Chapter 11
He fastened his belt and took a moment to calm his panicked breathing. He glanced around, and after finding no one in the courtyard, he pretended nothing had happened and walked out.
Li Fuquan swept the courtyard as usual, searching for a suitable spot, starting from the corner and working his way out inch by inch. If there was anything that wouldn't be touched, it was of course the emperor's property, like the wintersweet he cared for. If it died, he would be punished.
Suddenly, he panicked at his bold idea, and only after pinching his palm until it bled did he manage to control himself. The soil around the wintersweet plant, where he watered it daily, was slightly loose. If anyone asked, he could just say he misremembered and watered it once more today.
He naturally didn't bother to take his meal properly. After drinking the hot soup from his bowl, he lay down on the couch and closed his eyes. He said he closed his eyes because he was afraid that he would tremble or shake uncontrollably, which would let others see that something was wrong.
Li Fuquan buried his head in the quilt, pretending to be asleep. Fortunately, no one would specifically ask the daily dust collector, nor would anyone come to his residence.
He closed his eyes tightly, but his hands were tightly grasping his waist, holding the hot wooden sign tightly through several layers of cloth. He couldn't let go of his hands, and now only by constantly confirming that the wooden sign was still in his hands could he calm down.
The north wind rustled the window paper. Li Fuquan was sweating profusely on the couch, tossing and turning over constantly as he waited for the night to come.
Fortunately, this day was the same as usual. As he waited, the night passed without any incident. The beauties in the palace did not summon him, and it was not his turn to light the lamps at night. The emperor did not come again, just like the previous few days.
He carefully pushed open the window, stood by it and looked at the lighted palace, finally calming down his inner panic. Of course, this panic could not be eliminated, but it had to make way for careful thinking temporarily.
It was not until the lights in the hall went out for a moment that he pushed open the door and walked out. There was only the winter night wind blowing in the courtyard, and the moon in the sky looked down, just lending him some light.
Li Fuquan deliberately slowed his pace, intending to stop and wait if he heard a sound or saw a figure approaching. However, apart from his suppressed breathing, there were no unusual sounds in the courtyard.
He walked smoothly to the wintersweet tree, placed his palm on the less dry bark and felt down, feeling the soil underneath, which was softer than other places, as he remembered.
There was little gravel near the wintersweet. Li Fuquan looked around again, and when he saw no other movement, he squatted down. He dug deep into the ground with his hands. He had just watered the ground at noon, so digging was much easier than he had imagined.
He pushed the excavated soil aside, and only put the wooden sign and linen cloth in when he saw that the pit was deep enough. After hesitating for a while, he dug a little deeper and put the wooden sign in first. He then spread a layer of soil on it, compacted it, and stuffed the linen cloth into a ball and put it in.
Then he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. After a while, he buried the sackcloth and moved the gravel next to it and sprinkled it on the soil he had just turned over.
Li Fuquan slowly stood up and looked at the things he had buried in the moonlight. He vaguely saw an uneven spot. After waiting for half a minute and finding that there was no one around, he scooped up a basin of water and poured it around the wintersweet.
He backed away while watering the hall, and only returned to his residence after making sure that there was no one around.
He lay down, feeling that he had accomplished his task. He had buried the wooden sign beneath the ground. Even if someone accidentally dug up the soil beneath, they would only find a piece of useless linen. Besides, no one would touch the gift bestowed by the emperor. Moreover, he only needed to open the window to stare at the tree day and night. There shouldn't be any more accidents.
But he still couldn't sleep, so he could only pretend to fall asleep and slowly calm himself down, constantly comforting himself that he could put aside his previous worries. But as soon as he closed his eyes, Li Fuquan would see Zhao Cai's head first, the dead thing on the plate, but blood continued to flow down. Suddenly, he could hear Zhao Cai speaking, sometimes it was the trembling man in the same room with him, and sometimes it was the same tone repeating the same words, reminding him to put away the wooden sign and obey the orders of the master.
These chaotic thoughts eventually intertwined into a nightmare that continued to haunt him. Trapped in this dream, Li Fuquan's life was no longer entirely good. He had to take responsibility for this wooden sign and accept all possible outcomes, often the worst.
He couldn't quite wrap his head around how the wooden plaque that had led him to his current life would, within a single day, transform into a vicious, murderous ghost. Li Fuquan woke with a start and subconsciously fumbled around in his arms for a moment. Only after breaking into a cold sweat did he realize the plaque was no longer with him.
The window had been blown open by the wind at some point, and the sunlight shone on the couch, bringing a faint warmth. He quickly got off the couch and walked into the courtyard. The hall was still as quiet as usual, so no outsiders should have come in.
