WMSG Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Even the Most Reserved and Aloof Are Still Just Men…

The tense stalemate didn’t last long. A knock came from outside, followed by a calm inquiry: “Your Highness, the eldest son has arrived.”

Gong Xunwu took a step back, distancing himself from the bed. He turned and walked to the carved screen connecting the main room, nodding to Ye Yuanshen, who entered and bowed: “You may dispense with the formalities.”

Compared to his second brother, Ye Lingshen, who dared to steal tribute jade and promise him a bracelet, Ye Yueshen felt much safer seeing the composed Ye Yuanshen.

He nestled back into the pillows, the pain and fright making him feel tired.

“My younger brother is recovering from his injuries, and the room is filled with the smell of medicine. Perhaps it would be better to invite Your Highness to move to the front courtyard flower hall to sit,” Ye Yuanshen suggested calmly.

Gong Xunwu didn’t respond, but instead said, “Fuyi, what are you carrying in your hands?”

“Replying to Your Highness, it is the tribute jade from Nanzhao,” Ye Yuanshen knelt again. “Please forgive me, Your Highness.”

Seeing this, Ye Lingshen closed his eyes, and could only kneel respectfully, his forehead to the ground.

Ye Yueshen stared blankly, propped up on the pillow, watching Gong Xunwu nod. He reached out and took the item wrapped in brocade, not bothering to inspect it. He said to Ye Lingshen, “Your elder brother understands you.”

From Ye Yueshen’s perspective, he could see Ye Lingshen’s facial muscles tighten. He was gritting his teeth.

Gong Xunwu refused Ye Yuanshen’s invitation for tea, only leaving Ye Lingshen with a warning to behave himself.

Ye Yueshen’s worst fears didn’t materialize. After his eldest brother sent the man out, he looked up at Ye Lingshen, who was still kneeling on the ground, and couldn’t help but ask tentatively, “Do you get the spanking paddle too?”

“No,” Ye Lingshen said, supporting himself on his knees as he stood up. “I’m not like you. I understand what I need to. Family law can teach children to become adults, but it can’t teach adults how to conduct themselves.”

Ye Yueshen followed him with his eyes as he straightened his back, the hanging candle casting his shadow higher and higher, until the door was slowly pushed open again by Ye Yuanshen, who had returned.

He was still calm and dignified, candlelight flickering in his eyes, “Ye Lingshen.”

“Here,” Ye Lingshen said with a shameless smile.

“There’s no point in saying more,” Ye Yuanshen stepped forward. “I won’t interfere with your insistence on acting foolishly. But don’t make things difficult for Mother.”

Ye Lingshen’s smile faded, and he nodded, “I’ll listen to my elder brother.”

The atmosphere was silent, and Ye Yueshen’s attention was drawn to the confrontation between them. According to his usual way of thinking, Ye Yueshen tried to find traces of broken family ties between them, but there weren’t any.

Ye Yuanshen’s expression was incredibly tolerant, and Ye Lingshen’s face didn’t show any dissatisfaction towards his brother.

As an orphan, Ye Yueshen was too interested in their subtle atmosphere, and seemed overly curious.

It was dark at night, and his lower body was injured. He poked his upper body out like a timid little snake, so much so that Ye Yuanshen couldn’t ignore his strong presence.

“Do you really want your brothers to fight?” Ye Yuanshen reached out and placed a hand on Ye Yueshen’s shoulder.

“Mmm…” Ye Yueshen quietly lay back in his quilt, “Not really.”

Ye Lingshen chuckled, drawing a dissatisfied look from Ye Yuanshen.

Ye Yueshen was completely fascinated by this kind of emotion. Was laughing louder than stealing tribute jade?

He understood Ye Yuanshen’s reaction as familial indulgence and affection, and then he couldn’t control himself, and couldn’t help but want to obtain this kind of feeling.

Ye Yuanshen was puzzled by his gaze, and patted his shoulder twice, “The dead cannot be revived, but the living can still be saved. Yueshen, you will be obedient, won’t you?”

His eyes were bright and his face was exquisite. Even though he saw him every day, Ye Yuanshen still found his younger brother unbelievably beautiful.

“Yes, I will be obedient,” Ye Yueshen answered very solemnly and eagerly, as if expressing his loyalty and obedience.

His reaction instead made his two brothers suspicious. According to their brother’s usual temperament, things shouldn’t have unfolded like this.

Fearless and strong rebuttals were more in line with the original Ye Yueshen’s naive and sincere nature. He cleverly recognized the operating rules of a family, that everyone needed to sacrifice a part of themselves for the sake of the common glory to continue. But he wasn’t mature enough, or rather, he couldn’t yet submit to such a fate. He still believed in the maxim of only being loyal to one’s own heart.

