Three Steps: From Assassin to Empress - Chapter 67
Chapter 67: A Trip to the Capital
The chapter begins with Ying Xiu and his foster father, Guo An, on a樓tai (tower platform) at the newly rebuilt Yu Residence. Guo An stands on the platform, his eyes filled with memories, telling Ying Xiu how his parents once stood there holding him, watching over the household. He remembers his own youth, how he had to stay away to protect his family, and how he returned to a city where his family was no more. Ying Xiu, seeing his father’s tears, also begins to cry.
To cheer him up, Ying Xiu decides to take Guo An on a tour of the capital. Guo An is hesitant, as his appearance as a minority from the Qiang people makes him a target for discrimination. Ying Xiu, understanding his father’s fear, puts a veil on him, though he struggles to get it on straight.
The two men and their guards travel in two separate carriages. Ying Xiu notices that his carriage is smaller and realizes it was specifically chosen to accommodate his height, which he finds embarrassing. The guards are secretly pleased, as they are following the Emperor’s orders to prevent anyone from being in the same enclosed space as Ying Xiu.
They arrive at a bustling market in a district called West Brocade Square, where Ying Xiu and Guo An are surprised to see a mix of Han Chinese and Qiang people living and interacting peacefully. Ying Xiu explains that the Emperor has recently allowed mutual trade with the northern Qiang people, which has led to a peaceful integration of the two groups. Guo An is amazed and begins to see the Emperor in a new light, as not just a tyrannical ruler but also as someone with a compassionate side.
They spend the rest of the day exploring the market, with Ying Xiu buying various Qiang snacks for everyone, including the guards. The guards, initially hesitant, quickly fall in love with the treats.
An Unforeseen Connection
As they head back, they overhear people talking about a missing Qiang prince who supposedly fell into the Huai River. Ying Xiu immediately feels a connection between this incident and the ongoing case of the Shuichun Docks. He returns to the palace, where the Emperor is waiting for him with a prepared dinner.
Ying Xiu, still full from all the snacks, struggles to eat but asks the Emperor about the missing prince. The Emperor calmly explains that the prince was faking his disappearance to get back to his home country, but his plan was discovered by the Emperor’s spies. In a cruel twist of fate, the prince is now genuinely missing.
The Emperor offers to let Ying Xiu meet the prince if he’s found, as the prince may have information about Ying Xiu’s birth mother, Ming Xiluan. Ying Xiu is touched by the Emperor’s thoughtfulness and, once again, hugs him from behind, affectionately calling him “Xie Zhou” before correcting himself. The Emperor, while outwardly calm, feels a surge of unease.
A Playful and Dangerous Game
Ying Xiu, feeling playful, leans in as if to kiss the Emperor’s eyes. The Emperor’s hand, holding his chopsticks, tenses up. He is nervous. Ying Xiu, noticing this, teases him by holding his position without kissing him and then playfully warns him not to open his eyes.
After a brief, gentle kiss on the eyes, Ying Xiu pulls away, but then the Emperor, with his hand on Ying Xiu’s waist, pushes him away. Ying Xiu, surprised, falls into the Emperor’s embrace. He starts to scold him by saying “Xie Zhou!” but the Emperor quietly interrupts, “You forgot again.”
With his hand now on Ying Xiu’s waist and his fingers on Ying Xiu’s jaw, the Emperor forces Ying Xiu’s mouth open. His dark eyes look at Ying Xiu as he calmly commands, “Say it again.” Ying Xiu, now in a perilous situation, is speechless, remembering that the Emperor had previously said he didn’t care what name he was called.