“Stand idly by?” Yin Gezhi sneered. “Even if I wanted to, they wouldn’t let me stand idly by.”
Why? Feng Yue was a bit puzzled, but seeing Yin Gezhi’s pale complexion, she held back her question and instead scooped up a spoonful of medicine and pushed it into his mouth.
Yin Gezhi frowned. “Bitter.”
“What kind of man complains about medicine being bitter?” Feng Yue raised an eyebrow. “You’re a general beloved by the people of Wei, yet here you are acting like a little girl afraid of medicine. Is that proper?”
What did it matter if it wasn’t proper? No one else would know anyway. Yin Gezhi snorted coldly, staring at the spoon in her hand with utter disdain, his gaze so intense it seemed he wanted to snap the spoon in half with his eyes alone.
Feng Yue found it rather amusing. They say people revert to children when they’re sick – how true that was.
After finishing the bowl of medicine, she gave him a preserved fruit.
The Crown Prince Yin’s brow finally relaxed. Looking somewhat better, he bit into the fruit and asked her, “Do you want to see General Yi now?”
See Yi Guoru? Feng Yue felt a bit timid, but then she thought about it. Wait, Yi Guoru had fallen from grace now. Even if he saw her, what could he do? She was free while he was probably still in prison. If anyone should be afraid, it should be him.
“Yes!”
“Good.” Nodding slightly, Yin Gezhi said, “In a couple of days, you can go see him. You can ask him anything you want to know, all at once.”
He made it sound so easy as if he were the Crown Prince of Wu! Feng Yue frowned. “General Yi is probably under secret detention with special guards. It won’t be easy to see him.”
Yin Gezhi gave her an indifferent look, spat out the fruit pit, and turned to sleep facing the inner wall.
Sitting by the bed, Feng Yue gritted her teeth, wondering why this person always liked to be so mysterious. Why did he only ever say half of what he meant? Wasn’t he afraid of biting his tongue?
However, two days – it really was just two days later when Ye Yuqin personally came to place a token in Yin Gezhi’s hand.
“Your Highness, I must trouble you,” Ye Yuqin said earnestly. “General Yi’s martial arts are formidable, and he has many followers. Too many people want to visit him in prison, and ordinary guards can’t handle it. Father Emperor intends to have you stay at the Grand Marshal’s office for a couple of days.”
Feng Yue clicked her tongue, thinking that the Wu Emperor knew how to pick people. Someone who wasn’t afraid of offending others and had strong martial arts – wasn’t that exactly Yin Gezhi? The perfect choice for a jailer.
“Your Highness,” Yin Gezhi looked quite unwell, forcing out two coughs and saying weakly, “I am ill and truly cannot handle such a responsibility. Moreover, General Yi has shown me kindness in the past. Such a task, I’m afraid…”
“There are many elite soldiers at the Grand Marshal’s residence. Unless it’s necessary, Your Highness won’t need to act,” Ye Yuqin said with clasped hands. “The Grand Marshal’s residence also has good doctors and medicines at Your Highness’s disposal. Besides, Your Highness won’t need to face General Yi directly, just guard against others from outside. We wouldn’t normally trouble Your Highness, but the Grand Marshal has been troubled by this matter and sought the Emperor’s grace for assistance. The Anguo Marquis’s household recommended Your Highness, so…”
Yin Gezhi heaved a long sigh. Looking very troubled, he hesitated before asking, “If the Grand Marshal’s office fails in their duty and lets the prisoner escape, will His Majesty hold me accountable as well?”
“No,” Ye Yuqin shook his head. “This matter was requested by me. If anything goes wrong, as long as it’s not related to Your Highness, you won’t be held responsible.”
“Very well,” Yin Gezhi finally agreed. “Then I shall go to the Grand Marshal’s office.”
Nodding with a smile, Ye Yuqin said, “We truly appreciate Your Highness’s help. However… when Your Highness goes there, if the Young Miss is present and wishes to see General Yi, you may let her in.”
Although much of his interaction with Yi’s daughter had been mere pretense, seeing her pitiful state after all this time moved him. Ye Yuqin had always been soft-hearted toward women. He thought this would be a favor to Yin Gezhi since he was very fond of Yi’s daughter. It wouldn’t be right to make things difficult for someone while asking for their help.
Yin Gezhi indeed responded with pleasure: “Thank you, Your Highness.”
Ye Yuqin was relieved and returned to discuss with the Emperor how to balance mercy and authority.
Yin Gezhi took the token from the Crown Prince and immediately placed it in Feng Yue’s hand.
Feng Yue smiled and accompanied him to the Grand Marshal’s residence by carriage, though they took a detour through Xiangyu Street and stopped briefly in front of a general store.
The craftsmen at the general store were as skilled as ever. Although it took a day to find the materials, when the items were delivered, even Yin Gezhi’s sharp eyes couldn’t tell which token was real and which was fake.
“Where did you find so many skilled people to help you?” Yin Gezhi couldn’t help but ask.
Feng Yue smiled mischievously: “Secret.”
Her secrets. He was curious but didn’t dare to probe, fearing what bloody truth might be uncovered.
Silently sighing, Yin Gezhi closed his eyes and settled into the Grand Marshal’s office, waiting for Yi’s daughter to come.
