Unharmonious
The palace maids had been looking after Ah Jiao for seven or eight days, and during these seven or eight days, they had to do a lot of work every day. It was a tough job. It was said that this Concubine Gu had secretly entered Xilin and attempted to escape, but was caught by His Majesty.
Concubine Gu treated them well, was gentle and easygoing, and His Majesty was also very good to Concubine Gu. She couldn't understand why she had to leave.
Every day, the kitchen brought her a variety of exquisite dishes, but she refused to eat them. So, they could only make her rice paste and juice. When she refused to drink, they would only keep coming closer until she ejaculated on her clothes. Then, somewhat frantically, she would push them away and smash the dishes and chopsticks on the floor. The white cashmere blanket brought into the palace from the Western Regions was covered in a mixture of debris, densely clinging to the fur, like countless protruding nails. She stepped on them, her rage intensified, and she would clamor for a bath.
She would take the opportunity to bury herself in the tub, and when they found her, she would be nearly unconscious. The imperial physician would give her acupuncture to revive her. When she woke up, she would start a violent outburst, cursing the emperor and everyone in the palace, but no one dared to control her. His Majesty said that as long as she didn't get hurt, she could do whatever she wanted, and all they had to do was keep an eye on her.
All the sharp objects in the room were put away, leaving only the candlelight that was indispensable at night. They were exhausted by the noise during the day and everyone was sleeping soundly at night. Suddenly, she smelled a burning smell and opened her eyes to see her tying clothes into a rope and lighting it by the window as a fuse.
The window was already half ablaze. Concubine Gu locked eyes with her, anxiously attempting to escape through the flames. She rushed over, shouting, and they pulled her back. They put out the fire and summoned a physician to treat her injuries. His Majesty, upon hearing this, spoke a great deal about her. Later, they added a little muscle softening powder to the tranquilizing incense, tripling the dosage. Concubine Gu spent the entire day listless, too lazy to move, and too exhausted to torture them.
Gradually, she became ill. Although she was able to eat every day, she was visibly losing weight. At night, she heard her screaming in her dreams, as if possessed by an evil spirit. It was very scary. She would come to her in the middle of the night to ask if she wanted anything to eat or drink. She shook her head and asked her to hold her hand and stay by her bedside.
Often, she fell asleep before Lady Gu. The next morning, sunlight shone on Lady Gu's pale face. Her lips grew paler by the day, and the tiny specks of blood beneath her skin, due to its thinness, were clearly visible. During the day, she looked peaceful as she slept, her long eyelashes like two doors, obscuring the arrogance and coldness of her dark pupils as she gazed at people.
She couldn't help but cover her with the quilt, gently brushing the stray hair from her forehead and combing her messy hair. She was very obedient at that moment, like a clay doll, letting herself be manipulated. She wouldn't wake up until noon, eat a few bites of food, stretch out for a while, read a book, or sit by the window and fiddle with the twisting crabapple blossoms. At night, she felt more energetic, her sun no longer in the sky, but in the candlelight beneath her head.
That evening, His Majesty came here again. She was shocked at the first sight - she entered Ganquan Palace late and had never seen His Majesty like this. He no longer had the usual bottomless majesty and coldness, but instead had a cheerful face and smiling eyes.
They all bowed their heads and saluted. He walked in and shook hands with Lady Gu first, then took off a cloak from his body and put it on her shoulders, and asked them to find a sedan chair for her.
They carried the people to Mingxin Lake and saw the emperor and Concubine Gu sitting on a boat, gradually moving away from them, and heading towards the pavilion in the middle of the lake among the withered lotus leaves.
Liu Che rowed the boat while looking at A Jiao, smiling but not saying anything. Seeing his inexplicable behavior, she couldn't help but frown, "Why are you looking at me? If you have something to say, just say it."
"What's different about me today?"
Ah Jiao glanced at him. He looked very different. Of course, she could tell he was different. It was undeniable that Liu Che had been handsome in his youth, otherwise she wouldn't have fallen for him. Beautiful people always age slower. Even though he was nearly fifty, with a little dressing up, he could still look like he was in his thirties, with a unique charm.
"She puts on powder, lipstick, and wears different clothes. She's like an old cucumber painted green. No matter how she dresses up, it can't compare to the natural, unadorned freshness of a lotus flower emerging from clear water."
