evidence
Finally, she could go out. Xichun was overjoyed, and her face beamed with happiness. She dared not make a sound, her smile silent. She slowly rose from the floor, using the bookshelf for support, trying not to make a sound. Wanting to observe more closely, she slowly moved to the screen.
Wei Qiao had just returned from the palace. As the deputy commander of the Dragon Feather Guard, he was also responsible for patrolling the palace. He only returned to his residence after handing over his duties to another deputy commander. He didn't have much of an appetite, so he told A Gui and Zhao Yu to go eat first. He planned to go to his study to read by himself. As soon as he entered the study with a candlestick, he saw the jade pendant that had been missing for several days on his desk.
This jade plaque, engraved with the character "禁" (forbidden), was bestowed upon him by Yan Zhongyou two months prior. With this plaque, he could walk near the emperor's sleeping quarters and enter and exit the palace gates at any time without hindrance.
The current emperor, Yan Zhongyou, is the uncle of Yan Ren, the original incarnation of Wei Qiao, and the half-brother of his father. After framing Yan Zhongshen and successfully inheriting the throne, Yan Zhongyou's life has been smooth sailing and he's enjoying great success. The late emperor had six sons, three of whom did not reach adulthood. Only Crown Prince Yan Zhongshen (born to Empress Huai Ren), Prince An Yan Zhongyou (born to Consort Shao), and Prince Jin Yan Zhongxing (born to Consort Xin) have successfully entered the court to assist in governing.
Empress Huai Ren and Consort Xin were as close as sisters. Consort Xin came from a humble background, and Empress Huai Ren often took care of her. Their sons, Yan Zhongshen and Yan Zhongxing, were eight years apart, and Yan Zhongshen always treated Yan Zhongxing like a younger brother. When Yan Zhongshen was fifteen, Empress Huai Ren passed away, and he became the Crown Prince. The bond between Yan Zhongshen and Consort Xin, mother and son, remained strong; they considered each other their closest relatives. Yan Zhongshen always served Consort Xin as his mother.
In the twelfth year of the Chengtai era, Yan Zhongshen was deposed, and he worried that his mistakes would implicate Yan Zhongxing. Coincidentally, General Ning Meng, the border guard of the Great Zhou and Xihai, passed away, so he asked Yan Zhongxing to volunteer to guard the border in front of the late emperor.
The soldiers of Xihai were tall and skilled in battle, but Xihai had little land, so the Xihai Kingdom would often cause trouble on the border and try to seize the land of Da Zhou. Yan Zhongxing took root on the border as soon as he arrived, and except for a period of less than a year in the sixth year of Jianzhao when he returned to mourn the death of Consort Xin, he had always been guarding the frontier of Da Zhou.
The Great Zhou Dynasty was bordered by the East China Sea to the east, isolated by snow-capped mountains to the southwest, and the Persian Kingdom to the north had long since submitted. Only the Xi Hai Kingdom in the northwest could still contend with it. However, with Yan Zhongxing in charge, Yan Zhongyou had no worries about war with the Xi Hai Kingdom. Not only was the country free from external threats, but it could also be said to have no internal troubles.
The late emperor left Yan Zhongyou a large group of capable ministers, loyal to the emperor, patriotic, intelligent, and competent. Even if Yan Zhongyou didn't attend court for a month, the machinery of the Great Zhou empire would not stop turning. As for the harem, his mother, Consort Feng, was the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Huguo's family, and he himself married his cousin, who was also from the Duke of Huguo's family, as his empress. The empress wasn't exactly a beauty of unparalleled grace, but she was gentle and docile.
The only drawback was Yan Zhongyou's lack of offspring. He couldn't father a son, and even his only daughter over the years was Princess Shuangyue, born to a kitchen maid he had favored while drunk at the Prince of An's residence. He had many concubines in his harem, and he himself was fond of beautiful women, spending at least twenty days a month in the palace. Even so, he still couldn't have a child; he had been on the throne for thirteen years, and not a single prince or princess had been born in those thirteen years.
