Chapter 286: Chapter 263: The Two Tuobas, Young and Old

Chu Yu had just finished speaking when a surprised voice exclaimed from above, “How did you know I was up there?”

Chu Yu pursed her lips and looked up.

Atop the wall, a figure dressed in black sat straddling it, one foot inside and the other outside. His body was backlit, and his face buried in the shadows was not too clear, but judging by his voice, he seemed to be no older than fifteen or sixteen.

Chu Yu glanced at him, silently pointing to the shadows on the ground, where the unmistakably clear shape of a person’s shadow lay.

“Ha.” The youth laughed awkwardly and with a push on his hands against the wall, he leaped into the courtyard with a movement that was extremely heroic and agile. When he landed, the two jade pendants hanging at his waist collided, emitting a smooth and clear sound.

No sooner had the youth steadied himself than he strode quickly over in three steps made two, and only then did Chu Yu see clearly that the youth was only fourteen or fifteen, about the same age as Liu Sang, but with a strikingly resolute appearance and an implicit majesty in his glance. Even though he approached her as if in play, there was an indistinct aura of authority about him.

This was a temperament held only by those accustomed to being in a position of power.

The heroic youth came up to Chu Yu, but instead of paying attention to her, his gaze was fixed intently on the infant, mixing affection, longing, and a bit of curiosity. After watching for a while, the youth reached out to touch the infant’s face, not quite sure of his own strength, and soon had the child crying out in pain and waking up with a loud wail.

The tender cry spread through the silent air, sounding especially pitiable. Almost simultaneously, Chu Yu and the youth jumped aside as if avoiding a bomb, distancing themselves from the crying infant. After jumping back, they exchanged a glance, and the youth scolded her without ceremony, “Aren’t you supposed to be watching the child? Why don’t you soothe him?”

Chu Yu sneered, “Who told you I’m a nanny? The child was made to cry by you. If you, the father, don’t go and comfort him, what do you expect me, a stranger, to do?”

It was only upon a clear look at the youth that Chu Yu instantly understood his identity. Carved on his jade pendants was the character “Hong”, and the current name of the Emperor of Northern Wei was none other than Tuoba Hong.

Their features bore some resemblance, and placed side by side, no one would believe if it was claimed they had no blood connection.

Tuoba Hong was a homophone of Tuoba Hong, and to avoid confusion, Chu Yu simply remembered the latter by the name of his father and called the younger one “Little Tuoba.”

Had she not recognized Tuoba Hong’s identity, Chu Yu would not have allowed him to touch the child.

Yet, it seemed the Emperor of Northern Wei’s reign was a bit tragic to the extent that he had to stealthily climb walls just to see his own son.

With his identity revealed, Tuoba Hong was initially stunned before hastily turning to scrutinize Chu Yu. He blinked, as if remembering something, and said, “Are you…”

Before he could finish, his words were cut off by Little Tuoba’s suddenly escalated crying, as if he was outraged that the two adults ignored his tears. Little Tuoba’s cries grew sadder and more heart-wrenching.

Though Tuoba Hong, the father, had married and had children at a young age and irresponsibly sent his son to the Empress Dowager as a hostage, he was, after all, connected by heart with his son. Hearing the crying, he was completely flustered. In a hurry, he turned to Chu Yu and said, “Aren’t you going to hold him?” his voice trembling slightly, presumably because he had never seen a child cry like this.

Chu Yu appeared calmer than Tuoba Hong, but in reality, she was also beginning to feel at a loss, “I told you I’m not a nanny… Maybe we should simply call someone…”

Call someone?

The word reminded Tuoba Hong that this was Rong Zhi’s territory, and if Rong Zhi were to catch him sneaking over the wall, even though Rong Zhi wouldn’t do much to him, it would still be embarrassing…

Realizing this, he no longer cared about his crying son and immediately ran towards the wall, rapidly climbing up and soon vanished from sight. Judging by how adept his movements were, this was not his first time doing this.

The maid responsible for the infant wasn’t far away, and hearing Little Tuoba’s cry, she quickly arrived. She expertly picked up the baby and soothed him. Chu Yu, with a guilty conscience as if she had been the one to make the child cry, took the opportunity of the maid’s attention being on the baby to slip away quietly.

