Futile Devices Scans

Elio’s Notes: The title 力拔山兮 echoes Xiang Yu’s famous Song of Gaixia: “My strength could uproot mountains…” Here it also cheekily foreshadows Wei Fu physically hoisting Yugong Zhaoye onto a horse later in the chapter.

Yugong Zhaoye led his horse into the rear alley behind Wanhong Tower. Not long afterward, Wei Fu arrived with his usual graceful ease. The moment he saw Yugong Zhaoye, he smiled. “Well? Pretty?”

The alley was dark. Every so often, the changing light of the fireworks illuminated Wei Fu’s high, straight nose. His features were clean-cut without losing their refinement, his eyes bright and his lips naturally smiling, his whole bearing warm and elegant as polished jade. He was, indeed, very pretty.

The instant Yugong Zhaoye saw him, his thoughts drifted a little. He lowered his eyes. “Mm.” Wei Fu turned to look at the sky. “Fireworks beneath the moon have a charm of their own. The weather has turned cold and all the trees are withering. I was just thinking there was nothing worth looking at anymore. Tonight’s display came at exactly the right time.”

What an expensive and completely useless bit of elegance, Yugong Zhaoye thought. Yet somehow, what came out of his mouth was, “At Mid-Autumn, Longsha’s shipping merchants set off fireworks by the sea. When you reach Bihan City, you can go see them.”

Wei Fu’s head whipped around, a subtle smile spreading from his eyes to his brows. “Will Your Highness take me?”

Yugong Zhaoye: “…All right.”

His faintly uncomfortable gaze settled on Wei Fu’s neck, which was completely hidden beneath his collar. Perhaps it was only the light, but even the patterns on Wei Fu’s robe seemed slightly blurred. “Did you arrange the fireworks?”

Wei Fu smiled. “Prince Yidu was originally hosting a banquet here, and I received an invitation. Last night, Your Highness sent word telling me to prepare people in advance in case anything happened. I thought about it. The most conspicuous event in Fengdu lately is the Hanhua Gathering. It seemed entirely possible that the Ten Aspects Sect might choose it as their next target, so I made some preparations.”

“Is Prince Yidu safe?”

“Once someone from Your Highness’s side brought the warning just now, I first asked His Highness to move elsewhere. But there are so many guests inside tonight that having the Egret Guard rush in and search the building would have caused panic and alerted the enemy. So I arranged for fireworks outside. While everyone went out to watch, we seized Li Song in one move and cleared away all the thunderfire bombs hidden inside the tower.”

Wei Fu had always handled affairs with tact and thoroughness; that much had already been evident during the Tongshi Apothecary case. Yugong Zhaoye said, “They still have people lying in ambush around Wanhong Tower. They were preparing to assassinate Prince Yidu. Now that the plan has failed, they’ll probably try to disappear into the crowd. Don’t let them escape.”

“Mm. Your Highness can rest assured. The Egret Guard has already sent people to investigate discreetly.” Wei Fu looked at him. “Did everything go smoothly on your end?”

When Yugong Zhaoye emerged and saw fireworks instead of disaster, he had been no less bewildered than Gu Pingchuan. Worried that something might still go wrong at Wanhong Tower, he had not even waited for the Egret Guard to finish making arrests. He stripped off his disguise, mounted his horse, and rushed straight here. But saying that aloud would sound suspiciously like he had not trusted Wei Fu to handle things, so Yugong Zhaoye merely nodded vaguely. “The mastermind and his accomplices are all in custody. The rest is yours to handle. We won’t interfere any further.”

For some reason, those few words struck directly against some tender, sensitive string in Wei Fu’s heart. His brows drew together. “Before this, Your Highness insisted that Bihua no longer existed. If you had dealt with those people yourselves, the affair would have remained an unsolved case at most. Even if Bihua were suspected, there would be no evidence. So why did you tell me in advance and have me notify the Egret Guard? His Majesty has granted me discretionary authority, but once the Egret Guard moves, the matter is effectively placed directly before him. Isn’t Your Highness afraid of bringing trouble upon yourself?”

