Gu Yun slumped over the table, feeling as though the medicinal tonics had stripped all taste from his tongue. Just as he was thinking that he had forgotten to apologise to Chao Yan, he overheard Zhang Zhangshe chatting with a palace maid nearby.
“How could she bear to leave her parents behind?”
The maid replied, “No one knows where she went. A delicate young lady raised in luxury, running off on her own… it’s incredibly dangerous.”
Gu Yun turned his head towards them. “What are you talking about?”
Zhang Zhangshe answered, “Your Highness, we’re talking about Princess Roujia.”
“Who?” Gu Yun asked.
For a moment, he failed to retrieve the name from his memory.
“The only daughter of Princess Hanzhu,” Zhang Zhangshe explained. “The last time Princess Hanzhu visited, she even said her daughter was bored at home and wanted you to come and keep her company.”
Gu Yun remembered.
He had never actually met Princess Roujia, however, and therefore knew nothing about her. Judging by Princess Hanzhu’s character, though, there was a good chance the girl had been raised badly.
“What happened to Princess Roujia?” he asked. “What do you mean, she left her parents? Where did she go? Did she run away from home?”
“Precisely.”
Bending slightly, Zhang Zhangshe lowered her voice.
“This morning, Princess Roujia attended a plum blossom appreciation gathering. During the event, she fell into the snow and dirtied her clothes, so she said she was going to change. Everyone waited for quite some time, but she never returned. When servants went to check on her, they discovered she’d disappeared, and all of her maids had been locked inside a room.
“At first everyone thought she’d been abducted. The maids were interrogated, but they insisted the Princess had run away of her own accord. Apparently she told them they were playing a game and tricked them into locking themselves inside.
“Who could have imagined that the always obedient and sensible Princess Roujia would do something like this? Although…”
“Although what?” Gu Yun asked.
A complicated expression crossed Zhang Zhangshe’s face.
She hesitated for quite some time before suddenly shaking her head and asking whether he wanted any candied fruit, saying it had been sent over from Consort Shu’s palace.
Gu Yun looked displeased.
“If you’ve got something to say, then say it. Why keep changing the subject?”
“Well…” Zhang Zhangshe hesitated before sighing. “It’s not that I can’t say it. I just don’t think it’s appropriate. Hearing it won’t do you any good.”
Gu Yun wrinkled his nose, folded his arms across his chest, and turned his head away.
Zhang Zhangshe immediately moved around and positioned herself in front of him again. “His Highness told you to take proper care of your health.”
Gu Yun turned his head back the other way. Zhang Zhangshe followed him.
He turned again. She followed again.
After several rounds, the two of them looked as though they were performing a skit about a person and his shadow. The surrounding palace maids burst into delighted laughter.
Gu Yun lifted his eyelids and swept them with a glance. The maids lowered their heads immediately, but they were still laughing, their shoulders trembling.
“If you keep laughing,” Gu Yun warned, “I’ll dock half your evening meal.”
The maids barely managed to suppress their laughter and pretended to be frightened. “We wouldn’t dare. We wouldn’t dare.”
Gu Yun raised an eyebrow, glanced at Zhang Zhangshe, and waved a dismissive hand. He could not be bothered arguing with her. After all, her duty was to look after him. Why make things difficult for her?
In truth, Gu Yun had already guessed what she had been trying not to say.
She was worried about Princess Roujia’s maids.
There was no need to think deeply about it. Princess Hanzhu would undoubtedly be furious over her daughter’s disappearance, and the maids who had failed to watch over their mistress would likely face terrible consequences.
Gu Yun did not know whether Princess Roujia had simply been too selfish to consider the fate of her maids, or whether she was merely immature and had failed to think things through properly.
If it was the latter, then, objectively speaking, her chances of coming to grief outside were extremely high.
It was not a curse. Merely reality.
Regardless, he hoped both the maids and Princess Roujia would remain safe. The maids had suffered an entirely undeserved disaster.
As for Princess Roujia, whatever her reasons, a young woman of her status running away from home in this era required a considerable amount of courage.
Zhang Zhangshe had no idea that Gu Yun had already guessed the answer. Seeing that he was no longer pressing the matter, she visibly relaxed.
Then she smiled, headed into the study, opened a cabinet beside the display shelves, withdrew a thick stack of papers, and hurried back.
Spreading them before Gu Yun, she said: “You’ll be resting for a while now, so I thought you might become bored. I’ve specially compiled a list of interesting places around the capital.
“If you’d like to visit any of them, I’ll accompany you. We can sneak out quietly.”
At this point, she lowered her voice.
“You may encounter the wives and daughters of officials at some of these places. You don’t need to try winning them over for His Highness’s sake. The one above is already wary of His Highness. If you start doing that, he’ll think His Highness is forming factions and cultivating private alliances.”
Zhang Zhangshe did not know exactly what Gu Yun had been doing. She only knew that he devoted himself wholeheartedly to serving the Crown Prince.
