LNTSWJLY Chapter 51

The candlelight swayed softly, casting indistinct shadows.

Two figures, one tall and one shorter, disappeared beneath the red bed curtains. Their outer robes were loosened and slipped to the floor. Seeing the man who had been dressed so properly only moments ago now removing his clothes, Ying Qingzhu’s eyes suddenly widened.

He hurriedly stopped him.

“W-Wait!”

Yu Zhi deliberately pretended not to understand.

“Why? Wife, tonight is our wedding night. We must not waste such a beautiful night and auspicious hour.”

Beneath them lay a bright-red mandarin-duck wedding quilt, while the room was filled with the lingering fragrance of incense.

Ying Qingzhu forced himself to remain calm.

“Noble Heir, I… Ying Feng also wants to serve you, but, b-but unfortunately, the timing is rather bad. My body has not been feeling well lately…”

He clenched his teeth hard.

Things had gone completely against his plans. Since the drug had failed, Ying Qingzhu had even come up with an excuse like this just to avoid consummating the marriage.

Although the excuse was embarrassing and humiliating, it really did work.

Yu Zhi suppressed his laughter, his expression considerate.

“If that is the case, then I truly cannot force you, my wife. But since you have deprived me of our wedding night, shouldn’t you make it up to me in some other way?”

This time, Ying Qingzhu was genuinely confused.

“W-What?”

Yu Zhi did not answer. He simply picked him up in one swift motion, blew out the candles inside the bed curtains, and left only the pair of dragon-and-phoenix wedding candles outside to burn until dawn.

Ying Qingzhu had never imagined that someone could be so… so shameless!

People always said that a gentleman should be refined and elegant. So why did this man have such an otherworldly appearance, yet possess such a shamelessly lascivious nature underneath?

He had clearly said that he was not feeling well, yet Yu Zhi still refused to let him off. He had merely changed the way Ying Qingzhu was to serve him. In the end, it was still that kind of shameless, lecherous business!

The whole thing went on for so long that Ying Qingzhu had no idea how many times he had silently repeated to himself, Endure it. Endure it.

He had already endured this much. If he finally lost control at the very end, all his previous efforts would be wasted, and everything he had done before would have been for nothing!

Thinking this way over and over again, he finally managed to suppress the urge to knock Yu Zhi unconscious.

The next morning, when he woke up, both his hands were trembling so badly that he could barely hold his chopsticks.

How embarrassing!

Yu Zhi had been quietly keeping an eye on him the whole time. He suppressed his laughter without letting it show on his face and considerately placed some breakfast into Ying Qingzhu’s bowl.

“Eat more. We still have to go to the palace later.”

Of course, Yu Zhi was not as insatiable as Ying Qingzhu imagined. In truth, he was not particularly obsessed with or eager for such matters.

But yesterday had been the first time in their three lifetimes that he and Ying Qingzhu had married each other. The sense of ceremony in Yu Zhi’s heart made him unwilling to leave their marriage with any regrets.

If he had not been concerned about Ying Qingzhu’s unwillingness to reveal his identity, Yu Zhi probably would not have let him off last night even if Ying Qingzhu had refused.

By now, this was already the consequence Yu Zhi had considered beforehand.

Ying Qingzhu ignored him. This morning, while Yu Zhi was washing and bathing, Ying Qingzhu had taken the opportunity to redo his makeup. His face was now covered in another thick layer of makeup, making it inconvenient for him to eat.

He could only take tiny bites. He left several dishes that were difficult to eat untouched in his bowl. When he reached out with his chopsticks to serve himself a bowl of duck soup, Yu Zhi stopped his hand.

“Wait.”

Ying Qingzhu turned his head and looked at him questioningly.

Without changing expression, Yu Zhi said, “This duck soup has gone cold. It isn’t good for your health. If you’re thirsty, just drink some hot water.”

Cold?

