Chapter 101 I Won't Be a Lackey I want to use my abilities to hold you accountable, and in the future...
A day and a night passed in the blink of an eye. The candles and incense in the mourning hall burned out and were relit, filling the air with the scent of sandalwood.
Yu Nie's figure remained rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.
She wouldn't listen to a word of advice from others, remaining completely unmoved; no one could change her mind.
Outside the window, the torrential rain of the past two days had been driven away by the blazing sun hanging in the sky.
The puddles that had been accumulating under the eaves and in front of the steps in the early morning had dried up completely in just two hours, leaving no trace of the fierce wind and torrential rain.
Gu Xiangzhi stood at the door, his gaze falling back to the kneeling figure in the mourning hall.
Since he returned from inspecting the cemetery yesterday, he has not left this mourning hall even for a moment.
He remained silently watching over her in this corner for as long as she knelt.
Following Huan Xun's instructions, Lu Jinshi delivered all the prepared funeral items to Hongzheng Hall.
When Song Ai first saw the items, she was reluctant to accept them. However, after thinking it over, she realized that since the items had already been delivered to her, it would be too disrespectful and impolite to refuse them. Ultimately, it would not be appropriate.
She had seen everything Huan Xun did late the night before, so she stopped being stubborn and simply kept these things.
It just so happens that the funeral supplies she ordered from the shop haven't arrived yet, so keeping these ready-made items is just right.
Song Ai then sent someone to inform the funeral shop owners that they no longer needed to rush to produce that batch of funeral supplies, and that the deposit they had previously paid would be considered as compensation for their lost work time.
Song Ai was not entirely unaware of Huan Xun's intentions.
Even if he had ulterior motives, as a lady-in-waiting to Yu Nie, she had no reason to accept favors from others for no reason. Moreover, Huan Xun was still an outsider, so she could not accept them even more.
After leaving her belongings, she immediately took out some silver to hand to Lu, the attendant.
How could Lu, the attendant, dare to accept this?
If he really accepts this money, he can forget about ever entering the Jiheng Mansion again.
Seeing his resolute expression, Song Ai had no choice but to temporarily put the silver she had handed over back into her sleeve.
She thought she would discuss it after she finished this busy period, so she turned around and continued to arrange the funeral.
Cuiwei was worried about Yu Nie's health and whispered to him, saying that even if he didn't want to eat, he had to drink the medicine in his bowl on time, otherwise what would happen if his health collapsed.
But she seemed not to hear him, her mind preoccupied with the coffin before her.
She stroked the grain of the coffin again and again, her eyes red and swollen, her tears almost dried up.
Gu Xiangzhi, who is usually calm and composed and can handle any difficult situation with ease, was at a loss for words when he saw her looking so distraught. He couldn't think of any proper way to comfort her.
Just as he was racking his brains for a solution, Mei Nian rushed in impatiently.
Seeing his unsteady steps, Gu Xiangzhi turned to the side, gesturing for him to come out with him.
The two stopped under a pillar not far from the door of the house. The noisy chirping of cicadas outside the corridor conveniently masked their conversation.
Gu Xiangzhi then turned around, his long eyebrows slightly furrowed, and asked in a low voice, "What happened that made you so anxious?"
Mei Nian said nervously, "It's...it's the head eunuch. He's waiting for you, Junior Eunuch, in the side room."
Upon hearing that Chang Yushan had come to Hongzheng Pavilion, Gu Xiangzhi easily guessed that the other party must have come for some reason.
The position of Grand Supervisor of the Imperial Horse Stables was not idle, and Chang Yushan had no interest in gossiping.
He cherished his time immensely; he would only visit the temple when there was something important to discuss, and could only be seen outside of the Imperial Horse Stables when there was a reason for his visit.
Gu Xiangzhi turned back to look inside the house, and after some deliberation, said a few words to Mei Nian, asking him to go to the kitchen and have someone prepare some dishes that Huaiyuan only has.
After Mei Nian left, he glanced into the house one last time before turning and walking toward his bedroom.
Before he even stepped inside, he saw Chang Yushan, dressed in court attire, standing in front of the desk, looking at the calligraphy and paintings he had written.
