had returned from the palace, it had already been mid-morning. After that, he had recklessly indulged in more... activities. Fan Changyu felt she had slept for a long time—had only two hours passed?
Xie Zheng was sipping tea when he heard her question. Suddenly, he coughed lightly into his hand, an uncharacteristic hint of awkwardness crossing his refined features. "It's the second day."
Fan Changyu blinked her clear, bright eyes for two breaths before realization struck. Instantly, her face darkened.
This wasn't just two hours—an entire day and night had passed!
With the Li and Wei factions executed, the young emperor missing, and countless urgent matters at hand, how could he just sit here like this?!
Xie Shiyi arrived with a stack of documents for Xie Zheng. Before he even reached the door, he heard a loud commotion inside. Steeling himself, he called out, "Master, Gongsun said these memorials require your review."
"Understood. Leave them at the door."
The voice from inside remained cool and composed, though his breathing sounded slightly uneven.
Xie Shiyi's ears burned red as he set the items down and hurried away.
Inside the room, Xie Zheng was pinned to the ground by Fan Changyu, her leg locked around his neck. His gaze drifted to the slightly loosened collar of her robe, his breathing deepening as he said, "My dear, once you've vented your anger, get up. If you don't, we won't be getting up at all today."
Fan Changyu's face flushed crimson, and she pressed down harder, glaring. "You're still talking nonsense!"
Xie Zheng's uninjured hand suddenly seized her ankle, and with a swift motion, the world spun around her. In an instant, their positions reversed—she was the one pinned beneath him.A hand slipped into the wide-open collar of her robe, giving a deliberate squeeze. Fan Changyu's face burned so hot it might as well have been steaming, and she struggled even harder, shouting angrily, "You... scoundrel!"
Xie Zheng's breathing had already grown uneven. He lowered his head slightly to look at her, his eyes dark and unreadable: "Haven't we done far worse things than this?"
"You!" Changyu was so furious she couldn't speak. Now that she was truly at his mercy, she'd learned to strategically feign weakness: "I... I'm still sore."
Her clear, bright eyes kept darting toward the door: "That... Shiyi is looking for you too. With so many affairs of state, shouldn't you be reviewing them?"
Her guilty expression—both cowardly and unwilling to admit defeat—was utterly endearing. Xie Zheng felt an itch rising from the roots of his teeth. He gripped her chin and thoroughly ravaged her lips before finally letting go.
Once freed, Changyu immediately pulled her robe tight and sat far away, looking both angry and embarrassed as she said, "I don't want to wear your clothes anymore. I want my own."
Xie Zheng reached out with his long arm and pulled her back, burying his face in the crook of her neck with a muffled laugh: "Fine, as you wish."
His breath tickled her neck, making her push his face away expressionlessly. Her eyes were downcast, lips pressed tightly together, inexplicably sulky.
He said he'd do as she wished, 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 review them carefully, Fan Changyu had already retrieved a large saber from the armory and gone to the courtyard to practice.
Amid the fluttering snowflakes, she swung the heavy blade with fierce momentum in the courtyard, her eyes filled with murderous intent with each slash and chop—as if imagining someone's face in the falling snow.
Xie Zheng propped his chin on his hand and watched for a while, a faint smile appearing in his eyes before he lowered his gaze to continue reading the memorials.
When he came across one in particular, his brow lifted slightly. "The Military Governor of Lingnan has come to the capital at this critical juncture?"
Changyu had just finished a set of saber techniques. Propping herself up with the long blade, she turned her head and asked, "Is this Wei Yan's backup plan?"
Xie Zheng shook his head: "The scouts report he came alone."
Just then, Xie Shiyi hurried into the courtyard to report: "Master, Madam Wei requests an audience."
Xie Zheng's expression sobered slightly. "Escort her to the main hall."-
Shortly after, Xie Zheng and Fan Changyu arrived together in the main hall.
Madam Wei was dressed entirely in mourning white. The moment she saw Xie Zheng, she knelt without a word.
