How did things end up like this?
Zhao Baozhu held the sugar figures in one hand and his small bundle in the other as he followed Deng Yun onto the Cao family’s carriage. From Deng Yun, he learned that Cao Lian was not only a young genius as famous as Ye Jinghua, but also privately a close friend. When Cao Lian saw the jade pendant earlier, he had guessed Zhao Baozhu was from the Ye family. Now, meeting Deng Yun confirmed it, so he suggested visiting Ye Jinghua at the Ye residence.
Squeezed together at the back of the carriage, Deng Yun continued to scold him: “You’ve already spent the whole day running wild, and now you even dare threaten people. Has our Ye family ever shorted you on food or clothing? A few sugar figures are worth doing something like that for–”
Lowering his voice, he said fiercely, “And in front of Lord Cao, you’ve completely embarrassed the young master!”
Zhao Baozhu knew he couldn’t clear himself even if he jumped into the Yellow River. He muttered, “I really didn’t threaten him. He gave them to me himself.”
Seeing his stubbornness, Deng Yun fumed. “Still talking back!”
Zhao Baozhu hugged his bundle tightly. Knowing he couldn’t explain himself, he didn’t argue further, only shot Deng Yun a glare. Deng Yun immediately widened his eyes and reached to pinch his cheek.
“You still dare glare at me! Usually you’re quiet at the residence, who knew you’d act so domineering outside! I’ll teach you not to talk back–”
Zhao Baozhu quickly dodged. “I told you I didn’t!”
Deng Yun glared. “You even dare dodge?!”
Just as the two were about to start scuffling at the back of the carriage, Cao Lian’s voice came from inside: “That’s enough. I’ve already reprimanded him. No one is to use their hands.”
Since Cao Lian had spoken, Deng Yun had to stop. He glared at Zhao Baozhu, thinking it was because the boy was good-looking that he kept getting away with things. Once or twice might be fine, but if it continued, he’d be spoiled! Today he dared to take someone’s sugar figures, who knew what he’d do when he grew up?
In front of Cao Lian, Deng Yun didn’t say more, only mouthed silently: “Wait till we get back, the young master will deal with you!”
Zhao Baozhu didn’t bother with him, huffed, and turned his head away. The innocent would remain innocent. But thinking that he still hadn’t found his name card after going out, he felt a bit down. Though the official from the Government Studies Bureau had kindly helped him, the journey from Yizhou was long and difficult, it was uncertain how long it would take.
Looking out the small carriage window at the bustling streets, Zhao Baozhu began calculating. Those sugar figures sold for five coins each, yet the cost was just sugar and coloring, not even half a coin. If he could sell ten a day…
His thoughts clicked rapidly. If he missed this year’s spring exam, he might as well stay in the capital, either apprentice at a shop or start a small business. If he apprenticed, with food and lodging provided, he could save money and even send some home. In three years, even if he failed the exam, he’d at least earn enough for the journey back.
Meanwhile, Deng Yun, still sulking, had no idea Zhao Baozhu was already thinking of “changing paths.” Abandoning the Ye family’s generous pay to become an apprentice elsewhere, if he knew, he’d be furious.
Before long, the Cao family carriage entered the lane where the Ye residence stood. Before they fully arrived, Zhao Baozhu saw the red gates open, and Ye Jinghua in white standing at the entrance, slightly frowning as he looked over.
Zhao Baozhu immediately poked his head out and waved. “Young master!”
Seeing him, Ye Jinghua’s brows relaxed slightly.
The carriage stopped at the gate. Cao Lian stepped down first. Seeing Ye Jinghua, he raised a brow. “Well, I’ve never seen you come out to receive me.”
But Ye Jinghua’s gaze only lingered on him briefly before shifting away, and he walked straight toward the back of the carriage.
Cao Lian paused, then understood, muttering, “So you weren’t here to receive me.”
“Young master.”
Zhao Baozhu looked up at Ye Jinghua and smiled. Ye Jinghua looked him over from head to toe, placed a hand on his shoulder, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Why are you back so late?”
