Chapter 99 Part 2

 

After the matter was settled, Xuyu came out of Xiaoxi Pavilion and met the people in the painting department who were waiting for her, including Yao Xu, Fang Shanjin, Yang Jiming, Song Bokang, and announced that she had no intention of painting the main painting. Amidst the glances of surprise and delight casted her way, she instructed those interested in the role to create a scroll-based mural within three days. Given the tight timeline, she permitted them to focus solely on the part they were most confident in, and to bring their works back in three days. She also personally went to Yuyun Tower and appeared in front of the literati and scholars who were enjoying the scenery, apologized to everyone for today’s unexpected change, and asked them to come again in three days.

With the princess herself extending an apology, and given that the matter was not of great consequence, the gathered gentlemen all paid their respects and readily agreed.

Xuyu was thinking about Pei Xiaoyuan. When she was about to leave after finishing her business here, she accidentally saw Lan Tai standing behind the crowd and looking at her. When he caught her gaze, he paused for a moment and smiled. She smiled back at him and did not stay any longer. She left in a hurry with the farewells from the crowd behind her.

“Why is Lan Tai here today?” Xuyu looked for Pei Xiaoyuan and asked Eunuch Cao who were sending her off.

Lan Tai was not on the list that was first presented to her.

Eunuch Cao explained that Lan Tai was a disciple of a well-known literary, calligraphy and painting critic in Chang’an. The famous critic was supposed to be the guest of honor today, but unfortunately, he fell ill and was unable to come, so he sent his favorite disciple, Lan Tai, to take his place in the palace.

Xuyu stopped talking and walked straight out of Shenshu Palace. She didn’t see Pei Xiaoyuan nearby and thought he had gone to the Jinwu Guard’s duty room. She asked Yang Zai’en who came to greet her and was told that the prince consort had been waiting there and had not gone anywhere. But then he was called back by someone sent by the emperor.

“Do you know what for?” she asked hurriedly.

Thinking of her father’s attitude towards him today, her heart immediately became heavier.

Even when she was around, her father was already like that. When she was not around, who knows what kind of ugly words her father would say or what kind of excessive things he would do.

“This servant doesn’t know either.” Yang Zai’en replied.

Xuyu couldn’t feel assured, so she turned around and hurried back.

Pei Xiaoyuan re-entered Ziyun Palace alone. When came in, he saw the emperor still sitting on the same seat, looking at him with a slight frown.

He stepped forward and was about to kowtow again, but the emperor waved his hand at him and said impatiently, “That’s enough, stop kneeling. There are no outsiders here! Sit down!”

Pei Xiaoyuan saw Zhao Zhongfang dragging his crippled leg and personally brought a silver stool for him to place just a few feet away from the imperial desk in front of the emperor.

He hurried over, took it himself, put it on the ground, and thanked him before sitting down.

“How is your injury?” he heard the emperor ask after he sat down.

“The injury is indeed not serious.” Pei Xiaoyuan responded.

“It’s all blame on this minister’s incompetence, has frightened the Princess last night and disappointed Your Majesty.”

The emperor did not speak. It was Zhao Zhongfang who spoke up, saying that His Majesty had just inquired with Imperial Physician Hu about his injury, and had specially granted the imperial physician a detoxifying holy medicine called Diyejia presented by the envoy of the Fulin Kingdom who had just arrived in Chang’an a few days ago to pay homage to the emperor, and asked the imperial physician to use it at his discretion.

“In addition, this is a pair of spiritual ginsengs newly offered by Silla this year. It can cure all kinds of injuries and can replenish the internal organs. Prince Consort, remember to use it after you recover from your injuries. It will help strengthen your body and restore your vitality.”

Pei Xiaoyuan looked in the direction Zhao Zhongfang pointed. On the imperial desk were two old ginsengs in the shape of human body, with red silk tied around its waists. Both had arms and legs, and were more than a foot long, held in a cedar wood box.

This should be the imperial medicine that Silla presented to the emperor. Such a size was extremely rare. How could Pei Xiaoyuan dare to take it? He hurriedly stood up from his seat, thanked him and declined.

The emperor stared at him unhappily and said, “Zhen gives it to you, just accept it and eat it! Do you want to stay sick forever and always need the Princess to serve you?”

