On the stage, the sound of gongs and drums mixed with clappers rang out “dong dong.” An elderly performer in military robes stroked his beard and stepped forward, his voice soaring upward: “Having received the king’s titles and salary, I must repay the king’s grace. Filial piety demands utmost effort and loyal devotion. Let me speak again to my mentor: First, no need for war drums beating loudly; second, no need for deputy generals following behind. Just let Huang Zhong ride alone on horseback, single horse and single blade to take Dingjun Mountain.”
The drumbeats thundered and the singing was rich and deep, telling the story of old General Huang Zhong returning to service, using the dragging blade strategy to greatly defeat the Wei general Xiahou Yuan and capture Dingjun Mountain. But Xia Mingyuan frowned, gripping the paper slip in his hand so tightly he almost tore a hole through it. Only when the elderly performer on stage finished his aria did he turn to Luo Yuan and ask, “Wenqian, what do you think?”
Luo Yuan’s eyes moved slightly, but he only replied, “This student dare not say.”
Xia Mingyuan snorted coldly, “There are only the two of us here. What is there not to dare say! Say whatever you think, no need to hide anything.”
Luo Yuan raised his head, seemingly steeling his resolve before saying, “Can Lord Chancellor first honestly tell this student what your original plan actually was?”
Xia Mingyuan made the tea lid in his hand clatter repeatedly, his face showing hesitation. But Luo Yuan suddenly smiled and said, “If Lord Chancellor doesn’t wish to speak, Wenqian naturally dare not force you. Today’s matter – Wenqian volunteered to handle it for Lord Chancellor. Now the person who should be seen has been seen, and what should be obtained has been obtained. It’s time for Wenqian to retire successfully.”
As he prepared to stand up, Xia Mingyuan heavily said “Eh!” and finally set down his cup lid with a light tinkling sound. He took a deep breath and finally spoke, “Very well, when employing people, don’t doubt them; when doubting people, don’t employ them. Things have come to this point – telling you won’t matter.”
He stood up, drew the curtain facing the stage, and turned around saying, “That day when Xier and the princess went to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, she didn’t know the Empress Dowager couldn’t touch orchids and applied hair oil mixed with orchids. Afterward, the Empress Dowager fell unconscious, His Majesty was furious, and used this as reason to keep them in the palace. But not a word was leaked to the outside. I only learned the details when His Majesty explained while I was visiting the Empress Dowager.”
Luo Yuan remained impassive, patiently waiting for him to continue. Xia Mingyuan sat down and continued, “After hearing this, I felt this was the best opportunity. Although His Majesty doesn’t say it, I understand he’s always been quite wary of the military power in Marquis Xuanyuan’s hands. It’s just that they once had brotherly affection, and moreover, if the Xiao family army rebelled, the border regions would lose their shield. So without a suitable reason, it would be difficult for him to decide to dispose of Xiao Du. Xiao Du has been very sensible these years, always staying holed up in his residence, insisting on not leaving the capital or discussing official business, because he understands that any slight movement could give others a handle to use against him, instead placing him in mortal danger.” He raised his chin, his face already showing smugness: “But this time is different. Xiao Du’s mother and wife are all controlled in the palace, their lives unknown. No matter how much he can contain himself, there will always be a day when he can’t sit still. As long as he can’t restrain himself and breaks into the palace, it’s equivalent to walking into a dead end.”
Luo Yuan stroked his chin and suddenly curved his lips, “Lord Chancellor indeed has an excellent strategy. If this student guesses correctly, the path into the palace must have been set with an inescapable net by Lord Chancellor. As soon as he dares to go, you’ll pin the crime of attempting regicide and treason on him. At that time, His Majesty will have no choice but to go with the flow and execute him.”
But his smile gradually froze as he looked at Xia Mingyuan’s darkening expression, “But Lord Chancellor, in this student’s view, this plan absolutely cannot work! If I haven’t guessed wrong, Lord Chancellor and…” He coughed lightly and continued, “Lord Chancellor’s scheming is probably already within that person’s calculations, and he’s even thought of a vicious counter-plot!”
Xia Mingyuan’s body shook as he hurriedly asked, “What do you mean by this?”
Luo Yuan picked up the slip of paper from the table, “May I ask if the handwriting on this slip belongs to your precious daughter?”
Xia Mingyuan nodded, “Xier is my daughter after all. I can still recognize her writing.”
Luo Yuan frowned, “If that’s the case, then this is very bad indeed.” He stared at Xia Mingyuan and continued, “A few days ago when I went to find Xiao Du, before entering I heard the last sentence he said to his hidden guards. Though I didn’t hear it clearly, I caught words like: secretly… return… So I paid special attention – recently there have suddenly been many suspicious merchant ships outside the capital. Those getting on and off are clearly men who’ve practiced martial arts. They don’t enter the city but only linger outside. Can Lord Chancellor figure out why?”
