In her eyes was an utterly undisguised hatred, as deep as nails driven into bone. Even Ye Yuqing had to lower his gaze before the intensity of that emotion.
“In war between nations, civilians should be spared—this is an established principle,” he said softly. “What General Yi did was wrong, but…”
But he was a decorated general of Wu, and the Wei people he killed were all counted among his military achievements.
Feng Yue gave a low laugh and finally withdrew her hand. Taking a deep breath, she recovered her usual demeanor, though her eyes remained red. “This humble servant understands. Your Highness is from Wu, and as the Crown Prince, naturally wouldn’t consider General Yi’s crimes to be unforgivable.”
“This servant never expected to seek revenge. Living a peaceful life is enough—after all, what can a mere woman do?”
Ye Yuqing sighed, wanting to say something but holding back. Instead, he changed the subject: “It’s getting late. I’ll have someone prepare some evening meals. You should rest well first.”
“Thank you, Master.” Feng Yue lowered her head, her face weary, and lay back down on her side.
The man in the room gave some instructions to those outside the door, then stood in place, lost in thought. Feng Yue watched him through half-closed eyes, smiling faintly.
In today’s Wu, there were few worthy opponents among the various powers. Qi and Wei were at war, Chu and Zhao were in a standoff, while only Wu remained uninvolved, focusing on stabilizing its people and building strength.
When a country faces no external threats, internal problems arise. General Yi wielded enormous influence at court, daring to reject a prince’s marriage proposal and set up extensive surveillance in his mansion. She didn’t believe Ye Yuqing would take some defensive measures against such an ambitious person.
Ye Yuqing was skilled at using people. He never doubted those he trusted and delegated authority to them freely.
But Yi Guoru had never worked for him, which meant, from another perspective, that Yi Guoru had never earned Ye Yuqing’s trust. Even when investigating the theft at the general’s mansion, Ye Yuqing had been half-hearted, even lenient, allowing her people to remain at large to this day.
The Crown Prince of Wu’s attitude toward the great general was indeed intriguing.
Ye Yuqing turned around to see the person on the bed had closed her eyes to rest again.
Harboring so many secrets yet maintaining a smiling facade daily—this girl was no simple character. If she could be recruited to his side…
His eyebrows twitched slightly as he slowly walked toward her.
Women were easier to handle than men. The ladies in his palace were very obedient, following him wholeheartedly and doing whatever he said.
Feng Yue’s position was special—the Dream Return House was frequented by officials and nobles, with abundant information flowing through it. Usually, the courtesans wouldn’t share such information with clients, but if he won her over, it could only be beneficial. She might even be able to accomplish things other girls couldn’t.
However, the prerequisite was that everything she said was true.
“Your Highness!” Feng Chuang’s voice suddenly rang out from outside. Ye Yuqing snapped back to attention, stopped in his tracks, and turned to open the door.
Feng Chuang’s expression wasn’t good as he whispered in his ear: “Director Si Ma has somehow learned of your presence here and is leading people this way.”
His mouth twitched as Ye Yuqing felt quite troubled. “How did that old fellow know I was here?”
He had always been very discreet in his comings and goings, barely encountering other patrons. How did Si Ma find out?
If there was anyone in all of Wu that Ye Yuqing feared, it wasn’t the current emperor but rather this three-dynasty veteran official Si Ma Ru, who held the position of Director of the Imperial Clan Court and managed affairs of the royal family. He was known for being extremely strict, never allowing royal family members to develop any bad habits.
For him, the Crown Prince, to visit a brothel—that couldn’t simply be called a “bad habit.” If the old man caught him, he would probably kneel at the Eastern Palace gate for three days and nights without food or water. If he died there, the entire court would never stop nagging about it.
Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.
Feng Chuang sighed. “Your Highness, please leave through the back door.”
Looking back rather reluctantly at the bed, Ye Yuqing frowned and murmured, “Is this what they call ‘fated to meet but not to be together’?”
The person on the bed slept peacefully, not moving at all.
“Very well.” Sweeping his sleeves as he left, Ye Yuqing thought he could always return later after avoiding that old man.
However, as soon as he returned to the palace, he was surrounded by a group of old ministers who pestered him endlessly. By the time he came to his senses and thought about leaving the palace again, the palace gates had already been locked.
Feng Yue waited at the Dream Return House, but after waiting for a long while without seeing anyone, Ling Shu said, “Perhaps he won’t come.”
Looking at the time, he probably couldn’t leave the palace even if he wanted to. Feng Yue sighed in relief and simply washed her face and prepared for bed.
“Disappointed?” someone asked her.
A chill ran down her spine as Feng Yue jumped slightly to the side. She turned to look toward the window.
Yin Gezhi sat on her windowsill, the moonlight adding a lovely glow to his appearance, making him look quite presentable.
Forcing a laugh, Feng Yue approached and asked, “Why have you come?”
“Felt like it.” With this simple, blunt reason, Prince Yin jumped into the room and looked up at her. “You…”
He had meant to say she was wasting her efforts—it wasn’t so simple for the Crown Prince to spend the night at a brothel.
But the moonlight flowing in from outside fell on her face, and Yin Gezhi was stunned, taking a long while to recover.
Feng Yue blinked, then blinked again, suddenly remembering something. Her expression changed.
Oh no, she had already removed her makeup!
