Chapter 11
The night Song Beiyao woke up, Pei Ji finished his official duties in his study and went to Yan Nuan Pavilion.
Yan Nuan Pavilion was in the east wing, a considerably larger courtyard with three rooms. The main room was Song Beiyao’s residence. When Pei Ji arrived, the lights inside were very dim, and the servant attending to Song Beiyao stood outside the door.
Upon seeing him, the servant immediately bowed and said, “Your Highness, the master just woke up tonight, his body is unwell, he had some porridge and quickly fell asleep again. If Your Highness wishes to enter, I’m afraid… I’m afraid…”
Pei Ji paused outside the door. Seeing the servant’s anxious and fearful demeanor as he lowered his head, he said, “I understand.” He then turned and left.
The next day, Pei Ji was halfway through reviewing documents in his study when he called the guard, Qu Lan, inside. “What time is it?”
“Reporting to Your Highness, it’s almost the ninth hour (亥時).”
Pei Ji put away the documents, stood up, and left. “Go to Yan Nuan Pavilion.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The main room of Yan Nuan Pavilion was still dimly lit. A servant guarded the door. Upon seeing Pei Ji, he stammered, “Your Highness, the master he has already…”
Pei Ji raised his hand slightly, interrupting him. Without saying a word, he turned and left.
Only after his figure completely disappeared did Lian Sheng enter the room.
Inside, Song Beiyao was lying on the bed. A warm charcoal brazier was burning nearby, and various fruits were placed beside the bed. He was picking up a purple grape and putting it in his mouth, his eyebrows pleasantly narrowed.
Lian Sheng came to the bedside, worriedly saying, “Master, His Highness the Crown Prince just came and left again. This time, his expression didn’t look good.”
“Oh really? How did you tell his expression wasn’t good?” Song Beiyao spat out the grape skin and continued to eat another.
“Well, uh…” Lian Sheng couldn’t actually articulate it. It was dark outside, he didn’t dare look directly at His Highness the Crown Prince, and just the gesture of raising his hand to interrupt him felt like he wasn’t in a good mood.
“You’re not His Highness the Crown Prince, so how would you know his true thoughts?” Song Beiyao smiled gently.
Someone like Pei Ji, a person of high power who holds the power of life and death, habitually buries his truest emotions deep within.
“You’ve done well, Lian Sheng. Come and have some fruit.”
Lian Sheng shook his head. “I’ve already eaten enough earlier, I can’t eat anymore. What if His Highness the Crown Prince comes again tomorrow night and says that to you again?”
“He probably won’t come tomorrow night,” Song Beiyao said.
“Ah? This…” Lian Sheng couldn’t help but become anxious. “What should we do?”
“It’s alright.” Song Beiyao extended his hand. “Lian Sheng, help me wipe my hands. I really need to sleep.”
…
The next afternoon, Ling Feng rushed into the main room of Yan Nuan Pavilion like a gust of wind, sitting down by the bed and sighing, not at all like someone who had recently recovered from injuries. “I really can’t take it anymore!”
“What’s wrong with you?” Song Beiyao rested his head on his arm and looked at him.
“That… that young Marquis, he keeps running to my room!” Ling Feng was exasperated. “I’m really sick of him!”
Song Beiyao burst out laughing. “It’s not bad having a beautiful person keep you company.”
“Beautiful? Beautiful my foot!” Ling Feng glanced at Song Beiyao’s face twice. “You know he likes Pei Ji, right?”
Song Beiyao: “I can see that.”
Ling Feng said, “So he hates you! These past two days he’s been asking me about you, his eyes darting around, full of bad intentions, who knows what kind of tricks he’s planning to torment you with!”
Song Beiyao laughed again. “I feel like you’re overthinking it.”
“You’re just too soft-hearted, you think too highly of people.” Ling Feng thumped his chest and stamped his feet. “Don’t wait until someone pushes you around before you realize it!”
Song Beiyao was amused. “There are grapes here, do you want to eat some?”
“Grapes, grapes all the time! You only know how to eat grapes! Can eating grapes make you gain weight? Look how skinny you are!” Ling Feng glanced at his back.
Song Beiyao raised his hand in surrender. “I’m an injured patient now, can you be gentler with me?”
Ling Feng “humph”ed, finally softening his tone. “You even took those lashes for me, you really are not afraid of death.”
“If I didn’t take them for you, Pei Ji wouldn’t stop. Could you have withstood fifty lashes?” Song Beiyao said leisurely. “I thought you would have collapsed after the first one.”
