poisoning
Inside the Dali Temple prison, Roufu, her makeup fading, emaciated, lay in a damp, dark corner of her cell, dressed only in plain clothes, her eyes fixed on the mottled roof. Outside, the autumn wind picked up again, brushing against the parasol trees and startling a jackdaw into flight.
Several eunuchs entered the prison and without saying a word, helped Roufu into a green sedan chair. In the boundless night, they passed through an inconspicuous small door behind the palace and sent Roufu to a secluded courtyard with green moss on the steps.
Near dusk, Zhao Gou entered the place alone. He opened the creaking door, and purple-gold light streamed into the enclosed space. Fine dust particles danced in the initial beam of light, and the interior was dark. He saw Roufu sitting deep inside, her face as haggard yet beautiful as the day she returned south.
Seeing him come in, Roufu leisurely picked up the teacup on the table, drank the colorless water in it, and smiled at him: "I finally waited for you."
With a calm smile, she said, "I knew that one day I would die in your hands."
Zhao Gou's expression suddenly turned cold: "Do you think so?"
"I knew long ago that the day Empress Dowager Wei returned would be the day of my death." Roufu's raised lips conveyed no friendly signal. "You've already killed Yue Fei, so why not kill me as well?"
He angrily warned her: "Don't mention this traitor."
"Rebellion? What's his rebellion? He's not plotting rebellion, he's just rebelling against your will." Roufu chuckled, "You don't like him constantly clamoring to welcome back the Second Emperor; you don't like him nagging you to appoint a crown prince; and you even more don't like the reputation he gained from leading the army against the Jin..."
"Shut up!" Zhao Gou shouted sternly.
Roufu looked at him with sympathy, her voice softening. "I just want to know why you would rather submit and pay tribute than insist on resisting the Jin, restoring the Central Plains, and bringing us home."
"Go home..." The words "go home..." also made Zhao Gou feel a little sad. He looked back at the endless horizon and promised, "I will march north, I will repel the Jin people, and bring you back to Bianjing, but you must give me some time. The Song Dynasty and Jin have been at war for years, leaving the country devastated and the people suffering. Now we must negotiate a truce to allow us to recuperate. Don't think that 250,000 taels of tribute silver is a lot. If we don't stop fighting, the annual cost of military pay and armaments will far exceed this amount. The casualties among the soldiers will be heavy, and the people will be overwhelmed. Lasting peace will be even more difficult."
"Do you really want to return to Bianjing? Then why did you declare it the capital? Why are you busy building the imperial palace and the imperial temple here, and renovating Lin'an to match the scale of the capital?" Roufu asked. Seeing that Zhao Gou did not answer for a moment, Roufu shook her head and sighed, "The Song Dynasty has resisted the Jin for many years. We had a chance of victory and were about to strike Huanglong. But you killed Yue Fei and used this advantage to negotiate peace."
"We only had a slight advantage back then. A direct attack on Huanglong in the short term was simply wishful thinking." As if trying to convince her, Zhao Gou was more willing than ever to discuss these taboo topics. "Our ancestors' teachings dictate that civil officials should control the military, and military generals should not be allowed to rise to power. Since the Jingkang period, the power of military generals has grown tremendously. Not only have they given officers and soldiers their own surnames, but if they disobey their wishes, they have often resorted to using troops to threaten the emperor. Emperor Taizu once offered military power over a toast. If this war continues, and the military generals' power continues to grow, I won't even have a chance to raise a toast. Yue Fei is arrogant and conceited, and he harbors ulterior motives. If he is allowed to lead the army without restraint, even if the Northern Expedition succeeds, what good will it do? He will then inevitably turn against the emperor and usurp the throne. I cannot allow this to happen and let the Song Dynasty be destroyed in my hands."
"No, Yue Fei wasn't disloyal," Roufu retorted indifferently, "but his loyalty was to the Song Dynasty, not to you, the Emperor. His so-called ulterior motives were simply a lack of obedience to you, a desire to bring back our father and elder brother. You worried not only that he would defect and establish his own regime, but also that he would, after bringing back elder brother, support the old emperor and dethrone you. Therefore, you preferred to employ a villain who used his power to manipulate the emperor, negotiate peace, and surrender, abandoning the Northern Expedition in favor of a relatively isolated corner, guarding half of the country on your own."
