Chapter 29 Soul on the Locust Tree Now it's your turn to make the choice.
A bloodstained, broken knife lay across the sage's desk, its nicks still dripping with flesh and blood. The mangled lion's head, stained with blood, opened its crimson eyes.
"Why did you kill him?" the emperor asked slowly.
The doors and windows were locked, plunging the palace into a cold, sticky darkness. Sunlight struggled to squeeze in through the cracks in the window frames, beams of light silently dividing the vast and deep palace.
Tiny specks of light drifted in the stagnant air. Behind the shattered blades of light lay the lair of a colossal beast, exuding a stale and oppressive aura of blood and rust.
Fu Sui knelt alone in the hall, with a resolute determination, beneath the giant beast's sharp teeth.
"Because he deserves to die."
The emperor sat upright on it, hidden in layers of light and shadow.
His gaze swept over Fu Sui, gently smoothing away Fu Sui's sharp edges.
"Whose idea was this?"
"It was my own idea."
Fu Sui did not hesitate at all. She had to, and could only, bear the label of "unauthorized" on herself.
Her magnificent robes were stripped away, her skin and flesh were stripped away, and a skeleton knelt on the ground, outlining an image of submission, once again revealing her most honest inner self.
Thump, thump, thump.
It was the emperor tapping the armrest, slowly and heavily.
The hard blue bricks hurt Fu Sui's knees, and she lowered her head and bent over, trying her best to show respect and obedience.
"Qin An instigated it?" The emperor's voice was light and airy, like a feather, yet it carried an undeniable authority.
The cold air surged upwards from his knees, and tiny, hair-like ice spikes sprouted from his bones, causing a dense, stinging pain that spread throughout his limbs and bones.
Fu Sui lowered his head even further, almost burying it in the dark cracks between the bricks: "I did not instigate him."
The emperor coldly replied, "There is no need to cover up for criminals."
Upon hearing this, Fu Sui's hand, which was pressed against the ground, tensed instantly, her fingertips turning pale and bleeding from the force. Her back trembled slightly uncontrollably, and resentment and grief surged wildly in her chest. She tried to keep her voice steady so as not to sound like an interrogation.
"What crime has Qin An committed?"
A cold laugh came from the lofty light and shadow: "It is a sin for him to let you take risks."
Fu Sui could no longer care about anything else. She crawled forward on her knees, looked up at the heavy anger emanating from in front of the pine screen, and urgently defended herself, saying, "Although I have neglected my duties, my crime does not warrant death."
The emperor's gaze lingered for a moment on Fu Sui's pale face, a subtle, indescribable emotion stirring within it, which ultimately culminated in a barely audible sigh. His tone softened slightly, yet carried a sense of finality: "Go back. Don't get involved anymore."
"His Majesty!"
Fu Sui's voice suddenly rose. She had made all the arrangements and was going all in for this moment. The crime of murder must not fall on Qin An's head.
"Qin An couldn't kill Wang Yifu; he's probably still watching a play at Ci'en Temple."
As the sharp, icy gaze shot towards him, Fu Sui stubbornly straightened his neck, meeting the fury and scrutiny from the depths of the abyss, and emphasized each word clearly: "Everyone watching the show knows where Qin An is today, and all of Wang Yifu's servants know who killed Wang Yifu."
The emperor leaned slightly forward, the candlelight elongating his shadow, which overlapped and enveloped Fu Sui. Fu Sui's petite figure appeared insignificant in the empty hall; a mere shadow was enough to imprison her.
He countered by asking Fu Sui, "Do you know that the emperor is subject to the same laws as the common people?"
"Then take me to a joint trial."
As soon as Fu Sui finished speaking, the emperor's expression changed. His voice was deep and resonant, like muffled thunder rolling through thick clouds, echoing through the hall, revealing immense anger: "Are you threatening me?"
Fu Sui's heart nearly stopped; she knew the emperor was truly enraged this time. But she couldn't back down; she had to get the emperor to relent today, no matter what. All the sharpness vanished instantly. She pressed her lips tightly together, her tear-filled eyes filled with grievance and accusation: "It's clearly my brother who won't help Ningning." As soon as she opened her mouth, tears streamed down her face, each drop landing on the lavish, vibrant hem of her skirt spread across the blue bricks.
The glint of the blade flashed for a moment, reflecting in the emperor's unfathomable eyes, adding a chilling depth. He stared intently at Fu Sui, as if he wanted to tear her apart.
Fu Sui crawled on her knees to the emperor's side, prostrating herself at his feet. She raised her tear-stained face, exposing her slender neck and graceful curves to the emperor's view without reservation, so fragile that the emperor could easily crush her delicate life with a single hand.
"Your Majesty is a strict and just emperor, but Your Majesty is also Ningning's elder brother. Why can't your elder brother help Ningning?"
