Enemies meeting are especially hostile.

39

Zhang Chunfeng carefully helped Li Xiuman wrap a wool scarf around her neck, saying, "It's much colder here in winter than at home, sister-in-law, please be careful not to get cold."

Li Xiuman straightened up and followed Zhang Chunfeng down from the sedan chair.

"Welcome back to your residence, sir!"

Congratulations on your marriage, Your Excellency!

The shouts of the servants in two rows startled Li Xiuman. The Zhang family, ostensibly there to welcome Zhang Chunfeng, were actually curious about Li Xiuman's appearance—was their master truly going to marry a male wife?

Lee Soo-man had just woken up, his face flushed. He was dressed in a sky-blue robe, wearing a jade hair ornament identical to Zhang Chunfeng's, and a white velvet scarf around his neck, which made his face look like a freshly peeled egg, smooth and delicious.

Zhang Chunfeng nodded to the crowd and led Li Xiuman and Xiao Sui inside.

“Sister-in-law, let me show you around. I have to go to the palace soon. The Empress has already bestowed a marriage upon us, and I must go to express my gratitude.”

Lee Soo-man was slightly surprised. "Your Majesty, are you really granting me this marriage?"

Zhang Chunfeng tightened his grip on Li Xiuman's hand, saying, "I've said it before, as long as my sister-in-law loves me, nothing can stop us from getting married."

Lee Soo-man smiled, feeling a mix of anticipation and nervousness about the marriage. The Empress had bestowed the marriage upon him; the wedding would have to be a grand affair? This place was so different from his home; there were over a dozen servants here, while he, Xiao Sui, and Zhang Chunfeng were only three people. Why did he need so many people?

Little Sui ran around in the yard, exclaiming, "Daddy, what a big yard! I've never seen such a big yard before!"

"Run slowly, don't fall," Li Xiuman instructed.

Zhang Chunfeng added, "The west wing is where Mother used to live. My sister-in-law and I haven't exchanged vows yet, so we have to avoid other people's gazes for the next few days. My sister-in-law is staying in the east wing."

"I'll sneak out to see you tonight." Zhang Chunfeng squeezed Li Xiuman's hand.

Lee Soo-man was speechless. "If you're going to avoid others, then maybe you shouldn't do this for the next few days." He really couldn't stand it anymore. He felt that Zhang Chunfeng had inexhaustible energy every day. Before, it only happened every five or six days, but after three years, she seemed to be starving and wanted to do it every night.

"I'll only stay with you tonight," Zhang Chunfeng explained softly. Li Xiuman pursed her lips and didn't argue anymore. She always said that, and in the end, it always turned out that way.

Lee Soo-man shifted his gaze to the house, the place where Zhang Chunfeng had lived for three years.

Kyoto is indeed unlike Jiangnan. In December, Jiangnan hasn't seen any snow yet, and some places still retain a hint of green. But Kyoto has already been covered in snow, and the entire city is devoid of any color except for its gray and white hues. The trees planted in Zhang Chunfeng's mansion are all bare, and the bricks and tiles are a bluish-gray. It's only four in the afternoon, and with no sign of dawn, the mansion appears even more gray and dark, like a monster with its mouth open, waiting to devour people, despite its size.

“Sister-in-law, I’ll have Qiu Xin settle you in. I’m heading to the capital first.” After saying that, Zhang Chunfeng added, “By the way, Xiao Jiu will be out of school in an hour. She’ll be so happy to see you.”

Lee Soo-man smiled when he heard about Xiao Jiu.

"I haven't seen her in a long time. I wonder if she's grown taller."

Zhang Chunfeng patted Li Xiuman's head and said, "Good boy, I'm going."

The posture was so intimate that it made the maids in the mansion secretly laugh.

Feeling embarrassed, Li Xiuman quickly pushed Zhang Chunfeng away.

"Madam, let me lead you to the room to rest," Qiu Xin said, stepping forward.

Madam? Lee Soo-man found this title rather strange, as it was the first time he had heard it.

"I wonder if there's any hot water? I'd like to take a bath first," Li Xiuman said. Seeing Qiu Xin's slight surprise, he also realized that taking a bath in broad daylight was indeed unusual, so he quickly explained, "I'm tired from the journey by carriage, so I'll take a bath to relax."

Qiu Xin smiled and said, "I'll arrange it for you, Madam. Which flowers would you like to use for your bath?"

"There aren't many flowers at this time of year," Li Xiuman said, looking at the bare trees all around.

"We don't have them outside, but we have them in our manor. We've picked all the peach blossoms, osmanthus blossoms, peonies, and herbaceous peonies that we planted in spring and summer and stored them away. We can still make tea with them now."

