You are here (main storyline completed)
Since the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet in the fourth year of Taichu, Ning Lingyi frankly took Tuoba Hong's hand in front of all the ministers in the world, and a subtle tacit understanding began to grow between the emperor and the empress.
Tuoba Hong was no longer the silent silhouette in Kunning Palace.
He began to truly fulfill his duties as an imperial husband. He was familiar with the habits of the grasslands and understood the demands of the tribes. The strategies he proposed were often to the point, saving the court many detours.
When Ning Lingyi was handling government affairs, especially those concerning the northern border, she gradually became accustomed to asking, "What do you think, my Lord?"
His opinions sometimes coincided with hers, sometimes differed, but he always offered a different perspective. In the imperial study, candlelight often illuminated the figures of two people sitting and discussing, one in a bright yellow casual attire, a naturally dignified presence; the other in a brocade robe and jade belt, a calm and elegant presence.
In the eyes of the palace people, that figure seemed to be getting closer, so close that there seemed to be some sense of "harmonious music".
But cracks always appear inadvertently.
It was an ordinary memorial. Nong Zishi came to the palace to meet the emperor to discuss the matter of changing the route of the grain transport.
As he entered the hall, he saw Tuoba Hong holding a memorial regarding the division of Mobei grasslands, and talking quietly with Ning Lingyi. Nong Zishi paused, his eyes fixed on the memorial in Tuoba Hong's hand, and his face darkened.
After Tuoba Hong took his leave, Nong Zishi did not immediately report the matter of the grain transport. Instead, he bowed deeply, his tone more solemn than ever before: "Your Majesty! After all, the emperor is the former master of Beishuo, not of our clan! Involving him in confidential matters is truly not good for the country. I implore Your Majesty to set clear rules so that he will never interfere in government affairs. This is the best policy!"
Ning Lingyi frowned when she heard this. She knew that Nong Zishi was dedicated to the public good, but her words were a bit too suspicious. If Tuoba Hong really had ulterior motives, he would not have cooperated with her in eliminating the Beishu nobles at the border.
She pondered, "Minister Nong is overly concerned. The Emperor has made invaluable contributions to the stability of the Northern Frontier in recent years. I know this clearly."
"Your Majesty!" Nong Zishi was a little out of control.
"It's easy to let a tiger go, but it's hard to restrain it! Who knows if today's success will lead to tomorrow's disaster? Your Majesty, please don't let this moment... this moment..." He seemed to want to say something, but he forced himself to hold it back, and finally let out a long sigh, "This is all I have to say. I hope Your Majesty will reconsider!"
After saying this, he bowed and left in anger, forgetting even to report on the grain transport issue.
Ning Lingyi looked at his departing back, a trace of displeasure flashing through her heart, she felt that Nong Zishi was making a big deal out of nothing this time.
Time flies, and several years have passed.
Once, several respected elders from Beishuo came to the palace to meet the emperor, to express their gratitude to the court and to tell Tuoba Hong about the recent situation of their tribe.
Ning Lingyi, on a whim, didn't order a proclamation. As she reached the side hall of Kunning Palace, she overheard a muffled voice from within, speaking in Beishuo dialect: "Khan, please be patient! The Han people say that three generations return to their ancestral home; bloodlines are unforgettable! Now the empress is accompanied by only the Khan. If...she can give birth to a prince someday, perhaps...she can restore the glory of Beishuo!"
The hall suddenly became quiet.
Ning Lingyi stopped outside the door. She waited, waiting for the answer from the person inside.
But for a long, long time, there was no answer.
She was silent for a few breaths, then turned and left.
Tuoba Hong was silent for a long time before he said, "If that's the case, don't mention it again."
"I was completely defeated on the battlefield. Later, I lost miserably in the fight for public support. I gave up."
"The people of Beishuo today can live in peace, with fields to farm and houses to live in, free from bullying. This is a blessing from heaven, a gift from heaven. Let them live a good life. Restore the country?"
He laughed, full of desolation.
"It just means more people will die again."
Outside the door, Ning Lingyi had already left, so naturally she didn't hear what he said next, let alone the words "I give up."
Since that day, Ning Lingyi never set foot in Kunning Palace again.
January, February, March...
The thin layer of ice that seemed to have healed between the emperor and the empress solidified again, becoming thicker and colder than before.
Tuoba Hong seemed to understand everything.
He did not try to explain or beg for a meeting, but simply dealt with the documents regarding Beishuo affairs that were sent to his desk in increasing silence.
He and Ning Lingyi lived in the same palace, accompanied each other but distant from each other, met each other but were not close to each other.
Until the tenth year of Taichu, Nong Zishi's blood splattered on the palace steps. His last words were tearful and blood-curdling: "Tuoba Hong... For the sake of the world, I must kill him in the future. Don't let him live any longer..."
After hearing the news, Tuoba Hong sat alone in the study room of Kunning Palace all night.
The candlelight illuminated his sharply defined profile, making it impossible to make out his expression.
He watched as Ning Lingyi dealt with military merits with swift action, rectified the civil service, defied popular opinion to establish the Crown Princess, and elevated Nong Zishi to the level of honor worthy of being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple...
He waited quietly, waiting for the cup of poisoned wine or the three-foot white silk.
But, there is nothing.
The days passed as if that blood-stained last words had never existed.
That afternoon, the autumn sun was warm and Ning Lingyi had a rare moment of free time, so she asked someone to pass him a chess piece and invited him to play.
On the chessboard, black and white pieces are intertwined, just like their fate that has been entangled for half a lifetime.
