This contest went on until dinner time. When Lin Yi pushed Gu Fang out of the study, both had a faint blush on their faces, but Gu Fang's flush was clearly deeper. Lin Yi wore the smile of a victor on her face, but inwardly she muttered: This guy not only learns fast, his face has also thickened at an astonishing rate. She had almost lost the battle earlier.
After dinner, Lin Yi pushed Gu Fang for a walk as usual to aid digestion. They met A Fu along the way, and she carefully instructed him on purchasing wine, grain, and garlic. Just as she was about to leave, Gu Fang gently tugged at her sleeve. Lin Yi stopped, and heard Gu Fang softly instruct A Fu: "Tomorrow, have the kitchen prepare several tofu and yuba dishes. Not too much, but make them exquisite. I want to bring them when I meet Prince Ning tomorrow."
Lin Yi suddenly understood. After pushing him a distance away, she said softly, "You are indeed more thorough, husband. I didn't think of letting Prince Ning taste them first."
Gu Fang tilted his head slightly, his gaze warm in the night: "But it was Xiaoyi who made them. In my heart, I think Xiaoyi is more remarkable."
His words made Lin Yi embarrassed instead. She lowered her head and whispered, "I didn't come up with it. My master taught me." She couldn't reveal the truth after all, so she had to let the fictional teacher continue to take the credit.
Gu Fang, however, reached out and gently covered her hand on the wheelchair. His fingertips were cool, but his tone was warm: "But Xiaoyi chose to bring it out, not keep it secret, nor profit from it. Instead, you've put in effort to spread it to the people. This intention is precious."
So this was what pleased him. Lin Yi's heart stirred, suddenly feeling that this man before her was always, at his core, the general who held the country and its people in his heart.
The night grew deeper, stars scattered and brightened. Because they were to meet Prince Ning the next day, and the matter was of great importance, Lin Yi urged Gu Fang to rest early.
"We need to be energetic tomorrow," Lin Yi tucked in Gu Fang's blanket and lay down on the outside, her voice carrying a smile. "Perhaps that bright and noble Prince Ning can really smooth the path for us."
Gu Fang softly hummed in agreement in the dark, and reached out to pull Lin Yi closer.
After a good night's sleep, Lin Yi woke up refreshed, washed and dressed, and had breakfast with Gu Fang. The kitchen had already started preparing fresh tofu and yuba dishes. By the time they finished breakfast, six delicate side dishes were neatly packed in a box. Lin Yi personally took the food box and boarded the carriage with Gu Fang to Prince Ning's mansion.
Perhaps because she had grown accustomed to going out recently, or because today's matter was truly critical—the surgical instruments relied entirely on Prince Ning's help—Lin Yi did not lift the curtain to look at the street scenes as usual. She sat upright with a solemn expression, making Gu Fang beside her hesitate to speak. Perhaps her unusual seriousness weighed down the air in the carriage. Gu Fang finally couldn't help but ask softly, "Xiaoyi, did you forget something?"
"What?" Lin Yi suddenly turned to look at him. Her expression was so serious that her eyes even showed a hint of sharpness. Gu Fang was slightly startled, then laughed: "Xiaoyi is nervous? I saw your solemn look and thought you had forgotten something important. Thinking about it, it must be because you're anxious."
Lin Yi couldn't help but mutter, "Today is about whether the tools for your surgery can be made. Of course I have to be serious. And you laugh..."
"I laugh because I see how concerned you are for me." Gu Fang's tone softened. He reached out and took her hand, gently holding it on his lap. "I have a few insights about Prince Ning. Would Xiaoyi like to hear them? It can also pass the time."
"Yes, please tell me." Lin Yi's eyes brightened. She thought it was a good idea—it would kill time, relieve tension, and help them know their opponent.
Gu Fang spoke slowly: "Prince Ning was born from a palace maid the Emperor happened to favor. The Emperor despised the maid's lowly background and initially refused to give her any title. But since the Emperor had no heirs at that time, Prince Ning was the true eldest son. The ministers valued legitimacy and naturally wouldn't let it go. They jointly petitioned the Emperor to grant the eldest prince's mother a rank."
Gu Fang paused, a faint irony in his tone: "The Emperor couldn't argue against them, so he reluctantly gave her the lowest rank of 'Pin,' but then immediately had her thrown into the Cold Palace. Even Prince Ning found it nearly impossible to see his birth mother."
Lin Yi's eyes widened. This emperor was an absolute scumbag! She couldn't help but ask, "What happened next?"
"Next?" Gu Fang raised an eyebrow, seeing her eager expression, and couldn't help but laugh. "I see that Xiaoyi is no longer nervous. You're like someone fascinated by a story, eager to know what happens next."
Lin Yi tugged at Gu Fang's sleeve: "Just tell me!"
