LNTSWJLY Chapter 54

Fragrance lingered in the air as the crimson gauze curtains swayed. The faint candlelight from outside quietly spilled into the room, its dim glow illuminating the corners of the bedchamber.

And in one of those corners, two figures were pressed very close together… very close…

As though they had grown together like entwined branches, becoming one.

At some point, the intertwined figures slowly parted, yet neither spoke for a long while.

Finally, a muffled chuckle sounded beside his ear. Yu Zhi gave a soft, warm laugh and said, “So my lady can be this passionate.”

“However, my lady seems to have forgotten that you are not feeling well. It would be unwise for us to consummate the marriage.”

It was not that he was actually unwell. It was clearly because the effects of that medicine, taken by mistake, had yet to wear off.

No.

Since Yu Zhi knew that he was a man, then that cup of wine on their wedding night had been deliberate.

At that thought, a sharp glint entered Ying Qingzhu’s gaze as he looked at Yu Zhi.

Yu Zhi acted as though he had noticed nothing and simply said, “It’s already late. We should rest.”

He lifted the thin quilt and covered them both.

Ying Qingzhu had not yet washed up or bathed, but he did not think about that anymore. His entire mind was occupied by the man behind him, who was gently wrapping an arm around his waist.

After a long while, he finally asked, “Yu Zhi, don’t you have anything to say?”

Yu Zhi was not yet asleep either. He did not know what had caused the change in Ying Qingzhu tonight, but whatever it was, it could only be related to those matters.

“What does my lady want to hear?”

His arm around Ying Qingzhu tightened slightly. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

Ying Qingzhu’s heart stirred. His heartbeat seemed to quicken slightly. Listening to the indulgent warmth in Yu Zhi’s voice and feeling the quiet wind and moonlit stillness of the night, he finally asked a question that had troubled him for a long time.

“Why… do you have feelings for me?”

His first meeting with Yu Zhi had not been a pleasant one. Even if he had not been Ying Feng but had met him as the Fourth Princess, the two of them had barely crossed paths. They had not even spoken more than a few words to each other.

Yet this man kept saying that he had feelings for him.

How could Ying Qingzhu believe that?

But today, he did.

He believed that Yu Zhi was not after fame or wealth. He believed that Yu Zhi had no hidden scheme. He believed that Yu Zhi… truly loved him.

But why?

He wanted to know.

Yu Zhi opened his eyes and gently stroked Ying Qingzhu’s hair.

“Do you believe in past lives and present lives, in reincarnation?”

“Perhaps in our previous lives, you and I already had a bond that could never be severed. When we met again in this life, we simply continued where we left off. Perhaps that is why I fell for you at first sight.”

Ying Qingzhu pulled the corner of his lips into a faint smile, finding it almost amusing.

“You believe in Gods and Buddha?”

Yu Zhi did not hesitate.

“I don’t.”

But sometimes, reincarnation did not need Gods or Buddha.

Ying Qingzhu wanted to ask, If you don’t believe in them, then why say something like that?

The words reached his lips, but he swallowed them back. Instead, he said seriously, “Even if reincarnation exists, you and I in this life are no longer the same people we were in our previous lives. How can that count?”

Yu Zhi let out a soft laugh, as though he understood exactly where the knot in Ying Qingzhu’s heart lay.

“I don’t know how it is for other people, but I know that you are you, and I am me. Even if there was no previous life, why should that mean I cannot fall in love with you in this life?”

Ying Qingzhu felt something inside his heart suddenly grow lighter.

It seemed that the question that had troubled him for so long had finally found its answer.

Not for any other reason, but simply because his heart had stirred.

Not because of their past life, but only because of this life.

That was all there was to it.

………………

The next day, the usually quiet Prince Ying’s Residence welcomed an unexpected guest.

The Third Prince had arrived at the residence early in the morning, only to be told that the two masters had not yet risen.

By now, the sun was already high in the sky, and the Third Prince could not help frowning. He began to wonder whether the Prince Ying’s heir really was not the dissolute good-for-nothing everyone had thought him to be.

After waiting for quite some time, with tea being served twice, he finally saw the man.

“Third Prince.” Yu Zhi casually clasped his hands in greeting. “May I ask what brings you here today?”

