Shangguan Xi slightly frowned. "They're all sweets."
Yu Feiyan gave a slight start, then nodded. "Right, young ladies just love having snacks."
"That's no excuse to skip meals!" Shangguan Xi frowned deeply and immediately spoke up. "Nurse Zhang, you..."
The words stopped at the tip of his tongue.
He realized he was actually showing concern for Yan Weichi's health.
That didn't sound like him at all.
Shangguan Xi frowned slightly, changed the subject on the fly, and redirected: "You go dish up a bowl of soup for Feiyan."
Yu Feiyan hurriedly chimed in, "No need, no need, I can get it myself. Nurse, just add two more dishes for me, I'm starving!"
Nurse Zhang bustled off with a cheerful smile.
Meanwhile, Shangguan Xi lost his appetite altogether.
Because he couldn't figure out what Yan Weichi was up to.
"When she went out today, she really just bought things and did nothing else?" Shangguan Xi pressed.
Yu Feiyan nodded, recounting every piece of conversation he could remember to Shangguan Xi.
Hearing this, far from feeling relieved, Shangguan Xi grew even more uneasy.
Because that woman simply did not seem like the type to swallow her anger and let it go.
What on earth was she plotting?
***
That night, around the third watch.
Tossing and turning and unable to sleep, Shangguan Xi finally decided to head over to Ruochu Courtyard to check on Yan Weichi's situation.
To his surprise, however, it was already the third watch, yet Yan Weichi showed no signs of resting—her room was brightly lit.
What could she possibly be busy with?
Shangguan Xi walked up to the door, initially intending to raise his hand and knock, but on second thought, he leaped lightly up onto the roof.
Up on the roof, he lifted a tile, lowered his gaze, and saw Yan Weichi hunched over her desk, furiously writing and sketching.
"What is she writing?" Shangguan Xi was full of questions, but due to the angle and distance, he couldn't make out the content.
Fortunately, after writing for a while, Yan Weichi stretched her arms and stood up.
She picked up a change of clothes and turned toward the side room, looking ready to wash up and go to sleep.
Seeing this, Shangguan Xi dropped down from the roof, gently pushed the door open, and stepped into Yan Weichi's room.
He walked over to the desk and picked up the paper covered in her writing and drawings.
The sheet was packed with characters.
*"Let others get angry, I stay calm; bring on the sickness, no one steps in. If I die of anger, who's the winner? Plus it drains your spirit and costs your energy..."*
Shangguan Xi couldn't help curving his lips into a faint smile, thinking to himself, *"A tacky little doggerel, yet somehow rather catchy. It seems number two really did tick her off today."*
Putting that paper down, Shangguan Xi picked up the sketches beside it.
"Sketches" was a generous term; Shangguan Xi couldn't make head or tail of what she had actually drawn.
Some lines, some auspicious cloud patterns? And others intersecting, looking rather like streets.
Utterly messy and incomprehensible.
Shangguan Xi set the papers down, intending to leave right then and there.
As luck would have it, the moment he turned around, he bumped right into Yan Weichi as she stepped out of the side room.
"Ah! You... what are you doing here?" Yan Weichi clutched her arms, reacting with an instinctive start.
Shangguan Xi felt a bit awkward too, mostly because of the look on Yan Weichi's face—she was staring at him as if he were a lecherous scoundrel.
Frowning slightly, unable to explain why he had appeared there, Shangguan Xi hardened his heart and said coldly, "Is this not where I belong?"
Yan Weichi stared wide-eyed, demanding in astonishment, "Are you kidding me? This is my room!"
Shangguan Xi replied with indifference, "This is the Crown Prince's Mansion. I am the Crown Prince, and you are the Crown Princess. A husband and wife sharing a bedroom—what's wrong with that?"
"Huh? This..." Yan Weichi was so dumbfounded she couldn't find a retort.
Yet... yet wasn't this guy supposed to be avoiding her?
With a conflicted expression, Yan Weichi wanted to chase him out, yet didn't quite know what to say.
Shangguan Xi studied her with a hint of amusement, realizing that this Yan Weichi...
Seemed to be nothing more than a paper tiger.
She only ever seemed genuinely interested in men who couldn't move.
At that thought, Shangguan Xi raised an eyebrow and walked straight toward the bed.
Spreading his arms wide, he commanded, "Undress me!"
*Undress him?!*
Yan Weichi stared at him in disbelief, utterly convinced she had misheard.
This guy was planning to stay the night here? And wanted her to wait on him and undress him? Was that what he meant?!
"Shangguan Xi, are... are you out of your mind?" Yan Weichi watched him, nervous and ill at ease.