Liu Che's eyelids twitched. "The prince has hanged himself. Come back to Chang'an with me. Wei Yun colluded with the prince to commit treason and will be killed. I'll leave him to you."
Gillian was a little surprised, but not that surprised.
"Go back by yourself. I don't want to go with you."
"You don't want to go back to Chang'an or you don't want to go with me."
"Neither."
"The Crown Prince is dead, and I can hand Wei Yun over to you to avenge him personally. The Wei family has no successors. Your revenge has been taken, so what else is there to let go of?"
"Will all the officials of the Eastern Palace be convicted?"
She asked a question he didn't want to answer, and he was a little impatient, "Who do you want to ask?"
"Zhang Yannian."
"Of course he will die. He is the prince's teacher. Do you care about his life or death?"
"After all, he was the only one who pleaded for me back then, even at the cost of offending His Majesty. He is a loyal and upright minister."
Liu Che thought for a moment and said, "If you come back with me, I can spare his life."
Gillian smiled and said, "If you don't forgive him, he won't live."
The prince is already dead. When he made this move, he probably didn't expect that they would lose. Now that his only bargaining chip is gone, he has to fight with his back against the wall and will eventually be burned to death. How can he be willing to die again at the hands of Liu Che?
Liu Che did not delve into the inappropriateness of this, but just wanted to untie the knot in her heart that had been there for many years. "Now that everything is over, why not go back? We can start from the beginning and continue to live our original life. You will be my only queen, and you can do whatever you want. If anyone opposes me, I will kill them. No one can control us anymore."
Gillian shook her head and sighed.
Liu Che didn't understand the look in her eyes. "You still don't believe me. You still think I instructed the Queen to allow her to kill you. You think I'm just deceiving you now. I have evidence. The palace maids around the Queen..."
"I believe it."
Gillian looked at him with a faint smile, and he calmed down and listened to her.
"I've always known that it was she who mobilized Wei Qing's private soldiers to surround Changmen Palace. She falsely passed on the imperial decree to give me poisoned wine. Fearing you'd find out, she simply set Changmen Palace on fire to make it look like I was burning myself."
Liu Che frowned, as if he wanted to ask something.
"You've known about this for a long time, haven't you?" She said with a hint of mockery in her eyes, "It's not that you only investigated after I said it was Wei Yun who killed me, unraveling the mystery and piecing together the evidence. You investigated immediately after I died. You also hate her in your heart, hate her for her unscrupulous and vicious heart, and hate her for the honor of the two Wei families who helped you repel the Xiongnu.
But you pretended not to know, hating her while exploiting her until you had squeezed every last bit of her out of your life and there was nothing left to gain from her. Then you dug up past incidents, added new grudges, convicted her, and slaughtered her entire family."
Liu Che's face paled, his eyes darting. He opened his mouth to speak. She continued, "Han Xin endured the humiliation of being humiliated, and Goujian endured hardships, working as a slave and a servant, ultimately avenging the destruction of his nation. All capable generals and ministers, both past and present, have considered this a great virtue, beyond reproach."
"But why don't you dare to speak? You'd rather be misunderstood by me, cursed and hated by me than explain clearly. You knew it a long time ago, but you didn't dare tell me it was Wei Yun's doing. Because you also know that in your heart, power is more important than me, so you can endure it, you can turn a deaf ear to the bell, endure it until your children grow up, uncle and nephew Wei Qing repel the Huns for you, the Gongsun family sever ties with the Wei family and you use them, the country is safe and the world is at peace, then you can discuss this old grudge..."
"Liu Che, can we really go back to the past? They say that once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. In this life, it is best not to look back on the path you have walked. When you become the emperor, you are no longer the Liu Che of the past. You have your responsibilities and your reasons. I didn't understand it before, and I can't be exempted from the responsibility for taking that step. Now that I have experienced so much, I have figured it out and understood it. The position of empress is not something that can be taken lightly. I can't do it, and I am not even as good as Wei Yun. You should find someone else and let me retire to the mountains and the market so that we can all be happy together."
A Jiao's words left Liu Che with no way to avoid it. All the dark things in his heart were exposed by her. For a moment, he was at a loss, his heart beat faster, and cold sweat broke out on the back of his palms.
He loosened his grip on the oar and naturally sank into the water, creating ripples. When the water calmed down, the withered lotus leaves trembled slightly, and the dry leaves rubbed against Liu Che's cheek, causing a slight sting.
