Chapter 94
Xi Rong had a secret meeting in the Mansion with an envoy from the Xixia. The Xi mansion was naturally heavily guarded but they were on guard against outsiders, not the emperor, let alone his younger brother whom he had protected and doted on all his life.
He knew Xiao Jie heard it all.
Having been together for many years, the other party was like another of himself. He was very familiar with every expression and every movement of Xiao Jie’s. However, he has never seen Xiao Jie show such an expression when he was with him — Panicked, stunned, trembling, disappointed and frightened.
Xi Rong felt a sharp pain in his heart but his voice was soft, “Your Majesty.”
Xiao Jie froze in place, as if he were looking at a cruel and vicious stranger.
Xi Rong called again, “A’Jie.”
It was like Xiao Jie was waking up from a dream. The rims of his eyes instantly reddened. “A’Rong, you… you betrayed, betrayed the…”
Before he could utter the word “country”, Xi Rong interrupted Xiao Jie, “A’Jie, you misunderstood me.”
“I heard it all! I heard it all!” Xiao Jie’s tears welled up in his eyes, “That man wants to make a deal with you. He wants you to kill General Gu and you agreed!”
Xi Rong took two steps forward. He wanted to hug Xiao Jie into his arms, comfort him like when he was a child. Xiao Jie has a soft personality. He grew without the care of his biological mother or imperial mother. He had not a shred of the late emperor’s favor and he has suffered a lot of grievances in the sinister palace since he was a child. It is the elder brother’s duty to make the younger brother happy. How many times Xiao Jie cried, was how many times he comforted him. But this time, Xiao Jie didn’t throw himself into his arms like he usually did. Rather, he retreated like a frightened kitten. “Do-don’t come closer…”
Xi Rong stopped in his steps and said, “A’Jie, I told you that Lin Qingyu and Gu Fuzhou will not tolerate me being by your side to assist you. Once Gu Fuzhou returns to the capital, Lin Qingyu will attack me. Do you understand?”
Xiao Jie choked. He said, “But you can’t collude with the enemy and betray the country! I’m a bit stupid, but I’m also a descendant of the Xiao Family. General Gu is fighting for the Dayu. You can’t harm him at this time—I-I’m going to go tell the Empress Dowager and Imperial Physician Lin!”
Xi Rong scolded, “Stop.”
Xi Rong had never been so fierce towards him before. He felt wronged and angry at the same time. He began to cry, appearing like pear blossoms bathed in rain, delicate and charming.
Xi Rong said rationally, “Xixia’s envoy came to find me. They want to use Gu Fuzhou’s life to end the war between our two countries. What would happen if I disagreed? Should I have let the envoy go back and tell the Xixia army to give up on this notion? Or should I have killed him outright? No matter what I do, it would have only made Xixia strengthen their guard against the Dayu.”
Xiao Jie couldn’t wrap his mind around it but he understood one thing. Xi Rong hadn’t actually agreed with the Xixia. “What do you mean……”
Xi Rong’s face cleared somewhat and he said, “A’Jie, think about it carefully. Now that I have agreed to Xixia’s ‘peace negotiation’, won’t they feel like they’ve already won? Do you think they’ll take the battle at Yong Liang seriously?”
“Then you only pretended to agree — you lied to them?”
Seeing Xiao Jie looking at him with almost the same eyes as usual, Xi Rong heaved a sigh of relief. He said with a smile, “Do you still remember the story of Huang Gai’s false surrender that I told you when we were young? He can feign surrender and we can also feign peace. Don’t worry. I won’t allow myself, let alone you, to be charged with treason.”
“So it’s like this!” Xiao Jie was coaxed by Xi Rong in just a few words. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and said, “You should have said so earlier. I misunderstood you.”
Xi Rong grabbed Xiao Jie’s hand and wiped his tears with his sleeve. “It’s good that we’ve cleared up this misunderstanding. Alright, don’t just stand there. Come in.”
The two entered the study and Xi Rong ordered someone to fetch water to wash the emperor’s face. Xi Rong asked Xiao Jie why he suddenly left the palace and Xiao Jie told him about his conversation with Lin Qingyu.
“A’Rong, do we have to fight with Imperial Physician Lin and the others?” Xiao Jie asked naively, “I don’t want to harm them. I think it’s good how things are now. It’ll be fine if things continue like this.”
