Chapter 52 "What did you do last night, all night long..."
Ling Zhenli remained silent for a moment.
"Today is the new emperor's coronation ceremony. If we don't go back and prepare now, it will be too late."
Fang Wenzhou breathed a sigh of relief: "So it was because of the coronation ceremony that the Crown Princess invited a bunch of sorcerers into the palace to try and possess someone else's body. She's gone mad, so she probably doesn't care about the coronation ceremony. Pei Xuanlin's army is pressing down in Jiangnan. Even if the Chen family army fights to the death, they can only hold out for three more months at most. Pei Xuanlin will soon be able to march into Chang'an..."
As he spoke, Fang Wenzhou noticed a tear clinging to Ling Zhenli's eyelashes, about to fall. Ling Zhenli, upon hearing Fang Wenzhou's words, realized that Pei Xuanlin was not in danger but rather had the upper hand. For a moment, she felt aggrieved that he had left her in the capital.
"You cried?"
Ling Zhenli's eyes welled up with tears: "You didn't even ask Pei Xuanlin how he dared to leave me alone in the capital! Isn't he afraid that the people here will take their anger out on me and kill me!"
Fang Wenzhou panicked and quickly got up to rummage through his clothes for a handkerchief.
Tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls, her voice trembling with grievance, "Does he know that Pei Shang'er wanted to kill me that day? Isn't he afraid I'll die...?"
Brotherly affection made Fang Wenzhou subconsciously want to say something good about Pei Xuanlin, but the jealousy between men made him swallow his words.
Seeing that Ling Zhenli's lips were white from biting them, and she still couldn't stop sobbing, Fang Wenzhou couldn't help but tell the truth: "He thinks that no one dares to touch you. Even if the victor is king and the loser is villain, and he can't come back, with the Xue family's protection, you will live a good life."
"..."
Ling Zhenli stopped crying as soon as she heard the words "Xue family" and continued getting dressed.
"Are you really leaving? Wait a minute, I'll see you off."
Seeing that his attempts to persuade her to stay were futile, Fang Wenzhou had no choice but to get up and quickly put on his clothes so that he could spend a little more time with Ling Zhenli.
While putting on her coat, Ling Zhenli replied, "It wouldn't be good if I didn't attend the coronation ceremony. Pei Shang'er wants me to stay in the palace as a lady-in-waiting."
Fang Wenzhou was secretly delighted after hearing this, because if he became a lady-in-waiting in the palace, he could see Ling Zhenli every day.
"Being a female official, isn't that great?"
Ling Zhenli was speechless: "I've gone from being the Crown Princess to a palace lady, are you happy for me?"
"With the Prime Minister here, your female officials can't be lower than the sixth rank, right? Isn't that enough?"
“The female officials who used to serve me were all of the third rank, but now I’ve become a sixth-rank female official?” Ling Zhenli stopped what she was doing and said angrily, “I’m going back to the Prime Minister’s residence to tell my brother that this is terrible news.”
"Isn't your brother Xue Haoting?"
Fang Wenzhou felt a pang of sadness whenever he thought of Xue Haoting. The man who had made love with Ling Zhenli that night was Xue Haoting. It was all his fault for being so intoxicated by beauty that he forgot to strike first. He tried to take her, but the Xue family was the richest among the major families. The women of Zuixianlou only cared about money, so Xue Haoting had the advantage.
"It's Xue Haoting." Ling Zhenli finished dressing and sat back on the bed.
“You’ve had physical intimacy with him, how can you still act like siblings?”
Fang Wenzhou's words were tinged with sarcasm because he didn't want his relationship with Ling Zhenli to only develop into friendship or be limited to a brother-sister dynamic—that would be too frustrating.
“…Why do you care so much about me? The more I tell you, the more secrets you’ll reveal in the future.” Ling Zhenli rolled her eyes. “If you want to send me away, do it now. Otherwise, I won’t have time to get ready.”
