Thousand Verdant Mountains – Chapter 45
Chapter 45
Li Yan stared at the tear-stained face, raised his hand, and wiped away her tears drop by drop.
“In my eyes, you are the most noble and pure woman in the world. Even the priceless Shangqing Pearl and Bichen Jade are not worthy of a single strand of your hair,” he said.
Wei Yinniang threw herself into his arms, but still did not dare to cry out loud, for fear of attracting the servants here. The more she suppressed her tears, the more uncontrollable her sobs became.
Li Yan held her for a moment, his eyes gradually turning red, and he pushed her down on the bed, kissed her clammy lips madly. Then he went down her neck, fiercely touching her body that still had traces of last night’s love, as if to erase all that did not belong to her.
Wei Yinniang didn’t know when she stopped crying, and suddenly she called out softly, “Your Highness.”
“Enough… It’s enough…” She murmured, and the sound of her voice, which was once famous in the Music Bureau, was as erratic as a tattered paper kite that had lost its string in the strong wind.
Li Yan slowly stopped.
She opened her eyes, pushed him away, and climbed up on her own, the lowered her head to straighten her disheveled clothing. When she raised her face again, aside from her swollen eyelids, she appeared as if nothing had happened. Then she closed the collar of Li Yan’s robe that had just opened in front of his chest, who was still lying on the bed gasping for breath.
As Li Yan moved to press her down once more, she looked into his bloodshot eyes and shook her head.
“I was wrong just now,” she said.
“Your Highness, you don’t have to prove anything to me anymore.
“I’m already very satisfied to have heard what Your Highness said just now.”
Li Yan seemed to be drained of all his strength by her words. After a while, he closed his eyes and said with gritted teeth: “Why don’t you speak up? As long as you speak up, no matter how shameless or despicable I, Li Yan, might be, even if I were to fall into the deepest hell, never to reincarnate, I wouldn’t have let commit yourself to others like this.”
“Yes, I have no doubt that if I ask, Your Highness will take me away no matter how difficult it is. But then what? What comes next?
“Become your wife? Your maidservant? Even if you don’t find me filthy, would Your Highness even need me? What value can a useless me have to you then?”
Wei Yinniang smiled sadly, “Your Highness, I cried just now, not because I gave myself to Crown Prince. He is no different from any other men I have had before. It just suddenly occurred to me that Your Highness were nearby. I slept with your enemy right under your nose, and you could only watch and could do nothing. You used to be such a noble and proud person, but now you have suffered such humiliation because of me.”
Li Yan was still lying on the bed with his eyes closed, motionless, with only a crooked expression that looked like a smile but not a smile on his face.
Wei Yinniang looked extremely calm at this moment. She knelt beside him, staring at his twisted face, and said softly, “It doesn’t matter what happens to me. Your Highness is still alive, and I am of some use to you. This is the greatest reward for Yinniang’s life so far. I am willing to work for you, and you don’t need to feel any guilt.”
After a long time, in the gradually brightening dawn outside the bedroom, within the sound of dewdrops dripping on the green branches and leaves, and within the melodious chirping of tits, Li Yan opened his eyes and slowly sat up.
“Do you know why Crown Prince went back just now?”
There were still traces of bloodshot in his eyes, but his gaze had turned cold and indifferent.
“I don’t know. But judging from his expression, something big must happened in Chang’an yesterday, which was extremely unfavorable to him, so the emperor urgently summoned him back. He looked very panicked.”
After hearing this, Li Yan closed his eyes again, as if he was lost in deep thought.
“Your Highness, does this matter have anything to do with you?” Yinniang waited for a moment and asked softly.
Yesterday morning, the current crown prince, who received Yinniang’s secret invitation, not only sent people to quietly take her and Li Yan, who was hidden in the carriage, out of Chang’an, allowing them to travel smoothly all the way without any inspection, but he also succumbed to her pleas. Enchanted by her beauty, he was intoxicated, losing himself under her charm. Afterward, he too left the city, even missing Prince Ning’s Qujiang banquet, indulging in reckless abandon.
Li Yan slowly opened his eyes: “If my guess is correct, then it is.”
“That’s why I rushed here despite the risk of crippling my legs. Only by seeing with their own eyes that I’m alive can they rest assured to be loyal to me.
