The hall was as silent as dead ashes, with only the white incense smoke quietly rising from the lid of the gilded beast-eared incense burner, wafting upward in unbroken wisps.

“What if I refuse?” Pei You’an’s voice came through, deep and halting.

“I know you were born with rebellious bones, acknowledging neither sovereign nor father!”

Xiao Lie’s face tensed tightly.

“Ci’er is your son. If you forcibly take him away from me, indeed I can do nothing to you, nor punish your crime! But You’an, there is one thing you probably don’t know yet. The Bandit-Quelling General at today’s prisoner presentation ceremony, do you know who he is?”

The Emperor sat increasingly straight, enunciating each word: “He is Dong Chengmao!”

Pei You’an’s gaze suddenly froze.

“Are you surprised?” The Emperor smiled slightly.

“You’an, during these years you’ve been at the frontier, there are many things you probably don’t know anymore. Let me tell you, not only is Dong Chengmao in my service, but even Xiao Yu, for whom you were once willing to risk your head, is now in my hands!”

“I need not conceal it—he came to the capital to see me four years ago, shortly after you left for the frontier, saying he no longer wished to implicate others. I respect his integrity, but heaven cannot have two masters. I should have killed him from the beginning, not out of personal grudge, but for the need of the empire. Yet I was mindful of you and thus spared his life.”

“I swear by the Great Wei dynasty’s fate that I will not kill him but let him go abroad. As long as he and his descendants never set foot on Great Wei soil for the rest of their lives, from now on, I will never trouble him again!”

“I have taken a step back, and I want you to take a step back as well. Let Ci’er acknowledge his ancestry, change his surname to Xiao, and become the heir of our Great Wei.”

“The day the Imperial Grandson is established will be the day Xiao Yu gains his freedom. Do you agree?”

“If you don’t agree, you may take your wife and child from the palace now, and I will select another from the imperial clan to succeed me.”

“I will kill Xiao Yu to forever eliminate future troubles!”

The Emperor’s voice, heavy and cold, echoed in the corners of the hall.

Pei You’an’s fingers slowly clenched into fists, his knuckles rubbing against each other, making cracking sounds.

“This empire is my empire. I will give it to whomever I choose! Moreover, I am now giving the empire to my grandson, which is perfectly justified!”

Pei You’an’s eyes revealed a faint layer of bloodshot. Gritting his teeth, he walked toward the Emperor step by step.

Xiao Lie remained motionless, sneering: “Could it be you intend to commit regicide?”

He drew a Dragon Spring sword from the table and offered it: “If you lack the courage to kill me, then kneel before me, beg for forgiveness, and express gratitude!”

Pei You’an gripped the sword handle with one hand and the blade with the other, his figure frozen like stone.

For a long while, the white blade between his hands slowly bent into an arch.

Suddenly, with a sharp, brief clang, the sword body violently snapped, breaking into two pieces.

Fresh blood poured forth from Pei You’an’s palm, continuously splashing down, dripping onto the floor beneath his feet, staining a patch of red.

“Before leaving Suye City, the nomads were already showing unusual movements. I must return in the coming days. I have no crime to beg forgiveness for, no favor to express gratitude for!”

“For the common people, you are an enlightened ruler. Yet in my life, nothing I hate more than having your blood flowing in my veins!”

He released both hands and with a prolonged clang, both the sword handle and the blade fell to the ground.

Pei You’an turned and headed for the exit.

Xiao Lie’s gaze slowly lifted from the pool of blood on the ground and settled on Pei You’an’s retreating figure.

His hand gradually trembled, his face turning ashen. Suddenly, he stood up violently.

“Stop right there! You unfilial, rebellious son!”

With a thunderous crash, the heavy sandalwood table inlaid with pine-patterned jade before Xiao Lie was overturned, its contents instantly rolling across the floor.

