Futile Devices Scans

“Your Highness slept yourself muddle-headed?” Wei Fu said familiarly, lifting a hand to feel his forehead. “I just got back from morning court.”

Yu Gong Zhao Ye brushed aside his hanging sleeve and looked carefully. He really was wearing official court robes. The crimson color made him look especially vibrant and spirited, and together with his meticulously groomed appearance and bearing, he looked like a peony that had suddenly bloomed amidst the desolation of late autumn.

“When did you go out?” he asked. “You’re this happy after attending court? Did the Emperor promote you?”

“Nothing like that, it was only the regular court assembly,” Wei Fu said, sounding faintly pleased with himself. “I left at the fourth watch. Looks like I didn’t wake Your Highness.”

“You really…” Yu Gong Zhao Ye choked on his words. “Aren’t you sleepy?”

After being busy until the middle of the night and then waking before dawn to attend court, most people would have dark circles hanging to their feet by now. Yet Wei Fu looked so energetic it was as though he were about to go out and greet an assassination.

“It’s fine,” Wei Fu said calmly, saying something terrifying the more one thought about it. “Only half an hour earlier than usual. Besides, it’s only three times a month.”

He had been used to waking early since childhood and did not find it difficult. The person who suffered most whenever there was an early court assembly was actually His Majesty the Emperor, who could never get up.

“So spirited after a morning court session. Young Master Wei is truly dedicated,” Yu Gong Zhao Ye said, leaning lazily against the doorway without any proper posture. Compared beside him, he looked like a wild man who had just walked out of the mountains. “Then why didn’t you go to the government office after court? Forget something?”

Wei Fu answered righteously, “I came back to eat breakfast with Your Highness.”

“Was that necessary?” Yu Gong Zhao Ye found it utterly baffling. “Are there assassins hidden inside the wontons, or an ambush buried in the fried dough sticks?”

“Your Highness wants wontons and fried dough sticks? Then I’ll ask Uncle Wei to buy some.” Wei Fu’s smile was bright as he enthusiastically suggested, “The roasted sesame flatbread from the Yu family at the alley entrance is also excellent. And qingzhan too—that’s a specialty of Fengdu. If you don’t eat it, the trip here was wasted. There are sweet and savory versions. Which would Your Highness like?”

Perhaps the sunlight was too dazzling and caused hallucinations. Yu Gong Zhao Ye vaguely felt as though he could see peacocks flying and foxes dancing.

He had the distinct feeling that if he said right now, “I’m going back to the embassy to deal with yesterday’s aftermath, eat breakfast yourself, farewell,” then before he even made it out of the courtyard, black clouds would crush the city, heaven and earth would lose all color, thunder would chase him from the south of the city to the north, and in the end the entire Longsha delegation would be swept away in torrential floods with no survivors.

“The savory one,” he compromised. “Don’t make too much fuss over it. Something simple is enough. Let me wash my face first.”

Wei Fu happily went to arrange breakfast. Sunlight scattered rippling reflections over his hair and silk robes. He truly looked elegant and graceful, like jade standing in the wind; one could tell from his back alone that he was very happy.

Yu Gong Zhao Ye did not know what exactly he was so pleased about. He lazily turned back into the room, then suddenly realized that he himself was smiling too.

Back then, when he had looked at Ah Guan in the dim tunnel, he had thought: this child looks very beautiful when he smiles, what a pity he ended up in such circumstances. When they parted after leaving the Chisong Mountains, he had thought: in the end I still never saw what he truly looked like, what a pity.

That faint regret had abruptly stopped once he heard the news of Jiang Guan’s death, turning into a scorched and broken remnant of “regret.”

Only just now, when he regained his sight and saw Wei Fu again, accidentally completing the unfinished ending from years ago, did he belatedly taste a bit of the joy of recovering what had once been lost.

By the time they sat back down at the breakfast table, he had already tucked away those overly exposed emotions once more. Wearing an impassive cold expression, he quietly ate breakfast. Wei Fu had already eaten a little before attending court, so now he was only occasionally sipping yam soup as he smilingly asked, “Is it good?”

