Proving One’s Identity to the Fourth Miss

The moment that the two of them arrived at the front entrance of the Bo Villa, the two guards standing at the front clasped their hands and bowed at the sight of Zhizhong. "Y-young Master." 

"See?" Zhizhong pointed them out while they walked through the front doors without any of the guards blocking them. "If I weren't really the Young Master, do you think they would just let me in?" 

Yujia narrowed her eyes, catching the stutter before the guards' words. She didn't know how the guards acted like this, but she was still somewhat suspicious. 

As they walked through the front yard, Zhizhong continued, "You said you knew the Second Young Master, right? Let's visit him and have him prove some more things to you." 

The two walked together, Zhizhong leading at the front. Although Yujia had been to the villa before, she still wasn't confident with the layout of it, so if she were to attempt to find the Second Young Master by herself, she would likely get lost. It seemed like Zhizhong was confident about it though. 

When they arrived at the courtyard and room of the Second Young Master, Zhizhong practically burst his way through the door without even asking permission or notifying his arrival with a knock. Yujia looked to the side, and lounged on one of the chairs, lazily reading a book, was Bo Zhiyuan. 

"Third Brother," he acknowledged with barely a glance. Then, he looked behind Zhizhong, and his eyes widened when he saw Yujia. "Miss Yang! You're here too?"

Yujia didn't need to answer, since Zhizhong cut in front of her, saying, "Remember yesterday, we were talking about her portrait? I'm going to be her investor. She wants to check my identity, and she mentioned that she knew you." 

"Oh." Zhiyuan smiled, closing his book and setting it on the table. "Miss Yang, rest assured, my brother is definitely my brother. Unless you would think that I'm lying?" 

Yujia thought back to how Yu Zixu lied and claimed that she was his brother, Yu Ziyang. People could definitely lie, and although Bo Zhiyuan seemed like a fairly open book, there was still the chance that he was lying. She would never be able to know for sure. Lying was easy, and she was the perfect proof of that considering how many lies she had told over the brief time she spent in this world. 

Thus, she had a question that was sure to provide her concrete evidence. "I'm not saying that you're lying, but if he really is the Third Young Master, then why wouldn't he just take me to his courtyard and room directly? Wouldn't that be more of a solid proof than asking you about it?" 

While she asked this question, she kept her gaze fixed on Bo Zhizhong, analyzing his every expression. Zhizhong darted his eyes at Zhiyuan, and the two gazes met for a moment while Zhizhong pinched the hem of his sleeve. 

Then, Zhiyuan laughed heartily, leaning his chin on his hand. "Younger Brother, are you telling me that you were too embarrassed to bring Miss Yang to your courtyard because you were afraid that it would cause misunderstandings with your wife? Or… is it because you didn't want to cause misunderstandings with Miss Yang?" He raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. 

As soon as he said that, Zhizhong snapped back, "Stop being so ridiculous. Why would I be afraid of any misunderstandings with Miss Yang? She already knows that I'm married. It's the other way around." 

"Then, don't be worried. Luowei went with your wife to look at silks for the upcoming summer. They won't be back until late noon. You can go and take Miss Yang to briefly check your room without raising anyone's notice or suspicion." Bo Zhiyuan opened his book again, as if he was ready to get back to it once the two of them left. 

"This…" Zhizhong paused. 

"What? I'm not lying to you. Stop being lazy, anyways. Your courtyard is directly to the right of mine. It's not even that far of a walk. Taking Miss Yang there for evidence won't even take longer than it takes to drink a cup of tea." 

"Fine then, Second Brother." Zhizhong flung his sleeves back and turned. "Miss Yang, let's go." 

Bo Zhiyuan stood up, bowing to Yujia. "Miss Yang, I hope you find the answers you look for." 

…

When the two of them arrived at the courtyard, Yujia noticed that unlike the Second Young Master's courtyard with only one room right at the front, the courtyard was split into two rooms. She suspected that one was for Zhizhong, and the other was for his wife. One of the rooms was obviously larger though, with more sets of doors and windows lining the walls.

Zhizhong led her to the larger one, pushing open the doors. Sunlight flushed into the room, illuminating all the objects and parts in it. At the very center, there were two chairs and a small table for two individuals to have tea and discuss at. Towards the right was his bed and personal space, while to the left was a personal study area, lined with books and a single painting hanging on a wall devoid of bookshelves. 

Walking through the room and picking up one of the open books that was left on the table crowded with messy papers and books, Zhizhong showed her the title. "Biography of Sima Xiangru. Was reading it this morning. If you want to test my knowledge over it to find yourself some evidence, feel free."

Yujia ran her fingers along the edge of the center table and found that there was no dust on it. Everything else looked not too new or too old either, appearing just as if Bo Zhizhong lived here for quite a while and left recently just to meet her. She didn't need to test him on whatever knowledge he knew from reading. From just how this room looked and how he was able to instantly bring her to a room that he seemed to know well was enough proof that the Third Young Master of the Bo Family truly did exist, and he was standing in front of her right now. 

She gave him a small smile and shook her head. "No, it's fine. I believe you, now." 

…

Yushang was too, too grateful for Bo Zhiyuan. 

If it weren't for Zhiyuan, then he didn't know how he would possibly have survived. First, Zhiyuan helped him during their conversation with small hints to prod him in a direction that could definitely convince Miss Yang that he truly was the Third Young Master. Second, Zhiyuan seemed to have told all crucial people throughout the household to refer to him as Third Young Master if they saw him, adding to his credibility. Third, somehow, Zhiyuan managed to clean out and organize an entire courtyard within a single day of being alerted of this change just to help support Yushang's fake identity if an event like what just happened came up 

Yushang came to the conclusion that Bo Zhiyuan must've been some sort of heavenly deity sent to aid him. There was no way that any other person would put so much thought and effort after receiving a single declaration from a friend that wanted to become his brother as a fake identity. 

After this whole deal was over with Miss Yang, Yushang would definitely go and order some servants to send Zhiyuan a whole lot of precious gifts as a way of expressing his thanks. He would even pick what gifts to send himself.