Chapter 37 Just Deceiving People
The situation inside is unclear.
Yan Xifang stood outside the hall, her fox-fur-clad figure casting a cold shadow on the door. Her voice was tense, unusually soft without any trace of illness:
"Now that the physician is here, Woxue, tell me, what happened to His Majesty?"
The boy, barely sixteen or seventeen, touched the wound on his forehead, utterly bewildered.
"This servant really didn't know... Your Highness, His Majesty was perfectly fine just yesterday."
Her palm ached, and Yan Xifang lowered her eyes, twisting the strand of hair into broken pieces.
"...Last night, everything was perfectly fine."
He came to her in the middle of the night and embraced her, resting his head on her lap and recounting some childhood memories. She urged him to cherish the woman beside him and to have a child soon. He obediently agreed.
Then continue saying what you want to say.
…Every time my younger brother comes, he seizes every spare moment to repeat this. It's like chanting a spell, putting a shackle on his heart.
In the end, he always said, "My elder sister is the person I cherish most."
Yan Xifang thought that this was indeed the case. There shouldn't be anyone in the world more trusted by that heartless and ungrateful scoundrel Yan Dibai than her.
Therefore, she never cared about Wen Putuo, Xiao Yuanshu, Lady Hongzhu, or Yang Liuqing.
Once she returns, her brother will surely forget about those women.
In fact, he did just that.
…Yan Xifang suddenly felt a tightness in her throat.
Is this to prove what Feng An said?
The doctor cautiously said at the opportune moment:
"Should I proceed or not?"
"Please wait a moment, my lord." Yan Xifang forced herself to let go.
"Since my brother is busy, I'll take my leave first. My body can't withstand the cold. If anything happens, please let me know."
Yan Xifang was always polite and courteous, and Wo Xue thanked her repeatedly and saw her off for a while.
On the way, he encountered an unfamiliar eunuch who didn't know what was good for him and blocked his path. He was scolded and pushed aside, so he lowered his head and stepped aside.
Yan Xifang glanced at the young eunuch who was having trouble walking, and continued on her way.
Feng An stood there, staring at the alluring woman's retreating figure, and casually straightened his clothes. He smiled nonchalantly.
After pacing back and forth beneath Xianning Palace several times, Feng An waited leisurely for something. Sure enough, not long after, the palace maid who had secretly admired him since he entered the palace approached and asked, "Is it you?" Feng An was pleasantly surprised, then glanced at the high white jade steps, lowered his eyelids, and sighed.
"Master has caught a cold and has a persistent high fever. I... originally intended to seek help from Imperial Attendant Yang."
The fact that Dai Yun, the head of the Wende Hall, has been absent recently has cleared up some doubts.
The girl swayed her hips slightly, blushing as she said:
"It's probably difficult to ask her. His Majesty was just angry, and the imperial attendants will be waiting for quite some time before he can come out. Brother Fu'an, don't even think about it." She was happy to be close to him, but also uneasy: "If the pharmacy won't give it to you, how about asking Eunuch Wang to go out of the palace to get the medicine? Lord Daiyun is an old man; perhaps you can get it by using his waist token? I can vouch for you!"
Feng An suddenly realized and gave her a grateful smile: "Thank you for reminding me. May I ask your name, young lady?"
Blushing at the springtime beauty that could melt away winter snow, the palace maid stammered nervously, "I... my name is Chun Dou..."
"Spring Beans." The boy repeated it between his lips, nodding.
"So adorable."
The area outside the Meridian Gate was bustling. As the year drew to a close, every day was lively.
"Selling scissors!" Deng Mengnu sighed as she came out of the restaurant after settling her wages, having just dodged the old man's cries.
Wu Yuzhi was absolutely right. They've gone to great lengths to leave the palace, but what will they do once they're out?
Our house was indeed expropriated, and it's been uncomfortable sleeping in a restaurant these past few days. Finding a way out is a real problem.
