The two maidservant-girls in the outer parlor seemed to be chatting with great enthusiasm, showing no intention of stopping anytime soon.
Rong Xun usually spent this hour sleeping.
Therefore, they had no reservations whatsoever.
“Hey, have you noticed that a stranger has come to our manor these past few days?”
The speaker was Qing’er, the little maidservant specifically in charge of Rong Xun’s meals. Rong Xun still had a fairly decent memory.
In his impression, this little girl possessed an exceptionally chatty and gossipy nature.
Without waiting for anyone to ask, Qing’er continued, “It is the palace matrons who have arrived. Over these past few days, they have been helping prepare the Seventh Young Master’s dowry in the manor. Madam is busy entertaining those matrons and dares not neglect them for even a single moment.”
“Who would have thought that His Majesty would value this marriage so much?”
“Indeed, the Seventh Young Master’s life is truly blessed.”
Rong Xun thought to himself: If it were truly such a blessing, why didn’t Madam Chen marry her own son to the Prince of Chen?
Rong Xun rather enjoyed listening to gossip.
He changed into a more comfortable posture to continue lying down, wanting to see what else those two little girls outside had to say.
However, Wenxi walked in and interrupted them.
He gently chided, “Do you two not know that the Young Master is sleeping inside? How dare you speak in such loud voices? Get out immediately.”
Qing’er curled her lips in defiance and dragged the other little maidservant out with her.
In their eyes, they never regarded Rong Xun as their master, let alone looking up to the personal attendant by Rong Xun’s side.
Seeing that there was no more gossip to listen to, Rong Xun completely flattened himself out and drifted into a hazy, deep sleep.
In the outskirts of Youzhou;
The biting cold wind whipped swirling snowflakes through the air, snapping more than half of the waist-high wild grass along the roadside.
Not far away, a troop of soldiers came riding over, kicking up clouds of dust.
The man leading the troop was dressed in black athletic attire and wore a fierce, fang-decorated mask.
His hair was tied high, and he sat atop a tall, sturdy, and fierce warhorse.
Tan Tai Si looked around, then instructed the man beside him, “We will rest here for a moment before setting off again.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
The accompanying guards accepted the order, turned their horses around, and went to relay the Prince of Chen’s commands.
Tan Tai Si gazed into the distance as a howling cold wind swept past.
The cloak behind him fluttered violently in the wind.
The large troop stopped in the open space of the outskirts to pitch camp, build fires, and cook their meals.
Before long, a single horse and rider came galloping from afar.
The young man tethered his horse beneath a withered tree in the distance and walked quickly toward Tan Tai Si.
“Your Highness.”
Guan Mu cupped his hands in a salute toward Tan Tai Si.
He stood straight to report, “The matters have been properly handled, and we can set out at any moment. Before we left, Prince Rui sought out this subordinate and asked me to bring a message to Your Highness. Prince Rui hopes that Your Highness will visit the Prince Rui’s Mansion for a chat.”
Prince Rui was the reigning emperor’s biological younger brother, Tan Tai Yi, who was also Tan Tai Si’s nephew.
However, Tan Tai Si had been stationed at the borders for many years and had never crossed paths with this Prince Rui.
Where did this talk of visiting for a chat even come from?
“Send someone to reply to Prince Rui that I have urgent matters at hand and will not be going.”
Tan Tai Si stood up, his right hand habitually stroking the hilt of his sword.
“Have the vanguard troops prepare themselves. We set off immediately.”
“Understood, Your Highness!”
Right General Guan Mu cupped his hands in a salute and instructed his men to go to Youzhou City to relay the Prince of Chen’s orders.
Tang Jiu received the command and immediately tidied his equipment to prepare for departure.
Guan Mu gazed at the man in front of him and muttered indignantly, “They are going too far!”
Tang Jiu glanced sideways at him, pulled out a water pouch, took a sip of water, and said indifferently, “You have said these exact words no less than a hundred times. From the borders all the way to Youzhou, you have been saying it the entire journey.”
“Am I not feeling a sense of injustice on behalf of His Highness!”
Realizing that his voice was a bit too loud, Guan Mu quickly lowered his volume, though the anger between his brows grew even more intense.
“In order to safeguard the realm of the State of Jing, His Highness hasn’t set foot in the capital for over a decade. He didn’t even leave the borders when Emperor Chongwen passed away. Now, look at how he is treated: not only is he summoned back by a single imperial decree from a young emperor who has just ascended the throne, but he is also inexplicably bestowed a marriage. As if that wasn’t enough, it is a male wife! They are bullying him too much!”
