Zhao Mian had indeed been unaware of Wei Zhenfeng’s plan, but he became suspicious after noticing the Beiyuan army’s unusually lax security. He instructed Shen Buqi to secretly keep an eye on Huo Kangsheng. As soon as Huo Kangsheng “escaped,” Zhao Mian was notified.

Shen Buqi asked for instructions on whether to recapture Huo Kangsheng, but Zhao Mian figured Wei Zhenfeng wouldn’t make such a rookie mistake. He judged that Wei Zhenfeng intended to give Huo Kangsheng a false sense of hope, so he ordered Shen Buqi not to interfere but to simply follow Huo Kangsheng.

It wasn’t until he saw Wei Zhenfeng “catch and release” Huo Kangsheng three times that he understood Wei Zhenfeng’s true intentions.

Despair in and of itself isn’t terrifying. What’s truly terrifying is despair that follows hope.

And this was despair multiplied by three.

Every time Huo Kangsheng’s hope was rekindled, Wei Zhenfeng delivered a fatal blow, again and again, utterly shattering Huo Kangsheng’s inner defenses. This turned a rough and powerful man into a figure as fragile as a helpless child. Wei Zhenfeng then seized the opportunity, striking while Huo Kangsheng was at his weakest, and transformed himself into the “white moonlight” of Huo Kangsheng’s heart. He used the voice of Gu Ruzhang to extract the answer they sought.

“Beneath the tall tower, a body of black. When noon arrives, beacon smoke rises, and the lords fight for eternity.”

It was clear that this was a riddle containing the specific location of the Western Xia treasure.

Upon their return to the camp, He Kaiji gathered everyone and announced the clue. As everyone prepared for a heated discussion about the two lines, Zhao Mian solved the puzzle on his own.

“The answer is already obvious,” Zhao Mian said. “Let’s pack up and get ready to leave.”

Everyone: “???”

Seeing the bewildered and astonished looks on their faces, Zhao Mian felt a great deal of satisfaction.

This is the effect I wanted. This way, even on Beiyuan’s home turf, he could earn respect with his intellect and avoid being completely overshadowed by Wei Zhenfeng.

Wei Zhenfeng looked at Zhao Mian. The Crown Prince’s expression was calm and unreadable, yet for some reason, Wei Zhenfeng felt as if he could see the words “Come and ask me, you fools,” written all over his face.

Out of respect for Zhao Mian not condemning his cruel methods, he could play the fool this one time.

“What’s the answer? How is it obvious?” Wei Zhenfeng said with a look of shock. “I can’t see it at all.”

Zhao Mian gave him a cold glance. “Stop pretending.”

Wei Zhenfeng: “…”

“Oh, come on, Young Prince and Lord Xiao, don’t keep us in suspense,” Hua Ju said, voicing everyone’s thoughts. “What do those two lines mean?”

Zhao Mian explained, “The time, place, and direction are all laid out clearly. The time is, of course, noon. The location is ‘beneath the tall tower,’ and the ‘body of black’ must refer to the tower’s shadow.”

Ji Chong was puzzled. “A tall tower? Where would there be a tall tower in the desert?”

“How could there not be?” Wei Zhenfeng gestured outside the tent. “‘When noon arrives, beacon smoke rises, and the lords fight for eternity’—don’t our military camps have several watchtowers? When an enemy attacks, a smoke signal naturally rises.”

He Kaiji was taken aback. “Your Highness, are you saying the Western Xia treasure is right here in our camp? Right beneath our feet?”

Zhou Huairang came to a sudden realization. “I get it! This is the classic ‘darkness under the lamp’ situation!”

Wei Zhenfeng said concisely, “I don’t think you do.”

Zhou Huairang’s head started to ache again. “Huh?”

Connecting the dots to the previous clues, Zhao Mian said, “This ‘tall tower’ should refer to the tower of the Yi clan.”

In other words, they still needed to find the ruins left by the Yi clan first.

