CH 27

Before Ye Zi finished eating, news suddenly came from outside the palace that the Empress Dowager had arrived and the attendant came to ask Ye Zi if he wanted to go outside the palace to meet her.

Ye Zi took out a silk handkerchief and wiped his mouth, calmly responding: “No.”

Gu Yan intentionally publicized the news of their consummation. After a night of tenderness, Gu Yan went out early in the morning to pick up Commandery Princess Changning.

If Ye Zi went out of the palace to greet her now, it would be too thoughtless.

Ye Zi asked the maidservants to spread the word, saying that he was unwell, unable to get out of bed, and unable to meet the Empress Dowager outside the palace. He also asked the maidservants to make his situation more serious and asked for Gu Yan to come back to see him as soon as possible after finishing the matter at hand.

After the arrangements were made, Ye Zi dismissed the servants in the bedchamber, turned back to his original form, jumped into the flower pot, and planted himself.

The Summer palace wasn’t like the Prince Rui manor. The soil was randomly dug from the back hill near the Palace and was completely different from the fertile soil in the Prince Rui manor that had been carefully sprinkled with fertilizers. Ye Zi didn’t think he was picky at first, but after sleeping in the soil for almost a night, he couldn’t resist sneaking into Gu Yan’s bed and realized that he had been unconsciously spoiled by Gu Yan.

Ye Zi wasn’t like the rumored immortals, demons, gods, and monsters. Besides taking on a human form, he didn’t know spells and no one had taught him how to cultivate. The only thing he knew was that his strength would recover faster if he stayed in the soil.

The soil wasn’t fertile enough for Ye Zi, but it was better than nothing as he squatted in the pot whilst waiting for Gu Yan to come back. But he waited and waited, and almost an hour had passed but there was still no signs of Gu Yan.

Ye Zi’s leaves curled up and he was a little unhappy in his heart.

In the morning, he was able to convince himself that the man was under the Empress Dowager’s orders which was why he couldn’t leave. But he already picked them up, why was it that he still couldn’t leave?

What was more, he also deliberately sent word that he wasn’t feeling well.

Was it that difficult to come and see him? 

Hmph, and to think he had a gentle look when he was coaxing him last night. 

Sure enough, nothing a man says in bed could be trusted.

Ye Zi jumped out of the flower pot, angrily shook the dirt off himself, and jumped out of the room through the window. If the mountain won’t come to me, then I will go find the mountain; he was going to find him by himself. 

It wasn’t like he was a plant without legs.

Due to the Empress Dowager’s arrival, the guards in the palace were several times stricter than before. Ye Zi avoided the guards and just as he crossed the corridor, he heard the sounds of laughter. The Empress Dowager was leading a group of Imperial relatives and was enjoying the flowers in a gazebo not too far away.

This was the time of year when all the flowers were in full bloom and the garden was full of flowers and plants that were pleasing to the eye. Ye Zi took advantage of the flowers and plants to conceal himself and quietly approached the lakeside pavilion.

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There weren’t that many people who came to the palace. In addition to the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and several favorite concubines, there were only a few wives of important court officials and there weren’t many who were around Gu Yan’s age.

Ye Zi immediately noticed Gu Yan in the crowd.

He was standing beside the Empress Dowager, looking indifferent, and the Empress Dowager was saying something to him.

Ye Zi moved closer a little and was able to hear the Empress Dowager’s words: “……I haven’t been to this Summer palace for many years and now it seems that it is really far from what I remember.”

The Empress said: “It’s exactly as the Empress Dowager says. Ever since this Summer palace caught fire that year and His Holiness renovated it, it naturally will be different from the original.”

This palace was built during the reign of the late Emperor. Only a few years after he passed away, the palace suddenly caught on fire. The fire destroyed most of the palace, killing and injuring many eunuchs and palace maids, therefore, in the years after the fire, there were often rumors of ghosts haunting the place.

It was only in recent years that Emperor Jinghe sent people to refurbish the palace and found many Daoist priests to purify the place so that the evil spirits were suppressed.

