Chapter 109 The only person this scholar has ever loved is Your Highness. ...
Chen Liangyu noticed two round, white jade melons in a porcelain fruit plate on her desk. Feeling thirsty, she casually grabbed one. Her hand had gotten dirty from groping along the wall on her way there, and with that grab, a black handprint was instantly imprinted on the white melon.
She picked up a clean spot, took a couple of bites, and then threw it back onto the plate.
Xie Wenjun pointed to one side of the study: "There is clean water."
On that side was a low nanmu wood stand, on which stood a white jade basin for growing water lilies, filled with a pool of clear water.
Chen Liangyu washed her hands and then used a soaked handkerchief to wipe her face.
Since she arrived, she hasn't uttered a single word. She had a thousand words on her mind, thinking that this rare opportunity to meet was precious and she was determined to pour out her heart. But now that she'd actually seen her, some things just wouldn't come out. She even deliberately avoided Xie Wenjun's concerned gaze, refusing to meet her eyes.
She was afraid that the pain in her eyes wouldn't be hidden.
So many soldiers died at Tongmen Pass, Bu Ping'er was seriously injured and unconscious, the Xiling rebels colluded with Bei Yong, and the spies might even be the emperor's bedmates... With so many things weighing on her mind, all she wanted was to find a peaceful place to stay for a while.
After washing her face, Chen Liangyu stood before the water lilies, lost in thought for a moment, deliberately trying not to think about what she was going to do next. She only wanted a moment of peace. Then, a pair of jade-like arms passed around her and silently embraced her from behind.
She said, "I'm dirty."
Xie Wenjun did not let go.
When his cheek was pressed against her back, he could clearly hear the beating of her heart beneath her chest, her back rising and falling with her breath. Xie Wenjun smelled a faint scent emanating from Chen Liangyu's clothes; it wasn't as strong as sandalwood, nor as delicate as water lilies, but rather more like the scent of golden ginkgo leaves scattered on the ground in autumn, carried by the autumn wind.
It was crisp and desolate.
Chen Liangyu froze for a moment, then suddenly turned around and wrapped her arms around his chest, closing his eyes and burying his face in Xie Wenjun's neck.
It was buried in her hair.
The warmth of their bodies pressed together pulled Chen Liangyu into a deep, windless pool, where she could temporarily let herself lose weight and fall in this gentle tranquility.
Xie Wenjun asked, "What do you want me to do?"
"I would like to borrow someone from the palace."
When Chen Liangyu opened her mouth, she realized that her voice was terribly hoarse.
"Whom do you need to borrow?"
"Imperial Physician Ye."
Chen Liangyu said, "Bu Ping'er's injuries are too severe to move, so she's been placed in Xiling University to recover. Zhu Ying is staying there to take care of her, saying that she needs the Frost Butterflies from Liangxi City to save her life. But these Frost Butterflies are delicate, and she hasn't raised them for a long time, so they're unlikely to survive. She can't raise them in a short time. Ye Weiwan is raising a batch of Frost Butterflies at her residence in Yongdu. If she's willing to take the Frost Butterflies and ride quickly to Xiling, Bu Ping'er might still have a chance of survival."
It wouldn't be difficult to borrow someone from the Imperial Medical Bureau, but right now Ye Weiwan is being held in Zhaohua Palace by Consort Shu to help her prepare for childbirth. Because she has already had a miscarriage, the palace is paying extra attention to Consort Shu's pregnancy, and they won't easily let Ye Weiwan leave the palace unless there is a compelling reason.
Xie Wenjun asked, "Nothing else?"
Chen Liangyu said, "The garrison commander of Shuncheng confessed some things. It is true that the rebel leader Lu Wenrong colluded with Bei Yong, and it was indeed Wang Biao who tipped off the rebels about the night attack. That night, Bu Ping'er launched the main attack on Shuncheng, while Jing He led his troops to Biancheng. When he arrived, he found that the strength of the troops in Biancheng was far less than what Zhao Xingli had found out. He then guessed that they had transferred troops to Shuncheng and Tongmenguan to attack Bu Ping'er from both sides, so he abandoned the attack on Biancheng and went to Shuncheng to provide reinforcements. When Jing He arrived, the rain was too heavy, and the moat was swollen. The Xiling area is full of mountains. The rain that night reminded Jing He of the mudslide at Zhudong Tianqian River. He had always felt guilty about his elder brother's death, and he suffered a shock at that moment."
The commander's poor command caused the soldiers to lose their morale and fight recklessly like headless flies.
This battle shouldn't have been this brutal.
"This is my fault. I blame myself for not discovering sooner that Jinghe had developed a panic disorder."
