C5 Part5

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Chapter 5.5

Translator: マイ

Proofread/edit: adlt1226

Yong Shan stared coldly at Yong Lin. It took him a while before he could bring out his weak voice, telling Yong Lin, who was still kneeling on the ground on such a cold day without regard for their mother’s affection. “Get up.”

Because Yong Lin had injured Yong Shan, Yong Lin couldn’t sleep for several nights. Seeing his brother, who had always been strong, fall to such a terrible state because of his worsening condition made him extremely sad to the point that he couldn’t stop crying. When Yong Shan told him to get up, Yong Lin, who was still crying, didn’t hear him clearly and continued to cry while holding Yong Shan’s hand. Shu Fei pulled him up from the ground and scolded, “What are you still crying about? Your brother is no longer angry with you. He is sick, don’t bother him here.”

Yong Lin thought she was right, so he quickly wiped his crying, wet face with his sleeve, and shut his mouth obediently.

After a while, the ginseng soup finished boiling and was served. Thinking that the palace maids were clumsy, Shu Fei took the bowl and sat by Yong Shan’s bedside to feed him herself. Yong Lin, who was looking for a chance to make up for what he did, hurried and carefully helped Yong Shan to sit up and leaned him on his shoulders.

It was unclear whether the Laoshan ginseng brought by Shu Fei was indeed better than the ginseng commonly used in the palace, but Yong Shan felt his energy replenish after drinking the ginseng soup in one mouthful. He looked at the person in front of him and the person behind him. These two were the closest people in the palace he shared a bond with; they were his kin, connected to him by blood. He could care less about others, but these two were his flesh and blood. In this life, their destinies intertwined – mothers and sons, destined to share the same glory and shame.

In his weakened condition, the usually hot-headed and cold-tempered Yong Shan felt a bit of tenderness in his chest as he gently looked at Shu Fei. In a low voice, he said, “Mother, don’t worry. I have practiced swords and martial arts since I was a child, and my body is not that weak. On the other hand, I gave Yong Lin a hard kick that day. I am afraid his internal organs might have suffered some damage. Please remember to find someone to check his condition.”

“I already had it checked. I have thick skin and flesh, and even the bruises have disappeared in the first two days.” Yong Lin carefully supported Yong Shan from behind, and said,“I deserved that kick. Mother said Gege should have kicked me harder.”

Shu Fei glared at him and said, “You still have a face to say such things? If your brother did not protect you, do you think you’d still be sitting here and laughing now?”

After the three of them talked, they felt their depression ease, and they became more intimate.

Afraid that Yong Shan had difficulty talking in his sitting position, Shu Fei and Yong Lin lay him down again, and continued their conversation for a while longer. Yong Sheng, who was now in charge of handling trivial affairs, and pretending to meet with the ministers every day, also became a topic of their conversation.

Yong Shan smiled and said, “This is good. Those who don’t do their job can conceal their blundering, those who do, will eventually expose their careless mistakes. He has little qualifications and is ignorant, and taking care of trivial matters is not as simple. We can certainly expect something to go wrong within a few days.”

Because Yong Shan’s leg injury was pierced with a bamboo at a later time, Yong Lin snorted, “If he hadn’t reported in front of Father, Gege’s wound would not have become like this.”

Shu Fei obviously had something else in her mind, and discussed with Yong Shan. “It is a natural practice to have other princes assist with state affairs while you recover from your wounds; however, it makes me wonder why it was Yong Sheng? Yong Lin is still here. You are twins, and Yong Lin is also the Third Prince. His ranking is still higher than Yong Sheng, is it not? Why didn’t he order Yong Lin to assist instead?”

“Because of Yong Lin’s temper, at this time, it’s better not to involve him managing political and state affairs.” Yong Shan groaned. “I will teach him personally once I’ve recovered. It is too early for him to handle such matters, it’s better to wait until he learns some skills in the future. Otherwise, if he runs into trouble and makes a mess of things, cleaning up after him will be difficult.”

Shu Fei showed a sense of relief. “If you protect him, I will be relieved.”

“Don’t worry mother, I only have one mother and one brother. How can I not care about him? Just report to me if he wants something.”