She's gambling.
She gambled on the emperor's guilt towards the Prince of Jin, she gambled on the emperor's intangible affection, she gambled on the fact that she was still useful to the emperor...
She reached out, trembling, cautiously, with the clinging and despair of an orphan, and tugged at the emperor's drooping robe. Clutching the fabric that symbolized supreme power, she clung obediently to the emperor's leg and pleaded plaintively, "Brother, Ningning cannot escape punishment. Only you can help Ningning."
The emperor closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, letting Fu Sui plead and cry.
The low sobs coiled around the emperor's legs like vines, the intermittent whimpers clinging to the coiled dragons dancing on the beams, dripping wetly downwards. Finally, when Fu Sui's voice became hoarse, a hand gripped her chin, forcing her to sit up and look up at the emperor.
The emperor's fingers nearly crushed Fu Sui's bones, yet Fu Sui dared not cry out in pain. He stared at Fu Sui for a long time before the fingers gripping his chin loosened their pressure.
His large hand stroked her cheek, his not-so-delicate thumb tracing along her ear and cheek before pressing against her lips: "Ningning, you've grown up. Don't always make your brother feel awkward."
His voice sounded slightly tired, carrying a sense of helplessness at the settling of things.
"Go back and copy 'Loyalty and Filial Piety' five hundred times, and learn how to be a noble lady. As for Qin An... he may be spared the death penalty, but he will not escape punishment. He will be given thirty strokes of the cane as a warning."
The early summer sky was a clear, almost blindingly blue. Fu Sui stepped out of the palace gate, looked up at the clear blue sky above, and let out a long sigh, releasing all the resentment in her heart. She wiped away the remaining tears on her face, and with each step, she was once again the willful and arrogant Princess Yong'an.
Inside the palace, the emperor wiped the blood off the lion's head with his thumb. He recognized the knife, or rather, he recognized it before anyone else.
When he was seven years old, he accompanied his father to the palace to meet the emperor. A commander of the imperial guards, who was of Hu origin, resented Emperor Su because he was not as favored as other Hu officials. He gathered dozens of people to assassinate Emperor Su.
He wandered aimlessly through the palace and bumped into a hidden assassin who, fearing he would leak information, wanted to kill him.
At the critical moment, the Prince of Jin happened to pass by and struck the assassin in the eye with his wooden sword, which he used for martial arts practice, allowing him to escape. Later, to express his gratitude to the Prince of Jin for saving his life, he presented the sword to the Prince.
Now, only he himself knows the origin of this knife.
The emperor gripped the hilt of the sword and examined its blade closely. More than a decade later, the sword remained sharp.
The emperor also felt guilty about what happened back then. He had only intended to incite the Prince of Jing and the Prince of Jin to fight each other like the snipe and the clam, but he never expected the Prince of Jin to die so quickly and suddenly. His surprise upon learning of the Prince of Jin's death and his unease at being imprisoned by Emperor Su eventually turned into excitement.
Because he sensed Emperor Su's fear.
A prince died quietly in his fiefdom, while those who orchestrated it all remained unscathed. Could it be that one day an emperor will also die quietly on his throne?
Emperor Su could kill the Prince of Jing and slaughter the Empress's clan, but he couldn't kill Wang Yifu. A flood of memorials overwhelmed Emperor Su, with everyone criticizing him verbally and in writing. For the first time, Emperor Su felt the loss of power.
The faster the Prince of Jin died, the more terrified Emperor Su became; the more tragically the Prince of Jin's death, the more Emperor Su trembled. But he had no time left; he needed someone to wrest power back from the powerful clans.
The excitement and exhilaration of that day still make him burst into laughter when he thinks back on it. He spent thirteen years painstakingly removing the thorns the Wang family had left in the court, and finally, the time for a decisive battle had come.
He reached back and picked up a teacup from the table. A flash of cold light swept across the cup, and it shattered in two, the contents of the teacup rolling to the ground mixed with blood and tea.
The emperor stood solemnly, sword in hand, his eyes burning with lust for power and murderous intent.
Now it's the aristocratic families' turn to make a choice.
If the flogging of thirty strokes were to be carried out properly, it could take half a life. Fu Sui could no longer plead for Qin An and could only spread the news to Prince Mu.
When Prince Mu heard that Qin An had been punished by the Emperor for not performing his duties well, he was extremely anxious. He was worried about Qin An's fine skin, as smooth as mutton fat jade, and thought it would be a pity to damage it. So he sent silver to the Inner Palace like water. Sure enough, after thirty strokes of the cane, although his buttocks and legs were bruised and swollen, there was no blood and flesh flying everywhere, nor was there any internal damage.
Xu Asheng personally supervised the execution, but faced with this heavily diluted method of beating, he simply closed his eyes and pretended not to see it.
