Chapter 47: The Alliance.

Chapter 47: Truce.

Prince Duan clamped down on Huo Ling’s wrist, causing her to flinch and close her eyes briefly.

"Your Highness, you're hurting my lady," Wu Mo spoke up, held back by his guards. She hoped to bring him to his senses.

Startled, Prince Duan instinctively loosened his grip, his eyes darting to the butter-yellow hair ribbon on Huo Ling's wrist. The black feather at its end fluttered in the air. He stared at it for a moment before letting out a mirthless laugh. "A Ling, can’t we even talk civilly anymore?"

His softened tone prompted Huo Ling to respond more gently as well. "Your Highness, the moment I return to my residence, you come at me like I’m on trial. Is this how you propose we sit down and talk?"

Prince Duan fell silent, then let go, shoulders slumping.

Truthfully, before coming to see Huo Ling, Prince Duan had steeled himself for this encounter. But those preparations had worn thin over the three long hours he spent waiting.

Just as she had said, she hadn’t been in the capital long and had only a few places she could go. The royal procession had just returned to the city, and everyone was itching to get home. The carriages from the other two residences in the same alley—whose occupants had also accompanied the emperor to the Yulin Hunting Palace—had long since returned. Only Huo Ling was missing in action.

He knew exactly where she had been.

Rage and jealousy ate at him, and when he saw her bright, careless smile as she stepped out of the carriage, he’d lost it completely, lashing out recklessly.

Only now, at Wu Mo’s sharp protest, did his rationality begin to return.

Prince Duan lowered his head. After a long pause, he suddenly asked, "I heard your horse was startled at the training grounds. How’s the injury?"

Huo Ling replied, "Almost back to normal."

Prince Duan pressed further, "Did He Tai have something to do with it?"

The question made sense to Huo Ling, though it seemed abrupt on the surface.

It was because of He Tai—but not solely because of him.

Still, the thoughts in her heart were not something she needed to dissect for Prince Duan. Instead, she countered, "Does Your Highness now understand why I wouldn’t drop it with He Tai?"

Prince Duan was momentarily speechless, suddenly recalling the question he had once posed to her.

—He had asked why she could spare Li Yichun, who had nearly caused her father’s death, yet refused to spare He Tai.

After the incident at the training grounds, the answer had become clear.

Li Yichun could reconcile with her, but between He Tai and her, this was kill or be killed.

"To avenge you, His Majesty stripped He Tai of his rank and had him temporarily imprisoned. But that’s as far as he can go, isn’t it?"

"The He family won’t stand by and watch He Tai die, and the court officials won’t allow His Majesty to order his execution. What he could do, I’ve also done, haven’t I…?"

Huo Ling had no intention of provoking Prince Duan further, yet she couldn’t hold back. "What His Majesty can do and what Your Highness can do are naturally different."

Rather than angering him, her words seemed to give Prince Duan a foothold. "So you only care that he’s emperor, is that it?"

Huo Ling studied Prince Duan before her.

Perhaps it was because she had recently heard Emperor Jingyuan speak often of his youth, but now, looking at Prince Duan, she finally understood why he always seemed to...

He was somewhat naive.

By the time he was three or four years old, the position of crown prince had already been decided. When he began his education, Emperor Jingyuan had already ascended the throne.

If one simply regarded Prince Duan as a privileged, carefree prince, many of his thoughts would not be hard to understand. He was privileged enough to remain naive.

Apart from missing out on the throne, Prince Duan's life over the past twenty years could be described as completely smooth sailing.

Even when he dismissed He Tai from his post and banished him from Yanxi, he felt no concern—because deep down, he knew He Tai wouldn’t dare seek revenge.

Perhaps he had never encountered something he couldn’t obtain or someone he couldn’t have.

Such consistent good fortune made it impossible for him to understand her concerns and caused him to vacillate between her and the Princess Consort of Duan.

Emperor Jingyuan was different from Prince Duan.

He wouldn’t care about what she valued most. Because he was a supremely confident man.

Just as she had asked Prince Duan: if she didn’t possess such beauty, would he have paused his journey outside Yong'an County and fallen for her?

Such what-ifs were pointless.

Since she had this advantage, she ought to leverage it fully.

After all, wasn’t the identity of a prince also Prince Duan’s advantage?

She shared a childhood connection with Fang Jianbai, yet Prince Duan had always been confident in front of Fang Jianbai, never seeing him as a threat.

Now, in the presence of Emperor Jingyuan, he was no threat whatsoever.

"I'm feeling tired."

Huo Ling replied calmly, "When Your Highness can start examining your own faults instead of solely blaming me, then we can sit down and have a proper conversation."

"Wait."

This time, Prince Duan didn’t reach out to grab Huo Ling but simply called after her: "Tomorrow morning, I will visit you again."

Huo Ling thought for a moment and realized that if she refused, Prince Duan would probably just keep standing there. "Very well."

With that, Huo Ling crossed the threshold.

Wu Mo glared fiercely at the Royal Guard who had blocked her, then slipped past him to catch up.

Wu Feng also hurriedly leaped over the threshold, glanced at Prince Duan and the group of Royal Guards standing motionless outside, and slammed the gate shut, leaving no chance for Prince Duan to reconsider.

***

Huo Ling walked through the moonlit courtyard, hearing the hurried footsteps behind her, and slowed her pace slightly.

Only when Wu Mo caught up did Huo Ling return to her normal pace.

