When he didn’t mention it, it was fine, but once he did, Li Huaiyu became more spirited. She pointed to her nose and said, “Others dare to commit regicide, so why wouldn’t I? In the eyes of the world, I am the infamous and unforgivable Princess Danyang, who would do anything for power! Cutting you down would be as easy as slicing vegetables!”
Li Huailin lowered his eyes, seemingly contemplating seriously for a moment, then asked, “Does the Imperial Sister want the throne?”
Li Huaiyu sneered, “Do you think I care?”
“The will left by Emperor Xiao has not been destroyed; it is still hidden in Mingshan Palace,” Li Huailin said. “If the Imperial Sister is willing to help me with one thing, I am willing to abdicate voluntarily.”
The emperor, who had used any means necessary to govern, was now saying he was willing to abdicate. Huaiyu found it absurd. She clenched her fist and looked at him for a while before scoffing, “First, tell me what you need help with.”
“Help me find Ning Wanwei,” Li Huailin lowered his eyes. “She left me in a critical moment, and I want to find her to ask what she was thinking.”
Noble Consort Ning left him? Huaiyu was a bit surprised. Then she rolled her eyes and said, “Why are you beating around the bush like Lord Ziyang? If you’re worried about her, just say so. If you want to reunite with her, just say so. What’s the point of talking about other things?”
Li Huailin’s cheekbones tightened, and he said stiffly, “I’m not worried about her; I just want to find her.”
“Then I’m afraid I can’t help you.” Releasing him, Huaiyu dusted off her hands. “Whether you abdicate or not has nothing to do with me, and who sits on the throne in the end also has nothing to do with me. If you want to find someone, go find them yourself.”
Li Huailin’s face darkened as he looked at Jiang Xuanjin, who seemed completely unfazed by the Imperial Sister’s words. He only whispered to her, “Are you tired? Qingsi has prepared breakfast; you should go have some.”
“What about you?”
“I have a few more words to say to him.”
Frowning, she looked at him, then at Li Huailin, and scratched her head. “If you want to beat him up, just call me. You’re not suited to fight him; I’m more convenient.”
A hint of a smile appeared in Jiang Xuanjin’s eyes as he nodded and watched her leave.
Once the door closed, the hall dimmed slightly. Li Huailin no longer concealed his hostility and frowned at the person in front of him, asking, “What exactly do you want?”
Sitting down on a chair and smoothing his robe, Jiang Xuanjin said leisurely, “Your Imperial Sister cares about you. Before she realized you had murderous intentions towards her, you were more important to her than I was. So I want to know if, at this point, she wants to kill you for revenge.”
The answer was no. He had deliberately placed a dagger on the side table, but Li Huaiyu hadn’t even glanced at it. She shouted and cursed loudly but never thought of killing him directly. Earlier, there were only three of them in the hall, and no one knew the emperor had arrived at Yixian City. Even if Li Huailin died here, no one would know who killed him.
Yet she still couldn’t bring herself to do it.
With a slightly tense jaw, Jiang Xuanjin was somewhat displeased. “You ordered me to deliver poisoned wine to her, and she doesn’t resent you, but she hates me enough to want to kill me.”
Why is that?
Li Huailin pursed his lips and turned his head away. “She doesn’t want to kill me, but you do.”
Jiang Xuanjin hated him, for reasons unknown, even more deeply than the Imperial Sister did. He could feel it all along the way. If it weren’t for bringing him back to see the Imperial Sister one last time, this man would have sent him to the underworld back in Fengyi.
“Does Your Majesty know why?” Jiang Xuanjin didn’t deny it, only asked him.
Li Huailin sneered, “Why else but regicide? Now that Ziyang’s faction is dominant, killing me would allow you to seize the throne directly.”
Shaking his head indifferently, Jiang Xuanjin said, “I was taught loyalty to the emperor and righteousness. I have no desire for the throne. What I do now is merely to settle a personal vendetta.”
“Personal vendetta?”
Looking up at him, Jiang Xuanjin’s eyes were icy. “Your Majesty issued an imperial decree to execute the Eldest Princess, causing me to be wronged and making the Eldest Princess suffer heart-wrenching pain. Shouldn’t there be some price to pay?”
“…” Li Huailin looked back at him in disbelief, his pupils shrinking. “You left the capital suddenly and raised an army in rebellion just for this?”
“Isn’t that reason enough?” Jiang Xuanjin slowly stood up, gripping the armrest. “Does Your Majesty know why the Eldest Princess killed Li Shan?”
The rumors in the world all said the Eldest Princess killed innocents to seize power. Li Huailin never thought to ask her the reason. Now, hearing him bring it up, he belatedly asked, “Do you know?”
“I didn’t know at first, but after she was imprisoned, I heard Qingsi mention some old stories. So I sent people to investigate. Unexpectedly, they did find something.”
