"Miss Heying, what brings you here?" Guo Xun, now mostly sober, frowned as he approached.
A strong aroma of alcohol wafted towards us.
Crane Shadow dodged backward.
She didn't want to have anything to do with Guo Xun anymore.
Guo Xun grabbed her wrist: "How can a young lady show herself here? I'll take you away."
He Ying struggled free, saying, "Lord Guo, please have some self-respect."
Pointing to Liu Qi, who had just come looking for the sound, he said, "I'm looking for someone."
Liu Qi was leaning lazily against the door frame of the private room, looking over here with a half-smile.
Guo Xun's face darkened as he coldly watched He Ying and Liu Qi enter the private room.
Liu Qi sat down, brewed tea, and handed the teacup to He Ying:
"Marquis Wuding's skills are quite good, so I won't treat you unfairly."
He Ying glared at him resentfully: "My affairs are none of your business, and please put away your petty thoughts and stop coveting people you shouldn't be coveting!"
Liu Qi laughed in anger, "Who do I covet?"
He Ying stared at him, her eyes carrying a warning: "You know what I'm talking about!"
Liu Qi scoffed, "What? You're not my brother, why are you interfering with my interest in my sister-in-law?"
Crane Shadow was stunned.
She vaguely remembered what Sister-in-law Liu Qi looked like; she was a gentle and refined young lady.
He Ying suddenly felt that the sky was clear and the clouds were light, and even the tea in front of him smelled much more fragrant.
...
Zhang Yong gazed quietly at the Kunning Palace before him.
The distance from the guardhouse at Ganqingmen to here is not far.
Yet, it was a distance as insurmountable as an insurmountable chasm.
Su Wanwan sat upright in the main hall, her expression solemn:
"Zhang Daban, the case of the fire at the Su family residence has made no progress. I would be grateful if you could help me find the real culprit behind it all."
In the past, she wouldn't have dared to ask these senior eunuchs about this matter.
Having experienced the last upheaval,
Zhang Yong did not take full responsibility: "Ma Yongcheng, the director of the Eastern Depot, should know about this matter. It is most appropriate to ask him."
Ma Yongcheng arrived quickly and with a humble attitude, immediately kneeling down:
"This matter was instructed by Minister Liu. The relevant witnesses and physical evidence were originally in the imperial prison, but they were later deliberately destroyed."
Ma Yongcheng mentioned the deaths of several Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) agents who handled the matter; all of them later met with accidents while carrying out their duties.
Su Wanwan was stunned.
She was prepared for this, but the witnesses and evidence were all in the imperial prison. How could Lu Xingjian be completely unaware of it?
She dismissed Ma Yongcheng and spoke to Zhang Yong alone:
How credible is this story?
He paused, then asked with difficulty, "Does His Majesty know?"
Zhang Yong was silent for a moment, then said, "It's true."
"His Majesty should know that it was he who ordered the destruction of these witnesses and physical evidence."
Su Wanwan felt as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water.
A sharp pain shot through my heart.
To cover up her embarrassment, she reached for the teacup on the table.
But because his hands were shaking so badly, the tea spilled out.
Being deceived by your spouse is a truly unpleasant experience.
He knew perfectly well that she had always wanted to find out who was behind the fire at the Su family home.
However, they became accomplices and suppressed the matter.
Therefore, in his eyes, the fire at the Su family's residence was actually no big deal.
The despair and pain she experienced were probably insignificant in his eyes.
Su Wanwan's face was deathly pale, but she forced herself to say to Zhang Yong, "I understand."
A hint of pity flashed in Zhang Yong's eyes.
"If Your Majesty wishes to take revenge, I fear the time is not yet ripe."
Su Wanwan forced a smile, which looked worse than crying:
"The Emperor doesn't want me to take revenge, what can I do?"
"But why didn't he just tell me the truth?"
"Just because I'm easy to bully?"
