Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C044

Every time Wushuang saw Prince Wei, her mood was peculiar.

It was nothing more than this: a person so familiar, yet having changed his clothes, felt like a different man entirely. In truth, it was indeed a different man, it was just that she was somewhat unaccustomed to it.

But this did not hinder her from quickly alighting from the carriage and hurrying towards him.

Prince Wei, sitting in his carriage, watched the young lady running towards him. Finally, she was no longer so dispirited. It seemed that sending Granny Gong was not without its merits. He then wondered, was her hurried approach due to some trouble she had encountered?

Fusheng had already descended.

"Third Miss."

Only then did Wushuang realize she had perhaps made a spectacle of herself. She quickly slowed her pace, and somewhat abashed, said, "Chamberlain Fu."

"Your Highness is in the carriage."

Fusheng made a gesture as if to assist her. Wushuang, feeling somewhat awkward, nodded and, lifting her skirts, boarded the carriage.

Upon entering, she saw Prince Wei sitting upright behind a low table. He sat with perfect composure, his hands resting lightly on his knees, a jade thumb ring adorning his thumb, exuding an air of dignified grace.

Wushuang almost instinctively became reserved, "Your Highness."

"Have you encountered some trouble?"

Wushuang was initially puzzled. Following Prince Wei's gaze towards the window, she realized that he had likely seen the scene of people gathering outside the fabric shop earlier.

"It was not really any trouble." She recounted the general situation, not concealing anything from Prince Wei, and explained the entire matter.

Prince Wei pondered for a moment, "Then what are your plans?"

"I have given him half a month to come find me. Whether he has truly gone far away or is pretending to, the time has been given. If he does not appear by then, I will have people go to seize the shop. The deed to the shop is in my hands, and he also has a contract of indenture, which is also in my possession."

Prince Wei gave a slight nod, saying, "Not bad. But have you considered, if you seize the shop, whom will you find to manage it? And the silver he embezzled, will you recover it, and how?"

"This…"

Wushuang was a little embarrassed; she had truly not considered these matters.

"The silver he embezzled must certainly be recovered... This, this will have to wait until I see him again."

She was unaware that when she was nervous or embarrassed, she would unconsciously knead the hem of her garment. Prince Wei, watching her small hands kneading her hem, sighed inwardly, wondering if he was being too strict with her. At the same time, another thought arose: would she act this way when facing him?

He then recalled that day at Marquis Xuanping's mansion, when she had been frightened and, upon seeing him, had rushed towards him, clutching his clothes and expressing her grievances. Just like now, a person's subconscious actions reflected their inner feelings. Was it him or him that made her so reliant?

Prince Wei's gaze grew complex, "Then we shall discuss it after you have seen him. If there is any trouble, do not panic. Tell Granny Gong, and she will help you handle it."

Wushuang nodded.

Because no one spoke, the atmosphere in the carriage became awkward. Wushuang was thinking of something to say to ease the tension.

"Where is Your Highness going?"

Prince Wei paused, "This Prince has matters to attend to."

Wushuang noticed that his pause was likely because no one usually dared to ask him where he was going. It was just that she had asked, in a moment of searching for something to say. She quickly said, "Then I won't disturb Your Highness any further. Your Highness, please go attend to your matters."

She hurriedly alighted from the carriage. Prince Wei looked at his hand, which he had half-raised, and then lowered it.

Wushuang returned to her own carriage and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Each time she saw Prince Wei, she would feel somewhat nervous, not as at ease as she did with Ji Yang. She knew this mindset of hers was wrong, but she could never change it. It was also because she knew about Prince Wei's dual-soul disorder, yet she couldn't let him know that she knew. Thus, she found it difficult to gauge her actions each time.

"Miss, where shall we go next?" Linglong asked.

"Let's return."

The carriage began to move, heading towards the Marquis Changyang's mansion.

The carriage on the other side also started moving. After getting into the carriage, Fusheng noticed that his master's mood was a bit off.

Could it be that the young Princess Consort had said something to displease his master? He recalled that Wushuang had hurriedly run down from the carriage just now. Could it be that his master had frightened the young girl?

Fusheng thought for a moment and said, "Most young girls are afraid of stern people. In a while, Your Highness will be getting married. You can't possibly continue to interact with the Princess Consort like this after the wedding. Your Highness should be gentler when facing the Princess Consort. Young girls all like men with gentle personalities."