Once can lead to twice, and twice to thrice. After their first encounter, Chu Yu would occasionally see Tuoba Hong sneaking over the wall into Rong Zhi’s courtyard. After several encounters, Chu Yu finally couldn’t resist her outpouring of sympathy, feeling that the emperor was having too tragic a time as a father. She made arrangements with him, leaving a back door open for him and dismissing nearby servants, so that he wouldn’t have to visit his son like he was having an illicit affair.

The first time they colluded from within and without, Tuoba Hong was very punctual, not missing the appointment at all, but when Chu Yu saw the person behind Tuoba Hong, she would rather he had not come–

Her vision blurred for a moment. Tuoba Hong, clad in a dark, black robe, stood with a young man in purple to his right and behind him, a familiar face with a familiar look which nearly gave Chu Yu the illusion of being back in the Southern Dynasty.

Tian Rujing.

He was still dressed in deep purple, with a layer of white gauze on the outside, appearing as though enveloped in mist, ethereal and indifferent.

And at that initial glimpse, Chu Yu even thought that the person standing with Tian Rujing was not the new sovereign of Northern Wei, but the deceased deposed Emperor Liu Ziyue of the Southern Dynasty.

Yes, Liu Ziyue, the brother of this body, and also… the person she had let down the most in this world.

Even now, Chu Yu did not know whether what she had done was right or wrong, or if, perhaps, there were things in the world that couldn’t simply be classified as right or wrong at all. But ever since she left Jiankang, or perhaps from the moment she officially heard of Liu Ziyue’s death, the guilt had been quietly buried deep in her heart, and had never completely faded away. Right at this moment, it surged up like a nightmare.

The person she owed the most apologies to in this world wasn’t just anyone, it was a cruel and venomous tyrant.

She kept silently comforting herself, telling herself that this was not Liu Ziyue, but another Emperor entirely different from him, an Emperor with ideals, ambition, who also genuinely wanted to govern well. Although their only interaction was watching the child, she could infer a thing or two from what Huan Yuan had said.

Yes, they were different. This was not Liu Ziyue; this was Tuoba Hong.

After chanting to herself untold times, Chu Yu’s emotions gradually stabilized. She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and just then Tuoba Hong, worn out from playing with little Tuoba, gave way slightly to let her close.

At this point, little Tuoba was already one year old and had reached the point where he could learn to speak. Seeing Chu Yu approaching, he opened his little mouth and repeated the words Chu Yu had taught him days ago: “Go to Luoyang, go to Luoyang,” his voice soft and clear.

This was purely a moment of mischief for Chu Yu, adhering to the principle that teaching should start from childhood, she patiently taught little Tuoba to speak. Originally, she wanted him to remember to “move the capital to Luoyang” later on, but little Tuoba wasn’t quite articulate yet, and after much repetition, he managed to say the three words “go to Luoyang.”

She had even occasionally wondered if she really managed to teach Tuoba and influenced him to change the capital’s location, would that be considered changing history to a certain extent?

Words spoken without intent, but heard with purpose, no sooner had little Tuoba finished speaking than Tuoba Hong’s eyes brightened, and he fell into thought in front of Chu Yu, while Tian Rujing’s gaze became somewhat peculiar for a moment.

Chu Yu glared unceremoniously, her lips moving silently: Just to oppose you, what about it?

Tian Rujing glanced at Tuoba Hong to ensure he wasn’t paying much attention, then moved closer to Chu Yu and said, “Luoyang is indeed a good place for a capital.” He approached her ear, his voice slightly lowered, “You probably don’t know that more than twenty years later, Tuoba Hong did indeed move the capital to Luoyang.” That Tuoba Hong was the one currently in the cradle.

Would her doings then be considered a serendipitous mistake?

Chu Yu was stunned for a full ten seconds before snapping back to reality. She quickly bent down, closed in on little Tuoba and said through gritted teeth: “Forget what I told you before, not going to Luoyang, not going to Luoyang…”

But little Tuoba could only repeat the last three words: “Go to Luoyang, go to Luoyang…”

“Not going to Luoyang, not going to Luoyang…”

“Go to Luoyang, go to Luoyang…”

…