She worried that even while resting, he might continue labouring for Chao Yan’s sake and accidentally make matters worse rather than better. So she felt compelled to remind him.
As for the Emperor’s wariness towards the Crown Prince, she did not need anyone to tell her. One look at that troublemaker permanently planted inside the Eastern Palace, the Superintendent of the Eastern Palace Eunuchs, was enough.
Gu Yun had long since realised that the current Emperor was deeply wary of Crown Prince Chao Yan and that openly cultivating allies would be unwise.
Nevertheless, he accepted Zhang Zhangshe’s goodwill. Not that he had any intention of going sightseeing.
The weather was freezing. No matter how entertaining a place might be, it became far less enjoyable in winter. Besides, if he got his clothes wet outside and had nowhere to change, he would probably fall seriously ill again. The risks outweighed the benefits.
Seeing how decisively he refused, Zhang Zhangshe looked disappointed. She put away the papers.
Moments later, however, she was energetic again and directed several people to carry in a number of large chests. Before Gu Yun could ask what they contained, she threw open the lids.
Inside were clothes. An astonishing quantity of clothes. Enough to rival his mother’s entire wardrobe. Gu Yun’s eyes widened.
Zhang Zhangshe rubbed her hands together eagerly. “Before you entered the palace, His Highness instructed the Needlework Bureau to make clothes for you. The head seamstresses wanted to curry favour with you, so they made countless outfits. The other palace maids and I also made several sets in our spare time. Why not wear a different outfit every day? When you’re busy, you never have time to use them. If they sit around too long, they’ll deteriorate.”
Gu Yun: “?”
“Your hair is long enough to style now,” Zhang Zhangshe continued excitedly. “We can create some simple hairstyles and pair them with the rouge we’ve made ourselves. We’ll give you a beautiful look. Don’t worry, we’re very quick. It won’t take much of your time.”
She became increasingly animated. The other palace maids looked equally eager. After all, they had been assigned to attend to Gu Yun. Yet he spent most of his time outside. They rarely had any opportunity to demonstrate their skills and had found life painfully dull.
Gu Yun: “…”
Silently, he dragged his chair farther away from them.
Although he knew perfectly well that his collapse had nothing to do with physical exhaustion, he had still accepted Chao Yan’s suggestion that he rest. Partly because being held in the Crown Prince’s arms at the time had left him somewhat light-headed. But mainly because he genuinely had very little to do for the foreseeable future.
The idea of taking an extended holiday had already crossed his mind.
The firearms project was complete. The craftsmen could handle the rest. He only needed to inspect their progress occasionally. As for Craftsman Wang, he could conduct another assessment later.
To prepare for future natural disasters, he had also asked Chao Yan to obtain seeds for cold-resistant crops and to investigate whether sweet potatoes and potatoes existed.
Given that poetry, military institutions, and many other things from real history appeared in this world, sweet potatoes and potatoes likely existed too. Great Xuan simply had not introduced them yet.
When Chao Yan asked why, Gu Yun answered honestly: He wanted ordinary people to live better lives.
Chao Yan agreed. However, the expression on his face at the time had been extraordinarily complicated. Even more complicated than Zhang Zhangshe’s earlier expression.
Gu Yun tactfully refrained from asking questions. Still, he could roughly guess what Chao Yan was thinking. Probably something along the lines of:
How does he know so much? He even understands agriculture. Remarkable.
Gu Yun happened to think he was pretty remarkable as well. Unfortunately, no amount of remarkable competence could withstand the eager gazes of Zhang Zhangshe and the palace maids.
On the first morning of his official rest period, he had barely finished exercising outside the side hall before being dragged off to bathe.
By the time they were done with him, he looked pink, decorative, and dazzlingly adorned. As he walked, his flowing ribbons and silk flowers moved before he did. Thankfully, they remembered his dislike of heavy ornaments and had used only lighter accessories.
Feeling helpless, Gu Yun reached up and fiddled with several fishbone-shaped hair ribbons hanging over his chest.
The ribbons swayed. Tiny coloured jade beads hanging from the ends clinked together with crisp, pleasant sounds. After a while, he discovered a degree of amusement in them.
Dragging a rattan chair to the corridor, he sat down and braided several ribbons together.
How boring. A life with absolutely nothing to do.
Tossing the ribbons aside, he sprawled across the chair, first crossing one leg, then the other.
Only then did he remember. He had intended to learn disguise techniques from Yan Zhao. Now that he finally had free time, did Yan Zhao have any?
Come to think of it, he had not seen the man in ages.
Wait. Was he one of those people born to toil endlessly? Did he become uncomfortable whenever he wasn’t busy?
Gu Yun abruptly sat upright and slapped his own cheeks.
Then he went to the Grand Library, borrowed several interesting books, prepared plates of dried fruit, a pot of tea, and a small blanket, and returned to his rattan chair.
Thus began his glorious life as a useless Eastern Palace freeloader.
The spot was excellent. The palace grounds were quiet. The winter sunlight was pleasantly warm.
Before long, drowsiness overcame him. He placed a book over his face, tucked the blanket around himself, and promptly fell asleep.