The pancakes on the street were too expensive for her. After staring at them for a while, someone handed her two pancakes.
My stomach immediately started growling.
"Are you hungry, sister?" came a clear, cool male voice.
She was stunned, unsure whether to answer or not, when the voice lowered, startling her: "Imperial Attendant Yang knows that I am going out of the palace to handle matters for the Wende Hall, so he specially ordered me to come and find my sister."
Deng Mengnu looked up and glared at her: "Qingqing? You, who are you?"
The newcomer was very handsome; though dressed in ordinary hemp clothing, his good looks were undiminished. However, there were many beautiful women in the palace. Deng Mengnu was used to seeing such women, so she wasn't particularly impressed.
The young man noticed that her expression was different from how ordinary palace maids usually looked when they saw him, and his eyes curved into a gentle smile.
“I am a eunuch who was recently transferred to the Wende Hall. I am usually accompanied by Lord Daiyun. Sister, I heard from the palace servants that there is a nunnery in the suburbs of the capital. Perhaps it can provide you with temporary accommodation.”
A sense of wariness flashed through Deng Mengnu's mind. The young man seemed to know what she was thinking. He lowered his head, took out a waist token, and handed it to her. It was engraved with "Wende Hall Daiyun".
Beneath the waist badge, Feng An quietly handed her a purse of loose silver. He said softly:
"Don't worry, sister. Imperial Attendant Yang has shown me your portrait. She can't bear to part with you and hopes you'll stay in the capital to help take care of her parents."
Deng Mengnu froze, clutching the blue purse and touching the fabric that matched her blue dress. Her eyes trembled, and she felt a lump in her throat.
"I feel sorry for her..."
"May I have your name?"
"I am..." The young man tucked his hands into his sleeves, remaining silent for a moment. As Deng Mengnu waited, his eyes suddenly gleamed with a special light:
"Feng'an."
*
“When I was outside the palace, I heard that the nameless nunnery used to be a place for royal women to practice. It is located in the mountains and is naturally quiet. If you don’t mind, I think it would be a good place.”
The nameless temple is located in the suburbs, not far away.
The young eunuch who had come out on business smiled at her, then went to the pharmacy to get his medicine. His movements were awkward, and she realized he was lame. Yet he walked quickly, returning to the palace in no time.
Presumably afraid of being blamed, Deng Mengnu didn't dare to shamelessly ask for anything more. It was already a blessing that Qingqing remembered her so well.
After a good meal, Deng Mengnu hid the silver ingots. She traveled for an hour and a half before taking a carriage to the nameless nunnery.
The driver who was taking her didn't pay much attention at first, but after chatting for a while, he suddenly slapped his thigh:
"You mean that nunnery? It's not as peaceful there as it used to be. Half of the nunnery has been rented out to the Li family of Longxi."
Deng Mengnu was completely taken aback: "Is that so? Then what about me..."
"The Li family of Longxi is a prominent and powerful family, and the matriarch is Princess Xifang, the emperor's own sister. Do you know Princess Xifang? If that young emperor is a mad dog, then the princess is a leash that keeps the dog firmly in place. She's incredibly formidable. None of the concubines or palace maids could compare to her before. With such a matriarch, the Li family is naturally thriving. These days, they've gradually stopped using the post stations and have acquired many residences."
The powerful and influential in the capital ostracized them, refusing to allow them to rent or buy prime locations. Forced to settle for less, they had no choice but to live in the suburbs. The nunnery, having lost imperial favor for decades, was extremely poor. Finally, a way to earn a living appeared, and the abbess didn't refuse—alas!
Deng Mengnu was still confused and not quite satisfied when the coachman immediately shouted:
"What are you doing!"
Deng Mengnu was startled and immediately peeked out. It turned out a travel-worn young woman had bumped into her. The woman's hair was disheveled, and she wore a thin gray cotton jacket. She rushed forward, grabbed the reins, and pleaded with him, panting heavily:
"Could you give me a ride? I'm looking for Lord Xiao, Master, please help me!"
