17
Though Chang’an was in the midst of a bountiful spring, young children were frail. Ruan An always made sure Ruan Xi dressed warmly, so although the boy wore a light-colored, small trouser-and-jacket outfit on the outside, underneath he was also bundled in a thin, fleece-lined shirt and coat.
If an adult dressed like this, their figure would inevitably appear bulky. But for a child as young as Ruan Xi, just past three or four years old, as long as he was fed well, his cheeks naturally carried the unique baby fat of early childhood. This way of dressing only made him look even more adorably chubby.
Ruan Xi stood obediently, his pupils dark, bright, and clear, resembling a soft, sticky glutinous rice dumpling.
Huo Changjue looked at the child’s features and also found him very familiar-looking. He couldn’t help but grow curious about the relationship between this boy and Li Yifang.
As Li Yifang’s colleague, Huo Changjue often sent street enforcers to keep tabs on Li Yifang’s recent movements. Not long ago, he had heard that Li Yifang seemed to have cleaned up the private residence that had been empty for a long time. When the street enforcers patrolled that residential alley at night, they saw faint lantern light flickering inside.
This indicated that someone was living in that residence.
Huo Changjue grew increasingly suspicious. Could it be that Li Yifang had taken a kept woman?
He found this quite plausible. After all, he had heard of Li Mu’s reputation—she looked down on ordinary girls from common families. If Li Yifang wanted to live a tender, affectionate life with a woman he fancied, he would have no choice but to keep her as a mistress.
Excellent. So this man, who had always prided himself on being aloof and righteous, had such a promiscuous private life.
Meanwhile, Ruan Xi still remembered Ruan An’s instructions. Following what his mother had taught him earlier, he said softly to Huo Lang, “My name is Ruan Xi. I live with my grandmother. I don’t have parents.”
Upon hearing that the child was an orphan, Huo Lang fell silent for a moment. He looked at Ruan Xi with deep, probing eyes and noticed a small red bump on the boy’s fair right cheek—likely from a spring mosquito bite.
Huo Lang glanced at Steward Su. Steward Su immediately understood and quickly took out a gleaming gold ingot from his money pouch, intending to hand it to Ruan Xi.
Ruan Xi didn’t reach out his little hand. Still remembering Ruan An’s instructions, he repeatedly shook his little head and replied in a muffled voice, “Officer, I can’t accept this…”
Steward Su said, “Our Prime Minister is giving this to you as a gift. Just take it. Another day, have your grandmother make you some new clothes to wear.”
Ruan Xi looked again at the taciturn Huo Lang. The boy always felt a strange sense of familiarity with this elderly man.
Huo Lang then gave Ruan Xi a slight nod. Ruan Xi no longer refused and thanked him in a clear voice, “Thank you, Officer!”
After Li Yifang left with the child, Huo Lang said in a distant, thoughtful tone, “This child looks very much like Zhongxun when he was little.”
Steward Su immediately agreed, “Isn’t that right? What a coincidence. This old servant also thinks he looks very much like you, Prime Minister, when you were young.”
Huo Lang gave Steward Su a deep, sidelong glance but said nothing further.
Li Shuying’s birthday was approaching. Her wedding date with the Crown Prince was set before the Wanshou Festival. In two months, she would enter the Eastern Palace as the Crown Princess.
Grand Tutor Li held his granddaughter Li Shuying in extremely high regard. The birthday banquet he arranged for her cost nearly a thousand taels of silver.
Grand Tutor Li had commissioned the purchase of Li Shuying’s favorite double-petal roses and Yangzhou qionghua flowers from Jiangnan, as well as two extremely rare peony varieties—Yao Huang and Wei Zi from Luoyang.
The private garden where Li Shuying resided on the estate had just been renovated last year. Not long ago, Grand Tutor Li had also ordered craftsmen to divert water and plant bamboo near the pavilions in the flower garden, and to pile up rare rocks from Jianzhou.
Both sisters of the He family had received invitation cards from Li Shuying. This morning, when He Xinruo stood behind a screen being dressed by her maids, she asked, “Did He Xinyuan accept the invitation?”
The maid nodded.
He Xinruo’s tone turned grim: “How many times has it been now? Why does she still insist on going to these banquets? Hasn’t she had enough of being mocked every single time?”
He Xinruo couldn’t quite understand why Li Shuying kept inviting that illegitimate daughter every time. These past few days, her mood had been soaring on cloud nine.
