Chapter 13: Speechless Men, Weeping Women
“Where’s the princess?”
Inside Luoye Garden, Zhao Linxu stared at the empty room, crossed his arms, and glanced at Chen Zhishu, who was standing beside him.
“She was clearly here just now.” Chen Zhishu frowned slightly and pulled a guard over to ask.
“The princess said she wanted to go see City Lord Li toss the embroidered ball…”
“Didn’t I say not to let the princess out!”
The guard jumped in fright, then composed himself. “This subordinate saw that she had many guards with her, so I didn’t stop her.”
Mainly, he couldn’t stop her.
“Forget it, let’s go have a look too.” Zhao Linxu couldn’t help but feel a sense of schadenfreude. How would that beauty solve this?
Zhao Linxu rode on Yuefeng with Chen Zhishu. Before they even reached the place where the embroidered ball was being tossed, they could hear the shouts of the crowd from a great distance. The area below the high platform must have been a sea of people, bustling with excitement.
“City Lord! This humble one has admired you for several years! I beg for the City Lord’s favor!”
“Oh, such a fine beauty should be held in the palm of one’s hand, cherished in one’s mouth. A beauty like this should be accompanied by music and chess daily, adorned with calligraphy and painting. My Zhang family has been officials for generations, and our collection of books numbers in the hundreds, if not thousands. I invite Beauty to live a life of immortals with me in the future!”
“City Lord, no matter how perfect a person is, they’re not as practical as silver! I have nothing but silver! Come and enjoy a life of luxury with me, City Lord!”
“City Lord! You’ll definitely have a good life with me!! My old man slaughters pigs every day! The strong ones!”
Zhao Linxu laughed out loud.
Following the lake, they rounded a bend, and a surging tide of people came into view. There was a high platform in the distance. However, before Zhao Linxu could get a clear look at the scene, he saw a colorful object flying through the air from the platform, heading straight for him.
“Ahhh, this is bad—”
“Quick, catch it! It’s about to fall into the lake!”
“Oh heavens! It’s too late!”
Seeing that everyone seemed to be in a panic, Zhao Linxu figured something must have happened. So, he subconsciously leaped up and caught the object, successfully stopping it from plunging straight into the lake.
“…”
The world fell silent in that moment.
Utterly still.
Li Jianyu looked at Zhao Linxu, feeling his world turn gray. Zhao Linxu, seeing all the commoners staring at him with wide eyes, looked down.
A pair of lifelike mandarin ducks met his eyes.
“…”
Ahem.
“The City Lord is going to be the Empress?”
Someone in the crowd said this, and then the idea spread and exploded.
“The City Lord is going to be the Empress!! The Emperor is the Nine-Dragon Son of Heaven, and the City Lord is the Number One Beauty. They’re a perfect match!”
“Oh no, what now? Should the Emperor choose the fox spirit from that night, or the City Lord? It’s so hard to decide!”
The excited, gossiping voices, the sounds of regret from those who didn’t catch the ball—Li Jianyu felt like he was about to be drowned by it all. Angrily, he locked his gaze on Zhao Linxu. If one looked closely, there were traces of resentment hidden in those otherwise calm eyes.
Serves you right for being a busybody.
What the hell are you catching the ball for? Are you gay or something?
Zhao Linxu received Li Jianyu’s gaze and smiled. With a “Giddy-up,” he rode to the base of the high platform and shouted, “We have come to save you! Jump down!”
Li Jianyu was stunned.
Without waiting for him to react, Zhao Linxu raised an eyebrow, used his lightness skill to leap from his horse onto the high platform, and reached out to pull Li Jianyu into his arms.
Li Jianyu felt a strong arm wrap around his waist. The scenery before him blurred, and he was pulled off the platform.
His feet left the ground, and his body fell without support. Li Jianyu subconsciously closed his eyes and wrapped his arms tightly around Zhao Linxu’s neck. When he opened them again, he was already sitting securely on the horse’s back.
“Beauty, let’s elope.”
“Giddy-up—”
Yuefeng reared its head and let out a long neigh, carrying the two of them away in a cloud of dust, leaving behind only the cheers and jeers of the commoners.
The two on horseback were carried by Yuefeng all the way to the city gate.
“Where are you going?”
Zhao Linxu said, “Shall we go to the forest to have some fun?”
Li Jianyu’s whole body stiffened.
Can’t you speak properly?
What do you mean, go to the forest to have some fun?
“No, the festival starts the day after tomorrow. This subject still has many matters to attend to.”
He had to quickly deal with these trivial matters so he could secretly go up the mountain at night to give the spirit mushroom to the phoenixes. He hadn’t seen them for two days and didn’t know how they were doing.
“City Lord!”
A guard at the city gate came forward. “The Fifth Prince has arrived!”
Li Jianyu and Zhao Linxu were both stunned.
The Great Gong’s Fifth Prince, Zhao Zhanqi, Zhao Linxu’s half-brother. As the General of the North and South, his military achievements were illustrious.
“This subject should go and welcome him.”
Zhao Linxu lowered his eyes and smiled. “We will accompany you.”
Outside the city gate was a vast procession. Riding at the very front was a tall, handsome man, who must be the Fifth Prince, Zhao Zhanqi. A gentle and refined man in white robes rode beside him, and behind them followed rows of the North-South Army in neat armor.
“We welcome Your Highness’s arrival in Luoye City.” Li Jianyu dismounted and knelt before Zhao Zhanqi’s horse. “This subject did not know when Your Highness would arrive and thus did not send anyone out to welcome you. Please forgive me, Your Highness.”
