Chapter 82 Part 1

 

After Han Kerang and his men left in a hurry, the disturbance did not spread.

The crown prince, who was chatting and laughing with the ministers at the banquet, was invited away by the palace eunuch. At the same time, Pei Xiaoyuan, following the order, quietly controlled Liu Ceye, Wei Juren, Chen Sida and others separately, temporarily ordered them not to communicate with each other. The process was swift and smooth. When Pei Xiaoyuan showed up with his men, Liu Ceye looked very calm, while Wei Juren looked inexplicably flustered. Chen Sida was initially dissatisfied and resisted under the influence of alcohol, but at Pei Xiaoyuan’s command, more than a dozen swords and spears were pressed against his chest and abdomen, and Chen Sida was forced to submit.

Apart from these people, the feast in the camp was still continue. Even the emperor soon returned to the banquet. When he appeared again accompanied by the princess, the whole camp erupted in cheers of “Long live the emperor” and “A thousand years for the Princess”. The atmosphere tonight was directly pushed to a new level.

The palace was about twenty to thirty miles away from the hunting grounds. Before the third watch, just after the Hai hour (9-11 pm), Han Kerang and his men returned secretly. The banquet had just ended and the emperor had returned to his tent. Many ministers and vassal chieftains were extremely drunk and had to be supported by their people as they returned quarters.

Han Kerang indeed found what Feng Zhenping mentioned and brought it into the imperial tent. Feng Zhenping, accompanied by Prince Kang, arrived shortly afterward. The Crown Prince, along with Liu Ceye, Wei Juren, and others who had been temporarily detained that night, were also brought in. Now, all of them knelt together before the emperor.

When the crown prince saw the wooden box on the ground, his expression changed slightly.

Han Kerang reported that the wooden box was locked with an iron lock and covered with red satin. It was brought here exactly as it was when it was found, and he had not altered it at all.

The emperor said nothing, just glanced at the wooden box and then turned his eyes to the crown prince.

The crown prince immediately defended himself, saying that he had never overstepped his authority or intended to harm the emperor, and that he was being framed.

Then he turned to Xuyu: “Sister, sister, Brother is truly being framed!”

“He secretly possessed a dragon robe and brought it here, hiding it under his bed! Who else could have the ability to frame someone other than the Crown Prince himself?”

Feng Zhenping glanced at Liu Ceye who had been keeping his eyes closed and not saying a word since he came in and bowed, secretly mocking him for trying to be calm.

“Your Majesty, this minister has already caught the sorcerer who gave the crown prince that advice, and he has confessed everything. This matter is absolutely true! The crown prince wore the dragon robe to sleep on the night of the first and fifteenth day of the month, hoping to ascend the throne as soon as possible through evil wishes! There can be no two masters in the country, so how can he ascend the throne as soon as possible? What is the difference between this and cursing Your Majesty ominously?”

Feng Zhenping pressed forward step by step.

The crown prince’s resentful gaze swept over Prince Kang, who had a smug look on his face, and then kept protesting for his own injustice.

Wei Juren seemed to have finally understood what was going on. Looking at the Crown Prince and the Emperor, whose reactions were so calm that it was almost creepy, he couldn’t help but feel terrified.

Feng Zhenping had long been aware of this matter and had deliberately waited until tonight to bring it to light, ensuring no chance for the Crown Prince to turn the situation around. Suppressing the satisfaction in his heart, he bowed again and said, “Your Majesty, since the item has already been found, there is no need for further explanation. Why not open it here and see what exactly hidden in this chest? What could be so precious that the Crown Prince treasures it to such an extent, fearing to miss even the new and full moon, and carrying it all the way to Cangshan despite the distance?”

The emperor’s gaze swept across the faces of Liu Ceye, who had kept his eyes closed since entering, and Feng Zhenping, before settling momentarily on the Crown Prince, who knelt with his head bowed to the ground. After a brief pause, he spoke calmly, “Then open it and see what good thing is hidden inside.”

Han Kerang drew his sword, cut off the iron lock on the box with one stroke, and opened the lid in front of everyone.

After the lid was opened, there was a brief silence in the imperial tent.

There was indeed a set of clothes in the box, but it was not the dragon robe that Feng Zhenping was referring to. It looked like an ordinary piece of clothing.

Feng Zhenping and Prince Kang were stunned. Feng Zhenping couldn’t believe his eyes, so he rushed to the box, pulled out the clothes, and shook them open, only to find that it was a Taoist robe embroidered with scriptures and swastikas all over.

