Chapter 119

 

In the quiet bedroom, the emperor was half lying and half leaning on the bed, his face facing the wall, his eyes covered with a medicine gauze prepared by the imperial physician for his eye disease.

The emperor’s eye damage was kept strictly secret, and only the two imperial physician who were in charge of diagnosing the disease knew about it. As for the ministers, most of them, including Prince Ning, were still unaware.

The princess was sitting by the table beside the bed, sorting out the memorials sent by the officials of the Southern Court. Zhao Zhongfang and two palace eunuchs stood beside her, ready to respond at any time.

As soon as they got up in the morning, the ministers came to pay their respects. In addition to giving reports, they also expressed their earnest hope that the emperor would restraint his grief and take care of his dragon body. The princess met the ministers on behalf of the emperor and announced the emperor’s intention to posthumously confer the title of Crown Prince Huihuai on Prince Kang, and his funeral was to be conducted with all the rites befitting a crown prince. The deceased daughter of Lu Lan, a Hongwen scholar, was to be named his spirit-marriage crown princess, and the two would be buried together. The court was to observe mourning immediately, with mourning attire to be worn until after the funeral. The former crown prince was demoted to a commoner and buried as such. Prince Ning was tasked with overseeing all funeral arrangements and the spirit marriage, assisted by Wang Zhang and Cui Daosi.

After all the ministers left the court, Han Kerang was the only one who was allowed to meet the emperor.

He stood behind a curtain made of shark beads, reporting to the emperor inside about the confiscation of property and the pursuit of the remaining rebel members, which he had presided over.

During the search and seizure of the homes of the Liu and Wei families, more than 300 houses and 10,000 acres of land were seized, as well as gold, silver, jewelry, silk, and copper coins, totaling no less than 10 million yuan, almost half of the treasury revenue of the empire last year.

According to the emperor’s order issued by the princess, half of them would be deposited into the Ministry of Revenue to be used as financial subsidies to the people in Henan and Huainan who suffered disasters this year, and the other half would be deposited into the inner treasury for military purposes.

All the unpardoned members of Liu and Wei’s family and clan, totaling more than 200 people, have been executed. The rest were imprisoned and would be exiled to NanyueSouth Vietnam and other places after being sentenced by the Dali Temple.

The many vacancies under each guard have been counted and submitted to the emperor for review and reappointment to fill the vacancies.

After reporting the usual matters, he hesitated for a moment, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to the emperor on the bed through the curtain.

“This minister also want to apologize. Wei Juren escaped early that night and his whereabouts are still unknown. This minister has searched everywhere in the city, but so far, this minister has yet to found the criminal. Perhaps…”

He paused for a moment, raised his eyes slightly, and quickly glanced at the princess behind the curtain opposite.

“It’s also possible that he has escaped from Chang’an during the chaos.

“However,” he continued, “This minister will continue to search in all directions and will bring him to justice sooner or later.”

The emperor seemed to be listening, and seemed to be in a trance. After a while, he suddenly asked in a low voice: “Where is Prince Consort? Has he come?”

Xuyu turned and looked at the emperor.

“Before this minister was summoned to the palace, this minister met Prince Consort who was on night patrol, so we came together. He is outside.”

The emperor moved, and bent over to push himself up. Xuyu hurriedly supported him, put a pillow behind the emperor’s back, and then put a thin blanket on his knees.

The emperor sat firmly.

“Everyone go down. Summon Prince Consort.”

Han Kerang complied, bowed and left. Zhao Zhongfang and the palace eunuch also withdrew.

The emperor fumbled around, held the back of Xuyu’s hand, and patted it gently.

Although he didn’t say anything, Xuyu understood. She followed the emperor’s instructions and slowly withdrew as well.

In the corridor, she met Pei Xiaoyuan who was walking in.

She had no idea when he left last night. Only when she woke up and found herself wrapped in quilt alone did she realize that he had left the palace.

