Spring Once More

chapter 18

(Traditional Chinese cover scanned by Dairytea)

Chapter Eighteen

Death?! Of course not! I instantly think back to the Bridge of Hopelessness and the old department chief. Honestly, I kind of miss them! But what should me fearing death have anything to do with these people running around committing suicide?

Su Yanzhi explains, “We are afraid of death when we have lingering wishes and concerns connecting us with this realm. With none of these, we no longer care about life or death.”

Sounds philosophical. But still, off topic much?

Su Yanzhi notices the confusion on my face and finally gets to the point. “I suppose you don"t know what ‘exiting the manor" means then?” I recall Pei Ruoshui asking me if I was letting them exit the manor… Could it be that this has some deeper meaning that I don"t know of? “I gave them their freedom. Isn"t that exiting the manor?”

I"m not sure what emotion Master Su is trying to portray. A split between laughing and crying, I guess. “When a manor"s master grows tired of his concubines, male or female, some gift them to others, some transfer them to the brothels. This is called exiting the manor.”

Oh s.h.i.t. My G.o.d! No wonder their faces all looked like someone shat on them this morning!

“But I just want them to be freeeeee! I said very clearly that I wouldn"t cause trouble for their families if they wanted to leave…” Then it hits me! My mouth shuts, and I even have an urge to slap it. f.u.c.k! Of course! It"s because I said I won"t be troubling their families that they thought there"s nothing to worry about anymore and nothing worth staying alive for! Then obviously, the quicker they died, the quicker the suffering would ended.

I scratch my nose. “I meant well…”

Su Yanzhi pulls a tiny smile. “I know. But people like us, we will never see the day when we can live like a proper human being again.” His smile is a bit gloomy, a little indifferent but mostly melancholy. It surprisingly makes me stop in my tracks. Hm, this Su guy keeps growing on the eyes. No wonder he"s ranked number one among the nineteen concubines! His beauty contains this indescribable grace. He is the young master of the richest household in Jiangnan, after all. Oh right. Didn"t the Su house fall apart, bit by bit, after the second young master, Su Xingzhi, died or something…

Su Yanzhi"s clear eyes fall on me. “Are you wondering why I didn"t try to end my life?”

I gasp. Is this guy telepathic or something? I chuckle. “No, I"m just thinking, uh…”

His expression starts turning…strangely eerie…a bit sorrowful but also…mocking?!

“I want to stay alive for as long as I can. There"s someone I don"t want to see in the nether realms.”

I step out of the room watching Su Yanzhi"s silhouette fading down the distant walkways. Something is bothering me. I"m still mulling over his words just now when Xiao-Shun pops out of b.l.o.o.d.y nowhere.

“My Prince.”

I sigh. “What is it now?”

“Nothing, Milord,” he replies respectfully. “The seventeen masters are all safe now.”

No, duh! I knew that ages ago. I glare at the stuttering youth. “Spit it out!”

Xiao-Shun lowers his head. “Milord, after this chaos, the masters are all very weak. The doctor prescribed lots of healing and enriching foods. Especially the eighth and fifteenth and nineteenth masters, they lost a lot of blood and need replenishment.”

I wave an arm. “Then request the kitchen to make more nutritious things. Ginseng, swallow"s nest, shark fin, abalone and whatnot…” Dammit, I"m salivating just thinking about it.

His head bobs up a little. “You"ve forgotten, Milord. The empress dowager"s edict mandates fasting for three days, and only two have pa.s.sed…”

Ah, f.u.c.king piece of s.h.i.t! Things have been so chaotic that I forgot all about that b.i.t.c.ha.s.s granny"s edict! Prince Ren said he was going to get me some goodies, but it turns out he"s a no-show! I try not to blow up. “You nincomp.o.o.p, where there is a policy, there is a countermeasure. You can"t eat meat on the street, but you can still cook it in your own kitchen!”

His head drops down again. “But there isn"t even a shadow of a meat merchant in the market…”

I scoff. “So the black market doesn"t exist?”

I wouldn"t for a second believe that all the old and young men of the capital are really eating green leaves and radish skin for three days. This little b.a.s.t.a.r.d looks pretty d.a.m.n shiny these days. He must be pigging out in the dark.

Sure enough, he shuts up about this after I mention the black market. He murmurs, “There is still one thing I need Your Highness" guidance for.”

I wave my arm. “Speak.”

His head comes up again. “Milord, the w.a.n.g fellow is still locked up.”

Oh. Oh yeah. I f.u.c.king forgot about that tanhua with this fiasco going on.

“Don"t keep him locked up, and let him get some fresh air. If he sneaks out, let it be, and we"ll forget about the whole thing.”

Xiao-Shun looks up at me. “But Milord, that fellow has stopped eating since yesterday. He"s tossed all the food that we served him.”

Another one, huh. Self-starvation, huh. I feel my head throbbing, like I"m holding up a ma.s.sive dumbbell with it. Xiao-Shun comes close to my ear. “Why don"t you swing by his quarters again, Your Highness?”

G.o.d, if this doesn"t stop, I swear I"m going to lose my mind! I command with a stomp, “Keep sending the meals, and make sure he eats it even if he doesn"t want to! Tell that w.a.n.g Rui, if he doesn"t eat…” I grind my teeth. “This prince will kill his entire house!”

Xiao-Shun quickly slips away to relay my orders. I straighten my collar. I can"t live like this. I came to enjoy life, not to solve all these problems! I need to find some fun and relax a little. Oh, someone died? Well, I don"t give a s.h.i.t now!

“Hark!” Out pop a handful of servants waiting attentively. I begin to dish out orders. “You, bring me back to my quarters for a change of clothes. You, go grab some bills, the more the better.”

I change into a silk outer robe and stuff the bills into my pocket. I whip open my fan and strike a pose in front of the mirror. Not bad, not bad. The prince"s face is a bit effeminate, but it"s still super hot. I brush aside two strands of loose hair and whistle as I stride towards the gates. A few servants want to stop me but clearly dare not.

“My Prince, at least take a few men with you.”

I pull my face taut. “I"m going out to relax. I"ll be back tonight. Anyone who dares follow me will have his head chopped!”

The lackeys and the gatekeepers all draw back their necks and stay in their spot. That"s right, G.o.dammit! Tonight, I"m the boss!

I walk out the manor through the back door and turn onto the main road. I"ve really wasted my time here in the ancient world not taking a stroll around town. I"m going to play so hard tonight, eat what I"ve wanted to eat, look at what I"ve wanted to look at, do what I"ve wanted to do but never had the chance to! What was it the oldies said in their poems? Today"s wine I drink today! Never let youth pa.s.s without indulgence!

I stick out my arm halting some pedestrian. “My good sir, could I bother you to point me to the biggest restaurant in town?”

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Dairytea:

Chapter Nineteen

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