Xia Mingyuan’s expression changed drastically, “You’re saying the Xiao family army might have been secretly transferred back by him?”
Luo Yuan’s knuckles lightly tapped the table, “Exactly. I’ve checked recent reports from the border regions. Though battles decreased before New Year, the Xiao family army soldiers have been training day and night without stop, while several generals are all elusive, their whereabouts unknown.” Seeing Xia Mingyuan’s face growing worse, he unfolded the slip in his hand, “Please look carefully at what’s written on this paper: ‘Submit, don’t worry.’ If your precious daughter only wanted me to convey news of her safety, she should have written the character for ‘safe.’ Why would she write ‘submit,’ and why could she write it in advance? Could she have known someone would come to assist her? Think again about that day paying respects to the Empress Dowager – clearly the princess was present, yet your daughter still dared to apply orchid hair oil at great risk. Did she really not know the Empress Dowager couldn’t touch orchids?” He paused for breath, “This student fears everything was planned by them in advance, to give Marquis Xuanyuan an excuse to break into the palace.”
Xia Mingyuan felt his palms sweating but still didn’t understand, “But he can’t bring troops. What use would entering the palace alone be?”
Luo Yuan shook his head, “What if there happen to be people he’s arranged among the Imperial Guards? If he truly intends to rebel, with coordination from inside and outside, the Imperial City would be in grave danger. Does Lord Chancellor dare take this risk? Even if he can’t succeed, he’ll certainly cause His Majesty considerable trouble. If His Majesty blames you for this, can Lord Chancellor bear the responsibility?”
The more Xia Mingyuan listened, the more alarmed he became. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and hesitated repeatedly for a long time before sighing unwillingly, “Must we easily abandon this excellent opportunity?”
Luo Yuan nodded, “Lord Chancellor has already waited all these years – why fear waiting a bit longer? No matter what, this time we absolutely cannot let him have an excuse to enter the palace. Otherwise, if he truly rebels, the situation will be impossible to control.”
Xia Mingyuan never expected his careful planning was merely falling into someone else’s trap. Angry and hateful, he swept his hand and violently knocked the teacup to the floor. At this moment, the stage reached its climax: “This letter comes at just the right time, helping me Huang Zhong achieve great merit. Standing at the camp gate, I call to the three armies – all you sons listen to the details: First drum beat, prepare battle provisions; second drum beat, tighten battle robes; third drum beat, draw blades from sheaths; fourth drum beat, engage the enemy.”
Meanwhile, in Yikun Palace, Yuanxi finally found in the books the case she had once read. She was very pleased and read this case many times over, then frowned in deep thought until she finally thought of something unusual. She quickly closed the book and went to the princess’s room, asking, “Mother-in-law, do you remember when the Empress Dowager first was poisoned by orchids – what were her symptoms, and exactly how many days was she unconscious?”
The princess frowned and thought carefully. After a while, she replied, “It was like this time – red rashes all over her body, unconscious. She seemed to be unconscious for a full two days before awakening.”
Yuanxi’s eyes lit up as she asked again, “How was she poisoned that time?”
The princess said, “It seems she accidentally smelled an orchid in the Imperial Garden, then quickly collapsed. The imperial physicians searched medical texts for a long time before discovering it might be the orchid’s fault. They used medicine according to the books and cured her. It was quite coincidental – she hadn’t encountered orchids in her natal family, so she never knew she had this condition.”
Yuanxi became more certain in her heart, “Last time the Empress Dowager smelled a whole orchid but was only unconscious for two days. This time she merely touched hair oil made with orchids, and with the previous prescription to treat her, yet she’s been unconscious until now without awakening. Don’t you think there’s something suspicious about this, mother-in-law?”
The princess now also felt something was indeed wrong, so she looked at Yuanxi with a face full of inquiry. But Yuanxi’s face broke into a smile, “Please report to His Majesty for me, saying Yuanxi has a way to make the Empress Dowager wake up immediately, to atone for my crimes. I just request that he summon all the palace maids and eunuchs from the day of the incident to the Empress Dowager’s bedchamber to testify with me.”
The princess was still somewhat uneasy, “Are you truly confident? If it doesn’t work, we’ll have another crime of deceiving the emperor!”
Yuanxi grasped her hand and said warmly, “Don’t worry, Xier will definitely bring you back to the marquis’s residence!”
