How could Xiao Xun ever forget this matter?
From riding the crest of success and breaking through all resistance, with the capital nearly within grasp, to becoming a prisoner in the blink of an eye.
"Heir Apparent," Ning Kun's voice was hoarse, "the Prince did it for you. You were held hostage at the time—the Prince couldn't let you come to harm."
Xiao Xun didn't respond to his words, instead gazing at the dense greenery outside the window. This study was arranged exactly like his study in the Zhongshan Prince's Mansion, even the view outside the window was identical.
"Since I was born, I have upheld Father's ambition—to return to the capital and seize the throne."
"Father's legs are disabled, and he's under court surveillance. I've been traveling abroad on his behalf, recruiting and training troops."
"I am Father's legs, hands, and eyes. Whatever Father asked me to do, I did."
"Everything I did was according to Father's wishes."
"So why, at the moment of near success, did Father give up everything for me?"
"Doesn't that make everything I did before nothing but a joke?"
Hearing this, Ning Kun spoke again: "To the Prince, the Heir Apparent is—"
"Even if I were captured, it wasn't an unsolvable problem," Xiao Xun interrupted him. "Throughout this year, I've been thinking—if I were Father, what would I have done in that situation?"
He turned to look at Ning Kun.
"In that situation, there were countless ways to save me, or simply let me die."
"Whether saving me or letting me die, neither would have stopped Father from entering the capital."
"How could Father just end it without doing anything?"
"I've pondered this endlessly—why exactly?"
"What exactly stopped Father?"
Ning Kun raised his head: "Heir Apparent, as you said yourself, this is only a delay, not an end. Everything can continue. The Prince believes that you, like him, can wait."
Xiao Xun said: "I can wait." He smiled faintly. "Before, whatever Father said, I did. Of course, I still do now. It's just that now I'm trapped in the capital, cut off from the outside world. I want to wait with clarity."
With clarity—what kind of clarity did he want? Ning Kun remained silent.
"I know you're afraid of saying the wrong thing and damaging the relationship between Father and me, but you're overthinking it," Xiao Xun said softly. "What's done is done. What you say or don't say doesn't matter. Whether you speak or remain silent is irrelevant."
He picked up the gift list on the table and waved it slightly.
"This is my obsession—I insisted on hearing a clear explanation. There's no need for you to feel troubled, no need to say anything more."
Ning Kun looked at Xiao Xun. The Heir Apparent remained as gentle and refined as jade, his face still wearing a smile, but ultimately, he was different. Confined to this post station, though not in a pitch-dark prison cell—what difference did it really make?
Like a bird with clipped wings, his eyes filled with loneliness.
His repeated questioning showed that he already had suspicions in his heart. By not speaking, he would only make him overthink it more—
"Also, thank you for coming in person, Master Ning," Xiao Xun added. "You're heavily relied upon by Father and busy with affairs. I've heard Father plans to have you teach my second brother as well. In the future, just send servants for such matters—there's no need for you to make special trips."
Ning Kun couldn't bear these words. He stepped forward urgently: "Heir Apparent, Ning Kun is your teacher, and will only ever be yours alone."
Xiao Xun smiled: "Nothing in this world lasts forever, Master Ning. Don't take it so seriously. Since I'm no longer by Father's side, teach Second Brother well so he won't repeat my mistakes in the future."Ning Kun sighed inwardly. Things had come to this point—if he still refused to speak, he would truly sever all ties with the Heir Apparent.
"It wasn't the Heir Apparent's mistake," he said in a low voice. "After I returned, I found out that Chu Zhao had also secretly stationed troops to threaten the prince. She said that besides killing the Heir Apparent, she would also kill the prince and everyone in the prince's mansion. That's why the prince felt he couldn't take the risk."
Having said this, he hurriedly added an explanation.
"The root cause of this matter was our negligence regarding Chu Zhao's hidden forces. We only considered the power of families like the Xie family. Who would have thought that the daughter of a Garrison General, aside from the Dragon Guard Army, would also raise private troops—"
Xiao Xun no longer paid attention to what followed. Upon hearing that Chu Zhao had secretly stationed troops and threatened to kill the prince, he felt a sense of relief.
