Chapter 126
As soon as Li Jin's carriage arrived, the steward ran out to greet him with a delighted expression. "My respects, Heir Li. His Highness is expecting you inside. Please, come right in."
"Right this way, Your Highness."
The steward immediately gestured respectfully and led Li Jin inside.
Truth be told, the Prince of Qin's mansion had still been under renovation not long ago; everything was in disarray. Ying Yuan himself hadn't wanted Li Jin to see such a scene, which was why he had delayed inviting Li Jin to the mansion until now.
Li Jin was aware of Ying Yuan's little concern, so he didn't point it out.
"Your Highness, His Highness is waiting for you just ahead. This servant has other pressing matters to attend to and will take his leave first." Seeing Ying Yuan not far ahead, the steward found an excuse to depart.
Li Jin nodded. "Mm."
The steward had left, leaving Li Jin standing alone.
Li Jin didn't immediately walk over to meet Ying Yuan. Instead, he thoughtfully surveyed the surroundings of the Prince of Qin's mansion.
Although the mansion in this life still couldn't compare to the residences of other favored princes, it wasn't too bad either. Compared to the Prince of Qin's mansion where Ying Yuan had lived in his previous life, it was countless times better.
"Clearly, Ying Zhengjing had taken Gu Rushuang’s position into account, so he did not allow Ying Yuan—his adopted son—to live in excessively poor conditions. Otherwise, based on the situation from their past life, the place where Ying Yuan had lived was barely presentable on the outside; the interior decoration could not even compare to the residence of an official."
Moreover, the princes who were at odds with Ying Yuan would often come to mock him, which led to the spread of rumors that Ying Yuan was disliked by Ying Zhengjing, and these rumors spread like wildfire.
Perhaps having waited for a while without seeing Li Jin approach, the anxious Ying Yuan walked over himself. Catching Li Jin off guard, he lightly patted his shoulder. "A-Jin, what are you doing standing here?"
Li Jin quickly snapped back to reality. "My apologies. Looking at these beautiful scenes, I got distracted for a moment without realizing."
"You also think it looks nice?"
Hearing this, Ying Yuan looked at Li Jin with eager eyes, a flicker of nervousness flashing within them.
Li Jin raised an eyebrow. "Did you arrange all this yourself, A-Yuan?"
"It wasn't really arranging, just had people mess around with it," Ying Yuan's ears unconsciously turned red.
Actually, Ying Yuan was being humble.
Every flower, blade of grass, rockery, pond, and even the swimming fish in this courtyard were secretly ordered by Ying Yuan to be arranged by craftsmen after he had seen a painting Li Jin once made.
Li Jin suddenly pointed at the fish in the pond. "These are all brocade carp (koi), right?"
Brocade carp have more vibrant colors, while common carp have darker hues; the shape of their tail fins is also different. Furthermore, brocade carp have spirited eyes, giving an intelligent aura at a glance. Li Jin recognized them immediately.
However, raising brocade carp wasn't popular in the capital. Thus, Li Jin quickly guessed that Ying Yuan had referenced his own past painting.
"A-Jin has a good eye."
Seeing that his little secret was still discovered by Li Jin, Ying Yuan simply admitted it openly.
"You..." Li Jin helplessly and gently ruffled Ying Yuan's hair. "You don't have to do everything according to my ideas. This is your own mansion."
"No." Ying Yuan shook his head, enunciating each word clearly. "This is our mansion. Without A-Jin, there would be no me as I am now. Besides, the reason I arranged the mansion according to A-Jin's painting is precisely because I like it."
"Really?"
"Mm."
Seeing the unconcealed fondness in Ying Yuan's eyes, Li Jin instinctively changed the subject. "Alright, let's go sit over there."
"Okay."
Ying Yuan nodded in agreement, inwardly sighing in relief.
Heaven knows, from the moment Li Jin realized the courtyard scenery was identical to that painting, Ying Yuan, though appearing calm and composed on the surface, had been incredibly nervous on the inside, fearing Li Jin might be displeased.
Fortunately, everything was developing in a good direction. Li Jin hadn't gotten angry over this point.
That painting had always been kept in Li Jin's study; he had never shown it to Ying Yuan. Ying Yuan found out about it by chance.
But it was precisely this chance encounter that made Ying Yuan firmly memorize the scene in the painting, never forgetting it. Hence, today's uniquely styled courtyard scenery in the Prince of Qin's mansion came to be.
"A-Jin, try this."
No sooner had they sat down than Ying Yuan poured Li Jin a cup of pale yellow liquid.
Li Jin picked up the cup and took a small sip.
Instantly, a faint, sweet osmanthus scent filled his senses, and a mellow sweetness spread across his tongue.
"This is... osmanthus wine."
"Yes." Ying Yuan nodded. "This wine was secretly buried in the backyard of momo's residence back when you were my study companion. Over the years, its flavor has only gotten better."
[嬷嬷 (mómo): a term for an elderly female servant/nanny, often responsible for raising children in noble households.]
Hearing this, Li Jin couldn't help but be taken aback. "Huh... You still remember what I said when I was little."
"Aren't you the one who remembers? I've kept my word now, right?"
Ying Yuan looked at Li Jin, his face lighting up with a radiant smile.
