When he was very young, Zhao Mian had noticed that the Nanjing royal family was different from the other three countries. His father currently had no harem, and he was very certain he never would, so he had simply converted the harem quarters into a polo field, archery range, cuju field, and places for things like floating cups on winding streams and flying kites for the two princes to enjoy in their leisure time.
Not only that, but his Father didn’t live alone in his own bedchamber like other emperors, only visiting the new harem grounds when he was in the mood His Father and the Prime Minister always lived in the same palace and slept in the same bed, regardless of his Father’s mood.
With no three thousand beauties in the palace, there were naturally only two children: him and his brother. Although his brother was mischievous, naughty, and talkative, he would always stand up to protect him at the first sign of trouble.
The common palace intrigues and succession battles among princes were things he and his brother had only ever read about in history books or seen in the Qianji Institute’s intelligence reports.
He had often wondered what a child raised in a normal palace would be like. Probably like most children raised in high-ranking families: cautious in their words and actions, calculating, and forced to hide their true nature due to the divisions between legitimate and illegitimate children and the conflicts within the household, developing a deep and guarded psyche.
But Wei Zhenfeng had never given him that impression.
To him, Wei Zhenfeng’s words and actions were unrestrained and carefree, far from the stereotypical “normal” prince. At times, he would even naturally categorize Wei Zhenfeng as the same kind of royal as himself.
It wasn’t until Wei Zhenfeng said those things that he realized the young man who had traveled with him for months had been raised in the Beiyuan palace.
Zhao Mian remembered Wei Zhenfeng once saying that there was nothing shameful about crying, that a man could cry whenever he wanted, and that he himself had cried his heart out two years ago, presumably… because of his mother’s death.
The anger in Zhao Mian’s heart subsided by more than half. Just then, Zhou Huairang’s rice was ready. Zhou Huairang held the pot with both hands and carefully poked his head out from the doorway. “Your Highness, Young Prince, are you done fighting?”
The aroma of the rice was mouthwatering. How could the Young Prince, who hadn’t eaten in three days, resist such a temptation? He really wanted to lie in bed with Zhao Mian for a little longer, but sorry, eating was more important to him right now.
Wei Zhenfeng immediately got up, pulled the dagger out of the bed, and was about to leave when he heard Zhao Mian say, “Leaving just like that?”
The starving young man put his hands together, bowing apologetically: “Zhao Mian, I’m really so hungry, let me eat first, alright?”
Zhao Mian took the opportunity to back down. “For now, I’ll let you off the hook.” He looked at his clothes, which had a hole from the dagger, and said coldly, “The next time you ask such a stupid question, I’ll make sure you can’t have any descendants.”
Although Zhao Mian wasn’t hungry, he also couldn’t resist the charm of the rice. Zhou Huairang had found some smoked meat and ham, put them in the pot, and steamed them with the rice. The smell was so good that Wei Zhenfeng immediately started calling out “Xiao Rang,” which made Zhou Huairang startled.
Zhao Mian watched as Wei Zhenfeng devour three large bowls of rice in a row, and even with such speed, his demeanor wasn’t crude. Knowing the truth, and then thinking about the reason he was so hungry, Zhao Mian wanted to curse him for being so deserving of it.
He had wondered why Wei Zhenfeng had been so attentive to him recently. Turns out it had nothing to do with him as a person. It was just because Wei Zhenfeng thought he was carrying his child.
Now that Wei Zhenfeng was sure he wasn’t pregnant, he was acting shamelessly, even using a dagger to stab his clothes just now.
Zhao Mian closed his eyes, trying to suppress that strange, uneasy feeling, but he failed.
And so, the Young Prince, who was enjoying his meal, was inexplicably scolded. “Wei Zhenfeng, you are too annoying.”
Wei Zhenfeng: “……?”
After eating their fill, the three young men were full of energy again. After some discussion, they decided to rest in the underground palace for two days and then take enough food and water to find their way back to the Beiyuan Army’s main camp.
