Shoushan gave his younger sister a few words of caution before heading down to save the person.
Being of a cautious temperament, he picked up a branch along the way to probe the path ahead, fearing he might fall into some trap or step on a hibernating snake; otherwise, instead of saving someone else, he would end up dragging himself down into trouble as well.
Though Shoushan’s movements looked rather timid and even somewhat comical from above, to Yintang, he was nothing short of breathtakingly handsome—a veritable Bodhisattva who had come to rescue him.
As the son of a favored imperial consort, Yintang possessed a certain degree of arrogance, but today, all of that pride had been ground into dust.
Things had unfolded like this:
Today was his eleventh brother’s death anniversary. He had requested leave from the Upper Study and come to Tanzhe Temple to light an everlasting lamp for his biological younger brother.
Everything had gone quite smoothly, except that on his return journey, he spotted something glittering brightly on the cliffside. Thinking it might be some rare treasure, he decided to climb up to take a look. Upon getting closer, he realized it was a golden-yellow pomelo.
Pomelos were rare, and since he happened to catch sight of one, there was no reason to pass it up. Consequently, he began scaling the slope, but halfway up, a snake slithered out from the side. Startled out of his wits, he missed his footing and tumbled all the way to the bottom of the ravine.
His trusted personal eunuch, Li Dacheng, saw what happened and ran down to rescue him. But the tragic part was that Yintang had landed squarely on his tailbone, feeling as though it had shattered into an eight-petaled lotus, and his leg was broken too, making it completely impossible for him to stand. The only option was for someone to carry or hoist him up.
Li Dacheng was a skinny little guy lacking in physical strength, and after barely managing to carry him a couple of times, he dropped him every single time, worsening Yintang’s injuries in the process.
Sighing inwardly, Yintang told Li Dacheng to head back into the city to fetch reinforcements.
With tears in his eyes, Li Dacheng left, and Yintang was forced to wait for rescue right there in the snow.
It was a brilliantly clear day, and the snow melted fast. Not long after lying there, his clothes were soaked through, and the bone-chilling cold sank deep into his marrow, making his entire body shiver uncontrollably.
Time dragged on with excruciating slowness, and he desperately wished for a figure to appear before him—someone who could haul him up and hand him a piece of clothing to warm him.
Alas, no one came for the longest time.
Just as he felt he was about to freeze to death, a figure appeared above him. He waved his arms wildly at that person, hoping against hope that they would save him.
And that person did not fail his expectations; they came down to save him.
When Shoushan caught sight of Yintang, he got a terrible fright. The person before him had turned blue from the cold, his entire body was icy cold and somewhat stiff, and had he not still been breathing with his eyes open, he surely would have been mistaken for a corpse.
Shoushan patted Yintang’s face and offered words of encouragement: “Little brother, hang in there. I’m going to carry you back up right now.”
With that, he hoisted him onto his back and began climbing.
Even though Shoushan practiced martial arts year-round and possessed great physical strength, carrying a half-grown youth while scaling an incline through deep snow was no light burden. By the time he reached the top, his frame was swaying and he was panting heavily.
Wuyunzhu felt a pang of heartache and hurried over to take the person off her brother’s back.
Seeing that she intended for him to sit down, Yintang waved his hands frantically. “I can’t sit! My tailbone is shattered.”
Though mentioning one’s tailbone in front of a pretty young lady was hardly refined, compared to the agony in his backside, refinement wasn’t worth a single cash; he chose to speak the plain truth.
So that was how it was.
A trace of sympathy crept into Wuyunzhu’s eyes. Noticing that he was soaked to the skin with pale purple lips, she frowned and untied the cloak from her shoulders.
“Take off your outer robe and put on my cloak. It should keep you a bit warmer.”
With that, she turned her back to him.
Wear a young girl’s garment? Yintang had no desire to do so. He looked at Shoushan, whose benefactor’s clothes were also more than half soaked; he certainly couldn’t ask the other party to strip and hand them over for him to wear.
He asked instead, “If I wear this, what will you wear? Aren’t you cold?”
Wuyunzhu pointed up at the sky. “The sun is out, so I’m not cold. But look at you—if you don’t change out of those wet clothes soon, you’re bound to freeze and fall seriously ill.”
In this era, there were no wonder drugs for the common cold, and catching a chill was a life-threatening matter.
Aware of the severity of the situation, Yintang stopped standing on ceremony. He briskly stripped off his wet garments, draped the begonia-red cloak over his shoulders, and wrapped himself tightly in it, finally feeling a glimmer of warmth.
“I’ve changed. My heartfelt thanks to you both; I will surely repay this in the future.”
Shoushan waved a hand dismissively. “Performing good deeds accumulates virtue, and blessings naturally return to their source. Your condition cannot be delayed; you need to enter the city for medical treatment immediately. Can you endure the jolting of a horse? If you can bear it, I’ll escort you into the city right now.”