Xi Rong patted Xiao Jie’s head, and said, “Let’s wait for Gu Fuzhou to defeat Xixia.”
“Okay.” Xiao Jie saw the wet handwriting on the table and asked curiously, “What is this?”
Xi Rong didn’t hide it from him. “Gu Fuzhou has been fighting a war of attrition with the Xixia in the Northwest for more than a month. Both sides are nearing their limits. So Xixia wants to know the Dayu’s supply transport route.”
Xiao Jie asked, “Are they going to rob us of our provisions?”
Xi Rong nodded. “That should be their plan.”
“Oh!” Xiao Jie suddenly became excited, “Then can we tell them the wrong route and then lay an ambush there in advance, killing them by surprise!”
Xi Rong was a little surprised and he said with a smile, “A’Jie has become smarter.”
Xiao Jie laughed and said, “You are the only one in this world who would praise me for being smart. We have been together for so long, I’ve probably picked up a thing or two from you.”
Xi Rong opened the map showing the way from Gui Province to Yong Liang, “A’Jie, where is the best place to plant an ambush, you think?”
Xiao Jie gave it serious thought. He pointed to a certain road and said, “Here. It’s the farthest from the real road the provisions will take and it’s a narrow path between the canyons. Once the enemy army enters, they won’t be able to retreat!”
Xi Rong hesitated for a moment and then said with a smile, “Then, we’ll do as A’Jie says.”
Xiao Jie finally made a contribution for the Dayu and he was very happy. “By the way, I think we should tell the Empress Dowager and Imperial Physician Lin about this. They’re also very concerned about the situation in the Northwest.”
“No need.” Xi Rong stopped smiling. “They don’t need to know.”
Xiao Jie hesitated. “But…”`
Xi Rong took on a serious expression, “A’Jie, you have to remember that Lin Qingyu wants my life. Letting him know too much isn’t a good thing. Anything might be his blade to take my life.”
Xiao Jie was dazed hearing it. Although Xi Rong kept saying that Lin Qingyu was going to harm them, he always felt that Lin Qingyu would not. Lin Qingyu was as good-looking as an immortal; can his heart really be so vicious?
Although Xiao Jie had finally reconciled with Xi Rong, he really had been given a fright during it. Xi Rong was afraid that he would have lingering fears and so he specially found a famous opera troupe in the capital to perform at the palace. Xiao Jie loved to watch operas and when he was in the mood, he could sit in front of the stage for the entire day.
Within the Imperial Palace, the stage was constructed in the Peony Garden. The Peony Garden was not far from Ci’an Palace and the stage was placed there originally to make it convenient for the Empress Dowager to listen to various performances. But now it has become a place that disturbed the Empress Dowager’s peace.
The Empress Dowager was discussing with Lin Qingyu about taxation in Jiangnan when the melodious singing was heard drifting in from afar. The Empress Dowager was displeased and asked, “Who’s listening to opera in the Peony Garden?”
Lin Qingyu said, “There is no one in the Emperor’s harem and all the concubines live in Jinyang Garden. Who else could it be?”
The Empress Dowager furrowed her brows and said slowly, “The emperor is a leisurely man.”
“That is a good thing.” Lin Qingyu said calmly, “For someone like the emperor, at least by doing nothing, he causes no trouble to others.”
“Having said that, the Northwest is still at war after all. Even if the Emperor doesn’t care about governing, he should at least make a show of it so as not to give the officials something to criticize.” After thinking about it, the empress dowager still decided to have someone call in Xiao Jie.
Xiao Jie didn’t keep the Empress Dowager waiting and he rushed over almost immediately. After being scolded by the Empress Dowager, Xiao Jie finally realized what he had done. Not paying any mind that Lin Qingyu was there, he said, “Zhen now knows that Zhen was wrong. Zhen did not give it enough thought… I’m sorry, Imperial Mother, I will never listen to operas again.”
The emperor admitted his mistake so sincerely that the Empress Dowager didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “It’s not that Your Majesty can not listen to opera. Simply that there is a time and place for everything. Once the Dayu has reigned in the chaos in the Northwest, aijia too would love to watch the opera.”
Xiao Jie nodded. “I understand, thank you for Imperial Mother’s teaching. When peace has returned, I will invite Imperial Mother to listen to the opera with Sixth Brother.”