Taking advantage of Qin An's punishment, Prince Mu brought up the old matter again, wanting to take Qin An away from Fu Sui. He even sent many good medicines and tonics, which angered Qin An so much that he smashed the medicines to pieces and viciously slandered Prince Mu. Fu Sui, the instigator, fearing that he would be implicated, locked himself in his room and burned the midnight oil, pretending to be studying "Loyalty and Filial Piety" diligently.
Every few words Ji'er wrote, she would sigh: "Princess, why don't you write some yourself? How long will it take me to write five hundred times?"
After a few days of dejection, Fu Sui finally cheered himself up and found all the romantic legends he could find in the library, intending to study them carefully so that he could conquer Yue Shanling in one fell swoop.
She heard Ji'er complaining, looked up at Ji'er's gloomy face, then at the mountain of papers, and at Kouyun, whose arm ached from grinding ink and was shaking it. Once again, she felt that her decision to raise Ji'er was incredibly wise.
Actually, Ji'er's handwriting wasn't very similar to Fu Sui's, but about seven or eight parts similar was enough. Judging from Fu Sui's past behavior, even if Fu Sui copied it himself five hundred times, the emperor wouldn't believe it; just showing an attitude of admitting his mistake would suffice.
Fu Sui only dared to exchange himself for Qin An because he was certain the emperor wouldn't actually punish him severely. Otherwise, Fu Sui would rather let Wang Yifu go than risk losing his head.
"Take your time writing, I'm not in a hurry." Fu Sui made no mention of copying.
Ji'er stretched out her arms and lay face down on the table, yelling, "I can't take it anymore, my wrists are going to break!"
Fu Sui was weaving five-colored threads. Yesterday, she received a birthday gift from Yue Shanling: a set of clay whistles. Fu Sui looked at this pile of toys that only children would play with, her face darkened, and she studied storybooks all night. This morning, she started weaving five-colored threads.
"I just made some crispy cheese, Your Highness, please have a taste." Yi Hong pushed open the door, and Fei Qing came in carrying a food box.
Dai Ling quickly hung the paper cutter back on the pen holder, and looked at Fu Sui with her big, watery eyes: "Princess, you've been busy all morning, you should take a break."
"Eat whatever you want, I won't shortchange you on a bite of cheese." Fu Sui didn't even look up, picking up a tiny gold bead and threading it onto the five-colored tassel.
Dai Ling was not ashamed that her thoughts had been exposed. She got up and moved closer to Fu Sui: "If the princess doesn't eat, how can I dare to eat? Good princess, let's rest for a while. My stomach is pounding."
Kouyun rubbed her aching arms and chuckled, "This morning you ate three fist-sized steamed buns with delicate fillings, plus a vegetarian glutinous rice ball. It's only been a few hours, and your stomach is already churning with food?"
Fu Sui was driven to desperation by Dai Ling's antics, so he had no choice but to put the five-colored thread aside for the time being.
The first layer of the food box was a small food tray. On top of the cream cheese in the glass bowl were pitted cherries, diced April cabbage, and dried dates, with a small silver spoon next to them. Fei Qing placed the food tray in front of Fu Sui before opening the second layer of the food box.
The second tier has three small plain porcelain bowls, filled with ghee, topped with mulberry jam, and also decorated with some cherries and peach pieces.
Ji'er, who had been lying on the table pretending to be dead, suddenly jumped up when she heard there was food. She gathered up the papers scattered on the desk, picked up a small bowl, and went to eat cheese with Dai Ling and Kou Yun.
In the afternoon, Fu Sui left Yi Hong to help Ji'er copy books, and after resting for a while, he went to his small study to write a petition. Before finishing copying the books, Fu Sui wanted to leave the mansion, and the Emperor granted his request.
As Fu Sui was writing, Kou Yun came in carrying a freshly added pot of hot water, took out a neatly folded piece of paper and handed it to her: "This was sent by Cheng Liwu." Without waiting for Fu Sui's instructions, she left.
Wang Yifu and his servants were brutally murdered in the outskirts of the capital. The emperor was furious and ordered the Three Departments and the Imperial Guard to jointly apprehend the murderer and solve the case within a specified time. However, the "real culprit" was captured in just two days. After being identified by one of Wang Yifu's attendants who had escaped death due to unconsciousness, he was beheaded today.
Seven criminals were apprehended in this case, and the Emperor personally appointed the Dali Temple to preside over the trial. After a severe torture session, the criminals confessed that they were subordinates of the King of Jing, and that the King of Jing's defeat was due to Wang Yifu breaking his promise and refusing to help, hence the ruthless killing of Wang Yifu.
When Cheng Liwu went to witness the execution, some of the onlookers recognized one of the criminals as someone who had indeed served Prince Jing. This criminal even hurled insults at Wang Yifu at the execution ground, and his words were also disrespectful to Emperor Su and the Retired Emperor.
