The gate of the courtyard was pushed open in the dim light of dawn, and already, Eunuch Jing stood waiting outside with his attendants.
Watching Cheng Jiao-niang step out punctually, they hurriedly bowed in greeting.
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded slightly and led Ban Qin toward the training ground.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Su Xin was instructing the servant women about the day’s errands. When she saw Eunuch Jing enter, her cheeks flushed faintly.
“Her Highness mentioned that His Highness is still resting and asked us not to disturb him,” she said.
Eunuch Jing nodded with a warm smile.
“How thoughtful of Her Highness,” he replied.
Su Xin curled the corner of her mouth into a slight smile and gestured for a maid to pour tea for Eunuch Jing.
“I’ll go check on the medicinal broth simmering on the stove,” she said. “Her Highness specifically asked to prepare it for His Highness.”
Eunuch Jing looked even more pleased upon hearing this.
“Please do not let me keep you,” he said.
Eunuch Jing stood inside the main hall. The early morning indoors felt fresh and pleasant, and as the wind blew through, a light, jingling sound could be heard.
“Ah, just noticed – it’s a wind chime,” he chuckled softly. “I wonder when it was hung up.”
It hadn’t been there when they prepared the wedding chamber.
Truly like a young lady – fond of adding such delicate touches, he thought. Looking around, the main furnishings remained unchanged, but here and there were little thoughtful additions: an incense burner, a small wooden screen carved with birds and rocks, a zitan wood painting stand…
These little details filled the entire room with a feeling of ease and comfort.
Now this really feels like a home.
Several people were standing solemnly in the hall when sounds came from the inner chamber. Eunuch Jing quickly took a few steps forward and pushed open the door.
A hand emerged from behind the bed curtain, as if tentatively trying to draw it aside.
“Your Highness,” Eunuch Jing called out happily, hurrying over while reaching out to pull the curtain open.
The morning light streamed in, and the man on the couch seemed unable to bear the glare, letting out a soft groan as he turned his head away.
But Eunuch Jing didn’t seem to notice. Instead, with an almost tactless lack of discretion, he kept holding the curtain open, his expression a mix of shock and pity as he gazed at the figure before him.
On the couch, Duke Jin’an lay prone, his upper body bare. This time, the bruises weren’t just on his shoulders – his entire back was covered in dark blue and purple marks. The pinch marks from yesterday on his shoulders hadn’t even faded yet, and now fresh wounds had been added, with faint traces of blood seeping through.
What a pitiable sight…
No wonder a nourishing medicinal broth truly must be prepared to help him recover…
He is in desperate need of serious replenishment.
“I wish to bathe.”
The low voice of Duke Jin’an emerged from beneath the bedding.
Eunuch Jing snapped back to attention and hurriedly acknowledged the order, turning to urge the young eunuchs to make haste.
“…Not too hot – the wounds will sting more if it’s too warm…”
He murmured the instruction as he watched the young attendants rush off, then couldn’t help but frown.
Should he go ask Doctor Li for some ointment?
The palace had plenty of such remedies, but those were typically meant for women –were there any intended for men?
After all, there had never been anyone in this world who dared harm the Emperor like this…
Lost in these wandering thoughts, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he was once again struck speechless.
A figure, bare-chested and wearing only undergarments, was walking slowly, somewhat unsteadily yet step by step on his own, toward the bathing chamber.
“Y-Your Highness…” Eunuch Jing stammered out.
Duke Jin’an paused slightly and glanced back at him, his brow furrowing.
“Must I invite you as well?” he said.
That impatient expression, those displeased words struck Eunuch Jing like a physical blow. His heart seemed to burst with a peng, his entire body going weak, and he thumped to his knees.
“Your Highness!” He prostrated himself, voice choked with emotion. “My Lord, you have finally returned!”
The water had been adjusted to a suitable temperature, but when Duke Jin’an settled into it, he couldn’t help but tense his entire body.
“Does it hurt terribly?” Eunuch Jing said with heartfelt pity, carefully ladling water over his back.
“This pain is not the true pain,” Duke Jin’an replied.
This must have hurt the most when those marks were made, didn’t it?
Eunuch Jing thought inwardly.