Wei Zhenfeng asked He Kaiji, “To my knowledge, you have been sent by the Emperor multiple times in the past two years to search deep in the desert for the Yi ruins. Have you made any discoveries?”

He Kaiji thought for a moment. “My army never found the legendary Yi palace, but we did once find some abandoned ruins deep in the desert. Unfortunately, the search party encountered a sandstorm on their way back, and only one person from a team of twenty survived and returned to the camp.”

Zhao Mian made a swift decision. “Let’s go there first. Is that survivor still in the camp? Have him lead the way.”

He Kaiji hesitated. “Yes, he’s here, but he only survived by luck and doesn’t fully remember the way. I’ve sent him to guide other search parties to return to the ruins, but they either got lost or didn’t have enough provisions and all failed.”

Wei Zhenfeng said, “Regardless, let’s try.”

This journey would take them deep into the desert in an unknown direction and likely to uncharted territory, making it extremely dangerous. The Marquis Anyuan and Shen Buqi both urged Zhao Mian to stay at the Beiyuan military camp and not risk his precious life.

Zhao Mian said calmly, “Do you think Wei Zhenfeng will go?”

The Marquis Anyuan replied without a second thought, “With the Young Prince’s temperament, he’ll rush toward any danger or excitement. If he agrees not to go, I’ll eat my tent.”

Zhao Mian said, “I am ‘bound’ to Wei Zhenfeng by the red thread. If he gets into trouble and can’t return to me by the fifteenth of this month, I will surely die. Instead of trying to talk me out of it, why don’t you try to talk him out of it?”

So, the Marquis Anyuan and the others were sent off to bother Wei Zhenfeng.

After listening to their plea, Wei Zhenfeng said, “The Crown Prince is very important. Not just to you, but to me as well… relatively speaking.”

The Marquis Anyuan stroked his beard in relief. “It’s good that the Young Prince understands. The Crown Prince is the heir of a nation. We must never put him in danger.”

Wei Zhenfeng continued, “But completing Beiyuan’s mission is also very important to me.”

The Marquis Anyuan said, “But there’s no need for Your Highness to go in person. Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to wait for news at the camp?”

Wei Zhenfeng told the Marquis honestly, “It would be, but I want to go and play in the Yi ruins.”

The Marquis Anyuan: “…”

“Don’t worry, Old Marquis, I’ll protect the Crown Prince,” Wei Zhenfeng said with a smile. “Besides, don’t you think your Crown Prince wants to go himself and is just using me as an excuse to block you?”

The Marquis Anyuan sighed. “Don’t say it out loud.”

Since speed was of the essence, the team to search for the Yi ruins was quickly assembled.

Zhao Mian and Wei Zhenfeng brought their trusted confidants, along with a dozen old-timers who were familiar with the desert’s terrain. The only survivor of the sandstorm was a Beiyuan soldier named Wu Yuanchang. He had led multiple expeditions deep into the desert and was very familiar with the first half of the journey. For the second half, they would have to rely on his vague memory and luck.

Before they left, Wu Yuanchang shared a lot of his desert-traveling experience with the Nanjing people, who were visiting the desert for the first time. The two most important points: First, they had to bring enough water. They couldn’t ride horses because there wasn’t even enough water for the men, let alone the horses. They could only ride camels. Second, they couldn’t skimp on warm clothes, or the low temperatures at night could easily take their lives.

This meant the Crown Prince not only had to say goodbye to his luxurious carriage, but he would also have to part with his tent. Not only that, but he couldn’t bathe every day, had to eat dry rations like everyone else, and couldn’t sleep alone at night, having to bed down on the ground by the campfire with the others.

Wu Yuanchang estimated that it would take them at least five days to reach their destination, assuming all went well.

Wei Zhenfeng was worried that the delicate Crown Prince couldn’t handle such hardship, but Zhao Mian showed no sign of backing down. Instead, he said, “In short, besides water, food, and clothes, we should bring as little as possible.”

