Chapter 12 With others here, what worries are there?
Although he was annoyed by Hua Lang, he still had to go to work the next day. He couldn't just stop doing his job because of a little problem with Hua Lang.
Vice General Chen was kept in the Ministry of Justice prison. He wasn't subjected to any torture; he just stayed in the prison. He confessed everything out of jealousy and malice, wanting to harm Zhan Yunmei so that he could lead the inspection the next day. Unexpectedly, Zhan Yunmei was unharmed.
That's his version of events, but as for whether there's another reason behind it, Zhan Yunmei knows the answer in her heart.
Deputy General Chen had worked diligently for many years, risking his life alongside her. Why would he be greedy for such a small amount of credit? She boldly guessed that he was acting on the emperor's orders. Firstly, since he wasn't genuinely plotting, the emperor would surely let him off the hook, and might even grant him a good retirement, ensuring a comfortable life. Secondly, by removing him, the emperor could integrate his own power and take away some of Zhan Yunmei's influence, making the emperor feel more at ease.
This idea was soon proven true. One night, Vice General Chen was secretly released and left the Sui Dynasty in a carriage carrying a large sum of money.
The new deputy general, He Lanwan, is already training troops at the drill ground. Unlike Zhan Yunmei, her features are sharper, and her eyebrows, eyes, lips, and nose reveal a spirited demeanor.
Helan Wan turned around and saw Zhan Yunmei coming. She bowed respectfully and said with a smile, "General Zhan, I have long admired your name."
Zhan Yunmei also gave a gentle smile, "Vice General He."
They didn't talk much to each other, and neither of them were particularly eloquent; they simply greeted each other and that was it.
Originally, I was worried that the new official would inevitably have disagreements, but I was overthinking it. Helan Wan is knowledgeable, resourceful, and humble, so there are few disagreements. In fact, he is much more convenient to assist than Deputy General Chen.
In the afternoon, a palace eunuch arrived with an imperial edict, inviting Zhan Yunmei to the palace.
Following the eunuch into the palace, we passed through layers of corridors, growing increasingly dark but also gradually warmer.
The fragrance wafting from the Chaotian Hall was something she didn't like. She lowered her eyes, lifted her robe, knelt on the ground, and greeted the emperor through the thick, heavy screen.
There was a series of clattering sounds of memorials being written, and after a long while, the emperor's voice finally came through, "Minister Zhan, come in."
Zhan Yunmei said yes, walked around the screen, and was offered a seat by the emperor.
The lamplight cast shadows on the stacks of memorials on either side of the desk, creating several streaks of light and shadow that almost obscured the emperor's face.
The emperor remained silent for the time being, finished reading the memorial in his hand, and marked it with his vermilion brush. After he finished, he slowly raised his head, smiled bitterly, and said, "There are so many things to do in the founding of the dynasty. I haven't been able to close my eyes for a day and a night."
“Your Majesty’s health is of utmost importance,” Zhan Yunmei said.
The emperor smiled, but the smile was shallow, revealing a kind of sorrow and helplessness. Discussing her health was pointless. Since his relationship with Zhan Yunmei was deeper than that of ordinary people, he didn't beat around the bush and changed the subject, "Did you see Minister He today?"
"I met him. Vice General He is straightforward and magnanimous, and a man of great talent," Zhan Yunmei recalled her impression and spoke frankly. Praise should not be spared.
"Hmm, that's good." The emperor casually picked up a memorial and flipped through it. The finances were in dire straits, the national treasury was hard to replenish, and the officials were using this as an excuse. The people were living in poverty. No matter how she looked at it, she felt a headache coming on.
Although he was the emperor, he was actually quite poor and often had to spend his own money. Even with his frugal lifestyle, he couldn't win over the newly born nation that was burdened with a mountain of debt.
There's no point in sighing.
Zhan Yunmei raised her eyes slightly. Seeing the emperor's worried expression, she comforted him, "Your Majesty, state affairs are of utmost importance, but do not worry too much."
