Chapter 38 The Game

As the only heir of the current emperor, Princess Li Zhen's sudden drowning caused widespread panic and anxiety within the palace.

However, what is surprising is—

Throughout the day, apart from the physicians coming and going in and out of Kunning Palace, the Empress Dowager remained in Qingren Palace to worship Buddha as usual, and the Emperor, as usual, summoned the Marquis of Dingbei and the heir of the Duke of Jingguo in Funing Hall.

Within the high walls of the palace, everything was as calm as if nothing had happened.

Even the verbal sparring between the two factions at the dock in the early morning fell silent with the setting sun, without disturbing the deathly stillness within the layers of the palace.

The wooden door opened and closed slightly, the soft creaking sound gently silencing the wooden fish drum that filled the room.

The Empress Dowager, kneeling with her eyes lowered before a gilded Buddha statue, slowly raised her head upon hearing the footsteps of the approaching person.

"Is the Emperor aware that Zhen'er has fallen into the water?"

"The Emperor has been in power for several years now. What matter, big or small, in the palace can be kept from him? Especially when it concerns the princess."

After hearing her confidant's words, the Empress Dowager was taken aback at first, but then she sneered and stood up, taking the hand her confidant had extended.

"Emperor Taizong always said that Your Majesty is too soft-hearted and kind-hearted, and is not fit to be an emperor..."

“Ke Yunying, I feel like I can’t understand this son anymore.”

In the first year of Jianzhao, the world was initially at peace, and the Great Zhou Dynasty was established, but its foundation was still shallow.

To prevent remnants of the previous dynasty from causing trouble, Emperor Taizu made great efforts to win over former officials who had surrendered earlier.

The Yang family, which had produced three prime ministers in the previous dynasty and enjoyed a high reputation among contemporary scholars and intellectuals, naturally became the first choice in the mind of Emperor Taizu.

Therefore, in the same year, the eldest daughter of the Yang family was chosen as the Crown Princess of Emperor Taizong.

The Empress Dowager was only sixteen years old that year, and Yunying, the maid who had grown up with her since childhood, was only twenty years old.

Unexpectedly, as the world changed and conflicts ensued, this half of the palace wall ultimately cost them half their lives.

“Apart from the Empress Dowager, it has been a long time since anyone has called me by my maiden name.” Yunying chuckled and helped the Empress Dowager to sit down on the couch. She then served her a cup of tea. “Empress Dowager, we are getting old, and the Emperor has naturally grown up as well.”

Silently pushing the cup of tea away, the Empress Dowager gently adjusted the dazzling yet cold and heavy jewels adorning her head.

Seeing this, Yunying wanted to help the Empress Dowager remove some of the body parts, but as she lowered her head, she heard her murmur, "Yunying, I have no intention of vying for power, but Your Majesty... my Cong'er cannot die in vain..."

Yunying paused for a moment, sighed, and removed the hairpin from the Empress Dowager's temple.

Crown Prince Li Cong was precocious and sensible. He was raised by the Empress Dowager, and the two had a deep bond. Unfortunately, he died suddenly at the age of fifteen.

That was the Empress Dowager's deepest concern, a mystery that had lingered over Qingren Palace for countless years.

—But it wasn't from the government.

Thinking of Li Zhen falling into the water today, Yunying swallowed back the words of comfort that were about to come out of her mouth.

The emperor was not raised by the empress dowager's side from childhood, and as he took power for a long time, he naturally became more and more estranged from the empress dowager.

Yunying never expected that this kind and benevolent man, as a father, could act as if nothing had happened when his own daughter fell into the water...

Such officials...

How much weight can an older brother, whom he has only met a few times at year-end banquets and has never spent much time with, hold in his heart?

Yunying had no confidence at all.

With a wry smile, the Empress Dowager ignored Yunying's hesitant words and turned to look out the window. In her eyes were thick, dark clouds that seemed to obscure everything.

"Once the Marquis of Dingbei and the heir of the Duke of Jing leave the palace, let's go and invite His Majesty here!"

Yunying snapped out of her daze, silently patted the Empress Dowager's shoulders, and replied, "Yes, Empress Dowager."

·

When Pei Lin left the palace, it was already late at night.

The high-hanging full moon was partially obscured by thick clouds, and the hazy light seemed to leak out rather than linger, pressing down heavily on the entire capital.

The sound of the night watchman's gong echoed through the streets and alleys, surrounding the grand mansions. Le Sheng, who had been waiting by the gate, grew increasingly anxious and lost all sleepiness.

Only when he saw Pei Lin's figure appear at the gate of the mansion did a hint of joy appear in his eyes.

"My lord, you're back?" Lesheng hurried forward. "Madam said she's waiting for you at Zhilan Courtyard."

Zhilan Courtyard? Jing Ge'er?

