Rebirth of the Unloved, Sickly Prince - Chapter 4

In the night wind, a few vibrant petals fell from a winter plum tree.

Beside the dry well, the young man in thin white clothes gripped the coarse rope. The faint, dark-blue veins were visible beneath the pale skin on the back of his hands. His loose black hair fell forward over his shoulders, and his pitch-black eyes, deep as spilled ink amidst the flickering shadows of the branches, shimmered with a trace of gratified laughter.

The slipknot was tightened around Wang Baoping’s neck. The eunuch’s burly frame was suspended in mid-air, the fat of his throat hanging from the rope. As he struggled, the knot drew tighter and tighter…

Wang Baoping’s hands flailed wildly, but no sound came from his throat, save for a series of rasping, desperate gasps. His face gradually turned a bruised purple, and his small, squinted eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.

Beside them, Xia Ming stood frozen in shock. “Your… Your Highness, he… he…”

Mu Jue turned his head away, no longer looking at Wang Baoping’s hideous, dying face. “He’s almost dead,” the youth whispered. “When he is, find a tree nearby and hang him from it.”

By tomorrow, or perhaps in a few days when the body was found, no one would look closely into the death of a minor eunuch. At most, people would gossip: “The Third Prince just passed away, and his personal attendant followed him in suicide. How loyal.”

The rope holding Wang Baoping was heavy. The man’s death throes caused the hemp to rub back and forth against Mu Jue’s palms. Mu Jue gripped the rope even harder. Xia Ming, terrified and face smeared with tears, began to tremble as he reached out to help pull the rope.

“Your… Your Highness, why… why are you…”

The night wind howled, and the dew silently dampened their clothes, bringing a bone-chilling cold with every gust.

Xia Ming began to sob aloud. “Your Highness, I’m scared! I heard the old eunuchs say that the souls of those who are hanged come back to haunt you. Your Highness…”

“So many people die in this palace every day. If there really are ghosts, they won’t come for us first.” The white bandages on Mu Jue’s hands began to seep blood from the friction of the rope. “Look at Director Lu. He’s killed more high officials and nobles than one can count, and isn’t he living perfectly well?”

Convinced by this irrefutable logic, Xia Ming nodded and wiped his tears on his sleeve.

Wang Baoping’s struggles had grown faint. Mu Jue closed his eyes, listening to his own heartbeat. His voice was steady, but his heart was racing in a chaotic rhythm. With every twitch from the rope, his pulse quickened a fraction more.

Tomorrow, the Imperial Kitchen will send someone else to deliver our food, he whispered to himself. Just endure a few more years, until I can leave to open my own manor.

“Your Highness.”

Mu Jue opened his eyes. “Yes?”

“Did… did you hear footsteps?”

Mu Jue could only hear the thumping of his own heart. He looked around. “It’s just the wind; you misheard. The plum garden is remote; no one comes here.”

Xia Ming had just stopped crying, but upon hearing this, he looked ready to start again. “But… but I really heard footsteps just now.”

At the corner of the stone steps leading to the plum garden, two warm-yellow palace lanterns flickered into view. Standing in the glow were several figures whose faces were not yet clear. Unaccustomed to such bright light, Mu Jue lowered his gaze and squinted.

Beside him, Xia Ming collapsed to his knees with a thud. “This servant greets the Crown Prince.”

The Crown Prince?

Mu Jue lifted his face. The first thing he saw was a familiar flash of crimson. Lu Shiting stood beside the Crown Prince, his dark hair bound up, his cold, jade-like face flickering in the light, expressionless.

Next to him, Crown Prince Mu Xu wore apricot-yellow casual robes. His face bore a slight, unnatural flush as if he had just been drinking; the scent of wine and banquet powder still clung to him.

“Who is it?!”

Several eunuchs beside the Crown Prince quickly stepped forward and restrained him. In the scuffle, Mu Jue’s grip loosened, the rope slipped, and a heavy thud echoed from the dry well. Eunuchs rushed to the edge to investigate, eventually hauling Wang Baoping back up.

Mu Jue glanced at Wang Baoping. The man lay on the ground, but his chest was still rising and falling.

Mu Jue’s lips curled into a faint, bitter smile. His luck really was quite abysmal. To try and kill someone in a deserted garden, only to run into the Crown Prince taking a drunken stroll.

Xia Ming stammered, “Crown Prince, this servant… this servant was just accompanying the Sixth Prince here to clear his head. We… we…”

The Crown Prince bore a stronger resemblance to the Emperor. As the eldest son, he had reached adulthood years ago and possessed a gentle, refined reputation in the court.

“Sixth Brother?” The Crown Prince frowned, looking at the unconscious Wang Baoping. He asked the attendants, “What is happening here?”

“Reporting to the Crown Prince: The Sixth Prince was gripping a well rope just now. It appears… he intended to hang this eunuch.”

Mu Jue said nothing.

“Take that eunuch for medical treatment first.” The Crown Prince walked up to him, his expression pained. “Sixth Brother, what mistake did this eunuch make that you would try to strangle him here? If a subordinate errs, a scolding or a beating is enough. You are a Prince; how can you—”

Mu Jue remained kneeling, his voice a bit raspy. “He fed my mother spoiled rice.”

“Just for a bowl of rice?” The Crown Prince’s frown deepened. “You know Imperial Father dislikes nothing more than a prince who is arrogant and cruel.”

