Chapter 70
XIAO JIE WAS HAVING a lot of fun; he wouldn’t return for a while, so Huantong carried over a table, chair, and heater.
“Please sit while you wait, Young Master.”
“Get a second chair for Steward Xi,” Lin Qingyu ordered.
“Lady, you’re too polite.” Xi Rong lowered his eyes demurely. “I am but a servant and cannot sit with the general’s wife.”
“His Highness doesn’t consider you a servant,” Lin Qingyu said coolly, “so you needn’t consider yourself one.”
Regardless of what Xi Rong truly thought, he continued to act humble. “His Highness’s personality is like that. He usually enjoys himself alongside the servants in the palace as well. He doesn’t abide by the rules, but I must.”
Lin Qingyu smiled, but coldness rose in his eyes. “It seems like you are unwilling to drink this tea with me under any circumstances, Steward Xi.”
“Lady, you are beautiful and gracious—unlike anyone else in the world. How could a lowly servant such as myself have the right to share a cup of tea with you?”
Lin Qingyu didn’t press, just said calmly, “It’s up to you.”
Xi Rong stood behind Lin Qingyu, silently observing the famed beauty of the capital. Lin Qingyu’s appearance was flawless. Even if he merely sat there, drinking tea, he turned the cold training ground into a delicate painting.
However, the more beautiful someone was, the more dangerous they were. Lin Qingyu had first married Young Marquess Lu, then Great General Gu. He’d once been an official close to the emperor, and, even if he no longer held his title now, he could still enter the palace. How could such a person be completely guileless?
Lin Qingyu felt Xi Rong’s gaze. “Steward Xi, why are you looking at me instead of His Highness?”
Although Lin Qingyu had exposed him, Xi Rong remained as calm as ever. “I was looking at the tea in your hand, Lady. His Highness praised the tea to the heavens and even said it was tastier than the tea in the palace. Would you please tell me the secrets of the tea so that I may learn to brew it?”
Lin Qingyu put down the teacup in his hand. “It stands to reason that Steward Xi truly wishes only the best for His Highness. In the future, when His Highness travels to his princely estate, will you accompany him?”
“Naturally.”
“Would you be able to let go of your regrets?”
Xi Rong’s long, thin eyes abruptly widened. “I don’t understand.”
Lin Qingyu saw the expression on Xi Rong’s face shift subtly. His lips quirked a bit as he continued, “By staying here—by staying in the palace—you would have the chance to become the Directorate of Ceremonial’s head eunuch, Steward Xi. If you follow His Highness to his new lands, however, you’ll only ever be an impotent steward.”
The word “impotent” pierced Xi Rong to the bone. But he’d been struck too many times, and he could now maintain his composure regardless of time or place. “Head eunuch… Lady, do you know what these two words mean?”
“The head eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial is also called the inner prime minister. He has the most influence on inner-court politics. What do you think those words mean?”
Xi Rong’s face darkened. He was beautiful, but in a sinister way, which—paired with his expression—all but made Huantong quiver with fear. “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll misinterpret your words, Lady?”
“Did you misinterpret them?” Lin Qingyu retorted.
When speaking with intelligent people, one only needed to hint at things. Xi Rong clearly understood what Lin Qingyu meant, but he just remained silent, pretending not to understand.
Lin Qingyu had predicted this reaction. Although Gu Fuzhou and Xiao Jie knew each other, they were merely acquaintances, and the general had only met Xi Rong twice. It was just as Gu Fuzhou had said; it was much too early for them to scheme about an event of great consequence together. Today, Lin Qingyu was only testing Xi Rong, whose silence was already answer enough.
Since Xi Rong didn’t trust him, Lin Qingyu would give him a taste of the benefits.
“On that subject, His Highness has already moved out of the palace to live on his own estate, yet he’s still just the fourth prince. I think that when the emperor was crown prince, his brothers were initially just titled first-ranked princes. They received land only after the emperor took his throne,” Lin Qingyu noted. “His Majesty deals with so much every day, and he’s sick on top of that, so he may have forgotten about the matter. If someone could remind him, that would be for the best.”
Xiao Jie’s birth mother was just a side-palace maid who’d had Xiao Jie after the emperor favored her. The emperor already disliked this son, and Xiao Jie was unremarkable in both military strategy and combat, so the emperor tended to overlook him. The officials wouldn’t go out of their way to remind the emperor to give Xiao Jie his princedom, either; if they angered the crown prince, they’d be that much worse off. That was why Xiao Jie’s princedom had been delayed for so long, weighing on Xi Rong’s heart.
Xi Rong smiled. He had similarly wanted to use this meeting to see what the general’s wife was capable of. “I also hope that His Highness receives his title soon,” he said, adding, “Then we can leave this place, which has given us nothing but trouble.”
As they spoke, Xiao Jie—who had already finished taking the Ferghana horse for a ride—returned with Gu Fuzhou. Lin Qingyu brought his husband a cup of tea, already prepared. “General, please enjoy.”
Gu Fuzhou smiled. “Thank you, my wife.”
Nearby, Xiao Jie excitedly told Xi Rong about the experience of riding the Ferghana horse. “Little White looks intense, but he’s so, so obedient in front of Great General Gu. He went wherever the general told him to, and he slowed down and sped up on command.”
“I think normal horses can do that too,” Xi Rong said.
“It’s not the same.” Xiao Jie shook his head, explaining seriously, “I can tell clearly that it’s not the same. Ugh—I don’t know how to describe it…”