During this time, the three of them were not idle. The “mini palace” of Western Xia contained a vast quantity and variety of treasures. Counting all the accumulated rations and weapons alone would take forever, but they still had to look at everything to get a rough idea of what they had.
Pushing open a palace door, a mixture of various fragrances rushed out, extremely pungent. Wei Zhenfeng looked around and said, “This should be where the former Western Xia concubines’ belongings were stored.”
The territory of the former Western Xia was not large, only a third of Beiyuan’s, but it contained the most ethnicities of any of the four countries. The Western Xia Emperor was therefore very lucky in love, and his harem had many beauties with exotic looks.
Among the items left by the beauties, the most valuable were all kinds of jewelry. There were hairpins and headpieces commonly used by women from the Central Plains, as well as unique forehead ornaments and veils for desert beauties. They were all inlalid with jade and gems, clearly priceless.
Given that there was only one woman, the Empress Dowager, in the Nanjing palace, Zhao Mian proposed that most of these items could go to Beiyuan, and he would select a few high-quality ones to present to the Empress Dowager. Correspondingly, Nanjing would take a greater share of the weapons in the armory.
Wei Zhenfeng agreed to his proposal without much fuss.
Besides these, the storeroom was also filled with luxurious fabrics and clothes. Beiyuan’s warm cotton, Nanjing’s exquisite silk, and Dongling’s plain cotton and linen… everything was there.
Zhou Huairang found many sets of clothes belonging to the Western Xia concubines. The most striking was a light desert outfit, a flimsy, sheer skirt adorned with a string of tiny bells, and a color so bright red it was like a rose blooming in the yellow sand.
The clothes were lightweight, but at the cost of being too sheer. Holding the fabric, Zhou Huairang could vaguely see the skin of his palm. With a slight blush, he put the clothes back, muttering, “What… what would this even cover?”
“I suggest you carry it with you,” Wei Zhenfeng chuckled. “Wearing this in the desert during the day might help you stay cool.”
Zhao Mian ignored him and just said flatly, “I’m going to look elsewhere.”
Wei Zhenfeng watched the Crown Prince’s solitary, cold back and said, “This… is he not cooled down?”
Wei Zhenfeng thought his voice was quiet, but in reality, Zhao Mian heard him clearly.
“No,” Zhao Mian said icily, “Still angry to the point where I can’t sleep.”
Wei Zhenfeng and Zhou Huairang watched Zhao Mian leave. “His Highness must be completely disheartened by the young prince,” Zhou Huairang’s gaze held sympathy. “True disappointment isn’t drawing a sword loudly; it’s few words and cold glances. Look, His Highness can’t even be bothered with you anymore, Young Prince.”
“Is it that serious?” Wei Zhenfeng was half-believing. “I just asked him one question. It can’t be that bad, right? I already explained and apologized sincerely.”
Zhou Huairang was dying of curiosity. “What exactly did the Young Prince ask to make our Crown Prince so angry?”
Wei Zhenfeng adopted a “I’m doing this for your own good” tone. “I advise you not to ask.”
After inventory was done, Wei Zhenfeng and Zhou Huairang headed to the next storeroom. Zhou Huairang walked in front, chattering away. “I bet the next one is where they kept antiques and paintings. We haven’t seen any of those yet. What do you think, Young Prince?”
“With the Western Xia Emperor’s character, would he bring things like that?” Wei Zhenfeng said dismissively. “Think about it again.”
“You have a point. Then it must be more gold and jewels,” Zhou Huairang said. He was about to push the door open when someone from behind grabbed his collar and pulled him down.
“Young Prince?” Zhou Huairang gasped.
“Be quiet.” Wei Zhenfeng crouched down beside Zhou Huairang. “Someone’s here. I heard a bowstring being drawn.”
Zhou Huairang quickly covered his mouth, his eyes wide with fear. He mouthed the words, How can someone be here? Who is it? Could it be Old Shen and them? Did they find us?!
Unfortunately, the Young Prince wasn’t the Crown Prince. Their unspoken understanding was far from enough for the Young Prince to understand him.
