Chapter 75
It was the next day when Wei Dao learned of this. He did not immediately go to see Li Yin, but instead found a secluded teahouse and privately met with Ji Zeming.
When Ji Zeming stepped into the room, a hint of surprise flashed across his eyes, but his fingertips still held the teacup steadily, without a single ripple on his face. He just sat down opposite according to etiquette.
He picked up the tea spoon and scooped some tea leaves into the cup. When the boiling water filled it up and white mist rose, he slowly said, "Brother Weidao, you asked me to be here today. Is there something important?"
Wei Dao's fingertips rested on the edge of the table, without any hesitation: "I see that your thoughts are the same as mine."
Ji Zeming chuckled softly upon hearing this, rubbing the rim of his cup with his fingertips, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Isn't it? Back then, when the three of us were in the palace, we climbed over the high walls together to pick plums, and we even gathered around the fireplace to share a piece of cake. Those days, now thinking about it, seem like a lifetime ago."
Weidao's Adam's apple moved, but he didn't respond in the end.
In the past, he, Ji Zeming and His Highness were close friends who could confide in each other, but as they grew older, His Highness was now in charge of state affairs, one of them became a royal guard, and the other's father was His Highness's rival in the court. The friendship of the past seemed to be separated by a thin veil, and it was difficult to return to the past.
Seeing him keep his eyes downcast and silent, Ji Zeming knew he didn't want to talk about their past relationship, so he changed the subject, adding a bit of concern to his tone: "By the way, I've heard about what happened in Changle Palace yesterday. Is Luo Neiguan... okay?"
"Your Highness, please stay by her side." Weidao's voice was light, and no emotion could be heard from it, but it made Ji Zeming tighten his grip on the cup.
Ji Zeming looked out the window and saw the copper bells hanging from the eaves swaying gently in the wind, making a tiny sound.
His eyes drifted away, his tone filled with melancholy, "I used to think I wanted to be His Highness's most trusted person, someone who could always be by his side. But now... I seem to have become the one who makes things difficult for him."
He paused, a hard feeling rising in his throat, and lowered his voice even more: "For the first time in my life, I have someone I want to stay with, but unfortunately..."
"Stop talking." Wei Dao suddenly interrupted him, leaning forward slightly, looking straight into his eyes, and said with a tone of admonition, "Keep this in your heart. It will be good for both you and her."
Ji Zeming suddenly raised his eyes, a determination he had never seen before surging in them. He clenched his sleeves and said word by word, "No, I can't hide anymore. I've never felt so eager to protect someone and keep her by my side, and I don't want to miss it again."
——
Luo Sanrong had just taken the "Collected Commentaries on the Book of Rites" that His Highness had requested from its camphorwood shelf in the library. His fingertips were still stained with the scent of ink from the aged pages when a gentle question suddenly came from behind him, like a stone dropped into still water: "Please stay. May I ask for directions?"
Luo Sanying paused with his hand holding the spine of the book, and when he turned around, his brows first showed a casual doubt. The man came in with a long blue cloth gown and a plain silk belt around his waist. Although his temples were frosted white, his eyes were as clear as a stream. It was clearly the familiar outline in his memory.
Doubt gradually solidified in her eyes, and then realization struck her like thunder. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the book, and her voice was filled with lingering panic and ecstasy: "Grandpa? Is it you?"
Mr. Chashan also saw her appearance clearly. He was startled at first, but then a gentle smile appeared in his eyes. He took two quick steps forward, his eyes sweeping over her inner court uniform. His tone was full of surprise: "Luo Er? Why are you here? This outfit... Are you working in the palace now?"
Luo Sanrong hurriedly pulled him into the shadows of the corner of the library and spoke in a low, unsteady voice, "This is a long story, and I can't explain it in a few words. But Grandpa, now in the palace, you have to call me Luo Sanrong."
"Luo Sanrong?" Mr. Chashan repeated the name, his brows furrowed, and his confusion grew even more intense.
