Chapter 35 The Humble Emperor
The study in Fengyi Palace has become Nangong Yu’s temporary “headquarters”.
On the spacious huanghuali wood desk, memorials piled like a small mountain. A bright yellow curtain hung low, shutting out the warmth and vitality of the outside world. The air was thick with the refreshing scent of ambergris, yet nothing could dispel the deep-seated loneliness. Nangong Yu finished reviewing the last urgent report on the floods in the south of the Yangtze River. His red pen hovered, ink pooling on the tip, about to drip.
He rubbed his throbbing temples wearily, but his gaze involuntarily strayed through the half-open window lattice toward the main hall not far away. The lights were brightly lit there, and a warm yellow glow streamed through the delicate window screens, outlining a familiar and warm outline.
There was his Wu'er, the lost half of his heart. But the tightly closed palace door was like a chasm in his heart, cold and hard, keeping him at bay. It had been... ten whole days.
A mixture of regret, anxiety, and a sense of boredom that had nowhere to vent gripped him, more exhausting than facing an overwhelming force. He impatiently placed his red brush heavily on the jade pen holder, making a crisp "click" sound that was particularly jarring in the overly quiet study.
"Gao Dehai."
Nangong Yu's voice was slightly hoarse and tired.
The eunuch Gao Dehai, who had been standing in the shadows in the corner like a shadow, immediately stepped forward, his waist bent very low, and his voice was low and steady:
"The servant is here."
"The harem,"
Nangong Yu spoke, his tone calm and composed, but deep in his eyes there was a cold icy coldness and unquestionable determination.
"Cleaned up?"
Gao Dehai's heart suddenly sank, a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back, and his head drooped even lower:
"Your Majesty, everything has been handled according to your instructions."
He spoke steadily, but every word was clear, as if he was reading a cold and cruel verdict:
"Concubine Lin, faking a pregnancy to win favor, defiled the palace, and committed adultery... Wang Delu, the eunuch in charge of the cleansing rooms (actually a fake eunuch who hadn't been castrated), was previously imprisoned in the cold palace. He was given a tranquilizing soup at 11:30 pm three days ago."
He paused and added,
Nangong Yu had a blank expression on his face, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the smooth and cold table top.
The air seemed frozen, with only the occasional crackling of the candlelight. Nangong Yu remained silent, but in his deep eyes, the storm gradually subsided, leaving only the cold, settled indifference.
In order to break away from the past and prove his determination to Wu'er, these entangled filth and betrayal must be eradicated, even if it means rivers of blood.
"What about the rest?"
He asked calmly, as if asking about something insignificant.
"The remaining ladies,"
Gao Dehai said quickly,
"Xianfei Zhao, Li Cairen, Wang Meiren, and the two Baolins are all extremely terrified. They stay indoors and recite scriptures and pray every day. Especially...especially since the last court meeting, the reputation of Princess Fuxing..."
He didn't dare finish his words, but the meaning was self-evident. With that perceptive, outspoken little ancestor around, who would dare to assert themselves in front of the Empress, or even His Majesty? Was he dying too soon, or was he feeling the family secrets weren't being exposed thoroughly enough?
Nangong Yu's mouth twitched imperceptibly, and the chaotic, fear-ridden "social death feast" in the Golden Throne Hall flashed before his eyes. He closed his eyes, suppressed the absurdity, and waved his hand.
"Pass on my oral order. A 'family dinner' will be held at the waterside pavilion in the Imperial Garden tomorrow night. Let the remaining people come."
Gao Dehai was stunned. A family dinner? At this time? But he didn't dare to question it at all and immediately bowed.
"Yes, I obey your order."
The following evening, within the Imperial Garden's waterfront "Moon-Lancing Pavilion," palace lanterns hung high, illuminating the waterside pavilion as bright as day. The melodious sounds of stringed instruments drifted softly, while palace maids, dressed in colorful garments, presented delicacies like butterflies flitting through flowers. The atmosphere was reminiscent of a royal banquet.
However, the atmosphere at the table was as heavy as a lead block, making people feel stuffy in their chests and having difficulty breathing.
Xianfei Zhao sat at the head of the right seat, slightly closer to the throne. She wore a simple, elegant lilac-colored palace dress, with only a single jade hairpin pinned to her bun. Her face was barely visible, though her makeup couldn't conceal the dark, dark complexion and panic in her eyes.
Her hand, gripping the ivory chopsticks, trembled slightly. She tried several times to pick up the crystal shrimp dumplings from the plate in front of her, but the slippery dumplings kept falling back, just like her throbbing, twitching heart, on the verge of collapse. Her eyes, like a frightened bird, would occasionally dart fearfully toward the pavilion entrance.
