Chapter 19

Chu Huaiyin's proposed solution to the Jiang Clan's training grounds changing hands was actually to train troops for Emperor Tianyuan himself.

In any case, command of the troops guarding the capital remained in the hands of someone Emperor Tianyuan trusted, so Chu Huaiyin was effectively just doing the hard labor. Emperor Tianyuan knew perfectly well how capable the Liu family was at commanding troops. Five years ago, they had returned to the capital in disgrace after a defeat, and over the past few years, they had made a complete mess of the Five-City Military Command. This was a good opportunity to have Chu Huaiyin clean up the army's conduct.

Lately, Meng Zhou had been heading straight to the Jiang residence after leaving the Court of Judicial Review, because Chu Huaiyin trained the troops there during the day. Grateful for Chu Huaiyin's sacrifice, he served him tea and water, made friendly conversation, and occasionally brought up news of Mount Chongling. He visited even more often than Jiang Xin.

Clad in armor, Chu Huaiyin carried an added air of bloodthirsty menace, transporting anyone who saw him to a battlefield a thousand miles away, filled with blades, spears, and armored cavalry. He was a god of war, invincible amid vast armies. Before him, the Five-City Military Command looked like a flock of sickly chicks; he could knock down a dozen with one thrust of his spear.

The glance he swept over was just like the one from their first encounter in Wang Junyang's bridal chamber: cold and utterly emotionless. Under that look, Meng Zhou's calf cramped, and he crouched with a yelp to rub it.

"Horse stance. Half an hour," Chu Huaiyin said. With a casual toss, his spear pierced the wind, flashed across half the training grounds, and slid into its slot without the slightest deviation. It also landed with a thud in the hearts of certain soldiers who had been thinking of disobeying orders and slacking off.

Chu Huaiyin strode over to Meng Zhou and asked with concern, "Can you get up?"

Meng Zhou raised his head slightly, his brows faintly furrowed from the ache in his calf. Looking up at Chu Huaiyin from this angle for the first time left him momentarily stunned. Light spilled from the blue heavens behind him, as though the man before him truly were a deity before whom all living beings bowed.

Meng Zhou thought, If you didn't have a throne to inherit, I...

I... what would I do?

Before he could figure out what he meant to do, Chu Huaiyin, assuming he could not stand and looked aggrieved about it, reached down and scooped him up. "I think you've lost weight lately." The little flesh he had only just gained had visibly dwindled away. Sure enough, the nourishing food could not stop. He would ask where to find more Snow Spot another day.

The angle from which Kitten Meng had looked up at him while crouching on the ground had stirred something unfamiliar in his heart. When he tried to pin it down, it immediately vanished without a trace.

"I can walk." For a moment, Meng Zhou could not adjust to these two sides of Chu Huaiyin. He was used to a Chu Huaiyin who put on no airs and let him joke around. Today, he had suddenly remembered that the eldest prince who had returned from the battlefield to contend for the throne was, in truth, someone who stood above everything.

"Couldn't you not stand just now? Cramping up while walking on level ground-perhaps I should put you through some training too?"

Meng Zhou immediately bristled. He swung the legs resting over Chu Huaiyin's arm, even committing the outrageous offense of kicking his thigh. "I'm fine now."

Oh, there was no difficulty adjusting at all.

"You're the first person who's dared kick around in my arms." Of all the people he had restrained, which had not huddled with their heads tucked down like rain-soaked quails?

Meng Zhou's mind went elsewhere, however, and he asked curiously, "You've held other people?"

Wasn't Prince Huai's embrace lined with gold?

Why did he make it sound as though just anyone could be held?

"That isn't what I meant. Why am I explaining all this to you?" Chu Huaiyin also felt that the comparison was not entirely appropriate, and he forcibly ended the subject.

Meng Zhou obligingly started a new one. "Has there been any news from Ji Yang lately?"

"Why do you ask about Ji Yang every time?" Chu Huaiyin felt somewhat aggrieved. Meng Zhou asked three times a day: where had he reached, had he encountered the ghost soldiers, when would he make his move...

Meng Zhou choked. Why could he not ask about something he cared about?

Ji Yang, who was quietly leading troops across Mount Chongling in preparation for an encirclement, suddenly sneezed.

Lady Zhou's father had arrived in the capital the day before yesterday, bringing five full cartloads of Jiangnan specialties. When Meng Zhou passed the carts, he happened to spot a mark resembling a black copper coin on one of the chests. It was exactly the same as the one he had seen at the gambling house.

Now he could confirm that the weapons in the capital had indeed been transported in by the Zhou family.

He simply did not know how many they had brought in over these five years, or whether there were other locations besides the gambling house.

