Just as the young man was about to forcefully throw the jade seal into the sea tide, a voice suddenly sounded behind him: “After three years apart, how are you, Young Emperor? Wang Jin kowtows to the Young Emperor.”
The young man’s hand paused, and he slowly turned around.
A figure emerged from the dim night, with a hooked nose and long face, wearing plain blue clothes and a small cap—the most ordinary attire. Though his words spoke of kowtowing, he merely gave a slight bow, his expression a half-smile, his eyes flashing coldly in the moonlight with the gleam of a venomous snake, appearing all the more intimidating in the darkness.
The young man’s expression changed slightly, and as his shoulders moved, the man spoke again: “Young Emperor, if you dare to jump into the sea or smash what you’re holding, that little girl from the Zhen family will suffer a fate far worse than the Jin family’s people. You should know my methods.”
His tone was so sinister it sent chills down one’s spine.
The young man froze.
Wang Jin had always been gloomy and reserved, but at this moment, looking at the motionless silhouette of the young man before him, he still couldn’t suppress the wild joy surging from the bottom of his heart, making his gaze flash even more brightly.
“If the Young Emperor obediently comes with me now, I promise not to mistreat you, and I swear to heaven that I won’t harm a hair on the Zhen family’s heads. If I break this oath, may heaven and earth destroy me! The Zhen family has rendered great service this time and should be rewarded by His Majesty. If not for the Zhen family’s little girl, you, Young Emperor, might already be dead.”
If this young man, the former Young Emperor Xiao Yu, had been thrown into the sea by the Jin family and become fish food, the current emperor would indeed be rid of a thorn in his side. But how then could this Imperial Jade Seal, which Emperor Tianxi had longed for, ever see the light of day again?
Who could have imagined that it had been hidden by Xiao Yu in such a place?
Xiao Yu slowly turned around to face Wang Jin.
“Young Emperor, you probably never imagined that all this was a trap set by me, Wang Jin?”
This scheme truly satisfied him, and he couldn’t help but reveal a hint of pride in his eyes.
“Young Emperor, you are clever. After you luckily escaped back then, you hid in a place like Quanzhou. The south is already far from the emperor’s reach, and Quanzhou is even more chaotic with all sorts of people. Finding someone deliberately hiding would indeed be like finding a needle in the sea. But you still underestimated me. During these years, to find you, I sent countless people disguised as sailors and laborers to search all possible places in the south where you might be hiding. Heaven rewarded my efforts, and finally last month, I learned that someone had seen a mute boy resembling you in the Jin family’s shipyard in Quanzhou. So I rushed here personally and, without much effort, discovered that you had been taken in by the Zhen family when you were near death. I could have taken you away earlier, but at that time, I wasn’t certain you were the Young Emperor. After all, your appearance has changed somewhat over these years, and you played the fool so convincingly that you almost deceived even me. Moreover, I knew that if you were indeed the Young Emperor, and I took you away like that, I would have you, but this imperial seal…”
He glanced at the object in the young man’s hand, involuntarily swallowing—as if seeing glory and wealth beckoning to him ahead.
“…would probably be difficult to extract from you easily. So I set a trap, deliberately spreading news about searching for unregistered youths, and then making an example of the Jin family. Sure enough, you were alarmed and quietly left. Before leaving, you naturally wouldn’t forget your precious seal.”
“Young Emperor, you are clever, but still a bit inexperienced. That’s not your fault…”
He stared intently at the object glowing faintly in the moonlight, walking step by step toward the young man, extending his hand, coaxing: “Young Emperor, give it to me! His Majesty is, after all, your uncle. If you come back with me, you’ll simply not be emperor anymore. These past years, hiding in filth, you must have suffered greatly and surely understand that many people in this world are more unfortunate than you. If you return, you can be a peaceful prince, living out the rest of your life instability. What’s wrong with that?”