He stepped over the threshold, his posture upright and composed, his gaze lowered slightly as he watched his footing. His brows carrying his usual dignified air, revealing nothing out of the ordinary. However, Xuyu had a feeling that something weighed on his mind. He seemed lost in his own thoughts, so much so that he didn’t notice her standing behind the corridor pillar until he was almost in front of her. Startled, he abruptly halted. After a brief pause, as if recalling something, he stepped forward and explained in a low voice: “Last night, when I saw you had fallen asleep, I suddenly remembered I had another matter to attend to, so I…”

“It’s fine.” Xuyu shook her head and interrupted him.

“Father is waiting. Go ahead.”

He glanced in the direction she had walked out, nodded, and took a step forward. Suddenly, Xuyu said, “Wait!”

She walked to his side, raised her head slightly, looked into his eyes, hesitated, and said softly: “Father has just woke up… No matter what happens, I hope you can bear with it.”

There was a hint of worry in her eyes.

Pei Xiaoyuan smiled and nodded at her: “I know. Don’t worry.”

With her watching from behind, he walked inside.

He was the first to learn about the emperor’s eye damage.

After entering, he stopped behind the partition curtain, his eyes passed through the bead curtain in front of him and fell on the motionless silhouette on the bed opposite.

Looking at the silhouette, he was about to bow down and salute when a voice suddenly rang out: “What, are you staring at Zhen?”

Following these calm words, the emperor turned towards Pei Xiaoyuan.

It was as if his gaze had penetrated the gauze covering, burning straight at him. In that instant, an aura of effortless authority surged forth, pressing down like an invisible force.

Pei Xiaoyuan was startled, lowered his eyes and saluted as usual: “This minister, Pei Xiaoyuan, pay my respects to Your Majesty.”

“Come in. Come before Zhen.”

The emperor was silent for a moment, turned his face back, and spoke again.

Pei Xiaoyuan followed the order and walked through the curtain. With the unusually clear sound of his left and right boots hitting the ground, he arrived in front of the emperor.

“Both of Zhen’s sons died in a matter of days.” The emperor spoke, his tone still calm.

“One is a matter of time. Though Zhen had once considered how to spare his life, allowing him to live out his years until he died of old age—if it truly proved impossible, then there was nothing Zhen could do. His fate would be his own to make. The other one…”

He paused.

“Although he was ignorant, arrogant and utterly foolish, his crime was not punishable by death. Yet he died in this way.

“Who killed him? Who?”

The emperor slowly turned his head again and looked towards Pei Xiaoyuan.

“Pei Er, tell Zhen, who do you think it was?”

As the emperor’s voice fell, the hall became so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

“This minister is ignorant. This minister doesn’t know,” he replied.

The emperor was silent for a moment.

“Everyone blames the Crown Prince and Liu Ceye for the crime. Just them?”

He snorted.

“If they had the guts to take such a risk, they wouldn’t have waited until now to plot how to take Zhen’s old life!

“Ashina thought that he could conceal the truth by colluding with that Wenjun girl? Zhen doesn’t believe it. How could it be so coincidental? The person died next to you that day. Zhen doesn’t believe that you didn’t know anything about this!

“Is Prince Kang’s death related to Ashina?”

The emperor listened attentively after he finished speaking, but after a long while, there was still no response.

His thin and sunken face gradually showed a great but restrained anger. He nodded and said in a cold voice: “Zhen’s son, even if he deserves death, it can only be done by Zhen.

“Too many people have died in the past few days. The reason why Zhen asked you alone is because Zhen doesn’t want to expand the matter further. But if you don’t say it, Zhen can only interrogate others. Wenjun! Ashina! One by one, Zhen doesn’t believe Zhen can’t get the answer.”

The emperor turned to the outside and told Zhao Zhongfang to go and fetch Yuan Zhi.

Zhao Zhongfang went inside, agreed, lowered his head, and walked out slowly.

“No need.”

Pei Xiaoyuan suddenly spoke.

“He was killed by me.”

He bowed down to the emperor.

Zhao Zhongfang was so shocked that he stopped where he was.

The emperor’s back slowly become tensed, and he placed one palm straight on the bed to support his body.

“Pei Er, you are the Princess’s husband! How long has she been married to you? How could you do such a thing?”

