Chapter 183

 

At midnight, Hua Yang fell asleep in Chen Jingzong’s arms.

Her long eyelashes were still wet. She rested her head on Chen Jingzong’s strong arm, her hand holding the hem of his shirt.

The grand princess was usually so particular, but tonight she didn’t mind the smell of tung oil on his hair, and she didn’t have the energy to ask him to help her clean herself.

The lights in the inner room were still on, and Chen Jingzong looked at the person in his arms silently.

Qi Jin did frame him, but he was not in danger. Three years had passed. It was normal for her to be angry, but she didn’t have to cry so sadly.

Chen Jingzong had guessed long ago that she was hiding some secrets and that she could probably predict some things in advance.

Therefore, according to her prediction, he should have died in Wuduo Mountain.

She had seen that scene, which was why she went with him on the expedition without any complaints, and why she felt so sad and scared when she relived the ambush.

A thousand sweet words, ten thousand gentle and considerate actions, could not compare to the tears she shed for him.

Chen Jingzong didn’t like romantic things, and he never wanted a gentle and considerate wife.

He liked this little imperial princess who was on a blind date with him. He liked being glared at and scolded by her. He liked the fact that she showed great disgust but was willing to do those happy things with him in the end.

Willingness came from love. It was enough for both sides to understand each other. There was no need to say it out loud.

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When Hua Yang woke up, it was already bright outside the window.

Chen Jingzong was gone, and there was a faint smell of tung oil inside the bed canopy, but she was clean and comfortable, and had changed into a new of middle coat.

The 26^th of Eight Month, there was a court meeting this morning. Perhaps her brother and the civil and military officials were discussing a thorough investigation of Qi Jin’s case of collaborating with the enemy.

Qi Jin did that kind of thing, how much did her uncle, aunt, and grandmother know?

Hua Yang had a mixed feeling. She just ate a quick meal and went to the palace.

When Hua Yang arrived at Qianqing Palace, she learned that her mother empress had moved to Cining Palace.

As her brother grew up, the Cining Palace had already been renovated. All they had to do was ask the palace servants to move the utensils used by their mother there, and the place would be ready for people to live in.

Hua Yang then went to Cining Palace.

Empress Dowager Qi had just returned from the morning court and had just changed into her casual clothes. She looked a little haggard, which was enough to prove that she did not sleep well last night.

“Panpan is here, come and sit down.”

Empress Dowager Qi sat on the warm couch by the window and waved to her daughter.

The palace servants withdrew respectfully.

Hua Yang held her mother’s hand and said, “Prince Consort told me everything last night. Are you sad?”

Empress Dowager Qi: “I feel sorry for your grandmother and uncle. They are both honest people who live a respectable life. But in their old age, they were implicated by your cousin.”

Everyone praised her as a virtuous empress, and Empress Dowager Qi always held herself to the highest standards and disciplined those around her. She was strict with her son, and treated her family members the same.

In the past twenty years or so, her mother and brother had been law-abiding, and her nephew had been a great talent in both literature and martial arts, bringing honor to the family. Who would have thought that he would become a scourge to the family.

Hua Yang was silent for a moment, then asked, “How are you and Brother going to deal with this matter?”

Empress Dowager Qi looked out the window and said, “If the head of a family colluded with the enemy and committed treason, that is a serious crime punishable by extermination of all nine generations. Since your cousin was the only one who colluded with the enemy and the family was unaware, sentencing him to death of a thousand cuts and stripping the marquisate of its title, reducing the family to commoners, is enough to atone before the world.”

There were many types of death penalty, and the most appropriate punishment was chosen according to the crime committed by a person. A cup of poisoned wine and a three-foot white silk were considered diginified, beheading was common, while waist severing and death of a thousand cuts were reserved for serious crimes.

Hua Yang felt a chill. She had only seen the death of a thousand cuts in books, but she had never expected that the first real example around her was actually her own cousin.

Hua Yang was just horrified by this way of dying, but she did not sympathize with Qi Jin.

Not to mention that he killed Chen Jingzong and more than five thousand soldiers of almost the entire Daxing Left Guard in her previous life, even for more than five thousand soldiers of Jinwu Vanguard who died unjustly at his hands in this life, Qi Jin should be punished by death of a thousand cuts.

No matter how much pain he was in, the dead soldiers would never come back to life, and the wounds in the hearts of their thousands of relatives would never heal.

The death cell of the Jinyiwei.

Qi Jin calmly cooperated with the interrogation of the Jinyiwei Commander Liu Shou.

Liu Shou asked him if he had such evil intentions because he was jealous of Chen Jingzong’s popularity. Qi Jin then realized that both the Empress Dowager and Emperor Yuanyou wanted to take Hua Yang out of it.

