Chapter 108 Ah, it's so cold: Let's warm up together (bug fix)
The courtyard gate was pushed open, and the scene inside the courtyard came into view.
It was only early summer, not yet the season for plum blossoms to bloom, and the branches were sparsely covered with green leaves, standing silently in the courtyard.
As Xun Suihuang said, only part of the Pingding Marquis's mansion was renovated, and it did not achieve the effect of being adorned with gold and jade on the outside; it was more like a house with bare walls.
This was even with the main courtyard being repaired first; the other areas were even worse.
Xun Suihuang walked ahead: "I'm sorry to trouble you to stay here tonight, as the rest of the place is still not fixed."
Xi Congshuang followed behind her, walking in through the lamplight, and looked around.
She had mentioned before that her house was quite big, but it was just a casual remark. Now that I see it, her house is indeed very big.
She had seen this level of status when she was at the Prince Xin's residence, but even though the other party was not favored, he was still a Prince of the First Rank, while Xun Suihuang was only a Marquis of the First Rank. The difference between the two was like heaven and earth.
Xun Suihuang led her people along the path toward the main hall of the house: "Fortunately, I submitted a memorial back then to reduce the size of the mansion, otherwise the gold bestowed by His Majesty would not have been enough."
The door opened, revealing a brightly lit interior, where servants had already lit lamps for her.
Back then, the Holy Ancestor Emperor felt guilty towards this younger sister, so he gave her the best of everything. Her mansion was comparable in scale to that of a prince, and everything used in it was up to the highest standard that a noble title could afford.
However, since the old Marquis of Pingding was a princess with a title, it was perfectly normal for her to have a mansion of the standard of a prince's residence, and no one would question it.
Over the years, the mansion has grown from the old Marquis of Pingding's youth to old age, bearing many traces of time, and some parts have become decayed.
But because the old Marquis of Pingding was still alive, the family continued to be glorious until the current Marquis of Pingding was born.
No one expected that the first thing Xun Suihuang did after inheriting the title was to submit a petition requesting a reduction in the size of her mansion. It was thought that she was young and would become arrogant after inheriting the title at such a young age.
Unexpectedly, they were cautious and knew when to advance and retreat.
Because he was merely a marquis, using the regulations for a prince's residence would be presumptuous, so he requested His Majesty's permission to reduce the size of his residence.
Initially, the emperor refused the request, but after Xun Suihuang's repeated requests, he agreed and built a wall to the west of the Marquis's residence, taking away a portion of the area, which is now the residence of the Vice Minister.
At that time, Emperor Jianxing had not yet become terminally ill from taking elixirs of immortality, and he still remembered that he was Xun Suihuang's cousin, so he rewarded him with many things as compensation.
After the plea for mercy, the Marquis of Pingding was completely disliked by the emperor, a fact known to everyone in the court and the public.
Whether it was their own fault or they were reckless, it all happened five years ago.
"At that time, many people said I was foolish. Since I understood the principle of requesting to reduce the scale of my residence to avoid confrontation, why would I plead for Grand Tutor Fang at this critical juncture?"
Xun Suihuang did not go into the house immediately. She stopped under a planted plum tree and placed her palm on the branch.
Looking up, I see the waning moon in the sky.
Perhaps because he had just escaped death, Xun Suihuang was unusually eager to confide in others tonight, and said things he would never tell anyone.
"Many court officials who pleaded for the Fang family were also purged, and those who had connections with the Fang family were not spared either." The figure under the tree turned around and looked back at Xi Congshuang. "I was lucky to save my life because of the thirteen battalions of Northern Yan left by the old Marquis of Pingding. Fortunately, His Majesty only punished me by deducting my salary and making me reflect on my mistakes. I should keep a low profile."
But Xun Suihuang climbed over the wall that very night to steal the body, going alone to bury it on Mingfeng Mountain and erecting an unmarked tombstone.
When she returned, she brought a child with her, and she was almost punished for leaving the mansion without permission.
Xi Congshuang listened to the unorthodox remarks without any surprise. She asked, "What others say doesn't matter. What do you think?"
This was the first person to tell Xun Suihuang that what others thought was unimportant, but instead asked her, who had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, what she thought. She pondered this sentence for a while, and began to understand why she had subconsciously felt wary and cautious when she first met the other person.
She never expected that the person who almost had to hold a basin to catch blood on their first meeting would stand in front of her as the Crown Princess.
“What I was thinking,” Xun Suihuang said, “I wasn’t thinking about anything at the time. I just felt that as a student, there were some things I had to do.”
And I never regret it.
Xi Congshuang nodded in agreement: "That's exactly the kind of person you are."
