52
When Zhan Zhao returned to Xiaoyou Villa, the sun was already setting. He didn't linger in the courtyard as usual, but went straight to the study. Xuan Yuan Tianyi was sitting by the window reading, the afterglow of the setting sun casting a warm golden halo around her, making her appear serene and distant.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up and saw Zhan Zhao standing at the door, his face unusually pale, his eyes filled with a complex mix of shock, confusion, and an urgent need for answers that she had never seen before.
She put down her book and looked at him calmly, as if she had long anticipated this moment.
"You saw it." It wasn't a question, but a statement. Her voice remained calm, yet it seemed to carry an all-knowing understanding.
Zhan Zhao walked up to her, took out the jade pendant he always wore close to his body from his robes, his fingertips turning slightly white from the pressure. He took a deep breath, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly: "This jade pendant... that portrait in Jing'an Palace... Tianyi, tell me, my mother... was she... Consort Jing?"
Xuanyuan Tianyi's gaze fell on the warm, smooth jade pendant, then slowly returned to Zhan Zhao's face. There was no avoidance, no flickering, only a calm and composed expression. "Yes."
Although he already had the answer in his heart, hearing her affirmative reply still sent a huge shock through Zhan Zhao, as if something inside his chest had shattered and reformed. He closed his eyes, steadying his somewhat disordered breathing, and continued to ask, "Your Majesty... he always knew? And the Eighth Prince?"
“Everyone knows.” Xuan Yuantian stood up, walked to him, and looked him in the eye. “Zhen has been searching for you ever since the late emperor passed away. However, he didn’t know whether Consort Jing was carrying a boy or a girl, which took a lot of effort. He only confirmed your identity the year he ascended the throne, and he has been keeping an eye on you all these years. The Eighth Prince found out later. They chose to remain silent because they believed that the identity of ‘Zhan Zhao’ was more suitable for you than the identity of a prince who had fallen into poverty, and it would also better protect you.”
"Protect me..." Zhan Zhao repeated softly, his mind flashing back to Zhao Zhen's seemingly casual yet deeply meaningful protection, and the complex and indescribable look in the Eighth Prince's eyes when he saw the jade pendant. It turned out that beneath what he had once thought was gratitude for being recognized and the care of an elder, lay a heavy and helpless layer of blood ties.
"Back then, Consort Jing was implicated in the Prince An case and found herself in a difficult situation. The late Emperor tacitly allowed her to fake her death and leave the palace. After giving birth to you, she went into seclusion in Jiangnan to protect you and your child." Xuan Yuan Tianyi's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached Zhan Zhao's ears. "Your mother never told you about your origins, hoping that you could stay away from the court's strife and live a peaceful and smooth life. This jade pendant is the only memento she left you, and also the only proof of your identity."
The truth unfolded before him like peeling back layers of a cocoon. His mother's gentle yet sorrowful face, his seemingly peaceful yet subtly unusual childhood in Jiangnan, and those deliberately obscured past events... all now had answers.
An indescribable emotion welled up within him: heartache for his mother's arduous life, reflections on that buried history, and a sudden, heavy shock of identity recognition. He was no longer simply Zhan Zhao, the chivalrous hero of the South, or Zhan Zhao, the guard of Kaifeng Prefecture; his bloodline was inextricably linked to that magnificent palace and the Song Dynasty.
He looked at Xuan Yuan Tianyi and asked the last question, one that had been lingering in his mind for a long time: "You... knew from the very beginning?"
Xuanyuan Tianyi did not deny it: "Back then, it was Zhen and I who searched for you together."
"So that's how it is." Zhan Zhao suddenly understood. So from the very beginning, her attention to him, her treatment of him, and even her subsequent protection of him, were not without reason. This realization stirred a complex emotion within him, but it was quickly replaced by a deeper understanding. Regardless of the cause, their subsequent mutual understanding, cherishing, and companionship were genuine and undeniable.
He remained silent for a moment, slowly suppressing all his turbulent emotions. When he looked up again, his eyes had regained their usual clarity and determination, but deep within them lay a hint of maturity born from experience. "I understand. Thank you... for telling me all this."
He didn't question, nor did he resent; he simply accepted this truth that overturned his previous understanding. This composure and self-control earned a barely perceptible hint of admiration from Xuan Yuan Tian.
Zhan Zhao said nothing more, nodded slightly to her, and then turned and left the study. He needed time to process all of this on his own.
After Zhan Zhao left, a white figure appeared by the window like a ghost. Leng Moyan leaned against the window frame, looking in the direction Zhan Zhao had left, raised an eyebrow, and said with his usual teasing tone, "You just told him like that? Aren't you afraid he can't handle it, or... he might harbor resentment?"
Xuan Yuantian walked to the table, poured herself a cup of tea that had cooled slightly, and said calmly, "Could we really keep this from him forever? He's smarter and stronger than we think. Some burdens are destined to fall on his shoulders, so it's better to know sooner rather than later." She paused and looked out the window at the darkening sky. "Besides, he's Zhan Zhao."
Leng Moyan chuckled and shook his head, but said nothing more. He understood what Xuan Yuantianyi meant. That seemingly gentle and refined young man possessed extraordinary resilience and a sense of responsibility. The truth might be heavy, but it couldn't crush him.
Zhan Zhao left Xiaoyou Villa and went straight to Bai Yutang's lodging in Bianjing—a small, independent room in the backyard of a tavern he frequented.