"Don't worry," she explained hastily, her fingertips gently touching his sleeve, like a child's playful way. "I was selected through a proper selection process, without any shortcuts. Serving by His Highness, I have a very stable job."
"Safe?" Mr. Chashan's face darkened, his tone tinged with reproach, his eyes revealing worry. "Little girl, what kind of place is a palace? Every step is filled with potholes. How can it be safe? Do you know how I've been doing these years..."
"Grandpa!" Luo Sanrong interrupted him, gently shaking his arm, and said with a bit of grievance and coquettishness in her tone, "It's been so many years since we last met, and you're talking about me as soon as we meet. Why did you come to the palace? Is there something important?"
Mr. Chashan looked at her and sighed. The worry in his eyes gradually turned into tenderness. "I was asked to come to see a distinguished person, but I didn't expect to meet you here. It's really..."
"Didn't you say that before?" Luo Sanrong continued with a smile, a glint in her eyes. "People who are destined to meet will eventually meet somewhere. If you hadn't saved my mother and me back then, I would have become a lonely soul in a mass grave. Now I can see you in the palace. This is fate."
Just as she finished speaking, she heard familiar footsteps not far away. Luo Sanrong turned around and saw Li Yin, wearing a dark blue cloak, standing at the door of the library. His eyes fell on her and Mr. Chashan's familiar appearance, and he asked with a hint of inquiry: "Sanrong, do you know each other?"
Luo Sanrong suddenly realized what was going on. He lightly tapped his finger between Li Yin and Mr. Chashan, his eyes filled with excitement. "Your Highness! So the person you wanted to see was Grandpa? So, Grandpa is the Mr. Chashan you often mention?"
Mr. Chashan looked at Li Yin, his expression faded a little, but a trace of thought flashed across his eyes. He did not respond, but just looked at the excited Luo Sanrong quietly, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the folds of his cuffs.
Without further ado, Li Yin led Mr. Chashan to the inner hall of the East Palace.
After they were seated and served tea, he explained the "strange things" that had been happening in the palace recently. His Majesty's imperial meal was found to be poisonous, but birds and animals were fine after eating it. However, the Imperial Hospital all said it was a "strange poison" and could not find the source.
After hearing this, Mr. Chashan was silent for a moment, then took out a herb from the green cloth package he was carrying. The leaves were emerald green and the stems were reddish, and the color was even brighter than ordinary herbs.
"This is the murderer," he said firmly, handing the herb to Li Yin. "This herb is called 'San Yao'. It's an ordinary medicinal herb, but if you soak it in sulfur for three days, its color will become brighter and appear poisonous. If you test it with a silver needle, it will turn black, but it's not really poisonous, just a reaction between the sulfur and the silver."
Li Yin took the herbal medicine, pinched the leaves with his fingertips, and frowned slightly: "It's not poisonous? Then why is the Imperial Hospital..."
"Your Highness, please look." Without waiting for him to finish, Mr. Chashan broke off a small piece of the three medicinal herbs' stems and placed it in his mouth, chewing slowly and calmly. After swallowing, he said, "Your Highness, do you believe this? These three herbs are imported from the Western Regions. While they're uncommon, the imperial physicians at the Imperial Hospital are undoubtedly familiar with them. Yet, they remain silent, pretending this is a mystery. Why do you think that is?"
Li Yin paused, then chuckled softly, a cold light flashing in his eyes: "Of course someone is behind this, trying to use this 'strange incident' to make me think that no one in the palace can be trusted."
At this time, in the residence of the Minister of Revenue, Minister Sun was twirling his beard, sitting in the warm room and sipping tea with a smug smile on his face.
He predicted that Li Yin would not be able to find out the truth about the "poisonous weeds" and would only suspect the people around him. Once the emperor blamed him, the prince's prestige would be damaged.
Little did he know that Li Yin had already presented Mr. Chashan's testimony of identifying the three medicines and the sulfur purchasing records he had found to His Majesty, explaining the whole cause and effect clearly.
As dusk fell, Li Yin went to the Heavenly Prison in person.
