Chapter 28

"Master, His Highness is here."

Lou Zhaozi, long serving as the stooge who provided cover for the Crown Prince's precognitive dreams, always maintained a small courtyard within the Crown Prince’s manor, ready to respond to a summons at any moment.

When the young acolyte rushed in, Lou Zhaozi was sitting at the table, drawing talismans. Hearing the report, he paused. "His Highness?"

No sooner had the words left his lips than the threshold of the room creaked. Lou Zhaozi looked up, and indeed, he saw the dragon-patterned boots.

As the Crown Prince stepped over the threshold, the wood groaned and sank, a few splinters of wood spraying outward. The young apprentice shrank back in fear, retreating directly into the corner.

"Your Highness, why have you come in person?" Lou Zhaozi invited him to sit at the low, cushioned table and waved for the apprentice to leave.

As he lifted the teapot to pour, he glanced up furtively. "This mask is..."

"Ask less of what you shouldn't." The voice, muffled by the silver mask, carried a metallic, clanging resonance.

Cheng Yun did not drink the water. He got straight to the point. "What did Master Yiheng tell you? That the dreams would change after eighteen—what is the meaning of that?"

"So, it is about the dreams." Lou Zhaozi felt relieved, yet somewhat puzzled. "In the past, didn't Your Highness always send someone to summon me..."

"Less questioning!"

"Yes, yes, of course."

Even as he spoke, he already had his answer. The Crown Princess had likely "occupied the magpie's nest," and the bedchamber was no longer the Prince's private domain. But what was up with the mask...? He couldn't help but want to laugh.

Lou Zhaozi’s expression and tone remained calm. "When the Master departed, he did indeed state that the dreams would undergo slight changes after Your Highness reached eighteen. But as for what those changes would be, only Your Highness could discover them. I suspect, however, that they will no longer be as rigid as before."

"You mean to say the future can be changed?!"

"Your Highness is truly wise and brilliant; you have grasped it perfectly."

"..."

The room suddenly fell silent. Lou Zhaozi, feeling uncertain, suddenly realized something and said, "Your Highness, could it be that you have already tested the marvelous variability of the dreams?!"

He looked pleasantly surprised, immediately switching from a sitting to a kneeling position, his hands held high. "Your Highness is truly the Heaven-chosen Son! In this way, when we encounter trouble in the future, we need not sit and wait for death, but can take the initiative, turning all potential disasters into nothingness! Your Highness, I can almost see you ascending the throne, standing atop the nine-story tower with the people..."

"Shut up."

Lou Zhaozi went silent.

Cheng Yun took a deep breath. "I ask you: if a dream is originally a mix of joy and sorrow, but in the end only the sorrow remains, how is that to be explained?"

Lou Zhaozi glanced at his mask again, trying to probe. "Your Highness is referring to..."

Detecting his prying, Cheng Yun’s gaze turned cold. "For instance, I dreamed separately that you and Pang Qi both fell into a river. Both dreams occurred on the same night, but later, only one was verified..."

"Your Highness..." Lou Zhaozi’s face went pale. "Did we... did we get back out?"

"If that is the case, how should it be interpreted?"

"It... it cannot be ruled out that one of them was merely Your Highness simply having a dream," Lou Zhaozi said, trembling with fear. "If it was just a dream, it is normal for it not to be verified... Your Highness, did we get out of the river?"

Cheng Yun glanced at his deathly pale face, feeling a measure of satisfaction. "Have you two ever learned to swim?"

"Never," Lou Zhaozi replied. "I have never entered the water in my life."

"Then you might as well go learn." Cheng Yun rose to leave. As he reached the door, he added a specific instruction: "Remember to bring a few experts with you; don't let it happen that you truly can't get back out."

***

Winter in Shengjing often brought snow—every two days or so. Sometimes it would fall for a day and a night, and sometimes it would just flutter down symbolically for a while.

