Confidential

In the Imperial Capital, if you were to rank security measures by strictness, the Commander-in-Chief's Mansion would be first, and Di Lin second—no wonder, considering he had more enemies than he could count.

At night, when Zichuan Xiu went to visit Inspector General Di Lin, even though he had shown his officer's ID as Deputy Commander, the dutiful military police searched him thoroughly. The search was so intense that Zichuan Xiu indignantly shouted, "Do you want to search my underwear?" The other party humorously replied, "No need, we didn't bring gas masks."

***

Lin Xiujia opened the door, and she said with surprise, "A'Xiu! It's you!"

Zichuan Xiu gazed dotingly at her beautiful face. The youthful purity of her maiden days now added a radiant glow of a young wife. He then lowered his gaze and noticed her abdomen was slightly swollen; she was pregnant.

For a moment, he felt a sense of reality within illusion, of waking within a dream.

He cleared his throat, "Ahem! Sister-in-law." The feeling was too complex to describe.

***

Lin Xiujia was genuinely happy about his visit. She led him into the house, saying, "Your elder brother just went out somewhere. You can sit in the study and wait for him. He'll be back soon!"

Zichuan Xiu politely said, "No need, I can wait in the living room."

Lin Xiujia shook her head, pointed towards the living room with her chin, and made a playfully mischievous expression. Zichuan Xiu followed her gaze and saw many people already seated in the living room. Judging by the stars on their uniform shoulders, they were all high-ranking family officials, but he didn't recognize any of them.

Zichuan Xiu gave a wry smile and said, "Alright." He politely nodded to the assembled guests and followed Lin Xiujia into Di Lin's study. He didn't notice the displeased expressions on the faces of the people behind him: "Who is this kid? We've been waiting so long, and we haven't even been offered a cup of tea, yet he swaggered into the study!"

***

In the study, Lin Xiujia invited Zichuan Xiu to sit and personally brewed tea and served him pastries—tasks that were usually done by servants.

Zichuan Xiu exclaimed in surprise, "So many guests! Is it always like this?" In his impression, this didn't align with Di Lin's aloof and proud personality.

Lin Xiujia smiled and said, "Usually, there are even more! Your elder brother just saw a group off tonight. But the Inspectorate just called with an urgent matter, rushing your elder brother to go back and handle it, so they're all waiting here!"

"Oh, so what are they looking for Big Brother for?"

Lin Xiujia pouted and made a dismissive expression: "Who knows? Aren't they all here to pull strings and build connections? Ever since he became this so-called Inspector General, he hasn't had a moment's peace. People are always coming and going!" Although Lin Xiujia's tone was one of complaint, her expression was very satisfied: A wife's status is elevated by her husband's success. Which wife wouldn't want her husband to hold great power and be respected by others?

Zichuan Xiu blushed. Although he knew Lin Xiujia didn't mean him, he was precisely here to "pull strings and build connections"!

Lin Xiujia, completely unaware of Zichuan Xiu's awkwardness, continued, "Honestly, those corrupt officials are impossible to get rid of, they're so annoying. You're an old friend, but you never come to visit us! Even Sterling has come several times, but you haven't come once. Things aren't like they used to be, and you don't have to worry about Yang Minghua knowing."

Zichuan Xiu was speechless. Lin Xiujia clearly didn't know about his conflict with Di Lin during the Bloody Night of the Imperial Capital. He smiled and said, "I've been busy—aren't I here now?"

"Alright, let's not talk about that. A'Xiu, you're not young anymore, almost twenty, right? Di Lin mentioned you still don't have a girlfriend? That's not good. Tell your sister-in-law what kind of girl you're looking for, and I'll help you find someone."

Zichuan Xiu really wanted to say, "I want to find someone like you!" But what came out was, "I haven't planned for that yet, sister-in-law, you don't need to worry about it!"

Lin Xiujia looked at him mischievously—that cunning expression was exactly the same as when she was a girl, which made Zichuan Xiu's heart ache—"I know, you have an ideal in your heart, high standards, and you don't fancy ordinary girls." She lowered her voice and asked him:

"Is it that young girl A'Ning from the former Commander-in-Chief? If you're too embarrassed to say it, I can help you out!"

Zichuan Xiu spat out the mouthful of tea he had just taken, coughing incessantly. He hurriedly waved his hands, "Absolutely not, I appreciate the kind offer!"

At this moment, a servant came in and whispered something into Lin Xiujia's ear. Lin Xiujia frowned. Zichuan Xiu seized the opportunity to say, "Sister-in-law, if you have something to attend to, please go ahead. I'll just wait here."

Lin Xiujia hesitated, then said, "Alright, then make yourself at home! You can find something to read. I'll be right back—but your elder brother should be back soon too."

