CH 26

As he listened to Hu Qing narrate the past, Xia Yujin felt that the man’s expression was strange, filled with what seemed like adoration for his own wife, so he carefully asked, “Hey… So, with this tigress, you—you’re…”

With a sad look, Hu Qing shook his head. “Don’t you know the general’s status? And mine? We went through thick and thin together for so many years, and now she’s alive and well. I can’t ask for more. Don’t get me wrong, nothing happened. My tongue got loose from the alcohol tonight, but I haven’t said anything.”

But he’d clearly hinted at it, hadn’t he?!

Xia Yujin’s heart was crying out its confusion. 

He remembered when he met Hu Qing for the first time. The man had looked frustrated, drinking away his sorrows. He’d said the woman he loved had been married off to an asshole. That asshole was most likely Xia Yujin himself. Was it difficult for Hu Qing to be on friendly terms with him, to drink and chat with him, just to inquire about how the woman he loved was doing? 

After all, the two of them had faced adversity together, fighting together. It was normal that love grew from this.

A general and her military advisor or a general and an idle rich kid. Anyone with a brain would know which pair was more suited for each other. 

Except for his uncle, this villain of an Emperor! This whole thing was his fucking fault! 

In order to lay hands on the general’s dowry, he’d torn apart the two lovebirds and destroyed a match made in heavens, forcing the general to marry his own hedonistic nephew and leaving the despondent military advisor to drown daily his sorrows in wine and privately lick his wounds. He’d also thrown his own nephew in the general’s iron grip, to live the rest of his days in uncertainty and pain.

Xia Yujin sadly patted Hu Qing’s shoulder, not knowing how to comfort him. 

He may have done many things worthy of blame, but he wouldn’t stoop so low as to steal someone’s beloved. But Hu Qing didn’t bear the name Xia. He was too clever and his future, too bright; he couldn’t fit into the villain’s plans, and he could ensure Ye Zhao’s safety even less. As a result, the two lovers would never be able to get married to each other and Xia Yujin had to come between them and play the villain’s part. 

Seeing his expression, Hu Qing sighed. “Life is a play. Not everyone can get the part they wish for.”

“You must at least fight for it,” Xia Yujin said hurriedly to encourage him. 

“The competition was over before it started.”

“You can’t give up so easily!”

Hu Qing looked askance at him. “Why don’t you want me to give up?”

Xia Yujin finally realized that striving to be made a cuckold and pushing another man to snatch his wife away may have been a bit too much. 

Hu Qing looked at his face, paling and flushing in turns, hesitating and struggling like a little rabbit, and almost laughed out loud. Following his gut feeling that he could not afford to annoy Xia Yujin even more, he turned his head away, let out a long sigh, then got up, asking the shop owner to fill his wine gourd, and stumbled out of the door, leaving only the sight of his lonely and retreating back. 

Xia Yujin sat there in a daze for a long time, hesitating between feeling awful about breaking apart the two lovebirds, and ashamed that his wife was in love with another man. On the one hand, he felt that Hu Qing should treat Ye Zhao well, but on the other hand, he didn’t want him to treat her too well, to avoid ruining their affection. He mulled it over until he got stuck, unable to vent out his thoughts, and unknowingly drank two more cups. The old Shaoxing wine was very potent and he got a little dizzy, so he called his retinue. “Let’s go!” he said loudly. “Call the sedan chair and let’s go home.”

“Your Highness,” his retinue called out, bitter-faced, “we need to go to Liuhe Lane…”

Xia Yujin energetically waved his arms around. “Liuhe Lane? Ha, you sleaze, you want to visit the red girls of the Drunken Flower House?!”

His subordinates all wanted to cry. “Your Highness, it’s for the patrol…”

But Xia Yujin shook his head, cutting him off. “I’m not in the mood to drink with courtesans today. Let’s take a raincheck.”

He broke off, staggering back to Prince An’s mansion. 

His retinue chased after him, crying for real this time. “Your Highness, you can’t…”

Finally, Xia Yujin remembered he’d moved out, and changed direction towards the prince of Nanping’s estate. 

His errand-runners and subordinates were stunned. Seeing that he was getting farther and farther away, they pounced on him like tigers on their prey, dragging him back and howling, “Your Highness, you must still patrol the streets! Don’t neglect your duty! That’s a crime!”

They were all aware of their boss’ moral integrity. For fear of being implicated and punished with him, they immediately added, “Dereliction of duty will get you corporal punishment and decapitation! You saw how awful the general was a few days ago!”

Xia Yujin hesitated. 

“Stop your drivel.” Chief Lao Yang was an honest man. He rushed to interrupt their lies and, ignoring their meaningful looks, frankly explained the rules of the city censor’s patrolling duties. Then, bowing and scraping, he obsequiously said, “Although you will not suffer a beating and get beheaded for drinking on duty, you can be prosecuted by the imperial censor, demoted and fined.”

“Alright! Great!” Xia Yujin was overjoyed when he heard this and, amped on liquid courage, announced, “I will give a hundred taels and buy a drink to anyone who can tell on me to the Emperor and get me removed from office.”

Having a superior such as this one was enough to drive one mad. 

But having subordinates such as those was gratifying. 

They all decided not to try and reason with him. They straightened him and propped him up, uniting their efforts to make sure the prince sat upright on his horse and would finish patrolling the streets. They prayed there would be no unforeseen happening on the way, so as not to let the prince say anything outlandish again. 

But the heavens weren’t with them. When they got to East Street, a cry rose up. Three or four middle-aged men and a woman, carrying a sickly child, were making a ruckus at the doors of the Baohe Apothecary and almost fighting with another man with a shoulder pole. The inspectors, seeing that things didn’t look well, tried to bring the prince on a detour. 

“What’s happening?” Hearing the cries, Xia Yujin immediately perked up. He cheerfully jumped off his horse, almost face-planting on the ground, and drunkenly stumbled over. He rolled up his sleeves, patted down his uniform, leaving behind twin oily stains, and said, in a loud and dramatic voice, “Let’s hear it! Let me, just and incorruptible official that I am, be your judge.”

Silence fell all around.

Everyone was struck dumb. 

Xia Yujin walked inside the store. He carefully picked up and then heavily slammed down his gavel on the tabletop, crossing his leg. “Get on with it!” he swore. 

The woman reacted quickly. She saw that although his uniform was strange, it used very expensive materials, and that his refined face had a very noble bearing as well. She could guess that he was no ordinary man and that he was in a bad mood, so she immediately rushed forward and knelt down. “Mrs. Zhang, née Huang, respectfully greets this honorable official. May you judge fairly.”

Xia Yujin was delighted by her words. “Just by listening to you, I know that you’re a good person.”

The owner of the Baohe Apothecary knew Xia Yujin, but not the strange uniform. He grew very anxious when he heard the nonsense he was spouting, and hurried over. “You Highness, you are drunk. Why don’t we let the city censorate’s investigation bureau handle this matter? I can invite you to drink later and have the best courtesans to keep you company.”

Xia Yujin was infuriated by his words. “Just by listening to you, I know you’re scum!” 

Not wishing him to go on, Chief Lao Yang loudly cleared his throat and, with the authority conferred to him by his superior’s position, announced, “Let me introduce you to the newly-appointed city censor.”

The whole room went into an uproar, except for Mrs. Zhang, still kneeling on the ground; they all looked up at the sky, finding it somewhat threatening.