Good Luck Wedding 058 - True or False

 

After three straight days of drinking the medicine, Li Fengqi's face was green with disgust. He suspected Ye Yunting was taking revenge by adding extra huanglian herb to the mixture.

This left him feeling very miserable.

Meanwhile, Ye Yunting looked perfectly happy watching over Li Fengqi each day as he drank his medicine.

Li Fengqi gritted his teeth and wanted to teach Ye Yunting a lesson so that he could be a good husband, but he also enjoyed seeing Ye Yunting smiling and acting so carefree around him. In the end, he couldn't bear to win this battle; all he could do was sacrifice himself to please his beloved.

 

Zhu Lie arrived at the villa with news to report just as Li Fengqi was feeling frustrated from his daily dose of bitter huanglian medicine.

Unaware that his prince needed an outlet to vent his anger, Zhu Lie cheerfully walked around the grounds of the villa before seeking out Li Fengqi to report the latest information.

His visit today was prompted by a victory message from the Zaohe River.

Li Zong had set off on October 27th for the Zaohe River. It was now November 5th, which meant he'd been traveling for eight days at most. Such swift news of success was highly intriguing. They were well aware of Li Zong's capabilities and those of the Shence Army, so Zhu Lie rushed up the mountain to deliver the news right away.

As Li Fengqi listened to Zhu Lie's animated speech, he didn't even bother lifting his eyelids. "If everyone already know it's a trap, why did you rush here to report it?"

"?" Zhu Lie rubbed his hands together. "I'm just curious, Wangye. What do you think Yin Xiaozhi is trying to accomplish? A feint to lure the enemy deeper?"

"Won’t we know in a few days? Impatience is a major flaw in a leader." Li Fengqi looked up at Zhu Lie and suddenly smiled. "Since you're so idle, you might as well go chop some wood in the woodshed. It might calm your mind."

Zhu Lie: ???

He opened his eyes wide, trying to get out of the situation. "Isn't there a cook who usually chops firewood? My mind is calm now. I'm going back to the prince's palace to wait for news."

With that, he turned to leave.

Li Fengqi grinned behind him and said, slow and deliberate, "There's no cook anymore."

"..."

Zhu Lie paused, turned around, and said reluctantly, "As you wish."

Watching him go, Li Fengqi let out a snort of amusement.  Ye Yunting, who was standing next to him, glanced at him with an amused smile. "Wangye is in a bad mood. Why take it out on others?"

"I'm not in a bad mood," Li Fengqi stubbornly insisted, enunciating each word clearly. "I spend every waking moment with the Eldest Young Master. My mood is wonderful."

Ye Yunting chuckled. "Then perhaps Wangye should take his medicine today?"

As he spoke, he produced a food box from beside him and carefully removed a bowl containing the familiar pitch-black decoction.

“…” Li Fengqi grimaced but forced himself to take the bowl, maintaining his composure.

I’ll drink it if you want. It's just a bowl of bitter huanglian medicine.

After Li Fengqi finished drinking, Ye Yunting couldn’t help smiling as he reached into his lapels and pulled out an oil-paper-wrapped package. Inside were candied fruits that he had asked the kitchen to prepare. He picked one out and held it up to Li Fengqi. "This is your last dose of medicine today. Once you drink this, there won't be any more."

Li Fengqi's face had been contorted with bitterness earlier, reflecting his bitter mood. But now, seeing the treat held out before him, the bitterness vanished, replaced by the sweetness of the candied fruit.

He lowered his head and took the candied fruit into his mouth, tasting its sweet flavor. He couldn’t resist saying, "Isn't this what they call 'bitterness giving way to sweetness'?"

His words had a hidden meaning. On the surface, he was talking about the candied fruit, but in reality, he was referring to his relationship with Ye Yunting.

But Ye Yunting didn't answer. He glanced at Li Fengqi, smiled, and tucked the oil-paper-wrapped package back into his sleeve. "What does the Prince think?"

Li Fengqi chewed thoughtfully for a moment, then said with a sly smile, "I think this is exactly so."

With how considerate Ye Yunting had been towards him, if he didn't have feelings as well, why would he go to such lengths?

But Ye Yunting wouldn't give him a straight answer. He neither said yes nor no, just smiled in a vague way.

Perhaps because he'd spent too long in the military and wasn’t familiar with him, when they’d first met, Li Fengqi had been the cold, taciturn and bad-tempered Prince of Yong’an. But once they became familiar with each other, Ye Yunting found that this was a man who would shamelessly pester and pester to get what he wanted.

If Ye Yunting admitted his feelings today, Li Fengqi would probably be dragging him off to consummate their marriage by the same evening.

Ye Yunting had seen through him completely over these past few days. He didn't want things to progress so fast. Since that was the case, why not let Li Fengqi figure it out on his own for now?

