IDWBE -Chapter 19 Consort Wen

After Hu Shilu returned home, he drove the carriage into the back courtyard and handed everything over to his father—Hu Da, who had once been a coachman in Prince He’s residence.

Taking the tea handed to him by a maid, he sat beneath the osmanthus tree in the yard, holding the cup but not drinking a single sip.

“Have you gone stupid or what?”

Hu Shilu’s wife, Madam Jin, walked over, snatched the teacup from his hands, and set it on the stone table. Irritated, she said, “If it falls and breaks, I won’t let you off.”

“I’m thinking,” Hu Shilu sighed. “Don’t interrupt me.”

“So now you find me annoying?” Madam Jin said, her face full of displeasure.

“No, no,” Hu Shilu sighed again. “Prince He is setting out for his fief tomorrow.”

“The Prince is really going to his fief?” Madam Jin was startled.

“Yes.”

After hesitating for a while, Hu Shilu looked at her and said, “Let’s follow the Prince to Sanhe.”

“Have you gone mad?!”

Madam Jin jumped up at once. “What kind of place is Sanhe? Who doesn’t know about it?”

Hu Shilu sighed. “I’ve already decided. Mother of the children, start packing. Tomorrow we’ll depart together with the Prince.”

Madam Jin said angrily, “You don’t care about your own life, and you want to drag the rest of us to our deaths too? And what about Father and Mother? They’re so old—can they endure such hardship?”

Hu Shilu said seriously, “I’m a physician. Naturally I can ensure that you, the children, and my parents will be safe.”

“But what are you going there for?” Madam Jin truly couldn’t understand.

“The Prince showed me great kindness and recognition. I cannot fail to repay it,” Hu Shilu said with a smile. “Without the Prince, how would I, Hu, be where I am today?”

“He’s a prince—what kind of people doesn’t he have at his side? Would he lack you alone?”

Madam Jin’s voice grew louder and louder. “Besides, if you want to repay kindness, there’s no need to risk the lives of all of us!”

“Isn’t the Prince’s life more precious than ours?”

Hu Shilu’s father, Hu Da, suddenly walked out from the front room.

“Mother,” Madam Jin said, looking at the old lady of the Hu family behind him, “Have the two of them lost their minds? You also know what kind of place Sanhe is. Everyone in Ankang City knows—once someone is exiled to that hellhole, you never hear of them coming back alive.”

The old lady of the Hu family smiled and said, “We women follow our husbands wherever they go. Let the two of them do as they wish.”

“Mother,” Madam Jin persisted unwillingly, “Even if we don’t talk about us, what about the two children? It’s a journey of thousands of li—how could the road possibly be easy?”

Hu Shilu said, “For the children’s sake, we must go even more. Once the Prince is gone, there’ll be no one left to support us.”

“Don’t you always boast about treating this assistant minister or that general?” Madam Jin argued. “Are you nothing but an ant in Ankang City, to be crushed by anyone?”

Hu Shilu snorted coldly. “A woman’s shallow view. Do you think being a physician is so easy? Every day I go in and out of wealthy households, I walk on thin ice. The filthy affairs there are endless—if it weren’t because I belong to Prince He’s people, I would have been silenced long ago.”

Madam Jin said, “Why do you always think of the worst?”

Hu Shilu laughed coldly. “In this world, you still expect good things? Dream on. Let’s hurry and pack. Tomorrow morning we’ll join the Prince’s convoy. Once we reach Sanhe, everything there will be decided by the Prince alone. With our connection to him, won’t we be able to walk with our heads held high?”

“What about the house? We only bought it last year, and now we’re just leaving like this…”

As she spoke, tears began to well up in Madam Jin’s eyes.

Though she was usually domineering, she wasn’t foolish. Since her husband had already made up his mind, continuing to oppose him would only leave herself with no way out.

Hu Da said, “That’s easy. Rent it out. We can get at least several dozen taels of silver a year—that’s another source of income. I’ll go find a broker right away.”

Hu Shilu nodded, and thus the Hu family’s decision to follow Prince He to Sanhe was settled.

Toward evening, the weather suddenly changed. Dark clouds gathered, and rain poured down in torrents.

By the latter half of the night, it turned into a fine, endless drizzle that showed no sign of stopping.

Lin Yi stood in a pavilion, never having imagined that one day he would rise before dawn because of troubled thoughts.