Beneath the ruthless and decisive general's skin lay a compassionate heart; she understood why Emperor Jianxing loathed her so much.
To be precise, Xun Suihuang was indeed a loyal minister, and he did everything perfectly in many aspects, making many seasoned veterans of the court feel inferior to him.
Looking back on her life, she went to the battlefield at fifteen, inherited a title at seventeen, and at twenty-five, she defeated the Yeman who had harassed Dayong for decades, returning home with no further titles to bestow.
In historical records, they were among the most arrogant young ministers, either achieving great merit that threatened the emperor or meeting a tragic end.
After returning to the capital in triumph, she only asked for money and not rewards. She took the money and stayed in her mansion without venturing out, but this still did not change the emperor's suspicions.
Because she was not a loyal subject to the emperor, but a loyal subject to the world. No matter who was on the throne, Xun Suihuang would do the same things, and she would not change her mind just because the throne was occupied by an infant or an old man.
Unfortunately, the other party also possesses the ability to influence imperial power. No one can see what she is thinking. Perhaps it's not that they can't see it, but that they refuse to accept the facts they see.
Xun Suihuang chuckled: "What kind of person am I?"
"He's the one I love." Xi Congshuang approached her. "Is there anything else you'd like to do? Like overturn the verdict?"
"Reverse the verdict?" Xun Suihuang asked, puzzled. "Whose verdict do you want to overturn?"
Emperor Jianxing reigned for eleven years. In the first few years, he was a capable ruler who maintained the status quo, but in recent years, his paranoia became more and more serious, and he had many wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice, leaving behind a mountain of unresolved debts.
Even Xun Suihuang couldn't tell who Xi Congshuang intended to overturn the verdict for.
The King of Qin? Grand Tutor Fang? Or Empress Fang?
Ignoring past grievances, King Wu and King Xin could still be on the list.
However, Xun Suihuang was unaware that the culprit responsible for the deaths of the two was right in front of her. From the moment she decided to bail them out of the Dali Temple prison, it was destined that these two people would not live long.
Needless to say, Prince Xin died six months earlier than expected, his fate changing from a violent death in his prime to death for treason.
Xi Congshuang also raised her hand and touched the tree trunk. It felt rough, but it contained vitality. With more blood, it would sprout and grow new shoots in a few days.
However, she was much more reserved. Unlike Xun Suihuang, she did not place her entire palm on the tree trunk, but instead gently touched it with the fingertips that extended from her sleeve before withdrawing them.
She said to Xun Suihuang, "Prince Xin is dead, but Consort Wan is not. Prince Xin has never understood why the edict of investiture, which had already been written, was delayed and was even burned."
At the time, Prince Xin was very worried about this, and later, the King of Wu introduced the old immortal, Daoist Minzhen, to the emperor.
This further confirmed Prince Xin's worries, fearing that he would completely lose the chance to become the Crown Prince.
There was no grand ceremony for the imperial concubine to be appointed empress, but there was an imperial edict. That edict had been written before Xi Congshuang set off for Fuzhou.
All of this gave Prince Xin a sense of prosperity, and he waited with great confidence, only to be met with such a result.
Xun Suihuang exclaimed in surprise, "Is that so?"
If the emperor had burned the imperial edict appointing the empress, it wouldn't be hard to understand why the cautious Prince Xin could have made up his mind to rebel.
Xi Congshuang nodded and told the whole story: "Because His Majesty was hesitant about whether to make this woman, who came from a palace maid background, his empress, the news was found out by Consort Wan. In her haste, she brought up the witchcraft case from back then, hoping to use it to suppress Prince Wu."
How did the witchcraft case suddenly become associated with the King of Wu?
Immediately afterwards, Xi Congshuang answered the question: "Before the witchcraft case occurred, the person who leaked the information to the emperor was Consort Xian, the mother of the Prince of Wu. The emperor was furious and indeed found a witchcraft doll with the birth date and time and the emperor's reign title written on it in the empress's palace."
"The words above are exactly the same as Empress Fang's handwriting. No matter how Empress Fang, who has been estranged from him for many years, explains it, this evidence confirms that Empress Fang used witchcraft to curse His Majesty."
"With the evidence laid bare, His Majesty was furious. Empress Fang was deposed, and Prince Qin was implicated. However, only a year later, Consort Xian, who seemed to have been uninvolved, passed away."
“The mother of the King of Wu came from a military family and was always healthy. She even went on an inspection tour with His Majesty a month before she passed away, and the imperial physicians checked her pulse every day. It is really strange that she would suddenly die.”
Xun Suihuang: "Was her death also suspicious?"
