Married Thrice to Salted Fish

Chapter 27

The crown prince, the heir apparent to the throne, the future emperor — wanting his life was tantamount to regicide, to treason. If they were exposed, their entire families would be executed as punishment. There were only the two of them; a man who was seriously ill and dying, and a male wife, trapped in the inner courtyard. Even having an audience at the palace was not be an easy matter, let alone gaining entry to the East Palace located deep within and to the side of the crown prince who had shadow guards following him everywhere.

Perhaps, they were merely striking a stone with an egg, following a path that led to their own destruction. But Lu Wancheng wanted Xiao Cheng dead and he also wanted Xiao Cheng dead, so they were going to do it. The maids of the previous dynasties were able to assassinate the Emperor in his sleep, so why couldn’t they take the life of a mere prince?

Before that, Lin Qingyu had never thought about attacking the prince. At most, he’d been entertaining thoughts of going against the Empress. The prince had nothing to do with the marriage and thus, wasn’t on his list for revenge. But offering that half-drank cup of wine at Jinxiu Xuan today had truly disgusted him.

As a man, he naturally knew what the crown prince meant by the way he looked at him. Being married Lu Wancheng as a male wife was one thing, but for someone to dare to seize him by force, even if that someone were the heir apparent to the throne, this was something he could never tolerate.

Lu Wancheng was still alive so Xiao Cheng wouldn’t do something excessive for the sake of Nan’an Hou’s honor. Once Lu Wancheng died of illness, Xiao Cheng would most likely set his designs upon him. Rather than sitting still and waiting for death, it was better to gain the initiative by striking first.

On the surface, he was helping Lu Wancheng, but in reality, Lu Wancheng was helping him.

Feeling the warmth in Lin Qingyu’s hands and the faint smell of books on his body, Lu Wancheng’s breathing gradually calmed down. For a while, apart from the sound of wind and rain, the two of them could only hear each other’s breathing.

It was then that Huan Tong, having found the bedroom door open and Young Master Hou who should have been sleeping dead to the world on the bed, missing with the wheelchair still in the room, ran, panicked and agitated, to the door of the study to find the two of them.

Huan Tong breathed out a sigh of relief and asked, “What is Young Master Hou doing at the study? You didn’t even take the wheelchair…”

Lin Qingyu calmed down and said to Lu Wancheng, “You mustn’t catch a chill. I’ll carry you back to the room.”

In Lu Wancheng’s previous life, plotting and killing for his property was something that would never have been possible. He was still immersed in the turbulent emotions of having made a firm resolution, when he heard this sentence and his emotions instantly became even more turbulent. But the way it was turbulent had changed. He said incredulously, “You’ll carry me…?”

“En.” Lu Wancheng was so sickly that although Lin Qingyu had never trained, because he was still a healthy man, walking a few steps with Lu Wancheng in his arms wouldn’t be much of an effort.

Lin Qingyu grabbed Lu Wancheng’s arm and put it over his shoulders. “Hold tight.”

…and a princess carry?

Lu Wancheng suddenly pulled his hand back. “No, no, no. Cough, I can walk back by myself.”

Lin Qingyu knew at a glance that Lu Wancheng’s useless male ego was rearing its head once again. “By the time you make it back by yourself, the sun would be breaking out of the horizon.”

That evening, when he walked all the way from the bedroom to the study, Lu Wancheng hadn’t felt much of anything. But now he realized that he really didn’t have even a drop of energy left, it was difficult even to just stand up. He was forced to compromise, “Then let Huan Tong carry me back.”

In the bedroom, the doors and windows were closed to keep out the wind and rain. Huan Tong waited upon Lu Wancheng to change out of his rain-soaked sleepwear. Lu Wancheng lay on the warm and dry bed, his face was still as pale as paper and there was a fishy smell in his mouth.

Hua Lu brewed some ginger tea. With a look of disgust on his face, after Lu Wancheng finished it all off. He had Huan Tong and Hua Lu retreat, leaving only him and Lin Qingyu in the room.

Lin Qingyu had only gone to the study after he had heard Hua Lu say that she had seen the Young Master fast asleep. This being the case, Lu Wancheng must have woken up from his sleep and then heedlessly rushed to the study.

Lin Qingyu sat on the side of the bed and asked, “Did you have a nightmare?”

“You know even this.” Lu Wancheng’s tone returned to his usual relaxed and comfortable tone, “I had a nightmare and was scared to death.”

“What nightmare?”

Lu Wancheng didn’t speak, just looked at him silently, as if confirming that the person in front of him was truly intact and whole. After a while, he smiled and asked, “Ah, just now was I really ugly? Did I cut a sorry figure?”

Lin Qingyu told the truth, “You did cut a sorry figure but you weren’t ugly.” With Lu Wancheng’s temperament, even if his face were to be ruined, he probably won’t ever be that much ugly.

Lu Wancheng said with a “tsk”, “How annoying. I wanted to look cool in front of you.”

