Chapter 15

Chapter 15

He knew, of course, that Wei Yalan did all of this for him—both last night and today, she just wanted him to get a good night's sleep.

She was trying hard to be considerate of him, and was genuinely putting effort into being Princess Yu.

He no longer wanted to ask if she was kind to him because he was Prince Yu, or because of the man he really was.

"Your Highness, I'm glad you like it. It's already past noon, so you must be hungry. Let me serve you lunch."

Chen Yingchou pushed aside the wool blanket covering him. Jiang Mo reached out to help him up, but he brushed her hand away. "Qiao Yun."

Qiao Yun was bewildered. Hadn't his master just said he liked the jasmine scent? Why had he suddenly changed?

Jiang Mo's hand hung mid-air as she stood frozen.

"I still have some matters to attend to today. You don't have to keep me company. Go ahead and sleep first. I'll come to the Dawn and Dusk Courtyard to stay with you when I finish."

This man! One moment he spurned her kindness, the next he said he'd keep her company. He was so unpredictable.

Jiang Mo felt a jumble of emotions. He had brushed off her hand and refused her company because he simply didn't like her.

Yet he said he'd come at night—probably because the spies in the manor hadn't been cleared out yet, and they still needed to keep up the act of being a loving couple.

If they no longer had to act, she wondered how he would treat her.

But since she had promised Imperial Physician Xu, she wouldn't hold it against Chen Yingchou. She would find a way to lift his spirits.

Even if just for the sake of that bright young man in her heart.

"Yes, this humble wife will wait for Your Highness."

After lunch, Jiang Mo first instructed Xingchun not to alert Chen Yingchou and quietly summoned Qiao Yun. She then sent five people to the bird market to pick out some birds with pleasant calls and place them in the Dawn and Dusk Courtyard.

Around midnight, Chen Yingchou entered the Dawn and Dusk Courtyard. Thinking Jiang Mo was already asleep, he instructed Qiao Yun, "Don't announce me. Don't bother the maids here."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the crisp sound of birdsong.

Standing in the courtyard, Jiang Mo was having someone uncover a thrush's cage. After the thrush called seven or eight times, she had it covered again, then uncovered a skylark. After a few calls, she covered it again, then uncovered a nightingale...

After all eight birds had sung, Jiang Mo walked over to Chen Yingchou. "Your Highness, would you care to guess the birds' names?"

Upon hearing the second bird's call, Chen Yingchou knew what Jiang Mo was up to. "You've really put these birds through a lot. They usually sing at dawn, but you must have bought them and kept them covered all afternoon, messing up their routines."

It had been a long time since he'd heard birdsong. Now it sounded so pleasant.

For three months, he had stayed cooped up in his room, forgetting the world outside. He had campaigned many times, passing through countless forests and valleys, camping on many grasslands and hillsides, hearing orioles sing and eagles screech. Now, with so many birds singing in turns, he couldn't help but feel his mind expand.

"Alright, I'll play along. If I guess all correctly, what do I get? And if I get one wrong, what's the penalty?"

Qiao Yun hadn't seen his master in such high spirits in a long time. He felt pleased too, and looked at Jiang Mo gratefully.

"If you get all right, I'll do one thing you ask. If you get one wrong, you lose and have to promise me something. How about that?"

Chen Yingchou chuckled lightly. "So you've been setting a trap for me. What you want me to promise, is it by any chance returning to camp to see the troops or attending court to discuss state affairs?"

Jiang Mo hadn't thought that far ahead. Guessing bird names was a spur-of-the-moment idea, and she hadn't considered what the stakes would be. "Your Highness hasn't even guessed yet. Why should I tell you what I'd ask? If you want to know, why not just give up now and admit defeat?"

She was sure the Prince wouldn't admit defeat, but she also hoped he would. She feared that if he won, he would ask something she couldn't, shouldn't, or dared not do—after all, she was just a stand-in.

"The first one is a thrush," Chen Yingchou began guessing at once, showing he wouldn't back down. "The second is a skylark, the third a nightingale, the fourth a canary, the fifth a robin, the sixth a koel, the seventh a sparrow, and the eighth a golden-fronted leafbird."

Jiang Mo was astonished. These birds came from all over—how did he know them all?

"Your Highness guessed them all correctly. Whatever you ask of me, please say it."

Chen Yingchou used his hearing to walk to the thrush's cage, resting his hand on the cage frame. "Qiao Yun, all of you, leave."

The courtyard was empty. The birds, still under their covers, were silent—a stark contrast to the earlier liveliness.

"Wei Yalan, from now on, you don't need to do these things to please me. That's what I want you to promise. I know you have good intentions, and I know you genuinely want to be a good Princess Yu. That's why I didn't refuse your gestures today. But today is also the last time we'll play the loving couple in the manor."

Chen Yingchou's fingers toyed with the black cage cover beside him. "This afternoon, I had He Ji investigate. Based on the principle of 'rather wrongly accuse a thousand than let one guilty go,' I expelled all suspicious persons from the manor. From now on, in the manor, we each keep to ourselves. Except for the two most fertile days every month, we don't need to see each other on ordinary days."

Jiang Mo stood frozen. Earlier, she had wondered how he would treat her if they no longer had to act. So this was how.

Even though Imperial Physician Xu had said that Prince Yu didn't mean some of the things he said, this was still too insulting.

He had extinguished her enthusiasm and wasted her efforts. Even acknowledging her good intentions was just his way of saying everything she did was futile. In the end, he left her with "each keeps to himself" and "no need to see each other," making her back down.