Ying Qingzhu looked at the bowl of duck soup. There were still drops of oil floating on the surface, and he could faintly see steam rising from it.

He frowned slightly but did not expose Yu Zhi’s blatant self-deception. Instead, he poured himself some hot water and began drinking it.

It seems the Prince Ying’s Residence is not as simple as it looks.

If that is the case, then is the person beside me really just an ordinary, temporarily foolish playboy?

For the past few days, Yu Zhi had deliberately avoided alerting the enemy, so he had never dealt with the spies and traps hidden throughout the residence. As a result, the dishes served at the table still contained the same incompatible ingredients as before.

Now that the little star had already fallen into his arms, it was time to get rid of those unpleasant people.

Yu Zhi thought quietly to himself, but nothing showed on his face.

After breakfast, he led Ying Qingzhu into the palace. Ying Qingzhu was dressed neatly, and although he was still wearing heavy makeup, at least it was no longer quite so painful to look at.

The emperor had only recently finished the morning court. He did not go to the Hall of Governance to handle state matters today. He had just returned to the Hall of Longevity when a palace servant reported:

“Prince Ying’s heir has entered the palace with his wife to give thanks for the imperial marriage decree.”

The emperor froze in place.

He stood there in a daze for a moment before hesitantly looking at the chief eunuch beside him.

“Could it be that something is wrong with my memory? I didn’t sleep for just one night last night, did I? Did I somehow sleep for three months instead?”

Otherwise, how could an imperial decree he had issued only a few days ago already have become a reality, with the people involved even coming to the palace to thank him?

The chief eunuch could only explain with an amused, helpless expression.

“Your Majesty, the young heir…”

He told the emperor the whole amusing story of how Yu Zhi had managed to complete the Three Letters and Six Rites and marry his wife into the household in just three short days.

The emperor was astonished. He had never imagined that this heir of Prince Ying could be in such a desperate hurry.

Normally, giving thanks for an imperial favor only required kneeling outside the hall and offering thanks. There was no need to personally enter the hall. After all, they were not members of the imperial family, and there was no reason for them to come inside and exchange personal words with the emperor.

But today, the emperor was curious about the person who had managed to capture the heart of the Prince Ying’s heir. He had heard of Ying Feng for quite some time but had never seen her true appearance. Since he happened to have the opportunity today, he was not willing to let them leave the palace without getting a good look at her.

“Noble Lord Heir and Lady, His Majesty asks you both to enter the hall.”

Yu Zhi’s expression did not change. Still holding Ying Qingzhu’s hand, he calmly walked inside at an unhurried pace, as though he were simply taking a leisurely stroll.

By comparison, Ying Qingzhu was the one who was much more stiff and nervous.

It was not as though he had never seen the emperor over the years. But most of the time, he had been among the crowds, following everyone else and joining them in public ceremonies where they caught a glimpse of the Son of Heaven.

But he had never imagined that one day he would enter the palace as a newlywed wife to personally thank the emperor for an imperial marriage decree?!

The word ‘absurd’ went around and around in Ying Qingzhu’s mind. In the end, however, he suppressed it and said nothing.

“This subject pays his respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty! May you live ten thousand years!”

The two of them knelt to pay their respects, and Ying Qingzhu kept his head lowered.

The emperor smiled at Yu Zhi.

“I really did not expect you to be in such a hurry. It has only been a few days, and you have already gotten what you wanted.”

Yu Zhi smiled.

“This subject thanks Your Majesty for helping make this marriage possible!”¹

The emperor turned his attention to Ying Qingzhu, the person who had managed to make Yu Zhi settle down and become so deeply infatuated.

“Heir’s Wife, raise your head.”

Ying Qingzhu clenched his fists, hiding the uneasiness in his eyes and heart. Slowly, he raised his head, revealing a face so heavily made up that it was almost impossible to see what he originally looked like.

The emperor’s expression stiffened slightly.

