Wang Yibo loathed the brand mark on his back, but he didn't want to have a poem tattooed on it. He couldn't tell which one he detested more.

Picking up a brush and paper, he sat down at the table. He drew out the strokes of the slave character to form a unique pattern and asked: "Can you tattoo this sort of character?"

Xiao Zhan took it and studied it for a while. Probably in deference to his not-so-good painting skills, the pattern was not complicated, but more like an unreadable font. "I can," he said.

"Then do this one."

After the two discussed it, they heard Xiao Gao's knock on the door: "My lord, it's time for dinner."

"Let's eat first." Xiao Zhan closed the drawing paper. "This will be time-consuming, so let's finish the meal and then proceed slowly."

Wang Yibo nodded in agreement. After putting on his clothes, he opened the door and looked at Xiao Gao, but he didn't have a good expression on his face as he asked in a whisper: "Who asked you to tell him that I went to Hongxiu House?"

"Ah? Can't I say this?" Xiao Gao remembered that General Xiao had already met Gu Niaoniao, and knew that Gu-jiejie was a friend of his lord, so he thought it was fine to say it directly.

"Then I made a mistake again." Xia Gao scratched his head dejectedly. "I thought you had no secrets from the General, My Lord. You punish me."

Wang Yibo choked. It was no good to punish him.

"Hmph, see, Xiao Gao is more sensible than you." Xiao Zhan whispered in his ear, "If you keep secrets here and there all day long, are you a riddler?"

Wang Yibo turned around and vented all his frustration on him, kicking and beating with his hands: "You're so annoying! Who are you talking about in such a deliberately ambiguous way!"

Housekeeper Qin had just set the dishes when Xiao Zhan rushed to the table and sat down. Following close behind, Wang Yibo slowed down his pace, but his breathing was uneven and he appeared to have just been exerting himself.

He had become accustomed to such things, so Housekeeper Qin was not surprised, and even had the illusion that even with his own general, to spare the rod was to spoil the child. At first, he had felt that Wang-daren was too sensitive, but after some observation, it was always the General who provoked him and got him started.

The General's skin was thick and tough, how could he fear the pampered fist of this man?

Housekeeper Qin also understood that this was clearly just a young man's flirting technique. Hmph.

The General's Mansion was finally bustling again.

After eating, Wang Yibo followed Xiao Zhan to the courtyard for half an hour to digest their food, and offered to follow him in exercising. Xiao Zhan was overjoyed, and immediately began devising a step-by-step plan for him.

Once they returned to the room, Xiao Zhan noticed the drawer beside the table and suddenly asked: "Is there any poison in your other sachets?"

"No, only the sweetgrass had a problem."

Only then did Xiao Zhan feel relieved, and while the other was taking a bath, he went out and took the initiative to find Yao Muze's house.

Yao Muze had already passed the Imperial Hospital examination, and was now an Imperial physician. Seeing Xiao Zhan coming to visit, he warmly greeted him and wanted to invite him to dinner, but was rejected.

"I just wanted to ask, did you examine that sachet I asked you to study before I left Beijing?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"I examined it thoroughly."

Yao Muze's answer was exactly the same as Wang Yibo's, and Xiao Zhan heaved a sigh of relief. He had feared that Wang Yibo might have used a more vicious type of medicine.

"If the poisoning is stopped, it will be fine, right?"

"Avoid it as much as you can. If used for a long time, you may need to recuperate for three to five years. You should sweat more, and eat some detoxifying herbs and food to force out the toxins in the body."

"Okay, I'll leave the medicine to you."

"Of course."

Xiao Zhan returned to the mansion, and ordered the kitchen staff to use more detoxifying ingredients before going to the bedroom.

Wang Yibo had already finished his bath and was watering the bonsai in the room. Seeing him return, he wanted to get right down to business, but Xiao Zhan stopped and said: "It's time for me to bathe."

Xiao Zhan bathed on the other side of a screen, waiting for the other party to come and watch. But Wang Yibo didn't come over to take a peek at all. He just picked up the ledger and began to settle accounts.

