Chapter 83 Part 1

 

When Pei Xiaoyuan carried the emperor down the mountain, Xuyu followed closely beside him throughout the journey.

Perhaps her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she thought she saw her father, after being carried down seven to eight steps of the mountain path, fluttered his eyelids a few times. Then, as if he had fully regained consciousness, he slightly opened his eyes, his gaze dazed as it swept left and right, seemingly trying to understand what was happening.

He looked a little uncomfortable with this situation.

Just when Xuyu thought that her father was going to order Pei Xiaoyuan to put him down, she was taken by surprise. It was unclear what her father was thinking, but his gaze shifted to the back of the young man currently carrying him down the mountain. His eyes lingered there for a moment before softening. Without saying or doing anything further, he slowly closed his eyes again, his entire demeanor relaxing. He remained completely still, allowing this young minister to carry him all the way down the mountain path, step by step, until finally bringing him safely to the foot of the mountain.

There, the palace eunuchs had already brought the sedan chair and were waiting at the intersection. Upon seeing this, they rushed forward, hurriedly but orderly took the emperor and helped him onto the sedan chair.

Afterwards, the emperor went away under the escort of Han Kerang and other ministers including Cui Daosi who had rushed to the scene after hearing the news.

Xuyu also followed the sedan chair, and as she walked forward, she glanced behind her.

Pei Xiaoyuan did not follow. He stopped at the intersection at the foot of the mountain alone. When he saw her turn around, he looked at her for a moment before slowly lowered his head and bowed to her from a distance.

Xuyu nodded as a return gesture and expression of gratitude, then she closed her eyes and accompanied the emperor back to the imperial tent.

The imperial physician arrived hurriedly, and after a round of diagnosis and treatment, he said that the emperor should be fine and that his fainting was mainly due to blood stasis. He suggested that he return to the palace immediately and rest well.

There was no need for the imperial physician to insist. After what happened last night, this trip was destined to be cut short.

During the brief period of waiting for the return trip, more details about the incident last night were reported one by one.

In the first half of last night, after the farce-like dispute in front of the emperor, the emperor, either out of his usual cautious habit or out of intuition, secretly ordered Han Kerang to keep an eye on the people on both sides to see what they were doing. As the emperor was always wary of Pei Xiaoyuan, he naturally did not want to let him know about this, so Han Kerang did not reveal any news to Pei Xiaoyuan last night.

It was precisely because of the emperor’s caution that the Four Guards were able to respond quickly and organize to block Chen Sida after the incident.

However, the emperor still underestimated the severity of the situation and was not fully prepared. Although the riot last night was quickly put down, the consequences were much more serious than everyone imagined.

According to the count this morning, more than a dozen officials who accompanied the emperor died. Among them, except for a civil servant who fell off his horse and died while fleeing, most of the others were people in the court who had close contacts with Feng Zhenping. As for the officials from Prince Kang Mansion accompanying the trip—such as the chief of staff and chief guard—they were all killed without exception. Additionally, there were twenty to thirty injured officials. Their injuries ranged from burns and blade wounds to accidental falls or sprains sustained while fleeing. The causes were as varied as they were numerous, and even a few foreign envoys were among the injured. Fortunately, none of the injuries were life-threatening, and all the injured were provided with care and accommodations.

Among the injured, Feng Zhenping was in the most critical condition, having sustained a severe stab wound. If not for the timely arrival of Chengping and the others last night, his life might not have been spared. Prince Kang, on the other hand, was unharmed but severely shaken. It was said that Feng Zhenping, disregarding his own safety, ordered his trusted aides to protect Prince Kang, allowing him to escape the pursuit. Prince Kang eventually hid in a patch of wild grass about seven to eight miles from the camp. He had since been found and brought back to safety.

Piece by piece, it was all bad news.

The only surprisingly good thing was that Xin’an Prince, Li Hui, who performed very well last night. Remaining calm in the face of danger, he immediately thought that the rebels might take the vassal envoys as hostages. Without hesitation, and while others were preoccupied with fleeing for their lives, he led his guards into the already burning camp site. Braving the flames and chaos, he organized the evacuation of those vassal envoys who had not yet escaped, successfully leading them into the safety of the mountains behind the camp. In total, he saved more than ten individuals.

The emperor, who had remained expressionless throughout the reports from Han Kerang and the others, finally allowed a faint smile to appear upon hearing this news. He immediately ordered for Li Hui to be summoned.

Li Hui, like the others, was waiting outside the imperial tent. Yang Zai’en was about to go out to pass on the message when he suddenly heard the emperor’s voice behind him: “Wait!”

Yang Zai’en hurriedly stopped and waited with bated breath, but saw the emperor lost in thought for a moment and changed his words: “Forget it, there is no need to summon him alone.

“Pass on Zhen’s order and return to the palace immediately. Those who are injured and have difficulty walking do not need to travel together. Leave the imperial physician here to treat them. It will not be too late for them to return after their injuries have healed.” The emperor gave another order.

The palace eunuch went out and passed on the emperor’s order.

Amidst a chorus of gratitude and praise, the emperor concluded his trip early and began his return to the palace. On the way, he encountered Prince Ning, who had rushed to meet him upon hearing the news. Together, they returned safely to the palace later that evening.

However, that very night, the emperor’s health suddenly took a severe downturn.

This seemed very sudden. After all, from the first day the emperor came to Cangshan and brought the princess back to the court, he showed an excitement rarely seen before. He met with ministers and vassal lords and envoys from various countries every day, frequently participated in various banquets, and even, during hunting, he ignored the dissuasion of his ministers, was very excited, rode his horse and shot several preys himself.