The emperor answered softly with an "um," indicating that she hadn't listened. She looked at Zhan Yunmei and said, "I checked the accounts of the previous dynasty and found that a sum of money was deposited into the national treasury, but there is no such money in the national treasury. I'm afraid the previous emperor put it into his own pocket. It's just a pity that he is dead, and no one knows where this money is."
That's easy. Find someone who was close to the previous emperor, and you might be able to find out the money.
The emperor then said, "This sum of money is not small; it's equivalent to three or four years of the country's fiscal revenue."
How could Zhan Yunmei not understand her implication? She didn't really want to see that person right now, but the emperor had come to invite her indirectly, so she might not refuse.
He could only laugh and say, "I'll go back and ask the person in your household today; perhaps he knows."
The emperor finally smiled again, "Minister Zhan, you've worked hard."
.
Hua Lang often dreams about events from the previous dynasty.
Most officials in the world cannot escape a tragic fate; he was considered lucky.
Born into an official family, he did not experience the hardships of ordinary eunuchs, but his family fell into decline, which led him to enter the palace. After enduring more than ten years of hardship, he stood behind the emperor, wielding great power in the imperial guards and even having the ability to enter the court and influence the emperor's opinions.
With his exceptional talent and unparalleled loyalty, he won the emperor's favor, who bestowed upon him the name Hua Lang, demonstrating how highly the emperor valued him.
He enjoyed his life for a short time, but the image of the emperor hanging before his eyes was still vivid in his mind. He had been indulging in debauchery for many years, and now he was covered in grotesque bluish circles. When he died, his eyes looked like they were about to pop out, and his tongue could not be put back in.
He looked like a ghost.
The emperor stared intently at Hua Lang, his empty gaze questioning him: he loved him so much, why didn't he commit suicide to be buried with him?
Cold sweat poured down his back. Hua Lang was startled and opened his eyes in terror. His head was spinning. He tried to sit up but found himself very heavy. His nose felt like it was on fire, hot and stuffy.
The ground beneath him felt soft. Hua Lang was in a daze, but he remembered that he had been sleeping on the ground. How could the ground be soft?
He must have gone mad.
"Now that you're awake, get up and drink some medicine."
Upon hearing the sound, my drowsy head felt like it had been hit hard, leaving me irritable and aching.
He exhaled a heavy, scalding breath, as if it were burning him.
Not hearing Hua Lang's reply, nor seeing him make any move to get up, Zhan Yunmei patiently lifted him out of the quilt and let him lean against the headboard. She pressed her cheek against his forehead, which was frighteningly hot.
Zhan Yunmei brought over a bowl of medicine, scooped up a spoonful of medicine, blew on it, tested the temperature with her lips, and fed it to Hua Lang. He was listless and turned his face away weakly.
She wouldn't spoil him. She put down the medicine bowl, pried open his mouth, and forced it down his throat. He choked and coughed as he drank it. She then gently hugged him and patted his back to help him catch his breath.
Her embrace was still warm and strong. He wanted to lean on her shoulder, but he didn't. Instead, he just let her hug him, looking indifferent.
"What are those things scattered all over the ground?" Seeing that he didn't resist, Zhan Yunmei pulled him closer to her, and reached out to pull the blanket over his exposed back to keep it warm.
Hua Lang remained silent and motionless.
"Those things are quite sharp, did they hurt you?" Zhan Yunmei didn't dwell on what they were, as asking wouldn't make a difference.
Hua Lang had just woken up, but she had a high fever, felt dizzy, and had Zhan Yunmei patting her from behind. Before she knew it, she became confused, had no strength to speak, closed her eyes, and fainted again.
When she woke up again, the broken pieces on the floor had been cleaned up. Zhan Yunmei was sitting on a chair by the bed, her hands folded, her eyes closed. Judging from her even and shallow breathing, she must have been asleep.
Hua Lang turned over, the blanket rustling, and Zhan Yunmei immediately woke up, reaching out to touch his forehead.
The fever subsided, and she felt somewhat relieved, saying, "Your body is still quite resilient."