“To this day, I still remember when you were sixteen, the moment I pulled you out from among the dead, how overjoyed and grateful I was! Never mind compensation, even if it meant giving my life for yours, I would have been willing! Yet you have disappointed me time and again! It is not that I force you to this point, but that you compel me to act this way! You refuse to acknowledge me, so be it, but now I want to pass this empire to my grandson, and you would defy me in this too? Fine, fine, you may leave…”

When Jia Fu arrived outside the hall, she heard a loud crashing sound of tables and chairs overturning from inside, along with the Emperor’s roaring voice. Outside, it was deserted; the palace attendants had been sent away by Li Yuangui, who was now alone, anxiously pacing back and forth at the entrance. Seeing Jia Fu arrive, he hurriedly approached.

Jia Fu’s heart pounded. Disregarding everything, she pushed open the tightly closed hall doors and rushed in, only to be stunned by the scene before her.

Pei You’an stood sideways in the center of the hall, his face pale, silent, with a cold smile, his left palm continuously dripping blood.

The Emperor stood behind the overturned imperial table, his eyes wide with anger, nostrils rapidly dilating, his complexion a completely bruised blue, breathing heavily. At his feet lay a broken, blood-stained sword, along with scattered writing brushes, ink stones, and seals of various sizes, creating a chaotic scene.

“Cousin!”

Jia Fu cried out in shock, quickly running to Pei You’an’s side. She grabbed his bleeding hand and saw a wound so deep it nearly exposed bone, with blood still flowing. Immediately, she tore off a piece of her skirt and tightly wrapped his palm to stop the bleeding.

“I’m fine, don’t be afraid. You should go out first…”

Pei You’an seemed to finally come to his senses. Turning, he gently supported Jia Fu’s shoulder with his uninjured hand and softly said.

Jia Fu said nothing, pushed him away, and knelt.

“Your Majesty! My husband! As a mother, I now understand a mother’s heart. Would Aunt have been so resolute and without regret, only to witness such a scene today? If her spirit is in heaven, how could she find peace? I beg Your Majesty, I beg my husband, even with the greatest anger, please think thrice before acting, lest it is irreversible, causing future regret!”

She kowtowed heavily to the Emperor, then turned toward Pei You’an. As she was about to bow, Pei You’an stepped forward and supported her.

“Fu’er!”

Pei You’an’s eyes reddened as he helped Jia Fu up from the ground.

Jia Fu pushed him away again and walked to the Emperor, who still stood rigidly, and knelt.

“Your Majesty, he is quite strict with Ci’er daily. Ci’er is only three years old, and when he makes mistakes, my husband reproaches him harshly, causing Ci’er to be restrained in his presence, and no longer close. Yet in his heart, he loves this child deeply; it’s just that Ci’er is too young to understand his father’s stern intentions. I imagine all fathers in the world have such intentions. Your Majesty loves him and by extension Ci’er, wanting Ci’er to acknowledge his ancestry, which is indeed a great blessing for him. My husband and I should be deeply grateful. But from now on, though father and son will be blood relatives, they can no longer address each other as such when they meet. With family bonds broken, this cutting pain—I imagine those who haven’t experienced the separation of flesh and blood, unable to acknowledge each other when meeting, cannot comprehend it. He was also caught unprepared, unable to accept it suddenly, which is why he offended Your Imperial Majesty.”

“I beseech Your Majesty to reconsider this matter. Even if Your Majesty’s holy decision remains unchanged, I beg Your Majesty, could you please give him more time? Among billions of people in the world, to be born as father and son is also heaven’s favor. People are not plants or trees; the affection between father and son is thicker than water. How can it be severed so abruptly?”

After speaking, Jia Fu wept silently, kowtowing to the Emperor again, her forehead touching the ground, remaining prostrate.

The hall fell silent once more.

Pei You’an gazed steadily at Jia Fu’s kneeling figure.

The Emperor’s figure was also frozen like a stone pillar. His breathing gradually calmed, and the frightening bruised color on his face slowly faded, turning ashen gray. He seemed to have lost all strength and slowly sat back on the imperial throne.

Pei You’an walked over, helped Jia Fu up from the ground, and led her out of the hall.

