Wei Mingxiu was caught in a quandary.
He disliked being merely sovereign and subject with Zhou Ye, but he did not know what new relationship he wanted with him.
He thought about it so much that, for a time, he did not even know how to interact with Zhou Ye.
As it happened, after hearing Yun Shen's advice, Zhou Ye had also become more respectful toward him.
As a result, the two hardly spoke about anything beyond martial arts and military strategy.
Meanwhile, at the Imperial Academy,
the situation was growing tense.
Without Noble Consort Shu to back him, Wei Chengye had gone from arrogant and overbearing to restrained and insidious.
Every time he sparred with Wei Mingxiu in swordsmanship, he struck to kill.
Whenever the fight grew dangerous, Wei Zeyu would clamp his hands over his eyes and shout for Zhou Ye to stop them.
Zhou Ye did not intervene.
After observing Wei Mingxiu for half a month, he had discovered that Wei Mingxiu was deliberately hiding his strength.
Wei Chengye had a good physique and talent, and he was making rapid progress.
But Wei Mingxiu had read the books Yun Shen gave him and memorized the body's joints, meridians, acupoints, and more.
He also devoted a great deal of time to diligent practice every day.
When he and Zhou Ye sparred in private, if Wei Mingxiu fought with all his strength, even Zhou Ye had to be careful to guard against him.
Yet now, facing Wei Chengye, Wei Mingxiu appeared to be outmatched and was losing ground at every turn. It made little sense.
Curious about what he was planning, Zhou Ye did not intervene. He waited until the time it took an incense stick to burn had passed before calling a halt.
He then declared Wei Chengye the winner.
Wei Chengye flicked his wooden sword, walked up to Wei Mingxiu, and said in a low voice, "Remember those big words of yours. Don't make me look down on you."
By then, Wei Mingxiu's head was drenched in sweat. He clutched the arm that had been struck by the wooden sword, his face contorted with pain, but he gritted his teeth and put on an appearance of bearing it.
He said, "Third brother, you needn't worry that I'll regret it."
"Since I said there had to be a reckoning between us, I naturally won't go back on my word."
Wei Chengye had been practicing martial arts desperately and constantly seeking Wei Mingxiu out to spar because of what Wei Mingxiu had said in the carriage that day.
At the hunt in May, they would fight a battle to the death.
They would leave the crowd behind and fight until one of them died.
Wei Chengye had originally been worried, but seeing that Wei Mingxiu had been weaker than him these past few days, he had gained considerable confidence and believed he could kill him.
His only worry now was that Wei Mingxiu would go back on his word.
Hearing that Wei Mingxiu had no intention of reneging and was still acting like a stubborn fool who refused to back down, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sixth brother, are you all right?" Wei Zeyu hurried after Wei Mingxiu and asked.
Wei Mingxiu shook his head. When he turned around, the emotions he had been holding back vanished completely from his eyes.
Zhou Ye stood opposite him and saw his expression clearly. He raised an eyebrow slightly.
In the end, though, he did not go over and question him.
At the royal hunt in May, numerous members of the imperial clan, along with certain ministers favored by the emperor and their children, would gather at the Green Mountain Hunting Ground.
Although Wei Zhao disliked the Zhou Family and the Feng Family, they were important ministers of the court, so they were still invited.
Zhou Ye rode with the party, his mind on the letter his older sister Zhou Ya had given him.
The letter said that Empress Feng had already guessed that Zhou Ye had put so much effort into helping her regain the phoenix seal for Wei Mingxiu's sake.
It was so that she would look after Wei Mingxiu and form a solid alliance with them in the struggle for the throne.
It also said that Zhou Ye need no longer conceal his intentions or make excuses, nor worry that anyone in the Feng Family would object to being drawn into the struggle for the throne.
He only needed to go about his work without worry; their Feng Family would always cover for him.
The letter was sincere, and Zhou Ye was touched.
He could only think that such a good empress should never have married a bastard like Wei Zhao.
It was like a flower stuck in cow dung-a tremendous pity.
Zhou Ye felt deep regret for Empress Feng, then shook his head and urged his horse forward to catch up with Feng Chenyi.
Remembering the subject he had discussed with Yun Shen that day, he asked Feng Chenyi,
"Commander Feng, may I presume to ask why you're still unmarried at your age?"
Feng Chenyi was taken aback by the question.
But he quickly recovered and asked in return, "Junior Preceptor Zhou, you're about the same age as me. Aren't you unmarried too?"
Zhou Ye replied without a change in expression, "But I visit brothels."
"Cough, cough..." Feng Chenyi truly had not expected Zhou Ye to say anything at all in broad daylight.
He quickly coughed to signal Zhou Ye to lower his voice.
But Zhou Ye made no attempt to hide it. "Who in the capital doesn't know I'm infatuated with Young Master Yunshen? There's no need to avoid mentioning it."
Hearing this, Feng Chenyi felt an inexplicable pang in his heart.
He knew Yun Shen was Zhou Ye's friend and also the person Zhou Ye loved.
The intimate way the two had acted at the Jade Fragrance House that day had already proved everything.
Yet he still could not help being moved by Yun Shen's resemblance to Yunqian.
Zhou Ye took in his expression and asked again, "So, Commander Feng, why have you kept away from both men and women all these years, never sought any young lady's hand, and never visited places of song and dance, living with fewer worldly desires than a monk in a temple?"
Feng Chenyi tightened his grip on the reins, seemingly lost in memory for a long time.
Only then did he say quietly, "Because the person I want to marry is no longer here."
With that, he gently squeezed his horse's flanks, bid Zhou Ye farewell, and rode ahead.
Zhou Ye was left staring after him for quite a while before he spoke to the little system in his mind. [Good Baby, I think I've just uncovered an unbelievably huge piece of gossip!]
The little system nodded vigorously. [I could tell too. The one Feng Chenyi loves is definitely Yun Shen, and he's lived free of worldly desires all these years for his sake!]
[He's an absolute god of pure love!]
Both man and system felt immensely satisfied by the gossip they had uncovered.
Zhou Ye remained so happy that even after they reached the hunting ground and Wei Zhao deliberately gave him a hard time by making him shoot sparrows in midair, he did not get angry.
But after shooting the sparrows, he panicked when he heard that Wei Mingxiu and Wei Chengye had both disappeared.
"The hunting ground stretches a hundred li in every direction, and the woods are vast. If the two princes encounter birds or beasts of prey, how could they deal with them at such a young age?" Zhao Guofeng was even more panicked than Zhou Ye.
Something had only just happened to Zhao Hai, and Noble Consort Shu had entered the cold palace to protect the family. If anything happened to Wei Chengye now, their Zhao Family could not withstand it!
"Qian Zhong! Take the Imperial Guards and find my Cheng'er at once! If you can't find him, bring me your head!"
Wei Chengye was Wei Zhao's favorite, and he was truly furious now, sending out even the Imperial Guards who guarded him personally.
Hearing that he had only mentioned Wei Chengye, Zhou Ye could not help frowning.
He mounted his horse as well, intending to look for Wei Mingxiu himself, but saw Wei Zeyu tugging at Empress Feng's sleeve nearby and saying something to her.
The empress's expression changed slightly. She immediately pointed in a direction and said to Wei Zhao, "Your Majesty, Yu'er says he saw Chengye pull Mingxiu over that way!"
--
Yun Shen didn't want to ruin Feng Chenyi, but Feng Chenyi actually very much wanted to be ruined.
Thank you all for the little gifts!!!