Holding the truth
Tang Feng lowered his head, walked up to Shen Qinghang, and said slowly in a low voice, "There's silk cloth and poison on the table."
Shen Qinghang smiled and then said, "Tang Feng, I always thought you were loyal and righteous at Lishan Academy, but you're too soft-hearted, which will hurt you in the future."
"I have no future," Tang Feng sighed, looking at Shen Qinghang. "You and I are the same; the road ahead is still up to Your Highness to walk."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Qinghang was pushed inside by the escorting soldiers. Tang Feng watched the tent, and even after the soldiers came out, they didn't leave.
Fearing for Tang Feng's safety, Chen Ke stepped forward and asked, "Young Madam, why don't you go back first? It's autumn now, and it's getting colder every day. Please don't stand outside here; otherwise, our Marquis will worry about you again."
Tang Feng didn't speak, he just stared blankly at the shadow in the tent.
After Shen Qinghang was taken inside, he saw Li Yunye and still bowed respectfully. Li Yunye, who had been arrogant earlier, sat calmly in his chair. Seeing Shen Qinghang bow to him, he spoke, "You've framed me all the way here, and now you're bowing to me?"
"Everything I've done is to fulfill the Crown Prince's dying wish. He hoped that His Highness the Ninth Prince could inherit the throne, so I helped him. As for you, although I've been unkind and unjust to you along the way, you've never wronged me in the slightest. For this trust, I should naturally bow to you to show my respect." Li Yunye then said self-deprecatingly, "Respect me? You're probably trying to force me to my death, aren't you? You and Tang Feng, two ungrateful wretches." A hot tear then slid down his cheek. Li Yunye looked up and gave a bitter smile. "You don't need to force me. I will take my own life. Just as Tang Feng said, my whole life has been a joke. If there is an afterlife, I only want to be born into an ordinary family, and not live such a life again." Li Yunye picked up the silk and hung it on the beam of the tent, looking at Shen Qinghang. "Since I've decided to die, you don't need to watch anymore."
"Your Highness, I will go with you." Shen Qinghang picked up the poison from the table, looked at Li Yunye, and said with a smile, "Actually... to die alongside the one I serve is an honor."
"You have always been loyal to Li Yunrui, not me. You don't need to do this, and I don't need your sympathy. I may have lost the country, but I haven't lost my self-respect."
Seeing Li Yunye's reaction, Shen Qinghang opened the poison, drank it all in one gulp, and knelt down before Li Yunye in astonishment. "Your Highness, I beg you to depart this world. I will surely accompany you to the afterlife. I cannot bear the reputation of being disloyal and unjust."
Tang Feng heard the sound of chairs clattering outside the tent. The pain in his chest returned. He raised his hand to his chest and gave a bitter laugh. "Brother Chen... Shen Qinghang and Li Yunye, their rebellion failed, and feeling guilty towards Yan Yun, they committed suicide in the military camp out of guilt."
Chen Ke was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly lifted the tent flap and saw Shen Qinghang lying on the ground spitting blood, and Li Yunye hanging from the beam. She turned to Tang Feng and said, "Young...Young Madam, this..."
Tang Feng shook his head. "Don't make a fuss. It's all... all part of the plan. Arrange for a few people to keep watch tonight. Let them find out first thing tomorrow morning." Chen Ke tried to help Tang Feng up, but Tang Feng refused, instructing him to arrange the men. He then staggered back to Zhou Ziliang's tent. Zhou Ziliang was looking at the submitted list inside. Seeing Tang Feng return with unsteady steps, he went forward to ask, but Tang Feng suddenly vomited blood. He grabbed Zhou Ziliang's clothes to steady himself before speaking, "Don't make a fuss. It's alright. Could you... help me to the bed to sit for a while?"
Zhou Ziliang slowly helped Tang Feng to sit on the edge of the bed, intending to get up again to pour him some water. However, Tang Feng couldn't sit up steadily at all. Without Zhou Ziliang's support, Tang Feng swayed and was about to fall. Zhou Ziliang could only let him lean on him. "Xiao Feng, sleep for a while. Haven't you had a good night's sleep in a long time?" Looking at the dark circles under Tang Feng's eyes, Zhou Ziliang felt a little guilty. How could he not know that Tang Feng had been plagued by nightmares lately? Without him, Tang Feng couldn't sleep well at all, but he had to go out to war at this time.
Tang Feng felt much more at ease smelling the scent on Zhou Ziliang's clothes. Coupled with the stress and exhaustion of the past few days, he reached out and hooked his hand around Zhou Ziliang's little finger, whispering, "Can you stay with me...? I'm scared."
Zhou Ziliang tightened his grip on Tang Feng's arm. "Okay, I won't leave. Go to sleep."
