"It's General Zhou!" Delight shone in Xiao Wu's eyes.
Wei Mingxiu froze, his trembling eyes betraying a hint of excitement as well.
He practically ran to open the door for Zhou Ye.
When the door opened, the afternoon sunlight streamed in, tinting Zhou Ye's silver armor with orange. Against the man's handsome, smiling face, it looked astonishingly warm.
"General Zhou..."
Wei Mingxiu called out to him, dazed.
Zhou Ye smiled and asked him.
"Won't Your Highness invite me in for a while?"
Only then did Wei Mingxiu come to his senses. He hurriedly stepped aside. "Please come in, General!"
After entering, Zhou Ye turned and shut the door firmly behind him.
At a look from Wei Mingxiu, Xiao Wu hurried to pour Zhou Ye some tea, saying as he did, "If the general hadn't stepped forward just now, I'm afraid His Highness and this servant wouldn't have escaped disaster today."
He knelt before Zhou Ye in heartfelt gratitude and said, "Xiao Wu thanks the general for saving our lives!"
Zhou Ye lowered his eyes to look at him, then looked up and met Wei Mingxiu's gaze, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.
He said, "Is a verbal thanks all I get?"
He held out his injured hand and said, "I paid quite a price to save you and your servant today. Don't you have anything else to offer?"
As he spoke, his expression was full of cunning, as though he had become a different person.
He had gone from a hero brimming with righteous conviction to a businessman who put profit above all else.
Both Wei Mingxiu and Xiao Wu were taken aback.
"What does General Zhou want?" Wei Mingxiu was the first to recover.
He met Zhou Ye's gaze without fear. There was no disappointment or disdain in his eyes, only a matter-of-fact resolve.
"As long as it's within my power, I'll do everything I can to make it happen for you."
"Until I've repaid your kindness, General."
Wei Mingxiu remembered his mother saying that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring.
Zhou Ye had saved him twice today and helped him keep Xiao Wu safe.
It was an immense kindness, and he ought to repay it.
Besides, he had already wanted to repay Zhou Ye, but after leaving the Imperial Academy, he had no idea how he could see Zhou Ye again, nor what he could do for him with his meager means.
Now Zhou Ye had come to him of his own accord and brought up repayment.
How could he possibly refuse?
Zhou Ye observed him for a few seconds, then said to the system in his mind, [Good Baby, this little villain's values are pretty sound. I suddenly feel like I'm starting to like this kid.]
[Eek! Me too! When I saw him step forward to save the little eunuch, I thought he had a really good character. It's hard to imagine he'll become a tyrant someday...]
[Tyrant or not, that's all after I'm dead. I don't care.]
[I'm only talking about the present.] The corners of Zhou Ye's lips lifted as he said, [Right now, I genuinely want to help him take the throne.]
When it came to dealing with people, Zhou Ye followed his own preferences.
Now Wei Mingxiu had succeeded in piquing his interest.
It gave him quite a bit more motivation to carry out his mission.
"Your Highness is refreshingly straightforward, as expected."
Zhou Ye said, "Then I'll make my request in earnest."
"Please, General, speak freely."
As soon as Wei Mingxiu finished speaking, Zhou Ye suddenly lifted the hem of his robe and dropped to one knee before him.
When he looked up at Wei Mingxiu again, his superficial businessman's manner had vanished entirely, leaving nothing but sincerity in his brown eyes.
"I, your subject Zhou Ye, ask to become Your Highness's man."
"From this day forward, I am willing to clear every obstacle for Your Highness and protect you as you ascend the imperial throne."
"Please grant my request, Your Highness!"
At those words, Xiao Wu immediately clapped a hand over his mouth in fright.
His eyes were filled with terror.
He hurried to his feet and stood against the door, terrified that someone might overhear.
Wei Mingxiu's mind, meanwhile, went blank for a moment.
He could hardly believe what he had heard.