After a moment of silence, Ye Yuanshen touched his hair, and stopped halfway through his turning motion to leave, instructing him, “Avoid Qi Wang as much as possible recently, and don’t be alone with him.”

Ye Lingshen asked, “What do you mean…”

Ye Yuanshen didn’t say anything.

“That’s true,” Ye Lingshen lazily nestled into the soft chair, somewhat displeased, “Relying on the fact that he’s the Emperor’s younger brother from the same mother, Qi Wang even finds excuses to leave the palace banquets early, and usually only nods when we meet head-on. But he insists on interrogating San Yueshen. Even the most reserved and aloof are still just men.”

“Are you resenting Qi Wang for seeing through your theft of the jade?” Ye Yuanshen looked at him calmly.

Ye Lingshen didn’t feel any shame at all, “The late Emperor’s beloved son born in his old age, the little Emperor’s younger brother who’s only two years older than the current crown prince, hasn’t experienced a single day of being seen as a thorn in the side by his brothers, and now he has the most prestigious position among all the princes. I’m jealous of his good fortune.”

After he finished speaking, he glared at the air disdainfully, and noticed out of the corner of his eye that Ye Yueshen was frowning.

Ye Yuanshen also noticed, and asked gently, “What’s wrong?”

The taste of being neglected these past two days was awakened again. Ye Yueshen’s emotions rose and fell sharply, and he suddenly revealed a little temper: “You’re saying that he has ideas about me!”

A smile appeared on the corner of Ye Yuanshen’s mouth, it was unclear whether the consolation was too perfunctory, or if he was simply trying to provoke him, “I was being very subtle.”

“He thinks you’re stupid, and thought you wouldn’t understand,” Ye Lingshen added fuel to the fire.

Only to have Ye Yuanshen pass the buck again, “You’re the one who couldn’t help but blab.”

No one had come to care for him or visit him for two days. He had so many blood relatives, but none of them came to see him.

Ye Yueshen was so angered by his own thoughts that he couldn’t lift his head. Suddenly, his wrist was pulled forcefully, and Ye Lingshen said, “How long are you going to lie down? You should have been able to get out of bed a long time ago. Acting up for a few days is enough.”

He was pulled to the side of the bed, and Ye Yuanshen stepped between the two of them, with one leg on the footstool, “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Ye Yueshen was so angry that the area under his ribs hurt. He didn’t pay any attention to whatever they said.

When he couldn’t sleep that night, he kept cursing the original author. Did he even know what “boundless love” meant? He didn’t feel any love, and he was already getting annoyed.

The next morning, the Junzhu came to see him, carrying a bowl of chicken soup and shredded pork congee, and said to him, “Your second brother said you can get out of bed now. Why don’t you accompany me to the Imperial Palace today?”

Ye Yueshen wondered why she would take Ye Lingshen’s unreliable words to heart.

“First, you should apologize as soon as possible.” The Junzhu brushed the stray hairs from his temples behind his ear, “If you go today, Mother will be able to plead for you in front of the Empress Dowager. Second… Your second brother caused trouble. I’m already thanking the heavens that it wasn’t the Imperial Guards who came yesterday.”

Her gentle and loving gaze was overwhelming, and the moment their eyes met, he clung to her like a drowning man grabbing onto weeds on the shore, unwilling to let go, and decided that she was his mother.

Even though she hadn’t come to visit him, Ye Yueshen couldn’t help but agree, “Okay, thank you… Mother.”

The Junzhu was stunned, she looked very reluctant and resistant, “You’re not allowed to call me Mother like your brothers do.”

Ye Yueshen thought there was some inside story, and was immediately frightened and fell silent.

Seeing his reaction was so strong, the Junzhu laughed again, turned his shoulders to signal him to turn around, and Ye Yueshen sat down under her direction.

It was the first time his butt had touched the bed in so many days, Ye Yueshen moved very slowly, but it wasn’t as painful as he had imagined.

The Junzhu helped him comb his hair, “You’re still young, you can still call me Mother for many years.”

Ye Yueshen nodded blankly, his whole being immersed in a complex emotion of both grievance and happiness.

Ye Yueshen’s imagination of the Imperial Palace was one of resplendent gold and jade, like the film and television cities, with large areas covered in gold and crudely carved dragon sculptures that didn’t cost a thing. Every three steps, there was a beautiful palace maid wearing a tube top, and every five steps, a muscular male guard in tight-fitting nightwear.

The reality was very different from what he had imagined. The palace maids were generally dressed very appropriately, and their expressions weren’t as flamboyant and flattering as they were on TV, but very respectful, exuding an atmosphere of discipline bordering on numbness.

