spoiled brat

Chapter 82, Section 81: The Lost Boat (Part 1)

Actually, it doesn't have to be that complicated.

Yi Xing stood outside the door, catching a glimpse of Xiu Ning's silhouette in the lamplight through the pale moonlight of the window paper. Tap, tap, her hand moved swiftly across the board, playing chess. She often enjoyed playing against herself when bored; beneath her tranquil exterior lay an ambition that seemed impossible to contain.

There's really no need to go through all that trouble.

On that day, she only needed to give him a brief glance.

Clean and bright, compassionate like a god, as if able to deliver him from all his suffering.

enough.

Yi Xing was afraid that his shadow would fall on the window paper and bother her, so he only dared to stand at the bottom of the steps. He Wang held an umbrella for him, but the rain and mist in the wind still wet his hair.

"Your Highness went through so much trouble to get medicine for the Princess, and even condescended to stand outside the door to ask for an audience, but she..." He Wang stopped complaining halfway through, sensibly shutting his mouth.

The door was pushed open from the inside, and the maid who had gone in to deliver the message came out, curtsied, and said with a troubled expression, "Your Highness, the Princess does not wish to see you."

Yi Xing smiled, his eyes softened by the rain: "It's better not to see her." He took a step back and pointed to the boxes behind him: "These are all things she used when she was little. I found them in the palace. Some of the old ones, I had the craftsmen remake, and the rotten ones were repaired."

The maidservant re-entered the room to report, her shadow falling on the window paper. She leaned close to Xiu Ning's ear and whispered a few words.

The sound of chess pieces being placed remained swift and decisive, like raindrops falling without the slightest hesitation.

Suddenly they stopped; a maid had brought paper and pen.

She picked up a pen and scribbled a few lines. A moment later, a maid came out, holding a letter in both hands and handing it to Yixing.

The meaning unfolds, the characters on the paper are elegant and beautiful, yet they contain sarcastic remarks—

Straight as a string, he died by the roadside.

A crooked hook, yet he was granted a noble title.

Yi Xing tucked the letter into her sleeve, and the maidservant said softly, "The princess said she doesn't remember having any dealings with you."

He smiled and said, "Is that so?"

The maidservant didn't know how to answer.

Yi Xing looked at the silhouette reflected on the window paper, his expression becoming silent: "What if I came here for the sake of the river?"

The maid went in to announce her arrival, and after a short while, she lifted the curtain and asked to enter.

The room was dimly lit, with only a gauze lamp on the table. The incense and candles inside were shrouded in a cold light by the gauze cover, making the girl playing chess by the table look like a painting made of frost and snow, which would shatter at the slightest touch.

Yi Xing stopped a few steps away, standing quietly, not daring to speak recklessly, for fear that if he opened his mouth, his heart would escape with his words, and he would bow his head in obeisance.

"Xiu Ning".

Xiu Ning looked up at him, her gaze calm and without a trace of provocation. It was like a pool of cold, desolate water, where a drowning person would silently sink to the deepest part.

"You've lost weight in three years."

Xiu Ning withdrew her gaze, gathered up the remaining pieces on the chessboard, and placed the black and white pieces into the chess box respectively. With a thud, a white piece fell to the ground, and before she could bend down, the piece was already lying in Yi Xing's palm.

"Play the next game with me."

Yi Xing made the first move, and fearing she wouldn't follow, he promised, "If you win, I'll grant you one wish."

He had a long history of misdeeds, and Xiu Ning didn't believe him.

"Trust me one more time," Yi Xing said self-deprecatingly. "Someone as unlucky and short-lived as me can't wait another three years."

Unlucky and short-lived?

These four words describe him in his youth as a stray dog ​​released from the cold palace, the illegitimate child of a discarded concubine and a guard, and the seventh prince who suffered cold looks and ridicule... But now, those who trampled on him are dead, those who blocked his way have been slaughtered, and he will soon enter the Eastern Palace as a noble prince. What is he still pretending for?
“I do not approve of what my mother and maternal grandfather did.”

To spend more time with her, Yi Xing deliberately played slowly, staring at the chessboard, afraid that his gaze would burn her: "In the past, I relied on their power, and I had to harmonize the balance of power and regulate the balance of yin and yang. You called me a treacherous minister, and I have nothing to say."

"But from now on, I will do my best to salvage the precarious situation and cleanse the corrupt people and affairs one by one, if you still remember your former grand ambitions."

He extended his hand to Xiu Ning: "Then come to my side."

Yi Xing secretly vowed that as long as Xiu Ning was willing, he would agree to whatever she wanted, and he would do whatever she asked him to do immediately.

Xiu Ning seemed not to hear, concentrating on her move. After a long while, she looked at Yi Xing's empty palm.

After a few years of illustrious power, his hands, covered in scars and calluses, had developed a wealthy appearance. Things had changed, and Xiu Ning looked away.

