Chapter 73 Reunion on a Rainy Night
Yan Xue stared at her intently, not missing a single detail, and could clearly see even the slightest twitch at the corner of her mouth and the way she glanced at Peng Wang out of the corner of her eye.
His intuition told him that she must know something.
Princess Xuan calmed down and replied respectfully, "This humble woman does not know what Your Majesty means. Since Princess Rouyi's birthday banquet, this humble woman and the Princess have not met again, nor have we had any relationship. Now, this humble woman and Prince Xuan are in the mansion in seclusion, not receiving any guests. How could there be any news about the Princess? This humble woman thought that Your Majesty was preparing to establish an Empress."
Yan Xuecui chuckled lightly: "Is that so?"
Princess Xuan looked at his gloomy and cold expression and couldn't figure out what he was thinking.
After King Zhao ascended the throne, Chi Yingyue never appeared in public, and the Changyuan Marquis's residence was also kept in the dark, presumably because the matter of the substitute marriage had been exposed.
However, this matter was orchestrated by the Chi family, and no one could suspect her. She merely secretly fueled the flames.
Peng Wang disguised himself as a passerby and deliberately misled the crowd. Even the local people might not have noticed anything amiss, let alone Yan Xuecui, who was still far away in the capital at that time. Before the secret guards had even searched Shandong, she had already summoned Peng Wang back.
Thinking of this, Princess Xuan boldly probed, "This man is a guard in my household. I wonder what he has done to offend His Majesty?"
Yan Xuecui smiled faintly: "What he did wrong, you'll have to ask him yourself."
Peng Wang, pinned to the ground, hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, please understand. This servant is indeed a guard of the Prince's residence. I was just worried that Your Highness and the Princess Consort were caught off guard by Your Majesty's sudden visit..."
Yan Xuecui ignored it, but suddenly turned to Princess Xuan and said, "There is something that outsiders do not know, and I think it is necessary for my sister-in-law to know."
Princess Xuan secretly clenched her fingers: "...Your Majesty, please speak."
Yan Xuecui stared at her, "My brother, Prince Xuan, once kept a mistress. This mistress was from the same school as my Princess Zhao, and they looked alike. She even conceived Prince Xuan's child... I wonder if my sister-in-law knew about this?"
Princess Xuan was already drenched in cold sweat, and stiffly forced a smile as she said, "This sinful woman... knew nothing."
Yan Xuecui's gaze was sharp as a blade: "You don't know? But my sister-in-law doesn't seem surprised at all."
Princess Xuan pursed her lips and said, "It is common for men to have three wives and four concubines, and it is really difficult for a sinner like me to stop them."
Yan Xuecui pressed on, "Now that mistress is in my hands, the real Princess Zhao is missing. Does my sister-in-law know anything about this?"
Princess Consort Xuan looked surprised: "Is that so?"
Yan Xue has interrogated countless people, and no matter how superb the acting skills are, they have nowhere to hide in front of him. The one in front of him may be somewhat intelligent, but she is ultimately a pampered young lady from a noble family. How could she have ever dealt with such people?
Her breathing was erratic, and even the last syllable of her voice trembled slightly.
Yan Xue smiled coldly: "I came here today because I have found out some things. If my sister-in-law insists on beating around the bush and refuses to tell the truth, then don't blame me for taking some measures that my sister-in-law does not want to see."
Princess Consort Xuan bit her lip tightly: "This sinful woman does not know what truth His Majesty wants to hear. He is trying to frame me. This sinful woman has nothing to say. Anyway, I am going to die. My Xuan Prince's Mansion has fallen to this state. I am not afraid of death!"
Yan Xuecui sneered: "To die would be too easy."
His tone was slightly somber: "Fu Min formed cliques for personal gain and abused his power. The late emperor, mindful of his hard work throughout his life, allowed him to resign and return to his hometown. However, I have just ascended the throne, and if I do not take swift and decisive measures to set an example for others, I am afraid I will not be able to win the hearts of the people."
When Princess Xuan heard him mention her grandfather, her face turned deathly pale, and she could only barely maintain her composure by pinching her fingertips tightly.