Qi Jin paused and answered yes.

It really had nothing to do with Hua Yang. She knew nothing from the beginning to the end, did not understand his intentions, and had never been attracted to him.

It was he who wanted to marry her, it was he who resented his aunt’s power over the entire marquis mansion, it was he who was dissatisfied with the marriage arranged for him by his grandmother and mother, and it was he who had been holding a grudge in his heart.

He could not take Hua Yang by force, nor could he openly resist his aunt, so he could only take action against Hua Yang’s prince consort.

Whether it was Chen Jingzong or any other man, whoever married Hua Yang and got what he could not get would become a thorn in his eyes.

But in the end, he still had to submit to the power of his aunt.

If he cooperated honestly with Liu Shou’s questioning and not revealed his ambitions towards Hua Yang, maybe the fate of the Qi family would have been better.

He was destined to die, so why should he implicate his family.

Qi Jin just had a hint of extravagant hope. He was about to die, would Hua Yang come to see him? Even if it was just to scold him, he would be happy to see her before he died.

Qi Jin had been waiting.

He endured the scolding and tears of his grandmother and parents, waited through countless nights and dawns, and finally faced the Jinyiwei taking him away for punishment. He felt the blade strike him again and again, but the one person he most wanted to see never come.

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Hua Yang did not pity Qi Jin, but after all, he was her cousin whom she had known since childhood. When Qi Jin was executed at the end of Eight Month, her grandmother’s family also set off to move back to their ancestral home, never to be seen again in this lifetime. How could Hua Yang not be affected, as if nothing had happened?

Chen Jingzong specially took leave and accompanied her to Hongfu Temple for two days.

Hua Yang didn’t want him to worry, so she pretended to have let it go and asked Chen Jingzong to go to the guard station to work first.

But as soon as Chen Jingzong left, Hua Yang became depressed again.

She also learned from Chen Jingzong that when her mother attended the court meeting on the 26^th of Eight Month, she also issued a self-blame edict in front of all the civil and military officials, saying that she and the Qi family had failed to teach their children and nephews well, causing thousands of soldiers to die unjustly on the battlefield. Since she had blamed herself, her mother had no face to continue to attend government affairs on behalf of her brother, so her brother would take charge of the government from that day on, and she would move back to the Cining Palace to cultivate herself and no longer interfere in the court affairs.

Hua Yang felt sad for her mother. Apart from being too strict, her mother had almost no shortcomings. But Qi Jin implicated her and tarnished her reputation!

“Grand Princess, Eldest Princess sent someone to deliver an invitation.”

Wu Run went to the garden and saw his family’s grand princess lying listlessly on a bench next to a bush of mostly withered roses.

Hua Yang glanced at him lazily and said, “You read it.”

Wu Run nodded, opened the invitation, read it quickly, and then imitated the tone of Princess Anle while smiling: “My dear niece, I know you are unhappy recently, so I specially asked the troupe to arrange a good play. Come quickly, I have prepared tea, fruits and fine wine for you.”

Don’t be fooled by Eunuch Wu’s stern demeanor when managing the servants in Grand Princess Mansion. When it came to cheering up grand princess, Eunuch Wu could be quite the entertainer.

Hua Yang: …

Chao Yun and Chao Yue both laughed and said, “Eldest Princess is really caring.”

Hua Yang was infected by the joyful atmosphere and did not want to let her aunt down, so she set off immediately.

Princess Anle sent a young eunuch to wait for her niece at the gate. When Hua Yang arrived, the young eunuch bowed and nodded and led her to a waterside pavilion.

Hua Yang didn’t think much about it until she saw from afar a piece of white gauze hanging in the waterside pavilion, gently fluttering in the autumn breeze of early Ninth Month. Her aunt, in a gorgeous long dress, was sitting behind the white gauze, listening to music comfortably and happily, as carefree as a goddess in heaven.

Certain memories from her previous life flooded into her mind, and Hua Yang suddenly began to feel like backing out.

Princess Anle ran out with a smile, grabbed her niece and pulled her into the waterside pavilion: “Since you’re here, why are you leaving?”

She was also a little puzzled. Her good show hadn’t even begun yet. Could it be that her niece could predict the future?

Hua Yang was pressed by her aunt to the rosewood carved arhat bed behind the white gauze.

Princess Anle clapped her hands, and two strong guards with their upper bodies naked came in.

Hua Yang was not interested in this kind of show, but at this point, she didn’t want her aunt to laugh at her.

Therefore, Hua Yang could only relax and calm down, and casually watched the two guards start fighting.

The sturdy guards actually looked similar in physique. Hua Yang tried to recognize their faces, only to find that she didn’t remember the faces of the two guards arranged by her aunt in her previous life at all. Naturally, she couldn’t be sure whether the people in front of her were the two people she had seen before.