Yintang tried to sit up, his expression twisting in agony. “I’m afraid that won’t do. Could you find me a carriage so I can lie flat on my stomach? It’ll be much more comfortable that way. Preferably lined with a soft fox-fur mat.”
Wuyunzhu and Shoushan exchanged glances; this fellow certainly didn’t stand on ceremony.
Yet he truly was a pitiable sight, so deciding to see a good deed through to the end, the siblings agreed to his request.
Shoushan mounted his horse, intending to return to the temple to borrow a carriage. It wasn’t far from Tanzhe Temple, and a round trip would take less than half an hour.
Wuyunzhu thought for a moment and added, “Fifth Brother, help him bring back a clean set of new clothes. And if it’s convenient, get some hot water too.”
Since Tanzhe Temple enjoyed flourishing incense offerings, there were quite a few merchants operating at the foot of the mountain, so they ought to be able to purchase those items.
At these words, Yintang looked at Wuyunzhu, a fresh wave of gratitude washing over him.
What a remarkably rare and wonderful young lady she was—pretty, gentle, considerate, and kind-hearted. Truly worthy of being his benefactor’s younger sister.
Shoushan nodded. “Understood,” he said before urging his horse away.
After Shoushan left, Wuyunzhu walked around the vicinity, gathered some withered branches, piled them together, and lit a campfire.
Feeling the warmth radiating from the fire, Yintang perked up a bit and asked Wuyunzhu, “Are you two also heading to Tanzhe Temple to burn incense?”
Wuyunzhu nodded. “And you? Didn’t you bring any servants when you came out?”
Had her fifth brother not happened to spot him—had her fifth brother not been so strong—the fellow before her would have frozen to death in the snow.
“I did too.” Yintang sighed. “I brought two trusted aides when I left home. One went on an errand to my uncle’s house, and the other accompanied me out of the city. The one who came with me lacks physical strength and wasn’t able to get me up here, so he had to run back into the city to find help.”
“Oh, I see. Which estate are you from, then?”
“I am…” Yintang hesitated for a moment before changing his tune: “I’m from the Prince Yu’s Estate… little ninth brother.”
He had originally intended to say the Guwalgiya Estate, but with a yellow sash tied around his waist, anyone could tell at a glance that he didn’t belong to the Guwalgiya family. Among those connected to the Guwalgiya family, the only ones wearing yellow sashes were the imperial princes under Consort Yi, which would make guessing his identity all too easy.
In his current disheveled state, he didn’t dare state his real name.
“You’re actually from Prince Yu’s Estate?” Wuyunzhu was genuinely surprised this time.
Prince Yu Fuquan was Emperor Kangxi’s most trusted and heavily relied-upon older brother, and their fraternal bond was only slightly weaker than that of Yongzheng and Prince Yi. Befriending little ninth meant getting in good with Prince Yu; by extension, that meant getting in good with Kangxi.
Catching the delight in her tone, Yintang probed, “You know Prince Yu?”
Wuyunzhu nodded, then shook her head. “Our estate and the Prince’s family are distant relatives, so we don’t interact all that much.”
Interest piqued, Yintang pressed further, “How distant?”
Wuyunzhu counted on her fingers. “The Prince’s maternal grandfather and my paternal grandfather were first cousins; their fathers were real brothers. To stretch the connection and pull rank, I could even say the Prince and I are cousins.”
Yintang did the math: he was Fuquan’s nephew, meaning he was actually a generation junior to this pretty young lady. With a somewhat doltish grin, he chimed in, “Does that mean I need to address you as ‘cousin-aunt’?”
Wuyunzhu froze for a second, then burst out laughing. “Alright then! If I call you my great-nephew, will you answer to it?”
Yintang was stunned. This was his first time encountering someone who climbed right up the pole as soon as it was offered. It was a bit shameless, though using it on a pretty young lady hardly seemed appropriate.
With this thread of a tenuous kinship established, the relationship between the two grew much closer, and their conversation became increasingly casual.
Just as the campfire was about to burn out, Shoushan returned.
Shoushan was driving a flatbed cart carrying a set of new clothes, a woven rattan tea barrel, and a box of vegetarian pastries.
“There were no carriages in the temple, only grain transport carts. I laid a bedding quilt inside, so you’ll have to make do.”
Yintang thought to himself that this was far too crude, but catching sight of the sweat beads on Shoushan’s forehead and his slightly labored breathing, he swallowed back his picky complaints.
“Thank you for your hard work, brother.”
Shoushan nodded. “The tea barrel holds hot water, and there’s a cup on the side; drink a couple of sips to warm yourself up. Sister, turn around so this little brother can change his clothes.”
“Alright.”
After a brief rustling sound, Yintang had changed into the fresh clothes.
He looked toward Wuyunzhu. “Do you have a handkerchief on you?”
“What for?” she asked, already handing a handkerchief over.
“To wipe my face.”