The matter of Princess Roujia, however, was far from over.
While Gu Yun was sleeping soundly, a palace maid suddenly came running over in a panic. “Something terrible has happened, Your Highness!”
Nearby, Zhang Zhangshe was sitting with others cracking walnuts in preparation for making walnut pastries. Her face darkened immediately.
“What sort of behaviour is this?” she scolded. “Running about in a panic and shouting at the top of your lungs. Can’t you see His Highness is resting?”
The maid bowed hurriedly, panting. “No, Sister. It’s genuinely urgent.”
She looked towards Gu Yun. By then he had already been awakened.
Removing the book from his face, the Eastern Palace freeloader slowly raised his head and sat upright.
The maid bowed. “Your Highness, Eunuch Huang’s godson has delivered a large pile of portraits of young women.”
Grinding her teeth, she continued: “I saw it myself. He said His Majesty ordered them sent here. I slipped him some money, and he told me that Princess Hanzhu recently went to see His Majesty. She complained that, relying on His Highness’s favour, you refused her invitation and showed contempt for imperial authority. His Majesty was extremely displeased. He ordered Eunuch Huang to select virtuous young ladies from respectable families to become the Crown Prince’s concubines.
Eunuch Huang selected twenty-four of them. Twenty-four! The portraits alone formed an enormous stack. He said His Highness should take his time choosing and that selecting two or three would be ideal. His godson also told me to comfort you and remind you not to make things difficult for the newcomers. He said they’re different from you. They are women personally approved by the Emperor as candidates for the Crown Prince’s harem.”
Oh. And here he’d thought something serious had happened. Turns out the Emperor was simply stuffing women into his son’s residence.
Ignoring the final remark entirely, Gu Yun flopped back down. What does that have to do with me?
He had anticipated this possibility long ago. In fact, it had happened later than expected.
Zhang Zhangshe frowned. Then she turned and saw Gu Yun looking completely relaxed. She was instantly alarmed.
Noticing her expression, Gu Yun patiently considered how best to reassure her. After a moment he said: “I can’t take care of His Highness all by myself. A couple more people might actually help.”
At once, Zhang Zhangshe looked at him with pity. The other palace maids seemed equally upset, as though they wanted to say something but were holding themselves back.
Gu Yun instructed Zhang Zhangshe to reimburse the maid for the money she’d spent bribing Eunuch Huang’s godson. Then he covered his face with the book again and attempted to continue his nap.
Unfortunately, his mind was unusually alert. Not a trace of sleepiness remained.
Behind his closed eyelids, his eyes shifted slightly. Vivid rings of colour drifted through his thoughts.
He rolled over. Stopped moving. Stopped imagining.
Darkness swallowed everything. Yet an inexplicable irritation remained.
Clearly, the disastrous future he had once predicted was no longer going to happen. So why did he still feel restless?
He could not understand his own emotions. Somewhere deep down, there was even a faint trace of fear. Instinctively, he refused to examine it too closely. Time slipped away amidst his wandering thoughts.
Soon it was noon.
Reaching out, he touched the blanket and found it pleasantly warm from the sunlight.
Gu Yun immediately got up for lunch.
No matter what happened in the world, eating came first.
…
Meanwhile, Chao Yan had arrived at the Western Gardens.
By sheer coincidence, he ran into Eunuch Huang’s godson. Having earned a tidy sum of extra money, the young eunuch was in an excellent mood.
The moment he spotted Chao Yan, he hurried over and eagerly informed him that His Majesty cared deeply for him and had specially ordered Eunuch Huang to select numerous virtuous young ladies.
Chao Yan merely responded with a faint: “Mhm.”
“My godfather took the task extremely seriously,” the young eunuch said enthusiastically. “Slender beauties, voluptuous beauties, every type imaginable. Any one of them would make an excellent concubine for Your Highness.”
Without even glancing at him, Chao Yan asked: “Which one do you think is best?”
The young eunuch brightened immediately. “Lord Qiao’s grand-niece is particularly outstanding—”
Chao Yan raised a hand. “Shall I ask Father to arrange a marriage between the two of you?”
The young eunuch nearly dropped to his knees. Barely managing to steady himself, he cautiously studied Chao Yan’s expression. Seeing no obvious anger there only frightened him further.
“Your Highness,” he said hurriedly, “please don’t joke with this servant.”
Chao Yan chuckled softly.
The young eunuch’s scalp practically went numb. He no longer dared mention concubines.
Glancing around, he searched desperately for another topic that might ease the atmosphere before taking his leave. Then he noticed the enormous cloth sack hanging from Li Lan’s hand. “…What’s that?”
Smiling faintly, Chao Yan asked: “Would you like a look?”
Li Lan opened the sack. The young eunuch leaned closer. A pair of blood-covered eyes stared straight at him from inside.
The young eunuch screamed. His legs gave out and he collapsed onto the ground.
Pointing at the sack with a trembling finger, he stammered: “Th-th-that… that’s a human head?”