The Empress Dowager thought of the past and her expression became a little gloomier: “I still remember when the late Emperor and I used to bring Yan’er here. When he was young, he loved to come here, and every time he came, he didn’t want to leave and would always have a temper tantrum with the late Emperor.”

“Yan’er, do you still remember?”

Gu Yan was leaning over to fill the Empress Dowager’s tea when he suddenly caught a familiar green flash amongst the plants and flowers out of the corner of his eye. 

He lowered the smile in his eyes and replied in a low voice: “Naturally, I remember.”

“Speaking of which, it seems to be Zhi’er first time here, right?” The Empress looked back at the woman standing behind her, “Zhi’er?”

Wen Zhi seemed more haggard than the previous two days, looking like her soul was sucked out of her body. The Empress called her for a long time before she returned to her senses and answered: “Yes, Aunt.”

A trace of dissatisfaction flashed in the Empress’ eyes but it quickly faded away.

She smiled: “This palace is so big and since Prince Rui is familiar with this place, how about I trouble you to accompany Zhi’er around?”

Gu Yan paused for a moment and obediently responded: “Yes.”

Gu Yan accompanied Wen Zhi to tour the garden.

He knew the garden of the palace like the back of his hand and he carefully explained it to Wen Zhi along their way. He did all this with thoughtful and proper manners that one couldn’t find a single fault. On the contrary, Wen Zhi looked distracted. Besides occasionally responding with a sentence or two, more often than not, she was looking into the distance in a daze.

The two wandered for a while before taking a break in the lakeside pavilion at the back of the palace.

Ye Zi followed them over.

Wen Zhi turned her head and gave orders to the maid beside her, who answered and left the lakeside pavilion.

Gu Yan sat down at the stone table and poured two cups of tea with his own hands: “Changning, come over, it’s dangerous for you there.”

Wen Zhi stood at the edge of the lakeside pavilion as she gazed at the wide lake in the distance and smiled gently: “Dangerous? I think, on the contrary, this is safer.”

Gu Yan’s finger stroked the rim of the cup: “Commandery Princess, based on your words, do you think this Prince will do something to you?”  

“No, it has nothing to do with you.” Wen Zhi looked back at him, “Your Majesty, you are a good person, I envy you.”

She said softly: “Sometimes I wonder, if I was born as a man, maybe I wouldn’t have come this far. It’s just a pity……”

Gu Yan lowered his eyes and didn’t reply.

Ye Zi hid in the dark. Looking at Wen Zhi’s thin back, he couldn’t help but sigh.

The novel didn’t describe much about this Commandery Princess Changning, but Ye Zi vaguely knew that she wasn’t bad at heart.

Wen Zhi was a Commandery Princess and although her appearance wasn’t the most beautiful, she was still a well-known beauty. It was a pity that she was born into the Duke of Protection’s family and was destined to face many things beyond her control. 

For example, she clearly had no feelings for Gu Yan but had to obey the orders of her father and Aunt to approach him.

Ye Zi remembered that not long after Gu Yan broke off their marriage, Commandery Princess Changning fell into the water and died.

Thinking of this, Ye Zi suddenly froze for a moment.

He wasn’t too sure when Commandery Princess Changning fell into the water and died.

According to the timeline he remembered, Gu Yan presented pictures of the people affected by the disaster at the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet which offended Emperor Jinghe and he was placed under house arrest for three months in the Prince Rui manor. In those three months, the manor wasn’t able to get any news regarding the outside world. Only when Gu Yan was released from the ban did he find out that Commandery Princess Changning had perished.

In that case, wasn’t that time……

Ye Zi vaguely had some guesses. But at this moment, he suddenly heard a muffled sound from the lakeside pavilion, as if something heavy had fallen into the water.

He looked up, just in time to see Wen Zhi being submerged in the water.

Ye Zi’s memory finally became clear and he remembered that the place where Wen Zhi fell into the water and died was indeed this palace.

Soon there was a second muffled sound on the surface of the lake, and the calm lake surface was filled with waves. It was Gu Yan who jumped into the lake.

