Chapter 146 Part 1

 

She walked in front, while Pei Xiaoyuan followed behind her. At a distance of ten to twenty steps, Yang Zai’en led the eunuchs and palace maids, quietly following at the end. The group walked silently through the quiet palace on the mid-spring night and entered her palace.

The chill night wind outside sent a shiver through the body, but inside the bedchamber, the brazier still burned warmly, filling the air with comforting heat. As Pei Xiaoyuan stepped in, a wave of warm fragrance enveloped him from head to toe, seeping straight into his lungs and heart. His chilled eyelids grew warm, and his mind involuntarily grew slightly hazy. At this time, he saw the maid Zhu’er and several young palace maids coming out of the inner room to greet them. When she saw him, Zhu’er gasped in delight, “Prince Consort has come too?” She quickly bowed, then turned to her mistress and said hurriedly, “Young Master has just eaten his fill. His eyelids keep drooping — he’s about to fall asleep, but he stubbornly refuses to do so. Amu is coaxing him now.”

Xuyu handed the shawl she had taken off to another maid and said with a smile, “I’ll go and take a look. You all see to the Prince Consort properly.” After that, she washed her hands in front of a basin filled with clean water, took the white towel handed to her by the maid, wiped her hands dry, and then hurried inside, her figure disappearing behind a curtain.

Zhu’er happily came forward, chatting about the news she had heard in the palace of her master’s recent merits. Together with the other maids, she busied herself preparing tea and pastries, but he stopped them, telling them there was no need to stay and that they should go about their other tasks. Zhu’er and the maids exchanged glances. Seeing that he really meant it, they dared not insist. They answered in the affirmative, saluted, and quietly withdrew.

The scene in front of him finally quieted down, and the sounds coming from the inner bedroom became clearer. He could hear her and He shi speaking softly from time to time, asking about the child’s food and care during her absence. Amid their words came Xiao Hu’er’s faint whimpers and her gentle, coaxing lullabies.

He tilted his ear, listening intently for a moment. It felt as if some unseen force was calling him; unable to resist, he slowly moved to the side of the curtain where she had disappeared and stopped, peering inside.

There was another lattice door behind the curtain, half-closed. Through the slightly opened door, he saw that she had changed her clothes and put on a simple moon-white spring top, with a soft cotton skirt embroidered with delicate jasmine blossoms, loosely tied at the waist. She was reclining sideways along the edge of the bed, her body turned inward. Xiao Hu’er nestled in the crook of her arm, one tiny fist clutching tightly at the fabric of her shoulder. She gently patted the child’s back, soothing him to sleep.

He couldn’t fully see his son’s face from where he stood, but Pei Xiaoyuan could imagine it clearly: pressed snugly against her, eyes obediently closed, already fallen asleep. Though the small fist still stubbornly clung to her clothing, the pitiful whimpers he had let out earlier, distressed by the darkness and her absence, had now faded into silence.

She did not leave immediately, but continued to stay with him for a long time, until he fell asleep. Only when his little hand finally relaxed its grip did she lean closer, kiss him lightly on the forehead, cover him carefully with the quilt, and gently rise from the couch. She instructed He shi and the wet nurse to stay with the child for a while longer before retiring to rest, then she turned and went outside.

Pei Xiaoyuan did not dodge and remained where he was.

She looked at him, motioned for him to follow her, then walked past him. They went out of the outer hall, and into a small pavilion separated by six screens.

The small pavilion was not big; with the screen set up, it felt intimate and private. The furnishings inside were simple and elegant, with only a few objects. There was a Persian rug with exotic patterns covering nearly half the floor. On the carpet, two low couches were placed to either side, and in front of them was a long narrow table. Arranged atop it were paper, brushes, and a water container for painting, along with a smooth porcelain vase holding a branch of jasmine, blooming with pale yellow flowers — a subtle echo of the delicate embroidery on her spring blouse and skirt.

It seemed that this was her private room where she usually paints or took a nap.

“Talking here, we won’t disturb Xiao Hu’er.”

