Chapter 71 For My Empress
Lin Yuan leaned against the table, her body already tilted to one side.
She was always afraid of the cold, but at this moment she broke out in a light sweat.
"Is it poison? Are we...are we poisoned?"
She clutched her lower abdomen, too uncomfortable to speak, her mind blank, unable to think of anything else.
The symptoms of this poison were quite different from those of the poison she had heard about from the imperial physician, Hua Ren, including poison wine, arsenic, aconite, cinnabar, lacquerware, snake venom, and even the mysterious Gu poison.
The poison clearly took effect very quickly, but she didn't feel the excruciating pain. She only felt a warm, burning sensation starting from her lower abdomen, like a gentle fire. This strange heat then spread to her limbs and bones, like ants gnawing at her entire body.
She heard Lin Yu give a soft "hmm".
"What kind of poison has it been poisoned with?"
She frowned and asked, her forehead glistening with a light sheen of sweat.
"I'm afraid it's...it's...the aphrodisiac."
"Hehuan San?"
Lin Yuan held her confused head; she had never heard Hua Ren mention this kind of poison before.
"This poison... what will happen? Brother, will we... will we die?"
"Hehuan San is an aphrodisiac."
Lin Yu closed her eyes briefly, managed to utter those words, and then asked, "Do you know who was here just now?"
Opening his eyes, he saw that Lin Yuan had already gotten up from the table and crawled to the window using both hands and feet.
The slight breeze outside the window did nothing to alleviate her heat.
On the contrary, the clouds and rosy hues on the horizon were intertwined, creating an exceptionally beautiful scene.
It seems to be a ball of evil fire as well.
She started gagging out the window.
After a long while, Lin Yuan recalled the conversation between Princess Yuzhang and Princess Anping during the banquet, tears welling up in her eyes, her voice hoarse.
Lin Yu was taken aback: "Su Chan?"
"Why...why? Is she trying to...ruin my innocence?"
Lin Yuan's mind was completely blank; she couldn't fathom whether Su Chan was behind it, or why she would do such a thing.
"Help—" she shouted with all her might toward the shore. But her voice was fainter than the wind and was drowned out by the music playing on the lake.
“Ah Yuan, stop shouting. Don’t let anyone see us…” Lin Yu said hoarsely, “If someone really wants to ruin your reputation, it’s not good for you if they see us like this…it’s not good for you.”
Moreover, Lin Yuan dismissed all the palace servants on the ship when they boarded, including the eunuchs who rowed the boat.
The boat was moored on an unknown shore, where vegetation grew lushly but there were no palaces or buildings, and for miles around, there was no sign of human life.
"It hurts so much. Brother, are you feeling even worse than me?"
Lin Yuan turned around, tears welling in her eyes, biting her lip, making her lips even redder and more luscious.
She held onto the window frame, slowly got up, and stumbled toward Lin Yu.
The shout just now seemed to have exhausted all her strength. She took two steps and then collapsed forward weakly, falling into a nearly soaking wet embrace.
Lin Yu drank more and faster than her, and was therefore more severely poisoned.
She looked up from that embrace and saw that Lin Yu's forehead was covered with blue veins and beads of sweat, his face was flushed, and his neck was also red, all the way down to his chest covered by his collar.
His Adam's apple bobbed constantly, and sweat dripped down from it, soaking his clothes.
Their sweat soaked together, as if two evil fires were intertwined, and with the addition of more fuel, the fire burned even brighter.
Lin Yuan's vision was blurry, and her mind was also hazy.
She leaned halfway onto Lin Yu, panting heavily.
He reached up to Lin Yu's neck with both hands.
"Ah Yuan, no..."
Lin Yu gasped for breath, feeling those hands brushing over his Adam's apple and tugging at his collar haphazardly.
"No, A-Yuan..."
Their breaths mingled together.
He turned his face away, trying to push Lin Yuan away, but the two soaking wet people seemed to stick together.
Unable to push it away, and not daring to touch its exquisite curves, he could only brace himself on the ground, his fists clenched tightly, the veins on the back of his hands bulging and intertwined, seemingly trembling slightly.
"Brother, I want...I want..."
The faint fragrance emanating from Lin Yuan's sleeves enveloped Lin Yu.
He frowned, and a single, confused tear rolled down his cheek.