She truly loathed him. Yi Xing withdrew his hand and smiled: "I just came from prison and personally interrogated the female assassin who killed Xu Feng. Would you like to hear what she told me?"

After a moment of silence, not receiving a response from Xiu Ning, Yi Xing, fearing the silence, began to recount Wang Liuer's words, saying with pity, "She was a knowledgeable girl. The interrogator, according to the law, sentenced her to death by a thousand cuts, what a pity."

At this moment, a maid lifted the curtain and entered carrying the medicine. She curtsied to Yixing and placed the medicine beside Xiuning.

The medicine was shiny black, and Yi Xing could smell its bitterness. Xiu Ning picked it up and calmly drank it all.

A maidservant presented a dish of candied fruit and advised, "Princess, please have some sweetness to relieve your bitterness..." Xiu Ning shook her head, and the maidservant, not wanting to persuade her any further, respectfully withdrew.

The room fell silent, so quiet it was almost noisy. The wind rustled the moonlit paper, the rain pattered on the glazed tiles, and the incense burner on the table, burdened with unspoken emotions, burned timidly. Suddenly the candlelight dimmed, and the thick night pressed in, turning Xiu Ning into a thin paper shadow, which was pasted onto the window frame.

Yi Xing's heart froze; this vulnerability had stirred up nothing but delusions. He tapped the table with a chess piece and asked softly, "When can we be like we used to be?"

He knew that day would never come.

There will never again be a moonlit night with falling petals and snow, when the two of them climb the highest tower in the palace, Dengyun Tower, to drink. Proudly, she overlooks the star-studded imperial city and vows to become a first-rate strategist, while he gazes at her profile and says shamelessly, "I just want to look at you like this, and for life to pass by quickly."

That's a stupid thing to say.

Since she was to be a strategist, and he was unwilling for her to assist others, he could only be the ruler above all others.

Finally, after overcoming numerous obstacles and stepping over the corpses of his own brothers, he arrived before her, only to extend a bloodied hand.

He forgot that his brother was also her good friend.

But perhaps she never treated him any differently.

Pity, nothing but pity. Any faint affection he felt was merely his imagination.

The chess game on the board was still unfinished, but all that had been said had been said. Xiu Ning dipped her fingertip into the medicine in the bowl and wrote, "It's time for you to go."

"If you don't want to see me, I won't try to persuade you anymore."

Yi Xing stood up and gave a self-deprecating laugh: "Such methods are not worthy of you, much less of us."

Before leaving, he gave her one last, deep look.

He has plenty of time; who says a broken mirror can't be mended?

-

Thanks to his fat body, Xu Feng survived seven knife wounds without being fatally injured, and he was saved from the brink of death.

Before he fainted, he was still instructing his subordinates, saying that this time they had been tricked by thieves and that they could not let You Ming off the hook!
My subordinate, who was on good terms with You Ming, wiped the sweat from his brow and said sheepishly, "This matter probably has nothing to do with Lord You. He lost an arm and almost died..."

Xu Feng lay paralyzed on the bed. When he got angry, the blood in his body surged up like fat, making him dizzy and lightheaded, as if the gates of hell were right in front of him.

Lock him up in jail and interrogate him! Interrogate him severely!

After saying this, Xu Feng was overcome with rage and fainted.

When Xu Feng woke up, it was already late at night.

He was awakened by a woman's fragrance. Following the scent, he began to have a nightmare in which the smiling Wang Liuer took out a rope and a knife from behind her back, and floated towards him with light, graceful steps...

Xu Feng suddenly opened his eyes, startling the woman serving him by the bedside, who spilled half a bowl of medicine in her hand: "Master."

With his vision blurring, Xu Feng said hoarsely, "Light a lamp."

The woman glanced at the table, confirming the light was on: "Isn't it lit..."

"Light it again!" As soon as he spoke, Xu Feng's knife wounds throbbed with pain. "Not bright enough, not bright enough..."

The woman obediently went to light the candles. She lit five, but Xu Feng said it wasn't bright enough. She lit ten, and Xu Feng still said it wasn't bright enough. The woman sneered inwardly, "Old man, he only considers a fire bright enough to almost cook you alive!"
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and a servant said cautiously, "Master, a distinguished guest has arrived."

Xu Feng, having been stabbed seven times, lay motionless in bed, staring at the bed curtains and asking, "What important person?"

He thought it was Xiu Yi, but a familiar voice rang out from outside the door: "It's me."

With a sudden thought, Xu Feng struggled to get out of bed: "Please come in quickly!" He fell to the ground, and blood seeped from his bandaged wound. Ignoring the pain, he was focused on crawling to the door to pay his respects.

He hadn't climbed more than a few steps when a pair of auspicious cloud-patterned boots appeared before him. Xu Feng dared not look up, and began to kowtow repeatedly, using all his strength to bow: "Greetings, Seventh Prince! Greetings, Seventh Prince!"

