Sparse stars and a pale moon, with wisps of broken clouds drifting by.

Ji Weiqiu's eyes dimmed. He seemed to have misunderstood many things. So that was what Ji Su meant? Could it be that he himself had been the suspicious one all along...?

This was simply too absurd. How could he not know he was a suspicious person?

He looked at Ji Su as if he were meeting him for the first time. Ji Su's earlier words, 'I was wrong,' still echoed in his ears. He still felt it was an illusion, deeply suspecting that he was dreaming at night of what he thought about by day. Otherwise, how could he have heard Ji Su apologize?

This was too absurd. The noble does not yield to the humble, so what made Ji Su lower his head?

The little finger of Ji Su's right hand resting on his knee twitched. The next moment, he followed his heart and patted Ji Weiqiu's head, touching and parting in an instant. "It's not important."

"...Not important?" Ji Weiqiu moved his lips. He wanted to say a lot, but in the end, he could only repeat those three words feebly.

If this wasn't important, then what was?

Ji Weiqiu tried his best to tell himself that the bigger picture was what mattered. What he thought, what brotherly affection, was truly not important.

But was it really not important?!

Ji Su nodded. "Yongyan Prefecture, Ji Weiyun, have you heard of them?"

He only said three names, and Ji Weiqiu understood what he was about to say—the False King.

Calling that traitor 'False King' was giving him too much credit; Ji Weiqiu only called him that because he knew the original novel. After all, his name was not on the imperial genealogy, the Late Emperor had not left a single word about him, and there was no record in the historical annals. Let alone claiming to be the Late Emperor's illegitimate son, even if he claimed to be Emperor Taizu's illegitimate son, it would be useless. This era didn't support DNA testing, and as for verifying kinship with a drop of blood, that was a complete joke.

Ji Weiqiu even thought of a dark joke: if the False King really rushed into the imperial court demanding a blood test, Ji Su was the emperor, whose imperial body could not be harmed, so it would be his, the Prince of Rui's, turn. Then, even if the False King was the Late Emperor's biological son, the test would surely prove otherwise.

Ji Weiqiu said, "I know a little."

In the original novel, Ji Su kept the False King around as bait. The Prince of Rui was the bait used to lure the False King, and the False King was the bait kept to lure out treacherous ministers.

"Since you resent me for trapping you in a dilemma, I will make it clear to you today." Ji Su crossed his legs and rested one hand on his knee. "What happens with Ji Weiyun is not important. He is merely something propped up by the great families. Today it could be Ji Weiyun, tomorrow it could be Ji Weiyu... Do you think he, with his abilities, could place an imperial robe and jade seal in your manor?"

Ji Weiqiu paused. He had found the matter so outrageous that he had thought Ji Su was secretly orchestrating it. Otherwise, how could it have been done? It was completely unreasonable.

"During the Late Emperor's reign, he was solely focused on cultivation, aspiring for eternal life, and abandoned the people of the world. This led to chaos under heaven, the people's livelihood withered, and each prefecture governed itself... which also fed their ambitions." A hint of ridicule appeared between Ji Su's brows, clearly showing his extreme disgust for the Late Emperor. "You know a bit about what happened after that."

Ji Weiqiu subconsciously nodded. He knew. In fact, when Ji Su first ascended the throne, it was far from as peaceful as it was now. The Late Emperor's antics had nearly exhausted the nation's strength. When Ji Su took the throne, the national treasury was empty, the roads were lined with the starving, and rebel armies were rising up everywhere. It would not be an exaggeration to say the people were plunged into misery. The Ji Su of that time did not have such gentle methods as he did now, but he gradually became milder after ascending the throne.

Because the people and the nation of Nanzhu at that time could not withstand another war. Ji Su needed to rejuvenate the entire country as quickly as possible, so he needed people, money, and connections... Most of which were in the hands of the great families.

"A man's heart is never satisfied, just as a snake tries to swallow an elephant." Ji Su said, "If they only sought fame and fortune, it's not that I couldn't tolerate it."

Ji Weiqiu felt as if he had been enlightened. Things he couldn't figure out before, he suddenly understood! What did 'if they only sought fame and fortune, it's not that I couldn't tolerate it' mean? Ji Su was not the type to discard someone after they had outlived their usefulness. He certainly understood that people chase after fame and fortune, and he was willing to show some grace to these great families who had helped him ascend the throne... The great families sought more than just fame and fortune, what else did they want?