The force he felt in his chest and neck increased.
Those soft hands wrapped around it, tightening their grip, like a coiled serpent.
The snake flicked its tongue, stirring up all his desires and passions.
His desire was never for the medicine, but for his heart.
On the New Year's Eve when she was drunk, she leaned against the table and fell into a deep sleep. He held her in his arms and walked towards the bed.
The flickering candlelight fell on her eyelids, eyelashes, and teardrops. Glistening, glistening.
He desperately wanted to wipe away her tears, but his hands were paralyzed.
He couldn't help but lower his head.
Her eyelashes rustled against his lips, the cold tears and her cold face jolted him awake from his reverie. She murmured, "Your Majesty." The candlelight flickered, dimmed, and went out, leaving a shadow.
No, the fire, the fire kept burning, turning into a bright red expanse.
"Ah Yuan, Ah Yuan..."
Her face drew closer, her breath spraying onto her neck and chin.
"Stay with me, you have to stay with me..."
"We are exactly the same..."
"I want it, I want it..."
The pain spread through my meridians.
A low moan escaped his throat.
"I need to... induce vomiting in you..."
Lin Yuan's eyes reddened as she gripped Lin Yu's throat tightly with one hand and pressed the other against his chest. "Brother, vomit it out... quickly vomit the wine out... the Imperial Physician taught me that if you drink poison, you have to find a way to vomit it out..."
"It's no use. Ah Yuan, it's no use."
Lin Yu's voice was low and hoarse. He had drunk his glass of wine early and in one gulp, so it was already in his stomach and he couldn't possibly vomit it up.
Lin Yuan tried her best, but all she saw on Lin Yu's face was pain, and she knew it was all in vain.
Helplessly, she let go of his hand and slumped onto the nearby table: "What should we do? Brother, what should we do?"
Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't know whether he felt pathetic or ridiculous. He coughed several times before saying, "It's alright, brother, I'm much better, much better now."
Lin Yuan then noticed that his clenched hand was bright red, with blood seeping out. Even the hem of Lin Yuan's skirt was stained with blood.
She lowered her head and tried to pry Lin Yu's hand away.
Lin Yu withdrew her hand and moved it behind her back: "Don't look, A-Yuan, it's alright. I'm much better."
He feared that if he became delirious and his soul wandered to the heavens, he might do something he would regret for the rest of his life. That's why he held a fragment of the jade cup in his hand.
Lin Yuan couldn't help but sob as she thought of the blood-soaked palm, her whole body trembling.
"If you can't spit out the poison, release it."
He raised the corners of his lips at Lin Yuan, offering words of comfort, "It's the same."
He didn't loosen his grip on the jade piece; instead, he tightened his hold on it.
He turned his face away, looking at the setting sun outside the window, and asked, "Ah Yuan, do you remember, besides Su Chan, who else has been here?"
Bloodletting cannot detoxify; it can only make him slightly more alert. This way, his attention can be diverted, and he will feel better.
Lin Yuan leaned on the table, rubbing her temples, and thought for a while: "Brother, how do you know Princess Anping's name?"
"..." Lin Yu paused for a moment, then slowly said, "I've heard the young master mention it. They were often together when they were young."
He slowly exhaled: "Princess Anping, she doesn't seem like the type to resort to such despicable means. Did she know you would come here after the banquet?"
Lin Yuan shook her head, then, after a moment, rested her forehead on her hand and slowly said, "And His Majesty. His Majesty, he has also been here."
“Ah Yuan, this wine pot doesn’t look like something from the palace.” Lin Yu stared at the wine pot.
Lin Yuan was surprised and looked over at the sound.
Lin Yu explained, "The carving on this pot features lotus blossoms intertwined, which is unique and demonstrates superb craftsmanship. If it were used for a palace banquet, it would probably be a complete set of dragon, phoenix, hundred grains, pine, and crane patterns. It wouldn't be so distinctive and stand out from the crowd, would it?"
"From outside the palace..."
Lin Yuan murmured, pondering deeply, "Anything His Majesty puts into his mouth is inspected and tested for poison by eunuchs. His Majesty has always been very careful about these things, especially those from outside the palace. But no one has ever tested it for poison. So... perhaps that person, the one who brought the wine, must be... someone of extraordinary, very extraordinary status. Yet not like the Princess Consort of Yuzhang or the Princess Consort of Huaiyang, whose high status is deeply feared. The person who brought the wine must be someone who frequently enters and leaves the palace and is deeply trusted. Someone deeply... trusted by His Majesty."
