Chapter 30

Chapter 30

After getting off the carriage, Chen Yingchou didn't let Jiang Mo return to the Dawn and Dusk Courtyard at all. He directly took her hand to the main courtyard, where they dined and bathed in his quarters.

He accompanied her during the meal and waited for her to finish bathing.

By the time Chen Yingchou had bathed and changed, it was already the second watch (around 9 PM).

As he walked past the bathing chamber and entered the inner room, he initially intended to call out "Princess," but then fell silent. With a slight smile and raised brows, he softly called out, "Lan'er."

Jiang Mo was truly exhausted. After bathing, she had lain down and fallen asleep. In her drowsiness, she heard someone calling "Lan'er," and thinking she was still dreaming, trapped in the fate of being a substitute, she frowned in displeasure and murmured in response, "I'm not." Even in her dreams, she remained alert. As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately woke up and sat upright with a start.

"Lan'er, what did you say?" Chen Yingchou hadn't caught what Jiang Mo had replied, so he called out again.

Jiang Mo quickly got out of bed and came to Chen Yingchou's side, steadying him. "I said, such a form of address from you, my prince—"

She helped him sit on the edge of the bed. "I'm not quite used to that."

"In front of others, I always address you this way. What's the matter? Do you not like me calling you that?"

Of course she didn't like it, but did she dare say so?

"It's not that I dislike it. It's just that when you suddenly call me that in private, I feel a little flattered and honored."

As Wei Yalan, "Lan'er" was a name she had been accustomed to since childhood. It would only be fitting for Prince Yu to address her thus.

Chen Yingchou curved his lips into a smile and gently pulled Jiang Mo into an embrace. "Lan'er, I will treat you well."

Jiang Mo believed that Prince Yu would keep his word. As his principal consort, even if he took a secondary consort in the future, given his character, he would never mistreat her.

Chen Yingchou took Jiang Mo's hand and placed it over his eyes. "Remove the blindfold for me."

Jiang Mo did not remove the black silk. Instead, she knelt on the bed, cupped Chen Yingchou's face in both hands, and kissed his eyes. Her warm lips pressed against the cool silk, first on the left eye, then on the right.

Only then did Jiang Mo take off the black blindfold.

Chen Yingchou's heart stirred with emotion. Was she feeling sorry for him?

He slowly opened his sightless eyes and turned in the direction where he sensed Jiang Mo was. He wondered if his pupils reflected the woman's face. How he wished he could see her—her features, her expression.

"It will get better. Eyes as beautiful as these will be able to see again." Jiang Mo sincerely hoped so.

Chen Yingchou smiled faintly. "Lan'er, there's no need to comfort me. I've long since let go of that obsession. Being blind also has its way of living."

Jiang Mo carefully studied his eyes. They were clear and pure, with distinct black and white, showing neither scars nor turbidity. They were clearly a pair of very bright eyes. Why had treatment for so long still yielded no results?

She felt somewhat unwilling to accept this. She picked up the candlestick beside her and shone it in front of Chen Yingchou.

"Can't you sense even a little bit of light?"

Chen Yingchou chuckled. "Actually, after returning from Zhuoyang, Imperial Physician Xu treated me for a few days, and I began to feel some sensitivity to strong light. I thought it would gradually improve, but three months later, it's still the same as before."

That feeling of having hope only to slowly sink into disappointment—Chen Yingchou didn't want to experience it again.

Now, he had come to terms with it and could talk lightly about his eye condition.

Jiang Mo put down the candlestick. "Could I ask you for one thing, my prince?"

"Speak."

"Can you promise me that even if the treatment shows no progress, you won't give up?"

Chen Yingchou's heart felt as if pricked by a needle.

Every day, Kunming Palace sent him news: the Emperor's health was not improving, and it seemed he was nearing his end. Except for Director Lin of the Imperial Medical Bureau, the Empress, and himself, only Zhu Shiliang had been informed, and no one else knew.

To outsiders, the Emperor appeared healthy. Chen Yingchou knew that this was merely the effect of the Return to Heaven Pill. The sacred medicine of the Wu tribe, the Return to Heaven Pill, was extremely rare. It was made by soaking thousand-year-old ganoderma, thousand-year-old snow lotus, and thousand-year-old ginseng in the Wu tribe's ice spring for eighty-one days, then taking them out, drying them until soft, and refining them in an alchemy furnace.

