Yunlan
"A pledge of allegiance? Tell me about it." Li Yunye was clearly intrigued by the pledge. Shen Qinghang cupped his hands and said, "I heard... Tang Feng is involved in the succession struggle." Although Shen Qinghang kept his head down, his eyes kept glancing upwards, observing Li Yunye's reaction. Upon hearing this, Li Yunye laughed heartily, "Him? I just visited the Marquis's residence a few days ago. Given Tang Feng's current state, I never expected him to participate in the succession struggle. He's proud and unyielding; why would he bow and scrape to others? Don't lie to me for the sake of a pledge of allegiance." Shen Qinghang smiled, "If Your Highness doesn't believe me, you can make a bet with me. Within three months, Tang Feng will definitely make a move. I'm not in a hurry anyway. It's not too late to come to me after Your Highness has made your decision." Looking at Shen Qinghang's confident expression, Li Yunye couldn't help but waver. Who would Tang Feng help? The Fourth Prince? Tang Feng disliked Li Yunheng, a fact he already knew from the time they met at Lishan Academy. Furthermore, Xu Chang'an frequently caused Tang Feng trouble, so naturally he wouldn't help Li Yunheng. If Tang Feng wouldn't help either him or Li Yunheng... then who could he help?
Shen Qinghang cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Li Yunye. "If Your Highness is undecided, there is no need to be anxious. I will definitely visit you again in a few months." Without waiting for Li Yunye's reaction, Shen Qinghang turned and left. Wen Yunsheng, who arrived late, leaned against the door. He had not shown himself but had overheard most of what was going on. After Shen Qinghang left, he asked, "Your Highness has been worried about not having a strategist by your side. Now that a talented man has come to your door, why turn him away? Do you think he is not as good as Tang Feng?"
Li Yunye shook his head. "It's not that, it's just that I'm wary of his previous identity."
"Fear?" Wen Yunsheng covered his mouth and laughed, drawing a puzzled look from Li Yunye. "What are you laughing at?" "Nothing, I just find it funny. Strategists are inherently disloyal. If they follow their master well, they'll rise to prominence; if they don't, they'll either die a horrible death or have their entire family executed. So it's normal for strategists to jump ship on the path to the throne. Besides, to put it another way, everyone is just using each other. Who can truly trust anyone else? Does Your Highness trust Tang Feng? Does Your Highness trust me?" Li Yunye stammered, unsure how to answer, but Wen Yunsheng didn't care and continued, "Emperors have always been ruthless. If you want to rule the world, you can't have too many trustworthy people. If you don't trust me, I'm giving you a second thought. Of course, the path is yours to choose. Whether you want Shen Qinghang or Tang Feng is your decision. I'm just..." "Just a suggestion." Li Yunye clenched his fist. He naturally wanted Tang Feng, but Tang Feng's ambitions lay elsewhere, and he couldn't do anything about it. As for Shen Qinghang, as a former and capable subordinate of the deposed crown prince, he dared not be careless. Shen Qinghang was different from Tang Feng; he had followed Li Yunrui for over ten years, and their relationship was naturally different from ordinary people. "Is Your Highness hesitating or afraid? Afraid that the deposed crown prince's former subordinates will seize the opportunity to retaliate against you because of that incident?" Li Yunye shuddered. He hadn't expected Wen Yunsheng to suddenly bring this up. Li Yunye turned his back and said coldly, "I've done nothing wrong, why should I be afraid of him? Li Yunrui's affairs are all his own fault, step by step. Besides... only heaven and earth know about that matter, how could he know?" Wen Yunsheng shrugged, seemingly indifferent. "Then what is Your Highness waiting for? To wait until Tang Feng becomes your enemy in three months? Wouldn't that put you in a very passive position?"
"I...I'll consider it."
After Tang Feng and Zhou Ziliang returned home, they were immediately taken in for questioning by Madam Zhou. She scolded them for going out without informing anyone, causing the whole family to worry. Tang Feng chuckled and quickly nodded in apology, "Mother... we just went out for a meal. It was wrong of us not to send someone back to report. Please calm down."
"Eating? Whatever you want to eat at home, Mom will cook it for you. Why run out? Besides, it's only just getting warmer, and you're dressed so thinly. Ziliang really doesn't care about you!" Tang Feng couldn't argue. He was indeed in the wrong. He hadn't even told Zhou Ziliang that he had run out, let alone Zhou Madam. Tang Feng winked at Zhou Ziliang beside him, hoping he would help him out. 'Help me,' but Zhou Ziliang shrugged where Zhou Madam couldn't see. 'I can't help you.'
Tang Feng rolled his eyes. Wasn't he quite the tough guy in the tavern? Now he's chickened out in front of his mom? "Forget it, it's better to rely on yourself than others," Tang Feng said, pounding his chest and coughing twice. He then whispered, "Mother, I'm tired, I want to cough... I want to rest." Seeing Tang Feng's discomfort, Madam Zhou quickly helped him up, unable to utter a word of reproach. "Why are you suddenly feeling unwell? Did you catch a chill outside? Go and call Wu He Zou!" Zhou Ziliang was also anxious, but then he saw Tang Feng winking at him, realizing Tang Feng was faking illness. He quickly stepped forward to cooperate, "Mother, it might be windy today. I'll take Xiao Feng to rest first, and then tell the backyard to start boiling the medicine. If it really gets too hot, then we can call Old Wu." Madam Zhou thought this made sense and helped Tang Feng to Zhou Ziliang's side, instructing, "If anything happens, tell me and your father immediately." Zhou Ziliang, supporting Tang Feng, readily agreed. But as they left the house, Tang Feng pushed Zhou Ziliang away and pressed down... Tang Feng complained, "Are you doing this on purpose? You knew I was fine, yet you still made the backyard brew medicine. This is revenge, blatant revenge!" Zhou Ziliang held Tang Feng tightly, whispering in his ear, "Pretend it's convincing, Mother is watching! Besides, didn't Xiao Feng promise me he'd drink his medicine properly when he got back? What? Trying to go back on your word?" "I..." Tang Feng was speechless, only able to sulk inwardly. Seeing Tang Feng's displeasure, Zhou Ziliang, afraid he'd upset himself further, could only soothe him, "Don't be angry. Old Wu said you shouldn't have such strong emotional fluctuations. How about this, we'll each drink a bowl of medicine today. I'll drink it with you; consider it punishment for not watching you properly today." Tang Feng looked up at Zhou Ziliang's sincere face, his anger subsiding by half, but then he felt a little awkward, "What normal person drinks medicine? Don't make yourself sick. By the way, about the Ninth Prince's mother... I want to ask you about it when I get back to my room."