Once he had changed his clothes and wiped away the grime from his face, Wuyunzhu realized that this great-nephew of hers was actually quite handsome.
Noticing her gaze, Yintang flashed a brilliant smile at her, picked up a jujube paste pastry, and asked, “Want one?”
“No.”
Wuyunzhu quickly averted her gaze and gently patted her chest; that great-nephew’s smile was far too bewitching.
She mounted her horse. “Fifth Brother, let’s head back quickly, or it’ll be too late to enter the city.”
“Mm.”
Shoushan exchanged greetings with Yintang and then drove the cart forward.
After traveling three or four li, they encountered a luxurious carriage. Sitting on the carriage shaft were two men—one fat and one thin—who were none other than Yintang’s trusted eunuchs, Heyuzhu and Li Dacheng.
The one who had accompanied Yintang out was Li Dacheng, while Heyuzhu had been dispatched to deliver items to the Guwalgiya household. When Heyuzhu heard that Yintang had tumbled down a ravine and shattered his tailbone, he was so frightened his seven souls nearly left his body, and he immediately had a carriage prepared to rush outside the city.
The two of them were burning with anxiety, sitting on the carriage shaft and urging the horses on incessantly, wishing the beasts would sprout wings and fly straight to the spot.
With their focus entirely on driving, naturally they paid no attention to the people on the wooden flatbed cart by the roadside, pressing forward in a panicked rush.
They hadn’t recognized him, but Yintang recognized them!
Furious, he bellowed, “Heyuzhu! Li Dacheng! Have your dog eyes gone blind? Can’t you even see Your Lordship?!”
Hearing someone call them by their full names, the two eunuchs were just about to flare up in anger when the subsequent words registered in their minds. That voice sounded terribly familiar.
It was the Ninth Prince’s voice!
Overjoyed, the two men leaped down from the carriage, scrambled over to Yintang’s side, and began howling with tears and snot streaming down their faces.
“Master, are you alright? It’s all this slave’s uselessness that made you suffer.”
“This slave should have stayed right by your side. You’ve only been apart for a little while, and you’ve gotten yourself injured like this.”
“If anything happens to Master, this slave will follow you down below to serve you…”
Hisss~
Wuyunzhu couldn’t help rubbing her arms; goosebumps had broken out all over her skin. Goodness, the great-nephew’s two personal attendants were far too sickeningly sweet.
To be honest, Yintang couldn’t stomach it either. He shoved the two of them away. “Get away, get away. Why are you crowding so close? Trying to suffocate Your Lordship to death or what?”
“What are you crying for? Your Lordship isn’t dead yet.”
Only then did the two of them pipe down, pulling out handkerchiefs to wipe the corners of their eyes.
True to his name, Heyuzhu possessed a towering physique like a pillar. Glancing at the flatbed cart with utter disdain, he said, “This slave will carry Master back into the carriage.”
Yintang hesitated for a moment, yet ultimately refused.
Why? Clearly he also thought this flatbed cart was incomparably crude, but for some reason, he just didn’t want to switch over.
“Fifth Brother, drive on.”
The two eunuchs wanted to climb onto the flatbed cart as well, but Shoushan stated that if the cart grew too heavy, it wouldn’t travel fast. The two eunuchs had no choice but to trudge back to squat on the carriage shaft.
Half an hour later, the group entered the inner city.
Shoushan glanced at the sky and said to Yintang, “The hour is getting late. Since you have your attendants to escort you, we’ll head back to our estate now. If we return too late, our elders at home will worry.”
Yintang nodded, cupping his hands in gratitude: “Today, thanks to the two of you lending a helping hand, otherwise I’d likely have frozen to death in the snow. Conditions are inconvenient today, but another day I will surely call at your residence to express my thanks.”
With that, he let Heyuzhu carry him into the carriage.
Watching his retreating figure, Shoushan muttered inwardly: You didn’t even ask where I live, where are you going to come thank me?
Yet he felt too embarrassed to chase after him and announce his home address, as that would carry the implication of leveraging a favor for a reward.
Inside the carriage, Yintang also realized that he hadn’t yet asked which estate his benefactors hailed from.
He lifted the carriage curtain, intending to go ask, but the figures of the brother and sister were nowhere to be seen.
Alas.
The wind blew inside, carrying a hint of chill, prompting him to wrap the cloak tighter around himself.
The cloak—wait? Begonia-red, it belonged to Wuyunzhu.
He remembered now: Wuyunzhu had mentioned that Second Great-Uncle Fuquan’s maternal grandfather and her grandfather were first cousins. He would certainly be able to track down their identity.
Author’s notes:
Note:
Prince Yu Fuquan’s mother was Imperial Noble Consort Ningque, who was the great-granddaughter of the Founding Five Great Ministers, Hoheili. The Ninth Primary Consort’s father was also a great-grandson of Hoheili.
Changed to a new cover today, super happy~ Rolling around and begging for favorites and reviews~