Li Cairen, Wang Meiren, and the two Baolins were like quails, burying their heads in the soup bowls before them, their shoulders tense, their bodies stiff, not even daring to chew. Aside from the deliberately created clatter of stringed instruments, the entire waterside pavilion was hushed, with only the sounds of nervous breathing and heartbeats to be heard.
Emperor Nangong Yu sat upright in the main seat, the jade beads dangling from his crown tassel swaying slightly, masking the fatigue deep in his eyes and a subtle impatience, eager to end this. He symbolically raised the white jade wine glass in his hand, his voice low, unable to discern his emotion:
"Today is a family dinner. My beloved concubines, please don't be too formal. Just be casual."
Concubine Zhao's body trembled violently, and the ivory chopsticks in her hand fell to the green jade plate in front of her with a crisp sound. This sound was like thunder in the dead silence of the pavilion, frightening her to death!
She no longer cared about her manners and almost rolled and crawled out of her seat, kneeling heavily on the cold golden brick floor, her forehead touching the ground. Her voice was filled with sobs and uncontrollable trembling as if she had survived a disaster:
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please have mercy! I...I know I am dull and incompetent to serve you! I...I wish to leave the palace and stay with the ancient Buddha by the green lamp, chanting scriptures every day, praying for Your Majesty, for the Empress, and for the country of Daye! Your Majesty, please grant me this! Your Majesty, please grant me this!"
By the end of his speech, he was sobbing and his body was shaking like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind.
This kneeling was like pushing down the first domino.
Li Cairen, Wang Meiren, and the two Baolins left their seats almost at the same time, scrambling to kneel on the ground, banging their foreheads on the gold bricks, and crying out in pleas:
"Your Majesty, please be merciful! I, too, am willing to become a nun and pray for blessings!"
"I beg your Majesty for permission! I wish to live out the rest of my life in a nunnery!"
"I am willing to be a slave and only ask to leave the palace! Your Majesty, please grant me this!"
Their voices were filled with fear. The fear did not come entirely from the emperor's cruel methods, but more deeply from that name - Princess Fuxing Dongfang Yuning!
Who knows if she'll get the urge to execute someone else with her "heartfelt voice"? Who can guarantee that there aren't any secrets in their house or on their person that could be used by that "little ancestor" for laughs and amusement?
Rather than living in constant fear, never knowing when they might be publicly killed, they would rather take the initiative to leave, away from the center of this terrifying vortex! Becoming a nun has become their only way out!
Nangong Yu looked at the concubines kneeling below, begging to become nuns, his brows furrowed beneath his tiara. He felt no pity, but rather a deep irony and... a touch of relief. These faces, once bright and docile, now held only fear and an eagerness to flee.
He waved his hand, his voice filled with unmistakable fatigue:
"Approved. Gao Dehai, have the Ministry of Internal Affairs process this immediately and allocate funds for the family's resettlement according to the regulations, and send them to the imperial nunnery outside the capital for retreat."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"
The virtuous concubine and the others kowtowed as if they had been pardoned, their voices filled with both relief and exhaustion at having escaped a desperate situation. A palace banquet that was supposed to be a "family reunion" ended abruptly in this strange atmosphere and amid the concubines' eager expressions of gratitude.
The vast harem was practically emptied overnight. This unprecedented "cleanliness" was only to make the path leading to the main hall of Fengyi Palace less obstructed.
As night fell, all was silent. The tightly closed, heavy, carved door of the main hall of Fengyi Palace, a symbol of the empress's supreme majesty, glowed with the cold, hard luster of rosewood under the illumination of palace lanterns, like an impenetrable fortress.
Nangong Yu stood alone outside the palace gate. He had changed out of his heavy court robes and crown, wearing only a dark-colored casual suit embroidered with a golden dragon. The night wind ruffled the few strands of his untied black hair, adding a touch of loneliness to his expression.
In his arms, he held a large, bulging black bundle that was extremely inconsistent with his imperial status. The fabric was the finest satin, but its shape... was really hard to describe.
He took a deep breath, as if he was mustering up all his courage, then he raised his hand and, with extreme caution and lightness, knocked on the tightly closed door with his knuckles.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
The sound was so soft that it was almost blown away by the night wind.
The hall was completely silent, with no response. Only the warm light shone through the crack in the door, casting a ray of light on the ground.
Nangong Yu's heart sank, and his Adam's apple rolled with difficulty. He turned sideways, pressed his face against the cold door, and lowered his voice. His tone was unprecedentedly humble and flattering, even with a subtle hint of grievance:
"Wu'er...it's me..."