He shouted twice and immediately fell silent. The news that Yi Xing was about to be made crown prince had already spread throughout their faction, so calling him Seventh Prince at this point would be a bit too low a title.

Yi Xing glanced at Xu Feng's cautious expression and smiled gently: "Get up."

Outside the door were plainclothes Imperial Guards. Xu Feng shuddered and dared not get up. He smelled the strong odors of medicine and blood in the room and quickly ordered his servants to open the windows for ventilation and to light incense and serve tea.

The cool night breeze swept into the room, making Xu Feng shiver. His voice trembled as he spoke, "Your Highness, this time..."

Yi Xing looked at his reflection in the teacup and touched the tea foam: "I didn't come with my maternal grandfather's people."

They didn't come from the same place, so naturally they won't do the same things. Minister Wu's men went south to amass wealth; what were they planning to do with their journey?
Xu Feng's heart pounded. He raised his small eyes and secretly glanced up at his head.

Many years later, he still remembers the scene of his first meeting with Yixing.

Five years ago, Yi Xing had just won the favor of Consort Wu and was released from the Cold Palace, sparking constant controversy both inside and outside the court. The emperor silenced his ministers, but disliked this son he had only seen a few times.

In the depths of winter, Xu Feng went to meet the emperor and waited outside the palace. His attendant saw a person kneeling in the snow in front of the palace, like an ice sculpture, looking extremely pitiful, and kindly offered to share an umbrella with him.

Fearing he might make a mistake, Xu Feng ordered his attendants not to go.

As Chang Sui withdrew his hand, Yi Xing also looked over.

Xu Feng could never forget that look in his eyes—emotionless and inhuman, like a stray dog ​​on the roadside staring at the steamed bun that had been taken back.

"Power breeds people," Xu Feng sighed. "How could I not have imagined that the little boy who was freezing to death in the snow would become the crown prince, second only to the emperor?"

"Master Xu."

Yi Xing refused to drink Xu Feng's tea, and put the porcelain cup back untouched. With a thud, Xu Feng was startled and abruptly raised his head: "Your humble servant is here."

A person's expression is most beautiful when they are fearful, their fawning demeanor tinged with pitifulness. Unfortunately, this ironclad rule doesn't apply to ugly people. Yi Xing didn't even glance at Xu Feng, and said, "You should submit your resignation and leave."

Xu Feng froze. In an instant, all the wounds on his body turned into mouths, desperately asking why, but his real mouth remained open, unable to utter a single word.

"What orders did your father give you when he sent you to Yunzhou?"

"...His Majesty has ordered me to carefully plan for the future."

Yi Xing looked at him and laughed: "I told you to keep him in check and plan your moves slowly, but you're acting like you want to ride all over his head."

"Your Highness." Xu Feng was overwhelmed with grievances and could hardly breathe. Words were easy to say, but actions were difficult. He had to pay tribute to the palace while simultaneously standing up to the Prince of Ning's mansion. A slight misstep could lead to him losing his composure. "This humble official truly..."

The words had barely left his mouth when Xu Feng suddenly realized that his superiors thought his knife was dirty and smelly and wanted him to get lost. That was all, no other reason: "Your subordinate obeys."

He had come to his senses, saving the Imperial Guards the trouble of trying to persuade him. He Wang entered the room, took out a memorial from his robes, and presented it to Xu Feng. Xu Feng's hands trembled, and he lost his grip, causing the memorial to fall to the ground. Five large characters stared straight into his eyes—"Your subject Xu Feng begs for forgiveness."

Xu Feng didn't read any further. Most of the excuses that could be made openly were just for show, and besides, there was no room for negotiation.

He shouted to the servants outside the door, "Bring me my seal."

"Wait, Lord Xu."

He Wang took a step forward, and the light from all the candles in the room focused on the embroidered spring knife at his waist. It was so bright that Xu Feng could smell the blood on the knife. Upon closer inspection, the blood seeping into the knife's grooves was not yet black, indicating that someone had been killed not long ago.

Yi Xing said in a drawn-out tone, "Those past debts..."

The account of public funds being leaked and turned into bribes chilled Xu Feng to the bone. He stammered, "They're all there, they're all there..." He shouted to the door, "Bring out those five boxes from the cellar."

Now Xu Feng understood: Yi Xing had grown too powerful and wanted to discard the Wu family to curry favor with the emperor. All the smears the Wu family had done for the emperor over the years, Yi Xing would cover up one by one. As for the emperor, who had reaped all the benefits, he remained untainted, holed up in the palace cultivating Taoism!
Several servants carried in the accounts, placed Xu Feng's seal on the table, and ran off like a shot.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Xu Feng didn't blame them, but listening to the rustling sound of the Imperial Guards flipping through the account books, Xu Feng still couldn't help but tremble. Forty years of official career, and he had ended up like this, like this!