The anger in his eyes deepened as Zhao Gou slowly approached her. He still didn't make any violent moves against her, though his hands on the table trembled slightly. "Using your power as a hostage to seize the emperor?" He finally caught the words and said coldly, "Qin Hui doesn't have that ability. He's just my dog."
"Yes, he's just your dog." Roufu suddenly laughed. "You've been using him to do what you wanted but couldn't do openly: eliminate dissidents, frame Yue Fei, and even kneel down to welcome the Jin envoy. From the day you ascended the throne, you weren't thinking about welcoming back the second emperor, defeating the Jin, and restoring the Central Plains to avenge the Jingkang humiliation. Instead, you were only thinking about preserving your own throne, and to this end, you didn't hesitate to consciously commit one dirty deed after another."
"Then what do you want from me?" Zhao Gou slammed the table and shouted angrily, "You want me to fight the Jin Kingdom to the death, regardless of my strength and consequences? Yes, I am only guarding half of the country now, but if I am not careful, even this half will be lost, and my family and my subjects will suffer the Jingkang Disaster again. Why should I welcome back the Second Emperor? Why should I welcome back my father who ruined the Song Dynasty in the midst of peace and prosperity, and my weak and incompetent elder brother who only obeyed the officials? Even if I give them another chance, they can't protect the Song Dynasty, and they can't protect you, ninth sister!"
He stared at Roufu, his tone gradually becoming gentler: "I want to keep my throne, and only in this way can I protect you."
"Protect me?" Roufu seemed to find the phrase strange, her lips curved into a sarcastic arc. "How did you protect me? By ordering him to be beaten to death?"
"Being beaten to death was just a show," Zhao Gou said. "The Queen Mother has a deep misunderstanding of you. I can't explain it clearly at the moment, nor can I publicly disobey her. So I had no choice but to put you in jail. Now that you've been rescued, you'll be properly placed in a safe place. Although you won't be the eldest princess, I guarantee you can still live the same luxurious life you once did, and I'll visit you often."
Roufu raised her eyebrows slightly: "The imperial edict has been issued, how will the execution be carried out then?"
Because of her imprisonment, she was still wearing plain clothes, her hair uncombed, flowing long behind her, and her face devoid of makeup. Her simple and elegant appearance, unlike her former self, made Zhao Gou's heart flutter. He gently slipped a hand into her right hair, the soft strands of hair feeling cool against the back of his hand. He gently stroked her creamy face and told her, "There's someone who looks like you who can take your place."
"Someone who looks like me?" Roufu quickly understood who he meant: "Hongxiapei Han?"
Zhao Gou said nothing, but the faint smile that followed showed that she was right.
She turned her head to avoid his touch, then stared at him for a long moment before she suddenly laughed out loud, "You mean, let me switch identities with Han, let her be punished and die for me, and I won't have to bear the title of the eldest princess anymore."
"No, no..." Her direct words made Zhao Gou slightly embarrassed, and he subconsciously denied it, "I will choose a quiet and comfortable place for you outside the palace. When I have free time, I will go out of the palace to see you, chat with you, and listen to you play the zither, just like before... That's all."
"That's all..." She smiled coldly, "Do you know why your mother wants me to die?"
Zhao Gou was stunned for a moment. Although he was somewhat curious about this matter, his intuition told him that the truth must be cruel.
Her eyes were like those of a female ghost from hell, and she said sinisterly, "After your mother and I arrived at the Jin camp, we were forcibly taken by Wanyan Zongxian. To humiliate the Song Dynasty, the Jin people forced your mother and I to share a husband, and your mother and sister to share a husband. As an emperor, the ruler of the world, don't you feel the slightest bit of shame?"
Zhao Gou's pupils suddenly dilated. The cruel truth made his mind go blank. He seemed to lose his balance and took a step back.
Seeing that her words had achieved the desired effect, Roufu continued with a sarcastic smile, sharply stinging him: "Your mother gave birth to two sons for Wanyan Zongxian in the Jin camp. The younger brother of the Emperor of the Song Dynasty is actually a Jin person. Don't you think it's ironic? Father, brother, and you, watched helplessly as your wives, daughters, mother, and sister were ravaged by the Jin people, yet you just kept begging for mercy in front of them. No one stood up to seek justice for them. Could it be that the Jin people's sudden attack in Yangzhou in the third year of Jianyan really completely defeated the emperor, from temperament to body, everything was completely destroyed..."
