Chapter 10

In an instant, every gaze fell upon Ye Shu.

Under the eyes of the crowd, Ye Shu forced himself to stay calm and cleared his throat. "My loyalty to His Majesty is absolute — why do you slander me?"

"Slander or not, an investigation will tell." Mu Jiuqing let out a cold laugh. "Chancellor Ye surely hasn't forgotten his own origins."

The original host's origins — the novel had mentioned them briefly.

The original host's father had been the commander of the three armies, who had once fought on all fronts for the late emperor and achieved remarkable military merit. When the original host was still young, his father secretly colluded with foreign enemies, and that campaign had resulted in devastating casualties for Changlu.

His father had been escorted back to the capital, and the entire household was executed.

The original host's father had had many wives, concubines, and children. The original host had been born to one of the household servants; he was only seven years old when the disaster struck, and had managed to survive only by being smuggled into the palace through a series of hands.

So then — the reason the original host had turned traitor… was to avenge his entire family?

Ye Shu suddenly understood.

The original host's closeness to Jin Wang had almost certainly not been sincere.

From the very beginning, his plan had been to use Jin Wang to set the imperial brothers against one another — first getting rid of the late emperor and the other princes, then using Jin Wang's trust to kill him effortlessly.

Mu Jiuqing was not wrong. The original host had intended to repay blood with blood, using the lives of the Jin clan.

The more Ye Shu analyzed it, the colder his heart grew.

Good god — that meant even the ten years of genuine feeling from the past had been a lie.

How on earth was he supposed to talk his way out of this???

Ye Shu's face had gone pale, and a layer of cold sweat broke out instantly across his back.

Jin Wang only asked mildly: "Are you finished?"

He reached out and laid a hand on Ye Shu's shoulder. The latter flinched by reflex, and was pulled into Jin Wang's arms.

"Once he's done talking, have him executed. Clean it up properly."

With that, Jin Wang put his arm around Ye Shu and stepped back into the carriage.

The curtain fell, shutting out the sounds of dragging and footsteps from outside.

The carriage resumed its slow progress. Ye Shu was pressed into a seat on the couch by Jin Wang, who fell into an unusual silence, his emotions unreadable.

Ye Shu stole cautious glances at him, and asked quietly: "Your— Your Majesty… you don't actually believe what that traitor said, do you?"

"Why shouldn't We believe it?" Jin Wang asked in return. "The Ye clan was wiped out back then. You harbored a grudge, deliberately drew close to and used Us, and plotted revenge — that's entirely plausible."

"But…"

Jin Wang's fingers brushed across his face. Feeling the faint trembling of the person beside him, he said quietly: "Every time you're frightened you look exactly like this. We can never tell whether you're truly afraid or just acting."

Ye Shu bit his lip lightly and said nothing.

The small table beside the couch still had the hangover soup on it. Jin Wang glanced at it and asked: "Why didn't you add poison?"

Ye Shu startled. "How did you know—"

"Mu Jiuqing — We have known all along that he was hiding in that abandoned courtyard." Jin Wang said calmly. "You were gone for so long today. What you spoke to him about — We can guess."

"…Did he ask you to poison Us?"

A chill of belated fear ran through Ye Shu.

This man… was testing him again.

He had deliberately let Mu Jiuqing move about freely in the capital — precisely to give him the opportunity to make contact with Ye Shu, and thereby test whether Ye Shu had truly betrayed him.

All these days of indulgence and lenience toward Ye Shu — all of it had been for this moment.

What kind of hellish script was this???

Ye Shu was crying out in anguish inside, but struggled to maintain a calm expression on his face. "Yes. He wanted me to keep you in the capital, drug you unconscious, and give him the opportunity to assassinate you."

There was no point in lying to Jin Wang at this stage.

This man had never believed a single lie he told.

Jin Wang asked: "Why didn't you follow through?"

"If I said I couldn't bring myself to do it, would you believe me?"

Jin Wang gave a soft laugh. "We would."

Jin Wang leaned close to him and said quietly: "If you had put poison in the wine just now, you would not have lived to leave the boat."

Ye Shu's fingers twisted tight in the hem of his robe, and he said nothing.

Jin Wang gave a soft sigh. "You didn't act against Us as you had agreed with that traitor. In truth, We should have pardoned you. Only… those words just now, We find ourselves rather preoccupied with."

