Pei Zifang tried to shake off Dong Fang’s pestering and hurriedly left the palace. He saw someone entering the Qianqing Gate and quickly stopped, smiling, “Nephew Jiang.”
Marquis Suhai, Jiang Yao, in his mid-thirties with regular features and clear eyes, smiled and said, “Marquis Pei, I’m going to see the Emperor. We’ll catch up another day.”
Pei Zifang cupped his hands, knowing the situation was dire: Marquis Suhai was fiercely loyal to the Emperor, and his 30,000 troops were likely on standby. The few garrisons in the capital were probably prepared as well. He hastily mounted his horse, not caring about much else, and rode straight to the Prime Minister’s mansion.
Madam Pei had already received the news. Seeing him enter the garden, she dismissed everyone and frowned slightly, saying, “How did this happen? Didn’t you—”
But Pei Zifang was lost in thought, muttering, “Who was that person?”
“What person?”
“The mysterious figure beside the Emperor. I couldn’t see his face, but his skills were no less than Yan’er’s. The Emperor’s recovery must be related to him. But where did such a person come from?”
Madam Pei drew in a sharp breath, saying, “The Emperor probably woke up last month.” She recounted Jiang Yuan’s words from that night. Pei Zifang paled, saying, “This could be trouble. We’ve been too careless.”
Madam Pei gradually calmed down and laughed coldly, “Don’t worry. So what if he’s awake? The north is still under our control, and he wouldn’t dare do anything to Yan’er! Ning Jianyu and the Changfeng Cavalry are not to be trifled with.”
“He’s truly cunning, actually conferring the title of Prince of Loyalty and Filial Piety on Yan’er. Hmph, loyal and filial indeed. If Yan’er rebels, he’ll be seen as disloyal and unfilial, and no one will support him. This move is truly vicious.”
“Where’s Yan’er?”
“Held up in Hongtai Hall, unable to leave.”
Madam Pei said, “We can’t wait for Yan’er to return. Send someone through the underground passage immediately to inform Ning Jianyu to move his troops to Hexi Prefecture.”
Pei Zifang shook his head, saying, “Xie Che doesn’t want to be known for killing a meritorious official right now, and he doesn’t want to force the Changfeng Cavalry to rebel. Yan’er is not in immediate danger. If we rashly move troops, we’ll only give others an excuse. Let’s have Ning Jianyu secretly move troops to Hexi Prefecture but maintain appearances on the surface.”
Wei Zhao tried his best to make his smile radiate uncontrollable joy. As he left the Qianqing Gate, he saw Yi Wu leading a group from the Guangming Department approaching from the east, which slightly eased his mind.
Yi Wu brought over a horse, and Wei Zhao coldly transmitted a message: “Quickly check on Tongtang Hall, and be careful of anyone following!”
He rode back to the Wei mansion, heading straight for the Peach Garden. Stumbling into the peach grove filled with bare branches, seeing no one else around, he finally gasped violently, kneeling in the soil and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Earlier in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, to avoid the Emperor’s suspicion, he had forcibly injured his heart meridian, triggering the blood-spitting symptoms caused by the “Ice Soul Pill.” This allowed him to escape the probing of the gray-robed man beside the Emperor and avoid disaster. However, this also damaged his heart meridian, and now he could barely support himself, swaying unsteadily.
His vision blurred, his energy completely spent, unable to move an inch. In the haze, she seemed to still stand under the peach tree, smiling gently. She seemed to still whisper in his ear, “Don’t you dare leave me behind.”
How could he leave? This was the warmth he had longed for. But the innate responsibility, this body full of hatred, how could it be easily cast aside?
As his consciousness gradually blurred, the breeze stirred his hair. He gasped violently, using his last bit of qi to protect his seemingly about-to-break-heart meridian, and fell into endless darkness.
In Hongtai Hall, Pei Yan finally succumbed to the alcohol, collapsing onto Prince Jing. The officials finally relented, and Prince Jing hurriedly said, “Quickly send the Prince of Loyalty and Filial Piety back.”
Jiang Yuan entered the hall with his men, but Pei Yan could no longer walk. Jiang Yuan had no choice but to carry him out of the Qianqing Gate himself. Tong Min and others were waiting as ordered, took Pei Yan, and rushed back to the Prime Minister’s mansion.
Pei Yan used his inner force to vomit all the alcohol while in the carriage. When his eyes regained clarity, he still let Tong Min carry him into the Prime Minister’s mansion. Tong Min understood his intentions and directly carried him to the Butterfly Garden.
Madam Pei, dressed casually, was standing in the corridor feeding birds. Her expression was calm, occasionally adjusting the mynah bird. Pei Yan looked at her face, slowed his steps as he approached, knelt on one knee, and smiled, “Greetings to Mother.”
Madam Pei smiled, “You’re now the Prince of Loyalty and Filial Piety, get up quickly.”
Mother and son shared a knowing smile. Madam Pei handed the porcelain jar of bird food to Pei Yan, saying, “This mynah has been misbehaving lately, refusing to speak and always trying to fly out. What do you think we should do?”
Pei Yan didn’t feed it but teased it a few times. The mynah still wouldn’t speak. He lowered the felt cover of the birdcage and smiled, “It will speak one day.”
“But once it flies out, we can never catch it again.”
“It won’t fly. It’s cold outside, and here it has a felt cover to block the wind, water, and food. How could it bear to fly away? We just need to wait for it to speak.”
