Chapter Eighty-One: Invitation

Xue Fanzhi found it unexpected, yet it was also entirely within reason. Her grandmother was not the sort of woman who always behaved by the book, just as Ban Jieyu herself may not have been such a proper creature; refusing to ride in a palanquin might have been nothing more than a bid for a fine reputation. But if her grandmother had been the kind who cared for appearances, she would never have offended the emperor. To put it plainly, her grandmother was not the worldly sort of woman who seemed generous in name; she had her own ferocity and her own defiance.

Still, for her grandmother to assign people to her was truly a surprise.

She was not worried that the people her grandmother sent might be there to watch her. In any case, even if her grandmother did not intervene, whenever something happened she would still tell her grandmother about it.

Now that she had people from her grandmother, it would be even easier to run errands outside the inner courtyard.

Xue Fanzhi hurried to thank her grandmother.

Old Lady Xue raised a hand and said, “You handled this matter well. To protect yourself and at the same time help our Xue family vent its anger was very good. Only, from now on, do not make decisions on your own. Your grandmother is afraid you will suffer for it.”

Xue Fanzhi agreed aloud. “Granddaughter understands.”

But inwardly she thought: that depends on the situation.

Old Lady Xue had nothing further to instruct her about. Then, thinking of something, she let out a regretful sigh. “What a pity about that scourge, Fifth Miss. The trouble was all brought on by her. If only we had let Second Madam Xie curse her into the ground!”

But then all the daughters of the Xue family would have been dragged down with her.

Xue Fanzhi frowned in regret.

How could Old Lady Xue not understand that? There was nothing to be done. She said, “Still, sooner or later I will settle this. I cannot allow the Third Branch to keep tarnishing our Xue family’s name.”

Xue Fanzhi nodded to herself. That was exactly right. It was only a matter of time. The Third Branch, the old madam of the Third Branch, Fifth Miss—all of them would receive their retribution sooner or later.

...

On her way back from Old Lady Xue’s courtyard, Xue Fanzhi ran into Xiao Yi at the entrance to Madam Jin’s courtyard.

Xiao Yi was dressed just as crisp and tidy as ever, but Xue Fanzhi now regarded him as something foul, something that could ruin her eyes if she looked too long. She did not dare meet his gaze and tried to slip away.

Xiao Yi lifted a hand and blocked her path. “Xue Eight, I know you are not blind!”

Xue Fanzhi: “...”

Seeing that no one was coming from ahead, Xue Fanzhi lowered her voice. “Ninth Prince, do you know that a lecher was just caught inside and outside Fifth Miss’s courtyard? Do you also want to be beaten and thrown before my grandmother?”

Xiao Yi saw that she still had the heart to joke, and knew Old Lady Xue had not made things difficult for her. He said, “No matter. It is fine if you want to say anything to me. Madam Jin is in Xue Yang’s courtyard, and Seventh Miss is over there as well.”

In other words, for the moment she was the only master in the rear courtyard.

In truth, even if someone saw them, Xue Fanzhi was not afraid. It was not as though she had broken into the Ninth Prince’s residence. If you did nothing shameful, you had no need to fear the ghost knocking at the door.

Thinking of this, Xue Fanzhi straightened her back. She first curtsied to Xiao Yi, then asked, “Does Your Highness have any further instructions? If not, I am going back.”

“On the tenth day of the third month, come boating on the lake!” Xiao Yi suddenly said something utterly out of the blue.

Xue Fanzhi was dazed like a bowl of uncooked sweet rice dumplings, blinking in confusion. “Boating on the lake? What for?”

After a pause, she asked, “Are you asking me out, my lord?”

Xiao Yi clasped his hands behind his back and laughed. “And if I were?”

“My lord, we already made a promise...”

Xue Fanzhi had not finished before Xiao Yi cut her off. “You are thinking too much. Father Emperor wants to find a rare medicinal herb for Crown Prince Brother. I heard that the merchant who sells medicinal materials has arrived in the city, but he is staying on a pleasure boat. I want to go take a look. Unfortunately, none of the people in my residence recognize the herb, so I wanted you to bring Doctor Li from your household with me to identify it.”

