GD Chapter 58

“Yikes, I really can’t bring myself to wear something you’ve worn.”

The Crown Prince said boldly, “You dare despise me?”

Who in this world dared look down on the Crown Prince? Know your place!

Su Xinghe gave a flattering smile. “That’s not what I meant… Let me pull it for you,  your grip isn’t strong enough.” Without waiting for his reply, she reached out with both hands and tried to dig her thumbs into his waistband. She pressed hard for quite a while, but couldn’t even wedge a single finger in. Meanwhile, she’d managed to rub quite a bit of oil off him.

The Crown Prince lowered his eyes and looked at her. “See that? This is the pair of trousers you made.”

She half-squatted, tilting her head up at him with an awkward grin. “I haven’t done needlework in over ten years. Whatever skill I’ve shown today comes entirely from what I learned as a kid. And now you’re picking faults? Fine,  get someone else to make them.”

The Crown Prince frowned. “Undergarments made by someone else? Then what use are you? You’ve already done it once , you ought to have figured out the trick by now. And if you still can’t manage, that just proves you’re stupid. I won’t even bother making excuses for you.”

But she still couldn’t figure it out. She had clearly followed the old pattern ,  so why wouldn’t it pull up? Suddenly, a thought struck her. She slapped her thigh. “It must be because you’ve gotten fatter! Your hips are bigger now, that’s why it’s stuck!”

The Crown Prince nearly choked on his anger. “Are you blind? With a build like this, you’re saying I’m fat? I think you’re the one who’s fat!” As he spoke, he stubbornly grabbed her hand and pressed it to his waist. “Enough talk, go on, feel it. Is it firm or not?”

She blinked innocently. “Hard as a rock,  all sinew and muscle.”

Actually, this was nothing. There were even harder, tougher places on him… He just wasn’t shameless enough to show them off.

Her fingers moved lightly over his waist like plucking strings. He had tried to hold himself still , but in the end, he couldn’t stand the ticklishness and curled up involuntarily.

He kept dodging, laughing until his eyes brimmed with tears. Seeing him like this, Su Xinghe only got more mischievous and chased after him, tugging at him up and down. The Crown Prince, unable to move his legs freely, had no choice but to squat down.

“Stop!” He gasped for breath, tears in his eyes as he tried to put on a stern face. “If you don’t quit it, don’t blame me for getting rough.”

It was her first time realizing ,  so the Crown Prince was actually ticklish. She squatted down too and whispered, “You’ve got ticklish spots… that means you’ll be afraid of your wife in the future.”

He shot her a resentful glance. With a scoundrel like her around, who wouldn’t be wary?

“Come here,” he said, curling a finger at her. “Let me hold you.”

She leaned in, hooking her arms around his neck. “What is it? Did I hurt your feelings by calling you fat?”

He said no, not really. “I’ve been out and about all day.  I’m a bit tired. I gave all the orders for the aftermath of Princess Xialing and Zuo Zhaoyi’s affairs. Honestly, what kind of enemy of theirs am I? I take them down, then I have to clean up their corpses too.”

She tightened her arms around him. “But that’s exactly what makes you rare. One hand strikes, the other shows mercy. Deep down, you’re still a good person,  it’s just that your position forces you to harden your heart and get rid of your enemies.”

He listened, then slowly let out a sigh. “Yeah… After I finished dealing with them, I did feel kind of sorry for them. But when they were out for my life, they were hateful enough to deserve death.”

Maybe the Crown Prince just needed a bit of comfort. As his capable right hand, Su Xinghe figured giving him some timely flattery might help ease his conscience when he had to do ruthless things.

She smoothed a hand over his back ,  just a thin layer of inner robes between them, and underneath, his body felt warm and strong. The position they were in was a little odd ,  both of them squatting ,  but Su Xinghe still tried her best to rest her chin on his shoulder, so they could hug more closely.

Everything in the palace was arranged with purpose. Every space had its designated function, and the higher one’s status, the more frequently one had to change clothes to suit each occasion. Behind this screen stood mother-of-pearl cabinets, clothing racks, and a full-length bronze mirror ,  a little world meant just for dressing.

When Su Xinghe lifted her eyes, she caught sight of her reflection in the bronze mirror. That familiar face, resting gently against this man’s shoulder… His broad, well-defined figure showed faintly through the sheer robe. His bare back, his bare waist… and those underpants she couldn’t pull up, now serving their greatest purpose ,  she looked a bit closer and caught a clear glimpse of the Crown Prince’s half-exposed backside. Looking even more carefully… she could even see the line of his butt crack.

