Chapter 26: Twenty-Six Fallen Flowers Drift with the Flowing Water
Xu Heng took another step closer to Wang Yuying, his face ashen and his tone somber: "From now on, you will live in Linxian Pavilion and will not need to return to Yuqing Temple."
Wang Yuying frowned. Putting aside his unpleasant tone, she was neither a wife nor a concubine, so why should she be detained?
She said it aloud: "I'm not your concubine, why are you detaining me?"
When Xu Heng heard the words "no" and "concubine," his temples twitched twice. "If I don't restrain you, do you mean I'll let you continue to go out and flirt with other women, defiling the palace and disgracing the imperial family again?" Xu Heng took a deep breath and put his hands behind his back. "Do you think I want to see you? I'm afraid you'll tarnish my reputation and dishonor the ancestral temple. To give the palace some peace, I've confined you to the palace. From now on, your every move and every action will be under my watchful eye, and you won't be out of my sight for a moment!"
“Then lock me up in the imperial prison, not in the harem!” Wang Yuying immediately said.
Xu Heng glanced at her sideways, then turned away, then sideways again, repeating this two or three times before finally speaking: "Do you think I don't want to punish you severely? The historian's pen is as firm as iron, and I don't want to leave behind a reputation for tyranny!" He stared at Wang Yuying again, his tone resentful: "'Punishment does not apply to high-ranking officials,' let alone those in the palace."
Wang Yuying clicked her tongue twice: "You want to be a benevolent ruler, but you detained me in the palace today, and tomorrow your eldest son, the Crown Prince, will kill me."
She remembered what Jiang Mei had said: Xu Heng had promised to make her son the crown prince.
Xu Heng frowned. Where did he get a crown prince from?
Although the court was still urging him to establish a successor, he already had plans to select a worthy heir from the imperial clan. However, that was for the future, and Xu Heng had never openly or secretly told anyone that he wanted to establish a crown prince.
He suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and his face showed displeasure: "Where did I get this child from?"
Wang Yuying raised her eyebrows. So he still had no children? Jiang Mei's child wasn't born?
She couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction and mocked, "Then why don't you hurry up and have another child with your dear Consort?"
Xu Heng stared at her with a scrutinizing gaze, then pursed his lips: "I told you she wouldn't have children."
Wang Yuying was only stunned for a moment before she saw through the illusion—don't make that expression that seemed to be for her sake, it's disgusting!
She bluntly mocked him: "Yeah, it's true, it really did bring you to your death."
This was something Xu Heng was most wary of, something no one in or outside the court would dare to expose, except for her, who directly punctured this festering sore.
Xu Heng felt a surge of satisfaction, and instead of being angry, he laughed. He also recalled the heartfelt words he had confided to Wang Yuying in the pavilion years ago, and it was as if yesterday was replaying in his mind. She was still the closest person to him.
Why did the man in front of her suddenly smile slightly? It was inexplicable, and she felt uneasy and nauseous.
She turned away from Xu Heng, casually gazing out the window, and said resolutely, "Anyway, I won't stay in the palace. If Your Majesty forces me to stay, I'll just be a corpse."
Let him dream on!
Xu Heng slowly walked to the window, his breath growing weaker with each step, like dark clouds pressing down on a city. He looked down at the Forbidden City, remained silent for a long while, then suddenly turned and flicked his sleeve: "Guards, cut down that tree!"
Wang Yuying was taken aback. Following the blue knuckles of Xu Heng's index finger, she realized that he was about to cut down a tree in the southeast corner.
From the view of Linxian Pavilion, the tree was only the size of a sesame seed, and could not be noticed at all without looking closely. Although she could not see what kind of tree it was, it was growing lush and green. What was wrong with Xu Heng? Why did he suddenly become so annoyed and shout for it to be cut down?
After much thought, Wang Yuying concluded that Xu Heng was venting his frustrations about her on a tree.
You're crazy! This tree is completely innocent!
Xu Heng's gaze lingered on Wang Yuying's face; it seemed she remembered nothing of the dispute between plum blossoms and Gesang flowers. With this one felled, there were no more plum trees in the palace. He leaned on the railing, looking down, awkwardly reminding her that Gesang flowers were everywhere.
Wang Yuying didn't pay attention to Gesang either.
Her face had an unwavering calm, yet her deeply furrowed brows betrayed her dissatisfaction and disgust towards Xu Heng.
Xu Heng had seen her express her love without reservation, and he had also seen her hysterical, but this was the first time he had seen such calm disgust. If he still thought that she could hold onto any old feelings and that the two of them hadn't reached the end of their road, that would be pure self-deception.