“Impossible! How could this be! My information is absolutely true! The crown prince did hide the dragon robe and sleep with it! How could this be possible!”

He froze for a moment, then suddenly caught sight of Liu Ceye’s cold, piercing gaze as the man slowly opened his eyes. The realization struck him like lightning. He hurriedly threw off the clothes, turned and threw himself in front of the emperor, kneeling and kowtowing repeatedly: “Your Majesty! This must be Liu Ceye’s doing! The Crown Prince clearly hid the dragon robe! The sorcerer is still in this minister’s hand! This minister will bring him here tonight, and Your Majesty can interrogate him directly—”

“Feng Zhenping!”

Liu Ceye suddenly shouted at him, then kowtowed to the emperor: “Your Majesty should have seen everything! It was the Crown Prince who always cared about Your Majesty’s health, and received a Taoist robe embroidered with the Supreme Lord’s Gratitude Sutra. He wore it on the nights of the new and full moon, reciting the sutra to express his filial devotion. It is said that with perseverance, such acts can move the Emperor of Heaven to bless Your Majesty with health and longevity! The Crown Prince’s sincere filial piety is witnessed by heaven and earth, but in the mouths of people with ulterior motives like Feng Zhenping, this act of loyalty and virtue is twisted into something sinister and unfilial! Your Majesty, the Taoist robe is right in front of you, which is a clear proof. This minister begs Your Majesty to restore the Crown Prince’s honor and severely punish those villains who are trying to sow discord for their own ulterior motives!”

The Crown Prince’s eyes were filled with tears, and he continued to kowtow without speaking. Wei Juren, who seemed to have come back to life, reacted and secretly thought “that was close!”, then immediately joined in the chorus of condemnation.

Feng Zhenping’s face turned red, and he angrily scolded Liu Ceye for slandering him, saying that Liu Ceye had changed the dragon robe in advance to trick him. He also questioned that if the crown prince was really filial, why he was so secretive and locked up the clothes in the box. He insisted that he had the sorcerer’s confession as evidence. Liu Ceye refuted each of his arguments, saying that the sorcerer was bribed by him and his confession could not serve as evidence. Liu Ceye also said that the crown prince was so careful and unwilling to disclose his story because he was afraid that his filial piety would be used by someone with ulterior motives to make a big fuss.

Xuyu understood everything now.

Feng Zhenping should not have made a false accusation, but it was obvious that Liu Ceye was one step ahead. He must have learned that Feng Zhenping was going to take action and made temporary preparations, which led to the fight in front of the emperor tonight.

She watched the two sides exchanging sharp words, and her gaze shifted from the Taoist robe that no one was paying attention to her father emperor beside her.

He watched the people in front of him. Liu Ceye and Feng Zhenping, who were desperately attacking each other, seemed to not registered in his sight. His eyes only passed over the faces of the crown prince who raised his head to complain about his injustice and the frustrated Prince Kang. His face was covered with a layer of light gloom.

As she watched, Xuyu suddenly felt a sense of desolation in her heart.

At this moment, she seemed to suddenly realize why her father had been indifferent throughout the whole night. Apart from temporarily controlling Liu Ceye and the others, he acted as if nothing had happened. Even when he opened the box just now and what was taken out was not a dragon robe, he looked calm and unperturbed.

It didn’t seem to make any difference to him whether the crown prince was hiding a dragon robe or a Taoist robe. And perhaps, he had already gotten used to such a scene.

“Everyone silence!”

The emperor suddenly became angry and scolded loudly.

Liu, Feng and others who were arguing fiercely suddenly stopped and looked at the emperor.

“Haye you done with your act?”

“Zhen is still alive and well, yet you are so impatient to reveal all your thoughts. Do you want Zhen to weigh and measure each of you?”

When the emperor said this, his sharp eyes glanced at the faces of Liu Ceye, Feng Zhenping, Wei Juren, the Crown Prince, Prince Kang and others, who had different expressions.

The atmosphere in the imperial tent was so heavy that it seemed as if frost and snow were about to fall. Under the emperor’s gaze, everyone bowed their heads in fear, lowered their necks deeply, and remained motionless.

Pei Xiaoyuan, who stood outside the imperial tent, could faintly hear the emperor’s angry rebuke just now.

