Chapter 31 I Saw Spring Return (Part 8) "So pure and flawless that it made his heart flutter..."
Lan Huaien sighed softly. Thinking about it carefully, it seemed that he had always been like this as he climbed up the ladder.
He opened his mouth, about to speak, when the carriage suddenly jolted, the dull, sharp sound of stones hitting the wheels breaking the rhythm of the wheels, causing the two people in the carriage to feel a sinking feeling in their hearts.
After things calmed down, Yan Chao suddenly spoke up: "I heard that the pear trees were on their last legs last year and probably won't bloom this year. You often accompany the Emperor, so the spring scenery in the Imperial Garden must be even more vibrant."
Lan Huaien smiled but did not respond. The Imperial Garden was indeed full of life in spring. The emperor often went to the inner palace and would always order him to pick a few branches of flowers to coax the concubines when he passed by.
About fifteen minutes later, they arrived near the palace gate. Lan Huaien ordered his men to stop, then, under Yan Chao's watchful gaze, he turned and got off the carriage. After looking around, he turned back and lifted the curtain.
“Your Highness, the carriage is too conspicuous. It would be safer to switch to a sedan chair next.” He lowered his voice, unconsciously bowing slightly and extending his hand to her.
Yan Chao looked up at him, but because the lights were off, she couldn't see anything clearly. She nodded, stood up, and walked out with a bent back, ignoring his outstretched hand that was about to help her.
However, when it was time to jump, Lan Huaien instinctively reached out to support her. Perhaps his movement was a little sudden, because she didn't flinch. So he applied a little force to her arm and only withdrew his hand after seeing her land steadily.
When Yan Chao was closest to him, her profile was perfectly aligned with the moonlight, so pure and flawless that it made his heart skip a beat. He heard her soft, deep breathing flash by, and then, along with the moonlight in his eyes, they plunged back into darkness.
She pursed her lips and said softly, "Thank you."
Lan Huaien swallowed a mouthful of air and followed behind her, saying in a low voice, "I am but a servant in the palace, Your Highness, there is no need to be so polite."
He coughed lightly, ignoring her eyes which were as still as a deep pool, extinguished the lamp in his hand, said "Excuse me," and then leaned in to sit in front of her. He also pulled a curtain to cover her figure before ordering the sedan chair to be moved.
The sedan chair was carried steadily through the palace gates, and the palace servants, seeing that it belonged to the director of the imperial workshops, treated it with utmost respect.
Lan Huaien sat upright, glancing to his side every now and then, remaining as quiet and still as expected, truly being extremely cautious.
He smiled and exhaled, "Your Highness need not be too nervous. There are dozens of eunuchs surrounding my sedan chair."
He heard no sound after he finished speaking, and frowned, wondering if he had been suffocated.
Thinking this, he reached out to lift the curtain. He had just picked up a corner when a pair of hands blocked his way.
Yan Chao remained silent, watching as the hands paused in mid-air before retracting, followed by a sigh-like laugh. She tilted her head slightly and saw a faint light flickering outside the sedan curtain, its intensity varying.
"I will make a detour to the East Palace shortly. Your Highness, please alight from your sedan chair in a secluded place."
She nodded silently, then thought for a moment and softly hummed in agreement.
Afterwards, everyone returned to their respective palaces. There were no problems at the Eastern Palace of the Yan Dynasty. Lan Huaien estimated that it was about time, so he did not return to his side room but went straight to the Emperor's side.
The emperor had just finished his rest when Ji Weixian lifted the curtain and came out, just in time to run into Lan Huaien who was coming towards him.
He immediately bowed and lowered his head: "...His Majesty was just mentioning you, but he has just rested. If you have something to report, Eunuch, perhaps you could do so tomorrow?"
Lan Huaien didn't respond to him, but only said, "I'm on night duty tonight, you've worked hard too, go back and rest."
Ji Weixian didn't try to persuade him any further, and walked past him, turning around and leaving.
Lan Huaien entered the bedchamber, and after walking around the screen, he noticed a slightly bright light in one corner. He tiptoed over and dimmed the candlelight.
Before the candle scissors could be put down, the emperor suddenly spoke in a deep voice: "Has Lan Huai'en returned?"
He hurriedly approached the imperial bed, knelt down, and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, I have returned."
The emperor opened his eyes, turned to look at him, frowned and asked, "Why are you back so late? Has the crown prince gone back?"
