With Lou Jin’s permission, Ye Xunyang felt like an eagle released from its cage, finding even the air outside the Prince’s Manor exceptionally crisp and refreshing.
Accompanied by two personal attendants, he headed straight for his most frequented establishment in the East Market, the Drunken Immortal Tower.
Both the proprietor and the waiters of the Drunken Immortal Tower recognized Young General Ye. Seeing the impressive demeanor of the attendants following behind him, coupled with the rumors long since spread that the Ye family’s young master had married the sickly Prince Jin, their attitude grew increasingly deferential, even tinged with a hint of cautiousness.
Ye Xunyang paid no mind to these details. His sole target was the proprietor’s privately cellared fifty-year-old Pear Blossom White.
This wine was mellow, crisp, and refreshing, with a lingering aftertaste. He had craved it for quite some time, but had never been willing to part with the money for it.
Today, being in such high spirits, he wanted to buy a jar to take back, intending just to let Lou Jin have a taste. Since Lou Jin never went out for strolls, he certainly knew nothing of such fine wine, and constantly drinking bitter medicinal decoctions meant that tasting this mortal delicacy might help stimulate his appetite.
Just as he was asking the proprietor to fetch the wine, he suddenly heard a familiar hubbub drifting over from a nearby private booth.
Turning his head to look, he was surprised to find several young rakes with whom he used to frequently drink wine and practice martial arts. Among them, the ringleader was Zhao Pan, the son of the Vice Minister of War.
Ye Xunyang frowned slightly. He had once caroused and drunk with these individuals, but their friendship had been superficial, and he had rarely kept in touch with them ever since he began focusing on military affairs.
However, since they had bumped into each other, out of basic courtesy, he still intended to walk over and greet them.
He told the proprietor to wait a moment, walked over himself, and tapped Zhao Pan on the shoulder. “Brother Zhao, Brother Wang, Brother Li, it has been a long time. What a coincidence to run into you all today.”
The group was already flushed from heavy drinking. Upon seeing Ye Xunyang, they were startled for a moment, and then exchanged several ambiguous, knowing glances.
Zhao Pan put down his wine cup, looked Ye Xunyang up and down, twisted his mouth into an exaggerated curve, and spoke in a tone dripping with undisguised mockery.
“I wondered who it could be! So it is His Highness the Prince’s Consort! Forgive my lack of respect, forgive my lack of respect! What is this? Shouldn’t Your Highness the Consort be waiting on His Highness the Prince back at the manor? What brings you with the leisure and mood to visit this common marketplace tavern?”
The young master surnamed Wang immediately chimed in, laughing with a sarcastic edge, “Brother Zhao, you don’t understand. What kind of person is our Ye? Oh no, His Highness the Consort? Why, he is the legitimate son of the Grand General Defending the Country, and now he is even a member of the imperial family with a most noble status. It is only natural that he would come out to inspect the common people’s lives.”
The smile on Ye Xunyang’s face stiffened, and his gaze turned icy.
Young Master Li stepped even closer, lowering his voice just enough for the surrounding tables to hear clearly.
“Brother Xunyang, oh no, Your Highness the Consort, if we are being honest, you certainly know how to calculate. Clinging to a Prince who is on the verge of death, if you just endure for a few years, once His Highness Prince Jin kicks the bucket, you will reap benefits from both sides!”
“On one side is the Ye family’s power, and on the other is the imperial court’s bereavement allowance. Who knows, you might even inherit the vast estate of the Prince’s Manor? What is that saying again? Achieving high office, growing wealth, and the death of one’s husband! Such scheming with an abacus, this brother of yours truly admires you, truly admires you!”
“Hahaha!” The group burst into loud laughter, causing other patrons in the tavern to turn and stare.
Ye Xunyang felt a surge of hot blood rush straight to his head, his fists instantly clenching so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
In this life, he detested nothing more than such petty individuals who maliciously speculated behind people’s backs. Disparaging him was one thing, but they were even cursing Lou Jin!
“What kind of dogshit are you barking!” Ye Xunyang barked furiously, his voice ringing with such intensity that the private room went silent for a brief second.
His gaze cut like a blade, ruthlessly sweeping across those nauseating faces. “If any of you dare spout nonsense again and disparage His Highness, see if I do not tear your mouths apart!”
