Chapter 43
Chapter 43
With both Weiqing Song and Zhiyu Jiang injured, Shengsheng had no choice but to run back and forth between them.
One servant could not attend two invalids. When she continued arriving late day after day, Weiqing sent Jian Zhang to make certain arrangements.
After preparing a meal, Shengsheng went to feed Zhiyu as usual.
She had barely reached the door when she heard unfamiliar voices inside.
Startled, she hurriedly pushed it open.
“Xiaoyu?”
Then she stopped in her tracks.
“Shengsheng? You are back?” Zhiyu smiled happily at the sight of her.
“Miss Jiang, is this pressure comfortable?” asked a young eunuch who was massaging her back.
Zhiyu nodded.
“Miss Jiang, this servant can perform shadow-puppet plays. Would you like to watch?” A young palace maid waved a little puppet to entertain her.
Zhiyu nodded.
“Miss Jiang, this servant made these glutinous rice cakes herself. Do they suit your taste?” Another palace maid held a piece to her lips.
Zhiyu nodded yet again.
Shengsheng stared in silence.
Where had all these people come from?
Seeing her remain by the door, the imperial physician waiting nearby stepped forward to explain.
“Miss Zhou, His Highness sent all these servants to attend Miss Jiang. As you can see, there is no shortage of help here. Perhaps you should return to His Highness instead?”
Shengsheng smiled and nodded.
“Thank you for your trouble.”
She set down the food box and left.
***
“Should you not be delivering food to Miss Jiang at this hour? Why has Xiaohong returned?”
Weiqing reclined on a couch beside the window. He wore a simple green robe, his unbound black hair falling loose to his waist. Without his usual immaculate air of an untouchable gentleman, he looked unusually indolent.
*You know perfectly well why! How can one person have two entirely different faces?*
“This servant was worried Your Highness might be lonely.” She smiled.
Weiqing could not understand how a woman with two faces of her own possessed the nerve to accuse anyone else.
“Prince Shen will visit shortly. Withdraw for now and avoid him.”
*Oh? The blackhearted Crown Prince actually knows how to consider someone else’s feelings? How rare.*
The blackhearted Crown Prince arched an eyebrow.
“Of course, if you wish to remain and reminisce with him, you may.”
Shengsheng certainly did not. She hurried away.
The free time would allow her to take care of something else.
By the time Weicen Song arrived, Weiqing had changed into formal clothes and sat upright upon the couch.
“Third Imperial Brother, please sit. I am injured and could not personally welcome you. I trust you will not take offense?”
Naturally, Weicen could hardly say that he did.
“Where is that palace maid who stays at your side?” he asked after surveying the room.
Weiqing kept his expression still. “She has gone out on an errand. Does Third Imperial Brother require something of her?”
Weicen took a sip of tea and slowly set down his cup.
“Indeed. She gave me quite a surprise. I have yet to return the favor.”
For a moment, Weiqing’s eyes turned cold. He quickly concealed it.
“I see. What brings Third Imperial Brother to me today?”
“I will not waste time circling the matter. I have lost something.” Weicen stared directly at him.
Weiqing’s smile deepened. “Does Third Imperial Brother wish me to help find it?”
“That is not what I mean. The item is extremely important to me. Before it disappeared, only that palace maid of yours had been present. She returned to the Eastern Palace immediately afterward.”
Weiqing’s brows drew together.
“Is Third Imperial Brother accusing my palace maid of theft? You plainly tried to force yourself upon her. Unable to endure the humiliation, she fled back here. Now you intend to turn the accusation against her?”
Their discussion yielded nothing.
At last, Weicen stormed out and slammed the door behind him.
Jian looked bewildered.
“Your Highness, when you first ordered Shengsheng Zhou to do this, did you not intend to make her the scapegoat and hand her to Prince Shen to appease his anger? Why have you changed your mind?”
Weiqing leisurely swirled the tea in his cup.
Only after studying the painted pattern for a long while did he answer.
“I have my own plans.”
***
The fury twisting Weicen Song’s handsome face vanished the moment he left the Eastern Palace.
When he returned to his own residence and pushed open the door, every hair on his body rose at once.
“Who is there?”
A remarkably tall man sat behind the screen, his silhouette calmly lifting a cup of tea.
“Has Your Highness forgotten me already?”
The speaker’s voice was androgynous, ending each phrase with a distinctive lingering cadence.
Weicen relaxed.
“It is you.”
After securing the door, he did not rashly approach the screen. Instead, he remained where he was and spoke to the hidden man from a distance.
“I have already given you the item. When do you intend to honor our agreement?”
Weicen’s expression and voice were more solemn than they had ever been beneath his usual careless facade.
“Are you certain Weiqing Song believes it is genuine?”
“I am. I went to the Eastern Palace and caused a scene only moments ago,” Weicen replied.
“He is cunning beyond his years. Be careful. As for the agreement between us, I have not forgotten it.”
Weicen’s vision blurred.
The man vanished.
Such extraordinary skill.
Once again astonished by the stranger’s strength, Weicen could only feel grateful that the man was not his enemy.
***
Shengsheng had already known that the Zhen Kingdom favored extravagant and elaborate architecture. Even so, the absurd scale of its imperial garden left her stunned.
She had arrived in too much of a hurry during the assassination to see it clearly.
After making inquiries and speculating for some time, she had concluded that Pecky was most likely somewhere in the imperial garden.
Now that she had seen its dazzling excess for herself, she was even more certain. This was exactly the sort of place that vain little bird would adore.
She wandered aimlessly for so long that her legs could barely move, yet she had not covered even half the garden.
Good heavens. Who built a garden this enormous?
Any consort hoping for a romantic chance encounter with the emperor would probably never manage to find him.
Shengsheng was searching for somewhere to rest when she turned and nearly collided with a man.
“My apologies… sir.”
She looked up at the stranger in confusion, then sniffed.
*Why does that scent seem so familiar? Where have I smelled it before?*
The instant the thought formed, the man stepped back and put distance between them.
“Forgive me, my lord. This servant did not notice you behind her.”
She did not know who he was, but a respectful bow could rarely go wrong.
The man was tall and slender. He wore a dark reddish-brown robe, and a golden crown held his long hair high. A strange, pure-black mask of indeterminate material concealed his face.
“What are you doing?” he asked in a low, hoarse voice that revealed nothing of his age.
Shengsheng answered honestly, “I am looking for my bird. He has gone missing.”
“If he has flown away, then he will not return. Even if you find him, he has already forgotten you. What meaning is there in searching?”
Shengsheng remained unruffled.
“Even so, I should at least look. He is my bird, after all. He sleeps too much and is terribly fussy. I am afraid some other beast might bully him out there. At the very least, I need to know whether he is safe and well.”
The man fell silent for a long time.
Shengsheng bowed farewell and walked away, privately thinking what an odd person he was.
After she had gone, the man continued watching her retreating figure.
Then he laughed softly.
“Fool.”