Chapter 95 Blood Reflected in the Flickering Candle, Mei Niang Advises the Emperor
The Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince's Study.
This place was no longer a solemn setting for handling government affairs, but rather resembled the interior of a volcano about to erupt. The air was scorching and stagnant, filled with the lingering scent of ink, the strong smell of medicine, and an even more intense, almost tangible, violence and sorrow. The candlelight was deliberately dimmed, casting only a flickering, dim yellow halo around Li Chengqian, elongating his thin, upright yet slightly hunched figure, distorting it against the cold walls like a lurking beast.
Scattered on the ground were crumpled or torn pieces of paper, fragmented records of the preliminary investigation into Li Xiang's cause of death, secret reports about the recent unusual interactions of people in the Prince of Wei's residence, and even some vague fragments of ancient medical techniques or rare poisons passed down through secret lineages of certain aristocratic families. Li Chengqian sat motionless in the center of this mess, his back to the door. Only his clenched fists, veins bulging, and his slightly heaving shoulders, suppressing heavy breathing, revealed the turmoil he was enduring.
Wu Meiniang paused briefly at the doorway, taking a deep breath to suppress the sob in her throat and the stinging in her eyes. She had changed into a simple yet elegant dress, and applied light makeup to barely conceal her haggard face, but the deep sorrow and forced resolve in her eyes could not be completely hidden. She gestured for the anxious eunuchs at the door to leave, and quietly entered the suffocating room alone.
She didn't speak immediately, nor did she try to approach. She simply stood quietly at the boundary between light and shadow, gazing at the figure immersed in boundless darkness. She knew that any hasty words of comfort or advice at this moment might backfire.
Time passed slowly in silence, with only the occasional soft crackling of the candle wick and the sobbing night wind outside the window.
Finally, Li Chengqian's hoarse, cracked voice broke the deathly silence. He didn't turn around, as if he were talking to the air, or questioning an invisible fate: "Why... is it Xiang'er..."
Every word seemed to be squeezed out from a crushed heart and lungs, laced with blood and foam.
Wu Meiniang's tears almost spilled over again. She bit her lower lip hard, tasting the metallic sweetness of the rust. She took two steps forward, her voice equally hoarse, yet she tried her best to remain calm: "Because... he is His Highness's darling, the only direct descendant of His Highness and me (meaning her son, who is healthy and intelligent). Only by hurting him can we truly hurt His Highness, and damage the foundation of the Eastern Palace."
Li Chengqian's body trembled almost imperceptibly.
“Li Tai no longer wants the throne,” Wu Meiniang continued, her voice gradually gaining strength. It was Wang Yi’s calm analysis that had awakened her, mixed with her own hatred and pain. “He knows he can’t win. The powerful families have sided with His Highness, and the Emperor’s attitude is clear. He has no way out. So, his last gamble is not for winning, but only to… make His Highness lose too, lose even more miserably, and suffer more pain than he did!”
She walked around the mess on the ground to Li Chengqian's side, making herself visible to him out of the corner of his eye. Her face was dry, only pale and chilling: "He wants to provoke His Highness, to drive him into a rage that will lead him to reckless war against the powerful clans. He wants to see His Highness destroy the situation he has painstakingly built, to see the Eastern Palace and the powerful clans mutually destructive, to see the court thrown into chaos, and to see that even if he goes to hell, he will drag His Highness and countless others down with him!"
"He's dreaming!" Li Chengqian turned his head sharply, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Wu Meiniang. The madness and murderous intent in his eyes were enough to chill anyone to the bone. "I will tear him to pieces! I will drag out all those venomous snakes hiding behind him, and grind their bones to dust!"
"And then?" Wu Meiniang met his gaze without flinching, her voice suddenly rising, "After Your Highness has torn Li Tai to pieces, what will you do? Uproot all the potentially implicated aristocratic families? Half the officials in the court might have to be replaced, and chaos will immediately erupt in the provinces! How will His Majesty view this? How will the people of the world view this? What will those aristocratic families, who haven't been affected but are feeling a sense of shared fate, do? Will they unite and turn against the Crown Prince? Or even... will they devise an even more insidious scheme for the next target?"
She took a step forward, almost touching Li Chengqian's knees, her eyes burning with a flame as intense as her grief: "Your Highness, Li Xiang is gone! My heart... is mostly dead too! But that's precisely why we must not let Li Tai succeed! He killed our child just to see you like this! To see you lose your mind, to see you destroy everything! If we really do what he wants, then we will have truly lost to him, lost to that evil ghost who killed Xiang'er!"
