Ye Shu​‌‌⁠‌‌‌‍⁠‍‍‌⁠⁠‌​​​​‍‍⁠​​ wasn’t as smart as Pei Changyun, but he wasn’t foolish either.

If the Gardenia Roses were part of a deception by Huo Chao, meant only to prevent Pei Changyun from coming to Earth to witness a bloody sacrifice, then it meant that the nuclear explosion was something Huo Chao willingly undertook.

—Huo Chao had long foreseen his own death.

So, what Pei Changyun told Ye Shu was seven parts true, three parts false. It was true that Pei Changyun transported the Gardenia Roses, true that he believed they could attract the Zergs, and true that the nuclear explosion occurred, but it was false that Pei Changyun had sent Huo Chao to die.

Ye Shu had only told Jiang Jinsheng that the Forbidden Abyss asked him to be hidden on Winter Day Planet, and that guy must have passed it on to Pei Changyun.

So, the truth is—

Although Pei Changyun didn’t know that Ye Shu was hiding Zerg eggs in the Forbidden Abyss wreckage, he did know that Huo Chao wanted Ye Shu to hide the wreckage.

At that time, almost everyone believed that the Forbidden Abyss was destroyed in the nuclear explosion, along with the fallen Huo Chao.

Or, even if the Church knew that the wreckage of the Forbidden Abyss still existed, they would assume it was with Pei Changyun, as he was Huo Chao’s closest and most trusted official.

Thus, Pei Changyun needed to hide this secret, so he deliberately deceived Ye Shu, intentionally provoking his hatred, so that Ye Shu would resolutely take the Forbidden Abyss away.

Although this secret was eventually discovered by the Church,

By then, a hundred years had passed. The Alliance had been overthrown, Ye Shu had firmly established himself on Winter Day Planet, and Pei Changyun had essentially laid the foundation for the Empire, holding a dominant position in the standoff between the Empire and the Church.

The Illusory God Church was severely weakened, and out of fear, they couldn’t attack Winter Day Planet again.

So, the truth behind all of this is—

Huo Chao lied to Pei Changyun about the Gardenia Roses attracting the Zergs, and Pei Changyun lied to Ye Shu that he sent Huo Chao to detonate the nuclear bombs.

Ye Shu always thought that among them, the dumbest was Zhou Jiuya, who was completely manipulated by Pei Changyun. But now he realized that the dumbest was himself—he was the one who had been played like a fiddle by Pei Changyun all along.

“Zhou Jiuya…”

The City Lord’s voice was hoarse,

“Did you know everything from the start?”

Zhou Jiuya indeed knew everything.

Because of Huo Chao’s last words, Zhou Jiuya had always stayed by Pei Changyun’s side, loyally carrying out all his orders.

In fact, Huo Chao had also paved the way for Pei Changyun, but only Zhou Jiuya knew this.

For example, after Huo Chao’s death, Jiang Jinsheng and Zhou Jiuya helped Pei Changyun stabilize the military and provided him with logistics and technology. Together, they built the foundation for the Empire.

For example, the Empire’s Capital was initially discovered by Huo Chao, who ordered Jiang Jinsheng to secretly develop basic industries and military facilities on it, naming it Eternal Cloud Planet.

Later, after the Empire established its capital there, people simply referred to it as the Capital Planet.

For example, the video left for Huo Xianfeng, although full of praise for him, was actually a way to persuade the Zerg King not to attack humanity, and also to eliminate a hidden threat for Pei Changyun.

Another example was that on the day before Earth fell, Huo Chao killed several high-ranking Alliance officials who posed a great threat to Pei Changyun.

The Alliance Speaker, Setlin, only escaped because he fled to the Illusory God Church.

—Why not kill them all?

Because those who were left, while still threatening, could be handled by Pei Changyun with his own skills. If Huo Chao had killed them all, the clever officials would have guessed his true intentions.

Everyone thought those people died at the hands of the Zergs, but in fact, they were killed by Huo Chao. Otherwise, Pei Changyun wouldn’t have been able to overthrow the Alliance so easily later on.

Zhou Jiuya knew all of this because he was involved.

Because on that bloody night, Zhou Jiuya was the one who handed the knife to Huo Chao.

—But Huo Chao had forbidden him to speak of it.

That man already knew his fate, so he forbade Zhou Jiuya from saying anything.

[Changyun will certainly build a wonderful country.]

[That’s his dream, and it will definitely come true.]

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[…Alright.]

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Zhou Jiuya had asked this question before. It was the first and only time he questioned Huo Chao’s orders.

