Sickly Jade - Chapter 8

Qi Kun: “The Crown Prince’s mind is unfathomably deep. Since you are on good terms with him and were once his mentor, you must have a way.”

Ye Shaoyun took half a step back. “Don’t even suggest that I plead with him on your behalf. You’d die even faster that way.”

“I know that, of course I don’t mean that.” Qi Kun looked at his own empty hands. “I… I need something to protect myself! Power, or something else.”

Ye Shaoyun didn’t particularly care what happened to Qi Kun in the future, but for now, being a carefree Prince was his best way out.

“Actually… I know you’ve been supporting him from the shadows all these years. All his achievements are because of you. If not for you, he would just be… In the beginning, if we had met earlier, would we be…”

Seeing him continue to ramble, Ye Shaoyun immediately realized his intent and cut him off. “Your Highness, weigh your words. The times have changed. I remember the old favor of your assistance, but past events cannot be chased.”

Qi Chu could only be the Crown Prince; this was his mission and his destiny.

“The more one takes, the faster one falls. Think things through before you do anything; there is no need to ask me. If Qi Chu decides to go after you, I will only be the one fanning the flames from the sidelines.”

After being told this, Qi Kun was even more bewildered. “I… I just want to survive. Recently, I’ve discovered more eyes around me. Do you think he’s grown wary of me?”

Ye Shaoyun sighed. “Your Highness, if you stop coming to see me so often, there will naturally be fewer eyes. The capital is vast, with so many things happening every day you don’t have that many spectators.”

Having said that, he closed the window.

If someone insisted on courting death, he would let them struggle; once they faced death, they would understand the weight of things.

The man outside the window muttered to himself for a while before going silent. Moments later, a voice came from outside the door: “Master, dinner is ready.”

Hearing it was Qingyi’s voice, Ye Shaoyun said, “Enter.”

After Qingyi entered, he quietly scanned the bedroom before his eyes settled on the table, where he placed the food box he was carrying. “There is milk for dinner tonight. After the Master has his snacks, you might drink a little it helps with sleep.”

Ye Shaoyun walked to the table and sat down, scanning the contents of the food box. “Did he order this?”

Beads of cold sweat formed on Qingyi’s brow. “Yes, the Crown Prince ordered it.”

“His words are quite effective, aren’t they? I won’t drink it.”

“Did you hear any sounds just now?” Ye Shaoyun asked, staring at Qingyi’s lowered eyelids.

“I vaguely heard a muffled thud outside the door just now.”

Ye Shaoyun picked up a petal-shaped pastry and toyed with it between his fingers. “And then? What else?”

Qingyi was not a secret guard, but a regular attendant who handled daily needs, or so he thought. He knew martial arts, but was of the type without internal energy. Because Ye Shaoyun didn’t want them to know too much, he had assumed so, but the last time, he had sensed internal energy on Qingyi. He suspected Qi Chu had hidden someone by his side. He hadn’t been sure before, but today, at the inn outside the city, the scope had narrowed down.

“No, there was nothing else.”

“Is that so?” Ye Shaoyun gave a soft huff. He leaned back slightly, bracing himself against the table, and swept the tip of his shoe across Qingyi’s shoulder, landing on his chest, and kicked out with force. Qingyi, caught off guard, tumbled backward in a wretched sprawl.

Ye Shaoyun stood up, looking down at him condescendingly. “I treat you this well, and yet you are dissatisfied?”

Qingyi naturally fell into a half-kneel, maintaining an elegant posture. “This subordinate would not dare. It must be that this subordinate did something wrong, or perhaps the snacks are not to your liking?”

Ye Shaoyun: “How could the snacks meticulously chosen by the Crown Prince not be to my liking?”

“Did this subordinate say something wrong?”

“No, you are always thorough.”

After a few exchanges, Qingyi broke into a cold sweat, though he managed to maintain a facade of composure. Ye Shaoyun stared into his eyes, his mind swirling with countless methods for interrogation. Considering that this man had been fairly attentive and had looked after his daily needs for quite some time, he held back.

Seeing he could get nothing out of him, Ye Shaoyun commanded: “Look up. Look at me.”

Qingyi obeyed like a machine, slowly lifting his head, but still refused to meet the man’s gaze directly, because someone had told him never to look directly into this man’s eyes.

“Why won’t you look at me?”

“This subordinate… dare not.”

“If you dare not, do you believe I will gouge them out?”

A rare trace of emotion appeared on Qingyi’s face. Eyes, one cannot be without them.

He finally looked up, and their eyes met. The eyes were beautiful, like a pool of autumn water, but the pupils were infused with the biting cold of February. Beautiful, but fatal as if one would die just from a single glance.

“How does it feel?” Ye Shaoyun asked.

“Fear…” Qingyi’s lips were trembling.

“You know fear so why did you betray me?” Ye Shaoyun’s voice suddenly turned icy. Qingyi’s body gave a violent jolt, and he collapsed onto the floor.

“Master… I, your subordinate did not.”

