Seeing the gentle, tranquil smile on this daughter’s face – so beautiful it made Xiao Rongyan’s heart flutter – if he could… Xiao Rongyan wanted to preserve Bai Qingyan’s smile and protect her from all worries.
But Xiao Rongyan knew deeply that the woman he admired was no ordinary daughter. Her aspirations were lofty, not focused on romantic love between men and women. It was he… who seemed too sentimental.
When Xiao Rongyan escorted Bai Qingyan to the gates of the Grand Court of Justice prison, Quan Yu and Lu Jin were already waiting at the entrance.
Upon seeing Bai Qingyan arrive, Quan Yu hurried down the high steps to greet her, with Lu Jin quickly following behind. They approached Bai Qingyan and paid their respects.
“Master Xiao can escort me here!” Bai Qingyan smiled at Xiao Rongyan.
Xiao Rongyan privately still wanted to spend more time with Bai Qingyan, but he also knew that if Bai Qingyan was to interrogate Fu Ruoxi, she might remain in the Grand Court of Justice prison for an unknown length of time. He could only bid farewell first.
Lu Jin hastily had the jailers take away Bai Qingyan’s horse and asked: “Does Princess Zhenguo wish to interrogate Fu Ruoxi alone?”
Seeing Xiao Rongyan mount his horse and leave, Bai Qingyan walked up the high steps of the Grand Court of Justice prison with Lu Jin and Quan Yu, saying: “In a moment, Minister Lu can wait in the adjacent cell. You needn’t accompany me to see Fu Ruoxi.”
Bai Qingyan said this to avoid suspicion.
If she avoided Lu Jin and met with Fu Ruoxi alone, others might inevitably suspect that Bai Qingyan, who had already pledged allegiance to the Crown Prince… was threatening and bribing Fu Ruoxi, deliberately making Fu Ruoxi falsely accuse the Empress.
Lu Jin nodded in agreement and followed closely behind Bai Qingyan with a respectful attitude.
·
Fu Ruoxi had witnessed her mother crash to death before her eyes last night. At this moment, she was like a broken person, her eyes bloodshot as she leaned against the damp, moldy wall of the Grand Court of Justice prison, gazing at the narrow window through which light entered. Her tears had already dried up.
Hearing the sound of door locks and iron chains, Fu Ruoxi’s fingers, covered in dried blood stains, moved slightly, but she still maintained that dejected appearance, looking out the window at the bright light floating with dust particles that streamed in, motionless as a sculpture.
Bai Qingyan looked at Fu Ruoxi, who had lost her former high spirits. Not minding the filth of the prison, she knelt and sat on the slightly cleaner straw across from Fu Ruoxi, as if preparing for an intimate conversation.
She began: “Yesterday’s incident of Old Madam Fu committing suicide before you in the Grand Court of Justice prison has spread throughout the capital. Today, when I went to pay respects at Old Madam Fu’s spirit, before even entering the family gate… I heard the main branch’s wife of the Fu family berating Madam Fu with the most bitter and harsh words in front of General Fu’s two legitimate sons.”
Upon hearing these words, Fu Ruoxi’s fingers tightened. She thought of how her mother had once written about feeling guilty for not visiting during the Bai family’s great mourning, then remembered how at Anping Military Camp, Bai Qingyan had severed one of his arms but spared his life… precisely to help preserve the Fu family.
Only then did Fu Ruoxi support herself with one arm, kneel toward Bai Qingyan’s direction, and kowtow: “Princess Zhenguo spared my life at Anping Military Camp and saved the entire Fu family. Fu Ruoxi thanks Princess Zhenguo here!”
“General Fu needn’t thank me. This time, perhaps I was meddling unnecessarily… and still couldn’t save the entire Fu family, even causing Old Madam Fu to die in such a tragic manner and letting Madam Fu suffer humiliation.” Bai Qingyan’s eyes, deep as tranquil jade pools, gazed at Fu Ruoxi. “Bai Qingyan already regrets it.”
At the mention of Old Madam Fu, Fu Ruoxi couldn’t help but burst into tears again.
