Chapter 126 That night, the Emperor and Empress slept in the same bed but dreamed different dreams.
After Yan Zhuang finished recounting the connection between the Wei family and Empress Xie, the young civil officials present all looked at Wei Ling, their eyes filled with undisguised envy.
At these elegant gatherings, whenever Emperor Xianping acquired a fine poem, he would send someone to present it to Empress Xie for critique. It was a small matter, yet it revealed the affection between the Emperor and Empress. Therefore, with Empress Xie's connection, Wei Ling had essentially gained a ladder to success; he would undoubtedly find it easier to gain Emperor Xianping's favor and be given important responsibilities in the future.
Wei Ling lowered his eyes slightly in a humble manner, but felt somewhat uneasy inside.
Before heading to the capital for the imperial examinations, his father instructed him to be humble and cautious upon arrival. He was forbidden from boasting that his deceased grandfather had been the tutor of the current empress, nor from using his second uncle Wei Heng's talent to enhance his own reputation. Initially, Wei Ling did indeed follow these instructions. However, there was a court official named Yan Zhuang who admired his uncle's literary talent. Yan Zhuang not only repeatedly mentioned his uncle in front of other guests but also discussed poetry with him privately on several occasions. Yan Zhuang was enthusiastic and talkative, and sometimes, in the heat of conversation, Wei Ling could only reveal bits and pieces of information.
Just now, the Emperor praised his literary talent, and everyone else envied him. Only Lord Yan seemed to be thinking of his uncle again. Wei Ling was worried that Lord Yan would misunderstand him as being arrogant, so he had no choice but to mention his uncle to show humility. Little did he expect that Lord Yan would talk more and more.
Wei Ling had no intention of currying favor with Empress Xie, nor did he want to be misunderstood by his fellow graduates.
The rising stars in officialdom looked at Wei Ling, while Pei Xingshu subtly glanced at Yan Zhuang, then slowly put down his wine cup and looked at the emperor on the main seat.
Emperor Xianping looked delighted and said to Wei Ling, "Since you have this connection, why didn't you tell me? Otherwise, I would have arranged for you to pay your respects to the Empress long ago. The Empress would be overjoyed to see the grandson of her mentor."
Wei Ling blushed and said, "This humble subject is of limited talent and knowledge, and dares not embarrass himself before Your Majesty."
Emperor Xianping teased, "You are the third-ranked scholar personally selected by me, so don't be too modest. How about this, after the boat disembarks later, you will come with me."
Wei Ling respectfully accepted the order.
Inside the pleasure boat, the conversation between the emperor and his ministers quickly shifted to another matter. Emperor Xianping leaned lazily against the wide back of his chair, sometimes listening to the laughter of the crowd, sometimes gazing out at the scenery, seemingly content. However, if anyone dared to stare into the emperor's eyes for a long time, they would find that there was no smile in Emperor Xianping's eyes.
After Yan Zhuang revealed the relationship between the Wei family and Empress Xie, Emperor Xianping became suspicious. He had previously given Empress Xie two poems by Wei Heng, mentioning that Wei Heng was from Jiangling, Jingzhou. Even if Empress Xie had never met or spoken to the son of her mentor, Wei Lao, given her early affection for her relatives in Jingzhou, shouldn't she have confirmed the relationship between Wei Heng and Wei Lao?
Empress Xie maintained an indifferent attitude, showing no interest in Wei Heng whatsoever. Either she had long forgotten her mentor, Old Master Wei, or she knew very well who Wei Heng was and didn't need to ask any further questions.
Based on Emperor Xianping's understanding of Empress Xie, it should be the latter. But since Empress Xie knew Wei Heng, why did she pretend not to know him? Loujiang was just a remote place where Xiao Yu was demoted for two years. Xiao Yu was overjoyed that Loujiang produced a Jinshi this year. Empress Xie was a person who respected teachers and valued education. Why did she show no reaction to her mentor's grandson, Wei Ling, becoming a Tan Hua (third-place scholar)?
Uncontrollably, Wei Heng's poem kept repeating in Emperor Xianping's mind: "The music ends, but the person is gone; only the green peaks remain on the river."
