At the Jade Fragrance House, Yun Shen helped the drunken Feng Chenyi onto the bed and removed his shoes and socks.
After tucking him in, he started to get up and leave.
But his wrist was suddenly seized.
He looked back to see Feng Chenyi gazing at him through drunken eyes. "Yunqian..."
It felt as though a sharp knife were twisting in his heart, and Yun Shen could hardly remain standing.
He was about to say, "Young Master Feng, you've mistaken me for someone else," when Feng Chenyi continued, "Back then, it was His Majesty who colluded with the State of Chu... He diverted the Ministry of Revenue's money and grain and ceded a city to the State of Chu in exchange for its help in eliminating Prince Li... Lord Zhang, Lord Zhang became his scapegoat... His Majesty ordered the Ministry of Justice to close the case quickly because he was afraid his own crimes would come to light... He deliberately let Lord Zhang die under a false accusation..."
"Yunqian, did you hear me...? Lord Zhang really was innocent..."
"He never embezzled anything, never betrayed Great Wei..."
"He deserves for all of us to... clear his name..."
Feng Chenyi thought he was holding on to the Yunqian in his dream.
Choking back sobs, he poured out the whole truth he had learned that day.
Yun Shen listened in a daze. By the time he came to his senses, tears had soaked his cheeks.
He clenched his back teeth, his jaw taut, but sobs still caught in his throat.
For fifteen years, faith alone had sustained his belief that his father had done no wrong.
He had never had any solid evidence.
But Feng Chenyi was so emotional tonight that the Feng Family must have obtained evidence capable of proving the truth.
For him, rather than good news,
it was the strongest support he had to keep going...
Yun Shen took Feng Chenyi's hand and pressed it to his forehead. "Thank you, Chenyi. Thank you..." he choked out.
The next day, at morning court in the Hall of Diligent Governance.
Zhou Ye yawned repeatedly as he watched the Feng and Zhao factions argue fiercely over who would become commander of the Imperial Guard.
They had been arguing for three days since Zhao Junze had been dismissed.
They might not have been tired, but Zhou Ye was tired just watching them.
He had only been watching from the sidelines for a short while when he heard Wei Zhao call on him again.
"Zhou Ye, who do you think would be suitable as the new commander of the Imperial Guard?"
"..." Zhou Ye had indeed noticed that, ever since the sacrifice, Wei Zhao liked to ask him about everything.
Every question was a probe.
It was simply annoying him to death.
But Zhou Ye had long since thought of a way to deal with it.
He would play tai chi with Wei Zhao.
After pondering for a moment, he replied, "Your subject believes that the appointment and dismissal of officials is Your Majesty's prerogative. Whoever Your Majesty believes can replace Commander Zhao as the new commander of the Imperial Guard may be appointed. If Your Majesty has any doubts, you may also order the Ministry of Personnel to submit the files of all officials and have the Censorate examine their conduct. A suitable candidate can then be chosen."
The minister of personnel belonged to the Zhao faction.
At the Censorate, Grand Preceptor Feng's word carried weight.
Zhou Ye's answer involved both sides.
It seemed to offer a way to choose an official, but it was actually useless.
Wei Zhao's face darkened.
He waved for Zhou Ye to step down.
With another wave, he had Li Dehai announce the end of court.
Looking utterly unconcerned, Zhou Ye left the Hall of Diligent Governance and stretched.
He sneered at the empty dragon throne.
Other emperors trusted those they employed and did not employ those they distrusted.
But Wei Zhao suspected everyone. In the end, even those he could have employed were no longer of use to him. He had brought it on himself.
Zhou Ye wandered over to the Imperial Academy and, sure enough, found Wei Mingxiu practicing swordsmanship.
After a moment's thought, he bent down, picked up a branch, and thrust it at the young man.
Wei Mingxiu noticed his movement and immediately blocked with his wooden sword. Then he raised his sword, stepped back, and thrust at Zhou Ye again, his attack carrying a touch of sharpness.
A succession of moves forced Zhou Ye back half a step.
"Sixth Prince, you've improved remarkably quickly."
Zhou Ye raised an eyebrow, his gaze gentle.
"You were letting me win, Junior Preceptor."
Wei Mingxiu stepped back, but his expression was somewhat downcast.
He asked Zhou Ye, "Junior Preceptor, did you go drinking at the Jade Fragrance House again yesterday?"
He could smell alcohol on Zhou Ye, along with the familiar lingering scent that belonged to Yun Shen.
