Moved
Prince of Jin?
This sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard. Before Xie Lingxi could even retort, a richly dressed man strode in from behind. His face was as handsome as jade, his black hair adorned with tassels, and he exuded wealth and nobility, yet remained calm and composed.
Yan Ji was drinking with his brothers in the front hall, feigning politeness, when he was led here by palace servants. Seeing the group of people gathered around, he wondered, "What happened?"
The shadows of flowers fell on the roof, and Xie Lingxi turned away as if avoiding a plague god.
Upon hearing the sound, Liu Xu tensed up, as if facing a formidable enemy.
The others suppressed their emotions and let out a small, gasp of surprise—
Your Highness Prince Jin!
Royal nobles, with their magnificent appearances, are destined for a bright future. Why not use this opportunity to gain a good reputation?
After thinking it over, a noblewoman, swaying her golden hairpin, slowly recounted the whole story. At the end, she frowned slightly and kindly said, "Your Highness, this matter must be nothing but empty talk by this maid. You must not be deceived by her words!"
The county princess's playmate also argued, her face beaming: "That's hard to say. I don't believe that many of us have good intentions—you all have your own thoughts in mind, and Xie Lingxi is no exception."
The woman who spoke first blushed instantly, her slender fingers trembling slightly: "You're the one with a bad heart, we're not bad people!"
"Your pretentious manner is utterly repulsive!"
"..."
The people inside were still standing, the flickering candlelight illuminating the beautiful faces of the ladies and gentlemen. No one expected that in this hall filled with burning embers, the two of them would start arguing without any regard for the consequences.
Even so, Yan Ji said gently, "Gentlemen, gentlemen—this is truly an undeserved disaster. I have a very good personal relationship with Lord Liu. How could I have a penchant for taking a friend's wife?"
"Besides," he paused, glancing ambiguously at Liu Xu, who was straightening his clothes, and continued, "even if Madam Liu was interested in me, it was before the Spring Festival. What's done is done, so there's no need to bring up the past."
Upon hearing this, the ladies whispered among themselves, believing it to some extent. However, those who overheard with interest paled and covered their mouths in shock.
Although these words are spoken in a tactful and sincere manner, aren't they just reminiscing about past relationships in front of someone's husband?
So, what the maid said might be somewhat true!
Xie Lingxi wanted to kill someone.
In the dimly lit hall, her husband pursed his lips and lowered his eyes slightly, his light blue robes creased with a few wrinkles.
The string of bamboo she had embroidered by hand was broken by the rain.
Seeing Yan Ji's innocent appearance, little did he know that the entire palace was in chaos because of his words. The Empress would decide on Consort Lin's matter, and there was no joy in indulging in verbal sparring at this moment.
Thinking it over, Xie Lingxi stepped forward a few steps, her hairpins fluttering slightly, her eyebrows raised, displaying the air of a noble family. "What do you mean by that, Your Highness? This is indeed an undeserved disaster. Your explanation makes it seem as if you are adding to my guilt."
Yan Ji: "I don't understand."
He knew what Xie Lingxi meant, but he first frowned slightly, then relaxed, a hint of apology in his eyes. "Is our friendship over poetry and wine, our bond as fellow disciples, so insignificant in Madam Liu's eyes?"
Extremely humble, extremely refined...
It looks just like a swallow seeking shelter from the rain under the eaves in the February spring breeze.
She loved this look in her past life.
But little did they know that this was merely a facade of the person in front of them. If one wanted to accomplish great things, what couldn't one pretend? And what was there to deceive?
Even though he had harmed the Xie family so much in his past life, during their confrontation, he only uttered a single, casual remark, even with a hint of a smile—
"Lingxi, I don't want to kill them either, but it's your father and brothers who have the authority to control the troops of the twelve provinces."
Twelve coffins lie buried in the green hills; the Xie family has been loyal ministers for generations.
The so-called "control of troops" is nothing but a pretext for killing.
Xie Lingxi was suddenly pulled out of her memories and saw someone standing in front of her. Her newlywed husband stood like a pine tree, sheltering her from the spring rain.
