Chapter 592: Old Rancor

When the Forbidden City was not yet completed, Zhu Di lived in the Western Palace. Now, that large complex of buildings has been incorporated into the Western Gardens. This place was once Longfu Palace, located west of the Yuan Dynasty’s Taiye Pond. It lay abandoned for many years until the construction of the Western Palace began in the 14th year of the Yongle era, restoring it to its former glory. In addition to the Fengtian Hall, there were also rear halls, cool halls, warm halls, as well as palaces such as Renshou, Jingfu, Renhe, Wanchun, Yongshou, and Changchun—totaling over 1,600 rooms, making it extremely magnificent.

Yet, no matter how grand a place is, without its owner, it inevitably shows signs of decline. Just over two years after Zhu Di moved to the Forbidden City, most of the concubines and maids who once gathered here followed him, leaving only some aged and disfavored maids and eunuchs. Despite daily cleaning and monthly dusting, even the warm and cool halls where Zhu Di lived appeared dim and dull, not to mention the other areas. Especially Wanchun Palace, from which loud curses could be heard from time to time, became a forbidden place in people’s talk—home to the supposedly mad former Marquis of Fuyang.

“What is this? Pig food? Even if I’m not the Marquis of Fuyang, my mother is still a princess. Do you think you can treat me like this with such trash? Cailuan, Jiaofeng—come out now! There’s only so much space here; you can’t hide!”

Amidst these shrill shouts and curses, the middle-aged eunuch who brought the food left the room empty-handed, with the food still on the table. He knew well that Li Maofang only acted domineeringly but was actually very cautious about his life. He would eat everything served, and his pent-up anger and frustration were vented elsewhere.

If anyone else committed such a grave offense, they would surely die. But Li Maofang’s mother was a princess and his father a meritorious official. Though deprived of freedom, he lived as luxuriously as a prince. Two years ago, Princess Yongping sent in two beautiful maids, who quietly “died of illness” last year. Now these two were here, yet they still faced no real hardships. It was said that the princess was even arranging a marriage for Li Maofang. This wasn’t imprisonment at all—it was living like a god!

“Fan Wine Bag!”

As he thought about it, the middle-aged eunuch had already walked far away when suddenly he heard such a voice. Though he hated it the most when others used that nickname, hearing that arrogant voice, the middle-aged eunuch obediently turned around. Once he saw who it was, he dared not neglect them and quickly ran over, bowing deeply to greet them. Sure enough, the other person casually handed over a letter, along with a small piece of silver, which delighted him greatly; he hurriedly stuffed it into his bosom.

“Remember, old rule—have Marquis of Fuyang destroy it after reading!” The old eunuch arrogantly lifted his chin and then muttered to himself, “This Marquis of Fuyang is truly lucky. The emperor, out of consideration for his grandson, still allows him to marry despite his crimes. Tsk tsk, it’s a girl from the Zhang family. If not for Princess Yongping’s persistent requests and the marriage contract, the Zhangs might not have agreed to the marriage! Well, go deliver the letter quickly. Don’t mess up, or I’ll skin you!”

Fan Jiudai knew full well that the reward for delivering the letter would surely be more than just this, as the old eunuch would surely take a large cut. But since he was already living frugally serving in the Western Palace, any extra income was welcome. So even though he hated it in his heart, he didn’t dare show it and hurriedly turned away with a forced smile. Holding the hem of his robe, he retraced his steps. As he turned at the end of the path, he wasn’t paying attention and collided head-on with someone coming from the opposite direction. The impact made his nose ache and his head spin. He raised his head ready to curse, but when he recognized it was another powerful eunuch from the Western Garden whom he couldn’t afford to anger, he immediately changed his tone.

“Your Excellency, please forgive me. I wasn’t paying attention and accidentally bumped into you…”

“You little brat! Don’t you have eyes to walk? Acting so recklessly!” Although the eunuch was about the same age as Fan Jiudai, he scolded him mercilessly. Only when he saw the other man kneeling on the ground begging for mercy did he grunt, flick his robe, stand up, and kick him angrily. But then his gaze fixed on Fan Jiudai’s right lapel. “What’s that in your clothes? Take it out and let me see!”
“I don’t have anything!”