Zhao Gou finally couldn't stand it anymore. He suddenly stretched out his right hand to grab her throat, pulled her up, and pushed her to the corner step by step. He stared at her with a cold light in his eyes, and his eyes were bloodshot: "Do you really not want to live?"
Her chest heaved rapidly, and she used both hands to pry his hands from her neck. Her body kept struggling, her brow furrowed, as if in great pain. Seeing this, he loosened his grip slightly, and she was able to breathe.
Yet, she was still able to maintain that sharp smile even as she struggled in pain, which suddenly made him doubt her identity. "Are you Ninth Sister?" He pulled her close to him, staring into her eyes. "How could Ninth Sister be so sarcastic and vicious as you, saying such words to me?"
"No..." She coughed, the pain so severe that she couldn't even open her eyes, and her words were extremely difficult to utter. "I'm not... Ninth Sister, and you... are not... the brother who once... bravely entered the Jin Camp and was full of courage..."
He had no time to carefully analyze the meaning of her words. He only felt the anger in his heart continue to spread, and his blood seemed to be boiling. In an instant, he wanted only to destroy her, just as he wanted to destroy the shame she had made him face. He continued to pinch her throat fiercely, as if only this could alleviate the pain brought to him by the truth.
She didn't resist, and he gradually felt her cold fingers trembling slightly, her breathing becoming heavier, and the sound of her heartbeat becoming particularly clear. He soon realized that her strange reactions were not due to emotional turmoil - she covered her mouth with one hand, her chest trembling violently, as if she was about to vomit.
He stood up in surprise, but before he could see clearly, a stream of liquid gushed out of her mouth uncontrollably, splashing onto his clothes and face. He froze for a moment, gently touching the warm water droplets on his cheek, and looking down, he saw that his fingertips were stained with the same bright red blood as her lips.
Her legs went limp, and she fell to the ground under his shocked gaze. He immediately bent down and picked her up, asking anxiously, "Ninth sister, what's wrong with you?"
Roufu closed her eyes and did not answer. She smiled slightly and slowly wiped the blood from the corner of her lips with her sleeve, but before she could wipe it clean, another mouthful of blood gushed out.
Zhao Gou looked around in panic and suddenly found the teacup she had just drunk from. He grabbed it and looked at the suspicious liquid remaining inside. He vaguely glimpsed the terrible answer. In a rage, he asked Roufu in a sharp voice, "What did you drink? Who gave it to you?"
Roufu said nothing, shook her head slightly, still with her eyes closed, and snuggled in his arms like a sleepy child.
He hurled the teacup against the wall, smashing it to pieces. He then hugged her tightly with his arms, pressing his face against hers in sorrow, calling out repeatedly, "Ninth sister! Why did you do this? When I was ignored by everyone in the palace, you were the one who always stayed with me and comforted me. You are the person I cherish most in my entire life. How could I possibly kill you!"
"No..." Roufu panted and said to him softly and with difficulty, "What you cherish most... is not me... but... yourself..."
Zhao Gou felt her in his arms becoming lighter and lighter, a vibrant life slowly fading away in his arms. After a moment, he finally remembered to call out to the eunuchs: "Come here! Come quickly!"
Roufu placed her hand on his shoulder. "No need." She sighed, straining her tearful eyes to look at him again, using all her energy to utter the final words, "I... have been waiting... for you to save me. Why... didn't you save me?"
After she finished speaking, two lines of blood and tears slid across her paper-pale face, and her hands fell limply, unable to move anymore.
Zhao Gou hugged her tightly and called out several times. Seeing that she no longer responded, he picked her up with both hands in a daze and wanted to go out. The tears in his eyes made the way forward blurred. He staggered for a few steps before finding the way out.
He gazed up mournfully at the sickly setting sun above the palace. Zhao Gou, holding Roufu, knelt on the steps in front of the palace. Following the golden and purple light filtering through the crow's feathers, he seemed to see a faint reappearance of the beautiful scene from Huayang Palace in the past: pink cherry blossoms dyed the water of Fengchi Pond red, petals falling like snow in the wind. Deep among the falling cherry blossoms, a girl of fourteen or fifteen was playing shuttlecock. She was wearing a green spring dress, a small bun, her eyes were like water, and she smiled sweetly. She raised the shuttlecock and said, "Brother, play with us."