Neither mentioned Prince Duan. Back in the room, Huo Ling retrieved a jade box and carefully placed the dragon-patterned jade pendant from her robes inside.

Earlier in the carriage, Wu Mo had only seen the scroll and not the pendant. Now spotting it, she gave a soft gasp of surprise.

"Was this also a gift from His Majesty?"

Huo Ling smiled. "Yes."

Wu Mo said, "I remember Prince Duan once gave you a deer-shaped jade pendant. Shall we dig it out and return it to him tomorrow?"

Huo Ling cradled the box, wondering where to put it.

Upon hearing Wu Mo's words, Huo Ling replied casually, "No need to give it back."

"Prince Duan’s probably forgotten all about that jade pendant by now. We’ll hold onto it—might be useful later."

Though confused, Wu Mo nodded obediently.

After putting away the box, the kitchen sent over hot water. Huo Ling bathed and woke up the next morning to daylight.

Right after she got ready, she heard that Prince Duan had arrived.

"So eager?" Wu Mo whispered. "Was he up all night stewing?"

Huo Ling smiled at her. "If he’s in such a hurry, it’s definitely not just about some love spat."

Wu Mo asked curiously, "How do you know, miss?"

As they walked toward the hall together, Huo Ling explained, "Because the eldest son will be staying at the prince’s residence these few days."

"Prince Duan might come to me once for matters of the heart, but Princess Consort of Duan wouldn’t stand by and let him visit me a second time early in the morning for the same reason."

Huo Ling mused that if she hadn’t stayed at the palace too long the previous day and only returned to the estate after nightfall, Prince Duan would have gotten everything off his chest at once instead of splitting it into two visits, unwittingly giving her plenty of time to think and react.

Sure enough, when Huo Ling sat before Prince Duan, he immediately glanced at Wu Mo behind her. "Send your maid away."

Huo Ling nodded, and Wu Mo obediently withdrew.

"Say what you came to say."

Prince Duan held his teacup, silent for a moment before speaking in a hoarse voice, "Last night, I wasn’t myself."

"I learned what happened at the training grounds over ten days ago. The princess consort told me you were certain to enter the palace, but I refused to believe it. We once shared so many beautiful moments—it hasn’t even been three months, yet why has everything become unrecognizable?"

"I wanted to ask you for clarity, to demand an explanation. For over ten days, I haven’t slept well a single night."

He let out a bitter laugh, his narrow phoenix eyes bloodshot with dark circles beneath them—clear signs of exhaustion.

"Finally, when I heard you had returned to the capital, I rushed to the Commandery Lady’s residence at once. But after waiting and waiting, all I met was more heartache."

"A Ling, this is too cruel for me. I just couldn’t help myself."

Huo Ling didn’t respond, merely listening quietly.

Prince Duan took a deep breath and continued, "Last night, you told me to reflect on my own faults. I sat in the study all night, thinking, listening to Snowgoose’s cries all night."

"The matter with He Tai was the first time I let you down; agreeing to accompany you to the royal hunting grounds but failing to do so was the second."

"Entering the capital with you yet failing to protect you—that was my biggest failure. You can blame me, resent me, hate me—I’ll accept it all. But I can’t bear to see you throw away your happiness just to get back at me."

Huo Ling finally spoke. "In Your Highness’s eyes, entering the palace is throwing away my happiness?"

Seeing her react at last, Prince Duan suppressed his anguish. "I know His Majesty’s temperament all too well. Once you enter the palace, you’ll have no seniority, no heirs, no distinguished background. Even if you gain momentary favor, how long will that really last?"

"A Ling, maybe at first, entering the palace might seem like a good idea. But as time passes, have you..."

He lowered his voice to a whisper. "...thought about the future?"

Huo Ling pressed her lips together. "What are you trying to say, Your Highness?"

Prince Duan, however, refused to elaborate further, only saying, "Ling, no matter what, you'll need people to rely on in the palace."

"I let you down before, but that won't happen again. If you ever need anything, you can always come to me. Even if I can't enter the palace myself, there's still Ji Yuanwan."

Huo Ling thought with bitter amusement—so this was Prince Duan's real game.

Realizing he couldn't stop her from entering the palace, he now sought an alliance with her.

There were indeed many conflicts between her, the Princess Consort of Duan, and the Duke of Liu's household. But most of these conflicts arose because she was to become Prince Duan's concubine.

Now that she wasn't joining Prince Duan's household, there was no direct conflict between her and the Princess Consort of Duan or the Duke of Liu's family.

On the contrary, there remained history between her and Prince Duan.

If handled well, they wouldn't need to guard against her harming Ji Yuanwan—instead, she could become his ally.

Having a favored consort in the palace speak for Ji Yuanwan would benefit him with nothing to lose.

But what benefit would she gain from this?

Likely, it was the "future" Prince Duan had mentioned.

One had to admit, whoever came up with this idea was shrewd. If she were merely a consort in the palace—even the emperor's favorite consort—she might have been tempted by this proposal.

With sufficient benefits at stake, former enemies could indeed bury the hatchet.

But...

She wasn't.

Huo Ling slowly raised her eyes and coldly asked Prince Duan, "Is this Your Highness' idea alone, or is it shared with the Princess Consort?"

Hesitating briefly, Huo Ling's mind flashed with a name: "Or does this bear the Duke of Liu's fingerprints?"