So this kind of affair isn’t always about pleasure after all…
As he looked at Duke Jin’an, his gaze grew even more tender, and the motion of ladling and pouring water became gentler and more careful.
Soaking in the warm water, Duke Jin’an gradually relaxed his body. He couldn’t help but take a deep breath, and as he did, he caught the scent in the room – a fragrance that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
Unfamiliar because such a scent had never graced his own living quarters in this princely residence before; familiar because it had lingered around him, subtly present in the air he breathed these past few days.
Duke Jin’an opened his eyes and looked around.
The small bathing chamber was neat and dry. On the clothes rack hung a light overrobe – a woman’s overrobe.
This place was no longer his alone. Now, there was someone else sharing it with him.
“Madam is back.”
The soft voices of women drifted in faintly from outside.
Then came the sound of hurried, scattered footsteps as someone entered the room.
“…The medicinal broth is ready. Would Madam like to take it first…”
Madam!
Duke Jin’an felt his heart accelerate. Unconsciously, he pressed a hand to his chest.
His… Madam!
“Your Highness?” Eunuch Jing asked with some concern. “Are you alright?”
Duke Jin’an let out a long breath.
“I am,” he said. “It’s just… during these past days, I’ve often been in a daze. My memory of what happened is unclear. Tell me everything from the beginning…”
Eunuch Jing hastily acknowledged the order, but before he could begin, Duke Jin’an rose from the bath with a splash of water.
“On second thought, let’s talk outside,” he said, already stepping out.
His body was still weak, and the floor was wet and slippery – why was he in such a hurry? Eunuch Jing quickly moved to support him.
After changing into clean robes and emerging from the bathing chamber, the cheerful chatter in the main hall fell silent.
Through the beaded curtain, Cheng Jiao-niang could be seen looking over, and the maids bowed in greeting one after another. When they realized Duke Jin’an had actually walked out on his own, expressions of surprise appeared on their faces.
Without a word, Duke Jin’an went straight to sit by the window inside the room. Eunuch Jing hurried over and knelt respectfully nearby.
Two maids and the young eunuchs swiftly finished tidying the bathing chamber.
“Madam, you may go freshen up now.”
Only after watching Cheng Jiao-niang enter the bathing chamber did Eunuch Jing suddenly understand.
Having returned from her morning training, it was only natural for her to wash away the sweat.
“Her Highness truly is diligent and never neglects her practice,” he said to Duke Jin’an with a cheerful smile. “Indeed, as they say, the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from enduring bitter cold, and the sharpness of a treasured sword is honed through grinding.”
“Your Highness, the medicinal broth.” Duke Jin’an’s maid approached, presenting the broth.
“This was specially prepared for Your Highness by Her Highness the Princess Consort,” Eunuch Jing quickly added.
Duke Jin’an reached out and took it.
“Now, to the main matter,” he said.
Though his voice still carried a trace of hoarseness, the commanding tone in his speech was fully present.
Eunuch Jing felt a surge of excitement and joy.
“Yes, Your Highness,” he replied.
The maid quietly withdrew, and Eunuch Jing’s low, earnest voice began to fill the room.
Meanwhile, inside the bathing chamber, Ban Qin was speaking with joyful relief.
“Miss, the Duke truly is better now,” she said, gently gathering Cheng Jiao-niang’s hair to keep it from getting wet.
“He wasn’t ill to begin with,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied. After a simple rinse, she stood up.
“So there’s no need for a slow, careful recovery?” Ban Qin asked with a smile, wrapping a white cloth around Cheng Jiao-niang’s body before taking a clean skirt from the clothes rack. “It’s good that he’s better – truly, thank heavens.”
Cheng Jiao-niang reached out to put on the skirt, smiling at Ban Qin’s expression of happiness, as if she had just survived a great ordeal.
“Did you really fear he wouldn’t recover?” she said. “How could that be?”
Ban Qin chuckled softly.
“One death is enough,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, draping an overrobe around herself before stepping out.
One death is enough…
One Cheng Si–lang was enough.
Ban Qin’s smile froze on her face, and sorrow welled up in her eyes.
As Cheng Jiao-niang stepped out, Eunuch Jing’s words trailed off. He promptly bowed to her in greeting.