The Third Prince looked to the left and right, but still did not see the Prince Ying’s heir’s wife. He asked, “May I ask, Young Master Heir, why is your wife not here?”

Yu Zhi was not intimidated by the questioning tone in his voice. He cleared his throat twice, then smiled.

“She was tired yesterday, so she is still resting. If Your Highness has something to ask, you can ask me.”

The almost suggestive words made the Third Prince look meaningfully at Yu Zhi’s sickly appearance a couple more times.

“I came today, first, to apologize for the fact that the previous assassination attempt ended up involving the two of you. The gifts have already been prepared.”

“Second, I wanted to ask whether the heir has any suspicions or clues regarding the assassins.”

Yu Zhi picked up his teacup and took a sip to moisten his throat.

“Your Highness need not worry too much. The matter with the assassins was not something you wished for. It was merely an accident.”

“Unfortunately, we had too little contact with the assassins, so we did not find any useful clues. I’m afraid Your Highness has made this trip for nothing.”

This result was within the Third Prince’s expectations. He had never expected to obtain any useful information from Yu Zhi in the first place. He had merely wanted to test Yu Zhi’s attitude.

If Yu Zhi had made any veiled remarks, perhaps he could have drawn some conclusions from them. But Yu Zhi was clearly slippery and impossible to pin down, leaving not the slightest opening for him to exploit. With that, the Third Prince had nothing more to go on.

“In that case, it was I who came here without thinking it through. I shall take my leave.”

“Take care, Your Highness.”

Only after the Third Prince had left did Ying Qingzhu walk in and ask, “Why wouldn’t you let me meet him?”

“The Third Prince is the kind of person who would rather kill the wrong person than let the right one go.”¹ Yu Zhi stood up and took his hand. “If he noticed that something was wrong with you, it might bring trouble.”

“Withdraw the people you have hidden around Yangliu House,” Yu Zhi advised. “If Rong Yunchang finds out about them, the Third Prince will find out as well. He may make his move before long.”

Ying Qingzhu listened in silence.

The two of them had never discussed such matters before, yet from Yu Zhi’s words, it was almost as though he knew him inside and out.

Ying Qingzhu did not know how much Yu Zhi actually knew, nor did he care how he had found out.

He only needed to understand one thing: everything the man before him did was for his sake.

Everything else was unimportant.

“Yu Zhi, you once told me to look more and listen more. I have looked, and I have listened. So now, if I may be so bold as to ask…” Ying Qingzhu paused. “Are you planning to support me?”

To help him ascend that supreme position.

Yu Zhi met his serious gaze, his expression gentle.

“If that is what you want, then why not?”

In any case, he could make sure that Ying Qingzhu would become a good emperor.

And… in the previous life of the original storyline, Ying Qingzhu really was the one who made it to the very end.

In the heroine’s previous-life storyline, she had helped the Seventh Prince bring down the Third Prince. Yet even the Seventh Prince did not make it to the end.

As she lay dying, she vaguely heard someone come to report to the Seventh Prince that the palace gates had been breached.

That was why, after being reborn, the heroine never truly regarded the Seventh Prince as a threat. Instead, she secretly investigated the other forces at work.

If things followed the original course, Ying Qingzhu would lose this struggle.

But now that he had Yu Zhi, it was a battle of one strategic mind against another. Ying Qingzhu would win.

Ying Qingzhu fell silent. He did not know why Yu Zhi was willing to go this far.

This man was not destined to live long. Was he really not afraid that if Ying Qingzhu truly ascended that position in the future, he would establish three palaces and six courtyards and fill his harem with countless consorts?¹

Or did Yu Zhi simply not care?

Or perhaps he trusted Ying Qingzhu to such an extent that he believed he would never have any reason to doubt him, no matter what happened.

A thought flashed through Ying Qingzhu’s mind. He lowered his eyes and said nothing more.

“Since you have made up your mind, then don’t hesitate, and don’t regret it.”

Yu Zhi reached out, intending to ruffle his hair, but was defeated by the elaborate arrangement of hair, pearls, and hairpins before his hand could touch it.

“From now on, I can teach you.”

“Teach me what?” Ying Qingzhu looked up at him.

The corners of Yu Zhi’s eyes curved slightly.

“Whatever you want to learn, I’ll teach you.”