The murderer, the confession, the accomplice who identified him, and the common people who revealed the murderer's identity. Less than ten days have passed since Wang Yifu's death. Although the reason for the murder is not as rigorous as Qin An's revenge for his master, there are both witnesses and physical evidence, and no fault can be found. It does not seem like a last-minute change of plans.
Fu Sui turned the pen upside down and slowly tapped it on the table. It seemed the Emperor had anticipated Qin An couldn't hide it from her and had already made two preparations.
He'd made a mess of things and ended up with five hundred extra lines of copying punishment. He should have just left the mess alone; Wang Yifu wasn't going to survive anyway. Fu Sui treated Qin An and the Emperor equally when it came to cursing them; those two were never going to give him a moment's peace. If they didn't share the same ancestor as the Emperor, Fu Sui would have loved to kick the royal ancestral tombs a couple of times to vent his anger.
There was also a note tucked inside the paper, the seal intact, indicating that Cheng Liwu had never opened it.
The note contained only four words: "Consort Feng regains favor."
Fu Sui touched her chin. The spot where the emperor had pinched her was long gone, but the pain was still sharp and lingering. Her cunning cousin had almost sent Qin An to his death with a single sentence, and even she had been reprimanded. Could Consort Feng be some kind of demon with dragon spittle? The crime of falsely conveying the emperor's will could not outweigh the emperor's favor.
Unfortunately, the Feng family's schemes were aimed at the submissive Yanshan. If it were Fu Sui, he would have seized the opportunity to demand large sums of benefits from the emperor.
She burned the note, grabbed the half-written petition filled with flattery and apologies, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it on the ground. She then rewrote it on another sheet of paper. Apart from the routine flattery of "Your Majesty's virtue is vast and your divine achievements are manifest," she only wrote the sentence "I wish to go on a trip for the Dragon Boat Festival," and presented it to the Emperor along with the thirty copies of the petition she had already made.
It's possible to copy it 500 times and it will last until next year. At first, I was willing to pretend even though I felt I was messing up the emperor's plans. Now I think it's hard to say who is scheming against whom, so what's the point of pretending?
The next day, Xu Zhiyi arrived at the door precisely at the time when Fu Sui finished his breakfast.
"The princess wishes to travel, and the emperor will naturally grant it. Such a small matter can be decided by the princess herself; there is no need to consult the emperor's will on every matter." He copied the book five hundred times without mentioning a single word.
Fu Sui gritted his teeth inwardly. This was really a plan to make her copy until next year. Ji'er's calligraphy skills were already quite good.
Kouyun led the servants to set out some snacks and fruits: "I'm sorry to trouble Minister Xu to make this trip. These fruits were just delivered today. Please enjoy them, Minister Xu."
Xu Zhiyi waved his hand and stood up: "I really can't rest. I still have errands to run and need to go to the Marquis of Yuyang's residence."
"The Earl of Yuyang?" Fu Sui's heart stirred. "I heard some time ago that Consort Feng displeased the Emperor. Could it be that the Earl of Yuyang has also been implicated?"
"It's nothing serious. The Emperor cherishes Consort Feng, so how could he punish her severely? It's just that the Earl of Yuyang and the Lady of the County have been worried for nothing. The Emperor specially ordered me to send some rice dumplings and calamus wine."
Fu Sui didn't show it on his face, but complained, "Why does the Sage only give rice dumplings to others, but not to me?"
Having served in the imperial court for nine years, Xu Zhiyi had some understanding of the relationship between the emperor and Fu Sui. He subtly revealed the emperor's intentions: "The princess's zongzi are meticulously prepared by the Imperial Kitchen every year, and this year is no exception. Those other people are just receiving handouts from the emperor on a whim; they can't compare to the princess."
Fu Sui heard what he wanted to hear and didn't waste Xu Zhiyi's time. Qin An was still recovering from his injuries, so Kou Yun led Xu Zhiyi to the front yard, where Cheng Liwu escorted Xu Zhiyi out of the mansion.
Fu Sui ate the fruit from the plate absentmindedly. The emperor had a peculiar habit: if he was particularly kind to a minister or eunuch, that person was not far from being doomed. Fu Sui had just experienced this recently; if his birthday hadn't been approaching and he hadn't been so overly relaxed amidst all the congratulations, he wouldn't have been so slow to realize it.
After much deliberation, Fu Sui secretly sent a message to Feng Xiang'er, urging her to find someone to marry quickly to avoid being implicated by the Feng family and ruining her reputation. Fu Sui couldn't say more, lest the Feng family become suspicious, but he hoped Feng Xiang'er would heed his advice so that she would have a husband to redeem her if the Feng family fell into trouble.
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