Before he could enter, Chang Yushan, with his back to him, spoke: "The character 'Xiangzhi' is truly an eye-opener. The brushstrokes are vigorous, concealing the sharpness yet revealing the bone, possessing a style reminiscent of Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan, truly worthy of admiration."
With these words of praise, he stepped across the threshold.
He bowed respectfully before replying, "Your Excellency is too kind. I merely wrote a few lines in my spare time; they are hardly proper writings. I hope you will forgive my poor work."
Chang Yushan did not turn around, but glanced back out of the corner of his eye. His narrow face was deathly pale, and the temples that were exposed under the brocade ribbons hanging on both sides of his official hat were already frosted white.
He was only in his early forties, but his full head of white hair made him look older than Wang Situ, who was over seventy.
His lips were habitually turned up, but instead of giving off a friendly feeling, they exuded a chilling aura.
"Xiangzhi doesn't need to be humble in front of me. Whether it's proper writing or real skill, I'm not so old and blind that I can tell the difference."
Before he finished speaking, Chang Yushan put down the calligraphy and painting in his hand, turned around, and smiled as he moved toward Gu Xiangzhi, who was standing in the room.
He said meaningfully, "Or is it that Xiangzhi thinks our family is no longer useful and can no longer distinguish between truth and falsehood?"
"Please forgive me, Your Excellency."
Upon hearing this, Gu Xiangzhi knew perfectly well that the other party had discovered his trick of feigning illness to escape the previous night. He knelt on one knee, his eyes slightly lowered.
Chang Yushan glanced at him, but did not call him to get up. He walked slowly behind the desk with his hands behind his back, sat down, and gestured to the guards outside the door to close the door.
Only after the door closed softly did Chang Yushan finally speak:
"You suffer from chronic chills and fever, and I have always pitied and cared for you, treating you no differently than I would my own son. But what have you done? Is this how you repay me, hurting my heart with a false excuse?"
Knowing he couldn't hide it any longer, Gu Xiangzhi told the truth: "It was my fault. I was so worried about the princess's safety that I made a mistake and used this excuse to deceive the chief eunuch. I didn't mean to lie."
Gu Xiangzhi knew all too well that Chang Yushan, a man of such meticulous thinking and keen insight, had made his point clear because he had found solid evidence against him.
Admitting the truth is the better option than hiding it now.
Chang Yushan's expression darkened upon hearing this.
"I used to think that your willingness to stand up for a princess who doesn't even have a title was due to your inherent kindness at the Star Gazing Banquet. But now it seems that you are acting in accordance with that person because your heart is with her."
His eyes were like sharp hooks: "Could it be that you have also been bewitched by Zhao Huayan's beauty, willing to abandon everything and go through fire and water for her, just like Yan Yue's adopted son, ready to charge into battle for her and give your all for her?"
"Don't tell me that you were already completely infatuated with her from the moment you brought her back to Jian'an?"
In his eyes, Gu Xiangzhi was a person who would not lose his sense of propriety for the sake of personal feelings. When he said these words, his expression was one of strange shock.
"Do you think His Majesty wouldn't know you made an excuse to leave? He's always been suspicious and distrustful. Now that you're gone, what do you think he'll think of you?"
"Over the years, I have personally guided you and carefully nurtured you, hoping that you would go far in the Imperial Horse Administration in the future. I never expected that you would be so confused by a woman. This is very rare and unlike you."
“You’ve disappointed me greatly…” he trailed off.
Upon hearing this, Gu Xiangzhi simply admitted his mistake.
At this point, saying anything more is not as effective as sincerely admitting your mistake.
He knew exactly what the person in the seat of honor wanted to see after all these years of being by his side.
He didn't say anything extra, he simply adopted a humble attitude:
“It is my dereliction of duty. I should not have betrayed the Grand Eunuch’s years of cultivation and trust because of my own personal feelings. I deserve to die. I beg the Grand Eunuch to punish me so that I may atone for my mistake.” After saying this, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed.
Gu Xiangzhi was intelligent, aloof and proud. He would never flatter or fawn over the powerful, nor would he use obsequious words to please others.
Even when apologizing and performing such a grand gesture as kowtowing, he remained neither servile nor arrogant.
Observing people and discerning their intentions was Chang Yushan's forte. It was precisely because of this that he recruited him into the Imperial Horse Administration for training. If the leader only knew how to be servile and obsequious, the Imperial Horse Administration would not go far.
