In a private room at Dongfeng Tower, Xiao Shao, Mo Cong, and Xia Qing each sat together. Mo Cong had probably just rushed over from outside, looking travel-worn. As soon as he entered, he plopped down in a chair, directly picked up the teapot on the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it down. After draining the tea in one gulp, he caught his breath and said to Xiao Shao: “Third Brother, everything’s arranged. Xuan Li’s side is also prepared. This time there’s absolutely no problem – just wait to win your beauty’s heart.”
Xia Qing listened from the side, quite confused, and quickly asked: “What do you mean win a beauty’s heart? Third Brother has someone he likes? Which family’s young lady? How does Xuan Li come into this?”
“You fool,” Mo Cong knocked his head: “You really don’t care about Third Brother’s lifelong happiness. Don’t you know Third Brother finally got enlightened? Unfortunately, it’s unrequited love – the young lady is being cold to him. Third Brother is trying every way to gain favor with the lady. But this young lady is not only beautiful, her older brother also has some military power, so Xuan Li also has designs on her. Third Brother is furious over beauty and making trouble for Xuan Li.”
Mo Cong spoke teasingly, but Xiao Shao only drank tea in silence, completely ignoring his words. Instead, he seemed slightly lost in thought, no one knowing what he was thinking.
Hearing this, Xia Qing cried out dramatically: “What? Who is it? Unrequited love? Third Brother actually got rejected? Seventh Junior Brother, don’t lie to me.”
What kind of person was Xiao Shao? In his youth, when he rode through the small alleys of the capital, he would pass by stepping on fragrance – the young ladies and wives watching from the streets would throw their sachets and silk flowers at him without charge. Of course, the final result was just that Xiao Shao’s mount always carried a floral fragrance. Later, when he studied on Mount Jianan, countless young ladies who had ulterior motives also clamored to go up Mount Jianan to study under a master. This was naturally impossible – Mount Jianan had formations personally set by Master Baqi, and once trapped in the formations, one would face deadly perils everywhere. At that time, many noble young ladies deliberately “intruded” into the formations with the thought that Xiao Shao would cherish and protect them. Xiao Shao always ignored them completely, causing trouble for his fellow disciples who had to clean up the mess for Xiao Shao. Back then, Xia Qing and Mo Cong were young, and their most frequent activity was going all over the mountains to rescue people.
Rescuing people was one thing, but the disappointed looks from those they rescued were enough to become every Mount Jianan disciple’s nightmare – it was truly devastating to their self-esteem.
Actually, among their group of fellow disciples, there was no lack of handsome young men. Generally, Xiao Shao was mature beyond his years and possessed an elegant coolness carved into his bones, making him stand out like a crane among chickens among the group of young boys, giving him a unique charm. When they were still teenagers pursuing beautiful young ladies, only Xiao Shao remained unmoved, appearing transcendent and otherworldly. The other fellow disciples had privately discussed that Xiao Shao must be planning to become a monk at Shaolin Temple in the future.
Who knew that hearing Mo Cong’s words today would greatly shock Xia Qing. He didn’t know what he felt in his heart – probably never expecting that the god-like figure in his heart had finally stepped down from the altar and even hit a wall. Even this baby-faced young man with his naturally pure nature couldn’t help feeling a bit schadenfreude. Truly, fortune turns like a wheel, heaven’s way is cyclical – don’t believe it? Look up and see whom heaven spares.
“Look, you saw her today too,” Mo Cong saw Xia Qing’s expression and knew what he was thinking, saying with mischievous laughter: “The master who escaped disaster today thanks to your help examining the corpse – Princess Hong’an. You saw her, the one who was slandered.”
“It’s her!” Xia Qing was startled. Thinking of that young lady in the Golden Throne Hall who, despite wearing prison clothes, remained graceful and beautiful – naturally she was charming and alluring, but that calm and composed expression made Xia Qing somewhat afraid in his heart. Xia Qing thought for a moment and said seriously: “So Third Brother likes the beautiful and charming type. I understand. I’ll write a letter to tell Fourth Brother about this.”
Mo Cong rolled his eyes. This matter of Xiao Shao liking a young lady was really going to become known to everyone. He didn’t know what expression Master Baqi would have when he found out. He looked at Xiao Shao, putting away his previous teasing expression, and said seriously: “After the imperial marriage decree, you’ll go to the border to campaign against Tianjin?”
