Fortunately, Chu Zhaohuai had spent the past few years practicing medicine outside the capital. Because he was young and worried that people would doubt his medical skills, he always liked to put on a solemn expression and pretend to be some otherworldly immortal physician with an air of mystical wisdom.
Although he had never once successfully pulled it off, being laughed at so often had at least thickened his skin.
Chu Zhaohuai acted as though nothing had happened.
“Your Highness.”
Ji Xun propped his chin on one hand and smiled.
“The Princess Consort’s martial arts skills are quite impressive. General Qin certainly taught you well.”
Chu Zhaohuai froze.
General Qin?
Wasn’t I supposed to have studied under General Huang?
Watching Ji Xun’s expression, Chu Zhaohuai’s heart sank.
Afraid Ji Xun would notice something wrong, he answered vaguely and quickly changed the subject.
“You flatter me. How is your health, Your Highness? Are you feeling any better?”
“Barely alive,” Ji Xun said lazily. “Push your father to the front hall. Someone from the palace has arrived. It seems they’ve brought quite a few good things to reward the Princess Consort.”
Chu Zhaohuai: “…”
His ears immediately turned red at the words push your father.
Before he could find a crack in the floor to hide in, he became confused by the second half of Ji Xun’s statement.
Someone from the palace had come to give him rewards?
Shouldn’t they be going to the palace to offer thanks?
Although Chu Zhaohuai had lived in Jiangnan for many years, he had an uncle who worked at the Imperial Medical Academy in the capital, so he still knew a little about the political situation.
Ji Xun’s identity was unusual.
He was the fifth son of the late emperor. Although he and the current emperor were brothers, there was a full thirty-year age gap between them.
The current emperor was already in his fifties, while Ji Xun was not yet thirty. He was only two years older than the Crown Prince and was at the prime of his life—young, proud, and full of ambition.
There were even people in the capital who privately speculated that, given Ji Xun’s unwillingness to submit to anyone, if he hadn’t become disabled and gone mad, he might have already been surrounded by supporters who forced their way into the palace and helped him seize the throne.
Everyone knew that the emperor and Prince Jing were as incompatible as fire and water.
This time, not only had the emperor taken advantage of Ji Xun’s serious illness to force a male spouse upon him, he had even sent rewards to the Princess Consort on the second day after the wedding.
The whole thing was suspicious no matter how he looked at it.
These imperial rewards were practically a hot potato.
If possible, Chu Zhaohuai would rather avoid accepting them.
He hesitated.
“Your Highness, I haven’t washed my face yet. I’m afraid appearing like this would be disrespectful…”
“Why would it be disrespectful?” Ji Xun looked at him. “Don’t you look quite good like this?”
Chu Zhaohuai: “…”
His leg is crippled, he’s gone mad, and now his eyes are bad too?
Yin Chongshan had disappeared somewhere.
Seeing that there was no way to refuse, Chu Zhaohuai silently walked to the wheelchair and casually pushed against the handles.
Push…
Nothing happened.
Chu Zhaohuai frowned and looked down.
The wheelchair appeared to be made of beechwood. Its construction was so precise that it looked extremely light.
Yet perhaps Ji Xun was simply too heavy, or perhaps Chu Zhaohuai was too weak.
Even after bracing his feet against the ground and struggling for quite a while, he could barely move it half a turn.
Ji Xun sat calmly in the wheelchair, even leisurely crossing his legs.
A crippled man crossing his legs like that?
Chu Zhaohuai complained silently to himself as he continued pushing.
The wheelchair only rocked slightly.
Ji Xun turned his head toward him.
“The Princess Consort studied under General Lin and has exceptional martial arts skills. Surely you aren’t telling me you can’t even push a wheelchair?”
Chu Zhaohuai: “…”
General Lin now?
Exactly how many generals did Chu Zhaojiang study under?
Chu Zhaohuai didn’t dare say a word.
He gathered all his strength, nearly using every ounce of energy in his body, and shoved the wheelchair with all his might.
This time, it finally began moving.
Slowly.
Extremely slowly.
It was practically like watching an ant carry something home.
It wasn’t much faster than a crippled person hopping forward.
From the rear courtyard to the front hall of Prince Jing’s residence, they had to pass through a covered corridor and a long street paved with bluestone.
By the time Chu Zhaohuai finally pushed the wheelchair into the front hall, he was sweating heavily despite the freezing weather.
He had just barely managed to catch his breath when Yin Chongshan, who had been waiting at the entrance for quite some time, raised an eyebrow.
“This wheelchair was specially made by imperial craftsmen. Ordinary people can rarely move it. The Princess Consort certainly has impressive strength. No wonder you studied under General Huo.”
Chu Zhaohuai: “…”
So exactly which general did Chu Zhaojiang study under?!
