Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A faint sound of sobbing came from a corner of Shufang Palace. Yi Guipin, with slightly red eyes, looked at the eunuch kneeling in front of her and managed to smile and let him leave the Palace. Her hand, which was drawn back into her sleeve, clutched her handkerchief tightly. In a raspy voice, she said, “I don’t believe it.”
The Royal Palace was a mess. The empress dowager had sent out order after order. Whether it was the empress in the Eastern Palace or Lady Ning, they were all to immediately move to Hanguang Palace to live. Yi Guipin, who had raised the Qing Emperor’s youngest prince, was no exception.
Yi Guipin had clearly heard this order. She he knew that the so-called move to Hanguang Palace was only to better keep an eye on the people in the Palace.
Her state of mind was somewhat lost. She didn’t know what kind of situation she and her son were about to face. The Emperor was dead? The Emperor was dead! Her hair at her temples was somewhat messy. She shook her head with strength, as if she wanted to chase this shocking news out of her head.
“How could the Emperor die? How could he die?”
She bit her bottom lip tightly. A white mark was left on her smooth, red lips. The rain outside the palace had stopped, and the cicadas were resting. A chill filled the air. It seeped into her heart and enveloped her body, making her give an involuntary shiver.
Although the Emperor never had much particular interest in women, and there were only 20 or so concubines in the palace, Yi Guipin was the one most favored in recent years. If it was said that she had not a shred of affection of the Emperor, that was false. Her sorrow, fear, and unease right now were not just because of the news of the Emperor’s death.
The military, Overwatch Council, and the province sent messages thousands of li to Jingdou and brought a very important message for the nobility in the capital: the Emperor had been assassinated.
The reports from the military and province said that the one who had assassinated the Emperor was Commissioner Fan Xian of the Overwatch Council.
Sir Fan junior had colluded with Dongyi’s Sigu Jian. During the worship of heaven at Dong Mountain, his treasonous heart exploded out, and he killed the monarch.
The report from the Overwatch Council only confirmed the news of the death but was particularly unclear on the specifics. This, on the contrary, corroborated the truth of the two earlier messages.
Yi Guipin did not believe it!
It was not that she didn’t believe the Emperor had already passed. She did not believe that this matter was done by Sir Fan junior. It made no sense. The Emperor went to worship heaven to depose of the Crown Prince. Fan Xian’s position would only become gradually more stable after the heaven worship. How could he, at this juncture, suddenly choose such an absurd action?
Yi Guipin was truly scared. She felt that a net had already fallen on Fan Xian and was about to fall over Shufang Palace. She was born to the Liu family. Her honor was bound to the Fan manor. Furthermore, the Emperor had appointed Fan Xian as the Third Prince’s teacher.
If Fan Xian truly became the main culprit of a rebellion, the Fan manor would be completely wiped out. The Liu family would be hard pressed to make a narrow escape. Yi Guipin might be pushed into a well, while the Third Prince…
“Mother! Mother!” The Third Prince, who had just heard the news, came running toward the Palace, crying as he ran. When he ran to Yi Guipin’s side, he stopped his steps dazedly. Using his gaze, which was more mature than his peers, he glanced carefully at his mother.
Yi Guipin nodded her head a little absentmindedly.
The Third Prince pressed his lips together and forcefully resisted, but he couldn’t manage it. With a sob, he cried and threw himself into Yi Guipin’s embrace.
After a moment, Yi Guipin gritted her teeth and. Using all her strength, she pulled her son up from her embrace. Looking ruthlessly into his eyes, she said with force, “Don’t cry. You’re not allowed to cry. This is not yet the time to cry… Your father was an indomitable monarch. You can’t cry.”
The Third Prince, Li Chengping sniffed, but stood staunchly in front of his mother and nodded heavily. Since he had lived for a long time within the Palace and followed Fan Xian in Jiangnan for a year, this sinister and ruthless prince, who dared to open a brothel at nine-years-old, had long received enough practice. He knew the words his mother was about to say were important.
“Right now, the rumors are all saying that it was your teacher, Sir Fan, who assassinated the Emperor.” Yi Guipin stared into her son’s eyes.
