Wuying (II)

"Young lord, you are the son of Zhou Shun, the current emperor of the Great Zhou State, Zhou Xian's own younger brother. The prince knew his elder brother Zhou Xian was going to move against him, so he secretly sent you to live in seclusion here in Happiness Village long beforehand."

"Your parents in name were actually sent by the prince to protect you. They were both experts who lived in Happiness Village under assumed names for your sake."

"Unfortunately, they later fell ill. They saw many physicians, but none could cure them, and they passed away just like that. It was truly a pity, but the prince has always sent people to protect you in secret."

After hearing the woman's words, Zhou Yao, who had already known he might have an extraordinary birth, had not expected to be a prince's son and the current emperor's own nephew.

"Fun... really fun... and very interesting too."

Zhou Yao slowly asked, "How can you prove that what you've said is true? I can't just take whatever comes out of your mouth as the truth, can I?"

"I also suspect you're someone my imperial uncle sent to kill me and silence me, you know?"

"You have an egg-sized black birthmark on your left buttock," the woman answered hurriedly. After speaking, she bowed her head, her cheeks scarlet.

In fact, Zhou Yao had believed her as soon as she said he was the son of Zhou Shun, the current emperor Zhou Xian's own younger brother. No one would be so well-fed and idle as to go around saying such things for no reason.

Besides, she had even mentioned the birthmark on his left buttock. It was such a private matter that anyone who was not very close to him could scarcely have known about it.

Zhou Yao unsealed the woman's acupoints. She immediately dropped to one knee and saluted him, then said, "Your subordinate Hongxiu pays her respects to the young lord."

"Get up!"

"Thank you, young lord."

"Hongxiu, who gave you that name?"

"In answer to the young lord, the prince gave me this name."

"I also think the name Hongxiu doesn't sound good and doesn't suit your status. I'll give you a new name now. Are you willing?"

"Thank you for bestowing a name on me, young lord." Hongxiu immediately dropped to one knee to thank Zhou Yao for bestowing a name on her.

"From now on, you'll be called 'Wuying'!"

"It means you come without a shadow and leave without a trace. From now on, you will obey my orders alone; you need not obey anyone else's."

"Wuying thanks the young lord for bestowing a name on her."

"Wuying will faithfully obey the young lord's order."

"Get up! Tell me everything about the prince's residence before, down to the finest detail. Tell me all of it."

As Wuying slowly recounted the story, it turned out that she was the head of an intelligence organization secretly established by his bargain father, Prince Zhou Shun. She was responsible for gathering all intelligence and news of movements within the Great Zhou State and in its neighboring countries.

The organization was made up entirely of orphans taken in by Prince Zhou Shun. Their loyalty to him went without saying; there was no question about it.

But after Prince Zhou Shun's entire household had their property confiscated, were beheaded, or were exiled by his imperial elder brother, the intelligence organization and others like Wuying all went into hiding.

Wuying told them that the prince still had a son living among the common people, and that everyone should stay well hidden and await a summons. The people were all pleased to hear Wuying's orders. They all went into hiding and waited to be summoned together again.

As for his bargain father, Prince Zhou Shun, someone had framed and falsely accused him of plotting rebellion on a baseless charge, at a time of internal troubles and external threats.

Then his suspicious imperial uncle directly ordered all the men of the prince's residence beheaded and their property confiscated, while all the women were exiled to the border to do hard labor.

"Then did your intelligence organization find out who framed my bargain father?"

Wuying was startled by Zhou Yao's question, then answered, "In answer to the young lord, after years of searching in secret, we found that it was Zhou Xian, the current second prince of the Great Zhou State, and Pei Yuanli, the current prime minister of the Great Zhou State. They colluded with their subordinates to frame and spread rumors about the prince, leading the innately suspicious Emperor Zhou Xian to order the confiscation of the prince's household's property."

"Oh... so that's how it was."