Princess Chaoyang
Sui Zhixu followed the palace maid to Princess Chaoyang's residence. Sui Zhixu had just woken up and was not familiar with the layout of the palace, only feeling that she was heading east.
"Miss, we have arrived at His Highness's residence. Please wait a moment while I go in and inform His Highness."
Sui Zhixu nodded slightly, "Thank you, Aunt."
The palace maid entered the main hall with a smile and talked with the princess. Soon after, she led Sui Zhixu inside.
The person at the head of the table has a full face, dignified and elegant features, long and narrow phoenix eyes with upturned corners, and possesses both plumpness, charm and beauty.
The black and red palace dress on her was not the dress complementing her, but rather the dress complementing her, perfectly showcasing the majesty and solemnity of the royal family.
Sui Zhixu knew her; Sui He had mentioned that Princess Chaoyang was originally the daughter of the former Crown Prince. After the Emperor ascended the throne, he adopted her to Consort Zhou. Consort Zhou passed away shortly after giving birth to her daughter, and the little princess also died young. The Emperor posthumously conferred upon her the titles of Empress Wenzhao and Princess Chuyang.
Princess Chaoyang became the emperor's only child.
Sui Zhixu stepped forward and bowed.
There was silence at the head of the table for a long time. Sui Zhixu remained motionless. After a while, Princess Chaoyang parted her lips slightly, her voice neither loud nor soft, yet possessing an undeniable air of authority, "The daughter of the Sui family head, is she named Sui Zhixu? You look very much like your mother, so you're easy to recognize."
"It is my honor that the princess recognizes me," Sui Zhixu said calmly.
"Oh?" Chaoyang seemed intrigued, her voice rising slightly at the end. Her slender eyebrows arched slightly as she glanced down at the person before her.
The palace was filled with the sweet scent of incense. Sui Zhixu frowned and said in a casual tone, "It is my honor that the princess, of noble birth, remembers me."
"You're here to see the Imperial Advisor? The matter is resolved."
Xu nodded in agreement.
Chaoyang walked down the steps and circled around Sui Zhixu, her skirt brushing against Sui Zhixu's clothes. She chuckled, "Look how thin you are. I've heard about you. Uncle Sui said you were a fake. You were covered in injuries back then, and the Sui family head specially invited Physician Yang for you. Tell me, are you real or fake?"
Sui Zhixu remained expressionless, bowed, and said, "Since Mother has acknowledged me as her daughter, then I am indeed the real one. As for the imperial physician, I suffered some injuries in an accident on my way home, and Mother took pity on me, which is why she invited the imperial physician."
"Is that so?" Chaoyang held a round fan and lifted Sui Zhixu's chin. "Do you think I know why you were injured?"
The cool fan ribs pressed against Sui Zhixu's chin and lifted her up. Chaoyang's tall figure forced Sui Zhixu to look into her eyes.
"I know." Sui Zhixu moved the fan aside and looked at Chaoyang. "If Your Highness didn't know, you wouldn't have asked."
"Huh?" Chaoyang gripped the fan that Sui Zhixu had moved aside, rubbing it lazily. "I know you and the Imperial Advisor are going to deal with the corpse of the Nuo Master who played Fangxiangshi. You'll be staying here for a few more days, so we have plenty of time to get to know each other."
"Someone, take Lady Sui to the side hall to rest. If you want to stay up all night, then stay up all night. You're not comfortable staying with me."
Just as Xu was about to say something, Chaoyang cut her off, saying, "Stop flattering me. Go and get some rest."
Sui Zhixu: "..."
No wonder she and the Emperor are father and daughter; they speak in the same way.
Sui Zhixu bowed and withdrew, a deep meaning flashing in her lowered eyes. The Emperor spoke of Princess Chaoyang and her consort as loving and carefree. But the Princess Chaoyang she met was vigilant and all-knowing.