If you want to become emperor, then I will teach you the arts of ruling.

Ying Qingzhu had originally thought Yu Zhi was only joking and teasing him. After all, how old was this man? What could he possibly teach him?

Yet over the many days that followed, he came to see just how broad Yu Zhi’s knowledge was and how deep his schemes ran.

Ying Qingzhu had disguised his identity from a young age and worked toward that position all these years. Most of his time had been spent studying human nature and figuring out how to deal with his brothers and the various factions among the court officials.

There was no one who could teach him more, and no one who dared to teach him more. He could only learn by himself, gradually absorbing knowledge and experience over time.

Yet during these days, Yu Zhi gave him systematic lessons, and they allowed him to see just how much he still lacked.

Of course, perhaps he could slowly learn and make up for these shortcomings in the years to come.

But that would require a great deal of time and effort.

And that alone might have been manageable.

The real problem was that, in the early stages, his lack of ability could cause many ordinary people to pay the price for his mistakes.

Being able to avoid those problems now was a good thing in itself.

But Ying Qingzhu could not understand why Yu Zhi knew all these things.

He had come to the capital as the Prince Ying’s heir and a political hostage more than ten years ago. All these years, the only reputation people in the capital had heard about him was that of a dissolute, spoiled young master.

Yet after truly getting to know him, Ying Qingzhu realized that this man had unfathomable depth and was by no means an ordinary person.

Naturally, Ying Qingzhu began to have some suspicions.

“I heard that the grapes from Liyang are sweet and delicious, but I don’t seem to have seen any in the residence. Is there simply none this year, or have there never been any in previous years?”

He was asking about grapes, but Yu Zhi knew perfectly well what he was really asking.

“There have never been any.” Yu Zhi did not avoid the question. “My father and I are not close. You don’t need to concern yourself with him.”

Prince Ying’s disloyal intentions were already obvious for all to see. Ying Qingzhu’s question was really asking whether Yu Zhi was the son Prince Ying had placed his hopes on.

After hearing Yu Zhi’s answer, Ying Qingzhu understood.

But no matter how poor their relationship was, they were still father and son.

Ying Qingzhu lowered his eyes slightly.

“I understand.”

Yu Zhi had seen him reading for many days at the residence and studying under him for just as long. Wanting to give him a chance to relax, he simply took him to one of the rural manors under his name.

This was a rural manor Yu Zhi had recently purchased. No spies or informants had been planted there, and there were none of the old servants of Prince Ying’s Residence who relied on their seniority to throw their weight around. The only people there were farmers Yu Zhi had hired to work the land.

When they saw their master arrive, they all bowed in greeting. Yu Zhi merely waved a hand and told them to continue with their work.

He took Ying Qingzhu’s hand and walked with him through the fields, watching the farmers busy themselves with their work.

This was the first time Ying Qingzhu had truly come into direct contact with farming and the land.

It was also the first time he had ever been this close to it.

There was still a hint of curiosity on his face. Each time he looked around and recognized another crop, he became a little happier.

Suddenly, his gaze stopped somewhere. He tugged at Yu Zhi’s sleeve and pointed in that direction in confusion.

“Do you grow flowers here too?”

Yu Zhi followed his gesture and saw someone nearby carrying several plants and putting them into the ground.

“If you like flowers, there are so many varieties that can be grown for people to admire. Why would you plant these strange, rather ugly white flower?” Ying Qingzhu frowned at Yu Zhi, as though he were genuinely worried about Yu Zhi’s taste.

Yu Zhi could not help laughing.

“That isn’t a flower.”

“…Are you making fun of me for not knowing much?” Ying Qingzhu had seen this at the flower-viewing banquet. Although this variety of flower had been introduced from the Western Regions and was relatively rare, it was not as though there were none in the capital.

He felt that Yu Zhi was simply teasing him.

After laughing, Yu Zhi became serious.

“I’m telling you the truth. It isn’t a flower meant for viewing. It’s a crop that can be used to keep people warm. Its usefulness is even greater than silk. Once it produces a harvest, I’ll have people make clothes from it for you to wear.”

Ying Qingzhu was stunned. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “Then why are you growing it…?”

“For you, of course.”

Not simply for him to use.

Not simply for him to wear.