*
Jiangnan Song Mansion
The Song family is the most prominent and wealthy family in Jiangnan. When Pei Xuanlin arrived in Jiangnan, the first thing he did after leaving the battlefield was to go to the Song family.
The Song family members, dressed in formal attire, greeted Pei Xuanlin from all sides.
As the new head of the Song family, Song Zhaoye stood at the head to greet Pei Xuanlin.
"Long live the Crown Prince."
"I am no longer the Crown Prince, Lord Song, there is no need for such formalities. I have brought troops here to stay, please forgive my inconvenience."
"Your Highness, please come in."
Song Zhaoye respectfully invited Pei Xuanlin into the main hall and personally poured him a cup of tea. Although he appeared calm, he was actually extremely flustered inside.
If Pei Xuanlin found out that the wife he married was a fake Xue Yingyue, and that the real Xue Yingyue was in his Song Zhaoye's room, then even ten of his heads wouldn't be enough for Pei Xuanlin to cut off.
Pei Xuanlin felt that Song Zhaoye's expression was strange, but he had no evidence that he was plotting a rebellion.
"Before I came here, I heard that Lord Song's wife's surname was Xue. It just so happens that my wife's surname is also Xue. What a coincidence."
!
Song Zhaoye's evasive answer wasn't actually about fate, but rather...
"Your Highness is too kind. How can my wife compare to the Crown Princess, who is valued as much as gold and jade?"
"That's not true. Whose wife isn't a precious gem? It's just that my wife is now all alone in the capital. Although she has the protection of her family, I still can't let her go. Today is the new crown princess's enthronement ceremony. I wonder if she, the former crown princess, will be made things difficult for me."
Seeing Pei Xuanlin shake his head and sigh, Song Zhaoye forced a smile and comforted him: "Your Highness the Crown Princess is blessed with good fortune. Given time, the Crown Prince will return to the rightful throne, and all your suffering will be over."
"Speaking of which, why haven't I seen your wife?"
Pei Xuanlin asked casually with a smile. From the moment he entered the door, Song Zhaoye had been acting as if he had done something wrong, and had been trying to appear calm. Pei Xuanlin had heard that this Song family head had roamed the martial arts world in his early years and had only returned to take over after the old family head passed away. It didn't seem like he was colluding with the Chen family.
This casual question hit the nail on the head. Song Zhaoye was worried that his secret would be exposed, which was why he had been feeling guilty.
"My wife is pregnant and the pregnancy is not stable. She has not been out and about these days and is resting quietly at home. I hope Your Highness will not be offended."
"Oh no, oh no! In that case, I must congratulate Lord Song on the upcoming birth of his son. I am truly envious."
Pei Xuanlin spoke through gritted teeth in the second half of his sentence. It wasn't that he hadn't tried, but Xue Yingyue still hadn't conceived. Although having a child couldn't be rushed, a child was the fruit of love, and he really wanted to have a child of their own with Xue Yingyue.
"Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness. Once you ascend the throne, you and the Crown Princess will surely have many children and much happiness."
Upon hearing that many children bring many blessings, Pei Xuanlin no longer declined, saying, "Thank you for your kind words."
*
The city of Chang'an was shrouded in the chill of autumn transitioning into winter.
The Taiji Palace was brightly lit inside and out, with palace maids and eunuchs bustling about, making final preparations for the upcoming coronation ceremony.
Pei Shang'er stood in front of the bronze mirror in his bedchamber, letting the eunuchs adjust his twelve-symbol imperial robes.
The girl in the mirror was fifteen years old and still looked like a young girl.
Pei Shang'er couldn't help but reach out and stroke the sun, moon, stars, mountains, dragons, and insects embroidered on her clothes, feeling the fine stitches.
She had worn this outfit countless times in her dreams.
"Your Majesty, the time is almost up," Xue Wenmian bowed and reminded him.
His Majesty.
This title sent a jolt through Pei Shang'er's heart.
