Chapter 35

From the day Ye Shu appeared at the state banquet, the entire court had been buzzing about it for days on end.

The consort's face was identical to that of the deceased Chancellor Ye — the implications were extraordinarily delicate.

And when one thought about it carefully, the timing of His Majesty's announcement that he would be marrying the consort had been almost exactly concurrent with the order to execute Chancellor Ye.

That couldn't be coincidence.

There was no shortage of theories. But what surprised Ye Shu even more was that no one had actually suspected the consort was truly Chancellor Ye himself.

On the rare occasion such a voice emerged, it was quickly dismissed by everyone else.

Jin Wang was unsurprised by this.

His take on it was: "Which do you think they'd rather believe — that you rose from the dead, or that We deceived the entire world and secretly kept alive a treasonous minister who plotted to assassinate Us?"

Neither was believable.

This world had no medicine capable of resurrecting the dead — such an idea struck people as utterly absurd. As for the latter — that would be accusing His Majesty of lying. Who had the nerve?

And it was more likely still that the assembled officials simply refused to believe, no matter what, that the consort who had appeared at the state banquet so affectionate and deferential toward His Majesty could possibly be the same person as the Chancellor who had once held tremendous power over the capital and been at odds with His Majesty for years.

Two months ago, Jin Wang himself wouldn't have believed it either.

"It seems I'm destined to be a body double forever." After hearing Jin Wang's analysis, Ye Shu let out a quiet sigh.

Jin Wang led him through the snow. "If you want your identity restored, We have a way."

He had let all the speculation in the court run its course without stopping it or explaining — precisely to wait for Ye Shu's decision.

Whatever Ye Shu chose, Jin Wang had the means to make it happen.

"Better not." Ye Shu shook his head. "Things are fine as they are."

If his identity were restored, the things the original host had done would be impossible to explain. Better to be unburdened, as he was now.

"As you wish." Jin Wang paused, then said with a touch of regret: "I had hoped to show the court ministers the future empress. But with a certain someone's stirring things up, no one paid any attention."

Changlu held court ceremonial protocol in the utmost regard, yet when the consort had appeared in the empress's ceremonial attire and attended the state banquet with imperial-consort etiquette, it had not drawn a single word of comment from the assembled officials.

Jin Wang even suspected they hadn't noticed what Ye Shu was wearing at all.

His desire to show off left unsatisfied, His Majesty the sovereign felt a pang of genuine disappointment.

Ye Shu read his expression, tipped his head close to Jin Wang's ear, and said softly: "Why care what anyone else thinks? Isn't wearing it for you more than enough?"

That landed perfectly.

Jin Wang thought of something and the tips of his ears quickly went red.

In certain respects, His Majesty the sovereign was unexpectedly innocent.

Ye Shu delivered his shot and walked away with a cheerful smile, continuing ahead.

When they reached a pavilion, Jin Wang asked: "Tired? Shall we rest inside?"

Ye Shu assented. Jin Wang led him in. Attendants quickly came forward, laying out cushioned seats on the stone benches, hanging bamboo screens on all sides to block the wind, and bringing in charcoal braziers along with tea and snacks.

There was also a small pot of broth kept simmering on a low flame.

— Said to be a nutritive medicinal soup specially prepared by the physician, beneficial for Ye Shu's health.

Jin Wang pulled Ye Shu down to sit.

Ye Shu asked: "How does Your Majesty have so much time to spend with me today — aren't there affairs to attend to?"

Jin Wang ladled out a bowl of soup and set it before him. He said calmly: "We have delegated things to the Court of State Ceremonial."

Dayan had come to Changlu to negotiate a ceasefire, and the details of the various clauses couldn't be settled in a day or two. The discussion of specifics didn't require the sovereign's personal involvement. And Changlu's terms had been worked out with the Court of State Ceremonial long before the envoy arrived. So after the envoy's arrival, Jin Wang had found himself with unexpected leisure.

Ye Shu made a small sound of acknowledgment and stirred his spoon without speaking further.

