Two years later.

Eastern Chu, the northern land.

Xuan Yuanzhi, who had been exiled, was farming when he faintly heard someone calling him from afar.

"Second brother!"

The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but why would anyone in the North call him by his ranking?

Xuan Yuanzhi continued hoeing the ground without paying any attention, until someone stood in front of him, blocking the patch of ground he was hoeing. Only then did Xuan Yuanzhi straighten up and look up at the person who had come.

"Second brother, I called you, but you didn't answer me!" Xuan Yuanduo patted Xuan Yuanzhi's shoulder and said with a smile.

Xuan Yuanzhi stared blankly at Xuan Yuanduo, feeling as if he were dreaming. It took him a while to come to his senses, and he looked at Xuan Yuanduo in disbelief: "Xuan Yuanduo, what brings you here?"

"Of course I came to see you!" Xuan Yuanduo looked Xuan Yuanzhi up and down.

I noticed that he had lost weight and gotten darker in the years I hadn't seen him, but he looked healthier than before.

"It seems pretty good!" Xuan Yuanduo patted his shoulder, feeling that Xuan Yuanzhi was doing alright, at least much better than he had imagined.

Xuanyuan Zhi laughed, as if he had just come to his senses, and hugged Xuanyuan Duo tightly: "It's not bad, but I miss you guys a little."

They actually communicated frequently, but communicating is still different from meeting in person.

Xuanyuan Duo was also moved and patted Xuanyuan Zhi on the back: "I knew you would miss me, so I came to see you."

The two brothers hugged for a while, then felt a bit cloying, so Xuanyuan Duo took the hoe from Xuanyuan Zhi's hand and said, "Stop working and take a rest over there."

Xuanyuan Duo pulled Xuanyuan Zhi to sit on the edge of the field.

Xuan Yuanzhi looked at Xuan Yuanduo, who was dressed in a simple robe. Although he wasn't dressed in such coarse linen clothes as Xuan Yuanzhi, he still didn't look like a prince. So he frowned and asked, "Isn't Xuan Yuanzhan good to you?"

Previously, Xuanyuan Zhan had been quite lenient with them, so they shouldn't have treated him badly. Moreover, Xuanyuan Duo often praised Xuanyuan Zhan in his letters.

Xuanyuan Duo followed his gaze and looked at himself, then smiled wryly and said, "I specially changed into simple clothes because I was afraid of encountering bandits on the road. I heard there are many bandits in the north."

Xuanyuan Zhi laughed: "There are no bandits anymore. Those bandits all followed Xuanyuan Zhan into the army. There are no bandits left in the North now."

Xuan Yuanzhi knew that he had changed into ordinary clothes to see him, probably out of consideration for his feelings and to avoid upsetting him.

In fact, after several years here, he was no longer the same Xuan Yuanzhi he used to be, and he would never be upset over such a trivial matter, especially since he was his own brother.

Over the years, probably only he and Xuanyuan Zhan still care about him. How could he be angry with him over something like this? He hopes he can live well in the North, and of course he also hopes they can live well in the capital.

"How are you doing here? Is no one bullying you?" Xuan Yuanduo asked with concern.

Although he often asked these questions in his letters, he couldn't help but ask them again when they met in person.

"It's alright. Xuanyuan Zhan had already spoken to Ling Lang beforehand, and Ling Lang has been quite considerate of me, giving me relatively easy tasks. Apart from doing some work every day in the North, I have nothing to worry about. There are no disasters in the North now, and the people have enough to eat and drink. I also have food and drink, so everything is fine."

Xuan Yuanzhi's tone was very calm, which showed that he had long been used to this kind of life and had already accepted his fate.

Xuanyuan Duo felt a pang of sympathy for Xuanyuan Zhi, but remembering what he had done before, he didn't say anything more.

He was wrong, but now he's making a contribution to the land of the North, which can be considered a form of atonement.

Xuan Yuanzhi was also quite concerned about Xuan Yuanduo: "How are you doing in Kyoto? Has he given you any trouble?"

Xuanyuan Duo immediately shook his head: "No, don't you know him? He's very kind-hearted. He left his former Holy King's Mansion to me. Although I was stripped of my title, my food, clothing and daily necessities over the years have been on par with a first-rank prince. Apart from the different title, everything else is the same as a proper prince. He has never mistreated me in the slightest."

Xuan Yuanduo could list a whole bunch of good things about Xuan Yuanzhan.

However, Xuanyuan Duo was also afraid that if he kept praising Xuanyuan Zhan, it would make Xuanyuan Zhi feel uncomfortable.

But to everyone's surprise, Xuanyuan Zhi didn't mind at all.

Hearing that Xuanyuan Duo was doing well in Kyoto, he was also very pleased: "I knew he wouldn't mistreat you; he's truly a good person!"

If he was only lenient with them to appease his father or to put on a show for the people, then after his father's death, the people had probably long forgotten who he was, and Xuanyuan Zhan could easily have assassinated them secretly.

He was the emperor of Eastern Chu, and the North was where he had started his rebellion. If he wanted him to die quietly in the North, it would be too easy.

But he didn't do that at all. Over the years, he had Ling Lang and the others take care of him and send him clothes and money during festivals. Although he never wrote to him, he passed on letters from his wife and daughters. In the letters from his wife and daughters, they all said that Xuan Yuanzhan and his empress had taken good care of them over the years.

Even if he had been secretly taking care of his wife and daughters, for this one thing alone, Xuan Yuanzhi would be grateful to him for the rest of his life.

Xuan Yuanzhi smiled wryly: "Do you know how much the people of the North admire him? Even after all these years, his heroic deeds of suppressing bandits, providing disaster relief, and defeating the Northern Rong are still everywhere in the North. He is a mythical figure in the North. From the elderly to children, everyone can tell his stories!"

Whether it was his father's intention or Heaven's punishment, he was exiled to the north, where he listened to the people's praise of Xuanyuan Zhan every day, which made his previous acts of treason seem even more foolish and ridiculous.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!