Having stayed with Lu Wancheng for a long time, Lin Qingyu had gradually learned to adapt to the unfamiliar words Lu Wancheng would just suddenly spout out of nowhere. He deduced what Lu Wancheng wanted to express according to the context of the speech. The word “cool” must mean something along the lines of being confident and outstanding.

Lin Qingyu said, “I thought you were very cool just now.”

Lu Wancheng was startled. He very slowly slipped into his bed, grabbed the quilt and covered his face.

After this night, the ones conspiring to do bad things in the study changed from one person to two.

Know yourself and know your enemy; and you will emerge victorious in every battle. Lin Qingyu’s understanding of Xiao Cheng was limited to their two meetings, and his impression of him could be summed up in one word — greasy. Although Lu Wancheng was nominally Xiao Cheng’s cousin, he had little contact with him because he was confined to his bed all the year round. But Lu Wancheng seemed to be very familiar with Xiao Cheng, especially regarding his personal affairs and details.

Lin Qingyu asked Lu Wancheng to list all the things he knew about Xiao Cheng. Lu Wancheng thought back for a long time and said,

“Xiao Cheng’s common facial expressions are ‘lips ticked up with a sneer’, ‘with like a smile that was yet not a smile’, ‘tongue against his cheek’ — it’s as if the gaps between his teeth are stuffed with leeks; when he speaks, he mostly does it ‘slowly and unhurriedly’, ‘remaining calm and composed while handling pressing affairs’. Whenever there is a disagreement, he likes to hold people by their chin and say…” Lu Wancheng lowered his voice deliberately, imitating Xiao Cheng’s tone, “‘Look at Gu ‘.”

Lin Qingyu: “…”

“Outside, he is the resolute, ruthless and unfeeling His Royal Highness the Crown Prince; but in front of his beloved, his eyes turn warm, his voice is low and hoarse as he says, ‘kiss me, and I will give you my life and the country’ – it’s so f*ckin’ greasy, he could open shop selling grease, the very pinnacle of greasy.”

Lin Qingyu: “…”

“By the way, he also has a fondness for giving nicknames to people he likes. People obviously have names, but he doesn’t use them. Sigh, he amuses himself by calling others ‘child’, ‘little sister’, ‘little brother’……”

Lin Qingyu interrupted: “Enough. Can’t you say something useful?”

Lu Wancheng smiled and said, “I’ve already said the most useful thing.”

Lin Qingyu thought for a while, “Princess Jingchun?”

Lu Wancheng snapped his fingers: “Such quick wits you have! Actually, it’s a very cliche story: Xiao Cheng and Jingchun met in the palace when they were young. They were childhood friends, innocent playmates. But she was just a nushi. How could she possibly be qualified to be the prince’s wife? So the two could only communicate in secret. Later, the king of the north took a fancy to Jingchun and the Emperor sanctioned their marriage. At that time, Xiao Cheng wasn’t yet the crown prince and for the sake of the Emperor, he dared not let out a peep… That is to say, he didn’t dare be rash and he could only watch as Jingchun was married and taken far away. Since then, he could only look for Jingchun lookalikes for comfort.”

Lin Qingyu asked, “Since the relationship between the two is a secret then, how did you find out?”

Lu Wancheng said: “Naturally, I have my sources. Just believe me.”

“Then how am I like Jingchun?”

“The eyes. There’s also a mole under Jingchun’s left eye. Many of Xiao Cheng’s maids and attendants more or less look like Jingchun.”

Lin Qingyu said: “So, as long as I destroy my eyes, Xiao Cheng will lose interest in me?”

“Maybe.” Lu Wancheng said, “But you shouldn’t do that. I like how your eyes are now.”

“Of course not.” Lin Qingyu sneered, “Even if I don’t care about my face, I don’t want to hurt myself for that son of b*tch.”

What was the use of dealing a thousand damage to the enemy at the cost of eight hundred to yourself? What he wanted was to remain unscathed as he watched the other suffer all kinds of torment — to prefer death over living, to beg for mercy in pain.

Xiao Cheng has a deep affection for Princess Jingchun who’d been married off far away… What can they do with this?

The two were lost in thought. Not long after, a maid from the Sleeping Moon Pavilion came to see Lin Qingyu, saying that she had something to report. After Lin Qingyu summoned her in, she said, “Early this morning, the madam took the Second Young Lady out of the house and didn’t come back until towards the evening. Yiniang asked me to find the groom and I found out that the Madam and the Second Young Lady had actually gone to the palace and they’d brought with them a lot of generous gifts. Then I went to the manager of the storeroom, and the manager said that Madam hadn’t taken anything from the storeroom. In all likelihood, those gifts came from Madam’s own dowry.”

“I understand.” Lin Qingyu said, “Go back and thank Yiniang on my behalf. She was very attentive.”

For their visit to the palace this time, Liang Shi and Lu Niantao obviously didn’t want to draw attention to themselves. It hasn’t been that long ago since the last time the three of them went to the palace together to pay their respects and thank the Empress. Moreover, the Empress had given mother and daughter the cold shoulder treatment. Were they visiting the palace this time to garner the Empress’ favor?