“Besides, I will not leave again. This is my Chang’an, my city. I know that the opportunity has finally come.
“Everyone will die eventually. If you don’t try, even if you live as long as , what is the meaning of living?”
His eyes were calm and ruthless, not only towards the woman in front of him, but also towards himself.
“It’s time for me to get out here.”
He straightened his clothes and stood up from the bed.
Yinniang was silent for a moment, then suddenly got off the bed and knelt down in front of him.
“Your Highness is planning things, and it’s not Yinniang’s turn to speak. It is Yinniang’s honor to be able to contribute to Your Highness. But there is one thing I would like to ask Your Highness to agree to.”
“What is it?”
“No matter what happens in the future, I will not allow you to hurt Hao’er.
“The source of all our suffering today has nothing to do with her. She has never enjoyed even a little bit of our suffering.”
Her tone was unusually sharp, and contained a tone that brooked no room for rebuttal.
Li Yan turned around and looked down at her kneeling at his feet.
“You’re right.”
After a long moment, he nodded.
“All of us, you and I, our enemies, are no longer what we once were. She is the only one who remains in the past.”
As if lost in some memories, Li Yan’s face slowly relaxed, and in the end, there was even a gentle smile on his lips.
“Yinniang, you are a good woman.
“I hope Heavens will bless me so that I won’t have to let you down in the future.”
He stared at Wei Yinniang who was kneeling on the ground and spoke slowly.
…
It usually took about a few hours to ride back to Chang’an from Nanshan. However, because of his panic, Crown Prince Li Mao changed post horses and galloped all the way. He set out at dawn and when he returned to Chang’an and ran into the Ziyun Palace, which was dark both day and night, the palace clock had just rung three quarters into Chen hour (7-9 am), and the city of Chang’an had not yet fully awakened from last night’s sleep.
The emperor must have had a sleepless night. He wore only a short robe and sat on a high futon with a face as solemn as cast iron.
Li Mao had just learned outside the palace what had happened yesterday. He nearly collapsed, but he pulled himself together, knelt in front of him, banged his head on the ground, and repeatedly explained: “! Father! Son has nothing to do with this matter! Son was framed! Son is so happy that Prince Ning has returned to the capital, and specially built a pleasure boat to show his love, how dare Son done such a cruel thing! Someone must want to harm me! Please, Father, believe me, I will find those people right away, so that I can give you an explanation!” For a moment, he burst into tears and blood came out of his forehead, looking a sorry figure and somewhat pathetic.
“Come here.”
Surprisingly, the emperor was not as angry as Li Mao had originally imagined, and just glanced at him coldly.
Li Mao forced himself to calm down, not daring to stand up, and crawled quickly on his knees to the emperor.
“Closer.”
Li Mao moved closer.
“Closer.”
Li Mao didn’t understand what it meant, but how could he disobey the order? He moved a few more steps and stopped in front of the emperor’s throne. He raised his face fearfully and said, “Father——”
The emperor swung his arm and slapped him in the face.
The force was so strong that half of Li Mao’s body tilted, and he fell to the ground with blood at the corner of his mouth.
“You idiot! If you really have the courage to do this, Zhen will think more highly of you!” The emperor gritted his teeth.
“Do you think Zhen asked you to come back to ask you how you tampered with the boat?
“How dare you touch the daughter of a guilty minister? Are all the women in the world dead?
“Have you ever thought how Zhen would have to deal with you if you were caught and impeached by the court? Zhen tell you, not to mention one Liu Ceye, even if there were ten or a hundred of him, he would not be able to keep your position!”
Li Mao was stunned and his face turned pale. After a moment, he finally came back to his senses from his confusion and fear. With his teeth chattering, he desperately crawled back to the emperor’s feet and hugged his feet.
“Father! Son was wrong! Son knew he was wrong! Son begs you to give another chance!”
Cold sweat flowed down his forehead. He clenched his teeth, closed his eyes, opened them again and said, “Son… Son will go back and get rid of her immediately—”
Before he could finish his words, there was another slap.
The emperor pulled out his foot and kicked the person in the chest, sending him flying.
“You useless thing! What else can you do besides this?”
