Zhao Mian ordered people to bring several basins of water and poured the medicinal solution into them. With everything prepared, Li Er consciously stood in front of the basin, ready to wash his face.

“Wait,” Zhao Mian stopped him, tidying his sleeves as he condescendingly said, “Let me wash it for you.”

Li Er didn’t believe there would be such a good thing: “I wouldn’t dare to trouble you, I can do it myself…”

Before the last word “myself” could be uttered, Zhao Mian raised his hand and grabbed the back of Li Er’s head. Catching him off guard, he quickly, accurately, and ruthlessly dunked Li Er’s head into the water.

The moment his face entered the water, Li Er instinctively closed his eyes. Because his reaction was quick enough, he didn’t choke, and didn’t seem too disheveled.

At least not as disheveled as Zhao Mian was when he was forced to kneel.

Zhao Mian felt displeased. He wanted to see how long Li Er could hold his breath.

He counted in his head, and when he reached one hundred, Li Er was still obediently in his grasp, without struggling or making any gurgling sounds, just utterly calm.

Zhao Mian’s brow furrowed slightly. Could it be that the fishmonger had drowned to death? That would truly be a cause for celebration.

Zhao Mian’s face was cold and stern. He thought about having Zhou Huairang set off firecrackers to celebrate, and then released him.

Li Er straightened up and gasped for air, his head shaking in a blurry afterimage, like a large, waterlogged dog: “That was close, I almost drowned.”

Zhao Mian was splashed with droplets of water, and his temple throbbed. Zhou Huairang quickly took out a handkerchief and vigorously wiped his face.

Li Er, his eyes still closed, reached out his hand to Zhao Mian as if nothing had happened: “Give me the handkerchief.”

Zhao Mian’s temple throbbed even harder. What was with this tone like he was ordering someone around? Did the fishmonger really think he was there to wash his face for him? His voice was icy: “No.”

Li Er then briskly wiped his face with his hand, opened his eyes, and proactively moved closer to Zhao Mian’s face: “Come see if I washed it clean enough?”

As he got closer, a drop of water sliding down from the bridge of his nose landed on the yellow hem of Zhao Mian’s robe.

Zhao Mian strongly suspected that this was yet another small act of revenge that Li Er had found an opportunity to carry out.

He frowned and took a half step back. Because they were standing so close, and because of the height difference, he had to look up, casting a sharp glance at Li Er.

After soaking in the medicinal solution for so long, Li Er’s dark skin hadn’t faded in the slightest. Not only that, Zhao Mian looked closely at his face again and again, and couldn’t see any signs of peeling or cracking.

And then there was the fact that, up close, Li Er’s eyes… were indeed the only thing on his face that was pleasing to the eye.

Zhao Mian withdrew his gaze expressionlessly.

Don’t panic, he’d only tried one kind of solution so far.

Zhao Mian said: “Continue.”

Li Er tried every basin of medicinal solution, but his dark skin remained as immovable as a mountain. Zhou Huairang was practically glued to Li Er’s face, but he still couldn’t find the slightest crack.

Li Er’s face was wet, and he angled his torso, going around Zhou Huairang who blocked him. He looked at Zhao Mian as if to say, “What else do you want me to do? Just say it.”

Zhao Mian suppressed his anger, but his voice still sounded strained and resentful: “Don’t think you can fool me by pretending to be an ugly man.”

Li Er looked at him, a smile playing on his lips, neither admitting nor denying it, but simply said:

“That’s a hurtful thing to say. I’m not that ugly.”

Zhao Mian realized that he might be provoked by the dark-skinned man again. In order to maintain his composure and sanity, he slowly took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Zhou Huairang whispered in his ear: “Young Master, should we just string Li Er up first?”

Zhao Mian remained silent with his eyes closed, until he felt he was calm enough, then he opened them. Just as he was about to speak, there was a new commotion outside the door.

“Young Master,” a steady voice said accompanied by a knock on the door, “Your subordinate has returned to report.”

Zhou Huairang was very happy: “Old Shen’s back!”

Zhao Mian felt a surge of joy in his heart. If there was anyone who could change the situation now, it was only Shen Buqi.

