Huo Liuxing sat in Chuigong Hall until the hour of Chou.
The pitiful old Emperor, having just learned of the crimes committed by his rebellious son, was so “heartbroken” he couldn’t sleep through the night. He pulled this “intimate” meritorious subject from the Huo family to chat, discussing everything from methods of punishing Zhao Rui, to ways of investigating Zhao Rui’s remaining faction members, to the melancholy of who should occupy the Crown Prince position in the future if the Crown Prince proved unable to sustain himself.
A full two and a half hours—on the surface Huo Liuxing appeared gentlemanly as jade, but in his heart he raged like thunder, worrying about how Shen Lingzhen would endure this endless night having lost his sacred healing hands.
Near the hour of Yin, the old Emperor said with great consideration, “Ah, how perfect—you arrived just before the palace gates were locked, and now you’ve happened to wait until the gates are unlocked. No need to even use the back door.”
Huo Liuxing “gratefully” left Chuigong Hall and met up with Kongqing, who had been waiting outside the palace.
“I thought I wouldn’t be able to wait for you before daybreak, young master.” Kongqing, yawning continuously, gave him a look—asking whether the Emperor had made things difficult for him.
Huo Liuxing smiled faintly.
Of course the Emperor hadn’t summoned him tonight merely to pour out bitter complaints and relieve boredom.
Having occupied the imperial throne for so many years, even if he had grown old and his mind was no longer as sharp as before, that shrewdness had long since seeped into his very bones.
Within this day and night of twists and turns, even if he had initially been led by the nose, by the moment Zhao Rui brought disaster upon himself and walked into the trap, the old Emperor should have come to his senses—without someone manipulating things behind the scenes, this succession of scenes would have unfolded far too smoothly.
Zhao Rui’s guilt was real, and naturally he must be severely dealt with. But the person who single-handedly engineered Zhao Rui’s downfall, who dared to lead even the Emperor himself by the nose, equally deserved a lesson.
In the old Emperor’s view, looking at this matter from beginning to end, there were only two candidates for this person. First, Huo Liuxing, who had offered him counsel and suggested he lure the snake from its hole. Second, Zhao Xun, who after being falsely accused, remained composed and calm, proving his own innocence.
From the standpoint of logic, the Emperor should consider Zhao Xun’s suspicion greater.
First, that jade pendant should not reasonably have appeared in Huo Liuxing’s hands, but rather seemed more like Zhao Xun using a token to stage a performance of being splashed with dirty water.
Second, compared to benefiting the Huo family, this matter brought Zhao Xun more direct and greater advantages: toppling Zhao Rui, Zhao Xun not only eliminated a rival for succession, but could also gain his father’s pity as a victim—after all, according to normal development, the Emperor who had wrongly accused him would necessarily have to compensate him afterward.
However, from the standpoint of personal feelings, the Emperor naturally favored his son while remaining wary of Huo Liuxing. Thus came tonight’s seemingly heart-to-heart confidential discussion.
From start to finish, every question the Emperor asked was actually testing Huo Liuxing’s attitude. In this two-and-a-half-hour war of attrition, if his responses had been even slightly careless, he might not have been able to walk out through these palace gates so smoothly.
However, seeing Huo Liuxing smile now, Kongqing knew he had successfully redirected the disaster back onto Zhao Xun through this conversation.
Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives.
Before being cleared of suspicion, Zhao Xun, who had been under house arrest in Yanfu Palace, was also just now leaving the palace gates in a sedan chair.
Kongqing was just about to help Huo Liuxing onto the carriage when he made out the identity of the approaching person by the light of a distant guard’s lantern.
Huo Liuxing also paused his movements, bowing respectfully toward Zhao Xun. Seeing the thick circle of gauze around his neck, he said with concern: “Fourth Prince is injured? Is it serious?”
Zhao Xun’s originally inconsequential wound, upon being asked this question, felt as if it had been seared with a spark of fire, the pain making him grit his teeth.
Back when Huo Liuxing had moved residences, he had proactively visited to declare his position, hinting that he supported the Huo family in eliminating Zhao Rui. Therefore, after the traitor entered the capital, he was certain Huo Liuxing would make some move. On one hand, he prepared to watch the good show of the Huo family and Zhao Rui fighting like snipe and clam. On the other hand, he also planned that when necessary, he would stand on the Huo family’s side and first deal with Zhao Rui.