"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince returned to the Eastern Palace before dark. I was worried, so I stayed outside for a while longer. Deng Xun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was setting up a plan to capture the murderer at Juehui Temple, and I went to join in the fun."
The process was quite simple; he described it roughly, and the emperor paused for a moment before asking, "Was this a scheme orchestrated by the Crown Prince?"
"Your Majesty is wise."
"He was forced into this desperate situation before he dared to take this gamble, claiming it was for Meng Tingke's sake, but he's just blind," the emperor sneered, shifting his position and staring intently at the curtain. "Do you know who has been captured?"
"Your Majesty, there is Lu Xun..."
"Him?" The emperor was somewhat surprised, then turned his gaze to him. "Wasn't Lu Xun already demoted? How come he's still involved?"
"I don't know much about it, but I've vaguely heard that it's related to the death of Grand Tutor Meng..."
The emperor grunted, his tone slowly turning cold: "The investigation was ambiguous at the time. If he really did attack Meng Huai, he deserves to be torn to pieces, not to mention adding Cao Fu's life to the list..."
He paused, waved for him to stand up, and then asked, "Is there anyone else?"
Lan Huaien did not move, but replied first: "Your Majesty, there is another unfamiliar face. I think he is a eunuch from Wan'an Palace, but I have not yet questioned him and do not know the details at present."
The emperor's expression suddenly changed, and his voice involuntarily rose: "Really?"
Lan Huaien hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please don't be anxious. The person is indeed from Consort Xian's palace, but we haven't investigated thoroughly yet, and there's no conclusion. It's possible that someone is framing Consort Xian."
The emperor remained silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. After a long while, he said, "Tomorrow, I will have Qiu Cong oversee the joint trial. You don't need to get involved. Go to the inner palace and secretly investigate that eunuch."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
A sudden gust of wind arose outside the palace, howling like a winter north wind, but ultimately lacking the strength to penetrate the sturdy vermilion windows, it made only a sound before disappearing without a trace. The sound of the wind was very clear, quite irritating to the ear.
The emperor closed his eyes again and asked one last question: "How is the investigation into the Cao family going?"
"Your Majesty, you were right. The Cao family does have some secrets, and they seem to have some connection with the monks of Juehui Temple."
"Is this related to Cao Fu's incident?" The emperor's voice was somewhat low.
"Since there is no concrete evidence at present, I dare not make a conclusion."
He was awaiting the emperor's decree, but after a long while, all he heard was steady breathing. He quietly got up and left, but did not go far, resting in the outer hall, waiting to be summoned at any time.
The hall was completely silent. Lan Huaien was not sleepy at all, and stared at the screen beside him. The emperor was used to leaving a small lamp in the hall before going to bed; it didn't need to be too bright, just a lamp was enough, so the pattern on the screen was still quite clear.
Even with his eyes closed, he knew how ethereal the purple auspicious clouds were, how lifelike the dragon in the middle was, and how the most precious brocade and gold thread were so delicate that even the light shining through was just right... Yet he still carefully traced the scene with his eyes, his expression calm.
Suddenly, her thoughts turned to the Eastern Palace, and she couldn't help but wonder: Is Yan Chao really going to become the Martial Empress?
Compared to her predecessors, her journey was relatively smooth, but the outcome was truly perilous.
The emperor did not have many children, but he had several princes, and the current Prince Xin was already difficult to deal with.
However, they were not without bloodshed; the Crown Prince Zhaohuai back then, and later Yan Ping, made it clear that the position of the Eastern Palace was not easy to hold.
Yan Chao currently holds the advantage, but once her identity is exposed, she will have no chance at all.
He was certainly wholeheartedly committed to supporting her, knowing from the beginning that it was a high-risk gamble. In truth, he wasn't entirely without options at that time. It was just that learning Yan Chao was a girl stirred a strange excitement within him.
The image that came to mind was Yan Chao's gentle face. He sighed softly, thinking that the Crown Prince had better not lose, otherwise it would be a real pity.
.
The joint trial by the Ministry of Justice began around 7 a.m. the next day. The presiding judge was Jiang Shi, the Minister of Justice. Deng Xunyi from the Court of Judicial Review was still present. People from the Censorate also came. Cao Ying also reluctantly came to see the outcome. In addition, the Crown Prince and the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were also present, so the scene was quite impressive.
The two prisoners brought to court were acquaintances, and they confessed to their crimes without being tortured, making the process surprisingly smooth.
The details were revealed to everyone by Deng Xunyi. There were slight discrepancies with the previous investigation, but they all matched the evidence.