Prince Wei did not speak, but he glanced at Fusheng. What did he mean? And young girls were afraid of stern people? Was he very stern, or was it that every time they met, he spoke to her in a lecturing tone, making her feel pressured?

Fusheng stole a glance and saw that Prince Wei did not stop him, nor did he seem displeased.

He didn't stop him, nor was he displeased, so he was willing to listen?

He continued, "Your Highness, think about it, no one likes a teacher, they only fear them. It's the same principle. Next time Your Highness sees the Princess Consort, you can talk to her about things she's interested in, such as flowers, grass, and butterflies. Girls all like beautiful clothes and jewelry..."

Prince Wei frowned. What was all this nonsense?

"Noisy!"

Fusheng immediately stopped talking, but they had also arrived at their destination.

***

It was a residence that was secluded amidst the bustle.

After Fusheng went forward to knock on the door, a blind old servant came to open it after a short while.

Prince Wei did not have anyone lead the way, and went straight in.

When he reached the back, Song You had just gotten up, yawning and leaning against a chair. Prince Wei saw that he was even thinner than the last time they met, with dark circles under his eyes. He must have not slept for days. He couldn't help but ask, "What did you go out of the capital to do this time?"

"Nothing much, just met someone and had a fight..." Song You stood up, scratching his messy hair, and yawning, "I'll go wash up, make yourself at home."

Prince Wei shook his head, looked around the messy room, and finally found a clean spot to sit down in Song You's study, which was also his desk.

Fusheng was already familiar with the place and went to boil water to make tea for Prince Wei.

This Song You was not old, but his personality was eccentric. In his large residence, there was only a blind old servant guarding the door and an elderly woman cooking. There were no other servants at all.

Sometimes when Prince Wei came, he would have people tidy up for him, but by the next time he came, it would definitely be like this again. It wasn't that it was dirty, but rather messy. Song You often went out and would bring back all sorts of strange things. Sometimes when he was drawing talismans, he would throw them all over the room, and he didn't want anyone to tidy up for him, fearing he wouldn't be able to find them next time.

Those who didn't know him would think he was some kind of evil sorcerer when they saw his room full of stones, grass roots, and talismans, rather than a highly skilled doctor who was proficient in the thirteenth branch of Zhuyou.

After Prince Wei finished a cup of tea, Song You returned. He had a steamed bun in his mouth, and he seemed more energetic, but his hair and clothes were still messy.

"I heard you came looking for me as soon as you returned. Is there something wrong? Haven't you been much better recently?" Song You sat down opposite Prince Wei.

It was precisely because he was much better that he came to find him.

"Regarding the matter I discussed with you last time, you said it needed verification. In fact, that fragrance can indeed alleviate my headaches. Is there any basis for this?" Prince Wei had come to this conclusion after experimenting. Previously, he had confined Ji Yang for a few days, not allowing him to see Wushuang, and sure enough, his headache had returned.

"Basis?" Song You chuckled and said, "There are so many things in the world, not everything has a basis. I've also pondered over this matter you mentioned before. Perhaps it's the same principle as the calming incense I concocted for you?"

Song You had once told Prince Wei that the calming incense he concocted contained no medicinal ingredients, only ordinary incense. It was the complex fragrance that helped him relax, thereby alleviating his headaches.

At the time, Prince Wei did not believe it was merely ordinary incense, yet he had tried other incenses without any effect. He could only attribute it to the marvels of the Zhuyou technique.

In truth, medical techniques had evolved to the present day, dividing all ailments into thirteen branches: the major pulse, the minor pulse, gynecology, wind disorders… The Zhuyou branch was the thirteenth and last. ‘Zhu’ meant incantation, and ‘you’ meant the cause of the illness. Because the Zhuyou branch treated illnesses by means of talismans and spells, it appeared to be nothing more than charlatanism in the eyes of ordinary people. Therefore, this branch had long been rejected by most physicians. Continuing to this day, there were few physicians who were truly proficient in the Zhuyou technique.

And Song You was a leading figure among them.

In Song You’s words, the Zhuyou branch actually treated illnesses that other physicians could not diagnose, yet the patients themselves felt they were ill.