The Imperial Preceptor's Hall was quite far from the princess's palace. When following Zhixu, the route was full of twists and turns. The princess, being in the inner palace, was so well-informed, with spies all over the place. She was no ordinary person.
Sui Zhixu caught a glimpse of the hem of a garment behind the screen, suppressed her doubts, and followed the palace maid away.
The prince consort emerged from behind the screen, stood behind Chaoyang, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You've been teasing the young lady again. Are you happy now?"
Chaoyang released the prince consort's hand and paced around the hall, the round fan in her hand moving with her movements. "With the head of the family's reputation, her daughter can't be a fool. I'll give her a try, and she's indeed a lovely young lady, quite bold to dare move my fan aside. She's not stupid either, much more interesting than the imperial tutor."
The prince consort watched Chaoyang pacing back and forth and said helplessly, "The Imperial Tutor and the Sui family head have been at odds for quite some time now. If she hears you saying that, she will punish you."
"Punish me? Pshaw, I'm not afraid of her."
"But Your Highness hasn't finished writing your policy proposal yet."
Chaoyang's face darkened, her eyes turning icy. "You're the only one with a mouth. I'll write again after the New Year."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Side Hall
Although it lacked the grandeur of the main hall, it exuded refinement and delicacy. Sui Zhixu casually extinguished the incense in the hall and rubbed his temples.
She really disliked the smell of spices; it made her feel uncomfortable if they got on her.
As Xu Zhixu pondered the events of the day, she realized that many things had happened: she had made a deal with Fan Lingzhang, met with Yueling to discuss matters, and also met with Princess Chaoyang and the Emperor.
I'm exhausted.
Sui Zhixu lay on the bed, annoyed. All she wanted to do now was have New Year's Eve dinner with her mother.
“Alas, I am also alone; we are in the same boat.” Yueling came to find Sui Zhixu again.
Xu remained unmoved, her words piercing his heart: "I thought you were used to it."
"You brat, how can you talk like that? Although I am a little older than Da Qi, I don't remember exactly, but at least your grandmaster was still alive back then. When I wasn't trapped in the Grand Preceptor's Hall, there were still many palace maids with me in the hall."
Sui Zhixu: "Okay."
"Knock knock—"
"My lady, His Highness has asked me to bring you some food." The maid opened the door and placed the food on the table.
Sui Zhixu got out of bed, and Yueling was shocked to see a table full of dishes. "Wow, are you eating so well? I want to eat too."
"Did someone deliver it to you?"
"Yes, that doesn't mean I can't have my cake and eat it too."
Sui Zhixu didn't want to talk to her anymore. She was also hungry. She wasn't picky about food; as long as it kept her alive, that was enough.
"You're so unambitious! You should appreciate the food! Appreciate it!"
Sui Zhixu picked up her chopsticks and said, "Let's appreciate it when you come out."
Age in months: "..."
The palace maids also prepared Tusu wine for Sui Zhixu and scattered sesame stalks on the ground.
Sui Zhixu stepped on the eaves twice, which was also to ward off evil spirits. She had originally planned to do it with her mother.
Images of apricot blossoms in the rain flashed through my mind, and my eyes sharpened.
"I haven't treated you badly. His Majesty has very few concubines in his harem. Now there's only one consort and one concubine left. They both live very secluded lives. The princess and the imperial tutor didn't attend the New Year's Eve banquet. It's rather boring without any wives."
"One concubine and one consort? His Majesty only has Princess Chaoyang. I thought he would expand his harem." Sui Zhixu took a sip of wine.
He raised an eyebrow and poured himself another glass.
"No, the late emperor had three thousand beauties in his harem, and it was quite interesting just to look at them. But the current emperor is not interested in women. When he was young, the ministers in the court asked him to select concubines, but he got impatient and ran to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall, wanting the Imperial Preceptor to tell the ministers that he was destined to be childless. What a joke! The Imperial Preceptor would not do such a thing and kicked him out."
