Chapter 42 White Jade Covered in Dust
In the late summer, the imperial city should have been a tranquil time filled with the fragrance of lotus ponds and the melodious chirping of cicadas. However, since the Seventh Prince, Zhen Yunji, was named Crown Prince, a tense atmosphere of impending storm had been constantly permeating the air. The daily court assemblies in the Taiji Hall resembled a war without gunpowder.
That morning, the sky was overcast, with leaden clouds hanging low over the eaves of the palace. Inside the Taiji Hall, gilded bronze pillars reflected the flickering candlelight, and civil and military officials stood on both sides, the atmosphere somber. Emperor Zhen Jiancheng, seated high on the dragon throne, had a calm face, but his eyes concealed a storm that was difficult to detect.
Suddenly, Wang Xuan, the Censor-in-Chief, stepped forward quickly, holding a jade tablet, and said in a loud and sharp voice: "Your Majesty! I want to impeach His Highness Crown Prince Zhen Yunji! I impeach him for colluding with the Xiongnu and secretly raising a large army while stationed on the northern border, with the intention of committing treason!"
The moment those words were spoken, the entire hall erupted in uproar!
Wang Xuan was clearly a leading figure in the Fourth Prince's faction. He presented what he called "ironclad evidence"—copies of several letters bearing a blurred "Seventh Prince's Residence" seal. The letters allegedly involved secret transactions with nomadic tribes and the embezzlement of huge sums of money from border trade to support a private army not registered with the Ministry of War. Several "witnesses," claiming to be former subordinates of Yunji, were waiting outside the palace for imperial orders and offered to testify in person.
“Your Majesty,” Wang Xuan said earnestly, yet every word was piercing, “According to investigations, His Highness the Crown Prince had close ties with various tribes of the grasslands when he was in the northern border. The private army exposed in this secret letter numbers 100,000, all well-equipped, and is hidden in the border pastures. According to the ‘Law of the Great Towns,’ anyone who privately keeps more than 300 armored soldiers is considered to be committing treason!”
The charges were aimed directly at Yunji, each one potentially fatal. In particular, the connection between "colluding with the Xiongnu" and "privately maintaining a large army" touched a nerve with the emperor and all his court officials.
Yunji stood in the crown prince's seat, his face instantly turning pale. He straightened his back, stepped forward to defend himself, his voice trembling slightly with anger and shock: "Father! Your son has never committed such a treasonous act! These letters and seals are all forgeries! While in the northern border, your son was wholeheartedly devoted to defending the country, and his interactions with various tribes were all carried out under imperial decree, aimed at stabilizing the frontier, and he had absolutely no ulterior motives! The so-called private army is completely fictitious!"
However, the evidence seemed irrefutable, and the "witness" spoke with absolute certainty. This person was none other than Eagle Eye, the leader of the second largest tribe on the grassland. It turned out that he had failed in his previous attempt to kill Yunji and had not avenged the theft of his wife. Therefore, he took a desperate gamble and allied with the Fourth Prince to completely kill Yunji.
Emperor Zhen Jiancheng's face was ashen. He looked at his son below the palace steps, struggling to defend himself but appearing somewhat powerless, then at the kneeling "witnesses" who vehemently accused the Crown Prince, and at the seemingly irrefutable "evidence." As a father, he was filled with resentment. Someone had dared to publicly accuse a prince of a crime, completely disregarding the familial bonds within the royal family, leaving him, as the emperor, with no room for maneuver in the court. As emperor, he had to abide by the law and procedures.
"Enough." The Emperor's voice, though not loud, carried an undeniable authority, instantly silencing the noise in the hall. "Crown Prince Zhen Yunji is suspected of colluding with foreign powers and privately maintaining military forces. The case is serious, with many suspicious points. Until the truth is ascertained, for the sake of fairness, effective immediately, he is stripped of his regentship and temporarily imprisoned in the Eastern Palace to reflect on his actions. He may not leave without an imperial edict! This case will first be jointly tried by the Three Judicial Offices before a decision is made!"
“Father!” Yunji looked up in disbelief, his eyes filled with grievance and despair.
The emperor closed his eyes and waved his hand. Two palace guards stepped forward and, though their movements were respectful, they "invited" Yunji away in an undeniable manner.
The news spread like wildfire from the Taiji Hall, reaching the entire palace and even Huairou, who was handling affairs at the Liyuan Garden.
"Clang—" The teacup in Huairou's hand fell to the ground and shattered. Her face turned pale, and she stood up abruptly, feeling a sudden dizziness.
"Miss!" The maid quickly helped her up.
"Yunji...house arrest...treason..." These words pierced her heart like ice picks. She came from another era, and although she knew about the changing times and palace intrigues, she had never so truly faced the reality of her "child," whom she regarded as her own, being imprisoned and possibly facing death. In that instant, she wished she could take his place and bear all the guilt and suffering herself.
Meanwhile, inside the Eastern Palace, Princess Yuan Ya, upon hearing the news, stubbornly clenched her fists. She grabbed the eunuch who had come to deliver the decree, vehemently protesting, "Impossible! His Highness would never do such a thing! I am his wife, I know best! Someone framed him! It was Eagle Eye! It must be him!" However, as the eunuch subtly reminded her, a wife's testimony held little weight before the law. Now, besides being confined to the Eastern Palace with him, staying by the side of the grief-stricken Yunji, she was utterly helpless. She could not return to Eagle Eye's side, using herself as a bargaining chip to have the false accusation against Yunji dropped; that would be tantamount to seeking a tiger's skin, and a betrayal of the affection between Yunji and herself.
