Chapter 114 Taihe

Sui Yan opened his eyes in a daze, and all he saw was the beams of the house cast against the shadow of the swaying candle.

He was exhausted and struggled to sit up. Suddenly he felt his face was wet and hot. He reached out his hand and found it was full of hot tears.

It was still dark, and it seemed only midnight.

Sui Yan looked at the water stains on his fingertips in confusion, wiped his face with his sleeves, and then reached out to rub his eyes.

"You're pressing your eyes again?"

He muttered and rubbed his eyes for a long time before his tears stopped.

The candle on the table had burned down to the bottom and was about to go out, so Sui Yan hurriedly lifted the quilt to relight the candle.

It was just that he had just woken up from a nightmare and felt extremely sore all over. As soon as his feet touched the cold ground, his knees gave way and he fell straight down.

At the same time, the candle on the small table suddenly jumped twice and went out.

The small side room of the Ministry of Justice was too narrow, and at night it was pitch dark.

Sui Yan stood up with the help of the bed and looked around blankly, but could see nothing.

He tried to take two steps forward, his bare feet stepping on the cold stone floor. The chill climbed up along his meridians little by little, piercing his heart.

Sui Yan had been afraid of darkness since his previous life. He always kept the lights on all night long, no matter what time it was, and never turned them off.

In the Marquis' Mansion, Haitang would help him light the lamp every night. But after he came to the Ministry of Justice and became a prisoner, there was no one to serve him in the middle of the night. Fortunately, he slept until noon in the past few days and never had to worry about such trivial matters.

Today, he was awakened by a nightmare for the first time in his life in the middle of the night. He couldn't even find the candle and there was only darkness in front of him.

Sui Yan frowned and fumbled around the small table and cabinet for a long time but still found nothing. He followed the faint light to find the door - perhaps he had been too well-behaved in the past few days, and there was no one guarding the house in the middle of the night. He called for a long time but no one paid any attention to him.

Sui Yan had no choice but to grope his way back to the bed, curled up in the quilt and forced himself to fall asleep.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." He closed his eyes tightly and murmured to comfort himself, "The light is not light, and the darkness is not darkness. When I close my eyes, it is still dark in front of me. There is no difference whether the light is on or not..."

He murmured nonsense to comfort himself, and the sound of long-forgotten memories faintly rang in his ears.

"The beauty of the sun and the moon, brilliant..."

Sui Yan's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.

The darkness before my eyes had slowly transformed into the desolate and dilapidated palace of my previous life. Spider webs covered the beams, the candlestick was placed on a small table with a missing corner, and there was a crack in the window frame.

The wild cat ran quickly on the eaves, making sharp cries.

Sui Yan stared at the candles blankly, seemingly unresponsive.

"The sun and the moon, the splendor of the wind, shine upon all."

There was a soft murmur in his ears, like a whisper or a song to lull people to sleep, which made Sui Yan even more confused and stunned.

Li Zhao opened the bed curtain and saw Sui Wanggui was still awake. He said helplessly, "Your Highness still can't sleep?"

Sui Wanggui was stunned for a moment before he nodded softly: "Uncle Zhao, I seem to have had a nightmare."

Li Zhao walked in slowly holding a candlestick, illuminating the wide bed curtain with bright warmth.

He sat beside the footstool, stretched out his warm hand to touch Sui Wangui's forehead, and said softly: "Don't be afraid, my lord. I have been waiting outside."

Sui Wanggui blinked his eyes, cold sweat dripping from the corner of his forehead. He leaned slightly, his lips pale: "My mother always sang that song to me when I was young. At that time, no matter how naughty I was, my mother would never beat or scold me..."

Under the candlelight, Li Zhao's face looked a little cold, but his eyes were extremely gentle.

"Madam has a gentle temperament, and the prince follows her."

Sui Wanggui's eyes were a little dazed, and he murmured, "I miss my mother..."

There was a flash of pain in Li Zhao's eyes. He patted his shoulder gently, said nothing more, and hummed the unfinished song again.

"The sun and the moon shine brightly on us, and the sun, the moon, the stars and the universe are in harmony with the four seasons..."

Sui Wanggui gently curled up in the quilt, half of his face buried in the pillow, and after a long time, he choked and let out suppressed low sobs.

