Chapter 17: Haven't I come here to find you—the future crown prince? ...

The hand on the shoulder stopped.

Yue Yining certainly sensed it, but she didn't turn around, her eyes still half-closed. Although everything was dark, her other senses became exceptionally sharp after losing her sight. She caught the moment when Ayu's breathing faltered, like a kite with a broken string.

Ayu said softly, "...Why do you ask that, Miss?"

Yue Yining then opened her eyes: "I just feel that you are exceptionally thoughtful. When it comes to taking care of people, even Yao Yao can't compare to you."

"Sometimes I feel like you've known me all along, which is why you know all my habits so well."

She smiled, turning to look at him, the orange sunset behind them. His clear, dark eyes looked so gentle, just like the tone of his voice: "My thoughts can be a little strange sometimes, right? How could you possibly have known me all along?"

"Besides, you don't remember anything from before."

The intense sunset cast distorted the shadows of the trees in the courtyard into dark, indistinct shapes, making it difficult to breathe if you looked at them for too long.

"......yes."

Ayu gazed into those eyes and said, "That day in Jinling was the first time I saw you, Miss."

"Before this, I had never met you, Miss."

His expression was so sincere that it was impossible to tell if he was telling the truth.

Even though he only said one sentence, Yue Yining felt as if he had just cut her open and taken out her bloody heart to show her.

The thought made her pause.

Even if Yue Yining still had doubts, she didn't intend to ask any further questions. She nodded and casually moved on from the topic.

"That's natural."

...

The incense burner glows with black gold, its purple smoke billowing like clouds.

A fine horse galloped up to the front of the mansion. From afar, the guards saw the figure on the horse and moved forward to clear away the pedestrians and carriages that were blocking the road.

The chief eunuch and maids stood guard at the main gate. The newcomer suddenly reined in his horse in front of the gate, raising his head and forelegs high and letting out a sharp neigh.

The servants bowed deeply, their heads and backs filling the room. The head eunuch, in particular, said with utmost respect, "Welcome back to the residence, Your Highness the Fourth Prince."

The man in the purple brocade robe and feathered headdress dismounted with agility and grace. He didn't even glance at the servants, and casually tossed his riding whip to one of the maids, who hurriedly reached out to catch it.

A long wind lifted the ends of his hair at his temples, revealing his sharp eyebrows and bright eyes.

Wei Jing spoke up, his voice clear and bright: "I have someone following me. When he comes back, call him to come see me."

The steward replied, "Yes."

He stepped into the inner hall in his gold-patterned black boots, his steps swift and powerful.

Wei Jing found a chair nearby, sat down with great fanfare, washed his hands in a golden basin, drank tea to soothe his throat, and ate hawthorn cake to fill his stomach, while maids came and went like a flowing stream.

He was sitting inside the hall, and had just taken a few sips of water when someone arrived outside, panting heavily.

Wei Jing sat on his high seat, propping himself up on his elbows, and raised the corners of his eyes: "You've finally come. While warmblood horses can't compare to Akhal-Teke horses, you're still far behind me."

Zhang Si, an advisor, leaned against the door frame and chuckled dryly, "Your Highness's horsemanship is amazing, covering several miles in a single breath. I am clumsy and inept, and it is already difficult for me to keep up with Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

"Let's skip the formalities." Wei Jing gestured for a maid to lead him to a seat. "By the way, were you listening when Mother Consort was talking to me?"

“My mother told me to take better care of Yihua,” Wei Jing said, then frowned, looking puzzled. “I think that’s a strange thing to say. She’s so lively and energetic, why should I care about her? When I go up to her and ask her all sorts of questions, she finds me annoying.”

Zhang Si wore a smile on his face, but secretly he was cursing in his heart.

The Imperial Concubine's meaning was so clear: she was reminding him to pay close attention to the Princess's recent strange behavior and to sound out her intentions, but he didn't understand a word she said! Is he just careless or stupid?

