Chapter 76 Part 1

 

He Jin’s eyes quickly swept between the two of them again, without lingering, he turned to leave.

He was heading in the direction of the palace.

“Why are you following me?”

Xuyu stared at He Jin’s gradually disappearing back, and was stunned for a while. Suddenly at this time, this question rang in her ears.

Slowly, she turned her head and looked at the person in front of her.

Seeing that she kept silent, he seemed to realize something and moved closer to her. When he spoke again, his tone was different, with apologetic and soothing words: “Did I scare you just now? I didn’t mean to. I thought…” He stopped.

“What are you two doing?” Xuyu finally spoke, and looked in the direction where He Jin disappeared in confusion.

“Why did he come to Cangshan?”

“He just arrived tonight. My uncle sent him here. His Majesty summoned my uncle to Cangshan to escape the summer heat, but he was not feeling well and could not go, so he sent Uncle He to come here on his behalf to apologize and thank His Majesty for his great favor.”

This was of course not the whole story of why Pei Ji sent He Jin here. But how could he tell her anything else?

After explaining this, Pei Xiaoyuan continued, “Recently, I have also noticed that someone has been monitoring me, or maybe it has started a long time ago. They work in shifts day and night, and they are all experienced. Their actions are secretive, which makes it a bit inconvenient for me. The person who was following me tonight must be here. Uncle He just happened to arrive, and those who are monitoring me should not know about this yet, so I asked Uncle He to wait for me here. I came here again just to lure the person out and see who it is. When you were following me just now, the other person should have also been behind, but you didn’t know it. I didn’t expect that one of them would be you.”

Xuyu had never expected that the story would be so complicated. She looked around quickly.

“No need to look. The other person must have left.” He said, looking at her.

“But I don’t understand. If you have something to do with me, just call. Why do you have to follow me like this?” He asked after a pause, his tone slightly confused.

“Who do you think is following you?” Xuyu did not answer his question and continued to ask.

He glanced at the dark wild forest around him and said, “I don’t know.”

He simply responded in a calm tone, but it was clear that he was not sincere.

A thought suddenly flashed through her mind: “Could it be…”

She paused.

“I’m sorry, I ruined your business.” After a moment’s silence, she whispered.

“It’s fine.” His voice became gentle at this time, “It’s a blessing that I didn’t hurt you by mistake just now.”

“Why did you follow me all the way here?” he asked again in a low voice.

“Why did you always avoid me after coming back from Xishan that night?” Xuyu was silent for a moment, then eventually asked back.

He seemed startled, looked at her, and wanted to say something, but then stopped. Xuyu did not urge him, but just looked at him and waited quietly.

After a moment, she finally heard his steady voice in her ears. It was obviously a well-considered and thoughtful answer.

“Princess misunderstands, I’m not avoiding you. It’s just that with the imperial entourage departing the capital these past few days, things have been busy. As for what happened that night, since Princess is here, allow me to take this opportunity to offer my apologies.” He spoke with an unhurried calm.

“I was confused for a moment and offended Princess. If my reckless behavior has caused Princess to misunderstand, please forgive me.”

“What offense are you apologizing for? And what misunderstanding are you afraid I might have?” Xuyu asked softly.

He fell silent again. After a moment, Xuyu watched as he slowly knelt before her. Lowering his head, he placed his hands on the ground in front of him, pressing his palms flat as he bowed deeply in a gesture of formal respect.

“Please forgive me for the offense I committed at that time, Princess.”

His respectful voice, along with the rustling sound of the night wind blowing through the wild woods nearby, reached Xuyu’s ears.

Xuyu lowered her head slightly and stared at the person at her feet who was bowing respectfully.

She didn’t say anything, and he kept his head and eyes down. For a long while, his figure was still and motionless.

At that moment, the sound of approaching boots could be heard from the direction of the camp. Zhang Dunyi didn’t dare to let people out of sight for too long, so he led his men all the way here. As they neared, he suddenly caught sight of two figures beneath the moonlight on the grassy slope ahead—one standing, the other kneeling. Recognizing them instantly by their silhouettes, his heart filled with surprise and suspicion. He dared not move closer and instead signaled his men to stay silent, halting quietly in the shadows without drawing attention.

After looking at him for a while, Xuyu suddenly nodded.

“Forget it, why do you have to do this?” She smiled and continued to speak softly.

“I’m leaving. You should go back too. Have a good rest tonight, you must have a lot of things to do tomorrow.”

After speaking, she turned and walked away. At first, her steps were steady and composed. However, as she traversed the moonlit path along the water, passing by the Zhuque Terrace and the camp, making her way back to the palace, leaving the figure who knelt down to apologize to her far behind, her pace quickened. It grew faster and faster, until finally, even Zhang Dunyi was left far behind in.

She stepped into the palace and without any hesitation, continued walking towards the place where the lights were still lit.

Yang Zai’en, who was on duty tonight, was standing quietly outside the palace hall with several palace eunuchs. When a figure walked in, he looked up and felt a little surprised. He hurriedly walked over and whispered, “Princess, please stay for a while. Supervisor Yuan has just arrived and has an audience inside.”

In the Yanju Hall, several large candles burned brightly, their flames casting a dazzling glow. The emperor, dressed in his inner garments with a loose gray robe draped over his shoulders, clearly having risen after already retiring for the night, now sat against a cushioned backrest behind a desk. By the candlelight, he bent his head over a booklet of some sort, flipping through it at an unusually rapid pace. In just a few moments, he finished and tossed the booklet onto the desk, tapping a section of blank space on the page with his knuckles.

