Chapter 6 Who could this person be?
Lou Xueying still remembered the night she entered the palace in her previous life. She sat in the empty and magnificent palace, silently shedding tears. Suddenly, she heard the sound of palace servants bowing outside. She subconsciously held back her tears, lowered her head, and clenched her hands tightly in her sleeves.
The palace doors opened and closed again, footsteps sounded, and a man's figure slowly approached her.
She began to tremble.
She knew she should rise and bow to him, but her body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and she couldn't stand up. She didn't dare to raise her head either, afraid that if she did, tears would well up in her eyes and anger the emperor who had forced her into marriage.
A dark golden figure stood before her, casting a shadow over her.
She heard Emperor Jinghui sigh softly and call her, "Su Jun."
Lou Xueying's mind went blank for a moment, and she suddenly looked up.
— She only used this pseudonym in her correspondence with "Qiyun Jushi".
Emperor Jinghui, though past forty, still stood ramrod straight. A few strands of white hair appeared at his temples, but thanks to his good health, he did not look old. Instead, he possessed a calligraphic quality reminiscent of ink splashed with silver. The Crown Prince actually bore some resemblance to him, but compared to the young and vigorous Crown Prince, Emperor Jinghui appeared more composed and dignified. The fine lines at the corners of his eyes were a testament to his accumulated experience.
He reached out and wiped away her tears, whispering, "If I had known you were Su Jun... I wouldn't have let you be with Ji'er."
She shook her head in disbelief, instinctively shrinking back.
“I know that you and Ji’er are in love, but unfortunately I am not a saint, I cannot…” He paused for a moment, “and watch you use the zither I gave you, play the tune I helped you revise, and play it for Ji’er.”
By this time, she had been corresponding with "Qiyun Jushi" for two years, but they both adhered to a gentleman's tacit agreement not to ask who the other was.
She never dreamed that this person would be Emperor Jinghui.
No wonder… no wonder “Qiyun Jushi” could always offer insightful suggestions on her musical scores; no wonder his perspective in conversation was unlike that of an ordinary wealthy person; no wonder he always received letters quickly but replied slowly… because he was Emperor Jinghui, the Emperor Jinghui known to all for his love of refined music. Although he had trusted confidants running errands for him, he always had to finish dealing with important matters of state before he had time to ponder his reply to her…
Emperor Jinghui explained to her in a low voice that he was simply tired of the rigid compositions of the court musicians, which was why he would occasionally disguise himself and visit the most bustling music shop in the capital, the Wuyin Qin Shop, to see what tunes were popular among the common people. He was disguised, with trusted eunuchs posing as attendants and guards posing as customers to protect him. Even the shop owner did not know who he was, and only thought of him as an ordinary wealthy merchant.
"I know that Su Jun is a woman. Although her musical scores are still somewhat immature, they are full of spirit. I often think that it would be wonderful if I could meet Su Jun in person and hear her play the zither," Emperor Jinghui said. "But I also know that Su Jun's speech and knowledge are not those of an ordinary woman. Moreover, Su Jun and I have always only talked about the zither and nothing else. She must have her own considerations. I think it would be better if I did not interfere."
Lou Xueying listened, clutching the bedding beneath her, her head bowed, her tears flowing even more profusely.
Don't interfere? Then what is he doing now?
But Lou Xueying couldn't bring herself to ask.
She recalled that the last time she entered the palace was five days ago, when she first met the man in front of her, the Crown Prince's father.
Since spring, she had entered the palace nearly ten times. Each time she left the palace, she would encounter the Crown Prince returning from court to pay his respects to the Empress. On the way out of the palace, they initially didn't speak to each other, but gradually exchanged polite words, and later talked about trivial matters of daily life.
Each meeting brought them a little closer than the last. An unspoken bond slowly blossomed during these brief reunions.
Five days ago, she was summoned by the Empress, and her mother accompanied her to the palace to discuss her marriage to the Crown Prince. Because the Crown Prince had mentioned during their last meeting that he had heard she was most skilled in the zither among the four arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and wanted to hear her play it in person, she brought a zither from home to the palace this time.
