The jadeite pendant was incredibly rare and of excellent quality. Regardless of whether the elder Wangfei truthfully prepared it for him or was just saying it for the occasion, Ye Yunting accepted the favor. He covered the wooden box, handed it to Ji Lian to put away, and sincerely thanked the old Wangfei.
The elder Wangfei still didn’t show too many emotions. She nodded to him lightly and said, “About dinner-- I’m old and don’t have much energy, so I’ll rest first. Let’s just talk again tomorrow.” After saying this, she stood up, and Yi Qiu went forward to support her.
The elder Wangfei walked up to Li Fengqi. “Mother can’t help you with these matters in the imperial court. You can make your own decisions, so I won’t say more.” She took out a peace talisman from her sleeve and put it in Li Fengqi’s hand. “This is the peace talisman I received from the temple. You can take it with you.”
The peace talisman placed in Li Fengqi’s hand was ordinary and unremarkable.
Li Fengqi stroked it gently with his fingers, and lowered his head and eyebrows. “Thank you, Mother, for your concern.”
The elder Wangfei heard this but didn’t answer anymore. With Yi Qiu’s support, she slowly left the main hall and walked to the backyard.
Li Fengqi looked at her slender back and subconsciously clenched the peace talisman in his hand, his gaze complex and deep.
On the side, Ye Yunting couldn’t understand their mother-son relationship again. Previously, he thought that the elder Wangfei and Wangye were strangers and didn’t care much about each other.
But although the peace talisman that the elder Wangfei took out just now appeared ordinary, it exuded a faint smell of incense – this was a smell that the talisman could only be imbued with after being enshrined in front of the incense table for a long time. It seemed like a common talisman, but it hid the most sincere of wishes.
He still remembered that one year he’d fallen ill for a long time. The wet nurse brought him a peace talisman from the temple, saying that it had been enshrined in front of the Buddha for seventy-seven and forty-nine days, with sutras and prayers chanted every day. This was the only way to ask the Buddha to bless the person wearing it.
The peace talisman of the elder Wangfei was entwined with the scent of incense. Ye Yunting could not say how many days of worship it took, but it must also be wrapped with a mother’s sincere prayer.
This was very different from the coldness she showed.
And Li Fengqi’s expression as he held the peace talisman was also very strange.
Ye Yunting looked at his cold side-profile, hesitated for a moment, and then pretended to casually bring up his childhood memories: “When I was sick in the past, my wet nurse also bought me a peace talisman. Later, I recovered. I heard her say that she went to the temple every day for seventy-seven and forty-nine days to recite sutras before she received the talisman.”
“Your wet nurse treated you very well.” Li Fengqi gently stroked the peace talisman and said.
“Well, my mother had a difficult labor when she gave birth to me, and it was my wet nurse who raised me.” Ye Yunting’s expression was very soft when mentioning the wet nurse. After saying this, he asked tentatively, “The elder Wangfei looks cold on the surface, but in fact… she also cares about Wangye very much?”
Li Fengqi brought the peace talisman to his nose and inhaled. After smelling the faint scent of incense, his cold expression softened a little and he let out a soft “hmm”.
Ye Yunting looked at his face, which had a much softer expression than before, and vaguely grasped something, but this fleeting thought flashed too quickly, and before he could think about it clearly, they disappeared like a cloud of smoke.
He shook his head, thinking that there would always be time to see and understand in the future, so there was no need to hurry.
*
That night, because of the elder Wangfei’s return to the palace, as well as Prince Yong’an’s good health, the palace was lively and clamorous.
Cui Xi not only sent servants but also brought many rewards.
There was no one in charge of the palace now, so only Ye Yunting and Li Fengqi could count and catalogue the many rewards in person. Ye Yunting was inexperienced but felt that it would be unkind to put all the tasks on Li Fengqi’s shoulders, who was still a patient. After filling his stomach with some snacks, he and Li Fengqi stayed in the main room, minding the books.
The situation in the palace was no longer what it used to be, and the main courtyard where the two of them lived had also been reorganized and decorated.