“Mm.” Xiao Shao lowered his eyes: “When that time comes, you’ll coordinate from the capital. Be very careful.”
“Xuan Li will definitely make trouble behind the scenes,” Mo Cong pondered: “Even if you have arrangements, he has advantages in the capital. How will you allocate the three hundred thousand Imperial Guards?”
“One hundred thousand troops will follow me. One hundred thousand as usual, one hundred thousand remain in the capital,” Xiao Shao said: “The Western Rong are not peaceful – there’s suspicion of attack from front and back. If Xuan Li truly makes a move, he’ll certainly use this opportunity to act.” He paused before saying: “You stay in the capital and protect her for me.”
“Her” naturally referred to Jiang Ruan. Mo Cong didn’t know what he felt in his heart, only saying: “I understand. You be extra careful too.”
“Western Rong, Southern Frontier, Tianjin State, and the traitors in court. If we can’t catch them all in one net this time, there will surely be more troubles in the future. I’ve already written to recall Qi Si. You two remain in the capital. After I leave, there will probably be major movements in court – you just need to assist. Leaving Xuan Li is for fishing, but if he truly becomes completely mad, just kill him directly.” A trace of murderous intent flashed between Xiao Shao’s brows: “If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility.”
Xia Qing was startled: “What are you talking about? Why can’t I understand?”
“Xia Wu, you also stay in the capital. Today you entered the palace and will inevitably be targeted by Xuan Li. Returning to Jinling isn’t safe. In the capital, at least there are people to protect you – I’ll assign you troops. With you here, you can also help me take care of Jiang Ruan,” Xiao Shao looked at Xia Qing.
“Ah?” Xia Qing touched his nose: “I’m a divine physician, not a physician from your mansion. How can I specifically treat one person? Besides, why would the Eighth Prince target me? I examine corpses honestly and straightforwardly…”
Seeing that Xia Qing was about to continue, Mo Cong said: “Shut up. If you want to die, go back to Jinling now. Third Brother is looking out for you. If you die mysteriously later, don’t say we didn’t consider fellow disciple feelings.”
Xia Qing was naturally a pure-hearted medical fanatic. Being spoken to like this by Mo Cong, he immediately fell silent and said meekly: “I was just speaking casually. I’ll listen to Third Brother.”
…
When Jiang Ruan was facing murder charges that seemed almost impossible to refute, there was suddenly a turning point. The appearance of the Crown Prince and the Thirteenth Prince brought a breakthrough to this case, and the Jinling Master uncovered the irregularities within. Finally, the imperial trial revealed many suspicious points, proving Jiang Ruan’s innocence while Fourth Prince Xuan Lang became the murder suspect.
Over the following days, the Emperor conducted another imperial trial, but for unknown reasons, Xuan Lang voluntarily confessed to his crimes. After investigation by the Ministry of Justice, evidence was indeed found. With both witnesses and physical evidence present, how could Xuan Lang deny it? He was immediately thrown into the imperial prison. Everyone was speculating how severe Xuan Lang’s punishment would be, since Princess Heyi had been quite favored by the Emperor, and Consort Shu would not let her daughter die in vain, naturally sparing no effort to have Xuan Lang executed.
But before the verdict came down, Xuan Lang committed suicide in the imperial prison. He died by poison – the imperial prison was heavily guarded, so it was impossible for someone to kill him to silence him. Yet Xuan Lang died so suddenly, which was truly suspicious. However, no matter how suspicious it seemed, the person was dead, and without evidence, the matter had to be dropped. In his fury, the Emperor removed Xuan Lang from the imperial genealogy, demoted him to commoner status, and even in death, he could not be buried in the imperial mausoleum.
The day after news of Xuan Lang’s death arrived, Consort Xian hanged herself in the palace. This mother and son both dying together immediately stirred up quite a commotion in the palace. The Emperor, hating by association, naturally showed no kindness toward Consort Xian’s suicide. He found an excuse to have Consort Xian’s family collect her body, but ultimately, remembering that Consort Xian had accompanied him in the palace for so many years, he allowed her to be buried together with Xuan Lang.
