Chapter 12: A Banquet at the Palace

Chapter 12: A Banquet at the Palace

The bed creaked and swayed well into the night.

Pei Yuhuai's waist was nearly gone.

At dawn, Pei Yi came to attend to Pei Yuhuai's morning routine, but upon entering, found him kneeling on the bed, both legs trembling.

Pei Yi was startled: "Your Highness, are you playing..."

"Playing, my ass—go draw a bath, I want to bathe."

"Oh, oh, alright."

Pei Yi walked out, puzzled. Recently, the Hereditary Prince had been bathing more and more often. Since when was he this clean?

And in this cold weather.

Pei Yi wrapped his clothes tighter around himself.

After bathing, Pei Yuhuai returned to bed and lay there like a corpse. Last night had been too exhausting—he'd barely slept at all, and now he was dead tired.

Besides, his ass was killing him.

After going back and forth, Pei Yuhuai couldn't help but quietly fish out the small medicine bottle he'd tossed into the corner of the room.

It was what Lan He had left behind before he left, supposed to be an ointment for applying down there.

He'd chucked it in a fit of anger.

But now, on reflection, his health came first.

He was too embarrassed to ask for help, so he had to shut the door tight and awkwardly apply it himself—cool and soothing, but it still stung.

After a lot of struggling, he finally dozed off again.

He spent the next few days resting.

Princess Quying came by the marquis's place almost every day, with Imperial Physician Su in tow.

Su Zichen would go straight to Pei Siming's courtyard to mix his medicine and check on him, while the princess usually came to Pei Yuhuai's place.

Every time she came, Princess Quying would put in a good word for Ji Huaiyu, even inviting him to her place to see the consort.

A princess of her standing—even if her consort had done his old friend wrong, it wasn't her place to play mediator and run errands.

And what about him?

Couldn't he even muster the courage to come to the marquis's place?

One day.

Princess Quying and Su Zichen showed up again.

"Will you come by my place tomorrow? The consort's mentioned you a few times—come hang out." Princess Quying kept pressing him.

Pei Yuhuai listened quietly, then said, as if it dawned on him: "The princess graciously invites me to her residence—is this to patch things up for the consort?"

"Sort of. The consort's been moping around all day, and it breaks my heart to see. I hope you can give him a chance to explain himself."

Explain?

Pei Yuhuai almost laughed. He asked, curious: "The consort and I don't have any bad blood—it's just that he's married now, so we don't see each other much. Why's the princess so eager? Did the consort say something?"

Qu Ying's face froze for a split second.

It was only for a split second, but Pei Yuhuai caught it. Something wasn't right.

He pretended not to care, but his eyes never left Qu Ying from the corner of his vision.

Qu Ying smiled: "The consort didn't say anything, just that he had a misunderstanding with you. I couldn't stand to see it, so I came to speak for him. It's probably just a misunderstanding."

"The princess doesn't even know what happened, but she's here to mediate—isn't that a bit much?"

"..."

"The consort's newly married but he's worried about other things—doesn't that bother you?"

"Not at all."

"Now that's a true heroine." Pei Yuhuai smiled. "In a few days, the emperor's throwing a banquet at the palace. The consort will see me there soon enough."

"That's true. Then you two should have a good talk then. Ah, old misunderstandings just need to be talked out—nothing that can't be fixed."

Pei Yuhuai said nothing.

Why would a princess of her rank lower herself like that without even realizing it?

Lately, the suspicion in his heart had slowly started to take form.

He definitely needed to feel Ji Huaiyu out.

-

That day, he had that dream again.

This time, something was different—he was an observer, watching from above as the youth was struck by the sword.

In front of the youth stood a monk in a kasaya, with a red mark between his brows.

Pei Yuhuai knew he was in a dream. He desperately tried to see the youth's and the monk's faces, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't—he couldn't even get close.

Only that red mark between the brows stood out, impossible to miss.

Was it Lan He?

The same spot, the same red mark.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, wake up, Your Highness."

An intermittent voice called out at his ear. Pei Yuhuai pried open his heavy eyelids, saw Pei Yi's face, and was dazed for a second.

"Finally awake. You were talking in your sleep and wouldn't wake up no matter what I did. Your Highness, get up—we need to go. The maids are all set."

Pei Yuhuai saw a few maids standing behind him.

Oh.

Right, they had to go out today.

The emperor hosted a banquet in the palace, a welcome feast for the general. It happened to be a fine season, and envoys from a neighboring friendly state had also arrived. The emperor decreed that sons of noble families should also enter the palace to drink.

Pei Yuhuai entered the palace.

Lan He was there too.

He stood far off beside the emperor and the crown prince, idly toying with a string of prayer beads in his hand—aloof, proud, and cold like a transcendent master.

Perhaps it was just his imagination.

He felt that Lan He seemed to have noticed him and even met his gaze, though he couldn't see clearly.

"Brother, who are you staring at so intently?"

Pei Rongjing appeared out of nowhere, glancing around curiously as he followed his gaze toward the emperor.

Pei Rongjing quickly averted his gaze: "Brother, why are you staring over at the emperor?"

"Nothing. Do you need something?"

"Yes, brother. I wanted to discuss something with you—how about accompanying me up the mountain in a few days?" He smiled ingratiatingly.

Pei Yuhuai cringed: "Talk normally. What do you need to go up the mountain for?"

Pei Rongjing turned serious in an instant.

"Brother, it's like this. Last time, Master Lan He did a divination for me and said I can't get married for now. Father doesn't believe it and insists on arranging a marriage for me."

"And then?"

"But I don't want that. I heard there's a temple on Mount Qi with a nun whose prayers really work. Father went to worship there before and really trusts her. I'm planning to go there."

Pei Yuhuai understood.

"So, you want to get another divination to convince Father?"

"Yes."

"Sure, no problem. I can go."

He had nothing to do these days anyway. Lan He rarely left his retreat, so Pei Yuhuai went out less too, and there was less fun to be had. A trip out wouldn't hurt.

"Brother, you're the best!"

"Scram, scram."

The two were playfully shoving each other when they saw Princess Quying and Princess Ruoning walking over. They toned it down and greeted them.

"Second Princess, Third Princess."

Ruo Ning had a completely different temperament from Qu Ying. She was like a snow lotus untainted by the world—noble and elegant, every smile and gesture full of charm.

They had grown up together; they weren't close, but they knew each other well.

"I heard that today National Master Lan He is going to perform a ritual, apparently to release the souls of the soldiers who died on the battlefield," Qu Ying said, glancing toward the emperor's side as if hinting at something.

Ruo Ning nodded in agreement: "The battlefield is dangerous, surely with countless casualties. The National Master releasing the souls is his way of praying for the nation."

As everyone chatted on, Pei Yuhuai secretly complained to himself.

Does this guy really have that much power?

Why does everyone worship him so much? Isn't it just a bunch of mystical mumbo jumbo...

"Sang Qing?!"

Suddenly, Ruo Ning gasped, her gaze catching a glimpse of a figure in fiery red.

Everyone turned to look.