In other words, even if Meng Huai hadn't committed suicide, he certainly wouldn't have survived.
Of course, the most stubborn one was the girl beside him, who refused to utter a single word from beginning to end. It was Lu Xun who stopped him when he was about to be tortured, forcing him to confess that the monk Yuanhe in the temple was killed by him, and that she was the one who switched the cup of poisoned wine that Meng Huai drank before his death.
"You wicked woman, Xin, I ask you again: why did you murder Master Yuanhe?"
“He saw Lu Xun kill Cao Fu, and I wanted to kill him to silence him.”
"Then why did you poison the cup of wine that Grand Tutor Meng drank before his death?"
The girl glanced at everyone in the hall and replied, "It was Xiao Song who instructed them."
However, Xiao Song is already dead, and there is no way to verify the facts.
Deng Xun frowned deeply. This girl had feelings for Lu Xun, so she killed Yuan He for Lu Xun's sake; then what about her and Xiao Song? If what she said was true, then they were the same mastermind.
The three criminals were led away from the courtroom. Just before leaving, the young woman suddenly turned back, surveying the silent hall below, and murmured, "A hundred taels of gold..."
Yan Chao looked at her, frowned, and asked, "What did you say?"
The girl turned around, lowered her head, and stopped talking.
Cao Ying was in low spirits and went straight home after the joint trial. He did not offer any further comments on the case. He would now focus on arranging his son's funeral.
According to the rites and laws of our dynasty, parents should wear the mourning clothes for their eldest son without using a staff for an extended period. Since he was already late in holding the mourning ceremony, and given the precedent of Meng Tingke, he dared not easily violate the rites again. Moreover, the sudden death of his eldest son was a great blow to him.
This is temporarily over.
Deng Xunyi remained deeply worried. Xiao Song's suicide was already a huge mistake, and now the only remaining clue was the girl. It was understandable that the others were unaware of the truth, but the Crown Prince knew perfectly well who was behind it all.
But she didn't seem to intend to investigate further.
He was deeply troubled. The investigation had begun with the aim of seeking justice, yet the truth remained elusive. Frustrated and seething, he tossed the official documents in his arms to his attendant and turned back.
Knowing that the Crown Prince was going to meet the Emperor, he didn't care about anything else and stopped Yan Chao's sedan chair at the corner.
Yan Chao lifted the curtain and saw Deng Xun bowing and about to speak, but she cut him off first: "I know what you're going to say, but it's not appropriate to delve into it now."
Deng Xun took a deep breath, feeling even more aggrieved: "Is Your Highness afraid that it will lead to trouble for Consort Xian and Prince Xin? If you really cannot speak of it, I can go to His Majesty to remonstrate. I believe His Majesty will uphold justice."
Hearing the sharpness in his tone, Yan Chao couldn't help but frown: "Does Vice Minister Deng have any evidence now? Do you know what crime you are committing by rashly slandering the Empress and the Prince?"
She looked at him, but the man before her seemed unmoved. He suddenly took a step back and knelt down, saying, "Confessions are evidence. Since Your Highness is in charge of this case, you have a responsibility to find out the truth. There is still time... Your Highness, as long as you issue an order, I will return immediately and continue the investigation, whether it's interrogating the girl or not, the truth will eventually come to light..."
Yan Chao closed his eyes, his hand trembled almost imperceptibly, and after a long while he said softly, "There's no need to investigate for now. You can go back."
Deng Xun paused for a moment, then insisted, "As far as I am concerned, even if Cao Fu and I have a blood feud, I will not allow him to die in such an unclear way."
“I have no deep-seated hatred for Cao Fu, but since it involves the inner palace, it’s not as simple as you think,” she sighed softly, lowered the curtain, and said in undiminished voice, “I greatly admire Deng Shaoqing’s loyalty.”
She didn't want to spell things out, and having said little more, she didn't want to explain further. She simply told him to get up and ordered the eunuchs to prepare the sedan chair. However, she could still see him kneeling by the roadside from afar, extremely conspicuous.
He didn't understand, and she didn't want him to understand either.
Yan Chao arrived at the imperial court a little late. When she entered the hall, Lan Huaien told her that Jiang Shi had already given a general report on the trial, and the emperor had already issued an edict, so it could be said that there was nothing for her to do.
Her heart sank, and just as she was about to step inside, Lan Huaien suddenly whispered two words in her ear: "Xiao Song".
Yan Chao suddenly realized.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