Taking one pill could extend life for eighty-one days. He knew that the Emperor had once sent people to search for this pill when his consort mother was critically ill, but by the time they found it, she had already passed away. The Emperor took that very pill some time ago. The Empress told him that the Emperor had obtained another pill two years earlier.

Even that was not enough. Knowing this, he immediately sent people to the Wu tribe. But even if they found the pill, it could only extend the Emperor's life by another eighty-one days.

Because this miraculous medicine could be taken at most three times by one person. Taking more would be useless.

Even if he retrieved the medicine, the Emperor would have at most half a year left. Could his eye condition be cured within half a year?

A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Once a new emperor ascended the throne, he would have to remain blind forever, otherwise he would become a threat to the sovereign.

He could not let Wei Yalan know about these matters. Even today, he could not determine Wei Yalan's stance on Duke Qingguo's corruption case. If things came to a head, whether she would help Duke Qingguo against him, and if Duke Qingguo was demoted by him, whether she could forgive him.

In the earlier salt and iron corruption case, Duke Qingguo had found a scapegoat. The Emperor did not pursue it openly but privately had Chen Yingchou investigate. Salt and iron were the lifeblood of the people's livelihood and key to governing the country, long controlled by Duke Qingguo. His foundation was deep and not easily shaken. Dismantling it required gradual effort.

Before he set out on the campaign, he had already begun gathering evidence, infiltrating his people into the system, and trying to sow discord among the officials in the salt and iron network. Whenever one was removed, he would, without arousing suspicion, replace them with his own people as much as possible. When Duke Qingguo had no more reliable subordinates left, that would be the time to impeach him. This time, he had to strike decisively and not allow Duke Qingguo any chance to catch his breath, as had happened before.

He had even considered marrying Wei Yalan and using her identity to obtain more evidence of Duke Qingguo's corruption, to expose his crimes to the public and have him punished by law.

He never expected that he would go blind, lose the chance to become the crown prince, no longer go to the Flying Cavalry Camp, and stop attending court and participating in politics. All his plans and strategies came to a halt.

Fortunately, this matter had been arranged long ago, and he had not issued any new orders. The people he had deployed were still carrying out their tasks according to the original plan, proceeding in an orderly manner.

These people, from court officials to household servants, had infiltrated not only the salt and iron network but also the circles of Prince Rui, Prince Jing, and even other officials. However, he did not know most of them by name among the many subsidiary branches.

But their names and family backgrounds were recorded in a register. Every so often, Qiao Yun would update it, checking the backgrounds and character of new additions before deciding whether to keep them. For old hands, he would send silver and increase allowances based on family circumstances. If parents were ill, he would hire a physician to treat them. If there were happy events, he would send a congratulatory gift.

He had known since childhood the expectations his parents had for him, and he began preparing early for the throne, making careful and strategic moves.

Chen Yingchou felt melancholy at heart. If the throne was beyond his reach, most of these plans would have to be abandoned. To survive, he would have to remain a blind idle prince forever.

After going blind, he had thought a lot. But his thoughts involved the fates of too many subordinates and followers. Until the very end, he could not bear to shatter their hopes.

Even though Wei Yalan was his wife, he still could not speak these words to her.

At this moment, the only thing he could say was, "Lan'er, I promise you."

He felt the edge of the bed and slowly lay down. "Let's rest."

Perhaps because Chen Yingchou's tone was despondent, Jiang Mo felt that his promise was just a perfunctory response to stop her from persuading him, not sincere.

So she said no more, extinguished the candle, and lay down.

Jiang Mo still remembered what she had said in the carriage. She didn't want to be a person who broke her word, and she also wanted to please Prince Yu. So she couldn't help turning her head to look at him.

But Prince Yu clearly wasn't in that mood. He lay quietly, staring into nothing with his unseeing eyes, lost in thought.

Better not to make a fool of herself, Jiang Mo thought, and closed her eyes.

Just as she was dozing off, she felt a sudden touch on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw Prince Yu turning over in his sleep, accidentally brushing against her.

Prince Yu curled up slightly, his forehead resting against her shoulder, like a child who fell asleep alone, never having felt his mother's arms around him. The blanket behind him was rolled up in his arms, leaving his back exposed.

