May no one in this world grow old without turning gray (Part 4)

The case of Consort Wan's miscarriage was concluded by the Empress's maid, Jiang, being executed according to palace rules, while the Empress was confined to Kunning Palace for dereliction of duty.

Apart from those in Kunning Palace that day, no one knew about the dispute between the Emperor and Empress. But somehow, the news of their growing estrangement spread like wildfire, and rumors of the Empress's dethronement swelled quietly in every corner like an undercurrent.

Cheng Yuzhi was under house arrest and unaware of outside news. Zhu Liji, however, acted out of character, no longer pretending to be polite. Even when court officials who had heard rumors mentioned the matter, he would always keep a straight face and avoid the topic, as if he wanted to confirm the news. For a time, families of officials in the capital with eligible young women were even more eager to make their move.

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, incense burners emitted wisps of smoke.

Zhu Liji put down his vermilion brush and rubbed his temples. Memorials piled up on his desk; seven or eight out of ten implied that the Empress had lost her virtue and should be deposed.

Pinghai stepped forward quietly and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, it's time for your meal."

Zhu Liji hummed in agreement, but his gaze remained fixed on the memorial. Only when Zhiwei led two eunuchs to open the food box layer by layer, releasing the warm aroma of the dishes, did he slowly raise his eyes.

One chicken was prepared in five different ways: chicken marrow and bamboo shoots simmered in clear broth, golden and crispy fried tofu skin, thinly sliced ​​chicken soup, gourd-shaped chicken with rich and dark sauce, and a small bowl of chicken and wolfberry leaf congee.

Exquisite, yet not extravagant.

"Did you give the order personally?" Zhu Liji picked up his silver chopsticks, his gaze sweeping across the dining table, but he didn't pick up his chopsticks immediately.

Zhiwei silently took the small plate and silver spoon from the side, scooped up a little of each dish, and calmly put it into her mouth. She chewed carefully and swallowed.

After a moment, she said softly, "Your Majesty, this was prepared by the Imperial Kitchen on my orders, specifically for Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, please try it. Is it palatable?"

Zhu Liji's gaze swept over her calm, expressionless face. After a short while, he picked up his chopsticks.

He ate slowly, chewing silently, with only the occasional light tap of his fingertips on the table, indicating that he was satisfied. After a long while, Zhu Liji put down his chopsticks and took a hot towel handed to him by a palace maid to wipe his hands.

"You're good at talking, but you can manage to train those guys in the Imperial Kitchen quite well," Zhu Liji said, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger. "Speak, you can't accept a reward without merit. What kind of reward do you want?"

Zhiwei was carefully tidying up the bone dishes in front of him. Upon hearing this, she continued her work without stopping: "It is my duty to share Your Majesty's burdens. I dare not ask for any reward."

"Heh." Zhu Liji chuckled, leaning back in his chair and sizing her up. "You really don't want to ask for a reward? I remember you used to be so smug about any achievement you made, always showing off and begging for my reward. Now you've learned such a slick tone."

It was impossible to tell which Zhiwei Zhu Liji was referring to. Zhiwei simply placed the bone dish gently onto the tray, making a very slight crisp sound.

"Your Majesty is joking. I was ignorant before, but now that I'm grown up, I naturally... know my place."

"Grown up?" Zhu Liji leaned back in his chair, his fingertips tapping idly on the armrest. "Have you learned to be afraid, or have you learned to hold a grudge against me?" His tone was languid, carrying a hint of annoyance that he himself was unaware of.

"Enough, you're like a gourd with its mouth sawed off, making me feel suffocated."

Zhu Liji suddenly turned to Pinghai: "Bring me a mirror."

Pinghai immediately fetched a silver mirror. Zhu Liji took it, but instead of looking at it, he handed it to Zhiwei: "Take it."

Zhiwei was taken aback, and hesitantly accepted it.

“Hold it up,” he commanded, then leisurely examined his reflection in the mirror, holding her hand.

The man before me was nearly forty years old. Although he still looked dashing, some fine lines had inadvertently appeared at the corners of his eyes, which were clearly visible under the magnification of the mirror.

Zhu Liji stared for a long time, and finally, clicked his tongue very softly.

"You have grown up, but I have grown old."

This was clearly said only to Zhiwei.

In fact, Zhiwei had been in the palace for more than eight years, and if we go back a bit further, it had been almost ten years since the two first met.

Things have changed after all.

Zhiwei held the mirror firmly, her face remaining expressionless.

Zhu Liji suddenly raised his hand, his fingertips almost touching her wrist, but stopped just a hair's breadth away, and pointed to the mirror instead: "Look, I have gray hair."

