(Four)

While Wen Su was pondering this, a guest arrived at Zhou Qinghe's palace.

"...Royal brother."

Upon seeing the newcomer, Zhou Qinghe stood up from his stool, bowed respectfully, and said...

"Qinghe".

The person in front of him bore a striking resemblance to Zhou Qinghe, and smiled with refined elegance.

"I wonder what brings Your Majesty here so late at night?"

Zhou Qinghe led Zhou Gushan to sit down and asked curiously, perhaps because Zhou Ziqiu kept saying in his ear that his imperial brother had harmed him, he now felt that Zhou Gushan had some ill intentions.

Zhou Gushan, unaware of his younger brother's thoughts, asked with a smile, "Qinghe, what are your thoughts on the Wen family?"

Zhou Qinghe thought for a moment and said, "I believe that scholars are officials with noble titles and are loyal to their country."

Zhou Gushan raised an eyebrow, showing no surprise at Zhou Qinghe's answer. Everyone in the world knew that the Wen family was full of loyal ministers. He then asked, "When did you become so familiar with this young man from the Wen family?"

He was referring to the incident during the day when Zhou Qinghe helped Wen Su out of a predicament. Anyone with eyes could see that Zhou Qinghe was helping Wen Su. Zhou Gushan's question was not unfounded. Wen Su had never met Zhou Qinghe before. He went to the frontier with his father when he was ten years old and had only recently returned. He had not even been to the palace to see the Second Prince. Why would Zhou Qinghe help someone he had never met before for no reason?

This question is actually easy to brush off; just say that Wen Su looks kind and the Second Prince is compassionate.

That's exactly what Zhou Qinghe said.

Zhou Ziqiu, standing to the side, narrowed his eyes, sensing that something was off about Zhou Gushan.

Zhou Gushan's smile remained unchanged. He exchanged a few more words with Zhou Qinghe before leaving. As soon as Zhou Gushan left, Zhou Ziqiu said, "There's something wrong with him."

"Are you implying that my elder brother here also wants to harm me?"

Zhou Qinghe said angrily, but Zhou Ziqiu and Wen Su had already planted the seeds of doubt in his heart. Even he himself did not know that he had begun to believe what Zhou Ziqiu said.

“No.” Zhou Ziqiu shook his head. “What I mean is, he’s a bit too protective of you.”

Why do you say that?

"This is a rather novel idea," Zhou Qinghe asked curiously, resting his chin on his hands.

“My elder brother used to love me just like Zhou Gushan here.” Zhou Ziqiu pondered for a moment, “but that love was only for me.”

"What do you mean?" Zhou Qinghe didn't understand.

“I used to be just as weak as you, but I was determined to fight on the battlefield and always wanted to go into battle with Xingzhou.” Zhou Ziqiu gave an example. “My brother would dissuade me and lie to me, saying that he would take me to the battlefield once I recovered, but he would never ask me if Xingzhou had encouraged me to say that.”

“My royal brother never interferes with who I associate with.”

This sounds exactly like a dragon in a folk tale who loves gold and would hide gems and gold in a cave.

Zhou Qinghe disagreed: "You said it yourself, there is a difference between the two worlds. You are interested in the battlefield, but I have no interest in it. Moreover, I have a family of scholars with official titles, but you do not. So you cannot compare your brother with my brother."

What he said made some sense, and Zhou Ziqiu shut his mouth, but his gaze remained deep.

Recalling what the ghost messenger had said before he entered this illusion, Zhou Ziqiu's intuition told him that Zhou Gushan was suspicious.

"Where can I buy good stuff?"

In the restaurant, Wen Su leaned against the railing, watching the people coming and going on the street, and asked a question. Xie Xingzhou, who was next to him, filled his cup with wine, then pointed to the fan in his hand and said mysteriously, "If you're asking me—then you've come to the right person."

Wen Su smiled at him and said, "Speak quickly."

"Let's go to the East Market." Xie Xingzhou chuckled twice. "There are a lot of shady dealers in the East Market. You can buy whatever you want there."

Wen Su raised an eyebrow knowingly, then heard Xie Xingzhou ask, "Are you buying this as a birthday gift for Ahe?"

"birthday?"

Xie Xingzhou nodded, then asked in confusion, "You didn't know? His birthday banquet is right after the palace banquet. He was born in winter."

Wen Su didn't know that. Zhou Ziqiu had never mentioned his birthday, and there was no record of it in the history of Zhou. However, it would be best if he were born in winter. The real world was already entering late autumn, and winter would come soon. Then they could celebrate Zhou Ziqiu's birthday.

“Okay, I’ve got it,” Wen Su said.

Xie Xingzhou acted swiftly, saying there was no better time than today, and pulled Wen Su onto the horse tied to the first floor of the restaurant, heading straight for the East Market.

The East Market is located in the eastern part of Zhoujing City. It is a small urban area that has been converted into a market, hence the name East Market. When they were about to enter the East Market area, Xie Xingzhou asked Wen Su to dismount and tied the horse to a small inn nearby before pulling Wen Su into the East Market.