Seeing that Guan Mu was growing increasingly agitated, Tang Jiu kicked him from his horse.
“That is quite enough of that. I know you are fighting injustice for His Highness, but some words are not meant for us subordinates to speak. If outsiders were to overhear this, they would think His Highness lacks strict discipline over his subordinates. Originally, His Highness remained stationed at the borders precisely because Emperor Chongwen was wary of him. With the way you phrase things, others might even suspect His Highness harbors ulterior motives.”
“I was merely angry. Of course, I would never say such things in front of outsiders.”
Guan Mu’s voice grew softer and softer as he muttered, “I just feel it is unfair for His Highness.”
To protect the rivers and mountains of the State of Jing, the large and small scars covering Tan Tai Si’s body were simply too numerous to count.
Yet the emperor still held such deep suspicion toward him.
“Alright, stop worrying. His Highness has his own considerations.”
Tang Jiu patted Guan Mu on the shoulder. “Let us go. Keep up with His Highness.”
In the third year of Hongjia, the Prince of Chen received an imperial decree to lead his troops back to the capital from the frontier.
The entire nation was shaken.
Although the rumors and gossip surrounding this Prince of Chen had grown increasingly intense over the past few years, there were still countless people who worshipped this undefeated God of War.
From seventy-year-old white-haired elders down to young children with hair in tufts, who in the world was unaware of the Prince of Chen’s glorious military achievements?
On the day the Prince of Chen’s vanguard troops entered the capital, Changrong Street, which led toward the city gates, was packed tight with nearly half of the capital’s commoners.
Even the hawkers who usually sold hot food in the street alleys dragged their entire livelihoods over to the vicinity, simply to catch a glimpse of the Prince of Chen’s true appearance.
Naturally, a portion of the crowd actually harbored a twenty-fold curiosity, wanting to see whether His Highness the Prince of Chen was truly as hideous as the legends claimed.
On this day, Changrong Street was deserted of its usual residents as everyone flocked to the streets.
With the outside world bustling like this, news naturally reached the Yong’an Marquis’s Estate.
Rong Xun finished his last plate of pastries, contentedly cradled his belly, and prepared to lie down for a nap.
Unsurprisingly, the sound of that chatty maidservant rang out from the outer parlor once more.
Rong Xun let out a yawn, lazily sprawling across the soft couch.
Did this maidservant have any idea that this was his designated time for an afternoon nap?
She was never heard speaking at other times, yet as soon as this hour arrived, she would start chattering incessantly. Was this intentional or just pure carelessness?
Rong Xun listened casually for a few sentences as the little maidservants traded remarks back and forth, though he could not quite make out what they were saying.
The only thing he caught was that the Prince of Chen’s troops were entering the capital today, and most people had gone out to watch the excitement.
Rong Xun’s eyes rolled as a thought popped into his mind.
Actually, he was quite curious about this husband of his whom he had never met before.
Anyway, everyone in the marquis’s estate was busy with matters regarding his wedding and had no time to manage him anyway. Taking a trip out to have a look would not hurt.
Rong Xun immediately sat up and shouted loudly toward the outside, “Wenxi!”
The maidservants who had been chattering incessantly just a moment ago instantly fell silent.
A little girl named Qing’er, wearing a pink ruqun, lowered her head and walked quickly inside. She bowed slightly to Rong Xun as a form of greeting: “Seventh Young Master, Wenxi is not here. If there is anything you desire, calling for us will yield the same result.”
Although this girl’s words did not cross any boundaries by half a syllable, her tone of voice carried no trace of respect whatsoever.
Rong Xun was not a genuine ancient person, so he did not care much about strict hierarchies, but he truly loathed people who judged others by their status and loved to fawn over the powerful while trampling the weak.
He leaned slightly sideways, resting both hands on the reception pillow. His sitting posture was extremely lazy, but his expression had already turned cold.
“Go call Wenxi over.”
From the time he entered the manor until now, Rong Xun had never uttered a single harsh word.
Caught off guard by Rong Xun’s slightly chilling tone, Qing’er dared not say more and retreated to invite Wenxi inside.
“Young Master, are you thirsty?”
As soon as Wenxi stepped in, he anxiously asked Rong Xun.
