When Su Xinghe heard what she said, she was both amused and exasperated.
“How could you have such an idea?”
She, on the other hand, was perfectly calm.
“Either way, I could never follow Prince Xin. He wants to seize military power and would go so far as to treat me like this, I absolutely won’t let him get his way. Now that I’ve lost my virginity, I don’t expect to find a respectable match anymore. I’ll just follow you. Whoever you marry, take me along. I’ll be a concubine, just to keep you company. That way, you won’t be lonely in the future.”
“But…”
The feeling was hard to describe. Su Xinghe had never encountered anything like this before. If it were like her brother Su Xinghai’s household, where a mistress and her maid both married the same man, that would be one thing. But this wasn’t the same. Yinchen was the beloved only daughter of the Shangguan family, passed down for three generations. To have her become a concubine would be far too degrading.
Besides, Su Xinghe had her own selfish reasons. She had never planned on letting her man marry another woman. And a woman of such distinguished background, if she didn’t marry into the imperial family, what other household could possibly accommodate such a noble lady?
Su Xinghe stammered,
“I… I don’t even know who I’ll marry yet. If you’re set on following me, that could be difficult. What if I end up marrying someone you can’t marry? Like… Huo Yan?”
Yinchen froze for a moment.
“Him? He’s the Crown Prince’s uncle. He’d never lower himself to marry you. You should just stay with the Crown Prince. One day, when you become Empress, just give me the title of a consort or lady. The children you have, I’ll help raise them. We’ll be one big happy family, what could be better? And…” she added,
“Our Shangguan family holds military power. In the future, we’ll throw all our support behind your son becoming the next Crown Prince. Anyone who dares have second thoughts, we’ll cut them down.”
Su Xinghe awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck.
“You’re thinking way too far ahead…”
Seeing her hesitation, Yinchen suddenly burst into tears again.
“You despise me too, I’m no longer pure, and you despise me too!”
Startled, Su Xinghe quickly reached out to hug her.
“That’s not what I mean, you misunderstood me. I just think… this isn’t something I can decide all on my own…”
“That’s fine too,” Yinchen said. “If you never marry, then I’ll stay with you for life. No men, just the two of us. That would be the best, wouldn’t it?”
Su Xinghe looked troubled and miserable. She’d found herself in yet another dead-end move, with no way forward.
Was this girl really planning to cling to her forever?
How deep must her feelings be to disregard her own future and refuse to let go like this?
Helplessly, she rolled up her sleeves and began wiping away Yinchen’s tears.
“Alright, alright. If no one marries me in the future, then we’ll just live our lives together. But if someone does marry me, and it might not even be the Crown Prince, then we’ll ask him if he’d be willing to take both of us in, side by side in two bridal sedans. If he agrees, then I’ll marry him. How about that?”
This time, Yinchen was overjoyed.
But outside the door, Dequan broke into a cold sweat.
This is bad.
That little rat is trying to steal the master’s bride!
The Crown Prince already had it hard enough, constantly guarding against other men.
Now he had to watch out for women, too?
The whole world was turning upside down.
Clutching his horsetail whisk, Dequan bolted off like a gust of wind, heading straight to the Chongjiao Hall to find the Crown Prince.
When he entered, the Crown Prince was speaking with officials from the Office of the Chamberlains.
Dequan shrank to one side, not daring to interrupt.
But of course, the Crown Prince saw him.
He calmly and methodically finished the business at hand, dismissed the officials, and only then motioned for Dequan to come forward.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Dequan looked awkward, nervously twisting the horsetail whisk in his hands.
“Your Highness, this servant overheard something, it’s about last night. Prince Xin had his way with ‘the little rat.’ Today, she wasn’t feeling well and went crying to Lord Su, saying Prince Xin was rough with her, tied her up, and now she’s absolutely determined to stand against him. To be honest, Your Highness, young people sometimes get a little wild, it’s just romantic fun…”
But when he caught the Crown Prince giving him a sideways glare, Dequan quickly straightened up and cleared his throat.
“In short, Prince Xin forced himself on her, against her will.”
The Crown Prince was a refined man and couldn’t stand hearing his servants speak so crudely.
“Shangguan Yin is at least a court lady. Stop calling her ‘the little rat.’”