I see.
But Liu Xu was by no means a counterfeit; he was the true gentleman who grew up under the influence of Zhuozhiyu. Even in coarse clothes, his character remained unchanged. He was a man of vast knowledge and profound compassion.
Liu Xu spoke up: "I dare not presume to be worthy of Your Highness. My wife and I studied the classics of scholarship, while Your Highness cultivates the way of governing the country. My wife does not like to go out and married me when she was young. How can we talk about any affection between us? We were just ignorant when we were young."
The “hour” here refers to the millet.
These were clearly sarcastic remarks, but to outsiders, who didn't understand the top scholar's character, they thought they were making excuses for Xie Lingxi.
After all, no husband could tolerate his wife having romantic gossip with other men.
Xie Lingxi covered her face, unable to suppress her laughter. When she saw Liu Xu turn around and glare at her with a mournful expression, she lowered her lips and echoed, "My husband is right. I am not familiar with His Highness Prince Jin. Please don't misunderstand me."
This time, it was Yan Ji's turn to feel flushed.
He was indeed not familiar with the couple. Having lived comfortably in the palace for twenty years, he never expected that the two would speak so rudely.
However, the gloomy atmosphere dissipated in an instant, and Yan Ji regained his usual smiling face, as if bathed in a spring breeze: "Lord Liu is too kind! It was just a misunderstanding. Now that it has been explained, I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first."
Liu Xu bowed and said, "Your Highness, please take care."
As soon as he left, the young ladies stood on tiptoe and squeezed three circles to watch his dashing figure. The palace maid who had been so confident just moments before fell silent and knelt on the ground as if she had lost her parents.
Xie Lingxi narrowed her eyes, wondering who had instructed her to do this.
That haughty princess?
Or was it the county princess whom she had offended so badly?
Xie Lingxi has talked a lot of people in her life, but she has rarely actually taken action against them.
Regardless, those she criticized deserved it. Since they were morally corrupt, they shouldn't blame others for interfering and acting as judges, offering a few words of justice.
If we take a step back, Xie Lingxi wouldn't have bothered to say anything harsh if she hadn't provoked her. Even if you bullied her first, do you expect her to swallow her anger and suffer in silence?
After thinking it over, she slowly lifted her skirt, bent down, and looked down at the palace maid with boundless majesty in her eyes. "I am a noble lady of the Xie family. Even if I want to seduce some young master, I will not ask a maid like you, who is timid and doesn't know where to look, to do my job."
"Where were you looking just now? The northwest corner? Is that lady in the jade-green dress your mistress?"
Beside the red pillar, the jade-like woman's eyelids rolled back, and she fainted.
The crowd erupted in uproar!
The maid at her feet trembled even more violently, her voice choked with sobs: "Thank you, Madam..."
Xie Lingxi had no time to heed her sorrowful lamentations and trembling pleas for mercy. He simply waved his hand, and Chun Tao immediately came over, creating a ripple of blue water in the hall.
"Let's go."
There's nothing to argue about. They have the desire but not the courage; they give up at the slightest touch. How did they come up with such a clumsy way to frame someone?
It was past midnight, the moon had set and the birds were asleep. As soon as Xie Lingxi stepped out of the palace, she saw a cat's shadow peeking out from behind the lush grass and trees. She looked back at Fangcao Palace and saw that many people were still standing there. The lady who had fainted had woken up again and was rolling her eyes and saying something.
Seeing her mistress stop and mutter to herself, Chun Tao couldn't help but ask, "Miss, what are you counting?"
10, 9, 8... 4, 3, 2, 1...
"clang--!"
The hour of You (5-7 PM) has arrived.
Suddenly, a raging fire broke out behind Fanghua Palace, with flames leaping a thousand feet high, like the gaping maw of a glutton, almost swallowing up all the shadows in the imperial city.
"Girl, this—!"
Chun Tao Chu Liu was startled to see the crowd that had been gathered in Fanghua Palace now moving like fish in water, each person holding up their skirts and frantically ordering the palace servants to pour water to put out the fire. Some of the braver ones even suddenly stepped into the side hall, as if to save someone.
