LNTSWJLY Chapter 52

The fine clothes were still in place, his cloud-like hair still carried its fragrance, his head was still covered with pearl hairpins, and his face was still painted in bright, heavy makeup.

No matter how one looked at him, Ying Qingzhu still looked completely like a woman.

Yet now, right in front of him, Yu Zhi had exposed the false identity he had maintained for more than ten years, showing without the slightest hesitation that he knew the truth about him.

Ying Qingzhu knew exactly what he should do at this moment.

He should have Yu Zhi arrested, interrogate him in secret, find out who his accomplices were, and, once he had confirmed everything, quietly eliminate everyone who knew the truth.

Reason told him that this was the right thing to do.

Yet he did not have even the slightest intention of doing it.

“Noble Heir, what are your thoughts on the saying, ‘Trouble comes from careless words’?”

What exactly was this man relying on?

Did he really believe that because he had Ying Qingzhu in his grasp, Ying Qingzhu would not dare act against him?

If that was truly what he thought, then there was only one word to describe him:

Stupid.

Did Yu Zhi look like a stupid man?

“Did I say anything?” Yu Zhi asked with a smile. “It was only a hypothetical situation. Wife, don’t take it seriously.”

Clearly, he had been the one to bring up the subject, yet he was also the one denying it now.

True and false, real and unreal; he made it impossible to tell what he truly meant.

“Noble Heir, you really are something.” Ying Qingzhu gave him a smile that did not reach his eyes.

Yu Zhi still looked as though he had said nothing at all. He naturally took Ying Qingzhu’s hand and said, “Since that is the case, would you be willing to let your husband do your eyebrows and makeup for you?”

An absurd and ridiculous thought suddenly occurred to Ying Qingzhu.

He gave a soft laugh.

“Noble Heir, don’t tell me you said all that just so you could put makeup on me?”

“‘A wife should be adorn by her husband.’” Yu Zhi gave a faint smile, looking completely casual. “It is only human nature.”

Risking his life to hint so openly at his true identity, only to do his makeup?

What a fine example of “human nature”!

Ying Qingzhu did not bother being polite with him. He stood up and flicked his sleeve.

“If my husband has a hobby of putting makeup on people, there are plenty of younger sisters in the residence for you to practice on.”

With that, he turned around and walked out of the room.

Looking at his retreating back, which seemed caught somewhere between irritation and speechlessness, Yu Zhi let out a soft laugh.

He then took out the household register and began considering how he should rearrange the people in the residence.

Prince Ying’s Residence had been passed down through several generations and had already stood for more than a hundred years. It was regularly maintained and renovated, with craftsmen constantly taking care of it, so everything inside the residence still looked as good as new.

Two generations ago, their lineage had begun residing in their fiefdoms on a permanent basis, so very few new people had been brought into the residence in the capital.

As a result, the vast majority of the household servants were people who had been passed down through several generations.

Servants had children, and those children became servants in turn. Over time, the residence had become their home and their roots.

If Yu Zhi was determined to make changes, there was bound to be a major disturbance.

After thinking it over, Yu Zhi decided to transfer those longtime servants who could not be used by him to the rural manor.

As for the spies and informants who had been planted in the residence, those who could simply be dismissed would be dismissed. Those who had already formed connections with people in the residence would be transferred to the rural manors along with the longtime servants.

There were only two people in the main residence now, Yu Zhi and Ying Qingzhu. There was no need for so many servants to wait on them.

After considering everything, Yu Zhi called the steward over and had him arrange where these people would go.

The steward, who had just sent the concubines out of the residence, had probably already anticipated that there would be major changes.

At first, he had intended to let people make a fuss over it.

But he soon discovered that the heir had not taken anyone’s life. In fact, his measures were almost too lenient.

He had not forcibly dismissed the longtime servants either. Instead, he had simply transferred them to the rural manors, where they would still remain part of the household. Other than no longer being able to come into contact with the main residence’s inner affairs, very little else would change for them.

With such an arrangement, the steward was left with nothing to say.