"Mm." Zhou Ye rubbed his temples. "I drank quite a bit this time too."
Wei Mingxiu's expression dimmed further. After deliberating for a long time, he still couldn't resist saying, "Wine and pleasure may be enjoyable, but you should exercise some restraint, Junior Preceptor. Don't harm your health by drinking too much and indulging your desires."
"Hmm?" Zhou Ye blinked and caught his meaning. Rather than deny it, he leaned closer to Wei Mingxiu and deliberately smiled. "I didn't expect you to know so much at such a young age, Sixth Prince."
Wei Mingxiu stiffened, though a faint blush appeared on his face. "I... don't. I just read some books..."
"What books?"
Wei Mingxiu couldn't lie to Zhou Ye, so he could only tell him the truth. "Books about the passion of the cut sleeve..."
Zhou Ye immediately dropped his easygoing expression and glared at Xiao Wu, who stood nearby. "Xiao Wu, you have a quarter of an hour to bring me all those filthy books the Sixth Prince has been reading!"
"Huh?" Wei Mingxiu panicked and hurriedly tried to stop him.
But Xiao Wu was so frightened by Zhou Ye that he dashed off to fetch the books.
In less than a quarter of an hour, he returned, panting, and handed two books to Zhou Ye. "Junior Preceptor, they're... they're all here!"
Zhou Ye took the books, flipped through a couple of pages, and breathed a sigh of relief.
They were not the erotic illustrations of men he had imagined, but stories and unofficial histories about relationships between men.
Their contents were fairly restrained too.
Even so, Zhou Ye stuffed the books into the wide sleeve of his official robes.
He said to Wei Mingxiu,
"Sixth Prince, you're still young. You shouldn't be learning about these relationships that defy the natural order and moral conventions so early. So I'm confiscating these books."
Zhou Ye knew he was being somewhat arbitrary.
But he had no choice.
He was afraid that the fact he liked men would mislead Wei Mingxiu about his own sexual orientation.
He might turn a perfectly straight kid into a mosquito coil.
That was not what he wanted to see.
After all, Wei Mingxiu was destined to become emperor and have three thousand beauties in his harem.
If meeting him changed Wei Mingxiu's sexual orientation and caused him to leave no heirs, Zhou Ye's sin would be great indeed.
Wei Mingxiu pressed his lips together.
He clenched his fingers.
He asked in return, "Since even you say this kind of relationship goes against moral conventions, why did you choose to be with Young Master Yunshen despite the criticism?"
Wei Mingxiu didn't understand. He had only wanted to know Zhou Ye better.
To understand what kind of relationship Zhou Ye and Young Master Yun had.
Yet Zhou Ye had dismissed him with a single sentence: You're still young.
It left his chest tight, and he felt miserable.
Zhou Ye hadn't expected Wei Mingxiu to argue back and was taken aback.
He had intended to say that he and Yun Shen were merely cooperating.
But saying that seemed to downplay the fact that he was gay.
That displeased him.
So, after some thought, he gave an answer he would regret for half his life whenever he thought back on it.
"Because he's the only one I like, and because he's worth it."
"But you are a prince, Your Highness. Countless people will fall in love with you in the future. Who you'll like, whether they'll be a man or a woman, is still undecided. It's too early for you to read these things now. Your subject believes it won't be too late to learn about them when you're old enough."
Hearing Zhou Ye's explanation, Wei Mingxiu had thought he would feel relieved, but suddenly the ache in his chest grew worse.
The word "like" in particular left a mark on his heart.
His face paled.
He didn't understand what was happening to him. Afraid of losing his composure, he lowered his head and took a long time to recover before replying softly, "I understand."
Zhou Ye could tell he was unhappy, but he had already explained what he could. He said no more about it and changed the subject instead.
"Sixth Prince, Noble Consort Shu's fate has now been settled, but you still need a reason to be adopted by Her Majesty the Empress. We should now consider our next step..."
"There's no need to worry, Junior Preceptor. I already have a plan for that."
Before he could finish, Wei Mingxiu interrupted him.
Zhou Ye asked curiously, "What plan?"
But Wei Mingxiu gave him no answer.
He merely lowered his gaze, turned his back, and said, "You'll know when the time comes, Junior Preceptor."
--
Wei Mingxiu in the future, pinning him beneath him: You like Yun Shen?
Zhou Ye: No, no, no, I was lying to you! You're the one I like, you! Ow, my waist, my waist!