This seemingly foolish and deliberate violation of the law repeatedly touched upon the emperor's taboos. He was most annoyed by the princes forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices, and most resented anyone who looked down on his advanced age, overstepped his authority, or coveted his throne.
The Emperor was furious. He had issued an edict that no one was allowed to enter without his permission. There were eight imperial guards and his own trusted eunuchs at the palace gates, but now even his trusted eunuchs were obeying Fukang'an to such an extent.
He straightened up and looked down at Wu Shulai angrily, saying, "I think you're getting more and more tired of your job. Granny Zhuang is so loyal to her master that she's willing to go with the Empress Dowager!"
Granny Zhuang was originally just a servant, but because she followed the Empress Dowager through thick and thin, the Emperor, mindful of her loyalty, buried her with the honors due to a Consort.
When Wu Shulai heard the Emperor mention that Granny Zhuang had died following the Empress Dowager, he broke out in a cold sweat, much larger than raindrops falling from the sky. "This servant would gladly follow Your Majesty with my life!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them immediately, first slapping himself in the face. Then he kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead turning purplish-blue and blood flowing down his cheeks.
Seeing his advanced age and hunched back, the Emperor felt a pang of pity. "Get up! If you continue to act so arrogantly, I will not spare your head!"
Wu Shulai stood up tremblingly and wiped his face haphazardly with his white silk sleeve. Blood mixed with rainwater and mud stained the white sleeve so badly that it was impossible to look closely.
After the Emperor angrily rebuked Wu Shulai, he gave Fukang'an a sharp look. Compared to Yongyan's false imperial edict, Fukang'an's power had spread so far, making him even more worried. He secretly wondered if he had truly spoiled Fukang'an too much, which was why the boy had become so disrespectful to the monarch.
The stone-blue palace bricks were soaked by the drizzle blown in by the wind, and Yongyan knelt on a puddle of water. The white mourning clothes he wore had already been covered with dust for three days, and the white cloth in front of his knees turned ashen after being soaked in the water.
Although his hair was neatly combed, his eyes were bloodshot, his stubble on his cheeks was bluish, and the ash-white veil on his knees formed a continuous tuft from top to bottom.
Seeing this scene, Fukang'an glanced at the panicked Yan Ning, who had also been manipulated. However, trespassing into a forbidden area without imperial decree would result in an exceptionally severe punishment, even if Yongyan were to implicate her.
He knelt down and said, “I heard that the last people the Empress Dowager saw before her death were my family members. Therefore, I thought that only she could convey the Empress Dowager’s deep affection for the Emperor on her deathbed.”
He took the blame that Wu Shulai had mentioned, willingly letting the Emperor misunderstand that his power was too great. Only in this way could Yongyan be saved, and Yan Ning, who had barged into the Empress Dowager's mourning hall without being summoned, be saved. He also thought that by using the Empress Dowager's past plots against Yan Ning, he could make the Emperor take pity on her and spare her the suffering of punishment.
The Emperor looked at Fukang'an kneeling at his feet. His eyes were fixed on the corner of his black cloak and Fukang'an's white robe that were partially obscured by the cloak. His lips were tightly closed, and he remained silent.
Round raindrops fell on the jade steps, shattering into a thousand petals, scattering the chill of early spring. Wu Shulai worried that the Emperor's cloak was too thin and that he would catch a cold. He ordered his eunuch Xiao Jiangzi to fetch the Emperor's sable embroidered dragon-patterned cloak, intending to use it to cover Fukang'an's black cloak.
The Emperor waved his hand, blocking Wu Shulai from view. The jade thumb ring touched the whip in Wu Shulai's hand, producing a soft sound like jade hitting wood, but in the otherwise deserted palace, it was like a spring thunderclap in everyone's ears.
Yan Ning trembled as she tried to kneel down to beg for forgiveness, but was startled by a sharp glare from Fukang'an, which made her immediately straighten her slightly bent knees.
Young orioles and swallows, enamored with the spring sunshine, their still-developing wings brushed against the slanting rain and mist, their bodies swaying precariously in the rain and fog. Adult orioles and swallows used their strong wings to shield their fledglings from the wind and rain.
The emperor felt a pang of pity; the two kneeling at his feet were none other than his fledglings.
Yongyan did it for him, Fukang'an did it for him; it was precisely this etiquette between ruler and subject that allowed him, as emperor, to stand before his father. That's why their concern for him became so cautious and subservient.
He angrily asked, "Who delivered the oral message on behalf of the Fifteenth Prince?"
Little Jiangzi, who was holding the emperor's robe with both hands, was so frightened that he knelt on the ground. He still dared not let his hands fall down, for fear of damaging the emperor's robe, which was embroidered with dragons.
"The Fifteenth Prince told this servant that the Empress Dowager has always favored Lady Fucha, and Lady Fucha will surely be able to persuade the Emperor to leave the Empress Dowager's mourning hall. Otherwise, continuing to worry will harm the Emperor's health. Please, Your Majesty, spare my life!"
He raised the veil above his head and kowtowed, each kowtow shielding the drizzling rain outside the hall.
The Emperor didn't even glance at Xiao Jiangzi, coldly ordering, "Take him out and execute him immediately!"
Wu Shulai immediately took the protective cloth from Xiao Jiangzi, and called two guards to drag Xiao Jiangzi out.
After failing to get help from the Emperor, Xiao Jiangzi kept crying out, "Fifteenth Prince, save this servant!" Yongyan wanted to speak to the Emperor, but Heshen pulled at his long robe, which was hanging on the ground behind him. He lowered his head and remained silent. Xiao Jiangzi's cries for help sounded to him like hot oil dripping into his ear.
This was the first life he had taken, and he was conflicted and hesitant.
At first, Yan Ning could still hear Xiao Jiangzi's heart-wrenching pleas for mercy, but gradually, the sound of spring rain gently patting the palace bricks grew louder, making her ears ring.
After the guards returned and reported that Xiao Jiangzi had been executed by flogging, the Emperor said to Heshen, who was kneeling behind Yongyan, "Send all the memorials to my bedchamber tomorrow!"
Heshen bowed his head and knelt in obeisance, saying, "Your subject obeys the decree!"
The Emperor sighed softly. He helped Fukang'an to his feet and said to Yongyan with a sigh, "Let's go back! Staying here for so many days will probably ruin your health! Kang'er, Yan Ning, come in with me!"
Yan Ning, still reeling from the brush with death and having witnessed Xiao Jiangzi's demise, followed Fu Kang'an in a daze.
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