The Marquis of Dingbei had returned victorious, and the Huo family had reclaimed its former standing. He Xinruo knew that many people believed she had only been given such a golden opportunity to marry into the Huo family because Huo Pingxiao had supposedly died in battle.
Who would have thought that now, her marriage arrangement would be even more glorious than before?
Wasn’t that a slap in the face to all those people?
Huo Pingxiao was still unmarried, and Huo Leshi—the illegitimate son born to the Huo family’s Concubine Jiang was still studying at the National Academy. She was the only daughter-in-law in the entire Prime Minister’s Mansion.
Moreover, Madam Gao was her direct mother-in-law. Her biological son was Huo Changjue. If Madam Gao wasn’t on her side, whose side would she be on?
Although Huo Changjue was not as exceptionally talented as Huo Pingxiao, he was still Huo Lang’s legitimate son. Since Huo Pingxiao already had his own noble title, Huo Changjue would naturally inherit Huo Lang’s title. And that would make her the future Marchioness.
The more He Xinruo thought about it, the more excited she became. Still, she didn’t forget to instruct the matron, “We’ll leave for the banquet a bit earlier. I don’t want to ride in the same carriage as that ugly freak.”
Arriving at the Grand Tutor’s mansion, He Xinruo exchanged pleasantries with several noble daughters from prominent families. They all marveled at the exquisite cuisine of the Li household.
The sliced, rolled “Cloud-Dream Meat” pork hock was translucent, with the perfect balance of fat and lean, melting in the mouth. The “Gold-and-Silver Layered Flatbread” was stuffed generously with crab meat and crab roe…
He Xinruo indulged in waxberry cherries and muscat grapes—delicacies she might not get to eat more than a few times a year. In her heart, she grew increasingly envious of Li Shuying. She hadn’t even entered the Eastern Palace yet, yet her food was already this refined. One could only imagine the wealth and luxury she would enjoy in the future.
Suddenly, He Xinruo realized she hadn’t seen He Xinyuan anywhere. Then she noticed that a few noble daughters in the distance kept exclaiming in admiration.
She followed the sound, and her expression instantly changed.
There stood He Xinyuan, her hair styled in an elegant palace bun, a bird-shaped hairpin with ornamental flowers slanting through it, wearing an apricot-colored chest-high ruqun. She looked radiant and charming.
Although He Xinyuan’s appearance was not exceptionally outstanding, from a distance, she was still quite eye-catching.
He Xinruo almost didn’t recognize her illegitimate younger sister. Then she looked at her skin, and her eyes widened considerably.
Her face, though not perfectly flawless, was far better than before—when it had been covered with acne scars so severe that not even makeup could hide them.
Between jealousy and anger, He Xinruo also began to feel a growing sense of panic.
She had long been ordering someone to tamper with He Xinyuan’s medicine. Previously, no one in Concubine Fang’s courtyard had noticed anything amiss. But now that He Xinyuan’s face had healed, wouldn’t they have discovered something?
The more He Xinruo thought about it, the more flustered she became. After all, Concubine Fang had the backing of the Duke of Pei’s mansion. Though she was a concubine, her status in the He household was enough to rival that of He Xinruo’s own mother.
“I can see that your skin will be completely healed before long.”
“Yes, yes. Second Miss He, which physician prescribed that formula for you? His medical skills are truly remarkable. I’d like to have him prescribe some medicine to improve my skin as well.”
He Xinyuan smiled shyly upon hearing this. Ever since the acne on her face had started improving, she had finally dared to look in the mirror and admire herself in full dress. Her mood was better than ever, and every day she woke up feeling that life was becoming more and more promising.
No wonder Physician Ruan was famous in the southern region, her medical skills were truly well-deserved.
Meanwhile, Li Shuying, upon hearing the other noble daughters praising He Xinyuan, could not help but twitch at the corners of her eyes. Yet she still forced a dignified and proper smile on her face.
He Xinyuan’s face had actually healed!
It seemed that Physician Ruan’s prescription had worked. Then she thought: if even He Xinyuan’s skin had improved, while her own complexion remained as dull and yellow as before without makeup, and that Physician who could have treated her skin had vanished without a trace—Li Shuying felt utterly stifled with frustration.
She silently resolved to find Ruan An. That Physician couldn’t just vanish into thin air.
