Chapter 4 The Duke of Zhou

At Prince Fei's Mansion

Prince Fei did not attend the celebration at the palace. He walked down from the main hall to his study and instructed the servant at the door not to allow anyone in except Prince Zichen when he returned from the palace. He entered the study and went to one of the shelves, where he pushed a button near a flower pot. The shelf parted to open a secret door. He took the jade pendant from his waist and inserted it into the keyhole. There was a slight rumble, and the stone door opened to reveal a passage. The lights beside the passage lit up one after another.

He walked down the hall and took a staircase down. Many people didn't know much about him. They didn't know why a high-ranking prince, the Duke of Zhou, with a hereditary title he inherited from his father, chose to live like a recluse. No friends, no political allies, and he didn't even associate with the Emperor. No one would even remember him if not for his son, Prince Zichen.

But a few older people remembered. They knew why the Dukes of Zhou lived like hermits. Not the present duke, but his father, Prince Tian Le, named personally by the former Empress Dowager, the aunt of the present Empress Dowager. They all remembered what happened more than fifty years ago, though it was deeply buried in their hearts. The records book had been sealed by the former Emperor, only to be opened after two hundred years.

The Empress Dowager had commanded that no one ever speak of it, under penalty of capital punishment down to the sixth generation, so the secret could be buried and left for later generations to judge. But the Empress Dowager's main reason for passing that decree was to protect her beloved grandson, Prince Tian Le, who had been less than a day old then.

Despite knowing this, no one knew why the Dukes of Zhou decided to live a very quiet life, as if trying to avoid being noticed, despite their high-ranking position and favor from the Emperor. Prince Tian Le, loved and highly favored by the late Emperor, never set foot in the palace again after the Empress Dowager died. He died five years later at the age of twenty-seven. The present Duke of Zhou, Prince Fei, was twelve years old then.

Due to the former Empress Dowager's arrangements, Prince Tian Le had married early. He was born prematurely and wasn't as strong as other children, suffering from serious lung issues that resulted from complications during his birth. After his death, Prince Fei became cold and distant, just like his father.

No matter what the Emperor or the present Empress Dowager did, Prince Fei remained distant. Now, Prince Zichen, from that branch, had stood out. His feats in battle had spread far and wide, making a name for himself in the army and the martial world. The Emperor had given him a rank even higher than his father's, naming him a prince of the second rank.

Maybe with this, the Duke of Zhou would no longer live a secluded life. Just maybe.

Prince Fei reached the end of the passage after coming down the stairs. He opened the door and entered inside. The room was very bright, despite being underground. The decoration was simple: a reading table, a shelf filled with books in one corner, and a big map on one wall. Close to it was a table with different war strategic plans laid out.

There was an old, bald man sitting at the other end of the room, playing a game of Go. The white stones were surrounding the black stones on the board. By his side was a kettle of hot tea boiling on a fire. Prince Fei walked closer to the man and bowed slightly in greeting. "Master."