IDWBE – Chapter 2 Princess Huaiyang

Hong Ying gave an awkward smile. “Your Highness…”

Among all people, only his master dared to call the Emperor “the old man.”

This prince was someone Hong Ying had watched grow up. He had heard far too many treasonous remarks from him and was already somewhat numb to it, yet he still pretended to look startled and cautious.

Just then, a maid ran in and said, “Your Highness, Princess Huaiyang has arrived.”

Lin Yi lifted his eyelids. Entering his view was a figure in white—it was his younger sister of the same mother, Princess Huaiyang, Lin Ning, only two years younger than him.

“Royal Brother…” Lin Ning gave a slight curtsy.

Lin Yi pressed a hand to his forehead. “Hey, how many times have I told you? We’re real siblings—there’s no need for all these formalities.”

“Etiquette must not be abandoned,” Lin Ning replied, still lowering her head and standing quietly.

“You all may leave,” Lin Yi waved at Hong Ying and the maids nearby. He knew that if servants were present, his sister would never relax or act close to him.

Once everyone had left, Lin Yi noticed that Lin Ning’s eyes were already filled with tears. He hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong? Who bullied you?”

“Royal Brother…” Tears slid down her delicate face.

“What happened?” Lin Yi jumped to his feet, suddenly flustered. “Who bullied you? Just tell me—I’ll beat him to death!”

Lin Ning shook her head, tears flowing even more.

“Nothing?” Lin Yi said helplessly. “Then why are you crying? These past few days should be a joyous time—your big brother has just been granted a title. You’re the first to come congratulate me, yet you’re crying like this. It’s hardly festive.”

Princes who received good fiefs usually had mansions crowded with visitors, coming and going in an endless stream.

“The climate in Sanhe is low, damp, and stifling,” Lin Ning said softly. “At the turn of summer and autumn, everything rots and decays. Humans aren’t made of stone—how can they endure long?”

She leaned her head against Lin Yi’s shoulder and sobbed. “Brother, don’t go, all right?”

That’s all?

Lin Yi immediately felt relieved.

He rubbed her bangs and smiled. “Is that something I get to decide?”

“You’re still laughing?” Lin Ning wiped her tears with her sleeve, ignoring her appearance. “I’ll go beg Father Emperor. Mother won’t allow you to go.”

“My little sister has really grown up—she knows how to care about her brother now.” Seeing his beautiful sister, Lin Yi’s heart softened at once.

He had been an orphan and had never known family affection.

In this life, he had a mother and a sister, and he loved them sincerely, doting on his sister since childhood.

She relied on him even more than on their mother.

Lin Yi smiled and said, “I know you mean well, but don’t you know your brother’s abilities?”

In front of outsiders, the Emperor, and even their mother Consort Yuan, he tried hard to hide his talents. But before his own sister, he always liked to show off a little.

He was afraid that his only real sister wouldn’t know how capable he was and might look down on him.

“Brother…” Lin Ning spread her arms and hugged his waist, murmuring, “I don’t want you to go. I can’t bear to part with you.”

Lin Yi’s heart tightened. In this capital, the one person he truly couldn’t leave behind was this sister.

Looking at her tearful face, he comforted her, “I’ll come back to see you every year.”

“You’re lying! A round trip from Sanhe to the capital takes half a year!”

“Is it really that far?” Lin Yi hadn’t known. “Even if it is, I’ll crawl back to see you if I have to!”

“If you leave, no one will tell me stories of Journey to the West or Romance of the Three Kingdoms anymore…”

Lin Ning hugged him even tighter.

“Then I’ll write them down for you in the future, all right?” Lin Yi patted her back repeatedly.

He was helpless as well. His nominal father, the Emperor, was nearly sixty, and his health was declining.

Dark clouds hung over the court.

As a prince, whom should he support? The Crown Prince? The Third Prince, Prince Yong? The Fourth Prince, Prince Jin? The Seventh Prince, Prince Nanling? Or even the younger Twelfth Prince, Yong’an?

What—remain neutral and protect oneself?

As a powerless prince, whether he existed or not made little difference!

Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.

In palace politics, there were only friends and enemies. Being a fence-sitter who tried to please everyone was impossible.

The only solution was to stay far away from the center of conflict.

Lin Ning continued, “And what about mathematics? I’ve already learned the Pythagorean theorem. You said no matter what, I mustn’t give up halfway!”

“Little sister, that’s enough,” Lin Yi said fondly. “I’ve already taught you everything I know. You’re now the most renowned talented lady in the capital. I don’t have anything left to teach you.”

When he was seven and Lin Ning was five, he had secretly begun teaching her reading, writing, and arithmetic. It was a secret shared only between the two of them.

Counting it up, over thirteen years he had already taught her up to the equivalent of middle-school material.

What would be the point of continuing with functions, inequalities, or plane vectors?

Skills meant for slaying dragons—of no practical use here.

“Brother, you’re making fun of me again.” Lin Ning pouted and lightly punched his chest.

Outside, she carried the reputation of a gifted young lady, but in truth many of the poems attributed to her had been written by her brother and then taught to her. She couldn’t bear for such good poetry to be buried, so she presented them to the world under her own name.

If her brother hadn’t stopped her, she would have wanted to tell everyone: My brother is the truly brilliant one, knowledgeable in heaven and earth! I don’t even have one percent of his talent!

When she was young, she hadn’t understood why he did this.

Now that she was older, she gradually realized that although she was a princess, she was still a woman. A talented woman was still just a woman in the eyes of society.

But a talented prince could become a stumbling block to others.

Just as her brother said: A tree that stands taller than the forest is first to be cut down; the bird that sticks its head out gets shot.

“You’re not a child anymore,” Lin Yi said with a smile. “One day we siblings must part. You need to learn to take care of yourself.”

He couldn’t think of any better words of comfort.

Princess Huaiyang came in tears—and left in tears.

As the sun set, the temperature dropped noticeably.

Lin Yi put on a robe and cloth boots and no longer felt so hot.

Outside the gate of the prince’s residence ran a street more than eight meters wide, normally managed by the Southern City military command, which forbade vendors from setting up stalls.

But after Lin Yi moved in, he allowed vendors to do business there. The only requirements were cleanliness and no congestion.

People discovered that this prince, known as the “money-grubber,” wasn’t as domineering or harsh as they had imagined.

Of course, he couldn’t exactly be called refined either—because this Prince He was a bit foolish.

For example, when it rained, he once squatted on the steps at the entrance of his residence and shouted at the top of his lungs: “It’s raining! Go home and bring in your laundry!”

It was said that censors had impeached him for improper conduct and unbecoming behavior, and when the Emperor saw the memorial, he was furious.

But compared with this same Prince He publicly cursing Jiang Chong, the formidable commander of the imperial guards—renowned for his fearsome reputation—blocking the magistrate’s office to cause a scene, and opening teahouses, inns, grain shops, and furniture stores to compete with commoners for profit…

Charges like “improper conduct” seemed trivial.

After all, even a tiger does not eat its cubs. Ordering him to reflect behind closed doors and assigning him the fief of Sanhe was already the greatest punishment the Emperor could give.

Holding a candied hawthorn skewer in his hand, Lin Yi ate while gazing at the bustling street.

In this life, he had finally lived in a detached mansion in the heart of a lively city.

In this world, nothing was more beautiful than the simple warmth of everyday life.