The letter contained no message – the sender had only written the name of a tavern on the paper.
The handwriting was very messy.
But this simple name made Suzhen freeze for a moment, causing her to drop the wine jar right onto her foot. The pain brought tears to her eyes. Uncle Fu saw her right foot badly scraped and was terrified: “My ancestor, you… even if you’re craving wine, you can’t sleep hugging wine jars! I’ll get medicinal wine – wait here.”
“No need. I must go there immediately. My foot is injured and I can’t walk fast, so help me call for a sedan chair – right now.” Suzhen hopped on one foot to get a basin and went out to fetch water for washing.
Now Uncle Fu was curious: “Who exactly sent this letter? The messenger was a child who said someone from the palace told you to go to this tavern–“
“Old man, I said call for a sedan chair!”
Suzhen shouted loudly. Uncle Fu was startled and ran out muttering.
When Suzhen left in the sedan chair, Xiao Zhou and the others were both surprised and puzzled. This person was different from other officials – she said riding in sedan chairs was pretentious. Could it be she still hadn’t recovered from last night’s shock?
It turned out that last night Suzhen had gotten completely drunk and was carried back by Wuqing.
Of course, the actual situation was this: the imperial wine couldn’t be carelessly thrown away, so Suzhen, to reduce weight, tilted back her head and drank boldly, putting most of a jar of wine into her belly. But she forgot that though her alcohol tolerance was good, she could still get drunk. So after leaving the palace, she almost immediately collapsed against Wuqing.
When everyone saw Wuqing like a pagoda-bearing heavenly king bringing back one person and three wine jars, they all had only one thought: in the future, they could offend anyone but not Wuqing. Xiao Zhou was especially shocked – the words she had prepared to scold both of them were immediately swallowed back.
While everyone was frustrated with her inability to change, worrying like eunuchs about an unconcerned emperor, intensely discussing how to watch Suzhen closely at the palace banquet in three days to prevent her from speaking carelessly and causing trouble, Suzhen had already hurriedly stepped out of her sedan chair and entered the tavern indicated in the letter.
This establishment was still as lively as that day.
The main hall was full of people, with laughter and cheerful voices everywhere. The fragrance of food and the sweetness of wine intertwined, and everything seemed to remain in old times.
She looked around and saw someone at that day’s spot, drinking alone.
She ran over but stopped at the table, somewhat at a loss.
The other party’s expression was also somewhat stiff, with a hint of surprise. After the two remained silent for a long while, the white-clothed man finally spoke: “What happened to your foot?”
Suzhen’s eyes warmed slightly as she slowly shook her head: “Nothing, thank you… for your concern. I’m often careless, bumping into this and scraping that – it’s not unusual.”
The man looked deeply at her, pursed his lips, reached into his bosom to take out a handkerchief, placed it on the table, and slowly pushed it over.
“I can’t come out for too long. When it’s clean, return it to me.”
Suzhen didn’t move, her eyes moist, only staring intently at this person: “This is where we first met. You called me here – what do you mean? Are you willing to forgive me?”
The man’s fingers on the table couldn’t help but curl tightly. He had an absolutely beautiful face, and at this moment, his eyelids twitched slightly as he bit his lip.
This gesture would be more suitable for a woman to make.
Of course, she was originally a woman.
She looked at Suzhen and answered with another question: “Yesterday you were clearly very upset, so why did you still leave that thing for me? Why write a letter hinting how to solve the case? The letter at my door was left by you. Xiang’er also guessed it was you, but she doesn’t know that while you seemed to mock me, you actually went through the case details for me, reminding me where all the flaws were.”
She had still figured it out… Suzhen’s heart raced wildly. She turned her head aside and wiped her eyes. After a long time, she turned back: “Because you wrote to me first.”
“Wuyan, during those days when I was imprisoned by the Emperor, those letters explaining the case details were written by you.”
The other party also answered irrelevantly. Wuyan sneered: “There were so many people at the inn that day – who told you I was the one who wrote the letters!”
Suzhen smiled: “Yes, those letters had messy handwriting with no discernible pattern. At first glance, anyone could have written them. But if it were a man’s doing, judging by everyone’s character, only the Emperor and Quan Feitong would do such a thing – the Emperor for the case, Quan Feitong for the contest. But men are ultimately different. Though you deliberately pressed hard enough to show through the paper, your brush strength still doesn’t match a man’s.”
