“Heir, have you thought of a way to leave the academy?”

The candlelight illuminated the silhouette of a person in the room—it was Chu Jin's former attendant, Xu Zhan.

He had shed his previous appearance of a frail scholar. Dressed in black with a cold and solemn expression, he revealed his true identity as the Commander of the Hidden Guards behind closed doors. “The Young Master learned of your current situation and has given specific instructions not to act rashly and arouse the Prince of Yanling's suspicion. Wait for an opportunity to make contact with the Prince of Yanling and his court.”

Opposite him was Chu Jin, his face cold and indifferent. Unlike his demeanor at the academy, the usual smile on his lips had vanished completely, replaced by an inhumanity unique to those in power.

“I tried to use the academy's disciplinary rules, but it was no use.” There was a hint of frustration between his brows. “Those minor punishments are not nearly enough to get me expelled from the mountain.”

Xu Zhan asked, “Then what are your plans regarding the Young Master's orders?”

“In a few days, I will make my routine trip to Xiangjing for an audience with Xiao Zhuo. I will stay there for a few days.” Chu Jin’s voice was cold. “That will be enough time for me to probe his thoughts.”

Xu Zhan nodded, then suddenly reached into his robes, pulled something out, and handed it to Chu Jin.

The latter took it, glanced down, and asked, “What is this?”

Xu Zhan said, “This is a secret letter our men intercepted a few days ago. It should have been sent by the spy Xiao Zhuo planted in the academy.”

Hearing this, Chu Jin unfolded the paper in his hand. His expression darkened upon reading its contents.

He sneered, “He really is keeping a close watch on my every move. He remembers the month, the day, and where I went with perfect clarity.”

His fingers brushed over the paper and suddenly felt an uneven spot. There were traces of burning. Chu Jin frowned, “Why is there a scorched gap here?”

“I was just about to explain that to the Heir.” Xu Zhan's expression was grim. “The writing on this paper only appears after being heated over a flame.”

“Fire?”

“That's right. This should be a special material unique to Yanling. It is extremely rare, and very few know of it. It requires numerous raw materials like Serene Nightshine, Xuancao Grass, and Phosphor Ash, and the crafting process is complex, making it exceedingly precious. That's why the Prince of Yanling would use it as stationery.”

Chu Jin gently stroked the rare and valuable paper in his hand and suddenly let out a laugh, though there was no humor in his eyes. “He truly thinks highly of me.”

Xu Zhan said solemnly, “This person knows your movements like the back of his hand. He will certainly hinder us going forward. We must eliminate him as soon as possible.”

“But I don't have any leads right now.” Chu Jin’s expression was indifferent. “The enemy is in the dark while I am in the light. The best way is to wait for him to reveal himself.”

“If we really do catch that person,” Xu Zhan said slowly, “I hope the Heir will not be soft-hearted.”

His words seemed to carry a hidden meaning. Chu Jin’s gaze turned cold as he looked up. “What do you mean?”

“The Young Master is worried that you will develop inappropriate feelings for the people at the academy.”

Xu Zhan met his gaze directly, not backing down.

“Since the spy is so familiar with you, he must be someone you know well. If, when the day comes, you find yourself unable to be ruthless and let him go, it will lead to a great disaster.”

“Lead to a great disaster?”

Chu Jin repeated the words softly, then suddenly smiled.

“You had the Imperial Censor pass a message for me to use an excuse to come down the mountain and meet you, just so I could listen to this nonsense?”

Xu Zhan frowned. “Heir......”

“I know what I’m doing.” Chu Jin cut him off. “You wouldn’t say this without reason, would you? Speak. What have you discovered while spying on me these days?”

His words already held a hint of understanding. He had reclaimed the initiative in just a few sentences and was now merely seeking to confirm his own thoughts. Xu Zhan had no choice but to confess, “This subordinate is only following orders, but I have recently seen the Heir getting rather close to someone from the academy.”

Chu Jin scoffed. “So what if I am?”

“Is that person Fang Hechao's personal disciple, Jiang Zhen?”

At the mention of this name, a corner of the ice in his eyes thawed, and his features softened slightly. “It is.”

Xu Zhan was perplexed. “What's so different about this person? Are you so certain he couldn't be the spy?”

Hearing this, Chu Jin gave him a blank look.

“Commander Xu, I will say this one more time. Do not interfere in my affairs.” His voice was bone-chillingly cold. “Mind your own place. Everything else is none of your business.”

Xu Zhan’s expression stiffened, and he slowly clenched his fists.

Having been in the Royal Family for many years, he was long accustomed to the pressure from those in high positions, and few could make him lower his head. In the past, he had indeed held a particular disdain for this Heir in name only. He had watched him outwardly indulge in wine and women, putting on the act of a dissolute good-for-nothing. Even knowing it was fake, he had gradually been fooled.

But from some unknown point in time, he suddenly realized that the person before him seemed to have slipped from their control. Beneath the facade of obedience was a wild ambition, growing rampantly like thorns.

'Was he pretending? Had he not only deceived the world, but even myself and the Young Master...... had we been deceived too?'

Greatly shaken, years of pride made Xu Zhan subconsciously want to seize the initiative back into his own hands. He pressed on, unwilling to yield, “You've given him your heart, but what if he deceives you? Isn't this something the Heir should understand better than anyone—”

The moment the words left his lips, he was struck with terror and abruptly stopped.

