Unyielding Spring Mountains - Chapter 18: Entwined Affections

“No,” Qi Yan denied once again.

“Then where did you go last night? And where did the fragrance on your body come from?”

Qi Yan replied calmly, “Your grandson is not a reckless man. How could I have spent the night in a young lady’s room? I am not familiar with her. Last night, I went to see Wei Ling. Later, as I was too exhausted, I happened to rest in his quarters. During that time, his elder sister came by and summoned a physician for me. Perhaps I picked up the scent then.”

Qi Yan lifted his fingers to his nose and took a light sniff. “Is it really that strong?”

He glanced at the old eunuch beside the Empress Dowager. The eunuch, understanding the implicit warning in Qi Yan’s gaze, closed his mouth and remained silent.

The Empress Dowager of Chu said, “If there is truly nothing between the two of you, then why did you help the eldest Miss Wei annul her engagement?”

“Because of Wei Ling. Last night, Wei Ling led troops to assist. If not for him delaying the Crown Prince’s forces outside, I fear I would not have been able to hold on until your men arrived to stop the Crown Prince.”

Qi Yan’s voice remained steady, without the slightest fluctuation. “Such a favor, I naturally feel grateful for, so I allowed him to make a request. He said he wanted Your Majesty to retract his elder sister’s betrothal but had no means to achieve it. Grandmother, in helping Miss Wei, you are, in truth, helping me.”

He spoke sincerely, explaining the cause and effect in detail. The Empress Dowager was also aware of how the Marquis of Wei had sent troops to assist the previous night. After careful thought, she found his words believable to some extent.

“You should know the kind of person I am, Grandmother. Moreover,” Qi Yan paused briefly, “the Crown Prince is unworthy of the throne, cruel at heart, and even planted a physician by your side with nefarious intentions. How could such a man be worthy of marrying the eldest daughter of the Wei family?”

The Empress Dowager let out a cold laugh. It was precisely because she had discovered her grandson’s plot to poison her that her heart had turned even colder.

She slowly stood up from the table and took a deep breath. “Go and tell the Marquis of Wei that I will handle this matter for him.”

With these words, the Empress Dowager had agreed.

Qi Yan nodded. “Very well. I thank you on behalf of Wei Ling.”

At that moment, the Crown Prince they were discussing stood outside the sleeping hall of the King of Chu.

“Your Highness, the King is awake. You may enter now.”

At the break of dawn, the King of Chu had summoned the Crown Prince. Jing Heng nodded, lifted the curtain, and stepped inside. As he rounded the screen, a bamboo slip was flung straight at him.

“Father!” Jing Heng clutched his eye and knelt before the sickbed. Crimson blood dripped from his brow bone, staining the floor tile before him.

Above him, the King of Chu’s cold, grave voice rang out. “How decisive and independent the Crown Prince is—fully aware that the borderlands of Chu are in turmoil, yet still chose to move against the Qi family!”

The King of Chu lay on the sickbed, leaning forward as he raised his hand to help the Crown Prince up, smiling as he said, “Did the Crown Prince act behind my back in an attempt to seize credit before reporting it, or did you plan to usurp me and take my place? Why not take the throne yourself?”

Jing Heng heard the sarcasm in his father’s tone and quickly explained, “How could I dare? The Qi family has always been a thorn in Father’s side. I wished only to ease your burden. The Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet was the perfect opportunity to eliminate the two of them. I had planned this for a long time, but somewhere, an unexpected error caused the plan to fail.”

“Unexpected?” The King of Chu sneered, deliberately emphasizing the word. “The Empress Dowager may not be my birth mother, but she has never treated me poorly. You poisoned your own grandmother. If word of this reaches the King of Jin, it would mean that you plotted against his own sister. If he demands your life as compensation for the Empress Dowager, should I give it or not?”

Jing Heng said solemnly, “I am the Crown Prince of Chu.”

“A Crown Prince?” The King of Chu said coldly. “There are countless princes and heirs among the feudal lords. Since when has the King of Jin ever cared? Though Chu is strong, we do not dare to openly wage war against Jin.”

