Chapter 32 Chapter 32 - The Twists and Turns on the Road Home
I have always been a pampered little loser. In the past ten years of my life, the biggest trauma I have suffered was just a superficial injury like "falling down from a tree and scraping my knee."
The injuries increased after entering the palace, but compared to being stabbed in the shoulder blade, they were really nothing.
Doctor Fan took great pains to stop the bleeding for me. When the bleeding stopped, I finally became a little more sober. I raised my eyelids and tried to focus my gaze, lingering on everyone's face: Wei Wan'er, Xiaodie, Li Siyan... Finally, my gaze fell on Ruiyin.
Ruiyin stood aside with her hands behind her back. When she saw me looking at her, she turned her head away subtly and looked outside the hall.
I stared at her across the noisy crowd, a surge of anger in my heart.
When Lao Shangfu attempted the assassination just now, the scene was in chaos. It is true that I tried to stop her, but after I made sure that Wei Wan'er was fine, I didn't plan to fight her to the death. As for the fact that I fell down later and suffered such a serious injury on my shoulder, it was all because of Ruiyin's secret push.
This knife is merciless. If my luck were worse, would I still be alive now?
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got: I know Ruiyin for a while, and we are usually friendly with each other. How could she quietly harbor such vicious thoughts and even do such a thing as secretly doing something bad?
Before I could settle the score with her, I was moved aside.
I am just a nobody. I was seriously injured just now and it was inconvenient for me to move, so I was allowed to receive treatment on the spot. Now that the bleeding has stopped, there is absolutely no reason for me to continue lying in front of the emperor and groaning.
Doctor Fan suggested carrying me back to Xuanwei Palace, and I readily agreed. Li Siyan wanted to follow, but was stopped by the ceremonial officer. He ignored the ceremonial officer and insisted on leaving.
As the two sides stood there in a stalemate, my brows furrowed in thought: Was the emperor going insane again? In front of so many people, how could he abandon the empress and hang around with a laid-off chamberlain? If this news got out, how would I live in the future?
It wasn't just me. Judging from their expressions, the ladies and officials in the palace probably all felt that the emperor's behavior was so disgraceful. However, due to Li Siyan's bad temper, no one dared to come out and persuade him. Everyone frowned and said nothing. No one wanted to be the first to speak out.
Among the women present, Wen Baibi had the highest status, so she should have said something to smooth things over. However, Wen Baibi looked indifferent, as if it was none of her business, as if she was not the one getting married today.
Then it can only be me...
I cleared my throat and said with great emotion, "I know Your Majesty is considerate of your servants, but you still have to prioritize. Marrying a queen is the most important matter right now. Your Majesty must not neglect the Empress. Besides, Grandpa Qingfu came yesterday with an imperial decree, allowing me to leave the palace this afternoon. Let me go home to recuperate."
I seldom say such considerate words. This is not so much for Li Siyan as it is for the onlookers present. The ladies who came to watch the ceremony today are all knowledgeable and experienced people. Anyone with a keen eye can see that Li Siyan is interested in me. I don't want to be pointed at behind my back, so I said this and limited the relationship between Li Siyan and me to a pure relationship between monarch and subject.
I don’t know what the ladies thought, but looking at Li Siyan’s expression, I knew he didn’t hear much.
I added, "This minor injury is nothing serious. As the saying goes, a ruler cultivates virtue, and a minister fulfils loyalty. Only then can the world be at peace. Your Majesty must not act on impulse."
Li Siyan finally broke free from that careless state, and his eyes gradually became clear and calm.
He said nothing, his face grim, and he looked away from me, staring straight at the blood on the blue bricks.
A clever eunuch picked up the crown that had fallen to the ground. Li Siyan took a look and said coldly, "...Drag the body away and feed it to the dogs. The ceremony continues."
He no longer wore the crown, turned around, and walked back to Wen Baibi step by step with heavy steps.
Seeing that the emperor's emotions had stabilized, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Those who needed to deal with the body did so, those who needed to mop the floor mopped the floor, those who needed to return to their seats returned to their seats... and those who needed to recuperate went to recuperate. A carefully planned assassination attempt turned into a farce because of Ruiyin's conspiracy against me.
The bloodstains in front of the hall were wiped away and the ceremony went on as usual. As the only victim, I was quickly carried away to a place where the nobles could not see me. I covered my injured shoulder and cried without tears.
Wei Wan'er wanted to escort me, but she was the leader of all the concubines and it was inconvenient for her to leave, so in the end, the task of taking me down for treatment fell on Su Xing's shoulders.