Side-glancing at her, Shangguan Xi calmly repeated himself, "I said, undress me."
"You want me to undress you?" Yan Weichi found it hard to believe.
Shangguan Xi countered, "Well, what else? I certainly don't have the habit of sleeping in my clothes!"
"You're sleeping here??" Yan Weichi's voice pitched higher in mounting shock.
Shangguan Xi simply frowned slightly, remaining calm. "Is there a problem?"
"Of course there's a problem!" Yan Weichi backed away to put some distance between them as she spoke. "Shangguan Xi, let's get one thing straight. Between us... between us, it's just mutual assistance. We aren't familiar enough to be sleeping together."
Shangguan Xi dropped his arms, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked down at her with a glare as he demanded, "Oh? Is that so? Why didn't you say that when you were stripping my clothes off?"
"Was that the same thing? Heaven above and doctors around, I was trying to save your life!"
Fanning the air irritably, Yan Weichi shot back, "Anyway, stop letting your imagination run wild. I have no improper designs on you, and you are not allowed to have any improper designs on me. We... we shall mind our own business and stay out of each other's way."
Shangguan Xi looked calmly at the person before him, wondering if Yan Weichi's words came from the heart or were just playing hard to get.
After a long silence, Shangguan Xi suddenly turned on his heel and strode out, not uttering another single word.
Watching the door that had been opened and then shut again, Yan Weichi suddenly felt a strange sense of unease.
She muttered to herself, "Did... did he get mad? But I didn't do anything wrong! We haven't bowed to heaven and earth, we aren't properly married, and we haven't exchanged any feelings. He just rolls in and expects to jump into bed—who could handle that? And he looked at me with total disdain, as if he'd gotten the raw end of the deal. Hmph!"
Glancing irritably at the doorway, Yan Weichi bolted the door, dragged a chair over to wedge underneath it for good measure, and only then went off to bathe and change with peace of mind.
Throughout the whole process, she completely forgot to wonder why Shangguan Xi had suddenly shown up in the first place.
Equally perplexed was Shangguan Xi, back in his own courtyard.
He stared at the stacks of secret letters on his desk, unable to focus on a single one as a recurring question echoed relentlessly in his mind.
*"She was the one who insisted on becoming the Crown Prince's Mansion, and she's always the one getting handsy with me. Now that I'm willing to give her what she wants, why is she resisting so much? What on earth does this woman want? Isn't it wealth and status?"*
*"Ugh!"* Just as that thought crossed his mind, Shangguan Xi felt a sudden stabbing pain in his chest.
He instinctively clutched his chest, only to find a layer of frost spreading across the surface of his palms.
The Cold Gu Poison was acting up!
While channeling his internal energy to suppress it, Shangguan Xi thought to himself, *"The flare-ups are getting more and more frequent. Could it really be as Master said—without the Nine-Sun Golden Trout, I won't live past twenty-five?"*
Shangguan Xi drove the Qianqiu Xue internal energy, forcing the chill out of his body.
The cold air gradually condensed into frost all over him, rapidly turning him into an ice sculpture.
Before losing consciousness, a strange thought flashed through Shangguan Xi's mind.
*"Thank goodness... thank goodness she turned me down today and we didn't consummate the marriage. That way, she can easily make a good match later and remarry someone else."* Slowly closing his eyes, Shangguan Xi slipped into unconsciousness.
***
The next morning.
"Eldest Senior Brother, Eldest Senior Brother, wake up, Senior Brother!"
"Eldest Senior Brother, wake up!"
The voices of Yu Feiyan and Ye Tianshu rang in his ears.
Shangguan Xi slowly opened his eyes, looking at the two of them in slight bewilderment.
The pair let out long sighs of relief. Yu Feiyan patted his chest and said, "Good, good, thank goodness you're alright. Senior Brother, why did your cold poison strike with such ferocity? Do you know that early this morning, your entire room felt like an ice cellar?"
Ye Tianshu stepped forward to help Shangguan Xi sit up. "How are you feeling now? Your complexion is terrible."
Sitting up straight, Shangguan Xi opened his palms, revealing to the others that two-thirds of his palm lines had turned blue.
The expressions of Yu Feiyan and Ye Tianshu instantly turned grave.
Yu Feiyan spoke up. "Master once said that the Qianqiu Xue internal energy can suppress the Cold Gu Poison, but it cannot be used frequently. Otherwise, your vital energy will be exhausted, your martial arts will be lost, and you will become a cripple."
Ye Tianshu chimed in, "That's right. The only reason the Cold Gu Poison has remained suppressed within your body is because of your profound internal energy, Senior Brother. The day you lose your martial arts, that Cold Gu Poison will break through your defenses like a breached river, beyond all control. By then..."