Tuoba Hong held the black pieces, but his eyes were not on the chessboard, but fixed on Ning Lingyi's temples. He didn't know when, but a few silver threads had quietly climbed up there, shining dazzlingly in the sunlight coming through the window.
It turns out that she is so old.
He recalled the first time he met her, their teenage years, riding horses and hunting, the palace bustling with activity, how proud he had been.
It turns out that twenty years have passed like this.
He paused while holding her hand and remained silent for a long, long time, so long that Ning Lingyi looked up at him in confusion.
He finally made his move: "I heard that in ancient times, there was Emperor Wu of Han who kept his concubines in a golden house, and there was Cao Mengde who locked up his beloved concubines in bronze. Both emperors imprisoned their beauties in deep palaces, never to see the light of day."
Ning Lingyi's hand holding the white piece stopped in mid-air and she looked at him in surprise.
Tuoba Hong met her gaze and said slowly, "Hong, I wish to follow the example of my ancestors. I request to be imprisoned in this Kunning Palace, with the palace gates forever locked, and I cannot leave unless I die. This will preserve your majesty's power, the spirit of Prime Minister An Nong in heaven, and stop the world from criticizing me."
"Clang!" The white jade chess piece at Ning Lingyi's fingertips fell out of her hand and rolled a long distance on the smooth gold brick floor, messing up the entire chessboard.
Tuoba Hong seemed not to notice it. His eyes fell on the flaws in the chess game. He gently placed another piece, blocking a large number of white chess pieces' air holes.
"Your Majesty, this time, I win."
Ning Lingyi stared at him blankly, then looked at the messed up chess board. Her mood was as chaotic as the falling chess pieces.
He looked at the shock and panic in her eyes that she could not conceal.
He continued, "Hong also heard that in ancient times, some emperors and empresses had the custom of meeting each other on the night of the full moon to show harmony between husband and wife and prosperity of the country."
He lowered his eyelids slightly, hiding the deepest emotions in his eyes. "If Your Majesty agrees, Hong has no other request. I only hope that Your Majesty can come outside this cage on a full moon night... and take a look at me."
"Enough!" Ning Lingyi swept her wide sleeves across the chessboard, making a crackling sound.
"That's ridiculous!"
She couldn't stay any longer, afraid to look at him again or hear another word, so she hurried out of this palace that had suddenly become suffocating.
Tuoba Hong did not stand up and did not see him off.
He just sat there, his eyes following her departing back until the bright yellow figure completely disappeared outside the palace gate and could no longer be seen.
The autumn sunset shone through the window lattice, making his shadow long and lonely.
After a long while, he softly told the palace attendants, "Close the palace door."
"From now on... you never have to open it again."
The heavy palace gate slowly closed.
*
When the gates of Kunning Palace were first closed, there was a lot of speculation in the court and the harem.
No one believed that the Khan of Beishuo, who once roamed the northern desert, would really be willing to be imprisoned in a circle. They all said that this was a trick of retreating to advance, and that he used this attitude to gain the empress's pity and leniency, in order to break free from these invisible shackles and regain some freedom.
Even Ning Lingyi herself, after the initial shock, had a trace of such doubts deep in her heart. She had not ordered him to be imprisoned. In theory, he could push open that door at any time.
She wanted to see how long he could "act".
In the first year, Kunning Palace was silent.
The palace maids delivered food and clothes on time and cleaned the courtyard, but the emperor was never seen leaving the palace again. Only late at night, the palace maids on guard could occasionally hear the sound of pacing back and forth in the palace, as if a trapped animal was measuring the size of its cage.
The court officials discussed privately: "It's only a year, let's see how long he can last."
The next year, the pacing sounds seemed to be less frequent.
The palace grew increasingly silent, like a bottomless ancient well that swallowed up all sounds. The flowers and plants in the courtyard were trimmed according to the old routine, but they seemed to have lost their spirit. Only the monthly records of the emperor's expenses and physical condition by the Ministry of Internal Affairs proved that the person inside was still alive.
Some people began to waver: "Is this for real?"
The memorials on Ning Lingyi's desk are still piling up. As the Crown Princess Ning Lingyao gradually comes to prominence, she rarely mentions Kunning Palace, as if she has forgotten that person.
But on some quiet nights, when I was reviewing memorials until my neck was numb, and I looked up at the gradually waxing moon outside the window, I would be distracted for a moment.
The tightly closed palace door is like a tiny thorn, piercing the heart. It is not fatal, but it always causes hidden pain and itch when you are not paying attention.
He actually didn't take a single step.
It’s not that we can’t, but that we don’t want to.
He was telling her, and the world, that every word he said during the chess game that day was true.
Another Mid-Autumn Festival in the twelfth year of Taichu.
The moonlight was like water, flowing over the vermilion palace walls and sprinkling on the white marble steps, clear, cold and bright.
After Ning Lingyi finished handling government affairs for the day, she dismissed her attendants and walked alone in the moonlight. Unknowingly, she found herself outside Kunning Palace again.
She stood outside the door for a long time, and the night dew wet her clothes.
Finally, she raised her hand and pushed open the palace door.
"Squeak"
A long, soft sound broke the silence of the night.
There were not many candles in the palace, only a few eternally burning lamps in the corner, emitting a dim glow. A man sat alone on a cushion under the window with his back to the door, looking at the full moon outside the window. His figure was thinner, but still tall and straight.
He turned around when he heard the door open.
The moonlight illuminated his profile, still with that handsome outline. He was just slightly startled. He looked at her and said, "You're here."
She suddenly realized that he had never been the only one trapped.
This cage trapped all the complicated and inexplicable emotions and entanglements between them, which were unspeakable, unacceptable to the world, and yet truly existed.
In the end, she said nothing.
Just walked closer to him.
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