After all, if the master of a household wants to deal with a servant, it only takes a single word. Yet the heir had not only refrained from mistreating them, he had even treated them rather leniently. If they still caused a fuss, wouldn’t that be an obvious admission that they had bad intentions and that the servants were bullying their master?

The steward could almost see his own future.

Once the people below him had been dealt with, he would most likely be replaced as steward as well. Seeing what would happen to the others, he figured his own fate probably would not be too bad either, and he felt a little more at ease.

The heir had now revealed a side of himself that was completely different from before. No one could tell what he was truly capable of. If they acted rashly, the consequences might be even worse than what they were facing now.

The steward had lived a stable life for many years, and the years had long since worn down his sharpness and ambition. Now, rather than taking a gamble, he would rather keep things as they were.

In any case, he was still in the capital. If he wanted to gather information for the Prince Ying, it would not be difficult.

“Yes. I’ll take care of it right away.”

Yu Zhi was satisfied.

Then he added, “As for those who have been released from the residence, remember to have people search them carefully. If they are carrying anything they should not have, report it to the authorities immediately.”

The steward’s heart tightened.

“Yes!”

It seemed that the heir really was merciful. At least he had been gentle toward the longtime servants who were being sent to the rural manors.

Yu Zhi simply did not want to cause too much disturbance and bring unnecessary trouble upon himself.

If the Prince Ying wanted to gather information from all over the capital, there was no way to stop him completely. Yu Zhi simply did not want those people living around him.

After all, he would be living here for a long time.

He did not like being watched all the time.

“Noble Heir, Doctor An has arrived. He has already been waiting in the front hall for quite some time,” a servant came to report.

Yu Zhi’s hand paused slightly as he set down his teacup.

“Tell him to wait a little longer. I’ll be there shortly.”

………………

“Master, are you really going to stay at Prince Ying’s Residence?” the matron asked suggestively. “Now that the marriage has been completed, if Ying Feng were to die, no one could blame anyone else. It would simply mean that the heir did not have the fortune of a long married life”

“What do you think this heir is really like?”

Ying Qingzhu’s gaze darkened slightly.

What the matron had said was indeed true. But even if he faked his death, what then? There was no guarantee that Yu Zhi would not find him again.

And…

He admitted it. Yu Zhi had succeeded. He had successfully aroused Ying Qingzhu’s curiosity and made him want to investigate this person who seemed almost all-powerful and clearly had many secrets.

Physical attraction could only hold someone’s attention for a while.

But Yu Zhi’s inner nature made Ying Qingzhu unwilling to let go until he had figured him out completely.

Perhaps there was a bottomless abyss ahead.

But perhaps, on the other side of that abyss, there was an entirely different view.

The corners of his lips curved slightly.

The matron, who was still thinking about how to answer him, saw this expression and felt her heart drop.

An ominous feeling suddenly rose in her chest.

Master wouldn’t…

“Still haven’t thought of an answer?”

Ying Qingzhu glanced at her.

The matron immediately lowered her head.

The late Empress had also been an extraordinary woman when she was alive. She had originally come from a family of renowned physicians and had learned medicine from a young age. Even while she was still unmarried, she had already practiced medicine for several years and saved countless people.

Some people had even erected a longevity memorial stele in her honor.

She and the emperor had a good relationship. They had fallen in love and chosen each other freely.  At the time, the emperor was not yet the heir to the throne. He had an elder brother born of the Empress who was waiting to inherit the throne, so the imperial family simply let him marry whoever he wished.

Not long after the two of them became engaged, however, the Emperor’s full elder brother suddenly died of an acute illness, and the Emperor was forced to become Crown Prince.

As Crown Prince, his marriage to the future Empress was no longer considered an appropriate match. On top of that, powerful aristocratic families put forward talented noblewomen to compete for the position of Crown Princess Consort, and the marriage nearly fell through.

It was the Emperor who used the late Empress’s reputation as a divine physician who had saved countless lives to build public support for her, firmly putting her above those noble ladies. Only then was their marriage secured.

However, in order to appease the powerful families, he still married the noblewoman as his secondary consort.

She was the one who had now become the Noble Consort.

Back then, the late Empress and the Emperor had also shared a deep and devoted love.