Gu Fang looked at Lin Yi's puffed-up, curious face and couldn't help laughing. Before Lin Yi could actually reach over to punch him, he quickly continued: "Actually, there wasn't much twist later. Initially, because the Emperor disliked Prince Ning's mother's background, he also ignored Prince Ning. So Prince Ning was raised by his mother personally. It wasn't until the Empress Dowager pressured that the Emperor reluctantly gave Prince Ning's mother the title of Consort Gong, then had her thrown into the Cold Palace, forcing Prince Ning to be separated from his mother. Since Prince Ning was the eldest prince and the Empress had no children, the Empress Dowager and a group of elder officials favored Prince Ning as the crown prince. But the Emperor preferred the Third Prince, Prince Fu. The two sides stalemated over this for a full fifteen years."
"So Prince Ning can now act as regent because of the support of the Empress Dowager and the elder ministers?" Lin Yi realized.
Gu Fang nodded, his tone calm: "Yes. If I hadn't 'invited' His Majesty off his bed, this stalemate might have dragged on indefinitely."
Fifteen years! Lin Yi was inwardly amazed. To stubbornly dislike his own eldest son for fifteen years—this emperor had a truly hard heart. Even ordinary people would develop feelings for a cat or dog after raising it for so long, let alone a flesh-and-blood child.
She suddenly thought of Consort Gong and asked, "What about Prince Ning's birth mother now?"
"Prince Ning has already brought her out of the Cold Palace." Gu Fang frowned slightly, sighing softly. "But Consort Gong suffered greatly in the Cold Palace. Coupled with the blow of her young daughter's death, she cried day and night and has now gone blind."
"What? She also had a daughter?" Lin Yi was furious. "If he didn't like her, why did he let her have another child? He didn't care after she was born—how innocent is the child!"
Seeing Lin Yi ready to charge into the palace to demand justice, Gu Fang chuckled softly. When she glared at him, he quickly explained: "Don't misunderstand—I'm not laughing at Consort Gong. I'm just glad to finally find someone who thinks like me. I've always felt the Emperor treated Prince Ning and his mother too harshly, but most people around me believe that both thunder and rain are the Emperor's grace."
Lin Yi was stunned. That's right—this was an era of supreme imperial power. How could the Son of Heaven be wrong? The fault could only lie with ministers, concubines, or fate. A mindset like Gu Fang's—"if you cross me, I'll retaliate, whether you're the emperor or not"—was truly heretical.
Lin Yi was about to ask more when the carriage gently halted. She lifted the curtain and saw Prince Ning's mansion before her, so she had to compose herself and get off with Gu Fang.
Prince Ning's mansion was indeed much more spacious than the General's Mansion, with pavilions scattered, lush greenery, and every step revealing a meticulously crafted elegance. Such scenery would normally be enough to make one linger, but Lin Yi's mind was on business, so she had no heart for sightseeing. Gu Fang seemed to have come many times and was calm as usual.
The two followed the mansion's servants through several corridors to the main hall. They had just sat down when they heard footsteps approaching from behind a screen.
Prince Ning, Ying Baichuan, entered in casual attire, strolling leisurely. Seeing Gu Fang, he smiled and said familiarly, "Nianqing, what brings you here today?" When his gaze turned to Lin Yi, his eyes curved slightly, and he nodded casually, "This must be sister-in-law? I am Ying Baichuan, courtesy name Anjin. I look forward to your guidance."
Lin Yi sized up Ying Baichuan with slight curiosity. He was different from the solemn, majestic, inscrutable future emperor she had imagined. She nodded politely: "Lin Yi, Gu Fang's wife. You are too kind, Your Highness."
Gu Fang was clearly very familiar with Ying Baichuan. He raised his hand and waved, skipping formalities: "Let's skip the pleasantries. I came today for two reasons: first, to ask a favor; second, to share some news with you."
Ying Baichuan raised an eyebrow slightly, leaning forward with interest: "Oh? Even you need a favor from me? Tell me quickly."
"First, put away that unserious look of yours," Gu Fang sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Now that you are regent, you should maintain some decorum."
He paused and said seriously, "The most important thing today is to borrow the blacksmith workshop under your jurisdiction. Xiaoyi's fellow disciple has expertise in this area. He said my leg injury might be treated through surgery, which requires cutting open the skin and resetting the broken bones."
"Oh, I see." Ying Baichuan lazily slumped in his chair and waved his hand. "You want to make sharp blades that can easily cut through flesh without damaging the bones, right? Fine, use the workshop as you wish, and the craftsmen there are at your disposal." He shifted to a more comfortable position and added casually, "Your bones can indeed grow back on their own, albeit slowly, which is better than nothing. But be careful of those tiny invisible things—if they get into the wound, it'll be trouble."
At these words, Lin Yi abruptly raised her head, her gaze fixed firmly on Ying Baichuan's face, stunned on the spot—This, this way of speaking... Could it be that this "protagonist" is also a transmigrator?
Gu Fang also sensed something unusual from Lin Yi's reaction and asked tentatively, "Xiaoyi and her fellow disciple once mentioned a similar theory, but they learned it from a master. Could it be that you..."
"Master? I myself am one." Ying Baichuan smiled nonchalantly. "As for the guidance of a master... isn't it just Ah Tong? Don't you all know?"
Ah Tong?!