No, no, I can't call him stupid. This man is very likely to be made crown prince in the future, and I'm supposed to assist him until he ascends the throne. If I start calling him stupid now, what will we do in the future?

Zhang Si tried to convince himself, forced a smile, and simply said clearly: "Your Highness, from what I heard from the Imperial Concubine, she should ask you to pay more attention to the Princess's recent movements."

Wei Jing raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Has Yi Hua done anything out of line lately?"

Zhang Si: "The Princess left the palace a total of three times this month. The first time was during the drought when she went to the Tian Guan Temple in Jinling to pray for the people. Perhaps the princess was blessed with good fortune, as it rained for several days in a row. So the princess went to the Tian Guan Temple twice more this month, saying that she was going to fulfill her vows on behalf of the people."

Wei Jing was surprised: "This is indeed quite unusual."

Zhang Sixin felt relieved for only a moment before Wei Jing spoke again: "Yihua has always despised matters of gods and ghosts, but recently she has been going to the Heavenly Temple repeatedly. Could it be that she has finally started to believe in religion?"

Zhang Si: "......."

Zhang Si felt a throbbing pain in his forehead for a moment, but he endured it: "Before leaving the palace, I went to the Noble Consort's quarters to try and get some information. The Noble Consort had long suspected that the Princess was acting strangely, and sent someone to follow her once. She also instructed me to inform the Fourth Prince of this information."

"Whenever the Princess arrived in Jinling, she would arrange two carriages. One of them, carried by her personal maid, would go to the Heavenly Temple, while the Princess herself would travel in the other carriage to a small town called Jiulian Town near Jinling. The spies brought back news that the Princess went to Jiulian Town three times to visit a female Celestial Master named Yue Yining."

Wei Jing: "Yue Yining? Never heard of her."

Zhang Si: "This humble servant does not know this person either. But just now, on my way out of the palace, I suddenly remembered something."

"Five years ago, I took my wife and daughter to the Zijin Temple to seek divination. At that time, thanks to the kindness of a friend, I was able to invite Venerable Qiu to interpret the divination for me. I vaguely remember that at that time, there was a young girl serving utensils beside Venerable Qiu, who claimed to be Venerable Qiu's disciple. That girl's surname was also Yue."

Wei Jing slowly revealed a look of surprise: "You mean, the person Yi Hua went to see wasn't just any ordinary Celestial Master, but most likely the disciple of Venerable Qiu?"

Zhang Si cupped his hands in affirmation and said, "That's right."

"As far as I know, Venerable Qiu has only ever taken one disciple. If the identity of that female Celestial Master is indeed true, then it explains why the princess would condescend to visit her so many times."

"In the struggle for the throne among the princes of the previous dynasty, the late emperor had a famous strategist who, despite only having a slight understanding of divination, was able to achieve unexpected victories on many occasions. If he were a disciple of the Venerable One, he would certainly be even more outstanding."

Zhang Si pondered, "I just wonder what Her Highness the Eldest Princess has been plotting with that female celestial master on her numerous visits..."

Wei Jing smiled smugly: "What else could it be? She went to see this female Taoist master, surely for my sake."

Wei Jing didn't notice Zhang Si's frozen figure, and just chuckled to himself, "I know Yi Hua best. She's all bark and no bite."

"She told me the other day to think carefully about whether I should participate if Father Emperor planned to examine the candidates for Crown Prince. She also said that being Emperor wasn't so great, and it would be better to be a carefree prince. I was wondering if she was just putting me down again, but I never expected that she had already planned to help me all along!"

Zhang Si's smile vanished. He couldn't help but wonder if the Eldest Princess truly didn't want her fourth brother to become emperor.

"Your Highness, why are you so convinced that the Eldest Princess went to find an advisor for you?"

Wei Jing: "After my father fell seriously ill, his health deteriorated and he is not as good as before. Now the whole court is urging him to establish a crown prince. I think it will only be a matter of one or two years before I become the crown prince. Yihua is my own sister, so of course she will make plans for me."

