After the spies have been taken away, only the Luo father and sons were left in the hall.
Luo Ze asked Luo Wei with an expression as if he'd been dreaming, "Xiao Wei, have you been pretending all these years?"
Luo Wei only smiled but didn't respond.
Luo Zhi Qiu asked, "Why did you decide to stop the pretense?"
Luo Wei replied, "After being beaten up, I thought life was impossible to predict. If I hadn't pushed through this time, then all the things I managed to get out of the second prince thus far would have been wasted. So I thought the things that need to be done should be done as soon as possible."
Luo Zhi Qiu said, "Then why didn't you say anything after you woke up?"
Luo Wei smiled, "I wanted to say something, but either father wasn't home or my big brother wasn't home. I couldn't find a proper chance."
Luo Ze didn't understand, "Why do both father and I need to be home for you to say something?"
Luo Wei responded, "Father wouldn't following me to see Luo Zhong feeding the pigeon, big brother, you wouldn't be able to make these big decisions if you were the only one home."
Luo Ze asked, "Why did I have to go with you? With something like this, you could have caught Luo Zhong yourself."
Luo Wei replied, "My reputation isn't great. If it was just me catching Luo Zhong in the act, he could have just said I was doing it on purpose to frame him. I was afraid father and big brother wouldn't believe me at the time."
Luo Zhi Qiu harrumphed coldly, "Then you robbing an innocent woman from her husband on the streets was also a ruse?"
"That was only because of a whim. At the time, the second prince's servants were with me," Luo Wei was totally making it up now, "I only wanted them to see how ridiculous I could be. The more ridiculous I am, the less the second prince would be careful around me"
Luo Ze listened beside them until his head felt like it was going to explode. He was a general and was used to being straightforward, "Xiao Wei, what kind of nonsense is in that brain of yours?"
Luo Wei only smiled at his second eldest brother. He didn't expect Luo Ze to understand the nuances of politics. In the past life, the senior chancellor's failure was that he raised two generals who only knew of war and nothing of politics, and a bastard who betrayed his entire family. He didn't manage to raise a son who could face the court and do battle with them.
And now, Luo Zhi Qiu had no idea what's in store for Luo Wei's future anymore. He had thought originally that as the Senior Chancellor, he'd be able to protect this child for his entire life, but now Emperor Xing Wu knew that Luo Wei was his and Luo Zhi Jin's son, how will he treat Luo Wei? Everyone said that the mind of a divine monarch was hard to calculate, and Luo Zhi Qiu was afraid to think on this question any deeper than he had. He now looked at Luo Wei with an additional sense of unease. If Luo Wei could pretend to be an idiot around Long Xuan for so many years and part with him at the drop of a hat. The amount of scheming within this mere thirteen year old, it was almost fearsome, not to mention he was the son of the emperor. This Luo Wei, a member of the royalty who'd already started to sway the undercurrents at court, will not be someone who would sit idly by.
Luo Wei had no idea of Luo Zhi Qiu's inner thoughts at the moment, so he said to Luo Zhi Qiu, "Father, could you please think of a way for me to get out of being a study companion to the prince?"
"I know," Luo Zhi Qiu answered, "Even if you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have let you stay beside the second prince. But Wei Er, have you learned anything at the study in all these years?"
Luo Wei said, "I learned some things. The tutors in the study are all famed scholars, I've reaped more than a little benefit from their teachings."
Luo Zhi Qiu stood and addressed Luo Wei, "Let's go talk in the study," Then to Luo Ze, he said, "Go see to your mother and comfort her, let her know what happened in the estate tonight, don't let her worry too much."
If it weren't for the fact that Luo Wei looked like a stiff breeze could knock him over right now, Luo Ze would really want to give his little brother a thrashing. How could he have deceived his big brother so badly? Doesn't this sort of little brother deserve to be beaten up a little? Luo Ze ruffled Luo Wei's hair as hard as he could. He didn't pay any mind to the grimaces from Luo Wei and instead went to see to their mother.
TRANSLATOR'S NOTES:
Sorry guys! Was busy over the weekend!! And originally wanted to translate a few chapters so I could release them slowly over a week but I got caught up in work. I was wondering if any of you had any preferences to lots of releases over the course of a week, or should I do as many as I can at one time and release them all at the same time? If not, I might just keep going at one chapter per day as much as I can, and will let you guys know if I am planning on taking breaks!