Ye Yunting straightened his robes and opened the door unhurriedly to go receive the reward.
The visitor was a eunuch nearing fifty, gaunt and tall, dressed in a deep purple round-collared, narrow-sleeved robe. His hands were tucked before his abdomen, his eyes held a shrewd glint, and every wrinkle on his face seemed etched with the word 'cunning'.
Seeing Ye Yunting emerge, he lifted his eyes lazily, his gaze sweeping over Ye Yunting with scrutiny.
"His Majesty is moved by the profound understanding and righteousness of the Princess of Yong'an and has specially ordered this servant to deliver rewards. The Prince is currently bedridden with illness, and the marriage was somewhat rushed. We hope the Princess does not take it to heart. Once the Prince recovers, he will surely not treat you poorly."
Though his words spoke of praise and reward, his attitude was nothing of the sort.
Ye Yunting pressed his lips together, his heart tightening a notch, yet he still knelt without a change in expression to receive the reward: "Prince Yong'an fought against foreign enemies for Northern Zhao, achieving unparalleled military feats. Now that he has been ambushed and fallen seriously ill, it is my honor to be able to contribute my meager efforts. I harbor no resentment."
"That's good. Since the Princess thinks so clearly, His Majesty can also be at ease." The eunuch smiled, stretching his slack skin, and placed the scroll he was holding into Ye Yunting's hands, emphasizing his tone: "His Majesty personally selected this for you, Princess. You must contemplate it well."
"Thank you for His Majesty's reward." Ye Yunting accepted the gift, lowering his eyes to glance at the scroll in his hand.
By the look of it, it was a painting.
He was just pondering why the Emperor would send him a painting when the eunuch spoke again: "Why doesn't the Princess open it and take a look?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Yunting had no choice but to untie the silk ribbon and unroll the painting.
It was actually a painting of snow-covered houses.
The painting depicted only two or three houses huddled closely together, their roofs and the ground covered in thick snow. In front of the door of the middle house, a figure holding a broom was bent over, sweeping the snow.
Ye Yunting's eyes sought the end of the painting. There was no seal, but there was a sharply written character "Zong".
The current Emperor's given name was "Zong".
This painting was actually his own handiwork.
Ye Yunting lowered his eyes in thought for a moment. When he looked up again, his face wore an expression of pleasant surprise, even excitement causing a faint blush to spread on his cheeks. He pointed at the signature at the end of the painting as if in disbelief and asked, "Could this be His Majesty's genuine work?" He seemed so excited he was at a loss for words, stammering, "His, His Majesty's painting skill is exquisite, remarkably lifelike. How could I, so unworthy, possibly deserve this..."
After speaking, he didn't forget to carefully roll up the painting, hold it close to his chest, and bow three times devoutly towards the east.
Witnessing this series of words and actions, the eunuch's face turned green, then red, then green again. His clasped hands clenched into fists. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether the Princess of Yong'an was truly foolish or just pretending to be.
Such an obvious meaning, and he really couldn't see it?
Idiot!
Ye Yunting, however, still wore a jubilant expression and even smiled as he invited him inside for tea: "You've had to make this trip, sir. Would you like to come in for a cup of tea and rest your feet before leaving?"
Then, as if remembering something, his face showed regret: "Actually, perhaps not. There's neither hot water nor good tea in the house. It wouldn't do to serve a guest cold water." As he said this, he offered the eunuch an apologetic smile.
"Please don't take offense, sir. The Prince's household has few servants, and I'm newly arrived, finding it quite difficult to get things done."
Well, not only did he fail to grasp the painting's meaning, but he was even starting to complain.
He probably didn't even bother to think about where the root cause of the Prince's current dilapidated state truly lay.
This eunuch was a veteran of the palace and knew a bit about the affairs of the Qi Duke's household. He had previously only heard that after remarrying, the Duke favored his younger son and paid no attention to his eldest. But now it seemed the Duke's dislike for the eldest son was understandable. After all, such a pretty-faced fool would only bring shame if let out into the world.
The eunuch took a deep breath, trying to make his expression appear less severe, but still couldn't help forcing a thin smile: "The Prince dislikes noise during his illness, so many of the former servants were dismissed. Daily chores might be somewhat inconvenient, so we can only ask the Princess to bear with it." He paused, then added: "Also, the Prince dislikes outsiders seeing his current state. If the Princess has no urgent matters, it's best to disturb him less, lest the Prince become angry."