Chen Liangyu sighed helplessly, "He was afraid of becoming a useless person, a cripple, so he kept it from me and from Jingming. How could he be so foolish?"
The study fell silent until the night watchman's clapper sounded in the street.
Xie Wenjun's fingertips touched the back of Chen Liangyu's neck, and he realized that Chen Liangyu was ice cold. Xie Wenjun draped a warm coat over her and tiptoed to kiss her wet and red eyes.
Chen Liangyu pulled her back and held her close.
Chen Liangyu practically locked her in his arms, so tightly that her breath almost condensed into soft sobs.
Xie Wenjun asked her, "What do you plan to do with Wang Biao?"
Chen Liangyu said, "Wang Biao is a man of the palace, so I can't deal with him. The Emperor has already handed him over to the Three Departments for interrogation. But there is only a confession from the garrison commander of Shuncheng, and no physical evidence has been left. He can completely deny everything to the death."
What are your guesses?
"There are guesses, but it's too early to say."
Xie Wenjun suddenly remembered something, hurriedly went behind the desk, and spread out a sheet of Xuan paper. "You just mentioned Ye Weiwan, and I have a question." She wrote a few words on the imperial edict, "Shufei became pregnant not long after entering the palace. Later, she said that Roujia bumped into her stomach and caused her to bleed. On that day, she kept Ye Weiwan in Zhaohua Palace to protect her pregnancy. Given her willful nature, why would she keep Ye Weiwan in her palace if she lost her baby? Now that Shufei is pregnant again, she still keeps Ye Weiwan by her side. This matter is suspicious."
"But if she were to kill her own unborn child, what would her motives be?"
Xie Wenjun quickly recounted what happened after that.
After Consort Shu miscarried, the high priest insisted that Roujia was a jinx. Xie Yuan ignored the Empress's pleas and sent Roujia to the Imperial Garden. After that, the rift between the Emperor and Empress grew even wider. Xie Yuan stayed at Zhaohua Palace almost every night. Consort Shu was the most favored concubine in the palace. After Zhai Ji ascended the throne, the concubines in the palace only knew about Consort Shu and did not know about the Empress.
Are they vying for favor?
If the goal is simply to gain favor with the emperor, bearing him an heir would be a safer option.
Chen Liangyu took the brush from her and wrote two names on the other end of the Xuan paper.
Wang Biao, Bu Ping'er.
"The army has been on the campaign for three months, and things have gone smoothly so far. However, the news of this night raid was leaked to the rebels. Biancheng is poorly defended. I have also considered whether the person who leaked the news only leaked half of it, and whether the rebels had no idea that there was another force that launched a night raid on Biancheng. Therefore, they concentrated most of their forces in Shuncheng and Tongmen Pass."
"Half of the weapons captured by our army from the rebels were made using the lost-wax casting technique of Bei Yong. Although the casting techniques are different, the weapons are all the same and very similar. If you are not a craftsman, it is difficult for an outsider to tell the difference."
Rebels, Bei Yong, Consort Shu, Wang Biao...
It seemed that some truth was about to be revealed, and they were about to be exposed to some despicable deeds.
One more step is needed.
“Wang Biao is just a messenger. It would be too difficult for Consort Shu to communicate with people outside the palace without revealing anything, as she is in the inner palace. There must be a traitor in the court, and this person is of a high rank and has access to the Ministry of War or the Ministry of Revenue. Or perhaps, this person is from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue.”
Only those from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue could use the requisition and allocation of troops and provisions as cover to secretly collude with Wang Biao, who was the military supervisor.
Where should we begin to solve the key to this link?
Perhaps it was Bu Ping'er.
The rebels switched from defense to offense, ambushing Bu Ping'er and severely wounding her. Perhaps the man there intended to kill her.
Between the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, who has Bu Ping'er sworn a blood feud with? Someone who would surely want to kill her.
Chen Liangyu and Xie Wenjun always seemed to think of the same thing quickly. They looked at each other and, without prior arrangement, thought of the same person.
That man worked in the Ministry of Revenue and had a feud with Bu Ping'er.
Xie Wenjun patted her back. "Now that Wang Biao has been handed over to the three judicial departments for joint trial, you should inform Chen Xingqian and tell him to try to get information out of Wang Biao in this direction. The palace gates are closed today, but I will enter the palace tomorrow and bring Ye Weiwan out of Zhaohua Palace as soon as possible."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
The word "thank you" sounded distant, and Xie Wenjun was unhappy to hear her say it. She wanted to scold her, but seeing her haggard face, she couldn't bring herself to do it. "Between us, how can you say thank you?"
