After learning that Satsuki was on the throne, Ye Zhizhou could no longer bear to look at the noblewomen in the palace who vied for the Emperor's favor. He went through the motions of the ceremonies that followed their second day of marriage, ignoring the ambiguous glances and strange expressions of the counterfeit Emperor and the noblewomen. He took Saya to the Delan Palace for breakfast and then headed to the Mingyue Palace.
"National Teacher, Your Highness," Rong Guangyan, dressed in formal attire, greeted them and bowed respectfully. "The undercover guards sent by the Emperor have arrived and are waiting in the side hall."
Saya nodded in acknowledgment and led Ye Zhizhou towards the side hall. The batch of undercover guards assigned by the Emperor consisted of eight members, seven women and one man, and the only man among them was the original character, Lengye.
Lengye was slightly shorter than the average male, with a cold demeanor that made him skilled at hiding his presence. Perhaps sensing Ye Zhizhou's scrutiny, he stiffened briefly but quickly relaxed.
"Little Zhou," Saya's jealousy flared up again.
Ye Zhizhou averted his gaze and recalled the information about Lengye in his mind, feeling a sense of unease. Most of the Emperor's undercover guards were women, and there were very few men among them. Lengye was the only male among the elite guards. While he performed the duties of an undercover guard, he seemed to harbor a desire for a simple life, far removed from the complexities of the court. The fact that the protagonist managed to win him over was entirely accidental. At that time, when the protagonist and the enemy prince were engaged in a love-hate relationship, often in a bad mood, she had once mistakenly thought Lengye was Yushuang and expressed her affections, uttering words like "a lifetime together," "working the fields and weaving cloth," and "a husband and wife sharing their lives." She had even made some inappropriate advances towards Lengye. It was a series of misunderstandings, and rather than explaining, the protagonist continued to flirt with the innocent young undercover guard, setting a standard for being a terrible girlfriend.
Lengye was a straightforward person who believed that since the protagonist had taken advantage of him, he could only follow her for the rest of his life. Despite feeling jealous of her numerous consorts, he understood her status as the Emperor's daughter and buried his feelings of envy deep inside. He was also the last one to leave the protagonist's side, as he suffered a miscarriage due to complications caused by a new consort introduced by the female lead. The more Ye Zhizhou thought about the plot, the more he felt sorry for Lengye, and his unease subsided.
While he was lost in thought, Saya had already arranged the female undercover guards, leaving only Lengye standing in place.
"Little Zhou," Saya held his hand, his expression calm, his tone even, and even his voice was gentle.
Ye Zhizhou snapped back to reality and quickly held Saya's hand, clearing his throat before saying, "Um, from today onwards, let's call him Lengye."
Lengye remained silent, kneeling on the ground, feeling a sense of heaviness in his heart. Did the newly appointed royal prince have other intentions? He lowered his gaze to hide his reluctance and accepted his fate. Even though he felt jealous of the protagonist's many consorts, he knew he had to suppress those feelings, given her identity as the Emperor's daughter. He was also the last one to leave her side, as he had suffered a miscarriage caused by a new consort introduced by the female lead. The more Ye Zhizhou thought about the plot, the more he felt sorry for Lengye, and his unease subsided.
As he was lost in thought, Saya had already arranged the female undercover guards, leaving only Lengye standing in place.
"Little Zhou," Saya held his hand, his expression calm, his tone even, and even his voice was gentle.
Ye Zhizhou snapped back to reality and quickly held Saya's hand, clearing his throat before saying, "Um, from today onwards, let's call him Lengye."
Lengye remained silent, kneeling on the ground, feeling a sense of heaviness in his heart. Did the newly appointed royal prince have other intentions? He lowered his gaze to hide his reluctance and accepted his fate. Even though he felt jealous of the protagonist's many consorts, he knew he had to suppress those feelings, given her identity as the Emperor's daughter. He was also the last one to leave her side, as he had suffered a miscarriage caused by a new consort introduced by the female lead. The more Ye Zhizhou thought about the plot, the more he felt sorry for Lengye, and his unease subsided.
As he was lost in thought, Saya had already arranged the female undercover guards, leaving only Lengye standing in place.
"Little Zhou," Saya held his hand, his expression calm, his tone even, and even his voice was gentle.
Ye Zhizhou snapped back to reality and quickly held Saya's hand, clearing his throat before saying, "Um, from today onwards, let's call him Lengye."
Lengye remained silent, kneeling on the ground, feeling a sense of heaviness in his heart. Did the newly appointed royal prince have other intentions? He lowered his gaze to hide his reluctance and accepted his fate.
"Here are enough people for me to attend to. You..." Ye Zhizhou paused, then turned to Saya and lowered his voice, "Can you determine where his destiny lies?"
Saya glanced at him with a sideways look, and then addressed Lengye, who was still kneeling, "Go to the treasury, take five thousand taels of silver, and head south. I will arrange your household registration, and if you encounter any difficulties, seek refuge in the nearest branch of the Mingyue Palace. That's it, you may go."