Consort Xian’s death seemed to also bring great shock to Consort Shu. With Princess Heyi already dead, of the four consorts who had once dominated the palace, only Consort Shu and Consort De remained. Consort De still had Xuan Hua to rely on, but Consort Shu had no sons. Moreover, that day during the imperial trial, Xuan Pei’s words had already made the Emperor suspicious of Consort Shu. Consort Shu clearly felt that recently, the Emperor had begun to distance himself from her intentionally or unintentionally. Continuing like this, the day of her losing favor wasn’t far away. Consort Shu was a perceptive person. Since she felt there was nothing worth lingering for in the palace, and continuing like this would eventually lead to the same fate as Consort Chen and Consort Xian, she requested to become a nun to pray for Princess Heyi’s soul.
The Emperor naturally said nothing. The next day, Consort Shu moved out of the palace to a temple outside to begin her spiritual cultivation, vowing never to enter the palace again. Empress Dowager Yide, moved by her sincerity, bestowed the name Qinghong – but this is a later story.
The front court and rear palace were always closely connected. With the Fourth Prince’s downfall, the balance maintained in the rear palace for decades was suddenly disrupted. Now three of the four consort positions were vacant, leaving only Consort De. The Empress suddenly became highly sought after. Consort De became even more careful in her conduct, making herself almost impossible to fault. But even so, the balance in the palace had to be maintained, and the Emperor had already begun selecting suitable candidates from the new batch of palace maidens.
The palace maidens knew this opportunity was rare and all put forth their best efforts to catch the Emperor’s eye, wishing they could firmly grasp this chance for advancement. They spent considerable time on their appearance daily. On this day, the palace maidens gathered together again to talk, discussing Princess Heyi’s matter.
The daughter of Minister Wang was exactly sixteen this year, in her prime beauty, born quite lovely and skilled at playing the pipa. While eating pastries, she said: “The palace has become increasingly tense these past few days. The eunuchs and palace maids all wear stern faces – it’s quite frightening to see.” She was naturally fond of liveliness, and the tense atmosphere in the palace these days had left her quite spiritless.
A woman beside her patted her hand and handed her tea: “Sister Wang, don’t say such things – be careful someone might hear.” She lowered her voice: “I heard His Majesty has been in a bad mood lately, always getting angry, so everyone is being cautious with their words and actions.”
Miss Wang glanced at the woman across from her and sighed: “I naturally understand, but we’re at such a good age, yet trapped in this palace – it’s suffocating.”
The woman across from her wore a tender yellow narrow-sleeved dress that made her figure appear willowy. It was none other than Jiang Dan. Jiang Dan smiled: “We’re much luckier than those people. At least we still have our lives. Take the Fourth Prince from a few days ago – what good did being born to the imperial family do him? In the end, he still couldn’t keep his life. This imperial wealth and nobility has danger within it.”
Miss Wang immediately showed a frightened expression, patting her chest: “Don’t mention it anymore. Just thinking about this makes me feel cold all over. That Fourth Prince was His Majesty’s own son, yet he was gone just like that. We can’t compare to the Fourth Prince’s noble status. If we made even the slightest mistake, wouldn’t we die without a burial place? This imperial wealth and glory – I dare not seek it.”
Jiang Dan patted her hand and comforted her with a few more words, but a smile flashed in her eyes. Minister Wang was a figure of moderate importance in court. Though he seemed unremarkable, his wife’s maternal family was the Left Guard Prefecture, so Miss Wang naturally had a wealthy maternal family. Moreover, she was born beautiful and played the pipa excellently. If she were truly favored, it would be difficult for her not to receive imperial favor. In this palace, she was a formidable opponent.
Unfortunately, Jiang Dan’s eyes flashed with shrewd light. Despite having such advantageous conditions, she was a fool. She believed whatever was said to her. With just a little manipulation, she completely believed her words. Now that she had left the impression that the palace was increasingly dangerous, Miss Wang would become more nervous when facing the Emperor in the future. The Emperor surely wouldn’t like a woman who feared him – such women were most distasteful to men. If Miss Wang displeased His Majesty, how could she gain favor in the palace?
Jiang Dan’s thoughts churned, but her face showed an increasingly gentle smile, making Miss Wang grasp her hand and say: “Good sister, you’re still the most considerate. In this palace, only you treat me most sincerely.”
Just then, another palace maiden, Miss Li, entered and sat at the table with some indignation: “Hey, have you heard? The Empress Dowager has arranged a marriage for Prince Jinying.”
“Prince Jinying?” This statement from Miss Li immediately drew all the surrounding palace maidens over, all looking at her and asking: “You mean that rebellious Prince Jinying, Xiao Shao?”