Rong Xun shook his head, gesturing for Wenxi to step back and remain silent.
He straightened up slightly to look at Qing’er, who was standing before him with her head lowered, and said indifferently:
“Over the past few days, whenever it is time for this young master to rest, I hear you all chattering endlessly outside. Do you think my sleep quality is so exceptionally good that nothing can wake me, or are you worried I will not be able to fall asleep and intentionally trying to tell me a few bedtime stories? Are you getting a bit too full of yourselves?”
“Young Master, please calm your anger. This servant… this servant did not know the Young Master was resting.”
Qing’er did not understand what Rong Xun meant by being full of ourselves. However, judging by Rong Xun’s tone, she knew he was angry.
Having spent a long time in the marquis’s estate, she was quite skilled at reading her master’s facial expressions and acting accordingly. She simply had not expected that this Seventh Young Master, who usually only knew how to eat, drink, and sleep, would actually turn out to have a temper.
Qing’er bit her lip and pressed her head even lower.
“Young Master, please forgive me. This servant will not dare to do it again next time.”
The other two little maidservants in the outer room heard the commotion inside and were so frightened that they did not even dare to breathe heavily.
“You would not dare? I think you dare quite a lot.”
Rong Xun sneered, “It seems you did not take to heart what Wenxi said last time. If I do not teach you a lesson today, you really will think I am easy to push around.”
“Young Master, please forgive us! Young Master, please forgive us! This servant truly will not dare again, we really will not dare!”
Qing’er kowtowed repeatedly to beg for mercy, while the two little maidservants outside were also frightened into entering the room and dropping to their knees to join in the pleas.
Wenxi cast a surprised glance at Rong Xun, thinking to himself: The Young Master’s temperament really has changed quite a bit.
Ignoring the people kneeling on the ground, Rong Xun spoke in a firm voice:
“Since you all have so much endless idle chatter every day, you are hereby punished to go make some osmanthus cakes for me. Remember, these osmanthus flowers must be fresh, plucked straight from the tree just now; otherwise, I will not eat them. If you fail to make them, you can just wait for my punishment.”
As soon as these words fell, Qing’er jerked her head up and stared at Rong Xun in astonishment.
“Seventh Young Master, where can one find osmanthus flowers in this season? Are you not deliberately making things difficult for us?”
Every word and gesture of hers showed a lack of submission toward Rong Xun.
Rong Xun raised an eyebrow and smiled, “I am deliberately making things difficult for you, so what? Could it be that you intend to stand up and beat me up over it?”
“I…”
“Get out.”
Rong Xun’s expression abruptly shifted, his voice already tinged with anger.
“If you cannot make them, I will send you off to Mother Cui’s place to wash clothes every single day.”
Biting her lip with unspoken resentment, Qing’er did not even offer a bow; she stood up, turned around, and bolted out of the room.
The two little maidservants in the back were scared out of their wits. They quickly kowtowed to Rong Xun in greeting before scurrying off toward the small kitchen.
After they left, Wenxi poured a cup of tea for Rong Xun, an unstoppable smile gracing his face.
“Young Master, you really have changed a lot.”
This group of little maidservants had always shown a complete lack of respect for the master-and-servant pair of Rong Xun and Wenxi. While they still put up a superficial front of politeness toward Rong Xun, their behavior toward Wenxi was entirely a matter of riding roughshod over him.
Rong Xun took the tea and drank a sip. “I originally did not want to bicker with them, but many people simply take an inch and demand a mile. If I do not discipline them a bit more, we truly would have had people riding right over our heads.”
With that, he handed the teacup back to Wenxi.
Rong Xun stood up and stretched his back lazily. He blinked at Wenxi and asked, “Want to go out and join the hustle and bustle?”
Wenxi: “Ah?”
The back door of the Yong’an Marquis’s Estate connected to a small, narrow alleyway.
Few people frequented this alley on ordinary days, and it was mostly cluttered with miscellaneous debris.
Over the tall courtyard wall, two snowy-white cloaks flew out from within and landed on the ground.
At the base of the wall, a broken winnowing basket was pushed aside as Rong Xun poked his head out. Checking around to ensure no one was in sight, he crawled out from the hole.
He stood up, dusted the dirt off his clothes, and called out to the person inside, “Wenxi, hurry up and crawl out! Are you incapable of crawling through a hole?”
“Coming right out, Young Master.”
