Chapter 16 Dark Past The man slowly bent down, a cool breeze emanating from him…
Chu Yueyuan was suddenly startled.
It seems that the Regent saw what happened just now and assumed that she still had feelings for Shen Zizhan, suspecting that she was trying to get involved with the Shen family.
If she, as the mother of the emperor, were to receive the strong support of the Shen family and a host of court officials, wouldn't she become the regent's greatest threat?
Having figured this out, Chu Yueyuan met the man's deep, dark eyes again, and couldn't help but feel as if she were teetering on the brink of death, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.
She steadied herself, slightly raised her chin, and calmly met the man's probing gaze:
"I thought that the Regent Prince, who dared to assassinate the emperor and seize the throne, must have had courage beyond that of ordinary people. I never expected that just because I and Imperial Censor Shen were old acquaintances, Minister Pei would feel like he was seeing snakes in the shadows and even try to subtly criticize me. It seems that your courage is not as great as that of a little woman like me."
Back then, Chu Yueyuan and Shen Zizhan's engagement was the talk of the town, and anyone you asked in a teahouse could gossip about it.
No matter how Chu Yueyuan explained, she couldn't dispel the Regent's suspicions. So she simply stated it plainly: the man had threatened her into joining the thief's ship, and now he was suspicious of her, threatening to kill her at the drop of a hat.
Even a clay figure has some temper, and a rabbit will bite when cornered. Chu Yueyuan, her rabbit eyes red, took a few steps closer to the man, tilted her small face up, and said:
"There are many of the Regent's spies in the Left and Right Phoenix Perch Palaces. Minister Pei, you can investigate carefully whether I have had any contact with the Shen family since I entered the palace..."
The woman exuded a faint jasmine fragrance, like an invisible hand, causing Pei Muwei to lower his head and see the shimmering light in her dark eyes, her long eyelashes trembling. Perhaps due to her excited state of mind, the natural red tinge at the corners of her eyes became even more vivid.
After venting her anger, Chu Yueyuan realized how close she was to the other person.
They were so close that their noses almost touched.
She quickly took two steps back, but the regent grabbed her chin.
The man slowly leaned down, his cool, refreshing scent instantly filling her senses. His phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, his voice so calm it betrayed no emotion: "The Empress Dowager's words are heartfelt and insightful..."
Chu Yueyuan's heart tightened, and she thought to herself, "It's all over. Given the Regent's usual methods of punishing people, her tongue will probably be hanging under the eaves of the Phoenix Perch Palace..."
"This humble subject is utterly ashamed..."
Chu Yueyuan: ....Hmm?
Pei Muwei stared at the little empress dowager's wide-eyed and charming appearance, and slightly raised the corner of his lips: "What the empress dowager says is very true. Now that the empress dowager is in the same boat, I should not doubt Your Highness's sincerity."
His gaze fell on her slightly parted, full lips, and his voice deepened: "The Empress Dowager should not question... my courage."
Chu Yueyuan didn't understand the Regent's last sentence, but since she could make this proud man bow his head and admit his mistake, she naturally wanted to take the opportunity to back down and stop while she was ahead.
"It's good that the misunderstanding has been cleared up. Well... I was a bit harsh just now. Minister Pei is magnanimous and I'm sure he won't hold it against me."
Pei Muwei released his fingertips, and in just a moment, a faint finger mark was left on the woman's delicate, white chin.
Like a flower growing on a cliff, it is clearly delicate and fragile, yet it is always struggling to survive.
He shifted his gaze, turned and paced until he sat down behind the rosewood desk, saying in a calm voice, "Your Majesty, I have finished reviewing today's memorials. I would be grateful if Your Majesty would grant me your seal."
As the warm sunlight fell back on her, Chu Yueyuan's feet, which had been hovering on the brink of death for so long, finally touched the ground.
She rubbed her chin, feeling that she really couldn't figure out the man in front of her.
In the past, when she was kind and gentle, the regent was cold and distant. But today, when she spoke with barbs and threw a tantrum, the man not only didn't even flinch, but also took the initiative to bow his head and admit his mistake.
Perhaps those in positions of power are tired of flattery and feel a sense of relief when suddenly reprimanded.
It's like someone who's used to eating big meals suddenly being given a mouthful of rice bran, and they somehow manage to taste the flavor of a delicacy.
