Chapter 33

Yiling had lived two lifetimes and never done anything so ruthless. Today, in a fit of anger, she had ordered her guards to break Zhou Xinghuai’s leg in the street.

Afterward, she had no regrets. She thought to herself, “I’ve even chopped up the imperial plaque. What mess is there that Xie Hengzhi can’t clean up?”

When she returned to the manor and recalled the cheering of the common people as Zhou Xinghuai screamed in agony, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride; her cheeks flushed red.

But in this moment, seeing Xie Hengzhi’s silent and speechless expression, Yiling felt uncertain.

Could it be? A mere wastrel who harms the people, and Xie Hengzhi can’t afford to offend him?

In any case, Xie Hengzhi didn’t say a word.

He stared helplessly at Yiling for a while before turning to walk out of the room.

Crossing the screen, he couldn’t catch his breath and turned back again, continuing to look at Yiling with helplessness.

Yiling blinked, giving him a look as if to say, “Is this really such a big deal?”

Breaking Zhou Xinghuai’s leg was certainly not a big deal.

What mattered was that earlier today, Xie Hengzhi had agreed to give Zhou Ge Lao’s beloved nephew the position of the Imperial Guardsman, and by the afternoon, his wife had broken the man’s leg.

If Zhou Ge Lao, in his old age, couldn’t bear such a blow and passed out from shock, who would Xie Hengzhi find to take over as prime minister? Someone with the experience to command respect, and who would be willing to be a puppet?

At a loss for what to say to Yiling, the door suddenly opened, and Li Chun’s anxious voice rang out.

“Master! Master!” He hurriedly ran to the door and stopped.

Xie Hengzhi: “Speak.”

Li Chun poked his head in: “I just received word that the lady broke Zhou Ge Lao’s nephew’s leg in the street this afternoon!”

“…”

Xie Hengzhi slowly turned his head and looked at the grain of rice stuck at Li Chun’s corner of his mouth. “Go back to eating your meal.”

Li Chun immediately turned and left. “Yes!”

When he looked at Yiling again, Xie Hengzhi’s expression had become much calmer.

“Why did you break his leg?”

Yiling, embarrassed to repeat the vile words Zhou Xinghuai had used, lowered her head and briefly explained the reason.

“He bullied the common people and spoke disrespectfully to me.”

Xie Hengzhi had already guessed that Yiling must have had a reason to act, but the question was whether she had been too harsh.

Hearing the explanation, Xie Hengzhi sighed and turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” Yiling quickly asked.

Xie Hengzhi stood still for a moment, then spoke. “Naturally, I’m going to take care of the aftermath for you.”

He turned back to look at Yiling. “Did you think I was going to Zhou’s residence to break his other leg?”

“That’s not it.”

Hearing Xie Hengzhi’s tone, Yiling could tell that this matter was somewhat tricky for him, and she couldn’t help but ask again. “I won’t be in trouble, will I?”

Xie Hengzhi had almost stepped out the door when he heard Yiling’s question, and he paused right where he was.

“You can’t.”

Her certain tone fell, and before he could respond with “I can,” Yiling quickly patted her chest in relief. “That’s good, that’s good.”

Xie Hengzhi: “…”

–
Just as Xie Hengzhi took a step, Mama Cao came in with a bowl of freshly brewed medicine, moving carefully.

“My lord is truly busy today; I didn’t even have time to eat a few bites of dinner before leaving,”

Mama Cao remarked as she set the medicine bowl down. “Why doesn’t the lady think of a way for the Lord? Perhaps he might just find the crown princess’s hairpin.”

When Mama Cao mentioned this, Yiling suddenly realized.

Since Xie Hengzhi was so capable, finding a missing gold hairpin would be a piece of cake.

“Ah, how did I forget about that just now?”

Yiling sighed while resting her chin on her hand. “Sigh! I guess we’ll have to wait until he comes back and have him handle it.”

Her words made it sound more like she was ordering a servant to run an errand.

Mama Cao scratched her ear and then said, “The lady is still ill, and today you’ve been out of the house. After drinking the medicine, you should rest early.”

Yiling naturally wanted to rest earlier, but Xie Hengzhi hadn’t returned yet. She was waiting to hear more from the Zhou residence.