Hong Ying said, “Your Highness, it’s still early. Would you like to lie down a bit longer?”

“No,” Lin Yi sighed. “I can’t sleep. Have the people staying behind in the residence been decided?”

Hong Ying replied, “Old Guo Zhao, who tends the garden, and his wife Qin. They are both steady and reliable. Your Highness can rest assured.”

Lin Yi smiled. “I trust those two. Remind Guo Zhao to take good care of my goldfish.”

He had raised those goldfish since childhood; some were over ten years old. Bringing them from the palace to the outside world had cost him much effort.

“Yes, I will be sure to tell him,” Hong Ying said.

Still bent at the waist, Hong Ying suddenly straightened, stepped closer to Lin Yi’s side, and said quietly, “Your Highness, I should escort you back to your room first.”

Lin Yi said helplessly, “You’re getting more and more nagging. I’ve already said I can’t sleep. It’s hot inside—the air outside is cooler. When it’s about time, we’ll set off.”

“But it’s still raining,” Hong Ying said, his whole body tense. “Your Highness, you’d better go inside first.”

Lin Yi said carelessly, “What’s a little rain? I said this morning—even if knives fall from the sky, we’ll still go.”

Suddenly, barking came from the garden.

After two sharp barks, it stopped abruptly, leaving only a faint whimper.

Hong Ying moved closer to Lin Yi, sticking to his side. No matter who had come, he would not leave Lin Yi’s side for even half a step.

Curious, Lin Yi peered into the darkness, using the faint lantern light from the hexagonal pavilion. He saw a vague human figure in the pitch-black air.

“You’ve recovered quite quickly, little eunuch.”

Lin Yi heard a woman’s voice. It seemed distant, yet also as if it were right beside his ear.

“It’s you!”

Hong Ying’s expression changed repeatedly.

The figure finally stepped out of the darkness, removed the bamboo hat from her head, casually set it on a stool by the doorway, and looked at Hong Ying with a smile.

“What? Still want to fight me?”

“So it’s you…”

Lin Yi finally saw the woman’s face clearly, then patted Hong Ying’s shoulder, signaling him not to be nervous.

The tall, graceful, and beautiful woman was none other than Consort Wen from the Cold Palace.

How had she come out of the palace?

And why had she come here?

“What’s wrong?” Consort Wen said with a smile. “It’s only been two years since you left the palace, and you already don’t recognize me?”

“Grandmother, you should have sent word before coming. Don’t stand on ceremony—please sit,”

Lin Yi said to Hong Ying, “What are you standing there for? Hurry and make tea.”

“If I had sent word in advance, would you have dared to come receive me?” Consort Wen asked teasingly.

“Well…”

Lin Yi chuckled. “I wouldn’t have. You know your grandson’s courage isn’t that great.”

“Your temperament hasn’t changed one bit,”

Consort Wen said, sitting down openly. Taking the teacup from Hong Ying—who still watched her warily—she smiled and said, “Little eunuch, do you truly not recognize me?”

Hong Ying said coldly, “I would not dare forget.”

“Then hurry and thank Grandmother,” Lin Yi said. “Grandmother is all-powerful, with boundless divine abilities, eternal blessings, and a lifespan as long as heaven itself. If she hadn’t gone easy on you, with your mediocre skills, would you even have escaped that night?”

Even if Lin Yi had been slow, he now understood who had attacked Hong Ying the night before last.

“You smooth-tongued boy,” Consort Wen said. “To tell the truth, that night I didn’t know it was him at first, otherwise I wouldn’t have struck so heavily. Fortunately nothing serious happened, or I wouldn’t have had the face to come see you.”

Her finger lightly pressed against Lin Yi’s forehead. Hong Ying, watching from the side, was drenched in sweat, as if ready to spring forward to protect his master at any moment.

“This servant thanks Consort Wen for showing mercy,” Hong Ying said.

He had to admit that if Consort Wen had continued pursuing him that night, he—already badly injured—would not have escaped.

“All right, you may leave,” Lin Yi said. “Don’t stand here getting in the way.”

After sending Hong Ying away, Lin Yi personally refilled Consort Wen’s cup with water. “Grandmother, what brings you here this time?”

Consort Wen sighed heavily. “I can’t remember which little rascal once said he would take care of me in my old age.”

“Ah—”

Lin Yi stared at her in astonishment.