“You… impudent!”
Xie PingYue suddenly stood up and smashed the teacup in his hand toward him, but Xie Yi dodged it by shifting his body.
He was shocked and enraged, not expecting Xie Yi to be so unruly, showing no respect at all toward his ancestors.
Lin ZhiJi reacted even more strongly than him.
In the original book, it only mentioned in one line that Xie Yi’s mother died early, and that he struggled to survive in the Xie residence’s back courtyard.
However, behind that lightly written sentence—
The young Xie Yi personally watched his mother’s corpse be wrapped in a straw mat and thrown into a mass grave.
So young, already losing his mother, and burdened with the label of being ominous. Lin ZhiJi could not even imagine how Xie Yi survived to this day.
Yet the instigator of all this was now treating entering the clan genealogy as a reward, saying it to Xie Yi.
Lin ZhiJi had a stomach full of curses he wanted to spit in Xie PingYue’s face.
But in the next moment, he choked.
He remembered that he had just said something similar himself, and suddenly wished he could slap himself twice.
In comparison, Xie Yi remained much calmer: “This piece of empty reputation is meaningless to me. Instead, General, you should need it more than I do.”
Xie PingYue frowned: “What do you mean?”
Xie Yi looked directly into his eyes and said unhurriedly: “The General wants to reassure the Crown Prince. Taking an unfavored illegitimate son as a hostage is not enough.”
Xie PingYue was startled: “What nonsense are you talking about! What hostage or not!”
Although he quickly reacted, he was still shaken inwardly.
Because what Xie Yi said was exactly what he was thinking.
In his view, now was not the right time to enter the game, and the Crown Prince was not someone he believed would ultimately ascend that position.
Previously, when the Crown Prince and Prince Qi were in opposition, both sides still cared about appearances and restrained themselves.
At that time, he could use excuses to stall and muddle through.
But ever since the assassination attempt on the Crown Prince, the court’s atmosphere had completely changed.
Xie PingYue had never had much confidence in the Crown Prince to begin with, let alone now.
The Crown Prince, realizing his precarious situation, had begun acting more and more recklessly.
Xie PingYue was being forced tighter and tighter, already unable to continue vague evasion.
But the Crown Prince was still the Crown Prince—he was the sovereign, Xie PingYue was a subject. If things truly turned hostile, it would not be good for Xie PingYue either.
He could only be thankful that he had long made preparations.
And Xie Yi’s appearance had come at just the right time.
But this plan had always been hidden in his heart, never told to anyone—so how did Xie Yi know?
Xie PingYue looked at Xie Yi in shock and uncertainty, a trace of killing intent flashing in his heart.
【Host!】Lin ZhiJi cried out in alarm.
He had not expected Xie Yi to directly expose Xie PingYue’s purpose—this was too intense!
Xie Yi, however, acted as if he did not notice and continued: “Has the General considered that among those the Crown Prince wants to recruit, it is not only you? The ShuoFang Army does not belong to the Xie family. The General can see the situation clearly, but can your subordinates do the same?”
He supported himself on the table and said softly, “That is merit from following the future ruler.”
Xie PingYue’s body trembled.
He disliked Xie Yi’s aggressive tone, but had to admit what he said was correct.
And this was even more deadly than the Crown Prince’s pressure.
Xie PingYue’s expression changed several times before he slowly calmed down.
He realized that even if Xie Yi knew, he could do nothing.
If he dared tell the Crown Prince, he would be the first to die.
As for himself, a dignified general commanding three hundred thousand ShuoFang troops, he had actually been intimidated by a young brat whose hair had not even fully grown out.
Xie PingYue felt anger rising, his breathing growing heavier.
At this point, he no longer bothered to maintain the facade of a kind father: “Speak! What do you want?”
Xie Yi said indifferently: “I want the Zhechong Battalion.”
The Zhechong Battalion was the vanguard and the most elite unit of the entire ShuoFang Army.
Xie PingYue did not expect Xie Yi’s appetite to be so large and immediately refused: “Impossible!”
Xie Yi did not continue speaking, as if he was not in a hurry.
Xie PingYue frowned and tried to persuade him: “I can give you other things—gold, shops. If you want an official position, I can also arrange it for you.”
Xie Yi: “I only want the Zhechong Battalion.”
Xie PingYue cursed inwardly at Xie Yi’s greed.
But because of this, he instead felt more at ease.
If Xie Yi wanted too little, he would instead worry about some hidden scheme.
However, with Xie Yi opening his mouth wide and showing no restraint in ambition, it instead felt reassuring.
After dragging out the moment, Xie PingYue finally said slowly: “I can agree to you.”
Before Xie Yi could speak, he continued: “Don’t rush. I still have conditions.”
Xie Yi was not surprised: “Say it.”
Xie PingYue then laid out three conditions.
Xie Yi only thought for a short while before nodding: “I agree.”
Xie PingYue sneered inwardly.
Still young—relying on a bit of cleverness, but too ambitious.
He thought that once he obtained the Zhechong Battalion, he would have a stepping stone.