Wei Zhenfeng hid with Zhou Huairang behind a wall, ready to deal with any situation. Zhou Huairang quietly waited. He was already very experienced in situations like this and knew that all he had to do was listen to the smart one. Not being a burden was itself a merit.
The footsteps drew closer. Wei Zhenfeng judged that there was only one person.
Who could it be? Where was Zhao Mian now? Has he encountered the intruder? If he had, whether the intruder is a friend or foe, there shouldn’t be zero commotion from Zhao Mian’s end.
He had to meet up with Zhao Mian as soon as possible.
Since the person had already drawn their bow, he and Zhou Huairang’s location had likely been exposed. The enemy was in the dark, and they were in the light. As soon as he showed himself, he would give the enemy a chance to kill him. But he had to find Zhao Mian; he couldn’t stay here and waste time with the enemy.
Wei Zhenfeng signaled to Zhou Huairang with his eyes: You just hide here.
Zhou Huairang was completely confused.
What are you trying to say, Young Prince? I don’t understand.
Wei Zhenfeng had no time to explain. He drew his sword, planning to throw the sheathe to create a distraction and use the opportunity to find the enemy’s location and counterattack.
The moment he threw the sheath, he heard the sound of a bowstring being pulled taut.
—Now.
Wei Zhenfeng didn’t hesitate and charged out at top speed.
Thwack!
An arrow flew swiftly, not towards where the sheathe had landed, but directly towards where he had emerged.
Huh? Not so easy to trick.
Wei Zhenfeng immediately retreated behind the wall, but it was too late. In the blink of an eye, the arrow had already passed through the hem of his clothes and whizzed to the wall.
Wei Zhenfeng came to a sudden realization. After a moment of stunned silence, he laughed soundlessly.
Zhou Huairang’s face had turned pale with fear. He dragged his weak legs forward to check on him. “Young Prince! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Wei Zhenfeng said nonchalantly. “Your Crown Prince has a good sense of restraint.” A little off, and it would have been more than just his clothes that got torn.
Zhou Huairang was completely bewildered. “Huh?”
Wei Zhenfeng pointed to the sleeve pierced by the arrow and laughed. “See? He’s getting his revenge on me.”
Zhou Huairang: “…You seem quite proud of it.”
Zhao Mian’s voice came from outside. “Aren’t you coming out yet?”
The two of them turned the corner, one after the other, and saw the Crown Prince standing not far away, holding a hunter’s bow made of green bamboo.
“I found this in the armory. It looked delicate, so I thought I’d give it a try,” Zhao Mian said. His eyes lingered on Wei Zhenfeng’s sleeve, admiring his “masterpiece.” He felt a little more at ease.
Zhou Huairang felt like crying but had no tears. “Your Highness, your little test almost scared me to death.”
“It’s good for building courage,” Zhao Mian said, deliberately avoiding Wei Zhenfeng’s amused gaze. “Have you made any new discoveries?”
Zhou Huairang shook his head. “Not yet. We were just about to go in when you came to test your bow.”
“Go in now,” Zhao Mian said.
The three walked into the storeroom. When Zhou Huairang saw the room filled with books, he smiled. “Looks like the Young P rince’s judgment can be wrong sometimes.”
Zhou Huairang’s initial guess was correct. This storeroom was full of books, paintings, and calligraphy. Zhou Huairang randomly picked up a book, and after flipping through a couple of pages, his eyes went wide. “An incomplete handwritten manuscript of the former dynasty’s Spring Day Records?! This, this is a treasure we can’t even find in Nanjing!”
Wei Zhenfeng nodded. “Understood. This storeroom doesn’t contain the Western Xia Emperor’s things.”
“Then whose are they?” Zhou Huairang saw a row of elegant-looking vases full of painting scrolls and immediately realized. “These are Gu Ruzhang’s relics!”
“Relics isn’t the right word,” Zhao Mian said, glancing at Wei Zhenfeng. “Gu Ruzhang should still be alive.”
Wei Zhenfeng was noncommittal. He picked a scroll box from a jar and opened it, unrolling the painting. When he saw the full picture, Wei Zhenfeng looked slightly surprised and then let out a light laugh. “Interesting.”