With all preparations made, the group embarked on their unknown journey into the desert.

The first three days went very smoothly. They had plenty of food and water, didn’t encounter any sandstorms, and even resupplied at a nearby oasis along the way.

Zhao Mian ate and lived with his subordinates without a single word of complaint. It was just that he really couldn’t get used to the bland, dry rations. The scorching sun during the day also completely ruined his appetite. Forcing himself to eat a few more bites would make him feel nauseous. But despite all this, he never slowed down the team’s progress.

Zhao Mian was hungry but couldn’t eat. He was angry at his own delicate stomach. Wei Zhenfeng saw that the Crown Prince was in a bad mood and tried to cheer him up twice without success. One time, Zhao Mian even told him, “Stop bothering me,” so he stopped trying, thinking that if he left Zhao Mian alone, he would feel better.

Besides Zhao Mian’s emotions, Wei Zhenfeng also noticed something unusual about someone else: Ji Chong.

Whether it was because of the herbal tea or something else, Ji Chong seemed like a completely different person since arriving in the desert. He was no longer irritable and impatient, nor was his face flushed red. At that moment, he was affectionately stroking his camel’s fur, his eyes full of paternal love. He was a picture of serenity and grace.

Wei Zhenfeng asked curiously, “Have you successfully given up your lustful ways?”

Ji Chong waved his hand and smiled. “Replying to Your Highness, I can’t give them up, but I’ve had a change of heart.”

“Oh? How so?”

Ji Chong said, “When I left the capital, the Divine Physician Bai told me to be more considerate of my wife’s health. When she gets pregnant, we won’t be able to sleep together every day. I’ll have to abstain for several months. I’m just training myself in advance.”

Wei Zhenfeng was stunned and asked on a whim, “Why would your wife get pregnant?”

Ji Chong was confused. “Your Highness, what kind of question is that? Of course she’ll get pregnant if we’re sleeping together.”

Wei Zhenfeng was silent for a long time. “You’re right.”

With that, he stood up and walked toward Zhao Mian.

Zhao Mian was holding a dry flatbread, locked in an intense internal struggle over whether to eat it or not.

Wei Zhenfeng sat down next to him. After a long moment of hesitation, he suddenly spoke. “Zhao Mian, I heard… you are the child of Emperor Jing and Prime Minister Xiao?”

Zhao Mian couldn’t figure out why Wei Zhenfeng was asking this. He raised his eyes and asked, “What are you trying to do?”

“Nothing,” Wei Zhenfeng said casually. “Just asking.”

Zhao Mian pondered for a moment and told Wei Zhenfeng the truth. “Yes, I have two fathers. One is the Emperor, and the other is Prime Minister Xiao.”

His parentage was an open secret in the Nanjing imperial palace, and the Beiyuan royal family must have known as well. Not only was the Fuxue Tower not a group of amateurs, but this not-so-secret secret would not escape their notice. When Wei Zhenfeng had visited Nanjing, his silly younger brother had also called the Prime Minister “father” in front of him multiple times.

Wei Zhenfeng “oh’d,” and after a long period of contemplation, he asked slowly, “Do all Nanjing people… like this?”

“Like what?”

Wei Zhenfeng stopped and started, a smile finally breaking on his face. “Nothing, pretend I didn’t say anything.”

He then fell silent, his expression shifting between conflicted and relieved. It was unclear what he was thinking.

Zhao Mian had no time to worry about Wei Zhenfeng. He had decided to fix his stomach and not let it be so delicate, so that it wouldn’t interfere with important matters in the future.

He opened his mouth, took a bite of the flatbread, and after chewing a few times, a wave of nausea rose in his stomach. He couldn’t help but cover his mouth and gag. “Ugh—”

Wei Zhenfeng, who was sitting next to him: “…”

Author’s note:

Young Prince: Ah…