LF Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Drowning Sorrows in Wine

Jiang Yinghua waited a full half-day. The sun set and the moon rose, the sky darkening, yet she didn’t see the young eunuch return with a message. A rare coldness gathered in her eyes. She gazed at the gloomy sky, pondered for a moment, and beckoned a guard, instructing him:

“Go kill that little eunuch from this morning. Do it cleanly.”

The guard was so frightened he knelt on the ground, seemingly unwilling.

“Killing him will save you. If you don’t, you’ve already heard. I certainly won’t keep you around. If you handle this well, I’ll ask my mother to bring you back. The Prince Zhao Manor has fewer rules, good food and drink. Weigh your options carefully.” Jiang Yinghua coldly scrutinized him, a dazzling smile blooming on her face as she spoke.

The guard tremulously kowtowed, rose, cupped his fist in salute, and retreated.

The next day, in the afternoon, Jiang Yinghua overheard the palace maids gossiping. They said that the Princess Consort of Yun’an had submitted a memorial early in the morning, requesting permission to return home. Now, the two bandits were already on their way back, loaded with gold and silver.

Jiang Yinghua thought to herself: They slipped away quickly enough. The feeling of running for their lives with their tails between their legs must be quite satisfying.

That evening, a floating corpse drifted by the lakeside in the Imperial Garden—it was the little eunuch from yesterday.

The palace guards investigated for a long time, ultimately closing the case with the explanation that he had accidentally fallen into the water at night.

Jiang Yinghua got up and walked to the corridor, found the guard, paused briefly before him, and casually said, “Not bad.”

The Empress Dowager was determined to snub Jiang Yinghua, ignoring her for two consecutive days. Estimating that the people from South Yue had already left the capital, Jiang Yinghua rose early on the third morning and left the palace to return to her manor, taking the small guard with her on her own initiative, without even saying goodbye to her mother.

Not long after returning to the manor, an old eunuch led a group of burly men into the Prince Zhao Manor, claiming to be acting on Your Majesty’s orders to replenish the Prince Zhao’s personal guards.

Jiang Yinghua rubbed her forehead as she looked at the robust men. What kind of people had her elder sister selected?

“Understood. Thank you for your trouble. You may follow the steward to settle in.” Jiang Yinghua sat upright in the main seat, giving the instructions casually.

Except for the old eunuch who bowed and retreated, the new personal guards stood motionless in the hall, like two thick walls, making Jiang Yinghua feel suffocated.

The steward gestured several times, but they didn’t move an inch, as if they were deaf and mute blocks of wood. Jiang Yinghua lost her temper, threw a teacup, and rebuked angrily, “Can’t you hear my orders? Leave!”

The leading simpleton heard this and knelt blankly. “Your Highness, Your Majesty’s decree to us is to protect Your Highness at all times. We dare not disobey.”

Jiang Yinghua was momentarily exasperated, speechless, unsure where to vent her anger. She couldn’t tell if Your Majesty was deliberately making things difficult for her, or if these people were simply too wooden and lacked discretion.

After considering for a long time, Jiang Yinghua softly said, “You are blocking my sunlight.”

The guards were stunned for a moment, then scattered into two rows with a rustle, clearing the open space in the hall and standing upright on both sides like stone pillars.

The old steward was dumbfounded. He looked up at Jiang Yinghua, hoping for instructions. Jiang Yinghua helplessly waved her hand and went to the bed in the inner room to take a nap.

Three days passed like this. Whenever Jiang Yinghua left her bedroom, they followed her like shadows, keeping pace wherever she went. When Jiang Yinghua went to rest in her room, they surrounded the hall outside, not even a drop of water could get through.

Jiang Yinghua thought to herself: Is this protection, or surveillance? Even imprisonment isn’t this miserable.

Left with no other choice, on the afternoon of the fourth day, Jiang Yinghua bit the bullet and brought this bunch of hangers-on into the palace to see Your Majesty. On the way to the Imperial Palace, she had already decided that if her elder sister didn’t take these people back, she would slip back to the Prince Zhao Manor through another palace gate, then close the manor gates tightly and keep them outside.

As soon as she entered Chengming Hall, Jiang Yinghua saw Your Majesty closing her eyes to rest under the short couch in front of the flower window. She didn’t dare to disturb her and consciously turned to the outer room.

Wandering aimlessly in the vast Chengming Hall, she didn’t find Yan Wanzhi anywhere. She was a little suspicious, so she grabbed a palace maid at random and asked, “Why isn’t Scholar Yan on duty today?”

The maid bowed and replied, “Your Highness, during the court session last night, Your Majesty gave him leave, saying that he doesn’t need to come for the next few days.”

“Do you know why?” Jiang Yinghua asked, surprised.

The little maid looked flustered upon hearing this. “This servant doesn’t know.” After saying that, she fled as if she was escaping.

“Hey?” Jiang Yinghua wanted to call her back, but the girl ran faster than a rabbit. This unusual behavior made Jiang Yinghua even more suspicious.

“What are you doing here?” Jiang Yinghua was pondering the reason for this when Your Majesty appeared behind her, unnoticed.

“This subject pays respects to Your Majesty.” Jiang Yinghua turned around to greet her, then softly said, “I haven’t asked after you for many days. I feel guilty, so I came here to see my elder sister.”

“Oh? Do you want to come back to court?” Your Majesty raised an eyebrow in mockery.