Lengye was stunned, breaking the rule of not making direct eye contact with his master. He looked at the two of them with surprise and hesitated before asking, "Does Master mean..."
"You are free now," Ye Zhizhou couldn't help but squint and smile, then he stood up, pulled Saya, and said, "It's getting late, let's leave the palace." They should have just enough time to visit the brothel.
Saya glanced at him and held out an empty wine glass, his expression unreadable. Ye Zhizhou noticed his gaze and quickly sat down next to him, obediently pouring wine for him. Whether it was his imagination or not, he felt that his lover, after regaining his memories, remained as domineering and jealous as before but exuded an even more intimidating aura. His previous lover might have been a bit crazy, but she was easy to please. Now, he couldn't seem to win against him and felt completely overpowered.
"Little Zhou."
Once again, it was that calm tone. Ye Zhizhou hurriedly sat up straight and cautiously raised his eyes to look at him.
Saya lightly touched the wine glass to his lips and asked, "Are you afraid of me?"
No, no, how could he dare to be afraid? So he shook his head vigorously, vigorously denying it!
Saya's gaze darkened as he set down his wine glass, turned to the side, and hugged Ye Zhizhou, stroking his hair. His voice softened, "Little Zhou, don't be afraid of me." Otherwise, he didn't know what he might do.
"I'm not..." Unable to see his expression, Ye Zhizhou felt slightly more at ease and hurriedly said, "I... I'm just... I'm just not used to it! Yes, that's it. In the past, I used to rush to complete missions in every world I visited. Suddenly, in this world, everything has slowed down, and I'm having some trouble adapting."
"Is that so?" Saya leaned in and kissed his ear, his fingertips shimmering with a golden light. "Call me by my name, Little Zhou."
Ye Zhizhou shivered from his affectionate kiss, feeling a bit shy. In a low voice, he called out, "Dongfang Shu." For almost a month now, he had been unable to say the other person's real name. It felt awkward and embarrassing, so he had always used a vague term like "darling" whenever he needed to address Saya directly.
"Dongfang Shu." Not giving Saya a chance to speak, he took a deep breath and repeated it seriously. Then, he reached out and grabbed the fabric behind his lover, nuzzling against him. "Dongfang Shu... Shu, um, Dongfang... I'm not afraid of you. I just like you too much." He was overwhelmed by his feelings.
Being called by your name in such an affectionate tone by someone who liked you felt like this... The golden light on his fingertips disappeared, and Ye Zhizhou closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "I know, I've always known." This person loved him, even if it had been a fragmented version of himself in the past. There was no doubt; this person truly loved him.
"Little Zhou..." Saya gently patted his back, his spiritual power unconsciously enveloping him. "We'll always be together."
It felt as if he was lying in a cradle, drifting comfortably.
"Thank you for telling me."
"You're welcome. Take care, Manager Liu."
"I'll remember the National Teacher's favor."
The sound of a chair being pushed, footsteps, and then the sound of a door opening. Ye Zhizhou opened his eyes drowsily and saw a flash of a slender figure in red disappearing beyond the gradually closing door. He could vaguely see the other person's blurry and perfect profile.
"The probability of romance between Lord Liu and the protagonist has dropped to 30%. Host, keep up the good work."
"Oh my god, Lord Liu!" He instantly sobered up, trying to throw off the blanket and get out of bed to chase after him. In the original plot, Lord Liu was the character the protagonist couldn't forget, and the only reason for that was because Lord Liu was incredibly handsome! Not the effeminate kind of handsome, but the clean and noble kind! Lord Liu was a master of various skills, excelling in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. He once played the zither, and it attracted a chorus of birds singing in response. Most importantly, he was the first male lead who left the protagonist to live a carefree life!
He had actually missed the chance to meet this god-like male lead! What a big mistake!
A shadow loomed over him, and as he bent down to put on his shoes, he froze. Then he immediately realized the situation and swallowed hard, tugging at his lover's clothes. "Um... I'm thirsty..."
"Are you feeling dizzy?"
The vinegar bottle he had anticipated didn't come crashing down. Instead, his body was lifted up, and then his forehead warmed as a familiar surge of spiritual power enveloped him. "You shouldn't have let me drink. The alcohol here is stronger, and your body can't handle it. You actually got drunk after just one glass."
He looked up at his lover, his eyes filled with confusion and a hint of embarrassment. "Aren't you angry?"
"Why would I be angry?" Saya looked at him strangely and then lightly flicked his forehead. "Did you get silly from sleeping? Since you're awake, tidy up and get ready to go back. It's late, and the flower boats are closing soon."
Only then did Ye Zhizhou belatedly realize that they were on a small flower boat. He felt even more foolish. "Didn't we drink at the restaurant earlier? How did we end up here after a nap?" He remembered that they had initially been cuddling together, and then Saya had playfully used his spiritual power to interact with him. He had been so happy and had even taken another sip of wine. After that... After that, he must have fallen asleep right away.