Walking up to him, Jiang Xuanjin looked down at him. “Prince Pingling, Li Shan, once broke into the late Empress’s bedchamber and used despicable means to humiliate the mother of the nation. The late Empress died on the day you were born, not from difficult labor, but from shame and anger.”
Li Huailin trembled, almost instinctively shaking his head. “You’re lying!”
Li Shan clearly said that the Empress loved him, but was taken by the late Emperor, and had no choice but to have a secret affair with him.
“If Your Majesty doesn’t believe it, you can ask around,” Jiang Xuanjin said expressionlessly. “Back then, the palace maids in the late Empress’s palace were scattered by him, with more than half dying unnatural deaths. But there are still some who know the truth, living on the outskirts of the capital.”
“No.” Li Huailin stubbornly said, “I don’t believe it.”
Not caring whether he believed it or not, Jiang Xuanjin continued, “For such an inhumane and unethical act, the late Emperor confined Li Shan to Pingling, not allowing him to enter the capital again, which was already considering brotherhood and benevolence. But Prince Pingling seemed ungrateful, taking advantage of the late Emperor’s death, and Your Majesty and the Eldest Princess being young and unsupported, he entered the capital again, attempting to seize power.”
“Your Majesty thinks Prince Pingling is a good person who helped you a lot, but do you know what he was doing behind your back?”
“Manipulating the emperor to command the vassals, amassing wealth and power, and even harboring ill intentions towards the Eldest Princess.”
With a dark look in his eyes, Jiang Xuanjin said, “The Eldest Princess was too lenient. For someone who disrupted ethics and lost humanity, even dismemberment wouldn’t be excessive.”
Li Huailin’s face grew paler, and he took two steps back, murmuring, “You’re lying to me. Prince Pingling is an upright person; he wouldn’t do such things…”
“I’m just telling Your Majesty the reason the Eldest Princess killed Prince Pingling,” Jiang Xuanjin said, “so you know you’ve never been on the side of justice. Everything you’ve done has been evil, aiding the wicked, nurturing a tiger to your detriment, hurting those who are good to you, and eliminating loyal ministers. Your current predicament is entirely your own doing, and it has nothing to do with anyone else!”
Each word was like a hammer, striking hard at his heart. Li Huailin was shocked, stumbling and almost losing his balance.
“Li Huaiyu also made mistakes.” Softening his tone, Jiang Xuanjin shook his head. “She shouldn’t have protected you so well, shouldn’t have let you think she was a bad person, while you were a good person. You’re much worse than her, not deserving of her protection at all.”
“You… you shut up!”
“Having done it, are you still afraid of what people say?” Jiang Xuanjin sneered lightly. “When Your Majesty used me to hurt her, did you think about how much it would hurt her?”
Li Huailin’s eyelashes trembled, and his hand gripping his sleeve turned white.
“I’ve already started repaying what I owe. Your Majesty can’t stay out of it.” Jiang Xuanjin lightly brushed the dust off his shoulder, curling his lips. “When we were both injured, she always ran to you first. If you can’t endure the same suffering as she did, how can I be at ease?”
“…What do you want to do?”
“Didn’t Your Majesty want to see Noble Consort Ning?” Jiang Xuanjin said, “From Fengyi to Yixian City, she has been with us all along.”
The panicked heart suddenly calmed down upon hearing the words “Noble Consort Ning,” and Li Huailin’s eyes lit up. He asked, “Are you willing to let me see her?”
“After all the effort, it’s just to let Your Majesty see her at this moment.” Jiang Xuanjin stepped aside, “Please.”
First, he was delighted, then a bit angry. Li Huailin lifted his robe and stepped out, thinking angrily, since she was with them all along, why didn’t she come to see him? Even if she was locked up, she could have sent a message. Was she deliberately avoiding him?
In the face of a great enemy, she dared to leave him and run away alone. What love to the extreme? Even if he wasn’t angry at the time and thought she was smart, he would be angry afterward. In her heart, he didn’t weigh much at all!
Following Jiang Xuanjin out and getting into the carriage, Li Huailin asked in a bad tone, “Did you lock her up far away?”
Jiang Xuanjin nodded.
“You hate me so much, are you planning some trap for me to fall into?” Li Huailin frowned at him, “I can negotiate with you. As long as you let me leave safely with her, I’ll give you whatever you want.”
Jiang Xuanjin remained silent, staring at the carriage wall.
Li Huailin turned his head away, not speaking to him anymore. As soon as the carriage stopped, he quickly jumped off the shaft.
“Your Majesty, please slow down,” the eunuch whispered.
Ignoring him, Li Huailin looked at the courtyard in front of him and stepped inside.
The courtyard was much colder than outside. As soon as he rounded the screen wall, paper money was scattered over his head, falling all over him.
“How dare you!” Brushing away the ominous things, Li Huailin shouted angrily, “How dare you throw such filthy things at me!”