One should neither speak while eating nor while sleeping. Yu Gong Zhao Ye lowered his eyes and gave an “Mm,” but Wei Fu insisted on chatting with him anyway. “That day, I recognized Your Highness at a glance and felt the same closeness as before. But Your Highness only just found out it was me—what did you feel?”

Yu Gong Zhao Ye swallowed his food and slowly lifted his eyelids to glance at him. “You want the honest answer?”

“Of course. Also, why is there even a fake answer? Does Your Highness plan to brush me off?”

“The fake answer is that Young Master Wei is now mature and steady, already too lofty to approach,” Yu Gong Zhao Ye replied politely. “The real answer is… the difference between being mute and not mute really is enormous.”

He had grown into a great fox spirit who was smooth and sophisticated in all directions, with sharp fangs and claws of his own so that nobody could bully him anymore. Yet those little habits of acting spoiled and shameless when he could not win, those occasionally childish tempers, were still exactly the same as the mute Xiao Guan from back then.

Yu Gong Zhao Ye could not say he had felt either expectation or disappointment. What he felt most strongly was simply that it was very strange:

Wei Fu was a noble young master with both beautiful methods and beautiful looks, born into a prominent family, refined and elegant like orchids and jade trees—at first glance, he matched Yu Gong Zhao Ye’s old guesses in every aspect. Yet when combined together, he somehow felt entirely different from what he had imagined.

Wei Fu: “…”

Wasn’t that just a roundabout way of calling him childish and noisy?!

The question Yu Gong Zhao Ye should have asked long ago finally resurfaced in his mind. “How did your muteness recover?”

Wei Fu said, “My throat was injured when I was first learning to speak. I was too young at the time, so perhaps it left a lasting problem, and I simply couldn’t make any sound after that.” He smiled unconcernedly. “Maybe after going through that ordeal, facing the great terror between life and death counteracted poison with poison and destroyed my inner demons.”

Yu Gong Zhao Ye stared thoughtfully at his frank smile. “How could a three-year-old child suffer such a serious injury?”

“I don’t know,” Wei Fu replied innocently. “I was too young to remember. Maybe I was too naughty and accidentally fell. Anyway, I’m completely healed now, so there’s no need to dwell on how I got hurt… Has Your Highness finished eating? Would you like more yam soup?”

Yu Gong Zhao Ye put down his chopsticks and rinsed his mouth. “I’m full. Thank you for the hospitality.”

Wei Fu pushed his bowl aside. His posture made it look as though if Yu Gong Zhao Ye gave the order, he would cheerfully pack his bags and follow him away immediately. “What are we doing next?”

“Going back to our respective homes. What else?”

Yu Gong Zhao Ye watched helplessly as the corners of his mouth drooped. He thought to himself that he absolutely could not continue indulging Wei Fu’s clinginess. “Even if your appointment has already been issued, you still haven’t left Fengdu. If the Egret Guards catch you secretly associating with the Longsha delegation behind closed doors, it’ll be enough to make you suffer for a while. Behave yourself for the next few days.”

Wei Fu asked hopefully, “Then will Your Highness still come climb through my window?”

Yu Gong Zhao Ye flicked his sleeve and left. “…I’m going!”

Wei Fu watched his figure speed away into the distance. Only after he disappeared at the alley entrance did Wei Fu turn and head back into the courtyard, already calculating how to find a respectable excuse to meet him again openly.

Uncle Wei hesitated before edging closer and calling, “Young Master.” With nothing else to say, he awkwardly added, “That young master has an extraordinary bearing. He looks like a formidable person.”

“Yes,” Wei Fu sighed. “The world does not understand his achievements, but I know he is a peerless hero.”

Uncle Wei had guarded this residence for many years and could be said to have watched Wei Fu grow up. He had never seen him act like a lovestruck maiden before. His heart immediately jolted and he blurted out, “Young Master, you are—”

Before he could finish, Wei Fu lifted a hand to stop him. “Without him, there would be no ‘you are’ for me now.”