But he did not know that something like the Zhechong Battalion was not something one could simply take and hold.
To dance with a tiger required real ability.
Naturally, Xie PingYue would not remind him, and only said: “At the beginning of next month, I will summon the clan elders and open the ancestral hall, and write your name into the genealogy.”
But the usually straightforward Xie Yi suddenly fell silent.
Lin ZhiJi felt nervous.
Then he heard Xie Yi call his name for the first time: 【Lin ZhiJi.】
His voice was slightly hoarse, as if the name had been rolled out from the tip of his tongue.
The low voice seemed to brush across his spine, stirring a faint shiver.
Three extremely familiar characters, yet at this moment they felt strangely unfamiliar.
Lin ZhiJi’s heart jolted heavily: 【W-what is it, host?】
Xie Yi asked: 【Do you want me to enter the clan genealogy?】
Lin ZhiJi fell silent.
From Xie Yi’s perspective, he had already obtained the Zhechong Battalion, so whether he entered the genealogy or not no longer mattered much.
And the Xie family had treated him and his mother that way—if he truly entered the genealogy, it would feel like swallowing a fly.
His conscience told Lin ZhiJi he should say “no.”
But thinking of his mission, he still hesitated.
The daily missions were only about points; failing them did not matter much. But if the main storyline mission failed, he might never be able to return.
He could not afford to gamble.
Moreover, he had already faintly sensed that the main storyline mission and the daily missions were not the same in nature.
So he subconsciously hid the main mission’s existence and only said evasively: 【It’s just a name. Refusing might make Xie PingYue suspicious. For your plan, it’s better not to cause unnecessary complications.】
【Alright.】 Xie Yi gave a faint smile.
Good.
—
After Xie PingYue left, the study room fell into silence, so quiet that even the drip of the water clock from the corner could be clearly heard.
The mission was successfully completed, and Xie Yi had obtained the Zhechong Battalion as desired—this should have been a win-win situation.
But Lin ZhiJi felt uneasy.
He even regretted what he had said earlier.
He felt he should say something to Xie Yi, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out.
Xie Yi also seemed busy.
Though both were in the same body, it felt like they were sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams.
After a long while, Qing Li came in carrying tea and pastries, breaking the silence.
She said softly: “Master, there are two more surveillance posts.”
“Pillars” referred to people assigned to watch.
Previously, Xie PingYue had not taken Xie Yi seriously, so he had not bothered to plant spies in Qingping Courtyard.
Now inserting people would be too obvious, so he instead chose covert surveillance.
Xie Yi nodded: “Send a message to Shen Xian. The Zhechong Battalion is already secured. Tell him to prepare.”
Qing Li showed an expression of surprise, but quickly restrained it: “Yes.”
Xie Yi casually picked up a teacup, only to find it was not his usual tea: “What is this?”
Qing Li hurriedly said: “This is brewed tea, specially paired with this plate of cherry-filled pastries.”
Xie Yi looked at the brightly colored pastries.
These were what Lin ZhiJi had pestered him about yesterday until he finally agreed.
His fingers paused slightly: “From now on, do not do such unnecessary things.”
Qing Li immediately knelt down: “This subordinate has committed a fault.”
“Forget it. Remove them.”
Qing Li froze slightly.
Previously, the master would always order pastries, but then not eat them.
But recently, nothing like that had happened for quite a long time.
And moreover, some time ago, the Master suddenly began doing strange things.
Although it always frightened them badly, it felt as if the Master had gained a bit more human warmth.
But just now—she wasn’t sure if it was her illusion—
It felt like the Master had returned to that distant, unapproachable state from before.
These thoughts only flickered briefly through Qing Li’s mind before she carried the items out of the study.
Qing Li closed the door, and the room once again fell into silence.
Xie Yi rubbed his temple, pushing aside those useless thoughts, and picked up his brush again.
But his fingertips suddenly touched a smooth, cold object.
He looked over and saw a small round porcelain figurine.
This was something Lin ZhiJi had insisted on buying when they were out last time, the moment he saw a vendor selling it.
Xie Yi had originally ignored him, but then heard him muttering that the little porcelain figure looked like how he had been when he was young—so on an inexplicable impulse, he bought it and placed it on the desk.
The crude and childish porcelain figurine stood out starkly against the ink brush, paper, and inkstone on the desk.
Xie Yi’s gaze swept across the room and landed on the fruit plates placed on the stand.
Those were also Lin ZhiJi’s doing—he disliked incense smoke, saying it was irritating, and kept talking about “pollen allergies,” insisting Qing Li and the others prepare large plates of fresh fruit instead.
At the time, he had even proudly told him it was a method used in the imperial palace.
And there were the oddly shaped soft cushions on the couch, a bottle of special healing medicine exchanged with points…
All of them were things that had been added under Lin ZhiJi’s persistent coaxing.
All of them were things completely out of place in his world.
Only then did Xie Yi suddenly realize—
Without noticing, he had already been influenced deeply by Lin ZhiJi.