Dequan let out a sheepish sound.
“Yes, Your Highness. My mouth runs ahead of me. Thank you for the correction. But actually, that’s not even the main reason I rushed over to report this. The real shock came after. The attendant, she made a deal with Lord Su. And that’s what scared me enough to come running to Your Highness.”
He spoke in broken bits and pieces, frustrating the Crown Prince.
“Can you just say it all in one go? Or are you planning to leave it with a ‘To be continued’?”
“No, no, no,” Dequan quickly waved his hands,
“This servant just doesn’t know how to say it properly… Lady Shangguan said that she feels disgusted by men and is willing to help Lord Su go against Prince Xin. After it’s all done, she has one condition: she wants to marry together with Lord Su. Whoever Lady Su marries, she’ll become the second wife. And if Lord Su never marries, then even better the two of them will just shack up together and happily live a life without men.”
This time, Dequan didn’t even need to fan the flames.
The Crown Prince leapt three feet in the air.
“That rat!”
Dequan watched his master erupt in fury and nodded solemnly.
“Look at that, what kind of talk is this?”
It was absolutely outrageous.
The Crown Prince was so angry it felt like his liver might burst.
First, it was Qingfeng. She had already worn his patience thin.
Now there was Yinchen, blatantly trying to steal Su Xinghe from under his nose.
Was there no rule of law anymore?
They were all women, even if they liked each other, they should still live their own separate lives.
Who had ever heard of someone demanding to marry alongside another woman just because they liked her?
What was the man supposed to do, take a wife and her romantic rival into the household at the same time?
The Crown Prince was so furious, he laughed.
“Absurd. Utterly absurd. How could anything be so ridiculous? I always thought that little rat looked like a sneaky half-man, half-woman, now look, she’s turning her nonsense on me.”
Dequan added bitterly,
“That girl must be confused. Talking about dealing with Prince Xin, but who is Prince Xin? He’s Your Highness’s own younger brother! All that nonsense she said even had Lord Su completely turned around. She didn’t know what to say, only tried to comfort her told her not to be upset. But really, what’s the big deal? A woman has to get married eventually. Last time, she obediently climbed into Your Highness’s bed. This time it’s Prince Xin. He’s not missing any limbs. What, he’s not good enough for her now?”
The Crown Prince fell silent, a bleakness rising in his heart.
The matters between brothers weren’t something outsiders could ever fully understand.
Whether it was the eldest or the third, if either of them dared to rebel, he could take ruthless action and crush them without hesitation.
But Qingfeng, what could he do about her?
They were born of the same mother.
After the Empress passed away, it had been just the two of them, relying on each other for so many years.
In his eyes, Qingfeng was like another version of himself.
But the things that had happened recently…
They made him feel more and more disheartened.
He hadn’t said anything, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know.
His youngest brother had grown up now ..
He’d grown up in the muddy swamp of imperial power, where everything he saw, everything he heard, was submission and flattery.
That position, invincible under the heavens, had made him lose himself.
And perhaps in his mind, being born of the same mother, he thought:
Why should my brother be made heir to the throne while I have to remain beneath him?
Young men…
They all go through a time when they think they’re invincible.
that they can stir the clouds and call down rain,
that they alone can overturn the heavens and earth.
He let out a sigh. “And Lord Su, what exactly did she say?”
Dequan replied, “Lord Su is peculiar. She agreed, said that from now on, two sedan chairs should enter the gates together.”
“Foolish,” the Crown Prince scoffed. “Have they already made arrangements? It still depends on whether I approve.”
But Dequan chuckled awkwardly and added, “Lord Su also said, ‘It’s not even certain yet who I’ll marry.’ She asked the Palace Attendant: What if she were to marry the Minister of War? The Attendant calls him cousin, so it wouldn’t be proper for them to go in together…”
The Crown Prince’s face turned green. “Still scheming, still thinking about Huo Yan. ‘Not certain who she’ll marry’…” He let out a cold laugh. “Does she think she can leap out of the Eastern Palace and leap straight to the heavens?”
He abandoned state affairs, turned on his heel, and headed straight for Lizheng Hall. By then, Yinchen had already returned to Wude Hall, leaving Su Xinghe alone, lying on the southern kang bed. Sunlight slanted in through the western window lattice, spilling across her figure. Perhaps afraid of tanning, she had covered her face with a handkerchief. The sight was a little eerie.
