Chapter 223
Chapter 221: The Prince Denies Everything
Empress Zheng Yu Heng went to the Imperial Study.
Inside the Imperial Study were the Chancellor, the chief eunuch who held the brush, and Prince Yong.
The three of them were handling state affairs together.
An eunuch attendant came in to report that Empress Zheng had arrived. The men put down their brushes and stood up.
The Empress said: “Seventh Younger Brother, I have something to say to you. Please step outside.”
Xiao Huai Feng’s face did not change. His dark eyes were calm, without a single ripple.
There was no displeasure and no surprise.
He agreed and slowly followed the Empress out of the Imperial Study. They stopped under the covered corridor.
It was mid-afternoon, and the sunlight was just right. Beyond the red walls, the sky was clear blue, as clean as if it had been washed, high and far away. Xiao Huai Feng lifted his eyelids slightly. He did not look at Empress Zheng. He only gazed into the distance and waited for her to speak first.
Empress Zheng said: “This time His Majesty’s ‘illness’ came from trying a new batch of alchemical pills.”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “Imperial Sister-in-law, do not worry.”
The Empress said: “I want to ask Imperial Mother to decide and transfer the Duke of Shen into the capital to temporarily command the Imperial Guards.”
Xiao Huai Feng lowered his gaze a little and drew his eyes back from the distance to look at her.
He asked: “What does Imperial Sister-in-law mean by this?”
Empress Zheng said: “Seventh Younger Brother, the Duke of Shen is loyal and devoted. Only with him here can I and the Eldest Prince feel safe.”
Xiao Huai Feng’s voice was cold and distant as he said: “If Imperial Sister-in-law has thought this through, go tell Imperial Mother. When Imperial Elder Brother wakes up, tell him as well.”
“They will not take my side.” Empress Zheng’s eyes clung to his face. “Huai Feng, they will not care about me. What about you?”
Xiao Huai Feng’s brows knit slightly. He said: “What does Imperial Sister-in-law mean by this? Are you trying to sow discord between me and Imperial Mother and Imperial Elder Brother?”
A trace of tears flashed in Empress Zheng’s eyes. “Of course not. I just hope you can help me.”
Xiao Huai Feng’s eyes were colder than frost. He said: “Imperial Sister-in-law has asked the wrong person!”
Empress Zheng said: “I have always remembered that letter from back then, Huai Feng. I am not a heartless person.”
When he heard that, Xiao Huai Feng’s brows furrowed even more. “What letter?”
Empress Zheng looked at him.
She was quickly weighing the situation.
Maybe hearts had changed and time had turned seas into fields. Some things he no longer liked to hear.
Even if he did not like it, Empress Zheng still had to say it. If something happened to the Emperor, would the Empress Dowager really support the Eldest Prince to ascend the throne?
At the very least, Empress Zheng had to make Prince Yong understand that if he tried to seize the Imperial Throne at this time, it would be improper in name and reason. And she had to make him see that he could trust Empress Zheng and the Eldest Prince.
Empress Zheng said: “You once wrote a letter to my Uncle, saying you wanted to marry me. My Uncle showed it to me. Even though my Uncle burned it, I remember every word in that letter.”
Xiao Huai Feng’s face already looked very bad.
Sure enough, he was angry now.
Losing naturally made a person unhappy. But if there was still even a bit of old affection left, it had to be used.
Xiao Huai Feng said: “I never wrote such a letter to the Duke of Shen!”
Empress Zheng had thought he might still hold a grudge, but she had not expected him to deny it outright and wipe away all the past.
She said: “Then maybe it was a misunderstanding.”
“It is not ‘maybe’, it is a misunderstanding,” Xiao Huai Feng said. “Imperial Sister-in-law, the scholar-teacher at the Imperial Academy likes my handwriting very much and often takes it for other people to copy. You recognized the wrong person.”
Then he added: “You can also go back and ask the Duke of Shen who wrote that letter. It was not me. I have never meant to ask to marry anyone.”
He almost had to hold back the urge to say harsh words and forced down his emotions so he would not cause an even deeper misunderstanding.
He went on: “The year I went to the northern frontier, I was only just thirteen.”
What did he know about asking to marry someone?
When he first went to the northern frontier, he had indeed stayed by the Duke of Shen’s side for three years.
He grew tall fast, but he was still young. His teenage body was long and thin. When he first went to the northern frontier, he could not even wear the armor properly, and his shoulders and knees were rubbed raw and bloody.
The Duke of Shen did not care at all and forced him to train every day.