Meng Zhou stood in front of the carts, lost in thought for a while. Meng Huaihan came out and saw him. With a flick of her nails, she ostentatiously opened a chest, revealing silks, satins, and glittering jewels.

"Want them? As if you deserve them." Meng Huaihan sneered.

Meng Zhou gave her an indifferent look, then turned and left. Someone like Meng Huaihan only grew more worked up the more attention she received.

That look provoked Meng Huaihan. Since that incident, so many people had pointed fingers and gossiped about her. When had she ever endured so many contemptuous looks? It was all Meng Zhou's fault. If not for him, if not for him, she would never have had to marry a brothel thug! Although her grandfather had now promised to have that thug secretly killed before the formal betrothal gifts were delivered, her reputation was already ruined!

Suddenly, as though she had gone mad, Meng Huaihan grabbed things from the chest and hurled them at Meng Zhou with all her might. "Bastard! Why don't you die? You should have died eighteen years ago!"

As though he had eyes in the back of his head, Meng Zhou swept out a hand and knocked the incoming object back to land at Meng Huaihan's feet.

"Eighteen years ago, Lady Zhou sent someone to tell my mother that my grandfather had died in battle, and she sent the midwife away too, hoping both mother and child would die. Is that right?" Meng Zhou fired his questions at the frenzied Meng Huaihan in rapid succession, giving her no time to react.

Meng Huaihan's eyes widened in disbelief, and her voice turned shrill. "You eavesdropped on me and Mother!"

Only after shouting did she realize something was wrong. They were outside the Meng residence.

She turned and saw a circle of people whispering around them. Among them was a lady famous throughout the capital for her gossiping.

Meng Huaihan's vision went black.

Seeing Meng Zhou grow thinner by the day, Chu Huaiyin suggested he continue eating a fish a day. Meng Zhou refused, only for Prince Huai to forcibly press three thousand-year-old ginseng roots upon him: the legendary treasures that could prolong one's life.

Holding the three ginseng roots, Meng Zhou felt as though he were cradling ten thousand taels of gold. His grin practically reached his ears. He thanked Prince Huai with a beaming smile, then turned and entered the largest medicinal herb shop in the capital.

He sold one for a high price.

Seven hundred taels.

Finally no longer penniless, Meng Zhou felt that even his steps had grown a little steadier-the weight of money. He looked at the two remaining roots, tucked one inside his robe, and straightened the red silk around the other. His steps paused, and he entered another, inconspicuous clinic.

The clinic belonged to his nursemaid's son, Li Wenle. The nursemaid's family had helped him and Jiang Yao a great deal, and Meng Zhou had never properly thanked them. Judging by how reluctant the herb shop owner had been to put the ginseng down, he reckoned anyone practicing medicine would like it.

Physician Li had decent medical skills, charged reasonable fees, was good-looking, and had a gentle, approachable manner. He enjoyed a fine reputation among ordinary people.

When he saw Meng Zhou enter, Li Wenle paused in the middle of writing a prescription. "Brother Meng, are you feeling unwell?"

Meng Zhou hurriedly waved his hands. "I'm perfectly well. I came to give you something."

Meng Zhou placed the ginseng on the counter.

Li Wenle was startled at the sight of it. "I really couldn't accept this. Brother Meng, you were born premature, and you need proper nourishment. This would be of value only if used for you."

"I have more. Whether something has value depends on whether its owner knows its worth. Brother Li, you're knowledgeable and experienced. You'll certainly make better use of it." Meng Zhou yawned. He was different: in his eyes, these three ginseng roots were three lots of seven hundred taels. Three times seven was twenty-one-gleaming silver.

"You saved my life. That kindness weighs heavier than a mountain. If you won't accept it, I won't come see you again."

Li Wenle stopped declining and put the ginseng in a cabinet. In a few days, he would slice it, combine it with several other medicinal ingredients, and divide it into packets. It would be more effective for nourishing Meng Zhou that way.

He studied Meng Zhou's expression carefully. He looked listless and rather lacking in energy.

"Brother Meng, sit over there for a moment. Let me take your pulse."

Thinking that his appetite had been poor lately and that seeing a physician would be a good idea, Meng Zhou quietly sat down to wait his turn until Li Wenle finished seeing the other patients.

As he waited, he fell asleep.

As evening approached, Meng Zhou woke and rubbed his eyes. The clinic had already closed, and the boy who dispensed medicine had left. Only Li Wenle remained, grinding medicine with a grave expression.

Meng Zhou lifted the blanket covering him, folded it, and placed it on the chair. "Sorry, I overslept. It's so late, I shouldn't keep you from going home, Brother Li. Your mother will worry if you're late."

