Chapter 90: Domineering White Moonlight 9 In countless quiet nights...
On the other hand, in the emperor's tent, Concubine Xiao was inside. She had changed into casual clothes and was leaning against a carved table, holding a book in her hands.
"Your Majesty has arrived—"
When the palace maids sang in unison, Concubine Xiao came to her senses, put down the book and went to greet them.
The emperor strode in and handed the bow and arrow to a palace attendant beside him. "Have you had your meal?"
Concubine Xiao shook her head and stepped forward to help the emperor undress and wash his hands. "Not yet. I'm thinking of waiting for Your Majesty to return."
The palace maids withdrew on their own accord. The emperor took her hand and they sat down. "Next time, you can go ahead and have your meal. You don't have to wait for me."
Concubine Xiao smiled faintly: "I can't eat much anyway."
The emperor looked at the book beside her, which contained information on the marriageable women from various families sent by the Inner Court. He closed the book and said, "Your health seems to be declining. I wonder if it's because you've been worrying too much."
Concubine Xiao snuggled into the emperor's arms and whispered, "I'm just helping to discuss it. In the end, it's Jingchuan himself who has to give the nod."
The emperor embraced her and sighed, "In the blink of an eye, Jingchuan has reached the age to marry. Seeing his agile figure in the hunting grounds today, I am deeply pleased."
"Jingchuan has always been sensible and excellent, and has never caused Your Majesty and me a moment of worry. I hope Your Majesty will give more consideration to the selection of the Crown Princess. I am really unable to do it in my health." The imperial concubine lowered her eyes, looking listless.
The emperor held her slightly cold hand and said, "Of course. Jingchuan will know your motherly love."
Concubine Xiao paused and said nothing.
Jingchuan is their only child, but perhaps it was because she had a very difficult time giving birth to this child, or perhaps it was because this child was cold by nature, so she and he were not as close as ordinary mothers and children.
When looking at Jingchuan, Concubine Xiao always felt a sense of estrangement and guilt in her heart. Over time, the flow of family affection between the mother and son became less and less, and all that was left was the routine response.
Concubine Xiao thought that perhaps her illness was not just physical.
She clearly loved children so much in the past, and after she became pregnant with Jingchuan, she was clearly looking forward to his birth, but why did everything turn out like this today?
Seeing that the imperial concubine remained silent for a long time, the emperor knew that she had started to have wild thoughts again. Just as he was about to speak, the imperial concubine's personal maid opened the curtain and came in, with the medicine for the imperial concubine on a tray.
"Your Majesty, it's time for the Queen to take her medicine."
The emperor nodded and said, "Bring it here. Is this the tonic prescribed by Doctor Zheng?"
Doctor Zheng is the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau and is responsible for treating the imperial concubine.
The imperial concubine sat up, picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp. The bitter medicine flowed down her throat, but she didn't even frown.
The emperor smelled the bitter taste and patted the imperial concubine's back: "Didn't I ask Doctor Zheng to change the prescription a few days ago? Why is it still so bitter?"
The imperial concubine wiped the medicine from the corner of her mouth and said reluctantly: "It's not the medicine from before."
"No..." The emperor's expression suddenly changed. He looked at the imperial concubine who refused to look up. "Xunlu, are you taking those medicines again?"
The imperial concubine nodded, but the expression on her face was unclear.
The imperial tent suddenly fell into silence.
The emperor's eyes were filled with suppressed anger, but not directed at the imperial concubine: "Those medicines will only consume your body. Do you really want to leave me alone?"
Concubine Xiao was shocked, tears welling in her eyes: "I know, but I have no choice..."
"Your Majesty, please allow me to bear another child for you..."
This palace was too cold. Except when she was with the emperor, she could hardly feel any warmth. Every day and every night was so hard to endure. Even the emperor, who was her bedmate, could not empathize with her.
So, she eagerly placed all these emotions on a child who did not yet exist. She knew that this was crazy and unfair to Jingchuan.
But she felt that if she continued to live in such a numb state, she would really go crazy.
The emperor gently wiped away the tears from her eyes, feeling distressed: "The imperial physician said a few years ago that your body is not suitable for bearing children again."
He knew that this was her obsession. It was because he tied her to his side that she became what she is today. How could he blame her?