Li Fuquan took the tools and cleaned the yard, but his eyes were fixed on the place where he had buried last night. The water he poured late at night had completely seeped into the soil, and now it looked like it was frozen hard along with the soil next to it. He felt that there was no flaw, but he always felt uneasy, and even his neck began to feel uncomfortable, as if he would be exactly the same as Zhao Cai in the next second.
For several days, he woke up from one nightmare after another. After the panic subsided, he realized that the wooden sign was lying safely in the soil. For the time being, no one would dig the soil next to the wintersweet, and no one noticed his abnormal behavior in the past few days.
As for the days to come, Li Fuquan could only spend each day with vague worries, until the end of the year, when he would gradually feel relieved.
The beloved in the palace has become a beauty, but she is still alone guarding the empty palace with burning incense. The maids help her light up her flower ornaments and apply scented ointments day after day, hoping that the emperor will remember her. It is no different from when she was the beloved.
Because of her orders, Li Fuquan's night watches increased. To welcome the new year, the palace hung red lanterns and distributed new clothes, celebrating this peaceful year. Perhaps it was simply to please the emperor and make the already peaceful palace seem more lively.
The north wind in Chang'an City did not cater to the emperor's thoughts. It was as strong as the one that blew through their village, and it blew through all parts of the palace. It was blocked by the often closed palace doors, staring reluctantly at the stove inside, and then turned to wreak havoc in the courtyard.
The winter plum tree in the courtyard hadn't been broken by the winter wind, and the bulges on it hadn't grown back. Li Fuquan couldn't guess when it would sprout new leaves, but for now, he was always willing to stay in the courtyard a little longer. While staying by the tree, he told himself that there was nothing under it, no token to panic, no wooden plaque that could cost him his life. Even if there was, it wouldn't prove it was his.
He persuaded himself again and again, trying to confuse himself with the past days. Nothing had happened until now, and the possibility of something happening would only become smaller and smaller. If he could wait until the beauty in the palace transferred him out of the courtyard, he could completely abandon his current worries, live a good life again, and perhaps even climb up and live an even better life.
Li Fuquan thought about this and helped to hang up the decorations sent from the treasury, making the palace look less empty than usual. He listened to the maids' whispered complaints about the emperor who had not come for a long time, and just responded from the side.
But after answering the call for a long time, he realized that sweeping the courtyard was hard work. He could not make any money and could not get close to the emperor or the eunuchs. Then he began to have thoughts that were no different from those of the beauties in the palace. He was thinking about the emperor. Of course, he was thinking about his own good days, and sometimes he would envy other beauties who could seduce the emperor to stay in the palace every night.
Of course, he couldn't figure out how to ask for a favor, so he could only wait day and night with the beauty in the palace. He'd waited so long, and when his wish came true, he was overjoyed. Li Fuquan no longer complained about the long night of waiting in the courtyard. He held his lantern and gazed at the ever-lit hall lights, lost in his imagination, gradually merging into the bustling palace. He reached out to climb higher, a little higher, closer to that chair, closer to the ruler of the world, closer to the power that could arbitrarily decide his own life and death.
As the lights went out, he let out a long breath, letting it drift in the air, and it quickly disappeared along with his excessive and exciting imagination.
Li Fuquan spent his first New Year in the palace, which was a real New Year for him - there was wine and meat, and a heavy amount of silver that filled his purse, which was almost his monthly salary for the previous year.
The wintersweets in the courtyard had sprouted new branches, their green gleaming as they busily bid farewell to the last ten days of winter. His Majesty seemed particularly fond of the beauty he had met beneath the tree, and had been staying in the palace for the past few days, never stopping for a single night.
Li Fuquan was waiting outside the temple with a lantern in hand, spending more and more of his energy on dreaming about his previous extravagant hopes, and he also had a certain feeling - he felt that such a day was getting closer and closer to him, maybe next year, or maybe tomorrow.
Perhaps God saw in his much more peaceful behavior in the past six months that such a day would arrive soon. It was an evening with sunset glow, and he was watering the newly sprouted flowers and plants in the garden.
The attendant held up a bright yellow silk cloth and read out the reward on it. The beauty in the palace was promoted to Jieyu, and he was promoted to Changshi and continued to serve her.
Li Fuquan knelt on the ground and listened to the reward. Thinking of the levels of official positions he had heard before, the first thing that came to his mind was that he would be able to manage his subordinates in the future, and he could finally leave the courtyard where he had stayed for a year and be further away from the things he was worried about.
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