Chapter 69. Imprisoned in the Eastern Palace.
Shen Mi looked incredulously at the wall where the chain had been drawn earlier; there were no mechanisms on it, just a perfectly smooth wall.
She tried pressing and tapping the wall with her fingertips, but nothing happened, and she couldn't find any trace of the mechanism.
She frowned involuntarily, her gaze shifting from the wall to her ankles.
If it weren't for the faint red mark on her ankle, Shen Mi would almost have thought that the past few months of being chained up in the Qingluan Palace were all an illusion, or rather, a dream.
Shen Mi reached under the other half of the quilt with her hand. The part where Gu Zhan had lain last night was cold. She didn't know when he left or when he would return.
The tent was empty except for a large luminous pearl that emitted a faint glow.
Shen Mi couldn't help but wonder, how could the person who had tied the chain for her yesterday have untied it without warning this morning? Wasn't he afraid she would escape?
This is completely out of character for Gu Zhan.
Could it be that he's testing her?
To test whether she would take this opportunity to escape?
Last night she tried to get the key from Gu Zhan, but Gu Zhan saw through her intentions in an instant. Gu Zhan said that he would let her go when it was time to let her go. Could he have been referring to this morning?
She wasn't sure whether they were testing her or really going to let her go.
After careful consideration, Shen Mi decided to wait and see how things unfolded.
She drew back the bed curtains and called Danju in to help her wash and dress.
When Danju saw that the chain restricting the Crown Princess's movements was no longer on her ankle, she was surprised, but she didn't show it on her face. She just washed her handkerchief in the warm water in the copper basin.
Shen Mi looked out the window. In her memory, such trivial matters had been repeated many times, but today, hearing the pattering of water, she felt a vague sense of unease, though she couldn't explain why.
After wiping her face with the handkerchief handed to her by Danju, she finally couldn't help but ask Danju, "Where is His Highness?"
Danju lowered her head and said, "This servant doesn't know either."
Seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, Shen Mi gave up on trying to find out what Gu Zhan was up to by looking at Danju. After all, she was with Gu Zhan almost every day, and she still couldn't figure out his thoughts, let alone a palace maid like him.
Gu Zhanruo didn't want Danju to know, so he definitely wouldn't tell her.
Danju helped her put on cloud-patterned stockings and said, "Your Majesty, let me do your hair and makeup."
Shen Mi nodded and sat down with her in front of the bronze mirror.
At first, everything was normal, but when it came time to put hair on, Danju took out a magnolia hairpin that Shenmi had never noticed before and was going to put it on her hair.
Although magnolia was her favorite flower, she couldn't help but think of how Gu Zhan had just picked a magnolia to adorn her hair yesterday, and then re-locked the chains on her ankles after returning to her bedchamber, which made her feel resistant.
"Change to another one. I don't want to wear this magnolia hairpin today."
Danju did not put the hairpin down, and said, "This is what His Highness ordered. Before he left, His Highness instructed me to make sure that when I do Your Highness's makeup this morning, you wear this magnolia hairpin."
Shen Mi was even more irritated. Gu Zhan was becoming more and more obsessive, even insisting on deciding what kind of hairpin she should wear.
She thought to herself, how could Gu Zhan suddenly have a change of heart and untie the chain from her ankle? Looking at it this way, he even cares about a hairpin. He's clearly testing her. If she takes the opportunity to have thoughts of escaping, she doesn't even want to think about what will happen.
She felt mocked and reached out to pull the magnolia hairpin off her hair. "Anyway, we can't go out, who am I wearing it for?"
No sooner had the words been spoken than Sun Cheng's voice came from outside the palace gate.
"Has Your Highness risen yet? His Highness gave some instructions before he left."
Shen Mi subconsciously wanted Sun Cheng to reply from outside the door. When she had that chain on her ankle that restricted her movement, out of shame, she never wanted more people to enter the inner hall, as if that would reduce some of the embarrassment.
She shifted her ankle but didn't hear the chain vibrate. Then she remembered that the annoying chain was no longer on her ankle, so she called Sun Cheng in.
Out of courtesy, Sun Cheng did not enter the screen where she usually lived, but stood outside the screen and said, "His Highness said that if Your Highness has finished washing up and having breakfast, this servant will order someone to prepare the carriage and send you and Miss Cuiwei home."
"Go home?" Shen Mi was immediately stunned.
Where does she still have a home?