"By then, I will die..." Speaking of death, Shangguan Xi remained completely calm.
Yu Feiyan grabbed Shangguan Xi's hand. "Senior Brother, you can't use Qianqiu Xue anymore—at least not for a short while, not until the blue lines on your palms fade."
Shangguan Xi gave a bitter, desolate smile. "Without Qianqiu Xue, when the Cold Gu flares up, I die. With Qianqiu Xue, once my vital energy is drained, I die just the same. It seems... this is simply my fate."
"Senior Brother! Don't talk like that, we won't let you die!" Ye Tianshu interrupted him with a displeased frown.
Shangguan Xi smiled bitterly. "Life and death are up to fate. I was never afraid of death; I just feel unsatisfied. The revenge of the Holy Medical Tribe remains unavenged, my mother's cause of death has yet to be unraveled, and there is still no news of my younger sister, whose fate hangs in the balance. And then there is His Majesty, who protected me with all his heart, a kindness I can never repay. Feiyan, Tianshu, I have only one year left. Tell me... can I pull it off?"
"What kind of nonsense are you babbling?!" Yu Feiyan's eyes reddened.
He said angrily, "Senior Brother, I won't allow you to think this way. Although this Cold Gu Poison is rare in this world, it is not completely without a cure. Didn't Master say that as long as we find the Nine-Sun Golden Trout, we can definitely turn things around?"
Shangguan Xi smiled, his eyes holding not a shred of hope.
Right, they had known about this lead for ages.
Yet all these years, where had there ever been the slightest whisper of news regarding the Nine-Sun Golden Trout?
They didn't even know what the Nine-Sun Golden Trout looked like.
***
Ye Tianshu frowned. "I'll go back and increase the bounty, spreading the word across both the underworld and the righteous factions. We will definitely find the Nine-Sun Golden Trout for you within a year, Senior Brother. Next time your poison acts up, you must notify us. The two of us can transfer our internal energy to you so you can better control Qianqiu Xue."
Yu Feiyan nodded repeatedly as well. "That's right! Senior Brother, didn't Master tell us to come down the mountain with you precisely to protect you? Why are you still standing on ceremony with us?"
Shangguan Xi smiled faintly and nodded.
It wasn't that he was standing on ceremony; he simply never had the time.
At first, the flare-ups of the Cold Gu Poison followed a somewhat predictable pattern, but in recent years, they had become completely erratic.
Furthermore, every time it struck, it left him no time to notify anyone else, catching him completely off guard every single time.
It seemed the poison had already penetrated deep into his internal organs.
To spare his two junior brothers worry, Shangguan Xi still answered, "Alright, next time, I'll definitely call you."
"Reporting to Your Highness the Crown Prince, someone from the palace is here again." Nurse Zhang's voice sounded from the doorway.
Shangguan Xi said, "Since Shangguan Li failed to send the servants yesterday, it seems the Empress hasn't given up and has sent more today. Tianshu, head back first. Feiyan, come with me to take a look."
The two nodded in agreement.
***
When Shangguan Xi arrived at the front courtyard, he happened to hear Eunuch Qiao reciting a list.
"Four first-class maids, sixteen second-class maids, a number of third-class maids. Eight first-class guards, twelve second-class guards, a number of handyman laborers..."
Flowing on and on, there were nearly a hundred people in total.
While such a lineup wasn't particularly excessive for a prince's mansion,
such a large number posed considerable trouble for Shangguan Xi.
Because the more people there were, the greater the number of spies and assassins would be.
With the good and the bad mixed together, it was hard to tell loyalty from treachery.
Shangguan Xi stepped out. "Many thanks to His Majesty and the Empress for their bestowal."
Eunuch Qiao smiled. "This old servant pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince. Her Majesty the Empress commanded that Your Highness should make use of these girls for now, and if you don't like them, she will help you select new ones another day."
Eunuch Qiao's ambiguous smile made it clear to Shangguan Xi that the maids sent over were not merely servants; they were meant to be his concubines.
"Let me see how many maids there are!" Yan Weichi's voice suddenly rang out, drawing everyone's attention.
Crunching on an apple, Yan Weichi strode over.
That look of disdain on her face carried an aura of someone who had clearly come looking for trouble.
Seeing this, for reasons unknown, Shangguan Xi actually felt his mood improve slightly.
He instinctively took half a step back and signaled Yu Feiyan not to meddle, eager to see how Yan Weichi would handle these women.
Eunuch Qiao looked at Yan Weichi with internal reluctance, but still offered a bow. "This old servant pays respects to Her Highness the Crown Princess."