“I—” Ling Feng looked around, making sure no one was there, and said helplessly, “I was acting! That guard didn’t have any internal strength, how could I possibly not withstand fifty lashes?”
Song Beiyao turned his head towards the inside of the bed. “Alright, alright, I was meddling.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
Just then, the door was pushed open. The servant guarding the door was Zhang Bo’s appointee, responsible for taking care of Song Beiyao during the day these days, and was now anxiously stopping someone. “Young Marquis, you can’t go in, His Highness has given orders…”
“What orders! Brother Ji told me to come! You insolent servant, you dare defy this young master!”
Upon hearing this voice, Ling Feng’s face immediately fell. He whispered to Song Beiyao, “That troublemaker is here.”
Xiao Yun broke through the servant’s defenses and stormed into the room, swaggering towards the bed. Ling Feng immediately stood up, blocking him.
“Get out of my way!” Xiao Yun glared angrily.
“I won’t.” Ling Feng spread his arms, his demeanor not yielding.
“Get out of the way!”
“I won’t.”
Watching these two children bicker, Song Beiyao couldn’t bear it anymore and said, “Ling Feng, don’t be rude to the Young Marquis, step aside.”
Ling Feng immediately looked like a defeated rooster, listlessly saying, “Yes.” He stepped aside.
Xiao Yun snorted, raising his neck even higher. He walked to the bedside, glancing at Song Beiyao’s back, thinking, How can this person’s waist be so slender? He’s a vixen, definitely trying every means to seduce Brother Ji!
He shouted, “Song Beiyao, don’t think that just because you married Brother Ji you can get away with anything! You saw it that night, Brother Ji doesn’t like you at all, and he’ll never like you! I’m telling you, it won’t be long before I marry into the Crown Prince’s mansion and become the Crown Princess!”
Song Beiyao said softly, “There are grapes here, especially large and sweet ones. Would you like to eat some?”
“Oh, I’ll take one.” After taking a grape from Song Beiyao’s hand, Xiao Yun realized what he had done, looked away in regret for a second, and continued to raise his voice, “Stop pretending to be good. I’ve seen many like you, I’m not falling for it!”
“How old are you?” Song Beiyao looked at him sideways, his dark hair scattered over his face, his eyes gentle.
Xiao Yun blurted out, “Seventeen.” Then he looked away again, regretting it for a second.
“Only seventeen, what a good age.” Song Beiyao smiled at him. “Our Ling Feng is also almost seventeen. He just mentioned you to me, saying that he gets along very well with you.”
Ling Feng: “???”
Xiao Yun’s arrogant aura immediately weakened, and he looked at Ling Feng somewhat shyly. “Is that so?”
Ling Feng: “…” Song Beiyao, you’ve gotten me into trouble.
Xiao Yun took a small jar of ointment from his bosom, placed it on the bedside, and said coyly, “Seeing that you’re so injured, I’ve come to give you this. It’s said to be very effective at removing scars.”
Quickly, he came to his senses, and his arrogant demeanor returned. “Hmph, I originally didn’t want to give it to you, it’s only because you look so pathetic.”
Song Beiyao said earnestly, “Thank you very much. You’re so kind.”
Xiao Yun’s face turned slightly red, and he happily left Yan Nuan Pavilion.
“Song Beiyao, why did you talk to him like that?” Ling Feng’s resentful gaze fell upon him.
“Because he is the son of the Marquis of Nan’an,” Song Beiyao said slowly. “The Marquis of Nan’an is a high-ranking military official, and he has a good relationship with Pei Ji. If you want to better complete your mission, try not to antagonize him.”
Ling Feng: “Fine.”
Song Beiyao closed his eyes. “Go out first. I’m a little tired and want to rest for a while.”
“Oh, okay.”
The door closed, and silence returned. The strong scent of medicine in the room stirred the emotions.
In the original story, the Marquis of Nan’an was considered Pei Ji’s military advisor. In the later stages of the struggle for the throne, the Third Prince launched a military rebellion and attacked the city, and the Marquis of Nan’an and his son both went into battle and died, thus helping Pei Ji ascend to the throne in the end.
Song Beiyao slowly opened his eyes, picked up a grape from the low table beside the bed and put it in his mouth, enjoying the peace of this moment.
Who lives and who dies in the book, what does it have to do with him? He just needs to ensure that Pei Ji survives.