Yi’s daughter came quickly, presumably having heard the news of Yin Gezhi entering the Grand Marshal’s office. She hurriedly came through the back door, completely forgetting what she had said last time, looking at Yin Gezhi expectantly and asking, “Can I see Father?”
“Yes,” Yin Gezhi nodded. “You can go see him whenever you want.”
This was, after all, permitted by the Crown Prince.
Yi’s daughter smiled, deeply moved. She took the token and carried her food box toward the prison.
Even in prison, General Yi enjoyed treatment befitting a great general – a private cell, private guards, with fifty jailers forming tight security from inside out.
Yi’s daughter felt uncomfortable as soon as she entered. Frowning, she said, “Do so many people need to watch a father-daughter meeting?”
The jailer who took the token hesitated, wondering whether it would be better to offend or not offend Yi’s daughter since everyone knew Yi Guoru wouldn’t die.
After some thought, the jailer still sent someone to ask Yin Gezhi, who granted special privileges with a wave of his hand – Miss Yi could visit, and the jailers could step back.
Based on their understanding that “His Highness Yin deeply loves Miss Yi,” the jailers found this order unsurprising. Since the Crown Prince hadn’t given any special instructions, they complied.
Thus, Yi’s daughter began bringing meals to Yi Guoru every day. Yin Gezhi, worried she might be uncomfortable walking alone in the dark prison, specially permitted her maid to accompany her. Sometimes when Yi’s daughter saw good snacks while walking in the street, she would even have her maid take the token to deliver them to her father.
Yi Guoru was very touched, feeling that having Yin Gezhi around was truly wonderful. With such privileges, his days in prison weren’t so bitter. Although his daughter was quite dim, unable to clearly explain the situation outside, it was nice to have someone regularly bringing him food. Next time the maids came, he would definitely ask them to bring paper and brushes so he could send messages out.
However, that night, Feng Yue came to him.
Dressed as a maid, carrying a token and snacks, Feng Yue entered the prison with a lowered head. Her steps were light and graceful, her skirt sweeping against her embroidered shoes, appearing as delicate as a spring breeze caressing flowers.
Yin Gezhi stood in the shadows outside the prison, looking up at the moon. His eyes were dark with emotion, his fists never unclenching. After a while, he melted into the darkness, flying over the prison roof tiles, accurately finding the location of Yi Guoru’s cell. He stepped on the tiles without making a sound.
Passing the snacks through the bars, Feng Yue kept her head down and said, “Young Miss says this shop’s mung bean cakes are delicious, please try them.”
Having eaten various snacks these past days, Yi Guoru chuckled, “She thinks of her father. At this hour, still having me eat.”
“Young Miss just fears the General’s suffering,” she replied.
Taking a bite of the mung bean cake and swallowing it, Yi Guoru suddenly felt something was off. He looked up at the person outside the bars: “Why isn’t it Dianchai who came today?”
“Sister Dianchai was busy, so she asked this servant to come instead.”
“Oh…” After taking two more bites and finishing one cake, Yi Guoru frowned: “Too sweet. I won’t eat anymore.”
One was enough, Feng Yue smiled, finally slowly raising her head to look at him.
The prison cell was dimly lit, and Yi Guoru initially didn’t want to pay attention to a mere maid, but his keen instincts detected something amiss. He suddenly looked up.
Moonlight poured through the small window, flowing over this person’s delicate yet heroic features. For a moment, he seemed transported back to the battlefield, where a valiant female general in red clothes with white armor, wielding a great sword, had struck at his arm!
Drawing in a sharp breath, Yi Guoru stumbled back several steps, falling onto the pile of straw: “Guan… Guan…”
“I’m Jiujiu.” Feng Yue bared her teeth in a roguish smile. “General Yi, long time no see?”
Cold sweat breaking out all over his body, Yi Guoru frowned. Feeling as if his eyes were playing tricks on him, he couldn’t help but move closer to look at her again, then said harshly but with inner fear: “Weren’t you dead?”
“Thanks to your household, my entire family died. Only I was stubborn enough to survive, hanging on just to have a nice chat with the General.” Patting her skirt, Feng Yue stood up, looking down at him with cold eyes. “Surely the General hasn’t forgotten what he’s done?”
His pupils contracted as Yi Guoru lowered his head: “What are you talking about? I don’t quite understand. Your father and I were close friends…”
“Close friends my ass!” Feng Yue gritted her teeth, standing up to slam the food box against the bars, roaring: “The old man is already dead, why won’t you let his spirit rest in peace? Close friends? If he had friends like you, he couldn’t even die in peace!”
Being berated by a younger generation like this, Yi Guoru’s expression turned ugly: “What… what do you want to do?”
As he spoke, he carefully listened for sounds outside. With such a commotion, why weren’t the jailers coming to check?
Indeed they weren’t, thanks to Yi’s daughter. The jailers had grown accustomed to being lax when Yi’s family came to visit, with only a dozen or so people still guarding the entrance. The prison was too deep – this level of noise, though echoing through the cell, couldn’t reach the ears of the guards at the gate.
“What do I want to do? Just chat!” Satisfied with watching the slight panic appear on his face, Feng Yue smiled with reddened eyes: “On such a fine evening, how could the General not share with this junior your excellent techniques in framing loyal generals of other countries and using deception to steal military intelligence? You must let this junior admire your methods!”