Turning to walk toward the bed, Feng Yue called out, “Ling Shu, we have a guest, quickly pour some tea!”
After peeking at Yin Gezhi, Ling Shu said quietly, “Master, it’s late, there’s no need to make tea. There’s still water in the pot on the table. This servant will take her leave!”
Such a coward! Feng Yue gritted her teeth, then curled up on the bed herself, shrinking into a ball.
Without makeup, Feng Yue’s face was quite striking. Although her eyebrows were groomed, her nose bridge was straight and high, lacking the coquettishness of other women. She wasn’t exactly breathtakingly beautiful, which made her self-conscious.
Yin Gezhi had never seen this face before. After all, when she had previously infiltrated his territory, she had always been well-disguised and kept her head down, so she wasn’t worried about him recognizing anything.
But… why did he keep staring at her like this? Did he think she looked too ugly without makeup, that she was deceiving clients?
The figure bathed in moonlight and remained silent for a long while before coming to his senses. Walking to the bedside and looking down at her, he unusually offered a kind word: “With a face like this, why bother with makeup?”
Hm? Feng Yue blinked, sticking her head out to look at him. “You think this servant looks better without makeup?”
“Much better than wearing a mask,” the Crown Prince of Yin commented seriously. “Your features are captivating.”
Feng Yue: “…”
Wasn’t this Crown Prince’s aesthetic sense distorted? Although she did look decent without makeup, she hadn’t reached the level of being captivating! Didn’t men usually prefer coquettish women? Did he prefer the strong, vigorous type?
His gaze fell on her but seemed to pass through her to somewhere else. Yin Gezhi lightly rubbed his fingers, his eyes unmoving, as if lost in thought again.
Could it be that she truly possessed such beauty that could enter even the godlike Yin Gezhi?
Feng Yue didn’t believe it. She tried her best to force her face into an idiotic smile and asked softly, “Has Master taken a liking to this servant?”
Lightly pressing his hand against her brow, then trailing down to her nose bridge, Yin Gezhi’s expression darkened slightly as he said flatly, “I haven’t taken a liking to you. I just occasionally think you resemble someone.”
He had never seen what that person looked like, but she probably had such a high, straight nose bridge too. Just looking at it gave an impression of a noble spirit.
However, the face before him was truly disgusting, smiling at him until wrinkles appeared, without a trace of dignity.
How could heaven give such features to such a person?
Withdrawing his hand in disgust, Yin Gezhi said, “You can’t serve the Crown Prince. Just focus on serving me.”
“Oh?” Sitting up, Feng Yue asked excitedly, “Does Master find this servant so pleasing that you want to reserve her exclusively for yourself? Then why not redeem this servant? This servant can even cook for you!”
Stunned by her breathless stream of words, Yin Gezhi frowned. Cook?
“Keep dreaming!”
Feng Yue pouted. “Is that not what Master meant?”
“No.” Shaking his head in denial, Yin Gezhi seemed somewhat confused. After thinking for a while, he said, “I suppose it’s just that you serve well, so I’ll let you continue serving for a while. When I tire of you, I’ll find someone else.”
Is that so… Feng Yue lowered her eyes, appearing quite hurt. “This servant thought Master might come to like her.”
Like?
Yin Gezhi looked at her for a long time with eyes that seemed to be looking at an idiot, then turned to leave with a sweep of his sleeve. “Don’t think too much.”
“Then what was Master’s purpose in coming here tonight?”
His foot paused on the windowsill as Yin Gezhi looked up at the moon. “I came out to appreciate the moon and just happened to pass by.”
Wow, to “happen to pass by” from the envoy’s residence to the Dream Return House—what a coincidence!
Feng Yue smiled sweetly without saying more, watching him jump out the window before her expression fell and she frowned.
What did he mean by “can’t serve the Crown Prince”? Hadn’t the Crown Prince reserved her services? Could it be that he would suddenly abandon her? Could her well-laid plans be ruined again by this damned person?
Feng Yue was very worried, so worried that she couldn’t sleep well all night.
But the next morning, when she opened her eyes, Ye Yuqing was already sitting in the room smiling at her: “I’ve neglected such a beauty. I hope the lady won’t take it to heart.”
Blinking, Feng Yue looked at him, pinched the tender flesh of her thigh, and tears immediately streamed down. “This servant thought she had offended Master yesterday with her words, and that Master no longer wanted her…”
Passing her a handkerchief sympathetically, Ye Yuqing sat on the edge of the bed looking at her. “How could I not want you? I was just tied up with trivial matters and couldn’t get away. Moreover… something came up, and I probably won’t be able to stay outside the palace overnight from now on.”
He didn’t know what had happened either—suddenly his mother knew about his frequent absences from the palace. She had summoned him for a good scolding, and from now on, every day after the palace gates were locked, he had to pay his respects at the Qifeng Palace.
What rotten luck!
Feng Yue blinked, wiping her tears while gritting her teeth.
So this was what Yin Gezhi had meant—he hadn’t done anything to her, but had managed to prevent the Crown Prince from staying outside the palace at night! Was he some kind of god? Could he even reach into the Wu palace? How shameless!
“In that case…”
“Thinking about spending the day together with you is also wonderful,” Ye Yuqing smiled. “The weather is nice today. Why don’t you accompany me for a walk?”