"Lady Yun?"
"You know her well?" Regarding Li Yunyu's birth mother, Tang Feng, in order to guide Li Yunyu, secretly had Liu Yiwan investigate her background, but it was only a last-minute effort, and he only knew the basics. Judging from Zhou Ziliang's tone, it seemed he knew quite a bit. "Hmm... I'm not that familiar. I only heard about her many years ago from my father. I heard that Consort Yun was a physician in the late Empress's palace. After the Empress passed away, His Majesty arranged for her to serve in the palace. Over time, he inevitably took a liking to her, and the two had a one-night stand. Unexpectedly, she became pregnant and gave birth to a prince. After that, she was indifferent to His Majesty. She could have used her son to rise to power, but she always claimed illness and avoided outsiders, including His Majesty. It seems her heart wasn't in it. However, I only overheard these things from my parents' conversations, so perhaps some are true and some are false." "Father seems to know quite a lot."
"Oh, I guess I overheard it somewhere during court and just told it to my mother to cheer her up," Tang Feng said, feigning seriousness. "Your father knows how to cheer your mother up, but all you do is make me drink medicine? Tomorrow you're punished by cooking for me all day, and while you're at it, go and fetch Meng Lie. It's time to find a follower for the Ninth Prince."
“But finding someone so bright and worthy of His Highness’s favor is difficult!” Zhou Ziliang was also troubled. Even if Li Yunyu was out of favor, he was still a prince; how could a servant be found so easily? But Tang Feng didn’t think so. “The Ninth Prince has lived in the military camp for many years. Although Meng Lie understands him best, his future is fraught with hardship. A person with an open and honest heart is bound to attract gossip and is not easily trusted. Let Meng Lie choose a capable person from the military camp, as long as their background is clean and their mind is meticulous. Whether they meet His Highness’s standards or not, I believe His Highness will weigh the options.” Tang Feng pushed open the door and entered the room. Seeing the steaming medicine pot already laid out on the table, Tang Feng frowned. "This medicine's brewed pretty fast; I could smell it before I even entered the room." Zhou Ziliang ladled a bowl for Tang Feng and handed it to him. "Drink it quickly! After you finish, I'll go see what we're having for dinner tonight." Tang Feng rolled his eyes, then, holding the bowl of medicine, shooed Zhou Ziliang towards the door. "Don't wait a bit, go now! I want squirrel-shaped mandarin fish. If you don't tell me now, the food will be served soon. Hurry up, hurry up!" After pushing Zhou Ziliang out, Tang Feng used his back to block the door, looking around... Finding a place to dispose of the medicine, Tang Feng noticed a lush green bonsai nearby and promptly poured the medicine into the pot. "They keep forcing me to drink medicine... I'm not like this because I'm sick. Whether I vomit blood or not depends on how my body feels. What's the point of taking medicine?" Tang Feng's complaints got so strong that he forgot he was holding a medicine bowl and even licked the rim of it, the bitterness almost bringing tears to his eyes. "Finished your medicine?" Tang Feng was startled by Zhou Ziliang's sudden appearance behind him. "Why do you walk so quietly?! You scared me to death!" "I'm here to do a surprise check to see if Xiao Feng has taken his medicine." Tang Feng felt a little guilty under the question, his eyes constantly glancing down, stammering and unable to give a coherent answer. Zhou Ziliang lifted Tang Feng's chin and kissed him. A medicinal scent wafted from his lips, and his tongue gently parted Tang Feng's teeth, the bitter taste quickly spreading in his mouth. "Looks like you did take it." Tang Feng's cheeks burned from the kiss, holding the medicine bowl in his hand, unsure whether to hold it or put it down. "I... I definitely took it, why would I lie to you..."
On the fifteenth of this month, Li Yunyu was supposed to pay her respects to Yunlan at Wulin Garden. She rose early to wash and dress, then left with a box of pastries. Wulin Garden was the furthest part of the inner palace from the main hall of the imperial court, demonstrating Yunlan's high standing in the Emperor's heart. However, Yunlan didn't seem to care. She had planted not only medicinal herbs but also many flowers in the courtyard. The path leading to Wulin Garden was winding and secluded, and in the height of spring, the fragrance of flowers filled the air. Li Yunyu pushed open the palace gate of Wulin Garden and saw Yunlan's maid already waiting for her at the door. "Aunt Suxi, is Mother Consort here?"
"Yes, yes. Her Majesty knew you were coming and got up early this morning to prepare your favorite pear blossom pastries. Please come in!" Su Xi took the food box from Li Yunyu and led him into the main hall. Yunlan, dressed in a simple light blue and white robe, her hair held up with a plain hairpin, looked unassuming. She was engrossed in reading a medical book. Hearing the commotion outside, she looked up and smiled slightly. "It's Yunyu! Please sit down. Mother made you pear blossom pastries. Please try some."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com