“Furthermore, Qi Yan is the grandson of the King of Jin. Though the King of Jin has never interfered all these years, who truly knows his thoughts? I have always been wary of touching him, yet you sought to take his life?”

Jing Heng knelt upright and admitted, “Indeed, I was too impatient and reckless this time.”

Jing Heng had wanted to eliminate the Qi family largely because his father had repeatedly expressed disappointment in him lately. He had hoped to regain the King of Chu’s trust through this act. However, since most of the power in the Chu court already lay in his hands, he was not overly concerned about his father’s reprimands.

“The mess you left behind still requires me to provide an explanation to the Qi family. For now, I will revoke your title as Crown Prince. But that is not all—I must also worry about whether your actions will truly push the Qi family toward rebellion. To appease them, I must continue granting them military authority.”

The King of Chu sneered, “A ruler who lacks patience and restraint is doomed to suffer loss. Even your engagement to the eldest Miss Wei—you have made a complete mess of it. You believe that because you are the Crown Prince, all must rely on you, and no one can shake your position, is that it?”

“Mark my words—I do not have only one son.”

If, before these words were spoken, the Crown Prince had remained composed, now his expression changed drastically.

“What do you mean, Father?”

The King of Chu said, “The Seventh Prince has been a hostage in another state, enduring great hardships. I think it is time to bring him and his mother back to Chu.”

“But the Seventh Prince’s lineage is in question. Did you not refuse to acknowledge him before, Father?”

The King of Chu looked at Jing Heng. His son had always remained unshaken before others, yet now, he was visibly unsettled.

“His lineage is in question, yes. But the envoys I sent reported that as he grows, the Seventh Prince increasingly resembles me—even more so than you did in your youth.”

Jing Heng’s lips curved into a smooth, practiced smile. “If Father says so, then I presume the men sent to fetch my seventh brother are already on their way, aren’t they?”

The King of Chu said, “Yes. You should be grateful that your engagement with the eldest Miss Wei is still intact, for the Wei family can still lend you support. If you cause any more trouble, I will not spare you. Now leave.”

Exiting the grand hall, the bamboo curtain fell behind him. The smile vanished from Jing Heng’s face.

A mere hostage prince, without any strengths or political standing—what could he possibly have to compete with him? Once Wei Zhen married him, with the Wei family as his backing, there would be nothing to fear.

He let out a cold laugh and slowly descended the steps.

The eunuch standing outside the hall had been pacing anxiously. Seeing the Crown Prince emerge, he immediately stepped forward. “Your Highness.”

Jing Heng asked leisurely, “What matter has you so anxious?”

The eunuch hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and whispering, “Second Miss Wei has sent word—she is with child.”

“Pregnant?”

“It is absolutely true. I took the liberty of sending one of Your Highness’s trusted physicians to examine her pulse. She is indeed two months along. Second Miss Wei asks Your Highness to visit her.”

Jing Heng stood in silence. He had just been warned by his father not to stir up further trouble, and now Wei Yao was pregnant. He was reluctant to part with her, yet he had to consider the bigger picture.

Jing Heng said, “Go tell Second Miss Wei that, to avoid suspicion, I cannot meet with her for now. Once the situation calms down, I will see her.”

After a pause, he added in a gentle tone, “Privately send her some nourishing medicine. Offer some comforting words. Make sure she is well cared for.”

He thought that Wei Yao had always been gentle and obedient, so she likely wouldn’t cause any trouble.

The most urgent matter now was to stabilize Wei Zhen and secure his marriage with the Wei family.

Yet, that very afternoon, a piece of news was delivered to the Crown Prince—

The Empress Dowager had visited the King of Chu’s palace in the afternoon, and during their conversation, she had brought up the Crown Prince’s marriage with the Wei family’s young lady, expressing her desire for the engagement to be annulled.

The palace servant reporting this was one of the Crown Prince’s spies planted beside the King of Chu.

