There Is Nothing We Can Do!
The vessel moved along the river, waves rolling and surging as the hull rocked unsteadily with the current.
Chu Yuan lay upon the bed, his complexion pale.
No sooner had Le Shu opened the door than the soldiers stationed outside barred his way, faces stern as they ordered him back inside.
Le Shu cupped his hands in salute and lowered his voice in appeal. “Honored sirs, my family’s Highness has not yet recovered from his wind-cold. I beg you to grant some leniency and allow this servant to fetch a physician.”
The soldiers exchanged glances. While several continued to block him, one strode swiftly toward the deck.
Before long, he returned, bringing with him a broad-shouldered man of imposing build.
Zhao Lu gripped his sword hilt and walked up to Le Shu with large strides. He looked the scrawny little servant up and down, snorted through his nose, and boomed in a voice like thunder. “What is the matter?”
Le Shu shrank back, somewhat afraid of the burly man whose powerful frame and fierce appearance were enough to intimidate. He tucked his neck and repeated his request in a small voice.
After listening, Zhao Lu frowned and ordered the soldiers, “Go summon the Imperial Physician.”
“Return to your quarters. The waters are dangerous. Do not wander about without cause.” Zhao Lu pushed the door open with a raised hand, his loud voice carrying without the slightest restraint.
Startled, Le Shu hurriedly retreated. In the next instant, the door was shut with force.
“Le Shu.”
Chu Yuan had already sat up. His hands rested upon the bedding as he turned his head toward the pine-and-magnolia carved screen.
“Your Highness, the Imperial Physician will be here shortly. Please lie down and rest.” Le Shu circled around the screen and returned.
“I am not tired.” He paused. He had heard the exchange outside clearly and sensed the other party’s attitude. His slender, pale fingers curled slightly. “Fetch the money pouch from the bundle. There are still a few taels of silver within. Give it to the soldiers at the door to buy wine and drink, as a token of thanks.”
Le Shu opened his mouth as though to speak, yet in the end swallowed his words. He took out several pieces of broken silver and walked once more toward the door.
Just as he reached for it, he heard the guards outside speaking in hushed tones.
“Did you see General Zhao’s expression just now? It was foul indeed.”
“I did. Ever since General Zhao received this assignment, he hasn’t smiled once. I heard he’s been seen losing his temper several times.”
“Why the anger?”
“Are you foolish? General Zhao serves the Third Prince. His attitude reflects the Third Prince’s own.”
“Then the Third Prince does not favor this Prince Consort from Chu?”
A low, ambiguous laugh followed.
“If it were only dislike, that would be tolerable. What I fear is that this Prince Consort may, like the previous few, die suddenly and violently.”
With a sharp clatter, the broken silver slipped from Le Shu’s hand and struck the ground. The men outside heard the movement within and instantly fell silent.
Le Shu staggered back two steps, his face drained of color. His lips trembled, his eyes widened in terror, and his mind went blank.
No wonder. So that was the truth.
His Highness had left the palace at the age of ten and lived for nine years in a dilapidated temple, ignored and forgotten.
At the end of the ninth lunar month, an imperial edict had suddenly arrived, commanding that his Highness be sent afar in marriage. Heavy guards were then dispatched, and strict watch imposed.
He had once naively believed it merely a method of humiliation.
It turned out… it turned out they meant to send his Highness to his death.
Le Shu bit his lip hard to hold back tears. His whole body trembled with suppressed fury.
“Le Shu?”
Through the screen, Chu Yuan saw him standing motionless and regarded him with quiet puzzlement.
Le Shu bent to retrieve the scattered silver. He took several deep breaths, steadying himself before turning back. The silver was returned to the pouch.
“Your Highness, this servant has just remembered that there are many soldiers outside. Our small amount would not suffice. We shall give it once we reach land.”
Chu Yuan observed the redness at the corners of his eyes. His thoughts turned more than once, and he guessed that Le Shu had heard words not fit for comfort. He did not expose it, merely inclined his head lightly. “Very well.”
The vessel traveled upon the Ye River for seven days. The accompanying Imperial Physicians were kept busily occupied.
Chu Yuan suffered from seasickness.
On the very night he boarded, he began to vomit. Coupled with the river wind and dampness seeping into his bones, his chill worsened. He drifted in and out of consciousness, unable to keep down even water.
Le Shu attended him day and night without closing his eyes. Only by the third evening did Chu Yuan barely manage to open them.
In the days that followed, he treated medicine as though it were his meals. By the time they disembarked, he had grown visibly thinner and far more haggard.
“Your Highness, please take some porridge. I heard the guards say there are more than twenty days of travel yet. Your health is of utmost importance.”
Inside the carriage, Le Shu sat to one side, holding a bowl and lifting a spoonful of vegetable porridge toward Chu Yuan’s lips.
Given his frailty and his status as Prince Consort, Zhao Lu had permitted Le Shu to ride within and attend him, so that any change might be discovered promptly.
Chu Yuan shook his head. Dizziness pressed heavily upon him, and he had no appetite. “Leave it there. I will eat when hungry.”
Le Shu gazed at his Highness’s gaunt cheeks. His already fair complexion had grown even paler, making the cinnabar mole between his brows glow red as fresh blood.
He lifted a thick fox-fur cloak and wrapped Chu Yuan in it securely, fastening the ties tight.
