Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 44: Disposition

“Woof woof, woof woof!”

Li Yu pressed down with his hand, forcing both the barking and the snow-white dog head that had poked out of the basket back inside.

“Guard Soulun.” He shoved the basket into the hands of the guard before him. “By His Majesty’s order, dispose of this dog.”

After watching him leave, Hailancha spat. “What ‘His Majesty’s order’? It’s eight parts your idea. Afraid Noble Consort Hui will settle accounts with you later, so you dump this rotten job on me! Damn dog that’ll never have descendants!”

In front of the chief eunuch, he hadn’t dared complain, but the moment the man was gone, he started cursing under his breath.

“Guard Soulun.”

Hailancha jumped. “Who? Who’s eavesdropping on me?”

A young woman in yellow palace attire stepped out from around the corner. Hearing his words, she paused slightly. “I only just arrived. Did you say something just now?”

Seeing her expression didn’t seem feigned, Hailancha finally relaxed. Then he gave a curious hum, finding her face somewhat familiar. “You’re… the one from last time at Yonghe Palace…”

“I am a palace maid from Changchun Palace—Wei Yingluo,” she introduced herself.

“I remember you.” Hailancha laughed. “You really don’t hold back, do you? Even without guards showing up, you could’ve killed that little eunuch all by yourself.”

“It was a matter of self-preservation—I had no choice. Please forgive me.” Wei Yingluo smiled faintly, refusing to linger on the topic. She went straight to the point: “I came today because Snowball injured Noble Lady Yu, ruined Her Majesty’s banquet, and got me punished as well. I want to take this dog back with me.”

“Oh?” Hailancha raised an eyebrow. “And what do you plan to do with it?”

Wei Yingluo smiled sweetly, her expression as gentle as a spring breeze, yet the words that followed were as sharp and cold as an east wind in winter: “Naturally, I’ll first vent my anger on it, then slaughter it, skin it, and send the pelt to you—so you can report back to those above.”

“You, a young lady—can you really bring yourself to do it?” Hailancha asked. But even as he spoke, the answer formed in his own mind: of course she could. If she could be that ruthless toward a person, she could certainly do the same to a dog. After a brief hesitation, he handed over the basket. “Fine, then it’s yours! But if anyone asks about it later…”

Wei Yingluo reached out and took the basket. Understanding his unspoken worry, she said, “Rest assured, my lord. Yingluo will keep her mouth shut and won’t make things difficult for you.”

Only then did Hailancha let go, allowing her to carry the basket away.

He watched until Wei Yingluo’s figure disappeared at the mouth of the corridor. Only then did he exhale heavily and lean against a pillar. “Phew… finally rid of this miserable task…”

“Hailancha!”

“Who is it now?” Hailancha spun around in alarm. What was going on today? Why did it feel like everyone was eavesdropping on him?

A figure stepped out from behind the pillar—dressed in the same guard uniform as Hailancha, with an identical sword at the waist. Yet in comparison, his bearing was far more refined and noble, like a flower blooming in the height of a prosperous era.

It was none other than Fucha Fuheng.

“You’ve got some nerve,” Fuheng said, his expression dark. “To actually pass off a task His Majesty entrusted to you onto a mere little palace maid.”

“Look at what you’re saying.” Hailancha hurriedly denied it. “I didn’t force it on her—she asked for it herself.”

“You could have refused,” Fuheng said, frowning even deeper. “You didn’t refuse because you’re afraid that once Noble Consort Hui comes to her senses, she’ll come after you for the crime of killing her beloved pet…”

“Yeah, exactly. Noble Consort Hui can’t do anything to His Majesty, but she can certainly make life hell for a lowly guard like me, can’t she?” Hailancha spread his hands, admitting it openly in front of his friend. “Women are terrifying when they get angry—especially women with power.”

“Then why did you still push the job onto Wei Yingluo?” Fuheng asked, a trace of anger in his voice.

“She’s a maid from Changchun Palace. Changchun Palace and Chuxiu Palace have always been enemies—adding one more grudge won’t matter! But come to think of it…” Hailancha looked thoughtfully at the handsome man before him. “You seem awfully concerned about her. Getting angry with me over her…”

Fuheng’s heart skipped. He turned his face away. “It’s nothing like that… I just don’t think a young girl like her can really bring herself to do something so ruthless. In the end, the job would just come back to you anyway.”

A few days later, Wei Yingluo sought out Hailancha once again and pressed a snow-white pelt into his hands.

“This is…” Hailancha looked at the fur, then at her. “You really killed it?”

“Of course.” Wei Yingluo gave a soft smile. “First I beat it, then killed it, skinned it, and brought the pelt to you to report back with. The rest of the meat I originally wanted to send to the Imperial Tea and Food Bureau, but they said that before the Qing entered the Pass, the Banner people lived by hunting and kept company with hunting dogs. From the time of Taizu, a rule was established: dog meat is forbidden. Even though we were ordered to kill Snowball now, it is still not allowed to be eaten, so I had no choice but to bury it.”

Even a grown man like Hailancha felt a chill run down his back upon hearing this. He hurriedly said, “Enough, enough. I’ll keep the dog skin. You go back to Changchun Palace to attend to the Empress.”

Wei Yingluo complied readily, curtsied to him, and turned to head back to Changchun Palace.