But to… bring its benefits to all the people.

Thinking back on everything that had happened in recent days, Ying Qingzhu even began to have a feeling.

Compared with teaching him how to seize power and balance political forces, Yu Zhi was teaching him more about how to govern and serve the people.

He was not teaching him how to become an emperor.

He was teaching him how to become a good emperor.

His identity had not even been settled yet. He was not even the Crown Prince.

And there was still such a long road ahead of him.

Yet Yu Zhi seemed to have already decided that he would succeed. He had skipped over the struggle for power and was already planning for a much more distant future.

This man… really is strange.

The strange Yu Zhi had no idea what was going through Ying Qingzhu’s mind. He was simply making arrangements and taking action according to his own plans.

In the end, the assassination of the Third Prince could only be closed with the official conclusion that the powerful families of Huizhou were unwilling to accept their losses and had paid people to assassinate him.

The Third Prince had been injured, but he still did not set aside his duties. He remained busy with court affairs every day, while he devoted all his free time to Rong Yunchang.

Although the Seventh Prince had escaped the disaster, he knew very well that his Third Brother had already grown suspicious of him. From now on, even if he truly kept to himself and behaved properly, the other man might not let him off.

So he simply stopped hiding.

Despite the risk of being discovered and targeted, he went to Noble Consort Gui to complain.

“Consort Mother, how long has it been since Imperial Brother last came to see you?”

Noble Consort Gui still understood that the bigger picture came first, so she made excuses for her eldest son.

“Your Imperial Brother is someone who is destined to accomplish great things, so naturally, he has to be busy with court affairs. Having you here to keep your mother company is enough.”

She gave her eldest son the throne.

She gave her eldest son power.

She gave her eldest son a future.

Yet she gave him nothing.

From childhood, he had been taught to assist his elder brother and never compete with him.

But why?

He was also a son of their Imperial Father and Mother. He was also talented and capable. Just because he had an older brother, did he have to give way to him in everything?!

Hah!

The Seventh Prince secretly hated this in his heart, but showed nothing on his face. He continued smiling as he said, “Consort Mother, today I happened to see Imperial Brother taking his future wife to Eldest Imperial Sister’s poetry gathering. Their relationship is so deep and harmonious that they will surely become a loving couple who are inseparable in the future. So let me congratulate you in advance, Consort Mother. May you soon welcome your daughter-in-law into the family and hold a precious grandson in your arms!”

Noble Consort Gui had always been a woman who thought things through carefully. Now that she heard these words from the Seventh Prince, she immediately felt uncomfortable.

Her son had time this morning to escort his fiancée to a poetry gathering, but he did not have time to come pay his respects to her?

How many times had this happened without her knowing?

His future wife had not even entered the family yet, and he was already doting on her like this. Once she actually married into the family, would she, as his mother, still be able to establish any rules for her daughter-in-law?

Her son and daughter-in-law would be loving and inseparable.

But where did that leave her, the mother who had given birth to her son, raised him, and sacrificed so much for him?

Noble Consort Gui had originally been quite pleased with this daughter-in-law.

But at this moment, whatever good impression she had of Rong Yunchang vanished completely.

There was no helping it.

Once a mother raised her child, it was easy for her to start treating that child as something that belonged to her, making her unwilling to accept that he would one day belong to another woman.

The relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had always been a difficult problem.

And this problem was enough to drive a wedge between a mother and son who had once been very close, allowing him to take advantage of the opening and profit from it.

It was a deal that cost him nothing.

The Seventh Prince’s schemes were already working beautifully.

And sure enough, things unfolded just as he had expected.

When Noble Consort Gui deliberately picked a fight with Rong Yunchang, the Third Prince stepped forward with a frown and took Rong Yunchang’s side, completely enraging Noble Consort Gui.

Noble Consort Gui forcibly sent a group of palace maids to the Third Prince’s residence, giving them the status of concubines.

As fate would have it, they arrived while Rong Yunchang was in the middle of a tender moment with the Third Prince.

Rong Yunchang was hurt and left.

And the Third Prince…

In a fit of rage, he actually personally chopped down those palace-maid concubines who had driven a wedge between them and dressed themselves up so provocatively!

When the news reached the Seventh Prince, he almost laughed himself mad.

