The Third Prince refused to agree. He stretched out a hand to stop her, his expression grave: “If something goes wrong once you are inside the palace, I would be too far away to offer any help in time. If you are unwilling to go, I will find a way to intercept on your behalf.”

But Linlang shook her head. The fact that His Majesty was willing to recall his command and have the poisoned wine retrieved meant that his thinking had shifted in some way.

If she did not dare to go, it would appear as though she had a guilty conscience, which would only deepen the Emperor’s suspicions further — and all the effort the Director of the Imperial Academy had put in would be wasted entirely.

Thinking of this, she shook her head and said quietly: “I have to go.”

The Third Prince also understood why she was insisting, and let out a sigh. “I happen to need to go and attend at my royal father’s sickbed as well. I will accompany you into the palace.”

And so the Third Prince and Chu Linlang entered the palace together for their audience.

But when they reached the entrance to the sleeping chambers, the Third Prince was stopped outside. His Majesty had summoned only Chu Linlang alone.

When Chu Linlang knelt before the imperial bed and performed her obeisance, she heard a trembling, indistinct voice say: “Come closer — I cannot see you clearly.”

Chu Linlang heard this and took the opportunity to raise her head slightly. She saw the old Emperor — being supported to sit upright by a eunuch — looking so thin as to be almost unrecognizable, saliva trickling from the corner of his mouth as he spoke.

It seemed the Emperor was truly gravely ill this time. A stroke of this kind could claim a person’s life at the slightest misstep.

She quickly shuffled forward on her knees a few steps so that His Majesty could see her clearly.

The Emperor looked at this Madam Carp, as he had previously not paid much attention to, and spoke with a touch of contemplation: “I hear from Qi Gong that you and Situ Sheng entered into a betrothal quite some time ago?”

Chu Linlang could not very well conceal it, so she told the truth: “At that time Lord Situ was still observing his mourning period. Following the customs of common folk, we kept the betrothal quiet. As for the wedding date, it was to be determined after his mourning period concluded. For that reason, aside from those who served as witnesses, it was not widely announced.”

The Emperor thought of the scene of Qi Gong leading the senior ministers in their determined pleading on this betrothed couple’s behalf, and gave a cold laugh: “The two of you certainly command a great deal of goodwill in the court. But when did you come to learn of his true identity?”

On this point, Chu Linlang had long since aligned her account with Qi Gong.

Qi Gong, concerned about her bearing the charge of deceiving the throne, had told her simply to claim ignorance — to say that she had only learned of it when Qi Gong produced Yang Xun’s letter.

The Emperor no longer had the energy to make an issue of Situ Sheng’s origins.

He was now beset by illness, and having seen the dying letter of the old minister he had once deeply cherished and trusted, it had struck him like a final devastating blow — catching him entirely unprepared and stirring deep within him an aching grief and sorrow.

He understood perfectly well what manner of man Yang Xun was. And the remorse he felt over having ordered the Yang Family’s destruction all those years ago — that remorse stemmed from Yang Xun himself.

If Yang Xun’s own grandson were now a young man farming in the fields, the old Emperor would have bestowed rank and honor upon him without a moment’s hesitation, as a way of making amends for the debt owed to Yang Xun.

But Yang Xun’s grandson had turned out to be a person of hidden depth and concealed greatness — one who had quietly, without a sound, become a key minister assisting in the governance of the court, elevated and trusted by the Emperor himself.

How was this any different from suddenly discovering there was a crouching tiger lying right beside you?

If Situ Sheng harbored resentment over the Yang Family’s destruction, then what he might do was almost too frightening to contemplate.

The old Emperor was well aware that his own days were numbered. He did not want to leave this lurking danger behind for that boy Liu Yi.

Thinking of this, he asked coldly: “Since you are his intended wife, you knew him better than anyone. Tell me — how much hatred does he hold toward me in his heart?”

Chu Linlang raised her head with a look of mild surprise: “His Majesty sees people with insight and clarity — you should understand Lord Situ’s character better than anyone. If he had harbored hatred, he would have thrown the court into utter upheaval and turmoil. What kind of hatred is it where a person would rather exhaust himself toiling over endless documents, just to manage the affairs of the realm he supposedly despises with perfect orderly precision? He has always shown you the utmost respect and deference, Your Majesty. Surely you know this better than anyone.”