"Doctor Zheng said that as long as I take more medicine and recuperate, I will definitely get better one day."
"Your Majesty, I beg you..."
The emperor embraced the sobbing imperial concubine, his Adam's apple rolling as he swallowed the bitter taste. He wanted to continue to persuade her, "The princess's child was also well-behaved and lovely back then. She was brought into the palace from birth. I thought having her by your side might make you feel more cheerful."
When A-li was mentioned, the imperial concubine's expression became a little strange, and her eyes flickered twice: "Perhaps that child is not meant for me."
There was some movement in front of the imperial tent, and a palace servant came in to report that the only son of the Earl of Dingxiang had just attempted to murder the princess and defy the royal majesty. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had ordered him to be detained and requested that the Earl of Dingxiang's hereditary title be stripped away, and that a detailed investigation and trial would be conducted after returning to the capital.
The emperor frowned. "How could the only son of the Earl of Dingxiang be so audacious? Where is the Crown Prince?"
"The princess was seriously injured. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince brought her back to the tent and then invited the imperial physician over." The palace servant replied.
The emperor stood up and asked solemnly, "How is the princess?"
The imperial concubine also asked, "Is the prince injured?"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is not injured. The news from the imperial physician is that the princess's life is no longer in danger." The palace maid replied.
The emperor pondered for a moment and said, "I understand. I will do as the Crown Prince says. This matter is entirely under your control."
"Yes." The palace maid took the order and left.
*
When Ali woke up, he was in Xie Jingchuan's tent.
As the sky gradually darkened, only a gilded crane-shaped lamp remained in the hall, and the candlelight swayed slightly in the night breeze.
She moved her hands and feet and turned to look to the side. She saw Xie Jingchuan working at his desk reviewing memorials. The candlelight cast his silhouette on the screen behind him, like a deep ink painting.
Looking from Ali's direction, one could only see a little of his focused profile.
Three years ago, Xie Jingchuan began to learn how to handle government affairs from the emperor, and now most of the affairs in the court are handled by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Compared to before, he is much busier, but Ali rarely feels this.
She quietly turned over, lay on the edge of the bed and looked at him, breathing shallowly.
Xie Jingchuan didn't notice that she woke up. His eyes were fixed on the desk. He held the pen in a very steady posture, with the cinnabar pen suspended above the memorial. He pondered for a moment and then wrote a comment in red.
His brows were furrowed, and the silver cloud pattern on his sleeves appeared and disappeared with the movement of his wrist, like a flowing galaxy in the dark night.
Ah Li deliberately made some noises, and Xie Jingchuan immediately looked over. Seeing that she had woken up, he put down his pen and walked over to her: "Awake? Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"
"It just hurts a little here in my neck." Ali said while covering the injured area.
Xie Jingchuan sat down beside the bed and looked at her expression: "I'll call the imperial physician."
"No need!" Ali quickly grabbed his hand and asked him to sit down again.
Xie Jingchuan looked at her: "What's wrong?"
Before he could finish his words, Ali reached out and touched his furrowed brow, and rubbed it hard until it turned red.
Although Xie Jingchuan felt pain, he did not avoid it. He just covered her with the blanket that had slipped off her body: "Are you in a bad mood?"
Ali bent his fingers and tapped him between the eyebrows: "Why are you always frowning? You frown like an old man, it's not good-looking!"
Although it was a reprimand, Xie Jingchuan raised the corners of his lips after hearing it: "Okay, I won't frown anymore in the future."
"You're lying," Ali said, not buying his tricks. He said angrily with a stern face, "I've told you this a hundred times. When have you ever listened to me?"
The two grew up together. Ali was most afraid of reading and writing, while Xie Jingchuan was just the opposite. He often read by candlelight at night, and when he encountered something he didn't understand, he would frown and remain silent.
Ali had seen him a few times occasionally, and remembering the expectations that the emperor had placed on him, he would often tease him while he was studying, not wanting him to look so gloomy all the time.
In countless quiet moments of the night, there are always two small figures under the candlelight in the East Palace.
When Xie Jingchuan read Bai Juyi's "Song of Everlasting Sorrow," the not-so-literary A-li asked him, "On the seventh day of the seventh month in the Palace of Eternal Life, in the middle of the night when no one is whispering... doesn't this sentence sound very similar to our current situation?"