His Third Brother really was far too violent by nature.

How could he simply kill people whenever things did not go his way?

And these were innocent people at that.

Now this was going to be interesting.

Sure enough, at the court session the next morning, a whole stack of memorials condemning the Third Prince for his cruel and violent nature was placed on the emperor’s desk.

The emperor had no choice but to publicly reprimand the Third Prince a few times and then symbolically dock some of his salary.

And that was the end of the matter.

It was not worth punishing the son he favored over a few palace maids.

Rong Yunchang also heard about what had happened. Realizing that she had misunderstood the Third Prince, and seeing him punished, she was heartbroken.

So she took the initiative to make peace with him, and the two reconciled as though nothing had happened.

But the relationship between Noble Consort Gui and Rong Yunchang grew increasingly tense.

Noble Consort Gui saw Rong Yunchang as a shameless woman who had come to steal her son away from her, and everything about her rubbed her the wrong way.

Unfortunately, her son always took that woman’s side.

He even angered Noble Consort Gui so badly that she fainted.

The Seventh Prince seized the opportunity to appear and accuse the Third Prince of being too easily seduced by beauty and disrespecting their consort mother.

The Third Prince looked at his younger brother, who was speaking with such righteous indignation, and finally understood.

“So it was you.”

The Seventh Prince felt guilty.

“What did I do? Imperial Brother was the one who disrespected Consort Mother for the sake of a woman and even resented his younger brother for being close to her. If you yourself are being unfilial, does that mean you won’t allow anyone else to be filial?”

The Third Prince looked at his own younger brother, his full brother, yet he felt not the slightest trace of affection toward him.

He now suspected that perhaps his younger brother had also been involved in the previous assassination attempt.

He had not yet settled the matter of his younger brother trying to seduce his future sister-in-law. He had also let the assassination attempt go without pursuing it.

And now, his younger brother had gone so far as to drive a wedge between his mother and his relationship with Chang’er.

After everything that had happened, it was time for his younger brother to pay the price.

From then on, the Third Prince no longer concealed his dislike of the Seventh Prince.

Whenever there was a festival or holiday, the gifts he sent to Yu Zhi were always more valuable than those he gave the Seventh Prince.

The two brothers had completely fallen out.

Yu Zhi closed the window, blocking the turbulent undercurrents of the meeting between the Third and Seventh Princes downstairs.

“Who does my husband think has the better chance of winning?” Ying Qingzhu asked as he poured Yu Zhi a cup of tea.

The fragrance of Junshan Yinzhen¹ filled the room.

Yu Zhi took the cup from him without thinking. His fingertip rested against the side of the cup and found it a little hot, so he did not hurry to drink it.

“The Third Prince.”

Once the words left his mouth, Ying Qingzhu looked at him in surprise.

“I thought you would say the Seventh Prince.”

After all, the last time Yu Zhi had taken him to see the Third Prince and Rong Yunchang, the two had been entangled by their feelings for each other. Their love was a weakness that could be exploited.

By comparison, the Seventh Prince was much more ruthless, and he had no obvious weakness to exploit.

Yu Zhi merely smiled without answering.

He certainly could not say that the female lead had been reborn and possessed the golden finger of knowing what was to come. With the Seventh Prince being the way he was, he was bound to lose against the protagonists’ halo.

But he could not say any of that.

So he simply smiled and said, “Perhaps it is the power of love. I believe that the Third Prince, who has the person he loves by his side, will have more strength to deal with the Seventh Prince.”

Ying Qingzhu: “…”

What the hell does the power of love have to do with it? If having Yu Zhi by my side counts, then wouldn’t I also…

Bah!

“If you had to choose, between the two of them, whom would you be more inclined to see become emperor?”

“The Third Prince.”

“Why?”

“Although the Third Prince has a violent temperament and is extremely ruthless toward those who offend him, he has no major problems when it comes to handling state affairs. And with Rong Yunchang assisting him from the side, there shouldn’t be too many problems if the two of them ascend the throne. I wouldn’t say they would bring about a revival and golden age, but they should at least be capable of maintaining the country as it is.”

And with the protagonists’ halo on their side, most of the schemes by other forces against Great Chu would probably fail.

