He could not figure out Ji Xun’s temperament. After thinking it over again and again, he finally made a difficult decision.
“Your Highness, please forgive me. I misspoke earlier because I was anxious—then I’ll trouble Your Highness to have the rewards stored in the residence’s treasury.”
As soon as Chu Zhaohuai said those words, his heart practically bled.
His luck this year was truly terrible. First, half of the one hundred and twenty chests of dowry had turned out to be empty. Now even the gifts from his aunt had to be handed over. People always said that losing money could ward off disaster, but if he had lost this much money, just how great a disaster had he originally been destined to suffer?
He was secretly mourning his lost wealth when he seemed to hear a muffled laugh beside him.
Chu Zhaohuai looked up in confusion.
Ji Xun was still sitting there with his injured leg crossed over the other. His wide black sleeves embroidered with gold patterns hung loosely around his elbows, while his fingertips lazily supported a huge purple pearl as though he were examining its quality. He did not seem to be laughing at Chu Zhaohuai.
Chu Zhaohuai looked away and rubbed his face, muttering inwardly.
Did I imagine that?
Ji Xun tossed the pearl back onto the presentation tray.
“Since these are gifts from the Noble Consort, it would be more appropriate for the Princess Consort to keep them himself.”
Chu Zhaohuai’s eyes instantly lit up, and his whole mood brightened like spring had arrived.
He desperately suppressed the corners of his lips from rising and said with feigned composure, “Since Your Highness says so, I won’t insist.”
Ji Xun rested his cheek against his hand and smiled as he watched Chu Zhaohuai. He seemed to find it amusing that the moment money appeared, Chu Zhaohuai’s eyes practically turned into copper coins.
But after looking more carefully, he suddenly asked, “What happened to the Princess Consort’s face?”
Chu Zhaohuai was still happily basking in his relief. Hearing this, he looked puzzled and reached up to touch his face.
Ever since he woke that morning, he had vaguely felt that his face was itchy. He had assumed it was because he was not accustomed to wearing powder. But now that Ji Xun mentioned it, he belatedly noticed the stinging sensation on his cheeks.
They seemed swollen.
Chu Zhaohuai’s heart sank.
There were still two days before he had to return to his family home. He absolutely could not reveal his identity now.
“Per-perhaps the powder has been on for too long, so I developed a slight rash. It’ll be fine once I wash it off later. It’s nothing serious.”
Ji Xun chuckled but surprisingly did not question him further.
“I see.”
Chu Zhaohuai secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, the palace maids filed in one after another and began setting out breakfast.
The food sent to Prince Jing’s residence the previous night had been cold. In this freezing weather, no matter how delicately prepared the dishes were, the sauces had already frozen solid. They did not look appetizing at all.
Chu Zhaohuai had already prepared himself to gnaw on oil-coated ice chunks again for breakfast.
But the moment he sat down, he froze.
Steam rose from the entire table, and the aroma was enticing. Surprisingly, half the dishes were hot.
Chu Zhaohuai was extremely puzzled.
Wasn’t it said that Prince Jing’s residence served cold food all year round?
Prince Jing… surely he hadn’t made an exception just for me?
Chu Zhaohuai knew himself well. He shook his head and dispelled this narcissistic thought, then composed himself and picked up his chopsticks.
…Yet while eating, he still could not resist secretly observing Ji Xun.
Ji Xun had not yet recovered from his serious illness and seemed to have little appetite. During the entire meal, he either ate cold food or drank cold wine. He did not touch the steaming porridge or hot soup at all.
It really did seem as though they had been prepared especially for him.
Chu Zhaohuai took a sip of porridge and fell into thought.
Rumor had it that Ji Xun was difficult to get along with, unpredictable, and fond of killing people.
But thinking about it carefully, although the sight of Ji Xun piercing someone straight through with his golden staff last night had been terrifying, that had happened in a life-or-death situation. If Ji Xun had not killed the assassins, the two of them would have ended up being skewered together and dying as a pair of star-crossed lovers.
By that logic, Ji Xun had actually saved his life.
Unable to resist, Chu Zhaohuai secretly glanced at him again.
Ji Xun was casually drinking his cold wine while looking down at the two invitation cards resting on his lap. The rising steam softened his sharp features, making him look somewhat gentle.
At first glance, he resembled an elegant, dignified young nobleman from a scholarly family—handsome, refined, and well-read.
He did not look crazy.
Nor did he carry that terrifying murderous aura.
