Chapter 29

 

“Stop fighting! Stop fighting!”

On the other side, Eunuch Cao was jumping up and down anxiously.

If any of these two people were to get into trouble here today, he would be the one who suffer.

“Idiot! Hurry up! Separate them!”

Just as he was shouting at the top of his lungs to urge people to separate them, he suddenly saw a man coming out from behind the pile of rocks on the opposite side. He took a closer look and was overjoyed. He didn’t have time to think about how he suddenly came out from there. He rushed up to him and bowed: “Chief Pei, you’re here! Hurry! Help me separate these two!”

This eunuch Cao was highly valued by Yuan Zhi and was a well-known eunuch under the Palace Office. He usually liked to put on airs in front of other officials, but when he saw Pei Xiaoyuan, he bowed to him repeatedly as if he had met his savior.

Pei Xiaoyuan strode forward, snatched a sword with its sheath from a nearby palace guard, approached the two people who were still fighting fiercely, pushed the sheath into the middle, swung his arm and exerted force, and pushed the two men apart in one go.

Chengping fell backwards, and Yuwen Zhi fell to the ground. Both of them had blood on their faces, their official robes were torn, and they were both gasping for breath, staring at each other, as if they wanted to eat each other alive.

“Hold them down! Hold them down!” Eunuch Cao immediately ordered his men to move. This time, the men split into two groups and rushed forward, some holding down the arms, some holding down the legs, until they finally held each of them firmly.

“Let them go!” Pei Xiaoyuan shouted.

The palace eunuchs and guards were startled. They looked at Eunuch Cao and then at Pei Xiaoyuan. Seeing that the Jinwu Guard Chief, who had only been in the capital for more than a month, had a sullen look on his face and eyes as sharp as swords, they could not help but slowly let go of their hands.

As soon as Chengping was free, he jumped up from the ground: “Brother Jun Yan! This son-of-a-bitch——”

“Shut up!” Pei Xiaoyuan interrupted him.

Chengping was stunned.

“You two, leave the palace immediately!”

His gaze swept over Chengping and Yuwen Zhi.

“If you want to fight, go outside and get your swords to kill to your heart’s content. If you dare to stay here for another moment, don’t blame me for not giving you face. I will immediately have both of you sent to the Jinwu Guard on charges of unauthorized entry into the palace and disturbing the peace, and you will be dealt with according to the law!”

He looked slightly angry and spoke with authority. After he finished speaking, there was silence. Eunuch Cao, who was about to step forward and speak, hesitated and stopped, looking at the prince and County Prince Mansion’s shizi.

Maintaining palace order was one of his duties, and if he really handled it in this way, it was within his authority.

Chengping fell silent.

Yuwen Zhi slowly got up from the ground, stared at Pei Xiaoyuan, then glanced gloomily at the pile of rocks not far behind him. Without saying a word, he brushed off the few leaves of grass that were stuck to his body and turned away.

After Yuwen Zhi left, Chengping looked around, hesitant, then looked at Pei Xiaoyuan again, as if he wanted to say something else, but was interrupted again.

“Now that Shizi has left, why Your Highness still stay here?” Pei Xiaoyuan said coldly.

Chengping gritted his teeth, stopped talking, and turned away.

Once the two figures disappeared from sight, Pei Xiaoyuan turned to eunuch Cao and spoke again, his tone now calm and composed: “Eunuch Cao, how do you think the situation was handled just now? If there was any mistake, please inform Supervisor Yuan, and appropriate actions can be taken.”

Eunuch Cao remembered the news he had heard before. On the night Pei Xiaoyuan arrived in the capital, the prince held a banquet to welcome him at Chunfeng Tower. As a result, he met shizi of County Prince Xiping and they almost cross swords on the spot.

He was well aware the origin of the grudge between the two sides. Today’s fight was a continuation of the previous one. This kind of thing, to be honest, for the sake of the father behind these two people, even if the emperor who came today, he probably wouldn’t punish them seriously, let alone himself?

He wanted to be as far away from this mess as possible. He hurriedly said, “What is Chief Pei talking about! What happened just now? Nothing happened! I think it was just His Highness the Prince and Shizi exchanging martial arts, but the place is not chosen properly. Fortunately, they both knew their mistakes, which is the best!” After saying that, he turned his head to the people he brought with him and glared, “Is there anything wrong?”

“Nothing!”

All the palace eunuchs and guards said in unison.