His chest was so tight with frustration that he nearly snapped.
For a moment, he seriously considered grabbing Ji Xun and throwing him out of the wheelchair, just to make him land flat on his back.
Is this man deliberately messing with me?
A palace eunuch stood to the side, respectfully holding a tray of gifts.
He had a pale, clean-shaven face.
When he saw Ji Xun, he immediately knelt and bowed.
His gaze briefly swept over Chu Zhaohuai’s face, still covered in layers of rouge and powder. A trace of astonishment flashed through his eyes before disappearing.
“Greetings, Your Highness. Greetings, Princess Consort.”
Ji Xun turned his head.
“Who is this?”
Yin Chongshan replied,
“This is Eunuch Xu, one of His Majesty’s most trusted attendants.”
Ji Xun thought for a moment.
“Forgot.”
Eunuch Xu’s smile remained warm and pleasant.
“This servant is insignificant. How could I possibly expect Your Highness to remember my name?”
“You have been ill for half a month, and His Majesty has been so worried that he could barely eat or sleep. Now that you have recovered, he immediately ordered this servant to bring you some powerful medicines to strengthen your body.”
Yin Chongshan sneered inwardly.
The assassination had taken place only after last night’s banquet ended.
Once Ji Xun woke up, he immediately sealed off the entire residence. Anyone attempting to leave and pass information outside had been killed.
Yet the moment the palace gates opened this morning, the palace had already received news that Ji Xun had awakened.
It seemed there were still spies hidden within the residence.
And they were hiding very well.
Ji Xun glanced at the jade bottles containing the medicine on the tray.
He slightly raised his hand, signaling Yin Chongshan to accept them.
“Thank my Imperial Brother for remembering me.”
Eunuch Xu smiled.
“As expected of Huguo Temple, the thousand-year-old monastery said to have received Heaven’s blessing. A month ago, this servant followed His Majesty’s orders and went there to light an everlasting lamp for Your Highness. A revered monk offered some guidance and calculated your Four Pillars and Eight Characters. He suggested that a marriage to bring good fortune could protect your life and safety, so His Majesty arranged this marriage for you.”
He smiled even more broadly.
“And look at that. You became ill for so long, yet your health improved immediately after getting married yesterday. Truly, you must have the protection of the divine spirits.”
He was obviously giving a roundabout explanation for why the emperor had forced a Princess Consort upon Ji Xun.
Ji Xun patiently listened as Eunuch Xu finished inventing the reason behind the imperial marriage.
A smile appeared on his pale, sickly face.
“His Majesty’s concern is deeply appreciated. This younger brother will never forget it. Once my health improves further, I will take the Princess Consort to the palace to offer our thanks.”
The winter wind was bitterly cold.
Ji Xun was wearing only a thin inner robe, and the half-tied strands of his long hair were blown by the wind.
He raised a hand to his lips and coughed several times.
The God of War who had once swept across the northern frontier and never lost a battle had now fallen into such a state.
Eunuch Xu felt both relieved and emotional.
He was relieved because this man had clearly become completely incapable of competing for the throne.
Yet he also felt sentimental.
The imperial family was truly ruthless.
Even a brilliant and peerless God of War could be dragged down from the clouds by political schemes and thrown into the mortal world.
Eunuch Xu sighed silently.
“It’s good that Your Highness understands His Majesty’s good intentions. A while ago, Your Highness even publicly declared that you admired the young marquis. Now you’ve obtained such a wonderful marriage. I wonder how many people in the capital must be green with envy.”
Chu Zhaohuai, who had been pretending to be dead and keeping silent, suddenly raised his head.
Admired?
Ji Xun let out a puzzled “Oh?”
He turned to Yin Chongshan.
“When did I ever tell the young marquis that I admired him?”
Eunuch Xu’s face stiffened.
Yin Chongshan expressionlessly repeated,
“On the twenty-third day of the eleventh lunar month, you said, ‘Since I am not yet married, and since all these ministers are so concerned about my marriage, then… the young marquis of the Marquis of Zhenyuan’s residence. Imperial Brother, give him to me.’”
“Oh.”
Ji Xun nodded as he remembered.
“Now I recall. I was indeed expressing my admiration for the young marquis. I publicly declared my love and personally asked Imperial Brother to arrange the marriage.”
Eunuch Xu: “…”
Chu Zhaohuai: “…”
Eunuch Xu was practically choking.
His smile had become so stiff that his cheeks hurt.
He forced out a laugh.
“Your Highness is joking.”
Then he wiped away his cold sweat and instructed the palace attendants behind him to present the imperial rewards.
“The palace has an oral decree. The Princess Consort has rendered great service and is specially rewarded with…”
Chu Zhaohuai had already seen how frightened even the emperor’s most trusted eunuch was in front of Ji Xun.