"Tang Feng, how much did you hear about the Crown Prince imprisoning my mother a few years ago?" Li Yunye looked dejectedly at Tang Feng. "I only heard bits and pieces. It was roughly... your mother and some court officials plotted a rebellion, and after being arrested by Li Yunrui, she was imprisoned in the inner palace... That's about it. At the time, I didn't want to get involved, so I don't know many things."
Li Yunye thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Actually... I did consider that my mother was acting under someone's orders, but I couldn't find any evidence. It's true that my mother is vain, but it's also true that she's timid and cowardly. Meeting with former court officials privately for no reason might have been instigated. The day I learned that my mother was imprisoned, I rushed back to Xiling from Lanxi. I begged him to release my mother, but he was unmoved. So... after I returned, my fourth brother came to find me." Li Yunye looked at Tang Feng. "I know he came to sow discord, but that's not entirely it. Given my mother's situation, I naturally can't worry about so much. As for the Crown Prince, I didn't intend to kill him; I just wanted to bring him down. Besides... Li Yunrui wasn't executed for mobilizing troops in Xiling, but because of my elder sister..."
"What?" Tang Feng had always thought that Li Yunrui was executed because Emperor Yun suspected him of having compassion when he transferred Zhou Ziliang back to Xiling. He never expected it was because of the Eldest Princess.
"Pu Yuan's envoy did indeed use tricks to trap Li Yunrui, but at the time... Father Emperor only imprisoned him, he didn't execute him."
"What kind of trap did the envoy set?" Tang Feng wasn't present that day, and even Zhou Ziliang left after only a short while, so Tang Feng still hadn't figured out the whole thing.
"The envoy is here for a marriage alliance, you know that, right?" Li Yunye continued after seeing Tang Feng nod. "The one chosen for the marriage alliance... is my eldest sister. But she already has someone she loves, so she went to Li Yunrui for help. He did agree to help her find a solution, but he didn't agree to the matter of Huaitang. Li Yunheng then advised me to persuade my eldest sister to deny to Father Emperor that she doesn't want the marriage alliance. Then, the fourth prince will find a way to bring Huaitang out so that he and my eldest sister can elope when the marriage procession enters the country."
"So the eldest princess lied to His Majesty?"
“That’s right,” Li Yunye nodded, stood up, and said, “My elder sister and I repeatedly assured her that we wouldn’t threaten Li Yunrui’s life; at most, we would only detain him for a few days. My elder sister was still blaming herself for this, but… but not many days later, she left a suicide note and took her own life.”
"Because of guilt?" Tang Feng was confused. If it was because of guilt, the letter he left behind would have been enough to make Emperor Yun spare Li Yunrui. How could he still execute him? Li Yunye shook his head. "No, it was an accusation that Li Yunrui forced her, separated the lovers, and made them live apart. Unable to bear the grief, she committed suicide in despair."
"Does this letter... still exist?"
"Naturally, my elder sister has always been favored by Father. With this incident, coupled with her previous crimes... Father will definitely not let Li Yunrui off the hook. It was Li Yunheng who informed Father of my elder sister's death on the day she died, and he was also the one who delivered the letter to Father. I didn't know this would happen, and I never expected Li Yunrui to die."
"So... you never intended to kill him from beginning to end?"
Li Yunye shook his head. "I didn't want to kill him. I fought for the throne only to bring him down. I wanted to become the crown prince and save my mother, so... Tang Feng..."
"So..." Tang Feng looked at Li Yunye's increasingly cold expression and took a few steps back, but Li Yunye grabbed him by the neck. "So why did you frame me! Because of you, I lost everything!"
"Ah!" Tang Feng suddenly opened his eyes, panting heavily. Zhou Ziliang was still holding his hand, looking at him with a worried expression. "Xiao Feng, did you have a nightmare?"
Tang Feng pursed his lips and buried his face in Zhou Ziliang's chest, his forehead pressed against Zhou's chest. He closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face, soaking Zhou Ziliang's clothes. "I dreamt of Li Yunye, Ziliang. This matter seems... getting more and more troublesome. What should we do?"
Zhou Ziliang pondered for a moment and said, "You should focus on recovering. I will investigate this matter."
Tang Feng's illness hadn't improved since he collapsed that day; he remained bedridden and looked sickly, which worried Zhou Ziliang greatly. However, the matter with Emperor Yun couldn't be delayed any longer, so he arranged a carriage for Tang Feng before they returned to Xiling.