Besides, this back-and-forth game between them held its own charm for Ye Yunting, who was experiencing love for the first time.

Li Fengqi wasn't too disappointed by the lack of a clear answer. If he hadn't been sure how Ye Yunting felt about him before, then after this exchange, he was even more convinced that Ye Yunting felt the same way he did.

It was just that Ye Yunting was thin-skinned and too embarrassed to admit it.

In that case, Li Fengqi would have to take the lead. Once he'd taken all initially ninety-nine steps, there would only be one step left, and Ye Yunting would have no choice but to admit it even if he didn’t want to.

Each had his own thoughts as they gazed at each other, their lips curving into smiles.

--

 

Zhu Lie returned from chopping wood to see a plate of candied fruits in front of Li Fengqi. He was holding a book in one hand and putting pieces of fruit into his mouth with the other.

The candied fruits were about the size of a copper coin, with their seeds removed. They had been pickled until they were translucent, giving off a sweet and oily scent. Watching Li Fengqi eat them one after another made Zhu Lie feel disgustingly full.

He couldn't help but ask, "Wangye, when did you start liking candied fruits?"

He remembered that his prince didn't eat sweets much before.

Li Fengqi finished eating slowly, wiped his hands, then looked up at Zhu Lie. "Do you know why you're always being punished?"

"..."

I'm always getting punished. Isn’t it because you're too moody, Wangye?

But Zhu Lie dared not say it aloud. A sense of foreboding rose in his mind.

Seeing the fear on Zhu Lie's face, Li Fengqi pursed his lips in disdain. In a rare moment of good humor, he decided to enlighten him. "It's not just that you talk too much. "You also can't read people's expressions."

He pointed to the plate of candied fruit in front of him. "This is what Wangfei prepared for me. Do you understand now?"

“…” Zhu Lie nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. "I understand, I understand."

Since this was given by Wangfei, he'd have to eat it even if it didn’t taste good.

This was probably what being henpecked meant.

Li Fengqi studied his expression and sneered. "I don’t think you’ll learn it in this lifetime. The Zhu family will probably have to rely on Zhu Wen to carry on the bloodline."

"???" Zhu Lie looked utterly confused. What did carrying on the Zhu family bloodline have to do with anything?

Seeing how clueless he was, Li Fengqi waved him off, dismissing him with disdain.

The moment he heard those words, Zhu Lie was ready to make a hasty retreat. But as he reached the door, Li Fengqi called him back again. "Keep an eye on the movements by the Zaohe River over the next few days. Report immediately if there’s any news."

Given Li Zong's nature, he would surely press his advantage after having just won a battle. This grand victory was only the beginning of the real war.

Zhu Lie's expression turned serious. "I shall obey."

--

Three days passed, and then three more.

On November 8th, Zhu Lie galloped up Liu Mountain and rushed into the villa with urgent news.

Ye Yunting and Li Fengqi were strolling in the garden. When they spotted him approaching at full speed, they knew right away that something major had happened.

"Is it news from the Zaohe River?" Ye Yunting asked.

"It must be." Li Fengqi looked at Zhu Lie's flushed face from his rapid journey and said gravely, "Let's talk in the study."

Zhu Lie nodded, and the three of them headed inside.

They carefully closed the doors and windows. After ensuring that no one was listening, Zhu Lie solemnly produced a secret letter from a scout on the front lines:

"The Prince guessed it correctly. The Yin family's retreat was only a feint. The emperor tried to chase victory but fell into an ambush. He's now seriously injured and in critical condition."

Li Fengqi unfolded the letter and read it with Ye Yunting.

The letter said that after Li Zong led twenty thousand Shence Army soldiers to join the main army at the Zaohe River, they had attacked the rebel forces the very next day. Yin Xiaozhi commanded only eighty thousand troops, while Li Zong had a hundred fifty thousand: in a head-on battle, one side had clear superiority in numbers. After holding out for some time, Yin Xiaozhi suffered too many casualties and wanted to retreat to Zhongzhou.

Seeing this, Li Zong ordered a pursuit, intending to wipe out the rebels once and for all. But unexpectedly, Yin Xiaozhi's retreat was fake—he'd set an ambush long ago, waiting for just such a chase. Halfway through their pursuit, the imperial army ran straight into the ambush. An arrow struck Li Zong in the vitals, sending him into a coma.

Now, the main army could no longer deal with the rebel forces. Instead, they sent troops to escort Li Zong back to Shangjing for treatment.

"Clearly, the Yin family is aiming to take out the enemy by capturing the leader first." Li Fengqi tossed the letter into the stove to burn it.

Zhu Lie hesitated before saying, "Li Zong is badly injured. Should we...?" He made a chopping motion with his right hand.

