Hearing that answer, Yang Xian was silent for a while. He nodded his head. "Fine. We'll go there together."

"You don't have to come with me."

"I want to. Besides, I also need to talk with the other officials' children who are locked there."

Wei Liuying pursed her lips and passed the bamboo strip containing the last information to Yang Xian. "There's nothing wrong with this one. You can pass it to the officials and have them start working."

"You mean, pass it tomorrow." Yang Xian pointed to the officials who have already passed out.

"Yes, tomorrow."

Looking at the officials who had passed out, Yang Xian sighed. These people really needed to start having martial arts training if they didn't want to pass out just from a few sleepless nights. He had to mention it to the prince.

"Would you like to rest first?"

"Yes."

"Let's go back home."

Wei Liuying arched her eyebrows. Thinking about the small house that Yang Xian used in Prince Ji Sheng's Residence, she sighed internally. It seemed that she had to get used to stay within Prince Ji Sheng's place for the time being.

…

The next day, Wei Liuying departed early to the prison. Yang Xian also came along and went to separate ways because he needed to see the officials' children. He wondered what would happen to them after being locked up for a few days here.

Walking on the dark corridor, Wei Liuying was brought to a small room. There was only one person inside, Wei Hong Zheng. It has nearly been two years since the last time Wei Liuying saw her brother. The last time she heard about him was also nearly a year ago when they told her that her brother was sent to the prison because of their mother's deception.

By now, Wei Hong Zheng was no longer the same young master as before. His clothes were haggard while his face looked tired. It didn't look like the face of a child at all as Wei Hong Zheng seemed to age overnight. He looked far more mature, very similar to Wei Liuying who had grown up too quick for her age.

"Wei Hong Zheng."

"Who?" Wei Hong Zheng raised his head and looked at the young person before him. His eyes were already used to the darkness, so he could faintly see Wei Liuying's face. However, the striking similarities he saw only made him stunned despite the fact that Wei Liuying was still wearing a boy's clothes.

He never thought that he would meet with his sister again, even more so in a situation like this.

His hand trembled as emotion welled up. How many times he had mistreated the other party couldn't be counted anymore. Even if Wei Liuying chose to never come and see him in his lifetime, he would never find it strange.

Someone like him…

"Sister?" Wei Hong Zheng asked in parched tone. It was clear that he found it hard to speak as his body trembled a bit.

Wei Liuying smiled. "Do you really regard me as your sister, Hong Zheng?"

"That's…" Wei Hong Zheng had no words to reply. He simply looked at Wei Liuying with blank expression. Slowly, his eyes watered for he remembered what had happened a long time ago. He never had any right to call Wei Liuying as sister.

And with him just being a b*stard son from his mother's affair, he knew that his worth was even less than that.

"Why do you come?"

"I want to have a chat with my brother."

"I'm not your brother, not after knowing that I'm just the child of an affair," Wei Hong Zheng said bitterly.

Wei Liuying arched her eyebrows. "Do you really think that way?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Mother is stupid* at times. I wouldn't be surprised if she makes such a huge blunder. With my intellectual, I don't think that I inherit father's intelligence, so I guess the chance for me not being his son is high," Wei Hong Zheng responded.

And knowing that he couldn't be as accomplished as his other siblings, Wei Hong Zheng knew that the possibility of him being some random man's child was there. Who knew what his mother actually did back then?

He could never know.

Wei Liuying arched her eyebrows when she heard the word play that her brother used. Her lips curled up to form a smirk. "Yes, our mother is stupid.* However, she's not that stupid* to the point that she'll go for an affair just to have a child. She knows very well that if the affair was known, it'll result in great problem."

(A/N: their mother's name was Feng Chun. In these three, the two of them used the word "chun" to say stupid. Their mother's name is chun with first tone meaning spring while chun for stupid is third tone)

"What do you mean?" Wei Hong Zheng was confused.

"In other words, you're Wei Hong and mother's child."

"But…"

"If you're talking about how your appearance didn't look like father, it's because you look more like our grandfather. You're tricked into believing that you're not father's son because of your appearance, so I guess you inherit mother's stupidity," Wei Liuying said unhurriedly.

Wei Hong Zheng's face turned red from Wei Liuying's words. He opened his mouth but no words came out. At this point, he knew for sure that it would be all for naught. What his sister said was correct. He believed their words too fast when he was supposed to doubt their words first.

Wei Liuying watched her brother without any change in her expression. She had heard from the guard about what had happened to Wei Hong Zheng in the prison all this time. At first, they treated him well but later on, they let him got into many kinds of fight and so on.

No one ever stopped it.

Looking at her brother's haggard hand, yet mature expression on his face, Wei Liuying knew that her brother was no longer the same as before. But in front of her, he would revert back to his usual self.

"I have a question."

"Yes?"

"What do you want to do in your live?"

"Huh?" This time, Wei Hong Zheng was stunned. He raised his head and looked at his sister, the one whom he never treated properly all this time in the past.

Wei Liuying smiled lightly. "You're unsuitable to be an officials based on how low your comprehension was. However, I heard that you do quite well in your training to become a soldier. Would you like to continue entering the military or would you like to become an ordinary person?"

Hearing that, Wei Hong Zheng was stunned. It was truly an unexpected question since he thought that he would be staying here for the next few years. Wei Liuying's words were the same as telling him that he could get out and enter the military or just become a free man.

"Is that…" possible?

"Yes. I have the authority to release you," Wei Liuying responded.

That answer only made Wei Hong Zheng feel that he didn't know his sister anymore. She didn't look the same as she was years ago. She looked as if she was standing at a far away distance, a place that he would never be able to reach even if he worked for his entire lifetime.

It was a strange feeling.

"What's your answer?"

Wei Hong Zheng was startled. "I…"