So that was it. No wonder his father had abandoned a victory that was within easy reach just because he was threatened.
So it was his father who had been threatened.
Xiao Xun laughed.
"So that's how it is. Chu Zhao is truly deep and unfathomable," he said, sighing deeply. "If I had known earlier that the Chu family also had hidden forces, I wouldn't have allowed Chu Lan and her family to get so close to me so easily. No, I wouldn't have gone to the Chu family to meet Chu Lan in the first place. Instead, I would have eliminated them when Xiao Yu entered the city."
Had the topic shifted? Ning Kun quickly nodded. "Yes, yes, exactly. We underestimated Chu Ling—"
"We underestimated Chu Zhao," Xiao Xun corrected.
Ning Kun couldn't help but recall earlier events and said, "The Heir Apparent has always held Chu Zhao in high regard." He nodded again. "Chu Zhao is indeed formidable. Even without Chu Ling, she has managed to secure her position as Empress."
Xiao Xun gazed out the window. Though confined to the posthouse, he wasn't completely isolated from the world. His father had many hidden agents in the capital whom he could use.
He knew how grand the girl's return to the capital had been. He knew that Grand Tutor Deng Yi obeyed the Empress's every word. He knew that Xie Yanfang protected the Empress meticulously, to the extent that the women of the Xie family were kept away from the capital, ensuring the Emperor had no female relatives in his heart besides the Empress.
All of this was earned by that girl herself.
It had been a long time since he last saw her. Xiao Xun tried to recall but could only remember their first meeting by the river. He couldn't see clearly in the water, and after rescuing her, he hadn't bothered to take a closer look.
"If I had known she was this formidable," Xiao Xun said with a laugh, "I would have kept her in the Zhongshan Prince's Mansion back then."
At that time, not only was the girl weak and insignificant, but Deng Yi was merely a minor official. Ning Kun sighed and said, "Not just keeping her—if we had killed them outright, who could have done anything about it?"
What a pity, what a pity. As Ning Kun was about to say more, Xiao Xun ended the topic.
"So, this matter was my mistake," he said with a regretful expression. "I have no one to blame but myself for being confined here."
Ning Kun hurriedly replied, "Don't say that, Heir Apparent. The prince also blames himself deeply, but he said that as long as you're alive, there will still be opportunities."
Xiao Xun smiled. "Tell Father not to worry. I understand everything."
Ning Kun studied his expression. The Heir Apparent indeed looked regretful, but the despondency from before was gone. So, even though he knew the prince had also been threatened, in the Heir Apparent's heart, the one to resent as the enemy was still Chu Zhao.
That was how it should be. The prince had no other choice. Everything was because of Chu Zhao.
It was good that the Heir Apparent had come to terms with it."I will inform the Prince." He nodded, his expression full of concern and sorrow. "No matter how much the Heir Apparent tries to find joy in hardship, nor how many gold, silver, jewels, furniture, or decorations are sent, they cannot ease the Prince’s worry for you. While you, Heir Apparent, reside in this cage of the capital, the Prince in Zhongshan Commandery is also trapped in a prison of the heart. I beg you to endure a little longer and persevere through these difficult times."
Xiao Xun nodded with a faint smile. "I know, I understand. As the saying goes, 'When a child is ill, the mother’s heart aches.' Go and rest first. I will write to Father with some jokes to cheer him up, and you can take the letter back to him."
Ning Kun acknowledged, "Then I will go freshen up."
"Go ahead, take care of yourself," Xiao Xun said. "Don’t count on Tieying."
Ning Kun chuckled, "How would I dare trouble him?" With that, he withdrew.
The room fell silent again. Xiao Xun stood before the desk but did not pick up a brush to write. Instead, he reached into the painting vase on the desk, took out a scroll, and unrolled it.
It was a landscape painting. Xiao Xun studied it carefully, then peeled back the edge—the painting actually had two layers.
As one layer was lifted, another was revealed beneath it: a bright yellow imperial edict.
Xiao Xun gazed quietly at the edict, over and over again. No smile touched his face; his eyes were clouded with mist, cold and grim.
"You gave me this life, but you cannot use it as you please," he said slowly, raising a hand to touch his own face. "I, too, have a face, skin, and bones."
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