The skin on his shoulders was rubbed off, swollen and festering, then rubbed off again. It did not heal for two months.
Leaving the rich Imperial City, with its fine clothes and good food, to go to the bitter cold frontier, he had not only hated the people of the inner capital, he had also hated his own commander-in-chief, the Duke of Shen.
It was not until the Duke of Shen returned to the capital to report on his work and handed the position of commander-in-chief over to him that things changed.
Once he was in that position, he understood how capable and how burdened the Duke of Shen had been. In the next few years, he felt more and more that the Duke of Shen had a much better temper than he did and had treated him well in the past.
From then on, he decided not to resent the Duke of Shen anymore.
Even so, he had never written any such letter to the Duke of Shen.
He had never planned to ask to marry anyone.
With yellow sand filling his eyes, all he had asked for was survival. Where would he even see a beauty to fall for?
Empress Zheng let a tear fall and said: “Fine, I was wrong. I should not have brought up the past. I still ask Seventh Younger Brother to help me. Now Imperial Mother trusts you the most.”
Xiao Huai Feng: “…”
[What did she mean by “the past”? We had not even known each other back then. What could count as “past” between us?]
Xiao Huai Feng noticed that she was wearing a lotus-green robe.
He had once thought this color looked nice and had chosen a cloak of the same color for Luo Ning.
When Luo Ning wore it, there was a strange hint of allure that made people’s thoughts stir.
Xiao Huai Feng had taken one look and had oddly wanted to look again. Luo Ning’s eyes and brows gained a layer of charm, and she became more beautiful than flowers.
It felt as if waves were pushing at his heart, the rise and fall too obvious. It surprised him and made him uncomfortable, so he had frowned.
Luo Ning was very good at reading people. When she saw his expression, she took it as displeasure and put that cloak away.
He had thought it was the clothes that looked good. But seeing Empress Zheng wearing the same color now, it was utterly ordinary.
So it turned out that it was Luo Ning who was beautiful.
His Princess Consort had an excellent face, and clothes only added more brilliance to her.
Xiao Huai Feng said, his tone growing more impatient: “Imperial Sister-in-law, please go back! If I were to repeat today’s conversation to Imperial Elder Brother, I am afraid Imperial Sister-in-law would not be able to explain it clearly.”
He turned and went back to the Imperial Study, leaving the Empress standing there.
The Empress was silent for a moment before she left.
Xiao Huai Feng sat down again. Before long it was already late afternoon, the sunlight slanting toward the west. A few clouds drifted by, and the light on the window lattice was bright.
He stood up and went to Shoucheng Palace.
In the main hall, the Empress Dowager was meeting with people from the Imperial Medical Bureau, including Court Physician Gu. Luo Ning was not there.
After Xiao Huai Feng saluted, he took the initiative to step aside and went to the side hall to look for Luo Ning.
Luo Ning was copying Buddhist scriptures.
Luo Ning said: “I am praying for Your Majesty’s blessing. Later we will offer this in front of the Buddha.”
Seeing that her writing was neat and delicate and that every character was written with care, Xiao Huai Feng said: “Write slowly. Do not tire your hands and eyes.”
Luo Ning agreed. Then she asked him: “How are things at the Imperial Study?”
Xiao Huai Feng said: “His Majesty is gravely ill, but there has not been much discussion yet, only everyday matters. The Jiangnan region was a bit dry at the start of spring, which affected the spring planting, so the Imperial Court needs to open the upstream dams to release water.”
Then he said: “If Imperial Elder Brother cannot recover and cannot appoint a court official to go south, I may have to make the trip.”
“Will you be gone for a long time?” she asked.
Xiao Huai Feng said: “If you want to go, you can come with me. It would be only half a month at most.”
Luo Ning shook her head and said with a smile: “There is a pile of matters in the manor.”
“That is fine too,” Xiao Huai Feng said. “It may not be me who goes. His Majesty may wake up tomorrow and send a capable court minister to handle this.”
Luo Ning nodded.
A lock of black hair hung down by her cheek, making her face look even whiter.
Xiao Huai Feng added: “If you lack anything here, tell Imperial Mother. Do not treat yourself poorly.”
Luo Ning agreed. Then she looked at him again and asked: “Has the Prince run into some trouble?”
“It is not exactly trouble,” he said. “Just now Imperial Sister-in-law went to the Imperial Study and said a few unpleasant things. It was nothing big.”
Luo Ning stopped asking at once.
Any matter between him and Empress Zheng would put her in a bad spot if she got involved, no matter which side she stood on.