Everything Chu Linlang said, the old Emperor fully understood in his heart — and it was precisely the thing he had never been able to make sense of.

Why did Situ Sheng harbor no hatred toward him?

The whole purpose of Chu Linlang’s visit to the palace today was to dispel the Emperor’s doubts and fears.

She considered for a moment, then said steadily: “A woman with my kind of background and history — in the eyes of most men, she would only be fit to be taken as a concubine. Yet the Lord was willing to treat me with all proper courtesy and promise me a marriage. A man like that is no ordinary person, and he has his own way of judging right and wrong. Perhaps in the Lord’s heart, affairs of state will always come before matters of the family. If he could bring stability to ten thousand li of mountains and rivers and recover the territories his grandfather never managed to reclaim — that would be Lord Situ’s greatest wish of all. As for the Yang Family — to the Lord, with the exception of his grandfather, all those so-called family members gave him nothing but coldness and humiliation. Your Majesty may not know this: his birth mother was driven mad by his stepmother, and then through the scheming of Yang Yi’s siblings, was driven out of the Yang household. From a young age he bore the reputation of being a ‘madwoman’s offspring’ and was ostracized by the Yang Family. He never received so much as a shred of fatherly affection from the traitor Yang Yi, yet was made to bear the burden of Yang Yi’s crime of treason. That is… rather unjust.”

The old Emperor had heard some rumors about Yang Yi’s divorce in those years, but hearing from Linlang’s own lips about Situ Sheng’s childhood experiences now, he could not help but be somewhat moved.

This also helped him understand, at last, why Situ Sheng had appeared unmoved by the destruction of the Yang Family. Most likely Situ Sheng himself bore nothing but deep hatred for the Yang Family members.

Moreover, Chu Linlang’s words in this exchange had also illuminated something of Situ Sheng’s fundamental character.

The old Emperor could not help but recall Situ Sheng’s resolute determination when he had first come forward requesting permission to reform the state farmland system.

That task at the time was nothing short of prodding a hornet’s nest with his own career and life. And yet Situ Sheng had done it anyway.

If his purpose had been to seek revenge, there would have been no need to expend such tremendous effort. Word had it that Situ Sheng’s martial skills were considerable, and the two of them — ruler and minister — had spent a great deal of time alone together. If he had harbored any ill intent, the opportunities to act had been far too numerous to count.

That young man’s character — it truly was identical to his grandfather Yang Xun’s: a towering, upright man, whose conduct never stooped to anything base or underhanded…

Thinking of this, the old Emperor gave a faint sigh.

Now that he knew Situ Sheng was that man’s grandson, looking back on every gesture and action of this young minister, he could see nothing but the imprint of the old minister Yang Xun in all of it.

Perhaps it was the weight of his years, but he had found himself missing this old minister more and more in recent years.

When he himself was still a crown prince, it was Yang Xun who had accompanied him on his personal military campaigns to the border. The two of them had been ruler and minister, but also comrades-in-arms.

There had been a time when he and Yang Xun — much like Situ Sheng and Liu Yi — had stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing out at the lone smoke rising over the great desert, giving voice to each other’s grand aspirations.

But now, with half his body already sinking into the earth, he had grown terrified of death — not from any clinging attachment to imperial power, but from a sense that he lacked the face to meet the departed friends of his past.

Especially after seeing Yang Xun’s dying letter, the flood of guilt the old Emperor felt had been entirely unleashed. This was also the reason he had summoned Chu Linlang to the palace, yet continued to avoid seeing Situ Sheng himself.

How could Chu Linlang not understand the Emperor’s inner conflict?

His Majesty now had some measure of regret, but was in a somewhat difficult position — caught on the back of a tiger — not knowing how to find a way to step down gracefully.

Thinking of this, Linlang performed a solemn prostration and said to His Majesty: “Your Majesty’s benevolence toward your subjects and deep generosity in sparing Lord Situ from the death sentence — both the Lord and I are moved to tears of gratitude. If Your Majesty no longer wishes to see Lord Situ, simply send him off to farm in some remote place. Lord Situ should be quite good at farming. Each year he can grow more grain, fill the grain tax a little more, and that would also count as making his own contribution.”