However, rice bran is still rice bran, and eating too much of it can easily cause choking. Chu Yueyuan decided that it would be best to maintain a harmonious relationship between the monarch and his subject.
Three stacks of memorials were arranged on a small square table made of golden sandalwood. After Chu Yueyuan sat down, she picked up the heavy phoenix seal, dipped it in crimson ink, and began to imprint the seals one by one.
He opened the memorial to the throne to the first page and stamped it with the imperial seal.
Unfold the last page and then close the phoenix seal.
Chu Yueyuan repeated the monotonous actions over and over: opening the folded book, dipping it in mud, leaving a mark, opening the folded book, dipping it in mud, leaving a mark...
Before long, she felt sleepy. She yawned softly and opened a folded document as usual. Her eyes inadvertently glanced at the four characters "Prince of Qinghe" on the signature of the document. Her pupils suddenly contracted and even her breath caught in her throat.
The woman's five fingers, gripping the phoenix seal, slowly tightened. The past, like waves suddenly rising on a calm sea, pulled her into the suffocating, cold memories she had once cherished.
Three years after Madam Hu's death, Chu Yueyuan finally reached marriageable age in the Chu family mansion, which was filled with cold words and sarcastic remarks.
Just after her coming-of-age ceremony, Madam Du seemed to have changed her heart. She abandoned her usual sharp and mean-spirited demeanor and not only hired embroiderers to make several new silk and satin clothes for Chu Yueyuan, but also created several sets of fashionable headdresses to make her look radiant. She also personally took Chu Yueyuan to various banquets in the capital.
The sixteen-year-old girl was as delicate as a flower bud about to bloom. Chu Yueyuan was tall and had bright features, especially her pair of peach blossom eyes that were full of affection even when she wasn't smiling. They were innocent yet revealed a charming allure, which quickly attracted the attention of many noble young men.
Before long, her fame for her beauty spread throughout the capital.
One day, Du Shi, beaming with joy, held up a gilded invitation card and boasted to Chu Shuheng that ever since Shi Hua entered the palace as a concubine, even royal relatives like the Prince of Qinghe had to look at them with more respect.
Every winter, the Princess Consort of Qinghe would host a plum blossom appreciation banquet, inviting nobles and powerful families from the capital to her residence to admire the winter plum blossoms and enjoy flower wine.
That year, the Chu family also received an invitation.
Madam Du urged Chu Yueyuan to quickly get ready and go to the banquet with her.
Chu Yueyuan did not want to attend the banquet, because at the banquets in the past, the Prince of Qinghe would always stare at her with undisguised greed, which made her feel uneasy.
However, Du threatened Chu Yueyuan with the three-year anniversary of Hu's death, so Chu Yueyuan had no choice but to pack her things and go to the Prince's Mansion with Du.
Not long after the plum blossom viewing banquet began, a maid serving dishes accidentally knocked over a wine cup, soaking most of Chu Yueyuan's dress.
It's not uncommon for guests to get their clothes dirty during a banquet, and they usually bring a few sets of clothes to change into in their guest rooms.
After greeting Madam Du, Chu Yueyuan followed a maid from the Prince's residence to the women's quarters to change her clothes. As they walked one after the other to the central courtyard connecting the front and back yards, Chu Yueyuan stopped, a hint of suspicion flashing in her dark eyes, and asked softly:
"If we go any further ahead, we'll probably reach the inner courtyard of the Prince's mansion. You... didn't you lead us the wrong way?"
The maid lowered her head and said firmly, "I haven't gone to the wrong place. The guest rooms are just ahead. Miss Chu, it's only a few more steps away."
Chu Yueyuan felt something was strange, so she secretly memorized the route she had taken.
After a short while, the maid led her into a room and brought her a clean set of clothes.
"You may leave now, I can change myself."
"yes."
After the maid left the room, Chu Yueyuan carefully checked the doors and windows and found that the windows were sealed from the outside. Her unease grew stronger, so she moved two armchairs to block the partition door, hurriedly took out clean clothes, and quickly went behind the Xiangfei bamboo curtain to change.
She had only changed halfway through her clothes when she vaguely heard the sound of the door latch being pulled.
Chu Yueyuan's heart tightened. She peeked through the bamboo curtain and saw that the door bolt, which had been fastened, had fallen to the ground at some point. Through the two-foot-wide gap in the door, the lewd smile of the Prince of Qinghe suddenly appeared.