The tension that had been tightly wound inside Chu Zhaohuai for the past few days inexplicably loosened.
Aside from the fact that Ji Xun had stabbed someone with his dove-headed staff on their wedding night, he seemed to merely have a sharp tongue and enjoy frightening people from time to time.
After spending some time with him, Chu Zhaohuai found that he was not nearly as frightening as the rumors claimed.
Chu Zhaohuai gradually came to a conclusion.
Nine times out of ten, those rumors about Ji Xun killing people like flies had been deliberately spread by the people of the capital.
Their purpose was probably to kick him while he was down and ruin the good reputation of the God of War, Prince Jing.
The people in the capital were truly vicious.
Remembering how Chu Zhaojiang had once falsely accused him without a shred of evidence when they were young, Chu Zhaohuai knew all too well what it felt like to be unable to defend oneself no matter how much one explained.
After eating a few more bites, Chu Zhaohuai noticed that Ji Xun had only been drinking wine and had not touched any of the dishes for quite some time.
He gathered his courage and decided to test the waters.
He picked up the serving chopsticks beside him, took a piece of fish, and placed it onto Ji Xun’s plate.
“Your Highness, try this.”
Ji Xun’s hand paused slightly.
Behind him, Yin Chongshan’s eyes sharpened.
His hand slowly closed around the hilt of the knife at his lower back, and killing intent immediately emerged.
An eerie silence descended over the front hall.
Chu Zhaohuai did not notice that anything was wrong.
He was still inwardly complaining about how the perfectly good fish had been cooked so incredibly salty. He much preferred Lin’an vinegar fish.
Ji Xun stared at Chu Zhaohuai.
His pupils contracted and then slowly expanded, like a beast waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Yet his expression barely changed.
In fact, he even smiled gently.
“Very well.”
With that, he actually picked up his chopsticks and ate the piece of fish.
Yin Chongshan silently sucked in a breath.
He felt as though he had not yet woken up.
He… actually ate it?
Ji Xun was already twenty-six and still unmarried. Over the years, many people in the capital had sent beautiful men and women to the residence to test the waters.
Once, an especially bold beauty had taken the initiative to replace a maid and personally serve food to the Prince.
That night, blood had flowed through Prince Jing’s residence like a river.
The heads of those people had been placed into boxes and sent directly back to the residences of the people who had offered them.
The incident had shocked the entire court, and memorials impeaching Prince Jing had poured into the emperor’s hands one after another. In the end, the Emperor had no choice but to punish Ji Xun by docking half a year’s salary before the matter was finally settled.
After that, anyone who dared to send people into the residence had their heads chopped off and returned the exact same way.
As time passed, no one dared to openly send people anymore.
Yin Chongshan trembled almost imperceptibly and glanced at Chu Zhaohuai from the corner of his eye.
This person is not simple.
He must have some extraordinary ability.
Meanwhile, the supposedly extraordinary Chu Zhaohuai was still reminiscing about Lin’an vinegar fish.
Seeing that Ji Xun did not object to him serving food and had even smiled in good humor, Chu Zhaohuai became even more convinced that the rumors were false.
The meal passed peacefully.
Well, at least it was peaceful for Chu Zhaohuai.
For Yin Chongshan standing nearby, however, it was a storm raging inside his heart. He had kept his hand on his knife for half the meal and still had not dared to draw it.
After finishing his meal, Chu Zhaohuai politely bid Ji Xun farewell and found an excuse to “wash his face” before rushing back to the bedchamber.
After washing his face, he looked into the mirror.
Chu Zhaohuai was shocked again.
The powder had been left on his face for too long and had been applied too thickly. His naturally pale, sickly complexion was now covered in faint red bumps that had spread all the way down his neck, making him look as though he had suddenly developed a serious illness.
Chu Zhaohuai forcibly restrained himself from scratching and checked his own pulse.
Oh.
Thankfully, it wasn’t the powder.
He had merely been poisoned.
Chu Zhaohuai felt relieved.
The Bai family of Lin’an was a prestigious medical family with a large and flourishing lineage. Chu Zhaohuai alone had five maternal uncles.
He had been raised by his maternal grandfather since childhood. Although he was related to the family by blood, in the end, he had still been living under someone else’s roof.
Besides, Chu Jing had never intended to bring Chu Zhaohuai back to the capital.
Of the Bai family’s five branches, four were afraid that Chu Zhaohuai would eventually take a share of the Bai family fortune.