"Horse riding is prohibited in the East Market."

Xie Xingzhou explained, and Wen Su nodded in understanding. He looked around at the East Market that Xie Xingzhou mentioned. Some people were masked, and some were dressed in coarse cloth clothes, but they were selling all good things.

"Have you decided what to buy for Ahe?" Xie Xingzhou asked.

Wen Su pursed his lips, and after a moment said, "Let's see."

"That's true, there are plenty of good things in this East Market anyway."

However, even though they had the means, the gems wouldn't appear immediately. Wen Su and Xie Xingzhou searched the East Market but couldn't find them. Helpless, they could only send their servants to keep an eye on the East Market and buy them as soon as there was any movement of the gems.

Back home, Wenniang called Wensu to a stop in the hall.

"You went to the restaurant again?" Wenniang asked.

Wen Su nodded and sat down next to Wen Niang.

"Have you seen the girl you like?"

Wen Su shook his head again and poured more tea for Wen Niang. Wen Niang glanced at Wen Su without saying a word, but after a while, she asked a question that made Wen Su smash the teapot on the ground.

Are you my son, Wen Su?

The scalding hot water made Wen Su's hand throb with pain. He curled his hand up, then opened it again. His face was expressionless for a moment, then he smiled, a bright and cheerful smile: "Why did you ask that, Mother?"

Wen Niang silently watched Wen Su's momentary lapse in attention, took a sip of the tea Wen Su had poured, and was not afraid that this person who looked just like her son would harm him: "I know my son. He wouldn't suddenly be so filial to me, he wouldn't be so busy climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles."

"Moreover, my son is fearless and not the kind of person who would flinch in front of the emperor."

Wen Niang placed the teacup back on the table. The soft, crisp sound of the cup hitting the saucer was like a chain locking Wen Su's heart, making his heart sink.

Wen Su opened his mouth, but didn't know how to explain to Wen Niang that he was her son from another world. It sounded too strange and hard to believe.

Wen Niang's eyes were sharp. Noticing Wen Su's unusual behavior, she added, "You only need to answer me, are you my son Wen Su?"

“...I am.” Wen Su’s throat tightened, his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, but he could only utter the simplest words, “I am Wen Su.”

“But you’re not my original son, are you?” Wen Niang’s gaze was like a sharp sword, cutting straight into Wen Su’s bleeding heart.

“...Yes.” Wen Su lowered his eyes; his mother had always been very clever.

"Want to tell me? Tell me what you've been through?" Wen Niang's smile returned, and she called a maid to collect the broken teapot and brought over a new pot of tea. Wen Niang then poured Wen Su a cup of hot tea.

"I..." Wen Su didn't know what to say, he started but couldn't utter a single word.

“Speak boldly, it’s nothing.” Wen Niang smiled kindly, but in Wen Su’s eyes, she was just like the mother in his dream who said she would leave him forever. With a blink of her long eyelashes, tears flowed down her face involuntarily.

Wen Niang was surprised to see Wen Su crying. With her keen insight, she could tell at a glance that Wen Su was trying to make amends for something through her. However, she never expected that what Wen Su wanted to make amends for would make him cry. She quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe away Wen Su's tears.

"..." Wen Su suppressed his emotions, but then uttered a shocking statement: "I will kill you."

"Hmm?" Wen Niang was even more surprised upon hearing this, not expecting things to develop in such an unexpected direction.

Wen Su then revealed that he came from another world and that he had killed his relatives with his own hands. He was not afraid that Wen Niang would think he was crazy; he believed that his mother would not.

Wen Niang indeed didn't know how, but she remained silent for a long time.

Every mother loves her child, but she never imagined that her child in the other world would suffer so much. After a long sigh, she reached out and touched Wen Su's head: "If I were your mother in that world, I wouldn't be able to bear seeing you so sad."

“...Mm,” Wen Su replied.

Wen Niang was troubled. She wanted to change the subject and not let the child continue to be so sad: "So, do you have someone you like in that world?"

Wen Su paused, then suddenly didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

Seeing Wen Su's reaction, Wen Niang raised her eyebrows slightly. Since he didn't shake his head, it meant he did. But it was good that he had a girl he liked; she could say that she had fulfilled a wish for her past self in that world. She smiled and asked, "How old is she?"

"...Thousands of years old?"

"...?"

The servants' thorough search of the treasure was indeed effective; on the third day, the servants reported that it had been found in the East Market.

Wen Su looked at the small pearl in his hand from all angles with a puzzled expression, but he couldn't figure out what connection the pearl had with Zhou Ziqiu. Could it be because there was a crane inside?

But this explanation is too far-fetched; there are countless people whose names contain the character for "crane".

Unable to figure it out, Wen Su wrote a letter to Zhou Qinghe in the palace to inquire, but before the letter could reach Zhou Qinghe, it was intercepted by someone.

After reading the letter, the man smiled, burned it, and then gave an order.

The next day, the Wen family servants brought back news again—"Many of these precious pearls have appeared in the East Market!"

Wen Su looked at the box full of red jewels and smiled provocatively. 18:58:56