***

Lin Xiujia left the study and casually closed the door, showing her extreme trust in Zichuan Xiu.

As Lin Xiujia's figure disappeared, Zichuan Xiu revealed an indescribable expression. He turned back to survey Di Lin's study, sat down at the desk, and saw a photo in the most prominent place: a group photo of Di Lin, Sterling, and himself at the Far East Military Academy. The three were affectionately embracing each other. Zichuan Xiu was on the left, wearing a playful grin; Di Lin was in the middle, striking a cool pose; Sterling was on the right, smiling gently. In some mysterious way, this order seemed to foreshadow a certain historical cruelty.

The background was a peach orchard in full bloom, it was springtime, and crimson petals were slowly falling. Zichuan Xiu remembered that it was on that spring day that they had met Lin Xiujia together.

On the back of the photo was a poem inscribed by Sterling: "The flowers are in bloom, and the people are young!" The handwriting was vigorous, followed by the signatures of Zichuan Xiu, Sterling, and Di Lin.

Zichuan Xiu and Sterling each had a similar photo. Zichuan Xiu was surprised that Di Lin cherished this photo so much, placing it in the very center of his desk. A warm feeling flowed through his heart.

***

Zichuan Xiu did not disturb the documents on the desk. He stood up and walked to the window, pulling back the curtains, intending to admire Di Lin's garden.

The study lights spilled into the garden. From a distance, Zichuan Xiu saw two people talking in the depths of the garden. One of them was Di Lin, and the other person surprised Zichuan Xiu a little: Fang Jin, the commander of the Black Flag Army.

Both were masters, and simultaneously sensing something, they turned to look. Di Lin, composed, glanced at the study light and then turned back to continue their conversation.

Zichuan Xiu gently lowered the curtain, but in that instant, Fang Jin's flustered expression was deeply imprinted in his mind. Why was he here? Didn't he say he was sick and recuperating at home?

***

After a while, Zichuan Xiu heard a commotion outside, with many voices speaking at once: "Ah, Commander Di is back!" "Working overtime so late, you must be tired!" "Greetings, Commander! Your subordinate is..."

Di Lin smiled and responded to the guests one by one. Lin Xiujia came up to help him take off his military coat and chided, "What's going on, coming back so late! Don't you see all these people waiting for you?" She whispered in his ear, "Hurry and dismiss them, A'Xiu is waiting for you in the study."

Di Lin nodded slightly and announced loudly to everyone, "Thank you all for waiting, gentlemen. My apologies! However, there are urgent matters assigned by the Commander-in-Chief tonight that need to be handled..."

Everyone immediately understood and said, "Not at all, our matters are not urgent at all! Of course, the Commander-in-Chief's matters come first!" They all took their leave.

***

Di Lin smiled apologetically at Zichuan Xiu and said, "I couldn't help it."

Zichuan Xiu teased, "Of course! Commander Di bears the heavy responsibility of the nation, working tirelessly every day!"

Di Lin shook his head, "It was better before, but lately, I've been incredibly busy! It's mainly due to those conscripted civilian troops; their discipline is terrible. They're constantly drinking, getting into brawls, and even engaging in theft and harassing women, causing utter chaos. The crime rate in the Imperial Capital this month has increased fivefold compared to last month—you know, any cases involving military personnel are transferred to our Inspectorate for handling by the Ministry of Justice!"

Zichuan Xiu said righteously, "You should hold their unit commanders accountable! How can they lead their troops like that!"

Di Lin said calmly, "Well said! The unit with the most offenses is a certain unit called the 'Xiu Battalion.' Half of the cases of drunken disturbances, brawls, and harassment of women are committed by them—I'll have their unit commanders brought in for questioning tomorrow morning!"

Zichuan Xiu immediately dared not make a sound.

Lin Xiujia, listening from the side, laughed until she bent over. Di Lin held her and kissed her lightly. Lin Xiujia shyly pushed him away, "Don't! Ah Xiu is still here! You, as an elder brother, are corrupting your younger brother!"

"What are you afraid of? Ah Xiu isn't an outsider! Besides, what kind of situation hasn't he seen?"

Zichuan Xiu cried out from the side, "Ah, I can't take it anymore! I'm very pure and can't handle this kind of scene!"

"Get lost! Stop pretending to be innocent with me! Weren't you the one who lent me those adult books when we were kids?"

Lin Xiujia listened happily from the side, "You guys chat slowly, I'll bring some wine and food—Did Ah Xiu eat?"

Di Lin said, "He ate!"

Zichuan Xiu said, "I didn't eat!"