Hearing these words, the old Emperor actually smiled faintly: “You want him to farm? Does he know?”

Chu Linlang bowed her head and answered earnestly: “Whether it be the thunder of punishment or the rain of grace, both are gifts of imperial benevolence. If Your Majesty is willing to bestow such a life, he will gladly accept it. And besides, farming and living one’s days out is not such a bad thing at all. Rising with the sun and resting at its setting, watching the seedlings in the fields grow taller little by little — it is far more leisurely than worrying over affairs of state. Lord Situ has often spoken to me of the days he spent farming and keeping house alongside his widowed foster mother, Madam Li. His reason for entering government service was his wish to let more of the common people live days of peace and stability — to have fields to farm, to have the hope of seedlings that keep putting out new shoots. If one’s service in office amounts to nothing, it is truly better to go home and farm.”

In truth, the Emperor had heard similar words from Situ Sheng’s own lips. In those days when Situ Sheng’s reputation at court had been in tatters, and the officials stripped of their farmland allotments had been impeaching him like rabid dogs, the Emperor had once asked Situ Sheng whether he regretted poking that unmovable hornet’s nest.

And that young man had met his gaze with clear, steady eyes and said with complete composure: “As long as your subject and Your Majesty share the same purpose, what is there to fear from those impeachments?”

Thinking of this, His Majesty gave a soft sigh.

This young man — in his bearing and his character — was so much like his grandfather.

That soaring, open, unashamed quality of spirit was one that could not help but inspire genuine joy.

Thinking of this, His Majesty turned to look at Chu Linlang again.

A man of Situ Sheng’s caliber, choosing a twice-married woman as his wife — it was truly unexpected. But this Madam Chu, apart from the shortcomings of her humble origins and marital history, left nothing further to be desired.

The Emperor had heard from the eunuch reporting back that this Xinmei Yiren, with nothing more than an embroidered shoe, had stopped Situ Sheng from drinking the poisoned wine.

In a moment of crisis, unwilling to leave alone — she was indeed a woman worthy of a lifetime partnership.

That Situ Sheng had the intention to settle down and start a family was a good thing too. With something to tie him down, he would have reason to hold himself in check.

With this in mind, he dismissed the idea of sending Chu Linlang as a peace-bride to the Kingdom of Jing, and simply waved his hand to dismiss her, then summoned the Third Prince for an audience.

Chu Linlang could not very well wait at the palace gates for the Third Prince, so she returned first to the Third Prince’s residence to await news.

Tao Yashu had also returned. Her trip to the Tao Family estate had in fact been done at the Third Prince’s instruction.

After all, Situ Sheng had offended far too many people in the court over his career. With his sudden imprisonment, there would certainly be those ready to kick a man when he was down.

But as long as the Tao Family could be kept stable, and Tao Guo Gong could be persuaded to step forward, he could suppress the tide of impeachments from the other ministers and prevent any waves from being stirred up in the court hall.

Of course, this was also Liu Yi’s way of giving the Tao Family an opportunity to make their position clear to him as the new Crown Prince.

Whether the Tao Family was truly willing to cut ties with the deposed Crown Prince — that all depended on how they conducted themselves this time.

Tao Guo Gong was seasoned and shrewd and naturally understood the Crown Prince’s intent. Since the new Crown Prince was determined to protect Situ Sheng, he would act with appropriate discernment and not add insult to injury at this critical juncture.

But his son Tao Haisheng — having heard something from Tao Huiru upon her return from the nunnery, and then been incited further by a group of ministers who bore grudges against Situ Sheng — had actually drafted an impeachment memorial, accusing Situ Sheng of concealing his origins, deceiving the world under a false name, and harboring treacherous intentions, and had intended to join with several other ministers in presenting it.

If Tao Yashu had not discovered it in time and stopped him, submitting that memorial would have been tantamount to setting himself in direct opposition to the new Crown Prince.

This enraged Tao Guo Gong to the point where he could no longer maintain any semblance of a loving father’s demeanor. He had his household servants administer a sound beating to his son in accordance with family discipline, and then set him to kneeling before the ancestral hall to reflect at length on the foolishness of allowing himself to be used as someone else’s instrument.