Because he saw that Chu Jin had raised his head and was staring at him. A sliver of icy killing intent was revealed, freezing him to the spot, unable to move.

The feeling made him think for a moment that he had been targeted by a venomous snake.

Xu Zhan suddenly recalled a saying: The Former Crown Prince of Old Qin despises betrayal the most.

He opened his mouth and managed to force out a sentence. “......The Young Master said, please do not forget what happened back then.”

Chu Jin paused.

After a long while, he finally whispered with a hint of a smile, “If even he deceived me......”

“Then in this life, I'm afraid I will never be able to trust anyone again.”

“Brother Sifan, I just don't get it.”

Song Sifan snatched the half-empty wine jar from Qi Yu's hands and said with restraint, “You don't get it? What I don't get is what madness has possessed you to come to my place to drink every single day!”

He had lost count of how many nights he had been woken up by this guy. It had gotten to the point where he couldn't sleep soundly, fearing that the next second he would hear someone pounding on his door loud enough to shake the heavens.

Without the wine jar for support, Qi Yu collapsed to the floor, muttering distractedly, “I don't get it! Jiang Zhen, how could he......”

“How could he have been bewitched by Chu Jin, fallen for Chu Jin's honey trap, and now spends all his days with him, leaving you all alone and desolate.” Song Sifan picked up a book of poetry and continued his sentence without looking up. “My ears are about to grow calluses from hearing you say all this.”

Qi Yu was cut short, his words stolen from him. After a long pause, he managed to squeeze out another sentence, “Truly choosing a lover over a friend!”

“Senior Brother Jiang and Brother Chu have reconciled. Isn't this what you always wanted?” Song Sifan asked, puzzled. “How come you’re the one making a fuss now that it has actually happened?”

Qi Yu said with grief and indignation, “You don't understand, you don't know anything!”

He couldn't very well say that their good Senior Brother was now together with that Former Crown Prince of Old Qin. Even though Shen Mengzhi hadn't told him to keep it a secret, for the sake of his best friend's reputation alone, he couldn't mention a single word of it to anyone else.

Song Sifan sneered. “Fine, I don't understand anything, I don't know anything. In that case, what are you still doing here? Now hurry up and get out with your wine.”

His anger came without warning. Qi Yu sobered up a little, staring at him blankly, his voice filled with confusion. “If I don't look for you, who else can I look for?”

Song Sifan: “......”

Indeed, anyone else would have long since lost their patience and thrown him out after being pestered like this every day. Only he had a good enough temper to tolerate this little ancestor throwing tantrums everywhere.

Song Sifan thought this to himself, completely unaware that his “good temper” was, from beginning to end, reserved for Qi Yu alone.

The little ancestor stared at the ceiling beams, murmuring to himself, “I've never seen Jiang Zhen like this.”

Song Sifan couldn't help but ask, “Have you known him for a long time?”

Qi Yu was silent for a while. “I guess so.”

In the eyes of others, he and Shen Mengzhi had met at the academy. But in reality, the two had met right after they were born.

The Grand Censor and the Grand Marshal of Yanling were the closest of friends, so the Qi Family and the Shen Family had always been on good terms.

When Qi Yu was young, he had accompanied Qi Jue on a visit to the Shen Manor and had chanced upon Shen Mengzhi a few times, leaving a deep impression on him. The Shen Family's second young master, as exquisitely carved as jade, always sat in his own little corner of the world. No matter who he saw or what he heard, his expression remained invariably cold, as if nothing could stir his heart.

But when Qi Yu told Qi Jue about this, his father's expression changed drastically, and he said sternly, “The Shen Family has no second young master! Qi Yu, you remember this, you are not to speak of this matter to anyone.”

Qi Jue had always doted on his only son, granting his every wish, and had never spoken to him so harshly. Qi Yu was scared stiff, nodding his head like a chicken pecking at rice.

......It was only much later that he pieced together from his father's words that the Shen Family did indeed have a second young master. It was just that everyone in the Shen Manor had hidden his existence, all to avoid the eyes of the current king.

Because of this, the second young master, who did not exist in the eyes of the world, had not taken a single step outside the Shen Manor for over a decade.

Just like that, he stared at that low wall, counting away three thousand days and nights in endless solitude.

“I always felt he was used to being alone, as if nothing really mattered to him.” Qi Yu whispered. “But then one day, for someone's sake, he would take the initiative to share his joy with me, and was even willing to break the rules he had adhered to for so many years......”

He must, really, really like this person.

Qi Yu's voice was too soft for Song Sifan to hear clearly. He frowned and asked, “What?”

There was no answer for a long time. When he leaned over to look, Qi Yu had already tilted his head and fallen asleep.

Song Sifan picked up the wine jar beside him and took a slow sip.

After a long while, he let out a soft sigh and patted Qi Yu’s face. “You're asleep, but now I'm wide awake.”

Qi Yu mumbled a couple of incoherent "hmms" in his daze.

Seeing this, he asked again, “Are you coming again tomorrow night?”

Qi Yu hummed in response again.

Song Sifan said, “Then it's a promise.”

Although he seemed annoyed on the surface, he was secretly relieved. In the past, his elder brother had said he was a contradictory person. He hadn't believed it then, but now, it seemed to be true.

Song Sifan's brows furrowed slowly. He couldn't figure out what he was being contradictory about.

The night was deep. One person slept soundly beside him, while another drowned his sorrows in wine. The bright moon offered no answer.

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