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If Huo Chao had done that, Pei Changyun would forever be Huo Chao’s successor in name, always second to Huo Chao, rather than standing beside him, or even surpassing him.

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Even now, some say that Pei Changyun rose to power by stepping on Huo Chao, but in the eyes of most people, Pei Changyun is the Emperor who brought peace to a chaotic world, the great man who supported a new world after Huo Chao’s death.

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Both Ye Shu and Zhou Jiuya were very loyal to Huo Chao.

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This was also the reason why, on Pei Changyun’s advice, Huo Chao relegated Ye Shu to a local position as a commander for training.

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Ye Shu had indeed experienced a tragic past, but before the tragedy, he had grown up surrounded by the love of both his parents. Zhou Jiuya, however, grew up in an environment filled with rumors, discrimination, and a complete lack of need or expectation from anyone.

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—Like a highly effective sword.

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Because of this, Zhou Jiuya was tight-lipped, which was a major reason he was able to become Huo Chao’s personal guard, later rising to adjutant, and even legion commander, participating in these secrets.

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“I only know one thing, which Marshal Huo Chao mentioned to me by chance: His Majesty is allergic to pollen.”

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“Yes… one thing.”

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He had hated Pei Changyun for so many years, only to find out that it was all orchestrated by the man himself.

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How laughable.

Covering his eyes with one hand, Ye Shu actually laughed out loud for a moment.

He felt utterly ridiculous.

He was just a fool who was moved by his own emotions and impotent with rage.

Jiang Ci quietly watched Ye Shu. Although he wasn’t very familiar with him, he could deeply sense the other’s pain because, even though deception in the name of protection may exist, the wound inflicted when the truth is revealed cannot be erased or healed.

Jiang Ci was deceived by his father for ten days.

But Ye Shu and Pei Changyun had been deceived for three hundred years.

He couldn’t fully empathize with that feeling, but he could imagine the tip of the iceberg.

And even that small part was already painful enough.

From the way Pei Changyun looked earlier, it seemed he didn’t even know why Huo Chao had deceived him. Jiang Ci was hesitating, wondering whether to tell him.

He turned his head to the spot where His Majesty’s projection had disappeared.

Would knowing the truth feel better than being kept in the dark?

—Not necessarily.

It took Jiang Ci a long time to gradually understand Jiang Jinsheng’s intentions and to feel his father’s overwhelming love, but that didn’t make him feel any better. Instead, it brought him more pain, despair, and he had no one to talk to.

Because by then, Jiang Jinsheng had already been dead for several years.

There was no way to make amends.

There was nothing he could do.

Everyone else had moved on from the shadow of Jiang Jinsheng’s death; they had accepted it, gotten used to it, and returned to their normal lives. Only Jiang Ci remained trapped in it.

It was only then that he realized he had been trapped all along.

“Jiang Ci?”

Huo Xianfeng’s voice pulled him out of his muddy memories.

Jiang Ci stared blankly and turned to look at him. Those familiar phoenix eyes were quietly and seriously watching him.

At that moment, Jiang Ci suddenly realized that, from childhood to adulthood, all those who claimed to love and care for him had never truly understood him. They treated him like a child but believed that Jiang Ci only needed to eat well, drink well, be safe, and not get sick.

That was enough.

They had no time to care about anything else because they were busy.

The Emperor, the Legion Commander, the City Lord, the Father of Imperial Technology—each of these identities could be said to be awe-inspiring, and Jiang Ci, the young master of the Jiang family protected by everyone, was someone to be envied.

But for Jiang Ci, it meant that, yes, while he had the love of many, their great and heavy responsibilities ensured that their love was only about protecting his life.

Nothing more.

They didn’t even have time to spend with him, let alone understand him.

Yet Huo Xianfeng always seemed to notice his emotions instantly, even the smallest shifts.

—Like now.

When Jiang Ci finally mustered the courage to reveal his deepest and most painful secret in his heart for Pei Changyun’s sake, the other two focused on the Marshal and the Emperor. But no one cared about what the young Jiang Ci had experienced and felt at the time.

And not only did Huo Xianfeng notice, but he also responded and comforted him.

“You look really upset. Do you want a hug?”

Huo Xianfeng didn’t think there was anything wrong with saying this in front of Jiang Ci’s two guardians. He even turned sideways, revealing his broad chest, and extended a hand toward Jiang Ci.

RAW wordcount: 11k, split into 3 chapters

M1zushi: I feel so bad about ye shu bcs his whole life was a lie. he was the youngest compared to HC’s other confidants so he never managed to completely integrate with the close circle of friends :((