Ye Yunting asked his servants to bring him water and washed his hands several times before the strange feeling disappeared. He took the handkerchief and wiped his hands, and couldn’t help but pinch his fingers.
It was just a simple pain, not that kind of numbness that makes one’s scalp tingle.
During the half month that Li Fengqi was bedridden, he was almost like a personal caregiver to Li Fengqi. Li Fengqi had limited mobility, so physical contact was necessary in taking care of him. There was also mention Li Fengqi’s daily cleansing and medicinal baths, which meant that he had to carry him in and out of the bath every time. He had seen his naked body many times, but apart from envying Prince Yong’an’s tall and strong physique, he felt no other emotions during those times.
He didn’t know if it was because of the accidental kiss or not, but today when Li Fengqi simply kindly wiped his hand clean, his heart felt like a beating drum, and his fingers felt like they were being swept by tiny fluffy hairs, and his scalp felt like it was about to explode.
So he busied himself running away.
Ye Yunting stared at his hand for a while as Li Fengqi entered the room.
His expression was straightforward and nonchalant as always. “The wolf king has already been settled down. Whether it can survive or not depends on itself.”
Ye Yunting let out a dry,”Oh” and a, “hmmm”, and then, feeling that the atmosphere was somewhat too quiet, began to find words to say: “Then…… Shouldn’t we give it something to eat? I think it hasn’t eaten in a long time.”
“There are live chickens in the cage. “Li Fengqi said. “If it can survive, it will eat by itself.”
Ye Yunting: “……Oh.”
He stared at his fingertips and stopped talking again.
He felt that something was wrong with him.
Facing Li Fengqi, he couldn’t feel calm at all. His heart was beating very fast, and the moist and warm feeling on his ear seemed to reappear, making him almost want to reach out and touch it.
Ye Yunting put his hands behind his back and clenched them into fists to hold himself back.
Li Fengqi saw him hang his head and not saying anything, but his earlobes were a little bit red, the small red mark on his left earlobe standing out even more brightly. His adam’s apple rolled imperceptibly as he recalled the feeling of kissing him.
The soft earlobe that seemed slightly cool was indeed just like its owner, who couldn’t withstand being teased. It turned red so easily.
Li Fengqi stared at him, his gaze gradually taking on an aggressive air.
But Ye Yunting, with his eyes lowered, didn’t notice this slight change.
He felt that the atmosphere in the room was a bit off, which instinctively made him start looking for a topic to talk about. “In the sedan chair a while ago, Wangye hasn’t told me what’s going on between the emperor and the Taifu.”
“Young Master, you still want to hear it? “Li Fengqi raised his eyebrows, his eyes staring at his earlobe, smiling in a mysterious way.
It was a sentence that sounded very ordinary, but to Ye Yunting, it sound like there was another layer of meaning mixed in it, he nodded his head. “I want to”.
In truth, after Li Fengqi asked this question, he didn’t really want to hear it.
Because he inevitably thought of that accidental kiss.
It was just an accident, but it was his first time to be kissed by someone like that. The person involved was still Prince Yong’an, and the relationship between the two of them was so complicated. Bringing it up again made him feel a certain indescribable warmth and ambiguity.
Ye Yunting secretly pinched his finger and told himself to calm down and stop thinking wildly.
But even if he’d been kissed a little, it wasn’t as though Prince Yong’an took it seriously, soo why should he be embarrassed?
As he thought this, heartbeat slowly calmed down.
Li Fengqi watched as the expressions on his face changed, the scarlet color on the earlobe also gradually fading. He regretfully clicked his tongue, thinking that Ye Yunting’s reaction was too fast.
He had calmed down so quickly.
Well, then. It was just a matter of finding another opportunity next time.
Knowing that going too far was as bad as not going far enough, Li Fengqi didn’t continue to tease him, but instead straightened his expression and solemnly talked to him about the matter between Li Zong and Han Chan.
