A woman’s hand reached over and struggled to help Gai Suwen sit up. Both his arms had been dislocated—two terrifying eunuchs had removed his joints in a flash of lightning speed. Looking at Ronghua’s beautiful face, Gai Suwen felt as if he were in another lifetime. He desperately wanted to caress her face, but both arms hung limply, completely useless.
Lady Ronghua took out her handkerchief and carefully wiped the dust from his face. She straightened his hat that had tilted to one side, loosened the ties, and tied a neat bow under his chin. With difficulty, she bent down to dust off his clothes. Seeing Gai Suwen staring at her belly, she generously took his hand and placed it on her abdomen, saying softly, “This is my child.”
Just as Gai Suwen was about to open his mouth to ask, he saw an impossibly handsome man walk over. The man gently supported Lady Ronghua and tenderly helped her wipe the dust from her hands with his handkerchief, smiling as he said, “You’re always so kind-hearted, unable to bear seeing others suffer. You must be careful from now on. These people are always fighting each other—it would be terrible if the child got hurt.”
Furious beyond reason, Gai Suwen demanded, “Who are you?”
Chengxin looked at Gai Suwen with pity and said, “I am Ronghua’s husband. My name is Chengxin. You must be Yuan Gai Suwen. Ronghua often speaks of you. Why didn’t you take Ronghua with you back then? I know what was in Ronghua’s heart—she would rather have drowned with you in the ocean than be left behind alone. Since you missed that chance, can you please forget? She’s finally able to live peacefully for a while. Please don’t destroy the hard-won happiness she has because of your appearance, all right?”
Gai Suwen was rendered speechless by these words. Looking at Lady Ronghua with tears streaming down her face, his heart felt like it was being cut by knives. Indeed, Lady Ronghua didn’t look like someone who had been mistreated. Her small hands were still soft and smooth, and there wasn’t the slightest sign anywhere on her body that she had suffered hardship. Gai Suwen had to admit to himself that this man called Chengxin was truly a handsome man. The bearing he had always been so proud of was worthless before him.
Thinking of how Ronghua had cut his ropes naked on the ship, he couldn’t help but ask with one last thread of hope, “Tell me, Ronghua, that you’ve fallen in love with someone else and no longer love me. I need to hear it from your own lips. Don’t be afraid—this is the imperial palace. Yun Ye wouldn’t dare do anything to you. As long as you say it, I’ll immediately request the Tang Emperor to let me take you home.”
Lady Ronghua wanted to laugh bitterly. The Emperor wouldn’t listen to him—the Emperor would only give her to Gao Jianwu. Seeing Gai Suwen’s wretched state, she desperately wanted to throw herself into his embrace and bite him without restraint. Only that could ease her lovesickness.
The child in her belly seemed to sense her thoughts and kicked her stomach. That kick immediately snapped her back to reality. Yun Ye was right—among their family of three, only the child was most important now. Forcing back her heart-wrenching pain, she wiped away her tears and said to Gai Suwen, “I’m very happy now. I don’t want to live that kind of wandering, suffering life anymore.”
After saying this, she resisted the urge to look at Gai Suwen one more time and, with Chengxin’s help, returned to the carriage. Chengxin covered the carriage curtain properly, then walked back and placed a hairpin on Gai Suwen’s knee, saying softly, “I cannot understand your relationship, but I truly love Ronghua. Give this hairpin to someone else. Sometimes people who love each other cannot live together. Rest assured, I will take good care of Ronghua. No matter what happens, I will never abandon her. Alas, Chang’an is too dangerous for you. Leave early.”
Ronghua had indeed found a very good man—refined and courteous. Wasn’t this exactly the type of person Ronghua had always liked? And this type of person certainly had the qualities that made people like him. Even facing him as a rival in love, the man showed no malice. He could be considered a gentleman. Could it be that because he had fled and abandoned Ronghua, her love had turned to hate, and she had finally thrown herself into this man’s embrace?
Thinking of this, Gai Suwen propped his arms on the ground and with two cracking sounds reset his bones himself. Though forcibly resetting the bones made him break out in cold sweat from the pain, his heart felt incomparably refreshed. He picked up the hairpin that had fallen to the ground, tucked it into his bosom, dusted off his legs, retrieved his tablet from the Chief Historian, and stood silently in the formation waiting for the morning court session to begin.
Chengxin bowed respectfully to Gai Suwen, then mounted the carriage. He turned the horse around, and the fragrant carriage departed from Zhuque Gate in the daylight, heading out of the city. Everyone was silent. The scene just now made people uncomfortable, yet no one could say a word. Women are fickle—this was the answer in everyone’s hearts.
The matter was resolved, but the morning court still had to be attended. Li Jing approached Yun Ye and gave him a thumbs up, saying, “Boy, this time even I have to say I’m impressed. What excellent tactics! I estimate the Korean envoy won’t say anything about desecrating royal authority today. A Korean royal consort voluntarily fell in love with a Tang commoner—no one can say anything about that. So that deputy envoy and the Korean royal consort had an affair? Where did you find that beautiful man? He doesn’t look like a woman to me.”