The Crown Prince walked over and, as if performing an autopsy, delicately pinched the corner of the handkerchief with a lotus-like finger and lifted it. “No face to show yourself now?”
Su Xinghe had taken her medicine, sweated out a fever, and though the heat had broken, her whole body felt weak. Even her vision was hazy.
She cast a glance upward. “I haven’t done anything immoral, why wouldn’t I have the face to meet people?”
“Oh, you’ve got plenty of face,” he said with biting sarcasm. “Men and women alike are drawn to you. Not only do you have a face, it’s big, as a platter.”
She stared at him for a long moment, then gave a dismissive “tch” and pulled the handkerchief back down.
Her attitude left the Crown Prince irritated. He tugged the handkerchief off her face again, posturing as if he’d caught her in adultery, barking, “Speak. You owe me an explanation.”
Pestered to the point of helplessness, she snapped back in annoyance, “You want me to explain? Explain what exactly? That brother of yours, is he even human? When a girl refuses, he forces her. Didn’t you see the bruises on Yinchen’s wrist? Worse than the torture marks in Zhaoyu prison.”
The Crown Prince was struck speechless. Truth was, what happened in the Fourth Prince’s household wasn’t his to meddle in, and her anger toward him was misplaced. Still, deep down, he held a certain admiration for his younger brother, clear in purpose, bold in thought, ruthless in execution. Crude methods, yes, but that ruthless edge with women was something worth learning.
Looking at the woman before him now, he thought, if only he had half of his brother’s decisiveness, he’d have had her long ago. Why wait until now, letting her bare her fangs at him?
“What’s the matter with that? A female official should be prepared. eventually, she’ll be conferred a title.” The Crown Prince seized the chance to lecture her, his gaze shifting. “You’ve been a shangshu for ten years now. Don’t tell me you still don’t know this?”
She said she knew. “But not every female official ends up promoted. If a girl is unwilling and he forces her, how is that the conduct of a prince? Isn’t that what thugs outside do?”
The Crown Prince grew domineering. “Anyway, it’s none of my concern. I can’t control that. The only thing I can control is this: Shangguan Yin scheming after my people that won’t do.”
Looking at his unreasonable expression, Su Xinghe just wanted to shake her head. “If I get close to men, you say I ruin your reputation. Now that I get a bit closer, with women, you’re like this again. Do you want me dead?”
The Crown Prince laid his dissatisfaction bare on his face. “If she were a man, I’d feel at ease. But precisely because she’s a woman with a man’s guts inside, I can’t figure her out. I don’t know what she’s plotting.”
Su Xinghe no longer wanted to argue. Closing her eyes, she said, “I’m not feeling well, please don’t quarrel with me. Let’s talk about Prince Xin. I used to think his loyalty was all for you, but now it doesn’t seem so simple…”
As she spoke, the Crown Prince crouched by her side, staring intently at her. While she was in the middle of analyzing the situation, he stole a kiss. She was in the thick of her argument, not wanting to be interrupted, so she pushed his head away and went on firmly: “According to Yinchen, it seems Prince Xin has ambitions of building his own power. Everything he’s doing for her is really about winning over the Shangguan family, so in the future he’ll have allies to…”
Animated as she was, the Crown Prince darted in again, pecking her lips and cutting her off.
Su Xinghe grew annoyed. “What are you doing? I’m talking serious matters with you, why do you keep kissing me?”
“Because I want to,” he said with a grin. “You talk your talk, I’ll kiss as I please. What’s it to you?”
“How is that not a problem? You’ve been kissing her so much you can’t even finish a sentence.”
Seeing him move in again, she clapped a hand over her mouth. “I’ve got a fever, haven’t I already taken my medicine for you?”
“We’re both under the weather, who doesn’t know that?” He yanked her hand away and, all seriousness, said, “What did you discover? Keep talking, don’t stop.”