After a moment, Liu Ceye, Feng Zhenping, the Crown Prince, Prince Kang and others walked out of the imperial tent one by one with their heads down. The wooden box containing the robe was also carried away, and everything disappeared into the night of the camp.

A moment later, Han Kerang also came out, walked to a nearby vacant area, and whispered to him that the emperor had fined Feng Zhenping’s salary and stripped him of his title as punishment for his false accusation of the crown prince tonight.

Naturally, this also meant that, for the emperor, this matter, which could have almost shaken the court if it had been strictly investigated, ended up nothing in a nearly farcical manner.

“I really didn’t expect that…” Thinking of what happened tonight, even Han Kerang showed a slightly bitter smile, shook his head, and then stopped talking.

“His Majesty doesn’t look too well. I asked if we could go back to the palace early tomorrow, but he refused. He also didn’t listen to the princess’ persuasion, saying he had to keep the promise and go hunting with the ministers and the vassal lords for another day.”

The rush travel in the first half of the night made Han Kerang felt a little tired. He beat his waist, looked around the quiet barracks, and accompanied by Pei Xiaoyuan, personally walked around the tent. Seeing that the generals in charge of night duty were at their posts, he turned to Pei Xiaoyuan and said, “I’m going to rest. You’ve been on duty for several nights in a row. Tonight, each place has its own people, so you are not needed. You should also rest. Tomorrow we will protect His Majesty on his last day here, and then we can return to the palace. It’ll be much easier once we return to the palace.”

Pei Xiaoyuan complied. He watched Han Kerang leave, and stood there for a moment, before hearing some noise behind him. He turned around and saw a figure walking out of the emperor’s tent, followed by many palace guards and maids, surrounding her and walking towards the jade tent where she lived.

Pei Xiaoyuan looked at her silently, and kept watching her until the figure in the moonlight disappeared behind the tent door. After a long time, he looked away with disappointment and walked away.

Just as Han Kerang had just said, it was already late tonight and he should go back to his tent to rest. However, perhaps because of his mood, he had no desire to sleep.

When she came out of the imperial tent and returned to the jade tent where she lived, although many people followed her, even though they were so far away, Pei Xiaoyuan still had a feeling that she had a lot in her mind. That feeling… was as if she was the only person, walking under the moon.

It had been a while since she assumed her princess identity, so Pei Xiaoyuan naturally had no chance to meet her alone, let alone spend time with her. However, his intuition told him that she didn’t seem to be happier than before. He also knew in his heart that he still couldn’t let her go, especially tonight, just now, this feeling of concern was even stronger.

He had no desire to sleep, but felt extremely depressed. After a moment’s hesitation, he took Jinwuzhui that had come with him, mounted it, and left the camp alone.

Near the camp, there was a wide and winding stream, which was the branch of the Qinglong River near the Cangshan Palace. Pei Xiaoyuan rode here, led the horse, waded down, and after bathing the horse, he also washed himself from head to toe in the stream water.

The cool water was poured over his head, over and over again.

By the riverside, where the grass grew lush and abundant, there was a patch of horseweed that Jinwuzhui particularly enjoyed. The horse fed contentedly, and he himself had little desire to return to the stifling tent back at the camp that always kept him awake. Letting the horse graze freely, he climbed ashore and found a flat stone near the water’s edge. Reclining on it, he used his sword as a pillow, closed his eyes, and idly chewed on a stalk of horseweed.

The slightly sweet grass juice slowly diffused in his mouth. The cool breeze was blowing, letting his ears felt extremely peaceful. All that remained was the rustling sound of Jinwuzhui nibbling on grass and the endless murmuring of the flowing river. For the first time in days, his restless heart seemed to find a sliver of calm. Gradually, a drowsiness crept over him, pulling him into a hazy, dreamlike state.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when, in this half-dreaming, half-waking state, Pei Xiaoyuan’s eyelid suddenly twitched.

He slowly opened his eyes.

Beside him, the precious horse that had eaten its fill and was resting quietly beside its owner seemed to have sensed something. Its little ears turned slightly, and suddenly it snorted.

The tranquillity of the night was broken.

From the direction of the camp, a faint noise could be heard along with the wild wind, and flames could be seen flickering in the night sky.

Pei Xiaoyuan couldn’t help but be startled. He stretched out his arm and grabbed the sword that he had just used as a pillow. The next moment, he jumped onto the horse’s back, turned the horse around, and galloped towards the camp.

At this moment, a coup was taking place in the camp, and the direct cause was the accident that happened in the previous half of the night.

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