With the deaths of her father and brother in battle, the General's Mansion in Yanzhou had long been handed over to the person who succeeded her father. After the deaths of her parents and brother, she also moved out of the General's Mansion. With the help of Wang Chengxian, a friend of her brother, she bought a small courtyard in Yanzhou to live in. After the three-year mourning period was over, she sold the courtyard and house with a broker before she left. The old mansion in Bianjing was probably already a ruin. The only places in the world that she could call "home" were the Eastern Palace, which had imprisoned her for a long time, and that small courtyard in Runzhou.
After a while, Shen Mi came to her senses and asked, "Are we going to Runzhou?"
“Runzhou?” Sun Cheng pondered the two words for a moment, then smiled and said, “Your Highness says it’s small, but Runzhou is far away. Your Highness means to send you away from the East Palace and back to your residence in Bianjing.”
Shen Mi was even more puzzled.
Is Gu Zhan really going to let her go?
She rose and walked around the screen, asking Sun Cheng, "Where is His Highness? Has he said when he will return?"
A hint of hesitation flashed across Sun Cheng's face. When he looked up again, he smiled politely at Shen Mi, "Your Highness has stumped this servant. How could we, as servants, possibly fathom His Highness's thoughts?"
Just then, the cooks came in and asked Shen Mi if she wanted her meal served.
After a moment's thought, Shen Mi called someone in to serve the dishes.
Since Gu Zhan told her to return to the Shen residence, why should she stay in the East Palace? If Gu Zhan asks about it later, it won't be because she ran away on her own.
She had someone call Cuiwei over. It had been so long since she had parted from Cuiwei, and her feelings were even more complicated. She wanted to say a few intimate words to Cuiwei, but since everyone around her was someone left behind by Gu Zhan, she didn't speak again and just had breakfast quietly with Cuiwei.
Everything seemed to have been arranged in advance. When Shen Mi and Cui Wei left, Dan Ju had already prepared some gold and silver valuables and handed her a cloak. Sun Cheng also said that the carriage was ready and waiting outside the East Palace.
Shen Mi nodded in agreement and thanked Sun Cheng.
As she was about to leave, she saw Yang Qing, who had been following Gu Zhan.
Yang Qing handed over a solid wooden box, saying, "Your Highness, this is what His Highness instructed you to take with you when you leave."
Shen Mi took the box and was about to open it when Yang Qing stopped her.
Yang Qing said, "His Highness instructed me to tell the Empress that this box should only be opened when the Empress has no other choice."
Although Shen Mi was puzzled, she did not open the box in front of everyone. She simply nodded to the others and got into the carriage with Cuiwei's help.
The distance between the Eastern Palace and the Shen family was not far, but it felt like Shen Mi had walked for a very long time.
In fact, it had been a long time since she had returned to her Shen residence in Bianjing. The last time she walked this road was six or seven years ago, on the day she married into the Eastern Palace.
The weather wasn't as sunny that day as it is today, but strangely, both times she walked this road, she had the same thought in her mind.
—What kind of person is Gu Zhan?
She thought about all the things that had happened between her and Gu Zhan over the past few years, but even as the carriage arrived at the Shen residence, she still had no answer.
Shen Mi had expected to be greeted by the long-abandoned Shen Mansion, just like when she first returned to Bianjing from Yanzhou, but what she saw was not so.
The door to the Shen residence was open, and a doorman was standing outside. Looking into the courtyard from the doorway, it seemed to have been swept and tidied up, and several maids could be seen walking by.
Shen Mi couldn't help but look up at the plaque in front of the house. Was this really the Shen residence?
Has it really been sold to someone else?
Sun Cheng, who had followed her all the way, noticed her doubts and took the initiative to explain: "Your Highness need not worry. After you left, His Highness has always instructed people to take care of the Shen residence, regularly cleaning and dusting it. Your living necessities have also been prepared. As for these people, they are not palace servants, but servants and maids that His Highness sent people to buy from brokers in the countryside. Their indentures should have already been prepared by Danju and placed in your luggage. If you don't like any of them, you can sell them off."
Shen Mi hummed in agreement, then lifted the hem of her skirt and climbed the steps.
The doorman standing guard at the entrance bowed respectfully and addressed her as "Your Majesty," presumably knowing her true identity.
Sun Cheng stood at the door without going in. He bowed to Shen Mi and said, "Your Highness and Miss Cuiwei, please settle in. This servant must return to the East Palace to report to His Highness."
