Chapter 48 Choosing Compromise
As the sun sets, Baoguang Temple is bathed in a warm, golden light. Ancient trees tower outside the temple, while inside, the dense foliage rustles gently in the wind, creating a serene and profound atmosphere.
On the stone steps, the main hall stands majestically, exuding a sense of peace and tranquility amidst its solemnity.
After the imperial relatives and court officials left, the temple was exceptionally quiet, with only the occasional distant chime of a bell and wisps of smoke rising silently from the incense burner into the air.
The afterglow of the setting sun fell on the long steps in front of the temple gate. A woman wearing a cloak, accompanied by her personal maid, climbed the high steps.
"Are you sure she's been here?" Shen Xian asked, panting heavily.
Xiao Que struggled to support her, also exhausted. "I saw her enter Baoguang Temple yesterday morning and stay there for more than an hour before coming out. She came here secretly without the old lady's instructions. There must be something fishy going on."
Shen Xian held her breath and continued climbing the steps, determined to get her to find something wrong with that maid.
Before nightfall, the two entered the temple and followed the trail to the Zen monastery on the back mountain. They took the opportunity to ask the monks questions, hoping to plant a spy in the temple to find out Yi Liu's secret.
Unexpectedly, before the informant could even find a suitable target, they spotted a pair of figures in the dense woods beneath the fence.
The two figures standing under the tree were all too familiar to her. The woman leaning against the tree trunk, pale-faced and exhausted, was none other than Princess Ning'an, heartbroken after losing her husband.
The young man standing before her, dressed in dark casual clothes, was tall and imposing. He leaned slightly forward, trapping her in the narrow gap between the tree trunk and himself. His handsome profile, his brows furrowed with the tenderness of unrequited love, revealed that man…
That person was actually the Emperor!
Shen Xian covered her mouth in shock.
I vaguely recalled the scene I witnessed on the mountain last autumn: Yuezhi nestled in a man's arms, then two intertwined figures on the boat, and later the carriage that stayed outside the princess's mansion all night...
Princess Ning'an's "lover," whom she had never paid any attention to, turned out to be the Emperor.
How could it be the Emperor? Aren't they siblings? How could they be like this! This is incestuous!!
Shen Xian thought it was impossible, but through the gaps in the leaves she saw the young man's body constantly lowering, and heard his whispered words carried on the wind in the dense forest.
"Royal sister, please don't hate me, okay?"
"Aheng, we can't do this..."
Ning An's voice sounded troubled and powerless. The emperor not only did not back down, but even raised his hand, seemingly wanting to touch her cheek. She suddenly turned her head away and instead had the emperor's forehead pressed against the top of her head.
"The person beside you now is me. I don't want you to accept me immediately, but I just hope you will give me a chance to take care of you and the child."
"I'm really confused right now... Ah Heng, please don't push me any further."
Yuezhi's voice trembled; in front of the inviolable emperor, her resistance seemed so insignificant.
Shen Xian, hiding above, gasped, her heart pounding like a drum: So that's how it is! The Emperor actually harbors such thoughts about Ning An! She's his sister, married and with children, and he wants her too?
Before the wine immortal could find any dirt on the lowly maid, he stumbled upon the emperor's enormous secret.
More than feeling surprised, Shen Xian felt a chill.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the imperial guards standing at the foot of the railing steps and realized that he shouldn't be there. He quietly backed away and saw Xiao Que, who had finished talking to the monks and was about to come over. He quickly gestured for her to hide there for a while and said he would be there soon.
She tiptoed away from the railing, turned around to try to slip away silently, but bumped headfirst into a strong, warm chest.
A smell mixed with the scent of cold iron and a man's sweat instantly enveloped her. Shen Xian covered her mouth and nose in disgust, but the other person raised his large, calloused hand and unceremoniously placed it on the back of her hand, completely silencing any possibility of her screaming.
The boy's strong arms roughly gripped her waist, easily dragging her away from the railing and leading her to the dense bushes behind the temple wall.
"Ugh!!" Shen Xian struggled in terror, raising her eyes to meet a familiar, handsome face with a hint of mockery and coldness.
It was him!
That rude and clueless soldier who opposed her from the moment they met and ruined her plans—what a small world!
Duan Yunting released his hand from her mouth, but his arm around her waist remained still, tightening its grip with malice until she could barely breathe.