A person with their own opinions and the ability to assess situations is the right person to succeed him.
Seeing Gu Xiangzhi bowing his head so obediently, Chang Yushan understood perfectly well that Gu Xiangzhi's posture was mostly a way of trying to calm him down.
"alright."
After he had been kneeling for a while, Chang Yushan casually told him to get up, his words carrying a hint of reproach.
"It's good that you know you're wrong, but there's no need to be so formal in admitting your mistake. It makes it seem like I'm being harsh on you, and it will make me feel uneasy when I think about it in the middle of the night. Get up now."
He came here specifically today, not to question me about using illness to escape the star-gazing banquet. In his eyes, this minor commotion caused by personal feelings was not worth the effort to investigate.
He said all this simply to remind him not to let personal feelings for his children hold him back.
Upon hearing the news, Prime Minister Gu cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Grand Eunuch, for your kindness in not punishing me."
After he stood up, Chang Yushan then revealed his purpose: "I came today not to question the Star Gazing Banquet."
Seeing a hint of doubt in Gu Xiangzhi's eyes, Chang Yushan stopped beating around the bush and began to explain in detail the matter of the gentry's association with Yan Yue's command error.
He added, “The commoners and the gentry are fighting like dogs. Neither side is one of His Majesty’s own. Among all the civil and military officials, the only ones who can truly manage affairs for His Majesty, share His Majesty’s burdens, and be considered His Majesty’s only reliable ones have always been our Imperial Horse Administration.”
Among the three factions—the common people, the gentry, and the Imperial Horse Administration—only the Imperial Horse Administration's power was fundamentally tied to the emperor; only they had a relationship of mutual dependence with the emperor.
Chang Yushan was not wrong in saying that.
After saying that, he got up and walked towards the center, stopping in front of Gu Xiangzhi.
His expression softened deliberately, conveying a sense of reassurance:
"I know you were wronged at the Star Gazing Banquet. In order to stabilize the overall situation and appease the gentry, His Majesty had no choice but to make you the sacrificial pawn. No matter how you look at it, you were wronged. It's only natural that you would feel resentful and angry. Anyone would feel the same way."
He paused, and seeing that Gu Xiangzhi had lowered his eyes and remained silent, he continued:
"But you must also understand that His Majesty did not intend to mistreat you. He was constrained by the power of the aristocratic families and had no choice but to make this decision. I am here on His Majesty's behalf to make things clear to you. Do not blame him in your heart. This is just a temporary measure. When the time is right, he will definitely reinstate you to your original position."
"His Majesty and I both hope that you can consider the bigger picture and let Gao Chou go for now. His Majesty remembers his life, and he hasn't forgotten your grudge either. When the time is right, we will naturally hand him over to you so that you can deal with him personally."
He said, "If you secretly kill him now out of spite, His Majesty's position will be very passive. Anyway, they are currently fighting to the death with Yan Yue. Why don't we, the Imperial Horse Administration, sit back and watch the tigers fight?"
After listening to his words, Gu Xiangzhi understood that his trip was ostensibly to appease him, but in reality, it was to keep him in check, fearing that he might secretly kill Gao Chou out of personal grudges and disrupt the balance of the court that the palace had painstakingly maintained.
Chang Yushan emphasized: "As Yan Yue's adopted son, Huan Xun will inevitably be implicated this time. The Gao and Wang families will not let him off the hook, whether openly or secretly. He has been kneeling outside the Taiji Hall since yesterday. Although his life will not be in danger this time, it is a fact that Yan Yue made a mistake in command. It seems that he wants to take the blame for his father."
"Once he enters the Censorate, it's the domain of the aristocratic families. He'll be lucky to escape with his life."
At this point, Chang Yushan changed the subject: "You should spend these next few days with Princess Shunhe. I think with your abilities, will Huan Xun even have a chance to interfere in the future?"
After saying that, he put his arm around Gu Xiangzhi's shoulder: "I'm telling you all this so that you can understand that if these two groups fight each other, they will eventually both be severely injured. When that happens, who will be able to challenge us?"
His words were subtle: "How can a man live without power and influence? I see you harbor some feelings for Princess Shunhe. But you should understand that a princess will not marry a eunuch. But when our Imperial Horse Administration truly stands at the pinnacle of power, holding the reins of the world in our hands, who you want will be a matter of a single word. Even if she is a princess, then you can choose her at will."