Without any evidence, Emperor Xianping simply had a feeling that the person Wei Heng was searching for might be his Empress Xie.
With Wei Ling so handsome, Wei Heng's appearance couldn't be much less striking than his nephew's. A young and talented man with both good looks and poetic ability, and the still-young Empress Xie, could it be...?
The familiar dull pain returned to his chest. Emperor Xianping took several deep breaths, and once the pain subsided, he waved his hand, signaling Zhao Yi to have the boatman dock.
After landing, Emperor Xianping granted Wei Ling permission to ride in the same carriage with him.
It takes more than a quarter of an hour to walk from here to the Emperor's bedroom. With such a long time, they must have talked about something. Emperor Xianping leaned back on the long couch and asked Wei Ling in a casual manner, "How old are you, Elder Wei?"
Wei Ling's expression darkened, and he lowered his eyes, saying, "My grandfather passed away many years ago."
Emperor Xianping sighed and inquired about Wei Ling's family situation, learning that his father was the eldest son of Wei Lao, and Wei Heng was the second son.
Upon hearing from Wei Ling that his father had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations and had given up on them, Emperor Xianping naturally asked, "Your uncle is a man of great talent, why has he no interest in an official career?"
Wei Ling smiled wryly and said, "I don't know this either. My uncle travels far away all year round. He only came back to stay for a period of time when my grandparents were sick. After they left, he went out again. We keep in touch entirely through letters."
"This is truly the first time I've heard of such an extraordinary person," Emperor Xianping said with great curiosity. "He seems to be enjoying a carefree life, while your aunt stays at home alone taking care of the children without uttering a single complaint?"
Wei Ling shook his head: "My uncle is still unmarried and has no family burdens."
Emperor Xianping: "...Why is that?"
Wei Ling: "Your Majesty does not know, and can only speculate. Perhaps your uncle knows that he cannot stay in one place for long, so he is unwilling to marry in order to avoid causing his wife and children to suffer the pain of separation."
Emperor Xianping nodded, turned his head to listen to the pattering rain outside, and recited "The music ends, but the person is gone; only the green peaks remain on the river" again. After a moment of silence, Emperor Xianping sighed and said, "Never mind, I will not take you to see the Empress. I am afraid that hearing the sad news of Elder Wei's death will only add to her grief."
Wei Ling naturally obeyed the Emperor's arrangements.
As they approached the imperial palace, before Wei Ling took his leave and alighted from the carriage, Emperor Xianping looked at him and said, "Like Yan Zhuang, I also wish to meet your uncle, this great talent. Could you please write a letter to your father and have him write to your uncle, saying that I sincerely invite your uncle to the capital to discuss poetry, and ask him to set off for the capital immediately upon receiving the letter?"
The emperor's invitation was an unparalleled honor, and Wei Ling was flattered on behalf of his uncle, accepting the invitation repeatedly.
Emperor Xianping then casually added, "You only need to know about this; there's no need to tell anyone else. I want to give the literati and scholars of the capital a surprise."
After Wei Ling left, Emperor Xianping returned to his palace and stayed alone for a long time. It was almost dusk when he sent someone to invite Empress Xie to come and dine with him.
As the couple dined face to face, Emperor Xianping read aloud the poem by Wei Heng that had just reached his ears. This time, he first clarified that the poem was written by Wei Heng, the great scholar from Jingzhou and the third-ranked scholar Wei Ling.
Empress Xie pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "I am honored that Jingzhou has produced such a great talent."
Emperor Xianping picked up a piece of food, then looked at Empress Xie with a smile: "Jingzhou, still surnamed Wei. You really have no recollection of the name Wei Heng?"
Empress Xie wanted to continue pretending to be confused, but Emperor Xianping obviously knew from somewhere that she had a teacher surnamed Wei. Empress Xie was first taken aback, then exclaimed with delight, "Could this Wei Heng be the same Wei Heng from my mentor's family?"
Emperor Xianping, looking pleased with himself for successfully pleasing the beauty, said: "Indeed."
He didn't ask any more questions, but Empress Xie had to explain why she hadn't thought about this relationship: "I was raised in seclusion and was fairly familiar with the two daughters of the Wei family, but I only met the two sons of the Wei family a few times. Later, I left Jingzhou at the age of fifteen to marry the Emperor. Now I can't even remember what my grandparents look like, and the Wei family is like a distant memory."