This time, Li Mao was kicked and fell to the ground. He got up and cried, but did not dare to move forward. He just kept on kowtowing: “Son is stupid, please enlighten, Father! Son knows he is wrong! Son really knows he is wrong!”
He suddenly remembered something, as if grabbing a life-saving straw, he cried sadly: “Father! Father, even if you don’t look at my mother’s face, please forgive Son’s sin for the sake of Empress Zhaode! Empress Zhaode treated Son as her own son. Her spirit in heaven will definitely hope that Son can have a chance to reform…”
The emperor’s eyes suddenly widened, and he turned his head sharply to look at Li Mao lying on the ground.
Li Mao had never seen the emperor show such a horrifying expression. He stopped crying on the spot and dared not move.
“You…you…”
The emperor slowly raised his hand and pointed at Li Mao lying on the ground. He trembled slightly and suddenly burst into a violent coughing fit. His body seemed to be twisted by an invisible hand and bent over in pain.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
Yuan Zhi and the mute palace eunuch who were outside rushed in. Yuan Zhi helped the emperor lie down on the bed, and the mute eunuch quickly took out a pill and gave it to him to drink with water.
The emperor lay facing inward for a while, without turning his head, and said in a low voice: “Get out! Without Zhen’s order, you are not allowed to go out.”
Yuan Zhi looked at Li Mao who was still kneeling on the ground, walked forward, bowed, and urged respectfully: “Your Highness, His Majesty has given an order. Please obey it.”
Li Mao shuddered and finally reacted. After bowing forward, he got up from the ground and walked out slowly with his eyes wide open like a zombie.
The hall fell silent, and the mute eunuch also left, leaving only Yuan Zhi standing aside.
After a while, a faint sound entered the hall. It seemed that there were many people outside, and before they could see the emperor, they started arguing and cursing among themselves.
Yuan Zhi immediately walked to the door and closed it gently. The noise was blocked out of this deep room and disappeared from his ears.
After a moment, the emperor suddenly said, “They are all here?”
“Yes.”
“What do they want?”
“Prince Ning came to confess his crime. Feng Zhenping came to ask Your Majesty to redress the injustice for his dead son. Liu Ceye came to defend the innocence of His Highness the Crown Prince. And the Grand Princess is making a fuss, saying that County Princess Danyang almost died, and asked Your Majesty to give her an explanation. Also…”
He stopped.
“What else?”
“Your Majesty, Grand Princess was angry and lost control of her emotions. She even knocked off Feng Zhenping’s official hat.”
The emperor was silent for a moment, then said, “If there is one more person, Wang Zhang, we will have all the members today. Why doesn’t he come?”
“This servant doesn’t know.”
“That’s good. The court hasn’t been this lively for a long time. A boat can make these nobles and high-ranking officials tear their faces apart and stab each other without pretending anymore.”
He moved. Yuan Zhi stepped forward quickly to support him, and helped the emperor to sit up slowly.
The emperor’s face was still gloomy at this moment, but he seemed to have recovered a little, sitting back with his eyes closed.
“What do you think about this matter?”
“This servant’s words has little weight, how dare this servant make arbitrary judgments?” Yuan Zhi replied.
“Zhen allow you to say it.”
Yuan Zhi immediately walked to the bed, knelt down and kowtowed, then stood up and stood aside, saying: “Your Majesty is very wise, this servant also think that the Crown Prince is the least likely person to do such a thing. The boat was his offering, so how could he deny his involvement if something happened?
“Even if it was indeed the Crown Prince’s faction behind this, they would claim innocence by arguing it was a frame-up. Such a move would be too risky for them. What the Crown Prince needs most right now is stability, not recklessly stirring up trouble.”
After he finished speaking, seeing that the emperor still had his eyes closed, he bowed again and continued, “As for the Feng family, it’s also possible that they used a self-torture tactic. It is also common for many aristocratic families to sacrifice one or two sons in order to protect their foundation.
“If it comes down to choosing which family was likely to do it, this servant thinks the Feng family is more likely. But the price is too high. If it goes wrong, not only will they fail to bring down the Crown Prince, but they could also drag themselves down with it.”
The emperor opened his eyes and said, “You mean, there is a third person?”
“It’s impossible for the pleasure boat to break up in the middle of the lake by itself. Someone must have tampered with it. Even if they can’t control the final outcome, they can definitely stir up trouble. Only when the muddy water comes out can they make a move to fish.”