As for Tao Huiru — although she had managed to return to the Tao estate during the Crown Prince’s coup, she had received advance warning when the Crown Prince was seized, and had already vanished without a trace, taking her son with her.

Chu Linlang listened as Tao Yashu finished recounting her ordeal at the Tao estate, and still could not feel her spirits lift.

The Emperor’s heart was difficult to read. Although when she had entered the palace, His Majesty had appeared to waver somewhat, until the very last moment, no one could know whether the old Emperor’s heart held kindness or cruelty.

It was nearing dusk when the Third Prince’s carriage finally turned and came back through the gates of the Prince’s residence.

Chu Linlang immediately went out with Tao Yashu to receive him. When she caught sight of the tall figure behind the Third Prince, Chu Linlang felt her eyes sting with tears, her legs going faintly weak beneath her — if not for the maidservant beside her supporting her arm, she would have sunk to the ground.

Situ Sheng quickly covered the remaining distance in two long strides and pulled her into his embrace, his voice carrying all the weight of mingled feelings as he said quietly: “Linlang — I am back.”

Chu Linlang held his body tightly. Only now, with him safe in this moment at last, could the accumulated unease of these past several days finally be released. She buried herself in his embrace and wept without restraint.

Situ Sheng held her with tender care, letting her cry for a while before coaxing her: “Don’t cry anymore — be careful the little one in your belly cannot bear it.”

Tao Yashu, standing nearby, was startled. She said quietly: “Madam Chu — you are with child?”

Seeing Chu Linlang nod through her tear-blurred eyes, Tao Yashu could barely contain a surge of joyful delight. Madam Chu had for so long been unable to conceive — could it be that her bitter first half of life had moved Heaven, and this blessing was the reward?

She also knew she should not disturb Situ Sheng and Chu Linlang’s reunion, so after offering her heartfelt congratulations, she sent them on ahead.

Situ Sheng brought Linlang back to his own residence.

To avoid any appearance of impropriety, ever since Situ Sheng had moved into this residence, Linlang had never once set foot inside.

Though the household had some servants, his sleeping quarters still had the unkempt look of a bachelor’s room.

Chu Linlang’s instinct was to straighten things up, but Situ Sheng scooped her up in his arms and settled her on the bed: “You have been exhausted for so long — rest. Whatever you want to eat, I will have the kitchen make it for you.”

Linlang listened obediently and lay down under the covers, thinking it over: “I want the stir-fried lotus root dish you make, and the fragrant marinated pork patties.”

Situ Sheng was very good at making Jiangkou-style small dishes, and even just thinking about them now made her mouth water.

These past several days, she had been unable to eat in peace. Now all at once the hunger came rushing in.

Situ Sheng gave a nod and rose to go to the kitchen.

News of his imprisonment had spread all across the capital, and in just the span of a few short days, the household servants had taken their wages and more than half of them had left.

So the kitchen did not even have a proper cook. Fortunately, he had always been someone who did things himself — in the days before he entered official service, he had often cooked for his foster mother. Washing the vegetables, preparing the ingredients — all of it was done with practiced ease.

When the two dishes Linlang had asked for were set on the table, the two of them picked up their rice bowls and were at last able to eat in peace, their hearts content and sweet.

When Linlang asked why His Majesty would have released him so readily, Situ Sheng said: “Your flurry of actions left the Emperor in a position where he could neither advance nor retreat. Even if I were to fall ill by some mischance and die in that prison cell, it would leave him with the infamy of a tyrannical old age — a ruler who had cruelly killed the orphan entrusted to him by a loyal and meritorious subject. Liu Yi told His Majesty: the Liu family owes a debt to General Yang Xun that cannot be repaid. Since the real reason for General Yang Xun’s defeat all those years ago was connected to the actions of the former Crown Prince as well, His Majesty cannot go on compounding one error with another. Though whatever praise or punishment a ruler bestows, a subject ought to accept with gratitude — there are times when a ruler acknowledging his own error is not a diminishment of his sacred wisdom, but rather something that will make history and posterity look upon him with far greater admiration. It is simply that most people find it very difficult to do.”

When Liu Yi spoke to his father, he always adopted the tone of a lecturer discoursing on history — straightforward and matter-of-fact, with no sense of how to measure out flattery.

Yet these blunt and direct words had entered His Majesty’s heart.