Not only that, but he also promised her two days of intimacy each month, making her feel like nothing but a baby-making tool. She might not hold a grudge against a sick man, but that didn't mean she wouldn't speak up for herself.

"Does Your Highness see me as a lawful wife or a tool for bearing children? Twice a month—is that to satisfy your own desires or to throw me a bone? Your Highness doesn't need to force yourself so much."

Chen Yingchou's lips twitched, and his fingers on the cage cover involuntarily tightened. "If the Princess were more effective and got pregnant sooner, I wouldn't have to force myself."

Jiang Mo had originally planned to avoid mentioning that battle or the people involved, slowly guiding and soothing Chen Yingchou's mood. But now, anger made her speak recklessly. "Since Your Highness dislikes me so much and doesn't want to see me, why not just stay every night at the Flying Cavalry Camp? I genuinely hope Your Highness returns to camp. If the Emperor and Empress see you revitalized, they'll be so happy they'll stop pressuring you about heirs. If Your Highness doesn't want to see me, how do you know I want to see you? When your one-year agreement with my father expires, you can take a Secondary Consort to your liking to bear your heirs. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Chen Yingchou took a step back from the cage. "You don't have to provoke me. It's late. Go rest." Then he turned. "Qiao Yun."

Jiang Mo was stunned. How could he think that? She hadn't meant to provoke him. She knew how much the Flying Cavalry Camp meant to him, how much he wanted to return and yet dared not. The camp was a thorn in his heart. She had intended to use that thorn to make him hurt and angry, but he thought she was just goading him.

Qiao Yun entered the courtyard, sensing the tense atmosphere. He looked at Jiang Mo, hoping to find the reason in her eyes, but Jiang Mo didn't look at him.

"Help me back to the main courtyard." Chen Yingchou extended his hand to Qiao Yun.

Qiao Yun was completely deflated. He couldn't understand—the Princess had done things that clearly moved his master, so why was he pushing her away again?

As Jiang Mo watched Chen Yingchou leave, she thought to herself: A stubborn, cold, and hard rock. If it weren't for his past achievements, she wouldn't endure this humiliation. She would have stopped him right there and said even worse things to tick him off.

The next moment, Jiang Mo was startled by her own thought. Had she gotten too deep into her role and forgotten she was only a stand-in? How dare she provoke the Prince? Had she forgotten that when she first entered the manor, all she wanted was for them to keep to themselves?

It must be the admiration she had for him before, mixed with pity now.

"Xingchun, Lanqiu, I want to bathe."

Tonight, she didn't need to massage anyone's acupoints or hum any tunes for anyone. She would definitely sleep well.

After coming to this realization, Jiang Mo didn't go to see the Prince for over ten days and slept soundly every night.

But Chen Yingchou never had a good sleep again.

Awakening from another nightmare, drenched in cold sweat, he sat on the edge of the bed, hands braced on the frame, unmoving for a long time.

In the dark silence, the familiar tune resurfaced in his mind. He opened his mouth, trying to hum the melody Jiang Mo had hummed for him.

The first note came out hoarse and abrupt. He paused a long time before the second note came. After humming two lines, he stopped again.

When he resumed humming, a quarter of an hour had passed.

This time, the soft, steady humming went on for half an hour before stopping.

Chen Yingchou lay back down, wanting to touch his closed eyes with his hand. He touched and withdrew, then touched and withdrew again.

Tears welled up in his eyes, but in the end, he dared not raise his hand.

It was broad daylight, yet there was still no sound from Chen Yingchou's room. Qiao Yun couldn't help but worry, afraid that something had happened—whether he was ill or had shut himself in again. But since it was still early, he dared not disturb him.

By the hour of the Dragon (7-9 AM), Qiao Yun could wait no longer. He knocked on the door and called out, "Your Highness, Your Highness."

No one answered from the room. Qiao Yun, throwing caution to the wind, pushed open the door and strode swiftly into the inner chamber. The room was empty; no one was there.

Qiao Yun shouted, "Where has the Prince gone?"

The two young eunuchs who followed him in were the ones who had kept the night watch last night.

One eunuch replied tremblingly, "No, we didn't see His Highness leave the room."

Qiao Yun started panicking. His master was highly skilled in martial arts; it would be too easy for him to evade two young eunuchs. He hurried out of the room, his voice lingering in the air: "Quick, tell He Ji to have everyone search!"

The Prince Yu's estate quickly descended into chaos. Qiao Yun and He Ji searched every place in the mansion except the Morning-Dusk Courtyard, but found nothing.

He Ji asked, "Should we inform the Princess?"

Qiao Yun said, "No need. Telling the Princess would be pointless. It would also alert Xingchun and the other three, and if they report it to the Empress Dowager, the matter would become serious."

He Ji insisted, "With the Prince absent, the mistress of the mansion is the Princess. We should still inform her."

Qiao Yun's expression was complicated. "The Prince is not the kind of person to vanish without a word. He should be back soon. Let's wait a little longer. Besides, I feel that..."

He Ji, anxious and impatient, cut Qiao Yun off, "Stop your blathering—what if something really happens to the Prince? Even if we incur the Empress Dowager's punishment, we must inform the Princess as soon as possible. Perhaps the Princess knows where the Prince has gone."

At first, He Ji had not regarded Jiang Mo as the mistress of the Prince Yu's residence. He had only seen her as a precious decoration that his master had been forced to marry, to be kept carefully without mishap. But in recent days, he had seen that Jiang Mo was genuinely kind to his master and sensed that his master did not reject her. If his master accepted her as his rightful wife, then he would naturally treat her as the lady of the house.