CH 81

November 15, 2022Merchie

Li Yu’s initial reaction was to try and stop him.

“Your Highness, there will definitely be a lot of people outside right now, and it will be very noisy. Let’s just go back, okay? So you can go to bed earlier today.”

Qi Changyi stood there and didn’t move.

“I don’t want to go back,” he turned and looked at Li Yu, his tone soft and meek, “…Don’t want to go back…”

“Your Highness, what do you mean by this? What do you mean ‘you don’t want to go back’? If not the little pavilion, then where do you want to go?”

“Xiao Yuzi, don’t worry. I just want to go outside and take a look, that’s all.”

He mumbled as he slowly walked into the darkness, “I want to see… what it’s like to get married…”

Li Yu looked at his listless, sorrowful back, and couldn’t bear to forcibly pull him back into the little pavilion.

They were just taking a look. There wouldn’t be any harm in it.

Li Yu pulled a lantern off a nearby tree and quickly walked to Qi Changyi’s side, lighting the path in front of them.

They passed through an empty garden – the sounds of a lively crowd could be heard, and the light in front of them glowed brighter and brighter. Even the sky above the Prime Minister’s Manor seemed to shine with a red hue

Qi Changyi halted in his footsteps outside of the front garden’s arched gate, took a deep breath of cold air, and coughed twice again.

He was really standing in front of this gate; that scared him. He didn’t dare to step through it, and didn’t dare to face him, so he simply stood at the entrance for a long while. The bright red cloak he was wearing also seemed to carry a certain joyfulness, fitting for this celebratory occasion.

A shadow suddenly flashed past, and someone appeared in front of the two of them.

“Your Highness, why are you here?”

Cheng Feng had also changed into a dark red robe. He had been busy dealing with matters of the manor, and happened upon the two people standing there, so he came over to investigate. He didn’t expect that the two figures were actually Qi Changyi and Li Yu.

“A-Feng, are there a lot of people inside?” Qi Changyi looked at Cheng Feng and asked.

“There are. Nearly every court official came. After tonight’s wedding ceremony, Master will accompany the Second Princess back to the royal palace to meet with His Majesty.”

“Mm…” Qi Changyi responded weakly, “A-Feng, you must be very busy, you should go back, don’t worry about me.”

Cheng Feng saw how feeble and weak he looked, and was extremely worried, “Your Highness, didn’t Master tell you to stay in the little pavilion? Please don’t wander off. There are many people here at the manor tonight, so it isn’t very…”

“A-Feng,” Qi Changyi interrupted him, “Can I go in there and take a look?”

Cheng Feng was now placed in a difficult position, “Your Highness, Master wanted you to stay in the back garden because there are too many people here, so you can’t show yourself…”

“Just one look, and I’ll go back. I’ll be very careful, and I won’t be discovered by anyone, okay?”

Qi Changyi’s tone carried a note of pleading. Cheng Feng gritted his teeth; he was torn, and couldn’t make a decision.

At this moment, the old housekeeper hurried over, and whispered something into Cheng Feng’s ear. His expression instantly changed.

“Your Highness, two suspected assassins were just captured near the manor. I must interrogate them. If… you want to go, just go.”

After he finished speaking, Cheng Feng looked at Li Yu, “Li-gonggong, you must keep an eye on His Highness. You can’t be discovered by anyone, and you mustn’t enter the main hall.”

Li Yu nodded vigorously. Cheng Feng bowed slightly, turned around, and left in a hurry; the old housekeeper followed suit.

Qi Changyi gently pulled his arm out of Li Yu’s grasp, and walked by himself into the front garden.

The courtyard was decorated with colorful lights, the trees were draped in red satin, and two huge red lanterns hung outside the door. A line of sedan chairs stretched endlessly from outside the gate.

The huge courtyard was filled with gifts from all the guests. The main hall was crowded with people, and the seats were all full, as everyone clustered around the new couple in the center.

