Chapter Twenty: The Song Ends, But the Crowd Remains

Good news arrived at the Qingle Tower in Pingkang Ward: the medicinal herbs sought all the way from the Longyou region had finally taken effect, and under Zhou Mengda's careful treatment, Yu Shurong, who had lain unconscious for three full months, finally awoke. But he had lost all memory of who he was—he couldn't even recall his own name—and so Zhou Mengda simply began calling him Xu Ye once more.

Losing every memory entirely might, perhaps, have been something of a blessing after all—no longer would he have to recall those days of deliberately playing the arrogant, unruly troublemaker, forever giving Dou Wenchang headaches and forcing him to clean up after him. Yue Heng had harbored doubts about Yu Shurong at the time, and so had doubled back to hide nearby, watching that entire scene unfold in secret. Once Dou Wenchang had departed, he'd immediately given Yu Shurong the antidote pill that everyone had carried on their person ever since Chu Mingxi's death by poison, the one Zhou Mengda had distributed to them all. Though it couldn't neutralize every possible poison, it was enough to suppress the toxin's effects and buy him precious time to find a proper cure. Yue Heng had then carried Yu Shurong on his back, racing through the night to find Zhou Mengda, and it was this alone that had saved his life.

With Yueyue Manor's assistance, Cao Jibin came to understand the full truth of the affair. Because the matter involved the son of a court official, and though Yu Shurong had taken the blame upon himself, the fact that Dou Wenchang was secretly the true proprietor behind Yun Xiang Garden was brought fully into the light as a result. Amid the outrage of his assembled ministers, Emperor Dezong himself lashed out furiously at Dou Wenchang, reprimanding him harshly for failing to properly discipline his own son, and docking his salary for half a year as punishment. Because of this, Dou Wenchang didn't dare go and claim the body himself, instead instructing Cao Jibin to handle the remains on his own. And with Yu Shurong having single-handedly wrecked decades of careful planning and scheming, how could Dou Wenchang possibly still regard him as his own adopted son? His heart burned with bitter resentment, and from beginning to end, he never once came forward to show any concern for Yu Shurong's remains at all.

As for the concubine Guanguan, being a woman of neither formal status nor standing, whether she would be permitted to claim Yu Shurong's body was, naturally, entirely up to Cao Jibin to decide. And so Cao Jibin and Tian Xu were able to join forces seamlessly, hiding him instead within the Qingle Tower in Pingkang Ward—the very headquarters where intelligence from across the realm converged.

By the time the carriage arrived at Yueyue Manor, a crowd had already gathered thick outside the gates—old women, young ladies, servant boys, all of them eager for a glimpse of "the most beautiful man in all Chang'an." Han Jin wore an expression of open disapproval, while Yueming, gripping Han Qian with one hand and Yuelan with the other, pushed her way to the very front of the crowd, and even she stood there, eyes bright with eager anticipation, at the sight of Guo Huilian standing beside Tian Xu—which left Tian Xu's own eyes brimming with unmistakable jealousy. The moment that pale blue-green round-collared robe came into view, gasps of admiration rippled through the crowd one after another, an unbroken wave of astonishment at his beauty that showed no sign of ever dying down...

Though Xu Ye retained no memory whatsoever, he seemed strangely at ease amid the crowd's staring, showing no trace of awkwardness at all. Accompanied by Zhou Mengda, he strode forward, and from a distance he caught sight of Tian Xu standing at the very front of the gathered crowd.

"Welcome home."

Tian Xu greeted him with a warm, welcoming smile.

Xu Ye gazed at his face, and came to a sudden stop, frozen for a long moment in stunned silence.

"Eldest Martial Brother," he said at last, his smile breaking out as bright and radiant as the sun itself.