As he wiped Zhao Baozhu’s sweat with a handkerchief, he asked. Zhao Baozhu blinked and pouted slightly. “It’s only just past the You hour.”
Hearing this, Ye Jinghua paused and raised his eyes to look at him. “Then next time, come back before the Shen hour.”
Zhao Baozhu immediately protested, tugging at his sleeve. “Don’t, young master! It’s my fault, I’ll come back earlier next time!”
Deng Yun, Fang Qin, and the other servants of the Ye residence had long been used to the two of them being so clingy. But it was the first time Cao Lian had seen it. Watching Zhao Baozhu tugging at Ye Jinghua, while the latter actually seemed completely accustomed to it, and upon closer look, there was even a trace of pleasure between his brows, Cao Lian’s heart skipped a beat.
He had never seen Ye Jinghua treat anyone with such gentle care.
Back when the two of them had served in the palace together as study companions to the princes, even when facing noble princesses and commandery princesses, Ye Jinghua always kept people at arm’s length. Like fresh snow atop a mountain peak, or ice a hundred fathoms deep in a lake. It once made Cao Lian think that he truly was as the rumors said, some celestial being incarnated, untouched by worldly ties.
Now it seemed it wasn’t that he formed no bonds, it was simply that the time had not yet come!
Cao Lian shook his head inwardly, then saw Ye Jinghua glance at the sugar figurines in Zhao Baozhu’s hand, the corners of his lips lifting slightly as he said gently, “You went out and played all day, and only bought these?”
Standing behind him, Deng Yun snorted coldly. “It’d be better if he had bought them!”
Zhao Baozhu’s expression instantly turned from bright to stormy as he turned back to glare at Deng Yun. Seeing him act all “spoiled by favor,” Deng Yun grew even angrier and burst out, “Young master, you don’t even know what this kid did outside—”
“Cough.”
He had only gotten halfway through when Cao Lian suddenly interrupted him. Ye Jinghua raised his eyes to look over and saw Cao Lian lowering his hand, smiling as he said, “Huiqing, are you going to have us stand here talking?”
Ye Jinghua looked at him. Seeing the teasing expression on Cao Lian’s face, he glanced thoughtfully at Zhao Baozhu. Zhao Baozhu, under his gaze, felt a bit guilty and said softly, “I really didn’t do anything.”
Hearing this, Deng Yun let out another sneer. Zhao Baozhu shot him a cold glare, and the two looked ready to start bickering again. Ye Jinghua spoke at the right moment, saying calmly, “Let’s talk in the study.”
Thus the group entered the Ye residence and went into Ye Jinghua’s study. Ye Jinghua sat in the main seat, Cao Lian took the guest seat by the window, while Deng Yun and Zhao Baozhu stood in the middle, creating something of an atmosphere like a formal interrogation. Seeing Zhao Baozhu still standing there foolishly clutching several sugar figurines, Ye Jinghua turned his head and said to Yueqin, who was attending nearby: “Go put away his sugar figurines.”
Yueqin nodded and stepped forward to take them. Zhao Baozhu, somewhat reluctant, asked, “Sister Yueqin, where will you put them?”
Seeing he wouldn’t let go, Yueqin coaxed him, “I’ll put some moisture-absorbing charcoal powder in a small bowl and stick the figurines on top. They’ll look nice and won’t melt.”
Only then did Zhao Baozhu release them. Sitting to the side, Cao Lian held his tea, smiling and shaking his head, pointing at Zhao Baozhu as he said to Ye Jinghua, “Look at how precious this one is, he scared someone half to death over a few sugar figurines.”
At this, Ye Jinghua turned his head. Instead of asking about the figurines, his first question was, “How did you run into him?”
Cao Lian then recounted the entire incident from beginning to end. When Zhao Baozhu heard that he had even mentioned how he had beaten the man earlier, his face flushed bright red. Thinking of how his rough, countryside side had been exposed in front of Ye Jinghua, he wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it.
Deng Yun, listening at the side, was rather surprised, he hadn’t known about this part before. By nature, he was straightforward and loyal. Hearing that those two scholars had dared to slander their young master behind his back with baseless words made him grind his teeth in fury; and when he heard that Zhao Baozhu had gone up and delivered a solid kick, he was so excited he almost shouted “Good!”