As Cheng Yun reached the corridor, he stamped the snow from his boots. At the entrance to the bedchamber, he softened his footsteps. To prevent the warmth of the floor heating from escaping, the doors had been kept shut lately. Cheng Yun pushed the door open gently, but as he reached the inner room, he suddenly sensed something amiss.

"Where is Young Master Wen?"

"He went to the gate."

"Alone?"

"Chief Steward Pang is following him."

Before the manor gate, Wen Biesang was wrapped in a fox-fur cloak, his gaze fixed toward the southwest, staring at a single spot for a long time.

Cheng Yun approached softly, making no sound. It was only when he was close that Pang Qi noticed him. Just as Pang Qi was about to speak, Cheng Yun made a gesture for silence.

The Crown Prince reached out, and Pang Qi immediately understood, moving aside to hand over the umbrella handle.

The oil-paper umbrella was held steadily over Wen Biesang’s head. His left earlobe was pale, appearing no different from any other person's. Yet, he had not noticed any of the movement around him.

Cheng Yun followed his gaze. Beyond several rows of glazed tile roofs lay the inner city, closest to the Imperial Palace, where high-ranking officials and nobles resided.

It was deep into the night, and many of the mansions had extinguished their lights, but one place remained, its candles illuminating the night sky.

"Can you hear it?"

"What?"

Wen Biesang came to his senses, only then realizing that the person beside him had changed. He said, "Can you hear the weeping over there?"

The Zhou family was holding a funeral; the candles would likely burn for at least seven nights.

"It’s too far," Cheng Yun said. "It’s normal not to hear it."

Wen Biesang hummed. "I really want to hear how Zhou Xuan and his wife are crying."

This rabbit spirit truly was not to be trifled with.

"If you want to hear, I will take you tomorrow."

Wen Biesang looked over immediately, then hesitated. "You are going to the Prime Minister’s residence?"

"We are all ministers of the same dynasty, and Zhou Cangshu holds a high and powerful position. With such a tragedy occurring in his family, it is only fitting that I pay my respects."

Wen Biesang frowned. Cheng Yun realized his slip and quickly added, "I mean, with such a 'joyous' event in his house, I should go to offer congratulations. Wen Biesang, look into my eyes. Under no circumstances could I ever side with Zhou Cangshu, alright?"

Wen Biesang looked into his eyes, though he could not tell if there was anything good hidden inside.

Cheng Yun continued, "He colluded with the King of Chu, conspiring with his subordinates to find various excuses to transfer all the elite troops of my Thunder-Fire Battalion to city defense duties. This left my battalion with nothing but the name 'Thunder-Fire,' yet not a single soldier capable of using thunder-fire arts. By clipping my wings and eroding my reputation in this way, he will sooner or later have to pay with his life."

Wen Biesang realized, "If the King of Chu succeeds to the throne, they will certainly kill you."

"Precisely." Cheng Yun brushed the fallen snow from his shoulders. "The King of Chu and I are locked in a struggle to the death sooner or later. Regardless of which of us inherits the throne, neither will let the other live."

Wen Biesang remained puzzled. "You were the Crown Prince appointed by the Late Emperor. I remember that when I escaped from the Prime Minister’s residence, you were still quite glorious. How did you fall to this state in just three years?"

Cheng Yun took his hand. "The wind is strong out here. Let's go back, and I will tell you slowly."

Wen Biesang obediently turned with him, and the gate of the Crown Prince’s manor closed behind them.

***

Cheng Yun held the umbrella, tilting it to shield Wen Biesang all the way back to the bedchamber.

The two removed their cloaks and sat around the fire brazier. Wen Biesang assumed the posture of someone ready to hear a story, and Pang Qi brought him some snacks.

Cheng Yun suddenly found it difficult to speak.

"...Actually, you only need to believe that no matter what I say or do, it is always for your sake. Those old matters are not worth mentioning."

"If you don't explain the pros and cons clearly, how can I believe you?"