Xue Fanzhi understood, but something about it felt strangely off. “You want me to bring that old man, Li Daguan, along?”

She knew very well what kind of place a pleasure boat was. For decent people, the lake in Jiankang City was not exactly decent.

Xiao Yi himself also found it awkward. Clearly, he wanted nothing more than to arrange a date with his woman, to go boating and drifting on the water, yet he had to bring along an old man, and not even one he knew. Was that not awkward?

Through all history, there was probably no one else who had taken such trouble to care for widows, widowers, the lonely, and the isolated!

Even so, Xue Fanzhi was not certain whether she could go.

“I told you before, Doctor Li does not want to treat the Crown Prince, so he may not be willing to go.”

Xiao Yi said, “If he does not go, then you will accompany me to take a look.”

“But I do not know herbs. Not to mention the rare medicinal herb you mentioned, I would not even recognize coptis root!”

Realgar, coptis root, baikal skullcap, and phellodendron bark were all very common medicinal herbs.

Xiao Yi smiled. “Then I am even less useful than you. I did not even remember that coptis root exists in this world.”

Xue Fanzhi: “...”

After thinking for a moment, she lowered her voice and asked, “Is Your Highness really going to find medicinal herbs for the Crown Prince?”

In her previous life, Xue Fanzhi had never heard of such a thing.

In her previous life, the Crown Prince had also fallen ill. It was said to be quite serious, but he had not died of natural causes. Xiao Yi had told her that the Sixth Prince had poisoned the Crown Prince’s food with a deadly drug, then framed the Seventh Prince for it.

In the end, the Crown Prince died, and the Sixth and Seventh Princes accused each other, tearing one another apart and losing their qualifications to become the heir.

That was why the court descended into chaos over the matter of naming the heir; otherwise, Xiao Yi would never have become emperor. But in her previous life, that was only what Xiao Yi had told her. In truth, neither the Sixth Prince nor the Seventh Prince had poisoned the Crown Prince at all. The real reason lay in the fact that he had led both men down a path of no return. No, to be exact, it was three men.

It had all been Xiao Yi’s doing.

In this life, he could not possibly have changed his murderous intent. The imperial throne was the bait, after all. If the Crown Prince did not die, no one could rise any further. She believed Xiao Yi’s ambitions were boundless, and that in any lifetime he would never miss the chance to harm the Crown Prince.

If he wanted the Crown Prince dead, then why was he still searching for medicinal herbs?

Xiao Yi only saw Xue Fanzhi’s large eyes darting about like a rolling bead, and perhaps she herself did not even realize how blank and adorable she looked. He could not help but smile faintly. “No matter who it is meant for, it is always safest to keep life-saving medicine in your own hands.”

Oh, so he really did mean to find the herb first and hold it as a rare commodity, then simply refuse to take it out unless it served him. That was how Xue Fanzhi understood Xiao Yi’s words.

She understood then. Xiao Yi was still Xiao Yi. Hoping he had a conscience was no better than hoping a sow could climb a tree.

Still, in her previous life Xiao Yi had become emperor and had won in the end, so she had no real concerns. She could take sides at any time.

Xue Fanzhi nodded in relief. “Your Highness is right.”

Xiao Yi said, “Enough of the useless talk. Remember to come. I will send someone to pick you up.”

Xue Fanzhi actually wanted to go out and breathe some fresh air, and since she would be with Xiao Yi, she would neither lose money nor fall into a trap. The problem was that it was not easy for her to leave home.

“I still cannot promise Your Highness. Perhaps on that day I may not even be able to get out.”

Xiao Yi shook his head. “If you are troubled by not being able to get out, then do not worry. I will make arrangements for you to leave the house. You only need to prepare to bring one person.”

So that was it. Then she really could go and take a look.

After the two of them had reached an agreement, Xue Fanzhi was about to return to her own courtyard.

Xiao Yi stopped her once more. “There is one more thing I must tell you, so you can be on guard. Zhang Ninth Miss’s whereabouts are still unknown. I expect the Zhang family will soon come looking for you. You truly do not know where Zhang Ninth Miss is?”