Chang Yushan's words were clear, revealing the ambition hidden deep within him.
He had no desire to be the emperor's lackey; he wanted to be a powerful figure who controlled the court, like Yi Li or Zhao Gao.
After hearing Chang Yushan's words, Gu Xiangzhi remained silent for a long time before finally raising his eyes.
He concealed all the complex emotions in his eyes, looked at the person in front of him for a moment, and bowed: "I will obey the instructions of the Grand Eunuch in everything I do."
After finishing his work, Chang Yushan did not sit down but left.
After his carriage left, Gu Xiangzhi entered the hall and went straight to the mourning hall.
Inside the mourning hall, Yu Nie was still in the same posture as when he left.
Mei Nian was also standing at the door. When he learned that Chang Yushan had left, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing how nervous he was, Gu Xiangzhi recalled Chang Yushan's certainty that he had feelings for Yu Nie and couldn't help but ask, "What did you say to him?"
Mei Nian was not one to keep secrets, and he quickly confessed that when Chang Yushan entered the room and asked him where he was, he accidentally let slip that he had told the Grand Eunuch, "I told the Grand Eunuch that ever since you returned from the palace, you have been staying with the princess in the mourning hall. Except for visiting the princess once in between, you have never left."
As he finished speaking, Mei Nian's voice grew softer and softer.
Gu Xiangzhi knew this was the case, because Chang Yushan wouldn't have found out by following him.
Since the incident had already occurred, he had no intention of pursuing the matter at the moment. Besides, he still needed Mei Nian to run errands for the next few days, so he simply dismissed him temporarily.
As soon as Mei Nian left, Cui Wei's anxious and hurried voice suddenly came from the mourning hall behind him.
"Princess, please be careful..."
Gu Xiangzhi turned around and saw that the person kneeling on the prayer mat had finally staggered to his feet.
Because she had been kneeling for so long, the prayer mat had been flattened, her steps were unsteady, and she felt dizzy for a while before she could barely stand up.
Seeing this, he quickly went in to help her.
"Are you feeling dizzy?" He had become so familiar with her when he spoke to her.
Yu Nie shook her head; her voice was unusually hoarse from not having eaten or drunk anything for so long.
"Didn't you say you were going to visit the cemetery today? I'd like to go take a look."
"Eat first, then go," he said, gesturing for Cuiwei to go to the kitchen to check if the food was ready.
She reached out and tugged at his sleeve: "I want to go see the cemetery first."
Her voice was soft, but unusually firm.
Having witnessed her stubbornness over the past two days, he could only settle for second best and have Cuiwei bring some food that could be easily placed in the carriage so that she could replenish her strength on the journey.
Seeing that he agreed, she followed him outside.
After not moving for a long time, she almost fell because her legs gave way after only a few steps.
Gu Xiangzhi reacted quickly and helped her up.
For a moment, the two were very intimate.
Upon witnessing this scene, Lu Jinshi's displeasure was even more evident on his face than if it were written on paper with a brush.
He felt indignant on Huan Xun's behalf.
Seeing him inside the building, Yu Nie was quite surprised. Then she thought of someone and asked, "Did your master ask you to stay here?"
She couldn't think of anyone else in the world with this ability besides Huan Xun.
Compared to before, Attendant Lu's tone was much more polite now, and he appeared respectful as he recounted to her the instructions Huan Xun had given him.
She never expected Huan Xun to go to such lengths.
Amidst her surprise, a faint, comforting voice vaguely surfaced in her mind, telling her to relax and not to be so hard on herself.
...
Once she snapped out of her thoughts, she asked, "Where did your parents go?"
Just as Lu Jinshi was about to answer, Gu Xiangzhi, who was standing beside her, hesitated for a moment and then said, "He is at the entrance of Taiji Hall."
"At the entrance of the Taiji Hall?"
Looking into her puzzled eyes, he didn't hide anything and repeated what Chang Yushan had said to her.
Upon learning that Huan Xun might be in grave danger, she thought of what he had done for her and knew she couldn't just ignore it.
Without wasting a moment, she instructed Cuiwei to prepare the horse and headed towards the palace.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