“To me, he is more precious than my family background, my life, than everything in this world. There is nothing I would not give up for him.” Looking at the repaired roof, he said gently, “Uncle Wei, it’s enough that you understand this.”

After leaving Liuzhi Alley, Yu Gong Zhao Ye first returned to the embassy to check on the delegation and confirm there were no summons today. Then he went to the city safehouse.

Kui Yue dragged his feet over to open the door, and the moment he saw him, immediately began complaining about heaven and earth alike. “Your Highness, can you please say something to Master Xiang? The side effects of those lousy pills he made were way too strong. Last night we staggered around the room like blind bears, and my temples are still throbbing.”

“Master Xiang” was fully named Qi Li Xiang. He had once been a subordinate of the former Bihua leader Xie Wang Shu, who was Yu Gong Zhao Ye’s mother.

Ever since childhood, he had loved studying medicine. Once, while gathering herbs in the mountains, he accidentally wandered into a bandit stronghold. Coincidentally, the bandits had collectively poisoned themselves by eating the wrong mushrooms that day, so they detained him to serve as the resident physician of the mountain stronghold.

The honest and law-abiding Doctor Qi Li had originally refused. But the bandits offered far too much money. Besides, although the bandits were uncultured, they respected skilled physicians much more than the patients and family members down in the mountains, who would casually demand he be buried alongside the dead. Thus, Qi Li Xiang peacefully settled into a life of banditry and became a bandit together with everyone else.

Doctors from unconventional backgrounds were different from those formally trained physicians and healers; their methods of prescribing medicine were similarly fierce and extreme, often producing inspired disasters along the lines of “tearing down the entire house just to kill a mouse.”

Xie Wang Shu’s generation had all been rough-skinned and tough-bodied. As long as the patient did not die, that counted as a good doctor. Qi Li Xiang had spent years without receiving feedback from normal people, so every medicinal pill he produced overflowed with bizarre creativity. As a result, the younger generation of Moon Envoys suffered deeply under his influence. Yet because he was senior and highly respected, Kui Yue did not dare complain to him directly, and instead secretly encouraged Yu Gong Zhao Ye to step forward and speak up for justice.

Yu Gong Zhao Ye walked around the courtyard, checking on his subordinates who had been reduced to half-dead states by the medicine. Finally he said to Kui Yue, “The ancestral teachings of Bihua say there are two kinds of people in this world you must never offend: cooks and doctors.”

Kui Yue had not expected him to invent such a ridiculous excuse. “Boss… aren’t we Yeguang?”

“Bihua is Yeguang’s ancestor,” Yu Gong Zhao Ye replied expressionlessly. “Be grateful there’s an antidote at all and stop being picky. Your headache is because you stay up all night, sleep late, and skip breakfast every day. Why don’t I have headaches? Go eat breakfast and you’ll be fine.”

Kui Yue: “……”

Listen to that. Was that even something a human being would say?!

She squeezed out a fake smile. “A pitiful little orphan unloved by father or mother like me staying up late is called exhaustion. But if there’s a handsome gentleman keeping someone company, then it becomes moonlit romance and a precious wedding night—mmph mmph mmph—”

Ying Yue had just returned with breakfast and happened to hear this outrageous speech. He immediately rushed over, clapped a hand over her mouth, and dragged her away while apologizing with a smile. “Children don’t know any better, Your Highness. Please don’t lower yourself to her level.”

What kind of child opened her mouth talking about “wedding nights”? Yu Gong Zhao Ye could not stand this blind favoritism. “Wake up. She could punch a cow to death. Last time she knocked two teeth out of a drunk man’s mouth with a spoon. Is that still considered a child?”

Ying Yue lowered his head to look at his sister. “Could you?”

Kui Yue blinked innocently. Ying Yue looked back up sincerely. “She said her hand slipped. She knows she was wrong.”