Jin Wang had been watching him closely these past few days, and Ye Shu had had absolutely no opportunity to do anything else.

— Such as going to the guest quarters to ask Yu Yan what the original host had been communicating with him about, and why he had come to Changlu.

Snow began to fall from the sky. The wind and snow were blocked entirely by the bamboo screens, and the charcoal brazier made the pavilion pleasantly warm — not cold at all.

Ye Shu slowly drank a few mouthfuls of the soup. Then a voice from outside the pavilion reached him.

"His Majesty and the consort are within — no one else may approach."

"I see — His Majesty and the consort. I am Yu Yan, who was strolling through the garden and found myself here unexpectedly. Would it be possible to step inside and shelter from the snow?"

Ye Shu startled.

Why did this man keep walking into trouble?

He had worked hard to get Jin Wang to let the matter go — that didn't mean this person could expect Jin Wang to feel no wariness toward Yu Yan.

Given Jin Wang's temperament, not finding a quiet reason to have the man disposed of without anyone being the wiser was already a great mercy.

And now this man had the nerve to show up while the two of them were alone together — was he in a hurry to die?

If he kept causing trouble like this, never mind avenging himself — he'd never even make it out of Changlu.

Ye Shu muttered all this inwardly.

Jin Wang's expression didn't particularly change. He turned to look at Ye Shu. "Shall We let him in, beloved consort?"

Another death-sentence question.

Ye Shu set down his soup bowl and kept his face composed. "Whatever Your Majesty decides."

Jin Wang gave a quiet laugh and gave the order to let them through.

After all, this was a Dayan envoy and a foreign prince — they couldn't very well leave someone standing in the snow outside.

That would be a breach of courtesy.

The bamboo screen was lifted aside by an attendant, and Yu Yan came in with a black-robed guard.

The guard was tall, with lighter-colored eyes and features that were deep-set and striking, carrying an air of foreign exoticism.

Even Ye Shu couldn't help looking an extra moment.

Jin Wang cleared his throat.

Ye Shu quickly looked away and sat properly upright.

Yu Yan bowed to the two of them and said pleasantly: "I was admiring the scenery in the garden just now — I didn't expect the snow to come on so suddenly. I hope I haven't imposed on the two of you?"

Jin Wang gave a low hum and didn't acknowledge him.

The attendants closed the bamboo screen and withdrew from the pavilion. Yu Yan made no fuss about it and sat down directly across from them.

The atmosphere in the pavilion went stiff.

Jin Wang, apparently entirely oblivious, turned to Ye Shu. "Drink up — it'll go cold in a moment."

Ye Shu pulled a face. "I can't drink any more."

Not that he couldn't, exactly — the soup had medicinal herbs in it, and it tasted faintly bitter. Ye Shu didn't like it.

Jin Wang coaxed him pleasantly: "Good boy. The physician said your constitution is weak, and you need a bowl every day after meals. Drink it and then have some pastries — it won't seem bitter anymore."

"But…"

"Or would you like Us to feed you?" Jin Wang leaned closer and said quietly: "Mouth to mouth works too."

Yu Yan: "…"

Was he invisible???

Ye Shu naturally couldn't let Jin Wang feed him — he gritted his teeth and drained the medicinal soup in two or three gulps.

Jin Wang poured him clean water to rinse his mouth, then picked a soft, sweet pastry from the dish and fed it to him.

Yu Yan's teeth ached watching this.

After feeding Ye Shu two pieces of pastry, Jin Wang finally said casually: "We have already had everyone moved back."

Ye Shu: "?"

Only then did Ye Shu notice that the attendants outside the pavilion had at some point retreated to a distance of several zhang. Snowflakes fell thickly outside, forming a natural curtain.

Anything said in here — no one could possibly hear.

Yu Yan said with a tone of wry amusement: "I had begun to think Your Majesty had forgotten I was here."

Jin Wang still didn't look at him. He turned to ask Ye Shu: "What else would you like to eat?"

"…" Yu Yan ground his teeth. He said coolly: "My personal guard — someone I trust completely."

Jin Wang made a noncommittal sound.