A repulsive smile played on his lips as he lowered his voice with a mocking tone: "Tsk, isn't this Princess Shen, who finally married into a prestigious family? It's almost dark, and instead of being affectionate with your husband at home, you're sneaking around here watching some shady spectacle."
Shen Xian was both ashamed and annoyed, but dared not raise her voice, for fear of disturbing the two people not far away.
In a moment of quick thinking, she suppressed her panic and threatened, "How dare you! The princess orders you to release me immediately!"
"Do you know what I just saw? If you don't want His Majesty's 'good deed' to spread throughout the capital tomorrow, let go immediately! Perhaps if I'm in a better mood, I can keep the Emperor's secret."
"You don't want the Emperor to know that you've done a poor job and couldn't even stop a young woman, do you?"
She grew more and more confident as she spoke, and tried to negotiate, "If you can help me get a more prosperous fiefdom from the Emperor, I can also put in a good word for you in front of the Emperor..."
Shen Xian thought she had the other party's Achilles' heel, but unexpectedly, a hint of mockery flashed in the young general's eyes.
"Does the princess think I've neglected my duty and is threatening me with His Majesty's secret? And she even wants a fiefdom?" He leaned in very close, his hot breath brushing against her sensitive earlobe.
"You are now just like me, an accomplice in spying on the emperor's countenance and offending his imperial carriage. Let's not even go into that..."
He pulled back her hood, his gaze sweeping over her womanly updo, his tone filled with malicious amusement.
"You're a married woman, why don't you stay at home and instead sneak out to this desolate mountain temple after dark to meet a man? If the secrets of 'The Emperor is in love with Princess Ning'an' and 'Princess Shen is having an affair with the Commander of the Imperial Guard in the wilderness' spread, which do you think the people of the capital will talk about more? Which one will ruin your reputation forever?"
Even if Shen Xian was naive, she could understand his meaning: either swallow what she saw and heard, or choose between disgrace and angering the emperor.
This man is truly vicious! A ruthless and unreasonable scoundrel!
Shen Xian's face was ashen. Looking into Duan Yunting's eyes, which were filled with wildness, calculation, and undisguised determination, she was furious but had no choice but to suppress her anger.
She glared at him fiercely, "I'm not going to waste my breath on you, I'm leaving."
Duan Yunting released her waist, crossed his arms, leaned his back against the back wall of the temple, and pointed her in a direction.
Shen Xian only saw overgrown weeds everywhere. She turned around and frowned, "You want me, the princess, to walk down that narrow path?"
“The princess herself loves to come up the mountain and can’t control her eyes and mouth. Who can she blame? If she doesn’t want to go there, she should come with me to the Emperor so that I can explain myself.”
Shen Xian snorted, lifted her skirt, and walked into the weeds that were above her knees, making her way away with difficulty.
Out of personal motives, Duan Yunting did not report the matter. After all, he did not want to be punished by the emperor. Normally, it would be fine, but these days, the emperor had been repeatedly rejected by the princess and was very irritable. He did not want to run into trouble.
Just as Shen Xian was driven away, the emperor walked up the steps, looking dejected.
He ultimately didn't dare to kiss her hard enough. His clinging would have made him seem unreasonable, like a child who wouldn't give up until he got what he wanted.
Pei Heng didn't want Yue Zhi to treat him like a child anymore, so he could only pretend to be relieved and let her go. The image of her hurriedly grasping the maid's hand and leaving in a hurry was imprinted in his mind. She avoided him like the plague... His heart ached terribly.
"Your Majesty..." Duan Yunting approached, noticing his unusual expression, and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
Pei Heng shook his head. "Send word to the palace that starting tomorrow, all memorials should be moved to Baoguang Temple. If there are any important or urgent matters, they can submit a memorial requesting permission to come here to see me."
"Yes, this subordinate will take care of it immediately." Duan Yunting bowed and retreated, his eyes glancing around.
The matter with the princess has not yet come to a conclusion, and he doesn't seem to be having a good time. He also has to worry about state affairs. It's really hard on the emperor.
As the sun sets behind the western mountains, the tranquil night envelops the entire Baoguang Temple.
*
The next afternoon, the warm spring sunlight climbed onto the windowsill of the meditation room, and the cool bamboo shadows fell outside the Yinian Hall, with the fresh scent of bamboo leaves filling the air.
