Following her disgusted gaze, Murong Yi slowly turned his head and saw two red marks on his neck—pinched by Meng Decheng when he had embraced him earlier. His skin was too pale and marked easily; he hadn’t felt anything at all, but the sharp-eyed Consort Baoxiang spotted it immediately.
Now those red marks were splashed with oil and stained with soup, gleaming under the lamplight. With his skin scalded, they appeared even more unsightly.
The serving maidservants and wet nurses stood far away in corners—no one approached, and no one raised their heads.
Outside, Zhao San had changed shoes but didn’t dare follow inside. Hearing the commotion within wasn’t right, he paced anxiously in circles but didn’t dare enter, wearing away several layers of grass from the ground. Suddenly seeing a tall man in black striding over, he rushed forward joyfully, but halfway there began spinning in place, clutching his hair and muttering incoherently. One could vaguely hear him mumbling: “This won’t work either—what if this causes a big scene…” Before he could work out a clear solution, the tall man had already swept past him like a gust of wind.
Zhao San shouted: “Hey, Mu Si! Mu Si! Don’t be too impulsive—just get him out and that’s enough…” Before the words finished, Mu Si had already kicked open the courtyard gate. The maidservants and wet nurses finally came alive, swarming out to block him. Mu Si walked with the force of wind, crossing the covered walkway in a few steps and entering the room serving as dining hall. Before even entering, he said coldly: “Madam misunderstands! The young master’s injuries were accidentally caused while practicing martial arts with this subordinate!”
Consort Baoxiang angrily said: “Mu Si, what are you to dare break into the inner chambers like this!”
“Mu Si is the young master’s personal guard. Being personal, naturally we’re inseparable—wherever the young master goes, Mu Si can go.”
“Our mother-son affairs—is it your place to interfere? Get out!”
Mu Si said no more, bowed his head in salute, shook out a cloak from his hands, and draped it over Murong Yi. Murong Yi stood and shook his clothes, smiling: “Mother Concubine, great anger harms the body and appetite. Your son will withdraw temporarily so you can eat well.” With that, he turned to leave.
Behind him, Consort Baoxiang said: “Who gave you permission to leave? Do you think I’ll believe such nonsense from birds of a feather?”
Murong Yi stood with his back to her, silent for a long moment, then suddenly laughed.
He laughed as he turned, asking Consort Baoxiang: “So what if it’s nonsense?”
Consort Baoxiang hadn’t expected this response and was momentarily stunned. After a while, she said coldly: “You truly know no shame…”
“Mother Concubine.” Murong Yi interrupted her words. “Look what you’re saying—as if those two words didn’t exist when you dressed me in women’s clothing years ago.”
Consort Baoxiang was startled, then her expression changed completely, turning purple with anger for quite a while before angrily saying: “That was only because you were adorably beautiful as a child, just family jokes. Now you’re grown and will marry soon—how can you still…”
Mu Si gave a cold laugh, saying quietly: “Dressing him as a woman was your idea, forbidding women’s clothes is also your idea. Are you treating the young master as a son or as a plaything?”
Consort Baoxiang vaguely heard this and snapped coldly: “Mu Si, you’re becoming more and more presumptuous. Do you really think that relying on your father allows you to…”
Murong Yi pulled Mu Si to leave, but Consort Baoxiang continued behind them: “…Not getting close to proper fathers and brothers, only mixing with these lowborn scoundrels. Acting like this, what good marriage could you possibly climb to…”
Murong Yi had only wanted to leave quickly, but suddenly stopped.
Why had Consort Baoxiang mentioned marriage twice in a row?
“Mother Concubine, what have you done?”
His appearance had reached perfection, but his voice reached even higher—known in Liaodong as “immortal voice,” with deep, magnetic, beautiful tones. Now lowering his voice, there came an extremely heavy pressure.
But Consort Baoxiang still sat steadily, looking him up and down before saying lightly: “The Crown Princess needs to select a husband. I had Eunuch Chang send up your portrait.”
Murong Yi whirled around.
Through the earlier soup-splashing and angry scolding, he had maintained a trace of smile, as if that smile were carved at the corner of his lips. But now he finally pressed his lips together, his entire face taut with murderous intent, the light in his eyes becoming thorns, condensing the cold air and ice from outside.
Whether cold or beautiful, both were heart-stopping.
Consort Baoxiang paled for an instant, then hardened her voice: “What’s this attitude? The Crown Princess’s husband will become the nation’s father! What supreme honor is that? Then even your father the prince will have to regard you highly! Originally your name wasn’t on the list—Mother Concubine schemed for you, yet you act as if you’re owed something?”
Mu Si puffed his cheeks, desperately suppressing his anger. After anger came complete desolation.
Because of that matter of being raised as a woman, the young master had never been favored by the great king. Over the years, he had suffered plenty of bullying and trampling from those so-called brothers. Having finally painstakingly built up some enterprise with roots all in Ru Province—not to mention the current fierce competition between the eldest and second sons for favor. Tonight the young master had taken advantage of vulnerabilities, personally risking assassination of Meng Decheng to provoke those two into turning against each other. The thousand-li journey of seizing power had just begun—how could it be disrupted by this nonsense of Crown Princess husband selection?
