“Does it hurt?” Mudan gently wiped the blood from Jiang Changyang’s hand with a clean handkerchief. Once cleaned, she discovered a wound that nearly exposed the bone. Her heart ached, and tears welled up in her eyes as she cradled his hand.
“Danniang, I’m sorry,” Jiang Changyang said, raising his hand to wipe her tears. Mudan buried herself in his embrace, clutching his clothes tightly and burying her face in the crook of his neck. She bit her lip, trying hard not to cry out loud. Though she hadn’t felt it at the time, she now realized how truly frightened she had been. She feared for his safety, for her own, and especially for the baby in her womb. She was terribly, terribly afraid.
Jiang Changyang sighed, gently patting her back and comforting her in a low voice, “It’s all right now, it’s all right. Don’t cry, don’t cry. When you cry, my heart aches.” The incident had happened in an instant. He had been talking to someone when he saw an ox cart charging wildly towards them, and it seemed impossible for Mudan’s carriage to avoid the collision. His heart had nearly stopped. Fortunately, Shun Houer, the coachman, and the other attendants were quick-witted, and the horses, being battle-trained, weren’t easily startled. This prevented major damage. The more he thought about it afterward, the more frightened he became. If something had truly happened, he would never have forgiven himself.
“I’m not crying,” Mudan said, remaining in Jiang Changyang’s embrace for a while before letting go. She took some medicine and began treating his wound. Jiang Changyang watched her silently for a moment before asking, “Are you scared, Danniang?”
Mudan looked up at him and answered seriously, “Very scared. But when I heard your voice, I wasn’t afraid anymore. Then when I heard you went to lead the bull away, I became frightened again. Was it Prince Min’s doing?” Today, she had been so terrified without even seeing the incident. She wondered how much more dangerous the situations he faced daily, which she didn’t witness, must be. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but grip Jiang Changyang’s hand tightly. This was the hand she wanted to hold for a lifetime; she didn’t want to let go, nor could she.
“It was his doing. He’s warning me,” Jiang Changyang noticed her small gesture and felt warmth in his heart. He tightened his grip on her hand as well. “I thought I could protect you, but I still put you in danger. Danniang, I’m sorry.” His voice was tinged with bitterness.
“Don’t apologize. This isn’t your fault. Be careful not to get it wet,” Mudan said as she finished tying the bandage. “That mad dog has become too arrogant. Is there any way to teach him a lesson? Can we talk to his father?”
Jiang Changyang shook his head, “We can’t. If a task is assigned to me, completing it successfully is expected. If I can’t handle it and keep complaining, what use am I?” Everything required evidence, and Prince Min’s few words couldn’t be counted as such. Even if he found evidence, would the Emperor set aside important matters to arbitrate between his son and a subject?
Mudan understood this reasoning. When a leader assigns a task to a subordinate, they expect the subordinate to complete it. A subordinate who constantly complains and can’t get the job done is considered incompetent, unworthy of their salary, and will be looked down upon. But when this principle applied to her loved ones, it felt different. She worried, “You said your task would be completed soon. Were you just trying to reassure me? The situations you usually face must be much more dangerous, right? Otherwise, Prince Min wouldn’t have come to trouble me.”
Jiang Changyang sighed, “Danniang, I didn’t want you to worry, but I still ended up frightening you. The so-called Internal Guards are specialized in handling these troublesome matters. Most of their identities are not public, and those like me face even more trouble. That’s why I don’t want to be an Internal Guard anymore. Please bear with it a little longer. It will be over soon, truly.” He gave her a confident smile and said encouragingly, “Why is Prince Min acting this way? It shows he’s panicking! He’s afraid, you know?”
A cornered dog will bite. Mudan remained silent for a long time, not asking about other matters. She only said softly, “Please be very careful.” She touched her belly, “And for him too. He also wants you to be careful. Both of us need you to be extremely cautious.”
Half of her face was hidden in shadow, while the other half was bathed in sunlight, giving her skin a healthy, translucent porcelain-white glow. Her eyes were bright, with two reflections of him in her black pupils. Her expression was very serious, her tone soft and coquettish, yet also strong and domineering. In short, it left no room for refusal. Jiang Changyang’s heart melted, and he suddenly pulled Mudan into his arms, saying in a deep voice, “I promise you both, I won’t let anything happen to me.”
“Words aren’t enough. You must do it,” Mudan said, her voice muffled. “From now on, I’ll try to go out less. I’ll send someone to decline the Fen Princess’s invitation tomorrow. I think this incident has probably spread, so she should understand my predicament.” She hoped that even if this information couldn’t reach the inner palace through the Fen Princess, it would at least be known to many influential people, thus preventing Prince Min from acting so brazenly again.
At this point, not only would he agree to her not going to the Fen Prince’s mansion, but if she asked for the moon and stars from the sky or wanted to eat dragon liver and phoenix marrow, he would comply and find a way to get them for her. Jiang Changyang gently kissed her forehead, “All right.”
Mudan gritted her teeth and said fiercely, “Promise me that you’ll make sure he comes to a bad end, disgraced and ruined!”