The entire family was constantly scheming against one another. If they were not fighting this person, they were plotting against that person.
As a result, they had never treated Chu Zhaohuai particularly well.
Since childhood, getting sick or being poisoned had been a common occurrence for him.
He had long since grown accustomed to it.
Chu Zhaohuai searched through the small bundle he carried with him, found a pill, popped it into his mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed.
Something about this seemed rather suspicious.
How had he been poisoned for no apparent reason?
Could it have been the poisonous incense from last night?
Once the itching and pain subsided, Chu Zhaohuai took out the black gauze veil he had previously used when traveling around to practice medicine and protect his face from dust.
The square piece of black silk gauze covered his entire face, leaving only the area around his eyes slightly visible. It was extremely convenient.
Since his face would not recover anytime soon, this gave him the perfect excuse to conceal his appearance.
He had just finished tying it when someone called from outside the bedchamber.
“Princess Consort.”
The person who entered was the steward of Prince Jing’s residence.
He looked somewhat old, with kind and gentle features. He held a gold-trimmed gift list in his hands as he stepped into the front hall.
He had just opened his mouth to speak when he noticed the gauze covering Chu Zhaohuai’s face.
“Princess Consort, this is…”
“It’s nothing.”
Only Chu Zhaohuai’s neck could be vaguely seen beneath the gauze.
“What is it?”
The steward withdrew his gaze.
“This is the newly prepared list of gifts for your return to your family home. Please have a look, Princess Consort.”
Chu Zhaohuai took it and glanced at the densely packed list.
Then he remembered his half-empty dowry chests.
His anger shot straight to his head.
Does the money in Prince Jing’s residence fall from the sky?
Why does returning to my family home require bringing so many gifts?
Just because you’re rich, you can waste money like this?
What a spendthrift.
Chu Zhaohuai cautiously asked, “Has His Highness seen this gift list?”
“He has not. His Highness left the residence after breakfast.”
“Then let’s wait until His Highness returns and have him make the final decision.”
Chu Zhaohuai put the gift list away, neatly pushing the problem back where it belonged.
Ji Xun and Chu Jing had never gotten along.
Moreover, Ji Xun had been randomly saddled with a male Princess Consort.
Considering that, if Ji Xun showed up at the Marquis’s residence on the return-home visit with nothing more than a bag of sarcastic remarks, that would already count as an extravagant gift.
The steward hesitated for a long while.
Seeing that Chu Zhaohuai clearly had no intention of dealing with the matter, he could only take the gift list and withdraw.
Worried that Ji Xun might remember the matter of “consummating the marriage” after finishing his business and return to bring it up again, Chu Zhaohuai had mentally prepared himself.
He remained on high alert for two whole days.
Yet Ji Xun did not return to the residence at all.
Finally, the day of the return-home visit arrived.
Chu Zhaohuai slept until the sun was already high in the sky before waking.
Perhaps it was a lingering effect of the fright he had suffered earlier. Even after taking medicine, he still felt exhausted and heavy.
He could sleep for seven or eight hours at a time.
That morning, he sat blankly on the bed, still dazed with sleep.
The steward came over and knocked on the door.
“Princess Consort, are you awake?”
Chu Zhaohuai yawned, so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyes open.
Still half-conscious, he replied, “I’m awake. I’m already putting on my shoes.”
The steward said, “His Highness sent someone to remind the Princess Consort that it is time.”
Chu Zhaohuai mumbled, “Okay.”
Time had come, so what?
Why did he need to remind him…
Wait.
What time?
His muddled brain suddenly sparked.
Chu Zhaohuai instantly woke up and jumped out of bed.
The time for the return-home visit!
The steward respectfully waited outside the bedchamber.
“His Highness was considerate. He said the Princess Consort could sleep a little longer and catch up on his rest. He will wait in the carriage for half a day.”
Chu Zhaohuai: “…”
Ji Xun is waiting for me?
How could he possibly be allowed to wait?
Chu Zhaohuai practically rolled and crawled out of bed.
He hurriedly washed up and dressed himself. In less than the time it took to burn half an incense stick, he came running out of the residence.
But before he had even caught his breath, the scene outside shocked him.
Chu Zhaohuai had seen his maternal aunt return to her family home after marrying into a wealthy household, so he knew that such return-home visits usually came with enormous fanfare.
There would be music, drums, crowds, and enough commotion to make the entire street lively for a whole day.