Emperor Xianping: "Would you like to see Wei Ling?"
Empress Xie thought for a moment and said with a sigh, "Aside from wanting to know about Elder Wei's current situation, I have nothing to say to the Wei family's descendants."
Emperor Xianping then revealed the news of Wei Lao's death.
After all, she was his mentor. Empress Xie lost her appetite and went inside to rest. Emperor Xianping, for another reason, also had difficulty eating. He sat alone for a while before entering the inner palace, where he saw that familiar slender figure sitting at the table by the window, tilting her head and staring blankly at the rain outside.
Emperor Xianping walked over and, as he got a little closer, noticed the tear stains on Empress Xie's fair cheeks.
Empress Xie made no attempt to conceal it, and continued to look out the window, seemingly talking to herself, "In the blink of an eye, it has been twenty-five years since I left Jiangling, longer than the time I lived in Jiangling."
She grew so old that she could only recall her grandparents' appearances through the painting Wei Heng had made for her and his grandparents before their parting; she grew so old that she had long forgotten the faint affection she had felt for Wei Heng in her youth. From the moment she left Jingzhou, she completely let go of Wei Heng, but her husband was an emperor, an emperor who was sometimes magnanimous and sometimes narrow-minded. Empress Xie dared not gamble on whether her husband would mind that she had been childhood sweethearts with someone else, so she subconsciously chose to conceal it.
Whether Emperor Xianping minded or not, Empress Xie had a clear conscience. She and Wei Heng had not yet expressed their feelings for each other when they received the imperial decree of marriage bestowed by the late emperor, and the two of them had never done anything that was out of line.
Emperor Xianping looked at his weeping wife with mixed feelings.
Twenty-five years is indeed a long time, so long that he has almost forgotten what his wife looked like when she cried. When she first married him, she often shed tears because she missed her homeland. Later, she became familiar with the capital city and the environment. She went from a young girl to a mother of two. She began to skillfully manage the household affairs for him. There were fewer and fewer things that could make her cry, and there were few people and few things that could make her laugh. Gradually, people felt that she was born to be such a cold and aloof beauty.
Today, my wife finally shed tears again. But were these tears for the passing of her mentor, or for Wei Heng, who was causing her so much distress?
That night, the emperor and empress slept in the same bed but dreamed different dreams.
After that, Emperor Xianping acted as if the name "Wei Heng" had never been heard from him, and went about his affairs of state as if nothing had happened.
Wei Ling's letter left the capital in mid-June and arrived in Jingzhou half a month later. Wei's father was unsure whether Empress Xie had feelings for his younger brother Wei Heng, but he knew that his brother was determined to marry her because he was deeply in love with her. He instructed his son not to mention the relationship between his family and Empress Xie after arriving in the capital, for fear of bringing up their childhood sweetheart story.
What you fear most is what happens. Emperor Xianping said he summoned his younger brother to the capital to discuss poetry, but only Emperor Xianping himself knew the truth.
However, the imperial decree was difficult to disobey, so Wei's father had no choice but to write a letter to his younger brother, who was traveling to Yandang Mountain in Yongjia County, Yangzhou, to convey the imperial order. This letter left Jiangling in early July, traversing more than two thousand miles by land and water, and finally arrived in Wei Heng's hands in early August. Wei Heng then wrote two letters home, one to Jiangling to tell his elder brother that he had received the letter, and the other to the capital to tell his nephew...
In early September, Wei Ling, who had received a letter from his uncle, went to the Imperial Study to see Emperor Xianping with trepidation. After meeting the emperor, he said with difficulty, "Your Majesty, my uncle has written to say that he suffered from diarrhea after eating spoiled seafood in Yongjia County. He is currently resting in bed as advised by the doctor and is unable to travel to the capital. He has failed Your Majesty's kindness and begs Your Majesty's forgiveness."
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Author's Note: Second Generation: I must find him, no matter where I am! [Angry]
Ahem, let everyone get a good night's sleep. Here's 100 little red envelopes, more tomorrow!
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