Chapter 19
Chapter Summary: Inquiry.
"Since you don't dare, then step back." Yu Jing raised an eyebrow at Zhang Ming and replied.
"Yes." Zhang Ming was clearly dissatisfied, but there was nothing he could do. He led the officials behind him and retreated. Before leaving, Su Siyang glanced at Yu Jing, his expression deep and unreadable.
Nancy and her entourage, however, were still unwilling to give up. They approached Yu Jing and said, "Your Majesty, we are worried about His Majesty. Please allow us to go in and take a look."
Yu Jing was a little angry. She raised her eyebrows slightly, glanced at her coldly, and didn't say anything.
Nancy choked up, paused for a moment, then avoided Yu Jing's gaze and replied, "It was my rudeness, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
"Step down."
"Yes." Nancy left with her entourage of beautiful women. In an instant, the area in front of the hall became empty. Yu Jing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the snow falling under the eaves, and was about to turn back to the hall when she heard footsteps behind her.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." A strange and somewhat shrill voice.
Yu Jing turned his head to look and saw an unfamiliar eunuch dressed in eunuch's clothes. The winter eunuch's clothes were very thick, making him look very thin.
"What is it?"
"Lord Zhang said he has something important to report to the Empress Dowager, and requests that the Empress Dowager come to see him."
Yu Jing looked at the young eunuch suspiciously, then glanced back at A Yu uncertainly. A Yu met Yu Jing's gaze, stepped forward, and asked, "What did Lord Zhang want to say? Why didn't you speak just now?"
"My lord said that there were too many people around and it was inconvenient to say more just now," the little eunuch replied quickly without any panic.
Ayu was speechless. She turned to look at Yu Jing, who paused for a moment before asking, "Where is he?"
"Under the eaves of the side hall."
Yu Jing listened, then slightly raised her head to look over. The candlelight flickered in the corridor, and snow fell heavily. After hesitating for a moment, Yu Jing took a step towards that direction. A Yu quickly followed. This was the Chengming Hall, heavily guarded, but from the corridor, a simple shout would immediately bring someone to protect the emperor.
Yu Jing walked to the corridor and was slightly surprised to see a familiar figure. She paused, watching him turn around. He wore a purple robe and a silver hairpin, still dressed simply, yet exuding boundless nobility. Su Siyang had clearly been prepared; all the guards in this area had been dismissed.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." Su Siyang turned around and called out with a smile. For some reason, Yu Jing got goosebumps when she saw his smile.
"Why is it you?" Yu Jing asked back.
"If I hadn't said that, would Her Majesty the Empress Dowager have come?" Su Siyang was quite honest.
Yu Jing was too lazy to say anything more to him. Before he could finish speaking, she turned to return to Chengming Palace. Su Siyang reacted quickly, stepped forward, and grabbed her wrist. Before Yu Jing could speak, A Yu called out anxiously, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Yu Jing was pulled back by Su Siyang. He embraced her and whispered in her ear in a deep, seductive voice, "Your Majesty, please summon people. I want the whole world to know what kind of relationship Your Majesty and I have."
Yu Jing was actually a little scared, but she calmed herself down and instructed A Yu, "A Yu, go and keep an eye on things."
Ayu looked at Yu Jing with some concern. Yu Jing had her back to her and was being held in Su Siyang's arms, so Ayu couldn't see her expression, but she could tell that Yu Jing was a little scared.
"Yes," Ayu replied after a moment's hesitation.
Ayu stepped aside, and Yu Jing was pulled to a corner by Su Siyang. The scene was exactly the same as on New Year's Day. Yu Jing looked at Su Siyang and asked in a low voice, "Su Siyang, what exactly do you want?"
Upon hearing Yu Jing's question, Su Siyang sneered and said, "What does this humble subject want to do? This humble subject would like to ask the Empress Dowager what she wants to do?"
"Is Qi Jin truly terminally ill?" Su Siyang changed the subject, staring into Yu Jing's eyes as he asked.
"As I just said, His Majesty is fine," Yu Jing said stubbornly.
"Then may Your Majesty look at me while you speak?" Although Su Siyang was a civil official, his eyes were actually quite sharp. Yu Jing concealed the fear in her eyes and looked up at him. He was much taller than her, and Yu Jing felt a strange sense of pressure looking at him.
“Your Majesty, there is nothing seriously wrong.” Yu Jing spoke each word very clearly.
Su Siyang chuckled and reached out to lift Yu Jing's chin: "Shenghua, I've done so much for you, and in the end, it all amounts to nothing, doesn't it?"
Yu Jing's mind raced as she pondered Su Siyang's purpose in saying those words. If Qi Jin were to pass away, it would undoubtedly cause a significant upheaval in the court. If Su Siyang knew in advance, he could make preparations accordingly.
"Su Siyang, I've already made myself perfectly clear to you," Yu Jing said, regaining her composure.
"Your Majesty, I have made it very clear," Su Siyang replied.
When Yu Jing heard him say this, he thought of the note that the Old Man of the Moon had entrusted to the Night Wanderer on New Year's Eve.
“You won’t.” Yu Jing said with almost certainty.
Su Siyang was taken aback at first, then gave a self-deprecating bitter smile, his expression desolate, like the silent and dark night sky.
