The moon rose high in the sky, and the simple, secluded mountain relay station gained a touch of subtle elegance with Wei Xichen’s arrival.
When the man walked through the gate, he heard from the station worker that Jiang Yinyue had awakened and was in the side courtyard feeding the yellow dog. He couldn’t help but chuckle, pondering whether to sit down and chat with her, when a female servant lifted her skirts and ran up to him.
“Your Highness, the Consort Liangdi had an unpleasant exchange with Lady Jiang and is sulking alone in her room.”
“Why?”
“The Consort Liangdi was concerned for Lady Jiang’s health and specially ordered someone to stew bird’s nest for her, but Lady Jiang didn’t appreciate it and even spoke offensively to the Consort Liangdi.”
Wei Xichen turned his steps, which had just been about to head toward the side courtyard, and went straight to Yan Zhuyu’s room instead. Along the way, he asked the female servant whether Jiang Yinyue had eaten that bowl of bird’s nest.
The female servant felt deeply unlucky and bowed as she replied, “Reporting to Your Highness, Lady Jiang fed the bird’s nest to the dog.”
Unexpectedly, a hint of a smile appeared at the corners of Crown Prince Highness’s lips, tinged with a bit of emotion.
It was something she would do.
The crown prince and Consort Liangdi were settled in the brightest and most spacious room at the relay station. Wisps of agarwood incense overflowed from the bamboo recumbent incense box, adding a touch of refined elegance that seemed slightly out of place in the plain room.
When Wei Xichen pushed open the door and entered the parlor, he saw Yan Zhuyu reclining on the small couch, holding an embroidery frame as she threaded the needle and stitched—a man’s style pouch.
The matching spices were placed in a bamboo basket on the kang table, their fragrance heart-soothing.
“Quarreled with Yinyue?”
Wei Xichen naturally sat on the other side of the small couch and picked up a stalk of spice to sniff casually.
His gentle demeanor grew even warmer under the lamplight. He was famously easygoing and never let trivial matters disrupt his mood, unless…
Yan Zhuyu paused her needle and shook her head sullenly. “It was this concubine’s fault for upsetting Lady Jiang. This concubine will apologize to her tomorrow morning.”
“Just a little argument—she won’t take it to heart.”
From the crown prince’s tone, it seemed he understood Jiang Yinyue even better. Yan Zhuyu set down her embroidery frame and sat beside the crown prince. “This concubine doesn’t want to put Your Highness in a difficult position. Letting her have her way is no trouble.”
The woman’s eyes lifted at the corners, full of tender affection. Her graceful beauty could turn into a flower that speaks, adding charm to her delicate features.
Wei Xichen chuckled softly and glanced at the latticed window shrouded in night. “It’s late. You rest first—This Prince still has matters to handle.”
“Weary from the journey, Your Highness should rest too. This concubine can help loosen your muscles and bones.”
“No need. Rest.”
With that, he stood up. The jade-green brocade robe brushed across the woman’s palm—soft, yet impossible to grasp.
Yan Zhuyu watched the crown prince leave. She picked up her embroidery frame and continued stitching, but the lines became crooked and uneven.
Some old matters, after reuniting with Jiang Yinyue, sprouted like seeds, constantly bubbling up.
“What about her? Where did she go?”
Three years ago, during that assassination attempt, Yan Zhuyu, who had passed by by chance, personally witnessed the crown prince in his python robe collapse into the bushes. She also clearly remembered that after he regained consciousness, his face showed undisguised worry as he asked her if she had seen a little girl. Her answer was… she hadn’t seen one.
But she had clearly heard Jiang Yinyue’s choked words before leaving.
“Crown Prince Brother, I went to draw away the assassins—not abandon you. Wake up quickly. Don’t let anything happen to you.”
Yan Zhuyu wished she hadn’t heard Jiang Yinyue’s words, so she could replace her by the crown prince’s side without guilt. But she had heard them, and yet she was powerless. At sixteen, just blossoming into womanhood, she was sent by her father to the capital to be a second wife to a powerful family.
She was only sixteen, forced to marry a seventy-year-old man. She was unwilling, unwilling to be the begonia crushed under pear blossoms.