The emperor looked as if he had suddenly become a dozen years younger. This was obviously a new atmosphere brought about by the princess’s return. Many ministers were surprised and delighted.

No one expected that after returning that night, the emperor would become listless again, his condition even worse than before, and the imperial physician’s medicine was useless.

The emperor’s illness was naturally not disclosed to his ministers. Fortunately, this was a summer palace, which was just the right place to recuperate quietly. But almost a month passed, and the emperor’s health still did not get better. When there were no ministers or outsiders around, he would often be in a daze alone, and even stay awake all night, unable to sleep until dawn.

Naturally, it was impossible to conceal such a thing for long. Slowly, the news spread and many speculations surfaced.

Some suggested that the emperor was deeply shaken by the rebellion that night. While this explanation seems tenuous, given the emperor’s harrowing experiences in his earlier years, it was undeniable that he was no longer the man he once was. The ferocity of the mutiny that night left lingering fear in many hearts, and for an emperor already weakened by illness, it was entirely plausible that such a shock could leave him bedridden, unable to recover.

Others scoffed at this theory, believing instead that the emperor’s decline was caused by his deep frustration and anguish over the rivalry between the crown prince and Prince Kang.

This statement did sound more reasonable. The Crown Prince and Prince Kang had always been at odds with each other, and after that night, they had completely fallen out, just like water and fire. Feng Zhenping, who had just recovered from his injuries, had recently been seeking to see the emperor frequently, and had been trying to please the princess in private. In addition to recommending officials for Prince Kang, he had also mobilized people to submit petitions in turn, accusing Liu Ceye and the Crown Prince of being Chen Sida’s accomplices, hoping that the emperor would conduct a thorough investigation.

Liu Ceye certainly would not remain silent, and he mobilized other officials to defend himself and praised the crown prince for his contribution in saving the emperor that night. Not only that, recently, even the scholars in the literary circles of Chang’an and the Eastern Capital began to publicize the crown prince’s merits and ridiculed Feng Zhenping for being jealous of the virtuous.

The emperor was still recuperating in Cangshan Palace, while outside, his two sons were openly fighting to such an extent that it even affected Chang’an and Eastern Capital. Since the emperor favored the princess, it was obviously crucial for the princess to support whom. The accumulation of various suspicions forced many originally neutral ministers to get involved and start to consider the future.

Not to mention the imperial family, even if it were an ordinary family, if they encountered such a thing, they would probably be extremely troubled. How could their health get better?

Apart from these two theories, there had been a new speculation recently, that was, the emperor may also be worried about the princess’s marriage.

In the past few days, marriage proposals from Xifan, Bohai and County Prince Xiping Mansion had been delivered one after another by express horses, and it was said that marriage envoys were also on their way. One family’s daughter, many families’ proposals, and foreign countries were involved. The emperor could not accept all of them, so how to choose one and how to reject the remaining families without causing possible conflicts was naturally a headache. It was natural for the emperor to be worried about this.

All kinds of speculations were flying around outside the palace, but the time inside the palace passed by as usual.

After returning from the hunting ground, her father’s physical condition was poor. Looking at it with her own eyes, Xuyu was very anxious.

She was not a skilled doctor, but she could see that after Chen Sida’s rebellion, her father’s health was obviously affected by his worries, and his worries seemed to be much worse than before.

To make matters worse, a few days ago, he contracted a fever caused by the weather. He collapsed and fell unconscious the whole day.

For several days, Xuyu anxiously served beside him, not daring to relax at all. Finally tonight, she felt that his body temperature had cooled down a lot, and the imperial physician said that it was not a big problem, so she finally relaxed a little.

Originally, she had only intended to rest her eyes for a moment, but fatigue overtook her. As she relaxed, she slumped onto the bedside and drifted into sleep. Suddenly, she woke up from her restless sleep, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself sleeping on her father’s bed, covered with a thin quilt.

She sat up abruptly, looked around. Noticing the glow of lights outside the sleeping chamber, she quickly pushed off the quilt, got out of bed, and hurriedly stepped outside.

In the outer hall, the emperor stood by a window, gazing up as though lost in thought, his eyes seemingly fixed on the mountain moon beyond. His figure was still, enveloped in a quiet, meditative air.

Not far behind him, there was a candlelight on the desk, a brush was placed on top, and there were piles of memorials sent from Chang’an.

Obviously, the emperor was reviewing matters here again.

The window was wide open, and the night wind from the mountain rushed in from outside. He was only wearing a thin coat, and looked extremely thin. Zhao Zhongfang was beside him, whispering to the emperor to rest, but it was unknown what the emperor was thinking, he didn’t respond.

Although it was now the Eight Month and the city of Chang’an was still as hot as a steamer, it was a little cool in the mountains here when the wind blows at night.

Xuyu hurried over and said, “Father, you are sick and haven’t recovered yet! It’s the middle of the night, why are you not sleeping and instead coming out here to write memorials?”

When the emperor heard her voice, he turned around, laughed, and said that he was fine. He woke up and couldn’t sleep, so he came out to do something to pass the time. He told her to go back to sleep and not to worry.

How could Xuyu listened to him? She went up, closed the window, and asked him to come inside.

The emperor shook his head and did not insist. He let his daughter lead him back inside. Xuyu helped him get on the bed and asked him to lean against the head of the bed. Zhao Zhongfang brought him a cup of warm water. The emperor drank two sips, put it down, stared at Xuyu sitting beside him, and sighed: “Father is useless, and has worried you again recently. Your face has become thinner. Go to sleep. Don’t worry. Father is fine.”

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