"Your Majesty is in the prime of life, and you are sure to live ten thousand years without worry." Noticing the regret in Zhu Liji's tone, Pinghai quickly bowed to comfort him.

“You certainly know how to talk.” Zhu Liji brushed away the few gray hairs at his temples. “But living for ten thousand years is not necessarily a good thing. Familiar people are gone, those around me have scattered, and those who remain have mostly changed their appearance.”

Zhu Liji called for Zhiwei, who was holding the mirror, to step forward. Zhiwei did as he was told and moved closer. Although the two were very close, they were as distant as if they were worlds apart.

Zhu Liji asked Zhiwei to look up. Zhiwei lifted her eyelids and met those unfathomable eyes that had remained deep throughout. Zhu Liji's eyes were still dark, as if he had everything under control and that everything was just as he had imagined.

Only occasionally, in a moment of distraction, her eyes flickered, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes twitching with each movement, making Zhiwei realize for the first time that the emperor before her might also gradually grow old.

In ancient times, people's lifespan was only forty or fifty years. According to this age, Zhu Liji was indeed no longer young. In fact, she was the same. Zhiwei thought to herself, life is only a few decades long. Are those loves and hates really important and real? In the end, they all disappear like flowing water. Only the loneliness that follows is real.

But so what!

Zhiwei hurriedly hid behind the mirror and shook her head. She had just resonated with Zhu Liji, who was above all others. What a huge irony!

Zhiwei quickly banished the inappropriate thoughts from her mind.

Perhaps it was because Zhiwei's movements were too exaggerated, Zhu Liji also snapped out of his daze. "Crown Prince... has he come to see you recently?" He changed the subject abruptly, his gaze fixed on her through the reflection in the mirror.

However, another round of probing ensued.

Zhiwei felt that gaze and said in a calm and even voice, "The Crown Prince has summoned me several times."

Zhiwei said, "Your Highness is merely upholding filial piety and is concerned about the Empress's health, hence the occasional inquiries. This servant dares to report to Your Highness that Your Majesty's decision is solely based on your own will, and for now, it is the right thing to do for the Crown Prince to focus on his studies."

"Oh?" Zhu Liji lowered his hand and turned to Zhiwei. "Didn't he beg you? Didn't he tug at your sleeve like when he was a child, begging his 'aunt' to say a few good words for his wronged mother in front of the Emperor?"

Zhu Liji's tone softened, even carrying a hint of a smile, which only made it more oppressive.

"I remember you and the Empress had a deep friendship in the past. You really... didn't soften your heart at all?" Zhu Liji said casually.

Zhiwei's mind flashed back to the image of Zhu Sheng, his eyes red, tugging at her sleeve and pleading. Zhu Liji was right; he had indeed begged her. But her answer was also correct. She had indeed pulled Zhu Sheng's hand away and told him, word by word, that the important thing was to do what needed to be done.

Zhu Sheng was the crown prince, and Zhu Liji was the emperor; this is the ultimate truth.

She lowered her eyes, avoiding Zhu Liji's piercing gaze: "Your Majesty is joking. Matters concerning the Empress, whether thunder or rain, are all acts of imperial favor."

"What is my status? How dare I presume to guess His Majesty's will, or influence it?" Zhiwei said slowly.

Zhu Liji stared at her lowered head and said nothing more.

A deep silence fell over the hall, yet within that silence seemed to lie a silent struggle.

After a long silence, Zhu Liji suddenly chuckled, as if he was tired of the test, or perhaps some other emotion flashed through his mind. He waved his hand, his tone becoming indifferent: "Fine. Your mouth... is now as solid as an iron wall."

"Since she is so sensible, she can run an errand for me—Pinghai, deliver the newly presented box of bird's nest and a few old ginseng roots to her and have her deliver them to Chuxiu Palace."

"Yes." Zhiwei received the instruction, took the brocade box prepared by Pinghai, and quietly withdrew without looking up at Zhu Liji again.

——

At the gate of Chuxiu Palace, Zhiwei was leading the palace servants carrying the rewards inside when Wan Qi strode out. He was dressed in casual clothes, looked tired, and had worries in his eyes. When he saw Zhiwei, he nodded slightly and brushed past her.

Zhiwei paused slightly, surprised.

It was common knowledge in the court and among the people that the old lady of the Wan family was seriously ill and Wan Qi had asked for leave to attend to her. Unexpectedly, he was still able to leave the palace at this time... The Wan family, at least Wan Qi, did not seem to be heartless.

She could only sigh inwardly at how much her brother truly cared for his sister, insisting on visiting her in the palace despite his busy schedule. Without thinking too much about it, Zhiwei composed herself and led the palace maid carrying the medicine into Chuxiu Palace.

