Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“Beauty Feng?” Gao Zhen asked.

“Mm.”

“Speaking of which, if she hadn’t clung to my leg, she might not have been beaten.” Just as Gao Zhen felt a pang of guilt, the Ninth Prince said, “What’s it to you? If you hadn’t run faster than her, you would have been the one beaten. It was a random event—don’t dwell on it.”

Gao Zhen was speechless.

Who defends someone so shamelessly? But he liked hearing it.

He bounced along behind the Ninth Prince, his guilt instantly gone. But then he wondered: “What if she recognizes me as the one who caused her to get beaten that day?”

“She won’t. She only grabs people’s legs when she has one of her fits, like sleepwalking. Once she comes to, she won’t remember anything.”

Gao Zhen felt relieved but also sad. The people in the Cold Palace were not in a good mental state—all of them had been deeply hurt. Of course, some were harmed by others, while some had brought it upon themselves.

…

Beauty Feng’s residence was in the alley directly opposite that ‘corner.’ The entire alley was extremely quiet, with three courtyards in total. The other two households had no doors left; the only one with a door was Beauty Feng’s place.

The Ninth Prince didn’t announce himself and pushed the door open directly.

Gao Zhen frowned. The courtyard was far too cramped—not even a fifth the size of theirs. There was an osmanthus tree in the yard, its bare branches splaying chaotically, the canopy blocking out the sky. The window paper had long since rotted away, patched with rags to block the wind. The window was tightly shut, making it impossible to see inside.

“Should we announce ourselves?” Gao Zhen whispered to the Ninth Prince.

“You do it,” the Ninth Prince said.

Gao Zhen called, “Beauty Feng, are you there? We’ve come to see you.”

“Who’s come to see me? Is it His Majesty?” A slightly hoarse voice came from inside the room. Immediately after, the door was pushed open, and a woman with a bruised face, leaning on a wooden stick, limped to the doorway. The moment she saw Gao Zhen, she let out a sharp cry and shouted, “Thief! You’re a thief!”

“I’m not, I—”

“He’s mine,” the Ninth Prince said calmly. Dropping a hand on Gao Zhen’s shoulder, he tugged him to his side and asked, “Have you eaten these past couple of days?”

“Qin Laojiu just brought me half a bowl of rice.” After saying this, Beauty Feng grumbled under her breath, “Why is it that when I shouted ‘thief,’ no one rushed in to beat him?”

“He’s not a thief,” the Ninth Prince said.

Beauty Feng chatted cheerfully with the Ninth Prince while sizing up Gao Zhen from head to toe. “Tsk, tsk,” she said, “So foxy. You’ve got terrible taste.”

“My taste is excellent,” the Ninth Prince calmly retorted.

Gao Zhen seethed. How was he foxy? Where was he foxy? He was clearly quite plain.

Just as he was about to fire back, Beauty Feng suddenly laughed.

She limped over the threshold, propped herself against the doorframe, and sat down. “I heard from Qin Laojiu that that venomous hag had one of her eyes gouged out. If she dies now, you’ll finally have some true peace and quiet.”

Gao Zhen: ?

He looked at the Ninth Prince with confusion. The Ninth Prince said, “This is the Cold Palace. She’s no longer the Empress. No one will listen to her, and I certainly won’t let her manipulate me.”

“You’re still young, after all. You haven’t witnessed the tricks of those in power in the Inner Court. You should be cautious in everything. But,” Beauty Feng smiled, her wrinkles deepening, “since she’s had this accident, you’ll finally be able to live peacefully for a while. Don’t worry about me—kicking the bucket might even be a blessing—”

“Here.”

The Ninth Prince took two salted duck eggs from his pocket and shoved them into Beauty Feng’s hands.

Beauty Feng was stunned and quickly lowered her voice. “Where did these come from?”

“My mother gave them to me,” the Ninth Prince said, then stood up, pulling Gao Zhen along as he walked out without looking back. “Keep them for yourself. I’m leaving now.”

“Eh?”

Beauty Feng looked bewildered, as if she had much more to say. Unfortunately, the Ninth Prince left too quickly, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

“You little rascal!”

She could only curse regretfully but held the two salted duck eggs carefully, smiling as she went back inside.

…

After leaving Beauty Feng’s place, Gao Zhen’s head was swirling with questions, but seeing that the Ninth Prince didn’t seem inclined to talk, he held back. Gao Zhen knew that the Ninth Prince’s past was filled with brutal, blood-soaked history. He wasn’t confident he could stomach hearing the details.

Even if the Ninth Prince didn’t say anything, Gao Zhen could piece together a rough outline from the fragments of conversation: the fallen Empress had once schemed against the Ninth Prince. Not only had Beauty Feng disapproved, but even Qin Laojiu seemed to feel the same. Gao Zhen even suspected that everyone in the Cold Palace knew about it. Otherwise, why would no one come to the fallen Empress’s aid after she lost an eye, and why would everyone avoid her?

No wonder the Ninth Prince told him not to bother with her—she had schemed against the Ninth Prince himself.

It made his blood boil.