In that instant, she felt that all the grandeur and awe he’d commanded before ,  must’ve been her own illusion. This right here was the real, embarrassing, completely disarming Crown Prince.

She started giggling, laughing so hard her shoulders shook, leaving the Crown Prince utterly baffled.

“What’s so funny?” He pushed her away and scrutinized her face. “Is hugging me really such a thrill?”

She gave a playful little shrug. “I just caught sight of myself in the mirror… I looked so silly, I couldn’t help it.”

Hearing that, the Crown Prince turned to look,  and sure enough, the two of them reflected in the mirror… not exactly sharp. He really couldn’t understand why, of all possible poses, they’d ended up hugging like that…

Wait a minute ,  what was that below his back? His heart gave a jolt. He shot to his feet and yanked at his trousers… but no matter how hard he tugged, they wouldn’t go up. Now he was thoroughly flustered.

And Su Xinghe was still laughing, “Master, I saw your butt!”

Inside the hall, the two of them presented a sharp contrast ,  one laughing with unrestrained glee, the other fuming with mortified rage.

Outside, Dequan shook his head. Young people these days… really dared to do anything. Showing your backside,  couldn’t you at least be a bit discreet about it? If it happens, fine, but did you have to announce it out loud? How embarrassing. Probably the fault of Lord Su’s lousy sewing skills, making the master lose face. Or… maybe not. Maybe His Highness did it on purpose spring was in the air, after all.

In the end, Su Xinghe was forced, under the Crown Prince’s relentless pressure, to obediently make him a new pair. The crab emblem,  claws raised, eyes bulging  still looked fierce and majestic, occupying its rightful place of honor. And since he was the master, he insisted she wear the pair he’d tried on first.

So Su Xinghe tied the waistband around her hips, feeling a chilly draft seep right through,  her legs felt like they’d been tossed into the dead of winter. She told him men’s and women’s cuts weren’t the same, but he refused to believe it.

With no other choice, she picked a fine, sunny day, slipped into his study alone, and painstakingly picked apart the seams at the pant legs. She trimmed off two fingers’ width on each side before sewing them back together. At last ,  they fit.

Turns out, men’s and women’s figures really didn’t look that different at a glance… but once you tried on the same pair of underpants, the difference became glaringly obvious.

What a fine relationship they had  even sharing undergarments now. The Crown Prince certainly had something to say about that.

But what was worse… somehow, word of it got out.

When Yinchen dropped by for a visit, the first thing she said was, “Sister, are you living that tight these days? Don’t even have a pair of pants to wear ,  so you’re using the Crown Prince’s hand-me-downs?”

Su Xinghe felt tears prick at her eyes. She said it wasn’t like that. “My sewing skills are poor… I ruined His Highness’s underpants. He said it’d be a shame to toss them, so he rewarded them to me. It’s an act of his grace.”

Yinchen actually found that believable. Wasn’t that exactly the Crown Prince’s style? “He used to make you eat watermelon rinds ,  now he gives you his old clothes. Stingy doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

Su Xinghe gave an awkward smile and asked how things were going in Wude Hall.

A faint, wistful look passed over Yinchen’s face. She lowered her head and said, “Prince Xin treats me… well enough, I guess. But it’s the kind of ‘well’ that doesn’t feel sincere ,  more like he’s trying to butter me up. I know why. It’s all because my family holds military power. My father’s a general, and most of my uncles are too. They don’t command the capital, but out in the provinces, they count as high-ranking governors.”

So… everyone had their own worries in life.
Those without power struggled just to survive the day, not knowing what tomorrow would bring.
Those with power spent every moment sighing over the fact that no one ,  whether in politics or marriage ,  ever treated them with genuine sincerity.
What people valued was the power you wielded, not the person you were.

Su Xinghe could only comfort her. “You’re overthinking. If you see traps everywhere in life, you’ll never make it down any road. Just tell me,  do you like Prince Xin? He’s a young, talented man, no less than the Crown Prince himself.”

Yinchen’s answer was blunt: “I don’t care about his pedigree. I don’t like him. I don’t like the Crown Prince either. The only one I like is you. If you were a man, I’d have married you in a heartbeat. Would you believe that?”

It was all childish talk, really. Su Xinghe gently smoothed her hair and said, “Pity I’m not a man  or I’d have married you.”

Pity indeed. Sometimes, when she was on duty at the Ministry of Military Control she would catch herself thinking the same thing.

As for Yinchen’s situation, it was true that the power behind her wasn’t something to take lightly.
Even though Su Xinghai’s influence had already extended deep into the Upper Forest garrison , and even the newly appointed commander of the Northern Army was a protégé Su Xinghai himself had promoted,  compared to the open, legitimate authority wielded by the Shangguan family, there was still a clear gap.

