Junior Preceptor, I Won

The events at the hunting grounds had seen Wei Mingxiu help Zhou Ye give their plans for the struggle over the throne their initial shape.

Once this situation took shape, the Zhou Family, the Feng Family, and Wei Mingxiu could form a stable triangular alliance.

Naturally, Zhou Ye no longer had to worry about Wei Zhao noticing his intention to favor Wei Mingxiu.

So on the way back, he stopped deliberately avoiding Wei Mingxiu as he usually did. Instead, he stayed by his side the whole time, paying no heed to anyone's gaze.

The hunting grounds were a long way from the palace, and with Wei Mingxiu injured, they traveled back slowly.

Following Imperial Physician Li's instructions, Zhou Ye periodically helped Wei Mingxiu sit up and fed him medicinal brews and ginseng soup to replenish his qi and blood.

Beside them, Wei Zeyu sat on the floor with his knees drawn to his chest.

He watched Zhou Ye's intent expression and pressed his lips together.

He remembered how his mother, the empress, had cared for him the same way when he was sick.

The way Junior Preceptor Zhou looked at Sixth Brother was just like the way his mother looked at him.

Surely that meant Junior Preceptor Zhou cared a great deal for Sixth Brother?

Just as his mother cared for him.

But his mother cared for him like that because she was his family. Junior Preceptor Zhou wasn't Sixth Brother's family, so why did he care so much about him?

The little fool couldn't keep a question to himself. As soon as it occurred to him, he asked Zhou Ye.

The question caught Zhou Ye off guard.

At first, he really had done it for the mission, to come back to life, and to gain the boy's trust and become the little villain's white moonlight.

But before he knew it, he seemed to have truly immersed himself in this world through his identity as Zhou Ye.

He had even begun raising Wei Mingxiu as a younger brother.

He felt angry and distressed that Wei Mingxiu had been hurt, and saddened that, in all the years since his mother's death, the little villain had never had anyone by his side who truly cared for him.

It seemed he had come to care for him in earnest...

With that thought, Zhou Ye reached out and gently brushed Wei Mingxiu's bangs aside. He sighed. "Perhaps it's because His Sixth Highness is simply too hard not to care for."

He was so sensible and clever that it made one's heart ache.

Without realizing it, one wanted to stand behind him, give him a push and help him, and watch him truly grow up.

Until, in the end, he could face every hardship and difficulty with a heart strong enough to withstand them.

Watching Zhou Ye's expression, Wei Zeyu felt that the gentleness in the man's eyes was like a pool of clear water, calming his own heart as well.

He didn't understand the deeper meaning of Zhou Ye's words, but he still had his own understanding.

He nodded and replied, "Mm! I think so too!"

"Sixth Brother seems really good at everything, but I just feel so sorry for him. He's never even tried the pastries I eat. I always get lots of candy, but he doesn't have any. I have lots of pretty new clothes, but Sixth Brother always wears the same outfit, and it feels so rough! Oh, and Father Emperor comes to see me sometimes and plays ball with me, but I heard he's never gone to the Southern Spring Courtyard to see Sixth Brother!"

"And that bad Third Brother and his attendants are always saying Sixth Brother's mother was a slut and that he's a bastard. I asked Mother Empress about it, but she only told me not to say such things and wouldn't tell me anything about Sixth Brother's mother!"

"I just think Sixth Brother is so pitiful. He doesn't have a mother to love him, and Father Emperor doesn't play with him. He doesn't have lots of good things to eat or nice clothes to wear like I do, either, so I feel sorry for him too..."

Hearing him say all this, Zhou Ye felt his heart tighten again.

He thought for a moment, then reached out and gently stroked the top of Wei Zeyu's head. "Your Second Highness, you have a kind and generous heart. If His Sixth Highness moves in with you someday, I hope you and Her Majesty the empress will show him more affection and not get angry with him. All right?"

Wei Mingxiu would be living with the empress and Wei Zeyu in the future. Though Zhou Ye knew Empress Feng's character, today's performance would, after all, make her more wary of Wei Mingxiu's intelligence.

So he wanted Wei Zeyu to act as a mediator between the two.

At the very least, he wanted Wei Mingxiu to have someone he could truly rely on in the imperial harem over the next few years.

"I'd never get angry with Sixth Brother!" Wei Zeyu said. "Sixth Brother is so good to me. I can't do enough for him, so how could I ever get angry with him?"

Hearing that, Zhou Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

His eyes curved as he smiled at him. "Then allow me to thank Your Second Highness on His Sixth Highness's behalf in advance."

Wei Zeyu patted his chest. "Leave it to me! I'll definitely love Sixth Brother just as much as I love Xuexue!"

Three hours later, the carriage stopped for a rest. Wei Zeyu had already curled up and fallen asleep.

Zhou Ye took off his outer robe and laid it over Wei Zeyu.

When he looked back, he saw Wei Mingxiu's fingers move.

Then Wei Mingxiu slowly opened his eyes and woke up.

His blurred vision focused, and the first thing he saw was Zhou Ye.

Almost like a reflex, he raised his hand and seized Zhou Ye's.

Only when he felt the real warmth did he breathe a sigh of relief and call to him.

"Junior Preceptor..."

Seeing that he was awake, had strength in his hand, and could speak to him, Zhou Ye immediately felt half his worry lift.

But once that worry eased, anger surged up in its place at how Wei Mingxiu had acted on his own and left himself so badly injured.

His voice took on a sarcastic edge. "So Your Sixth Highness still remembers that I am your teacher. I taught you that when laying a trap, you must put caution first and your own safety above all else. Yet you laid such an extremely dangerous trap that you nearly lost your own life in it. When you acted so boldly, you never once thought to consult me, your teacher."

Even as he spoke, he helped Wei Mingxiu sit up, poured some hot soup, blew on it to cool it, and held it to the boy's lips.

"Drink."

Wei Mingxiu had lost too much blood. His lips and face were pale, and his mind was somewhat hazy, leaving him looking dazed.

He simply followed Zhou Ye's lead and drank the warm soup. Only then did he belatedly realize that something was wrong with Zhou Ye's tone.

It seemed... he was angry with him.

Zhou Ye had always been gentle with him. The only other time he had been angry was two months ago, when he discovered that Wei Mingxiu had secretly intensified his training without regard for his health.

Now that he saw Zhou Ye angry again, Wei Mingxiu even felt a little happy.

After all, ever since Zhou Ye had confiscated his books and they had parted on bad terms that time, Zhou Ye had observed the formalities between ruler and subject in everything he did.

It had made Wei Mingxiu feel ill at ease for a long time.

Now, though, this incident had made Zhou Ye angry with him, prompting him to act in a way that went beyond the bounds of ruler and subject.

Wei Mingxiu's heart immediately lifted.

He couldn't help pressing his lips together and smiling.

"Your Highness can still smile?" Zhou Ye caught sight of his smile and felt even angrier.

"You've just been to the gates of hell and back, and you can still smile? It seems to me, Your Highness, you haven't hurt enough!"

As if to prove him right, Wei Mingxiu froze halfway through his smile, sweat beading on his forehead from the pain.

Seeing him like that, Zhou Ye's heart softened again. He let Wei Mingxiu lean against his chest and was just about to scold him some more when Wei Mingxiu spoke.

"Junior Preceptor, I won."