Chapter 101

Chapter 101

The Crown Prince of Great Wei, who refused to play Dian Xia, did not obediently let go. He remained focused on observing the red-eyed imperial physician sulking in his arms.

Xie Yuan had never put this much effort into spotting a weakness in the Helan Tribe's enemy forces.

This imperial physician simply did not follow conventional logic; his behavior and reasoning were often impossible to predict.

If Shen Lian feared the Eldest Prince so much that learning he was Prince Qi would drive him to abandon his official career and flee with his entire family—

So why, when he was in front of Xie Yuan, did he act so high and mighty, so willful and hot-tempered, even daring to threaten suicide?

Xie Yuan slowly furrowed his brow and asked in a low voice, "Do you think I'm still hung up on you?"

Shen Lian felt a pang of guilt at that question and opened his eyes to study the young male concubine.

The young male concubine had to still like him at least a little—otherwise, why would he have asked for his help so many times last night?

Actually, he wanted to ask if Xie Yuan had taken down the Eldest Prince two and a half years earlier than in the original story because he'd been provoked by the humiliation in that letter.

That question basically sounded like, "Did you bust your ass for three months straight just to win the crown prince position for me?"—which was practically begging for a beating. Shen Lian didn't dare ask that of a dragon-pride protagonist with a darkening value of 999.

After all, he didn't truly want to die. He was simply counting on the young male concubine not being tired of this husband-and-wife game yet.

Once he calmed down, Shen Lian realized this wasn't the time for a head-on clash. He needed to lower the darkening value first, and only then might Xie Yuan naturally go back to being his old self.

"I know you hate me now," Shen Lian said softly. "But right now, you're the one who's eager to get that done. If you keep saying things that hurt me, I just can't relax my body enough to take you in."

"No need to worry about that," Xie Yuan said. He'd already gotten all the answers while Shen Lian was asleep. "There are eunuchs trained by the Bureau of Ceremonies in my residence. They've assured me they can open you up—it just takes a little patience, and they won't hurt you."

"Is that really the issue?" Shen Lian argued. "So you don't actually care whether I can accept you emotionally right now? Would a husband who truly loved his wife really not care at all?"

His suddenly raised voice cut through the bedchamber.

Shen Lian's cheeks flushed red. He lowered his head, pulled the too-long sleeve of his sleeping robe up to cover his chest, and pretended to be busy tying the sash at his waist.

He knew he couldn't demand that Xie Yuan go back to how he used to be right now—trust had to be rebuilt.

He was the one who had personally driven a knife into Xie Yuan's vital spot to avoid being expelled by the system.

He should stay patient, nurse his seriously wounded husband like a mature wife, wait for the wound to heal—or even accept that it might never heal.

But he'd been spoiled rotten by the old Dian Xia.

Anything was fine, just—let me know you still love me a little. Sure, you're furious, but there's still a tiny ember of love that hasn't gone out.

Xie Yuan suddenly let go of the young imperial physician, rose from the bed with an imposing air, and paced barefoot beside it a few steps. Still unable to swallow his anger, he stopped, turned his head, and demanded in a low voice, "How dare you? Is that a question a wife who betrayed her husband should be asking?"

The young imperial physician on the bed showed no sign of fear or awe. Instead, he suddenly grabbed a corner of the quilt and covered his face, hiding his hurt, defiant expression from Xie Yuan.

His neatly trimmed nails dug tightly into the quilt. Last night, in the bath, when Xie Yuan had pushed partway inside him, those same nails had dug just as fiercely into his shoulders.

But at that moment, Shen Lian's face had been buried against his chest, his whole body trembling violently, and only after a long while did a sob escape him as his fingers slowly loosened their grip on Xie Yuan's shoulders.

After Shen Lian fell asleep, Xie Yuan kept replaying those brief moments over and over.

Just that tiny bit.

That tiny bit of Shen Lian taking him in.

A fleeting sensation inside.

Tightness. Heat.

Feeling Shen Lian's pliant body convulse in his arms, sobbing.

