Chapter 34: Friends
Those parting words that were spoken by Yan Qiu Heng sunk deep within Wei Tian Ao. For the next few days, they haunted him like a vengeful ghost. Why had he asked that question? Just what was he expecting from the Yan twins? It was indisputable that at the moment, despite being stripped of his shizi title, Wei Hong Sheng was in a better position. He had been in the capital longer, was very familiar with noble families and social etiquette. True, he had a reputation as somewhat of a scoundrel, but apparently that had been recently shed. It wasn't his fault that he was actually an "illegitimate" child--rather, it could be said that all this was an unfortunate fate for the young man. Others were more likely to pity him and want to support him.
Meanwhile, he himself... He grimaced, imagining how others must view him. He had grown up in Northern Xi, usurped Wei Hong Sheng's position and bride, and in recent weeks... Wei Tian Ao shook his head. Yan Qiu Heng couldn't be faulted for coming to lecture him. If he had a younger sister who had to marry someone like him, he wouldn't be too happy about it, either. On the contrary, he was deeply grateful to Yan Qiu Heng for breaking him out of his muddled daze.
Stretching his arms high above his head, Wei Tian Ao smiled wryly. "Well then, it's time that I do something useful..." he thought. He decided to pay Yi Cheng Rui a visit.
It didn't take long for the two of them to meet. "Here I thought you might never crawl out of your cave." Yi Cheng Rui drawled.
"Don't be like this. I already apologized for not replying to your letters."
"It's not about that..." Yi Cheng Rui sighed. "Never mind. I'm simply glad to see that you are well, that's all."
The two of them sat down in Yi Cheng Rui's study as they had so many times before all the tragic events had happened in Wei Tian Ao's life. It occurred to Tian Ao that the last time he'd seen his friend had been before Tian Ren's death. He looked his friend in the eye, trying to confirm something.
This puzzled Yi Cheng Rui. "What is it?"
"......" Wei Tian Ao had thought on it for a long time, but in the capital, the person he could trust the most at present was precisely Yi Cheng Rui. His father was gone and as for Prince and Princess Rui... Until he was certain of their involvement or lack thereof in Tian Ren's death, he could not place any confidence in them. He wanted to trust Yi Cheng Rui fully. He didn't want to go through his life being paranoid of anyone and everyone. So for Yi Cheng Rui, he had just one question: "Why did you start associating with me after I came to the capital?"
Yi Cheng Rui was taken aback by this sudden question. Then he thought of everything that Wei Tian Ao had been through recently. He maintained eye contact as he said, "I won't lie to you. Originally, it was because my father ordered me to befriend you."
"Why would Duke Gui do such a thing?"
"At the time, I didn't know. To tell the truth, I was pretty irritated at the thought of having to accompany some merchant's son. But you were far more interesting than I'd expected. I wouldn't have accompanied you if I'd thought you boring."
"Well thank you for that!" Wei Tian Ao laughed in mock-derision.
"But now..." Yi Cheng Rui's brows furrowed. "I believe that even then, my father was aware of your true lineage. He just didn't tell me. I can't think of any other reason why he would be so insistent that I befriend you and keep you entertained. He's always been eager to use others to climb up."
Wei Tian Ao was surprised at the harshness of his friend's words. He'd known for a while through the occasional sarcastic turns of phrase that his friend used that Yi Cheng Rui was somewhat dissatisfied with his father, but still... It was surprising to think that he'd just say something like that point-blank.
Was it safe to think that such a person would not be plotting against him and wasn't involved in those dirty affairs? Despite his sometimes cynical words, Yi Cheng Rui was clearly a person who wished to be idealistic and noble. His common sense merely overruled that wish at times. Wei Tian Ao, seeing the conflicted look on his friend's face, decided to take a chance. If he couldn't even trust Yi Cheng Rui, who else was left for him to trust in this awful country? He took a deep breath and told Yi Cheng Rui about everything that had happened since they'd last met.
Yi Cheng Rui was quiet for a very long time afterward as he took in all this information. Some things he'd heard about through the grapevine, but other things were new or had been understated by others. Most importantly, he was getting all this from Wei Tian Ao's perspective. "I am about to say something that may shock and hurt you." he finally said.
"Please don't hold back on my account."
"I... I don't think that the emperor was behind your father's death."
It heartened Tian Ao greatly that Yi Cheng Rui would refer to Tian Ren as "your father" and not "your foster father". He felt seen and understood. "After all... Is it..." He didn't want to say the name of the person they both were thinking of.
Wei Tian Ao still didn't fully understand if that man really was the culprit. Why bring such an unknown as him into the fray? What was wrong with the son that he already had? True, Wei Hong Sheng didn't have the best reputation, but was that enough reason to go through all this? Unless that man didn't know about his existence and only went with the flow after the fact? But then who else would scheme so hard to frame and kill Tian Ren?
The more he thought about it, the less Wei Tian Ao understood.
"The imperial family has very deep schemes," Yi Cheng Rui said. It was a simple statement, but there was a lot of meaning packed behind it. "Don't try to understand it all right now", he seemed to be saying. "It would be hard for a newcomer to grasp it all. Even I... I still don't see everything that's beneath the surface."
"So what would you suggest?" Wei Tian Ao frowned. Yan Qiu Heng had said that a gentleman's revenge could take more than ten years. He understood that he had to be patient with these matters, but he still required a plan.
"The New Year's Banquet is coming up. You will meet all of the major players there. Right now, you are like a lost man stumbling around in the darkness. You cannot get out until you better understand the situation."
"I... I understand. So will you teach me etiquette?"
Yi Cheng Rui grinned. "Naturally. But you better not complain that I'm too tough on you!"
"This humble one wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare..." Wei Tian Ao raised his fists and cupped them together in a placating salute.
Yan Qiu Heng had been right. He no longer was a merchant's son. Those faraway happy days where he could simply rely on his skills and wouldn't have to get involved with politics were over. To get the vengeance he craved, Tian Ao had to find out who his true enemy was...and learn to fight using their weapons.
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