Chapter 62: Chapter Sixty-Two It Was a Mask as Thin as a Cicada’s Wing…

Chapter 62: It was a human-skin mask, as thin as a cicada's wing...

When the old emperor summoned him, Wei San had braced himself for trouble, but instead of the emperor, he was met by Chief Eunuch Zhao Fu.

As soon as Zhao Fu saw him, a cheerful smile spread across his face, and he approached respectfully.

He flicked his horsetail whisk onto his arm, bowed slightly, and greeted, "My respects, Secondary Consort Yun."

Wei San promptly feigned a flattered expression and hastily supported Zhao Fu's arm. "Chief Eunuch Zhao, you jest. I am not yet a Secondary Consort. For you to bow to me is too great an honor."

His respectful demeanor pleased Zhao Fu. Considering Wei San's limited mobility, Zhao Fu glanced at the bright sun overhead and suggested, "Secondary Consort Yun, the sun is quite strong out here. Perhaps we should move to the pavilion to discuss matters?"

Not far off was a lotus pond, with a pavilion in its center, perfect for admiring the blossoms.

Wei San immediately understood that the real conversation was about to begin. He nodded in agreement.

A moment later, servants pushed Wei San into the pavilion, with Zhao Fu following close behind. Once both were inside, Zhao Fu, without consulting Wei San, independently instructed the servants, "You may all withdraw."

The servants exchanged uneasy glances, none daring to move.

Zhao Fu was the emperor's favored confidant, whom they dared not offend. Yet, Wei San was a quasi-master of the household and the Virtuous Prince's cherished darling—he, too, was not to be slighted.

The servants looked at him pleadingly. Wei San, understanding their predicament, waved his hand, signaling them to retreat. Only then did the servants leave the pavilion as if granted a great reprieve, though they did not stray far, waiting neatly on the shore, ready to be summoned at any moment.

"Chief Eunuch Zhao, there are no others here now. You specifically dismissed the servants—does His Majesty have a message for me?"

Wei San no longer concealed his thoughts and directly voiced his speculation.

A flicker of surprise crossed Zhao Fu's eyes; he hadn't expected Wei San to be so perceptive. Since Wei San already had an inkling, it saved them the trouble of beating around the bush.

He stated plainly, "His Majesty does indeed have words for this servant to convey to you."

Wei San thought, "Just as I expected," but on the surface, he appeared both apprehensive and subtly hopeful.

"May I inquire what His Majesty wishes to instruct me?"

This time, Zhao Fu's answer was less direct. He smiled meaningfully, vaguely changing the subject.

"Secondary Consort Yun, you must know better than anyone that the Virtuous Prince is deeply favored by His Majesty."

Wei San frowned slightly. "I know."

"Among all the princes, His Majesty holds the Virtuous Prince in the highest regard. In the future, he will certainly not remain merely a minor prince."

Zhao Fu's words conveyed a wealth of information—he was hinting at the emperor's intention to name the Virtuous Prince as heir. Had Wei San not learned of the imperial edict last night, he might well have been deceived.

Feigning ignorance, he slowly let the smile fade from his face. "Chief Eunuch Zhao, why speak of such things to this humble commoner? How could I possibly understand?"

"This servant knows that you understand."

Zhao Fu smiled meaningfully. "The Virtuous Prince is a soaring swan, destined for greatness—it's only a matter of time. As for you..."

He paused, sighed regretfully for Wei San, and advised kindly, "You must understand that male preferences are not the proper path. His Majesty may be open-minded, but what about those stubborn civil officials? How will the world criticize the Virtuous Prince? Even setting all that aside, you are merely an ordinary man, without family background or the ability to bear children to secure your position. How many years can you rely solely on the Virtuous Prince's favor?"

"Once the Virtuous Prince's novelty with you wears off, won't it be a case of only hearing the laughter of the new and not the tears of the old?"

Zhao Fu seemed to be considering Wei San's interests, but in reality, every word was a veiled attack.

Wei San's fingers tightened on the armrests of his wheelchair, the veins on his pale hands bulging.

"Did His Majesty instruct you to say these things to me?"

Zhao Fu: "Precisely."

Wei San clenched his jaw, his voice trembling slightly. "What does His Majesty want me to do?"

Zhao Fu actually quite liked this intelligent and sensible Secondary Consort Yun. If he hadn't been forcibly taken by the Virtuous Prince to become a male favorite and had properly participated in the imperial examinations, he might have become an influential figure in the court in the future.

It was just a pity...

He suppressed that trace of pity and compassion in his heart and slowly said, "Secondary Consort Yun, you are clever enough to have guessed His Majesty's intention. Your family has already been well cared for by His Majesty's orders. You need not worry about any repercussions."

With things put so bluntly, Wei San could no longer pretend not to understand.

The Virtuous Prince needed a Secondary Consort with a compatible fate for the wedding ceremony, to bring good fortune. But afterward, whether the Virtuous Prince recovered or not, there would be no need for a Secondary Consort without status, position, or who wasn't a woman.

In the palace, the unexplained deaths of concubines were common, and the death of a male Secondary Consort was even less unusual.

Wei San suddenly relaxed his grip, as if resigned to his fate, and said dejectedly, "I understand."

Zhao Fu bowed, satisfied. "This servant has delivered the message. His Majesty is waiting for this servant to return, so I will not disturb Secondary Consort Yun further."