“The matter is too serious and involves too many people. If we reach too far, we only make ourselves easier to expose. Better to do your emperor a favor. Considering we prevented a major catastrophe, he won’t investigate too deeply.” Yugong Zhaoye glanced at him, unable to understand why Wei Fu looked so grave. “Besides, the Ten Aspects Sect previously attacked Xiling’s envoys in broad daylight and nearly shattered the alliance. We owe your side an explanation.”

He spoke with less ceremony than someone ordering dishes, brushing aside both the credit and everything he had suffered to earn it. He did not care who praised him, nor whether anyone repaid him.

Beyond the alley, fireworks filled the heavens, and the streets glowed almost as brightly as day. Yugong Zhaoye merely stood in the unnoticed darkness behind the tower.

Wei Fu watched him for a long moment. He could not tell whether the feeling rising in his chest was bitterness or softness, so he deliberately stretched out his voice and found something to complain about instead. “What is all this ‘your side’ and ‘our side’? I thought that since Your Highness came to me first when something happened, you’d already decided I counted as one of your own. Apparently your heart still draws an exceedingly clear boundary.”

Yugong Zhaoye: “…”

When Yugong Zhaoye had first known Wei Fu, Wei Fu was still mute. To express himself, he had to write on Yugong Zhaoye’s palm. A single sentence took forever, so naturally he tended to be concise, quiet, almost pitifully so.

When Yugong Zhaoye met him again in Fengdu years later, the reason he had not immediately associated this man with the person he remembered was precisely Wei Fu’s sharp tongue and effortless social grace. The difference was simply too enormous.

Wei Fu saw him hesitate and clicked his tongue. “See? I was right. Is Your Highness thinking about how to argue your way out of it?”

I was thinking that you never talked this much when you were mute. Yugong Zhaoye surrendered with a soft sigh. “I was afraid claiming Young Master Wei as one of my own might be reaching rather above my station. Now my life and fortune are both in your hands. What more loyalty do you want from me?”

Ever since that meeting in the palace, Wei Fu had vaguely sensed that Yugong Zhaoye was deliberately keeping his distance. He had assumed Mu Heng’s words had frightened him into avoiding impropriety. Yet today, something had changed. That distinct sense of detachment Yugong Zhaoye once carried—even while thanking him—had suddenly vanished without a trace. His attitude was extraordinarily gentle. Wei Fu had barely needed to coax him before he yielded as smoothly as silk.

“Something’s wrong.”

“What?”

Wei Fu narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Your Highness is acting strange today.”

For absolutely no reason, Yugong Zhaoye’s heart gave a sudden jump. He pretended calm. “Am I?”

“You’re far too obedient,” Wei Fu said. “You’re treating me with so much respect I might as well be your great-grandfather.”

“…”

A great-grandfather was still an ancestor. Technically speaking, that was not entirely inaccurate. “More or less,” Yugong Zhaoye said.

Wei Fu: “Not even remotely!”

Yugong Zhaoye: “…I didn’t say you actually were.”

Wei Fu wanted very badly to grab him and knock on his skull to see what exactly was stuffed inside that wooden head. “Your Highness, are you—”

He never finished. Yugong Zhaoye suddenly staggered as though the ground beneath him had shifted. He reached blindly through the air for support and somehow failed even to find the wall. Fortunately, Wei Fu reacted immediately and caught him. “What’s wrong?”

A moment earlier, Yugong Zhaoye had merely noticed that his vision seemed slightly blurred. Now dizziness crashed over him. Everything before his eyes dissolved into overlapping layers of indistinct shadow. His limbs became as heavy as though they had been filled with lead, while his temples throbbed painfully.

“Your Highness? Your Highness!”

At least Wei Fu’s voice remained clear beside his ear, noticeably panicked but clear. The arm around Yugong Zhaoye trembled slightly and held him so tightly it seemed determined to squeeze the breath from his lungs. Something cool and dry touched his cheek. “Your Highness, can you see me? Can you hear me?”

