L.F-Hist.Novelist Chapter 42 Yin'e's Brother-in-Law
Chapter 42 Yin'e's Brother-in-Law
Once outside the Meridian Gate, the sunlight suddenly became brighter.
The air outside the palace walls was filled with dust, horse manure, and the smell of cooking oil from breakfast stalls, completely different from the stuffy, incense-filled air inside the palace.
Beside the dismounting stone outside the palace gate, a small figure was craning his neck to look inside.
The figure huddled behind the stone lion, its clothes damp with dew.
It is Fuquan.
As soon as he saw Yin'e come out, he sprang up like a spring and ran over.
I was running so fast that I almost tripped on the threshold and stumbled a couple of steps before regaining my balance.
He rushed up to Yin'e, panting, and looked him up and down several times, as if to make sure he was still unharmed.
"Tenth Master! You're finally out!" Fuquan's voice was shrill and urgent. "I was so worried about you!"
Yin'e looked at him, feeling both amused and touched.
"What's there to worry about if Father Emperor is looking for me?" He deliberately put on a stern face, his tone laced with a hint of mockery. "I'm not going to have my head chopped off, what are you afraid of?"
Fu Quan lowered his head in embarrassment and stammered, "It's all because of you yesterday... at Lord Wei's mourning hall... that..."
Yin'e smiled and didn't press further; he knew what Fuquan was worried about.
He looked Fuquan up and down, then said, "So, you've been waiting here all night?"
Fuquan nodded sheepishly.
"Once the palace gates are locked, you should hurry back," Yin'e frowned, his tone tinged with reproach. "I can't get out anyway, what's the point of you just waiting here?"
"I'm just worried about you. In case... in case there's any news from the Emperor, and word gets out of the palace, I'll be there to hear it."
"If I go back, what if the messenger can't find me? Wouldn't that cause a delay?"
Yin'e was taken aback.
He never expected that this little eunuch, who usually only served tea and water and ran errands, would think so much.
He wasn't just thinking about "waiting for his master to come out," but also about "being able to provide support from outside if anything unexpected happens."
This kind of dedication and loyalty is not something that just any servant can possess.
A feeling of being moved welled up in Yin'e's heart.
He reached out and patted Fuquan on the shoulder.
"Good servant, go back to the accounting office and collect your reward of twenty taels of silver."
Fuquan's eyes lit up instantly, and the fatigue on his face seemed to have been wiped away by an invisible hand.
"Thank you, Tenth Master! Thank you, Tenth Master!"
"Alright, alright." Yin'e waved his hand.
Yin'e got into the sedan chair, and the curtain was lowered.
"First, go to Qianmen Street and Guixiang Village."
"Yes, sir!" Fuquan responded, "Start the sedan chair journey to Guixiang Village on Qianmen Street."
The sedan chair swayed and wobbled as it headed toward Qianmen Street.
Yesterday, he declined his wife's invitation because he was going to the palace.
Ulan invited him for tea, which was unprecedented, but he didn't go.
Women are sensitive; even if they don't say it, they're definitely unhappy inside.
Moreover, their relationship had only just begun to thaw, and this broken promise could undermine all their previous efforts.
I need to take care of this when I get back today.
The sedan chair stopped in front of the Tenth Prince's mansion.
Yin'e carried the box of pastries and the bag of trinkets, and strode inside.
As soon as he stepped into the mansion, a young servant from the gatehouse trotted up to greet him.
The servant was in his early twenties, lean and wiry, with a tanned face and large, bright eyes that gleamed with a cleverness.
His name was Wang Cheng, and he was the gatekeeper of the mansion. He had developed a keen eye for people by welcoming and seeing them off every day.
"Tenth Master!" Wang Cheng bowed, his voice tinged with urgency. "You're finally back. People from the Fujin's family have arrived."
Yin'e paused, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Who's here?" he asked.
"It seems to be your maternal uncle, the wife's brother." Wang Cheng lowered his voice. "He came early this morning, went into the wife's courtyard, and hasn't come out yet."
The servant glanced at him from afar; the man was burly and broad-shouldered, wearing a Mongolian robe, with a curved knife at his waist—he didn't look like someone to be trifled with.
My brother-in-law.
Yin'e's heart skipped a beat.
He quickly searched through the original owner's memories for this person.
Borjigit Batu.
The eldest son of Prince Urjingalap, and the elder brother of Ulan.
This man was four or five years older than Ulan. He grew up on horseback and was skilled in archery and horsemanship. He was a well-known fierce general on the grassland.
The original owner of this body didn't have much interaction with him; they only met a few times during their wedding.
In those fragmented memories, Batu was a rugged and forthright Mongolian man who spoke like he was arguing, laughed like thunder, drank like he was drinking water, was unconcerned about details, and didn't know anything about etiquette.
He treated his younger sister, Ulan, extremely well, to the point of spoiling her.
He was neither warm nor cold towards his brother-in-law, Yin'e; they were neither close nor distant.
Yin'e frowned.
He had already learned through eavesdropping that the silver that Ulan had taken from the mansion was given to her brother.
Now, my brother-in-law has come in person.
Are they here to return the money? Or are they here to ask for more money?
He waved his hand dismissively and said to Wang Cheng, "I know. Go on with your work."
Wang Cheng responded and retreated to the gatehouse.
Yin'e stood still, glancing down at the box of pastries and the small bag of trinkets he was carrying.
He originally came to appease the wife, but unexpectedly ran into his brother-in-law.
He did not go directly to the wife's courtyard, but instead went around to the study first.
He closed the door, took out the book "Overheard" from his sleeve, and turned to the page about the Fujin (wife of the emperor).
[Target of surveillance: Borjigit Ulan]
Current favorability level: 31.2 (Friendly)
[Listening distance: 15 meters, capable of penetrating a typical wall]
Yin'e put the book back in his sleeve, picked up the snack box, and quietly walked towards his wife's courtyard.
Instead of going through the main gate, he went around to the alleyway on the east side of the courtyard.
At the end of the alley was a clump of lush bamboo. Behind the bamboo grove was the east wing of the Fujin's courtyard, where she usually received guests and talked.
From this position, the straight-line distance is less than fifteen meters, which is just within the listening range.
Yin'e squatted down behind the bamboo grove, leaned his back against the wall, took out "Overheard" from his sleeve, opened it, and pointed his fingertip at Wulan's name.
A faint light flashed on the page, and then two clear voices entered his brain.
However, he couldn't understand the first sentence that came in.
It is neither Chinese nor Manchu.
The voice was flat and rapid, with a peculiar rolled "r" sound, as if it were speaking a language he had never encountered before.
He listened intently for a couple of sentences, but still couldn't understand a single word.
This is... Mongolian!
Yin'e's mind went blank for a moment.
He then realized that Ulan and Batu were Mongolians, so how could the brother and sister be speaking in Chinese in private?
Of course, it should be in your native language.
But he's a modern person who traveled from another time and doesn't understand Mongolian at all. What use would it be if he could listen in?