Chapter 102 [VIP]

Murong Xi: "What do you plan to do?"

As a child, Lu Xuejin held a textbook covered in red ink marks, the ink standing out starkly on the paper. He stared at the words. Thanks to the Second Prince, the child behind all this was eventually identified.

“Of course I will go and inquire. First, I will tell him not to do such a thing again. Second, I will go and find new textbooks for my brother. Third, I thank the Second Prince for reminding me; I will avoid such things from happening again in the future.”

Murong Xi couldn't help but laugh: "It's rare to see you so serious in other places."

Wei Ning: "Then I want to join too. What they're doing is just too evil. I want to join the army that protects the alienated."

Murong Xi asked curiously, "Didn't you say last time that you didn't like him? You said that Changyou's brother looked gloomy and like a villain from a storybook."

Lu Xuejin: "Wei Ning loves to say the opposite of what he means. If he doesn't like something, he means he likes it; if he likes something, he means he likes it very much."

Murong Xi: "So that's how it is."

Wei Ning: "No way—Second Prince, when did I say that? Don't talk nonsense."

“Changyou, you don’t need to worry. I will have my guards come earlier in the future. Last time, someone put bugs in my textbooks, so His Majesty gave me special permission to bring guards. I want the guards to keep an eye on things and not let them do anything like that again.”

"Thank you, Wei Ning."

Wei Ning scratched his face. "No need to be so polite. We'll get married eventually anyway."

Murong Xi: "What marriage? You two actually believed that? That was just a joke my father made. Wei Ning, how can you be so shameless? What girl is only ten years old and already talking about getting married? Besides, Changyou didn't say he wanted to marry you. There are girls who like Changyou who could line up outside the capital. Although you could be at the top of the list in terms of wealth, there's still my elder sister. My father said he wants Changyou to be the prince consort in the future. Stop thinking about it. It's better to give up on that idea as soon as possible."

Wei Ning immediately covered her ears; her head was about to explode from hearing the Second Prince's endless chatter.

Lu Xuejin listened quietly and replied, "His Majesty was just joking; we don't need to take it to heart."

"How we get married will not depend on our own wishes. Whether it is Wei Ning and me, or the Second Prince and the Eldest Princess, we will all be used as tools to maintain the balance of power in the court. If we disagree on politics, it will be easier for us to get together. If we are too close, it will be difficult to get married. Our families will form political parties. Marriage should be used to weaken their power. If someone is too talented and virtuous, it will be difficult for them to follow their own wishes. They will be given to a member of the royal family and enter the palace as a member of the royal family."

After he finished speaking, the Second Prince immediately fell silent. Wei Ning couldn't understand what he was saying either, but just looked at him with a flickering gaze.

Wei Ning: "Changyou is so amazing! How do you know so much... Even though we all understand the principles, I always find it difficult to organize my thoughts into words and express them as clearly as Changyou."

Murong Xi: "Idiot, this is the difference between you and Changyou. How many books does Changyou read every day, and how many books have you read?"

Wei Ning: "It's not that I've read fewer books or know less; what I do is based on facts, which cannot be compared to theory."

He wholeheartedly agreed that books were merely theoretical discussions. He simply illustrated the Liang emperor's rule by framing court officials and their families as pawns in various strategic camps, each positioned to maintain the Liang regime and constantly vying for power. While in this hypothetical scenario these pawns remained unscathed on the game, the complexities of the real world far exceeded human reasoning and historical experience, inevitably leading to various unforeseen events.

The first surprise for him soon came. He discovered that Emperor Liang disliked Xue Yi.

Emperor Liang disliked Xue Yi for a very simple reason, which he felt he didn't need to elaborate on. Xue Yi's parents had participated in a rebellion and their achievements overshadowed the emperor's; even now, the legend of the Shadow Guard still circulated in four regions of Lingnan. It was said that Xue Yi looked very much like Prince Xie, and coupled with his somber and taciturn nature, he lacked any lively demeanor. When Emperor Liang saw Xue Yi, he mistook him for Prince Xie, who had come to punish him. His expression changed that day, and he feigned illness to create an awkward silence among the people in the Zhizhang Hall.

