Chapter 27 (1/2)

Chapter 27: Entering the Palace

Someone knocked lightly against the door.

I hurriedly turned away, rubbing my face with my sleeves.

Nongyu leaned against the doorframe outside, looking at me. His tone was flippant. “The carriage is already outside with the crown prince waiting in it. When will the beautiful person join him?”

Fang Hua wasn’t angry, but swept over him with a light gaze. “Everything’s been packed up. I’ll go now.”

“Yifu…” I tugged at his sleeve, extremely reluctant.

He released himself to scoop up the bundle on the table and gently stepped outside.

From within the carriage, Han Zichuan was just raising the screen when he spotted me. He gave me a long gaze, his eyes filled with a reluctance to part and another indescribable, indistinct emotion.

“You have to take care of m-my yifu, you hear me?” I gave him a ferocious stare.

He only smiled at me.

My eyes swept over, and settled on Fang Hua again with a tangled expression. He seemed to pause, eyes reluctantly looking over the residence as if he didn’t want to leave. Yet he entered the carriage without glancing my way.

“We’ll be taking our leave,” Nongyu sat astride his horse, looking at me thoughtfully. Then he whipped the animal and galloped off in a cloud of dust.

I forced back the tears threatening to leak from my eyes. I wanted to ask yifu to stay behind, but I could only watch helplessly as the carriage vanished into the distance.

From start to finish…

Fang Hua hadn’t spared me a single look.

Neither did he leave me any silver.

I took a long breath, covered in dust as I returned to the house. Plopping on a chair, I scooped up a cup from the table I poured myself some water that I downed it in one gulp. My heart was filled with frustration.

But at the same time, I wanted to laugh.

It was fine if I didn’t have silver. Fortunately, I’d buried a sizable secret stash of money that could finally come in handy.

—All reproductions of this work not on volaretranslations are stolen copies.

This Fang Hua.

He thought I’d meekly listen to his words?

What a joke…

The greatest joke in the Heavens! I stuck a hand on my waist and laughed out loud, laughing until I felt a bitter pain.

Fang Hua definitely foresaw that I’d secretly follow after them if he left me any silver. Han Zichuan must have used some way to convince him to go to the palace so obediently.

He was already a handful to deal with here here. How could he follow Han Zichuan so willingly to court?

Even though I had no idea what the palace was like, I’d heard enough from the storytellers on my trips to the marketplace. The current old man emperor was immoderately licentious, frequently raising taxes that forced the people into poverty. This I knew very well. I remember when I was a beggar, it was even common to see people eating other people.

I poured myself more water while thinking things over.

One hand rested on my forehead, my eyebrows knitted, fingers poking my skin…

Truthfully speaking, the emperor rarely came to court in recent years. The affairs of the country were in the hands of the ministers, and the lives of the common people had improved day by day. If I hadn’t met Nongyu last time, I wouldn’t have known that someone had poisoned the emperor, even though this was just a conclusion drawn from a few isolated words and phrases. But I think…it was about eight or nine-tenths of the truth.

From my perspective, it’d be better if this stupid emperor died. Even if he didn’t, there’d be people who wanted him dead. Otherwise, where would we get people braving the dangers of Jiuzu[1] to harm him with poison?

Since this palace had someone poison the emperor with none the wiser, it had to be a person with extraordinary abilities. Now that Fang Hua was going to save him, things would bode ill for him[2]. Moreover, the imperial harem was filled with so many beautiful women living by themselves.

Who knew how much chaos he would incite as soon as he entered the palace? What would the imperial concubines think of him?

Hnn.

You don’t want me to go?

Not possible!

Old geezer, I’ve got plenty of money.

I suppress a stomach full of anger as I started digging in the dirt…piling up layers and layers of paper money and s.h.i.+ny gold leaves, and grinned from the corners of my mouth.

In these days, everything was easier if you had money.