Chapter 82 "You have feelings for him too, right..."

After Zen Master Jichen left, Yuan Chaolu was still lost in thought about what he had just said.

The knocking on the door pulled Yuan Chaolu back to reality. She looked up and saw Qingheng walking in, carrying a medicine box on her back, looking like she was about to go out.

Where are we going?

"Your Majesty, the people from the Lu family have summoned me to come and examine the pulses of Young Master Lu and Miss Lu."

Just as the Empress Dowager's birthday was approaching, the court issued a decree of amnesty to the whole country, and Lu Changli was temporarily spared from imprisonment. Although he was not pardoned, at the Empress Dowager's request, he was specially allowed to accompany her for a few days before and after the birthday celebration.

“Lu Changli summoned you to his residence yesterday, and sent someone again today?” Yuan Chaolu stepped forward and grasped Qingheng’s arm. “What exactly is he thinking? He has called you over several times, even though you have already resigned from the Imperial Medical Bureau.”

Qingheng said, "Perhaps the ointment I gave Young Master Lu earlier was effective, and his wrist injury has eased somewhat."

Just then, a question came from outside.

Qingheng was about to leave when, after a few steps, she turned back and hurriedly went to the table, picked up her pen, and wrote down a few medicinal herbs.

“As autumn deepens and the dew becomes heavy, I will devise a prescription for Your Majesty and instruct the palace maids to brew it. This medicine can ward off the cold.”

Seeing Yuan Chaolu's worried expression, she grasped Yuan Chaolu's hand and said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will take care of everything at the Lu residence after I leave."

Yuan Chaolu returned to the desk and sat down. Her gaze fell on the note left by Qingheng. Then, she stood up, walked quickly to a cabinet on the side, and took out the booklet left by Yuan Zhaobi.

When Yuan Chaolu compared the note with the book, they looked remarkably similar.

She continued turning the page, comparing each matching character with the others, and more and more of the handwriting matched...

Yuan Chaolu trembled as she closed the book, raised her head, and looked towards the direction outside the palace gate where the figure had left.

**

The sunlight gradually changed from gold to red and then to a dim yellow. Yuan Chaolu sat behind the desk, staring at the note.

"Your Majesty," Qingheng's voice rang out.

Yuan Chaolu suddenly raised her head and looked at the person who had come.

She walked in as the sun set, her veil fluttering gently in the breeze, her smile tender: "Your Majesty."

She called out "Your Majesty" several times before Yuan Chaolu came to her senses and hurriedly pushed the medical book into a pile of books.

Longxi met her elder sister, and although they only spent three short days together, it sustained her through many dark nights.

She remembered her elder sister's gentle and loving eyes, her choked words of wishing her younger sister peace, wealth, and a long and healthy life, and the resentment in her tearful eyes as she closed her eyes.

She carefully read through the medical book left by her elder sister several times, and had memorized many of the contents.

If it weren't for her elder sister's momentary lapse in attention in concealing her handwriting, Yuan Chaolu would never have guessed that the person before her was...

"I'm back from the Lu residence. Don't worry, Your Majesty, they didn't make things difficult for me," Qingheng said.

Yuan Chaolu forced a smile. "Qingheng, I have something important to ask you. How much do you know about Lu Changli?"

Yuan Chaolu, no longer holding back, told the other party all the secrets she had learned that afternoon.

She observed Qingheng and saw her sitting quietly in deep thought for a long time, as if hesitating about something. After a long while, she said to herself, "When I went out to make house calls before, Lu Changli unintentionally revealed some things about the Lu family to me after he got drunk."

What is it?

“He said, he said…” Qingheng sighed, “He said he has always had an obsession with not being able to reunite with his biological mother.”

"Biological mother?"

"Yes, those are his exact words."

This was indeed during their time in Jiangnan, after they had married. One night, after drinking, he buried his face in her neck on the bed and poured out his heart to her.

Yuan Zhaobi remembered that the curtains were dim and the candles flickered. He and she were embracing each other. Everything around them was quiet. They could only hear the chirping of crickets outside the window and the pounding of their hearts.

She softly asked the man, "How can there be a reason why a mother and son cannot recognize each other?"

His brows were furrowed with a deep melancholy. "Because there's more to my background than meets the eye. My real mother is my aunt."

"She and her husband were married by their parents' arrangement. Their relationship was not good, and not long after the marriage, her husband proposed that they should not interfere with each other."

Yuan Zhaobi sensed his unusual mood, took his hand, and pressed it against her cheek. "And then?"

"The mother was naturally extremely disappointed, but she agreed to her husband's request. The two began to live separately. Not long after, her husband met her widowed sister when he went to a temple to worship Buddha. If it were anyone else, it would be fine, but it just so happened to be her sister. The husband knew this, but he still had an affair with her."