Xiao Jie looked younger than his actual age and the way he nodded made him look very lovable. Although the Empress Dowager was negligent towards this bastard son in the past, she held no malicious intention and scolding him this much was already enough. It so happened that it was time for the evening meal and so the Empress Dowager invited Xiao Jie to stay and eat. “Qingyu, you too.”
Lin Qingyu said, “This humble official already partook of the evening meal at Ci’an Palace yesterday.”
The Empress Dowager laughed and said, “Li’er always eats more when you’re around.”
Throughout the meal, Xiao Jie kept looking as though he had something to say. The Empress Dowager asked him if he had anything to say and he decisively said no. After dinner, Xiao Jie went back to Qinzheng Hall.
The Empress Dowager couldn’t help but say, “It seems the Emperor isn’t beyond hope. If he weren’t the monarch of a country, he could be regarded as a child with a pure heart.”
Lin Qingyu let out an “en”.
“He will never be a wise ruler but if the Emperor can get away from Xi Rong, with a little bit of guidance, at least he won’t be manipulated by others.”
Lin Qingyu chuckled lightly, “Unfortunately, he’ll never be able to leave.”
“You might be a little too over-confident about that,” said the Empress Dowager, “Even brothers with the same father and mother will turn against each other for their own selfish interests, let alone them. I’ve been in the palace for so many years and I’ve seen everything. The emperor grew to rely on Xi Rong so much because he was never doted on. If we find him a dignified, elegant, compassionate and understanding consort, someone who he can entrust his feeling to, maybe he won’t value Xi Rong so much.” The more the Empress Dowager thought about it, the more she felt that this was a good solution. “The emperor is already of age and we are now past the filial piety period for the late emperor. It would be a good time to find a concubine for him.”
The empress dowager thought that Lin Qingyu would agree with her. Unexpectedly, Lin Qingyu gave no response. The empress dowager couldn’t help asking, “Qingyu, what do you think?”
Lin Qingyu said, “The Empress Dowager must forgive me but I have no interest in using marriage to imprison others.”
The Empress Dowager was slightly taken aback and her expression became a little colder, “Forget it.” She said, losing interest, “We’ll just have to watch and see for now.”
It was night and Xi Rong personally served Xiao Jie to bed. Before going to bed, they talked, catching up on what had happened during the day, a habit they’ve had since they were children. Xi Rong asked Xiao Jie about the opera he watched today. Xiao Jie had on a disappointed expression as he said, “I’m not going to watch opera in the palace anymore.”
Xi Rong asked, “Why?”
Xiao Jie told Xi Rong what had happened today. “Imperial Mother is right. The soldiers of the Northwest are fighting so desperately. It’s bad enough that I can’t even help, how can I be enjoying this kind of luxury in the palace?”
Xi Rong cared not a whit about this. “You ate with the Empress Dowager and Lin Qingyu?”
“Sixth Brother was there too.” Xiao Jie said plainly whatever was on his mind. “Sixth Brother is still the same, he doesn’t respond to anything. He only ever smiles at Imperial Physician Lin…”
Xi Rong interrupted him, “Did you mention the transport ambush to them?”
Xiao Jie was momentarily stunned. His eyes revealed a little guilt. “I didn’t.”
There was no change in Xiao Jie’s face that could ever escape Xi Rong’s eyes. “Do you still want to tell them?”
“I… In the end, I said nothing. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” Xiao Jie covered his head with the quilt and said in a muffled voice, “I’m going to sleep. You should go.”
Xi Rong’s eyes were half-lidded. “This servant will now withdraw.”
As soon as Xi Rong called himself “this servant”, Xiao Jie knew he was angry. But he really didn’t know what to do. Why did Xi Rong and Lin Qingyu have to insist on fighting to the death? Before he ascended to the throne, these two obviously got along fine.
Xiao Jie fell asleep full of worries. After an unknown amount of time, he was awakened by the sound of “Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” When he opened his eyes, he saw the eunuch who served him, Xiao Xuanzi.
There was the sound of rushing footsteps outside. All feelings of drowsiness suddenly left Xiao Jie and he asked, “What happened?”
