Li Fengqi, the Prince of Yong'an, was currently the only prince with a different surname in Beizhao.
The previous Prince Yong'an had been granted the surname "Li" by the then-Emperor Chengzong and was titled "Prince Yon'gan" due to his outstanding achievements in the battlefield and his rescue of the Emperor. Li Fengqi was the only heir of the previous Prince Yong'an. According to tradition, the title that was passed to him should have been inherited at a lower rank. However, Li Fengqi was exceedingly talented. He went to the battlefield at thirteen years old and killed the generals of Xihuang at the age of sixteen. Later, he accomplished many military feats without defeat. Emperor Chengzong cherished his talent and allowed him to retain the title after the death of the old Yong'an Prince.
Later on, Emperor Chengzong passed away, and Emperor Xianzong inherited the throne. However, due to his overindulgence in sensuality and debauchery, he died young after just a few years. Before his death, he passed the throne to his second son Li Zong, who was then only seventeen years old. Worried about the instability of the court given his young age, he personally appointed three auxiliary ministers to assist him as the new emperor.
Li Fengqi was one of these three auxiliary ministers, and his true power covered the sky.
That year, he was only twenty-three.
Ye Yunting still remembered the palace banquet on New Year's Eve after the new emperor ascended the throne. Hundreds of officials brought their families to the palace for the banquet. It was a rare event where he had been allowed to accompany his father. At that banquet, he had seen Li Fengqi from afar.
At that time, Prince Yong'an had just returned from northern Xinjiang and entered the palace without taking off his armor. He stood among the ministers, wearing a silver-white armor that dazzled people's eyes, like pearls and jade falling among the tiles and rocks. Although the armor was not bloodstained, it still carried with it the smell blood, making people afraid to look directly at it.
Ye Yunting saw him for the first time and thought that the rumors must indeed be true. Although Prince Yong'an looked beautiful, his phoenix eyes were too cold and majestic. With just a glance, he made people feel as though they were in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, making them fear committing even a single mistake.
He was said to never take any prisoners when faced with the enemy, but instead killed them all on the spot without leaving any survivors. It was no wonder that all the rumors called him brutal, cruel and inhumane.
Although the people of Beizhao respected him, they also feared him.
Ye Yunting was no exception.
In his last life, when he failed to escape, Ye Zhili threatened Ji Lian's life and forced him to marry into the palace. At that time, he was full of resentment and unwilling to give up. He was also afraid of Prince Yong'an's poor reputation. When he entered the palace, he did not go into the main room as boldly as he did today, but chose wait for the summons in the courtyard.
He still remembered that he had waited in the courtyard for more than half an hour, only to hear the words "get out" that came from gritted teeth.
At that time, he felt as though he'd been granted amnesty and couldn't wait to "get out". Naturally, he didn't notice how hoarse and hard-to-hear that voice had been, nor did he think about all the strange situations in the royal residence.
Later, he stayed in the side courtyard for a long time, where he saw what it meant to "cook the hound after killing the rabbit"1. Those people probably felt that he would not be able to survive after Prince Yong'an was gone. No one seemed to act with shame towards him, whether they be servants or people from the palace.
It was only then that he realized that the rumors of the brotherly relationship between Emperor Li Zong and Prince Yong'an were actually just rumors.
They were all false.
The current emperor Li Zong was originally just the second son of Emperor Xianzong. He was preceded by the eldest son Li Wei. Li Wei was so loved by Emperor Xianzong that he made him the crown prince immediately after he ascended the throne, and he had been trained as the crown prince ever since. In contrast, his second son, Li Zong , has been much more neglected.
Although Li Zong and Li Wei were brothers from the same mother, they did not have a close relationship. Instead, Li Zong was much closer to Li Fengqi, who was still the Prince's heir-apparent at the time, and often went and stayed at the Yong'an Prince's Mansion. Even though Li Fengqi had a cold temper and was stingy with words and smiles even in front of the emperor, he was very protective of Li Zong and loved him as though he were his own brother.
Later on, Prince Li Wei was assassinated while out hunting. Emperor Xianzong was so shocked that he fell ill and died soon after. Before his death, he issued an edict to pass the throne to his second son, Li Zong.
Li Zong was only seventeen at the time, had never been taught by the crown prince, and so knew nothing about political affairs. Many of the old ministers, taking advantage of their age and experience, tried to make the new emperor suffer, not even bothering to give Li Zong any face. It was Li Fengqi who wielded the Xiaoxue Sword given by Emperor Chengzong and angrily killed three ministers in the Jinluan Palace, and was able to suppress a group of veteran ministers who were about to make dastardly moves.
Since this display of anger in the Jinluan Palace, Li Fengqi's reputation for ferocity had only risen to a higher level.
Of course, Ye Yunting heard all these things from hearsay, and he had no way of knowing if these were true or not. But after two lives, the only thing he was certain of was that he must now be fearful of Prince Yong'an.
As for brotherhood, while this relationship might have existed once, not much of it was left after the emperor had ascended his throne.
Otherwise, this insult would have not been laid onto an already-dying patient.
Ye Yunting looked at the filthy man, slowly let out a breath, and called Ji Lian, who was waiting outside, to fetch a bucket of hot water.
He went to open all the windows in the room for ventilation. The room must have been stuffy for too long. In addition to the rancid smell of soup and water on the curtains, there was also the smell of dust and damp mold, not to mention the stench of illness. Anyone who had to stay in such place for a long time would have difficulty breathing and feel suffocated.
Ji Lian quickly fetched water as instructed, but he only brought a basin of cold water.