“My mother became pregnant, and it was the guard who accompanied her. When my mother’s husband found out about this, he did not blame her, but instead tacitly allowed her to raise the child.”

"But my background means that my mother can never take me back."

Yuan Zhaobi traced his eyebrows with her fingertips: "So, you were separated from your mother from birth?"

Lu Changli nodded: "My mother was taken back to her maternal home to recuperate during her pregnancy. Coincidentally, at that time, her brother's wife also became pregnant, around the same stage. So the two families discussed that once the child was born, they would publicly claim that it was his wife's twin. After giving birth to me, my mother was in a coma for a long time. My mother's brother knew that if a girl was born, there would be no problem, but a boy would disrupt her husband's bloodline and might bring disaster upon her in the future. Therefore, he switched me with the daughter born to his wife. When my mother woke up, he told her that she had given birth to a daughter..."

At this point, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice was suppressed: "All along, she has treated Lan'er as her own daughter, but she doesn't know that I am her biological child."

"Besides me, my uncle and aunt knew about this, and no one else did. Even my mother didn't know."

“For so many years,” the words that escaped his throat were like sand, “I could not even call out to my mother.”

**

This convoluted past was revealed by Qingheng through Lu Changli's drunken revelation, but Yuan Chaolu didn't react much, instead keeping her eyes fixed on the woman in front of her.

"This is Lu Changli's private matter, yet you know so much about it. Who exactly are you?"

She raised her trembling hand and touched Qingheng's veil.

Qingheng quickly lowered her eyes, concealing her expression, and avoided Yuan Chaolu's hand.

"Sister, what happened to you?" Yuan Chaolu asked, her voice choked with emotion.

Yuan Chaolu's hand caressed her, carefully lifting her veil: "From the first moment I saw you, I felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity with you. Even if you changed your appearance, your voice, everything else, I still knew it was you!"

"Sister!"

Yuan Chaolu could no longer hold back and threw herself into Qingheng's arms.

"You've always been by my side, haven't you? I should have realized it sooner."

Yuan Zhaobi lowered her head, looking at her as she cried, her voice broken and her eyes red: "Sister, you didn't tell me your identity because you were afraid I would worry, right?"

"Sister, I miss you so much..."

Yuan Chaolu raised her arm, her hand gripping the fabric behind her back, her knuckles turning bluish-white.

Yuan Zhaobi raised her hand and gently stroked her hair, her voice trembling as she said, "Aju."

She gently wiped away the tears from Yuan Chaolu's cheeks with her fingertips, saying, "I miss you too."

“Every day, every moment, from my childhood in Jiangnan, to my journey to Longxi to find you, and then later…” Yuan Zhaobi smiled and shed tears, “When I arrived in Luoyang from Longxi, there wasn’t a moment when I didn’t want to see my sister.”

She held Yuan Chaolu's hand, and in the sunlight, the two scars on their hands merged together. "Look, you have a scar here, and I have one too. It's from when we were kids, when we were fugitives together and were whipped. It looks like a crescent moon."

Yuan Chaolu's heart softened, and she nodded gently.

After a long silence, she said softly, "This is also why Empress Dowager Lu has been raising her two nephews and nieces by her side all these years ago, right? She treated Lu Runlan as her daughter."

Yuan Zhaobi said, "That's what I guessed too. The late emperor tacitly approved of Empress Dowager Lu and the concubine having a child, but in exchange, the son born to Princess Zhenning should be registered under the name of the principal wife."

Yuan Chaolu smiled and said, "It's so timely that you told me this, sister."

She caught a faint herbal scent emanating from her older sister, leaned her arms around her sister's shoulders, and then raised her hand, which was tightly clasped with Yuan Zhaobi's, to examine the scar carefully in the light.

“My elder sister is my lucky star. She brought me out of Longxi and came to my side in times of danger.”

"Thank you for this scar, it allowed me to reunite with my sister."

"I will absolutely not let my sister down."

**

That night, the evening breeze tapped against the window, and the trees rustled.

There was a knock at Princess Zhenning's door. Lu Fu opened the door and saw Yuan Chaolu standing outside with a smile, holding a scroll of scriptures.

She entered the inner room and saw that Princess Zhenning was about to get up from the bed, so she hurriedly said, "Lie down quickly, Princess, there's no need for that."

Lu Zhenning said, "Last time I was bitten by a snake, I was fortunate to have Your Majesty's help. I'm also grateful for your daily visits these days."

Yuan Chaolu put down the tray and gestured for Lu Fu to step back first. After the door closed, she took Lu Zhenning's slightly cool hand and said, "If Mother insists on thanking me, I will truly feel ashamed."

For a moment, the room fell silent.

Yuan Chaolu sat down by the bed and placed a soft pillow behind Lu Zhenning: "His Majesty has already told me about Mother's past with the late Emperor."