Panicking, Xiao Xuanzi said, “Your Majesty, there’s an assassin in the palace. Eunuch Xi, he – he…”
Xiao Jie grabbed Xiao Xuanzi’s shoulder. “What happened to him?”
“Eunuch Xi was seriously injured. He’s lost a lot of blood… He’s resting now in the side hall…”
Xiao Jie rolled and scrambled out of the bed, running to the side hall with bare feet. The imperial guards have already been dispatched and the palace was completely surrounded; no one was getting in or out. Xi Rong had already been carried to the bed. There was an eye-piercing knife wound on the left side of his abdomen, blood kept gushing from the wound. Because of the blood loss, Xi Rong’s face looked pale. He was in a miserable state but his mind remained sharp and clear.
When Xiao Jie saw him, he cried, “Where’s the imperial physician? Call the imperial physician quickly!”
Xiao Xuanzi said, “I’ve already sent someone to fetch him. The imperial physician should be on the way.”
Xi Rong grabbed Xiao Jie’s hand, breathing weakly, “Your Majesty, this servant is fine. Don’t worry.”
“How come…” Xiao Jie hugged Xi Rong, on the verge of collapse, “How could there be an assassin in the palace? Why would someone want to kill you!”
Xi Rong showed a strange smile, “Who aside from them would have assassins bold enough to enter the palace?”
Xiao Jie was out of breath from crying, “Wh-who?”
Xi Rong groaned in pain. Xiao Xuanzi hurriedly said, “Eunuch Xi says it should be someone from the Tianji Camp.”
Xiao Jie was dazed but his tear kept rolling. “Why?”
Xiao Xuanzi said, “As I remember, the token of the Tianji Camp is in the hands of Imperial Physician Lin.”
“…Imperial Physician Lin?”
Xi Rong closed his eyes. There was sudden strength in his hands, “So, do you still want to get close to Lin Qingyu and tell him everything?”
Xiao Jie cried and shook his head. “I don’t! I won’t tell the Empress Dowager and Lin Qingyu anymore. I won’t say anything, I just want you to be well… A’Rong, don’t die, I won’t let you die!”
Xi Rong’s injury looked scary but he didn’t hurt his vitals and he was in no mortal danger. However, due to excessive blood loss, his vitality was depleted and so he had to rest for a while.
There was an assassin in the Emperor’s palace. This was top priority. Wu Zhan didn’t dare to be negligent in the slightest and he led the imperial guards to search the palace the entire night. However, no clues could be found. When Lin Qingyu heard about this, he questioned Wu Zhan and the imperial physician who had treated Xi Rong that night. He then understood everything.
“You needn’t bother about this matter anymore.” Lin Qingyu said, “The assassin cannot be caught.”
Wu Zhan said, “Ah? Why?”
“You think an assassin who has the ability to come and go without a trace in the palace cannot even kill a mere eunuch? The only one this kind of hole-ridden trick can deceive is the Emperor, who’s now lost his head over his concern.”
Wu Zhan still didn’t quite understand, “Imperial Physician Lin means…”
Lin Qingyu said, “Xi Rong just wanted to seize the Emperor’s heart. He wanted the Emperor to stand firmly by his side.”
Wu Zhan hissed, “Turns out that this was nothing but a self-injury trick. He’s awfully determined, even injuring himself with his own hands”
Lin Qingyu smiled suddenly. “Indeed.”
Xi Rong’s actions reminded him of Gu Fuzhou. Back then, in order to return to the capital from the Northwest, in order to return to him, Gu Fuzhou didn’t hesitate to poison himself. On this point, Gu Fuzhou too was a determined man.
That’s why this time, he would definitely use all his might to come back.
The author has something to say: the tenacious Er Zhuang lives another day. I’ll give you another three days, no more!
Ancient and Modern Mini Theater:
When he first brought the Great Beauty home, the amnesiac Classmate Jiang still didn’t fully believe his words. It just so happened that Classmate Jiang’s friend paid an IQ tax and bought a polygraph machine online. If you tell a lie, the polygraph machine will beep.
Then–
Great Beauty: Jiang Gongzi is a hardworking person
Polygraph machine: beep——
Great Beauty: Jiang Gongzi never lazes around in bed
Polygraph machine: beep——
Great Beauty: Jiang Gongzi is my husband.
Polygraph machine: …
Classmate Jiang: Eh
Comments