After the “assassination” incident, Yang Yuanpu was kept in the palace by Emperor Tianyou for three days. It wasn’t until the fourth day that he returned to Linjiang Marquis Manor, and Han Qian and the others also got three days of rest.
On the fifth day of the eleventh month, Han Qian didn’t particularly rush to arrive early. After the household soldiers finished their morning drills at the riverside courtyard, he ate breakfast and, accompanied by Zhao Kuo and Fan Dahei, leisurely rode his horse toward Linjiang Marquis Manor.
By then, the warm sun had already climbed above the treetops. Han Qian instructed Zhao Kuo and Fan Dahei to lead the horses to the stables. Just as he stepped into the front courtyard, Feng Yi hurried over with an anxious expression: “That night when you left the manor, what did Li Chong drag you off to do?”
Han Qian thought to himself that if Feng Yi were truly urgent to know what Li Chong had said to him, he could have come to find him anytime during the three days of rest they’d had at the residence—he shouldn’t have waited until today at Linjiang Marquis Manor to bring it up.
However, even though Feng Yi, who was usually impulsive about everything, hadn’t proactively sought him out, it wasn’t necessarily because he could restrain himself. Han Qian suspected it was more likely that after the flaw-riddled “assassination incident,” the Feng family had become alarmed and uncertain seeing the palace’s ambiguous attitude.
Naturally, Han Qian wouldn’t reveal the truth to Feng Yi. He said with a rather distressed expression:
“I don’t know what got into him either. He insisted on dragging me to Wanhong Tower for drinks. Unfortunately, Yao Xishui wasn’t at Wanhong Tower that day, so I still haven’t even managed to touch Yao Xishui’s hand.”
Feng Yi didn’t notice that Han Qian was brushing him off. He said with considerable distress: “These past two days, the atmosphere in the palace seems to have changed somewhat.”
“How has it changed?” Han Qian asked, feigning ignorance.
“You’ll know once you go inside.” Feng Yi pulled Han Qian along.
Han Qian and Feng Yi walked toward the study hall in the eastern courtyard. They didn’t see Third Prince Yang Yuanpu, but among the palace attendants and palace maids serving in the front hall and study, there were many unfamiliar faces Han Qian had never seen before.
Although everyone understood many things tacitly, the entire incident was ultimately characterized as palace attendants colluding with Guard Battalion guards to stage an “assassination.” Replacing the group of palace attendants and maids who had been closely connected with Zhao Shunde was just part of the cover-up work that needed to be done, and didn’t necessarily mean anything.
“Guan Bao and Qian Wenxun have both been transferred away. They say it’s for negligent supervision. His Majesty transferred two people from his side to replace them as Deputy Commander of the Guard Battalion and Deputy Steward of the manor. Tell me—if they were really going to pursue responsibility for negligent supervision, shouldn’t they have replaced Guo Rong and Chen De? What do you think the palace means by this?” Feng Yi asked Han Qian.
“Who knows?” Han Qian shrugged, feigning confusion.
The atmosphere had indeed changed somewhat, but it only meant that Third Prince Yang Yuanpu was no longer like before—like a child with bound hands and feet, constrained everywhere by Guo Rong, Song Xin, and others. Han Qian didn’t yet expect court officials to immediately gather around Third Prince Yang Yuanpu and form a force capable of opposing Anning Palace and the Crown Prince’s faction.
Han Qian guessed that the two people Emperor Tianyou had dispatched would ultimately have an attitude similar to Palace Attendants Bureau Vice Director Shen He from that day—they wouldn’t stand by and watch Yang Yuanpu be bullied by servants like Guo Rong and Song Xin, but they also wouldn’t dare desperately offend Anning Palace and the Crown Prince’s faction to become Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s loyal followers.
After a while, Li Chong accompanied two unfamiliar faces into the eastern courtyard study hall.
Feng Yi pulled Han Qian over to greet them, and only then did Han Qian learn that these were the new Deputy Commander of the Guard Battalion and Deputy Steward of the manor, replacing Qian Wenxun and Guan Bao. Both had previously been guards and palace eunuchs at Emperor Tianyou’s side.
Han Qian and the others were standing in the small garden chatting with the new Deputy Commander of the Guard Battalion and Deputy Steward when Guo Rong, Chen De, and Song Xin accompanied Third Prince Yang Yuanpu over. Han Qian and the others hurried over to pay their respects.
Yang Yuanpu was as cold toward Han Qian as always, but this coldness wasn’t a pretense to avoid suspicion—it was a kind of hesitant estrangement.
Seeing the Third Prince’s attitude, Han Qian was somewhat surprised. He felt puzzled, thinking that three days ago at Wanhong Tower, his explanation should have completely deflected responsibility for “acting rashly.” Why was Yang Yuanpu still treating him this way?
Had Yang Yuanpu truly been frightened, and was he still feeling fearful about the risky venture, to the point of deciding to distance himself?
But Yang Yuanpu, as a youth who had struggled for years under Anning Palace’s shadow and was determined to break free from those constraints, had passionate blood coursing through him. Even if he had felt frightened and panicked when framing the palace attendants for the assassination, he should now be feeling genuine excitement at seeing the remarkable results of this risk, shouldn’t he?