Yu Gong Zhao Ye asked, “You know you were wrong?”

Kui Yue furiously pounded on her brother’s hand. “Mmph mmph mmph!”

Yu Gong Zhao Ye gestured for him to let go. The moment she was freed, Kui Yue clutched her chest dramatically and moaned, “Ah, my head hurts so much. I think my vision’s getting blurry too. Brother, am I going to be left with permanent complications? How much silver is Yeguang compensating us?”

“If your head hurts, why are you clutching your chest?” Yu Gong Zhao Ye said coolly. “How about I send you back right now and let Master Xiang examine you? According to his theories, if your head hurts, you just open up the skull and fix it.”

Crying and throwing tantrums were useless against this iron-hearted man. Kui Yue’s anger surged from her heart and transformed into reckless courage. She decided to pull on her superior’s tiger whiskers even if it killed her. “Your Highness, you abandoned us last night and rushed off to Wan Hong Tower. Afterward you never seemed to return to the inn. Who exactly managed to keep you there?”

The hidden truth in his heart being exposed caused Yu Gong Zhao Ye’s expression to stiffen almost imperceptibly. “…This little menace.”

“Oh my, who was it that summoned the Xiling Egret Guards? And just who could possibly have been inside Wan Hong Tower? Such a difficult mystery.”

“You.”

Before she could make even more treasonous guesses, Yu Gong Zhao Ye interrupted calmly. “Do you remember the task I assigned you last time?”

Kui Yue immediately straightened. “What, Your Highness wants to go back on his word? Let me warn you first: deposits are non-refundable.”

Yu Gong Zhao Ye felt she was going to force him into becoming a poet through suffering. “I’ll pay you extra. Leave tomorrow. Stop tormenting me.”

Kui Yue let out a triumphant cheer. Suddenly her head no longer hurt and her vision was perfectly clear again. Hugging the breakfast Ying Yue had bought, she happily bounced back to her room.

Yu Gong Zhao Ye saw in her the exact same carefree shamelessness Wei Fu possessed. He felt people like them had been born specifically to torment him.

Ying Yue quietly observed his expression from the side and gently tried to smooth things over for his sister. “A’Jue can be mischievous sometimes. Even I can’t restrain her. Thank you for indulging her, Your Highness.”

The siblings had once been homeless street children Yu Gong Zhao Ye picked up. The older brother was called Hua Mian, the younger sister Hua Jue. Hua Mian was less than two years younger than Yu Gong Zhao Ye and had always treated him with great respect. Hua Jue, meanwhile, was younger and exceptionally gifted. Because she had once received guidance from Yu Gong Zhao Ye, she occasionally dared challenge him.

“That little menace only looks lawless. She actually understands things very clearly inside,” Yu Gong Zhao Ye said casually. “You’re the one who worries too much. It’s because you act like an old mother constantly cleaning up her messes that she’s become so fearless.”

Ying Yue lowered his head with an embarrassed smile. “She’s unlike other young girls who love pretty clothes and ornaments. She likes hoarding money and is greedy about food because she was terrified by poverty and hunger when we were young. Even now that we no longer have to worry about survival, she’s still afraid of falling back into that life someday.”

When Yu Gong Zhao Ye heard the word “afraid,” his heart suddenly stirred. “What about you?” he asked. “What are you afraid of?”

“Back then I was so sick I had only one breath left. A’Jue begged in the streets for food, scavenged everywhere she could, even stole vegetables from people and got beaten black and blue for it, yet still clutched a radish to bring home for me while she herself ate the leaves. She was an incredibly stubborn child. She would think of any possible method to keep the two of us alive.”

“Then one day a neighbor came to our house and asked if I wanted to sell her for money. I drove the person away, but I didn’t know she had been hiding outside the door listening to every word.”

“That night she told me that if there truly was no other choice, I should agree to it.”

He pushed open the hall doors for Yu Gong Zhao Ye and said quietly, “Your Highness, ever since then, the thing I fear most is her being ‘too sensible.’”

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