Yong Lin was his twin. Since they grew up together, Yong Lin was well aware of his twin’s temper. He was merciless when angry. However, once Yong Shan’s anger disappeared, he doted on his twin brother a lot.

Yong Lin heard Yong Shan’s remark and knew that his elder brother’s anger was no longer as intense as before. He felt glad and showed a joyful expression on his face as he looked at Shu Fei from behind Yong Shan.

Shu Fei also laughed, “That would just be spoiling him. There are plenty of people who give him gifts, what else can he ask for? There is nothing else that he should be asking from you.”

“That’s not true.” Yong Lin hurriedly interjected, “There is something I want to ask Gege.”

“What is it?”

“I want to ask Gege for mercy and spare Yong Qi Gege.”

As soon as the words fell, Yong Shan’s expression suddenly changed.

Even Shu Fei did not expect Yong Lin to be such a fool. Suddenly, Shu Fei’s face turned black after realizing his carelessness.

Silence fell inside the Prince’s Manor, and the air grew heavy, pressing down on people’s hearts.

“Yong Lin…” Yong Shan asked softly after a while, “What did you just say?”

“I know that you imprisoned him under orders from the Emperor, but the charges against him are false. I am the closest person to Yong Qi gege, and I would know his character best. Yong Qi gege is an honest person; he is mild-tempered and timid, and would never resort to bribery nor incite rebellion. Subjecting Yong Qi Gege to the Internal Punishment Court’s abusive and torturous ways to coax information will only get him injured and won’t get you the information that you need.Yesterday, when I visited him in secret, I saw that he had lost a lot of weight. He told me through the window that he might not be able to get out and asked me to take a look after Li Fei…”

Shu Fei, who sat on the other side, saw Yong Shan’s expression darken and grow heavier, and couldn’t help but shout, “Yong Lin, you shut up! How many times have you been banned from getting involved with the Internal Punishment Court? How bold you are, daring to hide it from me! That bastard Zhang Cheng has become even more incapable!”

“Mother, I…”

“You get out, don’t bother your brother again!”

Yong Shan’s temperature kept fluctuating, going up and down, hot and cold, and his eyes were dazed. He kept himself from showing his fatigue, gritted his teeth, and said lightly to Shu Fei, “Mother, let him speak. Yong Lin, what else did Yong Qi say to you? You tell me everything.”

Yong Lin answered him honestly, “Yong Qi Gege said that he has a terrible fate, and was destined to live a short life. He misses his mother, Li Fei, and he feels guilty because of filial piety. He told me that sooner or later, Father Emperor and Yong Shan Gege will find out about this matter. A Prince cannot be executed based on those rumors and slanders. I also told him that Yong Shan Gege is only acting on orders, and when he understands the truth, he will definitely not embarrass him again. He listened to me and said… said…”

“What did he say?” Yong Shan asked in a low voice, with half-lidded eyes.

Yong Lin was aware that what he was about to say might cause some unpleasant emotions, he hesitated for a long time before begging, “Gege, don’t be angry with him after I say it. Because he is not always with you, he doesn’t know you well. Clearly it is just an unintentional remark.”

Shu Fei knew it was going to be bad, so she stood aside and signaled at Yong Lin.

Yong Shan was already like a fuel tank on fire at the moment, and it would explode at any time. Shu Fei did not dare to speak casually—if Yong Shan hated her as well, then there would be no one to appease them.

Yong Shan sighed, “Just tell me.”

“Yong Qi Gege shuddered when he heard your name, and said that he was really afraid of you.”

Yong Shan’s eyes widened suddenly, and his eyes were full of violent waves.

He closed them slowly. His face that was initially hot, and stained with a blush, suddenly paled, as if someone had covered it with a layer of translucent white paper.

No one spoke for a while.

The hall became suffocatingly quiet.

Yong Lin carefully looked at Yong Shan’s face, “Gege, are you angry?”

“I’m not angry.” Yong Shan trembled with anger. He forced a laugh through gritted teeth, “I am the Prince, he is a prisoner. He is afraid of me, as he should have been. Haha, it’s good that he is scared, that’s just how I want him to be – afraid.” Just as he finished speaking, he heard a choked sob from the back of his throat, which seemed to be a crying sound, echo in his head.

