Chapter 36#
Mistaken Identity (Revised) Finding Zhizhi by following the scent…#
—“Go investigate.”
On the Lantern Festival, the lights were bright and the crowds were bustling.
Xiao Cuan held the brown sugar cakes he had just bought in both hands, standing in a dark corner, his eyes shining with a sinister light as he stared at the street side.
Unblinkingly.
Chu Yu was still setting up his stall by the street to sell cakes. His cheerful laughter, shouts, and hawking were exceptionally loud amidst the clamor of the crowd.
“That’s right, my wife shaped the cakes, and I steamed them. Why not buy two and try them?”
“My wife is shy and doesn’t dare come out; she’s at home watching the fireworks, so I came out alone.”
“The sooner I finish selling, the sooner I can go back to be with my wife.”
The brown sugar cakes sold even better, and before long, a whole steamer basket was gone.
As Chu Yu spoke, his tone became increasingly firm and confident.
He wasn’t exactly lying; there really was someone waiting for him at home, though it wasn’t his wife, but his younger brother.
It was more or less the same, as long as he could make money. Both he and Yan Zhi were alone, and Yan Zhi wouldn’t mind.
Chu Yu talked to the customers while he worked, and for a moment, he really seemed like a small vendor working to support his family.
Xiao Cuan withdrew his gaze and said to the personal guard in front of him: “Send two clever ones over to buy his cakes and strike up a conversation. Find out his name, his age, where he lives, and his…”
He suddenly paused, gritting his teeth: “His wife—”
“What’s her name, how old is she, and whether he actually has a wife.”
Xiao Cuan smelled an incredibly familiar scent on the brown sugar cakes, and he was certain they had something to do with Yan Zhi.
But he couldn’t act impulsively.
Before he personally confirmed it, and before he laid out an inescapable net, he couldn’t make a move.
He feared Yan Zhi was the “wife” this man spoke of, and feared even more that he wasn’t.
Xiao Cuan looked up again, his eyes dark as he stared at Chu Yu, and continued: “Send a few more men into the crowd to see if anyone recognizes him. Be sure to uncover his background.”
“In addition, assemble the Huben Battalion to surround the neighboring towns, but do not alert them.”
Since this man could sell cakes in the city, he must live nearby.
If Yan Zhi really had a connection with him, it meant Yan Zhi also lived nearby.
Perhaps they even lived together.
At this thought, Xiao Cuan’s hand tightened around the brown sugar cake.
Finally, he said: “Return to the local office. Once you have this man’s name, have them check the household registers immediately.”
“Yes.”
The personal guards bowed and received their orders, each going down to deploy.
They followed Xiao Cuan and always wore ordinary clothes when traveling, dressing as common people.
Melting into the crowd, they didn’t look overly strange except for their upright posture.
Two personal guards walked together to Chu Yu’s stall and asked loudly: “Boss, how much for the brown sugar cakes?”
Chu Yu had no suspicions and simply said: “Five copper coins for the shaped ones, three for the plain ones. Which would you like?”
“We heard you from a distance; your wife made these?”
“That’s right.”
“Hey, you look a bit familiar. Are you that… that…”
Chu Yu smiled: “I set up my stall and do business all over; we might have met somewhere. What can I get you?”
Meanwhile, other personal guards were also hidden in the crowd, gathering information.
Some struck up conversations with lantern sellers under the guise of buying one.
Some went to wine stalls, ordered a jar of wine, and talked with the local thugs and idlers.
“Hey, that cake seller over there is pretty good; his cakes are quite tasty. He’s from your town, right? Your town is lucky.”
“Where? I don’t know him!”
A rogue at the next table shouted: “He’s clearly from our town!”
“Is that so? Then I must have remembered wrong. I thought his name was Wang… Wang something?”
“What Wang? His surname is ‘Chu’, his name is ‘Chu Yu’.”
Chu Yu!
It was like a bolt from the blue!
Standing in the dark, Xiao Cuan unconsciously took a step forward, his eyes wide with rage as he stared fixedly at Chu Yu.
Chu Yu, Chu Yu, he was Chu Yu!
The same Chu Yu who had an 89 favorability rating on Yan Zhi’s panel!
Chu Yu was this cake seller! This cake seller was Chu Yu!
No wonder, no wonder he could smell Yan Zhi’s scent on the brown sugar cakes, and no wonder this Chu Yu also seemed to be faintly surrounded by Yan Zhi’s scent.
If it weren’t for the fact that he didn’t want to alert him and couldn’t just pick him up to sniff him, he would have understood sooner!
Just then, Chu Yu looked up and saw that the opposite stall had only one last lantern left, and someone was pointing at it, about to step forward.
He quickly put down the steamer basket, told his customers “one moment,” and ran over while clutching his pocket.
Seeing him about to run, Xiao Cuan took several large strides forward again.
He still dared to run?!
The next moment, Chu Yu stopped in front of the lantern stall.
“Boss, I’ll take this lotus lantern. Give it to me.”
“Alright.” The lantern stall owner had been right across from him and had heard his hawking, so he asked with a smile, “Buying it for your wife?”
“Yes.” Chu Yu nodded without changing his expression.
At that moment, the personal guard who had been gathering information from the rogues in the tavern also returned.
The two guards stood before Xiao Cuan and lowered their voices: “Your Majesty, we’ve found out. This man’s name is Chu Yu, eighteen or nineteen years old, living in Shiyan Town, not far from here. He…”
“He has never married and has no wife.”
No wife? No wife!
So the “wife” he kept mentioning was actually Yan Zhi!