With the young master’s looks, the possibility of being chosen was extremely high. Once chosen, all previous operations in Ru Province would be wasted!
Whether Crown Princess’s husband or nation’s father, these were just honorary empty titles that couldn’t even enter officialdom—how could they compare to the royal power of practically ruling a nation!
Mu Si ground his teeth in hatred while Murong Yi had already calmed down. Suddenly giving a mocking laugh, he asked: “The list? Who was originally on this list?”
“Fifth Brother, Eighth Brother, Thirteenth and Fifteenth Brothers were all on it. Look…”
“Looking at this list, it seems like a gathering of good-for-nothings.” Murong Yi interrupted her. “Fifth Brother’s brain isn’t good, Eighth Brother is lame, Thirteenth Brother’s maternal family is lowly, Fifteenth Brother was hollowed out by wine and women long ago… Such an outstanding list, and Mother, you still bothered to squeeze me in. I really should thank you!” With that, he bent and actually bowed to his mother.
Consort Baoxiang’s face turned livid as she glared at him: “Stop being sarcastic! No matter how worthless others are, they’re still better than you!”
“Fine. Anyone is better than me then.” Murong Yi turned around. “Then remember to start making the princess consort ceremonial robes early. If I really become the Crown Princess’s husband, you’ll certainly get to be a princess consort, right? Hurry up—start collecting pearls and embroidering now. Otherwise, when Father the Prince summons you for favor, I’m afraid you won’t be ready in time.”
“Scoundrel! Is this something you can say to your mother!”
Murong Yi had already turned to leave. A maidservant hurried over to lift the door curtain, smiling shyly and coquettishly at him. He smiled back, casually pinching her cheek. Before the maidservant could cry out in surprised delight, he turned back to smile at Consort Baoxiang: “I think Lan Gui is quite nice. Tomorrow when I become the nation’s father, I’ll have her warm my bed.”
The maidservant’s face turned ghastly pale, and Consort Baoxiang flew into a rage: “How dare this vixen seduce my son! Drag her out and sell her!”
Mu Si followed Murong Yi out the door. Hearing the miserable cries and pleas from that courtyard, he said hatefully: “Serves her right!”
These maidservants were usually indifferent to the young master, but now hearing of this matter, they rushed to seduce him. Getting sold was what they deserved.
Zhao San came forward, looking at Murong Yi’s expression and not daring to speak.
Mu Si sighed and said: “About that portrait matter, this subordinate will think of some solution…”
“No matter.” Murong Yi took the sweat towel Zhao San handed him and wiped his clothes. The mutton oil had hardened into a stiff, greasy white layer in the cold wind. Disgusted by the smell, he simply tore off the shoulder of his garment with a ripping sound and continued walking forward with just his snow-white, sculpted shoulder bare under the cloak.
“A few days ago, the Flying Ear Division reported that the Emperor ordered portraits of sons from third-rank officials and above sent to the capital from all regions. Looking at the age specifications, I guessed it was likely related to the Crown Princess and had the Eagle Eye Division keep watch, with the Wandering Falcon Division ready to act when necessary.” Murong Yi’s tone was casual. “I imagine even if we can’t remove my portrait, making it uglier shouldn’t be difficult.”
Both Zhao San and Mu Si breathed sighs of relief. Mu Si relaxed because he knew those people’s capabilities, but Zhao San was pessimistic, always preferring to think of the worst outcomes. He suddenly said: “What if even with an ugly portrait, the Crown Princess still favors and chooses the young master?”
Murong Yi turned, smiling at Zhao San. Zhao San’s mind spun wildly, thinking that such beauty paired with an ordinary woman would be a desecration of the young master. If the young master ever tired of this place or made a mistake, having an emperor’s wife would at least be a retreat… Suddenly he heard Murong Yi say very sincerely: “If the Crown Princess and I truly have such a fine match…”
Zhao San: …You’ll just go with the flow?
“…I’ll just kill her then.”
“…”
Author’s Note:
Readers familiar with my work know I have a habit of dual-line parallel writing and scene switching, so before the male and female leads formally intersect, I’ll occasionally switch to the male lead’s perspective. These past couple days have been the male lead’s scenes—tomorrow I’ll switch to the female lead. Just wanted to clarify this.
Also, attention everyone—this is not a torture/angst novel. It’s not angst literature. Overall, it’s still a power fantasy. The brief adversity in the early stages is necessary background setup so that the characters’ later psychology and actions have traceable foundations.
Some say I have rich saved drafts but won’t release them—too stingy. Well, the public period requires 2,000 words per day to help authors gradually accumulate readership. Updating too quickly during the public period isn’t beneficial for later VIP performance. I’ve already released as much as possible. Don’t worry, it’ll be better after going VIP.