What kinds of things were there?

Large bundles of books.

Several fans.

Several swords.

And some jade pendants and inkstones, some gold, silver and jewels.

“These items were all Yanting’s treasures. The jade pendants and inkstones were bestowed upon Yanting by the Late Crown Prince.”

Tang Jianxi picked up one of the swords and examined it in his hands. “There’s also this sword—he gave it too.”

“Why are these things with you?” Yan Sanhe asked.

“Half a year after the military uprising, someone brought these items up the mountain.”

Tang Jianxi drew in a deep breath. “That person also brought me a message.”

“What was it?”

“Leave a keepsake.”

Leave a keepsake?

Yan Sanhe pondered these four words internally and said: “This shows he knew he was walking a path of no return.”

“He was forced onto a path of no return.”

Tang Jianxi retrieved a bamboo mat from the miscellaneous items and spread it on the ground. “The place is simple. We’ll just sit on the floor.”

Yan Sanhe sat cross-legged. “You just said ‘forced,’ which shows you’re very clear in your heart that the witchcraft curse case was deliberately orchestrated by someone.”

Tang Jianxi: “If I said he wasn’t that kind of person, would you believe me, Miss?”

“I believe!”

Tang Jianxi’s eyes burned like fire. “He truly wasn’t…”

The Late Crown Prince’s surname was Zhao, given name Lin, courtesy name Rongyu.

Rongyu was a courtesy name bestowed by the teacher, describing a leisurely and carefree manner. On a deeper level, the teacher meant that as heir apparent, one must be tolerant of people and even more tolerant in forbearance.

His first meeting with the Late Crown Prince was at the teacher’s forty-eighth birthday celebration.

Before this, he’d occasionally heard about him from the teacher.

At that first meeting, on stage they performed “Palace of Eternal Life,” while below stage the Late Crown Prince and Junior Sister had undercurrents flowing—one subtly expressing love, the other subtly refusing.

He watched from the side, dumbstruck.

That night, when the play ended, the banquet began.

The Crown Prince’s status was precious. The teacher invited him into the study and ordered him and Zhu Yanting to keep him company.

“This was my first time truly dining at the same table as nobility. Outside the door, voices clamored. Inside the door was quiet. He sat there in ordinary scholar’s attire, eyes downcast, seeming somewhat melancholy.”

Tang Jianxi: “Yanting and I didn’t know where to put our hands and feet. The teacher was delayed by matters outside and didn’t come for a long time.”

The Crown Prince was hungry. He poured himself a cup of wine and began eating.

After a few bites, he raised his head to look at them and smiled. “Do you plan to just keep watching me like this?”

Zhu Yanting: “Your Highness…”

“Better to address me as senior brother.”

He put down his chopsticks. “There are no outsiders here. You all relax, and I’ll relax too.”

Zhu Yanting quickly said: “Senior Brother, I’ll pour wine for you.”

“Let him pour.”

He glanced at Tang Jianxi. “According to our sect’s old rules, the last one to enter has to make beds and fold quilts for us all.”

Tang Jianxi had such great courage and pride back then. He huffed: “I haven’t even made beds or folded quilts for my teacher.”

The implication: What are you two senior brothers?

After speaking, Tang Jianxi saw Zhu Yanting’s expression change. Only then did he realize his words hadn’t gone through his brain.

Who knew, he showed no anger at all. He raised his hand and picked up the wine pot, pouring half a cup each for Tang Jianxi and Zhu Yanting.

“Our sect still has another rule. When senior brothers first meet junior brothers, they must pour wine for them.”

Hearing this, Tang Jianxi took it seriously and quickly downed the wine in one gulp, then pushed the cup forward. “Is it just once, or can it be many times?”

He suddenly smiled and asked Zhu Yanting: “How did this fellow enter our sect?”

Zhu Yanting quickly said: “Senior Brother, Jianxi is good in every way, he just has no eye for situations. He speaks and acts like a child. Please don’t hold it against him.”

