Tigers Sniff the Rose - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The handsome youth’s attitude was earnest, and his words were like a blade, slicing through her heart and leaving no defense intact.

Yet, Yan Shang still didn't quite understand. He looked at her with surprise, his meaning clear: he believed this was the most sincere repayment he could offer.

However, Yan Shang was also intelligent.

The moment a look of complex frustration crossed Mu Wanyao’s face, he immediately realized she had misunderstood.

Yan Shang paused, then fell silent.

A moment later, he asked in a soft voice, "Otherwise, what?"

—Other than this way of repaying her, what else could he do?

Could he marry her, or serve her with his body?

Did he have the qualifications for that?

Mu Wanyao exchanged a glance with him, her eyelashes trembling slightly. In her heart, she felt both embarrassed and annoyed. Embarrassed by her own wishful thinking, and annoyed that there truly was no better solution... It was March when she rejected the marriage proposal, and now it was only May.

Only two months had passed. If Mu Wanyao had rejected marriage that day, would she be willing today?

It was impossible.

She, too, had ambitions.

Thinking it over, the method Yan Shang proposed was actually the best. He was always someone who was meticulous to a fault.

Yet, sometimes this meticulousness, even when one knows it is correct, still makes one displeased. Even knowing some things are impossible, when there is not a sliver of hope, it still invites anger.

Sitting on the bed, Mu Wanyao fixed her eyes, clear and cold as black jade, on the youth kneeling before her.

She vented her displaced anger upon him, asking with a cold laugh, "Why, do you think if you are willing to be my retainer, I will agree? Do I lack staff or retainers?"

Yan Shang lowered his eyes: "Naturally, Your Highness does not lack retainers, but everyone in your residence has gone out to serve the Crown Prince. Your Highness is short-handed, so why not make use of me?"

Mu Wanyao: "What can you do for me?"

Yan Shang: "Your Highness, pray tell."

Mu Wanyao blurted out: "The Crown Prince is desperately short of funds right now. I need to help him acquire wealth—can you help me come up with a way?"

Yan Shang: "I can."

Mu Wanyao: "..."

She was left speechless. She watched as Yan Shang, who had kept his eyes downcast, raised his head to look at her, smiling slightly. His smile was gentle, shallow, and filled with a power that inspired trust... What could Mu Wanyao say?

Mu Wanyao could only slap the bed, searching for a new excuse for her anger: "Who permitted you to enter my chambers while I was sleeping? I will have twenty strokes dealt to whoever let you in!"

Yan Shang responded exactly as expected: "It is my fault. Please do not implicate others, punish me instead. I was anxious... I heard that Your Highness had fallen ill because of me, and if I could not see you with my own eyes, I would be restless... And if I did not take this opportunity to enter, I feared that once you woke, you would refuse to see me again.

"Your Highness holds high office and great power; if you do not wish to see me, I would have no opportunity to express my heart to you."

Mu Wanyao was taken aback. After he laid out the reasons in such a calm, narrative tone, she looked at him, lost in thought. Her expression improved significantly, yet it still carried a hint of hesitation.

...She truly could not tell whether Yan Shang’s meticulous consideration was sincere or feigned.

If it were feigned, he had acted the part so perfectly... who could say a bad word about him?

And as for refusing to let Yan Shang be her retainer... Mu Wanyao was willful, but she was not stupid. She didn't have many capable people at her side who listened to her. If Yan Shang actively offered his allegiance and she refused simply because she didn't like him... where would she find the justification?

Someone like Yan Shang—who wouldn't even offer his services to the Crown Prince—was now offering them to her... She should be celebrating.

Mu Wanyao felt displeased in her heart, yet she did not want to refuse. She merely pulled the blanket tight and lay back down on the bed, sulking: "If you want to be a retainer, then be one. Whatever you want."

Only then did Yan Shang stand up. Mu Wanyao lay on the bed with her back to him, not hearing the sound of him leaving. Just as she was puzzled, she heard the man behind her say: "I noticed just now that Your Highness's hand seems to be injured. I wonder what the cause was?"

Mu Wanyao was blank for a moment. She looked at her own hand and saw the three red scratch marks on the back of her jade-white skin. She remembered: "A cat scratched it."

Yan Shang said: "Then I shall go ask a maid to come in and apply medicine to Your Highness's hand."

Mu Wanyao heard his footsteps. A sudden impulse struck her, and she flipped over to sit up, drawing her knees up and facing his back: "Stop!"

Yan Shang turned around.