Zhang Si was speechless: "Your Highness, it's fine to say things like 'imminently taking over the Eastern Palace' within our residence, but you absolutely cannot say such things outside."

Wei Jing asked in surprise, "Why? Aren't I the future crown prince?"

Zhang Si: "Your Highness, there is an order of seniority. Although Dongxi has few adult princes, besides you, there is another one, namely the Third Prince."

Wei Jing laughed, as if Zhang Si had just told an extremely funny joke: "You mean Wei Ye? What makes him, a guy who crawled out of a palace maid's belly, have the right to compete with me for the position of Crown Prince?"

“From birth, I was the most favored prince by my father, second only to the Crown Prince. I was always surrounded by attendants wherever I went. When he was three or four years old, a palace maid was caught by the guards for stealing his belongings and selling them outside the palace. Only then did my father remember that such a person existed. My maternal grandfather was the General of Dongxi, who held military power, and my mother was the most favored concubine in the harem. He was merely the child of my father and a lowly palace maid, born from a one-night stand. That palace maid was unlucky and died young.”

Wei Jing sneered: "From childhood to adulthood, in what way has he been better than me? If I were him, I would stay put and not try to fight against a rock by coveting things that I can never reach in this lifetime."

As Wei Jing said, Zhang Si, being the advisor introduced to him by Consort Li, was naturally fully aware of everything.

Even though Zhang Si thought things wouldn't go so smoothly, he didn't continue to advise Wei Jing. Instead, he said tactfully, "Your Highness is absolutely right. However, the thoughts of the Imperial Concubine and the Princess are beyond my ability to guess. I wonder what Your Highness thinks? Would you like to arrange a meeting with the Princess to discuss this in detail?"

Wei Jing suddenly tilted his head back and drank the tea in the cup in one gulp, then slammed the hand holding the teacup onto the sandalwood table with a "thud".

He narrowed his eyes and curled his lips into a smile, saying, "No. There's no need to bother her. I want to go and meet the person she chose for me myself."

......

The mountain clouds swallow and exhale amidst the verdant mist, a myriad of layers of light and deep blue.

Today was another nice day, but the sunshine didn't last long; after lunch, cumulonimbus clouds began to appear.

The shadows of the trees mingled under the bright sun, yet from Yue Yining's room came soft, muffled groans, cloyingly sweet.

"No, don't be so rough..." The woman's panicked and aggrieved voice came through, scratching at one's heart like a cat's claws, "Be gentle, I'm afraid of pain, I'm really afraid of pain..."

"No, miss."

Ayu's gentle voice flowed from the crack in the window: "It has to be completely rubbed open, otherwise it will continue to hurt."

"Please bear with me, Miss."

Yue Yining exclaimed in horror, "No...!!"

"ah!"

A howl startled several white-legged birds that were resting above the eaves.

Yue Yining leaned back in her chair, moved her arms and shoulders, and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my god, it really doesn't hurt anymore! That's amazing!"

Ayu stood behind her, watching her wave her arms like a child, and couldn't help but laugh: "That's how massages are. You have to be firm and push the sore muscles open up. Once the meridians are clear, the pain in the affected area can often be relieved, and you'll feel much more comfortable."

Yue Yining said with satisfaction, "That's all thanks to your good massage skills. You're really good at it."

The atmosphere inside was warm and harmonious, but a woman's voice came from afar.

It's Fu Yao.

The footsteps grew closer with the shouts. Yue Yining had just turned around when she saw Fu Yao appear at the door, panting as she clung to the doorframe, clearly having run quite fast: "Miss! Outside! Someone's here—"

Yue Yining was taken aback: "Her Highness the Princess is here again? But she just came a few days ago..."

Fu Yao quickly said, "It's not Her Highness the Princess! It's a young man I don't recognize. He also said he came to ask Miss for a divination, and he's already waiting outside the door."

Yue Yining: "?"

Is her dilapidated house some kind of auspicious place? Why are all sorts of people coming to her door?