Yuezhi sat alone by the window, her fingers unconsciously stroking her lower abdomen, looking listless. She even pushed away the medicine for preventing miscarriage that the maid brought her.
Hua Chun saw this and was very anxious.
She quietly tidied up the medicine bowl, replaced it with a warm cup of jujube tea, and gently placed it beside the princess.
“Princess,” Hua Chun gently advised, “you have been looking worried these past few days. I thought that coming to the Buddhist temple would help you calm down and feel more comfortable, but now you won’t even take your medicine. Even if you don’t think about yourself, you should think about the little prince in your belly.”
Yuezhi's body trembled slightly, and her hand instinctively protected her lower abdomen, where there was a small life, the only connection between her and her missing husband.
Her eyes were moist.
She selfishly wanted to stop taking the pregnancy-preserving medication, even if it meant giving up the child, just to recover her eyesight and leave this heartbreaking place as soon as possible.
Eye medications often use herbs that promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, which are the most contraindicated medications for pregnant women. Since she became pregnant, Su Jingyun stopped giving her the eye medication. The promise that it would be cured in six months now seems to be a long way off.
She is blind and unable to do any work to make a living, so she is trapped in the capital, trapped in her identity as a princess, forever tormented by Pei Heng's immoral obsession, unable to find a way out.
But the child could not be a sacrifice for her regaining her freedom; she and her husband had so eagerly awaited its birth…
Yuezhi lowered her eyes and let out a sob.
Seeing that she was moved, Huachun continued to persuade her: "The Emperor has always been very respectful to the princess and has done everything he can for her. He has not thought about selecting concubines for nearly half a year since he ascended the throne. Perhaps it is because he has always been thinking about the princess."
He paused, observed Yuezhi's expression, and only continued when he saw that she did not object.
“This servant knows that you still think of the Prince Consort, but his whereabouts are unknown. You are all alone in the capital. When the little prince is born, he will need someone to rely on.”
Yuezhi's eyelashes trembled. She turned to look at her, an incredulous expression on her face. "Rely on? Rely on whom? Do you mean I should rely on Pei Heng...?"
She couldn't bring herself to say it; it would be a betrayal of the prince consort and an insult to their sibling relationship.
“That’s not what I meant,” Huachun hurriedly explained. “What I meant was that the Emperor is the ruler of the world and your brother. You know his temperament… For both public and private reasons, you shouldn’t keep distancing yourself from him. The Emperor has always been kind to you, but who can predict the wrath of an emperor? If you really anger him one day, we servants will die without fear. I just feel sorry for you and the young prince.”
Hua Chun lowered her voice, the meaning of which was self-evident.
Yuezhi remained silent, her fingertips icy cold.
At that time, the late emperor reduced the military power, and all the marquises and governors of the entire province were affected. Only Pei Heng led his troops from Liangzhou to resist. He fought his way through the passes and killed many people and injured countless others, but he never thought of retreating.
"Once you've made your move, there's no reason to back down."
He went forward relentlessly, fighting and vying with all his might to obtain the throne and the honor of being a princess.
At the stubborn age of nineteen, he was relentless in pursuing his goals, and he had the ability to obtain everything he desired, whether it was the throne or women.
And so, she became the next target he was about to reap.
Could she kill Pei Heng to protect herself, just as she would a slave or a villain with ill intentions? She knew she couldn't.
As I pondered, I heard Huachun's pleading voice.
"His Majesty is now fond of you. Even if it's just to ensure a safe delivery, you should temporarily go along with his wishes. It's better than hurting both sides and causing the relationship to deteriorate. He is the Emperor; consider it as securing a safe future for yourself and the young prince. Isn't that better?"
Yuezhi slowly closed her eyes, and the image of Pei Heng as a young tutor appeared in her mind.
Thinking of Pei Heng, so refined and gentle, who had not yet embarked on the path of bloodshed, she felt regret. She regretted that she had not been able to see him grow up peacefully, but instead let him enter the bloody and dangerous battlefield, which led to him becoming more and more gloomy and obsessive, growing into the person he is today.
The current dilemma is not entirely unrelated to her.
After a long while, Yuezhi finally nodded slightly, her voice weary, "I understand, Huachun, bring the medicine over."
Upon hearing this, Huachun finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed to take the medicine to prevent miscarriage.