The next day, the Empress Dowager’s bedchamber was filled with palace maids and eunuchs. Zhao Yan sat in the seat of honor with an unpleasant expression. Yuanxi stood before the Empress Dowager’s bed, carefully questioning the imperial physician who had diagnosed the illness that day. The physician suddenly raised his head, seeming very surprised as he looked at her, then hurriedly went to check the Empress Dowager’s pulse again before turning back and nodding heavily to her.
Yuanxi then turned around and knelt before Zhao Yan, “I wouldn’t normally dare trouble Your Majesty, but this concerns the Empress Dowager’s phoenix body. This subject doesn’t dare be careless and must ask Your Majesty to make the decision!” Zhao Yan waved his hand indicating she should rise, “You said you found a way to wake the Empress Dowager. I also want to know – what method is it?”
Yuanxi turned to the imperial physician, “May I ask Imperial Physician Liu, has the Empress Dowager’s illness not only failed to improve these days, but actually grown more severe?”
The physician shamefully nodded and tremblingly said to Zhao Yan, “I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness. I have used both medical records and the prescription that cured the Empress Dowager before, but the effect has indeed been minimal. Looking at her today, she seems even worse.”
Yuanxi slowly walked over, “Imperial Physician Liu need not blame yourself. The reason the Empress Dowager’s illness hasn’t improved isn’t your fault.” She paused, her gaze coldly sweeping around the room, “Because someone doesn’t want her to wake up and deliberately added orchids to the incense. If this continues, not only will the Empress Dowager not recover, but her life will be in danger.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire room was shocked. Zhao Yan jumped up, “You’re saying someone deliberately added orchids to the incense, wanting to harm the Empress Dowager?”
Yuanxi nodded, “This subject once read about a similar case in a book. In that case, a peasant woman couldn’t smell ginger flowers, but her husband deliberately mixed ginger flower powder in her porridge. After she fell unconscious, he secretly made ginger flowers into a pillow for her to lie on daily. That peasant woman ultimately died from accumulated ginger flower poison. I got the hint from this case – last time the Empress Dowager was poisoned, she was only unconscious for two days before awakening. This time she won’t wake up for so long – someone must be playing tricks.”
She walked to the incense burner and stirred out some ashes, continuing, “I suspect someone among the Empress Dowager’s attendants harbored resentment. When I accidentally applied orchid hair oil and entered the palace, and the Empress Dowager touched it and fell unconscious, that person seized this opportunity to secretly expose the unconscious Empress Dowager to orchids daily. This way, if anything happened to the Empress Dowager, it would be blamed on me, while they could escape unscathed. I thought for a long time – the medicine the Empress Dowager takes daily is strictly checked, so the only thing the culprit could use is this incense. Since the Empress Dowager is already poisoned, they don’t need a large dose – a small amount of orchid scent mixed in lily fragrance wouldn’t be detected at all.” She handed the ashes to Imperial Physician Liu, “As for whether my guess is correct, please have Imperial Physician Liu examine them.”
Imperial Physician Liu quickly took them and examined them carefully before reporting to Zhao Yan, “Your Majesty, there is indeed the scent of orchids mixed in.”
Zhao Yan shook with rage and slammed the table with a “bang,” startling all the palace servants in the room. He swept them with cold eyes and roared angrily, “Who is it! Who dares to be so bold – come forward!”
The palace servants were so frightened they trembled and dropped to their knees with a “swoosh,” but none dared make a sound. Yuanxi calmly walked before the crowd, “Finding out who it is isn’t difficult. That person needed to add orchids daily when the incense was burning, so their fingers must have traces of smoke. Your Majesty can have them checked one by one.”
Before she finished speaking, one palace maid was already shaking like a sieve. Her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the ground with a “thud”…
On the third day of the first month, the Empress Dowager, who had been unconscious for six full days, finally awakened. The palace maid Shaoyao from Changle Palace, who harbored resentment after being punished by the Empress Dowager for mistakes, had secretly plotted to harm both the Empress Dowager and the wife of Marquis Xuanyuan. She had been sent to the Department of Punishment and was to be executed immediately. On the fourth day of the first month, the wife of Marquis Xuanyuan and Princess Rui’an boarded imperially bestowed sedan chairs and finally walked through the heavy palace gates onto the main street.
On this day, winter snow was beginning to melt and willows were about to turn green. In front of the Marquis Xuanyuan’s residence stood a figure – crimson cloak, soft boots, and jade belt. The cloak fluttered loudly in the strong wind, yet he remained standing straight like a jade tree proudly standing in the wind, stubbornly gazing toward the end of the long street. Finally, a yellow sedan roof appeared within his sight. Finally, that yellow sedan chair drew closer and closer. The cold wind made his eyes somewhat misty as he gradually curved his lips and said softly, “Xier, you’ve finally come home.”