"Indeed, the Consort Xian died of poisoning, and her personal maidservant also died on the same day. It was publicly claimed that she had committed suicide to die for her mistress. It is said that she was very good at imitating handwriting."
Xi Congshuang calmly recounted the truth of that year, "It was from that time that the emperor realized that the Qin King and his mother were innocent. The imperial edict had already been issued, and to overturn the case would damage his reputation. It would be tantamount to admitting that he was wrong in front of the whole world, so he continued to make the mistake."
But that wasn't enough. After the King of Qin died, his body was left to rot in the wilderness, a sight he couldn't bear to face.
Xi Congshuang: "Given the example of Consort Xian, the Emperor easily believed that the Prince of Wu would also curse him. The Prince of Wu also knew that he had been found with cursed items. Given the other party's suspicious nature, he would certainly not survive."
In a panic, he directly broke ties with the emperor, angrily cursing him for killing his son and wife and wishing him a terrible death.
This angered Emperor Jianxing so much that he vomited blood and was almost paralyzed in bed.
Returning to the present, Xi Congshuang said, "The death of Consort Xian was sudden. As her own son, Prince Wu must have noticed something, but he was extremely patient until cursed objects that shouldn't have appeared appeared in his palace."
He wasn't as lucky as Xun Suihuang, whose belongings had been moved and destroyed in time. The fact that such a thing was found in his own palace under the watchful eyes of everyone left him with no way to defend himself.
Everything was connected, and the witchcraft case that caused countless deaths stemmed from Emperor Jianxing's gullibility and suspicion.
As Xi Congshuang recalled the interrogator's notes on Consort Wan's curses and insults against her, her gaze fell on the person in front of her: "The Prince of Wu and his death are both related to me. The evidence Consort Wan possessed regarding Consort Xian was also given to me by me. After entering the palace, I had her controlled to prevent her from committing suicide. It can be said that she has committed countless evil deeds."
Are you afraid of me?
"..." Xun Suihuang was speechless for a long time; in fact, she didn't know what to say.
When Xi Congshuang asked her if she was scared, her first reaction was that she had risked her life and survived countless battles, so how could she be scared after hearing a few stories from the past?
She quickly realized that the "fear" Xi Congshuang asked about was not fear in the literal sense.
The woman standing before her, Xi Congshuang, was no longer the leader of a martial arts sect; she was now the Crown Princess and would become the Empress.
It is said that people's hearts are fickle. Xi Congshuang's words seemed to be asking her if she was afraid that she would be influenced by power and change her mind in the future. But she didn't think that people who would change their minds would never say such things.
"More than these things, I want to ask you," Xun Suihuang raised his eyes, his hand touching her cheek, his fingertips gently brushing under her eyes, "Aren't you very tired from doing so much in ten days?"
Xi Congshuang instinctively raised her hand and grasped the back of her hand, her suppressed emotions satisfied. Noticing the movement of the back of her hand, she gripped it tighter and looked up.
Having no other choice, Xun Suihuang moved her hand again: "If I don't reply, I won't be tired."
Xi Congshuang nodded in agreement: "It's actually alright."
Xun Suihuang couldn't stand it anymore. "How can they be okay? They're burning the midnight oil like lamp oil."
She had never seen such a reckless person: "Do you even remember that you were once a patient who was poisoned? You didn't try to be brave like others?"
Xi Congshuang readily agreed: "Then I'm not feeling well. The residual toxins in my body haven't completely dissipated, and it's very cold every night. I can't sleep well when I'm alone."
"Oh no!" Xun Suihuang exclaimed nervously, "Really?"
Xi Congshuang couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile: "It's fake."
Xun Suihuang: "..."
He pulled his hand away and turned to leave.
He had only taken a few steps when he saw a maid approaching him and saying, "General, the hot water is ready. Would you like to use it now?"
Xun Suihuang responded, stopped in place and turned around. Xi Congshuang was still in the same place, tilting her head with a puzzled look on her face.
In the end, she turned around, grabbed the wrist under the wide sleeve, and dragged the person into the room.
As night deepened, Xun Suihuang lay down on the bed, but she couldn't fall asleep, perhaps because she had slept too long that afternoon.
She sat up abruptly. Only one lamp was left on in the room, casting a dim light. The person on the bed could only see the screen in the center of the room.
Xi Congshuang also lived in the main courtyard, but she slept in the warm pavilion in the side room, which was originally Xun Suihuang's room in winter and was warmer than this place.
I recalled what I heard in Merlin: the lingering poison, the inability to sleep at night...
The crescent moon hung like a hook as a person, dressed in a robe, pushed open the door and walked towards the warm chamber, holding a candle.