The moment her figure disappeared, Hailancha turned around and tossed the dog skin in his hand toward the pillar opposite him.

A hand reached out from behind the pillar and caught the pelt.

“You still said she wouldn’t dare kill it.” Hailancha folded his arms and laughed toward the other person. “Look at that—she’s far more ruthless and merciless than either of us.”

Fuheng’s brows were tightly furrowed as he lowered his head to look at the pelt in his hands.

“If I ever want to find a woman in the future, I definitely won’t dare choose someone this cruel and heartless. Otherwise, if I take a concubine outside, when I come home I’m afraid what waits for me won’t be hot food and soup, but a kitchen knife… Ouch! Where are you going?” Hailancha called after Fuheng’s retreating back.

Fuheng ignored him, tossed the pelt back to Hailancha with a flick of his hand, and strode off in the direction Wei Yingluo had gone.

Whether it was because he moved quickly, or because she walked slowly, or perhaps because she deliberately waited for him, within moments he had caught up to her.

He reached out and grabbed her arm. Fuheng asked coldly, “Why did you deceive Hailancha?”

Wei Yingluo turned around, looking at him with some surprise. “Young Master, what are you talking about?”

“Wei Yingluo, stop pretending!” Fuheng unconsciously tightened his grip. “The piece of dog skin you sent had a black spot near the tail, but I remember Snowball was pure white all over! Why did you use a fake pelt to fool Hailancha into reporting back? Who told you to do this? Are you trying to frame him?”

It was no wonder Fuheng thought this way. The palace was full of deceit and intrigue—sometimes a single wrong word or a misplaced dish could doom a person to a lifetime of hardship or even ruin.

Hailancha was his friend. He could not stand by and watch him fall into a trap.

Time passed second by second. He received no explanation from Wei Yingluo. She simply looked up at him, a layer of mist gradually gathering in her eyes.

“Woof!”

A bark broke the silence between them.

Fuheng followed the sound. Amid the swaying leaves, a snow-white dog head poked out and barked twice in their direction.

“Snowball?” Fuheng was stunned.

The little dog that was supposed to have been dealt with—how was it still alive?

Snowball wriggled out from the foliage, trotting over on its short legs, barking all the way until it reached Wei Yingluo’s feet. A long rope still trailed from its neck.

“You naughty child. If you’re not going to stay properly in the room, why are you running around everywhere?” Wei Yingluo sighed, then said to Fuheng, “…Could you let go of my hand?”

Fuheng let out an “ah” and quickly released his fingers.

But five red fingerprints remained on her snow-white wrist like brands, as though a selfish man had stamped his mark on the woman he desired.

With a complicated look in his eyes, he watched her play with Snowball, even taking some treats from the small pouch she carried and feeding them to it. Suddenly Fuheng asked, “You’re keeping it?”

“Mm.” Wei Yingluo gave a soft reply. “Dogs don’t distinguish right from wrong. They only know how to obey their master. If the master tells it to guard the house, it guards. If the master tells it to harm someone, it harms.”

Fuheng said nothing more. He simply lowered his head and looked at the girl and the dog, the suspicion in his eyes slowly melting away like winter snow under spring wind.

“…Young Master, is there anything else?” Wei Yingluo suddenly looked up at him. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take it back now, before anyone sees…”

Maybe I’ll have to accuse her of the crime of deceiving the Emperor.

Fuheng’s heart skipped a beat. Almost without thinking, the words slipped out of his mouth: “Give it to me.”

Wei Yingluo was stunned for a moment. The next second, like a protective mother cow, she clutched Snowball tightly to her chest.

“…I’m not going to dispose of it.” Fuheng seemed to guess what she was thinking. With a wry smile, he said, “The Forbidden City isn’t that big. Sooner or later someone will find it, and when that happens, you’ll be guilty of deceiving the Emperor… It would be better if I take it out of the palace and find a good family to adopt it.”

What pleased him was that Wei Yingluo seemed to trust him completely. After he said this, the tension left her brow. She reluctantly stroked Snowball a few times, then gently handed it over to him, saying softly, “Thank you, Young Master.”

Fuheng took Snowball from her hands, but his gaze couldn’t help falling on the red mark on her wrist.

“…I’ll send some medicine over to you later,” he said with a trace of guilt.

“It’s not some serious injury. Not even the skin is broken—just a little red. A puff of breath and it’ll cool down.” Perhaps because the Snowball issue had been resolved, Wei Yingluo was in an excellent mood. She actually teased him for once, then brought her own wrist up in front of her face and blew on it. Suddenly she lifted her eyes, blinked at him mischievously and said, “Why is the Young Master staring at me like that? Are you thinking of blowing on it for me?”

With that, she stretched out her hand. A section of snow-white, jade-like wrist was presented right in front of Fuheng—only the distance of a kiss from his lips.

Fuheng was so startled he took several steps back. His cheeks visibly reddened. He hurriedly lowered his head and said, “Time is short. I’ll go take care of Snowball first…”

Wei Yingluo’s laughter followed behind him. Fuheng walked away even faster, feeling both annoyed and puzzled. How many times had he met her now? And how many times had he fled in embarrassment from her presence?

Clearly, with one hand he could kill ten of her…

Yet in the end, the victor was always…

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