Pei Lin didn't have time to think further. He quickly put aside his thoughts, quickened his pace, and asked as he walked towards the mansion, "Something happened?"

“Young Master Jing suddenly developed a high fever, and although it has subsided now, but…” Le Sheng paused and lowered his voice, “Madam doesn’t think it’s a common cold.”

"Which doctor did you hire?"

"Mr. Shen has entered the palace. The doctor who will be seeing patients at Tongxintang that night has arrived."

The princess fell into the water? Shen Que entered the palace? Jing Ge'er has a high fever?

What a coincidence!

One thing after another happened like candied hawthorns skewered on a wooden stick. Pei Lin closed his eyes slightly, a playful smile playing on his lips.

Although he didn't say a word, his aura had clearly cooled down considerably, and even Le Sheng, who was walking beside him, unconsciously shrank his shoulders.

"Sir, can you tell where the problem lies with this incense?"

"This...this fragrance is stronger than usual...but...alas! My skills are not up to par, and I fear I may have delayed Madam Wen's plans. I can only wait until I have consulted with Mr. Shen before giving Madam Wen an answer!"

Upon arriving at Zhilan Courtyard and opening the door, Pei Lin overheard Wen Lingzheng's conversation with the doctor.

Seeing Pei Lin approaching out of the corner of her eye, Wen Lingzheng's heart, which had been hanging in suspense all night, calmed down a little.

She put away her heavy heart, had Yuheng seal the reward and send the doctor out of the mansion, and then instructed Yaoguang to personally go and get the medicine.

"Is it resolved?" Wen Lingzheng walked to Pei Lin's side, took his frost-covered cloak, and handed it to a maid beside him. "Don't worry, Jing-ge'er's fever has subsided."

Pei Lin grasped Wen Lingzheng's hand in return, slightly lifted the beaded curtain, glanced at the middle of the room, saw Pei Jing sleeping soundly, and then looked away.

"The maid who takes care of Jing-ge'er has been changed?"

Wen Lingzheng pointed to the extinguished incense burner, then looked into the room, "How can we keep such a filthy girl if she can let such a thing into Jing-ge'er's room? Even if she didn't have bad intentions, she was still too careless."

“That’s Baiyu in my room. Although she’s young, she’s very steady. Before we find a suitable replacement, I’ll have her come to Zhilan Courtyard to take over Cuiluo’s job.”

Pei Lin casually opened the incense burner on the round table, then picked up a wisp of unburnt incense powder. "What about Granny Fang and Cuiluo..."

Having roughly discerned Pei Lin's thoughts, Wen Lingzheng rushed to his side before he could finish speaking and whispered, "Just have Xingyun tied him up first. The matter is not yet clear, so it's best not to alert the enemy."

Not everyone in Zhilan Courtyard knew the ins and outs of the place. Wen Lingzheng left Yaoguang and Baiyu to look after Jingge'er before returning to Fanghua Courtyard with Pei Lin.

Inside the room, the candlelight was dim. Wen Lingzheng changed out of her everyday clothes and came out of the inner room. Xingzhou bowed to her as he was leaving, while Pei Lin was already sitting on the daybed waiting for her.

Sitting on the other side, Wen Lingzheng habitually lit another candle and continued talking about what she hadn't finished saying in Zhilan Courtyard.

"Although Cuiluo has some ulterior motives, she essentially just wants to climb the social ladder by relying on Jingge'er. As for that Granny Fang... I can't say for sure."

"I wanted to let them fight like dogs, so I first used an excuse to send Granny Fang away, and then sent Cuiluo to wait for the doctor by the gate of the mansion, which made that old scoundrel suspect that I trusted Cuiluo and doubted her..."

"Then we'll lure them into revealing their true colors, which will also buy us time until Xingyun returns so we can capture them both?"

Pei Lin snapped out of his daze, smiled, and finished Wen Lingzheng's sentence. He then patted her head like he was coaxing a child, "My wife seems to have the talent of a female Zhuge Liang!"

She slapped Pei Lin's hand away impatiently, looking somewhat dejected. "Pei Jianwei, you're trying to flatter me to death! But... if only I had even a fraction of Zhuge Liang's abilities, I wouldn't be in this situation..."

—It's not like I'm going to be reborn and still get caught in such a huge trap!

Hearing Wen Lingzheng's low, self-reproachful voice, Pei Lin chuckled softly, his usually sharp features softening.

"This is not your fault."

Subconsciously avoiding Pei Lin's gaze, Wen Lingzheng looked outside and changed the subject, "What did you ask Xingzhou to do just now?"

Taking a sip of tea, Pei Lin looked up at Wen Lingzheng and said, "If you want to scare the snake, you need to have something to do, right? You also need to leave an opening for those who are interested to crawl in!"