Xie Yuan's heart had pounded ferociously in that moment, blood rushing to his head, making him dizzy.

In all his nineteen years of life, he had never felt anything so intense.

Even afterward, when Shen Lian had worked with his hands until nearly dawn, it couldn't compare to that one fleeting instant.

Those memories immediately soothed Xie Yuan.

He reached out, slowly lifted a corner of the quilt, and looked at Shen Lian curled up inside like a sulking little kitten.

Swallowing his pride, Xie Yuan conceded: "I do care. Alright? From now on, you can call me Dian Xia while you're satisfying me."

Caught off guard by Xie Yuan's sudden retreat after being provoked, Shen Lian felt a wave of weakness—his feet went numb, his limbs went limp.

The defiance he had just talked himself out of surged back even stronger. He grabbed the quilt and covered his face again, his retort muffled: "I don't believe you. You don't care at all. You're only saying that to make it easier to do that thing."

"Those two things aren't mutually exclusive," Xie Yuan said. "Why does it matter to you why I care? This is what you wanted, isn't it? If you have any wishes, I can grant them. Should I move your father and brother to a new compound?"

"No need. Our little run-down imperial garden is perfectly fine," Shen Lian grumbled. "A bigger house would mean hiring servants to manage it. I took a year of sick leave to avoid you—no salary means I'm just living off my savings. Who can afford that?"

Xie Yuan asked, "So should I be thanking you for your sacrifice?"

Shen Lian burst out laughing through his tears, choked on his own breath, and started coughing.

Xie Yuan bent down, scooped him up in his arms, and sat back on the edge of the bed. Once Shen Lian had caught his breath, he reached over to untie his sleeping robe.

Shen Lian clutched his sash in alarm: "What are you doing now! It's early morning! You last night... you already..."

"It's already noon, Lord Shen," Xie Yuan said calmly. "You'll need to get used to your husband wanting you whenever he wants. But right now, I'm just trying to help you change into clean clothes."

Shen Lian blinked in confusion, then belatedly looked down at his pale yellow sleeping robe.

Last night, he'd spent the entire night using his hands to help his former husband finish.

Near dawn, Xie Yuan had made a mess of him again, but he'd been so sleepy that he'd passed out on the spot.

He'd actually slept curled up in... that, all night.

"I'll change myself!" Shen Lian frantically pressed against his chest, mortified and desperate to get away. "Get out! Get out!"

Xie Yuan was puzzled: "At this point, what's there to be shy about? Try on a few more outfits to see which colors suit you, and get some properly fitted clothes made. Stop wearing your brother's hand-me-downs—your husband doesn't like it."

"Just go out first!" Shen Lian urged.

Xie Yuan thought for a moment, set him back down on the bed, and was about to leave when an urgent report came from outside the door: "Your Highness! Something's happened at the Xing'an River in Ji County! Several hundred villagers have cornered the Ministry of Works craftsmen building the water mill on the riverbank—many of them are smashing the foundation with hoes and iron spades!"

Xie Yuan spun around and was about to step out to question the messenger when Shen Lian grabbed him from the bed.

"What! Construction on the water mill has already started?" Shen Lian asked in surprise and delight. "Why didn't you tell me about such a big project?"

"It's hardly a big project," Xie Yuan replied. "The Ministry of Works estimated the cost at between 5,500 and 11,000 taels. I'd planned to fund it myself and build a trial mill on land near the imperial manor, but His Majesty wanted it to be my first political achievement after entering the Eastern Palace, so it went through official channels—the Ministry of Revenue allocated the funds, and the Ministry of Works oversaw construction."

"Five to ten thousand taels isn't a big project?!" Shen Lian's blood was boiling—after all, it was his own design. "If the results don't fully satisfy His Majesty... will we have to pay compensation?"

This is a colossal sum of ten to twenty million in silver!

Could the designer be held liable too?

Xie Yuan chuckled, pondered for a moment, then said, "Well, certainly. It just so happens that your three thousand taels of private savings were just moved back from Su Ziling's residence, weren't they? That's enough to cover half the damages."