The coachman cracked his whip: "What Lord Xiao! Let go! What kind of appearance are you? Where did this runaway slave come from!"
Deng Mengnu's heart clenched at the sight, and she instinctively cried out, "Master, please don't hit me!"
Seeing that someone was helping, the girl quickly looked at Deng Mengnu, clenching her arms tightly, her voice trembling with tears:
"I am not a runaway slave. I came from Jizhou to find my fiancé! My fiancé is a subordinate of Lord Xiao from Longnan! I have been in the capital for several days. I was knocked unconscious and thrown into a nunnery! The people in the nunnery are no good. They locked me in the woodshed. I only managed to sneak out this morning!"
Deng Mengnu thought she had misheard.
So it wasn't a good place after all?
The girl hurriedly rummaged through the items and finally found a identification tag with several torn corners, which she held high in front of Deng Mengnu:
"My name is engraved on this. I am Xue Ying'er, and I live in Facai Village, Tongling County, Jizhou. I am not a runaway slave! Sister, please give me a ride!"
Deng Mengnu couldn't bear to see the little girl crying like that and was genuinely in a dilemma. The driver grew impatient: "Are we going or not?"
She gritted her teeth, "Wait a bit." She took the identification card and looked it over, but her eyes widened immediately:
"It clearly says Wang Cuilan here, not Xue Ying'er!"
She was struck dumb, screaming, "What Wang Cuilan? I... I can't read... This was given to me by my fiancé, and I've always carried it with me..."
She looked dejected and was deeply shocked. Deng Mengnu slapped her lips, thinking to herself, "This is bad."
Xue Ying'er's legs were already weak; she swayed from side to side in a daze, and if she kept swaying like that, she would surely fall to the ground. Deng Mengnu couldn't bear to watch any longer, and gritted her teeth:
"Alright, Master, let her come up here. I'll find an inn to stay at for a few days!"
The inn was located behind Zhuque Street and wasn't very big. Deng Mengnu ordered a room and a bucket of water, asking Xue Ying'er to wash up before sitting down and talking to her.
"Girl, what's going on between you and your fiancé? Jizhou isn't a short distance away."
Xue Ying'er pulled at her wet clothes, hesitating several times, "I... my fiancé abandoned me and ran away with Lord Xiao."
Deng Mengnu was speechless: "So, you just left me all alone and ran away?"
The girl bit her lip, suppressing the urge to cry, and said in a muffled voice, "His name is Feng An. He doesn't have a given name, so I gave him my surname."
"Feng An?!" Deng Mengnu was shocked, as if she had only just heard this name before.
Xue Ying'er nodded heavily, then instinctively repeated the story she had told him when she was looking for him:
"He was lame, very handsome, and a head taller than me. Everyone liked him..."
Deng Mengnu couldn't bear to listen anymore. How could such a coincidence happen in this world? Even so, she couldn't bear it and, after thinking for a moment, said:
"To be honest, I just met the person you're talking about. He's exactly as you described, except that he..." She choked.
Avoiding Xue Ying'er's suddenly bright eyes, she whispered:
"He's a eunuch now, and he even relayed a message for my sister... I never would have guessed he was this kind of person?"
No wonder he became a eunuch!
Xue Ying'er was indeed thunderstruck, "A eunuch?"
“He really is a eunuch, lame, handsome, and named Feng’an.” Deng Mengnu stroked her hair: “How pitiful.”
"But now that such a lowly woman has become a eunuch, you can rest easy and find a good family to marry into. Or why don't you come with me and find clients to work for? We can live one day at a time. I'm lonely all by myself, and if we depend on each other, we'll have something to look forward to."
As she spoke, Xue Ying'er was lost in thought. Her mind was filled with that bastard who had become a eunuch.
"Chen Shimei, what a Chen Shimei."
Deng Mengnu clicked her tongue repeatedly: "I don't know how he hooked up with my sister. If I were still in the palace, I would definitely have my sister find a way to get back at him..."