He hadn’t expected Zhao Baozhu to have such boldness in defending his master outside. Deng Yun’s anger toward him immediately lessened by a good amount, and he even felt a bit regretful for scolding him earlier without knowing the full story.
“…Who knew that when I followed him from a distance, I’d see him throwing his weight around in front of someone’s stall, forcing them to give him several sugar figurines for free before letting it go.”
Cao Lian was eloquent, speaking like a storyteller. Smiling, he pointed at Zhao Baozhu and said, “I didn’t know your household had someone this formidable. I’d say he’s even better than Deng Yun and Fang Qin!”
His words were half sincere, half teasing. Hearing himself described like some unreasonable tyrant, Zhao Baozhu’s face flushed even redder, and he carefully glanced up at Ye Jinghua’s expression.
Seated at the head, Ye Jinghua kept his eyes half-lowered, his expression as calm as ever. After Cao Lian finished speaking, he raised his head, and his first question was instead, “Why were you following him?”
At this, everyone was taken aback. Deng Yun also belatedly realized, indeed, this Young Master Cao had been following Zhao Baozhu for quite a while!
Cao Lian paused, looking a bit embarrassed, and explained, “I was on leave today. When I saw that jade token, I knew he belonged to your household, so I followed for a bit to see what he was up to.”
Hearing this, Ye Jinghua neither approved nor disapproved. Instead, he turned to Zhao Baozhu. “Baozhu, you speak.”
Zhao Baozhu hadn’t expected Ye Jinghua to actually give him a chance to explain. Hearing this, he abruptly lifted his head and saw Ye Jinghua’s glass-like eyes calmly looking at him, with a faint hint of encouragement deep within.
Zhao Baozhu’s heart immediately warmed. He then recounted everything that had happened between him and the peddler from beginning to end. After hearing it, Cao Lian said in surprise, “Something like that happened?”
Just then, the attendant Cao Lian had sent earlier to chase after the peddler returned. Cao Lian called him in to ask, and indeed heard the same account.
With the stories matching, Cao Lian finally realized he had wronged Zhao Baozhu, and said somewhat apologetically, “Then it was my misunderstanding of Baozhu.”
Deng Yun’s expression also turned a bit awkward, upon hearing Cao Lian earlier, he had instinctively believed him. Ye Jinghua, however, had from the start not believed that Zhao Baozhu would do such a thing as bullying others. But when he heard the way Cao Lian addressed him, his brow twitched, and he lifted his head to glance at Cao Lian with a faintly inscrutable look.
Cao Lian didn’t notice his expression. He stood up, walked over to Zhao Baozhu, and cupped his hands in apology. “I wrongly accused you, I owe you an apology.”
How could Zhao Baozhu dare accept such a gesture? He quickly stepped aside and said, “No need, no need, it was my own fault for not explaining clearly. It’s not Lord Cao’s fault.”
Cao Lian straightened up and called his attendant over, taking an item from him and handing it to Zhao Baozhu. “Take this as my apology.”
Zhao Baozhu looked up and saw that what Cao Lian was handing him was precisely the Western painting tube he had stared at for so long at the stall earlier. His eyes immediately lit up.
Cao Lian said warmly, “I saw you standing there for quite a while, so I had someone buy it. Take it.”
Zhao Baozhu looked at him, unsure whether to accept it or not. This Lord Cao was being a bit too friendly. The last time Ye Yanzhen gave him something, it had felt strange too, but at least that was Ye Jinghua’s elder brother. But what was this Lord Cao up to?
Fortunately, before he could hesitate too long, Ye Jinghua walked over and took the painting tube from Cao Lian’s hand.
“I’ll accept it on his behalf.”
Cao Lian didn’t seem surprised; he only glanced at Ye Jinghua and teased, “Alright. Just remember to give it to him, or he’ll be thinking about it so much he won’t be able to sleep.” With that, he and Ye Jinghua returned to their seats.