She won, she won! She is the victor of history! From now on, the annals of history will dedicate a page to Pei Shang'er.
The Tang Dynasty needed a young and capable monarch to rule it.
"knew."
Pei Shang'er took a deep breath and stepped out of the palace.
As dawn broke, the main gate of Taiji Palace, Chengtian Gate, slowly opened.
On the Bell and Drum Towers of Chang'an, twelve drums sounded simultaneously, their sound shaking the heavens. People opened their windows and looked towards the palace, knowing that today they would witness the birth of a new emperor.
Xue Wenmian quietly approached Xue Haoting and asked, "Where did Yingyue go? What time is it?"
"I heard she didn't return home last night."
"This is outrageous! Send people to search immediately!"
Xue Haoting quickly bowed and said, "Yes, son knows, I have already sent someone."
Inside the palace, guards stood in formation, holding ceremonial weapons.
Before the coronation ceremony began, Fang Wenzhou delivered Ling Zhenli into the palace and presented her to Xue Haoting.
"Fang Wenzhou?" Xue Haoting frowned. "Why are you with my sister?"
"Before the former crown prince left, he instructed me to take good care of your sister." Fang Wenzhou smiled, as if it were a matter of course.
Xue Haoting could tell from his expression that he didn't seem to have no impure thoughts about Ling Zhenli, so he stopped talking to him and quickly left with Ling Zhenli.
Having finally found a quiet place, Xue Haoting stopped.
Ling Zhenli followed him, running and walking, panting: "Xue Haoting, why are you in such a hurry? The ceremony hasn't even started yet!"
"I'm asking you, what did you do last night? You didn't return home all night."
“Pei Chang’er told me to kill Pei Chanlian.”
"You killed all night?" Xue Haoting seemed unconvinced.
Ling Zhenli was stunned. Xue Haoting would rather believe that she really went to kill someone than believe that she had been killing people all night?
What's going on?
"Is Pei Chanlian someone who is easy to kill? Of course, it would take a whole night to kill her."
Xue Haoting was too lazy to play along with her anymore and directly exposed her: "Stop talking nonsense, where did you go last night?"
“I went back to Zuixianlou.” Ling Zhenli lied. “After I killed Pei Chanlian, I was covered in blood and couldn’t let anyone see me, so I covered myself with a cloak and went to Zuixianlou to stay in a room and wash up.”
Lies are all absurd, but the most absurd ones are usually the truth.
Xue Haoting was skeptical: "Don't spout nonsense. You really killed Pei Chanlian? She was a princess, and she had no one by her side. How did you kill her? Why did Pei Shang'er ask you to kill her? Why didn't she do it herself? It was clearly just a matter of a white silk ribbon or a cup of poison."
"With so many questions at once, which one should I answer first?" Ling Zhenli said impatiently.
“Answer them one by one, otherwise what will you say when you get to your father?”
She wasn't afraid of Xue Haoting, but she was genuinely afraid of Xue Wenmian, so she had no choice but to honestly make up lies, half true and half false.
“Pei Chanlian has always been targeting me. I’ve wanted to get rid of her for a long time. Plus, there was the incident where she drugged me and Yang Chengxiu. Pei Shang’er also wanted to get rid of her. So Pei Shang’er decided to settle all my old and new scores with me. I lured Pei Chanlian to the city wall. There was no one around. I pushed her off.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than Xue Haoting noticed the flaw in Ling Zhenli's words and asked in confusion, "If you pushed her down, how come you're covered in blood?"
When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it. Without saying a word, Ling Zhenli made up an excuse for him: "I brought a knife up there and stabbed her until she couldn't resist before pushing her down."
"Where's the knife?"
"I threw it away."
"Throw it away?!" Xue Haoting's eyes widened. "At the foot of the capital, among the imperial relatives, you not only stabbed her with a knife, but also pushed her off the city wall, and then casually threw away the murder weapon. What if Pei Shang'er denies it? This is a capital offense!"
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