Hua Lang slapped her hand, but she slapped his hand back. It was the first time she had ever argued with him over such a trivial matter. He felt embarrassed and withdrew his hand, returning to the covers.
After observing his subtle actions, Zhan Yunmei smiled and stopped touching him, sitting back down in her chair.
The side room was tiny, with just a couch, a chair, and a table. It was so small that it was difficult to move around. The windows and doors were sealed off, making it feel oppressive and suffocating. The place where she sat was the only place with a sense of life.
“Come on, I’ll give you another chance. Explain to me what you did that night,” Zhan Yunmei said calmly, willing to give him another chance to speak.
“You already know,” Hua Lang pulled the blanket over his head, but it was too stuffy inside, so he left his nose out to breathe.
"What do I know? If I said you were running away, would you admit it?" Zhan Yunmei yanked off the blanket, pinched his face, and forced him to look at her. "Why are you hiding?"
The calluses on his fingertips rubbed against his face, pinching the soft flesh under Hua Lang's cheeks. He was pitifully thin, so it was easy to pinch his cheekbones. Pinching bones is painful, and with just one pinch, Hua Lang's cheeks turned red, the pain from the pressure shooting straight to his entire face.
"I admit it, what can you do to me?"
After calming down and thinking it through, even if Hua Lang really did run away, so what? Whether he came back out of guilt or out of sincerity, so what?
As long as he's here, that's enough. With him here, what's there to worry about? Of course, it doesn't matter if he's unwilling to give up his heart; as long as she's happy, whether physically or emotionally, that's all that matters.
Zhan Yunmei let go and pulled Hua Lang into her arms. He stubbornly refused to move, but she didn't get angry. She held him tightly, not letting him move.
He was so thin; in just a few days, he had lost even more weight. She could feel his ribs just by touching his waist and back, and she felt a pang of sympathy for him.
"What can I do to you? All I've ever wanted is for you to live well and be happy every day," Zhan Yunmei said, without apologizing for her actions, because she had done it on purpose. She knew he responded better to gentle persuasion than force, so she coaxed him with kind words.
Sure enough, Hua Lang gradually stiffened. Every time this happened, he was close to relaxing. She turned her head and kissed his ear, moving upwards to the corner of his eye, not too hard, like tickling him.
The itch spread throughout her body, and Hua Lang couldn't help but blink, her thick eyelashes fluttering incessantly. She sensed his unease and intensified her kiss.
She kept patting his back to comfort him.
Hua Lang pushed her, placing her hands on her shoulders, indicating resistance.
Zhan Yunmei yielded to him, slowly releasing her embrace, stroking his flushed cheek with one hand, and smiling kindly, "You really don't want to explain to me?"
Hua Lang scrutinized her face and expression but couldn't discern anything. It must be that he had strayed too far from the cage of power and lost his former abilities.
He lowered his eyes, his eyelashes concealing the melancholy in them.
There are limits to coaxing. You can't let someone be smug forever. If they still won't listen to either coaxing or cajoling, then give up.
Zhan Yunmei's smile faded, she stood up, ignoring the fear on Hua Lang's face, and walked outside. Upon seeing her dejected appearance, Hua Lang became nervous, her heart pounding, and she subconsciously reached out to grab her sleeve, but Zhan Yunmei was walking too fast and taking too big steps.
He grabbed her and threw her to the ground.
Zhan Yunmei ignored him and left the side room.
The two of them made quite a commotion; he fell to the ground with a loud thud, surprising Yao Shuniang, who was waiting outside the room.
Zhan Yunmei walked out calmly, closed the door, looked up at the sky, and saw that the gloomy clouds were piled up nearby, pressing down very low, indicating that it was going to rain heavily and there might even be thunder.
Just then, it started to rain. Yao Shuniang handed Zhan Yunmei an umbrella, and Zhan Yunmei slowly walked towards the study with the umbrella in hand, Yao Shuniang following behind.
Yao Shuniang walked with her eyes fixed on the ground when she suddenly heard Zhan Yunmei instruct: "Piece those broken pieces together. I need to know what that object was."
A note from the author:
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