Pei Xiaoyuan paused, then changed his words: “Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your grace.”

The emperor hummed, and when he looked at Pei Xiaoyuan again, his expression had turned solemn.

“Tell Zhen in detail the danger you encountered the day before yesterday.”

Pei Xiaoyuan followed his order and recounted the details of the assassination. After listening, the emperor pondered for a long time and slowly asked: “Prince consort, Zhen want to ask you, has Li Yan had any private contact with you before?”

Pei Xiaoyuan was silent for a moment and said yes in a low voice.

“Don’t you know why Zhen set up the Luwu Division? Why don’t you arrest him or kill him on the spot?” the emperor continued coldly.

Pei Xiaoyuan knelt down again and lowered his head: “This minister is guilty and has failed Your Majesty’s trust!”

“What did he tell you?”

After a moment of silence, Pei Xiaoyuan suddenly heard the emperor’s question. The tone sounded normal and very calm, but when Pei Xiaoyuan looked up, he met a pair of eyes that were staring at him with a cold gaze.

“Your Majesty, it’s just some old talks. This minister has already rejected them.”

He lowered his eyes and responded slowly.

“Reminiscing about the past.”

The emperor repeated his words lightly, then tightly closed his lips, his jaw showing a stern arc, and the hall fell into a dead silence.

Pei Xiaoyuan kept his eyes down. After a while, he suddenly heard the emperor speak again: “Forget it, Zhen won’t bother you about the past. You don’t have to worry about arresting Li Yan for the time being! He is cunning and will use this to assassinate you. If Zhen is right, whether he succeeds or not, he will definitely use this to stir up trouble.”

“Zhen has another task for you…”

Pei Xiaoyuan raised his gaze once more. At some point, the emperor had closed his eyes, his face was extremely tense. It was obvious that he was caught in a whirlpool of inner struggle, grappling with an immensely significant decision he found difficult to finalize.

After a long time, he finally opened his eyes slowly, and a cold light flashed across his eyes.

“The Liu family, along with the Wei and Xue clans from Guannei, have been intermarrying since the founding of this dynasty, forming deeply intertwined relationships. Their influence, both inside and outside the court, is substantial. Keep a close watch on them. Under no circumstances can we allow them to unite in secret.

“No matter what happens in Chang’an, Zhen will not allow something like what happened to Chen Sida in Cangshan to happen in the interior of the country!

“If you fail in your duty again, you don’t have to be a prince consort! There will be someone else more suitable to marry the Princess!”

When the emperor said this, Zhao Zhongfang walked out and guarded the palace gate personally.

How could Pei Xiaoyuan not understand the meaning of the emperor’s words? His heartbeat quickened. He calmed himself down and replied in a low but clear voice: “This minister obeys your order. This minister will do his best to ensure that Chang’an is safe and sound.”

The emperor’s and Pei Xiaoyuan’s eyes met, the father-in-law and son-in-law looked at each other for a moment. The emperor’s expression finally turned gentle, and he waved his hand again, motioning him to get up.

“No need to rush.” The emperor said again, “You should rest for half a month, take good care of your injuries, and spend more time with the Princess.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. This minister understands.”

“Go ahead!”

Pei Xiaoyuan performed the salute as required, and then left Ziyun Palace.

While returning to Shenshu Palace, he was pondering about what the emperor had just said in his mind. He walked on the palace road for a while, and when he lowered his head, he accidentally discovered that the fish pouch hanging on his body was gone.

He remembered that when he went out today, he tied it hastily and absent-mindedly, and maybe he didn’t fasten it tightly enough, so it slipped off the belt as he moved and was lost somewhere.

The fish pouch was similar to an official seal, a symbol of identity and the pass to enter and leave the palace, and it was very important. If it was lost, someone with ulterior motives might use it to impeach him, and if he was truly unlucky, he might even be punished.

He remembered that he still had the fish pouch with him when he came here. It was possible that he lost it in the Ziyun Palace area, but he was preoccupied with his own thoughts and did not notice it.

Pei Xiaoyuan had no choice but to turn around. He searched all the way and asked several palace servants he met on the palace road, but they all said they had never seen it.