Hearing this, Zhao Baozhu wrinkled his nose to himself, thinking that he wasn’t so shallow. The Western painting tube was novel, but it wasn’t enough to keep him up at night thinking about it.
While he was lost in his thoughts, he heard Ye Jinghua’s voice: “Deng Yun, take him down to rest first.”
Deng Yun quickly nodded in acknowledgment. Knowing that Cao Lian and Ye Jinghua had other matters to discuss, he hurriedly pulled Zhao Baozhu out. After leaving the study, Zhao Baozhu first went back to his Ruilai Courtyard to wash and change. On the way, he asked Deng Yun, “What exactly is going on with that Lord Cao?”
“Shh.” Deng Yun pulled him along and lowered his voice. “Keep it down. This Lord Cao is the son of the Minister of Personnel. His paternal aunt, Madam Cao, was the late Empress from years ago. By relation, he’s actually the Crown Prince’s cousin.”
“Lord Cao and our young master were both known as prodigies since childhood, and they both passed the provincial examination in the same year, though our young master is three years younger. Back then, our young master became the top scholar, and the two of them later entered the palace as study companions. Our young master was companion to the Fifth Prince, born of Consort Chen, while Lord Cao was companion to the Crown Prince. Before the provincial exam, the two were like ‘kings who never meet,’ but after entering the palace, who knows how, they became close, and later turned into good friends.”
“It’s quite strange, really. Though Lord Cao and the Crown Prince are cousins, and our young master and the Fifth Prince are uncle and nephew, it was actually the Crown Prince who got along better with our young master, while the Fifth Prince was especially close with Lord Cao. At the time, people in the palace all said it was like they had swapped companions, the Crown Prince and our young master were always together, while Lord Cao often took the Fifth Prince out to play.”
Hearing this, Zhao Baozhu suddenly sensed something odd between the lines, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. After thinking for a moment, he asked: “Earlier I heard the young master talking with the eldest young master, did something happen to the Crown Prince?”
Zhao Baozhu had lived in a remote place far from the capital. Usually occupied with farm work and study, he knew far less about court affairs than Fang Qin or Deng Yun. From what he had overheard earlier, from Ye Yanzhen, and even those two gossiping scholars, it seemed that something had happened at court three years ago, related to the Crown Prince, and somehow tied in with Ye Jinghua’s separate residence and his not sitting for the spring examinations for years.
At the mention of the Crown Prince, Deng Yun’s expression changed abruptly. Seeing Zhao Baozhu’s puzzled look, he glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby, then lowered his voice further and said:
“You’re from a small place, you probably don’t know, but in the capital it’s already widely known.” He said, “Three years ago, the Crown Prince was ordered by His Majesty to lead troops south to campaign against the Shan Country. He was about to return victorious, but something happened along the way, and the Crown Prince went missing!”
Zhao Baozhu was shocked. “What?!”
Where he came from, information was isolated and outdated; most news about the imperial family came through merchant caravans. Zhao Baozhu only knew that the Empress had passed away many years ago, he had no idea that the current Crown Prince had actually gone missing!
Deng Yun sighed. “The Crown Prince was the legitimate son of the late Empress. Both his learning and character were excellent, everyone at court knew he was the certain next emperor. Who would have thought that on the battlefield…” He paused, then continued, “I heard that when His Majesty received the news, he fell seriously ill. Even now, the matter is kept under wraps, and no one is allowed to refer to him as the ‘late Crown Prince.’ But recently, there are rumors at court that His Majesty has secretly ordered a symbolic tomb, one without a body, erected for him in the imperial mausoleum at South Mountain…”
Zhao Baozhu listened in a daze. Suddenly, a thunderclap seemed to explode in his mind, and he abruptly understood the true meaning of that conversation between Ye Jinghua and Ye Yanzhen from days ago, the one that had left him utterly confused.
The Crown Prince was missing, the Empress had already passed away years ago, Consort Chen now dominated the harem, she had borne the Fifth Prince, the Ye family, Ye Jinghua…
Many scattered clues connected into a single line in Zhao Baozhu’s mind, and everything suddenly made sense.