…

The echoes of the Emperor’s fiftieth birthday celebration had not yet fully dissipated when, just a few days later, an urgent report delivered by eight hundred li express from the commander of Jianmen Pass was placed on the Emperor’s desk.

Scouts reported that the nomads had assembled thirty thousand cavalry from dozens of tribes at their royal court, swearing a blood oath, suspected to be launching a southward offensive soon.

If the news was accurate, this would be another major military confrontation between Great Wei and the northern nomads since the great battle thirty years ago.

These days, the ministers had been speculating about the various rumors concerning the child on the Meridian Gate tower, trying every means to learn more inside information from the palace. But strangely, not a bit of news leaked from the palace. The ministers could only wait for the Emperor, but since the ceremony day, there had been no movement from his side. As the ministers were puzzled, suddenly the war report arrived, immediately shifting their attention. The Ministry of War and Ministry of Revenue urgently convened imperial front meetings to discuss troop deployments and provisions for the impending conflict.

The entire court atmosphere suddenly became tense.

After Pei You’an came to the Banana Garden that day and met his son, Jia Fu continued to stay in the Western Palace’s Banana Garden with Ci’er after he left the palace.

She had already learned that he would return to the frontier the next day to lead the army for war, and her mood was low.

Although the Emperor hadn’t taken further action these days, he still didn’t allow mother and son to leave the palace. Moreover, after that day, she hadn’t seen Pei You’an again, presumably because he was no longer allowed to enter the palace.

The night grew deeper. Ci’er was asleep, and Jia Fu lay beside her son. How could she sleep? As she tossed and turned, she suddenly heard footsteps in the courtyard.

These footsteps were all too familiar to her.

Jia Fu’s heart raced. She immediately put on her clothes, got out of bed, and without even lighting a lamp, slipped on her shoes and quickly left the inner chamber. She came to the outer room, opened the door, and saw a figure standing there.

“Cousin!”

Jia Fu let out a soft, delighted cry and threw herself into his arms.

Pei You’an embraced her, bent down to kiss her, pressing her against the doorframe. Suddenly he lifted her entire body and carried her to a couch by the screen, setting her down before pressing himself upon her again.

He was urgent, impatient, extremely powerful, even hurting her a little, as if he were still an inexperienced youth.

In the tranquil night, in the darkness, came Jia Fu’s soft, gasping sounds, yet she seemed afraid of waking her son sleeping in the inner chamber. The sounds caught in her throat were forcibly suppressed, transforming into infinite tenderness.

Finally, Pei You’an let out a long breath, holding Jia Fu, squeezed with her on that somewhat narrow couch, and fell into a deep sleep.

This spring night finally filled the heart with peace.

Jia Fu closed her eyes and gradually fell asleep in his arms.

In the latter half of the night, she awoke to find herself lying in the bed of the inner chamber, beside the small figure of her son sleeping peacefully.

She sat up, got out of bed, and went outside. Through the half-open door, she saw Pei You’an sitting on a stone step outside, his silhouette white as moonlight in the late-night glow.

Jia Fu walked over, sat beside him, took his injured hand wrapped in bandages, and gently kissed it for comfort.

Pei You’an lifted her and sat her against his chest, then took off his outer garment and covered her with it. In the moonlight, their figures merged into one.

“Fu’er, I met General Dong during the day. He told me that when Yu’er left without saying goodbye, he only left him a letter saying that everything began because of him and should end with him. He told General Dong and his brothers not to be tied to him anymore, that they could make their homes anywhere in the world, and could also serve the court, no longer needing to live on the edge of a knife. By the time General Dong caught up to the capital, it was already too late…”

He paused.

“Back then, I thought I had planned everything thoroughly, with no oversights. But I never imagined that first, you would recklessly follow me to the frontier, nor did I imagine that Yu’er would return to the capital himself…”

“He must be twenty years old now… This foolish child…”

He sighed softly.