Ye Shu finally came back to himself. "Did you two arrange to meet here?"

Jin Wang said: "We sent word asking the Second Prince to come."

"Let's speak plainly." Yu Yan looked at Ye Shu and said: "You are Chancellor Ye. You and I haven't formally met, but I have seen a portrait of you."

Ye Shu said nothing.

In truth, from the very first encounter, he had felt there was something strange about Yu Yan's attitude toward the original host.

Covert contact with high-ranking ministers of a foreign court was a grave offense. Yu Yan should not have been so openly displaying their acquaintance directly in front of Jin Wang without any attempt to conceal it.

If the original host had genuinely been conspiring with Yu Yan to commit treason, doing so would have been even more foolish.

Yu Yan should not be that kind of fool.

Unless…

Before Ye Shu could work through the situation, Jin Wang spoke first. "It is not quite appropriate for the Second Prince to address Our consort in this manner in Our presence. Perhaps the Second Prince should state his purpose first."

Yu Yan glanced between them, then nodded. "Very well."

He drew a sealed letter from inside his robe and placed it before Jin Wang. "This contains a partial map of Dayan's border defenses. Consider it a gift from me to Your Majesty."

Jin Wang's eyes narrowed slightly.

Yu Yan spread his hands. "With a gesture of good faith like this, surely Chancellor Ye and Your Majesty can trust me now?"

Jin Wang unfolded the letter and scanned it briefly. "What is the Second Prince's intention in this?"

"You haven't told His Majesty yet?" Yu Yan looked at Ye Shu, caught the other's guileless expression, and was quiet for a moment. "No wonder…"

Yu Yan explained: "I have been in covert contact with Chancellor Ye for several years. Three years ago, Chancellor Ye sent me a message, asking me to bide my time and wait for the right moment."

"He told me that in the future, Dayan would be sending an envoy to Changlu. Chancellor Ye promised that as long as I could find a way to come to the capital under the envoy's name and reach an agreement with His Majesty, His Majesty would help me take revenge and ascend to the throne."

"What I didn't expect, however…"

Yu Yan gave a small cough. "What I didn't expect was that before I even arrived in Changlu, Chancellor Ye would abandon the Chancellorship and become… a consort."

He directed a look at the two of them that clearly communicated: "I don't quite understand the nature of your arrangement."

Yu Yan said it all with easy lightness, but Ye Shu felt a thunderclap in his chest.

The original host's contact with Yu Yan had not been for the purpose of treason — it had been to persuade Yu Yan to cooperate with Jin Wang.

Jin Wang might not immediately grasp the full significance of this — but in the future, Yu Yan would play a critical role in Jin Wang's conquest of Dayan.

The timing of the original host's contact with Yu Yan had been years ago — at a point when even Jin Wang had not yet ascended the throne, and Yu Yan had been nothing more than an unremarkable prince in the Dayan palace.

How had he been able to predict that Dayan would send an envoy to Changlu? And how had he known that Yu Yan would prove vital to Jin Wang?

— "A Yuan is going to be an emperor one day… As sovereign, you must be strong yourself before you can make a nation strong."

— "The position of Left Chancellor has been vacant in the court. Would His Majesty be willing to give it?"

— "I have to help my sovereign unite the realm."

The original host's words surfaced one by one in his memory, and a strange feeling rose in Ye Shu's heart.

He thought… the original host seemed to have been able to foresee the future.

Or perhaps — had somehow obtained knowledge of what was going to happen in this world. Just like… himself, who had read the original novel.

But if that was so — why had the original host, who three years ago had still been paving the way for Jin Wang, ended up plotting to assassinate him?

What on earth had happened in those three years?

Ye Shu's thoughts were in turmoil. He couldn't make sense of any of it. Whatever Jin Wang and Yu Yan said next, he didn't hear a single word.

Yu Yan soon left the pavilion with his guard, leaving only Ye Shu and Jin Wang inside.

Jin Wang traced down Ye Shu's arm and took his cold fingers in his own. He asked gently: "Is this the secret you've been keeping from me?"