The song in my ears is still whispering slowly, but it seems to be getting farther and farther away until it disappears.

After an unknown amount of time, Sui Wanggui opened his eyes again, only to find that Li Zhao had disappeared without a trace.

Candles the size of beans were burning slowly on the table, and the huge room was empty.

He got out of bed in a single layer of clothes and walked out tremblingly.

The palace was desolate and cold. In the dark corners illuminated by the moon, it seemed as if countless green-faced, fang-toothed ghosts and monsters were hiding.

Sui Wanggui was trembling all over. He staggered and ran barefoot in the huge palace, calling out various people's names at the top of his lungs.

His mind went blank, and he only vaguely remembered shouting...

"Mother..."

"Third Prince..."

Yes, these were the people he summoned every time he had nightmares in his previous life.

The palace was empty like a haunted house. A cold wind whistled through the halls, making a sound like the weeping of a fierce ghost.

Sui Wanggui opened the doors of every room and searched them one by one. It felt like several days had passed, but he didn't find a single person.

He was covered in cold sweat and became more and more tired as he ran. Finally, he seemed to have missed a step and tumbled down the long stairs.

His thin body was half lying on the cold ground. He seemed to feel no pain. He opened his eyes in confusion and saw his pale fingers in the moonlight. He didn't know what he was thinking.

Suddenly murmured.

"Ming Chong..."

In an instant, the surrounding scene was like a broken bronze mirror, shattering into pieces and dissipating in the air.

Sui Yan suddenly opened his eyes.

It was already bright outside, but for some reason he was lying on the cold ground wrapped in a quilt.

He looked listless and struggled to crawl back to the couch. His vision was a little blurry and he raised his hand to touch.

Another hand of tears.

Sui Yan just felt exhausted, but when he thought about it carefully, he had no idea what kind of nightmare he had.

He covered his chest and coughed weakly a few times, muttering to himself, "Did I sleepwalk and get into a fight with someone last night?"

Otherwise why would you be so tired and still lying on the ground?

He didn't understand what was going on, and before he could find out more, he heard the sound of a door being unlocked.

Soon, Song Xian came out with a piece of paper in his hand, and said calmly: "The guilty minister Sui Yan, get on your way."

Sui Yan was putting on his clothes. He glanced at him gloomily and said, "Speak human language."

Song Xiancai curled his lips and said, "The civil and military officials of the whole court have been arguing about you for several days. Your Majesty may be annoyed by the arguing. I summon you to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to be sentenced immediately. May you be blessed."

Sui Yan tilted his head and coughed again, his voice a little hoarse: "You may want to find me a doctor first."

Song Xian walked forward with a frown on her face, reached out and touched his forehead, and was immediately startled: "Do you have a fever?"

Sui Yan's eyes were full of mist, and he glared at him: "Can't you figure it out?"

Song Xian said: "Now that we have found it, we can even boil eggs."

Behind him was the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple who came with Song Xian. Seeing that Sui Yan had no intention of leaving, he walked in and said coldly, "Please hurry up, my lord. His Majesty is still waiting in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. If you delay, I'm afraid you will be more guilty."

Song Xian glanced at him and said coldly, "Your Majesty has not yet made a decision, but you are so sure that the Marquis will be convicted. Do you think you are better than Your Majesty?"

The Tingwei looked at him coldly. Song Xian had quarreled with him most fiercely in the court. He realized that there was no benefit in quarreling here. He only said: "Please hurry up, my lord, and don't delay too long."

Song Xian was too lazy to pay attention to him, so he helped Sui Yanxi up and said, "I have an order from His Majesty to take you to see the imperial physician first. Please bear with it for now."

The court judge had been planning to wait outside, but upon hearing this, he immediately turned around and said in a cold voice, "Sir Song, are you really planning to disobey the emperor's order?"

Song Xian half-supported the paralyzed Sui Yan and said coldly, "Sui Anhou is so seriously ill, do you still want to take him to the Hall of Supreme Harmony? If he really gets into trouble because of your obstruction, can you afford it?"

