Chapter 2: The Mad Prince
When leaving the cold palace, Shen Zhiwei finally did not lose her mind and took off her bracelet. She hastily hid the ointment in the porcelain jar beside the bed and was about to leave.
Just as he took a step forward, he was pulled hard by the third prince behind him, and he almost fell onto the floor.
The young prince still had a high fever, but his fingertips gripped her good left wrist like an iron clamp, and his voice was hoarse: "Thank you... for your name."
Xiao Wangqing tried his best to soften his tone, but he seldom spoke to others, so the tone of his voice sounded weird and crooked, as if it was squeezed out from deep in his throat.
He knew the name of the prince's study companion very well, but he insisted that Shen Zhiwei tell him the name, as if only in this way could they truly get to know each other.
"It seems that His Highness is really confused due to the fever..." Shen Zhiwei was still rushing back, frowning and shaking off his hand, letting the quilt slide off.
"My name is Shen Zhiwei. If you really want to thank me, just pretend that what happened today never happened."
The wind and snow carried these words away as they disappeared outside the palace walls. Without even a glance back, Shen Zhiwei hid her frozen fingertips in her sleeves and hurried towards the East Palace.
She has never been one to regret. Even if she hits her head against the wall and bleeds, she will still think about it and consider whether to turn back.
Shen Bandu stayed awake all night guarding the brazier. The cold air brought back from the cold palace was still lingering in the cracks between his bones. The teeth marks on his right wrist seemed to carry the heat from Xiao Wangqing's body, and the pain was so severe that it seemed to be on fire.
Snowflakes wrapped in the fragrance of plum blossoms drifted onto the window lattice. She returned to the East Palace in the morning light of the morning hour and ran into Xiao Lingjun standing in the corridor decocting medicine.
Everyone in the palace knew that the Crown Prince was as healthy as pine and cypress, so it was obvious for whom this medicine was prepared.
The sound of the boots stepping on the snow was not loud, but before Shen Zhiwei could speak, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince turned around in his crane cloak, his glass-like eyes reflecting the blood-soaked silk handkerchief wrapped around her wrist.
"Awei, did you feed a wild cat last night?"
"It's not a wild cat..." An itchy feeling mixed with guilt filled his throat. Shen Zhiwei bent his knees and was about to kneel down to apologize. Before he could finish his words, he was dragged into the crane cloak by the crown prince. The pine resin mixed with the bitterness of medicine overwhelmed him.
"The snow water in the cold palace can't grow peonies, but if Ah Wei wants to raise a wolf... can I prepare an iron cage for you?" Xiao Lingjun's tone ended with a smile, but his palm pressed against the spine of his study partner, forcing her to kneel on his lap covered with a fox rug.
Shen Zhiwei raised his head and swallowed the medicine he fed her. The strong bitterness and strange fragrance exploded on the tip of his tongue. It was obvious that there was a few less licorice than before.
Shen Bandu felt even more guilty, but he could only continue talking and try his best to smooth over the crown prince's hair.
"Your Highness once said that everything can be a chess piece. Is that person in the cold palace also considered a piece on the chessboard?"
The spoon clicked between his teeth like punishment. Xiao Lingjun scooped up the second spoonful of medicine, tilting his wrist slightly, letting the liquid flow down Shen Zhiwei's neckline and into her collar.
"Okay, Ah Wei..." Xiao Lingjun raised his hand and gently wiped away the brown water marks between her collarbone with his fingertips. His drooping eyelashes made it difficult to tell whether he was happy or angry. "When did I allow you to use the charcoal fire in the East Palace as bait?"
This is angry.
Shen Zhiwei knew very well that Xiao Lingjun knew that it was impossible for him to leave no frostbite cream at all, but he only saw him holding his red, frozen right hand, and the internal force in his palm was like a spring stream melting snow, and the warmth flowed along the meridians.
Last year, she fainted in the library after suffering a heart attack. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince held her like this and transferred his inner energy to her. The ink stained his newly-cut cloak, but he only said, "The dark blue sets off Awei better than the white moon."
The gentle knife is really deadly, Shen Zhiwei thought. If he continues to treat her well like this, she might really give her life to Xiao Lingjun.
But it has indeed been given.
Xiao Lingjun's fingertips turned jade-colored in the tea smoke. Although the bite marks on Shen Zhiwei's wrist bones were wrapped in three layers of silk, he could still feel the blood clot beating with his pulse.
The prince's fingertips stroked the bleeding bite mark on Shen Zhiwei's wrist. The aroma of medicine wafted from the incense burner, mixed with the bitter scent of pine needles on the crane cloak.
Xiao Lingjun's palm was always supporting his companion's knee, his brows and eyes were still gentle, as if the threat just now was just a casual mention, but Shen Zhiwei didn't think he was joking.
