CH 38

Chapter 38: Who Said That Righteousness Can Hide The Viciousness Of Their Hearts?

Qi Ci was puzzled: “What are you angry about?”

Bian Zhonghua froze for a moment.

‘Yes, what am I so angry about?’

‘It’s so strange. How could I lose my temper like this? Am I really unable to control my temperament?’

Bian Zhonghua never got angry because he believed that it was a sign of incompetence. When someone offended him, Bian Zhonghua would only return the favor. After all, it wasn’t something worth bothering with.

But now, why did he get angry all of a sudden?

Bian Zhonghua didn’t know how to answer, so Qi Ci asked instead: “Why are you so angry? Who pissed you off?”

Bian Zhonghua picked up the bedding scattered all over the ground, shook the dust away, and wrapped Qi Ci’s body with it, only to throw him on the bed right after: “Alright, stop talking about it. Go to sleep, you’re drunk.”

There was a trace of guilt in Bian Zhonghua’s voice.

Qi Ci struggled: “I’m not drunk.”

Bian Zhonghua took out the token to coerce him: “If you can fall asleep within half an incense stick of time, I’ll give you the token.”

At that, Qi Ci immediately stopped talking,  tightened the blanket, and pretended to be asleep.

Bian Zhonghua was amused. As he shook his head in disbelief, he put the token beside the pillow. Then, he began to clean up the mess in the room. After cleaning half of it, he felt too tired to continue, so he simply laid down next to Qi Ci, planning to finish the clean-up tomorrow.

Bian Zhonghua was still drunk, sleepy, and tired. As soon as he laid down, his thoughts blurred and drifted away.

In a trance, he felt that the person beside him, who was supposed to be asleep, gently covered him with the quilt.

…

Two days later, Qin Yicang bumped into Bian Zhonghua at the entrance of the Secret Servant Residence. He was carrying his backpack, which looked a little dusty.

Qin Yicang said ‘Hey!’ and tugged at him: “Where are you going? There aren’t any new missions that require a long trip, are there?”

Bian Zhonghua said: “I’m going to the Northern Border.”

“Ouch! What’s with this murderous tone? Who dared to provoke you?”

“Er’Niu.”

“….???? Who’s Er’Niu?”

“The son of a landlord.”

Qin Yicang: “???”

“What’s the deal? Were you robbed?! Wait! Don’t go! Prince Chongfeng is going to the Imperial Palace today, and State Master Li has appointed you as the Prince’s bodyguard.”

Later, an elegant looking carriage slowly passed through the stone slabs of the Capital, stepping all over the white marble of the arch bridge and going through the vermilion gates heading to the Imperial Palace.

Inside the carriage, Qi Ci raised the curtain to look outside. What he saw shocked him to the core.

‘There are golden dragons carved on the heavy eaves of this turret!’

‘Made with real fucking gold!’

‘There’s white jade embedded in that square arch bridge!’

‘White fucking jade!’

‘The roof of that pavilion is covered with colored glass!’

‘Fucking colored glass!’

The guards on the side coughed.

While Qi Ci was shocked by the prosperity of the Imperial Palace, Bian Zhonghua appeared in his line of sight out of nowhere. Bian Zhonghua was riding a horse, following the carriage close behind with a long sword hanging at his side. He was also wearing a black bodyguard uniform with black boots that had cloud patterns on them. His black hair was tied up. Compared to his previous uniform, this one looked less carefree, more neat and arrogant.

All of a sudden, the golden dragons, the white jade, and the colored glass became dull in Qi Ci’s eyes. When Qi Ci’s gaze fell on the slight smile on Bian Zhonghua’s mouth, he was unable to look anywhere else.

Bian Zhonghua suddenly looked over, maybe because he felt Qi Ci’s intense stare on him. But as soon as he moved his head to look, Qi Ci suddenly withdrew his hand, allowing the bead curtain to shut close again. The sound of the bead curtain shaking side to side emitted a crisp sound, which sounded very much like Qi Ci’s panic of not being able to hide his feelings.

Qi Ci gently exhaled, trying to ease the embarrassment he was feeling inside his heart. Unexpectedly, the sound of the horse’s hoofs was getting closer and closer. When Qi Ci looked through the gap between the bead curtain, he was surprised to see Bian Zhonghua riding the horse to the side of the carriage. 