Zhao Zhanqi looked down at Li Jianyu from his high horse.
He truly lived up to his reputation. Such beauty, even he was momentarily dazed.
“It’s no matter. This Prince did not have anyone announce our arrival. You may rise.”
Zhao Zhanqi also dismounted to greet Zhao Linxu.
“Imperial Brother.”
“Mm.”
Li Jianyu stood to the side, his mind racing.
The atmosphere between Zhao Zhanqi and Zhao Linxu was truly strange. It seemed the rumors of their discord were true.
“Where is Her Highness the Princess?” Zhao Zhanqi said. “Could you arrange for this Prince to meet his future wife?”
Zhao Linxu’s expression immediately darkened.
Li Jianyu was surprised.
Future… wife?
Zhao Zhanqi raised an eyebrow slightly. “Father’s imperial edict betrothed the princess to me. Is Imperial Brother going to defy the edict? How can this allow Father to rest in peace?”
Li Jianyu suddenly understood why Zhao Linxu had ignored Zhao Jiangxue’s wishes and forcefully tried to marry her off to Prince Anding. It was because he didn’t want Zhao Jiangxue to marry Zhao Zhanqi.
“We will speak of this matter later. Beauty, arrange accommodations for the Prince. Do not be negligent.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Li Jianyu took Zhao Zhanqi to the best inn in the city. Zhao Linxu, no longer in the mood for riding, returned to Luoye Garden, only to see Zhao Jiangxue sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, her face blank, lost in thought.
“Imperial Brother…”
Seeing Zhao Linxu, Zhao Jiangxue looked up slightly, her eyes red.
Zhao Linxu sighed.
“You know?”
Zhao Jiangxue bit her lower lip, her body trembling slightly.
Zhao Linxu immediately went forward and hugged her. “Don’t be afraid. Your brother will protect you. I won’t let you marry Zhao Zhanqi.”
“Why didn’t you tell me…” Zhao Jiangxue thought of how she had thrown a fit about not wanting to marry Prince Anding, and her heart filled with shame.
“Don’t be afraid, don’t overthink it.” Zhao Linxu patted Zhao Jiangxue’s back. “If you hadn’t made a fuss, We wouldn’t have considered it much. It was indeed wrong of Us to try and marry you to Prince Anding. We shouldn’t have handled things that way. Rest assured, We will neither let you marry Zhao Zhanqi, nor will We let you be wronged and marry someone you don’t like.”
I came out of that Cold Palace and became Emperor precisely so I would have the power to protect the people I want to protect, Zhao Linxu thought. I certainly cannot give up.
Zhao Jiangxue nestled in her brother’s embrace, her shoulders shaking as she tried to hold back her tears.
“Mm, I believe you.”
XXXXXXX
That night, after finishing his work, Li Jianyu rushed up the mountain to feed the spirit mushroom to Erbao. He stayed for the whole night, and only after watching Erbao slowly regain its strength and body temperature did he go down the mountain at dawn the next day.
Previously, rumors of a phoenix in the mountains had been rampant in the city. But after a few days with no sightings and the spirit mushroom having been picked, the rumors of the phoenix cooled down along with the spirit mushroom fever.
After returning to the city and settling down, Li Jianyu also wrote a letter to Hua Huanxi, asking her not to mention the tattoo on his body, saying it was a family secret that was inconvenient to disclose.
Fortunately, the court was worried about people impersonating the man from that night, so they hadn’t mentioned that the man had a tattoo. Li Jianyu only knew because Chen Zhishu hadn’t kept it from him and Meng Qingshu.
Since Li Jianyu had said so, Hua Huanxi didn’t doubt him and even specially instructed the disciples who had seen the tattoo to keep it a secret.
Everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly.
After that, the festival began. Li Jianyu welcomed many distinguished guests over the next few days: a famous sorcerer from the Great Xi, an envoy from the Great Fan, young masters from noble families in the capital… Because Zhao Linxu was present, there were even more distinguished guests than in previous years, and Li Jianyu couldn’t help but be more cautious. In a scene like this, with such a mix of people and so many powerful figures, he was most afraid of something going wrong. Mainly because if something did go wrong, it would be his fault.
The first day of the festival was just an ordinary banquet. There were dancers on the stage by the lake, and below it were tables and chairs filled with fine food and wine, with people coming and going.
Li Jianyu accompanied Zhao Linxu and Zhao Jiangxue at the head seat. All the guests who came would come to toast Zhao Linxu and show their faces.
Zhao Zhanqi was naturally no exception.
“I wish Imperial Brother good health and a long life.” Then, Zhao Zhanqi poured another cup of wine and offered it to Zhao Jiangxue.
“Your Highness.”
Zhao Jiangxue’s whole body stiffened, her face pale. If it weren’t for her noble status as a princess holding her together, she would have fled long ago.
Zhao Linxu looked at Zhao Zhanqi with a dark expression. His own position was awkward, so it wasn’t appropriate for him to accept the cup, and Zhao Jiangxue was too frightened to move. So, the cup was stuck in mid-air, the wine inside sloshing.
“The Princess is delicate and cannot handle such strong liquor. This subject will be so bold as to take this cup from Your Highness.” Li Jianyu bowed slightly, took the cup, and drank it in one gulp.
Zhao Zhanqi looked at Li Jianyu with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, then turned to Zhao Linxu. “If Imperial Brother is unwilling to entrust his beloved sister to me, then bestowing City Lord Li upon me would also be a fine thing.”
???
A stampede of ten thousand Grass Mud Horses galloped through Li Jianyu’s heart.
What the hell was wrong with Zhao Zhanqi?!