Su Xinghe got animated whenever politics came up; she waved her hand as she spoke. “Look, Prince Jianping returned yesterday and made a scene in the Taiji Hall. Prince Xin saw it and even volunteered to go and smooth things over. And then with the Empress announcing that ‘good news,’ doesn’t any of that move him? Of course, he’s your full brother, so when I say this…” She pushed his head aside, “what I say may make you uncomfortable, but I’m thinking of you. If the fire’s burning outside the City, you can still put it out. If it’s burning on the kang bed, then, ” She reached to push him away again, but this time he held her hand down and firmly sealed her mouth.
They fell into a tangle of affection, lips and teeth pressing together, passionate and fierce. He kissed her until she was out of breath; when she finally managed to shove him off, she mumbled, “Can’t you let me finish my sentence?”
He took her hand and pressed it to his face. “Su Xinghe, I only have you.”
She froze the way. He said it made it sound as if he already knew everything.
The skin under her palm was soft and warm, like top-quality jade; she stroked it lightly. “And you? What do you plan to do?”
He lowered his eyes; beneath heavy lashes, a bewilderment and sorrow rose. “What can I plan… he’s my own brother.”
Blood ties in an imperial family are always the weakest. Though he’d grown used to the scheming and jockeying of his half-brothers, it felt different when the rival was Prince Xin, a very different taste in the heart.
“He’s still young. Maybe it was just a moment of confusion, a wrong path taken,” he consoled himself.
She pushed herself up. “But that ‘moment of confusion’ could be fatal for you. Last time with the aconite in the medicine jar, who can guarantee it wasn’t him who put it there? And he shifted the blame onto Princess Xialing so calmly and steadily… If he really is the culprit, that’s truly terrifying.”
The Crown Prince said nothing. What was most frightening wasn’t just that. Last night, he had been able to stand apart and even go comfort Qingluan. That kind of deep, deliberate scheming was what one dared not think about too closely.
He smoothed her hair. “Fortunately, his wings aren’t full yet, not something to fear. I’ve already had people watching his every move. If my hunch is right, Chengzi still has contact with Huo Qingluan.” He sat up on the kang and leaned back on the bolster. “That’s fine too, what’s meant to come will come; better sooner than later. Let me take them out in one fell swoop; then I can lie back without worry and rule the realm. Wouldn’t that be sweet?”
He spoke lightly, but no one could read the thoughts behind his words. She asked, “And the Empress? That side is tricky too.”
The Crown Prince remembered the intelligence reports and pursed his lips into a smile. It really was a good show. The Empress Dowager’s schemes were astonishing.
Su Xinghe found his expression odd and kept pestering him about what he was smiling at. He shook his head and kept silent. This was the last chance to straighten out the Su family’s course and make her submit completely; miss it and it would be hard to find another. He’d really been scheming for this woman, to remove the Su family’s power without bloodshed, so she’d have no reason to hate them and would obediently be his crown princess, stay in the Eastern Palace, and nurse his child.
Everything had been planned so well, so what was this Shangguan Yin popping up for? It was one thing to guard against men, but against a woman… No wonder Su Xinghe had called him hysterical; what could he do? He could only admit it.
“You smiling like that makes me think you’re plotting something,” she said, half-angry and embarrassed.
The Crown Prince glanced at her. “It’s a bitter smile.”
Su Xinghe inwardly grumbled, but when he spoke of wiping them out in one go, a chill ran through her, a full-blooded brother; could he really bring himself to do that?
While she was thinking, she glanced at him, and his expression shifted again. He looked at her with sorrow, slowly leaning in. “Su Xinghe, I’m so upset. In the end, Qingluan also used me for power. It makes me feel that living is empty, people’s hearts are terrifying.”
Indeed, human hearts are like wells: deep and dark. She’d seen through that long ago. Feeling pity for him now, she gently drew him into her arms and stroked his cheek affectionately. “It will all pass…” But she didn’t dare think about how everyone would fare when it ended.
He stretched out his arms and held her tightly with a grave expression. “To calm my mood, shall we do something to take our minds off it? When someone’s upset or anxious, don’t they need an outlet? I want to let off some steam too.”
Su Xinghe looked at him with mock disdain. “You really are, never stop scheming, day or night.”
The Crown Prince wouldn’t give in. “A person like you should be serving someone like the Fourth Prince, whether you want to or not.”
She softened and nestled against him. “I’ve thought about it for a long time and feel lucky, you aren’t that kind of man. Meeting you has truly been my blessing.”
