CXD - 54

The three words “Little Ancestor” seemed to trigger a memory. The last time he had called her that, the scene came rushing back like a flood—

In the study of the Shen Mansion in Chang’an, she had been sulking because of Pei Xueqing. He had lifted her onto the desk and leaned down to kiss her…

Jiang Zhiyi shuddered, forcefully pushing him away and scrambling off the horse as if fleeing.

Yuan Ce’s brow twitched as he reached out to grab her, but Jingzhe beat him to it, causing his hand to freeze mid-air.

In her panic, Jiang Zhiyi hadn’t realized how tall the horse was. With Jingzhe’s help, she looked down at the ground with lingering fear. Thinking about how she had abandoned her luxurious life in Chang’an to jump off buildings and leap off horses, her eyes filled with anger like towering waves when she looked up at him again.

A squadron of Xiance soldiers marched into the alley with整齐的步伐, lining up on both sides to await orders.

Yuan Ce watched the unmistakable anger and disgust in Jiang Zhiyi’s eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed as his suspended hand slowly retreated. His expression turned indifferent as he tightened his grip on the reins and raised his other hand: “Escort the Young Lady back to the mansion.”

Half an hour later, inside the inner courtyard of the Shen Mansion.

Though there was no one around, Guyu still felt the atmosphere was unbearably tense. She stood guard in front of the bedroom door, occasionally checking the windows and looking up at the roof to ensure no one could hear what was happening inside.

Inside the bedroom, Jingzhe helped Jiang Zhiyi change out of her dirty clothes. Seeing her sitting on the edge of the bed hugging her knees with a vacant stare, Jingzhe sat quietly for a while before murmuring, “...He must have realized I’ve regained my memories.”

Jingzhe sighed inwardly. The moment the Princess thought about how she and her archenemy had become so intimate, she couldn’t continue pretending as if nothing had happened. It was hard not to let General Shen Yuan notice.

“He knows... Do I still have a chance to return to Chang’an?” Jiang Zhiyi blinked, her face ashen. Besides despair, she was full of suspicion and confusion.

“Jingzhe, why is he treating me like this?”

Jingzhe said that Shen Yuan Ce liked her and tricked her here because he feared she wouldn’t acknowledge their relationship. But after reviewing everything, Jiang Zhiyi found his sudden change in attitude too abrupt, especially marked by the incident of breaking the jade. Before and after were like two different people.

Initially, he had been indifferent to her, even showing a fierce side when he broke the jade. Suddenly, he transformed into playing the role of her lover, claiming that his previous indifference was all to test her sincerity.

Her sincerity was genuinely disliking him, which he clearly knew—this was obviously just a comforting lie.

How could he suddenly fall for her overnight? There must be ulterior motives.

“Could it be that after I left in anger, he found it boring and decided to trick me into hopping around in front of him again?”

Jingzhe: “But teasing for a short while is one thing; spending months acting with you, even arranging a marriage—it doesn’t make sense.”

Perhaps he was worried that after she stumbled upon the jade pendant, she would recover her memories and discover his affair with Pei Xueqing, so he wanted to keep her calm?

But that jade pendant was something he himself knocked over in front of her. If he cared so much, how could he be so careless?

Or maybe he forgot that the jade pendant was in that porcelain vase.

Forgetting carelessly could be understandable, but when Pei Xueqing came to see him later, why didn’t he avoid her? It didn’t seem like he didn’t want her to find out about their relationship.

Even that day, when he saw the other half of the jade pendant in Pei Xueqing’s hand, he seemed just as surprised and perplexed as she was.

Could it be that he forgot where he put the jade pendant and also forgot about his affair with Pei Xueqing?

...Could someone really forget something like that? Could it be that while she lost her memory, he did too?

There was no news of General Shen losing his memory from battle, and besides, he recognized everyone in the academy, didn’t he?

As she pondered, it seemed she was getting closer to the answer, yet things became more tangled. Jiang Zhiyi rested her forehead on her hand, utterly exhausted: “Jingzhe, my head hurts so much...”

On the other side, in the main courtyard of the academy.

Mu Xinhong observed Yuan Ce’s grim expression and nervously swallowed. “Your meaning is... the Princess not only recovered her memories but also realized that you and the eldest master are two different people?”

Yuan Ce leaned silently against the backrest of his chair, remaining silent for a long while.

He had already noticed Jiang Zhiyi regaining her memory last night. Though he had anticipated this day many times, imagining how she might react, the outcome still exceeded his expectations.