She took off her embroidered shoes, stepped on the carpet with her feet wrapped in silk stockings, walked to one of the low couches and sat down. After straightening the hem of her cotton skirt that was slightly wrinkled from lying down, she then motioned for him to sit down as well.

Pei Xiaoyuan didn’t take off his boots to step onto the carpet; he stopped just outside its edge. Seeing that he didn’t come closer, she didn’t insist. Her eyes turned toward him, and she spoke: “Why have you come to see me?”

“You worked so hard to give birth to him and raise him so well by yourself. I… I haven’t helped you in the slightest.”

The image of her gently lulling their child to sleep moments ago still lingered vividly in his mind. He realized—on many nights he had never witnessed—she had likely been just like that.

He suppressed the sudden surge of emotion in his chest and spoke slowly.

She was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, “I’m not tired. Xiao Hu’er is very well behaved, and I have He Amu and the others to help me. But you, you’ve been fighting hard at the border, and you almost…”

She paused, “You don’t need to feel guilty about this. Besides, I’m not doing this for you. Xiao Hu’er is also my child.

“The night you came back, Yang Zai’en said you wanted to see me.” She continued, “I guess you wanted to see Xiao Hu’er, but you couldn’t say it yourself, so I asked Amu to bring him home the next day. After he was born, you pair of father and son were separated, and now that you’re back, you two should spent more time together. But he made a fuss at night, so you have no choice but to hurriedly bring him to me. But it doesn’t matter, from now on, whenever you want to see him, just come and visit, and you don’t need to ask for my permission.”

Her tone was frank, without any hint of reluctance.

But she was wrong. How could he want to see her just because of Xiao Hu’er?

After a moment of silence, she spoke again: “By the way, thank you for what happened at Zhenguo Tower today. Fortunately, you handled it in time. It was reported later that more than ten people were injured, but the injuries were not serious. If it weren’t for you, afraid we don’t know how many innocent people would have been killed today.”

“It’s a blessing that nothing serious happened. I just did my part.”

She smiled slightly: “Merit is merit. Once the army returns in triumph, the court will record all achievements and issue rewards accordingly.”

“Thank you, Princess.” This was all he could say in response.

“Is there anything else you came for tonight?” she asked again.

“Yes.” Pei Xiaoyuan steadied himself, raised his eyes, and looked toward her seated on the couch opposite him, gazing back at him.

“During the day, I caught a few beggars who caused the trouble and interrogated them one by one. They all said that a wealthy man whose identity was unknown claimed that Zhenguo Tower blocked his family’s Feng Shui, so he gave them money and instigated them to cause trouble. What the beggars said appears to be the truth as far as they know—they likely dare not hide anything further. But the true instigator’s identity and motives, I fear, are far from simple. Today’s incident may very well have been aimed at you, Princess. Please be cautious, and don’t let public opinion confuse people’s hearts.”

She was silent for a moment. “What those beggars recited was not something new. It had been circulated in Chang’an before. I had also heard about it. I took note of it.”

“One more thing.”

He continued, “On the night I led the men to break the siege around the city, Li Hu recognized the fire-thunder devices I planned to use to trigger an avalanche and seal off the passage. Out of fear, he turned and fled. Those dozen or so fire-thunder were made by the deposed crown prince, and not many people should know about them. How could he, who was far away from the court and living in obscurity, recognize them? Later, I thought it over carefully and found it suspicious. It wasn’t something I could easily explain in a letter, so now that I’ve returned, I’m reporting it directly to the Princess.”

She said softly, “That is to say, they, Li Hu and Li Yan are connected with certain people in the court.”

“Who he’s connected with… the Princess likely knows even better than I do. At the very least, this may serve as one piece of evidence.”

She looked at him intently, then suddenly said, “You’ve just returned—make sure to fully recover first. Rest for a few more days, and then I’ll summon you to discuss this further.”

Her words were extremely vague, but Pei Xiaoyuan immediately understood.

“I’m in good health. If anything happens, Princess can call me at any time. You don’t have to worry about anything else.” He said immediately.

She didn’t answer, but just turned her two crystal eyes, and her gaze finally fell on his body, glancing up and down several times.