Di Lin instructed her, "Remember, only one pair of chopsticks will be enough later!"

Zichuan Xiu immediately said, "Right! I'm used to using a spoon and fork."

The wine and food were soon served. Di Lin said to Lin Xiujia, "Alright, you can go down quickly. You don't need to stay here with us—lest someone, after drinking half a glass of beer, claims to be drunk and takes advantage of my wife!"

Zichuan Xiu protested, "Don't you trust me that much!?"

Di Lin said without hesitation, "I don't trust you at all!"

Lin Xiujia smiled like a flower, "It's been a long time since I've seen Di Lin so happy—You guys chat slowly, call me if you need anything."

Watching Lin Xiujia leave the study, the smiles simultaneously vanished from both their faces.

Di Lin said slowly, "You saw it?"

The question was abrupt, but Zichuan Xiu immediately understood he was referring to the conversation with Fang Jin in the garden earlier. He shook his head vigorously, "No, I didn't see anything!"

"You saw it." The sentence changed from a question to an affirmation.

Zichuan Xiu had no choice but to admit, "Yes, I saw it." He looked around, "Could it be that three hundred swordsmen have already been ambushed 'after the banquet, waiting for the master to give the signal by throwing his cup'?"

Di Lin laughed heartily, slammed the cup in his hand, and with a "clang," said with a smile, "The swordsmen's ears aren't very sharp—Ah Xiu, you have something on your mind, I can see it."

Zichuan Xiu honestly admitted, "Yes."

Di Lin gazed at him and said softly, "Luo Bo?"

Zichuan Xiu was surprised by Di Lin's sharp judgment and countered, "You know?"

Di Lin smiled, "How could I not know! I signed the arrest warrant for him, and that shrew Lin Bing bothered me more than ten times, but I ignored her."

Zichuan Xiu asked directly, "Is there any hope?"

Di Lin pondered for a long time before slowly uttering a few words, "I will do my best."

Zichuan Xiu couldn't help but ask, "Really?"—As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it.

As expected, Di Lin sneered, "One really needs to be honest! I only lied to you once, and it seems you'll never forgive me in this lifetime."

Zichuan Xiu was silent. He understood Di Lin's meaning: the experience of the Bloody Night of the Imperial Capital had drawn a crack in their once unbreakable friendship. Just now, they had both been intentionally or unintentionally avoiding this crack, trying to mend their friendship, but ultimately they had to face the painful memory so starkly.

There was no explanation for such a thing. He could only raise his cup to toast Di Lin. They clinked glasses and drank it all down.

Di Lin exhaled, "In this world, without strength, you can't even pull a blade of grass from the ground! Let alone survive!" He looked at Zichuan Xiu, "My strength is that I am ruthless enough!"

Zichuan Xiu listened quietly, knowing that Di Lin's words were not just for him, but more so for himself.

"The high position I hold today is paved with the corpses of over a hundred thousand family soldiers and millions of demons! In the Far East, even children dare not cry when they hear my name, 'Asura King' Di Lin!"

"I know you and Sterling are gentlemen, righteous individuals who are loyal to the family—but what good does it do? The current example is Ge Yingxing of the Far East. Loyal enough, right? But how did that old fox Zichuan Canxing repay him!? Entering the 'Sacred Spirit Hall,' pah! Why didn't he go in himself?"

Di Lin drank heavily as he spoke, it seemed these words had been pent up in his heart for a long time, "You must find it strange that Fang Jin is with me, right?"

Zichuan Xiu nodded, "Yes," but did not ask "why."

Di Lin's eyes turned cunning, "Let me test you with a question: Recently, something that shouldn't have happened has happened. What do you think it is? Hint: it's a major event!"

Zichuan Xiu answered without hesitation, "The demise of Yang Minghua—since he dared to openly demonstrate, he shouldn't have collapsed so easily!"

Di Lin slammed the table, "Correct! Do you remember what I told you at the Commanders' Office that time? For Yang Minghua to openly rebel, two conditions had to be met: First, split the Far East Army from within. Second, buy over or win over either Ming Hui or Fang Jin. Looking back now, Lei Hong's betrayal fulfilled the first condition."

Zichuan Xiu's eyelids twitched, "Who was won over?" A bad premonition welled up in his heart.

Di Lin said calmly, "When searching Yang Minghua's house, I discovered a letter of allegiance written by Fang Jin to Yang Minghua."

Zichuan Xiu shouted, "Impossible!"

"On that night, Fang Jin also led over ten thousand Black Flag Army troops in ambush outside the city, but my troops entered the city first. Seeing that there was no way, he secretly withdrew."