That should be clear enough now, right?!
The eunuch's visit today was precisely because the Emperor had heard that this 'auspicious' bride, having just entered the Prince's household, had already begun diligently caring for Prince Yong'an, which greatly displeased him. He was specially sent to deliver a warning.
The Emperor had arranged this marriage, not truly to find someone to serve Li Fengqi and let him live out his final days in comfort.
Yet, Ye Yunting still wore a look of bewildered incomprehension. He widened his innocent eyes, exclaiming in surprise, "Since I am already the Princess of Yong'an, how could I be an outsider?"
He continued on his own: "The Prince might dislike others, but he certainly won't dislike me. There's no need for you to worry, sir."
"......"
The eunuch nearly choked on a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat, unable to swallow or spit it out, his face turning livid.
His face twitched for a long moment. He couldn't even maintain the pretense of politeness anymore, sneering coldly, "This servant naturally need not worry. It is the Princess who must be cautious in words and deeds within the household, lest you bring disaster upon yourself."
With that, he flicked his sleeve and stormed off, fuming with rage.
Truly, a blockhead beyond teaching!
Ye Yunting stood rooted to the spot, wearing a completely clueless expression. After standing there dazedly for a while, he brightened up again, hugged the painting joyfully, and returned to his room.
Ji Lian followed behind, closing the door tightly, and let out a long sigh of relief as if granted a great pardon. He asked in a low voice, "Young Master, what was that about just now?"
He could tell his young master was putting on an act, but he didn't know what it was for, so he had tried his best to hold his breath, not even daring to breathe heavily.
By now, Ye Yunting had already shed his expression of pure innocence. With a grave look, he tapped the painting that had been casually tossed on the table and pointed upwards: "They sent someone to warn me, telling me to mind my own business and stay out of Prince Yong'an's affairs."
What reward? This was clearly a warning: Sweep the snow from your own doorstep, and don't bother with the frost on your neighbor's roof.
He hadn't expected that in just one morning, such a trivial matter would have already reached the ears of the one in the palace.
It seemed that while the Prince's household appeared empty and desolate, there were actually many eyes watching in secret. And at the slightest stir, it could be reported directly to the palace.
Ye Yunting's expression turned serious. He cautioned Ji Lian: "From now on, you must be extremely careful in your actions and speech within the household. Don't give anyone a handle against you."
Although Ji Lian didn't understand these intricacies, he knew listening to his young master was always the right thing to do, so he nodded earnestly.
Then, checking the time, he saw it was already past noon and wondered, "Young Master, didn't you say food would be delivered? Why hasn't there been any movement even though it's past noon?"
It was fine if he didn't mention it, but upon hearing this, Ye Yunting also felt somewhat hungry. He had been busy since before dawn and hadn't had a single bite of warm food until now.
Based on his experience from his previous life, the Prince's household shouldn't be withholding meals.
Although the Emperor very much wished for Prince Yong'an to die early along with him, he cared even more about his own reputation. Therefore, given the current situation, not only would he not take action, but he would also put on a thorough show of surface-level goodwill, just like the rumors of deep brotherly affection he had heard outside. If he were to die under mysterious circumstances just after entering the prince's mansion, although it could be covered up, it would inevitably give rise to gossip and rumors.
So, although the inner workings of the prince's mansion were full of filthy affairs, at least during that year he lived in the side courtyard, he still had food to eat to sustain himself.
If he hadn't accidentally drunk the poisoned soup later, he wouldn't have died so early.
Ye Yunting frowned and told Ji Lian to go out and ask.
Having received the instruction, Ji Lian pushed the door open again to question the two maidservants, while Ye Yunting chose a conspicuous spot in the outer room to hang the painting personally inscribed and bestowed by the Emperor.
Since they were putting on a show, they might as well do it thoroughly.
By the time the painting was hung, Ji Lian had returned.
"Those two maidservants still refuse to speak. They won't answer no matter what I ask," he said, closing the door angrily. "I had no choice in the end, so I slipped them some silver. Only then did they say they were acting on orders from above not to bring us any food today."
"Acting on orders from above..." Ye Yunting pondered this, thought of the steward's livid face when he left, and clicked his tongue. "It seems the act earlier was overdone and pissed him off quite a bit. This is meant to teach me a lesson."
He then shook his head. "Forget it. Don't we still have the wedding sweets? Let's stave off the hunger for now and figure something out in the afternoon."