It was just like Prince Wei back then. When his secondary personality emerged, he would suffer from inexplicable headaches, irritability, forgetfulness, and inexplicable memory loss. He had consulted all the imperial physicians in the palace, but other than diagnosing headaches and prescribing some useless medicine, they were of no help.

In the end, Fusheng, in his desperation, sought medical help everywhere. Having heard of Song You, he went to find him to treat Prince Wei. Although Song You could not cure Prince Wei’s illness, and at the beginning, he could only say that he had seen similar symptoms in the handbooks left by his ancestors, he had never encountered it himself and did not know its origin. However, as he researched and treated, it did have an auxiliary effect.

The fact that Prince Wei’s primary and secondary personalities could slowly separate and not have too much of an impact on his body, such as the inexplicable loss of memory, was inseparable from Song You’s assistance.

For ordinary people, losing a bit of memory was not a big deal. But for someone of Prince Wei’s status and in his environment, it was absolutely unacceptable. His decisions, attitudes, and direction largely depended on his own memory. He had to ensure his memory was complete to prevent others from taking advantage of him or harming him through his illness.

This was also why Prince Wei was wary of his illness being known to others. It was not only because his illness, in the eyes of ordinary people, would always be associated with ghosts and demons, but also because the world had too many misunderstandings about the Zhuyou branch, thinking they were all swindlers and heretics. Therefore, his interactions with Song You were very secretive and unknown to outsiders.

Previously, when he discovered that Wushuang’s body fragrance could actually suppress his headaches, he had come to find Song You once. Given Wushuang’s identity, and that body fragrance was not something to be discussed with outsiders, Prince Wei did not reveal the truth. He only asked Song You if it was normal for a certain fragrance to relieve his headaches.

Now it seemed that Song You’s explanation was exactly as Prince Wei had expected, and it seemed to be an unsolvable mystery.

“What if this fragrance is a body fragrance?”

“Body fragrance?” Song You was startled, and the steamed bun in his mouth almost fell out. Fortunately, he had seen a lot in the world, and he picked the bun back up. “But is it a woman’s body fragrance?”

Prince Wei hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Could it be the body fragrance of the little Princess Consort that Your Highness is about to marry?”

Prince Wei’s expression had already turned unpleasant. Although to outsiders, it might just look like his face had turned a bit cold, Song You was too familiar with him and could naturally discern that his expression was already very grim.

It seemed that no matter who it was, even if they were as cold and astute as Prince Wei, they still possessed a man’s possessiveness. It was just a discussion about his unwed Princess Consort’s body fragrance, and he was the one who brought it up, so why did his expression turn so unpleasant?

Song You did not dare to laugh, and he cleared his throat, saying, “The vast world is full of wonders. It’s still the same as I told you before, it’s probably the same principle as the calming incense I concocted for you, right? But I must also congratulate Your Highness. Your illness is rare in a hundred years. To be able to maintain it to the present state, other than the headaches being difficult to overcome, it hardly causes any negative impact. If the headaches can be suppressed, that would be even better. It seems that Heaven also pities Your Highness and has specially sent such a person to Your Highness.”

At this time, Prince Wei’s expression had already eased. He pondered slightly, tapping his finger lightly on the desk, “Then my illness, in the end…”

Prince Wei did not finish his sentence, but Song You knew what he was talking about.

More than ten years ago, Prince Wei’s illness originated from a dual-soul split. He had said that the sign of a possible recovery would be the merging of the two into one. However, the world was unpredictable. Song You had observed the primary and secondary personalities within Prince Wei’s body. This situation was already approaching perfection. As for whether they could merge, to be honest, he had never seen it before. He was just feeling his way along, and could only proceed step by step.

He told these words to Prince Wei, who neither agreed nor disagreed, and did not insist.

After talking for a while, Prince Wei saw that Song You was yawning repeatedly, so he did not stay any longer and left. As for Song You, he turned around and continued to sleep.

After getting into the carriage, Prince Wei sat quietly.

Seeing that he seemed to have something on his mind, Fusheng naturally knew better than to speak.

Prince Wei stroked the thumb ring on his hand.

After a moment, his right hand reached into his left sleeve, and a corner of light apricot-colored fabric was hooked out by his fingers, then immediately tucked back in.