Xu choked on his own words, coughing incessantly and patting his chest. It took him a long time to stop, and a look of surprise appeared on his usually calm face. "You actually kicked him out?"
"Yes, that was shortly after he became the Imperial Advisor. Later, he was petty and made the Imperial Kitchen refuse to give me meat, but I couldn't tell the ministers about it."
The spout and the white porcelain wine cup clinked together, and the clear wine flowed into the cup. Sui Zhixu tilted her head back and drank it down. The mellow aroma of the wine lingered around her, and she could no longer hear what Yueling was saying.
I vaguely heard the bells ringing, and then I knew that the new year had arrived.
In the latter half of the night, Sui Zhixu couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep.
The snow stopped in the early morning, and the sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating every inch of the land and casting a golden glow on the white snow.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Cong Lan went to attend the grand court ceremony. Soon after, Princess Chaoyang and her husband were also to pay their respects to the Emperor.
They were all quite busy, including Xu, who was busy helping Yueling.
Sui Zhixu felt that he had a pretty good alcohol tolerance, and even though he had drunk quite a bit, his head didn't hurt much this morning. After getting up and washing up, he started working.
She sent people to drag the corpse of the Nuo master who played Fang Xiangshi to the entrance of the Imperial Preceptor's Hall and gave them a reward.
"Thank you, my lady. Happy New Year! I wish you all the best in the coming year."
Xu waved his hand, handed out the reward money and told them to leave. He then dragged the straw mat covering the corpse inside by himself.
Sui Zhixu dragged the straw mat into the courtyard of the Imperial Preceptor's Hall and looked at Yueling standing on the platform, "Why aren't you using magic at this time?"
Yueling chuckled, "Oh dear, didn't I get struck by lightning?"
Sui Zhixu said calmly, "He only cut his hair."
"Where? There must be some lace inside my body, otherwise I would have been so weak yesterday and needed your little body to support me."
Sui Zhixu tilted her head, "Why didn't you say so yesterday?"
"Even though I told you you could heal me, I couldn't do anything. I can only wait for it to heal on its own, after all, it's heavenly lightning. Come on, step aside, let me take a look at it."
Sui Zhixu said nothing more and gave up his seat.
She found Yueling's behavior strange. She usually spoke in a frivolous manner, was incredibly spoiled, and would yell at her if she bumped or hurt herself, but when she was actually struck by lightning, she didn't tell her anything.
As Xu Zhixu's gaze fell upon the person on the straw mat, Fang Xiangshi's mask had long been removed, revealing a handsome young man. He didn't seem particularly memorable, and she felt nothing about him. Everyone dies eventually, and he just happened to be unlucky enough to die for no apparent reason, just like she had.
She didn't like it. When she woke up from the frozen lake, she wanted to find out why she had died. She didn't want to owe anyone anything, and no one should owe her anything either.
"How did he die?" Sui Zhixu asked when Yueling stopped.
"His soul was extracted."
Yue Ling bent down to examine his body and found a small, round, vermilion mole on the back of his head.
"A forbidden technique from Mount Yue, but I'm still not sure who it belongs to?"
"Soul extraction?" Sui Zhixu walked to Yueling's side, thinking to himself that he had died unjustly, becoming a pawn in the power struggle between the Prince of Xuanping and the Emperor.
"Can it be found?" Sui Zhixu was stunned for a moment, not understanding what she had blurted out. When did she become so kind-hearted?
Although Xu Cai had only been awake for a little over a month, she considered herself a cold-hearted person, which is why she was curious about the extent of the grudge between herself and Prince Xuanping that would make her set up a scheme to come back and seek revenge before she even died.
"His soul should have been collected. Unfortunately, even with my current abilities, I can't find where he is. His soul has been separated from his body for too long, and even if I find him, he can't go back."
Sui Zhixu didn't say anything, but stared at him for a long time and finally remembered his appearance.
She took out a piece of Xuan paper with patterns drawn on it and handed it to Yueling: "What's next?"
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