Wenxi’s build was slightly larger than Rong Xun’s, making this particular hole rather difficult to squeeze through. He was struggling with great effort.
Seeing him labor so hard, Rong Xun thought to himself: Next time, I should just climb over the wall.
With much difficulty, Wenxi finally wriggled his way out. Patting the dust off his clothes, he asked somewhat nervously, “Young Master, is it really alright for us to sneak out like this? Madam said you are not allowed to leave the manor before the wedding. Besides, how did the Young Master even know there was a hole here?”
Rong Xun shrugged. With a chatty gossip like Qing’er around, it would have been harder for him not to know.
“Does she really think I will stay put just because she said so? You are far too honest.”
Rong Xun picked up the fox-fur cloak from the ground and tossed one of them to Wenxi.
“Put it on. Let us go take a look at Changrong Street.”
“Ah… are we really going?”
Wenxi held the cloak in his hands, hesitating. “What if the people from the marquis’s estate find out…”
“What are you afraid of when I am here?”
Rong Xun pushed Wenxi forward. “Put your mind completely at ease; the people from the marquis’s estate will not do anything to us right now. Besides, do you not want to see what the legendary God of War Prince actually looks like?”
“This servant is naturally curious!”
Who among the upright young men of the State of Jing did not idolize the Prince of Chen?
Coaxed by Rong Xun, Wenxi completely threw caution to the wind regarding whether they would be discovered. Leading the way, he guided Rong Xun through the maze of streets and alleys until they arrived at Changrong Street.
The area was already packed shoulder-to-shoulder with dense crowds of people, all gazing in a single direction—the direction leading toward the city gates outside.
Tan Tai Si’s troops would be entering from that very path shortly.
Seeing that there were no open spots to stand, Rong Xun brought Wenxi to the nearest tavern, the Fragrance-Scented House.
The tavern was packed with patrons as well.
The private rooms on both the second and third floors had already been completely reserved.
Rong Xun silently sighed in his heart; he had not expected the Prince of Chen’s popularity to be this high. If this were back in his original world, the man would easily be top-tier traffic.
Seeing that all the best viewing locations were gone, Rong Xun sighed with disappointment and prepared to pull Wenxi away to check out the next tavern.
“Young Master, please wait—”
A waitstaff stepped forward, smiling warmly at Rong Xun. “Little Young Master, the private rooms on the second and third floors are indeed full, but there is still one spot available for viewing. It is just that regarding the price…”
With that, he flashed a smile at Rong Xun, his hint exceptionally obvious.
“Price is not an issue. Lead the way.”
Rong Xun flicked his chin toward Wenxi, who instantly caught the cue, undid his money pouch, and pulled out a silver ingot to hand to the waiter.
“Many thanks, Little Young Master!”
The waiter weighed the silver in his hand, grinning from ear to ear. “Please follow me, Young Master.”
With that, he guided the pair to a section on the second floor.
Passing through a screen, an open-air semi-circular space opened up before Rong Xun’s eyes.
This area had no eaves overhead, and was enclosed solely by railings on all sides. The scenery below was completely unobstructed, including the section of Changrong Street that had been jammed tight with crowds.
This balcony was actually quite spacious. Why was no one else standing here? This was clearly much clearer than a private room!
Rong Xun picked out an optimal viewing spot, leaned against the railing, and looked down at the surging sea of people below.
Wenxi also stepped forward a few paces to stare into the distance.
Immersed in watching, the master and servant failed to notice the two people seated around the corner.
Tang Jiu instinctively wanted to walk over and chase the two away, but Tan Tai Si raised a hand to stop him.
“Young Master?” Tang Jiu looked at Tan Tai Si in puzzlement.
Tan Tai Si shook his head. “Do not draw unnecessary attention.”
As he spoke, his elongated eyes shifted toward the figure practically glued to the railing.
The person was draped in a snowy-white fox-fur cloak, with a cascade of ink-black hair draped casually behind his back.
Tan Tai Si took a single glance before retracting his gaze, picking up his teacup once more to toy with it in his hands.
Tang Jiu resumed his post, once again scanning their surroundings with vigilance.
However, a stream of dialogue drifted into his ears:
“Hey, Wenxi, what do you think the Prince of Chen actually looks like?”
“This servant has no idea.”
“Could it really be like what everyone says, that the Prince of Chen is some kind of ugly monster?!”
Tang Jiu: “…”