Since she entered the Eastern Palace at the age of seven, she knew too well the ruthless methods beneath the Crown Prince's gentle exterior.
Although the development of the matter was different from what he expected, if he didn't say something, the little prince's life might be in danger.
"Your Highness, please forgive me." Shen Zhiwei lowered his eyes and stared at the flickering candlelight on the blue bricks. A rusty taste rose in his throat. "I just..."
"I just can't bear to see my raccoon slave dying in the snow," Xiao Lingjun interrupted her, gently placing the medicine bowl on the table. The prince chuckled softly and wrapped her in a warm cloak. "Awei, did you know that at three o'clock in the morning today, my father, in front of all the civil and military officials, asked me what I thought about brothers fighting each other?"
Shen Zhiwei's back tensed instantly, his wrist was pinched by him and pressed against his heart, his fingertips curled up slightly.
"I am terrified." She swallowed the sweet taste in her throat and glanced at the new mutton-fat jade pendant on Xiao Lingjun's waist.
It was carved from the same piece of seed material as the jade pendant that Xiao Wangqing had held, and it was hung on the jade belt in a dignified manner.
Xiao Lingjun smiled and leaned over to touch her earlobe. His Royal Highness's voice was light and gentle, but it made Shen Zhiwei's heart sink.
"Since my royal brother has accepted Ah Wei's mink fur coat, he should repay it with his life."
"Three days from now, the Northern Di envoy will present a snow wolf as a tribute. I will ask my father to entrust him with the task of taming the animal."
The old emperor is already very old and his mind is not very clear. Last year, the second prince volunteered to tame animals, but was torn to pieces in the cage by a white tiger that was presented as tribute.
The Beidi Snow Wolf feeds exclusively on the flesh and blood of living people, and is probably not much better than the white tiger.
Shen Zhiwei thought of the white bones on the inner thigh of the young man in the side hall of the cold palace. The fishy and sweet taste in her throat was hard to suppress. Just a light cough caused scarlet blood to splatter on the prince's crane cloak.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
"Ah Wei!" Xiao Lingjun's composure cracked, and veins popped from his knuckles, which had been holding a pen for years. "Call the imperial physician! Bring me the thousand-year-old snow ginseng from my private vault..."
"No need," Shen Zhiwei grasped the prince's sleeve, her bloodstained lips curled up, and she couldn't help but curl her eyes. Her voice was soothing, "If Your Highness really loves me, why not treat me with a glass of hot wine to warm my stomach."
This was Xiao Lingjun's weak spot. Her health had always been poor, and she had caught a cold when she was ten years old while testing poison for Xiao Lingjun. Whenever she coughed up blood, the crown prince would abandon all his plans and turn back into the boy who stole warm rice wine for her in the Imperial College.
The wind and snow were howling outside the window. Xiao Lingjun's eyes were misty, and he seemed to be the little prince kneeling in the imperial study and begging his father for medicine.
"...I saved His Highness the Third Prince, just like His Highness picked me up from the Ministry of Punishment that year." Shen Zhiwei stuffed the blood-wiped handkerchief into his sleeve pocket and lightly tapped the prince's heart with his fingertips. "But...no one is more important than you."
So I don't necessarily have to plead for him. If you want to do so, just kill him.
Shen Zhiwei's heart is sincere.
Three days later, the banquet was held in the training ground beside Taiye Lake. Shen Zhiwei stood beside Xiao Lingjun, warming the plum wine while the charcoal fire in the stove crackled.
Her gaze slid across the jade pendant swaying in the water's reflection, and she remembered the Crown Prince stroking the warm jade last night and saying, "Awei, guess how long can the Third Prince last in the cage?"
At this time, the incense had been lit, and Shen Zhiwei was not close to the incense burner, so he could only catch a glimpse of its shadow.
The bars of the animal cage were stained ochre, and Xiao Wangqing walked barefoot over the shredded flesh. The young prince's clothes were torn to shreds by the wolf's claws, and his back was covered with fresh wounds and old scars.
Xiao Wangqing was tall but too thin. The warm blood and minced meat all over his body made him look like a female mantis preying on her husband.
Shen Bandu repented for his inappropriate association for three seconds.
When the Snow Wolf King bit through the little prince's shoulder, she saw him turn around and stab the gold-inlaid dagger into the wolf's eye.
"Has the Third Prince learned how to kill wolves?" the Minister of Rites asked in a trembling voice.
"The rats in the cold palace are more vicious than wolves." Xiao Wangqing responded in a hoarse voice. Even though his shoulder blade was pierced by the fangs, he still held the wolf king's throat tightly, squeezing the wild wolf so hard that it loosened its strength and squeezed out a whimper from its throat.
The warm blood rain poured on the bluestone bricks, causing white smoke to rise. Amid the gasps of the officials, Xiao Wangqing crawled out of the animal cage, dragging his bony left leg.