Su Xing still had that indifferent look on the surface, with her two light eyebrows twisted into a majestic knot. I thought she was showing her composure in the face of danger, but when Su Xing reached out her hand to pull my clothes, I was surprised to find that there were several bloodstains on her palms, which was quite shocking.
I asked, "Aunt Suxing, what happened to your hand?"
She glanced at me and calmly put her hand back into her sleeve. I was stunned for a moment, then I realized that she was not as calm as she looked. In fact, she had been nervously scratching her palm just now.
After entering the room, Chan'er, who was following Su Xing, whispered the reason to me. It turned out that the old Shangfu who attempted the assassination today was from the same hometown as Su Xing. However, after entering the palace, one went to the Shanggong Bureau and the other went to the princess. The princess and the former prince were born of the same mother. Originally, her biological brother should have become the emperor, but she didn't expect that her brother was killed by Li Siyan, the bastard from the Ye Ting.
With her brother dead and her nephews all killed, the princess must have hated Li Siyan so much that she asked the old servant who stayed in the Shangfu Bureau to assassinate Li Siyan in front of all the ladies in Chang'an by taking advantage of the opportunity.
Although this plan was extremely crude, it did make Li Siyan lose face.
"No, if Shangfu committed the assassination, what does it have to do with Aunt Guan Suxing?" I still had doubts.
Chan'er glanced at Su Xing, whose steps were heavy and whose face was ashen, and said, "According to the rules, that old Shangfu should have been given as a dowry to the princess, but she came to beg Aunt Su Xing, saying that she wanted to stay in the palace. Aunt Su Xing softened her heart and allowed her to stay. Now that the incident has been exposed, the Shanggong Bureau will definitely conduct a thorough investigation. Our Aunt Su Xing cannot escape responsibility."
"I see," I nodded, not thinking about anything else.
During the activity, I accidentally pulled the wound, and the pain made me grit my teeth. I immediately put the matter of Su Xing behind my mind.
Chan'er was extremely helpless. She stuffed a piece of malt candy into my mouth, looked at my wound, and said, "Madam Shen, you have been through so much trouble. But this time you have done a great job in protecting the emperor, and you deserve a reward."
It would have been fine if she hadn't said anything, but the mention of it made me angry, and I blurted out, "Who wants to protect the emperor! I wish Li... To tell you the truth, I was injured because someone plotted against me, and I'm going to settle the score with her!"
Chan'er stopped pulling at the bandage and asked in surprise, "Who is so bold as to plot against you?"
"Ruiyin!" I gritted my teeth, seething with rage, and dug out the name. "I only wanted to protect Consort Shu, but she suddenly pushed me, causing me to take the knife from that bitch!"
"I told you to be careful of her, but you didn't take it seriously." Chan'er wasn't surprised. She continued to pull at the bandages. "Xiaodie came to see me the other day and said Ruiyin had been distracted lately. She must have been planning something. Sure enough, it's only been a few days, and you've already fallen into her trap."
"Why did Xiaodie only tell you and not me?" I yelled in disbelief, "She said she and I are the best in the world!"
Chan'er said, "She also told you to be wary of Ruiyin, but you always think the best of people and advised her not to keep competing with Ruiyin. Xiaodie didn't want you to think she was narrow-minded, so she stopped complaining to you later."
I knew I was in the wrong and dejected: "I was wrong about her."
"Every failure is a learning experience," Chan'er sighed. "It's not just the palace that's full of scheming people; vicious people are everywhere. From now on, when you go out into the world, don't offend anyone. Being cautious is the best policy."
"Okay." I agreed dejectedly.
"You all know that I'm leaving the palace?" I asked her.
Chan'er stood up and lowered my bed curtains. She smiled and said, "Of course. Yesterday, you asked Xiaodie to divide the belongings among us sisters. She told us about this. We all felt bad about parting with you. Jinlian and Jinliu even cried for a while. In the end, one of them took a flower and bird scroll you painted, saying it was to keep as a souvenir."
She continued, "Let's not talk too much. You're weak, so take a rest first. Wait for Doctor Fan's prescription to be prepared, and then I'll help you get up."
After saying that, she closed the curtain and hung the small iron hook neatly - Chan'er was in charge of taking care of the bed curtains when she was in Zichen Palace, so this was a piece of cake for her.
I tried to move my shoulders, and the sharp pain was gone. Doctor Fan had thought my screams were too miserable, so he went back to the Imperial Hospital to get some Caowu Powder for me. This Caowu Powder is indeed the secret anesthetic of the Imperial Hospital. It works quickly and effectively when applied, but it has only one drawback: it will cause some loss of mobility.