Just as the person with a head full of ideas was about to step into the warm pavilion, he suddenly realized that his rash night raid seemed to be one of those who disturbed Xi Congshuang's peaceful dream.
Never mind, I'll check again tomorrow.
Although Xi Congshuang herself is a doctor, she has still heard the saying that a doctor cannot heal himself. Who says that a doctor cannot avoid seeking medical help?
She seems to be someone who avoids seeking medical help.
We definitely need to find a way to get her to take the pulse of another doctor we trust, so we can find out the situation clearly.
The memory of vomiting blood belatedly filled Xun Suihuang with dread. Most of the people she had seen who vomited so much blood were dead, and those who survived were weak and probably didn't have long to live.
Why aren't you asleep yet?
Just as Xun Suihuang was about to leave, Xi Congshuang's voice came from inside, and the person who was about to leave immediately stopped in front of the door.
Sure enough, after a slight commotion inside, someone approached the door and opened it.
Behind the door stood Xi Congshuang, dressed in a loose-fitting undergarment. Her face, devoid of makeup, appeared almost translucent in the night.
Xi Congshuang thought she had something to ask her, so she asked, "What's wrong?"
Xun Suihuang: "I couldn't sleep, so I came over to ask if you were cold."
Xi Congshuang was taken aback, then shook her head and said, "I'm not cold."
Xun Suihuang didn't believe it; she needed to see it for herself to be at ease. As the other party denied it, she touched the hand that was resting on the door with her palm. The touch was icy cold, not at all as cold as she had said.
She said with dissatisfaction, "You're lying. Your hands are so cold, yet you say they aren't."
Xi Congshuang chuckled: "But this temperature has always been the same. Maybe it's because I was reading and didn't bring my hands under the covers in time."
Now, no matter what Xi Congshuang says, Xun Suihuang hears it as sophistry. She called a maid to boil water and fill the hot water bottle, and she herself was not idle either, pushing people into the room.
“It’s already summer, go out and ask around, whose hands are this cold?” Xun Suihuang was also puzzled. “You’re a doctor yourself, don’t you know something’s wrong with your current condition?”
Xi Congshuang choked, not daring to say that this was her habit, because if she did, she would definitely be scolded.
Whether she spoke or not, Xun Suihuang saw through her and thought that she needed to put the matter of recuperating her health on the agenda.
The most worrying people are not those who openly resist, but those who remain silent and won't say anything even when asked.
Seeing a book that was half-read by the bed, Xun Suihuang picked it up and, before Xi Congshuang could protest, pressed down on her shoulder, saying, "I'm not reading anymore, go to sleep."
Xi Congshuang had no choice but to lie down and watch helplessly as the other party cleared away her bedtime reading materials and brought over a hot water bottle filled by a maid, placing the heavy object in her hand.
She sat down on the edge of the bed, stared at Xi Congshuang with the air of a great general, and said, "You sleep, I'll watch you."
From Xi Congshuang's perspective, one can see the soft light gently illuminating Xun Suihuang's face, making the decisive and efficient general appear gentle and tender.
At this point, it wouldn't be Xi Congshuang who would push her luck. Her hand, which had been pressed under the covers, reached out and slowly slid up the back of Xun Suihuang's hand.
"I didn't feel it just now, but now that you're here, I really feel a bit cold. Will you stay with me?" Xi Congshuang shifted her body to make room for us. "This bed isn't big, so it's perfect if we sleep together and keep each other warm."
Xun Suihuang: "..."
How could there be such a person in the world, a crown prince who combines the traits of a seductive concubine and a tyrannical ruler, who refuses to sleep at night and is busy pulling the general into his bed.
Those who couldn't resist the temptation were pulled along and lay down in the empty seats that had been given up.
A cool body pressed against his back. He opened his arms and embraced the person, placing a kiss on the smooth nape of her neck.
Xun Suihuang felt a sudden numbness. Her movements were stopped by the person behind her, who said softly, "Sleep well, goodnight."
*
No one expected that the first thing the Crown Princess did after being appointed during the Jianxing era to establish her authority was to overturn the verdict against the deposed Empress.
Empress Fang was deposed because of witchcraft. She committed suicide with a white silk ribbon in the cold palace. Her entire clan was implicated and executed.
The Crown Prince had only been appointed recently, the investiture ceremony had only been over a few days, and the imperial edict of general amnesty had not yet spread throughout the Great Yong territory when the Crown Prince submitted a petition requesting that the Empress Fang's case be overturned.
Every word in that sentence shocked everyone, but what was even more shocking was yet to come.