Shen Zhiwei's hand, which was warming the wine, trembled imperceptibly. His Highness had always been cautious. If he had said that, he really meant to kill his brother. He might even have fed that wild wolf some kind of medicine.
Xiao Wangqing should not have survived, but the person in front of him was like a devil crawling out of hell, willing to cut out his enemy's flesh and bones to refine his enemy's weapons into his own claws.
"Your son... has fulfilled the mission." Xiao Wangqing lay in a pool of blood with his head raised, his forehead covered with cold sweat, but he still clenched his teeth.
He knew he didn't look good.
His gaze penetrated the beaded curtain and fixed on the jade pendant on Shen Zhiwei's waist, as if it wanted to shoot through her heart and lungs across the three-meter-long imperial steps.
madman.
Shen Zhiwei lowered her eyes to filter out the blood foam that had just splashed into the wine, then met Xiao Wangqing's gaze squarely. The glass cup reflected her calm expression, but the peacock gallbladder hidden in her sleeve had already soaked through the lines of her palm.
Just now, when Xiao Wangqing was fighting for his life with the Wolf King, if she had just flicked her fingertips, this madman would have bled from all seven orifices.
Over the years, she knew all too well the madness running through the Xiao family's bloodline. Even the most gentle Crown Prince only had the opportunity to bide his time because his position as crown prince was already secure.
I saved the wrong person and underestimated Xiao Wangqing.
"Your Majesty, the third prince is extremely brave and deserves a reward!" The Northern Di envoy's scimitar hit the table so hard that it shook.
Shen Zhiwei saw the veins bulging on the back of the prince's hand beneath his wide sleeves. Xiao Lingjun hated this kind of out-of-control chess piece the most, just like when he caught her secretly sending charcoal fire to the cold palace and punished her by making her kneel on the blue bricks of the East Palace to recite a book.
"Issue an order granting the Third Prince the title of Assistant Director of the Ministry of War." The old emperor's cloudy eyes sparkled, and his knuckles, like withered claws, rubbed the Wolf King's skull. "Wang Qing, would you mind going to the parade ground tomorrow to demonstrate martial arts for the distinguished guests from the Northern Di?"
The peacock gallbladder slid in his sleeve, and Shen Zhiwei lowered his eyes and simply weighed the pros and cons. In front of the envoy, the emperor's wrath would likely be directed at him, and the worst that could happen would be lingchi.
But the emperor hates fratricide the most, so he will surely become alienated from Your Highness. Is it worth it for the sake of Xiao Wangqing?
Shen Zhiwei didn't know, but because of this brief hesitation, he had missed the best opportunity.
Shen Zhiwei calmly pushed the peacock gallbladder back into the secret pocket. It was hard for him to connect the blood-soaked madman in front of him with the half-dead sick dog on the bed four days ago. Xiao Wangqing was only sixteen.
“…Your son obeys the order.” At this moment, Xiao Wangqing was leaning against the animal cage, gasping for breath, with red and yellow pus and blood oozing from his festering wounds. When the young man kowtowed, a blood clot in his throat slipped out of his mouth, and his voice was as hoarse as sandpaper.
The emperor then suddenly realized what was happening and ordered the imperial physician to treat Xiao Wangqing's injuries, without any trace of heartache for his young son in his eyes.
It was as if Xiao Wangqing had just written a couplet, rather than experiencing a life-and-death experience, or even having one foot out of the gates of hell.
As Xiao Wangqing and the imperial physician left the table, Shen Zhiwei was pouring wine for the crown prince when he suddenly felt a chill running down his spine. He looked up and met the Third Prince's gaze, his hand shaking so much that he nearly dropped the wine jug.
There was nothing else to it. The young prince slightly arched his back, glanced at Shen Zhiwei's sleeves and fell on her face. His throat moved several times, and the tips of his ears turned crimson.
Shen Zhiwei saw that he clearly wanted to say something, but he turned around and walked away dragging his broken leg without looking back, leaving a winding wet mark of pus and blood on the ground.
…
Xiao Lingjun's chuckle seemed to ring right next to his ear. The young crown prince bent his knuckles and tapped lightly on the rosewood tabletop, his unspoken anger long gone. "Ah Wei, the wine is about to overflow."
Shen Zhiwei then came to her senses and put down the wine jug. After years of accompanying His Highness, she was used to taking in every emotion of the prince and could naturally understand it.
The crown prince's laughter was filled with obvious mockery.
On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the Emperor was greatly pleased and issued an edict, stating: "The Third Prince, Xiao Wangqing, is a man of outstanding filial piety and brotherly virtue. He is hereby granted the residence of Orchid and Orchid Garden, removed from the cold palace, and restored to his proper rites. He is also granted a gilt tea set and twelve tortoise-shell hairpins, and the Minister of Rites is instructed to select an auspicious day for the move."
The author has something to say:
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Xiao Lingjun: As expected
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