Old Master Lu had no answer. The truth was, by the time he received word and rushed to the Dead Man Forest, it had already been too late. From then on, he had kept out of court affairs and settled into life as an old man content to let others take charge.
He had never expected the child to return alive.
"So, were you the one who ordered them to hunt me down?" The old man bore him no ill will, but bearing no ill will did not mean he had done anything to help. "I met your family's young master during the day. By nightfall, twenty skilled assassins had arrived. What a grand display."
Twenty? How could... Old Master Lu's heart lurched. Nine years later, he had once again come too late.
"You did that deliberately..."
Wen Xu did not care to say more about it. "I hear I bear a striking resemblance to His Highness the Crown Prince. In a world this vast, strangers may naturally look alike. But His Highness and I not only look alike—we are even the same age. You once held high office, Grand Academician Lu. Might you resolve this humble scholar's doubts?"
What?! The Crown Prince?
Bian Chunchou nearly bit his fingers in shock. So... could Wen Xu-Xu be royalty? The kind of family with a throne?
He reached out and tugged hard at Chen Zui-Zui's sleeve. Unfortunately, the man was a block of wood. He did not seem to think it was a big deal at all.
Too clever. This child was far too clever. From a few scattered clues, Wen Xu had pieced together part of the truth. But a tree too tall was easily broken. Old Master Lu truly did not want to watch him walk to his death. Yet