There was a gilt bronze octagonal heater in the room, with fine silver charcoal that warmed the rooms without any smoke. There were three-story floor-to-ceiling copper candlesticks placed in the four corners of the walls, and rows of candles the size of babies’ arms burning with warm yellow candlelight that illuminated the room brightly.
Ye Yunting, wearing only a single coat, sat with Li Fengqi, comparing the books against the maid’s verbal report on the reward items.
Li Zong was good at saving face, and the rewards were all luxurious things. A blood jade coral tree as tall as a person, night pearls as tribute from Dongyi… and many tonic medicinal materials such as ginseng and lingzhi1 among many other kinds. At first glance, the many rewards seemed an expression of care and consideration towards Li Fengqi.
In fact, these objects were gifts from the emperor. Once they were engraved with the emperor’s seal, they could not be exchanged for money. They could only be left to collect dust in the palace. The centuries-old ginseng and lingzhi had no effect on Li Fengqi’s poison.
Ye Yunting took a pen to scribble on the booklet while whispering to Li Fengqi: “It seems that Wangye has identified His Majesty’s weakness.”
Li Zong truly valued his reputation.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have allowed Cui Xi to transform the palace into what it was now and sent many ostentatious rewards in one afternoon. The emperor was probably afraid that when the old Wangfei came back, his own harsh treatment and humiliation of meritorious and famous generals would erupt as a public scandal, so he hurriedly eliminated the evidence and created the illusion of harmony between the monarch and his subject.
Warm breath puffed against the shell of his ears. Li Fengqi glanced at him and saw that he was blissfully unaware of how close they were to each other. His lips moved, but he made no sound to remind him. He only sneered and said, “He wants to save face, but he’s also more afraid of instability in the court.”
The friendship between the two since they were young didn’t even need to be mentioned: just in the past three years, he’d helped Li Zong ascend the throne, killed rebellious ministers and guarded the border for him. He attained countless achievements but never used them to challenge the emperor, nor did form factions, nor showed favoritism. He even took the initiative to retreat from Northern Xinjiang. He couldn’t find fault in anything he had done. If Li Zong wanted to touch him, he’d have to see if the border officers and soldiers would allow it, and whether the Royal Historical Bureau would agree.
It would have been fine if he truly was dying soon. As long as Li Zong was subtle and did not leave any conclusive evidence, people in the know would not go against the emperor for a dying man
But he wasn’t dying, and he had all the military power and prestige in his hands.
Since ancient times, emperors had always been criticized for killing meritorious officials, and Li Zong had only been sitting in his throne for a few years. He simply did not have the guts to kill him openly and blatantly.
Even now, he couldn’t reveal even the slightest inclination, or else he’d have the minor problem of the populace’s criticism, and the major problem of his court and military’s destabilization.
This was also the reason he’d wanted to take a trip to Zhaohe Main Street.
This was to tell Li Zong that everyone in the world now knew that Prince Yong’an could not die. Not only could Li Zong not touch him; he’d also have to continue to show brotherly love.
Whether or not he’d cooperate would depend on his mood.
“The emperor must be suffocating right now.” Ye Yunting muttered in a low voice. Thinking of how the emperor might now be jumping up and down in rage in the imperial palace, or even tossing and turning at night, he couldn’t help but laugh.
Li Fengqi nodded. “He's so petty that he’ll probably be losing sleep for a while.”
He spoke without deliberately lowering his voice. The maid who was reporting the reward items heard it, and even her voice stiffened.
Ye Yunting sensed something strange and glanced at the maid. Seeing Li Fengqi’s unconcerned look, he also ignored her.
Since she was one of the people who had been selected from the imperial palace, what they just said would probably reach the emperor’s ears.
Excessive anger is harmful to the health. Your Majesty, I hope that you take care of your dragon body.
Ye Yunting thought so.
…
There were so many rewards. After Ye Yunting recorded two pages, he started to yawn.
Li Fengqi was originally teaching him how to record more easily and clearly. When he saw this, he raised his hand and waved the maid away. “That’s it for tonight. Let the servants record the rest as usual. It’s not important, anyway.”