The white paper money fell, revealing a glass coffin placed in the center of the courtyard. The coffin was filled with ice, vaguely showing a human figure. The person kneeling beside it was crying with red eyes, looked up at him, and then continued to scatter another handful of paper money.
“Han Gu?” Recognizing the person as Ning Wanwei’s maid, Li Huailin was startled. A thought flashed through his mind, which he quickly dismissed.
Impossible, how could Ning Wanwei be dead? She had no reason to die!
Looking around the courtyard, he asked, “Where is your mistress?”
Han Gu didn’t answer, her hand holding the paper money trembling.
Feeling inexplicably annoyed, Li Huailin strode over and grabbed her, “I’m asking you, are you deaf…”
Before he could finish shouting, his peripheral vision caught the glass coffin beside him, and he choked on his words. Li Huailin was stunned, releasing Han Gu, standing stiffly for a while, and then slowly reaching out to wipe the dust off the coffin lid.
The serene face gradually became clear, with willow-like eyebrows and lips like cinnabar. Ning Wanwei lay quietly inside as if dreaming a beautiful dream, with a faint blush on her cheeks.
A dull pain in his chest made Li Huailin groan, feeling like he might be dreaming. How could he dream of Ning Wanwei lying in a coffin? She should be lying on her consort’s couch.
Grabbing the edge of the coffin lid, Li Huailin pulled hard, as if trying to save her.
“She’s been dead for a long time, and the smell is strong. It’s better not to open it, Your Majesty,” Jiang Xuanjin said from behind, placing three incense sticks in the incense burner in front of the coffin.
Li Huailin turned around abruptly, his eyes bloodshot, “Was it you?”
Jiang Xuanjin looked at him indifferently.
“You hate me, come at me, why harm her?!” Li Huailin roared, kicking over the brazier burning paper money, and charged at Jiang Xuanjin.
His furious punches had no aim, and Jiang Xuanjin easily dodged them, not explaining a word, only asking, “Didn’t you care about her? Didn’t you neglect her for a long time? Why are you anxious now?”
“You bastard!” Missing a punch, Li Huailin lunged again, shouting madly, “I want you to pay with your life for hers!”
“Pay with my life?” Jiang Xuanjin chuckled, dodging his palm strike, “If anyone should pay, it’s you first.”
His hands began to tremble uncontrollably. After several failed attempts, Li Huailin’s face twisted. He glanced back at the person in the coffin, feeling like a needle was stabbing his brain, causing him to roar in pain, clutching his head.
“To gain Your Majesty’s favor because of the Eldest Princess is a blessing for this concubine, and I bear no grudge.”
“Can’t Your Majesty sleep? This concubine knows a couple of songs.”
“The glory of this concubine is all given by Your Majesty. If Your Majesty wants to take it back, I have no complaints.”
…
The palace dress fluttered and then slowly settled, turning black and white. Li Huailin clutched the dragon robe on his chest, gasping urgently, but it felt like he couldn’t breathe, the pain making the veins on his hands bulge.
He hadn’t had the chance to say it, hadn’t had the chance to tell her that he had long since stopped loving her because of the Imperial Sister. Quarreling with her was just to get her attention, sending her to the cold palace was just to make her come to him. In Fengyi, he placed her in a separate courtyard only to protect her from being harmed because of him… He wasn’t angry with her. He liked her, just as she liked him.
He had a bad temper, easily irritable, but only she could calm him. He couldn’t sleep at night, tossing and turning, but only by holding her could he feel at ease. He… couldn’t live without her.
Propping himself up, Li Huailin staggered back to the coffin, stubbornly lifting the glass lid.
Even though it had been kept on ice, in the June weather, the body had decayed quickly. As soon as the lid was opened, the stench forced everyone to step back. But Li Huailin seemed not to notice, pulling Ning Wanwei’s hand, stubbornly holding her.
A deep scar ran across her neck. Li Huailin’s hand trembled his Adam’s apple bobbing, his eyes bloodshot.
“The Consort took her own life,” Han Gu said behind him. “Please give her some peace, Your Majesty, and let her go well.”
Suicide? Li Huailin turned back, looking at her in disbelief.
Han Gu’s eyes were red, her tone calm, “On the day Liu Yunlie attacked the city, he brought people to the separate courtyard to capture the Consort. Knowing they intended to use her to threaten Your Majesty, unable to escape, she took her own life to repay Your Majesty’s grace.”
The bright red blood spilled on the bluestone ground of the separate courtyard, shocking everyone. Throughout history, concubines were often weak, and those willing to die for the emperor were one in a million. What virtue did Li Huailin have to encounter Noble Consort Ning?
“Before her death, the Consort left words for Your Majesty,” Han Gu tried to remain calm, but couldn’t help the resentment in her voice. “She said, in the next life, if Your Majesty is an emperor, she will still be a consort. If a commoner, she will be a wife. As long as in the next life, she doesn’t have a face similar to another’s, and can have Your Majesty’s undivided attention, it will be enough!”