It seemed he had never imagined that the person Yu Zhi had fallen so deeply for could actually be this difficult to look at.

A complicated feeling slowly gathered in his heart. His voice became somewhat heavier.

“Now that you are married, live well together.”

After saying this, he waved his hand as though he could no longer bear to look at the two of them.

“Go.”

Ying Qingzhu’s eyes shifted slightly.

Was his makeup really that unbearable to look at today?

Yu Zhi glanced at the emperor twice but said nothing. He led Ying Qingzhu in thanking the emperor once more before taking his leave.

After the two of them left, the wrinkles between the emperor’s brows did not lessen. Instead, they deepened.

After remaining silent for a long while, he finally said,

“Ping’an, think carefully. It has been more than ten years since Min-niang passed away, hasn’t it?”

The chief eunuch, Ping’an, broke into a cold sweat. Forcing a smile, he carefully chose his words before answering, “Your Majesty, it has been eighteen years.”

He had served the emperor since he was young and had been at his side for several decades. He knew almost everything about the emperor’s affairs, so naturally, there was no way he could not know that the “Min-niang” His Majesty had mentioned was the late Empress, who had died more than a decade ago.

The emperor fell silent for a moment.

“So, if that is the case, the Fourth Princess is already eighteen as well? Has her marriage been arranged?”

Ping’an felt slightly relieved.

“Your Majesty, not yet.”

Seeing that the emperor looked displeased, he thought for a moment before adding, “Perhaps Noble Consort Gui has been too busy managing the palace affairs and simply forgot to discuss it with Your Majesty.”

The emperor frowned.

“You don’t need to speak for her in front of me. I know Noble Consort Gui’s temperament better than you do. Back then, she competed with Min-niang for the position of Empress, but she lost. Even now, I have never made her Empress. It would be strange if she did not resent Min-niang, let alone the Fourth Princess.”

If Your Majesty knows all that so clearly, then why have you done nothing?

Ping’an silently rolled those words around in his heart. He bit his lip, but in the end, he did not dare say them aloud.

“I only ever see that child during New Year’s banquets. I can no longer remember what she looks like, though I vaguely recall that she does not resemble Min-niang.”

The emperor smiled.

As though he were simply telling a joke, he said to the chief eunuch, “Today, I actually saw someone who looks more like her than her own daughter does.”

“Sure enough, there is no shortage of strange things in this world.”

The person who looked like the late Empress was currently being stopped from holding hands and was instead turning around to leave the palace.

“Noble Heir, don’t we need to go see Noble Consort Gui?” Ying Qingzhu asked.

Yu Zhi glanced at him and deliberately put on a surprised expression.

“My wife has certainly done her homework. You even know about matters inside the palace.”

Ying Qingzhu gritted his teeth, inwardly cursing himself for being careless. He quickly put on a shy smile and said, “Noble Heir, you know what kind of place Yangliu House is. So many distinguished guests come and go there. Even if I didn’t know much at first, after hearing things from them day after day, I naturally came to know a thing or two.”

Yu Zhi looked at him with amusement.

“Then tell me. How much gratitude does our marriage owe to Noble Consort Gui?”

Ying Qingzhu froze.

Only then did he suddenly realize that there really wasn’t any.

Yu Zhi held his hand, gently kneading and rubbing it without drawing attention to what he was doing.

“Let me ask you another question. Is Noble Consort Gui the Empress? The Mother of the Realm?”

Naturally, she was not.

Yu Zhi said matter-of-factly, “She has given us no favor, has no authority over us, and is not a relative. So why should we go?”

Ying Qingzhu was convinced.

He looked at Yu Zhi, seemingly surprised that he could actually be so eloquent.

Even in the way he spoke, Ying Qingzhu could sense that Yu Zhi had no respect for Noble Consort Gui. Everything he said revealed one thing clearly—

He looked down on Noble Consort Gui.