Or maybe it was in Ziyun Palace.

When he came back, the palace eunuch standing at the palace gate also said he didn’t know. Pei Xiaoyuan looked inside across the palace threshold, and from a distance, he finally saw something that looked like a fish pouch on the ground in front of the partition door he had just passed when he left the palace. He said something to the palace eunuch, telling him not to report it, and walked in.

If it were anyone else, the palace eunuch would naturally not agree, but since he was the prince consort, the palace eunuch obeyed.

He did not want to alarm the emperor or Zhao Zhongfang inside, so he deliberately slowed down his steps when he was about to reach the partition door. When he got close, he leaned over and was about to leave when he heard a violent cough from inside the hall. The cough was extremely painful, as if it was going to cough out all his internal organs. When the cough finally stopped, there was a flustered sound of footsteps.

“What are you hiding?” The emperor’s voice sounded a little hoarse.

“Nothing. This old servant is just changing the handkerchief for Your Majesty…”

The emperor seemed to laugh.

“You old eunuch! Do you think Zhen doesn’t know? Did Zhen cough up blood again just now?”

“Your Majesty, please don’t let your imagination run wild. There’s no such thing.” Zhao Zhongfang’s voice trembled slightly, and it was obvious that he was trying his best to suppress his emotions at the moment.

After a moment of silence, the emperor’s voice rang out again: “Zhen doesn’t care. But you can’t let the Princess know. You must keep it a secret for Zhen! She’s just getting married. Zhen still want her to marry happily with that Pei boy!”

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty…this old servant won’t say anything even if he lost his life…” Zhao Zhongfang responded with a sob.

The emperor fell silent again, as if lost in thought. Suddenly, he asked leisurely, “How long until Zhen’s longevity celebration?”

“Next spring. It’s almost there, less than four months left.”

“Yeah, it’s really fast…”

The emperor sighed, then was helped to lie down slowly.

“No matter what, Zhen must wait until then, ensuring that everything needing to be settled is done thoroughly. Those who should live will live, and those who should die—all of them must die as Zhen command! Though Zhen, too, deserve death, Zhen must be the last one to go—”

He coughed again. After forcibly suppressing it, the emperor urged: “Where is Zhen’s medicine? Bring it here quickly! Don’t miss a single one!”

“Your Majesty, it’s not yet time to take the next medicine…”

The emperor seemed to be dejected. Suddenly, he began to sigh softly again: “Last night, Hao’er went to that Pei boy’s home, and my heart feels so empty! I can’t bear it! My daughter… I couldn’t sleep all night… tossing and turning… I kept thinking about her mother. If she were still here, she could see Hao’er getting married, how wonderful it would be! But alas, she was pitifully abandoned in the wilderness after her death, and even her body have vanished without a trace… I’ve failed her! Oh, how I wish she would appear in my dreams… I don’t dare to hope she wouldn’t resent me; I only wish she could tell me where she is, where I can go to find her, to bring her back. Even if it’s just a single strand of her hair, it would be enough… But not once—not once in all these years—has she entered my dreams. The mass grave in the eastern suburbs is so vast… Where on earth can I go… to find her…”

Pei Xiaoyuan’s whole body tensed slightly.

He held his breath, slowly stretched out his hand, and finally reached the fish pouch on the ground. He scooped it up, quickly squeezed it into his palm, then turned around and was about to tiptoe away when he was taken aback.

Without him noticing, the princess had arrived and was now standing behind him. Her face was as pale as if all the blood in her body had been drained out, her eyes were wide open, and she stood straight, stiff as a wooden figure without any life.

Soon, she blinked, seeming to snap out of her stupor. She took a step forward, clearly intending to rush inside, but Pei Xiaoyuan lunged, grabbing her arm and holding her back with an iron grip. Without hesitation, he clamped his other hand over her mouth. Nearly lifting her off the ground, he half-held, half-carried her away, her feet dangling helplessly as she struggled in vain against his unyielding grasp.

“Don’t let His Majesty know that the Princess and I have returned!”

Pei Xiaoyuan gave a brief order to the stunned palace eunuch near the palace gate, and continued to carry her forward. Soon, the two of them disappeared at the end of a remote palace road.

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TN: Oppsie!!