"You, stop listening to what I say and look more at my heart, can you do that?"

"I'd have to dig it out to see it."

*...Even if you dug it out, you wouldn't understand it!*

Cheng Yun removed his mask, his tone weary. "You should have heard something about this while in Shengjing. The reason the Empress married the Emperor was that the Late Emperor had arranged the marriage."

"Mhm."

"The Empress was the daughter of a military family. By nineteen, she was already a legendary judge of the battlefield in the Northern Frontier, a name that struck terror into the hearts of everyone in the Qi Kingdom. The Late Emperor and the Empress Dowager were deeply devoted, with only one son and one daughter. The daughter remained in the capital, married to Marquis Qi, and this son, naturally, was the only choice for Crown Prince."

"Mhm."

"The Chang family had guarded the Northern Frontier for five generations, flourishing there for ages. They were already the uncrowned kings of the North, and the Late Emperor had long intended to bring them to heel. When the Empress was twenty, she was summoned to the capital. All of Shengjing was empty; everyone rushed to the city gates to catch a glimpse of the Northern Judge."

"I have heard of it," Wen Biesang said. "They say the Empress wore silver armor and a red cape, her silver spear pointing to the heavens, shaking the earth. She was truly peerless in her grace. The Crown Prince of that time fell in love at first sight and specifically requested the imperial decree for their marriage."

"Peerless in her grace, that is true," Cheng Yun said. "And the request for the marriage was also true. The pity is that he only saw the Empress's external brilliance but could not accept her nature—a woman who had spent years conquering the battlefield, a woman of her word. Not long after they were married, he sought new love and brought the Tao woman into the house."

"The Tao woman?"

"She was the daughter of a county magistrate. Her parents were murdered, and she came to the capital alone to file an imperial appeal. The Emperor helped her on a whim. The Tao woman was as gentle as water, completely different in character from the Empress, and she quickly won his entire heart."

Wen Biesang recalled the savior he had seen seven years ago and felt a bit angry. "Your father is truly bad, fickle, and not a good man."

"You..." Cheng Yun wanted to correct him, but gave up. "You're right."

Wen Biesang bit into a dried fruit and picked up a candied plum to hand to him. "Back then, Zhou Cangshu wanted to marry my father to He Yuanzhou’s daughter, or he would have been expelled from the family. My father would rather die than comply; he only wanted my mother."

Speaking of this, he seemed somewhat proud. "Later, my parents held their wedding in a land temple on the outskirts of the city. Though there were no parents to bow to, there was Heaven and Earth as witnesses. They relied on each other... and lived and died together."

At the last sentence, he clearly thought of the couple's fate and fell silent for a moment.

"He Yuanzhou’s daughter?" Cheng Yun didn't give him time to be sad. "Wasn't she married to Zhou Xuan?"

"Mhm." Wen Biesang immediately pulled himself out of his emotions. "He and his daughter originally had their eyes on my father, but when my father refused to marry her, she married Zhou Xuan instead."

What a mess.

Wen Biesang recalled the appearance of the Empress. "Your mother must have been too proud to compete for your father's affection with the Tao woman."

"Exactly," Cheng Yun said. "And because of this, after the Emperor ascended the throne, he specifically targeted me, the Crown Prince, to elevate the Tao woman's son."

"I heard that the Late Emperor originally wanted to skip your father entirely and pass the throne to..."

A finger pressed against his lips, and Wen Biesang went quiet.

Cheng Yun said in a low voice, "How could you have heard of such a thing?"

"All the things that the Qi and Liang Kingdoms keep strictly forbidden are not secrets in the City of Gentlemen," Wen Biesang said. "He suppresses you and promotes the King of Chu to compete with you for the succession—it is not just because your mother refused to cater to him; perhaps there is this reason as well."

"Words like this would get one's head cut off in the Liang Kingdom. Do not speak of such things again."

Wen Biesang nodded solemnly.