“What is it?” Zhao Mian asked.
“See for yourself,” Wei Zhenfeng said, tossing the painting to Zhao Mian. “This should be Gu Ruzhang’s original work.”
Zhao Mian took the painting and examined it closely. The painting was titled Night Banquet in the Xuyuan Garden. Though it was called a night banquet, there was no scene of people socializing or cups clinking. The center of the painting was the roof of a house under which large red lanterns and festive red silk were hanging. A white-robed young man sat on the roof, a foxtail grass in his mouth, his hands propping up his chin, looking down at the ground with a bored expression.
Behind the young man was a high-hanging full moon. The moonlight lingered on his body, its radiance and color ever-changing and beautiful.
The inscription at the bottom right corner read: The fifteenth of the fifth month, the year of Zaixi. A late-night creation.
Clearly, this painting depicted the scene of Gu Ruzhang’s first encounter with Wan Huameng.
It was also the first time Gu Ruzhang laid eyes on Wan Huameng in his life.
Zhao Mian remembered that Wan Huameng had said that Gu Ruzhang loved to paint, but he had never painted a single picture of him.
Wan Huameng was wrong. Gu Ruzhang had, on the very night they first met. Wan Hua Meng just didn’t know it.
If Wan Huameng had never forced Gu Ruzhang or cursed him, would their story have had a different ending?
The three of them fell into a moment of silence. Wei Zhenfeng suddenly said, “Leave all of this for Nanjing.”
Zhou Huairang was overjoyed. “The Young Prince is generous!”
After touring the palace, they counted over a dozen large and small halls. Although they couldn’t compare to the real Western Xia palace, restoring it to this extent underground must have been a massive project that consumed a lot of manpower and resources. It was clear the Western Xia Emperor had put a great deal of effort into this escape route for himself.
After nightfall, the three of them each found a palace to rest in. Zhao Mian, of course, stayed in the main hall. Wei Zhenfeng and Zhou Huairang took the side halls on either side.
They had gone through so much that day. As soon as Zhao Mian got into bed, he was overcome with sleepiness and quickly fell asleep.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Mian suddenly woke up from his sleep. He rarely woke up for no reason; his body must have sensed that something was wrong.
Sure enough, when he turned his head, he saw a figure standing by his bed.
Zhao Mian was surprised to find that he couldn’t even muster up the anger anymore. “What do you want?”
“You said during the day that you were so angry you couldn’t sleep, so I came to see if you were asleep,” Wei Zhenfeng said, sitting on the edge of his bed. “Then I found you were sleeping quite soundly. Doesn’t that prove you weren’t really that angry?”
Zhao Mian was silent for a moment, then reluctantly nodded. “Yes.”
Yes?
Yes???
This was not the answer Wei Zhenfeng expected. He thought Zhao Mian would just point to the door and tell him to get out.
Wei Zhenfeng’s lips curled into a smile. “If you’re not angry anymore, will you listen to me?”
Zhao Mian’s face was expressionless. “No. Get out.”
Wei Zhenfeng’s smile faded, and he said seriously, “Zhao Mian, listen carefully. Put on your clothes now and come with me.”
Zhao Mian realized something was wrong. “Has something happened?”
Wei Zhenfeng gave a quiet “Hmm.” “This underground palace has several uninvited guests. And it seems they have ill intentions.”
Zhao Mian was incredulous. “You’re telling me something this important only after all that nonsense?”
“I was afraid I would scare you, so I wanted to tell you slowly,” Wei Zhenfeng said, spreading his hands.
Zhao Mian quickly put on his clothes and got out of bed, impatiently saying. I already said I can’t get pregnant with your child, you don’t need to protect me so carefully.”
“Whether you can or not doesn’t matter,” Wei Zhenfeng said, tossing Zhao Mian a bow and some arrows—the very same bow he had tested during the day. “I’m just protecting you.”
Zhao Mian: “…”
Alright, he and Wei Zhenfeng were completely on good terms again.