The eunuchs and palace maids who saw this scene from the shore instantly became a mess, shouting loudly as they tried to rescue the people from the water. Everyone was in a fluster but after a while, Gu Yan and Wen Zhi were rescued by the guards.

The Empress Dowager, who was enjoying the flowers in the courtyard, was startled by this unforeseen event and hurriedly brought the others over. She was frightened: “How did you guys fall into the water? Are you guys alright? Any injuries?”

Gu Yan’s body was thoroughly wetted by the lake water and he hastily put on a fox fur cloak brought by the palace maid, his face still pale from the cold.

He shook his head and said in a low voice: “Changning, she……”

Although Wen Zhi was rescued, she had fallen unconscious and still hadn’t woken up. 

The Empress, who was Wen Zhi’s aunt, was naturally the most worried. She immediately ordered someone to bring Wen Zhi to her palace court and then sent someone to find a doctor to treat her.

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The Empress Dowager also wanted Gu Yan to go to the Imperial physician for diagnosis and treatment, but Gu Yan shook his head and refused: “I can go back to bathe and change clothes by myself, I don’t want to bother the Empress.” 

“Alright then.” The Empress Dowager nodded and instructed, “You had just gotten better from your cold. Remember to get someone to boil some ginger soup for you, we don’t want you catching another cold.”

Gu Yan nodded his head.

After such a big event, the crowd lost the heart to have fun and dispersed one after another, returning to their residence.

The lake water in Spring was cold to the bone, Gu Yan was wrapped in fox fur and felt the chill go straight to his bone. He looked back at the silent lake and supported by two attendants, he slowly walked towards the palace court where he was staying.

Ye Zi slipped away when Gu Yan said he wanted to go back on his own. He quickly returned to the palace court where they stayed, climbed into the bedroom through the window, and changed back into his original shape. After changing his clothes, he pushed open the door of the bedchamber.

Qiu Tang and Qiu Luo were waiting in the courtyard, and when they saw him come out, they immediately greeted him: “What is your order, Your Highness?”

Ye Zi ran all the way in a hurry so his breathing was a little rough as he panted out: “Prepare hot water, boil some ginger soup, hurry.”

Qiu Tang and Qiu Luo were both stunned and were about to ask when a small eunuch hurried in: “Your Highness, bad news! The Prince has fallen into the water!”

He paused before ordering the two maidservants: “Hurry and prepare hot water and clean clothes, the Prince needs to bathe and change! Go!”

The two of them were shocked and then they looked at each other.

The news of the Prince falling into the water had just arrived, how did the Princess Consort know so quickly?

Fearing that they would ask more questions, Ye Zi hastily ordered: “I’ll boil the ginger soup. You guys go and prepare the hot water first and assist the Prince with his bath.” 

After he finished speaking, he walked towards the back kitchen.

Ye Zi squatted in the back kitchen boiling ginger soup and he couldn’t calm down even after a long time.

Commandery Princess Changning’s fall into the water wasn’t a big deal to him, but the timing was really unfortunate.

Gu Yan had just dismissed the marriage with Commandery Princess Changning and was already not on good terms with the Duke of Protection. And it just so happened that when the two of them were alone, Wen Zhi suddenly fell into the water. No matter how one looked at it, Gu Yan couldn’t escape being connected. 

At that time in the lakeside pavilion, apart from Gu Yan and Wen Zhi, only Ye Zi was the closest. He saw Wen Zhi jump in with his own eyes, but he couldn’t testify. 

If the Duke of Protection wanted to make a fuss, it would be way too easy. 

Ye Zi was distracted by his thoughts when a knock suddenly sounded at the door: “Your Highness.”

It was Qiu Tang.

Ye Zi asked: “What is it? Didn’t I tell you to assist the Prince with his bath?”

Qiu Tang came in and said in a low voice: “The Prince won’t let anyone touch him, he said he wants you to assist him personally.”

Ye Zi said: “Tell him I’ll come as soon as I’ve boiled the ginger soup.”

“This servant did.” Qiu Tang lowered her head, she was in a difficult position, “But His Majesty said that if you don’t go and assist him, he won’t bathe.” 

Ye Zi: “……”