Madam Pei smiled as she walked into the east pavilion with his support, saying, “That’s exactly what the Emperor is thinking. He’s sure you won’t fly now, and he won’t let you fly. What do you plan to do?”
Pei Yan said, “Two options: either stay put honestly and wait for spring when he’s not on guard, then we’ll fly; or struggle hard, break the cage, and then fly out.”
Madam Pei nodded slightly, saying, “What needed to be done, your uncle and I have already done for you. Just remember, you carry the safety of countless people. Be extremely cautious in your words and actions, but if it truly comes to a desperate situation, don’t hesitate too much.”
Pei Yan clasped his hands, “Yes.”
He left the Butterfly Garden, pondered for a moment, and said to Tong Min, “Have our secret guards investigate Master Ye of ‘Lan Yue Lou’ immediately. I want every detail about him investigated thoroughly, don’t miss even the slightest clue!”
“Yes.”
“Also, immediately increase the protection for Ziming, but it must be covert. Pay special attention to whether anyone else is secretly watching him.”
“Yes, the Military Advisor has only been to the East Market occasionally these past few days, otherwise staying in the West Garden, not going anywhere else.”
“How’s the tracking of Wei Zhao going?”
Tong Min had a hint of a bitter smile, “Lord Wei’s skills are too strong. Our brothers lose him at night.”
Pei Yan felt a pang in his heart but quickly regained composure, pondering, “Continue following him. If you discover… discover Miss Jiang’s whereabouts, send some men to protect her secretly.”
As the imperial carriage traveled along the heavily guarded road of the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Imperial City Street into the palace, many commoners witnessed the sacred procession passing by. Thus, the news of the Emperor, who had been in a coma for months, suddenly waking up and appearing at the ceremony in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, spread rapidly throughout the capital. By noon, another edict was issued from the palace: to celebrate the Emperor’s recovery, there would be three days of festivities in the capital, including night markets with lantern shows and fireworks.
Jiang Ci, fearing she might implicate Wei Zhao, knew it wasn’t appropriate for her to appear in public. With enough food at home, she spent her days reading medical books in her room, not feeling lonely. Occasionally, remembering his passionate words from the previous night, her heart would sweeten, but sometimes, inexplicably, she would feel the urge to cry. She felt something was off with herself these past few days but didn’t think too much about it.
As night fell, fireworks lit up the capital, creating a dazzling spectacle. Jiang Ci stood in the courtyard, watching the bursts of fireworks in the sky, and couldn’t help but smile. In the past, if there were such lively scenes, she would have rushed out to investigate. But today, she only wished to wait quietly in this small courtyard for his return.
As the fireworks faded and the night deepened, he still hadn’t returned.
The winter night was so cold, the food on the table had congealed, yet he still hadn’t returned.
As the candles flickered, she dozed off at the table, suddenly hearing a faint sound from the courtyard. She leaped up and rushed out. But the cold night was silent, thick with fog, and in the courtyard, only the sound of wind rustling the parasol tree branches could be heard.
On this night, the capital was beautiful with fireworks, and ordinary people laughed and enjoyed the peaceful times;
On this night, some waited anxiously, some drifted in endless darkness, some plotted carefully, some sat alone by a lonely lamp, unable to sleep;
And many more, due to the Emperor’s sudden recovery, scurried about in the night, changing allegiances:
On this night, various factions quietly realigned;
Also on this night, Yue Fan’s petition to once again become a vassal state of the Hua Dynasty was being carried by swift horses across the Nanzhao Mountains. And on the road from Yujian Prefecture to the capital, several more fine steeds carrying heavy responsibilities galloped urgently.
Wei Zhao seemed to float in endless darkness. He tried to struggle, but it only brought piercing pain throughout his body. Inside and out, only his chest retained a bit of warmth, protecting his heart from freezing and bursting in the darkness.
He desperately tried to spread the warmth in his chest to his meridians. He seemed to see again his master’s sword piercing his sister’s body, seemed to still hear the bloody phoenix song by Luofeng Rapids, and the bone-deep tenderness and gentleness in the stone house. All these made him strive to protect the warmth in his heart, letting it seep into his meridians bit by bit.
When he could finally move his hands and feet, he slowly opened his eyes. Around him, the peach grove was shrouded in thick morning mist, and the soil he lay on was covered with a layer of pale frost.
Wei Zhao knew he had been unconscious in this peach grove for an entire night. He struggled to sit up, leaning against a peach tree to circulate his qi, letting out a long breath, grateful that he had narrowly escaped death.
A gentle breeze passed by. Wei Zhao moved his stiff body and stood up. As he turned his head, he saw the winnowing basket she had used to catch fish and shrimp still by the small stream in the peach grove. He stumbled over and picked up the basket, but it was empty.
He lowered his head, scooped up a handful of stream water to wash away the blood stains from his lips, and left the Peach Garden.
Yi Wu had waited all night but, following Wei Zhao’s strict orders dared not enter the garden. Seeing him come out, he wiped away sweat and approached. Wei Zhao asked, “How is it?!”
“Tongtang Hall is fine, everything in the capital is normal.”
Wei Zhao let out a light sigh of relief, thought for a moment, and said, “Keep a secret watch on Tongtang Hall. I feel something’s not quite right.” He returned to the main garden, changed into clean plain robes, put on the fox fur coat gifted by the Emperor, and leisurely entered the palace amidst the morning mist.