He saw Mu Wanyao, who had been displeased a moment ago, now with her brows arched like crescent moons and eyes like spring water flowing toward him.

With her clothes in disarray, her hair as dark as ink, and sitting upon the bed with those beautiful, smiling eyes, she looked frail yet luminous. What a vibrant, captivating beauty she was.

Yan Shang quickly lowered his eyes to avoid looking, his arms stiff, his hands tightening slightly within his sleeves.

Mu Wanyao said with a coquettish pout: "What maid do you need to apply medicine? Yan Erlang, you already entered my room while I was sleeping, why stand on ceremony now? You might as well apply the medicine yourself."

Yan Shang said dryly: "I am afraid that..."

Mu Wanyao: "My hand was scratched by a cat at the Grand Princess's residence."

Yan Shang’s pupils contracted, and he instantly stopped refusing.

Mu Wanyao scoffed at him; she knew that once he realized it was for his sake, his sense of morality would force him to obey.

Watching Yan Shang go out to fetch the medicine, Mu Wanyao sighed softly, her eyes staring into the void. The seductive charm she had just displayed vanished, replaced by a vacant, dazed expression—

Yan Shang sat at the bedside, holding Mu Wanyao’s hand and gently sprinkling powder onto the back of it.

Perhaps due to the sting, she winced slightly.

Yan Shang held her hand to keep her from pulling away, then lowered his head, and to her surprise, blew gently on the back of her hand, saying softly: "Blow on it and it won't hurt anymore."

Mu Wanyao let out a laugh.

She said: "Are you foolish? Do you think you’re coaxing a three-year-old child?"

Yan Shang looked up at her, meeting her smiling eyes. Though she chided him, her eyes were brimming with laughter. His own gaze drifted uncontrollably for a moment, but then he followed her and gave a faint smile.

The atmosphere between the two was finally no longer so rigid and cold; it had begun to grow somewhat harmonious.

As Yan Shang applied the medicine, he asked Mu Wanyao: "Your Highness, may I ask who the physician was that attended to me these past two days?"

Mu Wanyao glanced at him: "What do you want with that?"

Yan Shang said: "To express my gratitude, naturally."

Mu Wanyao: "...It was someone from the Imperial Medical Bureau. That is their duty, so there is no need for thanks, right?"

Yan Shang said warmly: "Thanks must be given. Your Highness need only tell me a name; when I next enter the Imperial City, I will find an opportunity to have someone convey thanks and a gift to that old gentleman. It will not be anything of great value, just a token of my sincerity. Your Highness can rest assured."

Mu Wanyao’s tone was strange: "...You want to thank even an old man? What did he do? He just gave you a few acupuncture needles, I, on the other hand..."

Yan Shang looked up at her.

Mu Wanyao suddenly bit her tongue, pulling back the words she had yet to finish.

With flushed cheeks and eyelashes fluttering like drifting petals, she thought to herself that it would be best if he never knew it was she who had helped him find relief that night.

If he were to find out, how awkward that would be.

Actually, a lord-retainer relationship was quite good; at the very least, it was safe.

Otherwise... given the sort of delicate, precarious relationship they had, she and Yan Shang would sooner or later play with fire. And even if they did, who would be there to extinguish it?

Yan Shang misunderstood Mu Wanyao’s sudden silence, thinking she was referring to her care for him. He smiled and said: "That is why I have come to repay Your Highness by serving as your retainer, is it not?"

Mu Wanyao gave a perfunctory hum.

She said: "Then you must fulfill your duties well and think of how to make me look impressive in front of the Crown Prince!"

After that night, while the Danyang Princess entered a phase of feigned affection, the maid Chunhua faced a world-shattering transformation.

When she woke up in the morning to find herself lying naked with the Prince of Jin, Chunhua’s brain felt as if it had been struck by lightning, and her complexion turned deathly pale in an instant.

She clutched her clothes in a panic and scrambled backward. Such a violent movement startled the Prince of Jin awake.

The Prince of Jin rose, draped an arm over her shoulder, and did not immediately cast aside the beauty he had cherished the night before: "What is it? Are you feeling unwell?"

Chunhua huddled against the wall, clutching her clothes, her face as white as paper. When the Prince of Jin’s hand rested on her shoulder, she shivered even more violently.

With disheveled hair sticking to her face, her heart was as cold as ice, and she thought immediately of Liu Wenji.

Young Master Liu, Young Master Liu... She was still angry with him, and even though he went to the Princess's residence daily to find her, she refused to see him. She hadn't forgiven Liu Wenji’s thoughtless words, yet she never intended to break ties with her lover. She was only, only still struggling...