Yet how long had it been since then?

Everything had already changed.

She had been a person of the late Empress.

The late Empress had once saved her life.

And her master was the late Empress’s only child by blood.

No matter what happened, she had to keep her master safe.

“The Prince Ying’s heir has been in the capital for more than ten years. All this time, he has gone around the capital pretending to be a spoiled young master. But in this servant’s eyes, perhaps that playboy act is not genuine at all. This man may be harboring ulterior motives and working together with the Prince Ying from within and without. As for this appearance of deep devotion now, it may simply be a way to deceive everyone.”

There was no insult toward Yu Zhi in her words.

On the contrary, she actually spoke of him rather highly. She described him as someone deep and calculating, someone with ulterior motives; all precisely to make Ying Qingzhu wary of him and develop an aversion toward him.

She was deliberately putting ideas into his head.

Ying Qingzhu might not have failed to understand this, and the matron might not have been unaware that he understood either.

What she wanted was simply to make her position clear: they did not approve of the Prince Ying’s heir, and she hoped Ying Qingzhu would think carefully about it.

Ying Qingzhu lowered his lashes slightly.

“I understand.”

“I’ll be staying at Prince Ying’s Residence for a while from now on, so I won’t be coming to Yangliu House as often.” He also had the identity of a princess to maintain. Trying to keep up the identities of both the Prince Ying heir’s wife and the Fourth Princess was already more than enough to handle.

The matron, however, was secretly wondering, Is Master really planning to go all the way and remain the Prince Ying heir’s wife?

On the surface, she calmly replied, “Yes. This servant understands.”

“However, there is one more thing. A special guest came to Yangliu House some time ago. She was dressed as a man, and she seemed very interested in Yangliu House. It also appeared that she knew there was something unusual about what lies behind this place.” The matron frowned.

One Prince Ying heir was one thing, but now there was even a woman who had disguised herself and slipped inside, seemingly intending to investigate. It was reasonable to suspect that Yangliu House had been exposed. If so, it might no longer be safe.

“Who is she?” Ying Qingzhu frowned.

“The future Third Prince’s Consort.”

That woman from the Rong family?

Ying Qingzhu had some impression of her, though most of it came from the matter between the future Third Prince’s Consort and the Seventh Prince.

“Has the Seventh Prince made any moves?”

“Not really. He has only been secretly trying to contact the future Third Prince’s Consort, but he was unsuccessful.”

So the two of them have fallen out.

Then why had this Miss Rong risked having her reputation tarnished by coming to Yangliu House? Who was she really here for?

“Keep a close eye on her. If she makes any unusual moves, don’t hesitate. Leave Yangliu House immediately. Also, the Third Prince has returned. Find a suitable time and have someone tell my future Third Sister-in-law about what happened between her and Seventh Brother. Tell Third Brother as well. I’m sure he’ll be very pleased.”

“Yes.”

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Ying Qingzhu’s lips. “So it was this marriage arrangement that made my future Third Sister-in-law change her heart.”

He paused before asking, “Auntie Hong, tell me. Once a woman gets married, does she give her whole heart to her husband?”

“This…” How could anyone say for certain?

The madam was also at a loss for words, but she said, “I cannot speak for other people, but the former master was not that kind of person.”

Ying Qingzhu’s expression became restrained.

“I know.”

He casually glanced to the side and caught sight of his reflection in the bronze mirror. Although he could not see it very clearly, he could still imagine just how striking his appearance must be; striking enough to make people afraid to look directly at him.

And yet, despite that, there was someone who could remain completely calm and tell him that he was sincerely in love with him.

And he, of all people, had actually become a bride himself.

Although he could not fully understand the feelings of a woman becoming a bride, during this short time together, he had vaguely begun to understand why a woman could come to love and care for her husband even if they had never met before.

There was nothing more to it than those four words.

Affection grows with time.

Whether it was the love between a man and a woman, or the familial affection that developed from spending time together.

Thinking of this, Ying Qingzhu secretly set a deadline for himself.

Three months.

If he still could not see through Yu Zhi after three months, then no matter what happened, he would leave immediately and would not look back.