“Then let’s have osmanthus,” Li Xiuman said. He loved osmanthus because his mother, Shen, loved it. Shen was particular about her health, and even when she was poor or sick, she would use osmanthus in her bath and hair washing. Li Xiuman had smelled it for decades and had come to love this quiet fragrance.

Qiu Xin accepted the order and left immediately. Xiao Sui wanted to go for a walk around. Li Xiuman had just been in a sedan chair with Zhang Chunfeng a few hours earlier. Since the sedan chair was small, Li Xiuman hadn't completely removed his clothes. As a result, when they were finished, his inner clothes were all wet and stained, and now they were sticking to his body very uncomfortable. Li Xiuman was in a hurry to take a bath, so he asked another maid to take Xiao Sui with him.

After boiling the water, Lee Soo-man quickly took a bath and washed his hair, eagerly anticipating Xiao Jiu's return in an hour. During their journey from Jiangnan to Kyoto, Zhang Chunfeng had taken him to various markets whenever they stopped, buying them many things. Lee Soo-man was eagerly anticipating giving Xiao Jiu all the fun toys he could find upon her return.

When Xiao Jiu left and Li Xiuman lost Zhang Chunfeng's bracelet, he immediately guessed that Xiao Jiu had gone to Kyoto to find Zhang Chunfeng. Thinking of the more than three-month journey from Lingnan to Kyoto, and that Xiao Jiu, a twelve-year-old girl, was traveling alone, he didn't sleep well for over a month. It wasn't until Zhou Zhengdu's men came to take him home that he surmised that Xiao Jiu had safely reached Zhang Chunfeng.

Kyoto was indeed cold. After taking a bath, Lee Soo-man put on the new cotton-padded clothes that his maid had brought him. His wet hair was half-dry, and before he could tie it up, he heard a loud crash as the door opened, accompanied by shouts that were hard to understand.

This commotion immediately reminded Li Xiuman of how Xiao Jiu would always come back, shouting, yelling, and running, with the things she carried jingling.

"Is Xiao Jiu back?!" Lee Soo-man exclaimed excitedly, unable to control his unbound hair, and hurriedly ran outside after putting on his shoes.

"Xiao Jiu!" Lee Soo-man called out.

As soon as he ran into the courtyard and saw the bright yellow clothes and everyone kneeling in the courtyard, Li Xiuman's smile froze on his face.

Zhao Yong turned his head, his eyes burning with anger, staring straight at Li Xiuman's face, which was slightly red from the steam of the hot water during his bath, and his smooth, black hair that carried the scent of osmanthus.

"You slut! Striking your poses in broad daylight, smelling so sweet, is this how you seduce the spring breeze?" Zhao Yong roared.

Lee Soo-man knelt down with a thud, his head bowed, his hands supporting him on the ground, his arms trembling uncontrollably beneath his thick sleeves.

It was him! It really was him! Lee Soo-man's eyes were bloodshot, and just looking at this person's face made his heart clench with pain.

Spring! Lee Soo-man lowered his head and didn't answer, his mind filled with the scene of Jang Chun-chun's death.

Last March, Zhao Yong returned to the capital from Yunnan and Guizhou. He passed through Nancheng in Jiangnan. On that day, Li Xiuman was carrying Xiao Sui on his back and selling Longjing cakes with Zhang Chuntian on the streets of Nancheng.

Li Xiuman had only sold half of his freshly steamed Longjing cakes when countless soldiers from the Nancheng government office cleared the way with gongs and shouted for vendors to make way. Vendors throughout the street immediately began packing up, and Li Xiuman hurriedly carried his remaining half-basket of osmanthus cakes, along with his pots and pans, backing away.

Zhao Yong's carriage soon arrived on the street, its bright yellow banner embroidered with a four-clawed dragon. The Eastern Palace guards led the way, followed by physicians and eunuchs, with guards holding curved swords on either side. Zhao Yong rode a tall horse, a monkey with eyes as blue as the sky and golden fur perched on his shoulder.

Upon seeing the blatant sign, many street vendors immediately knelt down. Ordinary people were forbidden to look directly at the future emperor. Lee Soo-man had never seen anyone of such high status in his life. Seeing everyone around him kneeling, he pulled Zhang Chuntian down to kneel as well. Zhang Chuntian, thinking everyone was just playing along, immediately smiled and tried to speak. Lee Soo-man quickly covered Zhang Chuntian's mouth.

“Spring, kneel down, don’t look up, and don’t speak, be good.” His tone was becoming more and more like coaxing a child.

Zhang Chuntian obeyed and lowered his head even further. Unfortunately, the streets of Nancheng were long, and Zhao Yong and his group walked at a leisurely pace. After kneeling for a while, Zhang Chuntian felt pain in his knees. Li Xiuman was also in pain, carrying Xiao Sui on her back and a lot of things in her arms, the most important of which was half a basket of freshly cooked osmanthus cakes.