"You're so sure I won't, that's why you're trampling on my sincerity, isn't that right?"
When he spoke again, his voice was low, not a accusation, but an inquiry. It was precisely this expression and tone that softened Yu Jing's heart. Perhaps Su Siyang did have genuine feelings for Sheng Hua, but right now, she wasn't Sheng Hua, but Yu Jing.
Yu Jing's Adam's apple bobbed, and he replied, "Yes."
After Yu Jing finished speaking, he felt the world quiet down, so quiet that he could even hear the sound of snow falling softly.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager!" Ayu's flustered voice came from a distance. Yu Jing looked up and saw Ayu giving her a meaningful look. Feeling a little anxious herself, she pushed Su Siyang away. Su Siyang's mind wasn't on her at all, so even though Yu Jing didn't use much force, she easily pushed him away. Feeling a little guilty, Yu Jing didn't dare look back at Su Siyang. Lifting her skirt, she quickly walked towards Ayu.
As they approached Ayu, they saw several guards walking towards them. The guards had been wondering when they saw Ayu standing under the eaves, but when they got closer and saw Shenghua coming out from under the eaves, they were caught off guard and hurriedly bowed to her, saying, "Your humble servants greet Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Yu Jing was slightly flustered and replied, "Get up."
"Yes," the guard replied.
Yu Jing watched the guards pass by, breathed a slight sigh of relief, and walked towards Chengming Hall. She was not Sheng Hua, and whatever Sheng Hua had with Su Siyang in the past was not something she should concern herself with. What she should be concerned about now was Qi Jin.
The guard walked around the corridor and saw Su Siyang standing there. Although he was a little surprised that Su Siyang was there, he still respectfully stepped forward and bowed.
Su Siyang lowered his head, and upon hearing the noise, he slightly turned his head to glance at the approaching guard. Then he slowly turned his body, raised his hand to wipe away the tears that had slid down the corners of his eyes, and slowly straightened his bent back.
"Your humble servants greet Lord Su," a slightly loud voice rang out from behind.
"Hmm." Su Siyang responded calmly, "You may leave."
Su Siyang then gave further instructions.
He already held a high position, so the guards dared not ask him why he was alone here.
Just as they reached the entrance of Chengming Hall, Yu Jing suddenly remembered something and whispered to A Yu, "If the emperor's high fever has subsided, he will surely feel hungry. Go to the small kitchen and tell them to cook some light soup."
"Yes," Ayu replied with a bow.
As Ayu passed by, she didn't notice that a young eunuch was watching them closely.
After instructing Ayu, Yu Jing entered Chengming Hall. A large group of imperial physicians, palace maids, and eunuchs stood in the outer hall. Upon seeing Yu Jing enter, they all bowed and greeted her. Yu Jing glanced at the inner hall, thinking that Qi Jin might not wake up for a while, and that it wouldn't be good for them all to stand there, so she said, "Sit down and wait."
Everyone was stunned for a moment. One of them reacted and said to Yu Jing, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Then, a sparse group of people behind her thanked Yu Jing. Yu Jing stood there, watching as palace maids and eunuchs went out and brought in chairs, and the imperial physicians sat down. Although everyone in the hall had spoken, only the imperial physicians sat down. This was the first time Yu Jing had deeply felt the coldness of the capital. Power, class, fame, and fortune—everything was so clearly defined in this palace, and even covered by heavy snow, it still sprouted like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
As Yu Jing was reflecting on this, she suddenly heard Zhang Qingcen's voice from inside. Yu Jing went in with the palace maid, and the bowl of medicine was finished. Perhaps because of the medicine, Qi Jin's forehead was less sweaty.
Yu Jing went in and sat down to wait, keeping an eye on Qi Jin's condition. She didn't know how much time had passed, but gradually felt drowsy. She rested her hands on the table, and her consciousness began to fade. She didn't even know when she fell asleep.
"Mother!"
When Qi Jin's voice rang out, Yu Jing woke up from her dream with a start. Her hand moved away instinctively, and without any support, Yu Jing's head fell downwards due to inertia, giving her a big fright.
Qi Jin had a dream.
In the dream, there was Sheng Hua and Cheng Youning. Sheng Hua, dressed in a bright red robe, stood in front of Cheng Youning, looking down at her. Cheng Youning, dressed in white, her hairpins on the ground, covered in blood, lay on the ground, her blood-stained hands clutching the hem of Sheng Hua's robe, pleading desperately.
"Mother." Qi Jin called out to Cheng Youning with a strong voice, waking up from his dream with heavy breaths. The first thing that came into view was Zhang Qingcen.
Zhang Qingcen was startled when she saw the veins bulging on Qi Jin's neck. He already had a cold appearance, and his pale face made him look somewhat creepy.
When Qi Jin saw that it was Zhang Qingcen, he calmed himself down. Before he could react, he saw Zhang Qingcen turn her head to the side and call out, "Mother."
Upon hearing those two words, Qi Jin's eyes immediately sharpened, filled with murderous intent, as he turned his head to look at Sheng Hua, who was sitting a little further away.
When Yu Jing looked at Qi Jin, that was the look in his eyes. Like a sharp blade gleaming coldly emerging from behind a hazy mist, it sent a chill down one's spine.
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