Yan Xuecui said, "If my sister-in-law tells the truth, I might allow him to die a natural death. But if my sister-in-law doesn't cooperate..."
"Let me think about it," he chuckled, "Let's start with tattooing his face. How about we carve the character 'treacherous' on Old Master Fu's forehead? That way, when he meets the ancestors of the Fu family in the afterlife, Old Master Fu will have something to say."
"Your Majesty!" Princess Xuan trembled violently, her voice almost breaking from her sobs.
For honest and upright civil officials, being branded with a tattoo was an utter disgrace!
Yan Xuecui continued, "Strip him of his clothes and public beatings, proclaiming his crimes to the world as a warning to all officials. After his death, I will personally bestow upon him a posthumous title, how about 'Miao Jian'? That way, he can be infamous for ten thousand years."
Princess Xuan nearly collapsed: "My grandfather devoted his entire life to serving the country. Now he is old and no longer cares about politics. How can Your Highness humiliate an old minister like this because of your own personal grievances?"
Yan Xuecui: "He abused his power for personal gain, formed cliques to suppress dissent, violated the law, and made improper teachings. In any dynasty or era, he could not be considered a loyal minister! I originally wanted to let him enjoy his old age in peace, but my sister-in-law would not allow it."
He stared coldly at her deathly pale face, then turned and ordered, "Order the Imperial Guards to escort Fu Min back to the capital and have her face tattooed!"
Cheng Huai immediately accepted the order and took his leave.
"Your Majesty, please don't!" Princess Xuan finally collapsed to her knees, her voice hoarse and desperate: "This sinful woman...this sinful woman does indeed know some clues..."
She concealed Peng Wang's seduction and said in a trembling voice, "This sinful woman only sent people to follow Chi Yingyue, never expecting that she was actually the Princess Consort of Zhao... She and her daughter were trapped in the mountains in Changqing due to heavy snow, and this sinful woman does not know what has become of them..."
Yan Xue's eyes suddenly turned red, and her knuckles clenched so tightly they seemed to be out of place.
No wonder I couldn't find him anywhere in Jiangnan; he was still in Changqing!
It's been a whole winter, and now it's already March.
His heart felt as if it were being violently torn apart and he was falling downwards; even just thinking about it once in his mind made his internal organs bleed.
As he turned to leave, Princess Xuan cried out behind him, "Your Majesty, please have mercy and spare my grandfather!"
Yan Xuecui paused slightly, her face extremely gloomy: "If she is harmed in the slightest, I will ensure that your Fu family is wiped out without a burial place."
In just half a day, Yan Xuecui handed over the affairs of the court, appointed the current Grand Secretary to oversee the country, and then personally led his men out of the capital on horseback, heading straight for Changqing in Shandong.
They traveled day and night, moving at breakneck speed.
He could hardly imagine how she, with her frail body, could endure the harsh conditions of the deep mountains, carrying her ailing mother...
The journey of nearly a thousand miles would take at least ten days to half a month by carriage. Yan Xue traveled at breakneck speed, without sleep or rest, changing to a faster horse at each post station. Finally, she arrived in Changqing three days later.
The mountain road was winding and difficult to traverse. The group split into several groups to search, and finally, at a bend in the road, they saw the dilapidated temple that Princess Xuan had mentioned.
Yan Xue immediately spurred his horse and galloped straight toward the dilapidated temple.
When I arrived at the temple and pushed open the door, my hands were trembling almost uncontrollably. But when I entered, I found that it was completely silent and deserted.
Yan Xue's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot, and the veins on her forehead bulged. Her earth-shattering rage almost burned the dilapidated temple to the ground.
He tried his best to calm himself down, his gaze sweeping over the leftover firewood in the temple, the pot stand propped up by wooden sticks, the scraps of cloth stuffed in the window cracks, and the cleaned-up wooden bed. Only after confirming that there were indeed signs of someone living here not long ago did his heart finally settle down a little.
It's good that she's still alive...
Cheng Huai cautiously stepped forward: "Perhaps the Empress went down the mountain after the snow melted."
Yan Xue urged her horse down the mountain again. It's no wonder they were trapped on the mountain; even the nearest village was a winding mountain road.