People need to know how to be flexible in order to live a peaceful and long life; stubbornly sticking to one's own opinions will only bring trouble upon oneself.
Yuezhi gazed at the green bamboo outside the window, letting the warm spring breeze carry the fresh scent of the bamboo forest, brushing against her face and dispelling the lingering sadness in her heart.
Bamboo shoots grew abundantly in the forest, and a new sprout also emerged in her heart. She didn't know why it was born, but it was determined to live.
The warm spring sun shone on her face as she breathed a sigh of relief.
The sky, now clear of clouds, is an endless expanse of azure. Sunlight shines on the Buddhist temple, but not on the hermitage atop the mountain.
Because the Emperor and Princess were in the temple, the vegetarian meals at Baoguang Temple were much more plentiful. The nuns guarding outside the temple also benefited, not only having their periods doubled but also receiving much better food.
Sitting outside the temple, basking in the warm sunlight, they chatted happily about the imperial procession they had seen the day before.
"The late emperor never set up such a grand procession in a Buddhist temple, which shows that the emperor respects the Buddha and is compassionate."
"When His Majesty was still the Crown Prince, he was the most obedient and polite. I never thought that now, after fighting on the battlefield, he would still be a benevolent ruler, treating us lowly servants so well. If the Consort's son were to ascend the throne, would he even give us a second glance?"
"Indeed, the He family of the Imperial Concubine and the former Changsun family have the same schemes. They push their own sons to become emperor, just to enrich their own families. They don't care about the lives of the common people."
"Thankfully, good and evil are rewarded accordingly, and the emperor has become a wise ruler. Our suffering here wasn't in vain. I received an extra five taels of silver this month, enough for my family to live on for half a year."
The old women were chatting animatedly when the sound of kicking the door echoed from inside the nunnery.
"Is that Heng'er?"
"He became emperor? He actually came back?"
"Then why doesn't he come to fetch me? I am his mother, and the late emperor never deposed me. He should bring me into the palace and invite me to live in Cining Palace. Why hasn't he come yet?"
Changsun Xuanrong was scratching at the door frame and yelling inside the house, her voice gradually turning from tentative calm to maniacal.
Several years have passed in the blink of an eye. She no longer possesses the dignified demeanor she had when she was empress. She now wears only a faded gray monk's robe and spends her days chanting sutras and reciting Buddhist prayers in this desolate temple abandoned on the mountaintop.
Her trusted confidants had been either executed or exiled ten years ago, and now she was trapped alone in the nunnery, unaware of the changes in the world.
Because of her cold and arrogant nature, the old women guarding her didn't like to talk to her. Apart from hearing the bells ringing in Baoguang Temple and learning that the late emperor had passed away and the new emperor had ascended the throne, she knew nothing about outside affairs. Now, she was overhearing the old women's happy chatter inside and learned that the current emperor was her son.
Having waited here to die, Changsun Xuanrong finally saw a glimmer of hope and could no longer sit still, pounding violently on the door.
"Go quickly and inform the Emperor to come see me."
The head maid remained unmoved, only sneering through the door, "Your Highness, you'd better behave yourself. His Majesty specifically instructed that you should stay in the Buddhist temple to calm your mind, and that you need not worry about anything that happens outside."
"I am his mother, I carried him for ten months and gave birth to him! How can he be so unfilial!" Changsun Xuanrong shouted hoarsely.
The old nanny scoffed, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that the Crown Prince was deposed and exiled to the frontier if it weren't for your and the Changsun family's involvement? The Emperor is merciful; sparing your life is already an act of kindness. Do you really expect to become the Empress Dowager?"
Another nanny chimed in, "His Majesty's rule is now secure, and the court and the people are united in his cause. If you truly care about His Majesty, you should stay here and pray for forgiveness."
Each word was like a knife, stabbing Changsun Xuanrong so hard she staggered backward.
But she was unwilling to give up, and in her haste, she turned her gaze to the small Buddha statue inside the temple.
There used to be a rat hole there. When she couldn't sleep at night, she would go there to rummage and poke around. Over the past ten years, she had turned it into a hole the size of a dog hole. She usually covered it with a Buddha statue, just to prevent the prince who was the imperial concubine from killing her after he ascended the throne, and to leave herself a way to escape.
Now, that is her only hope.
