Chapter 124

Chapter 124: The Prince Consort and the Stand-in Favorite

Under Yu Zhi Yi’s puzzled gaze, a flamboyant man tossed her a flirtatious wink, then quickened his pace. As he moved, a cloud of heavy perfume rushed over; Yu Zhi Yi almost gagged. She always kept her Protective Barrier active, but it only blocked harm, not foul scents. Unless she prepared for it ahead of time, smells slipped through. She had not expected this today, so she could not hold her breath in advance. She sprang sideways the instant he lunged, landing several meters away, and asked: “Who are you?”

The man grabbed at empty air, then winked again and said: “You are so capable; can’t you figure it out?”

A vein throbbed at Yu Zhi Yi’s temple as she answered: “I never waste time or energy on people who don’t matter.”

The man’s face suddenly changed. His eyes sharpened as he barked: “Insolence! Do you know who I am? How dare you behave improperly!”

[What?!] Yu Zhi Yi followed the direction of his stare and turned. Princess Feng Xiang was rushing over in a fury.

At once the man shrank into a meek, obedient little lamb. He hurried to Princess Feng Xiang’s side, pointed at Yu Zhi Yi, and complained: “Princess, this woman tried to seduce me!”

Yu Zhi Yi fell silent: “…”

From afar, Princess Feng Xiang had seen Yu Zhi Yi with her favorite. Before she even reached them, she heard his shout. She ran the rest of the way. The moment she arrived, she caught his accusation. She already had a problem with Yu Zhi Yi, so her anger flared hotter as she scolded: “Yu Zhi Yi, how dare you! You even dare touch someone who belongs to me!”

Yu Zhi Yi said evenly: “Princess, you saw the whole thing. You saw whether I touched him. You also clearly saw that it was he who lunged at me, not the other way around.”

Princess Feng Xiang paused. That did seem true. She had gotten mad the instant she saw her man tangled up with another woman and forgotten basic logic. With Yu Zhi Yi’s reminder, her reason returned. She narrowed her eyes, danger in her face, and looked at the favorite as she asked: “You dare make a fool of me? Did you set your eyes on her?”

The favorite panicked and said: “Princess, I wouldn’t dare! I was just angry!”

Princess Feng Xiang frowned and asked: “Angry about what?”

Glaring at Yu Zhi Yi, he put on a righteous face and said: “I heard that Young Madam Du refused to give the princess face in public today. I was furious when I heard it. Just now I saw her walking this way from a distance, so I wanted to teach her a lesson for the princess.”

He lowered his head. His fine features showed a touch of grievance that almost made one want to comfort him.

Princess Feng Xiang let out a soft “Ah,” moved to the core, and said: “Fool, do not do this again. She is a fifth-rank court physician personally appointed by Father Emperor. If you offend her, that is an insult to him. If Father Emperor gets angry, not even I can protect you.”

After she came of age, Princess Feng Xiang married. She had a prince consort and also kept several favorites. Of the men in her rear court, the one she favored most openly was this Liu Zhao Bai. Though a man, he was more delicate than many women and always sensed what she truly needed. The prince consort, by contrast, only complained that she spent money too freely and acted too bluntly. Worst of all, he kept telling her to learn from Lai Yang. [Learn from Lai Yang? She does not deserve to be my example!] Liu Zhao Bai never did that. In his eyes, she was a hundred times better than Lai Yang. With such thoughtfulness, Princess Feng Xiang naturally remembered his goodness.

Because he was favored, his place in the Princess’s Manor rose even above the prince consort’s. If the prince consort were not of noble birth, far beyond what a concubine-born son of a minor sixth-rank official could compare to, Liu Zhao Bai’s tail would have been wagging up to the sky.

Taking the favorite’s hand, Princess Feng Xiang said to Yu Zhi Yi: “You offended me outside the city today. He was only standing up for me. Let us write off the grudge between us here, how about it?”

Yu Zhi Yi studied the favorite and asked, thoughtful: “Princess, do you really want to waste this favor on someone who is not loyal?”

Both Princess Feng Xiang and the favorite changed expression. The favorite reacted first and snapped: “How can you slander me like that? I admit I am low-born and should not have offended a fifth-rank physician personally appointed by His Majesty, but even if you hold a grudge, you should not doubt my loyalty to the princess! My heart for the princess is true. Heaven and sun can witness it!”

Yu Zhi Yi ignored him and said to Princess Feng Xiang with care: “If you decide so, I will do as you wish and not pursue the charge that he deliberately framed me today.”

Princess Feng Xiang narrowed her eyes. As an imperial princess, she was willful, but not brainless. She had long known this woman was uncanny. The public did not know the truth about how Prince Xiao Yao had lost face at that banquet, but she did. Curious afterward, she sent people to look into Yu Zhi Yi’s past and found the woman very mysterious. Before marriage, Yu Zhi Yi hid her light well, yet traces remained. For example, the Marquis Wu’an family admired her greatly, because she had helped them many times. That was why the princess went out to watch the fuss today. She wanted to see for herself whether Yu Zhi Yi was as capable as the reports claimed. Better to believe than not. Princess Feng Xiang released Liu Zhao Bai’s hand and said coolly: “Speak.”

Liu Zhao Bai stared wide-eyed and blurted: “Princess?!”

The princess patted his head and said: “Be good. I want to hear what she has to say.”

Liu Zhao Bai opened his mouth again, but Yu Zhi Yi had already begun: “Liu Zhao Bai is the son of a registrar at the Court of Imperial Banquets, a sixth-rank official. His manner is somewhat like the prince consort’s. Three months after your wedding, the two of you quarreled for certain reasons. In anger, you arranged a lake outing. On another boat, you saw a young man leaning by the window, gazing at the moon. You found that his looks, even his bearing, were a bit like the prince consort’s, and you became interested.”

Yu Zhi Yi’s voice stayed calm as she continued: “You hid your identity and spent time with Young Master Liu, then discovered that apart from his face and air, he was nothing like the prince consort. He was fine-minded and always understood your needs. He never said things that upset you, like comparing you to Commandery Lai Yang.”

“You found him more and more thoughtful and wanted to take him in as your favorite. But Young Master Liu showed a scholar’s pride. You worried that once he learned the truth, he would refuse to be a favorite, because you already had a prince consort. And you truly liked your prince consort; you could not depose him.”

“When you told him the truth, Young Master Liu reacted fiercely. He demanded why you hid your identity and why you approached him when you already had a prince consort. He asked if you only took him as a stand-in for the prince consort. He swore he would never be a favorite, much less a substitute.”

“You felt it was a pity, but you do not force others. After that, you stopped seeking him out.”

“Unexpectedly, a little over a month later, you heard he was sick, very sick. What worried people most was that during that month he barely ate or drank, as if life no longer mattered.”

“You could not help it and went to see him, and then…”