“If the food is unsatisfactory, simply send someone to the kitchen to change it. Many of these eunuchs enter the palace out of desperation; if you kill one, a pair of parents loses a son.” The Crown Prince waved his hand, signaling the guards to release Mu Jue.

“Forget it. I will act as though I saw nothing today, and I will see that the eunuch is properly settled. As punishment, go back and copy the Mencius ten times and deliver it to the Eastern Palace in three days. If this happens again, I shall not be so lenient.”

A chorus of “The Crown Prince is merciful” rose from the surrounding attendants.

Mu Jue slowly stood up. He looked down at the raw flesh on the inside of his fingers where the rope had chafed them. The white bandages on his palms were stained with blood from his own fingernails digging in.

He exhaled a cold breath. “…I cannot copy the Mencius.”

“If your hand is injured, you may wait until it heals.”

“I have no books, paper, or brushes where I live. And His Majesty does not allow me to go to the Hall of Literary Brilliance (Wenhua Hall) to study.”

The Crown Prince had long since stopped studying with the other princes, having his own tutors at the Eastern Palace. An attendant beside the Crown Prince helpfully explained, “Your Highness, due to the matter with Consort Li, the Sixth Prince has never begun his schooling.”

Very few knew the truth of Consort Li’s affair; the Emperor’s public reason for her confinement was a sudden bout of “madness” that offended the sovereign, requiring quiet recuperation.

The Crown Prince seemed to recall something, a flicker of pity crossing his face.

“Is this gossip something for you to spread?” His rebuke was soft, lacking any real bite. “Still, for a Prince to reach adulthood without having studied. It will eventually damage the Royal Family’s reputation.”

“How about this: tomorrow I shall speak with Imperial Father and beg him to let you study at the Hall of Literary Brilliance with our other brothers.”

Mu Jue froze. His dark, peach-blossom eyes suddenly lit up, like black jade being wiped clean of dust. If—if not killing Wang Baoping could be traded for the chance to study…

He bowed with genuine sincerity. “I thank the Crown Prince.”

The Crown Prince nodded, sweeping a look over his clothes. “Third Brother was a rebel and has been demoted to a commoner. Why are you still wearing mourning clothes? Go back and change at once.”

Mu Jue was still thinking about the prospect of studying. A smile touched his lips. He didn’t explain that he wore the mourning clothes for warmth; he simply answered a submissive “Yes.”

The Crown Prince turned, gesturing for his attendants to carry the unconscious Wang Baoping away. “It is late. Sixth Brother, walk back with me.”

Along the way, the Crown Prince spoke mostly with Lu Shiting. Mu Jue walked at the very end of the procession, unable to hear much of their conversation.

He had never had a formal education; the characters he knew were taught to him by Xia Ming. Before Xia Ming was sold into the palace, his family had been wealthy merchants, but the war with the Northern Di had seen their fortune pillaged by soldiers overnight.

The things the Crown Prince and Lu Shiting discussed—taxes, troop movements, peace talks, the titles of various ministers—he couldn’t understand a word of it. He only gathered that the south was suffering from drought, provisions were scarce, and the Northern Di were taking advantage of the situation by making harsh demands for peace.

The reason the Crown Prince had wandered to this remote garden was because the banquet with the Northern Di envoys had ended on a sour note.

However, from what he could hear, the Crown Prince and Lu Shiting did not agree. Lu Shiting favored war, while the Crown Prince advocated for continued negotiations. Lu Shiting’s tone remained cold and low throughout, while the Crown Prince grew increasingly agitated, even mentioning the raiding of the Third Prince’s maternal home.

Mu Jue kept his head down, trying to make himself invisible.

“The young eunuch the Sixth Prince tried to kill tonight… I recall he was previously the Third Prince’s personal attendant.”

Lu Shiting’s voice was clear and cold. When his tea-colored, distant eyes flicked over, they carried the chill of frozen plum blossoms. Mu Jue, unsure why the man had suddenly brought him up, did not immediately respond.

The Crown Prince said, “Is that so? Third Brother was a rebel, and the Eastern Depot has already apprehended all his accomplices. A personal attendant likely knew nothing of the plot… Sixth Brother?”

“I did not know his identity,” Mu Jue replied.

Lu Shiting gave a low, soft laugh, his eyes deep and quiet. “Does the Sixth Prince have a poor memory? I recall that when Your Highness went to the vigil, you had an argument with this very eunuch. And further back, when you were pushed into the pond by the Third Prince’s men, this eunuch was among those who laid hands on you.”

A cold sweat broke out on Mu Jue’s back. At those times, he didn’t remember anyone watching him. How could Lu Shiting know? The Eastern Depot’s eyes in the palace were already.

Lu Shiting stopped talking, his thumb gently rubbing the white jade belt at his waist. The Eastern Depot agents beside him immediately stepped forward, snatched Wang Baoping from the Crown Prince’s eunuchs, and dragged the man before him.

Mu Jue bit his lip. He watched as Lu Shiting stepped slowly to his side and casually drew a saber from one of his agents.

The man pressed the hilt into Mu Jue’s hand. His long fingers wrapped around the back of Mu Jue’s hand; his body temperature was scalding, a stark contrast to his cold eyes.

Lu Shiting controlled his hand, aiming the tip of the blade directly at Wang Baoping’s chest.

“The Sixth Prince wanted to kill him, did he not? The Crown Prince forbids it. I permit it.”