Chapter 125

Chapter 125: The Favorite Who Likes Both Men and Women

“Then,” Yu Zhi Yi said, “Young Master Liu poured out his feelings. He said he had thought himself lofty and proud, but after leaving you, your face filled his mind every day. When he ate, he remembered the times with you. You liked shrimp but hated peeling them, and he liked to peel them for you. He remembered you liked Longjing shrimp, liked meat and disliked vegetables. But eating only meat upset your stomach, so he worried that without him, no one would remind you to balance meat and vegetables.”

“When you heard all this, you thought: this man is on the verge of death and still thinks of me. You were deeply moved and invited him again to the Princess’s Manor.”

“This time, Young Master Liu did not refuse. He said he would die without the princess.”

“You were moved even more.”

“So Young Master Liu entered the Princess’s Manor and became the most favored young gentleman there. If the prince consort were not nobly born, the second legitimate son of the Xie family of Green River, Young Master Liu would likely have ridden over his head and lorded it over him.”

Princess Feng Xiang snorted and said: “This is what you call his disloyalty? If disciplining two servants counts as lording it over others, then fine. Consider your point made.”

Liu Zhao Bai showed a wronged face and said: “Princess, I truly did not do that! Official Yu is only lashing out because of what happened just now.”

Yu Zhi Yi ignored him and said: “What I have said so far is the part the princess knows. Now let us talk about what the princess does not know.”

“Liu Zhao Bai’s father is only a sixth-rank official, but his household is not simple. Besides the principal wife, there are two concubines. Young Master Liu is a concubine’s son.”

“Though concubine-born, he is wildly ambitious. He feels that in looks and talent, he crushes his legitimate elder brother, so he has always searched for a chance to rise. His mother urges him on. She believes that if he succeeds, the two of them might step on the principal wife and her child. Perhaps Lord Liu would even depose his wife and raise the concubine, so Young Master Liu could change from concubine-born to legitimate.”

“But Lord Liu never manages the inner court. The true manager is Old Madam Liu. Old Madam Liu cares deeply about rules and birth. She would never allow favoring a concubine and discarding the wife, nor allow a concubine’s son to surpass the legitimate son. In her view, such behavior makes a household unstable.”

“Young Master Liu does have more talent than his legitimate brother, but with Old Madam Liu in charge, he and his mother could never break out through study alone. They had to find another path.”

“When he learned by chance that he resembled the current prince consort, Young Master Liu had an idea. He thought: both of us are men. If Second Young Master Xie of Green River can be prince consort, why can’t I?”

“As for living off a woman, if a man as high-born as Second Young Master Xie can be a plaything to a woman, then becoming a favorite is nothing shameful. He was confident that once he entered the Princess’s Manor, he could make the princess favor only him. Deposing the prince consort and elevating himself might not be impossible.”

“Even if he could not be raised to prince consort, if one day the princess bore him a child or two, those children would have true Imperial Family blood. His concubine mother could then stand firm. By then, even Old Madam Liu would not dare to criticize her. Their old dream of deposing the wife and raising the concubine might yet come true.”

“Facts proved that Young Master Liu was very skilled. He coaxed the princess until she bloomed with joy. You forgot the other young gentlemen in the manor. As for the prince consort, you only visited him on the first and fifteenth of each month to give face to the Xie family of Green River.”

“But the prince consort always kept a cold face. Each time you saw him so chilly, you thought more fondly of Young Master Liu. Soon, you stopped even the first-and-fifteenth visits.”

“Meanwhile, the ‘thoughtful’ Young Master Liu, relying on your favor, bullied servants without cause and mistreated the less favored young gentlemen.”

“Even the prince consort often had to suffer his temper.”

“These days, what the prince consort hears most is a line that goes: ‘So what if you are from the Xie family of Green River? You still can’t compare to me.’”

“And Young Master Liu did not just say this behind his back. He went to the prince consort’s face to say it.”

“He did more than brag. He even told the prince consort about your bedroom affairs with him.”

“The prince consort is proud. Sharing a wife with other men was already something he forced himself to accept. Hearing another man speak to him of his wife’s bedroom matters trampled his dignity. In the past, when you and he were loving, he might have voiced his hurt. But lately, with Young Master Liu provoking him again and again, he believed it was all at your order and grew disheartened.”

“That is why, when you visited him recently, he met you with a cold face.”

Princess Feng Xiang stared, stunned, and demanded: “Liu Zhao Bai, is she telling the truth?”

Liu Zhao Bai denied at once and said: “Princess, I did no such thing! The prince consort is of noble birth. How would I dare?”

Yu Zhi Yi replied, calm: “You dared. Not only did you provoke the prince consort, you also betrayed the princess.”

A flicker of pity passed through her eyes as she looked at Princess Feng Xiang and asked: “Princess, did you know that the man on your pillow actually likes both men and women?”

Princess Feng Xiang lost her composure and cried: “What?!”

Liu Zhao Bai’s face also changed. How could she know? He had hidden it well. [Can she really figure out anything?] He already regretted provoking Yu Zhi Yi. He had only wanted to score points by teaching this woman a lesson. He had not expected her to be so uncanny. No matter what, he could never admit it. He gritted his teeth, glared at Yu Zhi Yi, and said: “Official Yu, I admit I wronged you just now, but do not slander me! I am loyal to the princess. Heaven and earth can witness it! Besides, I only like the princess. I do not like men!”

Yu Zhi Yi finally looked at him, lazy and cold, and said: “When you say loyal and witnessed by heaven, do you mean how you repeatedly embezzled public funds from the Princess’s Manor to line your own pockets? Not only did you deck yourself in gold and remake your concubine mother into a jewel-covered lady, you also let your lover profit. You used the stolen money to buy farmland and houses, and you spent it daily at brothels, playing with women.”

Liu Zhao Bai’s mouth fell open. Even with his steady mind, he could not help screaming as he denied it and blurted: “Impossible! He would not play with women!”

Yu Zhi Yi only smiled.

Princess Feng Xiang’s face turned a deep, ugly green. She looked at Liu Zhao Bai as if he were already dead. Liu Zhao Bai realized what he had just said and clapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late.

Yu Zhi Yi said quietly: “Princess, do not be angry yet. If you do not hurry back to the manor, the prince consort will be harmed by this despicable man.”

Princess Feng Xiang forced her anger down and asked: “What happened to the prince consort?”

Yu Zhi Yi answered: “Young Master Liu has never given up on climbing higher. As long as the prince consort lives, he cannot become prince consort himself. So he plans to get rid of him. He is clever enough to know that if the prince consort is murdered, no matter how well it is hidden, suspicion will fall. So he came up with a vicious plan: he sent his lover to defile the prince consort.”