Huairou's first thought was to seek help from "Jiancheng Jun." But the idea was quickly shattered by cold reality. She now knew that "Jiancheng Jun" was none other than Emperor Zhen Jiancheng. Before conclusive evidence proved Yunji's innocence, as a father, he might be heartbroken; but as the ruler, he had to uphold the dignity of the law and balance the power in the court. Without irrefutable evidence, he could only choose to "put righteousness before family," at least outwardly. A hasty plea would not only be useless but might also backfire.
She then thought of her father, Guo Shichang, and her elder brother. However, the close relationship between the Guo family and Yunji was common knowledge in the court and among the people. At this moment, it was already difficult to avoid suspicion, and if she rashly intervened, she would only get herself into trouble and be labeled as an "accomplice." The Guo residence was also closed at this moment, and the atmosphere was heavy.
Suddenly, Huairou found himself in an unprecedented state of isolation and helplessness. It was as if an invisible net had tightly shrouded Yunji, cutting off all possible forces that could come to his aid.
Meanwhile, within the inner palace, undercurrents surged even more fiercely following the imprisonment of the crown prince.
At the lotus-viewing banquet in the Imperial Garden, the Empress sat regally in the main seat, her demeanor impeccable, yet her words carried a subtle but perceptible admonition: "The Crown Prince is young, and his actions are bound to be flawed; he still needs more training. But this charge of colluding with foreign powers and privately raising soldiers… alas, if true, it truly betrays His Majesty's trust and the people's expectations." Her tone was regretful, but a hint of satisfaction flashed in her eyes. Yunji was not her son; his downfall suited her and her family's wishes perfectly.
Consort Jing waved her round fan, chuckled softly, her voice gentle yet sharp: "Your Majesty the Empress is right. You can know a person's face but not their heart. She appears gentle, kind, respectful, frugal, and modest on the surface, but who would have thought she would have such audacity behind the scenes? It's just a pity for Yuan Ya, who has encountered such a thing so soon after marrying into the family." She had always been on good terms with Consort Ning, the mother of the Fourth Prince, and was naturally happy to see this happen.
Consort Ning appeared "deeply worried": "His Majesty is wise and will surely find out the truth. However... the number of these private soldiers is as high as 100,000, which is truly alarming. If it were to erupt in the capital... just thinking about it is terrifying. The Fourth Prince has been working day and night on the defense of the capital, fearing that the slightest mistake might be made." She cleverly steered the conversation towards her son's "loyalty and diligence," creating a stark contrast with Yunji's "treason."
The women's witty exchanges, like a mirror, clearly reflect the dynamics of power in the previous dynasty and the struggles between various factions. Behind each concubine lies a powerful maternal clan, and every word and action they take in the harem is a contest for the power of their fathers and brothers in the previous dynasty.
As Huairou listened to these overt and covert attacks on her, her heart turned cold. She sat alone in the waterside pavilion of the garden, gazing at the withered lotus in the pond, her thoughts in turmoil.
She secretly recalled that when she first met that sensitive and timid young prince in the palace, she never imagined that he would one day become the crown prince of the empire. She only lamented his precarious background and powerlessness in the palace, fearing that he would be bullied and die in despair. She hoped that he could stay away from the intrigues of the court and find a peaceful and happy place to settle down in the vast borderlands.
Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that he was actually the emperor's long-lost eldest son, whom the emperor had long harbored the intention of grooming for succession. While recuperating in the Guanghe Palace, those seemingly candid words of "Jiancheng Jun" now seemed, in retrospect, to be full of hidden meanings. Though I had harbored some doubts at the time, I hadn't investigated them deeply for various reasons. This secret of his identity had finally been revealed today in the most devastating way.
What she didn't expect was that Princess Yuan Ya's arrival, while bringing a peaceful alliance, also brought Hawkeye, a "pursuer" with deep resentment and love turned to hate, who ultimately became a sharp blade that stabbed Yunji in the back.
"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown," Huairou murmured to herself. Sitting on the throne meant becoming the target of everyone's hatred, attracting countless open and covert attacks. She secretly regretted whether her past protection had prevented Yunji from seeing the cruel reality of the power struggle within the imperial court sooner.
However, the course of events had long since become beyond the control of a woman without official rank, or even a person with a future soul.
Natural disasters and man-made calamities are no match for a mother's determination to protect her "child" at this moment.
Huairou took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Panic and grief were useless. The emperor, her father and brothers... all possible external support seemed to have been cut off.
She can only rely on herself.
But what can be done? How can we find a glimmer of hope for Yunji in this impenetrable siege? How can we uncover the conspiracy of Hawkeye and the Fourth Prince's henchmen to fabricate evidence?
As night deepened, the lights in the garden dimmed. Huairou sat by the window, her delicate brows furrowed, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the cold windowpane. Her gaze gradually hardened and sharpened, as if piercing through the palace walls, landing on the direction of the Repentance Hall where Yunji was imprisoned.
No matter what, she could not stand by and watch Yunji suffer an injustice. Even if the road ahead was full of thorns, she would forge her own path.
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