Shen Mi did not stop her, only saying, "Thank you for your trouble."
Sun Chengfu left with the driver who brought her there.
Shen Mi turned around and looked around the courtyard. It was somewhat different from what she remembered, but not much had changed. She guessed that the original appearance had been preserved as much as possible during the later renovations. The rockeries, trees, pavilions, and corridors in the mansion were no different from what she remembered.
Following her memory, she returned to the courtyard where she had lived before her marriage. There were two maids in the courtyard sweeping snow, and they greeted her.
Shen Mi's doubts grew, and she still couldn't understand the meaning behind Gu Zhan's actions.
Yesterday, he suddenly untied the chain from her ankle and, contrary to his usual behavior, allowed her to go out. Such a taciturn person even played a snowball fight with her. Today, he hasn't shown his face once, only sending his two trusted confidants, Sun Cheng and Yang Qing, to escort her back to the Shen family.
As soon as she entered the room, she saw that charcoal braziers had already been lit. Ordinary people, unlike those in the palace, could not rely on underfloor heating, but with three or four charcoal braziers lit, the room was still exceptionally warm.
Everything in the Shen residence was arranged properly, so she and Cuiwei didn't have to do much. This gave Shen Mi the illusion that she hadn't been away from home for more than six years, but had only gone out for a short while.
After settling down at the octagonal table, Shen Mi remembered that she still had the box that Yang Qing had given her when she left the East Palace. Could there be any clues in the box?
She pondered for a moment, then tried to open the box, only to find a mechanism lock on it.
Cuiwei also noticed the lock on the box and asked in confusion, "Why is there a lock on this box? But I didn't see them give you the corresponding key. Could it be that they forgot?"
Shen Mi stared at the lock for a moment, then shook her head. "No, Sun Cheng and Yang Qing are His Highness's confidants. They would never make such a basic mistake as forgetting to give him the key."
"Then what is this...?"
Shen Mi was filled with doubts and didn't know which aspect to consider first, so she handed the box to Cuiwei and said, "Keep it safe for now. Maybe it's in that bundle. We can look for it slowly."
Gu Zhan must have his reasons for doing this.
Funing Hall.
When the Empress sent the message, it was the night of Yin. Gu Zhan immediately changed his clothes and entered the palace. However, according to the rules, the palace gates could not be opened at night unless it was an imperial edict or an urgent military matter. If they had to be opened, even if the Empress issued an imperial decree, there was a necessary procedure to follow. Therefore, it was an hour later when Gu Zhan actually entered the palace and arrived in front of the Funing Hall.
At this point, the official had recently taken the medicine and his body could no longer hold up, so he fainted again.
With the court session approaching, Gu Zhan, in the name of the Crown Prince, ordered the court session to be canceled for the day. The fact that the Emperor was too ill to get up was kept secret in the Funing Palace and not to be told to outsiders. As for attending to the sick, the Empress, Consort Li, Prince Wei, and Gu Zhan himself took turns to do so.
After arranging everything, Gu Zhan looked at the Empress, who had been guarding the Emperor all night; her eyes were already covered in dark circles.
He sighed softly, “Mother, why don’t you go and rest for a while and rejuvenate? I will stay here and watch over you.”
The Empress glanced at Gu Zhan with some concern, but did not get up. "It's alright. I'll rest after I see His Majesty wake up."
She and the Emperor were a couple who met later in life. When they met, she already had a husband, and the Emperor already had a favored Consort Li in the palace. Consort Li had just given birth to the Emperor's eldest son, Gu Shen. She thought that the Emperor was cold-hearted and that his feelings for her were just a passing fancy. Therefore, she did not dare to take the Emperor's promise to her in the marketplace seriously at first. But she never expected that the Emperor would truly keep his word in this regard.
Since she returned to the palace with the Emperor, she has risen from the lowest-ranking concubine to a county princess, then to a high-ranking consort, and finally, thanks to Gu Zhan's birth, became the Empress. It has been more than thirty years since then.
Over the years, the Emperor has treated her very well. Although as an emperor, he could not leave the six palaces empty for her, he has never said a harsh word to her. So now, seeing the Emperor lying on the couch with a waning complexion, it is impossible for her not to worry.