Now the moon was high in the sky, and she was whispering something into Xie Jingchuan's ear.
Xie Jingchuan shook his head: "Yes, they are a bit similar, but not the same. We are not Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Yang Guifei."
He forcibly tied the person to his side, but was unable to protect her, and in the end, they were separated forever.
Ali nodded sleepily: "Okay." After a while, he fell asleep again beside Xie Jingchuan's arm.
Ali has kept the habit of not allowing Xie Jingchuan to frown until now.
He rarely frowned when Ali could see him.
"I was wrong." Xie Jingchuan admitted his mistake, but she turned her head away and ignored him.
Ali's anger tonight came out of nowhere and lasted for a long time. Xie Jingchuan was rarely at a loss.
He thought about what had happened in the past few days, but couldn't find the crux of the problem.
All the teachings of sages that I learned in the past are no longer applicable at this moment.
He could easily deal with the ministers in the court who had their own thoughts, but he had no way to deal with the woman in front of him.
Seeing that he seemed to be stunned, Ali finally looked over.
Xie Jingchuan's eyes lit up slightly when he heard her say, "How did you deal with the Li Mao incident?"
It turned out to be this matter. Xie Jingchuan breathed a sigh of relief and repeated his own handling of the matter.
As Ali listened, he unconsciously drew circles on his palm with his fingers: "Is there any connection?"
"With Li Mao's behavior, the Duke of Dingxiang is at least guilty of failing to manage his household properly and failing to discipline his children. He is definitely implicated," said Xie Jingchuan.
Ali nodded, looking quite satisfied, and continued, "Those young men and women who were with him should be imprisoned in the prison to learn a lesson."
Xie Jingchuan was surprised by her plea. In the past, if she had encountered such a thing, she would have definitely pursued it to the end. "Miss Chen and the others will have to wait until we return to Beijing to discuss the charges according to the Ministry of Justice regulations."
Ali wanted to let them go, but Xie Jingchuan didn't. A horrifying scene like today's would be enough to happen once.
Ali looked at him suspiciously: "Aren't you the crown prince? Can't you even fulfill a request like this?"
Xie Jingchuan lowered his eyes in silence. Ali had already stood up and half-knelt on the bed, staring at him: "Didn't you say that no matter what the problem is, as long as I come to you, you can solve it?"
Xie Jingchuan paused. Ali was talking about something that happened when they were children.
When Ali was young, he was very timid and was once pushed into the lotus pond by the Prince of Runan who came to the palace to pay his respects to the Queen Mother.
She couldn't swim and suddenly sank into the pool in a panic.
Fortunately, a palace maid from the Eastern Palace passed by and rescued her in time, and then passed the news back to the Eastern Palace.
Xie Jingchuan, who was less than ten years old at that time, had his first fight with someone in his life. The person he fought was the son of an important official, the Prince of Runan.
Although the Prince of Runan was a head taller than Xie Jingchuan, he did not gain any advantage in this fight.
By the time the palace servants pulled the two apart, Xie Jingchuan had already beaten the prince so badly that his face was bruised and swollen. He cried and wanted to leave the palace to find his father and mother.
Ali didn't know how the matter was handled later. He only knew that after he woke up from drowning, he saw Xie Jingchuan, who was panting and had a wound on the corner of his mouth.
He tested the temperature of her forehead like a little adult, and then told her in a firm tone that she didn't have to swallow her anger anymore. No matter what happened, he would protect her and solve all her problems for her.
Ali's current temper is all thanks to his words. No matter what she does, Xie Jingchuan will protect her behind her.
Seeing Ali's undisguised trust in his eyes, Xie Jingchuan finally gave in and agreed to her.
"Xie Jingchuan, you are such a nice person!" Ali cheered, threw herself into his arms, and also knocked open the door of his shaky heart.
Xie Jingchuan caught her without hesitation and gently deepened the hug.
Everyone in the palace feared him, was terrified of him, respected him, and was in awe of him, but they had no choice but to submit to him.
In Xie Jingchuan's opinion, these people all have the same face, only Ali is different.
She is so vivid and bright, the only color in this deep palace and even in the world.
He is the prince of the whole world, but he is Xie Jingchuan just for her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
