Once, Xiao Qi was nothing more than a stepping stone or a chess piece in his eyes. But now, Yan Qunshan found himself feeling a burgeoning sense of mutual sympathy for him.
“What does it matter if you are a noble prince?” You are bullied, forced to kneel in the hall, and left so ill that no one cares; not even your own mother cares if you live or die. Despite wearing robes of fine silk and brocade, you are as lowly and neglected as the weeds in this deep palace.
Yan Qunshan lowered his gaze and used a handkerchief to gently dab the corners of the prince’s forehead. Xiao Qi had taken the medicine and his condition had improved, though he remained in a deep sleep.
Two hours later, Aunt Du Ruo finally returned to the palace through the wind and frost, followed by an imperial physician. After taking Xiao Qi’s pulse and performing acupuncture, the physician’s expression grew solemn. He bowed and said, “I shall prescribe a formula to warm the meridians and unblock the collaterals. I expect His Highness will fully recover within a few days.”
“It is fortunate that His Highness was given medicine earlier. Otherwise, if I may be so bold, I fear he would have suffered lasting complications.”
Aunt Du Ruo looked surprised. “He was given medicine earlier?”
Fang Hai let out a sigh of relief upon hearing the doctor’s words. He stepped forward and whispered to Du Ruo, “It is all thanks to Young Master Yan. He knows a bit of medicine; he wrote a prescription and had us decoct it to feed to His Highness.”
The imperial physician stroked his beard, wrote a few more prescriptions, and departed. By then, the night was thick. As Yan Qunshan watched the physician leave and turned back, he found Du Ruo kneeling before him.
Startled, Yan Qunshan hurried to help her up. “Auntie, what is the meaning of this?”
“Please, Young Master, accept this servant’s bow!” Du Ruo did not rise. If one listened closely, her voice was choked with sobs. “If not for you, I fear His Highness would not have made it through.”
Yan Qunshan sighed. “It was only what I ought to have done.”
Du Ruo wiped the tears from her eyes and offered a bitter smile. “You saw it for yourself today. Due to certain events in the past, our Lady bears a bit of a grudge against His Highness. His Highness is but a Ger, and he does not have the Emperor’s favor, so his life is difficult.”
“But since His Highness met you, his heart has brightened considerably. It touches me to see it.” Having said this, she prepared to kowtow to Yan Qunshan again. “Therefore, please accept my bow!”
She rambled on, but Yan Qunshan keenly caught something in her words. He asked with doubt, “Past events?”
Du Ruo looked up, her gaze distant. “Back in the Prince’s Estate, our Lady was extremely favored. After the Emperor ascended the throne, both she and the Empress were conferred the rank of Consort at the same time. The court officials were in a deadlock over who should be named Empress. The Emperor favored our Lady in his heart, but because of Lord Yu, he could not issue the decree.”
“Finally, a solution was devised: whoever gave birth to the eldest son first would be made Empress.”
“Our Lady’s womb was blessed; within days, she was diagnosed with the dragon seed. Yet, at that time, Consort Yu,” she paused appropriately before continuing, “also became pregnant afterward.”
“Our Lady went into labor first. When she saw she had given birth to a Ger, she fainted. Just then, news came from Consort Yu’s palace that she had given birth to a prince. After that, our Lady’s temperament changed completely, and she subsequently lost her favor.”
Yan Qunshan frowned. “Simply because she gave birth to a Ger and missed the chance to be Empress, things have turned into this state?”
Du Ruo did not respond, remaining silent.
Yan Qunshan could tell at a glance that there were hidden details. As for what those secrets from years ago were, likely only Consort Lan, her confidants, and the Emperor himself knew.
The night grew deep. Du Ruo returned to her duties by Consort Lan’s side, while Zi Zhu and Fang Hai stood guard outside. Only Yan Qunshan remained with Xiao Qi, staying by his side all night.
The night had been exhausting. By the later hours, he could no longer resist and fell into a slumber. When he woke, he felt something scratching at his cheek; it was incredibly itchy.
He looked up to see Xiao Qi twisting a lock of Yan Qunshan’s hair between his fingers, using the tips to brush back and forth against his face. Xiao Qi was so engrossed in his playfulness that he did not even realize Yan Qunshan had woken up.