The man had an air of natural handsomeness, but the bright and colorful clothes he wore couldn’t conceal the gloomy, cold eyes between his brows. The woman was dainty and beautiful. Her face under the red veil was flushed, resembling a delicate flower.

Everybody seated in the audience was full of smiles and excitement. While they spoke congratulatory words and wished good fortune for the couple, they all, in fact, had other far-fetched plans tucked in the back of their minds.

The Emperor usually didn’t care much for the second princess Qi Bingzhi. But as the Empress’s only daughter, the Emperor would definitely be the most worried about her marriage. She was no longer just a simple princess: she now represented the Empress’s clan, and the incredible power that backed her.

If the Emperor could come to an agreement with the Empress’s family, it would only stabilize and strengthen his position in court even more.

One could tell how concerned he was just by looking at this wedding. It had taken three whole days to carry away all the items that the Emperor had bestowed to the Prime Minister’s Mansion. He even ordered the entire country to celebrate this joyous occasion, and the entire Imperial Capital was covered in red.

As for whether or not the two newlyweds actually had feelings for each other, nobody cared.

Except for one person…

Qi Changyi slowly walked through the long corridor outside the main hall. It seemed to contain endless twists and turns, and was completely deserted.

He remembered that the royal palace also had a long corridor like this; Pei Zheng had taken him through it in the past. At that time, he had been wrapped in a blanket and was afraid of being discovered, just like he was now.

He would never be able to see the light if he stayed by Pei Zheng’s side.

As he walked, a small black shadow suddenly dashed past his feet. Qi Changyi immediately recognized it as the little kitten that had scratched him not so long ago. He was overcome by excitement, and hurriedly ran after it.

Li Yu followed closely behind him, “Your Highness, be careful! Slow down, don’t run so fast!”

However, the only thought in Qi Changyi’s mind was of that meowing little kitten. He chased it through the corridor, his fiery red cloak fluttering behind him.

The kitten bounded and zig-zagged as it was being chased, before it lightly jumped onto the window sill. Just as it was about to nudge open the window and leap inside, Qi Changyi’s hands reached out and carried it away.

The kitten seemed to recognize Qi Changyi’s scent. It allowed him to hug it, and didn’t struggle. Qi Changyi’s gaze was unusually tender as he gently rubbed the fur on its back.

The little kitten was comfortable being rubbed and patted, and stuck out its tongue to lick the back of Qi Changyi’s hand.

Li Yu dashed over. For the first time in a long while, Qi Changyi’s face revealed his inner feelings; the eunuch could not bear to disturb the moment between him and the kitten.

Qi Changyi cradled the soft, fluffy ball in his arms, and his heart also felt warm and tender. He lowered his head and kissed the little kitten’s back, before rubbing his cheek against it.

“Xiao Miaomiao, Xiao Miaomiao, so you didn’t leave after all. That’s good… Have you eaten well, you’ve gotten thinner…”

Qi Changyi lifted the little kitten to face-level and studied it carefully, “Xiao Miaomiao, you’re still small, you have to eat more so you can grow big, I’ll give you a name, okay… you’ll be called… Miaowu, how does that sound?”

The little kitten licked its paws, and, as if it could understand him, let out a “miaowu”.

Qi Changyi smiled, “Miaowu, Xiao Miaowu, why don’t you come back with me?”

Unexpectedly, upon hearing those words, the little kitten started to struggle, trying to escape from the small man’s arms.

The smile at the corners of Qi Changyi’s mouth instantly dropped, and his eyes were swathed in a layer of gray again. “You don’t want to, right? Because… Because Brother Pei won’t like you, right? Last time, he even said that he wanted to throw you away, he won’t approve of me keeping you..

“But I’ll tell you this, Brother Pei is busy with other things, so he probably won’t have time to monitor me. It’s his wedding; tonight, he’s going to marry Second Sister. They’re about to perform the wedding ceremony, then they’ll enter the bridal chamber, and then…”

Qi Changyi wiped his tears with his sleeve, “Oh, right. Do you know, Xiao Miaowu, what ‘marriage’ means…”

Li Yu couldn’t listen anymore, and walked over to interrupt him, “Your Highness, stop talking…”

Qi Changyi didn’t continue. The strength in his arms gradually slackened, and he slowly placed the little kitten that he was holding back onto the ground.