Ying Qingzhu had suffered under Noble Consort Gui’s persecution in the palace since he was young. If it had not been for her, and if it had not been for the support of the people who had remained loyal to his mother, then by now, even if he had managed to survive, he probably really would have become a small, timid, and weak Fourth Princess.

Now that he saw Yu Zhi also disliked Noble Consort Gui and was neither afraid nor intimidated by her, Ying Qingzhu’s mood inexplicably improved.

He did not say anything about Yu Zhi holding his hand and gently squeezing and touching it along the way.

The two of them made their way back to the residence.

However, their carriage suddenly came to a stop on the road, nearly throwing them both to the floor of the carriage.

“What happened outside?” Yu Zhi called out.

“This servant reports to the Noble Heir: it is the Third Prince’s entourage. They are hurrying back to the capital, but the road is narrow, so we need to give way.”

The Third Prince, Ying Yao, was the son of Noble Consort Gui. He was eighteen years old this year, yet he had already been working in the imperial court for two years.

A month ago, the emperor had ordered him to travel to Huizhou to investigate a case involving the local authorities falsely reporting the severity of a disaster. Today happened to be the day he returned to the capital, and Yu Zhi had happened to cross paths with him.

Hearing the people passing outside, Ying Qingzhu lifted the carriage curtain and looked out.

He only had time to catch a glimpse of a group of riders galloping past, their figures disappearing into the distance as clouds of dust billowed behind them.

Yu Zhi lowered the curtain.

“Don’t worry. Let them pass. We can give way and return home afterward. There’s no hurry.”

No hurry?

The Third Prince was at the height of his power. He was also about to marry the granddaughter of a Grand Secretary. And now, he would probably be formally made Crown Prince before long.

And Yu Zhi was saying there was no hurry?

Ying Qingzhu’s mind was filled with countless thoughts, and he could not help asking, “Noble Heir, what do you think of His Majesty’s several princes?”

Yu Zhi glanced at him, then smiled.

“My wife, I’m nothing more than a spoiled young master. Are you really sure you want to hear what I think?”

“I really do.”

Ying Qingzhu felt that his answer had sounded a little too stiff, so after thinking for a moment, he awkwardly tried to flatter him.

“I want to hear it. It’s not that I truly expect you to know much about the matter. I simply want to know what my husband thinks.”

The moment the words ‘my husband’ left his lips, they already carried a hint of tenderness.

Yu Zhi found the words very pleasing to hear. The corners of his lips lifted slightly, and he patiently explained, “The First Prince has a crippled leg, while the Second Prince has foreign blood, so both have already been excluded from consideration as Crown Prince. The Third Prince is young and accomplished, and both his mother’s family and his wife’s family have deep roots and considerable influence. He is certainly one of the leading candidates in the struggle for the throne. However, when flowers are embroidered with brocade and reach the height of their splendor, they must eventually begin to wither.”

Moreover, this male lead had a brutal personality.

After all, the male protagonist of this rebirth story was practically a tyrant. Other than doting on the female lead, he never cared about anyone else. If he wanted someone dead, he simply killed them. He took the saying “Those who follow me prosper, those who oppose me perish” to almost its absolute extreme.

That kind of character was very popular in novels. It often made readers squeal with excitement.

But when you became a person inside the story, when the novel became reality, having a tyrant as the ruler, someone who only treated the female lead well would only bring sweetness to the female lead and suffering to the common people.

“The Fourth Prince died young. The Fifth Prince’s maternal family has no influence to support him, and he is weak and incapable. The Sixth Prince is too absorbed in love. As for the Seventh Prince… he shares the same mother as the Third Prince. Originally, he should have had the same advantages as his third brother. He is also known for respecting and seeking out talented people, and he appears gentle and refined. He should have been the best choice for the throne. Yet precisely because the Third Prince stands above him, he can never rise to prominence.”