Ye Yunting frowned. "Why didn't you bring hot water?"
"I can't find the kitchen. Those maidservants are like mutes. They wouldn't respond no matter what I ask." The more Ji Lian talked, the more he felt like something was wrong. When he saw the person lying on the bed again, his mouth fell open. He covered his mouth and said in shock: "Why does the Prince Yong'an look like this?"
"Never mind, cold water can be used as well." Ye Yunting loosened his frown, glanced at the person on the bed, took off his heavy wedding robe, rolled up his sleeves, soaked his handkerchief in the water and wrung it out. "I'll talk to you about what's going on in the royal residence when I have the time. Go look for clean bedding first, and get some more water on the way. We need to clean up the house today."
As he explained, he carefully wiped Li Fengqi's face with a wet handkerchief.
This man's face hadn't been scrubbed for who-knew-how-long, and the corners of his mouth and chin still had bloodstains that had already turned black. The lapel of his chest was even more stained with black and red blood and brown concoctions.
Ye Yunting sighed in his heart. A great man of his generation has been reduced to such a state.
It was impossible to believe even when said out loud.
His hand felt heavier, and his thoughts were interrupted. A muffled groan pulled Ye Yunting back from his musings. His eyes met a pair of cold phoenix eyes.
Although the man's state was pitiful, his eyes had not changed at all: they were still cold, as though hiding ice and snow.
Ye Yunting stared at him for a few breaths, mind racing about how to introduce himself.
He didn't know if Li Fengqi already knew that he had been given a male Wangfei by the emperor. If he didn't know about yet, Ye Yunting might add insult to injury by revealing it so rashly.
However, before he could speak, the lips of the man lying down trembled, and hoarsely uttered the words, "Get out".
After these words, he closed his eyes tiredly. Only the veins bulging in his forehead and the violent rise and fall of his chest revealed his uneven mood.
It looks like he already knows, Ye Yunting thought to himself.
Li Fengqi clearly didn't want to pay attention to him. Ye Yunting had no intention of irritating him. He hesitated for a moment and then put down his handkerchief and retreated, thinking that he would have a frank talk with him after he had calmed down a bit.
Although he had also been forced to marry into the palace in this life, his mindset was much calmer.
He still remembered Li Fengqi's kindness in taking care of Ji Lian for him in his previous life, so he was willing to take good care of him during this period of time. Although he didn't know how he got poisoned in his last life, he was gravely ill and dying at the moment. Whether it was because he wanted to repay his kindness or because he couldn't bear to see the Beizhao God of War being humiliated like this, Ye Yunting was willing to do his best to make his life better.
Moreover, after his death in the previous life, his soul remained trapped in his tomb and did not dissipate for some reason. A few years later, Ji Lian, who had regained his freedom, came to pay homage to him and talked about many things in front of his grave. One of them mentioned that less than two years after his death, Prince Yong'an revolted and led his troops into the capital. He beheaded Emperor Li Zong in public, and then washed the capital with blood, stepping on the bones of the powerful and noble families in the capital to become the emperor.
And it was because of this that Ji Lian had been rescued from the Duke's Mansion and, after recovering from a long illness, was finally able to pay his respects to his grave in person.
Ye Yunting thought that if Li Fengqi still rebelled and proclaimed himself emperor in this life, then he, the male Wangfei, would definitely be a stain in the emperor's life. He could seize the opportunity to reach an agreement with Li Fengqi or even help him. Then, later on after Li Fengqi had ascended the throne as the emperor, Ye Yunting might be able to use their shared friendship to live peacefully. Perhaps he would be able to find a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, become an anonymous teacher, and live a free and happy life.
He was making small calculations in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this was a good plan that could hit many birds with one stone. His heavy heart became clearer.
Before leaving the house, he looked back at Li Fengqi and said warmly, "I'll just organize my luggage outside. If Wangye needs anything, just call me."
After saying this, he took the basin and went outside to tidy up.
The servants in the palace were obviously useless, but luckily he was used to doing everything by himself. Ji Lian arrived with water, and the two of them quickly worked together to clean up the outside room.
As Ji Lian was counting and putting away the luggage, he murmured in a low voice: "I don't know what the servants of this palace do. The master doesn't wait on me. He just stands at the door like a doorman."
Ye Yunting smiled. "Haven't you gotten used to it in the Duke's Mansion?"
Ji Lian puffed up his face. "How is that the same?"
He was already used to the Duke's Mansion, but he had thought that the Prince's Mansion would be better. Who would have thought that it would be even worse than the Duke's Mansion, which at least had a clean courtyard?
Not to mention that there was no food to eat.
He grumbled in his heart and couldn't help but rub his belly.
Ye Yunting saw this and laughed. "Are you hungry? Where are the wedding candies that I asked you to bring? Eat some to fill your stomach first. Someone will bring food over later."
In his last life, when he was alone in the side courtyard, the maidservant at least brought meals to him on time: a plate of pickles and a bowl of rice. It couldn't be called good or bad, but rather just enough to satisfy his hunger.
But Ji Lian obviously still had illusions about the food in the palace. He hesitated and said, "I'd better save the wedding candy for dinner tonight. I'll wait a little longer."
Ye Yunting shook his head at this. He was about to make fun of him when he heard a sharp voice sing from outside: "The reward has arrived. Yong'an Wangfei will receive it."
Ye Yunting and Ji Lian looked at each other in surprise.
Reward?
During this time in his previous life, there was no such reward.
===Translator's Notes===
- “狡兔死走狗烹”: Idiom which meant that trusted aids were eliminated after they finish their mission. ↩︎
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