He would never allow himself to become trapped by those four words.

Unfortunately, Ying Qingzhu did not know at the time that you cannot casually set a flag and expect nothing to happen.

It was already late at night.

Yu Zhi sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for someone who had yet to arrive.

Yu Zhi got up and opened the door. He said to the servants guarding outside, “All of you, go outside the courtyard. No one is to remain inside.”

Quite a few people had been removed from the residence recently. These servants had only just been promoted to their current positions, and Yu Zhi’s recent drastic actions had frightened them so much that they were constantly on edge, afraid to make the slightest mistake. They immediately answered in unison, “Yes…”

Yu Zhi looked over the now-empty courtyard before turning around and going back inside. He took off his outer clothes and got into bed.

Two of the candles were extinguished, leaving the inside of the bed curtains dim and shadowy.

After Yu Zhi had gone to sleep, no one knew how much time had passed before a lithe figure quietly entered from outside. The person silently approached Yu Zhi’s side, seemingly deep in thought and unable to make up his mind.

“My wife, your husband knows that he is as handsome as Pan An. If you want to look at me, you can simply light a lamp and take a good look. It’s pitch-black in here, and I would hate for you to hurt your eyes.”

Yu Zhi turned around but did not get up. He simply chatted with him as though nothing had happened, as if he had no idea how dangerous the situation he had just been in actually was.

If Ying Qingzhu had been a little more ruthless and decisive, Yu Zhi’s life would have been in danger by now.

This was precisely why Ying Qingzhu often could not tell whether Yu Zhi’s feelings toward him were genuine or merely an act.

“Husband, all of the nuptial wine that day ended up in my stomach. I imagine you must have been terribly disappointed. If you are willing, I would be happy to pour you another cup. What do you think?”

His voice was completely unrestrained, and the chill in it became particularly eerie in the darkness of the night.

Yu Zhi reached out and grabbed the person beside him, pulling him onto the bed.

“If my wife is willing to share both joy and hardship with me, then of course I’ll be happy to accompany her.”

Heh!

It was Yu Zhi who had drunk the medicine, not him, so of course he could say that so casually.

However, when Ying Qingzhu thought back to what had happened at Yangliu House, Yu Zhi had been the one who drank it then as well. He had probably spent half a month abstaining from sex because of it, so Ying Qingzhu’s mood relaxed considerably.

Perhaps the darkness of night made people more vulnerable. As he caught the faint fragrance on Yu Zhi’s body, Ying Qingzhu felt that sharing a bed with him these past few days had somehow made him lower his guard a little.

He could not help asking, “Yu Zhi, what is it that you really want?”

Yu Zhi opened his eyes, and the tender affection flowing through them was as gentle and continuous as a stream.

It seemed this was the first time Ying Qingzhu had called him by his full name.

The sense of familiarity grew stronger, and even Yu Zhi could not help softening his voice and speaking more gently.

“If you don’t know, then look carefully and listen carefully. If I told you directly, would you believe me?”

No.

Yu Zhi reached out and gently touched his cheek. He did not care that his hand was covered in makeup. His faint smile disappeared into the darkness, unseen by the other person.

“Still, the fact that you came to ask me yourself is already a good thing.”

Yu Zhi lowered his head and buried his face against Ying Qingzhu’s neck, at that most vulnerable place; so fragile that the slightest cut could take a person’s life.

“I like it very much…”

Ying Qingzhu could not tell whether it was those seemingly calm yet unfathomably deep words of affection, or the warmth of Yu Zhi’s breath against his neck as he spoke, but a faint itch rose along his throat.

That sensation traveled from his neck into his flesh and blood, and then deeper still, into his heart.

Their tenderness intertwined, wordless and lingering.

“It’s already late. Get some rest. Tomorrow, I’ll do your makeup for you.”

The man’s voice seemed to have returned to its usual calm. The emotion that had stirred in it moments ago was gone, but it remained as gentle as the wind.

“My wife is without equal in all the world. Surely, everyone should know it.”

The next morning, after the two of them got up, Yu Zhi did not deliberately avoid Ying Qingzhu as he had on the previous few days, leaving him to put on his own makeup.

