Xiao Yan looked at the man kneeling before him, a flicker of realization crossing his face. “So it’s you.”
He had seen this man once before at the Cao residence. Though it was merely a fleeting encounter at the gates, Xiao Yan’s impression of him was vivid.
First, it was unusual for a prestigious family like the Caos to keep someone with a disfigured face and hunched posture in their service. Second, it was the way Xu Yu had looked at him that day at the Cao residence’s entrance.
Xiao Yan recalled that his father, the Crown Prince, had an attendant named Xu who managed the internal affairs of the Eastern Palace, primarily overseeing its inner quarters. The external dealings between the Eastern Palace and other residences or the palace were handled by another attendant, Zhang Lin’an, who was well-known, favored by the Crown Prince, and respected in the emperor’s presence. In contrast, Xu was low-key, avoiding the spotlight before the emperor and always showing great humility in the presence of his master.
Though Xiao Yan was familiar with Xu, back then, Xu had a refined appearance and looked youthful. Now, with graying temples, a hunched figure, and a face etched with deep lines, he seemed a shadow of his former self. The half of his face, scarred from burns and poorly healed, made him appear even older and more unsettling.
No wonder Xiao Yan had only felt a vague sense of familiarity that day but couldn’t place him.
Xu Yu’s eyes were red. “This old servant was incompetent, unable to protect Your Highness or save His Highness the Crown Prince. I could only rely on Lord Cao’s help to escape the imperial city and cling to life until now.”
“By heaven’s grace, Your Highness has returned safely, and the Crown Prince’s grievances may yet be redressed.”
He kowtowed heavily several times, his voice choked with emotion as he spoke again. “Your Highness, the Crown Prince never rebelled. He was wronged.”
“When I escaped, I took some of the Crown Prince’s personal belongings. Lord Cao had them examined and discovered that the Crown Prince’s drastic change in temperament was due to poisoning. Someone had tampered with those around him, and I, responsible for the Eastern Palace’s internal affairs, knew nothing.”
“It’s all my fault. I failed to notice someone was harming the Crown Prince. It’s my-”
As Xu Yu spoke, tears streamed down his face. He knocked his head against the floor, as if trying to bore a hole into it, tormented by regret and guilt so intense he wished he could follow his former master in death.
Xiao Yan stepped forward, bending down to stop him. “The events back then were a calculated plot, and not by a single force. Father’s actions threatened too many interests. Those who didn’t want the throne to pass to him naturally did everything to sabotage him. You alone couldn’t have stopped it.”
His father had sensed something was wrong back then. His change in temperament wasn’t sudden, but neither Grand Tutor Rong nor his father could identify the culprit.
Xu Yu was just an attendant, what could he have done?
Hearing Xiao Yan’s comforting words, Xu Yu choked, “Your Highness…”
Xiao Yan helped him up. “You don’t need to feel guilty. I’ll seek justice for Father’s death and clear the Eastern Palace’s name. As for the rest…”
He lowered his voice. “I’m glad there are still survivors from the Eastern Palace.”
Shedding his usual cold and stern demeanor, Xiao Yan’s expression was clear and gentle, his eyes warm. Though his face was entirely unfamiliar, bearing no trace of the young Imperial Grandson from years ago, Xu Yu felt as if he were seeing the Crown Prince standing before him.
This was the Imperial Grandson.
The last bloodline of the Eastern Palace.
Xu Yu’s tears flowed freely as he bowed before Xiao Yan, pressing his forehead to the back of Xiao Yan’s hand, sobbing as if releasing all the peril of that year and the long years of endurance.
Tang Ning, sitting by the brazier, felt her nose tingle and her eyes redden.
…
It was a long while before Xu Yu calmed down. Instead of sitting as Xiao Yan urged, he stood to the side like a loyal old servant.
Xiao Yan asked, “How did you escape back then?”
Xu Yu’s voice was hoarse. “When the Eastern Palace caught fire, I wasn’t in the hall. I rushed back to save people but was struck in the face by a falling beam.”
“I passed out briefly and was woken by screams. In the fire, I saw Xu Chunrong, the deputy commander of the Left Guard, not saving anyone but leading his men to kill in the chaos, blocking off Qing’an Hall where the Crown Prince was.”
The fire was massive, and all Xu Yu could see were dead palace servants, not burned, but silenced. Thinking Xu Chunrong had been bribed to rebel, Xu Yu fled to seek help from the imperial guards.
But upon escaping, he learned the “rebel” was now the Crown Prince. The imperial guards were clashing with the Crown Prince’s forces in the palace, and no one came to douse the Eastern Palace fire. Xu Yu watched helplessly as the flames lit up half the night sky.
His eyes reddened. “It was too late to return to the rear hall. By chance, I met Lord Cao, who told me the emperor had condemned the Eastern Palace for treason, declaring a kill-on-sight order.”
“Lord Cao said I couldn’t go back and that Your Highness had already escaped. If we didn’t cover your tracks, you’d be hunted. I’d served in the palace for years, so I helped Lord Cao send someone to take Your Highness’s place, then left the imperial city with him.”
He spoke with gratitude. “If not for Lord Cao’s help back then, I’d likely be dead. These years, I’ve relied on his protection to stay in the capital, waiting for Your Highness’s return.”
Xiao Yan said softly, “Thank you, Lord Cao.”
“No need to thank me,” Cao Dejiang shook his head. “I didn’t save him out of pure kindness, and Xu knows that.”
The Eastern Palace affair was too tangled. Cao’s rushed entry into the palace wasn’t flawless and left many vulnerabilities.
He feared that if his and Rongqian’an’s actions were discovered, it would bring disaster to himself. So, when he found Xu Yu alive, his first thought was that this Eastern Palace attendant could be useful.
After smuggling Xu Yu out of the palace, Cao Dejiang “imprisoned” him in a remote villa outside the capital, placing a beggar child of similar age and build beside him.
If the palace sent people to investigate, they’d be led to Xu Yu.
At that point, someone stationed there would deal with Xu Yu, letting him and the beggar “die for their master,” severing the matter entirely.
Cao Dejiang didn’t hide this from Xu Yu. “When I saved you, I was just using you to protect the Cao family. You were confined for three years. If you hadn’t disfigured yourself and changed your appearance, and if the Eastern Palace matter hadn’t settled, I wouldn’t have let you return to the capital.”
Xu Yu hurriedly said, “That’s not true. You never hid your intentions, and I stayed there willingly. If someone truly came after His Highness, I was ready to die to end the palace’s suspicions.”
“After the Eastern Palace matter settled, if you really wanted to protect the Cao family, you could’ve killed me to tie up loose ends. Instead, you kept me by your side under the guise of surveillance.”
He looked at Xiao Yan, worried he’d misunderstand Cao Dejiang. “Your Highness, I’ve been by Lord Cao’s side all these years, and he’s never mistreated me. When the late emperor purged the court, it was Lord Cao who went to great lengths to swap out the Crown Prince and Consort’s remains, allowing me to pay my respects all these years.”
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