He was afraid that covering the pastries too tightly with gauze would suffocate them, so he secretly opened the gauze to let them breathe. He was calculating the time in his mind, hoping that Zhao Yong would hurry up and leave, otherwise the pastries would get cold and he would have to charge Zhao Yong less than a copper coin.

He was completely absorbed in the pastries and didn't expect that when the golden monkey perched on Zhao Yong's shoulder was only five meters away, it suddenly let out a piercing scream. The previously docile monkey had leaped off Zhao Yong's shoulder!

The monkey was incredibly agile, leaping from Zhao Yong's shoulder to a street vendor's stall and then quickly bounding towards Li Xiuman's location.

As soon as Zhao Yong saw the monkey run away, he immediately spurred his horse and galloped away.

"Damn it! I, the Crown Prince, spent a whole squad of Golden Sword Guards to capture him!"

The horses galloped wildly, and the entire procession, with its guards shouting, horses neighing, and merchants nearly trampled by Zhao Yong's hooves, was thrown into complete chaos.

Only then did Li Xiuman see the monkey rushing towards him. He suddenly remembered Xiao Sui behind him. Just then, Xiao Sui, who was sleeping, was awakened by the sound. Xiao Sui, who looked to be only one year old, burst into tears with a wide grin.

Lee Soo-man retreated in a panic, trying to avoid the monkey, but Zhao Yong's horse, with its golden saddle, charged straight at Lee Soo-man's chest!

Zhao Yong rushed too fast and didn't slow down at all when he reached Li Xiuman. Li Xiuman was right behind the wall of the restaurant, with nowhere to retreat. His eyes were wide open, and all he could see was the horse's hoof about to trample his chest.

In that instant, he didn't even have time to think about his impending death; his mind and body went completely blank.

In that instant, Zhang Chuntian suddenly stood in front of him and reached out to push Zhao Yong's horse away!

Unfortunately, no matter how strong Zhang Chuntian was, he was no match for the galloping horse. Zhao Yong's horse kicked Zhang Chuntian in the chest, and Zhang Chuntian fell to the ground with a thud before he could even make a sound.

Zhao Yong's horse, however, was still not still. Zhao Yong pulled the reins too tight, and the horse seemed to be in pain, neighing and raising its head high, stepping on Zhang Chuntian's side of the head.

In an instant, countless drops of blood flowed down Zhang Chuntian's head, the bright red blood seeping into the stone floor and crawling down the uneven surface to Li Xiuman's feet. The object in Li Xiuman's hand crashed to the ground. He seemed unable to comprehend what had happened, his mouth half-open, his face ashen white.

At this moment, the monkey ran to Li Xiuman's feet, grabbed two osmanthus cakes stained with Zhang Chuntian's blood, and leaped back onto Zhao Yong's shoulder.

"You worthless thing! You ran off for two pastries! I'm going to give you to Chunfeng, and you'll have nothing left!" Zhao Yong muttered, but the name Chunfeng accurately reached Li Xiuman's ears.

Zhao Yong glanced down at Zhang Chuntian lying on the ground. Li Xiuman keenly noticed that Zhao Yong looked at Zhang Chuntian as if he were looking at a rat that had been dead for months and was rotting and stinking, full of disgust and gloom.

"What bad luck." Zhao Yong pulled on his horse, and an official immediately came up behind him and stuffed a heavy silver ingot into Li Xiuman's hand.

Li Xiuman's body went limp, and he couldn't hold anything. The silver ingot fell to the ground and rolled into Zhang Chuntian's blood.

"Your Highness is so kind; you've given a silver ingot to a commoner like me!" said the official following behind Zhao Yong, flatteringly.

Zhao Yong didn't even look at the official. He stroked the monkey on his shoulder with one fair hand and continued walking leisurely.

All around were still various praises such as "Your Highness the Crown Prince is handsome and dignified" and "Your Highness the Crown Prince is kind and benevolent." Lee Soo-man stood there, watching Zhao Yong walk away into the distance, and then watching the merchants kneeling on the ground who had been frightened by Zhao Yong's horse and had scattered their goods all over the ground.

As Zhao Yong's figure grew smaller and smaller, Lee Soo-man, as if possessed, suddenly ran wildly towards Zhao Yong. The little girl on his back was still crying, so Lee Soo-man pulled her to his chest, covered her mouth with one hand, and quickly followed Zhao Yong's group.

He couldn't figure out what he was going to do. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on Zhao Yong, who was sitting leisurely on his horse, and his legs followed the horse step by step.