After Lin Qingyu expressed his thoughts, Lu Wancheng said, “It’s already been a year or two since Liang Shi’s marriage to Nan’an Hou. If she could win the favor of the Empress, she would have already won it, so why did she have to wait until now?”

Lin Qingyu nodded in agreement. “It’s not for the Empress, then it must be for someone else.”

“In the palace, the Empress is not the only mistress.”

For a woman to enter the palace, aside from going to Fengyi Palace, she could also occasionally go to pay her respects to the favored concubine. The two looked at each other and said at the same time, “Chen Guifei.”

Lin Qingyu recalled how Liang Shi and Lu Niantao looked at the crown prince in Fengyi Palace that day. Therefore, Liang Shi who’d lost the trust of her husband, lost the stewardship of the mansion, had her son rendered impotent, seeing that life in the Hou Mansion was getting unbearable, decided to look for a backer outside.

The Empress was displeased with her status as the second wife and would not help her. In the harem, apart from the Empress, the most powerful person was the biological mother of the crown prince, Chen Guifei. Nan’an Hou has always been overly cautious in court. He came and went alone and never participated in any party disputes. If he knew that Liang Shi was privately courting Chen Guifei, he would definitely be furious, so they only dared to go quietly.

The Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace, the Empress’ Fengyi Palace, Chen Guifei’s Changle Palace… and Liang Shi and Lu Niantao.

“Wancheng.” Lin Qingyu said slowly, “I want to visit the Lin Residence.”

Lu Wancheng said without even having to think about it, “Alright, when?”

“Now.”

“You and I will go together.”

Just as Lin Qingyu was about to refuse on the grounds that “his condition would make it difficult to go out”, he heard Lu Wancheng say, “I was just thinking of asking Father-in-law to help me see how much time I have left.”

Lin Qingyu hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Lu Wancheng’s condition was quickly about to go out of his control. No matter how talented he was, he really no longer knew… what to do.

In the world, there were only two people he knew whose medical skills surpassed his – his teacher and his father. The prescription he used to extend Lu Wancheng’s life was given by his father. Father might have other ways to buy Lu Wancheng more time.

Among the wealthy families, the wife would need to get the approval of the madam if she wished to bring her husband back to her parents’ house. Now, apart from Nan’an Hou, Lin Qingyu was the one in charge of the household. He didn’t need to tell anyone to go wherever he wished. However, since he wanted to take Lu Wancheng to stay in the Lin Residence for a few days, he would still need to symbolically obtain Nan’an Hou’s consent. Saying that he wanted take Lu Wancheng back to the Lin Residence for treatment, Nan’an Hou knowing that Lin Pan Yuan’s medical skills were unmatched, naturally, nodded in agreement.

So Lin Qingyu took Lu Wancheng, along with Huan Tong and Hua Lu back to the Lin Residence.

His trip home this time was very sudden, giving his parents and younger brother a great surprise. Lin Qinghe still remembered Lu Wancheng, the big brother who he’d only met once. With the innocence of a child, he said, “Wancheng Ge, you’ve lost a lot of weight.”

Mother Lin’s expression changed slightly. Lu Wancheng smiled while sitting in his wheelchair: “And Xiao Qinghe has grown a lot taller.”

Lin Qinghe was so shy that he hid behind his mother. After all, these two were brothers, Lin Qinghe and Lin Qingyu looked quite similar. Looking at him, Lu Wancheng had the pleasure of looking at a small version of Lin Qingyu.

Mother Lin breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, “You came back just in time. If you were even a bit late, your father would have already left.”

“Left?” Lin Qingyu looked at Father Lin, “Where is father going?”

Father Lin said, “To Yong Liang.”

Yong Liang is located to the northwest of Dayu and borders Xixia. Xixia was originally a vassal of Dayu but in recent years, they’ve grown year by year and were now entertained thoughts of rebelling, or shaking of the Dayu’s control and taking its place.

Lin Qingyu asked, “The northwest border is a battlefield, why would Father be going to Yong Liang at this time?”

Father Lin looked grave. “Half a month ago, General Gu was unfortunately struck by a poison arrow on the battlefield. After they removed the arrow, the residual poison refused to clear from his body. The military doctors and the famous doctors in Yong Liang were helpless in the face of this situation. A report to his Majesty, stated that General Gu was getting weaker and weaker due to the residual poison. I’m afraid that if this situation goes on, his future would be bleak. The Emperor ordered me to leave immediately, to rush to Yong Liang without stopping to diagnose and treat General Gu.”

Lu Wancheng was dying himself, and naturally he couldn’t bring himself to care about the lives of others. “Yong Liang is so far away from the capital. Even if you were to travel without stopping, it would take at least half a month. Won’t it be too late by then?”

Father Lin sighed lightly, “We will have to hope that the Heavens look kindly upon General Gu.”

As his son, Lin Qingyu selfishly did not want his father to go to a place of war at this time. However, is not everything under Heaven the Emperor’s land? As people of the Dayu, they will have to spend their whole lives, bowing their heads to Imperial power. Moreover, General Gu… was also a person worth saving.

Lin Qingyu said, “Then all I can ask is for Father to be careful and to by all means, take care of yourself.”