Whoever married Yinchen would gain wings to soar ,  like a tiger grown stronger.
That had been the Crown Prince’s idea at the start: if his own brother married her, the advantage gained would be as good as his own.

Whether he still thought the same way… who could say?
When a person rose high enough, ambition tended to swell.
Prince Xin, raised under the Emperor’s eye and in constant proximity to power ,  would he really remain loyal to his Crown Prince brother? That was anyone’s guess.

Su Xinghe had handled enough cases over the years to hone her instincts sharp as a blade. People in this business tended to sniff out trouble before it showed. So when she said every last noble in this hall was a suspect Prince Xin was naturally included.

Let’s suppose for a moment…
If Prince Xin truly was the mastermind behind all this,  what would success or failure mean for him?

If the plan succeeded, wiping out both the Crown Prince’s and Prince Jian’s factions in one stroke, the only rival left would be Prince Minxing and he’d be easy enough to deal with. In both ability and connections, Prince Xin would come out on top.

And if the plan failed? He could always have Princess Xialing take the fall. After all, it was she who’d entered the palace and ended up falling out with the Emperor.

Eliminate Prince Jianping’s faction first, the fewer enemies, the better.
As for the rest… they could battle it out later, each making their move in due time.

　

　　　　　

So with Yinchen now placed by Prince Xin’s side, Su Xinghe couldn’t help feeling uneasy , though she couldn’t say it outright. All she could do was remind Yinchen to be extra careful.
If it really became unbearable, they could think of a way out later , maybe claim she’d fallen gravely ill. When the time came, the palace, for the sake of peace, would naturally let her go.

The weather was gradually warming. Outside the palace walls, the willow trees had begun sprouting fresh shoots, and inside the palace, it was time to change into spring robes.

Of all seasons, spring always seemed to lift the heart. After the long, harsh winter, life stirred anew. Even those with frail health, if they could make it through the cold, might find a turning point   like the Emperor.

The recent upheaval had left him despondent, but life still had to go on.
Tongshi brought more news: after the incident with Zuo Zhaoyi, the Emperor had visited Wenshi Palace twice.

Everything had been conducted by the book. Tongshi was supposed to stand outside the bedchamber, noting the time and keeping records. But Empress Hui, feeling sorry for her long hours on duty, had reassigned her to the side hall.

From then on, the Tong Register only recorded things in vague terms,  noting which consort had received favor, but omitting details like who exactly it was or how long the visit lasted. The records were no longer precise.

Su Xinghe let out a soft sigh.
Everyone was fighting hard in this palace. Though the red walls and green tiles glowed with spring brightness, wasn’t every corner hiding a blade?

Lately, even her own headaches had started up again.

Madam Liang, seizing every opportunity, had been cornering her to complain,  all because of Prince Minxing’s recent ennoblement.

Same sons, yet Qingzhu was out there scraping for provisions, enduring contempt from everyone.
And when he finally came back, no rewards were waiting , only the Emperor’s scolding.

with someone outside and only brought him into the Shaoyang Court afterward. No wonder no one gives him any respect.“The army doesn’t move without supplies ,  how much weight has he carried on his shoulders? Who really understands?” Madam Liang grew tearful as she spoke, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her eyes. “My son wasn’t born legitimate. I had him 

If Qingzhu is so capable, why didn’t they send him instead?
But no, he’s the precious Crown Prince, worth his weight in gold, while my son, raised by a concubine, is the one expected to handle the dirty work and take the blame when it goes wrong.

Lord Su, tell me honestly are we supposed to keep taking on these tasks or not?
My third boy’s already timid by nature. Yesterday he got a scolding right in front of His Majesty if it hadn’t been for your father stepping in, who knows how far it would’ve gone?”

Su Xinghe could only give a helpless smile.

Backing a less-than-promising prince… if it worked out, you could one day hold power over the ruler himself  but the road there was grueling enough to drive anyone mad.

All this talk about ‘brought into the Shaoyang Court’ or ‘raised by a concubine’…She gently tried to calm Madam Liang. “Your Ladyship, don’t be angry. If you need to vent, say it in front of me  we’re on the same side, it’s no trouble.

But if you’re not careful and someone else overhears, that could turn into a serious offense.

It doesn’t make you look good. Best not to mention it again.

Who in this palace isn’t the child of a concubine?
Even the Empress herself was lifted up by one once, so what’s there to get worked up about?

What matters now is that you maintain a good relationship with the Empress…
And keep an eye on her getting too close to Prince Xin.