Ignoring him entirely, Yan Weichi looked instead at the maids standing there.
At a single glance, it was indeed impossible to tell the good from the bad.
Everyone stood in an orderly fashion with lowered brows and submissive postures, as if none of them harbored hidden ambitions or murderous intent.
Yan Weichi swept her gaze over the crowd, then smiled lightly. "No need for formalities. You've arrived just in time—my Crown Prince's Mansion is undergoing repairs and we're short on hands. All of you, follow Steward Zhang's orders: pull weeds, tend the gardens, carry bricks, lay tiles, and take care of all the heavy labor. As for the deadline, ten days should do! Once the job is done, this girl—this Crown Princess—will reward you!"
The group of servants looked at each other in dismay, each convinced they must have misheard.
The laborers were one thing, but how could first-class maids and guards be made to do heavy manual labor?
Those four young and beautiful maids exchanged glances, and then one of them stepped forward half a step and bowed slowly. "This maid, Shuke, pays respects to Her Highness the Crown Princess."
Yan Weichi looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Do you have something to say?"
Shuke nodded. "Yes. Replying to Her Highness, we four sisters were personally selected by the Empress to serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the inner quarters. We truly don't know how to do any heavy labor."
"Learn if you don't know! You weren't born knowing how to speak either, yet here you are, running your mouth quite fluently now, aren't you?" Yan Weichi sneered as she looked at her.
Shuke started slightly, her brow furrowing in displeasure.
Another girl behind her stepped forward as well, speaking in a rather discourteous tone, "What does Her Highness the Crown Princess mean by this? We were selected by the Empress to serve the Crown Prince. By sending us off to do heavy labor, is the Crown Princess showing disrespect to the Empress?"
Seeing this, Shuke hurriedly pulled her back. "Chuanhong, hold your tongue!"
So this maid was called Chuanhong.
Yan Weichi let out a cold laugh. "Oh, judging by your tone, you're all the Empress's people?"
Chuanhong had a hot temper and blurted out without thinking, "Naturally!"
Yan Weichi's expression darkened. "Once you've entered my Crown Prince's Mansion, you are people of this mansion. If you feel you belong to the Empress, then get back to the inner palace."
With that, Yan Weichi looked at the others and continued, "And the rest of you. The Crown Prince's Mansion does not feed idlers, nor does it keep those with divided loyalties. Either you obey obediently and we all live in peace, or whoever dares to play tricks and harbor schemes with me—I have plenty of ways to make you suffer in silence."
Frowning, Chuanhong retorted, "Crown Princess, aren't you being far too jealous? How can the Crown Prince have only you to serve him?"
Yan Weichi walked toward Chuanhong, whose nervous eyes darted about, not daring to meet her gaze.
Without a moment's hesitation, Yan Weichi suddenly raised her hand and slapped her across the face.
*Slap!*
With a crisp sound, the blow sent Chuanhong tumbling to the ground.
The crowd stared at Yan Weichi in utter shock and disbelief.
After all, this was someone personally chosen by the Empress.
Looking down at tear-streaked Chuanhong, Yan Weichi said coldly, "Not only am I jealous, but I'm also quite good at hitting people. When I get tired of hitting people, I'm quite good at killing them. And when I've killed enough, I'm quite good at making people wish they were dead. Feel free to keep testing my bottom line and see if I can make you regret it for the rest of your lives!"
"This maid... this maid... this maid is a person of the Empress's! Aren't you afraid of the Empress's punishment for bullying me like this?" Chuanhong still tried to use the Empress to cow Yan Weichi.
Yet Yan Weichi merely curled her lips into a smile. "What a joke. Even if I don't bully you, the Empress won't let me off anyway. Since I'm destined not to have a good time, why should I let you have one?! Rest assured, before the Empress manages to finish me off, I will definitely finish you off first!"
With that, Yan Weichi looked at Steward Zhang and instructed, "Steward Zhang, today you will have her scrub the outhouse. Clean out every bit of filth inside, rebuild the latrine from scratch, and tomorrow at this hour, I want to come inspect it. If there is even the slightest trace of filth or wear, make her lick it clean with her own tongue!"
Chuanhong stared at Yan Weichi in horror, convinced she had lost her mind.
As a close attendant to the Empress in the inner palace, when had she ever done menial labor?
And now she was expected to clean an outhouse?
"No, no, I won't go, I won't go!" Chuanhong scrambled to her feet and hid behind Shuke.
Yan Weichi gave a derisive laugh. "If you won't go, then get the hell out of the Crown Prince's Mansion right now, and you are never allowed to set foot through these doors again!"