He lifted the curtain and glanced out the carriage window, then said: "We are still half an hour from the traveling palace. We will give you half an hour. If you can offer an explanation that satisfies Us, We will spare your life. Otherwise…"

Jin Wang drew a brocade box from inside his robe. Within it sat a single pellet.

"This is a swift poison. It will cause you no suffering when you take it. Consider it a final parting gift from Us."

The carriage fell silent.

Ye Shu stared at the brocade box on the table. An odd feeling rose up in his chest.

Not long ago, the very person who had pressed him down here and kissed him gently was now producing poison and demanding an explanation.

This was what it meant to be emperor.

Well then. He couldn't be blamed for what came next.

Time ticked slowly by. Jin Wang leisurely sipped his tea, perfectly composed.

They were now not far from the traveling palace — looking into the distance, one could even make out the lights of the palace burning through the night.

Jin Wang lowered the window curtain and was about to say something when he was suddenly shoved hard against the carriage wall.

He instinctively struck back, and his hand closed around the young man's throat.

But in the next second, Jin Wang froze.

A single tear slid down from the young man's eye.

Jin Wang instinctively loosened his grip.

Ye Shu pressed down on Jin Wang's shoulders, his eyes red at the rims, his voice trembling. "Mu Jiuqing was right. And you guessed correctly. I have been deceiving you this whole time."

Jin Wang's heart sank.

"You don't know this, do you — from thirteen years ago, the first time I saw you, I had already begun deceiving you."

Ye Shu let out a soft laugh, bright and desperate all at once. "Back then I made up my mind to use you — to turn you into my weapon, to have you take revenge for me. You would kill your father, slay your brothers, seize the throne — and then you would have no more use to me, and all I had to do was kill you, and my vengeance would be complete."

Jin Wang's voice was low and rough. "Then why have you let me live until now?"

"Why have I let you live until now? You are so perceptive — how can you not see this…" A flicker of pain crossed Ye Shu's eyes. He closed them. "Because I fell in love with you."

Jin Wang was stunned.

Ye Shu lowered his head, as though gathering his courage, and pressed a trembling kiss to the corner of Jin Wang's lips.

The young man's lips were shaking, and the bitter taste of tears dissolved at the edge of the kiss.

The brief kiss came and went in an instant. Ye Shu looked at him, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I'm ridiculous, aren't I — I set my heart on revenge, yet I ended up falling in love with my own enemy. I thought that if I kept my distance from you, I could make myself forget this feeling. I thought that by cooperating with someone else, I could steel my resolve…"

"Tonight was clearly my last chance. And still I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"I really am useless…"

Jin Wang's expression shifted. "A Shu…"

He was just about to speak when the sound of hoofbeats came from outside, and the carriage rolled to a stop.

They had arrived at the traveling palace.

"It seems I'm out of time." Ye Shu lowered his eyes, suppressing a flicker of self-mockery. "Still — thank you. Whatever your reasons, these past few days in the traveling palace have fulfilled a dream of mine, in the end."

Jin Wang looked at the young man's red-rimmed, tear-bright eyes. His throat felt dry.

Your dream… is to be with Us?

But he had no time to ask. Ye Shu straightened up, and his fingertips — no one knew when — had already closed around the poison pellet.

"I'm sorry, A Yuan. I have failed your trust. May we meet again in the next life…"

With those words, Ye Shu tipped his head back and swallowed the pellet.

Jin Wang watched him steadily.

Nothing happened.

From outside the carriage, the attendant said softly: "Your Majesty, we have arrived at the traveling palace."

Ye Shu's lashes fluttered and he opened his eyes. "Why am I… not…"

Jin Wang silently let out a breath and pressed his fingers to his brow.

This was an answer he had never anticipated.

But… it was also the most irrefutable answer.

"You truly are the bane of Us…" Jin Wang pulled him close and scooped him up in his arms. "If you don't want to be seen, cover yourself."

A moment later, Jin Wang carried Ye Shu down from the carriage.

Ye Shu buried his face in Jin Wang's chest, hiding his eyes that were red and swollen from crying.

Imperial guards and attendants knelt all around them. Jin Wang walked without looking to either side, carrying Ye Shu straight into the traveling palace.

Even long after they had gone, Ye Shu was still hiccupping between sobs: "I… why didn't I get poisoned?"

"Idiot. That wasn't poison."

"…I've never seen anyone as stupid as you."