Meng Zhou no longer stayed at the Meng residence often. He either claimed to be busy with official duties and slept at the Court of Judicial Review, or spent a night at the Jiang residence. Returning home three days out of ten was already a lot. He had given his nursemaid some money and told her to go home and enjoy her remaining years.

Li Wenle furrowed his brows as though struggling to say something. Finally, he rested a hand on Meng Zhou's shoulder and said, "I-I just remembered. Your birthday is in two days. When I left this morning, Mother told me to invite you home for a meal."

Having lived two lifetimes, Meng Zhou was learning his exact birthday for the first time, and it felt rather novel. He could tell Li Wenle had something to say, so he went home with him.

The nursemaid was delighted to see Meng Zhou. She took his hand and fussed over him. When Meng Zhou mentioned that Chu Huaiyin had helped the Jiang Clan keep their training grounds, she praised him repeatedly. "Prince Huai really is a good man. My young lady used to practice martial arts there..."

Li Wenle silently closed the doors and windows, prepared a tableful of dishes, and set out the bowls and chopsticks.

When the three sat down to eat, Li Wenle wore a deeply troubled expression. Turning his head, he saw that Meng Zhou was only picking at the pickled radish. He had not touched a single bite of the meat his mother had placed in his bowl, and even smiled as he explained that he had eaten too much at noon.

He could no longer deceive himself into believing his medical skills were inadequate and he had misread the pulse.

"Mother, can Meng Zhou bear children?" Li Wenle abruptly asked out of nowhere.

Crash!

The bowl and chopsticks in the nursemaid's hands fell to the floor and shattered. Her expression shifted several times before she finally gave a forced laugh. "Wenle, don't talk nonsense. How could the young master bear children?"

Jiang Yao had concealed this all her life. The nursemaid had thought that, like her mistress, she would take the secret to her grave. How had it suddenly...

"Mother, he's already pregnant! Are you still going to hide it?" Looking at the bewildered Meng Zhou and his own mother's evasive gaze, what was there for Li Wenle not to understand?

Meng Zhou's chopsticks loosened. A piece of pickled radish dropped onto the table, rolled, and finally landed on the hem of his robe.

Three gazes followed the radish to his lower abdomen. Meng Zhou went pale. "Brother Li, this isn't funny..."

The nursemaid reacted even more violently. She sprang to her feet and seized a stool, looking fierce, yet her wrinkled hands shook uncontrollably. "Who? Young master, who took advantage of you!"

Meng Zhou was stunned.

Not because the nursemaid, who always urged him to endure things, had suddenly changed so dramatically, but because her reaction meant... he really could get pregnant.

A muffled thunderbolt seemed to fall from the sky and strike Meng Zhou, frying him through. He sat there blankly, unable to speak for a long while.

How could he be pregnant!

Whose? Prince Huai's?

The words Jiang Yao had made him swear to in his dream suddenly flashed through his mind: "Never marry into a powerful household." As Meng Zhou connected the two, his hands and feet went cold.

"Was it Lady Zhou? Or Meng Huaihan?" The nursemaid trembled all over, her eyes reddening. All she wanted was to kill that vicious mother and daughter, then go below to beg Jiang Yao's forgiveness in person. She dared not imagine what would happen if Lady Zhou learned of this.

Back then, her mistress had not held Lady Zhou's actions at Guang'en Temple against her. Although she had nearly died, things had worked out by a fluke. With no outsiders present, they had successfully concealed the truth from the world and felt only relief at surviving the ordeal. Otherwise, given the Jiang Clan's circumstances, they could not have protected Meng Zhou. One day, Lady Zhou might have used some pretext to give him to some high official.

Jiang Yao had yearned for freedom, and she had fought with all her strength to give her child freedom too.

Only once the mark on the sole of his foot that signified his ability to bear children disappeared had the nursemaid dared carry the little young master outside. Jiang Yao had endured that entire hour after Meng Zhou's birth through sheer will. She had not dared ask for hot water or let anyone know. Though extremely weak, she had insisted on seeing little Meng Zhou's mark disappear with her own eyes before she dared close them.

From beginning to end, only three people had known: Jiang Yao, the nursemaid, and the abbot who had named Meng Zhou.

Now there were two more: Li Wenle and Meng Zhou.

The nursemaid's question briefly brought Meng Zhou out of his bewilderment. It had indeed all begun with Meng Huaihan's scheming, but in the end, he had gone to bed with Chu Huaiyin willingly.

He had simply thought sleeping with Prince Huai was no loss. How could he have known he would get pregnant!!!

Now he had lost out badly!