Xu Heng's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
He concealed both hands in the sleeves of his crimson-yellow court robe and coldly said, "If you do not agree to stay alive in the palace, it will be considered defying the imperial decree and disrespecting the emperor. I will kill Jing Ye immediately."
Wang Yuying still ignored him, and Xu Heng found himself feeling a strange sense of smugness—she didn't really care about Jing Ye that much.
But his heart still ached, and he gritted his teeth as he said, "To defy the imperial decree and plot rebellion is a crime punishable by the execution of ten generations of one's family."
Wang Yuying suddenly turned around.
Xu Heng's vision was slightly blurred. He raised his chin slightly to face upwards and said, "Although all people under heaven are subjects of the king, and there is no reason for the people to disobey the king's orders, if you stay as promised, I can wipe the slate clean of everything."
In Wang Yuying's eyes, his posture exuded arrogance. She glared angrily at Xu Heng. She was deposed, and the letter of divorce was still in hand; she was free to marry! He was the one who held power!
She's disgusted by all those phrases in history books: "rule of law and authority, words that become law," and "the wrath of an emperor can cause millions of corpses and rivers of blood."
Xu Heng had promised not to touch her father's old subordinates, starting with nine clans, and now it's become ten clans, which is getting more and more outrageous!
I knew this guy would never change his ways and he's a man of his word!
Wang Yuying sneered: "Xu Qilang, all you can do is use innocent people to blackmail me. You're at your wit's end. What kind of man are you? What kind of wise ruler are you!"
Xu Heng curled his lips and found that he felt no shame or embarrassment after being exposed.
Yes, he had no other choice but to resort to this desperate measure, so what?
He felt a pang of jealousy as he thought that all these people were more important than him, but then he felt a sense of relief—she had finally stopped coldly addressing him only as "Your Majesty."
Xu Heng felt he was probably going crazy, and he continued, "General Wuwei's colleagues will also be implicated."
Wang Yuying's eyes widened suddenly, and her shoulders shrugged. She couldn't believe that this person would kill all the civil and military officials in the court!
But Xu Hengmo's eyes were completely devoid of light, his lips were twitching, and most importantly, his right middle finger was clasped between his index finger and his lowered right hand.
She witnessed him kill twice in her life.
Before even going to the northern frontier, he was overseeing an execution, and before throwing the command arrow, his right middle finger was always tucked between his index finger and his middle finger.
On another occasion, on his way back to Beijing from the northern frontier, he encountered "mountain bandits." He hooked his middle finger with his index finger, comforted her with the words "Don't be afraid," and then wiped out the entire band of bandits. He acted decisively, his face and body covered in blood, and the ground was also a crimson mess, with blood and flesh flying everywhere.
Wang Yuying lowered her eyes, staring intently at Xu Heng's right hand, her heart sinking, but she still wanted to make a last-ditch effort: "Your Majesty is unwilling to let go now only because you saw me and General Wuwei. That bit of male possessiveness and pride is at play, making you feel that the woman you've touched cannot be touched by another man." She looked at Xu Heng, her expression calm and composed, "If it had been any other concubine, not me, who was banished to Yuqing Temple three years ago, Your Majesty would have been obsessed with it too if you had stumbled upon it in the boudoir."
Is that so? Xu Heng silently thought to himself, what if he saw the Empress, Consort Shu, or Jiang Mei in the palace? He thought about them one by one and found that he felt none of the fear and heartache he had when he bumped into Wang Yuying.
He knew in his heart that it was different.
Xu Heng opened his mouth again, his words resolute: "My mind is made up, there is no need for further words."
After a long pause, Wang Yuying took a deep breath and encouraged herself: "Then we need to have a serious talk. I don't care for it, and I would never stay in the inner palace. If I'm going to stay in the palace, I'll only live in the outer court. You're not allowed to touch me, and you can't hurt Aye or anyone I care about."
As she spoke, her fear subsided, and she gradually developed a firm conviction that she would find an opportunity to escape the palace again and would not be trapped by him for life. She needed to plan carefully…
Xu Heng's forehead veins bulged, becoming increasingly prominent as he spoke of A Ye and Zaihu, the veins throbbing violently. He ground his teeth against his tightly closed lips, finally biting down hard: "Fine, I agree."
Wang Yuying, however, kept her eyes fixed on Xu Heng with nervousness.
He knew she didn't trust him, so he glanced down and swept his gaze across Wang Yuying's tightly pursed lips. He raised the corners of his lips and said coldly, "'You have no reason not to believe me, and I will not break my word.'"