Think about it  the Empress has no children.
Prince Xin hasn’t even reached adulthood.

From the Empress’s perspective, he’d be easier to control than the Crown Prince.

As for us ,  our Prince does have a mother, so our advantage isn’t as big as theirs.
But at least our Prince is genuine ,  not full of schemes like the others.
The Empress knows that too.”

Madam Liang, her face streaked with tears, asked quietly, “If that day really comes… how would the two Empress Dowagers be handled?”

Right now, Su Xinghe just wanted to pacify her and send her off. She forced a smile. “When the whole empire is in your and your son’s hands, how hard could it be to deal with an empress dowager with no backing?”

Madam Liang thought it over and realized Su Xinghe had a point. Slowly, she calmed down.

Truth be told, the way temperament passed from parent to child was always a strange and subtle thing. Prince Minxing was a simple, honest sort ,  and his mother was much the same. Such people made excellent figureheads… but raising them to high positions was never easy.

“You often visit the Empress’s palace, don’t you? Have you seen her chief attendant lately?”

Madam Liang pondered, then slowly shook her head. “Now that you mention it… I haven’t seen her in three or four months.”

A faint sense of unease stirred in Su Xinghe’s heart.

She had used her connections to check the palace gate records,  the ones that logged who came and went ,  and had found no trace of Wen Ti Ying’s name.

That meant she was still inside the palace. And if she was, there was no reason she shouldn’t be on duty. The only explanation… the Empress had deliberately hidden her away.

Earlier this year, the Su family had formed an alliance with Empress Hui through ties to the Cavalry Commandant. But it was clear the Empress had never fully trusted them.

Su Xinghe had also noticed that lately, Princess Xialing had been visiting the palace more frequently.

Though the Empress’s natal family wasn’t influential, her son-in-law, Commandant Yan Yunshen, came from a powerful aristocratic clan,  one of the most prominent in the,  Great Yin.

All Su Xinghe could hope now was that Princess Xialing wouldn’t become the next fallen princess.
When power was within reach, the only ones who could stay indifferent… were the dead.

Palace affairs were endlessly tangled. Sometimes, Su Xinghe would rather hole up in her office ,  focusing on cases was far easier than this constant scheming.

Su Xinghai had sent his trusted aide with a message:

Keep an eye on the Yan family for now, but don’t make a move just yet.

The opportunity would come.

It was always better to have them come seeking you ,  that was when a relationship became truly valuable.

Let them set up whatever schemes they wanted outside . Su  Xinghe didn’t feel like getting involved.

For some reason, she’d been feeling more and more drained lately… though oddly, her desire for leisure had only grown stronger.

Spring flowers were blooming in the fields ,  it was time to get out for a walk.

She had someone prepare a fine jug of wine, tucked a thin felt mat under her arm, and headed over to the Privy Council to find Huo Yan.

Standing under the eaves, she called out, “Lord Huo, are you busy today?”

Huo Yan had just finished discussing affairs and was stepping out onto the stone path at the far end of the archery range.

She was quite a distance away, raising her voice to call to him,  loudly enough that even the generals under his command turned to look.

For some reason, a sudden, inexplicable turmoil stirred in his heart.

He was already past the age of youthful bravado and didn’t act as showy as the younger men.
He didn’t answer her right away ,  just turned slightly, gave a few instructions to his deputy about the matters at hand, and only then started walking toward the main gate facing the street.

She stood under the eaves, eyes curved in a playful smile. “I said I’d treat you to a drink around New Year’s, but I still haven’t made good on it. Tomorrow’s the Flower Festival,  and also His Highness’s birthday. The Eastern Palace will probably be hosting a banquet. So I thought I’d ask you out for a spring outing a day early… otherwise, who knows how long we’d keep putting it off?”

A spring outing…?
How many years had it been since something like that?

Back when they were stationed at the border, they’d kept track of every festival ,  simply because there were no battles, and the entire army was bored stiff.

But after returning to the capital and taking charge of the Privy Council… life had become a constant rush of affairs, leaving no time for anything else.

He hesitated a little. “Someone like me… what business do I have going on a spring outing…”

Su Xinghe couldn’t help but laugh. “And why shouldn’t someone like you go on a spring outing?”

Maybe it was because he’d lost his wife that he no longer cared for such things ,  the thought made her heart ache a little. So she pressed him eagerly, “I even set aside work to come invite you specially. You can’t turn me down.”

He had no choice but to agree.

He sent word to his fellow officials at the gate, fetched a horse, and rode out of the city with her, letting the reins hang loose.

Sometimes you didn’t realize how far into spring it was until you left the city behind.