Yong Shan was taken aback and suppressed secretly. He felt better after a few long sighs. He opened his eyes, looked at Yong Lin, and asked, “He misses Li Fei. Did you go see Li Fei for him?”

“Un.” Yong Lin answered and glanced at Yong Shan secretly, seeming a little timid.

Yong Shan was sick, with weak hands and feet, but his shrewdness was unabated. Seeing Yong Lin’s expression, his heart was suspicious and was taken aback after thinking about it. His gaze at Yong Lin suddenly became sharp, “What did you bring to Li Fei?”

Shu Fei’s expression changed as she stood to one side.

“It was nothing…”

“What exactly was it?”

Yong Lin knew that he couldn’t hide it, he bit his lips and said vaguely, “It’s just a letter of greetings…”

Yong Shan was furious. He used his remaining strength to suddenly sit up, wave his hand and slapped Yong Lin’s face.

Pa!

The noise resounded across the manor.

Yong Lin did not have time to avoid it nor did he dare to. The slap stunned him so much that his ears buzzed.

Yong Shan glared at him angrily. He slapped him once, yet Yong Lin was still ignorant as to why he deserved it. Yong Shan raised his hand again in an attempt to slap him a second time, but his body felt sore and didn’t have an ounce of strength left, and he slowly fell back to bed.

Shu Fei exclaimed in shock. She quickly held him back, tremblingly, she said, “Yong Shan, don’t get angry, it’s more important that you focus your energy on recovering from your illness. Chang Defu! Chang Defu! Get the medicine quickly!” After that, she slapped Yong Lin with her slender, jade-like hand, twice and cursed, “You damned thing, are you trying to kill your own mother? You… What kind of letter did you bring Li Fei?”

Yong Lin clutched half of his swollen face, and hurriedly explained, “The content written inside was really nothing. I have read the entire content. It was only a letter greeting Li Fei and wishing her to be in good health, telling her not to worry. It also stated words of comfort for Li Fei, saying that there was actually no obscured letter between his Uncle and the Grand Mentor. The letter only contained poems…”

Shu Fei was so angry, she almost fainted. She looked at her unsuspecting young son and cursed, “Muddle-headed! Why don’t you ask what his charges were and why they took him back to the capital? Those letters… This transmission is evidence of a conspiracy and warrants the death sentence! How foolish! If this matter is exposed, you will be treated as an accomplice for passing private messages and charged for collusion!” Out of anger, she hit Yong Lin severely a few more times.

The corner of Yong Lin’s lips were bloodstained because of the ring in Shu Fei’s finger. He didn’t dare wipe it, seeing that his mother was so angry, he knew that he had made another big mistake. He faintly panicked, and said in a daze, “The letter was given to me by Yong Qi Gege. Moreover, I personally handed it to Li Fei Niangniang. It shouldn’t be known to others, right?”

Yong Shan’s anger had already diminished at this time, and his body was hot and cold at the same time. He felt so uncomfortable that he wanted to faint, as he barely spoke,

“Mother, he did not know about these things, and there is no time to talk to him about this now. I think we need to prepare early for this.”

Shu Fei nodded in response.

Yong Shan panted for a moment, then asked Yong Lin, “Did anyone see you when you delivered the letter?”

Yong Lin tried hard to think about it, shook his head and said, “There were not many people in the Cold Palace. Other than the two guards who stood by the entrance to the small hall where they detained Li Fei, there was no one else in sight.”

Shu Fei said with a black face, “If things come to light in the future, those two guards will be the witnesses to take your life.”

Yong Lin lowered his head and dared not make a sound.

Yong Shan pondered for a while, and then said, “Mother, Yong Lin, both of you go back first. Let me think about this. Don’t worry too much, even if the letter is intercepted by someone, they might not immediately take the matter out. There is always room for preparation. After Yong Lin returns to the manor, he is not allowed to go anywhere.”

Shu Fei hurriedly said, “Don’t worry, I will lock him up when I go back.”

After he ordered someone to see Shu Fei and Yong Lin off, Yong Shan lay down, resting his head on his hands, staring at the dragon-eye and phoenix tail engraved above the bed, calling Chang Defu, and instructing, “Go to the Internal Punishment Court, tell them it’s my order and bring His Highness Yong Qi here immediately.”

Next >>

<< Previous

End of ch 5.

Like this:Like Loading...