If time could be turned back, then Chu Yue’an wished that this morning he had tripped on going out with his left foot and been bedridden, rather than being taken by Lu Jingci to the shore of Spring Lake to run into Lu Shuangchan and Gu Shaoshi in new clothes.
This was not the season for boating to begin with, and the Third Prince and Fourth Princess, who could come up with the idea of coming to Spring Lake at this time, could more or less be called a sleeping dragon and a phoenix chick.
But the problem was not there. The problem was that for Lu Jingci, Gu Shaoshi and Lu Jinghe alike, they were important figures whom the boatmen could not afford to offend. Although the imperial relatives had their own fleet, they had made no preparation beforehand. As a result, the only boats on Spring Lake with a standard equal to the status of these people were the last two painted pleasure boats, and one of them had of course been taken away by Lu Jinghe, so the four of them had no choice but to board the same boat.
Although the pleasure boat was splendid and exquisite, Chu Yue’an had no mind to enjoy it. By contrast, Lu Jingci, sitting beside him, and Lu Shuangchan, across from him, these two members of the imperial family naturally occupied the good seats by the window for viewing the scenery, and both looked relaxed, gazing out the window, not at all concerned about what would happen later.
Chu Yue’an was anxious in his heart but could not say it. The four of them had met only briefly on the lakeshore just now before hurriedly boarding the boat. Chu Yue’an had thought the Crown Prince would immediately order his subordinates to act, since to others Lu Jinghe was an imperial relative, but to Lu Jingci he was only a “brother.” As Crown Prince, disciplining a wayward younger brother was something no one could criticize.
But once on the boat Lu Jingci seemed to have forgotten the matter entirely, and even sent for tea and snacks, but did not mention a single word about Lu Youning.
Could it be that Lu Jingci still wanted him to speak up and beg? Chu Yue’an thought privately, but Lu Youning was after all a woman of a marquis’s household. If she really came to harm in the imperial family’s hands, it would be hard to give the noble families an account, and what’s more it would shatter the already precarious relationship between the imperial family and the noble families altogether. So Chu Yue’an did not believe Lu Jingci was truly not anxious. But then what was this now?
Perhaps worry made him confused. Chu Yue’an’s expression showed a slight crack, and unexpectedly the first person to speak to him since boarding was Gu Shaoshi across from him:
“Why is Cousin’s face so pale? Is there some unease in your heart?”
Chu Yue’an raised his head to meet his gaze. After Lu Shuangchan’s crying, Gu Shaoshi’s clothes had evidently been changed too. Just now on the shore he had only noticed Lu Shuangchan’s extremely bright dress and overlooked Gu Shaoshi standing beside her. He had changed into a plain moon-white damask robe, with a stone-blue kesi crane cloak over it, looking elegant and understated, no wonder he hadn’t noticed him at first.
“…It’s nothing. Perhaps the wind on the lake is strong and I have caught a bit of a chill.” Chu Yue’an coughed lightly, lowered his head to avoid his gaze, and at the same time raised a hand to pull the collar of his gauze jacket slightly higher. He didn’t know whether there was a mark left by the Crown Prince there, but at the moment he lowered his head he also missed the rather meaningful glance Gu Shaoshi cast at his neck.
Lu Shuangchan had been quite quiet, but now, seeing Gu Shaoshi talk with Chu Yue’an, she was immediately displeased and grabbed his arm:
“Brother Chuanxing, don’t talk to her. Come and look, that rock on the lake, doesn’t it look very much like a little rabbit?”
Gu Shaoshi clearly had meant to say something more to him, but now, held by Lu Shuangchan, he could only smile at him helplessly, then turned his head as asked to look at what Lu Shuangchan was pointing at.
Chu Yue’an did not care about their lovers’ talk. He only cared now whether Lu Youning was safe or had come to harm, but since Lu Jingci had not spoken up first, he had no standing to ask the Crown Prince in front of Gu Shaoshi, this “outsider.”