The tent was like a soft cloud, hanging quietly beside my bed. I was lying straight inside the tent, half of my body was numb from the effects of the medicine. Outside the tent, Chan'er was talking to the imperial physician, instructing the palace maids of Xuanwei Palace to help. I didn't want to disturb her, so I turned my head slightly and squinted to look at the small high window in my room.
The room didn't have good lighting. The only light that came in dimly through the paper-covered windows. I looked at that little bit of light and felt as if I were in another world.
I think of my home in Anyifang. There was also a tall window in the room. There were climbing flowers and trees outside the window. Light came in through the window and cast a gentle shadow on the table.
──If I hadn't been stabbed, I would be running on the way home now. I would start from the corner gate, run out of the towering palace wall, pass by the Menxia Province where I used to work, pass by Yongxing and Anxingfang... The May wind with the fragrance of locust trees would pass by my shoulders. I remember there was an old elm tree in front of the new house. It should be in bloom.
I looked at the beam of light, and an unknown impulse flowed through my dull body.
I knew that my injuries were serious and I needed to rest, but at that moment I didn't care about anything else and just wanted to go home like crazy.
I pulled the curtain aside and sat up, gritting my teeth. Chan'er was startled and quickly ran over to put me back on the bed, asking me, "What are you doing? Moving around like this is going to strain the wound!"
Not only Chan'er, but also Suxing, Jinlian and Jinliu who were busy outside ran in. They worked together to hold me down to prevent me from hurting myself again due to my clumsiness.
In front of so many people, I said confidently, "His Majesty said that I would be allowed to go home after the ceremony of conferring the title of Empress. Now, according to the time, the Empress has already entered the Pepper Chamber. I don't want to stay here, I want to go home!"
Chan'er glanced at Su Xing and whispered, "But...your injuries..."
I said, "It's no problem. I only injured my hand, not my legs or feet. I can crawl out of the palace."
After saying that, he gritted his teeth, broke free from the shackles of Chan'er and Jinlian, stood up shakily and walked out.
Xiao Jinliu immediately grabbed me and looked at Su Xing behind him for help.
Su Xing stepped forward and said calmly, "What do you think the palace is? A place where you can come and go as you please? The case of assassination in public has not yet been concluded. You are an important witness. How can we let you go like this? Chan'er, take her back and lock the room."
I have a strong character and I don't take kindly to anything. When I heard she dared to lock me up, I immediately shook off Chan'er and Jin Liu, pointed at her and shouted angrily, "How can this be! You, the Sixth Bureau, failed to discipline your subordinates and oversee them, and that's why this assassination scandal happened right under our noses. Aunt Suxing, you are the head of the Shanggong Bureau. It would be fine if you didn't go to His Majesty to apologize, but you even want to delay me, an innocent person who took the blame, from returning home. I can't understand how someone can be so shameless."
On the first day I entered the palace, I whipped Su Xing. Now I am furious again and my hands are itching so much that I really want to whip her again. In the past two years, I have changed my opinion of all the staff in Zichen Palace, except Su Xing. I have felt that she is Li Siyan's dog since the first day I entered. Two years later, she is still a dog in my heart.
Su Xing was scolded by me, his face paled noticeably, his fingers bent, his nails digging into his palms, his chest heaving like a wheezing patient, and he said angrily, "I will apologize to His Majesty, but until the truth is revealed, you are not allowed to step out of the palace!"
I sneered, "Who do you think you are? You think you're qualified to discipline me? We used to be so close, and I treated you like a colleague, so I gave you some respect. Now that His Majesty has personally promised to let me go, do you think I'll still have to deal with you? Get out of here, and don't force me to do anything."
The atmosphere was tense for a moment, and several palace maids were so scared that they dared not breathe.
While Su Xing and I were confronting each other, Doctor Fan heard the noise, dropped the medicine he was still boiling, and hurried over to me. As soon as he entered the room, he witnessed my arrogant words. His beard twitched comically: "What...what's going on? Chen Ying, why are you standing up? Go back and lie down!"
I glared at him. "Grandpa Fan, don't interrupt me. I got His Majesty's permission to leave the palace, but I didn't expect this old witch to stop me. Isn't that too much?"
"Leave the palace?" Imperial Physician Fan went berserk, spit flying as he lectured me, "Old Doctor, I've been practicing medicine for decades, and I've never seen such a volatile patient. Do you know how serious your injury is? It's almost penetrated the bone. If you don't get good treatment, you might not even be able to use the strength in this arm anymore. And you're still fighting? Don't you want your other arm anymore?"