“As for the Seventh Prince, he is suspicious and hypocritical by nature and skilled at disguising his true self. He is someone who can share hardship with others, but cannot share prosperity.”

He was quite good at putting on a show of benevolence and virtue, so after his death, he would probably receive a decent reputation.

But if he became emperor while still alive, he would certainly never be able to compare with the male lead.

Yu Zhi spoke freely and held nothing back.

Yet once he finished, he realized that Ying Qingzhu had remained silent for a long time.

He could not help looking up, only to find the other person staring straight at him without blinking.

Something stirred in Yu Zhi’s heart. He smiled and pulled him closer, letting him sit in his lap, then asked gently, “What are you looking at? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Ying Qingzhu remained silent for a long while before finally speaking.

“Yu Zhi, is it that you actually don’t care who becomes emperor? As long as that person can do a good job, you don’t really care who it is, do you?”

Yu Zhi’s fingers, which had been idly playing with Ying Qingzhu’s hand, suddenly stopped. His heart skipped a beat.

“Don’t overthink it. I know you’ll do very well.”

But that’s because of you.

Without you, he might not necessarily do better than his Third Imperial Brother.

That evasive answer had already said everything.

Yes. Ying Qingzhu had guessed correctly.

Yu Zhi did not care who held power. Even if it were Prince Ying who rebelled, as long as he could govern the empire well, Yu Zhi would not care who sat on the throne.

It was because of him, because of Ying Qingzhu himself, that Yu Zhi was willing to step into the whirlpool of the struggle for the throne.

It was because of him.

Everything was for him…

Yu Zhi joked that perhaps this could also be considered another kind of abusing public interests for private gain.

But Ying Qingzhu did not laugh or play along with him.

After they returned home, he was unusually quiet as well.

Yu Zhi thought Ying Qingzhu was angry because he felt Yu Zhi was not biased enough toward him. He wanted to comfort him, but he had not yet figured out how.

At dinner, he even went to the trouble of cooking the dishes Ying Qingzhu liked himself.

The moment Ying Qingzhu took his first bite, he froze slightly.

In the past, he had always regarded everything Yu Zhi said about their past and present lives as nothing more than sweet words meant to win him over. But at this moment, he suddenly wondered if there truly was such a thing as a past life. Otherwise, why did this dish taste so familiar and comforting to him?

After dinner, Yu Zhi habitually went to the bathing pool first. But just as he was about to leave, Ying Qingzhu suddenly caught his hand.

“I want to go with you.”

It was such a simple sentence, spoken in his usual calm, matter-of-fact tone. If one were not paying attention, one might truly think it was nothing more than an ordinary statement.

But Yu Zhi listened carefully, so he naturally understood its meaning at once.

He turned to look at him and smiled. “Are you serious?”

“You don’t want me to?” Ying Qingzhu’s expression remained calm, with no more emotion than usual.

Yu Zhi curved his lips slightly and said gently, “I’m afraid you’re the one who doesn’t want to.”

“No. This is only natural.” They were already married, so it was only right that they should consummate their marriage.

His long, ink-black hair drifted into the water. Like its owner, it was soon drenched and soaked through by the warm water of the pool.

If it had been Ying Qingzhu a month ago, he probably never would have imagined that, in such a short time, he would become this close to this man.

So intimate that there was no distance between them, sharing passion with each other.

He had never imagined that doing something like this could make a person completely lose all defenses, throwing away every shred of propriety and shame until the mind became completely blank, leaving only the body’s instincts to take over.

That night, Yu Zhi finally saw what his lover looked like after completely letting go, so different from his usual cold and distant self.

The large red brocade quilt had been spread over the bed again. Against the soft, smooth red silk, the sight before him was even more vivid and captivating than the crimson fabric itself.

………………

No one knew how much time had passed. By the time the night had deepened, the two of them finally fell asleep in each other’s arms.

The flush of passion had not yet faded from Ying Qingzhu’s face. He looked at the man’s peaceful sleeping face and placed a simple, gentle kiss on his lips.

Thank you.

The next day, around noon, Yu Zhi woke up in bed. He instinctively reached toward the space beside him, only to find it cool and empty.

At some point, Ying Qingzhu had already left without a sound.

Yu Zhi suddenly sat up, and a sheet of writing paper beneath the brocade quilt caught his eye.

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