Although Emperor Yun was furious about Li Yunye's death, he did not investigate further. After all, it was due to a rebellion, and there was a reason for it. Considering the face of the royal family, he did not pursue the matter further. As for Tang Feng, he was punished by being confined to the Marquis's residence for failing to keep an eye on Li Yunye. However, this was good news for Tang Feng. Since that day, Tang Feng had been frequently awakened at night, unable to fall asleep, and his coughing up blood had worsened day by day. Although Zhou Ziliang was worried, Tang Feng did not care.
After autumn arrived, the weather gradually cooled, but the sun shone warmly. Tang Feng lay on a rocking chair in the yard, reading a book while listening to Zhou Ziliang grumble about his health. Annoyed, he interrupted, "Alright, alright, it's not like you haven't done it before. Always frowning, be careful you don't end up a wrinkled old man."
Zhou Ziliang was peeling an apple for Tang Feng when he heard this. He turned to Tang Feng and asked, "Then... what will Xiao Feng be like when he gets old?"
Tang Feng paused for a moment, then smiled wryly, "How would I know... Who can know the future?"
Zhou Ziliang fastened the purse at his waist, looked at Tang Feng, bent down and gently pinched his nose. "I'm going out for a bit. Stay home and wait for me." Tang Feng looked up at Zhou Ziliang and asked, "Why are you suddenly going out?"
"I have some errands to run, I'll be right back. Don't stay here too long; it's been a bit chilly these past few days, you might catch a cold lying outside." Zhou Ziliang tucked Tang Feng in, then called over a servant, "Whatever the young master needs, just prepare it. If he's tired, help him back to rest." After giving these instructions, he took Tang Feng's hand and said, "I'll be right back."
Zhou Ziliang was going to help Tang Feng investigate Huaitang's affairs, but he didn't tell Tang Feng. If Tang Feng knew, he would definitely come with him. However, Tang Feng's health was deteriorating, and he had been running a fever since returning that day. Wu Hezou kept shaking his head and eventually refused to give him a prescription.
After Huaitang died, his family fell into poverty. After making several inquiries, they finally found his home in a village near the Wei River. An old woman was sitting in front of the door picking vegetables. When she saw Zhou Ziliang arrive, she looked up and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
"Excuse me... is this the home of Huai Tang, a sixth-rank Imperial Academy Doctor?"
The old woman instantly became alert, stood up and was about to go back into the house when Zhou Ziliang grabbed her arm. "Madam, please wait. I've only come to inquire about something. Why are you hiding?"
The old woman shook her head, tears streaming down her face, and pulled Zhou Ziliang to kneel down. "I beg you, please don't come again. My son is dead, this family is broken, we don't want to have anything to do with the officials anymore, please don't ask any more questions."
Zhou Ziliang frowned and asked, "Has anyone else come asking?" "Yes, they smashed and looted my house, and even kicked us out of the old residence. Yes... my son colluded with concubines, he deserved it, but he's already paid with his life. What more do they want?"
Zhou Ziliang took a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the old woman. "Please calm down and listen to me. I don't intend to do anything to harm you; I just want to know what really happened back then."
The old woman, helped by Zhou Ziliang to sit on a stool, wiped away her tears. "My son is filial. He always wanted to be a high-ranking official to bring honor to the family, but he never succeeded. That day, he told me that he would be promoted soon, that someone in the palace had taken a liking to his talent. But I knew that Yanyun belonged to His Majesty, and no one could help him, so I didn't take it seriously. I thought he was just making it up to reassure me. But a few days later, my son was arrested in the middle of the night and was branded a traitor. Only then did I hear from the maid that he had really met a maid from the palace that day, and she even gave him a letter."
"The letter? Do you still have it?"
The old woman nodded. "Keep it! Keep it! I think those people who came to my house, smashing and looting, were probably looking for this. So when I escaped, I took the letter with me, thinking it might come in handy someday." The old woman got up and went into the house. After a while, she came back with a letter and handed it to Zhou Ziliang. "This is it. I'm just a woman and I don't know anything about these things. If this can prove that my son was framed, it's good for you."
Zhou Ziliang nodded, stood up, and said, "Don't worry, I understand."
As they left the old woman's place, it was getting dark. Zi Liang wanted to go back early, but then he saw many people walking towards the Wei River. Unable to contain his curiosity, Zhou Zi Liang pulled aside a passerby and asked, "Excuse me, I'd like to ask why there are so many people by the river today?"
"Oh dear, this year is the once-in-a-decade Prayer Festival! The Thousand Prayer Tree blossomed yesterday, that's why everyone's rushing to pray!" The passerby hurried on their way and left. Hearing about the Prayer Festival, Zhou Ziliang suddenly felt as if he were in a different world. He still remembered the way Tang Feng fell from the Thousand Prayer Tree and landed in his arms. He thought of the wish he had made for him, which had now been fulfilled.