Changyu didn't know what Xie Zheng was feeling, but she was certainly startled by Madam Wei's sudden gesture. By the time she regained her composure, Xie Zheng had already reached out to help her up: "Aunt, what is the meaning of this?"
Madam Wei refused to rise. Her face was unusually pale as she forced a faint smile and said, "The Marquis must not address this humble woman so. I do not deserve it."
Xie Zheng's gaze sharpened: "No matter what Wei Yan has done, I will always regard you as my aunt."
But Madam Wei shook her head, her expression sorrowful as she said, "This humble woman truly does not deserve the Marquis's address. I have merely survived in Wei Mansion under the chancellor's protection for over twenty years, raising Xuan'er..."
Changyu sensed something unusual in her words. Xie Zheng asked slowly, "What do you mean by that?"Madam Wei spoke with sorrow, revealing the hidden truth: "This humble woman was originally just a low-born daughter from a minor family, never destined to marry someone as esteemed as the Chancellor. My family arranged for me to be a second wife to a sixth-rank official—a man whose son was even older than me... Unwilling, I secretly pledged myself to a guard from our household. To earn enough silver to marry me, he enlisted in the army. By the time the official came to propose, I was already three months pregnant. When my family found out, they tried to force me to abort the child. I fled, searching for Xuan’er’s father in the military camp, only to learn he had died in battle..."
At this point, Madam Wei’s eyes were almost numb, yet tears still slipped silently down her cheeks. She gave a bitter smile: "At that time, I truly had lost all hope. My family pursued me to the camp, threatening to drown me in a pig cage to appease the official’s family. I thought, since death was inevitable, I might as well end my own life and join Xuan’er’s father in the afterlife.
I tried to dash myself against a pillar, but someone stopped me. The Chancellor claimed the child in my womb as his own, promising to propose marriage soon. He suppressed the scandal that day, and to this day, few know the truth. He told me Xuan’er’s father had been his subordinate general. He had never intended to remarry, but his family pressured him relentlessly. Since I and the unborn child had nowhere else to turn, this arrangement served both our needs."
"Then... Wei Xuan is not Wei Yan’s son?" Xie Zheng’s eyes darkened with complex emotions.
"No," Madam Wei shook her head. "The Chancellor is a man of propriety. All these years, he only visited my courtyard during festivals—solely to ensure Xuan’er wouldn’t be slighted by the household servants."
She looked pleadingly at Xie Zheng: "I came today to beg you, Marquis. As a mere woman, I know little of the Chancellor’s deeds. But he saved me and Xuan’er—this life debt, I can only repay by pleading for him. For the sake of Xuan’er taking that blade for you, spare the Chancellor’s life!"
Fan Changyu was stunned, never imagining such hidden depths in Madam Wei and Wei Yan’s marriage.
Xie Zheng’s grip on Madam Wei’s arm loosened. His expression was unreadable as he asked, "Wei Yan... never remarried because of Shu Fei?"
Madam Wei shook her head. "That, I do not know. But given the Chancellor’s character, if he truly had ties to Shu Fei, I cannot believe he would burn her and her unborn child to death."
Hearing this, even with her deep hatred for Wei Yan, Changyu found the situation puzzling.
Qi Min had claimed Wei Yan orchestrated the Jinzhou incident—killing the Crown Prince and the Sixteenth Prince—for Shu Fei and her child. Yet if Wei Yan had no heirs, why would he later burn Shu Fei alive, especially when he possessed the ruthlessness to purge the palace, depose the Old Emperor, and install a powerless child on the throne?
She glanced at Xie Zheng, who said to Madam Wei, "Wei Yan’s crimes will be judged publicly once fully investigated. You may leave now."
Having said this much, Madam Wei could plead no further. With a final bow, she withdrew in sorrow.
Only then did Changyu speak: "Wei Yan has been captured. I’ll lead a search of his residence to see what evidence can be found."Xie Zheng said, "Gongsun has already led a team to search the place once. Wei Yan is a cautious man. Having decided to force the emperor's abdication, he was prepared for defeat. All incriminating letters that could be destroyed were burned clean. Nothing can be found."