The mother stayed in the Empress's palace to discuss matters, while the Crown Prince held her hand and strolled through the Imperial Garden, which was ablaze with autumn colors.
Lou Xueying was already a foregone conclusion to become the Crown Princess, and all the palace servants were stationed at the entrance of the Imperial Garden to give the two of them some space to be together.
"I wanted to hear you play the zither, but I didn't expect you to bring one yourself. What kind of zithers doesn't the palace have? It would be too much trouble for you to bring it yourself." The Crown Prince pulled her to sit down in the pavilion and had her place the zither on the stone table.
Lou Xueying said, "I've never used the zither in the palace before, and I'm afraid I won't be used to it... What if I don't play well? Wouldn't that disappoint Your Highness's expectations?"
"What I'm looking forward to is a person, not a zither," the Crown Prince said with a smile.
Lou Xueying pressed the strings of the zither and asked him softly, "What piece would Your Highness like to hear?"
The prince said, "Anything is fine. Play whatever you like."
Lou Xueying thought for a moment, harboring a little thought about how she would impress the Crown Prince, and played a piece she had composed herself.
Since it was her first time playing the zither in front of the Crown Prince, she dared not be careless and played with complete concentration. Only when the piece ended did she take a deep breath and turn to look at the Crown Prince.
The crown prince sat beside her, one hand supporting his cheek, his eyes fixed on her.
Lou Xueying blushed and whispered, "Why is Your Highness looking at me like that? Is it because you didn't play well?"
"No, it was played very well. It's the most beautiful piece I've ever heard," the Crown Prince said earnestly, a smile playing on his lips.
Lou Xueying retorted, "Your Highness is talking nonsense. I've heard there are nearly a hundred musicians in the palace. Are they all just sitting around doing nothing?"
"How can that be the same? They are not my Crown Princesses."
"Your Highness!" Lou Xueying interrupted him hurriedly.
"What's wrong? Is there anyone in the capital who doesn't know that you are my Crown Princess? Is it forbidden to say so?" His smile deepened.
Lou Xueying was slightly annoyed and pushed him, but he grabbed her hands.
He leaned in and quickly kissed her lips.
She was stunned, her mind went blank, and she stood there frozen like a boiled shrimp, unable to move.
Seeing this, the crown prince chuckled and leaned in again to kiss her.
Next, Lou Xueying seemed to have lost her memory and didn't remember what had happened at all. In any case, when she came to her senses, she was already being held in the Crown Prince's arms. Her lips were slightly parted, and her nose was filled with his elegant fragrance.
The prince stroked her face, pressed his forehead against hers, and murmured softly, "Shushu, Shushu."
Lou Xueying felt weak all over. She had just uttered an "Mmm" when she realized her voice was off, so she immediately fell silent, embarrassed and annoyed, and stopped talking.
The prince couldn't help but laugh again. He wiped away the smudged lipstick from the edges of her lips to make it less noticeable before finally letting her go.
Lou Xueying leaned on the table, silently creating a small distance between herself and the Crown Prince.
"That piece of music was truly beautiful. Is it a new folk tune? I've never heard it performed in the palace before," the Crown Prince asked.
"I composed this for fun myself, Your Highness, please forgive my poor performance," Lou Xueying said apologetically.
"You composed this yourself?" The Crown Prince's eyes lit up, filled with amazement. "So Susu can not only play the zither, but also compose music! How is she so amazing?"
Lou Xueying: "Although I composed it myself, the first draft was not exactly like this. I asked someone to guide and revise it so that it became what Your Highness heard. It is not my achievement alone."
"So what? No matter how much others modify it, the original 'Susu Pu' still needs to be good," the Crown Prince praised.
Lou Xueying just smiled with her lips pursed.
Just then, footsteps suddenly came from behind the bushes opposite the pavilion, approaching from afar, winding around the path, and heading in their direction.