The window was ajar, and from where Qi Changyi was standing, he could clearly see the scene unfolding inside.

He raised his eyes and gazed inside. He looked past the throng of people, and saw Pei Zheng standing there. There was a smile at the corners of his mouth, and he was holding a long strip of thin red silk. Clutching the other end of the silk was Qi Bingzhi, who was dressed in matching wedding robes.

They were currently standing beside each other, listening to a white-bearded, venerable old scholar talk about ceremonial etiquette.

The burst of red in his vision stung Qi Changyi’s eyes. This cloud of scarlet reminded him of the time he had been poisoned, when his vision was filled with the color of blood: boundless, without any end in sight.

A few of the old scholar’s faint words reached his ears.

We will love each other, pine for each other, and cherish each other. We will only be one couple in this life1.

Pei Zheng had been the one to teach him this poem.

But now, it was being used to describe Pei Zheng and someone else; it had nothing to do with himself anymore.

“Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness…”

Qi Changyi was shaken by someone; only then did he realize that Li Yu had been calling him this entire time.

“Your Highness, are you all right? Are you feeling uncomfortable?”

Li Yu’s heart ached, and he wiped the small man’s tears, before he reached out to close the window.

“Don’t look at this anymore, and don’t think about it either. Let’s go back now, okay?”

Qi Changyi was still staring at the window in a daze, and didn’t answer.

Li Yu simply pulled him along as he walked away. Instead of passing through the long corridor, he decided to follow a small path at the back of the main hall.

Qi Changyi didn’t say a word the entire way back. He mindlessly followed Li Yu as they walked; it seemed that his thoughts had been left behind at that window.

Li Yu had lost the lantern while they were chasing the kitten, so they could only walk back in the darkness, relying on memory and feeling around.

The bright moonlight that had been present in the past had vanished tonight. The dense clouds blotted the soft glow out, and the air was freezing cold.

The two arrived at the gate of the back garden. Before they could step inside, a figure sprang out of the darkness, and charged at Qi Changyi.

Fortunately, Li Yu had sensed that something was amiss, and quickly pulled Qi Changyi behind his back, using himself as a shield.

That body crashed into Li Yu, and something ice-cold pierced Li Yu’s arm, cutting into his flesh.

Qi Changyi was frightened, and he stared nervously at the mysterious assailant.

The figure had a head full of unkempt hair, and the dagger in their hand reflected bright light against the darkness.

“Th-Third Sister…” Qi Changyi said in disbelief.

The figure visibly stiffened, but didn’t bother to conceal themselves any longer.

“I told you not to call me that. You don’t deserve to!”

Qi Yirou’s voice was extremely hoarse, as if she hadn’t drank water in a long time.

Although she looked to be in dire straits, she still couldn’t let go of her arrogance and pridefulness, which was evident when she spoke.

“How was it, that scene you just saw, it hasn’t driven you mad yet? It looks like you’re quite resilient. Otherwise, there would be many things that you wouldn’t be able to endure, right?”

Notes

It’s nighttime and now I don’t want to sleep because someone might pop out

‘Miaowu’ is ‘meow’, so yes, he named the cat ‘Little Meow’. Earlier, he also calls the cat “Xiao Miaomiao”, which is… basically the same thing. 

Thanks for reading~~

1. So I actually totally butchered this line. The second line appeared in an earlier chapter, but the first is new: 相怜相念倍相亲 (xiāng lián xiāng niàn bèi xiāng qīn), which is basically ‘love each other’ phrased in three different ways. This line as a whole, including the couple bit, is originally from a Tang Dynasty poem 代女道士王灵妃赠道士李荣 (Consort Wang Ling presents Taoist Priest Li Rong, (I think)) by Luo Binwang.