It was not until Yan Qunshan had stared fixedly at him for quite a while that he realized. A thin blush crept onto his face, looking like red makeup.
The smile on Xiao Qi’s face froze. He let go of the hair instantly and coughed awkwardly. “Uh, you’re awake.”
Yan Qunshan adjusted his collar and spoke with a hint of teasing, “Your Highness is not hiding from me now, it seems.”
Embarrassed, Xiao Qi turned his head, intentionally looking away. He had woken up early, and Aunt Du Ruo had already told him everything that happened last night. Furthermore, Yan Qunshan had watched over him all night, and even his clothes had been changed by him. What was the point of being coy now?
Since he did not speak, Yan Qunshan did not tease him further. He smiled and was about to leave when Xiao Qi called out to him.
“Are you not going to ask me why I was avoiding you these past few days?”
Yan Qunshan raised an eyebrow. “If Your Highness does not say, this student would not dare to ask.”
“You,” flustered and vexed, Xiao Qi rolled over like an ostrich, burying his head completely in the quilt. After a moment of silence, he said muffledly, “Because I was embarrassed.”
The sharp features of Yan Qunshan’s face softened, and his voice was light. “I do not understand what Your Highness means.”
Xiao Qi grew annoyed. He threw off the quilt and sat up abruptly, revealing a flushed, indignant face. “Stop feigning ignorance. It is just, it is about that day.” He was thin-skinned and could not bring himself to say the rest. To his surprise, Yan Qunshan began to laugh.
“What are you laughing at?” Xiao Qi glared at him, puffing out his cheeks.
“I simply did not expect Your Highness to avoid me for so long over such a small matter,” Yan Qunshan said. “During these days, I have been in a state of constant anxiety, thinking I had done something wrong to displease you.”
“If I were displeased, I would have kicked you out long ago.” Hearing this, Xiao Qi felt even more embarrassed, only muttering in a small voice, “I just felt it was a bit shameful.”
“What is shameful about that?” Yan Qunshan sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out like an elder brother to smooth Xiao Qi’s hair. “At your age, it is time you learned about the affairs of the heart and body.”
“A gentleman may be attracted to beauty but is not lewd; his feelings arise from passion but are restrained by propriety. Therefore, Your Highness has no need to feel ashamed.”
Xiao Qi blinked at him, his eyes bright. “Really?”
Yan Qunshan’s touch became even gentler. “Of course.”
Just then, the sound of heavy footsteps came from outside the palace doors. The two of them turned simultaneously to see the arrival of the Emperor’s personal eunuch. The eunuch first bowed to Xiao Qi, then stepped toward Yan Qunshan.
“Young Master Yan, an imperial oral decree: you are summoned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to see the Emperor immediately.”
Yan Qunshan knelt on the ground. “This student receives the decree.”
The Hall of Grace was the palace closest to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Even after Consort Lan lost favor, the Emperor never moved her, which showed he still had lingering feelings for her. Along the way, Yan Qunshan could not help but reflect on Du Ruo’s words from last night, speculating about the hidden truths, so much so that he forgot to watch where he was going.
He was snapped back to reality by the sound of a woman’s crying and shouting. Just as he was about to enter the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he heard a dainty, pleading voice from within.
“Your Majesty, your concubine truly did not know.”
“Silence! Du Ruo said that a servant from Xiao Qi’s side came to your palace to report, but you drove them away! You still dare to make excuses?!” That was a majestic, masculine voice.
“I truly did not know! It must have been the gatekeeping eunuch who was derelict in his duty and failed to report, that is why.”
“Who gave you the audacity to privately punish a Prince?! Do you not know his constitution has been frail since he was in the womb? You even ordered him to be slapped and forced him to kneel in your palace for three hours! You even deliberately detained the imperial physician on duty. You base, poisonous woman, how dare you?!”
Then came the sound of porcelain shattering and a crisp slap. It seemed the Emperor was truly enraged.
Listening from outside, Yan Qunshan’s brow furrowed.
The people in the palace said the Emperor did not favor Xiao Qi. Yet, looking at this scene, the Emperor even knew that Xiao Qi’s health had been poor since birth. It seemed he was not entirely without affection for him.
If it were merely for the sake of Duke Wu’s reputation, the Emperor could have just performed a superficial punishment to save face. Why was he so genuinely furious?