The emperor snorted coldly: “Who are you referring to?”
“Your Majesty’s eyes are like torches, and you have you own judgment. This servant dares not speak rashly.”
The emperor did not speak again.
Yuan Zhi waited for a moment and spoke again: “This servant has another matter. This morning, according to Your Majesty’s instruction, this servant went to Crown Prince’s Nanshan Villa to search. Only the daughter of the Wei family was there. May I ask Your Majesty, what should be done with this girl?”
Normally, his sharp, gleaming eyes would dull when in front of the Emperor. But at this moment, his eyes flickered faintly once again as he looked at the emperor’s expressionless face, holding his breath in anticipation.
“What do you think?” the emperor asked indifferently.
“This servant believe this woman should be put to death. Your Majesty is kind and does not want to kill her. Although we cannot find evidence that she assisted Li Yan, it is not difficult to infer that she has a close relationship with Li Yan and also bewitched the crown prince. Keeping her alive will definitely cause trouble. If your Majesty allows, this servant will take care of this matter.”
“No. Keep her and let her go back, just pretend nothing happened.
“You don’t have to follow up on this woman’s matter from now on. Zhen will send someone else to follow up.” The emperor added.
Yuan Zhi paused slightly, looked up at the emperor, then quickly lowered his eyelids and responded respectfully.
“How’s that painter Zhen asked you to watch yesterday?”
The emperor finally asked about this matter.
Yuan Zhi then told the story that this man had been called up by the two county princesses to serve as a painter on the pleasure boat.
“This servant heard that after Prince Kang got off the boat, this person found a floating bed and rescued the two county princesses. They floated down with the waves and was finally found by Pei Erlang, who rescued them to shore together.”
The emperor showed a slight astonishment on his face, obviously surprised.
“Besides this, is there anything else?” he asked after thinking for a moment.
“And more!” Yuan Zhi recounted the story of Ashina and Yuwen Zhi playing polo.
“According to the report from the people this servant sent to watch, they didn’t dare to get close at the time, so they didn’t know what the three had said, but it seemed that the two of them knew the painter. Moreover, it was only after the three met together that Prince Ashina and Shizi Yuwen decide to compete.”
The emperor couldn’t help but frown: “What does this mean?”
“This servant doesn’t know yet. This servant will continue to investigate. There is another matter, which is related to Pei Erlang…”
Thinking of this, Yuan Zhi himself couldn’t help but hesitate.
“What is it?”
“This servant dare not say…”
“Speak!” The emperor slapped the bed impatiently.
Yuan Zhi’s answer was: “It is said that after Pei Erlang rescued the painter, he rode with him all the way back to the city. When he met Prince Ning on the way, he did not stop but went straight into Yongning Mansion.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“That is, Pei Erlang and the painter seem to have a very close relationship, and it looks like they are more than just old friends…”
He hesitated.
The emperor suddenly realized it and frowned again, but did not speak immediately.
Yuan Zhi knew that the emperor hated this kind of cut-sleeve affair the most.
Previously, there was a fifth-rank official in the Imperial Secretariat, who was a Jinshi with outstanding knowledge. He could draft imperial edicts in one stroke, and once the edict was completed, there was no need to revise a single word. He was just under thirty years old and was considered as a future candidate for assisting the emperor in weighing the affairs of the world and benefiting the people. Later, because he favored a boy lover in Chang’an and a subsequent jealous quarrel that resulted in someone being injured, he was impeached by the censors. Although many people spoke up for him at the time, the emperor was enraged and ordered him to be expelled from the court, never to be reinstated. The boy lover was also beaten to death as a warning to all officials.
Yuan Zhi saw the disgust on his face and knelt down hurriedly: “This servant by no means trying to slander Chief Pei’s personal morality, merely reporting the truth. There may be other misunderstandings, this servant will slowly explore it in detail.”
He thought about it and said, “The identity of this painter is really suspicious. Aside from the Li Yan’s matters, from today on, this servant will personally keep an eye on him and report to Your Majesty if there’s any news.”
“No need.
“There is a mural missing in the west hall of Ziyun Palace. Ask this person to paint it.”
The emperor said with a grim look on his face.