After all, judging by the way things stood, he was the least favored of all the princes. There was no chance whatsoever that he would ascend the throne.
And Zhou Ye must have seen that clearly enough at the Imperial Academy just now.
Yet he had chosen to support Wei Mingxiu's bid for the throne, openly setting himself against Wei Mingxiu's imperial father and ambitious princes such as Wei Chengye.
If Wei Zhao found out, Zhou Ye and the entire general's household would be implicated.
Zhou Ye had asked Wei Mingxiu to repay him, yet made a request that was clearly to Wei Mingxiu's advantage and Zhou Ye's own detriment.
Though Wei Mingxiu was tempted, he suppressed his stirring ambition and asked,
"Why?"
His hands clenched at his sides, his nails nearly piercing his palms, as though he were testing whether this was real.
Lowering his voice, he asked Zhou Ye, "After what happened just now, General, you should already know my situation in this palace."
"Before my father and brothers, I have never had fairness or dignity."
"Though I am a member of the imperial family, I am nothing more than an abandoned pawn."
"But your Marquis of Zhenbei's Household commands military power and holds a lofty position. You can even summon wind and rain in Great Wei, so why would you need to support a prince like me, who is destined to have no claim to the throne?"
"Besides, General, you have shown me kindness. You clearly said you wanted me to repay you, so how can making a request that benefits me but is fraught with risk for you count as letting me repay you?"
Zhou Ye met Wei Mingxiu's gaze and suddenly burst out laughing.
He said, "It seems Your Highness is no fool. You haven't lost your head over my sudden pledge of loyalty."
"..."
At those words, Wei Mingxiu breathed a sigh of relief, but the little system froze.
[Huh? Huh? Host, were you deliberately testing him just now? Even I believed you!] The little system was baffled.
[It wasn't a test. I'm serious about carrying out the mission,] Zhou Ye answered the little system. [But clearly this little villain is smarter than I thought. He even understands that there's no such thing as a free lunch and that cooperation can only last when both sides benefit.]
[That's a good thing.]
[But at the same time, I need to change my strategy.]
With that thought, Zhou Ye's eyes gleamed, like a villain plotting his moves.
"Because my ambition... is greater than any of you imagine."
His voice was low and magnetic, his features deep-set and sharp, as if carved with a knife.
In a voice only he and Wei Mingxiu could hear, he said,
"His Majesty is suspicious by nature and has already made preparations to move against my Marquis of Zhenbei's Household. If I don't plan for the future soon, I fear I won't be able to protect myself."
"And just now at the Imperial Academy, I offended the Third Prince, who has the strongest claim to the position of crown prince. Once he gains power, I'll find it difficult to take a single step. So..."
"I can only choose to support you, Sixth Highness. You've made an enemy of the Third Prince and dared to defy an imperial decree. Though your status is not high, you remain neither servile nor overbearing."
"I'll help you become crown prince and put you on the imperial throne."
"In doing so, I'll make Your Highness owe me and my Marquis of Zhenbei's Household an enormous favor."
"And once you have achieved success, I'll ask Your Highness to grant me a position above all but one."
"Then all my careful planning won't have been in vain."
Wei Mingxiu was quick-witted and understood immediately. He asked, "You want to become a prince regent, General?"
Zhou Ye nodded. "Yes."
"That is my ambition."
My ass.
He would be dead before Wei Mingxiu became emperor.
Of course, what he had just said was a ploy to deceive Wei Mingxiu.
It was the best strategy to make Wei Mingxiu trust him completely at this stage and accept his help.
But Wei Mingxiu knew none of this.
He had already believed Zhou Ye's nonsense.
He had his own thoughts on the matter, too.
A moment later, he met Zhou Ye's gaze again, his dark eyes now filled with resolve and ambition.
He said to Zhou Ye, "I understand, General Zhou."
"From now on, I'll stand with you and do everything I can to compete for the throne."
"Once we succeed, I'll surely help you get what you want."