After a glimmer of panic flashed through the Third Prince’s eyes, he immediately calmed down and said in a hard voice, “I don’t believe it! Teacher is not that kind of person. He has no reason.”
Yi Guipin managed to smile and patted her son’s head. “Yes. Although there are reports from the military and the province, not many people will believe that your teacher would harm the Emperor. You have to know, he is the official that your father had the highest regard for.”
“It is not just us who don’t believe it,” Yi Guipin gritted her teeth and said, “The empress dowager also doesn’t believe it. Otherwise, Fan manor would have been razed already and that crazy woman wouldn’t have been buried by the empress dowager.”
The Third Prince nodded.
Yi Guipin lowered her voice and said, “But the empress dowager won’t completely disbelieve it. For some reason, your uncle is about to enter the palace. Elder sister Chen and that girl Sisi are also coming into the Palace. If the empress dowager truly believed that your teacher was responsible for what happened on Dong Mountain, then the Fan and Liu families would sink into desperate straits.”
“What can I do?” The Third Prince tightened his fists. He knew that his future wholly betted on his teacher, Fan Xian. If his teacher was truly cast as a hoodlum who killed the monarch, then he would never have a chance to turn his fortunes around.
“Don’t do anything. You just need to cry, be sad, and keep the empress dowager company…” Yi Guipin suddenly sighed. A pitiful expression flashed through her eyes. Pulling the Third Prince back into her arms, she said, “While the Dong Mountain matter is unclear, and for each day that your teacher does not return to Jingdou, the empress dowager will not immediately take action against the Fan family. We need this time to influence the Crown Princess and to wait for teacher to return.
The Third Prince was silent for a moment and then nodded. He was the same as his mother. They always had great confidence in Fa Xian. In their hearts, as long as teacher returned to Jingdou, he would be able to resolve the entire matter.
The eunuchs began to prompt people outside.
Completely distracted, Yi Guipin began to prepare for her move to Hanguang Palace.
A ruthless light flashed through the Third Prince’s eyes. He took out the poisonous dagger, which Fan Xian had gifted him, from under the table and carefully hid it in his cute shoes.
He did not agree with what his mother said earlier. Hanguang Palace might not be any safer. For the chair that father had left behind, what crazy things were beyond his two brothers?
…
…
The Crown Prince, Li Chengqian, slowly organized his clothes. There was not a trace of maniacal joy on his face. When the news of the Emperor’s death had traveled into the Palace, the Crown Prince reacted like all the princes and officials. He fell to the ground sobbing and found it difficult to cover up his sorrow.
Other than sorrow, his face was also deathly pale. Walking to the door of the Eastern Palace, he faced the dusk in the distant east and bowed deeply. Two strings of tears fell from his eyes.
It was a long time before he straightened his body and stood pin-straight. In his heart, he thought sorrowfully, Father, it is not that I am not filial, it is just that you have already forced me past the point of no return.
Hong Zhu stood with guards outside the door to the Eastern Palace, waiting to invite the empress and Crown Prince to move to Hanguang Palace.
The Crown Prince glanced toward the Palace doors and then turned to glance at the empress. He furrowed his brows slightly and forcefully hid the impatience in his eyes. Holding his mother’s hand, he said quietly beside her ear, “Mother, please restrain your grief.”
The always well-dressed and well-adorned empress had been, for this half year, been trapped in the Eastern Palace and had long lost her previous magnificence. She had suddenly heard the news of the Emperor being assassinated at Dong Mountain. This woman, who had been childhood sweethearts with the Emperor, finally broke. Her entire person was like a zombie as she listened to the messages coming in from various palaces. She had only sat on the low couch and cried.
“Your father is dead…” The empress gazed at her son with vacant eyes.
The Crown Prince slowly lowered his head and said, “I know, but every person will die.”
His face was still filled with sorrow, but these words were said with extreme indifference.
The empress seemed to suddenly recover her wits. Understanding these words, she gazed at her son with disbelief. She opened her mouth wide but couldn’t say anything for a moment.
“The worship of heaven was not completed,” the Crown Prince said in a low voice. “I will openly and lawfully become the next Emperor of the Qing Kingdom. You are about to become the empress dowager.”