The Tingwei Zheng said in a stern voice: "Your Majesty wants us to take Marquis Sui'an to the Hall of Supreme Harmony immediately without delay. You said Marquis Sui'an was seriously ill, but I heard that he was living very well in the Ministry of Justice these days, even more comfortable than in the Marquis' Mansion. Who knows if he is pretending to be like this now?"

Song Xian had a bad temper to begin with, and upon hearing that he almost wanted to go up and fight him to the death.

Sui Yan was already feeling dizzy, and when he heard Song Xian and the court official arguing, he interrupted them irritably, "Stop arguing, it's just a small matter, let's go to the Hall of Supreme Harmony!"

Song Xian felt hot under his clothes where he touched Sui Yan's wrist, and frowned as he said, "But you..."

Sui Yan grabbed the cloak left by Duan Mingchong and put it on, saying weakly, "I won't die for a while, don't worry about it."

Song Xian really wanted to throw him out.

The Chief Justice snorted coldly, seeming to feel quite happy about having turned the tables.

Sui Yan raised his eyes and looked at him impatiently: "Don't be so proud. If I don't die this time, you will suffer in the future. I don't have any other advantages, but I hold grudges."

Ting Wei Zheng: "..."

Less than half an hour later, Sui Yan was supported by Song Xian to the outside of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The old eunuch waiting at the door saw Sui Yan's pale face, and hurriedly walked over to him and whispered, "Master Hou, what is this..."

Sui Yan forced a smile: "It's no problem."

Song Xian's face was gloomy, but he still forced a smile and said, "Please send someone to ask the imperial physician to wait outside the palace. Lord Sui'an has a high fever now. Please cook some ginger soup. By the way, do you want some ginger soup?"

Sui Yan glanced at him, coughed, and said unhappily: "I'm not that picky, just put more sugar and less ginger."

His voice was a little low, so the old eunuch couldn't hear it clearly. Song Xian, who was close by, nodded and said, "Sui An Hou is not picky. Just add more shredded ginger and no need to add sugar."

The old eunuch nodded quickly.

Sui Yan: “…”

The Chief Justice was watching from the side with a frown on his face, but he did not make any more sarcastic remarks.

Sui Yan gently brushed away Song Xian's hand, forced himself to stand firmly, and was about to enter the Hall of Supreme Harmony when his eyes suddenly swept to the corridor at the side, where several soldiers were escorting a woman towards them.

Sui Yan frowned.

銀拖?

The court official was urging him, "My Lord, please clear it up."

Sui Yan finally came to his senses and walked into the Hall of Supreme Harmony with shaky steps.

It was already time to leave the court, but not many of the civil and military officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony had left. They all stood on both sides, staring at Sui Yan with all kinds of emotions in their eyes.

Sui Yan felt a little dizzy. He forced himself to take a few steps and Song Xian gently pushed his arm.

Sui Yan then lifted his coat hem and knelt down to salute: "Greetings, Your Majesty."

The ground was too icy. As soon as Sui Yan's knees touched the ground, he felt a wave of coldness sweeping over him, stimulating his hot body and causing it to tremble slightly.

Duan Mingchong was tall and slender. He had been staring at Sui Yan since he came in. When he got closer and saw his pale face, he took a breath and rushed forward almost uncontrollably.

Emperor Bei Lan sat on the dragon chair, looking down at Sui Yan who was kneeling on the ground.

Perhaps it was because Sui Yan was shaking so violently that even the emperor couldn't bear it anymore and frowned and asked, "Is Wang Gui not feeling well again?"

Sui Yan kowtowed and said lightly, "Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty. It's not a big deal that I forgot to return. It's just that the Chief Justice was very impartial and stern in enforcing the law today. I am a timid person and can't stand being frightened. I just said a few words and will be fine later."

The emperor turned his gaze towards Ting Wei Zheng who was standing nearby.

At the same time, Sui Xun and Duan Mingchong's cold and sharp eyes shot over like sharp swords.

Ting Wei Zheng: "..."

Sui Yan was still thinking in a daze: I've told you I hold a grudge, you deserve it.

The author has something to say:

The splendor of the sun and moon shines upon people, and the sun, moon, stars and planets follow the four seasons. This is from the song of Qing Yun [The splendor of the sun and moon shines day after day. The sky is bright, and the stars are shining... The four seasons follow the rules, and all people are sincere.]