Wang Yuying lowered her eyes. The last eight characters Xu Heng spoke were from the "Oath of Tang," the proclamation by Tang of Shang to punish Jie of Xia. It was followed by the sentence: "You must not disbelieve, I will not break my word. If you do not follow the oath, I will slaughter your entire family without mercy."
If you do not break your oath, then I will not go back on my word. But if you break your oath, I will execute you and your wives and children without mercy.
Wang Yuying tilted her head: "I understand."
She finally agreed, and he should have been happy, but he still felt suffocated and had no joy at all.
"Your Majesty," a soft voice called from outside Qingfu Gate.
Xu Heng knew it was political business and inconvenient for Wang Yuying to hear, but he still asked in a deep voice with his hands behind his back, "What is it?"
After a moment of silence, Qingfu outside the door said, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Zheng requests an audience."
Xu Heng frowned. The morning court session had just ended, and he hadn't even gone to the Imperial Study yet!
Zheng Yangzhi was in a hurry; was he going to cause trouble for Wang Yuying?
"Tell him to announce this outside the Imperial Study." Xu Heng said, turning to leave, but couldn't help glancing at Wang Yuying again—she was still tilting her head, showing no reaction. Xu Heng thought to himself that this was not surprising; she didn't care about him, let alone Zheng Yangzhi's news.
Xu Heng steeled his heart, withdrew his gaze, and stepped out of Linxian Pavilion.
Zheng Yangzhi did not wait in the imperial study as ordered, but instead waited at the foot of the mountain. As soon as Xu Heng stepped onto the last step, Zheng Yangzhi approached him: "Your subject Zheng Yangzhi greets Your Majesty." This time, he didn't beat around the bush, getting straight to the point, "I heard Your Majesty has welcomed the Jade Capital's Wonderful Serenity Immortal Master back to the palace? This move—"
Zheng Yangzhi's voice came to an abrupt halt as the emperor decisively raised his hand, indicating that he should listen to Zheng Yangzhi first.
Zheng Yangzhi lowered his arms and head, bowing slightly.
Xu Heng sighed: "Didn't I encounter Shi Hong and get blocked the other day? I had no choice but to seek refuge at Yuqing Temple, only to find out that life there was austere, especially in the backyard where the Immortal Master lived. The food was always scarce, damp and cold, it was extremely harsh. I also learned that the Immortal Master had a serious illness two years ago, and his health has been declining ever since."
Zheng Yangzhi blinked twice and lowered his head even further.
Xu Heng sighed, “Although the Immortal Master has made a mistake, she has been in seclusion for a long time and has reflected on her faults. Her plight is pitiful. Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life. As the Son of Heaven and a husband, I should follow Heaven’s will, remember her past virtues, and commend her repentance. Moving the Immortal Master back to the palace is not out of personal feelings, but out of care. I only hope that she will recover soon, so that the ancestral temple can be restored and the palace can be harmonious. You need not say any more.”
Zheng Yangzhi knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, I humbly beg you to reconsider! In the past, the banishment of the Immortal Master Miaojing was announced to the whole world. Now, to welcome her back is surely a change of heart, damaging both the public good and Your Majesty's authority!"
Xu Heng was silent for a moment, then emphasized, "Yang Zhi, one should always have a compassionate heart."
“It is not that I am heartless, but this woman is violent and has a long history of misdeeds; she is arrogant, domineering, and vindictive. In the past, she not only abused the concubines, causing widespread resentment in the Forbidden City, but also repeatedly defied Your Majesty, offended Your Majesty, and disregarded the Emperor's authority! If she were to return now, it would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains, which would surely cause unrest in the palace and might even harm Your Majesty again! I humbly beseech Your Majesty to follow the established order and expel the Immortal Master from the capital as before.”
Xu Heng's face was grim, especially displeased by the harsh words he had spoken against Wang Yuying. Now that things had come to this, he could criticize Wang Yuying, but no one else could: "Even a day of marriage is a hundred days of kindness. Even in ordinary families, upon hearing of a former wife's serious illness and helplessness, there's no reason to abandon her to her death. I remember two years ago there was a woman named Wang from Dengzhou who remarried with her paralyzed husband, and together with her new husband, she cared for him for years without fail. The prefecture reported this to the court, and the entire court praised her, saying her benevolence and righteousness were moving and a model for the people. At that time, her virtue was commended, and a memorial archway inscribed with 'Chastity and Righteousness' was bestowed upon her, all under your supervision. Why can't I, out of consideration for past relationships, bring back the Immortal Master? Is my magnanimity and benevolence inferior to that of a village woman?"
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