“How is it? Looking at such beauty, have you forgotten all those bad things?” Princess Anle approached her niece and teased with a smile.

Hua Yang: “Can this be called beauty? Auntie’s taste is really getting worse and worse.”

Princess Anle said: “It’s not that my taste is bad, it’s just that you’ve been spoiled by Chen Jinzhong’s face. But then again, no matter how handsome he is, you’ve been looking at him for almost seven years. Are you not tired of him yet?”

Hua Yang had always had a hard mouth. According to her usual personality, she would probably say at this time that she didn’t really look at her own prince consort.

But in her previous life, she could only sit next to her aunt and fantasize about Chen Jingzong in front of two strange guards. But now, Chen Jingzong was still fine, and she could see him whenever she wanted.

After a moment of silence, Hua Yang smiled and said, “I’ll never get tired of looking at it in my lifetime.”

Princess Anle: …

She held her niece’s shoulders in disbelief and pinched her niece’s smooth face: “Are you our Panpan? Are you possessed by a ghost?”

She watched her niece grow up. Apart from trying to please her elders, when had she ever said anything sweet to someone of the same generation?

Hua Yang just pushed her aunt aside with disdain: “Don’t block me from watching the show.”

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In the evening, Chen Jingzong returned from the guard station and found Hua Yang sitting by the window, holding a storybook in her hand and there was a palm-sized brocade box next to her.

Seeing that he noticed the brocade box, Hua Yang said, “This is a gift from Auntie for you.”

Chen Jingzong: “Why did she suddenly think of giving me something?”

Hua Yang lowered her eyes. Her aunt’s original words were that she invited her niece to watch the guards, and she felt a little guilty towards her niece’s prince consort, so she gave him a small gift.

Of course Hua Yang couldn’t tell Chen Jingzong, so she just said, “She also gave me one, yours is just a random gift.”

Chen Jingzong understood that she had been in a bad mood recently, and since the eldest princess loved her so much, she sent some gifts to cheer her niece up.

Chen Jingzong sat next to Hua Yang and opened the brocade box, revealing a dagger inside.

Hua Yang moved away a little.

Chen Jingzong took out the dagger and laughed: “Can I still hurt you?”

Hua Yang snorted: “Who can trust someone so clumsy?”

Chen Jingzong also stepped back a little and pulled the dagger out of the scabbard. Before he had time to check whether the blade was sharp, a folded piece of letter paper fell out of the scabbard.

The couple were both stunned.

Chen Jingzong had a complicated expression: “What is this?” The eldest princess was very frivolous, don’t cause trouble for him!

Hua Yang had already taken the letter, unfolded it, and after looking at it for a while, her whole face turned red!

Chen Jingzong realized something and put the dagger aside, then snatched the letter back before grand princess tried to tear it up.

Hua Yang rushed over, but Chen Jingzong held her with one hand to prevent her from moving, and held the letter in the other hand and stretched it out to look at it.

The letter read: My nephew-in-law, Panpan is unhappy and none of your proper methods work, so I arranged for two handsome and strong guards to take off their shirts to demonstrate the masculine beauty of men for her. It’s just that I feel a little sorry for you, so I’ll give you a dagger that can cut through iron like mud, and please don’t blame your aunt.

Chen Jingzong: …

Handsome, strong, without shirt, masculine beauty!

Crumpling the letter into a ball with one hand, he looked down at the grand princess who had given up struggling.

The grand princess’ face was red, and it was unclear whether she was angry with her aunt or felt guilty because her prince consort caught her doing good things outside.

Chen Jingzong put on a fake smile: “Okay, no wonder you look in a good mood today, it turns out you were having an affair outside.”

Hua Yang glared at him: “I just took a few glances, stop making up stories.”

Chen Jingzong: “How many times did you look at them? What did you look at? Am I not as good-looking as them, or are you tired of looking at me and have to look at others?”

Hua Yang closed her eyes and mouth and ignored him.

Chen Jingzong quickly took off his outer robe and threw away the middle coat inside. He then pulled the escaping princess back and pressed her against his chest: “Look, if you think there’s something wrong with it, can’t I change it?”

Hua Yang hits him.

Chen Jingzong was unable to force the princess to open her eyes, so he had no choice but to pick her up and hold her in his arms, gnashing his teeth in her ear: “I understand that you are unhappy these days, and I haven’t touched you. But you actually ran away to flirt with other guys behind my back!”

Hua Yang hits him on the mouth.

Chen Jingzong grabbed her wrist and pushed her down on the couch. Soon, the grand princess could only let him talk nonsense and she could no longer speak complete sentences.

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