“Bai Qingyan has one question: the letter the Empress sent to Anping Military Camp to coerce General Fu – did it claim… that His Majesty’s days are numbered, requesting General Fu’s assistance to support Prince Xin’s ascension to the throne?” Bai Qingyan didn’t beat around the bush with Fu Ruoxi, asking what she most wanted to know.
Fu Ruoxi’s hands resting on her knees tightened, her lips pressed tightly together in silence.
“Could it be that even Old Madam Fu’s life couldn’t awaken you, and you still want to protect the Empress?” Bai Qingyan spoke very bluntly. “You were coerced by the Empress using Old Madam Fu as leverage, forced to draw your sword against His Highness the Crown Prince. It could be said… You did it to fulfill filial piety! Both the Crown Prince and I respect you as a filial son!”
“But today’s you is contemptible!” Bai Qingyan stared steadily at Fu Ruoxi, her voice calm and unruffled. “Old Madam Fu risked her life to protect the entire family’s safety, but you, because of romantic feelings, refuse to speak and explain the cause and effect of this matter clearly, putting the entire Fu family in danger! To Old Madam Fu, who gave her life to secure a way out for the Fu family, you are unfilial!”
“Because of romantic feelings… You let your wife and children be blamed and accused, possibly even having to go to the Yellow Springs with you. What wrong have your wife and children done? Your two children’s lives have just begun! You are unjust to both wife and children!”
“Still, because of romantic feelings, you conceal from His Majesty that the Empress once asked you to lead troops to force abdication and support Prince Xin’s ascension – this is disloyalty!”
“The Empress is already His Majesty’s wife, and you are also a husband and father. To harbor feelings for His Majesty’s wife is shameless insubordination! Fu Ruoxi… such a disloyal, unfilial, unjust, and shameless person – I deeply regret showing mercy and sparing your life. I should have chopped off your head then, so the Fu family could depart cleanly today.”
Fu Ruoxi’s hands gripped the clothing at her knees tightly, lifting her head in anguished weeping.
Though Bai Qingyan’s voice was light and steady, it sounded forceful and resonant. Each word stripped away Fu Ruoxi’s last remaining shred of dignity, leaving him barely able to endure.
“Do you know why the Empress, wanting to support Prince Xin’s ascension, came to you… Rather than seeking her brother?” Bai Qingyan felt her previous words weren’t cruel enough, not enough to destroy Fu Ruoxi’s loyalty to the Empress. She sneered: “Because if you led troops to force abdication and rebel, if you failed… it would have nothing to do with the Zhong family. The family facing complete extermination wouldn’t be the Zhong family… but the Fu family. This… is the Empress’s loyalty to you.”
Fu Ruoxi’s throat rolled. The words “impossible” churned in his throat but couldn’t be spoken, only widening his eyes with fury.
“Do you also know… why the Empress was so anxious to push the already-demoted Prince Xin to power?” Bai Qingyan pointed to the wall behind Fu Ruoxi, then to her ear, before continuing: “The Empress carries a legitimate son in her womb. In less than ten months… there’s a fifty percent chance she’ll give birth to a prince. Wouldn’t a legitimate son of pure birth be more suitable for the dragon throne than Prince Xin? As long as the legitimate son is born, if the Crown Prince has any mishap, there are plenty of court officials who would support the legitimate son entering the Eastern Palace. Why can’t the Empress wait? Because the Empress… has a false pregnancy and cannot give birth to a child.”
Fu Ruoxi’s eyes became bloodshot and red, his fists clenched tightly.
“Taking ten thousand steps back, even if that child isn’t His Majesty’s – as the Empress once threatened you – even if it were yours, at least there would be a real child in her belly. As long as the child is born male… His Majesty is already aged; if the Crown Prince errs, the legitimate son could naturally enter the Eastern Palace, and the Empress could rule from behind the curtain. Wouldn’t that be good? The Empress could coerce General Fu into rebellion and force abdication. Does General Fu think… the Empress would be someone who, content with pushing her son to power, would then retire to enjoy her remaining years?”