Three days later, at the Prime Minister’s Mansion.
Huo Pingxiao’s dark lashes were slightly lowered. The long scar on his neck gave him a rugged, untamed air. At this moment, he sat with half-lidded eyes, flipping through a letter with his long fingers.
“What is it?”
The man’s voice was low, carrying the faint dignity and sternness of a seasoned general.
Wei Yuan, the servant who had attended Huo Pingxiao since childhood, entered the study and said respectfully, “Marquis, the Second Young Master has arrived.”
After Huo Pingxiao changed into proper attire, he found Huo Changjue already waiting for him in the main hall.
Huo Pingxiao had casually picked up a throwing dart from the study. After sitting down, he silently toyed with it in his rough palm, listening in a somewhat languid, detached manner as Huo Changjue chatted about recent government affairs.
Huo Changjue trusted his elder brother Huo Pingxiao immensely. When Huo Pingxiao had left for battle, Huo Changjue had just entered officialdom. Over the past six months, his rise had been swift, but outsiders often attributed it to the Huo family’s power and influence.
He was particularly irritated by Li Yifang’s subtle, dismissive attitude toward him.
Huo Changjue could tell that Huo Pingxiao wasn’t really paying attention to what he was saying.
It was only when he mentioned that Li Yifang had come from Jiazhou to settle in Chang’an a few years ago that Huo Pingxiao showed a flicker of interest and asked in a low voice, “You said he came from Jiazhou? And he has an elderly widowed mother?”
Having finally gained his brother’s attention, Huo Changjue felt a slight surge of joy and quickly replied, “Yes. He’s an extremely aloof person, but I recently found out that he’s been keeping a mistress in Guangde Ward. That mistress seems to be a female physician…”
At the mention of “female physician,” Huo Changjue noticed that Huo Pingxiao’s brows had clearly furrowed.
The man’s dark eyes seemed to harbor a faint, dormant ferocity. He also stopped toying with the dart in his hand.
Huo Pingxiao’s voice was cold and deep as he asked, “Does that female physician happen to be surnamed Ruan?”
Huo Changjue answered truthfully, “I believe she is surnamed Ruan. I didn’t investigate too thoroughly. Li Yifang’s widowed mother has a strong personality. She probably looked down on the female physician’s humble background, which is why Li Yifang is keeping her as a mistress.”
Huo Pingxiao’s sharp eyes narrowed slightly. In his mind, the image of that young girl from Xinghua Village suddenly surfaced.
He remembered that she was very shy around strangers. When she looked at him, her soft, gentle eyes always carried a timid air, and she was petite. Back when Ruan An had been alone with him, she had barely dared to speak to him.
The young woman who had once saved his life had come all the way to Chang’an to find her fiancé. But that faithless man, who had prospered after rising in the world, refused to have her anymore—and was even keeping her as a mistress. Li Yifang’s widowed mother wouldn’t even grant her a proper status.
Huo Pingxiao suddenly felt a restless, stifled anger welling up uncontrollably in his heart.
But why had Ruan An only come to find her fiancé now?
Huo Pingxiao’s eyes darkened. He gradually clenched his fingers, the tendons on the back of his hand bulging faintly with bluish veins.
He would stand up for his benefactor.
Since he, Huo Pingxiao, was in Chang’an, his benefactor would not suffer mistreatment at Li Yifang’s hands.
With this thought, Huo Pingxiao was about to ask Huo Changjue whether Li Yifang was on duty at the government office today, when Huo Changjue spoke again, this time with a reflective tone: “I wonder who that child from the other day really is. He looks just like you, brother.”
“What child?”
Huo Pingxiao spun the dart in his palm, his tone impatient.
“A few days ago, I saw Li Yifang at the West Market with a three- or four-year-old child, drinking tea. Even Steward Su said that little boy looks especially like you did when you were young.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Huo Changjue heard a sharp crack—a terrifying sound of something breaking suddenly, coming from beside him.
Huo Changjue turned his head in shock and saw that the iron throwing dart on the small side table had been snapped in half by the man’s powerful fingers. His voice trembled as he said, “Brother…”
Looking at Huo Pingxiao’s expression, he saw that the man’s dark, ink-black brows and eyes were filled with a complex mix of emotions. His thin, cold lips were pressed into a tight line, and his voice carried a chill as he asked, “What did you say?”
**