The raw materials for making this osmanthus wine were actually brought in by Li Jin when they were children. Because Ying Yuan wasn't as cheerful and talked very little back then, Li Jin brought osmanthus flowers to teach Ying Yuan how to make the wine. After making it, he told Ying Yuan to store it well and bring it out to drink on the day he could leave the palace and become a prince.
"Mm, you... are very good."
Looking into Ying Yuan's eyes, Li Jin's gaze held a trace of something unusual that even he hadn't noticed.
Perhaps... In this world, the only one who would remember every word I said like this... is you.
As soon as this thought surfaced, Li Jin froze.
What's wrong with me? Why do I suddenly have such a strange thought?
"I like it when A-Jin says I'm good."
Ying Yuan responded with a smile.
"Ying Yuan only showed a well-behaved side in front of Li Jin; at heart, he was quite a decisive man. For instance, the first batch of servants sent to the Prince of Qin’s mansion had long since been quietly replaced with people Ying Yuan trusted."
Of course, one couldn't blame Ying Yuan for this change. After all, any child who could grow up in the man-eating palace would have some capability; otherwise, they would have long become a pile of bones.
"Back to the main topic." Li Jin looked at Ying Yuan. "A-Yuan, you mentioned in your letter before that you plan to win over the eldest prince?"
"Yes." Ying Yuan nodded, then continued, "After all, I am currently isolated and weak. If I want to change things, the eldest brother, who hasn't allied with any faction, is my best choice now."
Over the past three years, many princes had wanted to win over Ying Zihui. Ying Ziqi alone had used numerous tactics but was still rejected by Ying Zihui.
Although Ying Zihui had lost the possibility of inheriting the throne, the power he still commanded was truly covetable. If any prince could gain Ying Zihui's assistance, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.
[如虎添翼 (rú hǔ tiān yì): lit. like adding wings to a tiger; fig. To make a strong person even more powerful.]
Unfortunately, having gone through the setback of his disability, Ying Zihui's temperament had completely changed. He himself had become like a hard stone; no matter what benefits anyone offered, he never agreed.
But one couldn't blame Ying Zihui for this.
Three years ago, Ying Zihui was the one closest to the throne. If he hadn't injured his leg back then, he would definitely have been a contender for the throne. Furthermore, his nature was proud; how could he be willing to watch other brothers use his power to ascend to the throne?
As time passed, Ying Zihui refused the overtures of all the princes, intending to stay aloof and protect himself, coldly watching to see which prince would finally sit on the throne.
Li Jin shook his head, speaking meaningfully, "We have no advantages. We even witnessed the eldest prince's most humiliating moment."
Ying Zihui was injured in Zhuzhou back then, and they even saw his wretched state after the injury. Therefore, given Ying Zihui's face-loving nature, the likelihood of him helping them was minuscule.
Meeting Li Jin's gaze, Ying Yuan said unhurriedly, "What if we have Batu, the eldest prince and crown prince of Qianluo, in our hands?"
"You're finally willing to mention Batu."
Li Jin sighed silently.
Batu was not only the crown prince of Qianluo but also the one who had injured Ying Zihui's leg. In the three years after injuring Ying Zihui, Ying Yuan had secretly had people monitor Batu's every move.
Moreover, two days before they came to Zhuzhou, the men deployed by Ying Yuan had already captured Batu alive. By now, Batu was probably secretly imprisoned somewhere by Ying Yuan.
Li Jin was aware of this too. After all, Ying Yuan had been by his side all these years; any unusual movement was easy for Li Jin to detect.
However, simply knowing was one thing. Li Jin didn't interfere or question this matter, letting Ying Yuan handle Batu's affairs entirely.
Because Li Jin understood clearly that Ying Yuan was destined to become the emperor. An emperor did not need someone to issue commands on his behalf, but rather a guide to teach him how to rule.
Therefore, regarding the handling of Batu, Li Jin had only mentioned a sentence or two occasionally, nothing more.
Ying Yuan himself was also quite remarkable. These simple reminders from Li Jin made him think of using Batu as bait to win over Ying Zihui.
Actually, Li Jin had guessed Ying Yuan's plan as soon as Batu was captured, but he had been waiting for Ying Yuan to bring it up himself.
"A-Jin already knew long ago."
Ying Yuan playfully blinked at Li Jin.
Li Jin shook his head, amused. "I did know early on, but I wanted to hear you tell me yourself."
"A-Jin, you're like this... I'll get embarrassed."
Ying Yuan seemed to be getting into it, deliberately pretending to be shy and lowering his head, looking exactly like a bashful young bride.
"......"
Li Jin was instantly speechless.
In the previous life, Ying Yuan was quite a proper person. Why is it that in this life, every time he talks to me, he always does something astonishing?
"Alright, enough joking." Ying Yuan brushed aside the previous topic. "Ah Jin, when do you think I should go see the eldest brother? I feel like going now might arouse suspicion from the other princes, increasing the difficulty of successfully winning him over."
Li Jin shook his head, his tone profound. "No. You just need to wait for him to come to you."
"Ah? He'll come to me?"
Ying Yuan looked at Li Jin with a hint of confusion.
Li Jin curved his lips into a smile. "Mm. You just need to have someone spread the news that you know a method to capture Batu alive. The eldest prince will definitely come to you on his own."
No comments:
Post a Comment