*
As the sun rises in the east and moves west, the mountains are covered with lush vegetation, and the sounds of birdsong and chanting linger softly in the Buddhist temple in the afternoon.
Before we knew it, dusk had fallen, moonlight spilled over the stone steps, and the last bell rang into the spring night.
The courtyard of Jianshan Temple was filled with guards, with the Imperial Guards protecting the outside. The flickering candlelight inside cast an ambiguous glow on the two figures inside the room.
Yuezhi sat quietly to the side, her fingertips caressing the tender bamboo leaves. She picked only the tenderest buds, rubbed them, dried them, and then brewed them into tea.
She didn't have to do these tedious things, but she always needed to have some work to do in order to calm her mind.
Yesterday evening had been unpleasant, and today Pei Heng's guards invited her to have dinner with him. Thinking to herself, "Let's think this over carefully" and "Let's go along with him," she came.
Upon seeing her, Pei Heng was indeed very happy. He stopped saying those nonsense things like "treating him like a man" and kept serving her food and soup. The vegetarian dishes, which should have been bland, suddenly took on a rustic flavor thanks to his incessant chatter.
After the meal, she intended to leave.
Pei Heng said that he hadn't finished reviewing the memorials yet, and that it was very boring to review them alone, with no one to talk to. He implied that she should sit for a while longer. So Yuezhi sat down there, having already picked a small basketful of bamboo shoots.
"Good, good." Pei Heng put down a memorial with relief and said to her, "This year, before the start of summer, the dikes repaired in various prefectures have been completed, which will greatly reduce the floods and droughts this year, and I can rest assured."
"It's because you're diligent in your duties that we haven't neglected important matters concerning people's livelihoods," Yuezhi replied habitually. Only after speaking did she realize that she was still wary of Pei Heng, and she pursed her lips again.
Pei Heng smiled slightly as he looked at her relaxed yet shy demeanor.
"It's all thanks to my elder sister. She sends things to the national treasury every few days, accumulating thousands of taels at a time. In total, my elder sister sent me a full 800,000 taels of silver, which really relieved my urgent need for a depleted national treasury."
Are those treasures really worth that much money?
Yuezhi couldn't see the brilliance of the precious artifacts, and naturally had no concept of their value.
"It was taken from the people, and it should be used for the people." She gently pinched the bamboo leaf between her fingers, a slight panic in her heart.
She heard the emperor stop reading the memorials, and he got up from his chair and walked towards her.
"Didn't you just say there was news about the salt inspection? Have the salt taxes been collected in various places?" Yuezhi awkwardly talked to him about the politics of the court, which she was not familiar with, trying to divert their attention and not wanting to face his passionate and reckless love anymore.
Pei Heng saw and heard the clumsy methods, and responded softly, his voice carrying a hint of gentleness.
"The Salt Commissioner was very capable. As soon as he left Anzhou, the salt tax from Anzhou was escorted to the capital without missing a single penny."
"That's good. With a full treasury, the court can handle things more easily, and you won't have to face difficulties in everything." Yuezhi turned her face slightly, trying to avoid the increasingly intense gaze that was drawing closer.
Observing her subtle reaction, Pei Heng stopped a step away from her.
"The monks in the temple told me that there are fireflies in the mountains at night. Although my sister can't see them, I thought that since it's so quiet at night, I should accompany her for a walk. It might calm our minds and be good for your health. I wonder if my sister would be willing?"
Yuezhi bit her lip.
Even if he does something inappropriate when he goes out at night, there's no need to worry about being seen; it's better than being trapped in the house by him.
She nodded, seeing the young man's expectant gaze.
Pei Heng was immediately overjoyed. He glanced at Hua Chun, who was serving beside him, and after receiving a response, he lowered his eyes to her, indicating that she should go and collect her reward herself.
Hua Chun quietly withdrew, and Yue Zhi reached out and touched the outstretched arm in front of her. She felt the texture of the silk with its subtle embroidery and couldn't help but hold her breath.
The emperor beside her was completely oblivious, and was overjoyed at the slight softening of her attitude.
"Your Majesty has no idea how anxious I was. I thought you were angry with me and would never speak to me again."
"Fortunately, my elder sister still cares about me."
Yuezhi remained silent, gripping his elbow tightly, feeling lost and unsure of what abyss this brief compromise would lead her into.
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