Upon arriving at the village at the foot of the mountain, he ordered his men to search house by house for Chi Ying's whereabouts, and sure enough, they found a clue.
According to the owner of a restaurant in town, a mother and daughter who were strangers did indeed come down the mountain with a hunter a while ago. They bought dry food in town, hired someone to drive a horse-drawn carriage, and left as early as last month.
Yan Xue tightened her grip on the reins until blood seeped from her fingertips, her throat bobbing laboredly as she hoarsely ordered, "Search along the route to determine their whereabouts. In Southern Zhili, continue to intensify the search and thoroughly investigate any mothers and daughters who have entered the city recently."
The guards immediately accepted the order.
The Southern Zhili region had received the news several days earlier and confirmed that the mother and daughter were indeed the ones the emperor was looking for. They had already sent someone to the capital to deliver the message, but they never expected to hear that His Majesty had personally come south to search for them. The officers and soldiers conducting the search simply held their positions and only sent people to keep watch in secret, not daring to make any further mistakes.
Upon hearing the news, Yan Xuecui, without even taking a break, immediately set off on horseback to Jiangnan.
Meanwhile, Chi Ying survived the harsh winter thanks to the hunters' relief. Once the snow melted in the mountains and Aunt Xue's cold improved, they didn't delay any longer. They went down the mountain to buy enough dry food and planned to continue their journey.
Isolated in the mountains, she only heard about Emperor Yongcheng's death when she arrived in town. The new emperor had already ascended the throne at the end of the year, but when asked about the emperor's name, the people all shook their heads.
Far from the turmoil of the imperial court, the people only learned from the village chief that a new emperor had ascended the throne and exempted taxes, and that the current reign title was Jing'an. They did not know which prince had ascended the throne.
Chi Ying couldn't help but feel uneasy.
She knew that the princes had been fighting each other openly and secretly, and that His Highness was blind. She wondered if the new emperor would be a threat to His Highness.
When she saw the imperial edict posted in town and asked a local gentry, who said that King Zhao had ascended the throne, she could hardly believe it. Later, she hired a bodyguard who had traveled all over the country and worked with caravans to escort them to Jiangnan. This bodyguard knew some yamen runners in the prefecture and county, who also said that King Zhao had ascended the throne.
The yamen runners wouldn't talk nonsense; it's true that His Highness has become the emperor!
Chi Ying could hardly contain her joy. His Highness's ascension to the throne must mean that his eye ailment had been cured, allowing him to steadily ascend to the pinnacle of power in the struggle for the throne.
Despite the joy, sadness was still lingering in her heart.
She seems to be drifting further and further away from him.
Temples and mountains are separated by thousands of miles. He stands on the peak above all others, worshipped by thousands, while she is as insignificant as a mayfly, like a floating duckweed.
Chi Yingyue will naturally become the empress, while she and he are worlds apart, and will never see each other again in this life.
...
Following the advice of the bodyguard, Chi Ying used the makeup techniques she learned from Xiang Qin to make her face ugly and dark, so that people could not see her original appearance, making her safer on the road.
At the end of February, the mother and daughter finally arrived in Jiangnan.
Chi Ying gritted her teeth and spent half of her savings to buy a small courtyard in Suzhou Prefecture. The courtyard was not large, but it was fresh and elegant, more than enough for the mother and daughter to live in.
Chi Ying spent several days cleaning the courtyard inside and out. The tables, chairs, and beds were all left by the previous owner. Chi Ying cut new fabric to make mattresses, made two spring clothes for Aunt Xue, and bought flowers and vegetable seeds. She planted flowers on one side and vegetables on the other side of the garden.
The sun shines brightly, and the garden is full of spring colors. Under the eaves, there is a rattan chair. The two people sit in the rocking chair and bask in the sun. The hardships of the past few months in the mountains and the difficulties of the journey are slowly dissipating in the swaying spring light.
As for making a living, she is not worried.
She can make pastries and do embroidery. She can try setting up a stall first. If business is good and she saves some money, she can open her own shop.
Suzhou embroidery is famous throughout the world, and she can also find embroiderers to learn more embroidery techniques. With a skill to rely on, she will never have to worry about food and clothing.