“I just realized that Li Zong has that kind of feelings for Han Chan.”
Li Zong was six years younger than him, and ascended the throne this year. With his status and age, he should have set up his empress early, and had a large harem to give birth to an heir. This was the case for all the emperors: marriage was a key tool to stabilize the dynasty.
However, Li Zong did not have an empress, not even a concubine.
Firstly, his mother had passed away, so there was no elder to urge him; secondly, Li Fengqi did not want to force him to use his life as a bargaining chip to stabilize his position. Over the years, there have been ministers making proposals for Li Zong to have an heir as soon as possible, but they had all been suppressed by him.
He always thought that Li Zong, having been influenced by his parents, was reluctant to establish an empress and harem.
That was until the day before yesterday, when he got information that Cui Xi had presented Li Zong with a pair of twin brothers whose appearance and demeanor were similar to that of Han Chan. He suddenly realized that Li Zong might have different thoughts about Han Chan all these years.
Later, he recalled the love affairs of each of the past years, and realized that there were no traces to be found
Li Zong hadn’t been loved by the late Emperor and the late Empress since he was a child, he lived alone in a palance with only two old matrons to take care of him. The only one who was kind to him, besides himself, was Han Chan.
Han Chan had known Li Zong a little earlier than he did. He was originally a doctor of the Imperial College, and because of his good looks and knowledge, he was chosen to give lectures to the royal grandsons in the Eastern Palace. Of course, according to the disposition of the late Emperor Li Qian, Han Chan was there mainly to teach the former Prince Li Wei; the rest of the grandsons were just to make up the number.
However, for some reason, Han Chan did not show any preference toward the former Crown Prince Li Wei, instead favoring Li Zong.
Li Zong had not been valued by anyone since he was a child, while Li Wei had been favored from top to bottom in the Eastern Palace. So now that there was suddenly a teacher who favored him, he naturally relied on him and looked up to him. Later on, Li Fengqi became acquainted with him, and often heard from Li Zong’s mouth about his teacher.
Before Crown Prince Li’s death, he had always had a good impression of Han Chan and felt that although he was a bit cold on the surface, he treated Li Zong with sincerity.
The first time he realized Han Chan’s ulterior motive was the year after Li Wei’s death, when Li Zong was named Crown Prince and he came back from the northern border to congratulate Li Zong. However, several clues emerged that Li Wei’s death was closely related to Li Zong.
He questioned Li Zong and he did not deny it.
At that time, Li Zong said to him, “I don’t want to live the same life as before anymore. I think it’s good to be the crown prince. No one would dare to belittle me anymore.” That was also the first time he realized that his youngest brother, whom he wanted to shelter under his wings, had already grown up in ways that he didn’t recognize.
And the person who advised him was Han Chan.
After that, the late emperor died and Li Zong ascended to the throne.
When he realized that Han Chan was not as innocent as he appeared to be, and that he might even have grand ambitions, he told Li Zong several times to beware of Han Chan. But each time, Li Zong found all kinds of reasons to excuse him, disregarded Li Fengqi’s objections and even honored Han Chan as his Taifu.
At that time, he only thought that Han Chan was too good at acting and deceived Li Zong.
Now, it seems that Li Zong had ulterior motives, which led to wishful thinking and self-deception.
Li Fengqi couldn’t tell if Li Zong felt trust and admiration toward Han Chan, or if it was more of a romantic attachment, or a combination of both.
Ye Yunting sighed when he heard this. “What about Han Chan? Does he know ……”
“Li Zong did not hide his pair of male favorites on purpose. Han Chan should have seen them as well.” Li Fengqi sneered. “Although I still don’t know exactly what he wants, he’s too arrogant and always thinks that he can play everyone in the palm of his hand. Such a person will fall sooner or later.”
In terms of tactical maneuvers, Li Zong was unable to compete with Han Chan, otherwise he would not have been led by the nose all these years and made to give way.