Xiao Yu was silent for a moment, then let out a scornful laugh: “How difficult it must have been for my Second Imperial Uncle. Though he became emperor, during the grand ceremonies of Heaven worship these past years, he must have felt lacking of legitimacy. Well, my life was already taken by Heaven months ago. Since he has taken the throne, why should I cling to this object? If he wants it, let him have it!”
He threw the jade seal toward Wang Jin. The precious seal traced an arc through the air. Wang Jin, overjoyed, leaped to catch it and put it in his shoulder bag, then said: “Young Emperor, come with me now. I promise, as long as you don’t run away, I won’t mistreat you.”
Xiao Yu gave a cold smile. With a twist of his wrist, a dagger appeared in his hand. Under the moonlight, the blade flashed with an icy gleam.
Wang Jin was startled. Xiao Yu’s expression instantly turned proud and cold: “Rather than be stabbed by others, I would stab myself! After my death, you can take my head back, and my Second Imperial Uncle will surely be reassured. The Zhen family in Quanzhou has no connection to me whatsoever. The sun and moon are witnesses, as are the gods of heaven and earth. If you break your oath after my death, you will not come to a good end!”
He had once been the Son of Heaven, ruling over the four seas. Now fallen into the dust, he lived among the lowly every day. But at this moment, his eyes were so bright that Wang Jin felt intimidated and couldn’t look directly at him, slowly lowering his head.
Xiao Yu turned around, facing the infinite black expanse of sky to the far north, his expression solemn, performing the ritual of three kowtows and nine prostrations, then rising to stand perfectly straight.
In the moonlight, the young man’s face was elegant and solitary, his expression resolute.
He closed his eyes, tilting his head toward the starry sky. With a flash of cold light, the dagger swung toward his throat. Just as blood was about to splatter, a voice came with the wind: “Not ashamed before heaven, not embarrassed before men. Wang Jin, now you are a fourth-rank Zhenfu, a favorite in the Imperial Brocade Guard, but if I recall correctly, you ranked thirty-sixth in the Dinghai military examination in the tenth year of Tianxi. Only thirty-five candidates were selected that year, so you originally failed. The Late Emperor heard of your filial reputation, and unwilling to leave your elderly mother alone in the countryside, you brought her to the capital for the examination. Your travel expenses were exhausted, and mother and son spent days living under a bridge. In the marketplace, you begged for a cold roast, and despite your hunger, rushed back to offer it to your mother first. The Late Emperor was moved by your filial conduct and made an exception to include your name at the end of the list, thus beginning your official career. The Late Emperor showed you both the kindness of a sovereign and later that of a teacher. Times have changed, and now the Prince of Shun’an is emperor. Your forgetting the Late Emperor’s kindness is understandable, but for your glory, you force his flesh and blood like this!”
“Wang Jin, do you not fear heaven? Are you not ashamed before men?”
All around was pitch black, the sea tide roared turbulently, and the night wind blew fiercely. This voice, word by word, reached their ears with the wind. Both Xiao Yu and Wang Jin were shocked.
Xiao Yu opened his eyes and turned toward the voice. He saw that somehow, at some point, a man had appeared several zhang away on the embankment. The man was dressed entirely in night clothes, and if not looked at carefully, his silhouette almost merged with the darkness.
“Who are you?”
Wang Jin drew his sword and shouted harshly.
The man ignored him, walking with large strides toward Xiao Yu, finally stopping in front of him, shielding him behind himself.
He turned his face toward Xiao Yu, who was staring at him wide-eyed, and said: “After many years apart, does Your Majesty still remember me? When I left the capital, you were still the Crown Prince, just six or seven years old, if I recall. The last text I taught you was Zuozhuan’s account of Wang Sunman addressing the Prince of Chu. I remember at that time, you hadn’t yet had a chance to submit your reading notes.”
His voice was gentle, his tone measured, and the moonlight revealed the handsome face of a young man.
Xiao Yu’s eyes widened suddenly, and he exclaimed: “Lesser Tutor! You are Lesser Tutor Pei!”