The court and the public were abuzz with gossip, and he even overheard eunuchs saying that the emperor, like them, was infertile. The prospect of having children became Yan Zhongyou's obsession. He initially sought medical help as usual, but later, following Wei Qiao's advice, he turned to alchemy and sought elixirs of fertility from alchemists. His entire harem knew that concubines who bore children would be richly rewarded. Months earlier, Consort Cai had lied about being pregnant, and he was overjoyed to the point of rage. On the spot, he used the sword of his Dragon Feather Guard to pierce Consort Cai's chest, and her entire maternal family was exiled to Lichang.
In May, Wei Qiao returned to the capital, bringing back several elixirs for Yan Zhongyou from a sorcerer. Among them was a fertility pill from Zhang Tianshi of the remote Western Regions' Chantuo Mountain. Yan Zhongyou took the pill on his birthday and then went to favor the most beautiful concubine in the harem, Consort Li. Two months later, Consort Li indeed discovered she was pregnant. Yan Zhongyou privately believed that the elixir must have worked, further solidifying his belief in the wonders of sorcery. It was then that he bestowed this jade token upon Wei Qiao.
Wei Qiao placed the candlestick on the desk, his eyes shifting from the jade pendant to the plate of red bean paste cakes. Anji Pastry Shop usually sold red bean paste cakes for eight yuan a box, but this only had six. Wei Qiao cautiously looked around, and a dark figure came into view behind the screen—it appeared to be a woman. He recalled the mysterious woman who appeared on the Ghost Festival; could it be the same person?
Wei Qiao turned around, opened half of the study door, and returned to his chair, pretending to be asleep. He wanted to lure the snake out of its hole before closing the door to beat it.
Hearing that there was no more movement outside, Xi Chun peeked out and saw Wei Qiao propping his head up with his hand, just like when he slept in the stone pavilion that day. She watched for a long time, but Wei Qiao's hand didn't move. She also noticed that the study door was half open. If she could just run out now, everything would be fine again.
Without hesitation, Xichun lifted her dress and moved towards the door. Just as she was about to step out of the study, secretly pleased with herself, she was suddenly pushed from behind against the half-closed door.
"Ah!" she couldn't help but scream, but her lips were covered by a hand from behind. Xi Chun's entire upper body was pressed awkwardly against the door, and a sharp dagger was immediately placed against her shoulder.
Wei Qiao stared coldly at the woman before him. She wasn't dressed as a maid in the manor, and because she was hunched over as she fled, he hadn't recognized her as Xi Chun. He pressed the dagger against the woman's snow-white neck, the sharp blade less than an inch from her skin, and asked in a cold voice, "Who exactly are you?"
Tears welled up in Xi Chun's eyes from Wei Qiao's fierce voice. When she caught a glimpse of the cold glint of the blade on her neck, her whole body began to tremble uncontrollably. "Uncle, it's me."
Hearing the woman call him "Uncle," Wei Qiao recognized her as Xi Chun. He didn't know much about Xi Chun, only that she came from Fuping, was betrothed to Wei Kang since childhood, and after her grandfather, with whom she had relied on each other, passed away, she went to the capital alone to find her husband. Xi Chun had always appeared simple and naive in the Wei household, but could this be a facade? Could she be an assassin sent to the Wei residence? Although only his uncle knew his true identity, could someone have already secretly discovered his secret? Wei Qiao was in turmoil.
Xi Chun noticed Wei Qiao pause visibly. He recognized her and realized she had held a dagger to her neck. Was she really going to die today just because she came to deliver a jade pendant? Xi Chun's tears flowed even more fiercely as she hurriedly defended herself, "Uncle, I'm not a thief, please don't kill me."
Hearing Xichun's aggrieved words, Wei Qiao breathed a sigh of relief. He had been too cautious. How could such a stupid and timid woman be an assassin?
Wei Qiao sheathed his dagger, took a step back, and asked coldly, "Why is my sister-in-law in my study?"