“So, assuming the letter writer was indeed a woman, you were the most likely candidate. I’d never seen Gu and the others’ handwriting – they wouldn’t need to deliberately write like that. Only you, Wuyan, would intentionally disguise your original handwriting, because you had written to me early when I first arrived in the capital.”
“Wuyan, you’re too proud – so proud that you maintained a fair competition. Or perhaps you don’t hate me as much as you said, and in your heart you still consider me a friend–“
Wuyan interrupted her coldly: “I didn’t do it for you – I did it for myself. If I completely denied you, I would be denying myself, denying my past feelings, denying my own history.”
“I’m fine – why should I deny myself!”
As she spoke, two streams of tears flowed down her face. She suddenly stood up, seeming about to leave.
Suzhen, red-eyed, grabbed her hand.
All the guests in the hall were in uproar, watching these two men grasping each other in the main hall.
But Suzhen didn’t care about any of that, only holding Wuyan tightly. Having practiced martial arts, though her skills couldn’t compare to big shots like Wuqing and Huo Chang’an, how could Wuyan, an ordinary woman, break free from her grip? She was immediately restrained.
The shopkeeper was dumbfounded and scurried over, stammering: “Both young masters, this shop is a small business that really can’t withstand such turmoil. One look at you both shows there must be a soul-stirring, tragic and moving story between you, but without happiness. I’ll have the waiter cook noodles for you both – consider it my treat. After eating, please each go your separate ways, alright?”
Wuyan had been glaring at Suzhen, but hearing this, she took out a bank note from her bosom with her free hand and placed it on the table: “One thousand taels to buy your silence.”
The shopkeeper took it and put it in his bosom, sighing: “True love won’t retreat because of worldly opinions. Someday you’ll receive blessings.”
He spoke to calm the guests while chaos erupted all around. Some laughed and watched, others angrily cursed, telling the two to get out. Suzhen pulled Wuyan toward the second floor. For the sake of one thousand taels, the shopkeeper didn’t stop them.
Suzhen found an empty private room and kicked the door open.
Both had tearful faces and disheveled appearances.
Only then did Suzhen release Wuyan, saying quietly: “I truly didn’t know about your feelings for Lian Yu. Huo Chang’an deceived me. If I had known you had feelings for Lian Yu, I definitely wouldn’t have overstepped boundaries back then. Now, there’s truly nothing between him and me.”
Wuyan suddenly stopped, the coldness in her eyes finally cracking bit by bit, leaving only misty emotion.
Finally, she slowly turned around: “Actually, when we were still in Minzhou, I decided to believe you. Huo Chang’an… when that man goes crazy, what wouldn’t he do? But still, I was afraid you were deceiving me.”
“I had feelings for the Emperor since my youth, but because of a friend, I withdrew. Of course, this wasn’t anyone else’s fault – it was my own decision. But if I love someone, I demand that he also be pure and flawless. If I regard someone as a friend, I hope she treats me the same way. And I was already the Emperor’s consort – you clearly knew this, yet you still privately pledged your feelings to him. How could I not be suspicious? How could I not be hurt?”
Suzhen listened intently to every word Wuyan said. The word “friend” made her pause – she had never known there seemed to be another young lady between Wuyan and Lian Yu.
But this obviously wasn’t the time to ask in detail. She had never seen proud Wuyan cry like this – her eyes red as blood, her face white as paper, her pupils hollow with despair. She was about to approach when Wuyan shouted fiercely: “Don’t come over!”
She couldn’t help but stop, and she was angry too: “Wuyan, since you came to find me today, can’t we become friends again? You did nothing wrong, and neither did I. Otherwise, what’s the point of you coming today? What’s the point of my wild joy? I gave up for you…”
She suddenly stopped speaking. How could she tell her that she gave up Lian Yu for her sake?
Wouldn’t that let Wuyan know that she had already fallen in love with Lian Yu, and with all her grievances and pain, make Wuyan feel troubled again?
Suzhen covered her eyes and crouched down. She had never known that besides love, friendship could also be so hurtful!