The maidservants weren't delivering food, and he and his servant had just arrived at the prince's mansion, unfamiliar with both the place and the people. Not to mention the hidden sentries lurking who-knows-where in the mansion; they probably couldn't come and go freely either. They could only take one step at a time for now.
"We've truly escaped the tiger's den only to enter the wolf's lair."
Ji Lian took out the oil-paper package hidden in his robe, kept one piece for himself, and pushed the rest toward Ye Yunting. "I secretly ate quite a bit at the Duke's mansion this morning, I'm not hungry now. Young Master, you should eat more."
Ye Yunting took one piece, slowly finished it with some cold tea, wrapped the remaining ones back up, and stuffed them into Ji Lian's hands before he could refuse. "I'm not hungry. You eat your fill. I'll have something for you to do later."
Only then did Ji Lian agree to take them back.
After the master and servant hastily filled their stomachs, Ye Yunting thought for a moment and then instructed Ji Lian to walk around the prince's mansion to scout out where those hidden sentries were located, and preferably to ascertain how many there were.
Although Ji Lian had never formally studied martial arts, he was strong, quick on his feet, and quite agile. Scouting out the sentries in secret shouldn't be a big problem.
"Be careful. Don't give yourself away," Ye Yunting thought for a moment and still couldn't help but worryingly advise. "If it seems impossible, come back immediately."
Ji Lian nodded. "I understand."
He then clattered out, came back with two buckets of water, and deliberately said loudly, "Princess Consort, I'm still hungry. I'm going to the kitchen to see if there's any other food."
With that, he dashed out.
The two maidservants in the courtyard had probably received their orders. As usual, they were like clay figures, not listening, not looking, and not interfering, just standing honestly in the courtyard.
Ye Yunting took the opportunity while closing the door to quickly scan the large tree in the courtyard but didn't spot any hidden sentries.
Still, he wasn't fully at ease. He quickly returned to the inner room, closed all the open window panels, leaving only two windows facing open ground where no one could hide, for ventilation.
After doing all this, he approached the bed, ready to have a frank talk with Li Fengqi.
Only when he got closer did he realize Li Fengqi had fallen unconscious again. His long eyebrows were tightly knit, and his teeth were clenched.
The grime on his face had been wiped clean. The dim, warm candlelight by the bedside gave him a slight hint of color. Although he was emaciated, his fine features were still discernible.
The ancients once said, "Majestic as a lone pine standing tall; in decline like a jade mountain about to crumble." Ye Yunting felt these two lines fit Li Fengqi perfectly.
Even having been mistreated to this extent, he still retained an air of uncommon dignity.
Ye Yunting smoothed his disheveled long hair and said softly, "Today, Ji Lian and I went without food because of you. If you are unwilling to suffer these humiliations, then get better quickly."
So that he and his servant might also bask in some reflected glory.
Unfortunately, the unconscious man couldn't hear him now. Ye Yunting muttered to himself for a couple of sentences, then resignedly got up to tidy up.
The rancid bed curtains needed to be taken down and replaced, the floor, tables, and chairs in the room all needed wiping... Fortunately, he wasn't unfamiliar with such rough work from his time at the Duke's mansion. Doing it now, although somewhat clumsy, was still passable.
By the time he finished these tasks, it was already dusk outside.
In autumn, it gets dark early, and the temperature difference between day and night is large. Ye Yunting had worn only a thin inner garment for convenience while working. Now that he was done, he finally felt the chill. He hurriedly put on his outer robe, rubbed his cold hands, but his mind was on Ji Lian, who had gone out to scout and hadn't returned yet.
He opened the door and looked around. The courtyard was quiet, with no movement except for the chirping of insects and birds.
The two maidservants were nowhere to be seen, having disappeared.
Ye Yunting hesitated for a moment but still didn't go out to look for him. He went to the side room to search around, found a few candlesticks and two clean quilts, then returned to the room to continue tidying—now, only the bed where Li Fengqi slept remained untouched.
Since he had decided to board Prince Yong'an's ship, Ye Yunting wouldn't retreat easily.
He lit several candlesticks, illuminating the dim inner room, and then went to attend to the patient on the bed.
Li Fengqi was still unconscious. From the time Ye Yunting had seen him until now, he hadn't eaten a bite of food or drunk a drop of water, nor had any physician come to examine him or administer medicine. Ye Yunting couldn't be sure of his current physical condition, so he could only first carefully remove the moldy quilt and then tentatively reach out to undo his robes, intending to check if he had any external injuries.