Zhao Mian said: “Come in.”

Shen Buqi, covered in dust from his journey, pushed the door open and entered. Seeing Li Er and the Crown Prince standing together, his eyes darkened and his hand immediately pressed on the hilt of his sword, poised and ready to strike. As long as the Crown Prince gave the order, he could execute Li Er on the spot at any time.

Li Er showing no malice towards his former opponent chuckled. “Relax, I’m not here to fight.”

“Ignore him,” Zhao Mian said. “How did the investigation go?”

Shen Buqi then withdrew his gaze, walked to Zhao Mian’s side, and whispered two things in a voice only the two of them could hear.

The first thing was within Zhao Mian’s expectations. Zhao Mian’s expression didn’t change after hearing it, not reacting much. But when Shen Buqi said the second thing, Zhao Mian was stunned at first, and then he suddenly raised his eyes to look at Li Er.

Li Er was also looking at him, watching his eyes light up little by little, and the corners of his mouth curl up little by little. A very good mood, even bordering on excitement.

When the human embodiment of wealth and beauty was pleased, his eyes sparkled with brilliance amidst the vibrant hues, dazzling and captivating, so radiant that one couldn’t look away

Li Er watched him for a moment, then asked with a smile, “What’s got you so happy?”

The young man gestured for his subordinate to brew him a cup of hot tea. He picked up the cup, lowered his eyes, and gently blew on the steam, adopting a posture of utter relaxation, putting on a show as much as he could.

But the young man’s face was simply too beautiful. Even knowing he was putting on an act, one was willing to indulge him in his pretense.

Or so he thought.

Li Er turned his face away, avoiding Zhao Mian’s gaze. He said to Zhou Huairang, “Your young master’s old habit of putting on airs is back.”

Zhou Huairang flared up, his eyes wide with anger, “Are you looking for death? How dare you speak like that? Do you even know…”

Zhao Mian raised his hand, stopping Zhou Huairang’s endless stream of words. He was now confident of success, and could afford to allow Li Er a few sarcastic remarks. “Li Er, do you remember the Liu family, who Wan Huameng forcibly tried to matchmake before us?”

Li Er nodded, “I remember. I later heard the entire Liu family disappeared, dragged off by Wan Huameng to be used in raising Gu.”

Zhao Mian said casually, “I found them.”

“Oh?” Li Er was a little surprised. “You found them in the Nangong Palace?”

Zhao Mian said, “No, I found them in several counties not far from the capital.”

In the past few days, Shen Buqi first followed the villagers from Chen Family Village to the county town, as Zhao Mian’s instructed, and waited for the big client they had agreed upon with the villagers.

Although the client wore simple clothes and looked no different from ordinary villagers, he was extremely generous, buying enough provisions for seven or eight people at once.

Shen Buqi followed the trail, tracking the big client back to his hiding place, and sure enough, he saw a familiar face – Liu Zhun, the steward of the Liu family who had been responsible for receiving them.

Liu Zhun, along with several servants from the Liu family, claimed to be a family fleeing from famine and were living in obscurity in a small place under assumed names.

After that, Shen Buqi searched no less than ten counties and villages, large and small, near the capital, and found some gains in each place. Each place hid a number of Liu family members, totaling over a hundred people, but he never saw the figures of Master Liu and Madam Liu, the main members of the family.

Shen Buqi guessed that Master Liu and the others must be hiding more deeply, requiring a more in-depth investigation. He didn’t have that much time, so he left some people to keep an eye on Liu Zhun and the others, while he went to the capital to join the His Highness.

“These members of the Liu family are neither being hunted down nor showing signs of being infected with Gu worms,” Zhao Mian said. “So why did they run?”

Li Er thought for a moment and said, “Perhaps they feared that Wan Huameng would vent his anger on the entire Liu family for the suicide of Miss Liu, and chose to flee first?”

Zhao Mian nodded in agreement, “Perhaps. Or perhaps someone instigated them to do so, in order to put the blame on Wan Huameng. To add another point to Wan Huameng’s evil deeds, and put him in the spotlight of public criticism.”

Li Er laughed, “Your idea is quite interesting. If that’s really the case, we should thank this person, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Heh, still pretending to be clueless.