Yugong Zhaoye concentrated and realized it was Wei Fu’s fingers.

“It’s fine… I’m fine. Don’t panic.” Yugong Zhaoye forced himself to catch Wei Fu’s wrist while leaning against him for support. “I took an antidote pill made by a quack physician. The aftereffects are too strong. Give it a few shichen and they’ll wear off.”

Wei Fu had broken into a cold sweat from fright. He froze. “What did you encounter that required an antidote?”

“I was bluffing Gu Pingchuan. You can’t catch a wolf without risking some bait.” Yugong Zhaoye had managed to capsize in the shallowest possible gutter and was almost angry enough to laugh. “It was my first time taking the thing. The idiot who compounded it said the usual side effect was weakness in the limbs. Everything else depends on the person. I didn’t expect to turn into a sparrow.”

“Next time, throw more money at him and make him improve the medicine.” Wei Fu was still preserving enough courtesy not to say anything worse. Then he casually asked, “Why a sparrow?”

Yugong Zhaoye: “Night blindness.”

Wei Fu: “…”

When Yugong Zhaoye ought to understand other people’s feelings, he was as sensitive as an iron cudgel. Now, of all times, he suddenly knew how to make jokes.

His gaze had lost focus. Without the usual cold, forceful sharpness in his eyes, his aura seemed to soften completely. By all rights, a pale and fragile beauty ought to inspire sympathy. Instead, the slight upward curve of Yugong Zhaoye’s lips at that moment made him inexplicably irritating—and inexplicably handsome.

Wei Fu took three deep breaths before successfully resisting the urge to hit him. He squeezed Yugong Zhaoye’s palm hard. “You can’t return to the posthouse like this. Looks like you’ve fallen into my hands. Come home with me.”

“The Duke’s residence?” Yugong Zhaoye said calmly. “You may as well deliver me directly into the palace.”

Wei Fu: “…”

“The other house.” He tightened an arm around Yugong Zhaoye’s waist. “The one where Your Highness once lost your footing.” Then, in one clean movement, Wei Fu hoisted him straight off the ground and deposited him on the horse. “Sit steady. It’s only a short distance. Don’t fall.”

Yugong Zhaoye became unnaturally silent, veins standing out across the back of the hand clutching the saddle. Wei Fu watched him maintain a rigidly expressionless face and could barely suppress his delighted smile. Yugong Zhaoye had probably never imagined that one day someone would simply pick him up and put him somewhere. He was obviously stunned senseless.

Stunned was putting it mildly. Yugong Zhaoye actively wanted to slap him. Unfortunately, his arms had no strength, and mounting the horse had made the floating sensation even worse, so he was forced to restrain his instinct to retaliate.

Even through his shock, another thought occurred to him. Why did he say only a short distance? Liuzhi Alley was not exactly next door to Wanhong Tower. But as the horse moved beneath him with a steady rhythm, the dim world around him slowly brightened. Cold wind, the smell of dust and smoke, street vendors calling out, the roar of countless voices—everything flooded chaotically into the senses that still worked.

This was the busiest avenue in front of Wanhong Tower.

The stirrup suddenly sank. Wei Fu mounted behind him, spread his cloak, and wrapped Yugong Zhaoye completely inside it. Gathering him into his arms, he flicked the reins with one hand and urged the horse toward the old residence.

Wei Fu’s warmth immediately shut out the cold wind and filled almost every remaining sense Yugong Zhaoye possessed. It was different from the brief embrace when they leapt from the exploding carriage. This hold was looser, and somehow far more inescapable.

Yugong Zhaoye sat enclosed before him in a posture that demanded an absurd amount of willpower. Even with barely any strength left, he stubbornly refused to lean completely into Wei Fu’s arms. “Aren’t you afraid someone will see?”

“If they see, they see. What does it matter? Two men sharing a horse isn’t against the law.” Wei Fu lowered his head, his voice close to Yugong Zhaoye’s ear, gentle and faintly coaxing. “Your Highness, lean on me. At a time like this, stop worrying about everything else.”

“After all… it’s hardly the first or second time.”