The Flower Festival fair was always lively ,  young women had tied colorful ribbons to tree branches, and the streets were bright with flower-shaped lanterns for the occasion.

When night fell, the lanterns would light up one by one, and the streets ,  freed at last from winter’s barrenness,  would come alive again, full of energy and color.

He glanced at her.

She’d come prepared for the outing.
Though her attire was proper and formal, there was a soft, cheerful glow in her eyes.

In one hand, she carried a wine jug; in the other, a folded felt mat.
She said they’d find a nice spot, spread out the mat, and share a pot of spring wine together.

“These last two times I had to deal with official business, I’ve relied on your help,” she said. “We’re not exactly close… but whenever I see you, I feel at ease. I couldn’t even say why.”

They found a quiet spot ,  a small grassy hill where a single pear tree stood.

The blossoms hadn’t opened yet, but its spreading branches stretched overhead, filtering the light into soft patches that danced playfully on her shoulders and hair.

She handed him the wine jug, then shook out the felt mat and spread it on the ground, chatting idly as she worked. Every so often, she’d glance up and flash him a warm smile.

When the mat was ready, she sat down with a little bounce, stretched out her legs, and gave a long, contented sigh. “Beautiful mountains, clear waters, perfect weather… and a good person beside me. Now this is the life.”

A bold, battle-hardened general like him ,  most people approached with caution and respect. Sweet talk like hers wasn’t something he heard often.

He couldn’t help finding it a little amusing… but he didn’t dislike it.

When she started drinking in big gulps, he even tried to stop her, worrying a young lady like her might not handle her liquor well ,  that drinking too much could harm her health.

She didn’t have the heart to tell him that after she’d drunk the Crown Prince under the table last time, no one ever tried to stop her again.
Anyone who knew her real capacity gave her a wide berth when she had a cup in hand.

She was keeping her strength hidden, of course. She’d come prepared — hoping to use the wine as cover for a little candid heart-to-heart, maybe shorten the distance between them.

Huo Yan… really was the most composed man she’d ever met.

He didn’t talk much, but when he did, every word hit the mark  especially when it came to the state of the realm.

She sat quietly listening, feeling more moved than she ever had by any teacher at her family’s academy.

Advice from others often went in one ear and out the other.

But when he spoke, she wanted to take every word to heart.

He said the political landscape would only get more complicated.

One Zuo Zhaoyi had already left the Crown Prince battered and bruised,  and the road ahead wouldn’t be any smoother.

So she asked him, “How can we balance all sides… and bring an end to the fighting?”

He gave her a long, searching look.
“Only when the Crown Prince ascends the throne .  When the dust finally settles and everyone finds their rightful place — will the court have peace.”

But how many storms would come before that happened?
Who could say?

She lowered her head, gently tracing the handle of the wine jug.
“That day, when you told me not to follow in Princess Xialiang’s footsteps… I’ve been thinking about it ever since.”

“And?” he asked quietly. “What have you decided?”

She shook her head.
“This isn’t something I can decide on my own… I can’t stop now.”

At that, he fell silent ,  a faint melancholy in his eyes as he turned to watch the distant figures running with kite strings in the wind.

It was true.
These things weren’t as simple as just deciding to walk away.

Like wearing clothes,   worn well, they added brilliance and grace.
Worn poorly, a person became nothing more than a hanger for them ,  a mere support for display.

He had no desire to get entangled in factional strife.

Whoever sat the throne of the Huo dynasty mattered little to him.

He’d only given her that warning because he thought she was rare,  and because it was the right thing to do.

Now that he’d said his piece, it was time to leave it at that.

Better to drink.

Let the breeze accompany the wine, the mountains and rivers their quiet company.

He stretched out, bracing his hands behind him ,  and as his palm settled, it brushed against soft, delicate fingertips.

He turned sharply.

She wore a faint blush of embarrassment on her face… but before either of them could speak, a thin, whistling hum came floating on the wind.

A sound like a drawn-out whistle,  faint, sharp.

A sound anyone who’d faced death on the battlefield would recognize in their very bones.

A flicker of alarm rose in her eyes ,  frozen within them, a dark shadow came slicing through the clouds and mist.

He sprang up in an instant.
With a sharp draw of his blade, he slashed ,  steel sang out with a twang like a snapped bowstring.

The gust stirred by his blade brushed against the strands of hair hanging by her temple.

By the time she fully registered what had happened, he was already leaping forward in pursuit.

Before her, on the soft felt mat, lay a broken arrow,  its shaft and head severed, lying silent and still.

A chill ran through her, and she sank heavily back down, feeling her strength drain away.