“On the thirteenth Seventh month, during the day, he visited the orchards in the southern part of the city to visit his old people. At night, he went with the princess. According to Zhen’s instructions, no one was following them. It was fine to leave blank space during the process. But what about the night of Yulan Festival? Why was it also left blank? Could it be that the princess was with him again?

“Not just this time! There have been many times before. You failed to keep a proper watch, and every report you’ve delivered is filled with blanks! You woke up Zhen in the middle of the night—thinking you had some pressing matter—only to show Zhen this?”

Although the emperor’s tone sounded relatively calm, the questioning intent was obvious.

“Li Yan’s whereabouts are secretive, like a groundworm hiding in the ground, hiding his head and tail. Even if he cannot be found, it’s not surprising. But what about Pei Xiaoyuan? He’s a big living person! He walks under your noses every day. Is it that Pei’s son is too cunning, or is it that you are incompetent? With so many people, you can’t even properly keep an eye on one person!”

Yuan Zhi, reprimanded by the emperor, showed a hint of shame in his expression as he knelt to plead for forgiveness. “Your Majesty’s reproach is justified. It is this servant’ incompetence. However, Pei Xiaoyuan is exceptionally skilled at eluding pursuit. It is said that when he first joined the military as a youth, he started in the scout battalion. It must have at that time that he learned the art of escaping, which is not something that ordinary people can deal with. Furthermore, this servant feared that getting too close might alert him and risk exposing this servan’t identity. Thus, on several occasions, this servant lost track of him, failing Your Majesty’s trust.”

The emperor’s eyes fell on the candlelight on the table, his brows slightly furrowed as he slowly said, “On the night of the Yulan Festival, he was missing for most of the night and returned to the temple just before dawn. Where did he go and what did he do? Is it possible that he went to the East Market or the West Market? That’s a good place to meet people.”

Yuan Zhi knew that he had failed in his duty, and after getting up, he bowed his head.

The emperor was lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, “How is the movement here tonight?”

“Tonight, the officials are doing their jobs, and everyone is busy but not chaotic. Your Majesty can rest assured about the princess’s return. The Old Father and the Minister of Imperial Clan have made thorough preparations, and this servant is also doing his best to follow their orders. However, this servant has another matter, and it’s for this matter that this servant dared to disturb Your Majesty’s sleep just now.”

“What is it?”

“This servant just received report from the people below. Pei’s son was originally with Han Kerang in Zhuque Terrace tonight. At the end of the evening, after everyone dispersed, he did not leave, but went out of the camp alone and walked north. Shortly after Your Majesty’s arrival tonight, at about a quarter after Xu Hour (7-9 pm), he went down the mountain and met a stranger with a full beard. The other person was not part of the imperial entourage, and his origins were unknown. After a brief meeting, the man went north along the Qinglong River, entered a wild forest, and then disappeared. This servant’s subordinates suspected that he was going to meet that person again, so they followed him all the way. Unexpectedly…”

Yuan Zhi paused, ” Unexpectedly the princess was following, and it seems that she is also looking for him. This servant’s subordinates didn’t know what to do, so they could only retreat temporarily and report the matter to this servant—”

As Yuan Zhi continued to speak, the emperor’s expression became uglier and uglier. He picked up the booklet on the table that he had just flipped through and threw it to the ground with a bang.

Yuan Zhi was startled and looked at the emperor, who angrily said, “You’ve been fooled!

“The person he went to see was named He Jin. He was sent to Cangshan by Pei Ji to express his gratitude to Zhen!”

Yuan Zhi was stunned.

He was also a very smart man. After a brief thought, he suddenly realized, “Could it be that Pei Xiaoyuan had already noticed the surveillance and is taking advantage of He Jin’s arrival tonight to create a ruse in order to lure out this servant’s subordinates?”

The emperor said coldly, “You just realize?”

Yuan Zhi felt ashamed for a moment.

From the first night Pei Xiaoyuan arrived in the capital, he took the person to the palace for a night meeting, and then, on the emperor’s orders, he was monitored, especially where he had been and who he had met, nothing could be missed.

Moreover, there was another point, which was to never to let him know. This was the emperor’s instruction.

However, it was actually quite difficult to execute. Yuan Zhi also had a feeling that Pei Xiaoyuan must have known that he was under surveillance. If the emperor’s intentions were exposed again, he would really die.

The summer nights in Cangshan were cool; within the palace, those with cold bodies only needed a thin blanket when sleeping. Yet at this moment, he was sweating profusely as he hurriedly knelt down again, pleading for forgiveness: “It’s this servant’s incompetence that has disrupted Your Majesty’s great plans, please forgive this servant!”

Unexpectedly, the emperor did not lose his temper. Instead, he said calmly, “It’s not your fault. Zhen knows you tried your best. It’s just that Pei’s son is too cunning.”

The emperor’s reply left Yuan Zhi at a loss for words. After thanking him, he hesitated and said, “This servant is dull. Please tell this servant what to do next, Your Majesty. Since he has become aware, should we temporarily remove our people?”

The emperor was silent for a while, then said coldly: “No retreat. It will be the same in the future as it was before.”

Yuan Zhi quickly glanced at the emperor and saw his eyes were cold. He was startled and replied yes.

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