Even disregarding political interests, and considering only the affection between husband and wife, she hoped more than anyone else that the emperor would wake up soon.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade the Empress, Gu Zhan didn't persist. He simply sat at a table to the side and stayed with the Empress to watch over the Emperor.
After an unknown amount of time, the official seemed to be waking up, his words becoming incoherent.
The Empress leaned closer to listen and finally discerned that the syllables were "Crown Prince, summon the Crown Prince."
Her previously hazy consciousness instantly cleared, and she beckoned Gu Zhan over, "Zhan'er, come here quickly, your father is calling you."
Gu Zhan didn't dare to delay and immediately stepped forward.
After struggling for a moment, the official finally lifted his heavy eyelids.
He coughed violently a few times, then had the Empress help him sit up. He then looked at Gu Zhan and asked, "What exactly happened when the Crown Princess suffered a miscarriage at the Thousand Autumns Banquet?"
Gu Zhan lowered his eyes and replied, "This matter was clearly identified at the time. It was Princess Zhou of Wei who was jealous of Zhi Niang's child. Taking advantage of the crowd, she pushed Zhi Niang into the water. However, the palace maid who was serving Zhi Niang witnessed it. Although I jumped into the water to save Zhi Niang at the first moment, it was too late. Zhi Niang lost her child and also developed a chronic illness. In all these years, she and I have not had any more children."
At this point, a sharp pain shot through his heart.
What if he hadn't hesitated or been confused at the time, and had pulled Shen Mi back? Would the outcome have been different?
However, by this time she should have already returned to the Shen family smoothly under her own arrangements.
Whatever he may experience in the palace today, according to his arrangements, he should be able to keep Shen Mi safe and sound.
The Emperor took a few deep breaths and said, "Then why, why did the palace maid who served in the Eastern Palace say that the Crown Princess falling into the water was something you planned from the beginning? You instructed the palace maids to push the Crown Princess into the water in order to force the Prince of Wei to take up his fiefdom, just to frame the Princess of Wei for this?"
Gu Zhan knelt before the dragon bed and pleaded, "Your Majesty, I have absolutely no such intentions."
The Empress was also very anxious upon hearing this, and said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, please understand, how could Zhan'er do such a thing?"
Gu Zhan immediately followed up, "Your Majesty, the child in Zhi Niang's womb is also my child. How could I possibly use my wife and child to do such a shady thing? Or do you, Father, see me as such a rebellious son and traitor?"
Before calling out "Father," Gu Zhan hesitated for a moment. When the word "Father" came out of his mouth, it felt unfamiliar to him.
He had lost count of how many years it had been since he last called the Emperor "Father." It was like when he was a child, but ever since he learned his true identity and that he came into this world not because of his parents' love, but because the Emperor only wanted to give his beloved Empress a reason to be established as Empress, he never called her that again. From that moment on, he clearly understood that to the Emperor, he was more of a political tool.
From that time on, he never called the Emperor "Father" again, nor did he ever refer to himself as "Zhan'er" in front of him. For twenty years, he never regarded the Emperor as his father, but only as his monarch.
The emperor was indeed taken aback upon hearing this.
Gu Zhan observed the Emperor's expression and said, "Father, would you rather believe that palace maid than Zhan'er?" He paused and then said, "As for that so-called palace maid, please allow Zhan'er to confront her."
The Empress softened her voice and looked at the Emperor: "Then grant Zhan'er's request."
The Emperor looked at the Empress, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and he ordered the eunuch serving him to bring Caiyun up.
As soon as Caiyun entered and saw the Emperor, Empress and Crown Prince, she was so frightened that her legs went weak and she knelt on the ground.
The Emperor remained silent, leaning back against the cushions and letting the Empress soothe him.
Gu Zhan stood up from in front of the Emperor's bed, coldly glaring at Cai Yunshi, and once again put on the majestic demeanor of the Crown Prince. "There are many palace servants coming and going in the Eastern Palace. I have long forgotten you, but it doesn't matter. Tell me, when and where did I instruct you to push the Crown Princess into the water during the Thousand Autumns Banquet and then frame the Princess of Wei?"
Caiyun couldn't withstand Gu Zhan's questioning. It was all fabricated. Even though the Princess Consort of Wei had instructed her on how to answer if Gu Zhan asked, she still stammered in her reply.
“Back then, when I was serving in the Qingluan Palace where Consort Shen lived, the day before the Thousand Autumns Banquet, after Consort Shen had retired for the night, you summoned me to the outer courtyard and instructed me on what to do the next day.”