Perhaps his expression was so uneasy that even Lu Jingci, who had been showing him a cold face a moment ago, noticed. He leaned over slightly, and just as Chu Yue’an thought Lu Jingci would reveal some news, His Highness the Crown Prince reached out and draped the black cloak he wore around his chest over his shoulders, and did not forget to say gently, with a helpless and slightly indulgent look:
“Earlier I told you to add a layer of clothing and you wouldn’t, and now you say you’re cold? With your health already poor you insisted on coming boating on Spring Lake. I think you want to catch a cold again?” As he spoke, he leaned close, tied the clothes cord at Chu Yue’an’s chest tight with both hands, then bent his right index finger and scraped the back of it down Chu Yue’an’s nose bridge. Even the corners of his eyes were dyed with smile, a completely different person from the frost on his face earlier.
This action was too sudden. Chu Yue’an used almost all his strength to keep from having a stress reaction when Lu Jingci reached out.
Lu Jingci took in the look of his eyes widened slightly in surprise, was in quite a good mood, withdrew his hand, and sat back in his place, and no longer paid him any attention.
Chu Yue’an unconsciously followed his movement with his eyes, but met the highly probing gaze Gu Shaoshi cast at him.
Chu Yue’an could not explain. What could he say, that he never wanted to come to Spring Lake at all, that his health had always been good and he had had no cold recently?
Chu Yue’an barely squeezed out a smile at him and silently lowered his head to drink tea.
Lu Jingci’s actions were, plainly put, deliberately done for Gu Shaoshi to see, and even if he really spoke, it would be useless.
But that was not what he cared about now. Just a moment ago, he had finally figured it out.
Lu Jingci must have given the order long ago, or rather, he himself might not even have needed to go in person. Spring Lake was only so big, so couldn’t the Crown Prince’s personal guards just take a boat to approach and subdue Lu Jinghe directly? So Lu Jingci insisting on coming over was perhaps first out of consideration for Chu Yue’an’s coming, and second perhaps…
Lu Jingci simply wanted to see with his own eyes what a sorry state Lu Jinghe would be in later, to gain psychological pleasure.
Back at the restaurant, Chu Yue’an had discovered that this Crown Prince of the Great Yan had a bit of a bad taste in him. As for how he discovered it, Chu Yue’an closed his eyes slightly; he did not want to recall it a second time.
And the other, that is, the powerful Prime Minister Gu Shaoshi, evidently was not entirely ignorant either, but like him, since the Crown Prince did not bring it up himself, he treated it as if he knew nothing.
As he was thinking, the boat suddenly rocked. Chu Yue’an’s thoughts were disturbed, and he turned to look sideways past Lu Jingci at the scene outside the window. A corner of a pleasure boat appeared in view, and around it, as expected, were four or five small boats, on each of which stood subordinates in the Crown Prince’s guard uniforms.
And with this shake, the maid who was about to serve drinks to the group slipped with both hands and spilled most of the fruit wine in the cup over Gu Shaoshi.
With a “thud,” the maid fell to her knees, her shoulders shaking: “Prime Minister…Prime Minister, spare my life!”
Gu Shaoshi looked down at his soaked lapel, not surprised in the least, and not at all flying into a rage as the maid imagined, only lifted a hand to signal her to rise:
“It’s nothing. The boat suddenly rocked and it was not your fault. Tidy the floor and go down.” Having said that, he straightened his cuffs and stood up, apparently to go and change into another set of clothes.
Seeing that the boat no longer rocked, as if the anchor had been dropped, Chu Yue’an knew the “good show” Lu Jingci wanted to see was about to begin. Unwilling to wait any longer, he suddenly stood up, his expression serious, and said to Lu Jingci:
“Your Highness, this subject’s daughter is uneasy in her heart and must go closer to see. Please excuse me for the moment.”
Having said that, without waiting for Lu Jingci’s reply, he immediately followed behind Gu Shaoshi and went out of the cabin together.
On the deck.
Chu Yue’an had not brought attendants out today, so he now stood alone and forlorn by the railing near the side of the boat, his eyes fixed hard on the other pleasure boat “slowly drifting” in the middle of the lake not far away.
The pleasure boat that Lu Jinghe and Lu Youning had boarded was much smaller than theirs. Apart from the central cabin, it was a bare deck in plain view, and at this moment there was no one on that deck, and he did not know whether Lu Jinghe had not brought guards out this time, or had specially dismissed the guards to enjoy himself alone.