“Your servant was waiting outside and does not know exactly what was said inside. However, I vaguely heard the Empress Dowager mention that Your Highness’s conduct was lacking, making you unfit for the position of heir, and she asked His Majesty to revoke your engagement with the Wei family’s young lady. His Majesty has already agreed.”

Jing Heng’s lips curled with a faint smile. “My marriage with Wei Zhen—surely that is not something her elderly self can interfere with?”

He couldn’t understand—did Wei Zhen detest him so much that she insisted on annulling the engagement with less than twenty days left until the wedding?

What exactly gave her the ability to persuade the Empress Dowager to speak on her behalf?

Jing Heng’s fingers lightly traced the rim of his teacup as a certain person’s name surfaced in his mind.

Ever since the day Wei Zhen and Qi Yan spent a night together in the forest, he had sensed something unusual between them.

The Crown Prince rose, set down his teacup, and chuckled. “Let’s go. Time to pay Wei Zhen a visit.”

He wanted to see for himself what sort of charm Wei Zhen possessed to even deceive Qi Yan.

**

Wei Zhen woke from her afternoon nap. Sunlight filtered through the gauzy window screens, and faint whispers came from behind the standing bird-and-flower screen.

A short while later, a maid entered. “Miss, you’re finally awake. Your servant was debating whether to wake you—Young General has been waiting outside for quite a while.”

Wei Zhen was slightly surprised. “He has been waiting for a long time? Why didn’t anyone inform me?”

She slipped on her shoes and stepped down from the bed, quickly moving to her dressing table. “Why is he here?”

“Young General didn’t say.”

Wei Zhen pondered for a moment. “My brother has matters to attend to this afternoon and shouldn’t be around. Take Young General to my brother’s study and let him wait there for a moment—I’ll come shortly.”

“Miss, Young General is already waiting in the study.”

Wei Zhen paused, not expecting them to have such unspoken understanding in this matter.

She called for Maidservant Tian to help her dress.

As Maidservant Tian took the comb, she lowered her voice. “Miss, in the past, when His Highness the Crown Prince visited, you never took such care in dressing. Why the sudden change today?”

Wei Zhen’s fingers trailed over the ornaments in her jewelry box one by one, then she selected a pearl hairpin carved with magnolia blossoms and handed it to the older woman. “I just woke from a nap—naturally, I should tidy myself before seeing a guest.”

Maidservant Tian took the hairpin and chuckled softly.

Wei Zhen caught the teasing tone in her laughter. Her hand, mid-gesture, trembled slightly, and she slowly withdrew it into her sleeve.

There had been nothing between them, but with that teasing remark, it now seemed as if there was.

She said, “Truly, there’s nothing. Young General has done me a great favor—it’s only proper to treat him with more courtesy than Jing Heng.”

Dressing took longer than Wei Zhen had anticipated.

When she finally stepped out and arrived at her brother’s study, she placed her hand on the doorframe.

The doors opened to reveal the young man inside.

He was seated at the table, idly playing with a crystalline dagger. At the sound of movement, he lifted his head—his brows like distant mountains, his eyes as bright as stars. Today, he wore a robe of bamboo-green brocade, making him appear even more distinguished and striking. Sitting there in the study, he illuminated the entire room, as graceful as an orchid or jade tree.

Wei Zhen stepped in from the sunlight. “I lost track of time while resting. I made Young General wait—may I ask what brings you here today?”

Qi Yan rose, setting the dagger down on the table. Strands of golden light streamed in through the window screens, casting a soft glow on his features, making his brows and eyes shine radiantly.

“You don’t remember?”

Wei Zhen thought for a moment. Just then, a glimmer of golden sunlight entered her vision, making her squint slightly.

Qi Yan stepped closer, raising his hand to shield her eyes from the light. The fabric of his robe carried the warmth of sunlight, radiating a heat that wrapped around her. After a moment, his deep, magnetic voice reached her ears—

“I came to tell you about your annulment with the Crown Prince. Did you forget?”

His voice was already pleasant to the ear, but when he dragged out the final syllables, it became especially soft and lingering—like a blade of gentle affection brushing against her ear, making her feel weak from her earlobes down to her shoulders.