Zhao Pan was momentarily taken aback by his sudden display of presence, but relying on the alcohol and his numerical advantage, he puffed out his chest again and sneered, “What is this? Now that you have become the Consort, your temper has grown quite a bit, hasn’t it? Did we say anything wrong?”
“Exactly. Who does not know that His Highness Prince Jin suffers from a chronic and incurable illness, relying entirely on elixirs to sustain his life? Ye Xunyang, what kind of deep marital affection are you putting on a show for here? You are nothing more than a decoration icing the cake, yet you actually take yourself seriously!”
“You…” Ye Xunyang trembled all over with anger, longing to immediately swing his fists and flatten that repulsive face.
Yet, if he truly resorted to violence, it would only bring trouble to Lou Jin and the Ye family.
He forcefully suppressed his anger and squeezed a sentence out through clenched teeth, “Lou Jin will definitely get better! At the very least, he will live longer than trash like you!”
These words were delivered with striking weight, yet they only drew louder mockery from the group.
“Oh my, getting angry now, are we?”
“Living longer than us? Relying on what? Relying on your masculine vigor, Ye Xunyang? Hahaha!”
“Alright, alright, His Highness the Consort, please calm your anger. We certainly wouldn’t dare offend you. What if you whisper sweet nothings in his ear and let His Highness Prince Jin? Oh wait, His Highness Prince Jin probably doesn’t even have the strength left to listen to your pillow talks anyway!”
That final remark hit him like a basin of icy water, instantly extinguishing Ye Xunyang’s blazing fury with a chilling sense of powerlessness.
To continue arguing further would be completely meaningless and would only make a greater fool of himself.
Refusing to spare those individuals another glance, he turned and strode out of the Drunken Immortal Tower, leaving even the jar of Pear Blossom White he had intended to purchase behind.
“Proprietor, I don’t want the wine!”
With that parting phrase, his figure quickly vanished outside the tavern entrance.
On the way back to the Prince’s Manor, Ye Xunyang’s face was livid, a ball of fire burning in his chest and making his internal organs ache uncomfortably.
Noticing his exceptionally foul mood, his attendants did not dare to breathe loudly, quietly trailing behind him.
Those filthy, vulgar remarks clung to him like maggots on rotting bone, echoing relentlessly in his mind.
By what right did they talk like that?
They knew nothing, capable only of chattering away like rats in a filthy sewer!
“Who says Prince Jin’s days are numbered? I am determined to cure him just to show the likes of you!”
Once this thought took root, it spread rapidly like a wildfire.
That’s right, he was going to cure Lou Jin!
Not only would he cure him, but he would also restore Lou Jin to his former glory, forcing all those narrow-minded, contemptuous wretches to shut their traps completely!
Yet, how was he supposed to cure him?
Even the imperial physicians were helpless, and as a martial artist, he knew absolutely nothing about medicine.
However, the world was vast; as long as he sought out skilled practitioners among the common folk, surely there would be someone capable of curing Lou Jin.
The more Ye Xunyang thought about it, the more feasible it felt. Upon returning to the Prince’s Manor, he headed straight for the study in the main courtyard.
Seeing him return with a gloomy expression, Wang Quan looked surprised, but still bowed respectfully, “Your Highness.”
“Is His Highness inside?” Ye Xunyang asked in a hurried tone.
“He is.”
Taking a deep breath to calm his churning emotions, Ye Xunyang pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Lou Jin was sitting by the window reading a book, the sunlight streaming through the latticework and casting a fine, lean outline over his frame.
Hearing movement, he raised his head. Seeing Ye Xunyang walk in with a solemn expression, he raised a brow slightly.
“What is the matter? Did something happen while you were out?” Lou Jin put down his book, acutely sensing that his mood was off.
Ye Xunyang walked up to him and opened his mouth, but he had no desire to repeat those toxic words for fear of affecting Lou Jin’s spirits.
In the end, he simply shook his head, fixed his gaze firmly on Lou Jin, and spoke with utmost earnestness.
“Your Highness, starting tomorrow, I will supervise your medication, your meals, and appropriate physical activity.”
“Your illness will definitely get better!”
Lou Jin paused slightly, watching the resolute and confident look in Ye Xunyang’s eyes.
He remained silent for a moment, asking no reasons, before slowly nodding and struggling to suppress the corners of his lips.
“Very well.”
Inwardly, however, he pondered with amusement that it seemed he wouldn’t even need to make a move himself; this fellow would voluntarily cling right to him.