The sound of the abacus clacking mad Xiao Zhan's brain ache. He quickly finished bathing and walked out from behind the screen: "Didn't you leave all these things to Yin Pinglu? Why are you taking the trouble?"

"I'll summarize it first, then hand it over to her tomorrow." Although Wang-Yelan wanted to be a hands-off shopkeeper, he still had to be aware of these things. It was impossible to leave such important matters to others without even looking at them. Not to mention that he had embezzled a lot of his own private money this time, so he must see how much property was left, right?

Xiao Zhan didn't bother him further. After a long while, Wang Yibo finally finished reconciling the accounts while the other party sat quietly opposite him, burying himself in writing. Leaning forward, he saw that it was an exercise plan.

He turned around and put away the ledger, then walked to the bed.

Xiao Zhan inadvertently raised his head and was taken aback, staring blankly as the other took off his layers of clothes. With black hair hanging down his smooth, white back, he lay obediently on the bed and turned to look at him. His voice was usually soft against the cushioning of the pillow: "Are you done? Is it time to get to business?"

What business, ah.

My business is different from yours, Xiao Zhan silently criticized.

After picking up the tools, Xiao Zhan sat on the side of the bed. Just as he selected a needle, he saw that the other's eyes were tightly closed, his face almost wrinkled up, and comforted him: "Don't worry, ba, my technique is very good. It doesn't hurt at all."

Wang Yibo opened his eyes doubtfully.

"If you don't believe me, look."

Xiao Zhan scratched his back with the needle. He felt the friction of a sharp, hard object, but it really didn't hurt. Wang Yibo relaxed a little and said: "Will it work?"

"Certainly. I'm going to begin."

There was silence in the room for a while.

Wang Yibo could feel the needles sliding across his back and didn't speak for a long time. He glanced back at Xiao Zhan, who looked as serious as if he were performing a prayer ceremony, silent and devout.

Wang Yibo took in his facial features meticulously. He had sword-like eyebrows and eyes like bright stars. The heroic spirit in his countenance and the contours of his profile were of the highest quality. Those clear, bright eyes were like his heart, without a trace of hidden filth, and like a mirror, they seemed to be able to see through people's hearts.

Xiao Zhan must have had a lot of questions to ask, but he didn't, because he had been waiting for him to offer him the answers.

If he didn't say anything, Xiao Zhan wouldn't ask, until today's question appeared and almost made Xiao Zhan doubt his sincerity.

"Don't you want to know where my brand came from?" Wang Yibo asked proactively.

"I'm going crazy thinking about it," Xiao Zhan said in a heavy voice.

Sure enough.

Wang Yibo was silent. Feeling that the other party had changed the needle, he stared blankly ahead. He had thought that those past events would never come out of his mouth again, but he heard his own wan and broken voice:

"It was because of the Marquis of Anqing's rebellion."

Xiao Zhan paused. This was something he knew about.

There was a lot of trouble back then because of the first emperor. The common people openly voiced their discontent, and the Marquis of Anquing raised the flag of rebellion. But because some insiders defected, the matter was exposed as soon as the uprising took place. After the emperor sent people to suppress it, he ordered the execution of all relevant personnel, involving more than 20,000 people. It was said that even all the prison cells in the capital couldn't fit them all.

"You are one of the Marquis of Anqing's people?" Xiao Zhan asked in surprise.

"That would be great." The corners of Wang Yibo's mouth twitched, and he said with a wry smile, "Our family never met him. My father was just a weak, gentle scholar, and his greatest wish was to be able to pass the exams and achieve scholarly honor in order to realize his ambitions of governing the country and bringing peace to all. My mother was an embroiderer, and she worked with thread until late at night before resting. Apart from family, we had nothing else."

"Only, the Marquis of Anqing was injured and fell by the side of the road. My parents kindly brought him home for treatment, and the Marquis was picked up by his people two days later."

"The Marquis of Anqing was kind-hearted. When he left, he saw that our family was poor, so he gave us a jade pendant to repay our kindness."