Moreover, Li Chong’s standing in Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s eyes had already been diminished by him. Even if Li Chong had opportunities to see Yang Yuanpu over the past three days, he shouldn’t have the ability to poison Yang Yuanpu’s mind against him!
Could it be that Consort Wang blamed him for suggesting too risky a plan and wanted Yang Yuanpu to distance himself from him?
Although Han Qian had never met Consort Wang, after thinking it over, he still felt this was most likely.
The biggest risk Consort Wang had ever taken in her life was probably seizing the opportunity when Emperor Tianyou was drunk to climb into his bed and give birth to the Third Prince. After that, she had struggled cautiously under Anning Palace’s shadow for over ten years, viewing Third Prince Yang Yuanpu as the most precious treasure and bargaining chip she absolutely would not dare risk in the slightest.
His explanation might have persuaded Marquis Xinchang Li Pu and the people at Wanhong Tower to firmly believe that when he proposed the plan, he already had everything under control and had calculated Emperor Tianyou’s reaction. But in Consort Wang’s eyes, this might still be far from secure enough.
Perhaps in Consort Wang’s view, even if Emperor Tianyou’s attitude became further clarified, it wouldn’t be enough to make Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s situation safer. Alarming Anning Palace’s attention might even make it more dangerous?
Han Qian’s head ached terribly. He thought that Consort Wang’s long-term gloomy environment had destined her to find it extremely difficult to trust anyone or be easily persuaded by anyone.
If Consort Wang held prejudices against him, how was he supposed to handle this going forward?
After Instructor Shen Yang arrived, he continued the coursework from before the rest period, beginning to lecture on the previous dynasty’s salt administration.
However, Shen Yang still taught mechanically by rote. In less than an hour, he had concisely finished explaining several obscure texts, then rode his shabby carriage back to his residence, seemingly completely oblivious to the shifting winds in court.
With Shen Yang teaching mechanically and sparing with words, Feng Yi and Kong Xirong drowsed in the study hall as usual, and Yang Yuanpu was as confused as ever, not understanding what was being said.
After respectfully seeing off Instructor Shen Yang, they had the midday meal at the outer residence and practiced archery and horsemanship at the archery field in the afternoon as usual. Han Qian noticed several times that Yang Yuanpu glanced over at him as if wanting to speak but restraining himself.
This confirmed Han Qian’s earlier suspicion—Yang Yuanpu wasn’t unwilling to get close to him, but rather Consort Wang held prejudices against him, viewed him as a dangerous person, and had warned Yang Yuanpu to keep his distance.
Li Chong observed this scene, his brow slightly furrowing.
That night at Wanhong Tower, he didn’t know how many times that bastard Han Qian had called him an idiot—his heart and lungs had nearly exploded with rage.
Just yesterday, news came from the palace that after Consort Wang learned the truth about the “assassination,” she didn’t favor Han Qian. Naturally, he felt schadenfreude.
However, Shen Yang’s coursework was profoundly obscure, and he refused to say an extra word—that was also a problem.
He didn’t know if the Third Prince had the patience to wait for him to return home at night, thoroughly discuss the previous dynasty’s salt administration with strategists, and then write it up as a policy essay to present.
Of course, Li Chong also noticed that Han Qian had tried several times to speak with the Third Prince, but the Third Prince ultimately restrained himself and didn’t give Han Qian an opportunity to talk privately.
Seeing this scene, Li Chong felt quite pleased inside.
If it weren’t for maintaining appearances, he would have wanted to drag that bastard Han Qian over and ask him where his smugness from a few days ago at Wanhong Tower had gone.
However, what Li Chong didn’t know was that while he was observing Han Qian, Han Qian was also observing him along with Yang Yuanpu, Feng Yi, and the others. Han Qian absolutely didn’t believe that Yang Yuanpu, having just tasted success, would stop taking risks.
Although Li Chong was not yet twenty years old, he clearly had no understanding whatsoever of the rebellious psychology of thirteen or fourteen-year-old youths.
Yang Yuanpu had grown up from childhood in the cold and forbidding palace, under Anning Palace’s shadow. A suspicious nature was inevitable, and in the palace he could only rely on his mother Consort Wang’s protection. But growing up in such a repressive environment without having the resilient part of his character completely destroyed, and showing extremely vigorous crisis awareness and strong desire to change his circumstances after leaving the palace for the manor—
This itself destined Yang Yuanpu’s rebelliousness and risk-taking to be stronger than anyone else’s from the moment he left the palace for the manor.
This also destined that everything Consort Wang had instilled in Yang Yuanpu since childhood began crumbling apart the moment he left the palace for the manor.
If Yang Yuanpu acted rashly and suffered several major setbacks, the resilience and adventurousness in his character would be destroyed. But the last risk had been a great success—he had tasted tremendous benefits.
Han Qian didn’t believe Yang Yuanpu would stop taking risks. He didn’t believe that Yang Yuanpu, having already stepped out of the cage, would continue to be completely led by the nose by Consort Wang. Perhaps Yang Yuanpu’s estrangement today also included testing him and playing hard to get.
Han Qian smiled inwardly. At such a young age, trying to play mind games with me?