“The natural state cannot become human; to become human is to lose the natural state.”

He raised his hand and poured another cup for Tang Jianxi, pausing slightly. “Little junior brother, grow up slowly.”

Tang Jianxi suddenly froze.

From childhood until now, through all his mischief and idleness, his parents had beaten and scolded him. When they had no other recourse, they’d poke his forehead and curse:

“When will you finally grow up?”

Sometimes when he’d angered Zhu Yanting to extremes, Yanting would stamp his feet and sigh: When will you ever become sensible?

Yet he told him to grow up slowly?

Tang Jianxi looked at Yan Sanhe and sighed. “I mentioned this to you before—the teacher introduced us to him partly for our futures, partly hoping we could be capable assistants by his side.”

“Yet he said such words…”

Yan Sanhe frowned deeply. “This shows that when he was young, life was good, and he missed those times greatly. This is the first point. Second, as heir apparent, his emotions were too outwardly expressed. It’s also possible he considered you his own people.”

Tang Jianxi, though he’d already witnessed Yan Sanhe’s abilities, was still shocked by these few sentences.

Her analysis was perfectly accurate.

But at the time he’d thought nothing of it, only feeling this precious heir apparent senior brother was quite understanding.

Thinking back to the scene at the theater, after Junior Sister gently refused him, he’d only smiled faintly, not putting on airs as heir apparent, even giving Junior Sister a way to save face…

Tang Jianxi suddenly felt the Crown Prince was quite approachable.

Just then, the teacher entered.

He and Zhu Yanting quickly rose to greet him.

The Crown Prince followed suit, helping the teacher sit down before sitting himself.

The teacher smiled. “You and I are sovereign and subject. Why such formality?”

The Crown Prince shook his head. “Today is a family banquet. There are no sovereigns and subjects, only teacher and student, senior and junior brothers.”

Hearing this, Zhu Yanting’s eyes filled with little stars.

Seeing this, Tang Jianxi’s contrary bone emerged again. He thought inwardly that Senior Brother Yanting was too easily fooled—more childlike than him.

The four—teacher and students—drank some wine and ate some food.

The teacher put down his chopsticks and began chatting with the Crown Prince about state affairs.

At that time, the Crown Prince already stood quite firmly at court. He was the Empress’s own son and the legitimate eldest son, established as Crown Prince very early.

His Majesty also trusted him, delegating many court matters to him.

The teacher advised him to go out and travel more, to listen to the people’s circumstances and sentiments, not to be confined within the palace walls, only reading memorials and only hearing officials’ flattery.

The teacher also instructed the Crown Prince that in dealing with His Majesty, he must first fulfill a son’s filial duty, then fulfill a subject’s duty.

“Your teacher taught this wrongly.”

Yan Sanhe suddenly interrupted. “The saying goes: let the sovereign be sovereign and the subject be subject, let the father be father and the son be son. First they are sovereign and subject, only then are they father and son. The priorities are reversed.”

Tang Jianxi looked at Yan Sanhe, not knowing what to say.

At the time, he and Zhu Yanting both felt the teacher’s words were absolutely right. Neither had thought of the old saying that the imperial family has no fathers and sons.

“Who selected Tang Qiling as the Crown Prince’s teacher?”

“It’s said His Majesty personally selected him for the Crown Prince.”

Tang Jianxi: “His Majesty wasn’t well-read and hoped the Crown Prince could be learned in past and present. My teacher happened to be full of scholarly knowledge, which led to this teacher-student relationship.”

Yan Sanhe: “What was the Crown Prince’s temperament like? Who did he resemble?”

Tang Jianxi: “He resembled the Empress more.”

Yan Sanhe frowned. “It seems the Empress was indeed a benevolent person.”

“The Empress was indeed benevolent. It seems she also had some kindness toward our Zhu family.”

Zhu Yuanzhao’s sudden statement made Yan Sanhe ask in return.

“What kindness?”

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