At this moment, I was completely satisfied with just going home. Although I knew Doctor Fan was doing this for my own good, I was still infuriated by his self-righteous attitude. In that moment, I felt like the whole world was my enemy, a villain who was trying to stop me from going home. My blood immediately surged, and I was burning with a reckless stubbornness. I pushed him aside with one hand and said, "I don't believe there's no good doctor outside. I just know that every day you keep me locked up in the palace is a day less of my life. I must leave the palace today. Who knows what will happen if I stay any longer? If I get stabbed today, will I get my throat cut tomorrow? Get out of my way! Get out of the way! Don't get in my way!"
Doctor Fan staggered after being pushed by me, and looked at me in amazement. The same was true for Su Xing. She looked at me with surprise and vigilance, as if she was looking at a pile of harmful garbage running wild.
Afterwards, Xiao Jinlian described to me that I looked really crazy at that time, as if I would pick up a knife and chop people if they didn't give in. In fact, I was afraid that my hopes would be dashed and I would not be able to leave. Driven by fear and anxiety, the aura that erupted from my body even shocked Su Xing and made him take a small step back.
I glanced at her coldly and stepped out of the door with my injured shoulder.
"where did you go."
I heard a familiar voice and raised my head with a dull face. I saw Li Siyan standing at the bottom of the stairs with his hands behind his back, looking at me. He didn't change his clothes and was still wearing the red suit he wore at his wedding. His angular face was against the light, so I couldn't see his expression at the moment.
He asked again, "Where are you going?"
I kept walking and said calmly, "I want to go home."
"Qingfu, pull her back into Xuanwei Hall." Li Siyan said, "Be gentle and don't pull her shoulders."
I was immediately furious and screamed, "You said you'd let me go after the ceremony of conferring the title of Queen. A gentleman's word is as good as gold. How can you go back on your word?"
Li Siyan stood at the bottom of the stairs with his hands behind his back, watching me struggle from a distance. He gritted his teeth and said, "You're wrong. I don't want to keep you, not at all. I wish you'd just leave. It was Wan'er who said she wanted to say goodbye to you and asked you to stay a moment longer."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Wan'er hurried in from the courtyard gate and suddenly bumped into Li Siyan. She was stunned for a moment, knelt down and saluted, calling him "Your Majesty".
Li Siyan nodded nonchalantly and said, "No need to be polite."
Wei Wan'er hadn't realized what was happening yet. She glanced at Li Siyan, then at me who was being held down by two eunuchs. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Chen Ying..."
Li Siyan seemed to smile at her and said softly, "You and her are once master and servant. I allow you to say goodbye to her, but you can only stay until 1:00 PM. No later than this."
I thought to myself, why should I stay until the 4th hour? I want to leave now.
Wei Wan'er didn't understand what Li Siyan meant, so she just agreed in a daze. She came over, held my hand, and whispered, "Let's go into the hall and talk."
"What's going on?" she asked.
I lowered my head and said, "I should leave the palace. Su Xing won't let me."
Wei Wan'er was silent for a moment: "What about His Majesty? What did he say?"
"He asked me to say goodbye to you," I said, "and then stay until 11:00 PM."
"How's your shoulder?" Wei Wan'er wanted to check my injury again. I quickly waved my free arm and said, "It's okay, just a minor injury. It will be healed in a couple of days."
"Why is it just a minor injury?" Wei Wan'er said worriedly, "Why don't you stay in the palace for a few more days to recuperate? Imperial Physician Fan is an expert in treating external injuries. The doctors outside are not very skilled. What if they delay your recovery?"
I comforted him, "Don't worry about that. I have many friends in Chang'an and know many excellent doctors who are no less skilled than the imperial physicians. Besides, it's not your right hand that's injured, so even if it doesn't heal properly, it won't hinder my writing."
Tears welled up in her eyes: "Xiao Die said that you were stabbed because you saved me, I..."
“No.” I shook my head: “It was Ruiyin who pushed me.”
Wei Wan'er suddenly stood up and almost overturned the table: "What did you say? How could Ruiyin... harm you?"
"I don't know. We're not close, but we're colleagues, and we've never had any grudges." I said, "I was indignant at first, but now I realize I'm leaving, and there's no point dwelling on it. I just hope you can be more cautious. If she's truly acting dishonestly, you need to make a decision sooner rather than later."
Wei Wan'er was still in shock, and nodded sleepwalkingly. I smiled and said, "Take care of yourself. As the ancients said, mountains are high and rivers are long. We will meet again in the future. If fate allows, we will meet again."
As we were talking, we suddenly heard footsteps approaching from afar.