He didn't realize that tears were streaming down his face. Finally, he closed his eyes. Amid the crows cawing over the hall, he clearly heard the only beautiful memory he had of Huayang Palace shattered in his heart.
After Roufu's death, the identity of the skeleton in the coffin brought back by Empress Dowager Wei was officially confirmed to be Princess Roufu. Zhao Gou posthumously conferred the title of "Princess of the Heguo Kingdom" on her and gave her a grand funeral.
"Dead?" When the news of Roufu's death came, Liang Hongyu was still in Zuixianglou. She had been waiting in Lin'an for so long, but she didn't expect that the news she was waiting for would be her own death.
"How did he die?" Liang Hongyu asked Qiu Feng, holding the teacup in her hand.
"Officially, he was beaten to death, but according to secret reports from palace insiders, he was poisoned by Yang, one of Empress Dowager Wei's subordinates."
"Poisoned..." Liang Hongyu repeated these two words.
"Madam, why did the Queen Mother poison her?" Qiu Feng couldn't help but ask, "Shouldn't a noble princess who experienced life and death in the Jin Kingdom be treated with respect by the entire dynasty?"
Liang Hongyu's grip on the teacup tightened, her fingertips turning white. She scoffed, "Courtesy? Perhaps Empress Dowager Wei is trying to cover up the extreme humiliation she suffered in the Jin camp, forced to serve the Jin people. Only by making Roufu disappear completely can she erase those unbearable memories of her time there."
"Could the emperor just watch his mother poison his own sister?"
"There's no such thing as family affection in the royal family. For their own benefit, to maintain the dignity of the royal family, they'll do anything." As Qiu Feng was sighing, Liang Hongyu suddenly stood up and said, "Come on, follow me to Princess Roufu's tomb."
Roufu's tomb lies at the foot of a desolate mountain outside Lin'an. There's no memorial tablet, no inscription, just a slightly raised mound of earth, a few weeds sparsely sprouting from it. It's so simple, it's even inferior to the graves of ordinary people. The scent of fresh earth mingles with the damp mountain air, exuding a dull, melancholy air.
This was the final fate of the "sinful daughter" of the royal family. Stripped of her name, her existence erased, and hastily buried like a piece of trash, fearing that she would sully the royal family's "innocence." Meanwhile, the fake princess in the coffin brought by Empress Dowager Wei was given a lavish burial after her death.
Liang Hongyu reined in her horse and walked forward alone, carrying the offerings. Qiu Feng stood guard from a distance, watching the surroundings with vigilance.
The mountain wind whimpered through the forest, like crying and complaining.
Liang Hongyu placed the wine jug and offerings in front of the grave and lit the incense and candles. The flickering flames illuminated her tense face, revealing neither sadness nor joy.
She stood in silence for a long time before she slowly spoke:
"You left so decisively... Well, this filthy Lin'an, this cold-hearted Zhao family, there's really nothing to linger on."
"I couldn't save you with that hairpin, but it will always remain. It's been tossed around in everyone's mouths... There are always some things that can't be covered up."
She uncorked the wine jug and slowly poured the clear wine onto the loess. The aroma of the wine instantly filled the air, with a hint of inappropriate sweetness.
"This wine is my farewell gift to you. If you meet Marshal Yue on the road to the underworld... tell him for me that Shizhong and Hongyu have never forgotten." Her voice finally trembled slightly.
"As for the rest..." Liang Hongyu's voice was extremely low, but every word weighed heavily, hammering into the soil. "I won't let it go like this. Your silent grievances will not be buried forever in these desolate mountains and wilderness."
Liang Hongyu climbed onto her horse, took one last look back at the lonely grave, and then rode away with Qiu Feng.
After Roufu's death, the story of the case quickly spread among the people. The words "Princess Roufu" suddenly represented a huge lie. The nun who was said to have enjoyed twelve years of leisure as the eldest princess instantly became the target of insults, contempt and rejection by the people.
Within a few days, the story of Empress Dowager Wei's experience in the Jin Kingdom appeared in a storybook, was printed into a book, and distributed in the streets and alleys of Lin'an City. However, the author of this book became a mystery in Lin'an City.
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