At this point, he paused slightly and looked at Fan Changyu. "After Grand Tutor Tao entered the capital, he was detained at Wei Yan's residence. He has now been brought back to the Xie residence. You can visit him later."
Fan Changyu was both shocked and delighted. "Foster Father has been found?"
Xie Zheng nodded.
Fan Changyu immediately said, "Then I'll go see Foster Father now."
Xie Zheng called for someone to escort Fan Changyu. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she heard Changning slapping the table. "I want my sister!"
"Your sister is out quelling the rebellion," came a voice that was old but full of vigor. "Don't you dare cause trouble, you little rascal. Are you deliberately trying to disrupt my chess game?"
Fan Changyu quickened her steps to the door and called out, "Ning Niang."
Changning, who had her entire chin resting on the chessboard, turned her head instantly. Without even bothering to put on her shoes, she ran toward Fan Changyu in her silk socks, arms outstretched. "Sister, hug me!"
Fan Changyu picked up Changning with one hand and looked at Grand Tutor Tao, who, though still gaunt, seemed to have suffered no hardships. The sorrow she had been holding back all this way suddenly felt misplaced, and she could only manage a stiff, "Foster Father."
Grand Tutor Tao, holding a chess piece, gave a faint "Hmm" and glanced at Fan Changyu. "I heard you've risen to the third rank in the military. Quite the improvement."
Fan Changyu felt she ought to be modest and replied, "It's all thanks to your teachings."
Unexpectedly, Grand Tutor Tao lifted his eyelids slightly and said, "I didn't teach you much. That boy did, didn't he?"
Perhaps due to the guilt of having slept soundly for a full day and night, Fan Changyu felt her face flush all the way to the tips of her ears. Her neck was probably red too, but she had covered it with a rabbit-fur scarf to hide the marks.
Grand Tutor Tao knew this foster daughter of his was simple-minded and easily embarrassed. Worried that her honest nature would leave her at a disadvantage against that cunning boy in the future, he couldn't help but flare up. "So what if he taught you? Why should you be embarrassed? Not to mention he'll have to carry you home from my place in a grand wedding sedan someday, but even as your senior brother, it's only right for him to teach you!"
The moment Grand Tutor Tao began lecturing, Fan Changyu instinctively straightened her back and replied firmly, "Foster Father is absolutely right!"
Only then did Grand Tutor Tao feel appeased, and his tone softened. "Come, sit down and play a game of chess with me."
Yu Bao'er, who had been forced to play chess for most of the day, let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief and quickly made room for Fan Changyu. "Aunt Changyu, please."
Fan Changyu: "..."
As she racked her brains over where to place her next move, Grand Tutor Tao continued to ask her about the situation in the capital. "The Li family has fallen, and that old fool Wei Yan has reached this point. You know what that boy plans to do next, don't you?"
Fan Changyu nodded. Just as she was about to place the white piece, she suddenly looked up and asked, "Grand Tutor, may I ask you something about Wei Yan?"
Grand Tutor Tao raised his wrinkled eyelids slightly. "Are you asking for yourself, or for that boy?"
Fan Changyu said, "For the truth of what happened seventeen years ago."
Grand Tutor Tao chuckled. "You... you..."He placed the chess piece back into the box, then poured himself a cup of tea warming on the small red clay stove. After taking a sip, he gazed at the snowflakes outside the window and said, "That brat is probably visiting Wei Yan in prison right now."
Fan Changyu remained silent. Earlier, she had sensed that Xie Zheng wanted to meet Wei Yan alone, which was why she suggested visiting Grand Tutor Tao after Xie Zheng mentioned he was at the residence—giving him the opportunity to see Wei Yan privately.
Grand Tutor Tao continued slowly, "Wei Yan has no sons. That brat was raised under his care and ended up just like him in his youth—once he sets his mind on something, not even ten oxen could pull him back..."
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