When urgently summoned into the palace at dawn yesterday, he guessed that the Huo family had made arrangements at the prison. But it wasn’t until he saw that jade pendant that he truly became alarmed at the depth of Huo Liuxing’s scheming, and finally realized that he, who had thought himself in control of the situation, had actually been played for a complete fool.
Huo Liuxing wasn’t the snipe or the clam at all—he was the fisherman.
This fisherman had calculated everything from the start: eliminate Zhao Rui, but also not give him, Zhao Xun, even the slightest benefit. Instead, he would drag him into the mud as well.
The Emperor, having father-son affection for this legitimate son of his, wouldn’t go so far as to harshly punish him just because he had staged a performance of “self-污,” but he would secretly mark this down in his heart.
And precisely because of this, it made him feel even more like a mute who had eaten bitter herbs—suffering that he couldn’t speak of, grievances with nowhere to appeal.
Huo Liuxing had calculated each and every one of them from the Zhao family perfectly.
Though furious in his heart, Zhao Xun’s face still assumed a conversational attitude. He descended from the sedan chair, waved away the palace attendants, and said: “A minor injury—no need for General Huo to worry. If General Huo has free time, he could instead concern himself with them.” He lifted his chin, indicating the several large trees by the roadside whose leaves were being blown about by the desolate autumn wind. “Trees that grow too tall and grand easily attract wind. Flourishing with luxuriant branches and leaves today, they wither and rot tomorrow.”
Having played word games with twists and turns with the old Emperor in the palace for most of the night, Huo Liuxing was too lazy to craft eloquent rhetoric when facing such verbal sparring. He simply gave a light “oh,” as if not understanding, and said: “But this subject doesn’t care about large trees—this subject only cares about Your Highness. Before coming to the capital, this subject rooted out several traitors in the Qingyang residence who had been bought off by others, and deeply understands the suffering involved. Just now in His Majesty’s presence, this subject saw a jade pendant used by someone to frame Your Highness, and is very worried that Your Highness’s residence also has household thieves. After returning to your residence, Your Highness, please carefully investigate.”
“…” There was even a “taste of one’s own medicine” trap waiting for him?
Zhao Xun used the twenty-plus years of cultivation as a superior he had developed to suppress his fury, managing not to curse out the phrase “vengeful old schemer” in his heart, and departed with a flick of his sleeves without saying a word.
Kongqing used the ten-plus years of veteran acting cultivation he had developed to hold back the laughter that had risen to his lips, solemnly bowing his head to see the noble personage off as he boarded the carriage back to the Prince’s residence.
After returning to the Huo residence and avoiding idle persons, he asked curiously: “Did you truly buy off someone from the Fourth Prince’s household, young master?”
How could that be possible? How long had Huo Liuxing been in the capital? And Zhao Xun wasn’t incompetent either.
This achievement wasn’t his credit, but rather Meng Qufei’s.
Wine, meat, song, dance, jade stones, and precious objects—these were all specialties of wealthy young masters. Last year during the Emperor’s birthday celebration, when Zhao Xun commissioned someone to find a unique and unparalleled piece of Hetian precious jade from the southwest, upon hearing “unique and unparalleled,” Meng Qufei thought this jade might prove useful for making an article in the future. Before it was transported to the capital, he had already tampered with it and retained some scraps.
Over the years, Meng Qufei had probably accumulated quite a lot of these achievements—things whose use couldn’t be seen at the time, but since they were idle anyway, he might as well plant seeds for future use.
Huo Liuxing smiled: “Even if we can’t buy anyone off, isn’t it good to let our Fourth Prince also experience the pleasure of catching thieves?” Saying this, he wheeled toward the washroom.
It was now approaching dawn. After hastily bathing, he heard Jingmo report news about Yeli Chong. However, having gone without sleep for two consecutive nights, his energy was insufficient and he couldn’t sort out the threads for the time being. He first went to Shen Lingzhen’s bedroom, planning to rest.