He paused and asked uncertainly, "...The king and the horse, ruling the world together?"

Ji Su gave him an appreciative look. A chill ran through Ji Weiqiu. Now, with the Six Ministries complete and the Grand Secretariat established, it was very difficult for the great families to overreach. They had no troops in their hands, yet they wanted to rule the world with Ji Su? They were dreaming! This wasn't ten years ago! If they had done this ten years ago... no, that's what they planned to do ten years ago!

They just didn't succeed!

...The Tujue to the west.

This thought suddenly flashed through Ji Weiqiu's mind. He turned his head to look at Ji Su. "...The Tujue?"

Ji Su nodded. Ji Weiqiu said in horror, "Are they insane?!"

The great families hadn't managed to best Ji Su in these ten years, so they planned to reshuffle the cards, even at the cost of letting the wolf into the house?! Were they insane?! They would rather see Nanzhu torn to pieces just for power?!

Ji Su said calmly, "A man's heart is never satisfied, just as a snake tries to swallow an elephant."

"You've had no interest in politics since you were young, so I didn't intend for you to know. I just wanted you to be an idle Prince." Ji Weiqiu leaned back in his chair, listening woodenly. He thought he was just bait for the False King, but he didn't expect he was also bait for the great families? ...Since Ji Su knew there were spies among the Qingxuan Guard, and knew they all had sharp eyes and ears, then was the scene in the carriage intentionally put on for others to see?

So, Ji Su thought he would, as he had countless times before, take the offered way out, bow his head, admit his mistake, and continue being his idle Prince. He hadn't expected him to stubbornly back himself into a corner and refute him to his face. So now, for the sake of brotherly affection, he was telling him all this? To prevent him from seeking death?

Ji Weiqiu said, "...Why didn't you tell me before?"

Ji Su's brow twitched slightly. He only said, "It's not too late to say it now."

Ji Weiqiu was silent for a long time before saying, "I was wrong."

A hand rested on Ji Weiqiu's shoulder. Ji Weiqiu looked up to see that Ji Su was already standing in front of him. Ji Su looked down at him. "I never thought... you would be this heartbroken."

He frowned slightly. "...Your elder brother was wrong."

"..." Ji Weiqiu gazed at him for a moment, then suddenly shook his head and smiled. "Forget it. Could I really stay angry with my Imperial Elder Brother?... Whatever Imperial Elder Brother wants me to do, just say it plainly. You know... there was never a time I didn't listen to you."

Ji Su squeezed Ji Weiqiu's shoulder. "I know."

Ji Weiqiu sighed and stood up. "Then I will take my leave first."

Ji Su nodded. Ji Weiqiu bowed and turned to leave. He pushed open the doors of Qingning Hall, and the bright moonlight suddenly spilled in. He squinted his eyes and abruptly looked back. "Brother, I have a question. Can you answer me honestly?"

Ji Su stood with his hands behind his back, looking at him steadily.

The world seemed to be divided into two by the moonlight. Ji Weiqiu stood in the moonlight, gazing at Ji Su who was in the shadows, his eyes burning. He asked, "Have you truly never suspected me, not even for a moment?"

"No need to ask," Ji Su said bluntly. "Go back."

Ji Weiqiu stepped out of Qingning Hall and closed the doors behind him.

'No need to ask', that means... he had.

Ji Weiqiu smiled self-deprecatingly. But for Ji Su to say so much to him today showed that suspicion was only a small part; he still considered him a brother. He was also quite capable, to be able to force Ji Su to lower his head and apologize to him.

Palace servants came like the wings of wild geese, bowing to him silently, passing by with lowered eyes and gazes, filling the cold palace with a human presence.

...Forget it. He could consider it as owing him.

He knew it. How could there be a job in this world where one could just enjoy life without producing anything? He had taken the position of the Prince of Rui, enjoying the Mother Empress's affection for more than ten years; it was time to pay it back. After all, he didn't have the guts to run to the grand court assembly or before the Mother Empress and say he was actually a fake Prince of Rui, that he had actually transmigrated, and that the real Prince of Rui had died at birth, right?

......

What Ji Weiqiu didn't expect was that a month later, he would actually be standing in the grand court assembly. This morning, before the sky was even light, Eunuch Qingxi had come, saying the 'Prince of Rui' had returned to the capital. He had thought he was going to the docks to switch places with the person, and had changed his clothes with his eyes closed. Before he had taken more than a few steps, he had already been led to Taihe Hall.

