Xiao Yu looked at the smiling person.

Previously, elder sister hadn’t told him that Xie Yanlai was still alive.

When he learned Xie Yanlai had died, he had felt quite regretful at the time.

Now seeing him alive, his heart felt no particular joy.

“Good, thank you, Uncle,” he said, then lowered his gaze. “Uncle has worked hard.”

Xie Yanlai said, “No need to thank me. This kind of good work—everyone wants to do it.”

Xiao Yu said, “But Uncle, you don’t want to.” He gripped his chopsticks tightly and raised his head. “I know you’re being threatened by Xie Yanfang. You originally could have left together with elder sister—”

“Your Majesty, you’re overthinking,” Xie Yanlai interrupted him, then shook his head with a few tsk-tsk sounds. “Speaking of your Third Uncle like this—your Third Uncle would be heartbroken. All this is for your realm.”

Xiao Yu stood up. “He’s not doing it for me. He’s only doing it for the realm. Now that he can’t move, he’s forcing you to do things for him.” His eyes reddened. “Uncle, I never thought he would harm elder sister—”

“Your Majesty,” Xie Yanlai interrupted him, pointing at the desk. “I came here to eat, not to discuss such appetite-spoiling topics.”

Xiao Yu’s eyes dimmed. He sat down. “Yes, I understand. I won’t speak of it again in the future.”

Xie Yanlai finished the food in his bowl in a few bites, then looked at the young teenager with reddened eyes, looking so wronged and pitiful.

“There are many things in this world you can’t imagine,” he said. “For instance, some people—once they’re gone, don’t think about making them come back.”

He stood up and reached out to lightly tap Xiao Yu’s shoulder.

“You just be a good emperor, safe and steady. Don’t think about trying to sow discord between me and Xie Yanfang. Even if Xie Yanfang dies, Chu Zhao won’t come back.”

“Empress Chu has already been condemned. You will never have this Empress again.”

Hearing this, Xiao Yu, whose eyes had been reddening, now had a layer of moisture coating his eyes.

Xie Yanlai paid no attention to whether the Emperor was about to cry and continued, “I’m staying here for the sake of this realm, but not for Xie Yanfang, nor am I being threatened by him.”

He withdrew his hand and stood up straight, looking down at Xiao Yu from above.

“This realm is actually not yours either.”

“You have this realm because of your bloodline, but that this realm is what it is today—that is her life’s work.”

“I cannot allow you people to trample on her life’s work.”

With that, he donned the mask from the desk and strode away.

The hall returned to quiet. The palace maids and attendants who had withdrawn silently re-entered.

Xiao Yu sat at the desk. The moisture in his eyes receded, his expression returning to wooden blankness. “More rice,” he said.

The palace maids hurried forward to add more rice for him.

Xiao Yu quietly ate another bowl of rice, then stood and walked outside.

“Is Your Majesty going to the study?” an attendant hastily asked respectfully.

Xiao Yu said, “I just finished eating. I won’t go look at memorials.”

One needed energy to be diligent in government.

When one had no spirit, it was better to rest properly.

This was a habit elder sister had taught him.

Xiao Yu’s voice paused.

“To the imperial garden,” he said. “You will play cuju for me to watch.”

The attendants happily responded in agreement.

The atmosphere in the palace recently had truly been suffocating. Fortunately, His Majesty was still the same as before.

The attendants called to their friends, bustling and lively as they clustered around the Emperor heading to the imperial garden.

Xiao Yu played in the imperial garden for half a day, watching the attendants play cuju. He himself went down to kick around for a while, then returned to the study and carefully read through the memorials Xie Yanlai had sent over, continuing until the lamps were lit.

“Your Majesty, please rest a moment.”

“Your Majesty, would you like sweet soup?”

“Your Majesty, would you like to play chess?”

The attendants and palace maids served him with lively attention. Xiao Yu ate a late-night snack, played a game of chess with two attendants, and then it was time to rest. He washed up and went to bed. The lights in the sleeping quarters were extinguished one by one.

Just as before.

…

…

Xiao Yu lay on the bed, clutching the bamboo tube tightly.

This bamboo tube—elder sister Chu had always kept it for him, but later he rarely used it.

He had been sleeping alone for a long time now.

Although he slept alone, he knew elder sister Chu was in the next room, just a few running steps away where he could find her.

Even when elder sister Chu was away on campaign, he knew—elder sister would come back.

But now it was different. She would never come back again.

Xiao Yu sat up, threw back the covers, jumped down from the bed, and ran out barefoot.

“Your Majesty—”

The night in the sleeping quarters was thrown into chaos.

…

…

Eunuch Qi wasn’t on duty at night, but at his advanced age, he couldn’t sleep well anyway, especially recently with all the upheaval.

This affair was unexpected, yet also not unexpected.

The imperial city was like this—one moment people were talking and laughing freely, the next moment they would be slaughtering each other.

Where there were victors, there were defeated.

There was no fairness to speak of. It depended on fate, on whose fate was harder.

That girl’s fate was very hard, but not hard enough for a place like the imperial city.

However, he wasn’t too saddened. Rather, he felt relieved. Leaving this place was good. The imperial city was no good place.

Staying here too long—people would change.

He didn’t want that girl to change as well.

