THE MAN BEHIND THE NAME
1347 Words
Yichen stared at his father.
“The Emperor?”
Shen Rong said nothing.
“You said Mother was taken by the Emperor.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
His father's jaw tightened.
“Because she discovered something she was never meant to know.”
“What?”
Shen Rong looked toward the courtyard entrance.
“Not here.”
Yichen laughed bitterly.
“Of course. Never here. Never now. Always later.”
“Yichen.”
“No.”
He stepped forward.
“I have spent twenty-two years being told that my mother abandoned me.”
Shen Rong's expression shifted.
“Who told you that?”
“Everyone.”
“I never told you that.”
“You never told me anything.”
The words hung between them.
Rui remained silent.
Yichen turned toward him.
“And you.”
Rui's eyes lifted.
“You knew something.”
Rui didn't answer.
“You knew.”
“I knew there were things Father didn't want you to discover.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Rui looked away.
Yichen felt something inside him crack.
“Did you know about the archives?”
“Yes.”
The answer came quietly.
Yichen's eyes widened.
“For how long?”
Rui hesitated.
“Years.”
The courtyard seemed to disappear around Yichen.
Years.
Rui had known for years.
And never told him.
“Why?”
“Because Father ordered me not to.”
Yichen laughed once, without humor.
“You always obey him?”
“No.”
“Then why this?”
Rui looked at him.
“Because this wasn't only about you.”
Yichen frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Rui's expression hardened.
“It means there are people who would kill you if they believed you knew the truth.”
“They already tried to kill the Fourth Prince.”
“They weren't trying to kill you.”
Yichen went still.
Rui continued.
“They were looking for something.”
“The jade.”
Rui's eyes flickered.
“You know about the jade?”
Yichen immediately noticed.
“You reacted.”
“I didn't.”
“You did.”
Rui stepped closer.
“Yichen, listen to me.”
“No. You listen to me.”
Yichen pulled the jade from beneath his robe.
The flower caught the morning light.
Rui's face changed.
“You shouldn't have brought that here.”
Yichen stared at him.
“Why?”
Rui didn't answer.
Yichen's grip tightened around it.
“Why?”
Shen Rong finally spoke.
“Because that jade belonged to your mother.”
“I know.”
“No.”
His father looked at him.
“You don't.”
Yichen frowned.
Shen Rong walked toward him.
“That jade wasn't a gift from your mother.”
“Then what was it?”
“It was proof.”
“Proof of what?”
Shen Rong's eyes moved toward the pendant.
“Your birth.”
Yichen's breathing stopped.
Rui lowered his gaze.
Shen Rong continued.
“Before your mother was taken, she gave that jade to me.”
“Why?”
“She knew they were coming for her.”
“Who?”
“The Emperor's men.”
Yichen's voice trembled.
“And she gave you the jade?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she wanted me to protect you.”
Yichen stared at him.
“If she knew she was going to be taken, why didn't she run?”
“She tried.”
“Then why didn't she?”
Shen Rong's face became grim.
“Because someone betrayed her.”
Yichen's heart dropped.
“Who?”
His father didn't answer.
Yichen looked at Rui.
Rui's expression was unreadable.
“Was it someone in the Shen family?”
Silence.
Yichen looked between them.
“Was it?”
Shen Rong finally said,
“Yes.”
The word struck him harder than a blade.
“Who?”
“Yichen—”
“Who?”
Shen Rong looked at Rui.
Rui immediately shook his head.
“Father.”
“Enough.”
Yichen followed his gaze.
His stomach tightened.
“What are you two hiding?”
Shen Rong turned away.
“Go inside.”
“No.”
“Yichen.”
“I am not leaving until you tell me.”
Before Shen Rong could answer, hurried footsteps sounded from the corridor.
A palace messenger entered the courtyard.
He bowed deeply.
“Imperial Advisor.”
Shen Rong turned.
“What happened?”
“The Emperor has summoned the Fourth Prince.”
Yichen's expression changed.
“Why?”
The messenger hesitated.
“He has also ordered the arrest of anyone connected to last night's incident.”
Yichen's eyes narrowed.
“Anyone?”
“Yes.”
The messenger unfolded a scroll.
“Shen Yichen is to remain within the residence until further notice.”
Yichen stared at him.
“Why?”
“The Emperor believes you may possess information concerning the western archives.”
Shen Rong took the scroll.
The messenger bowed and left.
Yichen turned to his father.
“He knows.”
Shen Rong's expression was grim.
“He knows you entered the archives.”
“How?”
Nobody answered.
Then Yichen remembered the stranger.
Someone had been waiting for him.
Someone had warned him.
Someone had known exactly where he would be.
His eyes narrowed.
“There was someone else in the archives.”
Rui looked at him sharply.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“What did he say?”
“He knew Mother.”
Rui's face changed.
Yichen noticed.
“You know him.”
“No.”
“You know something.”
Rui shook his head.
“I don't.”
Yichen stepped closer.
“He said my mother once helped someone he loved.”
Rui went completely still.
For a moment, his expression revealed something Yichen had never seen before.
Recognition.
Then it disappeared.
“Where did you meet him?”
“The archives.”
“Did you see his face?”
“Yes.”
“Who was he?”
“I don't know his name.”
Rui looked at Shen Rong.
Their eyes met.
Something passed between them.
Yichen saw it.
And this time, he couldn't ignore it.
“You know him.”
Shen Rong said nothing.
“Father.”
Still nothing.
Yichen's voice became quieter.
“Who was that man?”
Shen Rong finally answered.
“He was someone your mother trusted.”
Yichen swallowed.
“Is he still alive?”
Shen Rong's eyes darkened.
“We believed he was dead.”
Yichen's blood ran cold.
“Believed?”
Before anyone could say another word, a sharp sound came from the roof.
Everyone looked up.
An arrow struck the wooden pillar beside Yichen's head.
He froze.
Rui immediately grabbed him and pulled him down.
Another arrow flew across the courtyard.
“Guards!”
Shen Rong shouted.
Servants screamed as soldiers rushed into the courtyard.
Yichen looked at the first arrow.
A small piece of black cloth had been tied around it.
His fingers trembled.
The cloth carried the same embroidered flower as the silk thread.
The same flower as his mother's jade.
Someone was sending him a message.
Rui pulled him toward the inner hall.
“Stay behind me.”
Yichen followed, but his eyes remained fixed on the arrow.
Then he noticed something attached beneath the cloth.
A tiny strip of paper.
He tore it free.
Only six words were written.
Ask Rui what he did that night.
Yichen stopped walking.
Rui turned.
“What is it?”
Yichen looked at his brother.
For the first time in his life, he didn't know whether he wanted to hear the answer.
He slowly folded the message into his palm.
“Nothing.”
Rui stared at him.
“Yichen?”
Yichen forced a smile.
“It's nothing.”
But as he walked away, one thought wouldn't leave his mind.
Someone knew exactly how much he trusted Rui.
And they were trying to destroy that trust.
The question was—
were they lying about Rui, or were they warning him?
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