The Wolf is the voice of reason

Xiao Zai left Xiao Yuan's estate feeling winded. 

The conversation had smoothly transitioned from Gu Wei to Ru Long and the threat he posed after Xiao Yuan's comment -- but Xiao Zai kept turning his brothers words around in his head for the whole meal.

And even now that he was returning to the royal palace, he couldn't help pondering on them.

The hardest thing for him was conciliating the image of Gu Wei as a caring, selfless parent, who sacrificed so much for him and his sister, with his self-serving actions. 

But Xiao Yuan's words had made him wonder if perhaps Gu Wei saw them as 'necessary evils' -- if instead of selfishly pursuing a road that would benefit him down the line, he was perhaps fooling himself into believing he was just doing what needed to be done.

It was hard to forgive outright cruelty, but what about a misguided sense of duty?