The words from Xiao Xun's edict kept echoing in her mind: "Our love is like that of siblings, like mandarin ducks."
Then, the image of Princess Yuzhang looking at Princess Anping flashed into his mind, along with the image of Princess Anping's overturned wine cup and her deep, unyielding sorrow.
Furthermore, Wang Fu once said, "The daughter of the Prime Minister and the Grand Princess has been determined to become Empress since childhood," and "Compared to the Emperor, everyone else is of course just an ordinary person."
He wanted to treat her like a brother, as if she were his sister, but would she agree?
...
Lin Yuan's thoughts were in disarray, her head was throbbing unbearably, and the fire in her abdomen continued to burn relentlessly, rising upwards from her abdomen.
Her mouth was dry.
In her hazy state, she recalled a nourishing dream, and the sweet rain within it. As soon as she closed her eyes, she saw Xiao Xun's image.
In his spring dream, he held her face in his hands, showering her with sweet rain and honeyed water.
She covered her face, tears welling up between her fingers.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, he said he'll come to see me soon. Can he come quickly and save me, save us?"
The surroundings were silent, with only the two people's desperately suppressed but barely suppressed breathing sounds audible, louder than the faint music.
Time passed very slowly, and the sun on the horizon inch by inch sank down from the top of Fanghu Mountain.
Footsteps seemed to be heard outside the door.
Then, amidst the distant music, came the booming sound of drums.
It sounds like I heard a door being pushed open.
Upon closer listening, it was the boat moving with the wind, shaking the straight-lattice window.
“Ah Yuan”.
It sounds like Xiao Xun's voice.
He seemed to still be asking what was wrong.
Lin Yuan thought she was delirious and had misheard, but then she felt as if she had fallen into a cold embrace.
In her panic, she grabbed the collar of the black robe.
"Ah Yuan, what happened to you? Where is this...?" He saw the bloodstains on Lin Yuan's skirt.
"I...I've been drugged."
Her face was as red as a peach blossom, glistening with tears, covered in a light sweat, and her breath was soft and shallow.
The burning heat in his hands seeped through three layers of clothing, and Xiao Xun instinctively felt something was wrong.
"Medicine? What kind of medicine?"
Lin Yuan stammered, unable to speak because of the unbearable pain, the grievances, and the resentment. She bit her lip, unable to utter a word. Her fingers dug into his clothes, trembling incessantly.
"Could it be..." Xiao Xun hesitated before speaking.
"It's aphrodisiac powder."
Xiao Xun turned his head at the sound and saw Lin Yu sitting in a corner of the cabin, her clothes disheveled and her hair wet with sweat.
Xiao Xun strode over to him in three quick steps and grabbed Lin Yu by the collar: "What did you do?!"
Because of the effects of the medicine, Lin Yu had little strength and was unable to break free from Xiao Xun.
Xiao Xun forcefully slapped open his clasped hands with his other hand, and the blood-stained jade cup fragment rolled out from his palm.
Lin Yu gave him a cold look and pointed to the wine pot on the table: "I also want to ask you something. You asked A-Yuan to wait for you here, so why is there this kind of drug in the wine on this table? What if it wasn't me who was with A-Yuan today?"
Xiao Xun stared at the pot of wine, and suddenly understood the whole story. His expression turned cold.
On this day, in the middle of the night, when he went to Jianzhang Palace, he met Su Chan.
“My father said that His Majesty has been busy with the Spring Banquet these days, in addition to his duties in court. Even I rarely see His Majesty after court. I haven’t been to the palace to thank His Majesty for his kindness yet, and I guessed that His Majesty would be here today, so I went to the palace early and indeed I saw His Majesty here.”
She gracefully curtsied, looked at the Crane Cry Boat on Taiye Pond, and sighed softly, "His Majesty's spring banquet, personally arranged by him, is truly ingenious. I can't wait to go up and take a look."
"Is that so?" Xiao Xun smiled. "You've come at the perfect time. In that case, come with me to take a look."
As he spoke, he walked toward the Crane Cry Boat.