At this moment, most of the officials had already arrived. As soon as Ji Weiqiu entered the hall, he drew everyone's sideways glances. "Prince? This subordinate and others pay our respects to the Prince!"

Ji Weiqiu nodded in response. Eunuch Qingxi, with a respectful smile, also nodded to those officials. How would those officials dare to accept it? They all returned the gesture, only to see that Eunuch Qingxi was already leading Ji Weiqiu forward.

They walked all the way to the innermost part of Taihe Hall before reaching Ji Weiqiu's position. He was a bit numb, but it wasn't as if he had never attended a grand court assembly—although he had only attended twice. Still, he had been here before, so he wasn't so flustered that he had no idea what to do.

After all, what else was there to do? Just stand there. In a while, when his name was called, he would go up, say a few words about the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan, then say the journey was smooth, praise Ji Su's sagacity and the people's peaceful and prosperous lives, then praise Ji Su's filial piety in praying for the Empress Dowager's blessings, and then Ji Su would reward him with a bunch of things. After that, he would start playing wooden man and stand there for two damn hours...

He persuaded himself, 'Look at it from another angle. Although I have to stand for two hours, this is like collecting rewards after finishing a dungeon raid. The grand court assembly is my MVP results screen! Piles of money! Who doesn't like that?! I can do this!'

—He! Was! Super! Happy!

Ji Weiqiu thought, grinding his teeth.

"Your Highness," Eunuch Qingxi had someone bring over a table and chair. "There's still some time before the grand court assembly begins. Please rest for a while and have some refreshments."

On the table were a plate of mung bean cakes, a cup of almond pudding, and a small plate of cut fruit.

Ji Weiqiu originally wanted to ask if it would be inappropriate for him to sit while all the civil and military officials of the court were standing, but when he turned to see the sky was just beginning to brighten outside, he immediately plonked himself down.

Seeing him seated, Eunuch Qingxi instructed the palace servants nearby to attend to him carefully before taking his leave.

Ji Weiqiu picked at the almond pudding. He wasn't fully awake and didn't have much of an appetite. As he ate, his eyes almost closed again.

The hall fell silent, as if someone had arrived. Ji Weiqiu thought he had fallen asleep and Ji Su had already come. He opened his eyes and saw Prime Minister Gu standing before him, smiling and bowing. "Prince of Rui."

Ji Weiqiu subconsciously said, "Has Prime Minister Gu eaten?"

The refined Prime Minister Gu said, "Thank you, Your Highness. This subject has already eaten."

Ji Weiqiu nodded. He saw Prime Minister Gu go stand to the side. Soon after, Prime Minister Wang and Prime Minister Liu also arrived. Prime Minister Wang was over sixty, had a goatee, and possessed a majestic and solemn air. Prime Minister Liu had a gaunt face, a handlebar mustache, and a smile on his face, looking quite amiable. Both of them gave him a deep look, clasped their hands in a salute as they passed by him, and after addressing him as 'Prince of Rui', went to stand to the side.

All the officials in Taihe Hall had now arrived and were in their respective places. Only Ji Weiqiu was still sitting at the very front. The three Grand Secretaries, who were also of the super first rank, were standing in the same row. Almost all the civil and military officials of the court were looking at him.

Ji Weiqiu forked a peeled grape and put it in his mouth, thinking with some resignation:

'Let them look if they want.'

'Who asked his brother to be the Emperor and his mother to be the Empress Dowager?'

The author has something to say:

Sorry, I overslept today~ Time for some red envelopes. The first 300 comments will get a small red envelope.

On a more serious note:

1. I've read a lot of comments these past two days. This is also my first time seriously writing about the ancient imperial court, and I'm really not good at setting it up. If I didn't write the gong well and made him seem incompetent, I'm very sorry [you can curse me directly, it's essentially my fault].

2. I never intended to whitewash the gong's character. From the beginning, my descriptions of him, including the highlighted parts in the summary, didn't use any good words. He's not a normal person. Don't see him as a sound individual. He is always pathologically suspicious, and his mood swings are frequent. He just reacts differently depending on the depth of the relationship and the strength of his feelings. The vast majority of characters in this novel exist in a gray area; there are almost no black-and-white characters, including the gong and the shou.

3. I want to emphasize again that if a mini-theater appears in the author's notes, it is generally OOC and not closely related to the main text. It was originally just written for fun on a whim, and I didn't expect it to cause some misunderstandings...