The bedchamber was warm and fragrant. Wan Zhen'er, dressed in a loose brocade nightgown, leaned against the chaise longue, idly twirling the tassels of the bed curtains with her fingertips.

On the small table to the side, a dazzling array of tonics were piled up. In addition to the top-grade bird's nest, deer antler and lingzhi used by the imperial court, there were even rare and priceless tonics that were hard to find even in the palace storerooms.

It seems that only a family with generations of merit could have such a feat.

Upon seeing Zhiwei enter, Wan Zhen'er lazily raised her eyes, curled her lips, and waved away the servants on either side.

The palace doors closed, leaving only the two of them inside. Wan Zhen'er pointed to the edge of the bed, and Zhiwei, understanding her meaning, sat down beside it.

"How was my performance? Was it well done?" Wan Zhen'er yawned, propping her forehead with one hand, her eyes filled with lazy smugness.

"It's just an immature child. Since Cheng Yuzhi felt it was a hidden danger and wanted to take action, I might as well go along with her wishes. It's just a pity that she's too inefficient and hesitated to act. So I had to fall on the fake stone first and fulfill her wish."

Zhiwei remained silent, stepped forward, pulled up the brocade quilt that had slipped down to her knees, and carefully tucked the corners of the quilt in, her movements gentle and slow.

Wan Zhen'er let her do as she pleased, reaching out to stroke her flat stomach, a cold gleam of pleasure flashing in her eyes: "Tell me, what good is it if this child is born? The Wan family is powerful, how can the Emperor be at ease? It's not impossible that the mother will be taken away and the child left behind. Besides, I have no desire to bear children for a man I despise."

"A debt collector, who has alienated the emperor and empress, is worth a lot."

With her great revenge about to be fulfilled, Wan Zhen'er simply stopped pretending and told Zhiwei everything she was thinking.

Zhiwei listened quietly to Wan Zhen'er's words without reacting, waiting for Wan Zhen'er to fall silent before slowly speaking.

"You're telling me this without worrying that I might tell others?" Zhi smiled.

“Because I think you’ll enjoy watching this spectacle now that the Empress has fallen,” Wan Zhen’er said.

"How can you be so sure? Could it be that the Imperial Concubine has misjudged you?" Zhiwei helped Wan Zhen'er tuck her feet back into the blanket, her eyes still expressionless.

Wan Zhen'er couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Because I can see that we are clearly the same kind of people."

“You’re clear about your likes and dislikes, and you’re vengeful…” Wan Zhen’er’s fingertips traced Zhiwei’s cheek. “You still hate him, even more than I do, don’t you?”

"You think that when you injured your hand back then, Jiang Tan was protecting you, so why did a new manager suddenly come to the Xin Zhe Ku when he was busy? And just as coincidentally, this manager broke your hand and then inexplicably threw himself into a well and died."

"There aren't that many coincidences in the world." Wan Zhen'er patted Zhiwei's face.

Zhiwei paused slightly as she tucked the blanket around her.

But soon, she raised her eyes again, and there was no indignation or sorrow in them, but rather a bottomless pool of stagnant water.

Wan Zhen'er was somewhat dazed; she had only seen a similar look in that person's eyes before.

Zhiwei changed the subject, saying calmly, "Your Majesty is very farsighted. But I wonder, now that you've brought down the Empress, what's your next move?"

Wan Zhen'er raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"

"The Empress has temporarily fallen from power today, but after all, they were husband and wife. The Emperor's heart is unpredictable, and one day she may very well rise again. If the Empress rises again, and Your Highness continues to be driven by hatred and seek revenge in kind, when will it ever end? Your Highness has won today, but can you guarantee what will happen next time, and the time after that?"

Wan Zhen'er's smile faded, and her gaze fell scrutinizingly on Zhiwei's face: "Your words have a hidden meaning."

"Your Majesty is overthinking it. This servant just thinks that we should be forgiving when we can. Fighting with women is so pointless."

"You're still defending Cheng Yuzhi?!"

"I will not speak for anyone else; I will only convey His Majesty's decrees." Zhiwei stood up, ignoring Wan Zhen'er's glaring eyes.

"Fighting women is boring; fighting for imperial power is what's worthwhile."

"What did you say?" Wan Zhen'er's eyes suddenly narrowed, and she stared intently at her.

Zhiwei had already stepped back two steps, resuming her respectful posture, as if what had just happened was merely Wan Zhen'er's illusion.

“This servant is here on His Majesty’s orders to visit the Noble Consort. His Majesty’s decree—” Zhiwei raised her voice slightly and said clearly, “During the Empress’s period of contemplation, the affairs of the six palaces will be temporarily managed by Noble Consort Wan.”

"Consort Wan, please accept the decree," Zhiwei said, bowing.