Eunuch Cao smiled and bowed to Pei Xiaoyuan: “Chief, if you have nothing else, I will leave first. There are still a lot of things waiting for me!”

Pei Xiaoyuan nodded with a smile and watched the eunuch lead his people back the same way. When everyone was gone, the smile on his face disappeared and he turned around and quickly walked back to the pile of stones.

Xuyu was still sitting on the ground.

She had just curled up here, listening attentively to the movement over there with bated breath. When she saw the chaos was resolved and everyone had left, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

Thinking about the incident just now, she still didn’t understand the reason. Suddenly noticing his figure returning, she steadied herself against the stone surface beside her and slowly stood up. Seeing this, Pei Xiaoyuan reached out as if to offer his hand in support, but just as he was about to touch her arm, he hesitated and then withdrew his hand.

“Can you still walk?”

He asked, turning his head to look around.

“If you can’t, I’ll ask a palace eunuch to help you.”

Her ankle must have been twisted badly. She had been sitting for a while, but the pain had not subsided and now felt like a needle prick.

“I can walk.” Xuyu quickly stood up, put her feet on the ground, and smiled at him.

“Thank you so much for what you did just now! Go ahead if you have something to do, don’t worry about me. I have a rest room nearby, not far away, I’ll go back and tidy up first.”

She turned back in the direction she came from, but even without looking back, she could feel that he was still standing there looking at her back. Ignoring the pain caused by the landing of one ankle on the ground, she forced herself to walk steadily, biting her lip to endure, until she finally reached the door of the room.

Just as she was about to push the door open and go in, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw him striding up to her.

He hadn’t left yet and asked her to stop.

She did as he said and looked at him with a little confusion. When he came closer, he actually leaned over, put his hand on her injured ankle, and pressed it through the soft cloth of her boot.

As he tested the pressure with his fingers, she instantly felt a sharp pain in her bones. She couldn’t help but frown and let out a soft hiss.

He looked up at her, then lowered his head again, held one of her injured feet through her boot, tried to rotate it gently, and then put it on the ground again.

“It’s swollen like this. Is it necessary?”

His tone was light, but how could she not understand the meaning behind his words? She bit her lip, not knowing what to say for a moment.

“Go in and wait for me for a while. Don’t move around unnecessarily, or you’ll make the injury worse.”

He gave an order and turned away.

Xuyu had no choice but to hold on to the wall, hop in on one foot, and wait for him to come back.

He did not keep her waiting for long and returned soon with a box of medicine. He said that he had just taken it from the Imperial Medical Bureau and did not know how effective it would be. He told her to apply it on her injured ankle first and that he would have someone send her more medicine when he returned.

Xuyu took it, lowered her head, took off her boots and socks, revealing a fair bare foot. He turned his back slightly and looked at the corner of the door.

When she hadn’t look at her ankle, she didn’t know, but it actually quite shocking.

In just such a short period of time, it had become so swollen that even she could not recognize herself.

She applied the medicine, rubbed her skin with her palms for a while as he instructed, and put her shoes and socks back on.

He turned around and said that he had find Song Bokang to ask for leave for her.

She looked up at him.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t go there myself!” he added in a flat tone.

“There’s a palace eunuch named Zhang Shun here. He will speak for you and will escort you out of the palace later. If you have any problems here in the future, just tell this man.”

The words she said that night about drawing a line with the other person were still fresh in her ears, and then she encountered such an unexpected thing today.

At this moment, Xuyu didn’t know what to say except thank you. She felt awkward and somewhat embarrassed, finding the whole situation rather shameful.

“Thank you so much…” she murmured.

He said nothing and walked out.

A moment later, a gray-clothed palace eunuch in his thirties or forties came in. He was of medium build, with a broad forehead and jaw, and a friendly face, the kind that would be unrecognizable in a crowd.

He looked like a low-ranking eunuch, and was extremely respectful to Xuyu. He explained that when he went to find Song Bokang, he said that he and Xuyu had a past relationship outside the palace, and that she had accidentally sprained her foot when she was walking, so she could not start work immediately. He advised her to keep this in mind, so if Song Bokang asked about it later, she wouldn’t be caught off guard. Since it was still early, and they hadn’t begun the actual work yet, time wasn’t tight. Song Bokang had instructed her to rest well and only return to work once she had fully recovered.

Xuyu was supported by him and walked out slowly. There was a horse parked outside. She got on the horse and, following instructions, left the palace through a temporary door nearby that was used by craftsmen to transport mud, tiles, stones, and other materials.