“There’s something even more interesting,” Zhao Mian said with a slight smile, “During the search for the Liu family, we also found someone.”

Li Er’s curiosity was piqued.

“Who is it?”

Zhao Mian said to Shen Buqi, “Bring him in.”

Everyone looked towards the doorway in unison.

A man was pushed in. He was very tall, with skin as dark as someone who had lived in the desert for a long time.

Although he was the tallest person in the room, he was hunched over, shrinking back with his neck tucked in lowering his head. His eyes were numb and avoided their gaze. He looked like he had toiled away for most of his life.

Li Er’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

Zhou Huairang looked at Li Er, then at the man. His mouth hanging open as if he’d swallowed a duck egg whole: “This…”

—This man looked exactly like Li Er.

Shen Buqi had thoroughly investigated and confirmed that this person was indeed the Li Er who had been killing fish for twenty years and lost his fiancée. It was the real deal.

Not long ago, an odd stranger had found him and given him the money he would earn from killing eight thousand fish, asking him to leave Chongzhou and go as far away as possible, preferably taking a boat to see the other side of the sea.

Before leaving, this odd stranger had also humbly asked him about his fish-killing techniques. It had to be said that the stranger was very talented in killing fish. After only half an hour of practice, he could wield the fish-killing knife quite skillfully, easily fooling outsiders.

Zhou Huairang was quite agitated, pointing at Li Er and saying, “Li Er, you still say you haven’t disguised yourself!”

Li Er said matter-of-factly, “I never said that.”

Zhou Huairang said, “So you admit to using someone else’s face?!”

Li Er crossed his arms. “Admit it.”

Li Er’s admission was so straightforward that Zhou Huairang didn’t know how to scold him anymore. He paused for a moment, then turned to Zhao Mian, filled with righteous indignation. “Young Master, this person is truly insidious. We must not agree to form an alliance with him!”

Zhao Mian waved his hand, and the real Li Er was taken away. He looked at the fake Li Er and asked, “Will you confess yourself, or do I have to force you to?”

Li Er retorted, “What do you want me to confess?”

“You keep saying you want to form an alliance with me, but you’re unwilling to show your true face. I can’t see your sincerity, so how can I trust you?”

Li Er laughed. “Even if I confess, how will you know if what I say is true or false?”

“That’s none of your concern.” Zhao Mian said, “I have my own ways.”

Li Er lowered his head and pondered for a long time, his expression changing unpredictably, until finally, as if he had made a huge decision, he said, “Alright, I’ll tell you then. Actually…”

Li Er stopped halfway through his sentence, just as he was about to reveal crucial information, clearly trying to create a sense of tension.

Zhao Mian didn’t even bother with him and continued to drink his tea.

Li Er, with no one to play along, took a deep breath: “Actually, I’m a person of Western Xia.”

Zhao Mian said indifferently, “Oh.”

Li Er continued, “I was originally a first-class imperial guard in the Western Xia palace. After the fall of Western Xia, I was fortunate enough to survive until today, and after much hardship I brought the remaining imperial guards to Dongling where I’ve been lying low for two years, waiting for the right opportunity to restore our kingdom. I don’t want to show my true face for fear of being recognized by Beiyuan’s secret agents.”

Zhou Huairang asked, “Why Dongling?”

“Where else could I go?” Li Er said self-deprecatingly, “Beiyuan or Nanjing? Western Xia was destroyed by Beiyuan, and although Nanjing did not participate on the surface, it secretly provided Beiyuan with a lot of military equipment and supplies. The two countries have truly mastered the art of ‘colluding with each other.’ Only Dongling, which once had a bond of kinship with Western Xia, might be willing to accommodate Western Xia’s survivors.”

Zhou Huairang was uncharacteristically clever for once: “You say so, where’s the proof?”

Li Er said, “”Every one of us in the Western Xia Imperial Guards carries a jade pendant. Each one is unique in the world.”

Zhao Mian had heard of this. It was indeed true.

Zhou Huairang held out his hand, palm open: “Give it to me.”

“I didn’t bring it.”

Zhou Huairang said firmly: “Didn’t bring it means you don’t have it!”