"No……"
He wanted to argue, but choked a little. Then, looking at her fixed gaze, the muscles in his throat moved unconsciously, and there was a buzzing sound in his ears, which made it impossible for him to concentrate on what he was saying.
"If I had known it was she who forged the imperial edict to harm you, I would have killed her long ago. How could I have tolerated her sitting on the throne for so long? I only married her because of Wei Qing's bravery and might, and I wanted to keep her in my lap to serve me. I have no feelings for her... I only recently sent Jiang Chong to investigate what you mentioned. The edict to depose the empress has been drafted. You can kill her yourself and avenge your fate..."
As he spoke, he excitedly held her hand. Both of their hands were equally cold and could not be warmed by holding each other.
"You don't like her. You like your power. Unfortunately, I didn't understand this at the time. I went astray and died a tragic death."
A Jiao looked at Liu Che indifferently. She let him hold her hand, as if she was looking at a child, with a bit of helplessness and a bit of tolerance.
"There's nothing I can do, Archer. Every time I'm with you, I think of the fire that day. The feeling of having my intestines ripped apart and my heart burned by the raging fire..."
Her cold hands rubbed the back of Liu Che's hand, gradually moving upwards, like a silver snake emerging from the fire. Wherever her cold scales passed, a heat wave rose up, burning his entire arm and making it tremble.
She spoke in a low voice, looking at him.
"I still remember that day I was wearing a pink and white peony-embroidered dress. The long skirt caught fire and quickly burned. The peony flowers melted into my skin and turned into a blur of flesh and blood. I screamed in pain, and smoke flew into my throat. The beams fell on me, and no matter how hard I tried to crawl, I couldn't get out. I saw them carrying me in the fire with their hands. The newly dyed nail polish melted into the wood along with my fingers. My whole fingers were rotten, and there was a smell of blood and pus. I cried and told them to run away and leave me alone.
They screamed, but couldn't escape no matter how hard they tried. I saw the flesh on their faces begin to burn red, rot, and turn black. Gradually, I lost my sight and could no longer speak. The flesh in my throat also stuck together, and it hurt like a knife..."
Liu Che buried his head in her shoulder, trembling all over, and felt a warm and wet feeling. She gently stroked his back.
"If you still have any regard for me, please let me go. I'm too tired and want to have a good sleep."
The boat moved slowly on the water, passing through a patch of withered lotus leaves and returning to the shore. The palace servants pulled them aboard and carried the sedan back.
The curtains of the sedan were a deep yellow hue. The setting sun shone through the curtains onto Gillian. The man rested his head on her knees with his eyes closed, not knowing whether he was asleep or resting. The small space was filled with a familiar and safe atmosphere. The leaves of the tree swayed like wind chimes in the autumn wind, yellow - pink - green -
One by one, they fell in the courtyard.
She stood outside his window and gently rang the bell on the eaves.
He put down his pen and looked at her with a frown, "I haven't finished copying yet, go and have fun by yourself."
She pulled the bell even harder, and the butterfly hairpins on her temples trembled as if they were about to take off, revealing her dissatisfaction with the boy.
"Copy, copy, copy. All you do is copy all day long. Uncle asked you to come here to play with me, not to chant sutras and become a Taoist priest! Mother said that the Taoist priest will ask for divination for our marriage soon. If you go too late, I won't speak for you!"
This trip to the Taiqing Palace was a routine matter, to divine the marriage of their children. After passing the test of the gods, they could return to ask the emperor for permission to marry and to seal the covenant. Naturally, this political alliance was also formed.
Liu Che knew that it was the eldest princess's arrangement and did not dare to neglect it. He put away his paper and pen and went around the door to pull A Jiao. She pushed him away in disgust, patted her sleeves, and walked forward with big strides, her neck raised high and her skirt dragging long.
There were many small puddles in the corridor after the rain, but she didn't care at all. Liu Che saw that her sleeves were wet because she was leaning on the windowsill, so he silently took up her skirt and walked slowly behind her.
He took small steps and she took big steps, maintaining a balance.
The young girl walked ahead, complaining, "Rainy days like this are the worst. Everything is wet, and water drips everywhere I walk. Especially that shabby courtyard of yours. Where does all the money Taiqing Palace spend every year? They don't even repair it. My new shoes made of Shu brocade are ruined by the water."