Countless complicated emotions surged into the empress’ heart. Her lips trembled. It was not until after a long time that she finally said haltingly, “Yes, yes, yes… Fan Xian that damned… I… I said it long ago, he was a bad omen. Our Li family would eventually be destroyed by the mother and son. When we go to Hanguang Palace, immediately ask the empress dowager to give an order to wipe out the entire Fan family. No, behead both the Fan and Liu families, and also kill Chen Pingping, that old dog!”
The Crown Prince’s hand suddenly tightened. The empress felt the pain and closed her mouth.
The Crown Prince leaned close to her ear and said each word quietly and clearly, “Don’t say such things. Remember, say nothing at all. If you still want me to sit on that dragon chair, then don’t say anything. Presently, no one believes that Fan Xian assassinated the Emperor. If you talk like this, even fewer people will believe it. We need to wait in Hanguang Palace another four or five days. When all the evidence and witnesses have come back, at that time, even if you don’t say anything, the empress dowager will know what to do.”
The empress shook all over as if she had never known this son of hers.
In the end, the Crown Prince said quietly by her ear, “Qin Heng is coming into the Palace in a while. If you say something to the old man, only then it will it be possible to speak to the empress dowager.”
…
…
In the Second Prince’s manor, not far from the Royal Palace, the Second Prince was, like his brother, imitating a sorrowful expression while organizing clothes. As members of the royal family, they were good at putting on a show. When he was thinking of many things, the expression on his face was still very appropriate.
Wangfei Ye Ling’er stood coldly to the side and looked at him, not going forward to help. A moment later, she asked in a quiet voice, “Do you believe it?”
The Second Prince’s hand paused. He answered calmly, “I don’t believe it. I think highly of Fan Xian. He doesn’t have any reason to do this.”
Ye Ling’er furrowed her pretty brows and asked, “Then why are all the rumors saying this?”
“Rumors are only rumors and stop at a wise man.” The Second Prince lowered his head slightly and rolled up his snow-white sleeves. He had worn a light-colored unlined robe and appeared particularly subdued and silent. “Before there is evidence, I will not believe that Fan Xian would be so daring and presumptuous.”
Ye Ling’er’s heart softened. She said quietly, “Be careful going into the Palace.”
The Second Prince managed a smile and patted his wife’s face. “What is there to be careful about? Father is gone. However, right now it is a secret. There is no mourning. Once the matters are cleared up in Dong Mountain, the entire country will fall into mourning. Then, the Crown Prince will take the throne, and I will still be that unremarkable Second Prince.”
“Are you satisfied?” Ye Ling’er looked at him in surprise.
After a moment of silence, the Second Prince suddenly opened his mouth and said, “I won’t lie to you. I suspect that the Crown Prince orchestrated the Dong Mountain incident.”
Ye Ling’er was shocked and firmly covered her mouth.
The Second Prince forced a smile and said, “It is not more than a guess.”
After saying this, he headed to the door of the manor. In the corner, he called over his trusted aide and quietly ordered, “Tell father-in-law to be ready to enter the capital at any moment.”
The Second Prince stood at the door to the manor and suddenly felt that the sky above him was already giving off a blue and beautiful light. There would never be anyone else who stood above him. He knew clearly about the Dong Mountain incident because the Eldest Princess had never hidden anything from him.
If the Crown Prince wanted the throne, then he could have it. However, regardless of whether Fan Xian was alive or dead, how could the old men standing behind him just let this go?
A cold smile rose to the corners of the Second Prince’s lips. He would help the Crown Prince and let him sit on that chair temporarily. He would let him face the Overwatch Council and the Fan family’s powerful counterattack. He would only have to watch coldly as the Crown Prince, that useless piece of trash, was exposed in the future as the main culprit behind their father’s death and watch to see what he would be reduced to.
There was no time to be sorrowful.
…
…
No one who heard the news of the Emperor’s assassination had time to be sorrowful. After that moment of shock, they began to calmly, even coldly, organize the aftermath. Those who had the right to sit in that chair began to make preparations. Those who had the authority to decide who that chair was going to belong to began to secretly communicate.