And yet, something like this had happened!

Chunhua looked up with a deathly pale face at the Prince of Jin: "Why, why did I end up like this with Your Highness..."

The Prince of Jin was silent for a moment.

He revealed a strange smile and said: "You must ask your family that.

"It was they who sent you to my bed. Otherwise, you think that no matter how much I admired you, I would be so despicable?"

Chunhua’s face paled further, her eyes widening.

Tears rolled down from her eyes.

She shut her eyes in agony, feeling an overwhelming sense of shame.

Her tears fell like pearls, yet she had to kneel for the sake of her family, trembling as she bit her lip and begged: "It is they who were wrong... Please, Your Highness, do not punish them. They did not intend to scheme against you..."

Poor, ignorant peasants, innocently thinking that a single scheme could manipulate a high-ranking noble... Having served the Princess for so many years, Chunhua knew well the pride of these nobles.

They could take what they wanted, but no one could force them into it.

Seeing the beauty crying like this, looking so pitiable, the Prince of Jin sighed inwardly and felt even more affection for her.

The Prince of Jin said: "Chunhua, why must you be like this? You are my woman now. Even your family... well, for your sake, I will not hold it against them."

Chunhua bit her lip until her tongue bled.

Knowing the possibility was slim, she still tilted her head back earnestly and begged the Prince of Jin: "I wonder if Your Highness... if you could let this small woman go? This servant, this servant has a lover... I do not wish, I do not wish..."

The Prince of Jin was stunned and fell silent.

He was somewhat reluctant, as this beauty had captured his heart. But Chunhua was crying so pitifully... The Prince of Jin himself had a gentle temperament, or to put it bluntly, he was indecisive. He hesitated for a long time, torn between two choices—

In the end, under the assault of Chunhua’s tears, the Prince of Jin left in an unhappy mood.

When he returned to his own residence, he was bumped into by a servant rushing out the door. The Prince of Jin was furious and swung his whip, feeling that no one held him in any regard.

When the Prince of Jin returned to his study, his advisor heard he had returned and rushed over to soothe him: "Your Highness, you must not give in to anger. You must endure... Only if your temperament is agreeable can you have a sliver of hope amid the crossfire of those two Imperial Princes."

The Prince of Jin was dejected.

His several brothers were all quite capable.

It didn't matter that the former Second Prince had been a master of both letters and martial arts who had made all his brothers gasp for air; the Second Prince was already gone. The current Crown Prince was insidious, planning against everything. The Prince of Qin’s mother had a powerful family, the Prince of Qin’s own wife had a powerful faction, and the Prince of Qin held military power... Under the pressure of these people, if the Prince of Jin didn't have a milder temper, if he wasn't more pliant, he would have been trampled to death countless times over.

The Prince of Jin sat down, thinking how a mere serving girl dared to reject him, and yet he, in order to maintain his image, had actually agreed.

He sighed: "This life of being suppressed everywhere, when will it ever end..."

The advisor urged him again, saying that the Emperor loved that he was obedient, so the Prince of Jin must absolutely not be disobedient.

After some time, the Prince of Jin’s mood slowly improved, and he returned to being humble and gentle. After the advisors left, the Princess of Jin came to ask why the Prince had been in such a temper, why he had been throwing fits and whipping the servant.

The Prince of Jin had a good relationship with this secondary consort. After all, both of them were being suppressed; they shared the same misery, and as a result, they found each other quite agreeable.

The Prince of Jin told her about his affair with Chunhua the night before.

When the Princess of Jin heard that the Prince had slept with a woman, she felt a trace of sorrow in her heart, but she suppressed it and said: "Is it that serving girl of Princess Danyang’s? I believe I have seen her before."

The Prince of Jin said: "Yes, that is the one! She is the most beautiful, I took a liking to her at first sight."

The Princess of Jin thought of the fact that her husband still had no heirs. Although she felt jealous, for the sake of an heir, she steeled herself to urge her husband to sleep with more women.

At this moment, she suppressed her displeasure and said: "Then why don't I go find Princess Danyang and ask her for this maid? She is just a maid. I will handle it, and Your Highness won't have to ruin your image."

The Prince of Jin was tempted.

But then he recalled the day Mu Wanyao had spoken to him with a mocking smile about that dead maid of hers, and a chill ran down the Prince of Jin’s spine. He shook his head...