The emperor’s voice trembled slightly.

“Have you thought clearly about what this means? If you believe that taking the blame for other will deceive Zhen, then you are gravely underestimating Zhen.”

“This minister does not take the blame for others, nor does this minister wish for anyone else to suffer unjustly for what this minister has done.”

Pei Xiaoyuan kowtowed again calmly and then stood up.

“That day, Prince Kang came into the tent to talk to the Princess. This minister stepped out to avoid intruding and happened to met Ashina who sneaked in. Knowing that the County Princess was also there, he took the opportunity to meet her privately. This minister naturally couldn’t interfere with their private affair, so this minister parted ways with him and was about to return when this minister encountered Prince Kang as he stepped out. He didn’t know that this minister was nearby, and he spoke with his attendants about this minister in a most insolent manner, even declaring that should he ascend the throne, the first person he would have killed would be this minister. This minister was enraged, and thought about the current situation. If Prince Kang died, everyone would blame the Crown Prince, and this minister would be the least likely to be suspected. Thus, in a moment of reckless resolve, this minister took the risk and killed him. When covering the body, this minister deliberately discarded Prince Kang’s jade pendant nearby so that he would be discovered sooner, thereby exerting another layer of pressure on the Crown Prince and Liu Ceye. This minister feared that if they hesitated at the last moment, Your Majesty, moved by familial ties, might also waver. And if that were to happen, when would this minister ever have his vengeance…”

“Bastard! Bastard!

“Do you think Zhen won’t kill you?”

The emperor suddenly let out a furious roar, yanking off the medicinal gauze that had been covering his eyes. His eyes, though hollow and devoid of light, seemed to blaze with fury as he sprang from the bed. Barefoot, he rushed forward, his hands flailing wildly in the air, grasping at nothing.

In the hall, on a sword rack, lay a treasured sword with a jade-inlaid hilt, meant to ward off evil. He seemed to be trying to feel his way toward it, intending to draw the blade. However, his direction was off. After a few moments of frantic, futile searching, he only strayed farther away.

“Zhao Zhongfang! Zhao Zhongfang! Bring Zhen the sword! Zhen want to kill him!” The emperor shouted at the old palace eunuch again.

Zhao Zhongfang ran over, knelt down, hugged the emperor’s feet, and begged him to calm his anger first, but the emperor kicked him away and continued to grope around.

“Rebellion! Rebellion! Do all of you want to rebel?”

Finally, he groped his way to the sword rack, but he couldn’t see anything, and when he got close, he knocked over the heavy sandalwood sword rack.

Amid the loud noise as the wooden frame fell to the ground, the sword also fell to the floor with a clang.

The emperor was blocked in front of the overturned wooden frame, as if trapped within an invisible cage.

He hunched over, gripping the wooden frame tightly, his back turned to the people behind him. His breathing, at first ragged and heavy, gradually steadied. In the end, he fell completely silent, his figure frozen in place—motionless, like a wooden statue.

“Get out.”

After a long while, a low scold sounded from the emperor’s mouth.

Pei Xiaoyuan bowed to the emperor’s back, stood up and walked out.

A figure was standing quietly at the entrance of the hall. He walked in front of her and stopped. When their eyes met, his lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he fell silent again.

“You leave the palace first and go home to rest.”

Xuyu said in a gentle tone.

Pei Xiaoyuan returned to Yongning Mansion.

It had only been half a month since he left, but now when he stepped back inside, he felt as if he was in another world.

When he stepped into the bedroom filled with her belongings, he felt as if he had returned to his own world in this vast universe. His tense and sore shoulders finally relaxed, and then a deep feeling of fatigue hit him.

Since the day Prince Kang died, he didn’t have a good night’s sleep for several days.

He pressed his face into a pillow that seemed to smell of her scent, closed his eyes, and fell asleep without thinking about anything.

When he woke up, the daytime light in the bedroom had disappeared and was only illuminated by candlelight.

She was sitting in front of the bed, looking at him.

Pei Xiaoyuan subconsciously moved his arms, wanting to pulled her into his arms. But when he raised his hand, it suddenly stopped in the air.