"Didn't you say you wanted to experience a flower boat?" Saya stroked his messy hair and looked at him with gentle amusement. "I thought of surprising you while you were asleep. But I didn't expect you to sleep for so long and only wake up now. While you were asleep, I sent someone to invite Lord Liu to our boat, and we had a conversation. So, how did it go? Did you make progress?"
"There's still 30% left..." Ye Zhizhou was soothed by Saya's gentle tone, and all his rationality disappeared in the face of this evil wind called "love." He grinned foolishly and said, "Thank you for your hard work. The remaining 30% should be easy to lower once Lord Liu and his true love resolve their misunderstanding... Dongfang, you're amazing. I really like this flower boat."
Saya smiled faintly. "You haven't even looked at it closely. How can you say you like it?"
Ye Zhizhou hesitated for a moment, then looked away, his neck stiff. "This boat is incredibly comfortable to sleep on, so of course, I like it!"
Saya couldn't help but chuckle, and Ye Zhizhou blushed a little, then joined in the laughter.
Meanwhile, Tongtian continued to lie silently in Ye Zhizhou's arms, after much hesitation, deciding to continue playing dead and concealing the fact that Dongfang Shu had tampered with the wine. It had gone from being openly jealous to secretly jealous, and it was feeling quite bewildered.
Three days later, General's youngest son, Ying Qiong, encountered a young scholar selling paintings in an old street. To his astonishment, he found that the young man had an identical jade pendant just like his own. After a brief conversation, he was even more surprised to discover that this person was none other than his childhood sweetheart, whom he had believed to have passed away!
On the second floor of a teahouse, Ye Zhizhou furrowed his brows as he watched the two of them walk away. He still had some concerns in his heart. "But that person isn't Ying Qiong's childhood sweetheart, right? What if it exposes the plot? And what about that person's identity? Why won't you tell me?"
Saya turned his face back to him, effortlessly crushing a walnut that he had been unable to break, and reassured him, "It's okay if it exposes the plot. Although their path to love has had some twists and turns, they will definitely have a stable and happy ending. As for that person's identity... just the leader of a small gang in the martial world, nothing worth mentioning."
"I see..." Ye Zhizhou relaxed a bit and took the walnut Saya offered, muttering, "As long as there's a good ending. Ying Qiong seems like a traditional and naive person. We can't let him be deceived by the wrong person."
At the street corner, Sha Li, carrying several scrolls of paintings on her back, was pulled forward by Ying Qiong. Her face was filled with helplessness. "Young master, I really don't know you."
"But I recognize your jade pendant!" Ying Qiong stared at her with a pair of cat-like eyes, a mixture of anger and aggrievement in his gaze. "Is it shameful to be engaged in a childhood marriage? You pretended to be dead, and I even treated you to candied haws when we were kids. You deceiver!"
No, she wasn't a deceiver; she was an assassin. Sha Li silently looked at him, her mind racing through a hundred ways to knock him unconscious. However, after making eye contact with his innocent and clear gaze, she found it difficult to carry out any of those methods. She could only continue to explain, "I bought this jade pendant myself, really! I am not..."
Swoosh!
The sound of a hidden weapon cutting through the air rang out. Sha Li's expression changed, and she quickly pulled Ying Qiong into her arms, jumping behind a nearby wall. In a hushed tone, she asked, "Where is your home? I'll take you back." Damn it, it was all because this kid blabbered too much that he exposed her disguise and allowed her enemies to recognize her!
"You... You can fly!" However, Ying Qiong completely ignored her question, feeling both excited and embarrassed by her teasing. "Is it embarrassing to be my childhood sweetheart? You even forgot where my family's mansion is! It's the General's Manor, quickly remember it, or else... or else, I'll tear up your paintings!" He said as he pulled a scroll from her back and hugged it tightly.
Young master, there's only a blank scroll in that painting. But the General's Manor does seem like a good hiding place, doesn't it? Sha Li's eyes twinkled, and she hugged him again, using her lightness skills to dash towards the General's Manor. She smiled and said, "Actually, I was just teasing you earlier. How could I forget you, my little childhood sweetheart?"
Ying Qiong's emotions were mixed as she teased him, leaving him both shy and annoyed. It turned out his future wife was like this... she seemed pretty good.
"The probability of romance between Ying Qiong and the protagonist has dropped to 0%. The fourth soul flag has been removed. Congratulations to the host. Please keep up the good work."
Ye Zhizhou's hand trembled, and he almost dropped his teacup. "So... so fast?!" It had been less than ten minutes since those two left. This speed was incredible.
Saya reached out and took Ye Zhizhou's teacup, bringing it to his own lips and taking a sip. He smiled contentedly, "Don't worry, there's an even faster one coming."