Chapter Seven
Jiang Deqing took the teacup and took a sip, nodding. "That works, then. In about a day or two he'll come looking for you. Be clever about it, but don't be too easy to talk to. Too much compliance is as bad as too little. What if he notices something? You know the Crown Prince's temperament—he wants everything done perfectly. If anything goes wrong, your master will have a lot of explaining to do."
"Master, rest assured a hundred times over. Not only won't anything go wrong, but even if Cen Chaoge notices something, what does it matter? This is his only chance to return to Lingnan. Even if he knew the Crown Prince set this trap, he'd still walk right into it." Xixiang thought of Cen Chaoge's expression when he'd mentioned finding people to accompany him back to Lingnan and found it amusing. "Master doesn't know, but right now he's wishing he could sprout wings and fly back. This thing is a sure thing."
Jiang Deqing spoke with frustration, as if addressing an underachieving student. "Who told you I was talking about that Cen fellow? I'm asking you—why did the Crown Prince go to such great lengths to have you put on this show?"
Xixiang froze, then said blankly, "To... naturally, to make the Young Prince乖乖就范..."
"Exactly. If the Young Prince finds out this was arranged by the Crown Prince and not something Cen Chaoge planned himself, he might not blame Cen Chaoge at all. Instead, he'd resent the Crown Prince for playing the villain!" Jiang Deqing shook his head. "You're over thirty now and carrying the Imperial Household Department on your shoulders. How can you still be like when you were a child—unable to think ahead without constant guidance? One slip through the cracks and everything falls apart."
Xixiang smiled. "That's why I have Master to constantly guide me. With Master around, you won't let me stumble over that one 'oversight.'"
Jiang Deqing couldn't help but laugh, waving his hand dismissively. "Alright, alright, now you're better than your master at flattery. Go on, I need to hurry back to report to the Crown Prince. You know the rest without me having to say it, right?"
Jiang Deqing rose, and Xixiang started to come forward to help him up. Jiang Deqing patted his hand and shook his head. "I'll leave through the back. Don't see me out—if someone sees, it'll be bad. If it weren't for the Crown Prince's distrust, I wouldn't have made this trip at all..."
Xixiang had no choice but to nod in agreement.
In the Crown Prince's residence, after Jiang Deqing finished his report, Qi Xiao nodded with a smile. "Xixiang is indeed useful. Although he's now the Chief Steward and has earned the Emperor's favor, his heart hasn't changed. He still treats you with such respect. I suppose he has a conscience, remembering the kindness you showed him when he was young."
"Your Highness, what gratitude could he possibly have for this old servant's meager kindness?" Jiang Deqing said. "When Xixiang was a child, his family犯了事—committed an offense. He was castrated and entered the palace as collateral damage. Originally, he was just helping out in the small kitchen at Fenghua Palace, getting bullied by the cooks every day. He was like a little freezing kitten..."
As he spoke, Jiang Deqing tidied up the desk, continuing slowly. "It was his great fortune that孝贤皇后—the Empress Xiaoxian—decided to personally cook rice porridge for the late Emperor. Xixiang was inside stoking the fire and fell asleep. The cooks forgot to chase him out, and正好—the Empress Xiaoxian saw him. The boy was only ten or so, thin as a little chick. In the dead of winter, he was only wearing one layer of lined clothing, his ten fingers as fat as radishes from the cold..."
"The Empress Xiaoxian had a merciful heart. How could she bear to watch such suffering? She said nothing at the time, but when she brought the porridge to Chengqian Palace for the Emperor, she called me over. She had someone give me a gold ingot and told me there was such a child, that I should take good care of him and not let him suffer anymore..." Recalling events from the Wu Emperor's reign, Jiang Deqing's face was full of emotion. "The Empress Xiaoxian truly was a great merciful bodhisattva. She knew that if she openly confronted those who bullied Xixiang, the boy's life in the palace would become even harder. She said nothing on the surface, but secretly arranged for this little creature, making him my disciple. Ah... the moment Xixiang came to my side, it was like falling into a honey jar. The Empress Xiaoxian personally looked after this person—I wouldn't dare make him do any work. At my place... the leftover tea and pastries from the Qianqing Palace alone could stuff him full. In less than half a year, he was fattened up white and plump. When the Empress Xiaoxian saw him, she just said, 'Much better now.' Sigh..."