Lou Xueying hurriedly moved to the side, creating even more distance between herself and the Crown Prince, who frowned slightly, seemingly wanting to reprimand this oblivious palace servant.
But when he saw who it was, the Crown Prince gasped, shocked, and quickly stood up to bow: "Father."
Lou Xueying was shocked and hurriedly stood up, but accidentally stepped on the hem of her skirt, causing her knee to hit the ground.
"Your subject, Lou Xueying, greets Your Majesty." She didn't dare to raise her head, feeling ashamed to the point of wanting to die.
Has His Majesty just arrived, or has he been standing behind the bushes for a while? If it's the former, that's fine, but if it's the latter, then hasn't he seen her and the Crown Prince...?
As if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head, Lou Xueying trembled with fear, unable to imagine what kind of image she held in His Majesty's heart.
"Father, why didn't you let anyone announce your arrival? Look how frightened Susu is." The Crown Prince said helplessly, bending down to help Lou Xueying up, but Lou Xueying didn't dare to get up at all.
Emperor Jinghui calmly said, "Rise."
Lou Xueying endured the pain in her knees and stood up with the help of the Crown Prince's arm. Once she was standing, she quickly released the Crown Prince and stepped back three steps away.
Emperor Jinghui asked, "Is this the eldest daughter of the Lou family?"
"Indeed," the Crown Prince said with a smile. "Lady Lou is currently a guest in the Empress Dowager's palace, and the two elders are discussing matters. So I brought Susu out for a stroll. Father, Susu is most skilled at playing the zither. I've heard her play just as well as the musicians you employ."
Emperor Jinghui's gaze swept over the zither placed on the stone table and looked at Lou Xueying: "Is this your zither? Where did you get it?"
Lou Xueying said in a panic, "Your Majesty, this zither... this zither was a gift from the owner of a zither shop that I frequent."
She dared not say that it was a gift from a fellow musician she had never met, fearing that the emperor would think her frivolous and would not want her to marry the crown prince.
Emperor Jinghui lowered his eyes and remained silent.
The crown prince, not understanding the reason, guessed that his father might be interested in the zither, so he remained silent.
Lou Xueying felt like she was sitting on pins and needles and couldn't stay any longer. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind and she said, "I suppose Your Majesty and Your Highness have official business to discuss. I dare not disturb you and will take my leave now."
After saying this, he hurriedly bowed, picked up the zither on the table, and quickly retreated.
Back home, Lou Xueying was constantly worried that the emperor was displeased with her, thinking that her behavior was unfit for the position of a concubine in the Eastern Palace, and she even dreamed that the crown prince would marry someone else. Until three days later, at dusk, an imperial edict arrived at the Lou residence, catching the whole family off guard. They hurriedly tidied themselves up and went to hear the decree.
Everyone was initially puzzled as to why the imperial decree for marriage had come down so quickly, but to their surprise, the decree was to bestow the title of Imperial Concubine upon the eldest daughter of the Lou family, who would then enter the palace the following day.
The whole family was shocked, and Lou Xueying fainted on the spot.
When she woke up, her father was sitting on the edge of the bed with a somber expression, while her mother, with red eyes, held her hand and asked, "Susu, do you know why His Majesty bestowed upon you the title of Imperial Concubine?"
Lou Xueying shook her head, trembling.
The mother then asked, "That day you told me that you met His Majesty while playing the zither with the Crown Prince in the Imperial Garden. Was he... very interested in you at the time?"
Lou Xueying cried, "I don't know... Mother, I don't know..."
The father sighed and said, "That's enough. What's the use of dwelling on the reasons now? His Majesty probably heard Susu's zither music and saw Susu's beautiful appearance, so he had designs on her."
The mother wept and said, "It's one thing that His Majesty has taken a liking to Susu, but Susu is clearly already at the point of discussing marriage with the Crown Prince. I even met the Empress just the other day... What will people outside think of our Lou family after this? How will Susu conduct herself once she enters the palace?"