He grinned, revealing a mouthful of stained yellow teeth, his greasy voice reeking of tobacco: "Hehe, Beauty Chu..."
Chu Yueyuan was so startled that she staggered backward, her heart sinking into the icy pool.
Thump-thump-thump
The two chairs leaning against the door frame were knocked about by the bloodshot-eyed Prince Qinghe.
"Beauty Chu, open the door quickly!"
"Beauty Chu, be a good girl and open the door. I will not mistreat you. I will make you my concubine, no... my secondary consort!"
"If my beauty disobeys, don't blame me for being ruthless and destroying her beauty later..."
Chu Yueyuan's face was pale. She forced herself to calm down, ran quickly into the side room, grabbed the jade pillow from the long couch, and smashed it against the sealed window without hesitation.
After dozens of thuds, she managed to smash a hole in the sealed window.
At the same time, the Prince of Qinghe summoned several servants, who together broke down the wooden door.
Chu Yueyuan lifted her skirt and leaped out of the window through the hole. Her feet had barely touched the ground when she heard the Prince of Qinghe shout angrily:
"Grab that little bitch!"
The servants rushed forward, but the hole Chu Yueyuan had carved was too narrow. The first person to charge got his head stuck and couldn't move forward or backward, which infuriated the Prince of Qinghe, who was jumping up and down in the room.
"Bring that little slut back to me. She must not be allowed to return to the banquet."
Chu Yueyuan ran to the central courtyard in one breath, relying on her memory, but the huge palace had countless corridors and courtyards, and she quickly became dizzy and disoriented.
Seeing a group of guards emerge from under the hanging flower archway, Chu Yueyuan panicked and stumbled into a secluded courtyard, haphazardly pushing open the door and hiding inside.
The room was elegantly furnished with exquisite utensils. A gilded crane-shaped incense burner emitted a faint fragrance of lily of the valley, and a lotus-patterned silk crane cloak was draped over a screen with a hundred flowers.
Chu Yueyuan leaned against the screen, panting softly, pondering how she could avoid the servants in the Prince's mansion and return to the banquet in the front courtyard without anyone noticing.
As long as she returns to the banquet, under the watchful eyes of everyone, even if Prince Qinghe is a member of the imperial family, he will not dare to slight the wives of officials.
As she pondered, the wooden door creaked open, and Chu Yueyuan quickly crouched behind the screen, carefully shrinking her body.
After a series of footsteps, the man's calm voice rang out: "What happened? Why is there such a commotion in the front yard?"
Another voice replied, "Reporting to Your Excellency, it is said that the Second Miss Chu from the Ministry of Works went to the women's quarters to change clothes during the banquet and has not returned for a long time. The Vice Minister's wife is very worried and told the Princess Consort about it. The Princess Consort then sent people to check the women's quarters, but they did not see the Second Miss Chu. Now everyone in the Prince's mansion is looking for the Second Miss Chu."
The man's clear, gentle voice rose slightly: "Second Miss Chu?"
"Yes, it's that second young lady of the Chu family, with an angelic face. At the last poetry and painting gathering, Prince Zhao and Prince Sun got into a fight over the poem she left behind. Later, Prince Sun was pushed into the lake by Prince Zhao..."
The man was silent for a moment, then gave a faint "hmm": "Miss Chu's handwriting is not bad."
"Hey, all the other young masters from noble families praise how beautiful Miss Chu is and how graceful her figure is, but you, sir, only praise her calligraphy..."
"Mo Yan, a woman's reputation is precious; do not speak ill of her."
Chu Yueyuan, crouching behind the Hundred Flowers Screen, was in a daze. From their conversation, she knew that everyone in the Prince's Mansion was looking for her.
It has been less than half an hour since she left the banquet. The time is neither short nor long. Why would Madam Du disturb the Princess Consort?
unless....
Once this thought arose in her mind, Chu Yueyuan felt a chill run down her spine.
It turns out that all of Du's management and scheming these past few days was done by her!
I wonder what benefits the Prince of Qinghe's concubine can bring to her father, who is so eager to climb the social ladder.
The two people inside did not find Chu Yueyuan behind the screen. The servant named Moyan then said:
“My lord does not usually like social engagements. If it weren’t for the fact that the Princess Consort and the Lady are related, there would be no need for you to make this trip. This servant will help you change your clothes.”
The man said calmly, "I'll do it myself. You go and tell Old Chen to prepare the carriage."