Xie Lingxi twitched the corner of her mouth, her eyes flickering slightly: "It's alright, let's go."
She had patiently engaged with them earlier precisely because she was waiting for the Cold Palace to become a hotbed of conflict. Consort Shu intended to use a clever escape plan to gain a new lease on life, but she couldn't avoid the cunning foxes in the harem and would inevitably have to pay a price.
Consort Shu was the price she paid.
In the dim light, the actors performing the lotus-themed opera in the front hall had already finished their performance, and the fragrant rice cakes on the banquet table had been completely devoured. Liu Xu, adjusting his official hat, caught up like a swallow in spring, and saw Xie Lingxi quickly grab someone—
"Your Highness, come with me."
...
The Anecdotes of Chang'an states: Some time ago, the Empress hosted a banquet for the young men and women of various families. During the singing and dancing, someone's lamp accidentally set off a fire in the Cold Palace. The fire was very large and lasted for three days. Inadvertently, a concubine and her princess were burned to death.
The charred corpse, wrapped in a straw mat, was taken to a mass grave.
...
Liu Residence.
Xie Lingxi closed the book and saw that under the bright sunshine, among the flowering trees, Liu Xu, drenched in sweat, removed his official hat and outer robe as if a crane were washing its feathers, and strode into the house.
"You're back so early today?"
Liu Xu took the lotus seedpod and carefully peeled open the lotus heart. "Today I was summoned to the Imperial Academy as an assistant instructor, but I was called back by that old gentleman after only a short while. He said I was an 'out of place' person."
Xie Lingxi didn't need to think; he could glimpse this from the way fruit filled his carriage when he became the top scholar in the imperial examination. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Let's go masked another day."
Liu Xu smiled helplessly, "Then they probably won't even be able to get through the gates of the Imperial Academy."
As he spoke, he peeled a full glass bowl of lotus seeds for Xie Lingxi, finally recalling the things they had talked about late at night a few days ago, things that were still tangled up.
"That Prince Jin..."
Upon hearing this, Xie Lingxi covered her face and begged for forgiveness, "Chengzhi, please don't bring up my past grievances!"
Liu Xu forcefully pulled her hand away and said seriously, "No, I can't sleep at night until this matter is cleared up."
Xie Lingxi fiddled with her skirt with her delicate hands, about to say something more, when she heard the young man say, "Was the Prince of Jin your teacher when you were young, Master Shi Kun?"
Xie Lingxi nodded.
"Yes, the teacher has an eccentric personality. When Yan Ji was young, he was unwilling to learn his way of maintaining the status quo. Although he visited every day, he was not favored by the teacher."
Shi Kun was the younger brother of the head of the Shi family. He was obsessed with learning and refused to take up an official position. Because of his family's influence, he dared to reprimand any student who was ignorant of right and wrong.
He had three students he favored, and Xie Lingxi was one of them.
Liu Xu understood: "This old gentleman is Xiu Yuan's grandfather."
“Exactly,” Xie Lingxi wiped away her sweat, calming herself down, and asked in surprise, “Why is Chengzhi asking this?”
"Today, this gentleman submitted a petition, but it was intercepted by Xiu Yuan when it was being processed by the Ministry of Rites."
Xie Lingxi pondered for a moment, then covered her face and cried out in anguish, "What did the teacher write?"
Shi Kun once wrote a letter to the Mingguang Hall, criticizing three generations of emperors. His words were sharp and shocking!
Liu Xu also said helplessly, "I swear the Emperor is heartless and I must seek justice for the deceased Empress and Princess."
Xie Lingxi subconsciously looked towards the backyard, where she saw light and shadow intertwined outside the door. She could vaguely see Yan Yun sitting by the pond, dressed in plain clothes with flowers tied around her head, letting the white stone splash water and knock stones beside her.
"The princess perished in the fire."
Xie Lingxi said, "Tomorrow there will be a caravan of spice merchants at home to take her back to Chen."
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