chapter 11

In the depths of winter, the charcoal delivered by the Internal Affairs Office was of poor quality, and when burned, it filled the air with thick smoke.

Yan Ci questioned the eunuch in charge, but the man only dodged the issue with a laugh: “His Highness the Crown Prince is in charge of this matter. Shall I ask on your behalf?”

I remembered that the Crown Prince Yan Qing’s birth mother, Empress Jing, had been poisoned to death by Yan Ci’s Imperial Consort mother.

Yan Ci led me, carrying a food box, to plead with Yan Qing. Yan Qing was holding a hyena on a leash, followed by his page Wen Mu, and with a kick, he knocked over the food box.

Yan Qing laughed loudly: “Such a small piece of fish maw, and you dare try to bribe me with it?”

“Wen Mu.” He sneered, then turned to order his page to assume a horse stance. “If someone crawls through, I might reward you with some good charcoal.”

What luck! Overjoyed, I crawled through Wen Mu’s legs.

“Yan Ci, where did you pick up such a good dog?” Yan Qing winked at him. “The dog has gone through the dog hole-why don’t you crawl through as well?”

Yan Ci’s jaw tightened and his fists clenched, but in the end, he crawled through Wen Mu’s legs.

“Excellent! There’s no better show than this.” Yan Qing clapped and laughed. “Wen Mu, tell the Internal Affairs Office to send good charcoal to Huai Ci Palace!”

After this, Yan Qing developed a taste for it and made a promise: for every time Yan Ci crawled through someone’s legs, he would receive a tael of good charcoal.

Every evening, Yan Qing would leave early with Wen Mu, destination unknown. He was going to torment Yan Ci, of course, and needed to avoid prying eyes.

Yan Ci’s knees were covered in bruises. I applied safflower oil for him and gestured, asking why he didn’t go to complain.

“The first blow is full of spirit, the second weakens, and the third is exhausted,” he said. “If you want to destroy someone, you must strike in one fatal blow-eliminate the root and branch.”