Pei Lin spoke tactfully, his low voice tinged with a hint of amusement.

Wen Lingzheng knew immediately that this guy was definitely up to no good and was probably thinking of some kind of prank again!

With her heart at ease, she then remembered some things she hadn't finished saying.

"Oh, right, it wasn't convenient to talk in Zhilan Courtyard earlier, so I didn't have a chance to tell you. That Granny Fang said earlier that the incense in Jing-ge's room comes from Rongshou Hall, and the Old Madam uses it too. But I had Bai Yu secretly go to Rongshou Hall, and Granny Chang said..."

"Rongshoutang? What a clumsy scheme."

Pei Lin was probably angry, and a soft snort escaped from his nose. "My grandmother was poor when she was young. She was hardworking and frugal and disliked extravagant things. I have never seen her burn incense since I can remember."

"In the entire mansion, the only people who have properly learned incense burning from the governess are my second aunt, A-Ning, and myself."

"I'm afraid someone is taking advantage of Grandmother's affection for Jing'er and using her to put these things into Zhilan Courtyard!"

"You even studied incense burning?" Wen Lingzheng turned her head to look at Pei Lin, her clear eyes sparkling with laughter. "I thought..."

"Did you think all I knew was how to wield swords?" Pei Lin flicked Wen Lingzheng's forehead in annoyance, his words laced with pride. "Back in my day, I was a notorious playboy in Shengjing! How could I possibly succeed if I didn't even know this little thing!"

Glancing sideways at Pei Lin, Wen Lingzheng shook her head and complained, "You're getting all arrogant? If your father-in-law were still alive, he'd probably regret chasing you down two streets with just a big knife back then!"

Hearing this, Pei Lin was stunned. When he came to his senses, he awkwardly touched his nose. Then he heard Wen Lingzheng's soft laughter and couldn't help but sigh, "This A Ning, she should have her mouth tied with a leash!"

“This wasn’t said by A Ning.”

Wen Lingzheng smiled and changed the subject, saying, "Since the matter of Jing-ge'er hasn't been resolved, I think we shouldn't discuss it with the Old Madam for now. But regarding my third brother's matter, when you entered the palace today, did the Emperor say anything...?"

"have."

When the topic returned to Pei Zhun, Pei Lin's expression became much more serious. "The Lin family embezzlement case from back then ultimately involved Crown Prince Zhang Hui. Although the Emperor wouldn't suspect me because of it, we can't give the Empress Dowager any ammunition, after all..."

Pei Lin shook his head, quite helplessly, "Thirty strokes of the cane and a lifetime ban from holding office—such punishment is already a lenient one from the Emperor."

Knowing there was no turning back, Wen Lingzheng couldn't help but sigh, "Then what about Brother Xiao in the future..."

"Xiao Ge'er?"

"Things came up one after another, and I didn't even have time to tell you. Today, Grandmother named both of my third brother's children. The eldest son was named Xiao according to the family genealogy. The girl, like the collateral branch, was named with the radical Xin (心), and the character Niu (读) was chosen."

“Nian?” Pei Lin pondered for a moment before saying, “From a collateral branch is fine, but does Grandmother intend to send that child back to Lin’an?”

Wen Lingzheng shook her head. "Grandmother said that since she is a direct descendant of the Marquis's family, her fourth cousin in the suburban manor already has seven or eight sons and has always wanted a daughter. It would be perfect for Nian'er to go to his house. During festivals, we would have an excuse to visit her."

After a moment's thought, Pei Lin did not refute, but simply said, "In that case, let's give the manor in the suburbs to Fourth Cousin's family! Just tell them to take good care of the child. The fault lies with Third Brother, not with the child."

"Don't worry about that, I've arranged everything." Wen Lingzheng reached out and rubbed her shoulder. "There's no reason to ask someone for help and then expect them to bear the losses themselves."

·

Pei Lin and Xiao Weiyuan had just left the palace when Granny Yunying arrived at Funing Palace.

Li Shan seemed to have already guessed that the Empress Dowager would send someone to invite him, so he didn't say much, but simply flicked his robes and went to Qingren Palace.

The green tiles stretch endlessly, and the night is as cool as water.

Just before stepping into Qingren Palace, Li Shan suddenly stopped under the plaque, turned to look at Yunying, and asked, "Aunt Yunying, do you think that in the Empress Dowager's heart, my second brother and I are really that different?"

The candlelight shone faintly from behind, casting an inscrutable shadow over the young emperor's expression. Yet, his tone was so flat as if it were merely a casual question, causing Yunying's heart to sink.

She was at a loss for words.

Just like before, she didn't know how to comfort the Empress Dowager.

Yunying: "Your Majesty..."

"That's enough!" Li Shan turned around and walked towards Qingren Palace. "I was just joking with my aunt."