Unknowingly, the lights in the Xie residence were lit one by one, and as night deepened, they began to extinguish.

In Linfeng Yuan’s bedroom, only one pole lamp remained lit, casting faint shadows that couldn’t compare to the brightness of the moonlight outside, barely illuminating a corner of the bed.

Yiling, unable to resist her body’s exhaustion, had already fallen asleep.

Now, she awoke, blinking in the dim light. Seeing the scene in the room, she knew it was probably past the Hour of the Pig (around 9 pm).

Why hadn’t Xie Hengzhi come back yet? Could it be that he was really detained because of Zhou Xinghuai?

No, that was impossible.

Yiling quickly dismissed her own thoughts.

Given Xie Hengzhi’s style of handling matters, it was more likely he stayed late because he had gone to break Zhou Xinghuai’s other leg.

Though it was already late, Yiling had gone to bed early in the evening, and now she was gradually waking up.

It was difficult to fall back asleep, and her body ached all over. She decided to get out of bed and stretch her muscles.

As she stretched her arms and walked to the mirror, her gaze inadvertently fell on the gold hairpin she had bought today.

Originally, Yiling had gone to the Eastern Market with the worst expectations, thinking she might not find another hairpin. She had planned to buy a more exquisite one to apologize.

But after she dealt with Zhou Xinghuai, she found a nearly identical one in the first jewelry shop she entered.

Although the style was similar, the craftsmanship outside couldn’t compare to that of the Imperial Household Department.

She wondered if she could add a few precious gemstones to it to express her apology…

As Yiling lost herself in thought, she suddenly heard a faint sound of running water.

Having suffered a few setbacks before, she immediately became alert, retreating to the wall, gripping the hairpin in her hand, ready to defend herself at any moment.

“Who’s there?”

As soon as she shouted, Yiling felt cold sweat running down her back.

However, no one answered. She saw a shadow on the screen, a figure that looked very familiar.

Xie… Xie Hengzhi?

Yiling moved closer, daring only to peek at the screen with half her face exposed.

In the dim light, she could make out Xie Hengzhi’s silhouette, half hidden, half illuminated. She finally felt at ease.

“When did you come back?”

Yiling asked, “What are you doing sitting here in the middle of the night?”

Xie Hengzhi didn’t answer. He simply finished the tea he had just poured.

Yiling then asked, “Did you see Zhou Xinghuai? Did he admit his mistake? What did Zhou Ge Lao say?”

After thinking for a moment, Yiling asked again, “They won’t report this to the emperor, will they?”

After a long silence, Xie Hengzhi finally spoke, “Don’t say anything for now. Let me have some quiet.”

Yiling didn’t know what he meant but obediently kept quiet.

In the pitch-black night, Xie Hengzhi drank two more cups of tea. Though his appearance was unclear, Yi Ling could sense that he seemed especially tired.

“If there’s ever a conflict with the Zhou family again, don’t do this anymore.”

After a long pause, he finally said this.

Yiling’s heart skipped a beat. Before she could ask, he added, “Leave everything to me; I’ll handle it so that no one will know.”

What did that mean?

Had she, in her rare moment of impulsiveness, taught a bad person a lesson and now caused trouble even Xie Hengzhi couldn’t resolve?

“Could it be that Zhou Ge Lao really reported this to the Emperor, and now the Emperor is going to punish me?”

“The emperor doesn’t know about this,” Xie Hengzhi said. “It’s just that I’m the one suffering.”

Yiling immediately let out a sigh of relief.

Xie Hengzhi added, “It won’t involve you at all.”

Yiling’s sigh of relief became even louder.

Perhaps her relief was too obvious. Even though it was dark, Yiling could feel Xie Hengzhi’s gaze turn sharply toward her.

Quickly, she feigned concern. “What did Zhou Ge Lao do to you?”

What happened?

What else could he have done?

He had probably spent two hours crying and complaining to him.

Normally, Xie Hengzhi could tune out such lessons during the lectures, but tonight he couldn’t escape, and he had to respond now and then, making his head still buzz.

“It’s nothing; I just listened to some grumbling.”

Xie Hengzhi finally calmed down and then realized the time. “Why are you out of bed?”

“Oh, so it was just some grumbling.”

Yiling was a bit disappointed.