Gao Zhen took a deep breath to suppress the urge to curse.

A moment later, however, Gao Zhen took another deep breath, his cheeks puffing up like a blowfish. He still wanted to curse—the anger pent up inside him was unbearable!

“What’s wrong?” The Ninth Prince’s voice carried barely concealed laughter as he flicked Gao Zhen’s puffed cheek.

Gao Zhen looked up in surprise, meeting a pair of eyes full of laughter. Those eyes were bright, twinkling like the night sky. Gao Zhen felt that if he kept looking, he’d be sucked right in, so he quickly averted his gaze. “You’re in a good mood, Your Highness?”

“Yes,” the Ninth Prince admitted freely, adding, “I just saw a fluffy white gosling puffing up its cheeks.”

Gao Zhen: …

Great, now I’m not even a chicken—now it’s a goose. And it hasn’t even hatched yet, and you’re already thinking about it. You and those eggs really are meant to be.

Seeing Gao Zhen lower his head in silence, the Ninth Prince didn’t say more, simply holding his hand as they walked slowly back to their residence. Their alley was deep, with twelve doors. The Ninth Prince’s courtyard was the second from the end, while the innermost door was locked.

At this hour, the area opposite was empty as well.

Today, Imperial Concubine Hong hadn’t come to ask for food. After entering the courtyard, the Ninth Prince casually slid the door bolt shut.

“Locking the door this early?” Gao Zhen was surprised.

“Need to make something. Don’t want anyone to see,” the Ninth Prince said frankly.

“Make what?” Gao Zhen asked.

“A ladder,” the Ninth Prince said, pointing to the wood outside the west wing. Then, looking at Gao Zhen, he added, “The bed I promised you might have to wait. For now, you can stay in the north room. Is that alright?”

Gao Zhen nodded. “Whatever you say, Your Highness.”

“Mm.”

After that, the Ninth Prince gathered his tools from the east room and began banging away in the courtyard.

Gao Zhen stayed by his side, assisting him.

However, Gao Zhen soon noticed that the Ninth Prince didn’t seem to intend for him to touch the wood. Every time his hand reached toward the wood, the Ninth Prince would immediately say, “A Zhen, I’m thirsty.”

So Gao Zhen went to the eastern room to scoop a bowl of water.

The first time Gao Zhen handed over the bowl, the Ninth Prince didn’t take it. Instead, he lowered his eyelids and drank from the bowl in Gao Zhen’s hand. The second time Gao Zhen brought out water, the Ninth Prince, from his half-crouch, tilted his head up and fixed his eyes on Gao Zhen, waiting for him to bring the water to his lips. Whether intentional or not, even while drinking, water somehow spilled. Gao Zhen watched as it trickled down the Ninth Prince’s chin, into his neck, gliding over the prominent Adam’s apple, and seeping into his collar.

Gao Zhen knew that beneath that collar lay a chest without flesh, only protruding ribs.

“Your Highness, drink slowly,” he couldn’t help but advise.

“It’s fine. Don’t touch the wood, be careful of splinters.”

“Alright.”

Gao Zhen set down the bowl and went to the northern room. The Ninth Prince fretted over every little thing about him but never seemed to care for himself. As Gao Zhen tore the bedsheet, he thought, ‘Since you don’t know how to take care of yourself, let me do it for you.’

He remembered the Ninth Prince mentioning he could mend clothes for him, which meant there should be needle and thread here. So, he opened the wardrobe door and, unsurprisingly, found a wooden box containing a sewing kit. At the same time, he was startled by the neatly stacked old books on the top shelf.

The Ninth Prince even reads books—how nice.

Gao Zhen took the wooden box, which held not only needle and thread but also an old pair of scissors.

These past two days, Gao Zhen had held the Ninth Prince’s hands many times. He could now measure how much bigger those hands were than his own even with his eyes closed, and he remembered every scar and mark on them clearly.

Using the measurements he remembered, he quickly made two pairs of gloves—one for himself and one for the Ninth Prince.

The sun was beginning to set.

The gray bedsheet had its hem torn off by Gao Zhen, and now, wearing gray gloves, he approached the Ninth Prince. “Your Highness, put these on too.”

Under the Ninth Prince’s slightly surprised gaze, Gao Zhen firmly took his hand and slipped the glove onto it. It fit perfectly.

“I worried it might not be thick enough, so I used three layers of cloth.”

“Where did you find the cloth?” The Ninth Prince’s eyes gradually filled with amusement.

“I tore the bedsheet. I ask Your Highness to forgive me.” Though his words asked for pardon, his attitude was quite defiant.

“Hah.”

The Ninth Prince laughed, but Gao Zhen was stunned. He felt that the Ninth Prince’s smile was dazzling, even brighter than the sun in the sky.

“Your Highness,” Gao Zhen lowered his head and began picking up wood, “when you smile…”

“Did it scare you?”

“No. It’s very beautiful.”

—His gaze was captivating.

After speaking, Gao Zhen didn’t look up, for his heart was pounding violently, like he was falling. Because of this, he didn’t notice Zhou Yunning’s gaze growing increasingly profound as he watched him.