Li Er laughed: “Wouldn’t it be even more suspicious if I had? I come to you of my own accord, carrying a jade pendant that symbolizes my identity. If you searched me and found it, wouldn’t that be deliberately leading you to discover me? Believe it or not, if I handed over the jade pendant right now, your Young Master would say I was lying again.”

Zhou Huairang thought about it, and that seemed to make sense. He asked, “Then where is your jade pendant?”

Li Er leisurely said, “Chongzhou.”

Zhou Huairang became anxious: “It would take at least six days to go back and forth from the capital to Chongzhou!”

Li Er nodded: “That’s right.”

Zhou Huairang scolded: “You’re clearly stalling for time!”

What Zhou Huairang could see through, Zhao Mian was naturally well aware of. Even if he sent someone back to Chongzhou to retrieve the so-called jade pendant now, he still wouldn’t be able to confirm Li Er’s identity in the next six days.

But the problem was, even if he eventually found that jade pendant, would that necessarily prove he was from Western Xia? A jade pendant separated from its owner could be stolen by anyone.

Zhou Huairang had been led astray by Li Er and had clearly forgotten a crucial point. The fake Li Er had said so much, but was still unwilling to remove his mask.

The fake Li Er wasn’t Li Er. The fact that he was borrowing someone else’s face was undeniable. With Li Er’s unrestrained and reckless style, he would have lost patience with continuing the charade by now, unless he had a compelling reason.

The reason Li Er had to keep up the act was simple.

Because Li Er knew that his own face was the best evidence to expose his identity.

Because Li Er had seen him, and he had also seen Li Er.

Because Li Er was very clear that as long as he showed his face, he would recognize him.

The two of them knew each other.

Having lived for eighteen years, Zhao Mian had met countless people. Of these, admittedly, most were from Nanjing, but Li Er clearly was not. With this exclusion, the scope of searching his memories could be greatly reduced.

From a young age, Zhao Mian had been taken by his father the Emperor and the Prime Minister to meet envoys from various countries. Whether it was the three kingdoms that shared similar cultures and deep roots with Nanjing, or small countries in the South Seas, or even Western island nations that had sailed across the ocean, he had had contact with them all.

He had seen foreign envoys, if not a thousand, then at least eight hundred.

Among those thousands of people, which one could Li Er be?

Li Er hiding himself so carefully proved that he wasn’t an insignificant figure who was easily forgotten, but might have even left a very deep impression on him. An “old acquaintance” he could recognize at a glance.

The range of possibilities was further narrowed.

The missing Liu family, Li Er and his side’s remarkable lightness skills, Li Er’s own remarkable courage, the youthful pride that he tried to hide but occasionally revealed unintentionally, and his difficult-to-remove disguise…

One figure after another flashed through Zhao Mian’s mind, from the recent past to further back, from Western Xia to the South Seas. His memories grew more distant, yet still clear because of his astonishing memory.

Finally, his gaze locked onto a select few people. The rest, he could only rely on his intuition to… guess.

Who could it be?

The haze in Zhao Mian’s eyes gradually dissipated. He stared fixedly at Li Er, and after a long silence, finally spoke, “I will send someone to find the jade pendant you mentioned.”

Zhao Mian’s sudden willingness to cooperate surprised Li Er slightly. “Really?”

Zhao Mian gave him a dignified smile, the kind he was accustomed to using when facing foreign envoys, “Really.”

Li Er hesitated for a moment, his expression becoming noticeably sincere, “Actually, regardless of who I am, my desire to get rid of Wan Huameng and obtain the antidote is exactly the same as yours. You can be sure of that.”

Zhao Mian remained noncommittal, and instead asked, “Since you are from Western Xia, you should know why Western Xia fell.”

“You bringing this up makes me sad,” Li Er said mournfully, “My Western Xia dynasty lasted for eleven emperors and enjoyed over two hundred years of rule, only to be destroyed by Beiyuan two years ago.”

Zhao Mian asked next, “Then do you know who the main culprit behind the fall of Western Xia was?”

Li Er clenched his fists, “Of course, it was that insane Beiyuan Emperor.”