"Prime Minister Su said that you caught a chill in the spring and are not feeling well, so you are still staying at the Su residence and have not moved to the Princess's residence. Fortunately, you no longer look sick."
As Xiao Xun walked, he casually said, "I heard Prime Minister Su mention this matter a while ago, and I thought that my elder sister was unhappy with the mansion I arranged for you and was angry with me."
Su Chan smiled and said, "How could I dare? I heard that this mansion was renovated at the same time as the Jiaofang Palace. Even the craftsmen, stone materials, jade materials, bricks and tiles used are the same. How could I not be satisfied?" She added, "Moreover, it is the mansion where my mother lived. His Majesty even visited it when he was young."
"Actually, that place should have been yours."
Xiao Xun sounded apologetic and stopped on the deck.
"After my aunt moved to her fief, there was a great flood in Guandong. Grand Marshal Qu was in charge of cutting expenses, and the palace also needed to be frugal. Those unattended palaces needed to be maintained, which cost a lot. So he took the opportunity to take over the Grand Princess's mansion and dismissed the original group of old people. Later, under the pretext of his meritorious service in flood control and disaster relief, he divided the Grand Princess's mansion into three parts and bestowed them on several of his confidants."
He turned around, a slight smile playing on his lips. "That place is close to Weiyang Palace, perfect for keeping a few pairs of eyes watching me."
"I've heard my mother mention these things before."
Su Chan lowered her eyes, "Then what about these people now..."
"Dead."
At midday, the sun was not yet warm, and a cool breeze blew across the lake.
Palace servants were already bustling in and out of the ship, busy arranging the banquet that would begin at midday.
Xiao Xun then went straight to the cabin on the second floor of the ship's deck.
Su Chan gestured to Zhilan, who had followed behind her, to place a pot of wine on the table: "I have come to express my gratitude, so it would be impolite to come empty-handed. Your Majesty has everything you need, so I can only offer you a pot of peach juice to express my thanks. This is newly brewed in spring, made with morning dew picked from peach petals, so it is even more fragrant and sweeter."
Just as she was about to pour the wine herself, she heard Xiao Xun leaning against the window, looking out: "Don't rush. Sister, come and see what the view is like here?"
He felt a little uneasy, turned to look into her eyes, and asked, "Will you like it?"
Su Chan walked over.
All that could be seen were the distant green hills, and on the riverbank not far away, weeping willows provided shade, and peach blossoms dotted the landscape.
She gave a soft "Mmm," her face slightly flushed, and sighed, "Indeed, spring days are long, flowers and trees are lush and green. Orioles sing sweetly, and people gather artemisia in abundance."①
Xiao Xun glanced at her, his eyes flashing, and suddenly smiled and sighed, "Well said. Sister's mind is indeed delicate, something I cannot match."
He immediately called for someone and pointed to the opposite bank: "The white wormwood over there is an eyesore, it's blocking the peach and plum trees behind it, have someone cut it down."
Su Chan was slightly taken aback.
She looked at the lake, where wild geese flew back in formation and orioles sang among the green waters, their reflections shimmering in the water.
His own figure and Xiao Xun's figure, also in pairs, landed on the lake surface.
"Mandarin ducks fly together, their feathers rustling. They sing in harmony, glancing at their mates."
She mustered immense courage, stared at the lake, and spoke with difficulty, "Your Majesty, I—"
A gentle breeze rippled the surface of the lake, and one of the figures in the lake was missing.
She looked up and saw Xiao Xun turn around and instruct his men: "Go to Taiye Pond, Kunming Lake, and Jian Pond again and search carefully for any mandarin ducks or wild ducks." Su Chan was surprised, and then she heard him say, "If there are any, send them to another place."
After giving his instructions, he turned to Su Chan and said cheerfully, "Thank you, elder sister."
Su Chan forced a smile and said, "I've never seen His Majesty put so much effort into matters outside of court affairs. Such meticulous attention to detail, so thorough in every aspect—could it be for someone at the banquet?"
Xiao Xun's eyes curved into a smile: "Naturally, it's for my Empress."
Su Chan bit her lip, and her lips suddenly lost their color.
It looks exactly like peach juice splashed on the spout of a teapot.
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Author's note: ① 蘩: Artemisia annua.
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