Qi Ci immediately fidgeted, only to see the bead curtain being gently lifted to a corner. Then, Bian Zhonghua handed him a palm-sized delicate food box. Qi Ci took it and opened it, finding three osmanthus white rice cakes inside, surrounded by tempting plum preserves.

“Nervous?” Bian Zhonghua’s voice was heard from outside the carriage’s bead curtain.

“A little.” Qi Ci took a deep breath and replied.

In reality, he was so nervous that he wanted to jump out of the carriage and hit his head on the ground, stick out his tongue, and pretend to be dead.

Bian Zhonghua said: “Don’t be nervous, and eat some snacks. I’ll tell you something about Empress Dowager Xianyi.”

Qi Ci was wondering why Bian Zhonghua always had pastries and preserves with him at all times. But when he heard him say this, he sat upright and opened the bead curtain.

Bian Zhonghua then said in a low voice: “As we all know, Empress Dowager Xianyi has been fighting for power all her life. When the late Emperor was still alive, half of the power was in the hands of the Empress. But now, when the late Emperor is already dead, and with the Crown Prince sick and weak, Empress Dowager is the one in charge of the Imperial Court. Between her and a female Emperor, there’s only a difference in title.”

“Rumor has it that when Empress Dowager Xianyi was young, she wasn’t as poisonous and ruthless as she is now. As the daughter of the Prime Minister at that time, she was lively and naive. A talented woman who was known far and wide, who also happened to get married with the late Emperor. But, at that time, the late Emperor was still a Prince, not even the Crown Prince. In the second year of their marriage, Empress Dowager Xianyi gave birth to a son.”

Bian Zhonghua paused and inclined his head to look at Qi Ci. His voice then became even lighter and lighter as he spoke, and Qi Ci had to hold his breath to listen carefully, in order to hear every word: “After the birth of a child, strange things began to happen.”

“At the age of 3, the firstborn of Empress Dowager Xianyi went missing.”

“Missing?” Qi Ci was stunned.

“Yes, that’s what I heard. But, that same year, the Emperor, the last Emperor’s father, who was originally very sick and on the bridge of death, suddenly recovered from his illness. That also became the year when the late Emperor was given the title of Crown Prince.”

“Three years later, the Emperor died all of a sudden, and the late Emperor ascended the throne. That same year, Empress Dowager gave birth to a son for the second time. As soon as this child was born, he was made the Crown Prince.”

“However, something unexpected happened. The young Crown Prince suffered an accident at the Lantern Festival when he was six years old. He was playing by the frozen lake, when all of a sudden, the ice broke. The young Prince fell into the lake, and by the time someone came to the rescue, he was already dead.”

“How is that possible?” Qi Ci’s eyes widened slightly out of surprise.

Bian Zhonghua said: “It’s odd, isn’t it? As the Crown Prince, not to mention the number of Imperial Guards and Palace Maids around him, but there were also other Princes playing on the ice that day. So, how could the Crown Prince fall into the lake without anyone noticing? Later, it’s unknown where the rumor came from, but it was rumored that Empress Dowager Xianyi’s destiny was to outlive her sons, that all of her sons would die young.”

“That rumor is too vicious,” Qi Ci said.

“But there were more strange things happening in this Palace, much more than this one,” Bian Zhonghua said.

“Even more?” Qi Ci looked at the magnificent Imperial Palace, only to feel that the things Bian Zhonghua said were beyond belief.

Bian Zhonghua’s eyes followed Qi Ci’s glance, circled around the Imperial Palace, and smiled: “There is. Who said that righteousness can hide the viciousness of their hearts?”

“The year after the young Crown Prince died, which also happened to be the Lantern Festival, two concubines with their own Royal sons disappeared out of thin air.”

Qi Ci couldn’t help but rub his arms after feeling a chill: “Ah?”

Bian Zhonghua continued: “The late Emperor ordered several people to go out to investigate, but no matter what, no one could find the Imperial concubines and the two Princes. How could people go missing all of a sudden? For a while, a variety of rumors traveled all around, and everyone in the Palace was in a panic. At the end of winter, the weather turned extremely cold, and the late Emperor decided to take his family to the South. They didn’t return to the Imperial Palace until the return of the warmth in the North. The night the late Emperor and his relatives went back to the Palace, the inexplicably disappeared concubines and Princes were found. Can you guess where they were found?”