Fan Jiubag looked down and saw the corner of the letter hidden in his clothes, which terrified him instantly. Before he could try to defend himself, the man across from him stepped forward, reached into his chest, and took out the letter. The eunuch glanced at it, his brows furrowing deeply. After weighing it in his hand, he turned it toward the sunlight and examined it carefully before turning back and casually stuffing the letter into Fan Jiubag’s chest.
“Be more careful next time you send such things. Don’t assume everyone is as easy to deal with as us! Hmph, Lao Dai is clever—knows how to make money from this…”
As the eunuch strode away, Fan Jiubag remained kneeling on the ground, not daring to move. Only when the man was completely out of sight did he breathe a sigh of relief. He carefully took out the letter and checked it again to ensure it was intact, then hid it closely against his body before pushing himself up. After such a sudden turn of events, he dared not delay any longer and rushed toward the Wanchun Palace. Once inside, he delivered the item to the person in charge and quickly slipped away.
Li Maofang hadn’t touched the food that had been brought. After all, it was hot food from the palace, with a special layer of heated silver charcoal at the bottom of the food box to keep it warm for an hour. He was happy to enjoy it as a pre-dinner pastime. But upon receiving the letter brought by his mother, he put aside his desire for pleasure. He roughly pushed aside the naked Cai Luan, quickly tore open the seal, read the letter in one go, and exclaimed in delight.
Though he couldn’t hide his joy, he suppressed his excitement. He ordered a copper basin and immediately used flint to set the letter and envelope on fire. Only after both had turned into ashes in the basin did he let out a long sigh, followed by loud laughter. But after laughing for a while, his laughter stopped abruptly, replaced by gritted teeth.
April 17th was the Emperor’s birthday. If he could make the Emperor change his mind by then, he might not only marry successfully but also leave this hellish place. By then, Zhang Yue, just wait and see—this isn’t over between us!

The eunuch who had first collided with Fan Jiudai rushed forward at full speed. Only when he reached a secluded area in the western palace, rarely visited by people, did he look around before whispering and mimicking the sound of a cat three times. Soon, a figure appeared behind a house. Without saying a word, that person came over, exchanged a few words in a low voice, handed over something, and then disappeared into the darkness without looking back. In the daylight, the object in the eunuch’s hand emitted a yellow glow.

The Dade Silk Shop in Songshu Hutong in the capital was now even more prosperous. Although it mainly dealt in silks and fabrics from the Jiangnan region, thanks to its wealthy backers, it had a wide variety of silks such as Luzhou silk, Lanzhou fur-processed silk, Dingzhou cut-silk, Chengdu Shu brocade, and Nanjing Yingtianfu crepe—so there were customers coming and going all day long. The shop consisted of two courtyards; the inner courtyard housed the storage and the staff’s living quarters, while the main building in the central courtyard served as the accounting office, accessible only to authorized personnel.

Inside the accounting office, the sound of abacuses was deafening, but Lin Sha, sitting in the chair in the lower left corner, kept re-reading the letter in her hands. Finally, she slipped the letter back into its envelope and smiled, saying, “Having followed the princess for so many years, I’ve mastered various tricks. I’ve even learned to imitate her handwriting so perfectly that not only Li Maofang but even the princess herself couldn’t tell the difference. Fortunately, the information passed along matches what the princess is likely thinking, so she won’t suspect this fake letter at all.”

“Having you as an underling really saves me a lot of trouble.”

Yuan Fang had initially chosen Lin Sha because of her determination and her past experiences. He never expected her to prove so useful over the years, so a faint smile appeared on his usually stern face. The smile vanished quickly, and instead of taking the letter, he said thoughtfully, “Since Princess Yongping really intends to cause trouble during the Birthday Festival, it will be much easier to manipulate this situation. She’s been alive for most of her life, so her plans are quite meticulous. But Li Maofang is a fool.”

“Dealing with a fool is the easiest. Please rest assured and leave this matter to me.”

Lin Sha refused to mention why Yuan Fang suddenly thought of that mother and son. She simply bowed slightly, a confident smile appearing on her beautiful face, before saying thoughtfully, “By the way, does my lord know that because Hai Shou brought back a dozen or so beauties from Korea last year, the emperor now spends every night with a woman, which has drawn complaints from many ministers. To get the emperor to approve her visit to Li Maofang, the princess carefully selected a group of beauties to serve as performers for him. If the ministers find out about this…”

“There’s no need to worry about that. The Crown Prince has disapproved of Princess Yongping for days now; he won’t let this go unaddressed,” Yuan Fang interrupted Lin Sha, then asked casually, “After all, she was your former master. Don’t you feel any loyalty toward her?”

“Though she was my master, she’s also my enemy,” Lin Sha replied. Usually, she would hide some of her sharpness and obsession in front of Yuan Fang, but this time she sneered. “One should repay a drop of kindness with a spring of gratitude. I’ve already done enough for her in the Fan family. In the end, all she cares about is whether I’m truly dead. I’m afraid she’ll stab me even if she finds out I’m still alive. Do you still not trust me, my lord?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Yuan Fang said calmly as he stood up. “Women can be as outstanding as men—there have always been such women throughout history, and you’re no exception. But as human beings, it’s only natural to have things you can’t let go of. I’m no different. Lin Sha, take some time to think. Besides resentment, is there anything else you can’t let go of? That’s the real meaning of your existence in this world.”