But when Xie Hengzhi gave her another glance, she immediately turned back toward the bed, and he followed her to change clothes.

Was it really just some grumbling?

Why did Xie Hengzhi look as though he had been through all sorts of torment?

Yiling was curious but didn’t dare to ask. She glanced at him, faintly sensing that he still had a sour expression, so she didn’t dare to look longer.

But in that moment, when her gaze passed over his head…

Yiling suddenly stopped, paused for a moment, and slowly turned her head back.

At that moment, they happened to be standing beside a bed, under the light of a tall lamp.

The light was faint, like a small bean, but the golden hairpin in Xie Hengzhi’s hair was especially conspicuous.

“This… this hairpin is on your head?”

Without needing to ask more, Yiling immediately realized—

He had misunderstood this morning.

This hairpin was not meant for him.

Sure enough, the next moment Yiling said, “This is the birthday gift the Crown Princess was going to give His Highness the Crown Prince. Why did you take it?”

Xie Hengzhi: “…”

It was one thing to misunderstand, but now he was showing it off right in front of the owner.

The woman before him would never know, but the most embarrassing moment in Xie Hengzhi’s many years of glory was probably this.

“The sky was dark this morning; I picked it up by mistake.”

He took the hairpin out of his hair with an almost careless motion, but the sound of it being thrown onto the desk exposed his inexplicable irritation.

This action frightened Yiling, who hurried to pick it up.

As she carefully held the Crown Princess’s hairpin, Xie Hengzhi noticed she was still holding another nearly identical one.

Naturally, it was also a man’s.

“And what about that one you’re holding?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Who was that one prepared for?”

Yiling, someone who had faced life-and-death situations, was particularly sensitive to the air of danger.

When Xie Hengzhi asked like that, she knew she couldn’t answer recklessly.

Could it be that he suspected she was involved with another man?

Thinking of the near-miss situation when she was last suspected, Yiling stiffened, her back straightened, and she blurted out, “Of course, it’s for you.”

“Today, Mrs. Xie beat Zhou Ge Lao’s nephew half to death.”

When the Crown Prince returned to the Eastern Palace at night, Shen Shufang, unusually, was not studying her poetry and books but was whispering something to her wet nurse by the charcoal fire.

When she saw the Crown Prince enter, the wet nurse immediately withdrew, and Shen Shufang hurriedly asked, “Your Highness, have you heard?”

The Crown Prince nodded but didn’t say much.

After he bathed and changed, Shen Shufang’s enthusiasm hadn’t waned, and she continued the conversation, “That Zhou Xinghuai usually uses his uncle’s influence to bully others in the capital, but finally, someone has taught him a lesson!”

The Crown Prince sat down in front of Shen Shufang, seemingly uninterested in these topics, but still replied, “How do you know it’s Zhou Xinghuai’s fault?”

“Is there even a need to think?” Shen Shufang said, “Mrs. Xie has the highest reputation and noble character in the world. How could it possibly be her fault?”

After arrogantly speaking those words, Shen Shufang looked up and met the Crown Prince’s gaze. She suddenly felt a bit dazed.

After more than two years of marriage, the two of them rarely sat together quietly like this.

The Crown Prince was usually silent, preferring solitude, and her personality didn’t allow her to take the initiative to please him.

After all, she was the future queen.

Shen Shufang had long understood that, since she could not get what she wanted, maintaining respect and propriety in their relationship was enough.

But just a few days ago, the Crown Prince had returned from Shu and didn’t even inform her. Shen Shufang had truly felt offended.
Wasn’t that a slap in the face to her, the Crown Princess?

So, she had moved to the side chambers and had been giving him the cold shoulder every day, hoping the Crown Prince would realize she, the primary wife, was not someone to be easily disregarded.

Fortunately, in the last few days, the Crown Prince had finally had a change of heart. Not only did he send her many of her favorite things, but…

Since they would be living together for a lifetime, Shen Shufang was not one to refuse someone who wanted to make amends.

Since the Crown Prince seemed to want peace, she should show some acknowledgment on his birthday.

He didn’t lack ordinary gifts, but this hairpin…

Actually, he didn’t lack it either, but Shen Shufang truly didn’t know what to give, so she personally designed a pattern and had it made by the Ministry of Works.