This was also why the Seventh Prince wanted to deal with his own brother. As long as the Third Prince remained, the Seventh Prince would never have a place in Noble Consort Gui’s eyes or those of her family.

There were several more princes after that, but they were still young, and it was too early to tell what they would become, so Yu Zhi did not mention them.

What Yu Zhi did not say was that no matter how powerful the Third Prince became, the current emperor was far from being in his twilight years. As long as he remained alive and continued to hold power, no one else could surpass him.

From beginning to end, the person with the greatest say in the struggle for the throne was never the princes.

It was always the emperor.

Whether someone was deposed or established as Crown Prince was ultimately nothing more than a matter decided by a single word from the emperor. Everyone else was merely a chess piece in his hands.

Yet these few words alone caused Ying Qingzhu’s gaze to grow deeper and brighter as he looked at Yu Zhi.

Everything Yu Zhi had said was something Ying Qingzhu had already considered. What he had not expected was that Yu Zhi had thought of so much as well, and was even willing to explain it all to him so openly, without leaving anything out.

This man was clearly not the ignorant, good-for-nothing playboy he appeared to be. He had probably been hiding his abilities all along, pretending to be foolish. Yet now, he was willing to reveal almost his entire true nature in front of Ying Qingzhu.

For a moment, Ying Qingzhu almost truly believed that Yu Zhi genuinely liked him. After all, Yu Zhi was willing to expose so much of himself in front of him.

But precisely because of that, the man became even more suspicious.

If someone was so perceptive and calculating, why would he suddenly fall for an ordinary woman without reason?

Back then, they had clearly been nothing more than Ying Feng and the Prince Ying’s heir meeting for the first time.

Ying Qingzhu did not believe that Yu Zhi genuinely loved him. If Yu Zhi had wanted revenge for being struck hard enough by him to spit blood, that would have been somewhat more believable.

But to spend so much effort and give up so much just for revenge was simply too ridiculous.

“Noble Heir, I was almost misled by the rumors myself. I really thought you were nothing more than a spoiled playboy who knew only how to chase after romance.”

The moment Yu Zhi heard this, how could he not know that Ying Qingzhu was suspicious of him again?

But he was not afraid of it.

He had done it deliberately.

The best way to attract someone was to make use of their curiosity.

Right now, in Ying Qingzhu’s eyes, Yu Zhi was nothing but a bundle of mysteries and suspicions. And the more mysteries there were, the less likely Ying Qingzhu was to think about getting rid of him anytime soon.

He would be drawn to Yu Zhi and begin investigating him on his own. By the time he dug deep enough into those mysteries, it would already be too late for him to leave.

“Wife, you should be calling me your husband.”

As he spoke, Yu Zhi reached over and helped Ying Qingzhu put back the pearl hairpin that had fallen earlier because of the shaking carriage.

Ying Qingzhu lowered his lashes slightly and said nothing.

It was not until the carriage stopped outside Prince Ying’s Residence that Yu Zhi stepped down first and reached out to help him.

The two briefly embraced before quickly separating.

His low voice carried a hint of sweetness, yet it also seemed to hold a trace of seduction.

“Husband…”

Yu Zhi froze for a moment.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ying Qingzhu slipped around him and hurried into Prince Ying’s Residence ahead of him.

When Yu Zhi came back to his senses, he looked at Ying Qingzhu’s retreating figure. The corners of his eyes curved slightly, and he shook his head with a soft laugh.

This man really refused to lose out.

Even when it came to seducing someone, he had to make sure it went both ways.

Now that the most important matter had been settled, Yu Zhi could finally free up his hands to start dealing with the affairs surrounding the original owner.

First, Yu Zhi had the steward bring him the household register listing everyone employed in the residence.

The steward seemed to sense what was coming.

“My Lord, everyone in the residence has been here for many years. If we suddenly make changes now, I’m afraid it would be inappropriate.”