Lou Xueying cried even harder.
She harbored a suspicion she dared not tell her parents. She suspected that Emperor Jinghui had witnessed her intimate moment with the Crown Prince. But if that were true, for him to be attracted to her under such circumstances, what kind of beast was he!
But she never expected that the truth would be even more absurd than she had imagined.
"From the end of last year to the beginning of this year, I haven't received any letters from you. I sent someone to ask the owner of the qin workshop, but he also said you hadn't been there. I don't know if you suddenly wanted to break off relations with me, or if you were tied up with worldly affairs, so I left a qin at the workshop to see if you would come back," Emperor Jinghui said slowly. "Actually, I had that qin made long ago, and I've always wanted to give it to you, but I didn't have a reason, and I was afraid of offending you, so I kept it with me. But fortunately, I finally managed to give it to you, and you are still willing to correspond with me."
Lou Xueying broke down and said, "If I had known you were the Emperor, I would never have had anything to do with you! Our friendship was purely platonic, based solely on our musical skills, and I never had any improper thoughts about you. Why are you doing this to me!"
Emperor Jinghui looked at her and gave a bitter smile: "Before this, I didn't think I had any improper thoughts about you. If I did, I should have sent someone to investigate your identity long ago. But Su Jun, when you told me in your letter that you were about to get married and that it would be inconvenient for you to have any more contact with me, I belatedly realized that I was not happy. This is the first time you have talked to me about worldly matters, but your purpose is to sever ties with me. How can I accept this?"
Lou Xueying: "You're the emperor, you can have any woman you want, why me of all people?!"
"...You are different from them." Emperor Jinghui looked at her intently. "Shu Jun, even the supreme ruler cannot have everything he desires. I do not love them, and they do not love me; it's merely a matter of each taking what they need. Everyone knows I love the zither, so they try to learn it to please me, but I do not want such flattery, and I feel it is a desecration of elegant music... Only you, Shu Jun, you know nothing, yet every word you say touches my heart, even the music you compose resonates so perfectly with my state of mind..."
"So even though you know I'm getting married, you still insist on taking me away, even if that person is your own son, the crown prince of this Great Yue!" Lou Xueying roared.
Emperor Jinghui lowered his eyes, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "It was in the Imperial Garden that day that I learned you were Su Jun."
Lou Xueying's tears fell like rain.
So that day, he heard the zither piece she composed and which he modified in the Imperial Garden, and he also heard her say that the zither was a gift from the owner of the zither shop, without mentioning the existence of "Qiyun Jushi" at all.
"Su Jun, whether you believe it or not, I must say that I didn't initially intend to steal someone else's love; I was merely somewhat disappointed and regretful." Emperor Jinghui looked at her and said softly, "But at this moment, you appeared before me, letting me know that the acquaintance I met through music, whom I had never met in person, was actually the eldest daughter of the Lou family, and that the person Su Jun is about to marry is actually my son... Not only that, but we may see each other often in the future, watching you and Ji'er play music in harmony, have children... Su Jun, how can I accept this? Clearly, clearly, in terms of who came first, wasn't I the one who came first?"
Lou Xueying choked back sobs, her vision blurring intermittently. Emperor Jinghui reached out to help her, but she brushed him away.
"I always thought that Master Qiyun... was a knowledgeable, reasonable, and respectable elder. I never imagined that... that he could do something as immoral as forcibly taking his daughter-in-law!" She picked up a soft pillow from the bed and threw it at him without a second thought. "What do you mean you were the one who came first? Am I a two-timing harlot? The person I want to marry is Liang Ji, the Crown Prince, your son! Not you! So what if you're the Emperor? Does being the Emperor mean you can disregard all propriety? Where do you place me? Where do you place His Highness the Crown Prince?!"
Emperor Jinghui looked at her in silence.
Lou Xueying spoke recklessly in a fit of anger. After catching her breath, she realized how outrageous her actions were. If the emperor were angry, he could kill her and punish her, and even implicate her family would not be unreasonable.