Last night Shen Lingzhen had waited for him until the hour of Zi. Unable to wait any longer, she had gone to sleep alone. At this moment she was still drowsy. Vaguely sensing someone beside her, unable to open her eyes, her body nonetheless nestled closer.
This was probably because the night before last, having been meticulously cared for by Huo Liuxing and sleeping comfortably nestled against his furnace-like body, she had become addicted.
Seeing that even half-asleep and half-awake she remembered to nestle closer, Huo Liuxing’s drowsiness instantly vanished—he suddenly wasn’t sleepy anymore.
He felt the warming stone tucked in the bedding and found it had gone cold. He simply lifted it out and placed it under the bed, then drew Shen Lingzhen into his embrace.
Between waking and sleeping, Shen Lingzhen shifted her body, also trying to embrace him as she had the previous night. But when her hand reached out, instead of catching his waist, she accidentally went a bit lower.
Huo Liuxing jolted violently, his scalp tingling. For a moment he forgot to move away the arm she was pressing against him. Only much later, when Shen Lingzhen groggily sensed something was wrong, opened her eyes, and lowered her head to look toward that strange place—
Huo Liuxing instinctively pushed her away.
Shen Lingzhen rolled toward the corner of the bed, crying out “Aiya” in pain, completely awakened.
Huo Liuxing immediately sat up in alarm: “Did you hurt yourself?”
Shen Lingzhen, rubbing her lower back that was already aching and swollen from her condition and had now received a fatal blow, tearfully blocked his reaching hand: “If you don’t want me to embrace you, you could just say so directly. Why hit people!”
“…” Huo Liuxing shook his head. “No, I…”
He delayed for a long moment, then sighed: “It was an accident. Come here, let me see if you’re hurt anywhere.”
Shen Lingzhen shrank into the corner of the bed, looking at him with righteous indignation, shaking her head to indicate she wouldn’t come over.
Huo Liuxing wanted to approach, but once he left the cover of the bedding, he feared she would see an inappropriate scene. In this dilemma, he decided the best strategy was retreat. He summoned Jianjia and Bailu to check whether she had bumped herself, while he himself turned and went to the washroom.
Having this accident so early in the morning, Jianjia and Bailu asked Shen Lingzhen in bewilderment whether the young master had bullied her.
Shen Lingzhen was also baffled. She recounted the sequence of events from beginning to end, saying aggrievedly: “I just woke up because the warming stone was too hot and wanted to remove it. As a result, I received a blow from the young master.”
“Warming stone? Too hot?” Jianjia strangely picked up the warming stone from under the bed, which had already gone cold. “Young mistress, your warming stone is here, and it’s long since gone cold.”
Shen Lingzhen reached out to feel it in surprise, making a sound of puzzlement: “Then what did I just touch?”
Jianjia and Bailu froze, blinking slowly, looking at each other. Both saw the same answer in the other’s eyes.
Jianjia: Should we tell her?
Bailu: Better not?
Jianjia: But young mistress will have to know these things sooner or later.
Bailu: Then… you tell her?
Jianjia took a breath, opened her mouth, then paused.
Shen Lingzhen asked strangely: “What is it? Are you two hiding something from me?”
“Young mistress,” Jianjia said, closing her eyes and steeling herself, “what you touched might have been… the implement for consummating the marriage…”
After Jianjia explained the principles back and forth repeatedly, Shen Lingzhen’s cheeks flushed red. She felt even the hand that had touched Huo Liuxing earlier was burning hot, exclaiming “Ah” and “Oh” repeatedly.
“This… you mean, being like that makes him very uncomfortable?”
“Usually, yes, young mistress.”
Thinking back to how she had wrongly blamed Huo Liuxing earlier, Shen Lingzhen immediately felt ashamed.
When two incense sticks later, Huo Liuxing returned pretending nothing had happened, he once again saw in her eyes that kind of compassionate maternal pity from before.
Shen Lingzhen’s words were shocking enough to kill: “My lord, I only just learned that because you haven’t consummated our marriage with me, you’ve been silently enduring suffering that you shouldn’t have to endure. I… I’ve wronged you.”
“…”
Seeing him choke, she stammered: “It’s all my fault for being so immature all this time… My lord, are you still in discomfort? Why don’t we consummate this marriage?”
“…”