He muttered to himself: "Forget it. Ever since Danyang returned from Wuman, I’ve always felt that the girl has changed somewhere. It seems she has become much more ruthless... I had better not provoke her."

The Princess of Jin inwardly spat "Coward" at him, but on the surface, she remained smiling and followed the Prince’s wishes.

The Prince of Jin, meanwhile, pondered: should he finally have an heir at this time... his two brothers shouldn't mind, should they?

The Emperor’s health was failing day by day; who knew when he might... If he continued to have no heirs, the struggle for the crown would have absolutely nothing to do with him. After all, the one who becomes the Sovereign cannot be without an heir—

As for Chunhua, after the Prince of Jin left, she changed into clean clothes.

With a face like frost, she faced her brother and sister-in-law, who lowered their heads in unease under her gaze.

Her elderly mother advised her from the side: "It’s such a good thing to enter the Prince’s residence, Chunhua, why don't you know how to cherish it, instead of blaming your brother and sister-in-law..."

Those closest to us are the ones who wound our hearts the most.

Chunhua’s heart stung. She endured the pain and laughed coldly: "Do you think entering the Prince’s residence is a good thing? The Prince of Jin has no heirs to this day. Do you think that is normal? Our Princess told me that this is because the Prince of Jin, in order not to attract attention, forces himself not to have children. Otherwise, how could he possibly...

"Do you really think the Prince of Jin’s residence is such a good place?"

When she said this, her uneducated family members panicked.

Her brother panicked: "You don't mean that the Prince of Jin kills his own children, do you? That’s impossible, right?"

Chunhua stomped her feet in anger: "Brother! How can you speak such things recklessly! To say that is a capital crime!"

Her brother was so frightened he immediately shut his mouth.

Her sister-in-law was also lost. Although she wanted her sister-in-law to climb the ladder of wealth, if the Prince of Jin’s residence was that kind of place... her sister-in-law trembled: "Th-then what should we do now? Chunhua, it was only one night, you wouldn't be pregnant, right?"

Chunhua froze, and then tears welled in her eyes once more.

She said: "Then I must trouble sister-in-law to brew me a strong bowl of medicine... I cannot be pregnant."

She was the only educated person in the family, so the others naturally listened to her.

Her sister-in-law hurried out, but Chunhua remembered something, left the house, and chased after her.

Chunhua took her sister-in-law’s hand and urged her repeatedly: "It must be strong... otherwise, like our Princess back then..."

She suddenly closed her mouth.

Thinking of the things Princess Danyang had encountered in Wuman, her eyes grew heavy with pain.

She felt heartache for the Princess, yet she feared encountering the same things as the Princess had years ago. She feared that if one abortion failed, she would have to suffer even more... If it were possible, what woman would be so cruel to herself?—

The weather was clear and bright.

Chunhua had finally tidied up her own affairs, convincing herself that as long as the Prince of Jin didn't speak, no one would know.

Chunhua returned to the Princess’s residence. Her heart pounded as she went to see Mu Wanyao, terrified that the Prince of Jin might have already come to find the Princess to demand her hand.

However, when she returned, she found that Mu Wanyao was not there.

A maid said: "Her Highness has gone into the palace with Yan Erlang to see the Crown Prince. It must be some matters of state; we don't understand them."

Chunhua was stunned: "Has her Highness... made up with Yan Erlang?"

The maid nodded affirmatively: "They must have. Yan Erlang has been at our residence these past few days, and her Highness has not chased him away."

Chunhua felt a sense of loss. Setting her own affairs aside for a moment, she began to worry about Mu Wanyao...

If you stay away from someone long enough, you get used to it; but if you are often with that person, is it really possible to control your feelings?—

Mu Wanyao and Yan Shang were in the same carriage.

Although they were in the same carriage, they sat as far apart as possible.

Mu Wanyao was thinking about how to open the conversation when she saw the Crown Prince, while Yan Shang used the time to lower his head and read.

The carriage entered the Imperial City first, then the Inner Palace. When they reached the palace, the carriage stopped, and the guards outside went to have the tally verified. It was at this moment that the carriage door was knocked twice from the outside. The sound was extremely light, and the force was not heavy, yet both people in the carriage heard it.

Yan Shang’s eyelids lifted, his reading interrupted by the knocking.

Seeing Mu Wanyao stiffen, she lifted the curtain and leaned out the window. She hadn't even looked at the person outside before she began to scold: "Yang Si, are you bored or what? Was that you throwing stones at my carriage?"

The youth in narrow-sleeved red clothes outside was none other than Yang Si.