…
In the evening, in the dining hall, Xiao Yun hummed a happy tune while eating.
Pei Ji glanced at him, and he immediately stopped humming, pouting and asking, “Brother Ji, why don’t you ask me why I’m so happy today?”
Pei Ji said coldly, “You’ll blurt it out yourself, why would I need to ask?”
“Hmph, this time I won’t say anything.” Xiao Yun secretly sulked.
After not much time, seeing that Pei Ji still didn’t care, he had no choice. “I went to Yan Nuan Pavilion today.”
He cautiously watched Pei Ji’s expression.
Brother Ji is so handsome, his face is simply a gift from heaven. Those dark, deep eyes, when looking at people, are cold and indifferent, as if nothing can touch his heart.
It’s hard to imagine what he would be like if he fell in love with someone, what he would do, what kind of eyes he would use to look at the other person.
“You went, and then what?” Pei Ji didn’t look at him, only asking casually.
Xiao Yun stared blankly at Pei Ji, fantasizing, while replying, “Then I did what Brother Ji asked me to do.”
“Did you deliver the ointment?”
“Yes.”
“How is he?”
“He…” Xiao Yun suddenly snapped back to reality. “Brother Ji, why are you so concerned about him? Why did you send him ointment!”
Zhang Bo chimed in, “Young Marquis, His Highness can’t be considered overly concerned. After all, the favored consort did take a lashing, and with the injury he sustained, it’s only natural to inquire about his condition.”
“Hmph, I think Song Beiyao is not seriously injured at all, he’s just playing the victim, trying to make Brother Ji feel sorry for him!” Xiao Yun said angrily.
Pei Ji said indifferently, “Can he get out of bed?”
“No.”
“Can he dress himself?”
“No.”
Pei Ji put down his chopsticks. “So that’s what you mean by not seriously injured?”
“…” Xiao Yun pouted and didn’t say anything else.
Pei Ji stood up and walked out. Xiao Yun called from behind, “Brother Ji, where are you going? You’re not going to see him, are you!”
Pei Ji didn’t turn back, his back straight and strong, his voice slightly cold. “Xiao Yun, understand your place.” Then he strode out.
“Hmph!” Xiao Yun angrily threw his chopsticks on the ground. “Brother Ji didn’t treat me like this before, it’s all because of that Song Beiyao!”
Zhang Bo quickly picked up the chopsticks, holding them in his hand to prevent them from being thrown again. “Young Marquis, why are you getting so angry? His Highness is the Crown Prince, you can’t control, nor should you control, what he does.”
“I’m just not happy, I just don’t want him to go see Song Beiyao!” Xiao Yun was about to cry. “Last year, I accidentally broke my leg when I came to the manor, and even after more than a month of recovery Brother Ji only visited me once. What right does Song Beiyao have, Brother Ji visits him every day!! Waaaaaaa… I’ve known Brother Ji since I was eight years old.”
“But he’s a favored consort, His Highness’s husband, how could His Highness treat him the same as anyone else?” Zhang Bo said with a headache.
“Waaaaaaa I don’t care, when I get back, I’ll have Father ask the Emperor for permission to marry him, I want to be the Crown Princess, I want to be his wife, waaaaaaaaa…”
Zhang Bo said nothing.
“Zhang Bo…” Xiao Yun sobbed, “I’m still not full, give me back my chopsticks.”
“…I’ll get Young Marquis a new pair.”
…
In winter, it gets dark early. Even before the seventh hour, it was completely dark.
The Crown Prince’s mansion’s dinner time was set according to Pei Ji’s schedule. If Pei Ji was busy with court affairs during the day and returned late, dinner would be late; if he returned early, dinner could be as early as the seventh hour. If he had a banquet outside, Pei Ji would also inform Zhang Bo in advance that dinner didn’t need to be prepared that day.
Previously, there was only one master in the Crown Prince’s mansion; now there are two. However, Song Beiyao was not summoned to the dining hall for meals. The servants would prepare the food and send it directly to Song Beiyao’s courtyard at the seventh hour.
After Pei Ji left the dining hall, he took a short stroll in the mansion and unknowingly walked to Yan Nuan Pavilion.
He stopped outside the courtyard, not entering. From afar, he saw that the main room in the courtyard was brightly lit.
“Your Highness, aren’t you going in?” The guard, Qu Lan, asked beside him.
Pei Ji’s dark, deep eyes paused on the main room for a moment, then retracted his gaze. “I won’t go in today.”
____________