Her angry gaze turned to fear in an instant. Just as she hesitated whether to kneel down and admit her mistake, she heard Emperor Jinghui speak: "You and Ji'er... are not yet married, not even engaged. No matter how others think you are a couple, my marriage to you will not violate the law. As for Ji'er, I will handle it, so you can rest assured."
Lou Xueying froze. From the moment she met him tonight, he had been in a humble, apologetic posture, and had never said anything so resolute before.
The emperor's authority is absolute and brooks no argument; this is the essence of the matter.
But soon he sighed and said, "I know I'm sorry. You should rest well these few days. I won't touch you. We can talk about it again when you've thought things through."
After saying that, she left, leaving a group of palace maids to rush into the hall to wash and change her clothes, manipulating her like a puppet.
-
Years have passed, things have changed, and Lou Xueying no longer feels any emotion when she thinks of Emperor Jinghui.
To be fair, aside from the fact that he forced her into marriage, Emperor Jinghui treated her with utmost care, giving her everything she wanted without any ill will. Aside from the rank and privileges of an empress, he gave her almost everything he could. The favor bestowed upon the Consort was common knowledge, but because she and her family were both low-key and unassuming, they didn't attract much criticism. Once the Crown Prince married, those criticisms completely disappeared.
Lou Xueying repeatedly told herself that her background and her husband's family were things many women wouldn't even dare to dream of, and she should be content and not be ungrateful. Since she didn't want to die and wanted to live well, she should change her mindset and face life with a broader perspective.
Aside from being a bit older, Emperor Jinghui was otherwise perfect. Although he had a harem, he wasn't obsessed with women, and after she entered the palace, he almost exclusively favored her. She even felt that she had developed some feelings for Emperor Jinghui by the end. When he was seriously ill, she was genuinely worried—she had lived with this man for five years, and he had always treated her gently, never saying a harsh word to her, almost exactly like the "Qiyun Hermit" described in his letters. This sometimes made her feel a little dazed, wondering if there had never been any forced marriage, if they were kindred spirits, and if they were meant to be together.
Even so, if she could live her life again, she would definitely choose to stay far away from this "Qiyun Hermit".
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. In this life, although she didn't go to the Five-Tone Qin Workshop or get the qin that Emperor Jinghui left for her, they had known each other for two years. Emperor Jinghui was already worried that "Su Jun" might suddenly break off relations with him. It was hard to guarantee that if time went on, he would really send someone to investigate her identity.
This time, without the Crown Prince standing between them, the imperial decree to bestow the title of Imperial Concubine might arrive even faster.
However, the crown prince fell in love with her at first sight.
She's entered the palace as a concubine; there's no way she wouldn't see the Crown Prince. What if...?
She really didn't want such a thing to happen.
Lou Xueying lay on her bed in her boudoir, feeling depressed. She thought to herself that she needed to find a way to eliminate the trouble once and for all.
Becoming a nun? She wasn't unwilling, but although she wouldn't be able to meet the Crown Prince, the problem had returned to the beginning: if the Emperor still investigated her identity... making the nun return to secular life would be much easier than taking away a daughter-in-law.
Upon careful consideration, she realized she still needed to find a powerful backer to protect herself, and the Lou family was clearly not that kind of backer.
Then the only option left for her is to get married.
Moreover, the woman she married had to be of high rank and power. Otherwise, not to mention the crown prince, even the emperor was capable of abducting his son's wife; he might very well take a fancy to a minister's wife. Under heaven, all land belongs to the emperor, and all people within the realm are his subjects. Although no one can surpass imperial power, the emperor and crown prince are not incompetent rulers in matters of state and cannot truly act arbitrarily. The emperor dared to force his son's wife to marry only because he knew the crown prince couldn't do anything to him.
Lou Xueying thought she wanted to marry someone that neither the emperor nor the crown prince dared to touch, and the sooner the better.
Who could this person be?
A note from the author:
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