On the couch, Qi Xiao leaned against the soft pillows, holding a book, listening quietly. He had heard these stories more than once. Qi Xiao usually hated people rambling on, but whenever it was about the Empress Xiaoxian and the Wu Emperor, he would listen as many times as Jiang Deqing wanted to tell it. Qi Xiao had lost both parents as an infant, and his impressions of his parents had gradually become clear through Jiang Deqing's repeated accounts over these years.
"Later... later the winds changed. The new Emperor革了我的职—stripped me of my position as head of the Imperial Household Department. 敦肃长公主—Princess Dunsu—told me to serve Your Highness faithfully. At that time, I was afraid Xixiang would be implicated, so I sent him to my senior brother early on. I no longer interacted with him publicly. But he had his own good fortune. Over all these years, he actually became Chief Steward..." Jiang Deqing laughed. "Fortunately, he has a conscience. He remembers the Empress Xiaoxian's great kindness with all his heart. I still remember—when the Empress Xiaoxian passed away, Xixiang didn't dare cry during the day. At night, back in his room, he buried himself under the covers and sobbed until his whole body shook. Your Highness doesn't know this, but when he came to see me then, he偷偷看了看您—took a secret look at Your Highness. He came in and砰砰磕头—knocked his head against your little bed, tears in his eyes and teeth clenched, swearing he would repay the Empress Xiaoxian's kindness to Your Highness..." Jiang Deqing sighed deeply. "Alas... at that time, Your Highness was in Princess Dunsu's palace, being held by the princess. Xixiang didn't know, and he knelt before your empty bed, making solemn vows and kowtowing for nearly half an hour. This old servant still hasn't had the heart to tell him, fearing it would chill this child's heart..."
Qi Xiao finally couldn't help but laugh. Jiang Deqing had been talking to himself for so long, and seeing Qi Xiao laugh, he smiled too. "Your Highness, it's getting late. Reading in lamplight hurts the eyes. Please rest early."
Qi Xiao shook his head, paused, then sat up and said, "There's still one more matter in a couple of days for you to handle..."
Jiang Deqing drew closer, bowed, and leaned his ear in. After hearing, he was dumbfounded. "Your Highness, this... truly will be the Young Prince's death..."
"If I don't be ruthless, how can I subdue him?" Qi Xiao lay back on the couch, smiling faintly as he whispered. "I need those two to truly break off all affection for each other."
Jiang Deqing secretly clicked his tongue, forcing a laugh. "Yes, the Young Prince's body is worth a thousand pieces of gold. He simply isn't someone that Cen Chaoge, that illegitimate son, should be touching."
"That's not quite how to put it... The one棒打鸳鸯—playing the villain to separate lovers—isn't me. It's Cen Chaoge himself who couldn't hold on. If he'd bitten the bullet and refused to leave, I might have..." Qi Xiao leaned against the soft pillows and smiled dismissively. "Besides, even if I didn't give him this path, Cen Chaoge wouldn't stay loyal to the Young Prince for long anyway. He simply doesn't have that kind of backbone."
Jiang Deqing hastily agreed. "Yes, yes. In truth, that Cen fellow is just a rich family's boy. He was used to throwing his weight around in his own mansion, thinking everywhere in the world was the same. The moment he stepped out, his true colors showed. How could he possibly be like Your Highness, who has the ability to protect the Young Prince and keep him safe?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Xiao gave a self-deprecating smile. "You don't need to say that to comfort me. This time, I indeed seized someone else's beloved. But so what?"
Qi Xiao rose and let Jiang Deqing help him out of his court robes. As he walked toward the inner room, he said calmly, "The one at fault isn't me. It's this world where the strong prey upon the weak..."