But Han Chan forgot that now, Li Zong was no longer the child of the past who needed shelter; he was now the emperor above ten thousand people.
Ye Yunting pondered for a moment and agreed, “Han Chan is not someone who would submit to others. If they could start fighting among themselves, it would be good for us as well.”
Upon hearing this, Li Fengqi glanced at him and suddenly said, “Do you feel wronged, young master?”
””?” Ye Yunting looked puzzled and didn’t understand his question: “What would I feel wronged for?”
Li Fengqi said calmly, “The young master married to me, and submitted to …… me. “
Ye Yunting was stunned for a moment. When he understood his words, he blushed and stuttered, “I… the situation between me and Wangye is different, and I can’t say that I’ve been wronged.”
After all, although they were married in name, they weren’t truly married in practice. And it wasn’t as though Li Fengqi forced him: both of them were just forced by the situation to work together.
However, Li Fengqi only listened to the latter half of the sentence, nodded, and said, “As long as the young master doesn’t feel wronged.”
Ye Yunting’s expression changed restlessly. He felt that there was still a gap between what he meant and what Li Fengqi said. But after much thought, he didn’t know how to explain it properly. Before he could come up with a suitable statement, Li Fengqi had already changed the topic: “Does the young master want to go with me to the storehouse and count today’s rewards?”
Ye Yunting hadn’t recovered from the previous topic and agreed without though.
Li Fengqi laughed. “Let’s go, then. Zhu Lie and Wu Geng had already counted them clearly.”
Ye Yunting then followed him in confusion.
When he arrived at the storehouse, he saw that Zhu Lie and Wu Geng had indeed already counted the rewards and put them in the storehouse. When he saw the two of them coming over, Zhu Lie approached, holding the account book with joy and excitement and said, “Wangye, look at this. Look, everything’s been counted and recorded, the gold and silver totaled 100,000 taels, and there are all kinds of rare treasures.” He rubbed his hands together and laughed. “Just before I came to the capital, the Governor’s Office still owed 80,000 taels of silver, and it hasn’t been settled yet. Wangye, do you think …… “
Li Fengqi closed the account book and looked at him expressionlessly. “When was the 80,000 taels of debt incurred again?”
Zhu Lie said carelessly, “It’s not like what you’re saying. The weather is getting cold, the soldiers need to buy winter clothes, the army horses also need to be fed, and we also need to buy armor and weapons to replace some of the old ones …… “
He counted off all sorts of things with his fingers and finally slapped his palms together. “That makes for a lot of money owed. “
Moreover, this 80,000 taels was still small. In the past recent years, the Xuanjia army had been invincible. Firstly, the prince led the troops well, and secondly, the prince cared for the soldiers and never shorted them on military pay, food and grass. The military horses and weapons were top-caliber, the soldiers were well-fed and well-clothed, and so were naturally willing to risk their lives in battle.
Often times, the Governor’s Office couldn’t pay out money from its accounts, so the prince would give subsidy from private funds. Zhu Lie had been keeping an eye on Li Fengqi’s private coffers for more than a day or two. Every time he ran out of money, he would always look to the prince for subsidies.
But it didn’t work this time. Li Fengqi said indifferently, “What does the Prince’s palace have to do with the silver owed by the Governor’s Office? If the army pay is not enough, then go find the Ministry of War.” After saying this, he handed the account book to Ye Yunting and told him: “Put the account book put away, do not let him steal it. “
Zhu Lie’s eyes widened: ???
Wangye was not like this before.
===Author’s Notes===
77: It depends on who dares to touch my wife 🙂
Zhu Lie:?7?
77 is not only broke, but also in debt, unbelievable.jpg
===Translator’s Notes===
If you like this story, please consider supporting the author here.
And if you're enjoying this translation, please considering sending a tip via Ko-fi. :D
Thank you so much for the update!
ReplyDeleteML: Now there is a wife to manage my salary.
ReplyDelete