The prison door opened, and the wrongly accused child, curled up in a pile of straw, his body still covered in dust. Seeing someone coming in, he shrank his shoulders in fear. Until Li Yin squatted down and said in a very soft voice: "Child, don't be afraid, you can go now."
The child raised his head, his eyes filled with confusion. After seeing the prince's python pattern on Li Yin's body clearly, he knelt down with a plop, tears streaming down his dirty cheeks. He kowtowed with a choked sob: "Thank you... Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness, for clearing my name!"
Li Yin quickly reached out to help him up. His fingertips touched the child's cold arm. He felt a pang of guilt and his voice became softer: "Get up. I'm sorry that I came too late and made you, such a young child, suffer so much."
The child clutched his sleeve and timidly asked, "Your Highness... Does this mean I have seen the king?"
Li Yin was startled for a moment, then he bent down and looked him in the eye, a gentle smile in his eyes: "Alright. If you have anything to say to me, no matter what it is, you can say it."
The child pursed his lips, twisted the corner of his clothes with his fingers, hesitated for a long time, and finally shook his head and whispered, "No more, Your Highness."
Li Yin looked at the cowardice hidden in his eyes, and his heart seemed to be stung by something. He couldn't tell whether he felt more lost or guilty.
The next morning, Mr. Chashan was about to leave the palace, and Li Yin personally saw him off to the palace gate.
The morning light fell upon the two men. Li Yin gazed at Mr. Chashan's back and said earnestly, "Thanks to you, I was able to clear that child's name this time. But when will you agree to my earlier request that you stay in the Eastern Palace and assist me in rectifying the government?"
Mr. Chashan turned around, bowed, and said apologetically, "Your Highness, thank you for your compliments. I only know a little about herbs. How can I be qualified to assist the Crown Prince? Please do not mention this matter again. I will take my leave now."
Seeing his firm attitude, Li Yin knew it was useless to try to keep him, so he had to give up and watched his figure disappear in the morning mist outside the palace gate.
At this moment, Luo Sanrong stepped forward quickly, his voice very low, his eyes full of anticipation: "Grandpa, before you go, can you tell me... Have you heard anything about my mother in these years?"
Mr. Chashan paused, glanced back at Li Yin, who was not far away, and then looked at Luo Sanrong. A complicated expression flashed in his eyes. In the end, he just patted her hand and said suggestively, "Not yet. But don't worry, girl. The next time we meet, there will be good news."
Luo Sanrong wanted to ask more, but Li Yin came over, so she had to swallow her words.
After returning to the palace, Li Yin went straight to the Yangxin Palace and expressed to the emperor that he did not want to get married.
As soon as the words fell, His Majesty paused with the red brush on the memorial, the ink spreading a small spot, and his tone suddenly became serious: "The matter of the state wedding cannot be postponed, it must continue."
"Father!" Li Yin hurriedly stepped forward. "This son is not disobeying your order. I simply do not want to start an unwanted marriage. I have no friendship with Minister Zhao's daughter. Forcing a marriage on her would be unlucky for both her and me."
His Majesty put down his red brush, rubbed his brow, and spoke with a tone of fatigue and solemnity that brooked no argument: "Do you think I can't tell right from wrong? Do I have to force you to marry someone you don't like?"
Li Yin quickly bowed and said, "Your Highness dare not."
"I ascended the throne at the age of ten," His Majesty said, his voice deepening as he gazed at the parasol trees outside the palace. "Over the years, the court has been in turmoil, with constant factional strife. I've lived in fear every day, fearing that one misstep would ruin my ancestors' legacy. Now, I pass this burden on to you, hoping you'll have a more secure life than I have. Zhao Wanyong holds military power and is a loyal minister. His daughter is the person who can provide you with the strongest support."
Li Yin opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but His Majesty waved his hand and said with a hint of impatience: "This matter is settled. You may withdraw."
Li Yin looked at the white hair at His Majesty's temples, his heart aching. Finally, he bowed and slowly left the palace. The wind outside the palace blew up his cloak, as if wrapped in a layer of inextricable helplessness.
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