Jia Fu’s mind seemed to drift back to many years ago, to the scene at her family’s dock in Quanzhou when she had just rescued that youth.

That youth had bright eyes; even trapped in the mire, at death’s door, the clear light in his eyes could not be buried.

“Cousin, if I hadn’t followed you then, even if you had arranged a lifetime of luxury for me, I would have been restless. Xiao Yu must have felt the same. If he had left at that time, even if he had lived to old age, his heart would never have found peace. What he sought, I imagine, was also peace of mind.”

“Tomorrow you will leave. You must take care of yourself. And don’t worry, I will stay here and take good care of our Ci’er.”

Pei You’an lowered his head, his lips lightly touching the scar left on her neck that day, with infinite tenderness, slowly tightening his arms around her inch by inch.

“Fu’er, I don’t know what I did in my previous life to earn such a blessing, that in this life I could have you as my companion…”

Jia Fu gazed at this man’s face in the moonlight, a smile slowly appearing on her lips.

“Cousin, you saved me in our previous life. I remember it clearly in this life, so even though you forgot me, I clung to you.”

Pei You’an was slightly startled, then assumed she was joking. Though his heart was troubled, he smiled and held her tighter.

“Cousin, let’s go inside. After you left the palace that day, Ci’er missed you. This morning, while studying, he wrote something he wanted to show you.”

Pei You’an and Jia Fu went inside, lit a lamp, and examined their son’s writing by lamplight. Putting it down, he quietly approached the bedside, gazing at the small figure still soundly asleep. He reached out and gently touched the child’s little cheek.

The next morning, when Ci’er learned that his father would return to Suye City alone to fight the bad people, while he and his mother would continue to stay behind, unable to be together with his father as before, he was heartbroken. Yet he firmly remembered what his father had taught him—that a man shouldn’t cry easily. With tears in his eyes, wiping his reddened eyes, he waved goodbye to his father.

Pei You’an embraced his wife and son together, holding them tightly, then released them and turned to leave.

…

Before departing, Pei You’an left a memorial for Xiao Lie.

The memorial remained in the corner of the imperial desk. The Emperor did not open it until early on the third day. After staying up all night to review the Ministry of Revenue’s war budget proposal that had been rushed over late the previous night, he tossed aside the thick document of several dozen pages, put down his brush, rubbed his brow, and his gaze fell on the memorial in the corner of the desk. He stared at it for a long time before finally reaching for it, bringing it before him, and opening it.

Several lines of flowing, vigorous cursive script contained a Buddhist verse:

“Crying not thoroughly, laughing not thoroughly, pouring out my heart and spilling my guts to tell you.

Father and son are not related, do you know or not? Raise your head—three catties of iron behind your skull.”

Xiao Lie stared at it for a long time, then closed the memorial and briefly closed his eyes.

“Li Yuangui, go bring Ci’er here.”

…

Having arrived in the capital, in just a few short days, so many events had occurred one after another, each catching Jia Fu unprepared. Pei You’an had rushed here, then hurried back to the frontier due to the war, and she could not accompany him. Husband and wife parted thus, not knowing when they would meet again.

Though Jia Fu was worried and depressed, she did not show it before Ci’er. When he asked why they couldn’t return with his father, she only explained that because of the border conflict, his father feared they might be in danger in Suye City, which was why he wanted them to remain in the imperial palace. Once his father finished fighting the war, he would come to get them.

Ci’er nodded obediently at the time, but perhaps he also sensed the unusual atmosphere when his parents parted. Since Pei You’an left, these past two days, he was no longer as lively as when he first arrived, no longer curious about everything around him. Ci’er became quieter, always following Jia Fu, and at night he would grasp her hand while sleeping, as if afraid that when he woke up, he wouldn’t see her.

Early in the morning, Ci’er woke up, dressed, washed, ate, and then sat at the table. He picked up the character book Pei You’an had compiled for him and began to complete the homework his father had left, just as he used to do in the Military Governor’s mansion in Suye City. Jia Fu sat beside him, keeping him company as he practiced writing. Suddenly, Cui Yinshui entered, saying that Imperial Grandfather had called for Ci’er.