Just as she was about to enter the city, the assassination suddenly erupted—flashing blades, rivers of blood. In the chaos, she lost her escorts and hid in distant bushes, where she unwittingly encountered an unconscious man in a python robe and a frantic girl in fine attire.
She didn’t know the crown prince’s identity, but she knew that one in a python robe was imperial nobility.
A mad idea grew in her mind. At the moment the man first awoke, at the moment he asked about the girl’s whereabouts, she stared blankly and shook her head lightly. “I didn’t see her. I saved you.”
All was silent in the myriad things. Sleepy-eyed, Jiang Yinyue finished feeding the yellow dog in the dim side courtyard and wiped her sticky fingers, covered with bird’s nest soup, on its fur.
The well-fed yellow dog tucked its rear and wagged its tail, scampering happily after Jiang Yinyue.
Bored, Jiang Yinyue picked up the yellow dog onto the stone table and patted her shoulder. “Come up.”
The yellow dog hesitated on the table, its front paws fidgeting unusually, then leaped up and pounced toward Jiang Yinyue’s shoulder.
One person and one dog staggered backward. Jiang Yinyue hugged the yellow dog to steady herself, then picked it up and put it back on the table.
After a few rounds, the yellow dog hesitated no more and repeatedly pounced toward the woman’s shoulder.
“You trust me this much?”
It was merely a meal’s kindness, yet it outweighed human trust! Back then, she had been at a loss for words to defend herself—no one believed she had drawn away the assassins. A spoiled brat raised in luxury—how could she have the courage to put herself in danger?
Thin sweat beaded on her forehead, dispelling the post-snow chill. Jiang Yinyue sat on the stone bench with her cloak on, allowing the yellow dog to comfortably lie on her lap.
“I can’t bear to see the world’s suffering, yet I dislike interacting with people. Isn’t that contradictory?”
The yellow dog stared at her with round eyes, unclear if it understood her words.
“Not contradictory. This Prince hopes for a peaceful country and happy people, but also likes quiet.”
A clear voice came, accompanied by faint footsteps. Then, those footsteps dispersed, and one person stood alone in the side courtyard.
Jiang Yinyue didn’t turn her head. Suddenly, she felt very cold. She hugged the yellow dog for warmth, losing her earlier liveliness.
The sky was not yet bright, dark clouds and cold winds. A layer of gloom covered the woman’s brows. After a moment, she set down the yellow dog, slowly stood, turned, and paid respects.
“This humble one pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
One instant of brightness, one instant of indifference, caught in Wei Xichen’s blinking eyes.
“Yinyue, no need to stand on ceremony with This Prince.”
“Your Highness jests. The Heir Apparent and official family ladies must keep their distance.”
Her appearance as an old acquaintance hadn’t changed, nor had her voice—even her stubbornness remained the same. But she was no longer that girl who would beam with joy at a gentle coaxing. Her expression was faint, keeping people at a thousand miles.
This was something Wei Xichen had never encountered. Even when he had officials’ families confiscated and exiled, those people would kneel and thank him for sparing their lives.
Born second in the imperial family, Shunren Emperor had bestowed upon him the character “chen” at birth, passing over the Eldest Prince to establish him as Heir Apparent, breaking the rule of establishing the eldest over the virtuous. He had sailed smoothly since birth, surrounded by stars—never snubbed.
But he knew the reason for Jiang Yinyue’s coldness. Her resentment was still there.
“Sit down and talk.”
Without exposing the source of the woman’s indifference, Wei Xichen walked to the stone table and sat, his upright poise elegant like rosy clouds and moonlight, ingrained in his bones. He tapped the table lightly. “Sit.”
His tone was clearly mild, yet carried the unquestionable authority of one in power.
Minister Jiang Song had always supported the Eastern Palace, his interests closely tied to the crown prince’s. As the Jiang Mansion’s legitimate daughter, Jiang Yinyue had been admonished by her father many times over the past three years: even if the marriage failed, the benefits remained—do not act against or criticize the crown prince.
Jiang Yinyue sat across from the crown prince, separated by the entire stone table. She lowered her eyes to the yellow dog lying at her feet and quietly awaited his next words.
Wei Xichen couldn’t help but recall many years ago, the girl waiting for him in the Eastern Palace after he finished his tasks. Though bored to death, she refused to leave. At his occasional glance up, she would grin cheekily, her pretty face lighting up, happy all day from his slightest response.