Instead, he waited beside him, seemingly wanting to watch him remove it.

Ying Qingzhu was still hesitating. Removing his makeup meant revealing his true face in front of Yu Zhi.

Although Yu Zhi probably already knew the truth about his identity, this was a decision from which there would be no turning back. Ying Qingzhu knew that once he took this step, there would be no way to undo it.

From then on, Yu Zhi would either become his ally or die.

Seeing that he still did not move, Yu Zhi personally began removing his makeup for him.

As the heavy makeup gradually faded, the young man’s handsome features slowly appeared before his eyes. His willow-shaped brows framed starry eyes, his nose was as fine as carved jade, and his vermilion lips were soft and vivid. A small red beauty mark at the corner of his brow added another touch of alluring charm to his face.

As beautiful as peach blossoms and plum blossoms, the kind of beauty one could never forget once seen.

“My wife, I regret it now.” Yu Zhi joked. “If you showed people your true face, who knows how many more poor souls would end up with their hearts broken because of you.”

Ying Qingzhu ignored him.

He had still been hesitant and nervous just moments ago, but now that his makeup had truly been removed, he instead became calm.

Things have already come this far. I’ll just take it one step at a time.

If this face could help him test Yu Zhi’s true intentions, then revealing it would not have been in vain.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Ying Qingzhu unconsciously furrowed his brows.

He had never actually liked his appearance. For a long time, he had believed that it was because he had been disguising himself as a woman since childhood that he had grown more and more feminine.

He hated that.

It was only later that he gradually came to terms with it. But even after he had accepted it, he never came to like this face.

Now, that very face was gradually changing under Yu Zhi’s hands.

Ying Qingzhu had originally thought that whatever Yu Zhi meant by doing makeup was nothing more than applying powders and cosmetics to cover the surface. But when those hands actually began working on his face, he realized that it seemed to be far more than that.

He watched with his own eyes as Yu Zhi simply applied and blended things from the bottles and jars on the dressing table, yet somehow, his entire face changed.

The makeup was not heavy. It looked completely natural, yet his face seemed to have been replaced with another one, looking nothing like either his true appearance or the face he wore as the Fourth Princess.

His eyes widened in surprise, and he could not help asking, “How did you do that?”

Yu Zhi said nothing. As he looked at Ying Qingzhu’s new face, he became slightly lost in thought.

He had recreated Xingyu’s makeup from the previous life. Now that he saw it, this unfamiliar face actually looked about eighty percent like the face Xingyu had worn in his previous life, leaving him distracted for a moment.

“As long as you like it.”

Yu Zhi was not someone who liked dwelling on the past. There was no meaning in doing so. He knew very clearly who the person standing before him was now.

“Get ready. I’m taking you out.”

Ying Qingzhu changed into simple clothes and followed Yu Zhi outside.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll know when we get there.”

Yu Zhi mounted his horse. Ying Qingzhu looked around but did not see a second horse. Instead, Yu Zhi held out his hand.

“Come up.”

Ying Qingzhu hesitated for a moment. Thinking that this man could not possibly let him fall off the horse, he took his hand, mounted, and sat in front of him.

Behind him was Yu Zhi’s lean yet strong chest. As the horse galloped forward and the wind roared around them, it was clearly summer, yet it somehow felt like early spring.

The crowds rushed past them, the scenery receded into the distance, and the only thing that came clearly to his ears was the strong heartbeat against his back.

Fast yet rhythmic.

Deep yet steady.

For a moment, Ying Qingzhu actually wanted to grab Yu Zhi and roll off the horse together.

People always said that true feelings were revealed in times of hardship. He wanted to see for himself whether, in a moment of danger, this man would truly live up to all those declarations of affection.

The corner of his lips lifted slightly, and he said in a quiet, almost ghostly tone, “Husband, would you be willing to share both hardship and danger with me?”

Yu Zhi lowered his head, his eyes filled with amusement.

“My wife, are you inviting me to have sex outdoors?”

Outdoors?

Well… technically, that could be considered true.

But…

Why was this man laughing?

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