Lu Zhenning asked, "Did His Majesty tell you everything?"

“Yes.” Yuan Chaolu picked up the Buddhist scripture from the table. “Mother is fond of Buddhism. These past few days, I have copied a Buddhist scripture for you. Although the handwriting is rough, it is a sincere prayer for your well-being. I hope you will take a look.”

"How could that be?" Lu Zhenning took the scroll. "It is a token of Her Majesty's goodwill."

She brought the Buddhist scripture into the light, tilted her head slightly, and a faint smile appeared on her lips. Her eyes and brows were no longer as aloof and cold as before, but rather like the first melting of spring ice, revealing a touch of gentleness.

"As for this one—" Yuan Chaolu presented it with both hands, "This is a copy I made myself for His Majesty, and I hope Mother will accept it..."

She paused, then lowered her voice, "Could you deliver this to the palace?"

Lu Zhenning's gaze sharpened, and she immediately asked, "What is it about you and the Emperor that caused your unpleasantness?"

Yuan Chaolu lowered his eyes: "Mother, your eyes are so discerning. I have been practicing here for several days, and His Majesty has not sent anyone to inquire about me. The quarrels after the wedding should not disturb Mother's peaceful ears. However, His Majesty has always suffered from nightmares. I wrote this Buddhist scripture in the hope that His Majesty will get better."

She looked up, her eyes reflecting the flickering firelight: "I hope Mother will send this to the palace on my behalf, and do not mention that it was written by me. I only ask that His Majesty be protected."

Lu Zhenning's gaze fell on the thick stack of papers. She sighed and gestured for Yuan Chaolu to put them down.

Yuan Chaolu said, "Thank you, Mother."

Lu Zhenning said, "My child is stubborn. Although he spent a lot of time by the side of the late emperor when he was young, his temperament is just like mine, cold and hard."

“But he shouldn’t have let you stay here so long. Tomorrow I will send someone from my side to present this to His Majesty.”

"You and your husband have only been married a short time, so you should have a proper talk."

Yuan Chaolu said, "Your son will remember this."

Lu Zhenning raised her hand, signaling Yuan Chaolu to bring a box from the table. Inside, a longevity lock lay.

“This was worn by the emperor when he was a child and has been kept until now. When I heard that you were pregnant, I wanted to send it to the palace, but it was just that the child was not meant to be.”

Yuan Chaolu slowly put the longevity lock back.

Lu Zhenning said, "You were originally the fiancée of the Prince of Yan's child, but the emperor forced you into the palace. At that time, I was afraid that he would be like the late emperor."

Yuan Chaolu said, "My mother and the late emperor..."

Lu Zhenning fell silent.

Just as Yuan Chaolu was about to change the subject, she spoke again: "He's just that kind of free spirit, he doesn't like being restrained, so initially—"

She looked at Yuan Chaolu and said, "He and your mother are cousins, but after learning that neither side had any intention of getting married, he personally proposed to break off the engagement and even found a good match for your mother. However, Xiao allowed him to be willful once, but not a second time, which led to the forced marriage between him and my sister."

"He said the same thing to comfort your mother after the marriage to my sister, choosing to separate from her. Not long after, I met the late emperor in this Buddhist temple. When we first met, I was a newly widowed woman, while he was a young master from a noble family. I did not know that he was my sister's husband, but he already knew my identity."

Yuan Chaolu asked, "And then?"

"Later everything came to light... I couldn't accept it, and our relationship soured, tormenting each other for over twenty years. I thought it was a cursed fate, that we shouldn't be together. But after he passed away, I came to understand many things."

The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out, as if she had finally let go of a long-standing worry.

“Ke Chaolu, you are different from Xiao Zhuo. You also have feelings for him, right? Don’t let this create distance between you.”

The dim candlelight shone on Yuan Chaolu's cheeks. She clenched her hands, which were gripping the hem of her skirt, and only managed a slight smile.

**

At the crack of dawn, a fast horse galloped out of Chanxu Temple, speeding through the bustling streets of Chang'an, past the palace gates, and dismounted at the imperial palace. A guard carried a stack of scriptures in his hands as they arrived at the Xuande Hall.

At the courtyard gate, the guards stopped the man and, after inquiring whether he was a servant of Princess Zhenning, were about to let him pass.

Just as the guard was about to step forward, a voice rang out: "Does my elder sister have something important to discuss?"

Empress Dowager Lu's imperial carriage stopped outside the courtyard and slowly approached, surrounded by palace maids on both sides.

Everyone bowed respectfully.

She stopped in front of the hall and slowly picked up the Buddhist scripture with her fingertips.

-----------------------

Author's note: Alright, alright, now that I've finished this part, the Emperor and Empress will meet again soon.