Jiang Changyang was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, “I promise you.” He and Pan Rong were already mortal enemies with Prince Min, so Mudan’s words aligned perfectly with his intentions.
The couple sat cuddled together for a while before Jiang Changyang helped Mudan up, “Let’s go see Shun Houer and the others. We owe them a lot for today.”
The doctor had just left, and Shun Houer was examining his wound in a mirror, turning it this way and that. Shuer, leading two servant women in the corridor to prepare medicine, saw this and sneered, “You should be happy. Now no one will mistake you for a woman anymore.”
Shun Houer tossed the mirror aside and laughed, “Shuer, let me ask you, did you think I was too handsome before?”
Shuer rolled her eyes at him, “A man with a woman’s face. Do you dare to call yourself handsome? In my eyes, I’ve never found effeminate men attractive.” Although he was indeed more handsome than her and many of the maids in the mansion, he was a man, and looking like that wasn’t right.
“You didn’t?” Shun Houer laughed, tapping the windowsill. “If not, why are you so resentful? I feel like you think it’s wrong for a man like me to be more attractive than a woman like you, and that’s why you’re so angry, isn’t it?”
“Bah!” Shuer sneered, throwing down the fan in her hand and putting her hands on her hips. “What’s wrong with your ears? And your skin is so thick! Can’t you tell the difference between compliments and insults?” She was about to start berating Shun Houer when she suddenly heard Mudan say, “Shuer! Is your medicine ready?” It was Jiang Changyang and Mudan approaching, having heard everything.
Shun Houer immediately stood up straight and respectfully said, “Master, Mistress.”
Shuer’s words were stuck in her throat, unable to spit them out or swallow them back. She glared at Shun Houer resentfully and said grudgingly, “Not yet. I’ll prepare it now.” Then she picked up the fan and walked to the medicine stove, fanning it vigorously as if venting her frustration.
In front of Jiang Changyang, Shun Houer seemed like a different person. He composed himself and recounted everything from when he first noticed the bull going mad to Prince Min’s appearance, what was said, and their expressions. He described it all to Jiang Changyang, acting it out vividly, even reproducing Prince Min’s arrogance and feigned concern. Mudan watched in amazement.
After Shun Houer finished his performance, he said angrily, “Master, are we just going to suffer this injustice and swallow this insult?”
Jiang Changyang didn’t answer him, instead turning to Mudan and saying, “Tell the kitchen to prepare extra dishes for everyone tonight. You should go rest for a while.”
Although she had already instructed the kitchen to do so, Mudan nodded and turned to leave. He didn’t want her to hear these matters, so she followed his arrangement and went to enjoy some peace.
That night, Mudan curled up in Jiang Changyang’s arms, clutching his clothes tightly like an octopus, pressing against him, and hugging him as if she were a child unwilling to leave her parents. Jiang Changyang extended his arm, allowing her to lie on it. A tingling sensation crept up from his fingertips along his arm, like ants biting, very uncomfortable, but he had no intention of moving his arm. He kept his eyes wide open, staring motionlessly at the canopy embroidered with playful scenes, silently calculating.
The next day, Mama Lin took a donkey cart to the Fen Prince’s mansion. Shortly after requesting an audience, someone came out to invite her in: “The Princess happens to be free now and asks Mama to come in.”
She hadn’t expected it to be so quick, which indicated how much the Princess liked Mudan. Mama Lin’s mood, which had been gloomy due to yesterday’s frightening encounter, finally brightened a bit. She carefully adjusted her attire, composed herself, and followed the attendant inside in a dignified manner. She kept her eyes straight ahead, not listening to any side conversations, being extremely cautious in her every word and action, fearing that one misstep might embarrass Mudan.
The Princess had just finished her breakfast and was playing with birds in the corridor. She was surrounded by a large group of beauties of various ages, all laughing and chatting, their fragrance detectable from afar. Seeing Mama Lin approach, they all smiled and said, “A guest has arrived.” Then they politely excused themselves, leaving only Chen Shi, whom Mama Lin had met before, to accompany the Princess.
“Greetings to the Princess. Greetings to Madam,” Mama Lin said solemnly as she bowed, mentally rehearsing what she needed to say to the Fen Princess one more time.
The Fen Princess spoke kindly, “Please rise. You’re Danniang’s wet nurse, aren’t you?” She then instructed Yinger, “Give her a seat.”
“Thank you for your kindness, Princess,” Mama Lin said, but didn’t dare to sit. She stood respectfully and explained her purpose, following Mudan’s instructions not to mention Prince Min at all, but emphasizing the danger of the situation.
The Fen Princess listened quietly and then said, “I heard yesterday that a mad bull had injured people on the street, but I didn’t realize you were involved. Is your mistress alright?”
“She’s fine,” Mama Lin said with a smile, subtly hinting that Mudan was pregnant and needed to rest.
The Fen Princess appeared delighted, offered her congratulations, and dismissed Mama Lin, saying she would send someone to check on Mudan later.
Having completed her task, Mama Lin happily took her leave.