He himself didn't know how far he had walked. He seemed to have forgotten everything, forgotten that Xiao Sui in his arms had her mouth and nose covered and her face was red, forgotten that Zhang Chuntian's corpse was still lying on the street bleeding, and forgotten that he was just a commoner while Zhao Yong was the crown prince!

Lee Soo-man followed him until he suddenly felt a piercing pain in his little finger!

The pain was so intense that he shuddered and looked down at Xiao Sui in his arms, only to find that Xiao Sui's entire face was covered in bruises! Lee Soo-man snapped back to reality, hurriedly removed his hand, and gently patted Xiao Sui's back.

"Xiao Sui, Xiao Sui," Li Xiuman called out repeatedly. Fortunately, Xiao Sui was tough; he had survived being abandoned in the suburbs at just a few months old until he was picked up by Li Xiuman. After a while, Xiao Sui burst into tears.

The child's cries were so piercing! A nerve in Lee Soo-man's mind suddenly relaxed!

Clang—

Something fell to the ground.

Lee Soo-man looked down and saw it was the knife he used to cut Longjing cake! Lee Soo-man's face turned deathly pale, and he swallowed hard. A wave of weakness washed over him from the soles of his feet. Every inch of his body was trembling! Leaning against the wall, Lee Soo-man slowly sat down and looked at the knife again. He had been honest and tolerant all his life. Madam Shen had always taught him not to cause trouble. He had been disciplined since childhood to be as docile as a lamb. Even if someone pointed at him and insulted him, he would never talk back.

He lived an honest life, yet he actually plotted to assassinate the crown prince!

The Crown Prince! That's the Crown Prince! Lee Soo-man felt like he'd gone mad, daring to do such a thing! If he were discovered, his entire family would probably be beheaded!

Little Sui was still crying in his arms. After a while, she opened her mouth and uttered the simple words "eat, eat." Lee Soo-man looked at Little Sui, overwhelmed by guilt!

If he really harmed the Crown Prince, Xiao Sui would be killed too! Lee Soo-man shoved his finger into Xiao Sui's mouth, only then noticing that bright red blood was flowing from his little finger. It turned out that he had covered Xiao Sui's mouth, and Xiao Sui, having grown teeth, kept biting Lee Soo-man's little finger, trying to breathe.

Upon seeing the blood, Lee Soo-man immediately thought of Zhang Chuntian. He murmured Zhang Chuntian's name and rushed back. When he returned to his usual spot where he sold pastries, the street vendors had already hung up their streetlights. Lee Soo-man couldn't find Zhang Chuntian's body and was terrified, his body going limp.

Just then, the shopkeeper came out to splash water. "Your idiot has been carried back to your own doorstep! The government said it wouldn't look good to leave him on the road, so they found out your address. You're the same; you run around everywhere after someone dies. Your gold ingots have also been taken by the government."

Li Xiuman paid no attention to the gold ingots; knowing that Zhang Chuntian was at the door, he hurriedly ran home.

Sure enough, Zhang Chuntian's body was thrown at the door like a pile of garbage, with blood soaking the entire lintel.

Before he even got close, Lee Soo-man's knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground with a thud. He scrambled to his feet in a panic, only to fall again with a thud. No matter what he did, he couldn't get up.

Looking at the lantern outside his neighbor's house, Li Xiuman saw that his feet were covered in blood, with his big toes sticking out of his cloth shoes. He had walked too far today, and his feet were blistered and the blisters had broken and bled. The blood mixed with the broken skin and flesh and stuck to the inside of his cloth shoes.

Holding Xiao Sui in one arm, Lee Soo-man crawled to Zhang Chuntian's body, supporting himself with the other. He placed Zhang Chuntian's head on his lap, gazing at the face that usually only showed a silly grin. He placed his fingers near Zhang Chuntian's nostrils; there was no breath.

Even though he already knew in his heart that Zhang Chuntian was dead, Li Xiuman couldn't help but call out again and again, "Chuntian, get up and eat! Eat osmanthus cake, chicken legs, and meat buns."

"In spring, Mother comes back, and so does your sister. Don't you miss Mother and your sister? Get up, they've brought you something delicious."

The greetings faded into the darkness, and all was silent; no one answered.

Lee Soo-man's body and mind were as cold and piercing as the stone slab beneath him.

Zhang Chuntian died. How he died, who caused his death—Li Xiuman couldn't utter a single word. He blamed everything on himself. How could he blame the Crown Prince? What an honor it was for the Crown Prince to walk down this street! How could he blame the monkey? Monkeys are beasts; why blame a beast? It was all Li Xiuman's fault for selling Longjing cakes in the morning, for opening half of the cakes to attract the monkey, and for failing to dodge the horses, which led to Zhang Chuntian risking his life for him.

It's all his fault.