Zichuan Xiu still shook his head, unwilling—or perhaps unable—to believe that Fang Jin, the brave and straightforward general whom he had respected and doted on since childhood, was actually Yang Minghua's lackey. Emotionally, he would have preferred to believe that Ming Hui was the one bought over.

"Actually, we should have noticed it at that meeting: two high-ranking officers of the Black Flag Army died, and the hot-tempered Fang Jin didn't confront Yang Minghua on the spot. Instead, he had to rely on Ge Yingxing of the Far East Army to speak up for them. This was very abnormal, but everyone was too agitated at the time and didn't realize it."

Recalling Fang Jin's behavior that day, Zichuan Xiu had actually started to believe Di Lin's words, "Why didn't you expose him?"

"This matter is extremely confidential, even Luo Bo Minghai doesn't know—Why would I expose him? Zichuan Canxing is absolutely ruthless towards those who collude with Yang Minghua. If this matter were revealed, a large number of people would lose their heads. Wouldn't it be better to let these heads stay in place and work for me?"

Zichuan Xiu widened his eyes and looked at Di Lin, "You're blackmailing him? And he agreed?"

"He had no other choice." Di Lin said sympathetically, "I know you respect Fang Jin greatly, but he chose the wrong side himself, and no one can be blamed. The world is not a playground; there is no 'redo'—no matter who it is!"

Di Lin seemed to imply something, and Zichuan Xiu pressed, "Anyone is the same?"

Di Lin didn't answer directly. He walked to the window and said, "There are some things I only vaguely understood after I became the Inspector General. The Inspectorate has always secretly operated a Seventh Division, a secret department specifically tasked with monitoring powerful ministers and generals. They place people near anyone they deem important. In the past, Yang Minghua used Xiao Long's Seventh Division to gather intelligence and control the family. Similarly, Zichuan Canxing has his own intelligence system, also planting spies among officials of all ranks within the family. This includes you: they have people among your trusted subordinates. Their names are..."

Zichuan Xiu immediately cut Di Lin off, "These scrambled eggs are good, try them."

Di Lin stared at Zichuan Xiu, "You already knew?"

"This soup is too salty—ever since I started following you, Lin Xiujia's cooking has gotten worse!"

"How did you know?"

Zichuan Xiu could only sigh, "She's neither a distinguished general nor from a noble family, so how could she possibly become a Vice Banner Captain at such a young age and be assigned to me? And that pretty boy has never been on a battlefield, knows nothing, yet he can serve as a staff officer? It's obvious someone arranged it behind the scenes."

Di Lin smiled, "I really underestimated you. So you've had it figured out all along—do you want me to handle it for you? I guarantee it'll be clean and leave no trace." When he said "handle it," he bared his white teeth, his smile carrying a hint of killing intent.

Zichuan Xiu looked innocently naive and asked, "Handle what? Handle what?"

Di Lin: "I almost forgot you don't like killing—there's another way. I can expose them, say they are remnants of Yang Minghua's faction, and you can protect them. I guarantee they'll be loyal to you from then on."

Zichuan Xiu shook his head, "Regardless of what they were before, on that night, they broke ties with Yang Minghua through their actions and atoned. If exposed, even if I don't mind, they couldn't serve under me with a clear conscience. Then I would lose very capable subordinates."

"Now, they have only one identity: they are direct subordinates of me, Zichuan Xiu." He paused, staring directly into Di Lin's eyes, "My most loyal subordinates." This was undoubtedly a warning, a warning to Di Lin not to interfere.

Di Lin also fell silent for a long time, finally speaking, "I'm not as good as you, A'Xiu."

Zichuan Xiu said sincerely, "Big Brother, I've always been proud of you my whole life!"

Di Lin laughed heartily, "Having you call me Big Brother again is the happiest thing for me!" He sat back down:

"Luobo Minghai is determined to take my life, so I must cultivate my own strength for self-preservation, no matter the cost. Although I'm confident I won't lose to him, life is unpredictable, who can say for sure? If that day ever comes, I'll have to entrust Lin Xiujia and her unborn child to you."

Zichuan Xiu was moved. Di Lin knew Zichuan Xiu's personality and that he disliked political struggles, so he didn't leverage their years of friendship to force him. Though he could be cruel and heartless to others, his feelings for his friend were extremely sincere.

Zichuan Xiu drained his cup of wine, making a solemn promise, "I promise you, Big Brother, as long as I'm alive, I will never let Lin Xiujia and her child suffer even the slightest harm."

Di Lin gratefully extended his hand, and the two clasped theirs firmly. Their gazes fell together on the photo of the three of them on the table. In the midst of falling blossoms, three lifelong friends were tightly embracing. For a moment, their thoughts both returned to the vibrant and hopeful era of the Far East Military Academy