"But this jade pendant killed my parents."

"After the Anqing manor was seized, the Imperial court thoroughly investigated the people connected to him. They found the jade pendant in my house and determined that we were in league with him. They would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go, and my home was burned down. It was raining that day, but the fire could not be extinguished. My parents and I were taken into the dungeons for rigorous interrogation......"

Wang Yibo clenched the pillow with one hand, the veins on it bulging. His eyes were dark, and his voice was as cold as the snow in winter: "It is said that good is rewarded with good, and evil is rewarded with evil, but nothing is as important as power. A high-ranking person can destroy countless families with a single sentence."

A palm covered the back of his hand at this time, hot enough to warm his cold hand.

Wang Yibo looked to the side and stared at that big hand for a long time, and the snow in his eyes gradually melted, forming a thin layer of mist: "Xiao Zhan, why couldn't my parents meet you? If there were people like you in the Imperial court at that time, they definitely wouldn't have suffered, right?"

The evidence of the Marquis of Anqing's rebellion was conclusive. In order to show off their political achievements to please the late emperor, the officials tortured the prisoners one by one and beat them into confessing. Regardless, the first emperor didn't care if there were innocent people in there, and just needed a reason to execute them.

"En. Sorry, I'm late." Xiao Zhan held his hand and lay down beside him, hugging him into his arms. He inadvertently touched some water stains, and his heart felt as if it had been stabbed with a knife. Slowly and solemnly, he kissed away the teardrops at the ends of the other's eyes.

"Yibo....."

Wang Bo shed tears silently. Since he became Wang Yibo, he had not shed a single tear.

But now he was Wang Yibo, ah.

The accumulated secrets poured out like a flood, and the details he had hidden for a long time now appeared clearly before his eyes.

The dungeon was full of people. Their prison clothes were obviously white, but their bodies were filthy and smelly, and there were voices of grievances all around as they were dragged out one by one for interrogation.

Hearing the screams of those people, he sat trembling in a dark corner. Father sat in front of him, blocking his sight. He asked Father when they could leave.

Father said soon, justice is in the hearts of the people, and we will be able to redress our grievances soon.

But within a few days, Father was dragged out and spoke loudly about his grievances. Yu Junliang, who was in charge of interrogation at the time, just dropped a sentence and continued writing. The prison head tied Father up and flogged him with a horse whip dipped in salt in order to force him to confess his crime. Father refused to confess, so more cruel punishments were used. The screams of pain often sounded in his dreams.

Mother covered his eyes, and he wept and asked her, where is the justice?

Mother said she didn't know.

More and more people were forced to confess their crimes. There were finally no more men in the prison, and they began to attack the women.

The prison head pulled Mother out and saw that she refused to speak, so he took off her outer clothing under everyone's watchful eyes and spoke filthy words. Father was still tied to the stake, with blood and tears on his face, and shouted in a hoarse voice: "Bo'er, close your eyes and don't look."

However, in the next moment, Mother slammed onto the stake: "Husband, I will marry you in my next life."

"Don't!!" Father was overcome, and the punishment he had received in the past few days had already consumed most of his strength. He spat out a big mouthful of blood, and then closed his eyes heavily.

No one came to cover his eyes anymore. He saw all kinds of torture and heard the most disgusting and ugly words in that dark hell. After staying in the dark for more than a month, there was no light in his eyes, only hatred and malice that spread and grew in his heart.

"Yibo, Bo'er......I'm sorry, I was still late....." Xiao Zhan kissed his eyes over and over again and tasted the bitter, salty tears. He wanted to knead this person into his own bones, to dedicate everything to him, as long as he was happy.

Wang Yibo gradually withdrew from his memories. Hearing Xiao Zhan's apologies, he rubbed the other person's head, then leaned forward and nipped his lips: "You say you're sorry? How old were you......damn the others, those people are all dead."

"En, it's best that they're dead. If they weren't dead, I would kill them for you," Xiao Zhan said.

