The civil and military officials panicked, and so did the commoners below, staring at the sudden thunderstorm, taking a good while before they thought to scatter and take shelter.
“How can this be?” Tang Yue muttered under his breath, watching the crowd disperse in every direction below. “Does heaven not want Noble Consort De to die? Then haven’t we all wronged her?”
“It’s probably just a coincidence.” Lü Sanbian chimed in at once. “Maybe it just happened to be due to rain today. We simply picked the wrong time.”
“But of all times, it rains right when the fire is lit?”
Lü Sanbian shivered. “That… this official wouldn’t know. In any case, I was the one who said from the start that Noble Consort De was innocent. It was the rest of you who insisted on condemning her.”
Seeing him shirk the blame, Tang Yue quickly waved his hands too. “I was only relaying the petitions of the other officials. I myself always believed in Noble Consort De — I never once said she was a demoness.”
The remaining officials fell silent. Without another word, the emperor took the umbrella from Eunuch Qin’s hands and went to help Hua Chun down from the fire pile himself.
“Are you alright?” he asked quietly.
Hua Chun’s face was full of fury, but she forced the words out through gritted teeth, quiet enough for only him to hear. “I’m fine. I could still keep acting a bit longer.”
“Your clothes are soaked. You’ll catch a chill.”
“One must lose the sheep to catch the wolf.”
Yuwen Jie frowned slightly and said nothing more. Then Hua Chun shoved him away and cried out hysterically, “It was heaven that spared this humble consort, not Your Majesty! From this day forward, whatever fate bound the two of us is over!”
With that, she stumbled straight into Rui’er’s arms, weeping bitterly.
He Chang’an hurried over to support her, then looked at the emperor. “Even I never expected Your Majesty would truly go through with burning my lady! If heaven hadn’t opened its eyes, this would have been two lives lost at once! I am thoroughly disappointed in Your Majesty. Return the title of Marquis of Gongyu — give it to whomever you please! Farewell!”
With that, he took Hua Chun and boarded the waiting carriage outside.
The turn of events came so fast that no one had time to react. The emperor made no move to stop them, and the carriage disappeared down the road into the distance.
A downpour had washed the capital clean, inside and out. The emperor stood on the execution platform for a long while, and only once the rain stopped did someone dare approach and ask, “Your Majesty… they’ve reached the city gates. Shall we let them pass?”
“Do I have any standing left to stop them from leaving?” The emperor turned back, his eyes bloodshot. “When the crowd cannot be blamed, and the whole world is wrong together, there is nothing I can do about it either. You have won.”
The ministers fell silent, heads bowed low. The emperor swept his sleeves and returned to his chambers, falling ill for three days straight.
Three days later, the gloom that had settled over Yanjing finally seemed to lift. Heavy rain fell across the land, the drought was relieved, and the smallpox outbreak gradually faded as the bodies were cremated and medicine sprayed. Only the emperor’s illness showed little sign of improvement — he forced himself to attend court each day, pale-faced and coughing without end.
With Noble Consort De gone, no other consort in the harem could so much as see the emperor. The position of Marquis of Gongyu remained vacant, and with so many matters left unhandled, the court officials were left working around the clock without rest.
“Your Majesty.” Eunuch Qin said. “Some officials have asked me to convey their wish that Your Majesty bring Noble Consort De back to the palace — after all, she still carries the imperial heir, and the realm is at peace now…”
“They make it sound so simple.” the emperor sneered. “Do they think Hua Chun will just come and go at their beck and call? I have no way to bring her back. Whoever wants her back can go find a way themselves.”
Eunuch Qin nodded and relayed the words exactly as spoken.
The group of ministers wore troubled expressions. The emperor showed no sign of intending to take a new consort, and every woman left in the harem seemed to have been cast into the cold palace along with the rest. Given the state of the emperor’s health, they had to prepare for the worst — at the very least, there needed to be an heir!
Having believed earlier that Noble Consort De was truly a demoness now seemed to have been a misunderstanding. Now that the misunderstanding had cleared and the disasters across the land had eased, why not think of some way to apologize to her?
No sooner said than done — Tang Yue and Lü Sanbian sent people to inquire after Hua Chun’s whereabouts, and learned that He Chang’an had taken her to a scenic estate near Yanjing, a fine place to recuperate during pregnancy.
So the group gathered gifts and paid a visit.
As it turned out, they arrived at the gate but were driven off by He Chang’an with a sword before they could even step inside.
“Back then, it was you who refused to believe she carried the imperial heir. Now that you want to make use of that heir, you’ve come to snatch her back again.” The blade gleamed cold as He Chang’an glared at the group. “Lady Hua will not return to the palace, nor does she belong to His Majesty any longer. Give up on this.”
“My lord doesn’t care for glory and wealth, but does Noble Consort De feel the same?” someone asked quietly. “If this child truly is an imperial heir, their life would certainly be far more comfortable than that of an ordinary commoner.”
“None of us care,” He Chang’an said. “Glory, wealth, rank, status — whoever among you wants it can go fight for it.”
The group exchanged glances, watching the gate close before their eyes, at a loss for what to do.
Someone said, “Noble Consort De isn’t so important after all. If we truly can’t win her back, then let it be.”
A few old ministers sighed and turned back for home.
“His Majesty’s health shows no sign of improving. We cannot afford not to think of the future. Noble Consort De and the Marquis of Gongyu are both indispensable, and yet they’ve taken this attitude — we cannot simply let them be.”
“Then what else can we do?” someone else asked. “They no longer care about glory and wealth.”
“Noble Consort De must have had her heart wounded by His Majesty’s actions, and the Marquis is only being fiercely protective.” an old minister said. “Let’s approach it from the emperor’s side instead. Perhaps we can find a way to win the Noble Consort back.”
That sounded reasonable! The group hurried straight into the palace.
But there, they found the emperor pale-faced and unconscious. Imperial Physician Feng stood outside the door, looking deeply worried, speaking to Eunuch Qin. “His Majesty’s illness is one of the heart. Forgive my bluntness, but if this continues, he won’t have many years left to live.”
Eunuch Qin dropped to his knees at once, startling the officials behind him into kneeling as well.
“Why are you all kneeling to me?” Imperial Physician Feng sighed. “Go persuade His Majesty — that’s what matters.”
“How are we supposed to persuade him?” Eunuch Qin said, eyes reddening. “His Majesty has always been a man of few words, keeping everything locked inside. Now that he’s wronged Noble Consort De, hurt her heart, and lost her for good, he’s too mindful of the people and the officials’ opinions to do anything about it. What can I possibly do to help?”
Tang Yue spoke up quickly. “Since His Majesty is in this state, then let’s go bring my lady back ourselves.”
“We already tried.” one of the old ministers said. “It was no use. My lady refuses to come back.”
“Ah, this is really just a matter of face,” Lü Sanbian said. “My lady feels His Majesty doesn’t love her — that he was willing to burn her before everyone. So why don’t we prove His Majesty’s true feelings for her?”
“How would we prove that?”
“It’s simple enough.” Lü Sanbian said. “His Majesty already brought up the matter of naming an empress before. Is there anyone among you now who would object?”