Chapter 149
The owner of the trinket shop was a middle-aged woman with heavy eye makeup. Her eyeliner was drawn out long and upward at the corners, and after glancing at me, she asked with an annoyed look, “Are you looking for something, Miss? I do not know whether I have anything that will suit your eye, but I can bring some pieces out.”
It was hardly an attitude for someone dealing with a customer who had come to buy something. Instead of me, who frowned, Yeon Ryang answered cheerfully from behind me.
“We only came to pick up a letter, shopkeeper.”
The woman checked Yeon Ryang’s face, and her voice immediately turned honeyed.
“Oh my. It has been some time, great hero Yeon. A letter arrived for you, so I did expect you to come. But you arrived sooner than I thought.”
If there was a letter waiting, Her Grace’s reply must have arrived.
I had been worried whether the letter I sent would reach her properly, so this was a relief.
After greeting Yeon Ryang warmly, the shopkeeper soon smiled slyly and covered her mouth with one hand.
“They say heroes love beauties, and not a word of it is false. To think you {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} would be traveling with such a lovely young lady.”
The implication was obvious. Yeon Ryang’s brows shot up.
“What do you mean, heroes love beauties? What sort of man do you take me for?”
“Pardon?”
“Do not treat me as the same kind of creature as those bastards worse than rutting dogs. It is unpleasant.”
Flustered by his fierce reply, the shopkeeper stammered.
“G-Great hero. That was not what I meant...”
“Sohae, you say something too. Your brother has been wronged.”
“What am I supposed to say? You are being treated like that because of how you usually behave, Brother.”
“What hurtful words. This brother of yours is a chaste and graceful man.”
“As if. I remember very clearly how you talked about adult time. Chaste, my foot.”
When I snorted, Yeon Ryang hurriedly waved both hands.
“N-No. Sohae. Truly, that never happened.”
“I’m sure it didn’t.”
“You know it did not! It was a misunderstanding!”
The sight of a full-grown man sweating bullets, at a complete loss, made me burst out laughing. I laughed aloud and wiped tears from my eyes.
“Ahaha, I know. Brother. I won’t tease you.”
Only then realizing it had been a joke, Yeon Ryang exhaled and pressed at the corners of his eyes.
When he folded his arms and glared at the shopkeeper, she watched him carefully, then quietly took out a bundle wrapped in silk and held it out.
“I have not checked the contents. Shall I give you privacy?”
“I do not doubt your credibility, shopkeeper. Here.”
The shopkeeper accepted the silver ingot Yeon Ryang offered, and her smile split wide.
“After all, credibility is a merchant’s virtue. I shall withdraw, then. Call for me if you need anything.”
She vanished into the back of the shop, humming.
A whole silver ingot seemed excessive for the simple matter of receiving a letter in his place, but there might have been some calculation there I did not know.
Between the way she seemed to have no intention of doing business and the fact that she knew Yeon Ryang well, this place was suspicious.
A Hao Gate branch? Or a black-market shop?
As I stared suspiciously toward the back where the shopkeeper had disappeared, Yeon Ryang pressed the bundle into my hand and feigned innocence.
“Now, now. Hurry and open it.”
It was plainly a gesture telling me not to pry, and I smacked my lips.
Whenever I tried to ask about information caught under his restriction, he always tried to slide past it like this.
I had been pretending not to notice because I did not want to see Yeon Ryang’s head burst open, but we could not keep going on like this forever.
As for dealing with the Bishop who had put the restriction on Yeon Ryang... I did not have the ability. But I could not do nothing either.
If he was going to escape the Demonic Sect’s grasp by pretending to be dead, it seemed we needed to deal with his eye-catching appearance first.
Is there no way to obtain Hao Gate’s disguise techniques? I should send Hwahong a letter too.
As I tucked the things I had to do into my mind, I opened the bundle.
Inside the silk bundle embroidered with peonies were a letter and a promissory note.
I checked the note without thinking much, then my mouth fell open.
One thousand gold taels?
Not silver, but one thousand gold taels?
“B-Brother. Am I seeing this correctly?”
“Hm? How much is it...? Well now. Our Her Grace is generous.”
Yeon Ryang whistled and made a show of surprise.
The enormous sum left me unable to close my mouth.
In silver, it was twenty thousand taels. Even in silver ingots, it would be four hundred. It was money I could only have saved as a maid if I went 833 years without spending a single month’s pay.
The hand holding the promissory note trembled.
Was it all right for me to accept something like this? Wasn’t this too much?
As my eyes grew huge and wandered through empty air, Yeon Ryang chuckled.
“Put it away. It is the price of Her Grace’s life, so refusing it would be rude.”
“Still, this is a little burdensome.”
“Her Grace must have had many reasons to be grateful to you. Tuck it somewhere deep so you do not lose it. No, better yet, leave it with the furball.”
“Kit!”
Cane, too, stretched out its short forelegs as if telling me to hand it over.
“...Brother. I have felt this for some time, but I think you trust Cane more than you trust me.”
“Mm. The furball does not let go once it gets hold of something.”
“That is strangely convincing.”