He paused, as if feeling it was not enough, and added,
"I... I know I was wrong... I really know I was wrong..."
There was still no movement in the hall.
Nangong Yu tightened his arms around the heavy bag, as if it were his only hope. He licked his dry lips and lowered his voice, with a hint of desperate urgency:
"Wu'er... look... look at what I bought..." He tried to stuff the bag in his arms into the crack of the door, although he knew it was futile.
"I... I sent someone to Yueji Pavilion! There's the Begonias Under the Moon that you like, and... and so many more! Enough! Really enough! Wu'er... I promise... I promise next time... next time, I'll be gentler... give me another chance... okay?"
He practically held his breath, awaiting a response from inside the door. Time seemed to freeze, each breath stretching endlessly. The night breeze blew through the palace lanterns in the corridor, their light flickering on his nervous, expectant profile.
Just when Nangong Yu almost thought that even this humble prayer would fall on deaf ears, there was finally movement in the hall.
“Squeak—”
There was a slight, heart-pounding sound of door hinges turning!
Nangong Yu's eyes instantly flashed with surprise! Wu'er softened! She opened the door! He subconsciously moved forward, even forcing a flattering smile on his face.
However, the heavy palace door only opened inward to a gap less than three fingers wide!
The person he longed for so long did not appear in the gap. Instead, a female voice, as cold as an icy spring, thick with sarcasm and impatience, pierced through the gap with uncanny precision like a blade tempered by ice, piercing his heart, which had just begun to rise with hope:
"Go to your study!"
The moment the words fell!
“Bang!!!!”
With a deafening bang, the palace door, which had just opened a crack, was slammed down by an invisible rage with a force ten times greater than when it opened! The heavy rosewood door slammed heavily against the door frame, making a dull and resolute sound, and even the dust on the door lintel fell down!
The resounding sound of a door slamming shut, accompanied by a cold refusal, slammed heavily into Nangong Yu's face and body! The smile on his face instantly froze, shattering like a mask. The heavy bag in his arms seemed to lose its support and fell to the cold golden brick floor with a plop. A corner of it fell apart, revealing the piles of soft, smooth silk fabrics in various colors and styles inside—the very latest boudoir clothing from Yueji Pavilion, so many that they could have opened a small shop.
Nangong Yu stood frozen in place, as if under a spell. The night wind ruffled his hair, bringing a biting chill. He looked at the colorful evidence scattered on the ground, then at the icy palace door before him, motionless and blocking all hope like a mountain. An indescribable feeling of frustration, shame, and... grievance, like an icy tide, instantly washed over him.
At that moment, a slender black figure, almost blending into the night, silently appeared not far from him. It was the leader of the secret guards, A, dressed in a neat nightgown, her face covered by a black scarf, revealing only a pair of calm eyes. She glanced at the scattered spoils on the ground, then at the emperor, who stood as stiff as a wooden sculpture, radiating a sense of gloom. A fleeting, almost imperceptible smile of sympathy flashed across her eyes, and then she resumed her professional rigidity and lowered her voice to ask for instructions:
"Your Majesty, would ten pieces of this Yuexia Begonia restock be enough?"
She was referring to the soft pink pile of the most similar items in the bag.
This voice was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, completely crushing Nangong Yu's shaky imperial dignity. He turned his head sharply and stared at the tightly closed palace door, his eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness at being rejected, but also with a fierce determination to fight his way out.
He practically gritted his teeth as he uttered the command word by word. His voice was low and hoarse, yet it carried an almost tragic determination:
"Ten? Not enough!"
"Go! Tell the owner of Yueji Pavilion!"
"Ten of every style! Give me ten!"
"I... my hand..."
He lowered his head, glaring angrily at his own hands, which had distinct joints and once controlled the universe but now seemed so "redundant". He growled through gnashing teeth:
“It…it owes!!!”
Dark Guard A: “…”
She tried to keep her face straight, her shoulders shrugged slightly, and then she immediately bowed her head and clasped her fists.
"Yes! I obey your command!" The figure flashed and disappeared in the shadow of the pillars, as if it had never appeared.
The night wind howled, shaking the solitary lamp in the corridor and stretching Nangong Yu's lonely shadow. He looked down at the pile of colorful, soft and silky clothes at his feet, and then looked up at the cold and closed palace door, without a crack left.
After a long while, he slowly and resignedly squatted down, and began to clumsily pick up the scattered evidence and hopes one by one, and stuffed them back into the bulging black bundle.
The movements are slow, with a melancholy feeling like an exiled emperor packing his bags.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