Gu Zhan snorted coldly, "Is there anyone else to corroborate your testimony? If not, your words are a deliberate attempt to slander the Crown Prince, a capital offense."
Caiyun felt even more flustered. She was just a palace maid who had been released from the palace long ago when she reached the required age. She thought she could have a few good days, but she never expected that she would get into this kind of trouble five years after leaving the palace.
The King of Wei has taken her family hostage. If she doesn't confess to the crime, he will kill her family. She dares not disobey. Now the Crown Prince also says that if no witnesses can be found, he will kill her. But she knows in her heart that if she confesses to the King of Wei, she will be doomed. She is only doing this to protect her family.
She looked up at Gu Zhan, tears streaming down her face, "Your Highness, you are the Crown Prince, and my family is in your hands. Why are you making things so difficult for me? Since you have already determined that I am guilty, then I will grant your wish!"
After she finished speaking, she steeled herself and, before anyone could react, rammed her head against a pillar in the Funing Hall.
When Gu Zhan tried to pull her up, she had already collapsed to the ground, her forehead covered in blood.
The palace eunuchs rushed to check her breathing, but immediately withdrew their hands, looked at the Emperor, and said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, she's dead..."
Gu Zhan's face darkened. In this way, there would truly be no way to verify the facts. Neither he nor the Prince of Wei had any "witnesses," and the outcome of this matter rested entirely with the Emperor.
He waved his hand at the eunuch and said, "Carry the person away first, lest it offend the Emperor and the Empress's eyes."
The eunuch should go down.
Although the Empress was stunned, she quickly recovered and said, "Your Majesty, that matter happened several years ago. Why don't we just let it go?"
The Emperor patted the Empress's hand and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, no matter what, I guarantee that this matter will not implicate you."
The Empress wanted to speak again, but the Emperor looked at Gu Zhan and said, "I know what I'm doing. You may leave now. I want to say a few words to your mother."
Upon hearing the Emperor's words, Gu Zhan, despite having a thousand things to say, could only swallow them back for the time being.
After Gu Zhan left, the eunuch brought in the medicine, which the Empress took and fed to the Emperor.
After taking the medicine and recovering for a while, the official asked someone to bring over the memorial he had been halfway through reviewing yesterday so he could continue reading.
Although his illness had progressed to the point where the Crown Prince should have been in charge of the country long ago, a series of recent events made him realize that the Crown Prince was still not steady enough, and that the affairs of state could not be entrusted to him in this way.
The Empress stayed by his side the whole time, without saying a word, just quietly keeping him company.
The matters on the memorials were nothing more than trivial matters, until the Emperor came across a memorial in which someone accused the Crown Prince of having a close relationship with the Commander of the Imperial Guards, and that the two were suspected of exchanging favors privately.
No wonder Gu Zhan was able to mobilize the Imperial Guards to go to Shen's residence first and obstruct the people sent by Guo Feng from the Ministry of Justice from handling the case; it turns out they had a prior relationship.
The Crown Prince has a private relationship with the leader of the Imperial Guards. What is the Crown Prince planning? He is only ill and not yet unable to handle state affairs. Is he already thinking of forcing the emperor to abdicate and rebel?
The emperor was furious and wanted to lash out, but when he turned around, he found that the empress had fallen asleep beside his bed at some point, probably because she was extremely tired and sleepy.
He sighed softly, summoned the eunuch, whispered a few instructions in his ear, and sent him to carry them out.
Then he lifted the covers, got up, carried the sleeping empress onto the bed, and told her to lie on his inside.
After Gu Zhan was dismissed by the Emperor, he did not leave Funing Palace, but stayed temporarily in the back hall of Funing Palace, living next to the Prince of Wei.
He still had the sachet that Shen Mi had given him tied around his waist. He took it off and stroked the familiar patterns on it, and Shen Mi's face appeared before his eyes again.
When he heard the news yesterday, he had a rough idea that things would develop to this point. He wasn't sure how much of a chance he could turn the tide this time.
At this moment, an eunuch from the Emperor's side knocked on the door to deliver an imperial edict: "Your Highness, the Emperor summons you back to the Eastern Palace. You are not to leave without his decree."
Gu Zhan was taken aback. Was this a plan to imprison him in the Eastern Palace?
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Author's Note: I expect a 10,000-word update tomorrow. [clasped hands]
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