Bai Yutang had just returned and was leisurely sipping his wine when he saw Zhan Zhao push the door open and enter, his expression not quite right. He couldn't help but put down his wine cup and ask, "Cat? What's wrong with you?" He keenly sensed Zhan Zhao's unusual mood.
Zhan Zhao didn't speak. He walked to the table, picked up the wine pot, and without even using a cup, tilted his head back and took a big gulp. The spicy liquid slid down his throat, bringing a slight burning sensation, but strangely, it calmed his chaotic mind a little.
"Hey! Slow down! This liquor is strong!" Bai Yutang was startled by his attitude.
Zhan Zhao put down the wine pot, exhaled a long breath reeking of wine, and sat down opposite Bai Yutang, gazing blankly at the deepening night outside the window.
“Brother Bai,” he began, his voice low and hoarse, “I… may not be the Zhan Zhao that you and I know.”
Upon hearing this, Bai Yutang stopped joking and sat up straight: "What do you mean? Explain it clearly."
Zhan Zhao didn't look at him, as if he were talking to himself, or as if he were revealing his innermost thoughts to his only close friend: "My mother... she was a concubine of the previous dynasty, Consort Jing."
Bai Yutang's wine cup slammed onto the table with a "clatter," spilling wine everywhere. His eyes widened as he stared at Zhan Zhao in disbelief: "You... what did you say? Consort Jing? You mean... you are... a prince?!" The news was so shocking that even the usually carefree Bai Yutang stammered.
Zhan Zhao smiled bitterly and slowly recounted what he had seen in the palace and the truth that Xuan Yuan Tianyi had told him. He did not hide anything, including the fact that Zhao Zhen and the Eighth Prince had known about it all along but chose to conceal it.
Bai Yutang was stunned, and it took him a long time to process this shocking secret. He slammed his hand on the table: "Good heavens! Cat, you've got quite the background! No wonder the Emperor treats you so well... Wait!" He suddenly realized something, his expression turned strange, and he looked at Zhan Zhao with a cautious, probing gaze, "Then... Tianyi... did she already know?"
Zhan Zhao nodded, picked up the wine pot again and took a sip, his tone carrying a complex calmness: "She knows. Back then, it was she and the Emperor who searched for me together."
Bai Yutang frowned, his tone somewhat indignant: "So, the reason she saved you and treated you differently back then was because..." He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.
Zhan Zhao shook his head, interrupting him: "Brother Bai, perhaps that was the reason at first. But..." He paused, and images of his interactions with Xuan Yuantian flashed before his eyes, from initial estrangement to later trust, from fighting side by side to the warmth of a red silk bed, her protection, her understanding, her seemingly indifferent yet profound concern, "But her treatment of me was definitely not solely based on my status. If she only regarded me as His Majesty's brother or Consort Jing's son, given her personality, she wouldn't have needed to act this way."
He raised his head and looked at Bai Yutang, his eyes clear and certain: "If she had no intention, even an imperial decree would not have made her submit. Since she agreed to the marriage, her daily interactions and life-and-death commitment are all sincere. Although I, Zhan Zhao, am not exceptionally intelligent, I can still distinguish between sincerity and pretense."
He chuckled self-deprecatingly: "If it were the old me, with my pride and arrogance, I might have gotten stuck in a rut, thinking that she was using me as a substitute for the emperor. But now... I won't. I know that she truly cares about me, Zhan Zhao."
He spoke slowly and clearly, as if persuading Bai Yutang, but also sorting out and reaffirming his own resolve. The shock of learning about his origins was immense, but it did not shake his trust and affection for Xuan Yuan Tianyi. On the contrary, after clarifying this relationship, he became even more certain that their bond transcended all external identities and karmic connections.
Bai Yutang stared at his serious expression for a moment, then grinned and patted his shoulder heavily: "Good job, Cat! You're so perceptive! I misunderstood! Come on, let's drink! Forget about princes, to me, you are Zhan Zhao, my brother Bai Yutang! Today's wine is for you... uh, to celebrate you finding your roots?" He couldn't think of a suitable word for a moment, so he simply filled Zhan Zhao's cup again.
Seeing Bai Yutang's still cheerful and unpretentious smile, the last trace of gloom in Zhan Zhao's heart dissipated. He took the wine glass and clinked it heavily with Bai Yutang's: "Good brother!"
That night, the two friends talked a lot in the small room over simple food and wine. Zhan Zhao poured out the secret of his birth that had been weighing on his heart, and felt much lighter. Bai Yutang, on the other hand, cracked jokes, sometimes sighing, sometimes cursing, comforting and supporting his brother in his unique way.
As the wine flowed freely, Zhan Zhao gazed at the bright moon outside the window, his heart clearing. The revelation of the mystery of his origins had not changed his essence. He was still Zhan Zhao, a guard of Kaifeng Prefecture, Bai Yutang's brother, and Xuan Yuan Tianyi's husband. He would bear the responsibilities that came with this bloodline, but he would never lose himself because of it.
The road ahead may be even more complicated, with the remnants of Prince An, the covetous Liao Kingdom, and even the undercurrents that may exist in the court... but he is fearless.
“Brother Bai,” Zhan Zhao raised his wine cup, his gaze as firm as a rock, “no matter who I am, I will not shirk any of my duties.”
Bai Yutang clinked glasses with him, his smile smug: "That's more like it! Who cares about demons and monsters? Let's beat them up one by one! Cheers!"
The moonlight, like water, shone on the two of them, and also on the lamp in Xiaoyou's villa in the distance, which was always lit for him.
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