However, the "dislike" he had in his mind was projected into reality in a way that was completely different from what he had imagined.

He always believed that, based on his understanding of Emperor Liang, even if he disliked Xue Yi, he would still show some mercy. This "mercy" was based on his observations of Emperor Liang's treatment of the common people, those around him, and even criminals, and on his experience of Emperor Liang's style of doing things. However, reality exceeded his expectations.

He couldn't discern whether Emperor Liang's leniency towards commoners and criminals stemmed from the emperor's innate nature or from later moral instruction. Regardless, the final conclusion was that this leniency and kindness could not extend to Xue Yi. Xue Yi was not among those granted this favor of leniency.

The impact on Xue Yi was that everyone around Emperor Liang, and all those around him who felt the influence of the ruler, sensed that the ruler disliked Xue Yi. This sickly boy of just over ten years old was about to face malice from top to bottom from the very first day he entered the palace. This malice was permitted by the highest ruler and became an open secret, meaning that all his subsequent actions, which could be described as those of a "disciple of a noble family," would result in the loss of all his rights.

The aquatic plant he had painstakingly nurtured for two years was about to suffer another devastating blow on its very first day in the palace. He even had a premonition that this malice might cause Xue Yi's will to live to vanish once more. This was something he didn't want to see. To him, the aquatic plant was like an elder brother, not only a familial member in a practical sense, but also a kind of faith he had developed from studying ancient texts, a faith akin to "Buddha saving humanity," and which had gradually become an obsession due to his tireless dedication. Saving Xue Yi held immense significance for him.

It was precisely because he sensed these subtle and intertwined selfish thoughts that he was able to plan ahead and use what he could to dispel this malice and achieve a certain balance. Although his personal strength was insignificant, he believed that as long as he adhered to a certain belief—a belief that could be called the power of perseverance—it would be transmitted through his will, allowing Xue Yi to feel the signal of love that he conveyed, a love distinct from the love of the world.

Moreover, this aquatic plant, having long isolated itself, spent much of its time bedridden, and experienced a major upheaval in its youth followed by a period of constant displacement and dependence on others, developed countless openings in its soul to perceive the emotions of those around it. Those subtle hostility and scrutiny were magnified infinitely, becoming fertile ground for its decaying soul, causing it to rot and die, growing twisted roots.

When he returned from outside, he saw Xue Yi looking lost and helpless in the corner.

The boy's slender eyebrows and eyes were like spilled ink, from which countless malevolent eyes sprouted, spreading endlessly within the palace walls. The ink of fear turned into a dark, eroding shadow that surrounded the boy, his pale face affected by the shadow, turning into pearly dust that covered his features, making him appear ashen and colorless.

“Brother, don’t be afraid. With me here, everything that frightens you will disappear,” he promised Xue Yi.

He should be thankful that controlling the emotions of his peers is not difficult for him. He can become everyone's "guide," using the subtle psychology and barriers between people to control and manipulate others' views on certain events and the goodwill and malice signals they release towards a particular person.

He guided and led Xue Yi, helping him to overcome this top-down malice. Despite the great difficulties, they made progress step by step, making the elder brother's heart more resilient.

The destroyed books were burned by him, Murong Xi, and Wei Ning. Even between people, there's a physical barrier; no matter how much they spend together, Wei Ning isn't him, and Murong Xi isn't him either—neither can give this aquatic plant the full care he deserves. His parents abused a certain privilege, especially his mother, who placed a morbid expectation on Xue Yi. Sometimes, seeing his mother at Xue Yi's bedside, he felt she needed a perpetually sick child so she could fulfill her value as the "weak" one.

His father, according to his observation, was playing the role of a father, not the father figure he and Xue Yi were meant to be. If his father's children were Wei Ning and the Second Prince, his father would have done just as well. His father was immersed in playing the role of a perfectly incorruptible man, upholding it as a principle that perpetuated their family tradition.

He was different. In his youth, with his extraordinary understanding and talent, he regarded this aquatic plant as proof for his lifelong research. His world was equally empty and barren. He was confined to one or two books, reciting grand ideas verbatim and practicing what he called "Buddha's way." He even built a small ward for his brother to stay in.

