Chapter 535: Pulling Hair

Chapter 535: Pulling Hair

The note said: meet at Dingxiang Tower at midnight tonight to discuss matters.

As it happened, Yuan Jiuan also wanted to see Ji Yuntang to ask her about a few things, so he turned down Empress Dowager Yuan's offer to stay in the palace.

Empress Dowager Yuan was all politeness on the surface, but secretly she hoped Yuan Jiuan wouldn't stay in the palace.

His sudden arrival in the capital had caught her off guard. She was terrified he'd find out about her affair with the National Preceptor, so she didn't push him to stay.

Meanwhile, Ji Yuntang had already made an excuse and headed back to the General's Mansion.

Empress Dowager Yuan had been busy all day and had completely forgotten about the acupuncture, so she just put Ji Yuntang out of her mind.

When Ji Yuntang got to the General's Mansion, Xie Liuzheng had just gotten back from being out.

The second he saw Ji Yuntang, he held out a cloth pouch like it was some kind of treasure.

"Sister Yuntang, take a look—is this enough hair?"

A weird feeling crept over Ji Yuntang. She opened the pouch and was completely stunned!

Inside was a big, neatly bundled handful of hair.

She stared at him in shock. "You... you didn't yank out all of that guy's hair, did you?"

She'd only asked Xie Liuzheng to grab a strand or two for a DNA test to check if the person buying Dendrobium officinale every month was Empress Dowager Yuan's illegitimate son.

She never expected Xie Liuzheng to come back with this much hair.

Xie Liuzheng, though, didn't see the big deal and looked pretty proud of himself.

"That's right. This Heir was afraid you wouldn't have enough, so I shaved it all off with a knife. Besides, he agreed to it himself."

Ji Yuntang: "???"

She stared at Xie Liuzheng, totally confused and not catching what he meant by that last part.

"What do you mean, he agreed to it himself?"

Who would willingly let him shave off that much hair?

As it turned out, Xie Liuzheng was capable of anything Ji Yuntang could think of—and more.

He rubbed his nose and said sheepishly, "It wasn't that hard, actually. I traded one of your fruit-flavored lollipops for his hair, and he agreed without a second thought."

"After he finished it, he wanted more, so I gave him three more lollipops, and he handed over all his hair."

Ji Yuntang: "..."

Her mouth twitched. She didn't even know what to say to him anymore!

Still, Ji Yuntang was curious about something else.

"Brother, I heard there are a bunch of skilled guards hiding in that courtyard. Didn't they spot you when you went in?"

Xie Liuzheng coughed, looking a bit awkward.

"There really are a lot of experts in there, guarding that kid's room like crazy. This Heir couldn't get close for a while, so it was tough to make a move."

"Then, I figured I couldn't go head-to-head with them. Not only would that tip them off, but I might not even win against them."

"Most importantly, Yuntang, sis, the task you gave your big bro—I'd give my life to complete it!"

Ji Yuntang noticed Xie Liuzheng was deliberately dodging her question and arched an eyebrow.

"And then? What does that have to do with him agreeing to let you pull out his hair?"

Xie Liuzheng: "..."

He hadn't wanted to bring it up, but Ji Yuntang's curiosity was already piqued.

He sighed helplessly and said, "Then, I came up with another plan. While those hidden guards were changing shifts, I slipped in and hid in the guy's private outhouse to wait for him."

"I figured a person can go a day without eating, but they can't go a day without taking a dump. When he couldn't hold it anymore, he'd have to come to the outhouse, and that's when I'd seize the chance to pull out his hair."

Ji Yuntang: "..."

Ji Yuntang: "!!!"

She just had to ask—how could anyone be this clever?

Though the method was a bit underhanded, it was remarkably effective.

Ji Yuntang asked him, "So when he went in and saw you, didn't he yell for someone?"

Xie Liuzheng shook his head. "I found it strange too. That kid's face was white as a sheet, and he was winded just from walking. But when he saw me, he wasn't scared at all. Instead, he got all excited and kept tugging at me, firing off questions left and right."

"I remember, the thing he asked most was what the outside world was like, and he wanted me to tell him."

"It was then that I learned he'd lived there since birth. He had someone bring him three meals a day, but he'd never once set foot outside that courtyard's gate."

Ji Yuntang asked, "So did you tell him?"

Xie Liuzheng nodded. "Yeah, I did. I was in a hurry, so I told him a bit and then got tired of it. I just handed him a lollipop. He loved it and kept pestering me for more. So I told him he could trade his hair for lollipops. He agreed, and then I pulled it out."

Ji Yuntang: "..."

She thought Xie Liuzheng was a total legend, that he could actually pull a stunt like that.

However, from his words, she could tell that the young man must have been desperately longing for freedom.

If he really was the son of Empress Dowager Yuan and the National Preceptor, Ji Yuntang felt he was quite pitiable.

Born a person, yet kept like a bird in a cage, locked at home and never allowed out.

Ji Yuntang pulled a few strands of hair out of the bag, along with the ones she'd pulled from Empress Dowager Yuan's head during the acupuncture treatment, and put them all into her space to run tests.

Xie Liuzheng, with nothing better to do, struck up a chat with her.

"Yuntang, sis, I think he's ten times out of ten the Old Witch's bastard son out there."

The test results would take at least half an hour to come back, so Ji Yuntang asked curiously, "How'd you figure?"

Xie Liuzheng said, "You have no idea. That courtyard looks old and run-down from the outside, but inside it's a whole other world. Even the tables and chairs are custom-made from high-quality nanmu wood, worth a small fortune."

"And the bowl that kid eats from? Forget about it—it's an antique handed down from the previous dynasty. You can't even find a set on the market. How could any ordinary person afford stuff like that?"

Ji Yuntang propped her chin on her hand, feeling pretty sure the answer was already right there!

Empress Dowager Yuan had only this one son, who had been frail and sickly since childhood. Unable to stay by his side to care for him, she felt a sense of guilt, and so she could only overcompensate by showering him with lavish gifts.

Unfortunately, perhaps she failed to understand one thing: what children truly need is never material satisfaction, but the education and companionship of their parents, as well as the exchange and learning that comes from friendships.

Once these things are lacking, the child's mental health is bound to suffer to some extent.

For Empress Dowager Yuan to want him to ascend the throne was no different from pushing a fledgling that couldn't even fly into a flock of birds all clamoring for attention, expecting it to lead this motley crew of seasoned birds and become their king.

This was as hard as asking a three-year-old to command an army.

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