Wei San half-lowered his eyelids and remained silent, seemingly still immersed in shock and unable to recover. Zhao Fu sighed quietly, but there was nothing more he could do.

Only when Zhao Fu's figure had faded into the distance did Wei San, still in the lakeside pavilion, drop his false expression.

He wearily pinched the bridge of his nose, covered his increasingly visible belly with his hand, and slowly let out a heavy sigh.

Wei San wasn't surprised that the old emperor had Zhao Fu hint to him to die after the wedding. In fact, he had anticipated this outcome ever since the old emperor bestowed the marriage.

His master was currently lying low, needing the image of having unnatural preferences and being incompetent to serve as a shield, reducing the crown prince and emperor's vigilance against him. The wedding in a few days was merely part of the master's plan. Once the master ascended the throne, it would be time for him, Secondary Consort Yun, to die of illness and exit the stage. Whether the old emperor intervened or not, his tenure as Secondary Consort Yun wouldn't last long.

Wei San saw everything clearly, but the uncontrollable slight pang in his heart briefly plunged him into deep thought.

Why was he... unhappy?

Wei San couldn't figure it out, so he decided not to torment himself. He suppressed these emotions deep down, summoned the servants, and had them push him back to the side chamber.

At this time, the old emperor was surely already in the main hall visiting the master. It wasn't appropriate for him to go.

The old emperor didn't stay long. He called for the court physicians to inquire about the situation and, upon learning that Ruan Xingji claimed he could cure the Virtuous Prince, summoned Ruan Xingji and directly promised, "If you can cure the Seventh Prince, I will appoint you as the Vice Director of the Imperial Medical Institute."

Ruan Xingji repeatedly shook his head. "Your Majesty, this cannot be. This commoner is by nature unrestrained and prefers to be a free cloud and wild crane. Healing the sick and saving lives is the duty of a physician—how can I seek reward for what is my responsibility?"

The old emperor mused, "Then what do you want?"

Ruan Xingji hesitantly thought for a moment but ultimately couldn't come up with anything, so he said, "This commoner has no desires or demands; I truly cannot think of anything at the moment."

The old emperor said, "Then wait until the day the Virtuous Prince recovers. I will grant you one not-unreasonable request."

With that, he stood up and left. Ruan Xingji hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

As soon as the old emperor left, Wei Zheng sat up in bed. He didn't care at all what schemes or intentions the old emperor was plotting; he only cared about what the old emperor had said to Wei San behind his back.

With too many outsiders around during the day, Wei Zheng couldn't move about openly and freely. He could only have someone summon Wei San over.

"What did Father say to you?"

Wei Zheng had a bad feeling about this, and his tone became more urgent when he asked. Seeming to realize his attitude was too pushy, like he was pressuring Wei San, he eased up, patted the space beside him, and gestured for him to sit down and talk.

Wei San didn’t think twice and obediently sat down next to him, their shoulders touching.

Without keeping anything back, Wei San recounted the conversation in the lakeside pavilion one by one. His tone was calm, devoid of any personal emotion, as if he were telling an unimportant, trivial anecdote.

But the more Wei Zheng listened, the darker his expression became. He clenched Wei San’s hand tightly and snorted angrily, "The old emperor is getting older and yet still finds time to meddle in other people’s business. He's even reaching into my inner household."

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He had originally wondered how the old emperor could so readily agree to him marrying Wei San as a Secondary Consort—turns out, he was setting him up here.

On the surface, he placated his son to maintain his image as a good father, but behind the scenes, he was stirring up trouble, subtly hinting that Wei San should willingly die for his reputation and career. Killing two birds with one stone—what a clever scheme.

He reassured Wei San, "Don’t pay attention to what he said. Just wait peacefully for the wedding and just focus on being Secondary Consort Yun."

Even as he spoke, his mind was racing on how to speed up their scheme. The old emperor dared to reach into his backyard because he didn't have enough to do. He needed to give the old emperor something else to worry about, so he’d stop keeping such a close watch on his household.

.

At night, when it was time for the lamps to be extinguished in the palace, Wei Zheng got up and changed into nightclothes. Startled awake, Wei San rubbed his bleary eyes and asked in confusion, "Where are you going, Master?"

As he spoke, he threw off the covers and made to get up and follow, but Wei Zheng quickly stepped forward and pressed him back down.

He said to Wei San, "Rest well. This prince needs to go to the Assassin Camp. I’ll be back within half an hour at most."

It was clear he wasn’t taking him along. Understanding, Wei San pursed his lips, said "Alright," and obediently lay back down.

Wei Zheng loved this obedient side of him the most. After tucking him in, he kissed him without another word and left.

Left behind, Wei San was wide awake. He stared blankly at the canopy above when suddenly, a dull thud pulled his wandering thoughts back to reality.

He turned his head to look—it was the wardrobe, which hadn’t been properly closed and had swung open a crack. The source of the noise was a palm-sized box.

The box was entirely black, unlocked, and had fallen to the ground, splitting open slightly. Wei San hadn’t intended to rummage through Wei Zheng’s wardrobe, but afraid the box might contain something important that would be troublesome to lose, he got up and walked over.

He bent down to pick up the box, and its contents slipped out through the crack.

It was a mask, thin as a cicada’s wing—a human-skin mask, the very thing he had worn on his face almost every day before.