"I agreed to take you for a walk after dinner every day. During the day, I have to copy scriptures for the Imperial Grandmother. If I don't copy well, my mother will scold me again, and you insist on rushing me."
"Who urged you? It was today. I said a few days ago that you didn't say a word?"
"You didn't say anything. You just stood there like a Buddha, staring straight ahead. How could I continue writing?"
"You are the Jade Emperor, the Great Pure One, and you don't allow people to see you?"
"In front of you, even the Jade Emperor wouldn't dare to act rashly. Who am I? I am the dirt beneath your feet, and you are the moon in the sky, unattainable and unrivaled..."
The girl couldn't help laughing, "Of course, marrying you is the blessing you've earned in eight lifetimes."
Liu Che twitched his lips and secretly gave her a blank look.
After walking through the long corridor and passing through the moon gate, the two came into the hall and knelt down and kowtowed before the statue of the real person.
The old Taoist brought a pair of ox horns, burned incense to the immortal, muttered something, and led Liu Che and A Jiao to bow three times together, and then threw it on the table covered with a long bright yellow cloth.
A crisp sound rang out in the quiet room. After Liu Che finished his worship, he looked up and saw that the old Taoist seemed to move his hands. He thought about it and said nothing.
The eldest princess asked, "How is it? Are the two children's marriages compatible?"
"It fits, it fits!" The old Taoist twisted his beard. "This positive and negative combination is a very auspicious sign. The divination I read earlier for the young princess and the young prince also said that they are destined to be together for three lifetimes. Their fate is very deep."
The eldest princess nodded with satisfaction, personally brought the offerings to the gods and bowed to them, then told them not to make trouble before leaving.
"I saw it."
Liu Che looked at the old Taoist quietly. He smiled and said, "Hmm?"
"I saw you turn it over." It wasn't a good omen at all. "The Master disapproves of this marriage. Did my mother tell you to do this?"
The old Taoist said, "It's not that the real person disagrees, he just said that this thing is difficult to accomplish."
"If you can, you can. If you can't, you can't. What do you mean by difficult to achieve?"
"Difficulty and ease are all in one thought, and cannot be explained in a few words."
Liu Che sneered and once again took the ox horn to throw it himself. The old Taoist said, "This is a magical instrument of the immortals. Only those who can communicate with the immortals and serve them can be the middleman. Did you throw it..."
Liu Che gave him a cold look and threw the object away. He closed his mouth. With a clang, the ox horns fell to the ground. It was indeed the same as the other two.
Liu Che was silent for a moment and continued to throw, and the hexagram was the same again.
The old Taoist explained, "I told you this is a magical instrument. It won't work if you throw it. The divine will won't reach you. Besides, if you're not sincere, it won't work. The princess is worried about something else. Why don't you come back tomorrow..."
Liu Che walked away silently with the pair of ox horns in his pocket. The old Taoist was stunned behind him and called out to him helplessly, "Hey, don't take them away. They were passed down to me by my master. Ordinary people can't use them——"
The young man had already walked away. The old Taoist sighed, turned around, took out a pair of ox horn cups from the cabinet, and wiped the dust off them.
After copying the scriptures, before leaving the palace, Liu Piao once again asked the Taoist priest to predict her fortune. She asked devoutly, "Now that Liu Che of the Liu family and A Jiao of the Chen family wish to marry, I beg the gods for guidance."
The old Taoist picked up the pair of ox horns again, raised them high, and threw them on the table. The moment Liu Piao finished his worship and looked over, he saw that the cups that were about to be paired suddenly turned over, as if by divine power, and became one right side up and one wrong side up.
Liu Piao smiled and said, "It has been agreed. My parents' orders and the gods' wishes have been fulfilled. I can rest assured now."
The old Taoist smiled and looked deeply at the seemingly obedient boy beside him. He raised his eyes to look at him, but seemed unaware and smiled at him as well, but it made him feel a chill on his back.
He said nothing, but sent them away while wishing Liu Piao many good luck and good fortune.
Returning to the main hall, he lifted the tablecloth and looked inside. He saw that the two legs under the table were tied with cloth, forming a supporting surface. On the cloth lay a large piece of strangely shaped stone.
He took the horn and sniffed it; it smelled like magnetic powder...
He couldn't help but shook his head and sighed.
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