Zhao Mian scoffed lightly, “While the Emperor of Beiyuan was certainly the main culprit, Western Xia’s fell so quickly because of another person.”

Li Er asked, “Who?”

Zhao Mian said slowly, “Two years ago, Beiyuan launched its western expedition, advancing relentlessly until it reached Lingzhou.

Western Xia stubbornly defended Lingzhou with all its might, and Beiyuan suffered countless losses in troops, horses, money, and provisions, yet still failed to capture it after a prolonged siege.

“However, just when the Beiyuan army was at its wit’s end, the situation suddenly took an unexpected turn.

“The main general defending Lingzhou died suddenly without any warning. Immediately following, Lingzhou descended into chaos. In the dead of night, the city gates were flung wide open, seriously welcoming the Beiyuan army into the city.

“Once inside, the Beiyuan army moved as if unopposed. The Western Xia army was demoralized and offered no resistance. After a bitter half-year struggle for Lingzhou, the Beiyuan army took the heavily fortified city of Lingzhou in just two days and one night.”

“The one who opened the city gates was none other than the vanguard commander whom the general had personally promoted and trusted most, his name was something like…” Zhao Mian paused, feigning to be lost in thought, “Ye Xiao, I believe.”

“Rumor has it that after doing all this, Ye Xiao with his blood-stained boots stepping over the corpse of the general he had assassinated, donned a dark red cloak and ascended the city gate. Looking down upon the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he uttered only one word – ‘Foolish.'”

“Truly, it was truly arrogant and outrageous to an infuriating degree.”

“Later, people discovered that Ye Xiao was not the real Ye Xiao, but the second son of the Yuan Emperor, the sixteen-year-old Prince Heng of Beiyuan. Because he was granted the title of prince at a young age, he was often referred to as Little Prince.”

“After this battle, the Little Prince’s reputation soared, and both fame and fortune fell into his hands. The Beiyuan Emperor was overjoyed, calling him a sharp weapon of the state, and entrusted him with the full authority over the Fu Xue Tower, which he had personally cultivated and which could control all matters under heaven.” Zhao Mian smiled lightly, as if watching a play, “I also heard that this made the Crown Prince of Beiyuan quite unhappy, and there was considerable friction between the brothers as a result.”

“After the fall of Lingzhou, Western Xia had no more cities to defend and no generals to command. Within three months, the Yuan army breached the capital. The Imperial Guards fought to the death and refused to surrender, but they could not reverse the situation. The imperial palace fell, and the young emperor and empress both committed suicide by slitting their throats with swords. The remaining members of the imperial family were captured, and Western Xia, after more than two hundred years, was destroyed.”

Zhao Mian spoke of events from two years ago in another country, but his thoughts drifted back to Nanjing six years prior.

That year, Beiyuan envoys came to visit, and his father, the Emperor, held a spring banquet in the gardens. He skillfully performed the etiquette and demeanor befitting a crown prince of a great nation, respectfully attending to his father’s side.

As the host and guests were enjoying themselves, a luxurious black python robe unexpectedly entered his field of vision.

“When I was young, I was ignorant and often offended Your Highness in many ways. Now, having traveled far, I present you with a bright pearl and a ‘Wandering Immortal’ pillow, hoping Your Highness will accept them with a smile and forgive my past transgressions.”

A clear and youthful voice, with a relaxed tone like the first notes drawn from a new paulownia tree, the beauty of spring at its best.

Dressed in bright yellow court robes, Zhao Mian slightly raised his eyes, meeting a pair of eyes as clear as a spring breeze amidst the rustling peach blossoms.

Leaning on the railing, young and full of life, he gazed out.

…

Zhao Mian withdrew his thoughts, and also suppressed his smile, his gaze turning cold towards Li Er.

Li Er returned his gaze, his eyes burning brightly, hiding an irrepressible excitement, as if he had become decades younger in that moment, like a boy of the same age as Zhao Mian, thrilled to have finally found an evenly matched opponent.

Zhao Mian stared at Li Er’s familiar eyes and said, not hurried, not slow, “I ask you, Li Er, are you the little prince of Beiyuan?”

The author has something to say:
Mian Mian: Take my straight ball!