The corners of Wang Yibo's mouth hooked up and he licked his lips, asking softly: "What else do you want to know?"

The two gazed at each other for a long time, and Xiao Zhan looked into his eyes. They were such beautiful eyes, but they were red, and the tips were still moist.

At this moment, the hedgehog covered in thorns slowly revealed his softest insides to him, wanting to show him his heart and belly. But how could Xiao Zhan be willing to do so?

He had talked so much, but it always revolved around his parents. He never mentioned how he escaped the dungeons, let alone what punishments he suffered. Just thinking about it, Xiao Zhan felt unbearable heartache. How could he bear to ask him to continue?

"I also want to know when you plan to take me to meet your parents." Xiao Zhan gently kissed his eyes. "We've returned to Beijing, don't forget what you said before."

Wang Yibo stared at him blankly. Realizing that he was soothing his emotions, his heart felt a little peaceful. Those scars that had never been uncovered were all but torn away, and apart from the pain at the beginning, he actually felt much better afterwards. Maybe it was the release of built-up emotions, maybe it was because someone was wiping his tears, or maybe he realized that someone had appeared in his world again who would cover his eyes to block out all the darkness.

Wang Yibo stroked his cheek softly: "We'll go in two days."

"Okay."

Autumn in the capital was a bit chilly. The wind blew leaves that rustled and tapped lightly on the doors and windows, as if eavesdropping on their conversation.

Due to being embraced by Xiao Zhan, Wang Yibo's chest was warm, but his back was a bit cold. He pushed that person away and got up to walk to the bronze mirror. He looked at his back in the mirror, but found that there was no change.

"What happened?"

Xiao Zhan stepped forward and confessed: "I don't know how to do tattoos."

"Then what did you lie to me for?"

"Because I don't mind." Xiao Zhan put his arms around his back. "No matter what your origin is, you are now mine. No matter what you experienced before, I will treat you well in the future, so you don't need to be ashamed at all. Tattoos can only cover up the scars on the surface. The most important thing is here......"

Xiao Zhan pointed to his heart: "You have to look straight into it."

"You are now a hero admired by many people, and they will not look at your back. Only I can, and being the only one makes me feel lucky. I also don't think it's ugly, it just reminds me of how amazing you are. There were thousands of criminal slaves, but you are the only one who became Wang Yibo."

Wang Yibo lowered his head to look at his finger, pointing at his heart that was beating faster. Then he lifted his eyes. There was still a trace of redness that had not subsided. Then he hooked Xiao Zhan's neck with a slight smile, rubbed the other's ear with his other hand, and stood on tiptoe to bite the ear that was starting to turn red: "Xiao Zhan, do you want me?"

As if he hadn't been thinking about it for a day or two!

In the autumn wind, accompanied by the sound of interlaced breathing, their ears and temples rubbed together, and a thin sheen of sweat dispelled the autumn chill.

Xiao Zhan passed through this place for the first time like a fisherman from Wuling. After finding the entrance, he stepped into a peach blossom garden. The land was warm and humid, the water was gurgling, and the air was filled with an unusual smell. He was a little dazed by the surrounding scene, and caught a glimpse of a slender white hand from the corner of his eye, like a lone boat floating on the water. Holding fast to the mast, the veins in his hands were bulging and the joints were distinct. Xiao Zhan held it down and interlocked their fingers, and they continued on their way together.

However, he didn't know if he was too impassioned or what, but when reaching the end of the river, hearing the other's high-pitched voice overflow like a clarion and also like graceful music, seductive and full of emotion, in his excitement, he simply abandoned his oars and surrendered.

Xiao Zhan froze abruptly.

Wang Yibo was also stunned for a moment, then slowly opened his eyes. His brows that were about to knot up slowly relaxed, and he stared at him blankly.

Xiao Zhan was struck dumb.

"Done?" Wang Yibo tugged the blanket. "Okay, just go to sleep."

No, it shouldn't be like this!

Xiao Zhan stiffly lowered his head, even the strands of his hair exuding shock and bewilderment.