He nonchalantly stroked the mane of the horse he was holding, turned his head to look at the carriage, and revealed a handsome, devil-may-care smile.

He said: "Going into the palace so early? Are you waiting to have lunch with the Crown Prince?"

Mu Wanyao: "You have the nerve to say that to me? I think the one who wants lunch is you, isn't it?"

Yang Si smiled, revealing white teeth, dazzling and brilliant in the sunlight, without a hint of gloom.

The young man, full of dashing charm, shook the horse whip in his hand, almost sweeping the guard standing next to him. He then studied Mu Wanyao for a few moments, seeing her appearance was fine and her mood quite stable, he took two steps forward, rested his hand on the carriage shaft, and snapped his fingers at Mu Wanyao.

He said slowly: "The weather is so nice, yet you’re sitting in a carriage, aren't you bored? Come down and walk with me."

Mu Wanyao said: "I am not the only one in the carriage."

Yang Si froze, his expression darkening slightly. He suddenly leaned forward and pushed open the carriage door. And in that instant, he saw that in addition to Mu Wanyao sitting upright, there was someone else.

That person was sitting in the dim light, exceptionally quiet and elegant. That person had not spoken from beginning to end, leading Yang Si to think only Mu Wanyao was in the carriage.

The man bowed to Yang Si, his voice gentle and warm: "Yang Sanlang."

Yang Si stared at this person, scrutinized his clear, handsome features for a long time, and then remembered: "...Yan the Top Scholar!"

Mu Wanyao began to laugh: "What is that, his name is Yan Shang... you’re just making up names for people."

Her smile was as beautiful as a flower, her eyes flowing like waves. Yang Si was so embarrassed by her laughter that his neck turned red. Yet he acted as if he were impatient, glaring at her coldly.

Yang Sanlang scoffed: "I never could remember people’s names anyway."

Yang Sanlang looked at Yan Shang with a cool expression, displeasure in his eyes: "What is he here for?"

Mu Wanyao: "Naturally, there is a matter to attend to, but why should I tell you?"

Yang Si’s eyes fell upon Mu Wanyao’s face. He paused, then took another look at the youth in the carriage. His inquisitive gaze lingered for a moment or two.

Afterward, showing nothing, Yang Si retreated two steps as if casually, and stopped paying them any mind.

The youth stood by his horse and waved lazily at Mu Wanyao: "Then I’m leaving first, see you at the Eastern Palace later. Shall I have the Crown Prince set aside lunch for you?"

Mu Wanyao quickly said: "No need! I’m leaving after a few words, I won't be eating at the Eastern Palace."

Yang Si mounted his horse and galloped away. Mu Wanyao leaned out the carriage window and shouted, though she didn't know if he heard her. The youth’s retreating figure was cold and sharp, wanton and dashing, never once looking back at her.

Closing the carriage door, Mu Wanyao looked at Yan Shang, who sat quietly inside.

Seeing him lost in thought, Mu Wanyao coughed once and explained: "That’s Yang Si, he’s the Crown Prince’s little tag-along. The few times I avoided him before, it was because I didn't want the Crown Prince to know where I had gone... Well, you have met him a few times before, I don't know if you remember."

Yan Shang looked at her.

After a long while, he said: "Your Highness seems to speak very freely with Yang Sanlang, without having to think too much."

Mu Wanyao: "Because he’s just a simple person; even if you speak in riddles, he wouldn't be able to tell. Naturally, one says what one means."

Yan Shang said: "That’s not what I meant."

Mu Wanyao: "Hm?"

Yan Shang knit his brows, and after a long time, he said slowly: "...I mean, you seem to have a lot to say to Yang Sanlang."

Mu Wanyao did not understand and used her eyes to ask him what he meant by that. She had known Yang Si for many years; what was wrong with having a few extra words with him?

Yan Shang didn't continue.

He thought to himself that the Princess didn't seem to have so many words with him. When he was with her, there was often silence, often nothing to say. Yet, with Yang Sanlang... they went back and forth, never fearing a cold atmosphere.

The carriage started moving again. Yan Shang lowered his eyes and quietly flipped through the book in his hand.

Mu Wanyao, as if she had suddenly remembered something, asked with a hint of malice—yet also a hint of genuine inquiry—with a smile: "I don't think I ever told you; you know that the Li family hopes I will marry Wei Juyuan, but the Crown Prince, in fact, hopes I will marry Yang Si.

"Since you are my retainer, give me some advice—which one should I marry?"

Yan Shang: "...”