These days, due to the sudden outbreak of war in the north, the Emperor had been extremely busy, and Ci’er hadn’t seen his Imperial Grandfather for several days. Hearing this, he turned to look at Jia Fu.

Cui Yinshui quickly explained: “His Majesty reviewed the Ministry of Revenue’s budget last night, staying up all night. This morning he still couldn’t sleep and wanted the young master to come over to play chess with him. After they finish, he’ll be sent back.”

Jia Fu silently helped her son change clothes, watched him take his chessboard, and be led away by Cui Yinshui. After a moment’s thought, she followed them and said: “Ci’er, no matter what Imperial Grandfather asks you, tell him what’s in your heart, understand?”

Ci’er blinked and nodded.

Jia Fu smiled, kissed her son, and let Cui Yinshui take him away.

The Emperor took Ci’er onto the couch, sat opposite him, and watched Ci’er set up the chess pieces. “Has Ci’er missed Imperial Grandfather these days?” he asked.

Ci’er nodded.

The Emperor reached out and lovingly stroked the child’s little head, his eyes showing delight. “What has Ci’er been doing these days?”

“Imperial Grandfather, yesterday I shot arrows, and this morning I was reading.”

The Emperor nodded with a smile. “Very good. If Ci’er gets tired, he should rest. You’re still young; when you’re older, Imperial Grandfather will find a good teacher for you.”

Ci’er shook his head. “Father has gone to fight bad people. When Father returns, he can teach me.”

The Emperor was slightly taken aback. After a moment, he looked around. “Ci’er, do you like Imperial Grandfather’s place?”

“Yes.” Ci’er nodded.

“That day when Imperial Grandfather took you up to the Meridian Gate tower, did you enjoy it?”

“Yes.” Ci’er nodded again.

“If Imperial Grandfather asked you to live here from now on, to go up on the tower again, but with one condition—in front of others, you couldn’t call your father ‘Father’ or your mother ‘Mother,’ would you be willing?”

Ci’er, who had been arranging chess pieces, stopped and looked up, confused. “Why can’t Ci’er call Father and Mother?”

“Your father and mother would still be yours, you just couldn’t call them that in front of others.”

Ci’er shook his head. “I don’t want that. I want to call Father and Mother! Wherever Father and Mother are, that’s where I want to be.”

The Emperor was silent for a moment, then asked, “Ci’er, were those words just now taught to you by your parents?”

Ci’er shook his head again. “I thought of them myself. Just now, my mother said that if Imperial Grandfather asks me something, I should tell Imperial Grandfather what I think.”

“Imperial Grandfather, are you unhappy?” He looked at his grandfather with some concern.

The Emperor smiled slightly. “Imperial Grandfather is happy.”

Ci’er held a chess piece, tilting his head slightly, staring at the Emperor across from him.

The Emperor raised his sword-like eyebrows, which were extremely similar to Pei You’an’s. “Why is Ci’er looking at Imperial Grandfather like that?”

“Imperial Grandfather, are you a bad person?” Ci’er asked softly.

The Emperor was startled. After thinking for a moment, he smiled and said, “Why does Ci’er ask such a question?”

“My father is a good person. Ci’er secretly overheard my parents talking, and Father seems not to like Imperial Grandfather…”

The Emperor looked at those pure eyes gazing at him and burst into laughter, embracing his grandson across the small table.

“Tell me, Ci’er, do you like Imperial Grandfather?”

“Ci’er likes Imperial Grandfather, but Father doesn’t like…”

The Emperor looked at the troubled expression on the child’s face in his arms, holding him closer. Lost in thought for a moment, he said, “Imperial Grandfather has wronged many people in his lifetime and is not a good person. But Imperial Grandfather will try to be a good emperor. Will Ci’er always like Imperial Grandfather?”

“Yes!” Ci’er nodded, his expression solemn.

The Emperor smiled and reached out to pat his little head.