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded slightly and began to walk past.
“That will be all. I’ve heard enough. You may withdraw,” Duke Jin’an said.
Eunuch Jing was taken aback.
But… but he hadn’t finished yet…
Yet, seeing the expression on the Duke’s face and noticing Cheng Jiao-niang, who had paused nearby, he had no choice but to rise, bow respectfully, and retreat.
“Shall we have the meal now?” Cheng Jiao-niang asked.
Duke Jin’an nodded and set down the tea bowl in his hand.
“Serve the meal,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
The maids waiting outside promptly acknowledged the order.
…
“How come you’re out again?”
Seeing Eunuch Jing, Master Gu asked.
Eunuch Jing tucked his hands into his sleeves and sat down, letting out a long sigh.
That sigh sent a jolt of unease through Master Gu.
“What’s wrong? What happened to His Highness?” he pressed anxiously.
“His Highness… has changed,” Eunuch Jing said with another deep sigh, his face filled with melancholy.
“What? Has his condition taken another turn?” Master Gu asked urgently.
“It’s not his condition that’s changed – it’s His Highness himself,” Eunuch Jing replied, waving a hand dismissively.
Master Gu was taken aback.
“In the past, His Highness always enjoyed listening to me speak,” Eunuch Jing said. “He didn’t like noise or crowds, and he didn’t even care for lengthy discussions with advisors like you. Whenever something happened, whether he was happy or upset, he’d ask me to speak and would listen to me. But now… as soon as Her Highness the Princess Consort appeared, even though I hadn’t finished speaking – even though there were important matters still left unsaid – His Highness just sent me away…”
He sighed again at this point, his tone tinged with grievance.
“His Highness wouldn’t even spare me another glance… acting as if I were in the way…”
Master Gu was momentarily stunned, then scoffed.
A young attendant hurried in from outside.
“Sixth Young Master Zhou has arrived.”
Today was the day for the bride’s return visit to her family home. According to custom, an elder brother from the Cheng family should have come to escort her back, but since there was no one from the Cheng family available, only Zhou Fu had stepped forward to come.
Master Gu promptly told the attendant to show the guest in, then reached out and gave Eunuch Jing a light tap on the shoulder.
“Enough of this moping. Get up – we have a guest to receive,” he said.
Eunuch Jing looked up at him.
“Why should I receive him?” he asked, somewhat confused.
He was merely a servant. When a brother-in-law from the bride’s family visited, his role was simply to announce the guest to the inner quarters – not to personally receive him.
Master Gu offered a faint smile.
“Since you’ve already been acting like a mother-in-law worrying over her son, naturally you should meet the bride’s elder brother too.”
…
“Young Master Zhou, His Highness and Her Highness are still having their meal. The carriage has been prepared. Would you like to step inside and wait?” Master Gu said, bowing respectfully as he addressed the young man standing in the reception hall.
Zhou Fu shook his head.
“I’ll wait here,” he replied. “It shouldn’t be much longer.”
She was always very punctual.
True to his words, just as he finished speaking, a young attendant hurried in from outside.
“His Highness and Her Highness are coming out now.”
See, she’s here.
A faint smile touched Zhou Fu’s lips, but it quickly froze, replaced by a look of astonishment as he stared toward the entrance.
Seeing his expression, Master Gu followed his gaze and was also stunned into silence.
A figure was walking across the courtyard.
At the forefront was not the Princess Consort whom Zhou Fu had been waiting for, but a young man.
The young man wore a crimson brocade robe that shimmered softly in the sunlight. His steps were somewhat slow, yet steady, carrying a dignified bearing reminiscent of a dragon’s stride or a tiger’s pace.
As he drew nearer, his features became clearer. His complexion held a delicate, somewhat frail paleness, and his face was lean, which made his eyes appear even larger and more piercing, bright and full of vitality.
“Y-Your Highness…” Master Gu murmured, unable to resist rubbing his eyes.
Was he seeing things?
No, he wasn’t. When he opened his eyes again, the man was still there – and now he was even closer, stepping up onto the platform and standing beneath the corridor.
“Liu-lang, you’ve come,” Duke Jin’an said, offering a faint smile to Zhou Fu, whose face was etched with shock and disbelief.