But compared with the spectacle outside Prince Jing’s residence, those processions were practically nothing.
Prince Jing had spent years on the battlefield.
The guards in his residence were all elite soldiers who had survived countless battles. They wore light armor and carried long sabers at their waists. They stood in perfectly orderly rows outside the residence, filling the entire broad street.
Their murderous aura was overwhelming.
It did not look like a return-home visit.
It looked more like an army marching off to war to cut people down.
At the very center of the guards was a magnificent imperial-style carriage befitting a prince.
In the freezing weather, embroidered curtains decorated with dragon patterns hung on both sides. Chu Zhaohuai did not recognize a single one of the ornaments hanging from it.
He only knew one thing:
Even if he sold himself, he probably could not afford a single one.
This was the first time Chu Zhaohuai truly understood what it meant to be an imperial nobleman with limitless wealth.
Yin Chongshan was standing beside the carriage.
When he saw Chu Zhaohuai, he nodded respectfully.
Chu Zhaohuai coughed lightly and reluctantly tore his gaze away from the golden pendant hanging from the curtain tie.
He was just about to step onto the mounting block when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw several guards carrying three large chests into the carriage.
Chu Zhaohuai froze.
His brows drew tightly together.
Ji Xun’s voice slowly drifted out from inside the carriage, carrying that uniquely elegant yet cutting tone of his.
“Princess Consort, why don’t you return to the residence for lunch before going? Although I am terribly busy with state affairs, waiting a little longer won’t hurt.”
Chu Zhaohuai immediately withdrew his gaze and hurried into the carriage.
He had thought that the exterior of a prince’s carriage was already the height of luxury.
Only after stepping inside did he realize that he had been shocked far too early.
The interior was spacious enough to rival half a bedchamber.
Gold, silver, jade, and other precious materials decorated every corner.
The sheer extravagance of it all left Chu Zhaohuai frozen for several breaths before he finally recovered.
Ji Xun wore a plain black robe and leaned back with his eyes closed.
Light filtered through the curtains and fell across his slightly tired features.
Chu Zhaohuai said awkwardly, “I’m sorry to have kept Your Highness waiting.”
Ji Xun did not even open his eyes.
His voice was lazy.
“Is the Princess Consort’s face still not better?”
Chu Zhaohuai sat as far away from him as possible and quietly tucked the gauze beneath his chin farther into his collar.
He pretended to remain calm.
“The rash I developed a few days ago hasn’t disappeared yet. Please excuse my appearance, Your Highness.”
Ji Xun gave a soft “Mm.”
It seemed that from beginning to end, he had never been particularly interested in Chu Zhaohuai’s face.
He did not ask another question.
Chu Zhaohuai silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Outside, the small chests containing the gifts for the return-home visit were still being loaded into the carriage.
Chu Zhaohuai lifted the curtain and looked outside.
The more he looked, the tighter his brows became.
Perhaps the comfort he had experienced these past two days had given him a false sense of security.
His time with Ji Xun no longer felt as tense and frightening as it had during the first few days.
He even took the initiative to ask,
“Your Highness, are those carriages behind us carrying the gifts for my return-home visit?”
Ji Xun opened his eyes.
A ray of sunlight fell directly into his right eye, making his gaze appear dark and deep.
He smiled, his voice incredibly gentle.
“Wasn’t the Princess Consort dissatisfied that the steward’s selection of gifts was too modest? So I personally prepared more generous gifts. They will certainly satisfy your father-in-law.”
Chu Zhaohuai: “…”
Chu Zhaohuai loved money.
But he also could not stand watching other people waste money like this.
He nearly became so angry that he had to press his fingers beneath his nose to keep himself from fainting.
Who exactly started the rumors that Prince Jing was a mad dog and a terror even to ghosts?
He’s obviously just a fool with too much money, practically begging to hand his fortune over to someone else.
Those rumors really are completely false.
There were three large chests of lavish gifts.
Based on yesterday’s gift list, they were worth at least ten thousand taels of silver.
What a loss.
Chu Zhaohuai was so frustrated that he leaned against the carriage wall without saying another word.
Never mind.
At least it wasn’t his money.
The carriage slowly began moving.
The guards marched in neat formation toward the Marquis of Zhenyuan’s residence.
The three large chests of return-home gifts swayed gently with the movement of the carriage.
From between the seams of one chest, a thin, sinister black-red streak of blood slowly seeped out.
It dripped onto the ground…
and vanished in an instant.