Xuyu retracted her gaze from his slowly lowered hand and smiled at him: “Awake?”

He sat up, took the clothes she handed him, and put them on silently.

Xuyu walked out again and was about to ask He shi to bring in some food when she heard him say behind her, “No need. I’m not hungry.”

She stopped and turned her head.

“I’m sorry, I…”

All of a sudden, the experiences of last night flashed through his mind. Countless words pressed at the edge of his tongue, yet in the end, he couldn’t form a complete sentence. All that remained was this half-spoken, broken phrase.

Xuyu walked back slowly.

“Where did you go last night?”

He avoided her gaze and responded with silence.

“I heard what you said to Father. It was not you who killed Prince Kang.”

He looked up at her.

“What you said to Father sounds reasonable, but it can’t fool me.”

Perhaps she didn’t want to hear him lie to her, or perhaps she didn’t want to make thing awkward for him. Without waiting for his answer, Xuyu continued.

“You returned not long after Prince Kang left that day. In such a short period of time, even if you really killed the person as you said, you would not have had time to deal with the aftermath. Unless you had planned it and arranged people in advance. But it was an accident that Prince Kang joined the group that day. So I know it couldn’t be you. Perhaps…”

She looked at Pei Xiaoyuan opposite her.

“Let’s say even if it’s you, you should have an accomplice.”

“It must be Chengping.”

His answer to her was still silence.

Xuyu waited for a moment and stopped asking.

She changed the subject.

“A lot of things have happened recently. Ever since the news of your assassination spread, everything has gone wrong.

“I can tell you with certainty that the person who leaked this news was not my father. The imperial physician would not have the guts to do so either.

“What do you think about this matter?”

“It’s Li Yan.” He finally spoke and responded.

Xuyu nodded.

“Yes, I think so too. It’s him. He has always been there. And now, this situation is exactly what he wants. I underestimated him before. His identity is his natural weapon. He can use it to deal with ambitious people and make use of each other. Inside and outside Chang’an, I’m certain there are still many such people. Perhaps someone has been protecting him in the shadows—otherwise, how could he have remained hidden for so long.

“Pei Er, if I told you that Chengping also knew him, even had dealings with him, would you believe me? Or would you think I am unjustly doubting your brother?”

Pei Xiaoyuan looked at her but didn’t speak immediately.

“I’m not saying that Chengping obeys Li Yan and was controlled by him. But the two of them must have known each other for a long time.

“Recently, I asked some old people in the palace and found out one thing. Chengping came to Chang’an as a hostage in the last years of Jingsheng. In the hostage residence, he was the youngest—only six or seven years old. He didn’t understand the Central Plains’ language or its customs. But more importantly, the power of his clansmen behind him was weak. His father had been betrayed and despised by the old emperor, forced to bow to the Wolf Court King whom the old emperor had personally appointed. Let alone him, a mere child sent as a hostage. I think he didn’t have the opportunity to experience the prosperity and brightness of Chang’an in those days. He must have suffered a lot of bullying and humiliation in the hostage house. I heard that one day, when he was bullied yet again, Li Yan, who was still the Imperial Grandson at that time, happened to pass by. He stepped in, helped him, and ordered the others never to mistreat him again.”

She looked at Pei Xiaoyuan.

“Perhaps it was from that time that Chengping and Li Yan knew each other, and they have maintained a relationship until now.”

Pei Xiaoyuan froze, and suddenly, an incident that happened in the past popped up in his mind.

He didn’t think much of it at the time.

However, at this moment, because of her words, when he thought about it carefully again, it was not difficult to understand.

Instantly, his brows furrowed tightly and his expression turned cold.

He stood up suddenly, put on his boots hurriedly, turned around and was about to go out when he heard her voice again behind him.

“Don’t go yet!”

He turned around and saw her walking towards him and stopping in front of him.

“After leaving the palace during the day, I went to visit Wenjun. I have an idea.

“Help me lure Li Yan out and capture him.”

Xuyu looked at Pei Xiaoyuan and spoke.

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