When Ye Yunting heard this, he immediately put down his pen and rubbed his wrist. “Then I’ll go to rest first. Wangye should also rest early.”
After getting familiar with Li Fengqi, he became less formal and more casual.
Today’s events happened one after another. He was really a little tired and didn’t pretend otherwise. Even as he spoke, he couldn’t wait to get up.
“Where are you going to rest?” Li Fengqi raised an eyebrow.
Ye Yunting hesitated and said, “The main courtyard has been cleared out, and the side rooms should be habitable.”
Nowadays, there was no need for the three of them to squeeze into the main room to rest out of worry for their safety.
“Then, tomorrow, the outside world will know that Prince Yong’an and his consort are experiencing marital discord, to sleep in separate rooms half a month after getting married.” He slowly and methodically listed the possible scenarios, “Or perhaps that Prince Yong’an is disgruntled with His Majesty about the marriage and is treating the consort coldly.”
Ye Yunting’s eyelids jumped when he heard that. Seeing that he was going to continue talking, he quickly recognized the situation and said, “I understand. I’ll rest in the main room.”
Li Fengqi nodded with satisfaction. “You go and wash up first.”
Ye Yunting let out a breath and hurriedly slipped away to the bathroom.
Although he had been telling himself in his heart that this marriage was just a formality, and that neither he nor Li Fengqi took it seriously, hearing Li Fengqi talk about “experiencing marital discord” and “treating the consort coldly” still made his scalp twinge.
The bath room had already prepared with hot water. Ye Yunting took off his clothes and sank into the water to compose himself for a while before he calmed down.
When he finished washing up and left, he found that Li Fengqi had changed into his middle robes and was nestled into the bed.
Ye Yunting poked his head in and looked around: “Who waited on Wangye while he washed up?”
Although there were many servants in the mansion now, they were all from the imperial palace. It was logical that Li Fengqi wouldn’t have asked them to serve close to him.
“Wu Geng.” Li Fengqi put down the book in his hand and saw that the tips of Ye Yunting's hair were still dripping with water. He said disapprovingly, “Hair should be dried off quickly. With how cold it is today, it’s easy to catch wind chill.” He beckoned, “Come here.”
“I’ll ask Ji Lian to dry it for me later.” Ye Yunting walked to the bed in confusion, then Li Fengqi took the cloth towel from his hand.
Before he could react, he saw Li Fengqi grabbing the wet ends of his hair, wrapping it in the cloth towel, and drying it meticulously.
He stood in a daze. Li Fengqi, who had difficulty maneuvering, raised his eyes and said again: “Sit down.”
Ye Yunting sat down dutifully as instructed. It took him a long time to realize that this behavior seemed a bit too intimate. He shifted uncomfortably, his tone hesitant: “…Why don’t you call for Ji Lian to dry it for me.” How could he labor Prince Yong’an with such a trivial matter?
“Don’t move,” Li Fengqi scolded lightly, his expression looking as calm as before, as if he didn’t think it was unusual to dry someone’s hair personally.
“…” Ye Yunting stared blankly, holding his body still and not daring to move, allowing Li Fengqi to dry his long, wet hair bit by bit.
In my mind, he figured that perhaps the wind and cold had affected his health so gravely that it frightened the prince, who feared that he would fall ill again.
After a long time, Li Fengqi placed the cloth in his hands, raised his chin, and said, “Ask Ji Lian to bring a small stove to dry your hair before going to bed.”
“Oh.”
Ye Yunting complied and called Ji Lian in. After drying his long hair, he nervously climbed into the bed and slept on his side.
Fortunately, Li Fengqi didn’t do anything surprising after that, so he wrapped the quilt tightly around himself, hugged brand-new heater, and drifted off to sleep contentedly.
===Author’s Notes===
Scheming 77 started his bitch act!
——————
===Translator’s Notes===
I am cackling at the author’s note ahahahahaha.
- Ganoderma lucidum, a type of medicinal mushroom. More info here. And on that note, the absolute hilarity of Google Translate and Deepl throwing the scientific name at me all of a sudden at the first translation run lmao ↩︎
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