Li Fengqi, who had been quietly eating shelled pine nuts, finally looked up at him.
What business could Ye Boru possibly have with him?
He was becoming rather impatient. He even suspected that Ye Boru was trying to trick him again. “If you have something to say, just say it.”
Ye Boru put on a troubled expression. “It concerns something important. Might I speak with Your Highness in private?”
Although he didn't say it outright, his eyes deliberately glanced toward Ye Yunting, clearly implying that Ye Yunting shouldn't be present.
Li Fengqi pretended not to notice. His tone remained casual. “No. If Minister Ye has something to say, then say it here. Let’s not waste time.”
The wine on the brazier should have been warmed by now, but he had no intention of offering any hospitality to Ye Boru.
Seeing that Li Fengqi refused to cooperate, Ye Boru's hand inside his sleeve tightened slightly. But remembering the purpose of his visit, he could only say: “It concerns the poison the Prince is suffering from.”
His eyes remained fixed on Li Fengqi's expression. Seeing the slight change in his face, he steadied himself before continuing. “Recently, Imperial Tutor Han's health has deteriorated. I went to the Imperial Tutor's residence on His Majesty's orders…”
Ye Boru deliberately left his statement hanging. He smiled faintly.
“I have heard that the Prince's poisoning is linked to Imperial Tutor Han. If Your Highness trusts me, I may be able to find the antidote for you.”
He cast a meaningful glance at Ye Yunting again, his meaning unmistakable. “The proposal I previously made to Your Highness still stands.”
Li Fengqi's eyelid twitched.
He was just about to firmly refuse him when he suddenly felt a light kick against his lower leg.
He glanced sideways and saw Ye Yunting subtly giving him a meaningful look.
“?”
It took Li Fengqi a moment to understand.
He immediately returned a reassuring look of his own.
Don't worry.
And he couldn't help thinking smugly:
So Ye Yunting is jealous after all.
He cleared his throat, straightened his expression, and looked solemnly at Ye Boru.
“My poisoning has something to do with Han Chan? Is Minister Ye trying to say that Han Chan poisoned me?”
He gave a cold laugh.
“Even the Three Judicial Offices couldn't discover who poisoned me. Yet Minister Ye seems to know the details rather well. Perhaps I should submit a memorial to His Majesty another day and ask him to make room for you in the Dali Temple prison?”
He sneered.
“One can afford to eat carelessly, but words must never be spoken recklessly. There is no agreement whatsoever between Minister Ye and me.”
Li Fengqi put on the dignified bearing of the Prince of Yong'an as he delivered these words. He was secretly quite pleased with himself.
That response was perfect.
I've completely separated myself from Ye Boru. We have absolutely nothing to do with each other.
Now Ye Yunting can't possibly blame me, right?
However, when he glanced at Ye Yunting from the corner of his eye, he saw that Ye Yunting's face had darkened.
He didn't look pleased at all.
In fact, Ye Yunting kicked him under the table again.
And this time, the kick was considerably harder than the previous one.
“...?”
Why am I getting kicked again? Li Fengqi was completely baffled. Wasn't my answer good enough?
Ye Boru was equally bewildered.
He had imagined many possible reactions beforehand, but he had absolutely not expected to receive such an answer.
The matter of the Prince of Yong'an's poisoning being connected to Imperial Tutor Han was hardly a great secret.
Quite a few important officials in the court already had some idea of what had happened. Because there was no solid evidence, everyone simply pretended not to know.
His own father, the Duke of Qi, was one such person.
Ye Boru had learned many of these things from his father.
He had originally intended to use this information as leverage when negotiating with the Prince of Yong'an.
But he had never expected the Prince of Yong'an to actually start defending Han Chan.
Why?
Ye Boru hesitated. After thinking it over, he decided that perhaps it was because Ye Yunting was present. Perhaps the Prince of Yong'an had realized that Ye Yunting knew too much and therefore reacted this way.
That was the only explanation he could come up with for the Prince of Yong'an's unusual response.
With a light smile, Ye Boru dismissed his concerns and bowed respectfully once more.
“If that's the case, then I won't press further. Once I have made some progress in a few days…”
He deliberately let his voice trail off, cast Li Fengqi a knowing smile, then turned and took his leave.
Li Fengqi: “...???”
He leaves as casually as he arrived, but not before digging another hole for me.
Li Fengqi turned his head toward Ye Yunting.