Wuyan’s vision had long been blurred, but she smiled slightly: “Huaisu, I actually came this time to tell you to win the Emperor’s heart back. But I hope you understand your own heart clearly and don’t repeat my mistakes. Otherwise, the one who gets hurt in the end won’t be the Emperor, but you.”
Suzhen looked up in a daze, her heart feeling as if it were suddenly filled with something – not because Wuyan finally gave her freedom, but because of every word she said while crying and smiling.
She suddenly felt that all her previous retreat had been worth it.
All the pain had been worth it.
Her lips trembled as she was about to say something, but Wuyan shook her head: “Let me finish first. I’m afraid I won’t have the courage to say these words a second time. You helped me with my bet with Lian Yue – I should be willing to accept defeat. I can’t be friends with you anymore. I don’t want to be caught between you and Lian Yu, and I don’t want to be caught between Lian Yue and Huo Chang’an. I hate Lian Yue, but I’ve never truly hated you. Don’t feel burdened.”
“Be careful of the Empress Dowager and Gu Shuangcheng. They may not be vicious people, but you must be careful of them.”
She pulled the door open with both hands.
Suzhen found herself choking on thousands of words, only managing to shout: “Wuyan, in Lian Yue’s case, I used Wuqing’s treatment opportunity to have several physicians bring large numbers of account books for comparison. I had Huo Chang’an investigate whether Gu De had a habit of wearing thumb rings. I personally examined He Shu’s corpse, confirming he was thin and not stocky like the paper figure. I told Huo Chang’an that the weather was calm that day, so He Jie’s stone probably wasn’t for weighing down paper but for venting anger. And the reason Gu De wouldn’t wear wedding clothes…”
Wuyan was shaken and stopped, various emotions flashing in her eyes – surprise, admiration, mixed joy and sorrow. She turned around: “So it was all you. Why did you do this?”
Suzhen lowered her head and said quietly: “I wanted to know whether Lian Yu would still like me when I could do nothing.”
Wuyan stared for a long moment before saying: “You gave up all glory just to make this proof?”
A glimmer of light appeared in Suzhen’s red eyes: “Yes.”
“But when I accidentally learned from Huo Chang’an that Lian Yue still had no clues, I had Huo Chang’an give her a hint… What could be more important than human life? Later when we met at the inn, I saw your deeply furrowed brow and guessed something. I couldn’t let you lose to Lian Yue, so I imitated you and wrote you an anonymous letter. Wuyan, I’m sorry I…”
Wuyan looked deeply at her, her eyes filled with laughter, not blame: “No, you did nothing wrong – nothing at all. We forgot that Li Huaisu doesn’t care about winning or losing. She may sometimes fail, but she’ll never give up trying. I lost.”
Suzhen stepped forward and gripped her arms, crying fiercely: “Lian Yue thought of using wedding clothes to shock Gu De into telling the truth in panic. You used Cheng Qizhu’s wife’s pregnancy as an opportunity to bring him to justice – you solved the case yourself. You didn’t lose. You told me I can love Lian Yu – why can’t you love Huo Chang’an, whom you still love?”
Wuyan’s face was covered in tears, but she paid no attention, using her sleeve to wipe away the mess on Suzhen’s face. Her beautiful eyes were wide open, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned: “Huaisu, when I was young, I believed that flawed love should be abandoned. So I asked the Emperor to help me enter the palace. The Emperor treated me extremely well – I thought living a lifetime like this wouldn’t be bad. The Emperor was my youthful dream, an unattainable dream. Huo Chang’an kept pestering me, but because I was in the imperial palace, he couldn’t do anything improper. But when he finally gave up on me, I discovered he had long taken root in my heart.”
“But what of it? Neither he nor I can return to the past. He’s already fallen in love with Lian Yue, and in his heart I’m no longer perfect. I couldn’t accept a three-person life, he couldn’t abandon Lian Yue, and I wouldn’t let him abandon Lian Yue either. Bet or no bet, I don’t want the man I deeply loved to become someone who abandons others callously and be despised by people.”
“She thinks it’s fine this way now. You say I’m proud – aren’t you the same? Buddha said great sorrow has no tears, great enlightenment has no words, great laughter has no sound, but Buddha didn’t say great love has no feeling. Huaisu, let me do one last thing for you.”