It only strengthened his determination never to provoke this God of Death.
The imperial rewards were best left—
The palace attendants brought the gifts forward.
Chu Zhaohuai froze.
Eunuch Xu announced,
“One hundred taels of gold, pearls from the South Sea, five hundred taels of silver, a golden sable-fur coat…”
The gifts on the tray were all arranged according to the imperial standards for wedding gifts, but the scale was even more lavish.
Under the sunlight, gold and jade reflected dazzling rays of light that nearly blinded Chu Zhaohuai.
Chu Zhaohuai: “…”
Maybe offending this God of Death once isn’t actually that bad.
Chu Zhaohuai casually rubbed his face.
At the same time, the corner of his eye happened to meet Ji Xun’s lazy gaze.
A faint smile lingered on Ji Xun’s lips.
His unnaturally long fingers rested carelessly on the dove-headed staff. Every now and then, he slowly rubbed the eyes of the carved dove.
His fingertips were pressed until they turned pale, then quickly flushed with a faint reddish color as the blood returned.
Chu Zhaohuai shuddered.
He suddenly remembered the sight of Ji Xun using that dove-headed staff like a sword, piercing one person after another straight through with bloody holes.
Forget it.
Staying alive is more important.
The imperial rewards were almost like an extension of the imperial marriage decree.
Once the order had been issued, refusing them on the spot would be little different from publicly slapping the emperor in the face.
Chu Zhaohuai was caught between a rock and a hard place, desperately thinking about how to phrase his response.
At the very least, I have to put on a show of accepting them.
I can’t make my position in Prince Jing’s residence too awkward.
Eunuch Xu seemed to have anticipated his hesitation.
He smiled and said,
“Princess Consort, these are gifts from Noble Consort Chu in the palace.”
Chu Zhaohuai froze.
Noble Consort Chu?
He had been away from the capital for too long and had almost forgotten that he had an aunt in the palace who had risen to the rank of Noble Consort.
Gifts from a blood relative were even harder to refuse.
Chu Zhaohuai secretly glanced at Ji Xun.
Ji Xun was no longer looking at him.
He rested his head against one hand, looking listless and weary, like a sleepy beast.
Chu Zhaohuai watched him for a long while but couldn’t determine his attitude.
So he simply went with the flow.
“Thank my aunt for remembering me.”
Eunuch Xu smiled warmly as he set down the gifts.
“His Majesty also said that when the Princess Consort returns to his family home in a few days, His Highness has only just recovered from a serious illness and should not go outside. He may remain here and recuperate peacefully instead of exhausting himself with the journey back and forth.”
Ji Xun looked at Eunuch Xu but said nothing.
Yet that single, seemingly casual glance made Eunuch Xu’s heart tighten.
His pleasant smile nearly cracked.
After a long silence, Ji Xun slowly smiled.
“The Princess Consort’s return to his family home is only proper. Both emotionally and according to etiquette, I naturally should accompany him.”
Eunuch Xu received the answer the emperor wanted.
He quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
After exchanging a few more polite words and auspicious wishes, he finally withdrew and returned to the palace to report.
Yin Chongshan watched the palace attendants leave, his brows tightly furrowed.
The Marquis of Zhenyuan’s title had been passed down for three generations.
The founding ancestor had once been a powerful meritorious official with immense influence.
But by the time the title reached Chu Jing, the family had long since lost its power. There was almost nothing left for the court to strip away.
The title of “Zhenyuan” was practically nothing more than an empty shell.
Even so, a noble family with three generations of inheritance could not be underestimated.
The emperor had no reason to arrange this marriage unless he feared the Marquis of Zhenyuan’s residence might become an ally of Prince Jing.
But if that was the case…
Why go to such lengths to force Prince Jing to accompany the Princess Consort back to his family home?
Chu Zhaohuai hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
He was simply standing nearby, secretly delighted.
Since these weren’t actually gifts from the emperor, he could accept them without any psychological burden.
When he noticed Ji Xun looking at him, Chu Zhaohuai immediately stopped smiling and pretended to be reluctant.
“Your Highness, my aunt’s generosity is simply too great to refuse.”
“Too difficult to refuse?”
Ji Xun raised an eyebrow and considerately suggested,
“Since the Princess Consort finds it so troublesome, I can have Chongshan take the gifts to the residence’s treasury for you.”
Chu Zhaohuai: “…”
He suppressed the anger and curses in his eyes.
After holding it in for a long time, he murmured,
“Actually, it isn’t… isn’t that difficult. I’ll do my best to overcome it. There’s no need to trouble Your Highness.”
Ji Xun smiled faintly.
“The Princess Consort is already my man. How could such a small favor be considered troublesome?”
Chu Zhaohuai: “…”
His expression went completely blank.
It was as though his soul had already left his body for a while.
He really did hear it.