After a moment of silence, the door of the hall suddenly opened, and the warm golden sunlight penetrated into the hall through the gap, casting a tall shadow on the ground. I looked back and my eyes met a piece of bright red cloth, which was exquisitely crafted and embroidered with golden dragons.
There is only one person in the world who is qualified to wear this dress.
"Your Majesty." Wei Wan'er and I stood up hand in hand and bowed to him.
Li Siyan replied calmly, "If you're injured, don't stand up and salute. Don't let people think I'm being harsh on my servants."
Wei Wan'er and I remained silent. I lowered my eyes and thought, "Servant? Not anymore."
Wei Wan'er forced a smile and asked, "Your Majesty, I was just saying goodbye to Madam Shen. Is there anything Your Majesty wants to tell me?"
"Hmm," Li Siyan's eyes flashed with a dark look. He took two calm steps and turned to us and said, "Qingfu just arrested someone and interrogated them. They all said that the situation was critical at the time. It was thanks to Madam Shen Ying that she stepped forward and blocked the old woman's knife, protecting the others from harm."
Although there were some discrepancies in our motives, since it had already happened, I graciously accepted it and did not mention Ruiyin's involvement. I simply said, "It was a coincidence."
Wei Wan'er whispered, "Your Majesty, please be aware. She was stabbed to protect me. I owe her my life."
"I see," Li Siyan nodded gently, walked to a pot of peonies, lowered his eyes, and pinched the half-opened Wei Zi with his slender fingers, and said softly: "So, I should thank Chen Ying. By some strange coincidence, she happened to save my beloved concubine's life."
Wei Wan'er stared straight at Wei Zi, who was being held captive by him, and her heartache was beyond words.
Unlike Wei Wan'er, who was reserved, I said directly, "Your Majesty, flowers and plants also have spirits. Please spare this peony."
"Okay." Li Siyan readily let go of his hand and stood in front of the flower pot, saying casually, "You have performed meritorious service in protecting the emperor. According to the law, you should be rewarded accordingly. Although there is an ancestral precept in this dynasty that prohibits women from entering the court, I can make an exception for you in this case. After leaving the palace, you can work in the History Museum. I appoint you as the fifth-rank Lantai Ling."
I was stunned for a moment and asked, "...Because I saved your beloved concubine?"
He was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing: "I guess so, Chen Ying, you are familiar with my temper, you should know that I am not a good person. This is a rare time for me to be soft-hearted, so I will consider it as compensation for you."
He walked over and whispered, "You don't have to be the Lanting Ling. You can choose any other official position in the capital. If you can't think of one, go to the Zichen Palace and ask Qingfu to open a storehouse. Don't you like calligraphy and paintings? I have plenty of them. Take as much as you want."
I said with a forced smile, "Your Majesty is very generous."
I thought about it and confirmed again: "Is anything really possible?"
Li Siyan revealed a defiant look. He said, "I am rich and powerful, the master of the world. You can have whatever you want, even... If you want to stay in the palace, ask for a small official position, such as a recorder, a servant, or a female official in the six bureaus. If that doesn't work out, you can stay in the Hanlin Academy. The Hanlin Academy has a collection of millions of books, and you can read anything you want."
What an extremely tempting condition, I thought to myself, my dream has always been to become the first serious female historian of the dynasty. Now all of this is within my reach. Li Siyan must still be reluctant to let me go, otherwise why would he ask me to stay with such generous conditions? Unfortunately -
"I don't want these." I said coldly.
Li Siyan's body stiffened noticeably, and he said arrogantly, "Then open a calligraphy and painting gallery, do business, or go to the Imperial College with your brother. I can make an exception for you..."
"I want to grant you a marriage."
My answer was concise and powerful. The two short syllables were like a flash of a knife, cutting off the words that Li Siyan had not yet finished speaking.
A vaguely uneasy expression was fixed on his face, a single, meaningless syllable uttered from his throat, and his whole body was stiff, like a sculpture made hastily and with poor taste.
After a long while, he seemed not to have heard what I said clearly, and asked in a very dry voice, "You...what did you say?"
"I said, I want you to arrange a marriage for me." I said calmly, and every word was like a sharp knife, piercing Li Siyan's chest, making his face paler and gloomier, and in the end he even revealed a ferocious look like a trapped beast devouring a person.
Wei Wan'er screamed in pain when he pinched her and quickly dodged to the side.
Looking at his increasingly ferocious face, I smiled sweetly and said provocatively:
"What I mean is that I want you to issue an imperial decree to grant us a marriage in front of the entire Chang'an City."
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