Inside, he was thoroughly irritated with this illegitimate son who never seemed capable of saying things clearly.
“Don't listen to his nonsense. I won't see him again next time.”
At almost exactly the same moment, Ye Yunting said:
“Didn't I just tell Your Highness to stall him? Why did you reject him outright?”
The two of them spoke simultaneously.
When they finished, they both stopped and looked at each other.
“...” Confusion clouded Li Fengqi's face. “What?”
Ye Yunting frowned.
“Your Highness previously sent several covert missions to investigate the Imperial Tutor's residence, but they never managed to find the antidote. The antidote must be hidden somewhere difficult to notice. When Han Chan held sway there, tight security made it impossible to search effectively. Now that he has fallen from power, this is precisely the best opportunity to search for the antidote again.”
Moreover, this time Ye Boru had come looking for them himself. They didn't even need to take action personally.
Ye Boru was one of the Emperor's people. Having him do the work would be both safer and more convenient than sending their own spies.
Why pass up such an eager opportunity when it was offered right to their doorstep?
The look that Ye Yunting had signaled Li Fengqi with earlier was precisely to tell him not to reject Ye Boru so quickly. At the very least, he should have kept Ye Boru interested first and seen whether he truly had the ability to find the antidote.
Who could have expected Li Fengqi to reject him so completely?
“...???” Li Fengqi's eyes widened after hearing all this.
He immediately became unhappy.
“So you wanted me to use the beauty trap against Ye Boru? And if he really finds the antidote, what happens if he uses it to threaten us?”
It wasn't enough for him not to feel jealous; now he was asking him to sell himself?
The Prince of Yong'an was deeply displeased.
Ye Yunting hadn't expected Li Fengqi to take things in that direction. Surprised, he said, “I only wanted Your Highness to keep him occupied for the moment, so that he would willingly help us search for clues regarding the antidote. If he can't find anything, then there's nothing to worry about. But if he really does find something…”
His gaze darkened slightly.
“Then I'll naturally have a way to make him willingly hand it over.”
Li Fengqi looked skeptical. “You've got something on him?”
“Our scouts have sent back news.” Ye Yunting smiled and leaned close to Li Fengqi's ear, quietly telling him what he had learned.
“...”
After listening, Li Fengqi let out a surprised sound.
“As expected, like mother, like son.”
But after thinking about it, he frowned again.
“Wait. I've already flatly refused him. Don't tell me I now have to go crawling back to him and ask for his cooperation?”
How humiliating would that be?
And it was disgusting, too.
Don’t I have any dignity?
“I'll arrange for someone to deliver him a letter instead.” Seeing his unhappy expression, Ye Yunting placed some freshly shelled pine nuts into his dish to comfort him. “You don't need to appear personally. Just watch.”
Originally, Ye Yunting had intended to deal with Ye Boru once and for all, so that he would stop appearing in front of them from time to time.
But now that he had discovered that Ye Boru could still be useful, there was no harm in making use of him first.
As soon as Li Fengqi heard that he wouldn't have to compromise, he settled down. He ordered someone to bring paper and brush and placed them in front of Ye Yunting. With a nod, he said, “Write it.”
Although the letter would bear Li Fengqi's name, its contents couldn't stray too far from what was appropriate. He’d have to keep an eye on it.
Ye Yunting smiled at him. After thinking for a moment, he picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began writing without hurry.
After their several encounters, Ye Yunting had already noticed Ye Boru's attitude toward him. Now, as he considered Ye Boru's state of mind, he knew exactly how to write the letter in Li Fengqi's tone. He had even figured out the reason that he could give for changing his mind.
His brush moved across the paper.
“Since the Consort present was present today, there were many matters that could not be discussed openly. I have given the Second Young Master's previous proposal considerable thought over the past several days and now believe it may be feasible. However, I would first like to see further assurance of the Second Young Master's sincerity…”
Ye Yunting leisurely imitated Li Fengqi's handwriting and completed the letter.
He then took Li Fengqi's personal seal and stamped it onto the letter.
Li Fengqi stared at that handwriting and raised an eyebrow.
“This handwriting… When did Eldest Young Master learn to write like me?”
The handwriting on the letter bore a striking resemblance to his own.
“Whenever I had nothing to do, I practiced on occasion.” Ye Yunting smiled. “It’s not perfect, but it should be enough to fool Ye Boru.”