It was Yan Zhi who helped him make the brown sugar cakes!
Xiao Cuan didn’t say a word, grinding his teeth.
This Chu Yu, how dared he? How dared he call Yan Zhi his wife?
First, there was Xie Yi saying the room Yan Zhi stayed in was his wife’s room.
Then there was Chu Yu saying the pastries Yan Zhi made were his wife’s pastries.
Were they so desperate for a wife? Did they have to steal someone else’s?
Xiao Cuan wanted to rush forward, overturn the stall, trample through the mess, beat Chu Yu up, and finally force him to lead him to Yan Zhi.
How dared he? How dared he!
Xiao Cuan was about to clench his fist when he realized he was still holding the brown sugar cake Yan Zhi had made.
The brown sugar cake was soft and delicate, pressed against his palm like Yan Zhi crouching before him, pressing his cheek into his hand.
If he clenched his fist, the cake would be ruined.
If he overturned the stall, the cake would fall to the ground and get covered in dust.
If he hit Chu Yu, Yan Zhi would…
Yan Zhi would run away.
Xiao Cuan took two deep breaths and turned his head away. He took out Yan Zhi’s undergarment from his robe, wrapped the brown sugar cake in it, and tucked it away.
After these actions, the fire of anger in his heart subsided slightly.
Endure, endure.
He had given a death order to all the soldiers searching for the person: once a trace was found, they were not to alert them.
He was no exception.
He had experienced too many near-misses; this time… he absolutely could not miss again.
He had to strike with absolute precision!
Before seeing Yan Zhi, before catching him, and before truly holding him in his arms, he couldn’t get too excited.
If he made too much of a scene, Yan Zhi would surely notice.
The little swallow had already flown into the trap, and he was already standing beside it.
Only one last step remained.
The more it was like this, the more he needed to be calm and composed.
Xiao Cuan did his best to settle his mind. The light in his eyes became more terrifying, but his tone became colder.
“Have the local office investigate this Chu Yu of Shiyan Town.”
“All of you, surround Shiyan Town immediately and lie in ambush on every hilltop.”
“I—”
On the long street, Chu Yu carried the lantern, carefully shielding it so the crowd wouldn’t crush it as he returned to his stall.
Business was good tonight, and after a while, Chu Yu had sold all the pastries he had prepared.
The fireworks weren’t over yet, but after careful thought, Chu Yu decided to head back.
He had no relatives in the city, and the inns were too expensive and unsafe; it really wasn’t worth it.
It wasn’t late yet, so he should be able to make it back in time.
Besides, lanterns were only fun on the Lantern Festival. Tomorrow wouldn’t be the Lantern Festival anymore, and buying a lantern for Yan Zhi then wouldn’t mean as much.
Chu Yu made up his mind, tied his pocket tight, harnessed the donkey cart, and prepared to leave.
“Make way! Make way! Hua Sheng Gao, giddyap—”
The donkey cart passed through the streets and headed out of the city.
Xiao Cuan’s face was ashen as he took the cloak handed over by a guard and put it on.
The next moment, he set off and followed.
He wanted to see exactly where Yan Zhi had been living all this time. How could Yan Zhi have hidden from him for so long?
And what exactly was the relationship between Yan Zhi and this Chu Yu?!
The moonlight was bright, shining on the mountain forests and the vegetation.
Chu Yu drove the donkey cart, waving the willow branch and humming a small tune as he traveled along the path.
The lantern he bought was hanging on the cart, swaying with the bumps in the mountain road.
Xiao Cuan stayed hidden in the darkness, following the donkey cart at a distance.
There were too few people on the road, so following like this was too obvious.
So Xiao Cuan dismissed all the accompanying guards and followed alone.
The brown sugar cakes he had bought were still tucked in his robe, gradually taking on his body heat.
Xiao Cuan was like an alpha wolf waiting for the right moment to hunt, his footsteps silent and his breath held.
The further he went, the more fragrant and sweet the scent in the wind became.
The further he went, the more certain he became that this time, he had not found the wrong person.
Yan Zhi was definitely up ahead.
So they were this close all along; as long as he had taken two more steps east, he would have found Yan Zhi.
Along the way, Xiao Cuan thought about many things.
At first, his heart was filled with wild rage, his teeth clenched, furious that Chu Yu dared to steal his person, and furious that Yan Zhi dared to like someone else.
Then he was overjoyed, filled with delight; he had searched for months and was finally about to find Yan Zhi.
And then—
His heart was calm, only the one in his chest was pounding wildly.
He thought he wouldn’t think about anything anymore.
When he found Yan Zhi in a bit, he wouldn’t do anything; he just wanted to hold Yan Zhi and sleep for a night.
Sleep for one night first; one night would be enough.
He didn’t know how much time had passed or how much mountain road he had covered.
At the end of the path, a small town finally appeared.
The moonlight was clear, flowing like water.
A tiny figure, holding a dim yellow lantern and accompanied by a large black dog, sat on a large rock at the entrance of the town.
He turned his head and saw someone coming at the end of the road. He quickly dropped the lantern and ran forward.
He was smiling, running, and cheering.
Just as he had done many times before in the Daliang Palace and in the camps, welcoming His Majesty.
It was Yan Zhi! Yan Zhi had seen him too!
Xiao Cuan instinctively took a step forward, coming out from the shadow of the tree where he was hiding, opening his arms, trying to catch Yan Zhi as he had done many times before.
Here! His Majesty is here!
But the next moment—
Chu Yu jumped off the cart and stood between the two of them, stopping Yan Zhi.
“Didn’t I tell you to sleep early? Why are you here waiting for me?”