Indeed, he had planted numerous hints with her, so it was inevitable she would eventually suspect her brother had been replaced by someone else. But from the moment she began to doubt until she confirmed it, he should have had time to maneuver.

However, she wielded a subtle blade — she hadn’t given him any opportunity to explain.

Yuan Ce: “If she liked my brother enough to fabricate such fantasies, then unless she discovered I am not him...”

Why did she look at him like that?

Today, when she looked at him, it was as if she were staring at a deeply detested enemy. In a fleeting moment of revulsion, she disregarded the height of the horse and jumped off without hesitation.

“Could it be that the Princess never liked the eldest master to begin with, just as the rumors suggest?”

“Then where did her memories come from?”

Li Dafeng had said that her additional memories could either be figments of her imagination or vivid impressions of what she had seen and heard—someone else’s story.

Yet, in this story, not only did the protagonists’ backgrounds, life experiences, and public relationships align perfectly with her and his brother, but even the personalities and mannerisms of the female protagonist’s aunt, uncle, and eldest cousin matched reality down to the smallest detail.

If it were someone else’s story, how could there be such a coincidence?

Moreover, Jiang Zhiyi had once commented on his archery skills, saying she knew he had been hiding his true abilities.

Pei Xueqing knew his brother wasn’t truly frivolous, which was why she liked him. If Jiang Zhiyi also knew, her affection for his brother wouldn’t be surprising.

And now, in her eyes, if he were still his brother, still the person she admired secretly for years, she should have at least confronted him angrily, demanding why he deceived her, whether he sincerely sought to marry her, and what his relationship with Pei Xueqing was.

But she didn’t. She only wanted to endure the humiliation and escape.

As the sky gradually darkened and it was time to light the lamps, Jiang Zhiyi sat at the dining table outside her bedroom, watching Jingzhe bring in a table full of dishes. Her appetite was nonexistent; she picked up her chopsticks only to put them down again.

“My Lady, please don’t starve yourself. We still need to figure out a way to...” Jingzhe started but stopped abruptly when she heard Guyu call out loudly from outside, “Young General Shen.”

Sure enough, a moment later, a knock sounded at the door.

Looking at the shadow cast on the door, Jiang Zhiyi took a deep breath.

Since he already knew she had recovered her memories, there was no point in beating around the bush anymore. Tonight, she would confront him clearly.

Jiang Zhiyi straightened herself, adjusted her collar, and said, “Come in.”

Yuan Ce pushed open the door and walked in, glancing at her dining table. “Still not over it? Already eating alone?”

Jiang Zhiyi was taken aback by his words and fell silent. “Don’t you have dinner in your own quarters?”

“The kitchen thought I hadn’t returned, so they didn’t prepare my portion.”

“Then wait for them to prepare it.”

“It would delay things. I’ll just eat a few bites here before going to meet the envoy from the Ministry of Rites.” Yuan Ce sat down opposite her without waiting for an invitation.

Jiang Zhiyi paused. “Where are you meeting him...?”

“Want to join me?” Yuan Ce smirked. “Then let’s finish dinner and go together.”

Jiang Zhiyi grew even more perplexed by this man. She had made her feelings clear, yet he acted as if nothing was wrong. Was he pretending to be blind or genuinely oblivious?

“Not interested?” Yuan Ce raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll go.” Jiang Zhiyi reined in her intention to confront him, gestured to Jingzhe to bring another set of utensils, and watched him cautiously.

As if he were merely here for a casual meal, Yuan Ce wiped his hands with a damp cloth, picked up his chopsticks, and placed a few strands of bamboo shoots into his bowl, eating as usual. After a few bites, he glanced up and saw her unmoving. “Why aren’t you eating?”

“No appetite.”

“This might be our last meal together. Eat a little.”

...Did he mean to imply he’d let her go?

Jiang Zhiyi’s gaze flickered. She couldn’t believe he would give up so easily after all his bluster.

After a brief silence, Jiang Zhiyi hesitantly picked up her chopsticks and reached for the bamboo shoots. Just as she approached the dish, recalling that he had just eaten from it, she redirected her chopsticks toward the plate of shrimp instead.

Yuan Ce glanced at her and asked Jingzhe to bring a pair of communal chopsticks. He exchanged his chopsticks for the communal ones, peeled a shrimp quickly, and placed it on the plate near her.

Jiang Zhiyi stiffly watched his natural movements, lowering her head to eat small bites of rice.

Long afterward, the peeled shrimp remained untouched on the cold plate.

“Why aren’t you eating it?” Yuan Ce tilted his chin.