If there were external injuries, it would be best not to move him around casually for now.
Ye Yunting first undid the outer garment stained with blood and medicine residue. When he got to the inner garment, he glanced somewhat sheepishly at Li Fengqi. Seeing that his eyes were still peacefully closed, he let out a soft sigh of relief and said, "My apologies."
The inner garment fell open, revealing a body crisscrossed with scars.
The slight awkwardness Ye Yunting felt vanished as his gaze fell upon these scars, and his breath caught.
Although he had long known that Prince Yong'an had joined the army young, experienced countless battles, and inevitably bore many old and new scars, seeing these intersecting old wounds with his own eyes still evoked a sense of desolation.
For the general, a hundred battles end in death; for the warrior, after ten years, he may return.
In recent years, Beizhao has been surrounded by wolves on all sides. The Dongyi tribes harbor rebellious intentions, Nanyue grows increasingly powerful, and Xihuang, with its blatant ambition, has repeatedly encroached upon the borders. In earlier years, skirmishes and conflicts were frequent along the frontier, and the border people suffered deeply from the ravages of war. But ever since Prince Yong'an single-handedly rode out and slew a fierce general of Xihuang, the morale of the Beizhao army soared. Under his command, the two hundred thousand border garrison troops became like an impenetrable bronze wall, steadfastly protecting the frontier people. Even the most ferocious Xihuang army dared not set foot across the border again.
The border soldiers took immense pride in joining the Black Armor Army under Prince Yong'an's banner. Wherever the black flag of the Black Armor Army flew, no one could rival them.
Yet now, this God of War of Beizhao, who struck fear into the hearts of enemy nations, lay in his own princely manor, tormented beyond recognition.
Ye Yunting took a deep breath, re-fastened his robes for him, then stood up and bowed deeply to him before carefully gathering him into his arms, lifting him horizontally. Li Fengqi was a martial artist, tall and broad-framed, his build almost a full size larger. Ye Yunting had mustered all his strength, fearing he wouldn't be able to lift him, but upon actually holding him in his arms, he discovered, to his shock, how frighteningly light he was.
The protruding shoulder blades pressed sharply against him, causing an ache.
Ye Yunting had lost count of how many times he had sighed today. He carried Li Fengqi with utmost gentleness to the chaise lounge by the window, settled him there, and then went to tidy the utterly disheveled bed.
...
Li Fengqi was awakened by the cold.
The early autumn in the capital, Shangjing, was not like the cutting, face-stinging cold of the northern border. It was more like a basin of icy water, enveloping and soaking a person through, chilling them to the very bone.
He struggled to open his eyes and found himself not on the bed, but placed on the chaise lounge he usually used for short rests. The chaise directly faced a window, from whose gaps a bleak, cold wind whistled in, drilling straight into the crevices of one's bones.
Li Fengqi sneered inwardly, thinking Li Zong must think he wasn't dying fast enough and wanted to add more fuel to the fire. To resort to such petty, childish tactics.
It was just a pity his fate was stubbornly hard. He wouldn't die, nor did he want to.
He closed his eyes, silently reciting military stratagems over and over to fend off the bone-piercing chill.
But this time, before he could finish reciting half a volume of stratagems, he heard footsteps.
The newcomer's footsteps were heavy yet hollow, likely a young man, untrained in martial arts—a frail scholar, if he guessed correctly.
Had Li Zong sent such a person to devise some new method to humiliate him?
Li Fengqi closed his eyes, feigning unconsciousness, holding his breath and focusing inwardly, waiting for the other to approach.
Ye Yunting, halfway through changing the bedding, suddenly remembered that at this time of year, it must be cold without covers, and Li Fengqi was a patient who shouldn't be exposed to drafts. He hurriedly fetched a thin quilt to cover him.
As he drew near, he saw Li Fengqi's lips had indeed grown paler. Feeling the back of his hand, it was icy cold without a trace of warmth.
"That was careless of me," Ye Yunting murmured, looking at the man who seemed even more frail and pallid than before, a pang of guilt rising within him.
He tucked the thin quilt securely around Li Fengqi, hesitated for a moment, then slid both his hands beneath the quilt, grasping the cold hands to warm them with his own heat.
Watching Li Fengqi's brow furrow tighter and his complexion grow even paler, Ye Yunting whispered guiltily, "It was only a little while in the draft... please don't fall ill again..."