Xue Ying'er blinked suddenly, "Sister, you're from the palace?"
"Yes, I just left the palace."
Her hands unconsciously clenched, and she asked in a tense voice, "Do you still have younger sisters in the palace? What's it like there?"
Speaking of this, Deng Mengnu couldn't help but puff out her chest: "The palace wasn't good. But I was lucky; I adopted a promising younger sister. Qingqing is wonderful." She rambled on.
"If you're lucky, you might be able to get her help..."
Qingqing hurriedly fled from Xianning Palace.
A minute ago, Yan Dibai's lips had clearly circled around her, but did not fall as eagerly as before.
Instead, it is a state of being neither close nor distant.
Although he promised to give him what is supposedly a woman's heart for a man, it was ultimately just a perfunctory gesture.
Yan Dibai had already unleashed his beastly nature once, and she didn't want to give him her first kiss again.
Their breaths mingled, their eyes met...
After a brief exchange, she almost lost her virginity, but luckily, Wo Xue knocked on the door at just the right moment: "Your Majesty?"
The ambiguity vanished completely.
Yan Dibai angrily shouted, "Don't come in!"
Qingqing shuddered, snapped out of her daze, and grabbed the strip of cloth to thwart Yan Dibai's attempt to make her his concubine:
“There are already many criticisms of His Majesty from the outside. If I were to become a concubine, serving him so constantly would only invite more controversy. His Majesty can bear the responsibility, but I cannot. There will always be gossip, Your Majesty,”
Thump, thump. Wo Xue knocked again. Yan Di Bai angrily closed his eyes abruptly. Yang Liu Qing always spouts this nonsense at crucial moments.
She gave him a smile:
"Why not try to be as lenient with the palace servants as you are with the people and care about their livelihood these past few days? Make good use of capable ministers and enrich the national treasury. No matter how His Majesty chooses his concubines, there will be less criticism inside and outside the palace."
Yan Dibai scoffed, finding it utterly bizarre. "Yang Liuqing, are you out of your mind?"
She refused to become his concubine, yet he showed no sign of anger.
"Everyone else is thinking about money and power, so why do you only want me to do good deeds?"
"Do you really think of yourself as a savior like Lin Furu?"
In this tense atmosphere, she was completely oblivious to his sarcasm. She nodded vigorously, utterly honest.
"Because I long for peace and tranquility throughout the land, and for calm seas and clear rivers."
Yan Dibai paused, his pupils slightly losing their luster. Seeing this, Qingqing quickly slid down and opened the door. Woxue, guarding the door, was startled: "It's you! Where is His Majesty?"
She ran incredibly fast, as if a ghost were chasing her: "His Majesty is cured!"
"...That's it?" Wo Xue covered her head, completely bewildered. She thought for a moment and was about to knock when a porcelain bottle was tossed through the crack in the door. The boy said stiffly:
"Healing medicine, go and apply it."
Holding the bottle, Wo Xue remained stunned for a long time: "This, this is the first time His Majesty has ever bestowed this upon me..."
With a "smack," the door slammed shut before he could finish speaking, silencing his joy. After everyone had left, Yan Dibai sat amidst the mess for a long time, then suddenly stood up and started kicking wildly. Finally, he found the red bean buried under the blanket.
He stared at the red bean with a blank expression, as if he were staring at her.
A constant chattering in my ears.
The usually taciturn girl's voice was as cheerful as a little bird's, full of longing for a bright future.
Yan Dibai's vision suddenly blurred.
That day, the first snow fell.
He was drunk outside the Wende Hall, and it seemed he heard her say that as well.
"..."
The boy chuckled, suddenly finding it amusing. With a cold smile, he pulled out an imperial edict.
"It's just doing a good deed."
They're just fooling people like Xiao Yuanjing and Li Mingshao.
It's very simple.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-09-30 21:57:07 and 2023-10-02 23:30:20!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 1 "lol";
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Sanli 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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