Yu Zhi was in no hurry. He remained perfectly calm as he said, “Since that’s the case, then replace all of them. What do you think, Steward? After all, I have always been the type to favor the new and lose interest in the old.”

The steward abruptly raised his head.

Their eyes met, and they silently confronted each other for a long while.

In the end, the steward was the first to back down.

“I-I’ll go get the household register.”

Yu Zhi was in no hurry at all. He simply waited patiently.

Meanwhile, after returning to the rear courtyard, Ying Qingzhu immediately noticed that something was off about the expressions of the servants in the courtyard.

Some looked guilty.

Some looked disdainful.

Some looked sympathetic.

And some seemed to be waiting for a show.

Before he could figure out what had happened, he heard the voices of a group of women drifting toward him, sweet and delicate like a flock of orioles.

“We pay our respects to the Noble Heir’s wife!”

Ying Qingzhu turned his head.

He saw at least a dozen beautiful women dressed in elaborate, eye-catching clothes standing there. They gave him a lazy, half-hearted bow, without the slightest hint of sincerity.

Almost instantly, Ying Qingzhu thought of a certain possibility.

Very soon, his guess was proven correct.

The older maid in the courtyard told him that these women were all the concubines of the heir.

Now that the heir’s wife had entered the residence, they were naturally supposed to come and pay their respects.

But whether they had really come to pay their respects or had come to give him a show of authority, how could Ying Qingzhu possibly fail to see it?

Looking at the group of women in front of him, Ying Qingzhu’s suspicion that Yu Zhi genuinely liked him immediately lost most of its credibility.

With so many beautiful concubines around him, this man could still shamelessly claim that he genuinely liked him?

Hah!

Yu Zhi was looking through the household register when he suddenly sneezed.

He frowned, then carefully confirmed that the register was genuine and that nothing was wrong with it. Only then did he get up and return to the rear courtyard.

When he saw the worried, nervous, and frightened expressions on everyone’s faces in the courtyard, Yu Zhi raised an eyebrow.

“What happened?”

The servants did not dare to hide anything from him. They hurriedly explained everything that had happened that day.

Yu Zhi frowned.

He could only blame himself. He had been so busy recently trying to win Ying Qingzhu over that he had forgotten to deal with the mess the original owner had left behind.

More importantly, he had completely forgotten about these women.

If they had not gathered in front of Ying Qingzhu themselves, Yu Zhi might not even have remembered them.

Faced with this unexpected mess, Yu Zhi was not anxious at all.

Instead, he ordered the servants to arrange things properly. Each of the women was to be given a sum of money, and their contracts of servitude were to be returned to them. Then they would be released from the residence.

After giving his orders, Yu Zhi entered the room.

He had not even closed the door when a pitiful voice reached his ears.

“The heir really is such a considerate man. I’m feeling unwell, so perhaps you can let those younger sisters serve you instead.”

Ying Qingzhu deliberately spoke in a wounded tone.

Why had he never thought of this before?

If he let other people occupy Yu Zhi’s attention and energy, then he would not have to worry about Yu Zhi discovering anything suspicious about him.

Yu Zhi did not try to defend himself. He simply sat down beside him and said, “Those women are all in the past. You should trust your husband. Heaven and earth can bear witness to my feelings for you.”

He still wore that same calm, gentle expression, without the slightest hint of embarrassment at being caught.

Ying Qingzhu looked at him and sneered inwardly.

This man kept saying that he liked him, but what exactly did he like about him?

He did not even know whether Ying Qingzhu was a man or a woman, much less what his true identity was.

A love like this was like a castle in the air, a mirage, like a bubble that would burst with the slightest poke.

It was far too unreal.

Yu Zhi looked at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

What he said sounded like a joke, yet it also seemed to carry another meaning.

“There’s no need to doubt it. The kind of love I have for you would not change even if you suddenly turned into a man right in front of me.”

Ying Qingzhu: “……”

That could no longer be considered a hint.

It was practically an outright declaration.