The soft fur brushed against his pointed chin. Upon his small face, a pair of clear, luminous eyes shone quietly. He sat upright within the carriage, serene and compliant.
“Le Shu, bring me the book I have not yet finished.” The journey was long and tedious. Reading would pass the hours and calm the mind.
Le Shu’s eyes flickered. He set the bowl back into his hands, a trace of cunning on his face. “Your Highness has not yet recovered. Reading consumes the spirit. If Your Highness will drink the porridge, this servant shall allow half a ke of reading.”
Chu Yuan fell silent.
A faint smile touched his face, fleeting as the bloom of a night-flowering cactus. A lock of hair slipped against his cheek as he replied in a light, even tone, “Then I shall not read.”
Le Shu nearly choked.
Moments later, he quietly let out a breath of relief.
His Highness had smiled at last. It was the first time in more than a month. Le Shu felt a dull ache in his heart.
The Lu State’s wedding procession was grand in scale. As the distance shortened, they drew ever nearer to the Lu capital.
At last, on the first day of the twelfth lunar month, they arrived at Ye Jing.
Upon the lofty and imposing city walls, soldiers beat drums in measured unison. Red silk hung in long drapes from the battlements, and the crackle of firecrackers filled the air.
At the city gate, officials clad in crimson court robes watched the approaching procession with anxious expressions, glancing back repeatedly.
“Has His Highness the Third Prince been found?” Minister of Rites Han Zheng pressed urgently.
“He has not.”
“Then continue searching! The procession is already at the gates. Go quickly!” Han Zheng’s eyes widened as he stamped his foot in agitation.
“Lord Han, the Third Prince is not within his residence. We truly cannot find him.”
“Indeed. That fiend hides himself away. Who dares invite ill fortune by seeking him?”
Han Zheng felt a pang at his chest. He too wished to avoid dealing with this Prince, yet duty bound him fast. Clenching his teeth, he said, “If he cannot be found today, send the Prince Consort into the Third Prince’s residence first. As for the rest… there is nothing we can do!”
“Precisely. As long as we ensure the Prince Consort enters the residence safely, the remainder has nothing to do with us.”
“Yes, yes.” The others echoed.
Soon, the eight-cornered bridal sedan adorned with gilded tassels and pearl ornaments came to a gradual halt before the gates.
Han Zheng led the officials forward and bowed deeply. “We, your servants, welcome the Third Prince Consort.”
The officials and soldiers called in unison, “We welcome the Third Prince Consort.”
When the voices faded, a gentle and pleasing tone emerged from within the sedan. “You may rise.”
The voice was low and steady, neither servile nor arrogant. It resembled the warm breeze of spring, leaving one with a sense of quiet ease.
Han Zheng was briefly startled, and his regard for this Prince Consort rose. Stepping forward, he said respectfully, “Your Highness has endured many days of travel and hardship. We have now reached the outskirts of Ye Jing. Would Your Highness wish to pause and rest?”
“Yes.”
Han Zheng released a breath, though tension remained.
The hour was already the third quarter of the shen hour. According to wedding custom, the Third Prince ought to leave the city to receive his bride and escort the Prince Consort back to the residence.
The troublesome Third Prince, however, was nowhere to be found. Having no other recourse, Han Zheng could only resort to this measure, hoping to delay in case the man might yet appear.
He cast a glance toward the gate, bitterness in his heart.
What ill fate had brought him to this thorn in the side? It would shorten his life.
Within the sedan, Le Shu assisted his Highness in donning the wedding robes. Holding the waist pendant, he let out a soft breath.
With undisguised admiration, he whispered, “Your Highness truly foresaw events. You even predicted we would halt to rest.”
He had nearly died of anxiety. As Ye Jing drew near, his Highness still sat calmly in old garments, reading. No matter how he urged him, he would not change into wedding attire.
Chu Yuan looked at him and sighed inwardly. “Did you see those outside just now?”
Le Shu nodded vigorously. He had cautiously peered through a gap in the curtain and seen many figures.
“Did you see…” Chu Yuan paused slightly before continuing evenly, “His Highness the Third Prince?”
Le Shu’s mind went blank for a moment.
He recalled the scene he had witnessed. The color gradually drained from his fair face.
Chu Yuan lowered his gaze to the intricate dragon-and-phoenix embroidery upon his wedding robes. In his dark, limpid eyes, not a ripple of emotion stirred. Distance and indifference lay there.
Along the journey he had heard much idle gossip. He had formed certain conjectures regarding this Third Prince.
He himself had been compelled into distant marriage. The other had been compelled into taking a spouse. Each must harbor grievances.
That man’s unwillingness to come and receive him was understandable.
Once Le Shu grasped the reason, his eyes reddened at once. He looked at his Highness in distress, yet found no words of comfort.
His Highness had suffered too much these past years.
The path ahead was even more uncertain, beyond all foresight.
Unable to restrain himself, he threw himself against Chu Yuan’s knees and cried upward, “If Her Majesty the Empress were still alive and saw Your Highness suffering, she would surely be heartbroken to death.”
Chu Yuan’s lashes trembled faintly.
After a long while, he lifted his hand and gently patted Le Shu’s back. Whether he meant to comfort him or himself, none could say.
“It’s all right. Do not be afraid.”
✧ A Word from the Author ✧
Le Shu: My poor, ill-fated Highness! (wailing at the top of his lungs)
Lu Ronghuai: What in the world are you yelling for?
Le Shu: Eep~
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