"This servant obeys."
With another creak, the door opened and closed, and the room fell silent.
The sound of steady footsteps rang out, and the tall figure of the man was cast on the Hundred Flowers Screen. Chu Yueyuan raised her eyes and her gaze fell on the character "沉" (chen, meaning sinking) embroidered in silver thread on the collar of the lotus-patterned silk crane cloak.
Despite his young age, he held an official position and spoke with refined manners. The steward of the Prince's mansion arranged for him to have an entire elegant courtyard as a guest room. The servants around him even looked down on the Prince's mansion's social standing. Moreover, his surname was Chen.
As Chu Yueyuan watched the man's slender hands take the lotus-patterned silk crane cloak from the screen shelf, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
Without time to think further, she reached out and grabbed the hem of her cloak.
The man on the other side of the screen sensed the force and asked in surprise, "Who is here?"
Chu Yueyuan stood up, raised her hand to cover the torn white magnolia cloud gauze dress in front, and walked gracefully out from behind the screen.
"Lord Shen, it's me..."
The man was tall and slender, wearing a sky-blue brocade robe with a turned-down collar. The silver hibiscus embroidery on the collar was faintly visible in the sunlight. His hair was tied with a jade crown, his eyebrows were like ink paintings, his eyes were clear as springs, and his temperament was as gentle as jade.
The two locked eyes, the man's amber pupils reflecting the woman's graceful figure.
The next moment, he quickly turned around, his voice still clear and gentle, but his ears, which were bathed in sunlight, were visibly tinged with a thin red.
“Miss Chu, I apologize for my abruptness.”
Shen Zizhan turned his back and handed her the crane cloak in his hand. He did not mention her tattered clothes when he spoke, but only said, "It is cold. Miss Chu, you may want to wear my crane cloak first."
"Thank you, Mr. Shen."
Chu Yueyuan took the clothes and put them on. Only then did Shen Zizhan turn around, his clear gaze thoughtfully falling on her.
"Miss Chu, why are you in my guest room?"
Chu Yueyuan's eyelashes trembled slightly. She bit her lower lip hard and mustered up her courage to look up at the man in front of her.
"My daughter is foolish and got lost in the Prince's mansion after changing her clothes, accidentally wandering into this courtyard. Lord Shen... could you please take my daughter back to the banquet?"
Her explanation was full of holes, and her request was absurd to the point of being outrageous.
Chu Yueyuan had no choice. Her wet clothes had fallen into the hands of the Prince of Qinghe. Now all the guests in the Prince's mansion knew that she was missing. Even if she returned to the banquet, she would still have to explain when she disappeared.
But if the Prince of Qinghe were to produce her clothes, she wouldn't be able to explain herself even if she had a thousand mouths.
Shen Zizhan is a man of noble character and comes from a distinguished family. He is a well-known gentleman in the capital. If he were to testify, he could save her from her predicament.
Shen Zizhan's brow twitched slightly, and his gaze lingered on her face for a long time.
The man's light-colored pupils met the light, clear but not sharp. Even though his gaze lingered on her for a long time, Chu Yueyuan did not feel offended by him.
On the contrary, it was she who offended him.
After a long silence, Shen Zizhan nodded and said, "Alright, I will take Miss Chu out."
In this nightmarish memory, Shen Zizhan's appearance was like the dawn breaking at sunrise, dispelling the darkness and illuminating the entire sky.
So much so that when Chu Yueyuan recalled it, she couldn't say whether that day was a blessing or a curse for her.
In the quiet study, a series of dull, repetitive thuds echoed, each louder than the last. The woman, like a soulless peep doll, numbly repeated the same action.
Imprint, imprint, and imprint again...
Jin Tong stared wide-eyed as she watched as one bright red stamp after another was added to the paper. She called out "Your Highness the Empress Dowager" twice in a panic, but the woman ignored her, her eyelashes still lowered, her face expressionless as she repeated the same actions.
On the other side of the ebony carved and embroidered screen.
Hearing the annoying noise from the other side, which was comparable to that of a woodpecker, Pei Muwei put down his wolf-hair brush, closed his eyes, and pressed his slender fingers against his brow bone.
Thump—thump—thump—
After a while, hearing that the commotion on the other side showed no sign of stopping, he finally couldn't bear it any longer, stood up, and walked towards the beautiful figure behind the screen.
A note from the author:
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