“If I eat it, will you take me to see the envoy?”

Yuan Ce gazed at her, who appeared to be enduring unbearable humiliation, and turned away with a smile. “Jiang Zhiyi, I can take you to see the envoy—”

“But I’ve already arranged everything with him. Even if you see him, you won’t leave Hexi.”

Jiang Zhiyi’s face changed, and her hand holding the chopsticks trembled. Suppressing her urge to overturn the table in anger, she slammed down her chopsticks and stood up.

Jingzhe watched the two nervously, ready to protect Jiang Zhiyi at any moment.

“What do you mean by this? What do you mean by ‘our last meal together’?”

“If we’re tearing off the mask, then naturally, it’s the last one.” Yuan Ce sat calmly on the chair, tilting his head to look at her placidly.

“Tricking me into eating this meal, what good can you possibly gain?”

“You’re not getting anything good out of this, but at least it shows just how much you detest me.”

“...”

Jiang Zhiyi stared at him incredulously. “Are you sick in the head?”

How much she despised him—did it really need to be proven through this meal?

Yuan Ce lowered his gaze to the shrimp she refused to touch: “Didn’t you once say... that I’m the cleanest person in the world?”

Jiang Zhiyi’s heart jolted. Unavoidably, the memory of when she had said those words resurfaced.

On a stormy spring night filled with thunder, in that unfamiliar inn, they had squeezed together on a narrow, dark bed, exchanging damp breaths. He had asked her, “Don’t you think it’s dirty?”

She had replied, “I think Brother A’ce is the cleanest person in the world.”

Jiang Zhiyi closed her eyes briefly. Her temples throbbed as anger surged within her. “...When I said that, wasn’t it clear who I meant?”

“Using such filthy methods to trick me here, have you considered how disgusting you are?”

Yuan Ce lowered his eyelids and nodded. “I’m dirty, I’m disgusting. The only one who’s clean is my brother—isn’t that right?”

“Yes—” Jiang Zhiyi blurted out reflexively, drawing out the word before freezing in place.

...Or was it?

What... what brother?

Did Shen Yuan Ce have a brother? Wasn’t he an only child?

...No, even if he did have a brother, what did that have to do with her?

Jiang Zhiyi looked at him with a faint amusement, ready to tell him to stop trying to distract her.

“So you like him so much that even if I were with him...” Yuan Ce began, then paused abruptly, suddenly recalling what she had told him that drunken night in the Princess’s residence.

—I don’t love Brother A’ce for his appearance, but for his soul, his heart. There’s only one Brother A’ce in this world. Even if you look exactly alike, I wouldn’t fall for his replacement.

“True, you’ve already said you don’t care about appearances.” Yuan Ce nodded slightly.

The scolding that was about to leave Jiang Zhiyi’s lips caught in her throat. She stood frozen, her body unmoving, while her soul trembled violently.

What did he mean...? What liking, what appearance? Was Shen Yuan Ce insane, or was she the foolish one?

Why couldn’t she understand his words? Why did they send chills down her spine?

With wide eyes, Jiang Zhiyi quietly reached out to Jingzhe for help. Jingzhe, equally unnerved, gently grasped her hand.

Master and servant alike stared at the man sitting across from them, heads bowed, too afraid to move. They clung to each other’s hands for strength, exchanging glances.

Jiang Zhiyi: Did we put too much alcohol in our food?

Jingzhe: Not really...

Jiang Zhiyi slowly released Jingzhe’s hand and pretended to pace angrily. She walked over to Yuan Ce’s side, discreetly sniffed the air, catching a whiff of soapnut fragrance mingled with a faint trace of alcohol.

So it was alcohol... Had he bathed after drinking?

Jiang Zhiyi paced back and forth twice more, pretending to be angry, before returning to her spot. She mouthed silently to Jingzhe: He drank by himself.

Jingzhe: So that’s it.

But didn’t people always spill their truths when drunk? Was there some hidden meaning in his words?

Silently, Jiang Zhiyi tried piecing together his statements, feeling as though she’d grasped something important but couldn’t quite put it together. Gathering her thoughts, she asked, “Your brother—he’s… where?”

Yuan Ce raised his eyes, his expression slightly hazy, as if the alcohol was taking effect. “Do you want to go find him?”

Did she... or did she not?

Jiang Zhiyi nervously licked her lips, choosing a noncommittal response: “Of course…”

Yuan Ce looked at her, the corner of his mouth twitching into a faint smile. “Too bad there’s only me in this world now—no brother. What will you do, Jiang Zhiyi?”