After thinking for a moment, I placed the promissory note in a small pouch, tied the opening shut, and handed it to Cane.
“Cane. You absolutely cannot lose this. Even if I sold you, I wouldn’t get this much.”
“Kii.”
“You have to keep it safe until we go to the bank. Understood?”
“Kyu.”
As if telling me not to worry, it nodded, its black eyes sparkling. Its solemn gaze made me laugh under my breath. I shrugged and unfolded the letter.
The letter described how the Imperial Noble Consort was doing after returning to Jinling.
Perhaps she was wary that someone might open and read it, because there was nothing especially significant in it.
She had gone to see the autumn leaves with the children, had a snowball fight, cut paper decorations while making New Year’s wishes...
Small pleasures were buried in the gentle, flowing handwriting. It was almost as if I could hear Her Grace laughing in my ears.
“What does it say that has you smiling like that?”
“Good news. It seems Her Grace is living with the children. What a relief. She kept wanting to see them.”
As I answered and read the final line, I swallowed the scream that was about to burst out.
Postscript.
I am with child.
I cannot stop thinking about the grilled fish we ate by the river, but no matter what I do, I cannot recreate that taste. Would you tell me in detail how it was grilled?
“Brother. Her Grace says she is pregnant!”
“Does she? That is good news. If she bears His Majesty three children, her old age will be secure.”
Yeon Ryang answered as if it were nothing.
“But it seems her morning sickness is severe. She says she wants the fish you grilled.”
“That tastes the way it does because you light a fire outside and eat it right away. If they grill it in a kitchen and bring it over, the flavor will be lesser. Tell her to have a maid light a campfire in the rear garden or something.”
“Okay. A pregnancy is something to celebrate, but her political enemies are not going to stay still... Will she be all right? I’m worried.”
“She is someone who bore two children in that harsh Imperial Palace. She will not be outmatched in schemes.”
“It is different from before. Her Grace no longer has a maiden family.”
When I muttered worriedly, Yeon Ryang laughed under his breath and patted my head.
“You softhearted girl. You have more than enough trouble of your own, so why worry about a member of the Imperial family? If you are that concerned, send her some antidote pills. They will help. More importantly, can you take the furball and step outside for a moment?”
“Hm? Why?”
“Your brother has one bit of business to handle too. Wait in the carriage. I will come right away.”
When I narrowed my eyes at his suspicious behavior, Yeon Ryang winked shamelessly.
“Brother, you keep getting more secrets, don’t you? Just you wait. I’m going to hear all of them eventually.”
“Yes, yes. I will tell you everything later.”
I poked Yeon Ryang once, then obediently left the shop.
*****
“Heir Apparent. Could we go a little slower? Heir Apparent!”
Despite Red Thunder’s desperate cry, Namgung Hwi did not look back.
Ugh, that temper of his.
Swallowing a complaint he could not possibly say aloud, Red Thunder hurried after his master.
Was it because he suffered from growing pains every night? His master had been sharper than usual lately.
The storm cloud over Namgung Hwi’s head remained there until they returned to the camp.
“Hwi, you’re back? Did you eat...?”
“I will eat later.”
Flustered by the edged reply, Namgung Yo glanced sideways at Red Thunder.
At the reproach in her eyes, Red Thunder shook his head with an aggrieved look.
He had pretended not to notice him eating filthy street food, and he had found a trinket shop and even guided him there, exactly as ordered.
No matter how he thought about it, he had done nothing wrong. He could not understand why his mood had suddenly soured.
Red Thunder, you and I will speak later.
After sending a fierce sound transmission, Namgung Yo erased the sign of her confusion and lightly drew Namgung Hwi along.
“Very well. Then, before we enter the general assembly, why not acquaint yourself with some of the Alliance people?”
“Yes, Sister.”
“As it happens, the Dragon-Phoenix Division Leader is passing by. Brother Hyogang.”
“Ah, Miss Namgung. It has been some time. And this is...?”
Zhuge Hyogang, who had turned around while fluttering his fan, trailed off as he looked at Namgung Hwi.
“I greet the Division Leader Zhuge. I am Hwi of the Namgung Clan.”
“Ah, so you are the Heir Apparent. You have grown so much that I nearly did not recognize you. I look forward to your performance.”
Zhuge Hyogang tipped his head at Namgung Hwi, who had offered a clasped-fist salute, then immediately left as if he had no intention of continuing the conversation.
Both of them knew well enough that his personality was not pleasant, so they paid it no mind and continued walking.
“Let us go to the Red Moon Unit’s tent. Do you remember the Red Moon Unit Captain? He used to visit with Sister Jiyun from time to time.”
“Yes.”
Was his name Dam Cheon? Namgung Hwi nodded as he recalled the taciturn swordsman of Mount Hua.
He was a man who made perfect plum blossoms bloom from the tip of his sword, to the point that it was difficult to believe he was a secular disciple.
Unlike the other tents, which were noisy, the atmosphere around the Red Moon Unit’s tent was calm. It seemed the unit members followed the character of their captain as well.
When the two stopped in front of the tent marked with the captain’s flag, a blunt voice came from inside.
“Come in.”