Seeing that the dagger was no longer around her neck, Xi Chun dared to turn around and face Wei Qiao. She wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, raised her still wet eyes, and looked earnestly into Wei Qiao's icy, deep eyes in the shadows. "Uncle, I've come to return something."
Xi Chun turned her head and saw that Wei Qiao had not yet put away the jade pendant on the desk. She quickly walked to the desk, picked up the jade pendant, and then opened her palm to hand it to Wei Qiao.
"I saw this jade pendant in Qingwu Garden this afternoon. I knew it was yours because I saw you wearing it at the rockery last time. I was afraid you might need it, so I quickly brought it to you. There was no one in Xuesong Hall except for this study room, which had the door open. I thought you were here, so I came in. But your maid came in to put in red bean cakes and closed the door, so I didn't leave. I didn't hide here on purpose. I was just afraid that I wouldn't be able to explain myself and would be mistaken for a thief, so I thought I would sneak away when no one was around. I didn't steal your jade pendant. It was that wicked cat, Ink, who did it."
Xi Chun told Wei Qiao the whole story in one breath. Seeing that Wei Qiao's face didn't seem to change, she said angrily, "Uncle, don't you believe me?"
Xi Chun picked up the silk ribbon from which the jade pendant was hanging and glanced at it. She saw a small crescent-shaped object hanging on the tassel at the bottom of the jade pendant. Xi Chun picked it off with her hand, reached out and pulled Wei Qiao's hand, and put the small object into Wei Qiao's palm.
The moment Xichun grabbed his hand, Wei Qiao felt his whole body stiffen. He looked at the indignant Xichun in front of him, then looked down at his palm. It was a piece of hard skin that had fallen off a cat's toenail.
"See, this is the evidence."
A faint smile appeared on Wei Qiao's lips. It was rare to see a sly glint in Xi Chun's eyes; when she was angry, she was truly a vibrant and alluring beauty. He said gently, "It seems I misunderstood you, sister-in-law. I apologize to you; I was wrong."
As soon as Wei Qiao admitted his mistake, Xi Chun's momentum immediately crumbled. If she hadn't insisted on secretly returning the jade pendant, this misunderstanding wouldn't have happened. She shook her head, "It was my fault for not thinking things through. Now that we've talked it out, everything's fine. I don't blame my uncle."
Wei Qiao had interacted with many women, but he had never spoken to a woman as straightforward and simple-minded as Xi Chun. He usually thought such women were somewhat dull and boring, but now he found them rather endearing.
Xi Chun glanced at the sky outside; it was a deep, dark blue, as if the whole world were immersed in a vat of dye. She turned to Wei Qiao and said, "It's getting late, I'll head back to Qingwu Garden." After bowing to Wei Qiao, Xi Chun turned to leave.
Glancing at the pitch-black night outside, Wei Qiao said, "Sister-in-law, let me take you."
Xi Chun wanted to refuse, but the night was dark, and Xue Song Tang and Qing Wu Yuan were separated by a small garden, so she was a little scared. After thinking for a while, she agreed.
"Let's go." Wei Qiao picked up the candlestick on the desk. The candlestick had a lampshade made of thin bamboo strips, which could withstand the slight night wind.
Fu Qing and the other two ate in the kitchen with the door closed. A Gui and Zhao Yu took turns showing off the jokes they knew in front of Fu Qing. The small kitchen was filled with laughter, and no one noticed the story that was happening in the study.
As Wei Qiao walked past the stone pavilion, the events of the Ghost Festival night came back to mind. The woman, those hands—they left a deep impression on him. He walked side by side with Xi Chun, holding a candlestick in his right hand between them. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Xi Chun's hands hanging by her side; they were slender, white, and boneless—soft hands as well.
Xi Chun didn't think too much about it; she was very grateful that Wei Qiao would take her home. Wei Qiao didn't speak, and neither did she. After walking through the small garden and onto the path leading directly to Qingwu Garden, Xi Chun remembered that there was something she needed to tell him.
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