Eunuch Qi’s thoughts wandered for a while. Finally feeling drowsy, he heard running footsteps outside the door.

Who was running to his place in the middle of the night?

Ever since he stopped hovering around the Emperor, even his adopted sons and grandsons had all run off.

This thought flashed through Eunuch Qi’s mind. He got up to look, but the door had already been pushed open. A figure, wrapped in the night wind of early autumn, rushed in and hugged his waist.

“Eunuch Qi.”

Looking at Xiao Yu who had thrown himself into his arms, Eunuch Qi felt somewhat dazed. That night, that child had curled up tightly in his embrace just like this, one small hand clutching his clothes.

Back then, he hadn’t even reached his leg height. Now he already reached his shoulder.

“I thought I could do many things.”

“I could control many people, make them revolve around me, make them do what I wanted them to do.”

“I thought I could reap the benefits without effort.”

“But when harm came knocking, I discovered that I was actually nothing. I couldn’t do anything.”

Xiao Yu raised his head to look at this old eunuch, tears rolling down.

“It turns out my so-called capability could only harm those who didn’t guard against me, who loved me, who trusted me.”

And those who didn’t guard against him, who loved him—turned out to be so few.

When he wanted to cry out his grief and fear without restraint, there was only this old eunuch.

Eunuch Qi looked at the young teenager’s face in his arms, let out a soft sigh, and didn’t push him away. He gently patted his back.

“Your Majesty, you were too eager to become an adult,” he said softly. “And you fundamentally don’t understand what it means to lose.”

Loss wasn’t that night when he watched his parents die.

True loss wasn’t losing the person—it was losing one’s heart.

…

…

In the night, before the Xie residence, lanterns blazed brightly. Servants called out one after another, “The young master has returned.”

Accompanying these calls, many people came hurrying from inside—not just stewards, managers, and servants, but also young masters.

They stood solemnly before the entrance, watching a black carriage arrive surrounded by imperial guards.

The masked man stepped down from the carriage.

“The young master has returned,” everyone called out in disorder, bowing in unison.

Xie Yanlai walked steadily inside without looking aside. More people were still running over from within, clearly having just heard the news, and clearly reluctant.

“What airs is he putting on?” that person muttered curses. “What pretentious posturing—going out, coming back, always requiring people to send him off and welcome him back. Doesn’t know what kind of thing he is—”

Xie Yanlai stopped. “Xie Xiao,” he said.

Xie Xiao’s voice caught. He looked at the man crossing the threshold, still wearing his mask, fierce and menacing under the lamplight.

“The young master has returned,” he said through gritted teeth.

Xie Yanlai said, “You came late. Do you not wish to follow my rules?”

Xie Xiao looked around. Some young masters gave him looks telling him to say less, while others made faces at him, indicating he should also submit.

Submit? Xie Xiao snorted internally. What could this bastard do to him?

“Third Uncle never had such rules before,” he said with a snort.

Having said this, he looked askance at Xie Yanlai. Come on, hit him! Wasn’t he just good at biting like a dog?

But Xie Yanlai didn’t charge over to beat him as he used to. Instead, he said, “He has his rules. I have mine. People are different, so rules are different too.”

Actually explaining to him? Was this putting on the airs of the family head, trying to convince people with reason? Xie Xiao sneered again. “You really think you’re in charge.”

Xie Yanlai said, “Someone come.”

Xie Xiao froze for a moment. Those around also froze. The next moment, servants stepped forward, responding, “What are the young master’s instructions?”

Xie Yanlai pointed at Xie Xiao. “Disrespecting superiors, arrogant and insolent. Break his legs for me.”

Xie Xiao froze again. Those around stirred slightly. Was this real or fake?

But those servants showed no hesitation whatsoever and indeed came forward to seize Xie Xiao. “Young Master Xiao, our apologies.”

Xie Xiao was greatly alarmed. He also saw servants approaching with clubs.

“You’re not really going to do it, are you?” he shouted. “You dare—I—what did I do? I’m a young master! Even my father has never beaten—”

His words were cut short as a miserable scream rang out before the entrance.

The faces of those standing at the entrance were deathly pale in the lamplight, incredulous.

Xie Yanlai—had he gone mad?!

“Also,” Xie Yanlai had already walked forward. Remembering something, he turned back. “Send him back to Dongyang. Tell his father not to let me see this son of his at home again.”

The steward responded solemnly in agreement.

Before the entrance, apart from Xie Xiao’s screams, no one made a sound.

Xie Yanlai strode away. Behind him, countless gazes converged, filled with shock.

…

…

The Xie residence was vast and deep. Xie Xiao’s screams didn’t spread far. Moreover, after crying out a few times, Xie Xiao had fainted.

The courtyard here was quiet as if uninhabited. Under the corridor, lamplight flickered. Someone came walking over.

The door was gently opened by a maid who called out, “Steward Cai.”

“Has the young master awakened?” Steward Cai asked softly.

The maid nodded. “Just now.”

Steward Cai hurried inside. Only one lamp was lit in the room, dim and shadowy. Through the bed curtains, a reclining figure could be seen.

“Young master,” Steward Cai said. “I see that boy is determined to throw the Xie family into chaos.”

A soft laugh came from behind the bed curtains.

“Chaos would be good,” he said. “I very much look forward to him creating a new Xie family.”

…

…