Zhou Ziliang led his horse, following the crowd to the Thousand Prayer Tree. The Thousand Prayer Tree was just as it had been in previous years, its branches covered in clusters of pale pink blossoms. The only difference was that this year, the Thousand Prayer Tree bloomed in spring, when the crabapple trees on both banks were in full bloom, and the lake was covered with petals swept away by the wind.
Now, the autumn wind is chilly, the ground is covered with yellow leaves, and only the ancient trees are in bloom.
Zhou Ziliang walked to the Thousand Prayer Tree, looked up at the tree full of blossoms, took a wooden plaque from the side, wrote some words on it, and stood respectfully under the tree, clasping his hands together, saying, "Divine Tree above, my beloved Xiaofeng, at the age of twenty, is afflicted with a serious illness. I do not seek a smooth career, nor do I wish to rise to prominence; I only wish to spend my life with Xiaofeng, growing old together. If possible, I wish to share my lifespan with Xiaofeng, so that we can stay by each other's side until death." Zhou Ziliang lightly touched the ground, focused his energy in his dantian, and with a burst of breath, flew up into the tree, hanging the plaque at the top.
When Zhou Ziliang returned, it was already late at night. He assumed Tang Feng was asleep, but instead found the candlelight dimly lit inside. Pushing open the door, he saw Tang Feng wearing a robe and reading a book. He immediately turned and closed the door, walking over to Tang Feng and gently scolding, "What's wrong? It's so late, why aren't you resting?" Seeing the blood-stained handkerchief beside Tang Feng, Zhou Ziliang picked it up and sighed, "If you're not feeling well, don't wait for me."
"I was thinking... the world's in turmoil lately, I was worried you'd been gone for so long, maybe something happened to you."
"I'm sorry," Zhou Ziliang said softly, seeing the aggrieved look on Tang Feng's face. He took Tang Feng's hand, rubbed it gently, and said, "I went to the Thousand Prayer Tree."
Tang Feng was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding why Zhou Ziliang would suddenly say something like, "Xiao Feng, today is the Prayer Festival, which only comes once every ten years."
Tang Feng put down his book and smiled. "Ten years? I... went to the Blessing Festival before, with Mo Bai."
"I know"
"What do you know? You're always lying to me," Tang Feng said softly, his eyes lowered. "Back then, in order to break off our engagement, I made a wish to hang the 'Good Fortune' plaque higher, but I ended up falling into someone else's arms. In the end, I didn't even get to hang the plaque before I hurriedly left. Luckily, I didn't get to hang it."
I know that too.
Tang Feng tilted his head, looking at Zhou Ziliang with some confusion, "Then... you didn't eat the wrong thing?"
"No," Zhou Ziliang tapped Tang Feng's forehead, then frowned and said, "You have a fever. Aren't you feeling unwell? I was wondering why your hands were so warm. Lie down first, I'll make you some ginger water, drink it before you sleep."
Seeing Zhou Ziliang about to leave, Tang Feng quickly grabbed him, "Where have you been! What...why are you suddenly so cold, refusing to answer any questions..."
Zhou Ziliang was pulled so hard by Tang Feng that he almost fell over. He sat back on the bed and sighed, "I'm going to pray for you."
Tang Feng knew perfectly well what Zhou Ziliang was up to—he simply wanted Tang Feng to regain his health. But Tang Feng was already in this state; even a miracle couldn't save him. Tang Feng felt a tightness in his chest, a lump in his throat, and his lips opened several times without uttering a word. Then, he gently wrapped his arms around Zhou Ziliang's waist. "There's no need for such a fuss. You know that fortune and misfortune are all predestined. However... although I don't believe in gods or Buddhas, I only hope that you and I can have a next life."
Zhou Ziliang gently patted Tang Feng's back to make him more comfortable. Where Tang Feng couldn't see, he wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, forcing a smile, "I know everything."
"So... then why were you so cold to me just now?" Tang Feng was a little bothered by Zhou Ziliang's attitude just now, but if he took it too seriously, he was afraid Zhou Ziliang would think he was being too dramatic.
"Xiao Feng said I knew all that, so naturally I would answer the same way."
"What do you know..."
"I knew Xiao Feng had gone to the Blessing Festival, and I knew Xiao Feng had climbed the Thousand Prayer Tree. Back then, he even laughed at me for going to so much trouble and saying so much, but not a single thing he prayed for himself." At this moment, Zhou Ziliang felt a weight increase in his arms, knowing Tang Feng had fallen asleep. He raised his hand and hugged Tang Feng tightly, afraid he would leave him, and softly said, "Xiao Feng... Ten years ago, I didn't pray for anything for myself. Ten years later, I only prayed for you, for your happiness and longevity."
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