Not far away, she returned to the inn where she was still staying. Before she dismounted, she heard a familiar voice leaping at her: “Young Master! It’s me!”

Qingtou rushed up happily, and it seemed he had been waiting here for a long time. He held out his hand to help Xuyu get off the horse, and then walked her all the way inside. He took out a small celadon bottle, saying that it was a medicine that Master had obtained from Xifan in the past, and it was very effective in treating bruises and external injuries. He then told Xuyu how to use it.

Xuyu took it and thanked him with a smile.

“Master and I live not far from you now, just across the street. The cook will come later and give Mi—”

He slapped his face.

“—Bring food to you, young master.”

Xuyu said hurriedly: “I really don’t dare to bother you anymore!”

“She decided to come on her own! It has nothing to do with Master!”

Qingtou cleared his master of any connection with the matter.

“The food she cooks is better than the one in the inn. Besides, you have sprained your leg and cannot move around easily, so it would be more convenient for her to serve you.”

Xuyu was silent.

She had already troubling him so much in the palace, so it didn’t make much difference adding it now.

If she kept making excuses, it would only make her look like a hypocrite.

“By the way, young master, why did you come to Chang’an?”

Qingtou had wanted to come here to look for her for a long time, but his master had previously issued strict orders forbidding him from approaching, so he had never been able to do so. Today, while he was sitting at home, the news came from the sky that he was asked to deliver medicine here. This was exactly what he had been hoping for, so he rushed over in a flash. Now that he had arrived and seen the people, how could he possibly contain the curiosity that had been suppressed for so many days.

Xuyu responded vaguely, saying only that she wanted to come to Chang’an to seek opportunities for advancement.

“Young master, do you know how Master found you?” Without waiting for Xuyu to answer, he started talking.

“After you left that day, County Governor blamed Master. He and the prince searched everywhere but even your shadow couldn’t be seen. After receiving the appointment letter, regardless of the long journey, he went to your old home in Luzhou to look for you first, while I followed the prince into the capital first.”

Xuyu knew nothing about this matter. She was startled and asked hesitantly, “Did he also go to Luzhou to look for me?”

Qingtou slapped himself on the mouth again.

“My damn mouth! I won’t say anymore! Don’t tell me to say it!”

Xuyu was in trance and didn’t notice his actions.

Qingtou was silent for a moment, and seeing that she didn’t ask any further, he stopped talking halfway and felt extremely uncomfortable. After enduring for a while, he couldn’t bear it any longer. He felt sorry for his master in his heart. His master worked so hard to find her, why couldn’t he let the young lady know?

Saying one word or saying it all—it makes no big difference.

With a relieved heart, he nodded and said, “Yes, yes! It was just to find you that Master arrived in Chang’an on the last day. I saw that he had become darker and thinner, which shows how hard it was for him on the road. If He Amu saw it, she would be heartbroken! But it’s not just that! Later, I accidently spotted you in the West Market but couldn’t called out to you. When I told Master, he realized you were here too, and he searched for you even more desperately!”

Qingtou recounted in one breath how his master had gone out of the city to look for the old man who delivered water, how he had looked for her over and over again, searching the entire city, and finally finding the inn that he had missed.

“That day, Master truly didn’t mean it. His sincerity is clear, please, young master, don’t blame him!”

Finally, he had said everything he wanted to say, and Qingtou felt as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He immediately felt much more refreshed.

Xuyu was silent for a long time, then said, “I don’t blame him.”

Qingtou returned with satisfaction, and the woman who came to serve temporarily that night also left, leaving Xuyu alone. Probably because of the pain in her ankle, she woke up from the recurring dream again in the middle of the night, sweating profusely.

With her eyes closed, her mind was suddenly filled with countless random thoughts: the raging fire in Yong’an Palace, the whereabouts of her grandfather, the old house that had become Zanxing Nunnery, her former elder sister and Zhao Bandang, and her A Ye—now a reclusive emperor, whom she had yet to see even once. Is he still the same A Ye she once knew?

Often, late at night, when all of this was entrenched in her mind by some intertwined chance, she would be trapped in an endless ocean of darkness, floating, panicking, and unable to extricate herself.

But that night, after waking up from the dream, the many distracting thoughts that were lingering in her mind gradually dissipated.

She opened her eyes in the quiet night, turned her head, and looked at the vague shadow of the small porcelain bottle standing on the table with the bright Chang’an moonlight coming in from the window. The cool and soothing feeling she got from applying medicine to her injured ankle slowly calmed her heart.

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