Although Qingyi refused to admit it, Ye Shaoyun was certain of his suspicion. He whispered into Qingyi’s ear:

“Very well. Prove it to me. If today’s events reach the Crown Prince, I will gouge out your eyes.”

Upon hearing this, Qingyi’s pupils vibrated visibly.

After finishing the snacks, Ye Shaoyun did drink the milk from the jar. It truly helped him sleep; from the moment the sky darkened, he slept until the following day when the sun was bright. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw a familiar figure sitting by the bed.

The figure was dressed neatly, as if he had just arrived.

“Good morning, Yun’er.” The Crown Prince watched him with a smile, yet Ye Shaoyun saw a hint of darkness in that smile. Had his mindset changed?

Ye Shaoyun wanted to rub his forehead as he sat up, instinctively asking, “Why have you come so early?”

“Naturally, because I missed the National Teacher, so I came early. You seem rather unhappy to see me.”

If this were before, Ye Shaoyun would have denied it, but this time he nodded: “I don’t want to.”

“The National Teacher slept soundly last night and missed a piece of good news. General Ye and the First Imperial Brother have returned in triumph. I remember you were once on good terms with General Ye. Last night, he submitted a memorial to His Majesty do you know what it was about?”

Looking at Qi Chu’s excited expression, Ye Shaoyun felt something was wrong.

“Was there something unusual in the memorial? Does it have to do with the First Prince?”

Qi Chu shook his head, his tone laden with meaning: “Not exactly. It concerns the National Teacher.”

Hearing this, Ye Shaoyun vaguely sensed it was nothing good.

“General Ye said that while passing through Jiangnan, he learned of the recent floods and the suffering of the people there. He specifically named the National Teacher, hoping that you would go to Jiangnan to pray for blessings from Heaven. The memorial mentioned you several times, pointing out the contributions the National Teacher has made to our Great Yang every word was sincere and heartfelt!”

The more Qi Chu spoke, the more excited he became, while Ye Shaoyun’s heart tightened as he listened.

“What a coincidence. Was the National Teacher also planning to go to Jiangnan yesterday? How did you know General Ye’s intentions in advance? Could it be that the two of you have already been colluding in secret?!”

The follow-up words escalated the situation to an entirely different concept. His arms were suddenly gripped firmly. Ye Shaoyun realized immediately that things had gone wrong. How could it be such a coincidence? Could this be the System’s arrangement?

Seeing the Crown Prince’s furious expression the veins on his forehead pulsing, his eyes locked onto him in wait for an explanation the strange, sinister smile made Ye Shaoyun feel a rare sense of fear.

“Your Highness, this matter…” Was purely an accident.

Clearly, at this moment, Qi Chu would not believe such a reason. This man had never been easy to fool eight years ago, or especially now.

To gain the trust of the young Qi Chu back then, he had knelt on the main street for three days until his knees were rubbed raw, kneeling until the Ye family won the war and Qi Chu’s mother entered the imperial tomb.

“General Ye is a member of your mother’s clan. How could you suspect me of colluding with him?”

Qi Chu remained unhurried: “And what if he is a cousin? Even biological brothers can slaughter each other; haven’t I spent all these years doing exactly that? The National Teacher should know best you were the one who told me that a ruler must not be soft-hearted.”

Ye Shaoyun wanted to say something, but in the end, he let out a sigh. Qi Chu being the way he was today was half his own doing. A person without a thread of emotion was exactly like this.

“Early today, General Ye personally visited the National Teacher’s residence. I wonder if he had important business to discuss with you?”

Ye Shaoyun asked: “Where is he now?”

“You had not yet risen, so naturally, I asked him to return. What do you think?”

Qi Chu’s every word was a probe, as if they had returned to an earlier time.

“The First Prince has returned to the capital along with the others; you should be on guard against him.”

“Naturally. But the National Teacher has yet to answer my question.” Qi Chu suddenly leaned in, staring straight into his eyes, touching the chill radiating from him.

Ye Shaoyun said word for word: “I have never colluded with him. If Your Highness cannot even trust me on this, then there is no trust left between us.”

The expression on Qi Chu’s face shifted. A moment later, he suddenly displayed a smile: “I left in such a hurry yesterday that I didn’t have time to communicate with the National Teacher. Let’s make up for it today.”

As he spoke, he pressed himself over. Ye Shaoyun immediately began to struggle, pressing his hand against the hand reaching for his sash. “Your Highness, stop!”

Qi Chu paused, his eyes filled with astonishment. “Are you even unwilling to do this now?”

Ye Shaoyun gazed at the bed curtains above, his eyes vacant. “His Highness is right. What we are doing is contrary to propriety; we ought to pull back from the brink.”

The hand Qi Chu had gripped onto the sash of his waist tightened so hard the veins bulged, but his tone softened: “Is Yun’er throwing a temper tantrum at me? We are in mutual love—how is that contrary to propriety?”

“Mutual love?” Ye Shaoyun sneered. “But I am not willing.”