“Since Cousin is worried, why not go over personally?”
A voice suddenly came close behind him. Chu Yue’an frowned slightly. He needed no guess to know it was Gu Shaoshi. He glanced at him sideways and found the stain on his chest was still there, only that he had taken off the crane cloak. That made sense. Gu Shaoshi had always been brilliantly calculating, and the maid was probably also arranged by himself, just to find a good excuse to leave the room and get rid of the annoying Fourth Princess.
Chu Yue’an was in no mood to answer him and, hearing it, only sneered coldly:
“Isn’t the Prime Minister always concerned for the people? Seeing someone in trouble, why doesn’t he rescue them himself?”
The corner of Gu Shaoshi’s smiling mouth pressed. He evidently saw that his mood was bad and, for once, did not court a snub, but only stopped beside him and said no more.
Chu Yue’an then withdrew his gaze and observed the situation over there.
The Crown Prince’s guards were already very close to the pleasure boat but had not yet boarded, yet strangely the inner room of that boat still had no movement at all, not a sound. If the tightly shut windows had not occasionally reflected some faint human shadows, Chu Yue’an would almost have thought there was no one on that boat at all.
The next moment, a guard first stepped onto the deck, nimble in movement, crossed to the door of the inner room in a few steps, kicked the door open, and poked his head in to look. That door faced the side, so Chu Yue’an and the others could not see. The guard did not enter the room, but stepped back a few steps, and before long a woman in pink walked out of the inner room. It was Lu Youning, who had been taken away!
Chu Yue’an hurriedly called out to her:
“Ah Ning! Ah Ning!”
In ordinary times, Lu Youning would surely answer at once on hearing him call, but this time he called for a long time before Lu Youning came to herself. She raised her head dazedly and looked around. Chu Yue’an was anxious in his heart and inevitably leaned his body forward, and was even steadied by Gu Shaoshi beside him.
Over there, Lu Youning finally saw Chu Yue’an standing at the side of the boat, but did not run to him at once as usual, and instead stepped back slightly.
Chu Yue’an noticed nothing. The two were not very close, so naturally he did not notice the expression on her face, only roughly made out that her clothes were in order, only slightly wrinkled, and his heart was finally set at ease. Seeing Lu Youning looking over, he hurriedly waved in response:
“Ah Ning! Here!”
Lu Youning finally came to herself and ran toward him, stopping at the edge of the pleasure boat, looking at each other with him.
Chu Yue’an now finally saw that her face was pale and her little mouth was pressed tight, clearly frightened. He was about to turn back and ask the Crown Prince to have her brought over when he saw someone else walk out of the inner room of the pleasure boat, reeking of liquor:
This was of course the Third Prince Lu Jinghe. His figure, from the habit of years of seeking pleasure, had gradually grown fat. He came over swaying in a few steps, and the river wind carried a face-filling smell of liquor:
“Who…who is it, disturbing me, disturbing my drinking…hic…” Lu Jinghe raised his right hand in an empty fist like a cup and poured air into his mouth, then his eyes suddenly lit up and he chuckled: “Hey, Big Brother, Big Brother has come to bring me wine, Big Brother—”
The pleasure boat beneath their feet slowly started moving again, getting even closer to Lu Jinghe’s side. Chu Yue’an feared that Lu Youning on the deck would be hurt by the wine-crazed Lu Jinghe, and hurriedly ran to the spot where the two boats were about to meet to wait, reaching out his hand to take Lu Youning.
At this critical moment, Lu Jinghe suddenly paused. Before the guards around him could even stop him, he made a dash forward, shoved Lu Youning aside, pushed her onto the deck behind him, then pushed off with the heels of both feet and jumped, crashing hard into Chu Yue’an, who was still standing at the edge of the deck. This move was beyond everyone’s expectation, and Chu Yue’an, unable to dodge in time, fell into the water with a “splash.”
“Sister Yue’an—”
“Chu Yue’an!” Gu Shaoshi watched with his own eyes as he fell into the water and, almost without hesitation, jumped in after him.