Jiang Mo worried he might catch cold, so she propped herself up with one hand and used the other to pull the blanket over him.

Chen Yingchou had always been a light sleeper, and having been ambushed during a previous campaign, he instinctively lashed out with a palm strike when he sensed movement.

With a loud bang, Jiang Mo was thrown against the side of the bed, her back hitting it hard and her chest immediately aching.

"Your Highness..."

Chen Yingchou snapped awake, realizing what had happened, and called out anxiously, "Qiao Yun!"

He moved to hold Jiang Mo, but she raised a hand to his chest. "I'm fine, Your Highness. Please don't disturb anyone."

She had been married to Prince Yu for a month now—from avoiding the wedding night consummation, to pretending to be a loving couple in public, to rumors that Prince Yu had gotten back on his feet because he cherished her, and finally to her being punished by the Empress with copying texts.

All of this had provided endless gossip and speculation. If word got out that Prince Yu had injured her, who knew what kind of storm it would stir up.

She didn't want to be the center of attention, nor did she want to be the topic of discussion, and above all, she wanted to avoid too much contact with the Emperor and Empress. She only wanted to live peacefully and quietly through this time as a substitute.

"Don't worry, I won't let the Empress know this time." Chen Yingchou moved forward, intending to channel his inner energy to heal Jiang Mo, but she kept resisting.

"I didn't hold back with that strike. It's better to have Qiao Yun summon Imperial Physician Xu to take a look."

Outside the door were not only Qiao Yun but also Xingchun, Lanqiu, and a courtyard full of eunuchs and maids. Last time, she had taken the initiative to explain to Xingchun that it was a misunderstanding, so Xingchun didn't report it. How was she supposed to explain this time?

Say that she was just trying to cover Prince Yu with a blanket and got hit? Even though that was the truth, who would believe it? Even if Prince Yu explained it himself, it would sound like a lie.

"Your Highness!" Qiao Yun's voice came from the outer room.

Jiang Mo spoke first. "Eunuch Qiao, it's nothing. My earring fell off just now, but I've found it. You can leave now."

Chen Yingchou was about to speak, but Jiang Mo covered his mouth and whispered, "I beg you, Your Highness, don't say anything more."

Qiao Yun withdrew. Ignoring Jiang Mo's resistance, Chen Yingchou pulled her into his arms and used one hand to channel his inner energy to heal her.

Jiang Mo felt the pain in her chest ease. She caught Chen Yingchou's wrist. "Your Highness, that's enough. I'm not in pain anymore."

Chen Yingchou held Jiang Mo tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was ambushed before, and that's why I'm so vigilant."

Jiang Mo smiled. "I know. I don't blame you."

Besides not being able to explain, she didn't want Prince Yu to be seen as strange, nor did she want him to be questioned or suspected because of this.

Hearing her somewhat weak voice, Chen Yingchou's heart ached. He gently stroked Jiang Mo's back, and even though his eyes were dull, his guilt and remorse were plain to see.

"Since childhood, I have always slept alone. Later, when I trained in martial arts and led troops, I had my own tent. I'm not used to having someone else in my bed. Moreover, having been ambushed in the dead of night before, I stay half-awake even during sleep. Three months of slacking at the mansion made me let my guard down, but now that I've returned to the military camp, my body has regained its instinctive wariness."

No wonder back when Prince Yu hadn't returned to the Flying Cavalry Camp, she could lull him to sleep without any trouble, and on the mornings after the two previous times they shared a bed, the space beside her was cold—it was because Prince Yu hadn't stayed the night.

"Tonight is the first time I've wanted someone to keep me company. I never expected that this vigilance would hurt you. I was being greedy."

The first time he wanted someone to stay? Prince Yu's devotion as a husband was genuinely touching.

Chen Yingchou gently guided Jiang Mo's head onto the pillow. "From now on, I'll still go to the Zhaomu Courtyard to accompany you. If you don't want me to leave, I'll wait until you fall asleep and then go."

"No!" Jiang Mo grabbed Chen Yingchou's arm. "We are husband and wife; we should sleep together. I don't want to sleep alone. I want you to stay with me all night."

She hugged Chen Yingchou tightly around the waist. "There's still plenty of time ahead. Are you willing to gradually get used to having me by your side?"