Shen Lian gasped in shock!

He flopped onto the bed, thunderstruck: "How do you know where I stashed my money!"

Even now, Xie Yuan still found it easy to be amused by the venomous physician's fake sweet act. "With so much silver on hand, it's hard to carry around. Since you fled the city with the Su family's merchant caravan, I figured you'd ask Su Ziling to look after your private savings. You should be grateful you didn't entrust them to your other two backup husbands, or you'd be widowed many times over by now."

Shen Lian hugged a pillow, staring at his scary ex-husband in shock: "How do you know I escaped with the Su family's caravan?!"

Xie Yuan shook his head at him with a sigh: "Gee, so hard to guess. Surely the clever Lord Shen could've thought of plenty other ways to get past the checkpoints, huh?"

Shen Lian flopped onto the bed in despair, refusing to accept it: "I don't believe it. You must've tortured someone to track me down."

Xie Yuan confessed to Shen Lian: "No torture needed. I also had a hand in taking down Dehui. Su Ziling regards me as a benefactor. I wanted to know where you were right away, so I lied, saying you were in danger, and asked Su Ziling to help me escape the city too, to rendezvous with Imperial Physician Shen. Su Ziling immediately offered me travel money, but I refused. He said you still had three thousand taels stashed with him, and I could take it as a favor to pass it along to you, his benefactor. Why didn't you tell him you were running away to get away from me? He'd have happily sent me off to catch you."

Shen Lian: "..."

No wonder!

His foolproof escape plan!

All leaked by that little young master of the Su family!

It was all because that sneaky little male concubine was too cunning and wicked.

Never mind, business first.

Shen Lian pushed himself up, hurrying to get off the bed: "Where are my clothes? I can't go out in yours—they're way too big for me."

Xie Yuan: "Why are you going out?"

"Didn't those folks outside say villagers are stirring up trouble?" Shen Lian said anxiously: "I need to see what's happening. After all, I designed that water mill. Now that the court is funding its construction, if something goes wrong, I'll be remembered as a villain for ages!"

"No need to worry about that." Xie Yuan explained: "I've thought of every problem you could possibly imagine. You think I forgot about that hidden weapon disguised as your water mill? I told Father it was a tribute from a mysterious folk artificer. If it truly succeeds, I'll report your name then, and you could likely be promoted straight into the Ministry of Works, holding a rank above the sixth grade."

Shen Lian felt uneasy: "And what if it fails?"

Xie Yuan shot him a glare: "If it fails, I'll take the blame. I originally planned to present it quietly at my own expense, but such a big commotion couldn't be hidden from Father. Now I'm forced to go through official channels. I've barely settled into my role as Crown Prince. If anything goes wrong, I'll fall apart, drown my sorrows in booze, and get dead drunk, and I'll lock that mysterious artificer who presented the tribute in my bedchamber, punishing him day and night without rest."

"Ah! Ah?" Shen Lian stepped back and sat on the bed, clutching the bedpost: "It's that serious? Then... let's hurry and see why the villagers are causing trouble! Where are my own clothes?"

Xie Yuan went out and ordered the eunuch to bring back the shabby clothes that Lord Shen had inherited from his brother.

He turned to ask the Xuanlin Guard who had returned with the report what had happened.

"The river turned red?" Xie Yuan asked: "Were any laborers injured?"

"No!" The subordinate replied: "Your Highness need not worry. The red water doesn't smell like blood either—it's just... a rusty iron smell. Not sure what it is. But the villagers have seized on it as leverage. They've been making a fuss all morning. Zhang Dexiao, the chief steward of the Construction Department in the Ministry of Works, worried about delaying the schedule, has already called on the stationed Xuanlin Guard centurion, bringing fifty armored cavalry to suppress the villagers."

Xie Yuan's pupils contracted sharply: "What? My men were sent to oversee the work—who authorized them to suppress the people?"

The Eastern Palace had just been established. A small failed water project was no big deal, but if it sparked civil unrest, that would be a serious disaster.