But when the night is quiet, I still think of that person.
After all, they had been husband and wife for most of the year, sharing so many intimate and tender moments. Love had taken root in their very being, and it wasn't so easy to sever it.
She didn't want to forget him either, so she hid him in a small corner of her heart, secretly thinking of him when no one was around at night, thinking of his smiling eyes, warm embrace, tender kisses, and those intimate "A-Ying" calls... Let him call her "A-Ying" then, he was calling her anyway.
A sudden gust of wind blew outside the window, and spring rain began to fall softly.
As Chi Ying listened to the sound of rain, she suddenly remembered that there were dried bamboo shoots drying in the yard. She quickly put on her clothes, got up, and ran out in the rain to tidy them up.
The night seemed exceptionally dark, and she felt as if she were hallucinating. There seemed to be strange noises mixed in with the rain: the sound of wind, horses' hooves, and even the sound of weapons rubbing together, as if they were close to the door, yet also as if they were far away.
Chi Ying suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, as if something was pressing down on her and making it hard to breathe.
She hesitated before walking toward the courtyard gate and gently pulled open the bolt.
The moment the wooden door opened, my breath almost caught in my throat.
Outside the gate, a line of soldiers stood solemnly in the open space, like a dark tide. The leader was dressed in a black robe, his face hidden in the drizzling night rain, and his aura was as gloomy as ink.
Chi Ying slightly raised her head, and through the cold rain, she saw that long-unseen face. Her heart tightened suddenly, and tears welled up in her eyes.
It was him, it was actually him...
Is she dreaming?
She stood frozen, staring blankly at the person before her, her vision blurred by tears, everything seeming as unreal as a dream.
Yan Xue had been riding her horse at breakneck speed for more than ten days, almost without sleep or rest. When she arrived at the small courtyard where she was, countless emotions intertwined and spread wildly in her heart.
Fearing that pushing open the door would only lead to emptiness, he waited until he heard movement inside. Then, fearing that the person inside wasn't her, the overwhelming joy of finding her again, mixed with surging hatred and anger, gripped his heart tightly.
He hated her for leaving him, for causing him so much torment for the past six months! He also hated her for casually dumping other people on him, thinking he was blind and could be fooled at will, that anyone could be a good match for him!
But he hated himself even more for not making things clear sooner, for missing each other for half a year, for not finding her sooner, and for letting her almost lose her life in that desolate place...
Seeing that all-too-familiar face now, a thousand words choked in my heart, and I didn't know where to begin.
The group exchanged glances and retreated to the end of the alley.
Yan Xuecui stepped into the doorway step by step. Chi Ying's eyelashes trembled, and raindrops wet her eyes. She clenched her fingers and subconsciously retreated until she had nowhere to escape and could only meet his gaze.
It really is him.
He was the person she had been longing for.
He not only saw her, but he also stared intently at her.
But Chi Ying could clearly see his overly thin jawline and those unfamiliar yet familiar eyes, now bloodshot.
They looked at each other in silence. After a long time, Yan Xuecui raised her fingertips and slowly traced their paths up her cheek, seemingly smiling: "So this is what A-Ying looks like."
Chi Ying burst into tears instantly.
Yan Xue wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, gritting her teeth inwardly: "Did you think that by bringing a fake, I wouldn't be able to tell?"
Chi Ying was slightly taken aback, and felt a bitter taste in her mouth.
It turns out he had already discovered it and knew that the person wasn't him.
Yan Xuecui's fingertips caressed her cheeks, her ears, and her lips, just like every tender moment before.
His eyes were red, and he spoke in a tone that was both amused and self-deprecating: "Your earlobes are hot to the touch, your collarbones are big enough to pour a cup of wine, your waist is so thin you could wrap your hands around it, there's an old scar three inches below your navel, your legs are three feet long, and there's even my teeth mark on them... Ah Ying, I know you inside and out."
How do you think I wouldn't recognize you?
Yan Xuecui could no longer restrain herself and pressed the small, tearful, shivering body into her arms.
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Author's note: Actually, it's a two-way street [sunglasses]
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