After this incident, the Empress remembered Xiao Xiyou's mother. She had once been her maid, but through some cunning trick, the Emperor had transferred her to serve him, and she had even given birth to a prince.
This made the Empress feel that her authority was being challenged, and she also began to dislike Xiao Xiyou.
She often told Xiao Nan Gua, "Consort Wan is just a lowly palace maid. I don't know what kind of seductive tricks she used to get the Emperor's favor and give birth to this little bastard, Xiao Xiyou. This mother and son will definitely be troublesome in the future."
Back in her bedchamber, the Empress once again said to Xiao Nan, "My son is the true heir of the Emperor, and this empire will only belong to you in the future. How can such a lowly child presume to be on equal footing with you!"
The Third Prince, who had been poisoned by the Empress for a long time, was young but had been poisoned to the bone. He was arrogant and ruthless, took pleasure in the suffering of others, and would not tolerate being disobeyed.
After watching the empress walk away, the young Xu Cang stopped what he was doing.
"Your Highness, please go back now," he said with concern.
"Aren't you afraid of being punished by the Empress?" Xiao Xiyou asked calmly, his eyes lowered. "That's a serious crime of disobedience."
“I’m afraid.” Xu Cang looked at the white horizon. “His Highness the Second Prince knelt here until noon today.”
"Even if a great immortal were to come, this servant would say the same thing."
"Please return, Your Highness." The young Xu Cang did not look at Xiao Xiyou, but his eyes revealed determination, passion, and anger and helplessness towards the injustice of the world.
...
Xiao Xiyou reminisced about Xu Cang's past.
When did he start changing? Or rather, why did he become like this? And why him?
Just as Xiao Xiyou was lost in thought, a candy suddenly appeared in front of him.
"My mother told me when I was a child that eating a piece of candy would make me feel better when I was sad."
"I'm giving you a piece of candy, hoping that after you eat it, you'll follow your heart."
"Actually, you didn't want him to die, even though he betrayed you." Zhou Zhizhi also had a piece of candy in her mouth, and her voice was a little muffled.
But the gentle smile and encouraging words gave Xiao Xiyou some comfort.
“I really don’t want him to die, but he deserves to die. He can’t escape the Third Prince’s clutches.” Xiao Xiyou took the candy from Zhou Zhizhi, opened the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth.
It is indeed very sweet...
But it may not be able to cure the suffering in one's heart.
Zhou Zhizhi snatched the candy wrapper from Xiao Xiyou's hand, folded it into the shape of a paper airplane, and casually tossed it forward.
The paper airplane wobbled in the air and landed gently in the grass.
“People often say that everything is preordained, just like this airplane, which is destined to land there.” Zhou Zhizhi smiled and looked at Xiao Xiyou, then changed the subject, “But I don’t believe in fate, I believe that man can conquer nature.”
"Man can conquer nature?" Xiao Xiyou repeated these words. In ancient times, when the monarchy was divinely ordained, this was the first time he had heard such a saying.
But he really liked those words, finding a way to summarize his life over the past 20 years.
"Go see him. After you see him, everything will be settled." Zhou Zhizhi saw through Xiao Xiyou's reluctance to face his inner thoughts and gave him a push with her words.
"Mm." Xiao Xiyou turned around and responded softly.
"Then I'll take my leave." With that, Zhou Zhizhi lightly touched her feet and used her light-footed skill to fly away from Xiaoxi You Mansion.
This is Xiao Xiyou's private matter, and she shouldn't pry too much into it.
Xu Cang waited from dawn till dusk, pacing back and forth in the reception room, his mind filled with unease.
Xiao Liang told him that he had informed Xiao Xiyou of his visit two hours ago, but Xiao Xiyou had not come to see him for a long time.
"This has never happened before. Could it be that Xiao Xiyou knows something?" Xu Cang thought anxiously.
"Your Highness," came Xiao Liang's greeting from the doorway.
Xu Cang suddenly looked up, his expression changing from anxious to joyful. He warmly called out to Xiao Xiyou, "Xiyou, you're here! It's been so long, I've missed you terribly."
"Yes, it's been a long time." Xiao Xiyou sat down in the main seat and took a sip of tea.
"Is your injury better?" Xu Cang asked in a friendly manner, trying to get closer to Xiao Xiyou.
Xiao Xiyou felt disgusted and nauseous listening to Xu Cang's hypocritical words, and had no desire to continue the pretense with him.
"What brings you here today?" Xiao Xiyou didn't look at him directly, but just aimlessly turned his teacup, watching the tea swirl back and forth in the cup.
Xu Cang hadn't expected Xiao Xiyou to ask so directly, and stammered, "No, no, what's wrong?"
"It's just that we haven't been in touch for a long time, and I'm afraid our relationship has grown distant." He didn't dare admit his true intentions.
"Are you just afraid of growing distant?" Xiao Xiyou finally looked at Xu Cang with his eyes, but the sarcasm in his eyes was impossible to hide.
Having said that, Xu Cang knew that he had been exposed, and he knelt down in front of Xiao Xiyou with a thud.
"Second Prince..." He called Xiao Xiyou by that title, a title he had never used before in all these years.
"Please, Your Highness, help me." He kowtowed repeatedly before Xiao Xiyou, breaking not only his own forehead but also the bond between the two of them.
"Help you? How can I help you! You want my life!" Xiao Xiyou couldn't help but smash the teacup in his hand on the ground and questioned Xu Cang sharply.
"No, it won't hurt your life." Xu Cang crawled forward on his knees and grabbed Xiao Xiyou's clothes.
"The emperor would not have the heart to kill his own son."
"Besides, the old emperor is now terminally ill and would not do such a heinous thing."
"What you've lost is only the qualification to become emperor, and besides, you originally..." Xu Cang blurted out without thinking, but immediately stopped himself after realizing what he was saying.
"Besides, I was never going to become emperor anyway, was I?" Xiao Xiyou finished the sentence for him.
"No, that's not what I meant," Xu Cang said weakly and helplessly.
"Then I'll just have to become the emperor!" Xiao Xiyou had been working hard in silence, never daring to reveal his ambition to others, but Xu Cang angered him, and he blurted out what he was thinking.
Why? Why does everyone betray him and humiliate him? Why is it that he is clearly the emperor's most outstanding child, superior to his two brothers in both literary and martial arts, yet everyone knows this fact, he never receives the status and glory he deserves in the court.
Just because his mother was a lowly palace maid, did that mean he was destined to be looked down upon his entire life?
He doesn't believe in fate; he believes that human will can overcome destiny!
"Brother Xu, this is the last time I'll call you that." Xiao Xiyou turned his back and slowly closed his eyes.
"Back then, you were so eager to become an undercover agent for the Third Prince, but I never expected that you would betray me."
"I can't forgive you, let alone help you."
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