Li Chengqian's chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath, staring intently at Wu Meiniang, as if trying to find hypocrisy or cowardice in her eyes. But he only saw the same profound pain and an almost obsessive clarity.
"Should we... just let Xiang'er die in vain?!" he roared, slamming his fist heavily on the desk, causing the pen holder to tip over and ink to spill everywhere.
"No!" Wu Meiniang declared resolutely. "We must avenge our grievances! Blood debts must be repaid in blood! But not in the way Li Tai desires! We must avenge ourselves, and we must win! We must win beautifully, win thoroughly, so that Li Tai and all the demons and monsters behind him will watch us stand firm in despair and regret, watch the Eastern Palace grow stronger, watch us in the future... and settle accounts with them one by one in a more secure and thorough way!"
She softened her tone, a hint of barely perceptible pleading in her voice: "Your Highness, please calm down and think this through. The methods left behind by the Emperor Emeritus are so insidious and difficult to guard against, and the powerful families involved are no ordinary people. We need time, we need evidence, we need... His Majesty's support. Acting rashly will only alert the enemy, and may even allow the real culprit to go unpunished, leaving Xiang'er... to die with regrets!"
As she spoke the last few words, her voice finally broke into a sob, a testament to the unbearable pain a mother can feel.
The mad flames in Li Chengqian's eyes finally flickered and cracked slightly under Wu Meiniang's calm (yet emotional) analysis and pleas. He hadn't completely lost his mind; he was simply overwhelmed by the grief of losing his son. Wu Meiniang's words were like a bucket of ice water, chilling him to the bone, but also slightly cooling his boiling blood.
He remembered Wang Yi's letter and the advice to "plan carefully" and "endure for now." Now it seemed that the letter had saved him once, and Wu Meiniang's words might save him a second time.
He slowly sat up straight, leaned back in his chair, and closed his bloodshot eyes, as if he had exhausted all his strength. When he opened them again, most of the madness in his eyes had faded, leaving behind a bottomless weariness, a deep-seated hatred, and a sharpness that had been rekindled, colder and more somber.
“You’re right.” His voice was still hoarse, but much calmer. “Li Tai wants to drive me mad, but I’ll show him I’m calm. I’ve remembered Xiang’er’s grudge. I’ll settle every single one of them.”
He looked at Wu Meiniang, his gaze complex, filled with regret, gratitude, and a hint of something indescribable...dependence? He knew that if Wu Meiniang hadn't come to his senses tonight, he might have really done something irreversible.
"This matter requires careful consideration." Li Chengqian regained the decisive tone befitting a crown prince. "Continue the investigation of Li Tai, but do so discreetly. Focus on uncovering details of his connections with the retired emperor and specific aristocratic families, especially regarding the source of the poison. Conduct a thorough purge within the Eastern Palace. Better to kill the innocent than let any suspects go free. Externally... temporarily appease those aristocratic families, especially the maternal families of the newly acquired concubines. Prioritize reassurance while conducting investigations. I want to see who loses their composure first, who... has something to hide."
"As for Father Emperor," he pondered for a moment, "I will go tomorrow to plead guilty, explain the consequences, and request that Father Emperor issue an edict to thoroughly investigate this case, and... strengthen the protection of the Crown Prince's Palace, especially... you." He looked at Wu Meiniang and added, "You must also be more careful."
Wu Meiniang felt a pang of sadness and nodded, "I understand. Your Highness... please take care of yourself. Xiang'er... would certainly not want to see Your Highness so distressed and harmed for him."
When Li Xiang was mentioned, the two fell silent again, and an overwhelming sadness filled the air.
After a long silence, Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "Go and rest. Remember, you know what to do about this."
Wu Meiniang gave him a deep look, curtsied, and quietly left the study. She knew that the most dangerous moment had temporarily passed. The Crown Prince had regained some of his reason, but the seeds of hatred had been sown deep, and the road ahead would inevitably be even bloodier and more difficult. She herself, too, had to truly rise from the immense blow of losing her son, for the sake of her deceased son, and for… to continue living in this deep palace, and even… to live better.
Inside the study, Li Chengqian sat alone by the flickering candlelight, his eyes flashing with cold light. Li Tai, and those venomous snakes lurking in the shadows…you just wait. I won't go mad. I will calmly, step by step, drag you all out and crush you under my feet!
The flickering candlelight illuminated his cold yet resolute profile, as if foreshadowing a more hidden, yet more brutal storm, quietly brewing deep within the seemingly restored tranquility of the Eastern Palace. Wu Meiniang's earnest remonstrance tonight, though failing to quell the hatred, at least bought a precious sliver of reason and time for the inevitable reckoning.
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