Chen Liangyu seized Xie Wenjun's rose chair and, as if draining all his strength, wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his cheek against her waist, and whispered, "Alright, Your Majesty."
"you do not know."
Chen Liangyu raised his head, looking at her with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean, I don't know?"
There are many things you don't know.
Xie Wenjun pressed Chen Liangyu between the back of the rosewood chair and himself, "Do you remember when we first met?"
Chen Liangyu blurted out, "The sixteenth year of Xuanyuan."
"Daytime or nighttime?"
"night."
Xie Wenjun shook her head very seriously, "That's not right."
Chen Liangyu frowned as she recalled that she first met Xie Wenjun late at night. That day was her first day back in Yongdu. Several soldiers from Beiyong kidnapped Xie Wenjun and took her to a deserted refugee alley in Yongdu. She rushed to rescue her.
Before this, the only person she had ever met in the palace was Xie Yuan, who was then Prince Shen.
Could it be that they have met somewhere before?
She couldn't remember anything at all.
Xie Wenjun corrected her, saying, "It's daytime."
Chen Liangyu stubbornly replied, "It's after nightfall." That's right, it must be nighttime.
Xie Wenjun said, "If you had been willing to glance at Qiongtan when you rode your horse back to the capital on the day you returned to the capital, we might have met a few hours earlier."
At that moment, Xie Wenjun was high up on Qiongtan when she saw a man riding a red-maned steed, wearing silver scale armor, reining in his horse and looking back. In just a glance, the smile spreading across the man's lips unexpectedly caught her eye.
A fleeting glimpse.
I could never forget it from then on.
Chen Liangyu's pale lips curled into a weak smile as he blurted out, "Your Highness, did you already have such feelings for me back then?"
"So what if it is?"
Chen Liangyu was stunned, both surprised and astonished, "Really?"
If that's the case, her sins would be immense. She couldn't bear to think about how Xie Wenjun had approached her with such affection, only to be met with a distant gaze that seemed to look three feet away, as if he were saying, "You're scheming and unworthy to be with," and repeatedly reiterating that the only person she could rely on was the one she loved.
He let her misunderstand that he was deeply in love with someone else, but he never explained a single word.
Just thinking about it makes my heart feel like it's been squeezed by something, and it hurts so much.
Chen Liangyu said, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty does not know..."
"You don't know? Of course you don't know."
Xie Wenjun suddenly grabbed Chen Liangyu's sleeve.
Chen Liangyu arrived with a heavy heart. Xie Wenjun hadn't intended to do anything else today, but seeing her blank and clueless expression when she heard about this, Xie Wenjun suddenly decided she didn't want to let her go.
"You think that I treat you like my own possession, like a favorite concubine, and that my approach to you is a wolf's ambition to seize military power in the north? And what about you? You used to avoid me like the plague, when... did you start to show any affection? How much of your affection is genuine and how much is feigned?"
Xie Wenjun untied the jade crown that bound Chen Liangyu's hair.
Chen Liangyu suddenly grasped her hand, "Your Highness, it's better if we talk things out."
The mirror reflected Chen Liangyu's deathly pale face.
She took out a wooden hairpin from her clothes. She had promised Xie Wenjun that she would carve a more exquisite willow hairpin for her when she had time. On her way back, she cut a section of willow branch from the roadside and spent several days carving it carefully under the oil lamp during her daytime journey and her evening rest stops at post stations.
"I truly do not know... I do not know when this sentiment began. When I presented Your Highness with the willow hairpin in Linxia, I truly did not know that it was a token of love in the South. After Gu Xie told me, I was actually very happy."
"Only then did I realize that when one admires someone, one is first afraid. We are both women, and the word 'admiration' is too offensive for me to say. If it weren't for my impulsive act at the Garden of Flowers in Wuzhou, I would have intended to keep it buried in my heart for the rest of my life."
"The only person I have ever loved is Your Highness."
Chen Liangyu inserted a newly carved willow hairpin into Xie Wenjun's hair, cupped her face in her hands, and said, "Aren't you silly? So suspicious, don't you know how to ask a question?"
When Xie Wenjun heard her say that, she couldn't think of how to react for a moment.
"I have finished speaking. Your Highness may continue."
Chen Liangyu glanced at Xie Wenjun's fingernails, paused, and said, "However, Your Highness need not trouble yourself with such matters."
Xie Wenjun leaned against the desk behind her, the "Essentials of Governance" that she had been holding all afternoon still on the page she had just opened. Before long, the page was crumpled from Xie Wenjun's grip.
Moonlight spilled onto the window lattice of the Princess's study, merging two shadows into the silhouettes of them leaning against each other on the shelf.
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