The man smiled slightly and nodded: “Indeed. Pei You’an is late, and I have let Your Majesty suffer.”
In that instant, the young man’s eyes burst with boundless excitement and radiance.
He had been made Crown Prince at three years old and began his studies at four. After his initial education, his father, Emperor Tianxi, had selected several teachers for him. Among them, his favorite was Pei You’an, who was only fourteen years old at the time.
“Lesser Tutor, where have you been all these years… I had written those notes and was waiting for you to check them, but you never came… Later, when I ascended the throne, I searched everywhere for you but never received any news. I thought you had already…”
He ran toward Pei You’an, his voice slightly choked with emotion.
Pei You’an gently patted him to comfort him.
“Pei You’an? Pei You’an! Is it you? How are you here?”
Wang Jin finally recognized him, his eyes fixed intently, exclaiming with astonishment: “You have such audacity! The current emperor has reigned for three years, the empire is peaceful, and the court is unified. Do you intend to openly defy orders? The wise adapt to circumstances. If you serve His Majesty, with your talents, His Majesty will surely value you. If you persist in your delusion, aren’t you afraid that when I return and report to His Majesty, your Pei family will be implicated?”
Pei You’an said: “Do you think I will let you leave alive tonight?”
His voice remained calm, but the coldness in his tone was unmistakable.
Wang Jin was startled, looked him over, and then sneered: “Pei You’an, you’re far too arrogant. I know that as a child, to strengthen your body, you studied under a sword master and even went to the battlefield with the Duke of Wei, but just with your skills, wanting to kill me is probably still a dream.”
Pei You’an smiled slightly, looking at him: “Who said I have to kill with my own hands?”
Wang Jin’s face changed slightly as he looked around, then gave a sharp whistle.
After the whistle, there was no movement around them; only the sound of waves and wind could be heard.
“Don’t bother looking. Your men are all dead,” said Pei You’an.
Wang Jin gritted his teeth, drew his sword, and moved swiftly toward Pei You’an, his movements as fierce as an eagle. In an instant, he was close, only a few steps away, when suddenly another figure rapidly approached, laughing loudly in the wind: “The Young Master is right! Wang Jin, those claws you brought have all been eliminated by my brothers!”
This man was of imposing stature, with a resonant voice that sounded like that of a middle-aged man. His face was covered with a mask that gleamed with a coppery sheen in the moonlight, revealing only his eyes, and giving him a strange appearance. In a flash, he was upon them.
Wang Jin was surprised again: “Golden-Faced Dragon King?”
The Golden-Faced Dragon King was a famous pirate leader who had rapidly risen to prominence in the South Seas in recent years, gathering followers and occupying islands, wielding great power at sea. Unlike pirates who robbed and killed indiscriminately, earning the hatred and fear of seafarers, the Golden-Faced Dragon King only collected protection fees from merchant ships passing through the sea routes he controlled. Once under his protection, he ensured the ships’ safety. Rather than risk taking detours and facing the danger of being robbed and killed by other pirates, ship owners were willing to pay his protection fees for safe passage. The authorities could do nothing about him. Because he never showed his true face, always wearing a brass mask, seafarers called him the Golden-Faced Dragon King.
The man laughed: “So you know of me? To kill someone like you, why should the Young Master dirty his hands? Let me handle it.”
Wang Jin clenched his teeth, drew his sword, and charged. After a brief fight, a scream was heard as the hand holding the sword was severed, the severed hand and sword flying away together.
Wang Jin fell to the ground in agony, clutching his bleeding stump, his eyes wide open, staring at Pei You’an with deep resentment and hatred.
Pei You’an crouched in front of him, took out the jade seal from the shoulder bag, wiped off the blood stains, held it in his palm, and examined it in the moonlight for a moment. Then he stood up and said to the Golden-Faced Dragon King: “Uncle Dong, give him a quick end.”