Though they called him “rebellious” with their mouths, these palace maidens’ faces showed faint spring feelings, as if merely mentioning this name was enough to enchant them. This was natural – this supremely handsome, elegant, and aloof young man was the dream lover of countless daughters throughout the Great Jin Dynasty. Even having entered the palace to become the Emperor’s women, they still maintained some fantasy about their girlhood dreams.
“Exactly,” Miss Li said: “Do you know whom the Empress Dowager has betrothed to him?”
Everyone shook their heads. Miss Wang said: “Prince Jinying has outstanding demeanor. The person the Empress Dowager has arranged marriage for must be a fairy-like figure. Let me guess – could it be Miss Yao from the Coastal Governor’s mansion?”
Miss Yao had good family background, good appearance, good character, and good abilities – truly one in ten thousand. If anyone in the Great Jin Dynasty could match Xiao Shao, it would probably only be this fairy-like figure.
Miss Li shook her head, her tone unable to hide its sourness: “No, the person the Empress Dowager has arranged marriage for Prince Jinying is the Jiang family’s legitimate daughter, the current Princess Hong’an, Jiang Ruan!”
At these words, everyone froze in place. Even Dong Ying’er, who was sitting far away embroidering, couldn’t help but tremble, and immediately a rice-grain-sized red blood drop emerged from her index finger. She slowly put her index finger to her mouth and sucked away the bloodstain, but her gaze unconsciously drifted toward the speaker.
Jiang Dan frowned, her tone carrying three parts probing: “This… how could my elder sister suddenly be betrothed to Prince Jinying?”
“Who knows,” Miss Li looked at Jiang Dan with displeasure, perhaps venting her anger toward Jiang Ruan on Jiang Dan: “Though she’s a princess, she’s ultimately only one requested by the Empress Dowager, not truly of golden branches and jade leaves. Moreover, she only has somewhat good looks. Her appearance is too seductive – she’s not a dignified and virtuous person. I don’t know what the Empress Dowager was thinking, abandoning the perfectly good Miss Yao to choose the Jiang family’s eldest daughter.”
Jiang Dan’s eyes rolled, naturally hearing the displeasure in Miss Li’s words. In fact, not only Miss Li was displeased – probably most of those present were somewhat dissatisfied with Jiang Ruan. People always felt that what they couldn’t obtain, others shouldn’t obtain either. Even if they did obtain it, it should only be someone with much better conditions than themselves. But among those present, some had family backgrounds no lower than Jiang Ruan’s, and some were no worse than Jiang Ruan in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, yet none had become Prince Jinying’s consort. How could jealousy and sourness be absent?
You must know that becoming the mistress of Prince Jinying’s mansion meant being the legitimate master of Prince Jinying’s mansion. Though Prince Jinying had been called a rebellious minister these years, he was actually quite protected by the imperial family. The glory, status, and power this represented was immeasurable. Prince Jinying’s mansion represented wealth and fame that was like gilding oneself with gold. Who wouldn’t be envious? Moreover, Xiao Shao was quite handsome. A beautiful husband, a wealthy family, no parents-in-law, nobility, prominence, grandeur, refinement – it was simply everything all women dreamed of. What virtue and ability did Jiang Ruan have to become the mistress of Prince Jinying’s mansion?
“Prince Jinying is such a distinguished and handsome figure – elder sister naturally likes him, but… why would the Empress Dowager suddenly arrange this marriage?” Jiang Dan asked timidly: “I never heard elder sister mention it before.”
At these words, everyone’s gazes immediately became thoughtful. Jiang Ruan had somehow pleased Empress Dowager Yide, who personally requested the Emperor to make her Princess Hong’an. If Jiang Ruan had actively requested Empress Dowager Yide to arrange her marriage to Xiao Shao, it wasn’t impossible. The more everyone thought about it, the more likely it seemed. They were certain Jiang Ruan had taken a fancy to Xiao Shao’s talent and Prince Jinying’s mansion’s wealth, which led her to actively approach Empress Dowager Yide about this, prompting the marriage arrangement. What a pity for such a peerless talent like Xiao Shao to be matched with such a woman who only had appearance.
“Truly shameless,” Miss Li said angrily: “How can such shameless people exist in this world?”
“What a pity,” Miss Wang said: “I just wonder what Prince Xiao thinks of this marriage.”
“What could he think? Good cabbage being eaten by pigs – a human tragedy,” another woman said regretfully.
Jiang Dan lowered her head, but her fists hidden in her sleeves clenched tightly, a dark gleam passing through her eyes.