The man who constantly professed his love for her was actually the one who deceived and misled her the most.
Zhang Yong felt a pang of pity: "If Your Majesty wishes to take revenge, this humble subject is willing to serve you with utmost loyalty."
This was actually a matter of going with the flow.
The emperor's constant indulgence of Liu Jin was clearly a case of "praising him to death."
Unfortunately, Liu Jin went down a dark path, and the best outcome he could hope for was to survive and end up growing vegetables at the Nanjing Xiaoling Mausoleum.
Su Wanwan was stunned.
Her husband never genuinely intended to avenge her.
Instead, it was a eunuch with whom she had no connection who was willing to help her.
She shook her head sadly: "No need. Zhang Daban should just pretend he doesn't know about this, so as not to bring disaster upon himself."
Zhang Yong pursed his lips slightly and lowered his eyes to hide his emotions.
After Zhang Yong left, a palace maid brought him a letter delivered by express courier from Liaodong.
These letters arrive daily, written in impromptu cursive script, some crooked and uneven, perhaps hastily penned in a carriage or on horseback.
Some are like the poem: "The bright moon rises over the sea, and we share this moment though we are far apart."
Some letters contained a flattened flower with only two words on it: "Don't worry."
Su Wanwan used to write to him every day, telling him what memorials were submitted that day and how she handled them.
Finally, I'd like to ask if it was hot on the way, if the food was good, and to remind him to rest and avoid heatstroke.
It's quite a long piece, spanning several pages.
I didn't really realize it before.
Looking at this letter now, I find it utterly ironic.
The cost of the 800-li express courier service was very high; sometimes the couriers would die from exhaustion, and the horses would also die from overwork.
He only conveyed one or two meaningless words.
The perfunctory attitude was so obvious, yet she couldn't see through it.
The young palace maid asked, "Your Highness, shall we write a reply now, or shall I write it tonight?"
Su Wanwan had no interest in writing: "I'm not writing."
I won't write anymore.
It wastes mental, human and material resources.
...
Lu Xingjian had not received any letters from Su Wanwan for several days and felt uneasy, so he wrote a letter asking Meng Yue to return to the capital in person.
Meng Yue nearly ran his life away before finally reaching the capital and hurriedly went to Kunning Palace.
A palace servant is reporting: "Grand Secretary Liu went out of the city to sweep the tombs, but was robbed by bandits. Something bad has happened!"
Su Wanwan's eyes widened: "How is that possible?"
How could the security situation in the capital region be so bad?
"Quickly, summon the imperial physician to treat him!"
Su Wanwan stood up, but her body swayed, and she spat out a mouthful of blood before fainting.
Meng Yue was going crazy.
But they couldn't find the crane; they only saw a young palace maid and a young eunuch.
Meng Yue sent someone to find He Ying, but the messenger returned saying that He Ying had left the capital to trade horses on the frontier.
The imperial physician arrived quickly, followed by Zhang Yong, who was also in a hurry.
The imperial physician said that the Empress vomited blood due to sudden fright, and coupled with her usual overwork, she needed to rest in bed.
Su Wanwan's face was as white as paper, and she remained motionless with her eyes closed.
Zhang Yong took the prescription from the imperial physician and examined it carefully. He also personally oversaw the preparation of the medicine before having it decocted at his bedside.
He never took his eyes off it.
Meng Yue thought to himself, "Zhang Tai is in charge of the palace guards, so why is he even inquiring about the Empress's medicine and food?"
But now that He Ying was gone, the remaining servants in Kunning Palace, though capable, were too young to keep order.
It's understandable that Zhang Yong would be in charge here.
When Su Wanwan woke up, it was already dark.
Meng Yue presented Lu Xingjian's letter and said he would inform the emperor as soon as possible of Su Wanwan's illness.
Su Wanwan spoke indifferently, opened the letter, glanced at it casually, and then didn't look at it again.
He said calmly, "There's no need to tell him."
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