Li Fengqi's handwriting was bold and forceful, each stroke carrying an air of imperiousness. Ye Yunting had taken a liking to it and had secretly practiced imitating it whenever he had spare time.
To his surprise, Li Fengqi's eyebrows rose high and he leaned toward him. “Eldest Young Master secretly learned my handwriting, yet you don't intend to pay any tuition? Don't you think that's a little unfair?”
“What kind of tuition does Your Highness want?” He smiled at Li Fengqi, then sealed the letter and instructed someone to deliver it to Ye Boru the following day.
“...” Li Fengqi furrowed his brow, pondering what advantage he might extract this time. His previous attempt at pushing for more had only annoyed Ye Yunting; rushing things wouldn't work. He needed to proceed step by step, patiently.
But before he could think of anything, Ye Yunting suddenly leaned toward him and brushed his lips against Li Fengqi's mouth in a swift, featherlight kiss.
Ye Yunting's eyes curved with amusement as he looked at the stunned Li Fengqi. “Is this enough tuition?”
Li Fengqi raised his hand and touched the place where he had been kissed. His throat moved several times, and his voice deepened. “Not enough.”
Li Fengqi swiftly leaned closer and pressed his hand against Ye Yunting's nape. His actions carried an unmistakable air of command as he forcefully captured Ye Yunting's lips in a bite.
Ye Yunting's eyelashes trembled, but he didn’t move away. Instead, he slightly parted his lips and gently brushed his tongue against Li Fengqi's lips.
A muffled groan escaped Li Fengqi's throat. His breathing grew heavier. The force with which he kissed him became increasingly difficult to control, until it was almost as though he wanted to swallow the other man whole.
At first, Ye Yunting still had the energy to tease him, but soon he could only gasp for air and try to struggle.
Li Fengqi was much stronger than him. One hand held Ye Yunting firmly by the back of the head like an iron clamp, while his other hand moved along Ye Yunting's waist, leaving him unable to escape.
When the two finally separated, both of their lips were cracked, and there was a faint metallic taste of blood between their teeth.
“Now, it’s enough.” Li Fengqi looked pleased. He gently wiped away the moisture at the corner of Ye Yunting's lips with his thumb, answering with a smile.
Ye Yunting: “……”
He narrowed his eyes and studied Li Fengqi. Wolves truly never change, he thought. Li Fengqi might look like a big, good-natured dog with an easy temperament, but apparently he couldn't withstand the slightest provocation.
Ye Yunting secretly thought to himself, I'd better not provoke him so easily in the future.
---
Upon returning to the Duke’s Mansion, Ye Boru received a letter from "Li Fengqi" the very next day.
After reading its contents, he raised his eyebrows and smiled, thinking his guess had indeed been spot-on. Though Prince of Yong'an appeared to treat Ye Yunting well, he was always keeping him at arm's length. After all, there was no need for someone utterly useless to be privy to everything.
After all, Ye Yunting was a person who was essentially useless. There was no reason for the Prince of Yong'an to tell him everything.
Ye Boru pondered for a moment before drafting a reply. Only then did he leisurely make his way to the Imperial Tutor's residence.
The charcoal for heating the residence had already been arranged and delivered, along with a kind maidservant.
Ye Boru had deliberately selected this maid. The girl came from a family where her father was ill, desperately needing money, which meant she could be easily manipulated.
This maid now visited Han Chan's quarters three times daily to tend to the stove and replace the charcoal. Her coming and going was relatively unobstructed. However, Ye Boru hadn't instructed her to act recklessly yet; instead, he told her to observe carefully for any signs that something might be amiss.
According to the maid, Han Chan still hadn't eaten anything during these past few days. He had only drunk a couple of mouthfuls of water, and his body had already become extremely weak.
Ye Boru deliberately delayed reporting this to the Emperor, intending to wait until Han Chan became even weaker. Then he could order the maid to take advantage of the opportunity to search for the antidote. Once he found it, he would report the news of Han Chan's deteriorating condition to the Emperor. By then, regardless of whether the emperor chose to intervene or not, his plan would be set in motion beyond any interference.
Ye Boru sat inside his carriage and looked at the heavily guarded Imperial Tutor's residence in the distance, a confident smile on his face.
=== Author's Notes ===
77: If I've committed a crime, then my wife should be the one to punish me. Why does it have to be Ye Boru who comes along to disgust me?
Ye Boru: “...???”
They kissed! 77, get up!
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