“That’s my family’s perfume master. He’s highly skilled, and I didn’t expect his acting to be first-rate too. I underestimated him before.”
“You’re saying it was all fake just now? That Korean woman lied? That beautiful man isn’t her husband either? It was all an act for the deputy envoy to see?” Li Jing suddenly stopped, causing Cheng Yaojin behind him to bump right into his back. Dissatisfied, Cheng said, “That beautiful man is actually a castrated rooster. This brat must have caught that woman’s weakness so she didn’t dare talk nonsense, right? Boy, you’re becoming more and more of a scoundrel.”
“Uncle Cheng, keep your voice down. If that Korean hears it, all my work will be for nothing.”
Old Cheng slapped the back of his head and said, “He’s far away—he can’t hear. I’m worried whether that child in the Korean woman’s belly was arranged by you, boy.”
“What does it have to do with me? That child belongs to the Korean deputy envoy. That woman said those things deliberately for the sake of the child in her belly. The child has nothing to do with me.”
“Since you put it that way, I believe you. I still affirm your integrity. It’s just that when these youngsters nowadays use schemes, why are they all so vicious? In another two years, will there still be room for us old fellows to survive?”
“Hmph, Old Cheng, you’re only just noticing? That’s because these boys haven’t targeted you. I learned this long ago. Not one of today’s youngsters is easy to deal with. From the Crown Prince to your Chumo, every one of them is a ruthless character. Look at this scene at the palace gate today—many people must be feeling uneasy in their hearts. Instead of attacking the body, they go straight for the heart. That Korean deputy envoy will sooner or later be driven mad by this boy. I heard his family is very powerful. In his derangement, he might even rebel—maybe that’s exactly this boy’s goal.” Li Jing’s words hit the nail on the head. Yun Ye could only give him a thumbs up—there was really nothing more to say.
“Boy, you’re driving someone to rebellion just like that? Isn’t that too simple? He has a whole extended family. Surely he doesn’t have the final say, right?” Cheng Yaojin widened his eyes, glanced at Yun Ye, and asked in surprise.
“You underestimate Gai Suwen too much. This fellow is practically the number one person among Korea’s younger generation. He can wield four swords at once. He’s currently in charge of building the Great Wall to defend against our Great Tang. In Liaodong, this fellow has considerable influence. I heard all the elders in his family who could control him have died. He’s the family head. Just look at this diplomatic mission—though he’s the deputy envoy, I guarantee he’s the one who really calls the shots in the delegation. The chief envoy is just a front, a scapegoat.”
Cheng Yaojin was about to continue speaking when he saw Fang Xuanling looking this way. Not wanting to openly embarrass him, he could only shut his mouth and follow the crowd into Wanmin Hall.
The main hall of Wanmin Hall was much larger than Taiji Hall. The Emperor sitting above had an unobstructed view of the ministers below. Fortunately, there were many bronze pillars that could provide some cover. Today’s Wanmin Hall would no longer have the embarrassing situation of people squatting outside during court sessions. Everyone had a cushion. Yun Ye looked behind him and discovered that Gai Suwen’s seat was very far from his own, already near the entrance of the great hall. Right next to him was Takayama Yoko wearing embroidered clothing.
Gai Suwen’s face showed no expression at all. Takayama Yoko’s eyes were alluring as she spoke with a group of young officials. Who knew what secrets that green-robed fool with the infatuated expression had given away to her.
Everyone around Yun Ye was old. The youngest was the thirty-five-year-old Xue Wanche. This fellow now was also carelessly looking around everywhere like Yun Ye. Seeing Yun Ye look at him, he slowly shuffled over, even pulling an old man along with his cushion to his own spot. Only after lining up beside Yun Ye did he grin broadly.
“Brother, I heard today you’d be in trouble, so I came to see if there’s anything I can help with.” The man was honest, and his words were straightforward too.
Yun Ye patted his thigh and said with a smile, “It’s fine now—already resolved. Why haven’t you been at Yushan lately? Chang’an is as hot as a furnace. Staying in the city to suffer—what were you thinking?”
“The Princess is pregnant. Hehehe, she says Longshou Yuan has good feng shui. Even if it’s hot enough to kill someone, she wants to stay in Chang’an. Though Yushan is comfortable, for the child’s sake, adults suffering a bit doesn’t matter.”
“So that’s how it is. No wonder. After court, I’ll have my steward send a few cartloads of ice to your home. Imperial family members all have delicate constitutions that can’t handle heat, but you can’t let the Princess eat ice. Put the ice in jars and have maids fan cool air into the rooms. This method will cool down the rooms. Pregnant women can’t tolerate heat—if she can be comfortable for a while, let her be comfortable.”
“Thank you, brother. The Princess complains about the heat every day, making my heart all jumbled up. Now I finally have a good solution. You’re right—being able to sleep well in this scorching heat is a blessing from heaven.”
The palace hall was harmonious and peaceful. The Korean envoys no longer mentioned any royal consort or archer. They only endlessly described how Yun Ye’s brazen invasion had caused Korea such tremendous suffering and such terrible consequences. Now Korean public outrage was mountainous, everyone preparing to avenge this national humiliation. Only Yun Ye’s head could quell the fury of Korea’s court and people.