When she received the finished product, she felt the hairpin’s handle was too plain and decided it needed some decoration.

Shen Shufang wasn’t particularly skilled in these matters; designing the lotus petals alone had taken her enough effort, so she had to ask Yiling for help.

Shen Shufang’s thoughts drifted, and the Crown Prince, of course, didn’t know what she was thinking.

After a moment of absentmindedness, when her awareness returned, he spoke again, “Mm, this time, the Zhou family is at fault.”

“The Zhou family at fault?” Shen Shufang hurriedly leaned in and asked, “Will Mrs. Xie be troubled?”

“No.”

The Crown Prince said indifferently, “Jin Xuan will take care of it.”

Shen Shufang had always looked down on Xie Hengzhi; he neither had the refinement of a scholar nor the qualities of a capable official. She didn’t understand what the talented Ms. Shang saw in him.

But after hearing the Crown Prince say this, Shen Shufang felt that there were indeed some merits to him. At least, he took on all the responsibilities that he should.

She was about to ask further when she looked up and found that the Crown Prince’s gaze was still on her face.

Shen Shufang didn’t know why, but today, the Crown Prince had been looking at her like this.

His eyes weren’t particularly affectionate, but there was a hint of loneliness and sorrow, as though they were about to part at any moment.

“Then…” Shen Shufang felt a bit uneasy, and her voice became smaller, “Will Zhou Ge Lao… uh.”

Before she could finish her sentence, the Crown Prince suddenly leaned forward, blocking her lips.

“Let’s not talk about this.”

As the end of the year approached, the weather grew cold, and even the moonlight seemed especially bleak.

Inside the Eastern Palace’s bedchamber, however, heat swelled.

The silk bedding on the bed was soaked, and Shen Shufang weakly clutched the bed curtain, gritting her teeth and remaining silent.

With the Crown Prince’s frequent and unusual actions recently, she felt something was wrong and should resist, but her body’s instincts betrayed her.

At the moment of turbulence, her fingers slipped into the prince’s hair, and in a daze, she thought, once Yiling helped her perfect the engraved patterns, she wondered if she could create an unparalleled hairpin.

At midnight, the Xie residence.

In the deep night, everything was silent, with not a sound to be heard except for Yiling, who was tossing and turning in bed with Xie Hengzhi, unable to sleep, as if pondering something about the people’s livelihood and state affairs.

Though they were far apart, Xie Hengzhi was awakened by the disturbances several times.

In the pitch-black night, he said in a low voice, “You still can’t sleep?”

Yiling didn’t expect that Xie Hengzhi was still awake. After a moment of pause, she replied, “I slept for more than two hours after dinner, so I’m not tired.”

“And I,” Xie Hengzhi said, “have to enter the palace for court in an hour.”

Yiling: “…Oh.”

There was a brief silence. Just as Xie Hengzhi thought she had finally quieted down, he suddenly heard her ask, “What do you think of the hairpin from today?”

Xie Hengzhi: “…”

She’s still awake for this in the middle of the night?

He paused for a moment before replying, “It’s alright.”

“I think the hairpin’s shaft is still a bit too plain,” Yiling thought for a while. Since Xie Hengzhi was a top scholar, perhaps it would be better to refer to his opinion. “What kind of pattern do you like?”

“I don’t usually care about such things.”

Even though he said this, Xie Hengzhi still offered some suggestions: “Spiral patterns, maybe.”

“Too common.”

Yiling said, “Even men of my father’s age don’t like spiral patterns anymore.”

Xie Hengzhi: “…”

Seeing her so earnest, Xie Hengzhi couldn’t bear to dismiss her any further.

Turning to face her in the dark night, he gazed into her eyes and said, “I usually like bamboo-joint patterns, but since this is a gold hairpin with a lotus-petal design, it would be better suited with a dragon-tiger pattern.”

“Dragon-tiger pattern?”

Yiling frowned, thinking for a moment, then shook her head. “No, no, there must be plenty of dragon-tiger patterns in the palace. His Highness the Prince wouldn’t like it.”

Xie Hengzhi: “?”

Yiling muttered to herself, “The Princess has entrusted me with such an important task. I can’t let her down.”

Xie Hengzhi: “…”