Pei Xiaoyuan suddenly felt uncomfortable all over, as if his skin hidden under his clothes was gently brushed by a fine feather. He also felt that her gaze seemed to pause on his chest wound first, and then fell on his hand.

The wound on the severed finger had long since healed, but it still looked horrible. He subconsciously didn’t want her to see it, so he raised his arm slightly and moved his hand subtly behind his back.

She paused for a moment, looked back at his face, and asked, “Do you have anything else to say?”

Her question came a little suddenly. He paused, unable to respond for a while.

She nodded: “Since there’s nothing else, go back and rest early. You came at a bad time tonight. Xiao Hu’er has already asleep. It’s not good to wake him up. Next time you want to see him, just come earlier.”

Pei Xiaoyuan realized she was about to leave, and with a hint of urgency, said again, “I truly am fine! Princess doesn’t need to worry.”

“I asked the military doctor. That Ashina injured you badly. And just a few days later you were in the Battle of Guangming City, and now you’ve rushed all the way back like this—no pause at all. If it wasn’t fighting, it was traveling. Do you think you’re made of iron?”

She rose from the couch, walked over to slip on her embroidered shoes, then turned her gaze toward him and smiled slightly.

“Go back and rest for a few days. Just wait for my message.

“I won’t see you off. Please do as you please.”

A light breeze with a faint fragrance blew across Pei Xiaoyuan’s face. She had already walked past him.

His breathing stagnated, and he turned around to follow her, watching her walk to the screen and about to leave.

“Princess!” The pit of his stomach suddenly felt hot and he blurted out.

She stopped, her back paused, and she slowly turned to face him, but she did not ask any questions. She just looked at him quietly with her pair of bright eyes.

“No matter what it is, you can entrust it to me. I will do my best to help you, even if it means my death.”

Gazing into her eyes, he forced down the overwhelming tide of emotions surging once more in his chest, and spoke each word with a voice so tightly restrained it was nearly distorted.

After hearing this, she stood there for a moment. She did not respond, only continued walking slowly forward a few steps. Then, suddenly, under the scorching gaze burning into her back like fire—gaze so intense it seemed it could sear through her—she stopped again and turned back to face him.

“You lost something. I have it here with me. I’ll give it back to you.”

She said all of a sudden, then left the confused man behind, turning around the screen. She walked out of the small room, called Yang Zai’en, and whispered a few words to him.

Pei Xiaoyuan chased after her and saw that she had gone to the inner bedroom. She did not look back and her figure disappeared behind the curtain again.

“Please follow this servant, Prince Consort.” Yang Zai’en said, and then led the way.

Pei Xiaoyuan was completely confused as he followed Yang Zai’en down the road. He couldn’t help but ask what it was, but the palace eunuch refused to tell him and just smiled and evaded the question, saying that he would know when he got there.

Pei Xiaoyuan gave up and followed him out of her palace, walked through the corridors and over the walls in the palace, and gradually approached the Imperial Stables.

There was a Tianlong stable in the Forbidden Garden, which housed many horses. But in the palace, in order to facilitate the emperor’s access, there was also an imperial stable.

When Pei Xiaoyuan realized where they were going, he suddenly seemed to understand something. However, the next moment, he thought it was too unbelievable and could not believe the thought that had just come to his mind.

He stopped outside the Imperial Stable. Yang Zai’en finally stopped keeping the secret and said with a smile, “Congratulations, Prince Consort—this is truly great news! Jinwuzhui is indeed a divine horse. It has not been lost and is being kept inside. This servant didn’t tell just now because this servant wanted to give you a surprise. Please follow this servant, Prince Consort!”

Pei Xiaoyuan’s heart began to race, a rush of elation surging through him as he stepped quickly inside. When he was brought before a stable that had been cleaned to perfection and saw, from afar, the familiar silhouette of his beloved horse, he dashed forward to the stall.

Without waiting to open the gate, he braced one hand on the top of a wooden rail and leapt inside, both feet landing atop a haystack scented with the sweetness of dried grass.

“Jinwuzhui!” he called out, rushed forward, and threw his arms around the horse’s neck.

Jinwuzhui immediately recognized its master whom it had not seen for several months, and neighed with joy.

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