“This subject, this subject’s injuries haven’t healed yet. Please grant me a few more days of grace, Your Majesty.” Jiang Yinghua responded coaxingly.

“Hmm. No rush. Stay quietly in your manor, read more books, and don’t run around everywhere.” Your Majesty unexpectedly and easily agreed to her request to shirk work.

Jiang Yinghua’s heart was filled with clouds of doubt, like dark clouds gathering before a storm, pressing down, making her extremely uneasy.

“Your Majesty, could you perhaps change those personal guards you gave me?” Jiang Yinghua tentatively asked, seeing that her mood wasn’t bad today.

“Why change them? What don’t you like about them? They are there to protect you thoroughly. If you can’t stand them, just ignore them.” Your Majesty flicked her sleeve and went straight to a low table to sit down.

Jiang Yinghua hurriedly followed, nestled on a cushion to the side, and reached out to massage her elder sister’s shoulders. “Elder sister, they, they are too wooden, following me everywhere, even surrounding the hall outside when I sleep. Each one is like a great Buddha, making me feel a little oppressed. Could you issue another decree to let them…”

Before Jiang Yinghua could finish speaking, Your Majesty raised her hand and knocked away her hand, replying decisively, “No. Is there anything else? If not, go back and don’t run around.”

Her elder sister was in a hurry to send her away, not allowing her to attend court, and sending people to keep a close watch on her. Even if Jiang Yinghua was an idiot, she would understand that she was deliberately hiding something from her.

“Elder sister, why did you give Yan Wanzhi leave? Why did you rush me back to the manor? Were you afraid that I would see something, or that someone would see me and say something?” Jiang Yinghua lowered her eyes and asked with a serious face.

“Where did you hear this from, and what did you hear?” Your Majesty glanced at her.

“I guessed. You not only didn’t force me to attend court today, but you also kept trying to send me away. Naturally, everything is strange.” Jiang Yinghua tilted her head and pouted.

“It’s not important. Just some annoying rumors. If you honestly hide for a few days, they’ll get bored and naturally move on.” Your Majesty rarely reached out to pull her close, affectionately patting her head.

Jiang Yinghua looked up at her elder sister. Her face showed undisguised fatigue, and there were dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn’t rested well for many days.

Seeing Your Majesty so worried and troubled, Jiang Yinghua knew that she was partly to blame. She felt a little guilty, leaned on her elder sister’s lap, and muttered:

“I’m sorry, elder sister. It’s Yinghua who has caused you to worry. In the future, Yinghua won’t be stubborn anymore and cause you trouble. I’m not a child. You don’t need to hide anything from me. I don’t care about rumors. I won’t take them to heart.”

Your Majesty was a little surprised. Since she ascended the throne, this girl had never been willing to be close to her, but today was a rare occasion.

She stroked her younger sister’s black hair and slowly said, “Hua’er, regarding the Prince of Yun’an’s matter, I will give you an explanation. Be obedient, return to the manor to recuperate. When this matter is over, I have many things I want to entrust to you.”

“Okay. Then you should rest. Hua’er takes her leave.”

Jiang Yinghua got up from her lap and obediently left the palace, and driven by a heart full of regret, she brought the bunch of wooden guards back with her.

Back at the manor, Jiang Yinghua’s feigned well-behaved appearance vanished like a cloud in the sky, disappearing without a trace.

She stopped, put her hands behind her back, paced in front of the guards, and asked in a low voice, “What are your duties?”

The guards were puzzled and replied, “Our duty is to protect Your Highness.”

“Then listen carefully. Unless someone is assassinating me, whatever I do, say, or whoever I meet, you must be like mutes, deaf people, blind people. Otherwise… Hmph, do you understand?” Jiang Yinghua said solemnly, word by word.

“We understand.”

“Someone, go to the Yan Manor and invite Yan Wanzhi over, and say that I want to drink with him.” Jiang Yinghua’s lips curled slightly, and she gave the order.

Before a stick of incense could burn out, the people in the manor had already prepared the wine feast in the garden, with a group of musicians and actors waiting nearby.

However, the guest of honor didn’t show up for a full half-hour. Jiang Yinghua impatiently poured and drank wine, and sent three more groups of people to invite him, declaring that if they couldn’t bring Yan Wanzhi today, these servants wouldn’t need to return to the manor to serve.

Another full half-hour passed, and the setting sun had lazily disappeared into the towering mountains. Yan Wanzhi finally arrived late.

Yan Wanzhi entered the manor, led by someone straight to the wine feast in the garden. As soon as he stepped into the archway of the garden, Yan Wanzhi saw Jiang Yinghua from afar, dressed in a lake-blue gauze dress, leaning casually against the white jade railing, holding a wine jug and gulping down precious nectar, as flamboyant as could be.

The evening breeze blew her floor-length skirt high, along with her half-up, half-down black hair, all fluttering westward.

“This subject, Yan Wanzhi, pays respects to Your Highness.” Yan Wanzhi stepped forward and bowed.

Jiang Yinghua turned around upon hearing this, her face flushed with wine, and she walked unsteadily to her, looked at the young man in a silver-white brocade robe, and asked dazedly:

“What, does Imperial Scribe Yan also think that I am a burden? Or do you think that my reputation is bad and want to avoid me, shunning me like a venomous snake?”

Yan Wanzhi remained bowed and respectfully replied, “This subject wouldn’t dare. This subject was delayed by something. I hope Your Highness will forgive me.”