Although the empress dowager had, at the first moment, requested the related persons to enter the Palace, it still gave people enough time to communicate.
Everyone seemed to have forgotten that the person who had died was the most powerful ruler since the inception of the kingdom. He was the Emperor who had ruled this land for over 20 years. He was the symbol of the Qing people’s spirit.
The opportunity in front of their eyes and the fragrance before their noses destabilized their states of minds. They only had time to be excited and scared, and pretend to be sorrowful. However, they had no time to truly feel mournful.
Except for one person.
The Eldest Princess pushed open the door of the Royal Palace’s side courtyard, which had supposedly been closed for a number of months, and stood calmly on the stone steps to look at the carriage and eunuch below that had come to take her into the Palace. There was not a single tremble on her beautiful and exquisite features. She wore a simple white robe that was charming and plain.
She didn’t turn to glance back at the side courtyard. She slowly lifted her head to look at the blue sky that was left after the clouds and rain had dispersed. The sorrow on her face grew stronger and stronger, thicker and thicker. When it reached a breaking point, it became lighter until there wasn’t a glimmer of emotion to be seen. Her jade-like skin seemed to become transparent, allowing everyone to see her true emotions.
Her pain and calm.
Li Yunrui smiled slightly, giving off a clear light in all directions. Toward the Emperor’s spirit somewhere in the distant mountain, she quietly said, “Brother, go in peace.”
Then, she sat on the carriage and headed toward the Royal Palace, which was about to decide the fate of Qing Kingdom.
Unlike the Crown Prince and Second Prince, she didn’t think it was necessary to have defenses against the Overwatch Council and the Fan manor because she stood taller and saw further. The crux of the matter had already been confirmed by the three horses that had run thousands of li to return to the capital. The later things would all easily go with the flow.
As long as the Emperor died, the entire matter was over.
Regardless of whether the empress dowager believed that Fan Xian had killed the Emperor, she was still, after all, the empress dowager of Qing Kingdom. She had to believe it. Furthermore, the Eldest Princess also had ways to make her believe it.
As for whether the Crown Prince or Second Prince took the throne, the Eldest Princess Li Yunrui did not particularly care. What she cared about was that person’s death.
I can help you. When you abandon me, I can destroy you.
The woman in the carriage smiled and then cried.
…
…
The rainwater slowly dripped down from the branches of the trees outside the city gates. A few days had already passed since the three riders had brought the news to the capital. There was no such thing as a true secret. The strange actions of the guards at the Palace walls and the city walls, the Jingdou government bailiffs coming out to preserve the peace, and the Overwatch Council’s strange silence, allowed the people to faintly guess at the truth of the matter.
The truth they didn’t dare think about.
The people’s reactions were always different from that of the nobility. They saw things more straightforwardly and, sometimes, more accurately. They only knew that the Qing Emperor was a good Emperor. At least, looking at the lives of the Qing People, he was a rarely seen good Emperor.
Thus, the people were sorrowful, unhappy, crying, and dazed. They didn’t know what the country was going to be like. They also had doubts in their hearts. No matter what, they did not believe that Sir Fan junior would be that godforsaken traitor.
At first, the officials also didn’t believe it. However, Fan Xian’s personal 500 Black Knights had still not reported back, and the official boat that had been stopped in Danzhou had disappeared with a trace. The words of the lucky “survivors” from Dong Mountain all pointed to Fan Xian. Countless pieces of evidence began to gather in the Royal Palace. Although they were not enough to prove anything, they were enough to convince some people who wanted to be convinced.
Fan manor was already under control. The national government was also under control. Perhaps what was about to arrive was a reign of terror.
Rumors said that the Palace was preparing for the Crown Prince’s ascension. The almost deposed Crown Prince was going to be crowned. History and reality were absurd.
It was at this moment that a soybean oil merchant, wearing a straw hat and using a government document, finally entered through the east city gate that had changed from completely sealed to half sealed. He walked to a corner in the south of the city and entered an inn.
Through the window of the inn, one could vaguely see the front and back residences of the Fan manor, which was heavily surrounded by soldiers. The merchant took off his straw hat and looked at the distant manor. He covered his chest as he coughed. A complicated expression flashed through his eyes.