He spent all his time "correcting".

Monarchs need to constantly revise their decrees because it is uncertain whether each ideal decree will deviate from the intended effect when implemented on the people. Historically, deviations always occur. After a long period of time, these decrees are constantly "revised" until they produce the same effect as the original plan. This is the significance of a revision.

These measures were taken to achieve a certain purpose. He could tentatively call it correcting his elder brother.

Heaven allowed his father, out of some sense of gratitude and with the praise of the world, to bring back the boy who had witnessed his parents' murder, thus planting a seed for their fate.

The seed he wanted to correct needed to perfectly meet his expectations. First, there was the frail body, which didn't conform to the world's definition of a normal person, and was too weak, as if it would break at any moment. Clearly, he needed a normal body. He thoroughly studied pharmacology and books on caring for patients, and applied them all to Xue Yi, transforming him from a terminally ill person into a normal teenager with occasional bouts of weakness.

Give this seed warmth and kindness, like Nuwa creating humans, and endow it with a strong foundation, so that it has the courage and composure to face all difficulties.

Because of its sensitive nature and numerous holes, this plant has developed a certain talent: the ability to observe others. It can do a great job of guiding anything it intends to do.

Furthermore, because he was the "guide," he provided the warmth that a "viewer" should have given him, showing excessive care, surveillance, and observation, which caused the plant to develop an almost pathological dependence on him. His feelings for the plant exceeded normal limits, so he was able to remain calm even when unethical situations arose.

For example, when this plant became delirious due to illness, or became dehydrated and incontinent in its youth, it could calmly handle the situation, treating the filth as waste produced during the plant's growth. While doing this, it always felt itself drifting further and further away from humanity, and increasingly aligning itself with something cold and distant.

Because he still possessed a physical body, rather than some human form stripped of it, his deep brown eyes, thanks to his good upbringing and the cultivation of virtuous conduct, always displayed a gentle side. When his elder brother watched over him, when he was able to handle everything, his brother saw him at his bedside as if he were a god.

He discovered that his inner self was no different from his brother's; they were essentially too similar. Although this plant intentionally tried to develop in a virtuous direction, striving to become as normal as possible, it still retained some of his brother's inherent character traits, becoming just as adept at distrusting people and scheming.

One of them, because of the virtuous role played by everyone around him when he was young, and the other because of the much malice he suffered, one was good at scheming to achieve a long-term benefit for everyone as a manifestation of conscience, and the other was calculating people's hearts to an extremely dark degree. They were both heading towards some extreme abyss.

Fate had intertwined them, and in the still of the night, he often saw the boy's figure on the sickbed being swallowed by something dark and rotting, transforming into a humanoid creature. That foul-smelling, rotting humanoid creature gradually coalesced, changing into his likeness, becoming indistinguishable from him, appearing as a mixture carrying his will.

He stared at the humanoid figure day and night, and then the second unexpected event occurred.

His elder brother, Xue Yi, was an aquatic plant that he had carefully nurtured. The sickly boy was influenced by his warmth and kindness, but because of the darkness and gloom he harbored, he projected all the beautiful emotions that Xue Yi had given him onto him, and developed a morbid desire for him.

This was the second major mistake.

How he discovered it, and how he always pondered it whenever he thought about it afterward. He didn't need to do anything, he just needed to stay by the bedside, and when he looked into Xue Yi's eyes, his quiet eyes would fill with some beautiful emotions, and when Xue Yi looked at him, sickly red spots would appear on his cheeks.

He would touch Xue Yi's heartbeat at night, because his touch would always make it beat more clearly, and Xue Yi's body would always react when it turned towards him. All the clothes he left behind to care for Xue Yi were now stained with a different kind of mark.

If we assume that the brother recovered because he fell in love with him, then all his assumptions are meaningless.

Like a rescue plot in a clichéd story, the whole narrative becomes incredibly dull and uninteresting. All the assumptions he named as noble have vanished.

He felt incredibly frustrated. Because even if he were stupid, he understood one thing.

Love cannot be corrected.