"No need to hurry." Li Fengqi shook his head and asked, "Is there any action from the court?"

Zhu Lie had already delivered a letter up a mountain, so Han Chan and others sitting in court should have received the news long ago.

"There’s no action yet," Zhu Lie replied. "But just before I left the city, our scouts reported that Wei Shuqing, the Minister of Works, went to the Grand Tutor's residence."

Li Fengqi lowered his gaze and thought for a moment. "The trip from Zaohe River to Shangjing will take two days, even without stopping day or night. You go back to the Palace, first. Keep an eye on Han Chan’s movements in the next few days. Wangfei and I will pack our luggage and return this evening."

Zhu Lie accepted his orders and left.

Li Fengqi turned to Ye Yunting, a smile tugging at his lips but his eyes serious. "It seems like our quiet days are coming to an end."

"We can always come back when we're free in the future," Ye Yunting said. "I'll ask the servants to pack things up."

They hadn't brought much luggage when they’d gone up the mountain previously. But now, descending the mountain, they brought with them quite a bit more things. As Ye Yunting directed the servants to prepare luggage for travel, he took that box of old books with him.

The servants carried luggage down the mountain, while two figures rode in sedan chairs.

By the time they returned to the Prince's palace, it was already evening.

Winter days were short, and the palace was brightly lit. The elder Wangfei was waiting in the main hall, turning her Buddhist prayer beads in her hands. She had obviously heard the news and was waiting for them to return.

Li Fengqi wasn't surprised. "Mother also heard?"

The elder Wangfei nodded and said, "Your cousin sent me a letter." Her expression was solemn. After dismissing the servants, she took out a letter from her sleeve and handed it to Li Fengqi. "This letter says that His Majesty might not be able to survive."

During the fight against rebel forces on the Zaohe River, Jializhou had mobilized fifty thousand troops to assist. The leader of these forces was Shen Zhongyu, head of the Shen family and commander-in-chief of the Nieyang Army.

In recent years, the Shen family of Nieyang had kept a low profile. Among the five great commanderies, their power was only slightly greater than that of the He family of Runan, which had already been destroyed. They ranked at the bottom among the remaining four commanderies. Nieyang was neither wealthy nor known to have strong military power, so the Shen family had made little impression in the capital over the past few years.

Because the elder Wangfei had focused on religious matters and stayed out of worldly affairs during the recent years, the Shen family had rarely communicated with each other.

Unexpectedly, when they finally connected, it was to discuss such the emperor’s critical condition.

After reading the letter, Li Fengqi passed it to Ye Yunting. He thought for a moment before saying, "Does my cousin mean that he wants me to take over? Will the Shen family claim credit for founding the new dynasty?"

"I also know something of what happens at court," the elder Wangfei said slowly, fingers twirling her prayer beads. "Your relationship with the emperor is like water and fire. Sooner or later, this day was bound to come..."

She stopped there, but her meaning was clear.

If Li Fengqi was going to rebel sooner or later, now—with the emperor’s life hanging on a thread—was a good chance. The northern border had always been well-defended, and Li Fengqi enjoyed high prestige among both commoners and officials alike. Once Li Zong died, chaos would surely grip Beizhao. Furthermore, the Yin Family rebels lurked covetously. Stepping in to restore order and seize the throne wouldn't be out of the question for Li Fengqi.

As for the declining Shen family, they could claim credit for supporting a new emperor.

It was a win-win situation.

However, Li Fengqi didn't immediately agree. He lowered his gaze and said, "This matter is too important and needs to be considered carefully."

The Elder Wangfei understood. She nodded and said, "I'm just passing a message for the Shen family. Do as you think best, and don't worry about me." She looked at Li Fengqi and continued softly, "In my heart, I hope both you and the Shen family do well, but if I must choose between the two, I won't pick the Shen Family."

"I understand. Thank you, Mother." Li Fengqi nodded.

He bid farewell to the Elder Wangfei, intending to leave with Ye Yunting for their quarters. He called out twice to Ye Yunting, but there was no response.

"Yunting?" Li Fengqi patted him on the arm.

Ye Yunting snapped back to reality. "What’s wrong?"

Li Fengqi furrowed his brow. "I should be the one asking you what’s wrong. Why were you daydreaming?"

Ye Yunting pressed his lips together. His heart was in turmoil, but he didn't know how to broach the subject.

In his dream, the Shen family had betrayed Li Fengqi, leading to the Elder Wangfei's gruesome death, without even an intact corpse. Could this letter from the Shen Family truly be trusted?

Or was it actually another trap?

 

=== Author’s Note ===

77: I know that you know that I know that you like me, but you just won’t admit it.

Tingting: ? No nesting dolls allowed.