The guards had an extremely low profile. Only when Ye Yueshen was holding his breath and observing an elegant plum blossom pavilion did he hear a metallic clang. Following the sound, he saw a guard sitting in a tree, putting his cleaned sword back into its scabbard.

Ye Yueshen understood that the guards were hidden throughout the palace.

After passing through palace roads of varying widths, they arrived at the Empress Dowager’s Heyun Palace. The halls and pavilions were scattered in a well-organized manner, and every scene showed a sense of beauty and care.

Ye Yueshen felt that his eyes couldn’t take in all these beautiful things.

The Junzhu’s crying pulled him back to reality. He stepped forward and knelt down with the Junzhu.

He looked secretly at the Junzhu several times, trying to establish eye contact with her, asking her if something was wrong. This would give him time to buffer, to think about whether to beg for mercy in a while, or to stand in front of his mother like a real child and shout to kill or flay him, come at me.

Fortunately, the Junzhu began to cry, “Empress Mother, your daughter’s life is so bitter, she gave birth to a nest of evil creatures…” She turned halfway around and pinched Ye Yueshen’s ear, continuing, “His father slapped him in anger, and he was only able to get out of bed and walk today, and he’s still limping.”

Ye Yueshen’s eyes watered in pain, but he didn’t dare to cry out loud.

The Empress Dowager was an old woman with shrewd but smiling eyes. She suppressed her smile and said, “Oh dear, why are you tormenting the child for no reason? Come here quickly, let me see if his ear has been pinched off.”

Ye Yueshen tried but couldn’t stand up. Two palace servants came forward to help him and brought him to the Empress Dowager.

He was about to kneel again, but the Empress Dowager took his hand and led him to the small kang, where a palace servant thoughtfully placed a thick soft cushion.

“What handsome looks, there’s no one in the palace who can compare to little Yueshen, and your mother is still not satisfied.” The Empress Dowager chuckled twice, “It’s such a trivial matter, even the Emperor would just laugh when he heard about it. There are some who are being malicious, but it’s not directed at you, but rather they’re trying to undermine the princes, saying that this family scandal has been exposed. The Emperor slapped them to the ground, we’re all family, how could it be exposed?”

The Junzhu cried and prostrated herself on the ground, “Empress Mother…”

“Alright…” The Empress Dowager laughed twice, and casually picked up a petal-edged plate from the table and gave it to Ye Yueshen, “I’ll have someone look for your fourth brother, to speak to him on your behalf. This is the Bo Mazi that your second brother escorted back to the capital, go outside and eat it while you wait, go.”

Ye Yueshen subconsciously took it, and found that it was actually a plate of pineapple cut into fan-shaped slices, pierced with two silver fruit picks inlaid with gemstones.

He didn’t expect that there would actually be pineapple here. He held the plate and blankly followed the servant beside the Empress Dowager to the outer room.

The voices of the conversation inside grew further and further away, and the last thing he heard was the Empress Dowager’s comforting words, not lacking in majesty, “Alright, your imperial brother sent Qi Wang quietly in the middle of the night, so he wasn’t planning on pursuing the matter. But Ling’er is also grown up, you and your husband, Marquis Ye, should also discipline him well.”

“What Empress Mother says is right, your son hates that evil creature so much that he wants to peel off his skin. Your son is only afraid that his imperial brother will be angry, and begs the Empress Mother to persuade his imperial brother to take care of his health. To kill or flay him is what that evil creature brought upon himself…”

Ye Yueshen sat down in the outer room, staring blankly at the pineapple on the plate.

The servant smiled and said to him, “Young Master Yueshen, the Empress Dowager dotes on you. This Bo Mazi is a tribute from Nanzhao, and even those in the palace can’t eat much of it. The Empress Dowager just ate a few pieces and gave them all to you.”

Ye Yueshen struggled for a long time before finally saying thank you. He thought to himself that a few pieces were already a lot, eating any more would cause his mouth to bleed.

As soon as the servant left, he quickly took out a handkerchief and wrapped up half a plate of pineapple, leaving the rest untouched.

After waiting for less than a quarter of an hour, someone finally rushed over. Ye Yueshen quickly stood up and prepared to salute. The newcomer had sweat streaming down the side of his face and stood panting in front of him.

“I’ve met…” Ye Yueshen hadn’t even knelt down when a pair of hands held his bent arms. He subconsciously looked up at the person in front of him.

The person in front of him was looking past him at the people behind him, his eyebrows sharp, his high, prominent aquiline nose, was the face of a strong and stubborn person.

But when he looked down at him, he revealed a gentle gaze: “It’s all my fault that you were punished. Can I… see your injury?”