She was born like blazing sun—not meant to be gloomy.
“How have these three years been?”
Jiang Yinyue withdrew her gaze from the yellow dog and replied faintly, “Quite good. Staying at home, tending flowers and plants—the days pass quickly.”
“And with Wei Qin…”
“Shared interests, harmonious as qin and se.”
Jiang Yinyue answered preemptively, her voice rising a bit higher than the previous reply.
As for not consummating the marriage in three years, that was a private matter behind closed doors, not to be shared with outsiders.
Three years ago, Wei Qin, not yet topping the imperial exams, had no house or salary in the capital, but that didn’t stop the capital’s elites from vying for him as a son-in-law. He didn’t disappoint, becoming the bangyan of the top three and appointed as a rank seven Hanlin Academy compiler.
The matter of Wei Qin being chosen as a bridegroom under the list and marrying into the Jiang Mansion had spread through the streets back then. Most people pitied this poor scholar new top examinee, taken as a fallback by the notoriously spoiled high-born young lady.
Wei Xichen knew Jiang Yinyue had observed mourning for her mother for three years. Calculating the time, the mourning period had just ended. By rights, couples didn’t share a bed during mourning, but that had nothing to do with him. Today, he had chanced upon her and simply wanted a calm, heart-to-heart talk to make up for past debts.
In that assassination, she had abandoned him to flee—unrighteous. But a worldly-naive girl fearing bloodshed and running in panic was human nature.
Humanity bends toward self—no need to dwell. He had let it go and often felt guilty for his youthful impulse in using her to pave the way for Yan Zhuyu.
The scoldings and mockery she suffered were because of him—he should make amends.
“Though the rank six Salt Transport Judge position isn’t high, it’s a plum job in many eyes. Minister of Revenue Tao Qian valued that Wei Qin is from Yangzhou and his performance in the Hanlin Academy was noteworthy, so he proactively recommended him to the Ministry of Personnel. The Minister of Personnel asked This Prince’s opinion…”
Wei Xichen looked steadily at the woman across from him. “This Prince has had little contact with Wei Qin and doesn’t know his character.”
Approving Tao Qian’s recommendation without full knowledge was out of a certain favor.
Jiang Yinyue understood the crown prince’s implication. Her face stiff and unmoving, she couldn’t pretend gratitude after all her grievances.
Her unwilling expression was like a stubborn kitten, amusing Wei Xichen.
Fu Zhongcai, the old eunuch waiting at the moon gate of the side courtyard, sighed and shook his head. It had been a long time since he saw Crown Prince Highness laugh so heartily. Yangzhou’s salt accounts had major discrepancies in the Ministry of Revenue. This trip to inspect the Jiangning Garrison, the crown prince also carried a secret decree to monitor Yangzhou salt affairs as the Chief Salt Patrol Censor—likely to stir unrest in Yangzhou. But besides him, this trusted old slave, even Consort Liangdi didn’t know.
After all, her father was currently the Yangzhou Salt Transport Envoy.
The pressure on the Heir Apparent was unimaginable for ordinary people.
Fu Zhongcai had watched the crown prince and Jiang Yinyue grow up. Over the years, he noticed the crown prince only relaxed around Jiang Yinyue.
The old eunuch sighed silently. As he turned, he was startled by a relay station worker who suddenly appeared.
“Something?”
“Reporting to the steward, Compiler Wei has arrived.”
Fu Zhongcai started and looked back at the pair in the side courtyard. Moonlight cast a beam between them, cracking like ice in the snowscape.
Meanwhile, Hanlin Academy Compiler Wei Qin, who had rushed through the starry night, appeared behind the station worker. His ramie long robe fluttered in the wind—strikingly handsome, yet elegantly clear and refined.
They said the bangyan scholar of Shunren year 23 was the most dashing. The well-traveled Fu Zhongcai nodded with a smile. “Compiler Wei has come to reunite with the lady. Fortunately, safe and sound—good things take time.”
“My thanks.”
Wei Qin bowed. After Fu Zhongcai tactfully stepped aside, he walked straight to the moon gate and bowed again. “This humble minister Wei Qin pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
His snow-surpassing, frost-defying visage was somewhat cold, his gaze sharp as a blade, his brows and eyes alluringly bewitching.