Facing the enraged Emperor Jianxing, the Crown Princess remained composed and presented numerous witnesses and physical evidence in front of the court officials to prove that Empress Fang was innocent.
Xun Suihuang had long anticipated this, and she, who was usually silent in the court, also stepped forward to request that Empress Fang be exonerated and that Grand Tutor Fang's reputation be restored.
So many years have passed, but Xun Suihuang still can't forget Grand Tutor Fang. That day happened to be the Grand Court Assembly, and Gu Daifang was also present. When she saw Xun Suihuang step forward to second the motion, she followed suit.
No matter what happened, the general was always right, and she did whatever the general did.
With Xun Suihuang leading the way, more and more people followed suit, and more and more court officials stepped forward.
However, most remained inactive, watching the tigers fight from the mountain.
This memorial was ultimately suppressed by Emperor Jianxing, who gritted his teeth and rebuked Xi Congshuang: "You are biased and do not deserve to be the crown prince."
While the officials in the Eastern Palace were filled with anxiety, fearing that they would be deposed, Xi Congshuang remained unmoved and simply said, "The imperial edict cannot be issued, and His Majesty cannot depose me. Just continue doing what you need to do."
These officials from the Eastern Palace arrived late and were unaware that Xi Congshuang's position as Crown Princess was self-proclaimed, so they naturally had more ways to prevent her from being deposed.
As Xi Congshuang said, Emperor Jianxing's "unfit to be the crown prince" seemed like a fallen leaf, or a catchphrase he often uttered. No matter how many times he said it, Xi Congshuang's position as crown prince remained as secure as Mount Tai.
However, this was only the beginning. At the next grand court assembly, Xi Congshuang once again submitted a petition requesting that Empress Fang be exonerated.
This time, more and more officials seconded the motion, with almost half of the court officials agreeing.
Whether they were followers or just joining in the fun, relying on the principle of "the law does not punish the masses," the final outcome certainly showed that they had a large and powerful force.
Emperor Jianxing was so angry that he vomited blood on the spot, and was about to scold Xi Congshuang for being unfilial and disrespectful to her brothers.
The court officials were also in a panic and cried out for the imperial physician.
Xun Suihuang was also a little flustered, thinking that the emperor could not die now, as this would make Xi Congshuang bear the crime of being unfilial.
But all of this was trivial to Xi Congshuang. The Crown Princess, who had just led the court officials in submitting a petition to exonerate Empress Fang, threw down her official tablet and strode up the steps: "I can't wait for the imperial physician, I'll come myself."
As she spoke, she took out a needle case from her wide sleeve and spread it out. The eunuch hurriedly brought her a candlestick and tore off the lampshade.
Everyone: "..."
I almost forgot what Her Highness the Crown Princess did before she became the Crown Princess.
He was a renowned doctor in the martial arts world, a doctor whose skills were hard to come by even with a high price tag, and a doctor who cured His Majesty and was thus recognized as a member of the imperial family.
Xi Congshuang simply heated the needle tip over the fire. She knew that Emperor Jianxing wouldn't die anytime soon, and even if he were to die, she would ensure his survival until Empress Fang was completely exonerated.
Do they really think that the Golden Silk Gu is a Gu worm that can be cultivated casually?
Emperor Jianxing was naturally awakened by the needle. When he opened his eyes, he was not facing the canopy above the dragon bed in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, but Xi Congshuang's eyes, and he was immediately startled.
His eyes looked very much like his when he was young, but they don't look like them now because he's gotten old.
Xi Congshuang knelt on one knee to one side, her robes trailing on the ground. The needle case beside her was open, and her slender fingers were twisting another silver needle. Her words were as cold as the coldest days of winter.
"Your Majesty, please issue an edict to exonerate Empress Fang."
Emperor Jianxing: "..."
Sometimes it's better to just die.
She didn't lift a finger, she just tortured him, and the tonics she prescribed were more effective than the elixirs Emperor Jianxing had taken before.
Emperor Jianxing tried to use the same trick again, but fainted. A sharp pain came from his philtrum as a golden needle was inserted into an acupoint, and the continuous pain stimulated Emperor Jianxing's senses.
I didn't feel dizzy at all; in fact, I was quite clear-headed.
Xi Congshuang continued, and even louder: "Your Majesty, please issue an edict to exonerate Empress Fang, cleanse the court, and restore the Fang family's innocence!"
After she spoke, more people echoed, "We beg Your Majesty to issue a decree to exonerate Empress Fang—"
As Xi Congshuang had predicted, Emperor Jianxing agreed to issue an edict to exonerate Empress Fang.
To slap oneself in the face in front of the whole world.
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It can't collapse, it's impossible for it to collapse (how could that be?).
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