CH 22

On the night of the eleventh day of the ninth month, many people in the Capital were unable to sleep. The Crown Prince would be returning to the Imperial Court the next day, and for many of them, their careers, lives, and fortunes all rested on what happened in Court then.

Shen Lian himself was pacing around his residence restlessly.

“Gong gong*, there’s news from Qinghe,” a black-clad man said, stepping forward. “Other than the people from the Ministry of Justice, all of the people who were sent to get news about the Qinghe situation were all caught. There were thirty of them in total, and we didn’t let a single one escape.”

*T/N: Gong gong is the mode of address for an eunuch.

“Kill them all,” Shen Lian said, his voice a little shrill. “There will be no mistakes made these few days, you hear me?”

“Understood!” The black-clad man bowed and left.

Before long, a young eunuch came in to report. “Gong gong!”

Shen Lian hurriedly waved the man over. “How is it?” he asked.

“Replying to Gong gong’s question, the thing has been sent,” the young eunuch said in a flustered voice. “That Qinghe County Magistrate has been tortured for many days and is very weak. Everyone will assume that he died from his injuries.”

“Watch him carefully. When he’s dead, come and report to me again,” Shen Lian said, quietly exhaling in relief. He sat down on a chair, picked up his teacup and gulped down a mouthful of tea. His eyes flashed with hatred. “Chen Shichang, you crafty old fox! You dare to scheme against me!”

“Godfather, if you don’t want to ally yourself with that Chen fellow, can’t you just leave things be? Why go through all this angst?” the young eunuch said, trying to mollify Shen Lian as he massaged Shen Lian’s shoulders. Shen Lian had recognised him as his godson, so he dared to be a bit more outspoken than others.

“Hmph! I’m not going to sit around as he turns me into cannon fodder!” Shen Lian said. He slammed the teacup down on the table. “How dare this Chen Shichang force my hand like this? I’ll definitely repay the favour next time!”

Yun Shiliu had yet to return to the Capital. He had been sent to Qinghe to get news about the situation there. Xiao Chengjun brought his Consort to the Eastern Palace to discuss strategies to use when he went to the Imperial Court the next day.

“I don’t know where this Imperial ancestral hall thing popped out from, but the Ministry of Justice people have been working nonstop to look into this matter, and they found out that it’s been under construction for some time now. It’s already half-built,” Cai Yi said, his brows knitting together tightly. He’d been under a lot of stress thanks to this saga, and a huge cold sore had erupted on his upper lip. “Dianxia, chen is of the view that something is very wrong with the whole situation. I’m afraid that many ministers will push for your impeachment at this morning’s Court session!”

Xiao Chengjun frowned. He had never asked anyone to build any ancestral hall. The Qinghe County’s requests for silver to repair the dike and the temple were all approved and disbursed according to protocol. How did this ancestral hall even come to be built? Surely the Minister of the Right didn’t deliberately build one just to set this trap for him?

“Building an Imperial ancestral hall is something that would ordinarily be praised as meritorious. It’s certainly better than just embezzling silver without more. In chen’s view, it may be better to cut losses and just admit to it,” one of the Eastern Palace officials suggested. The longer this saga dragged on, the more detrimental it was to the Crown Prince. If the Court officials started to think that it was the Emperor’s intent to cause trouble for the Crown Prince, then the number of submissions put forward to smear the Crown Prince’s name would increase. It was also likely that the officials would start asking for the Crown Prince to be deposed. All this would only gain momentum as time dragged on.

“Absolutely not,” Cai Yi said, refuting this idea immediately. “One must never admit to a crime one did not commit! In doing so, Dianxia may just sink further into their trap.”

Lou Jing glanced at the sore on Cai Yi’s mouth. This man might have an impatient nature, but he was very clear-headed. He narrowed his eyes slightly. “The Crown Prince definitely cannot admit to the ancestral hall issue,” he said.

Xiao Chengjun looked at his Consort. “Why so?” he asked.

“When fighting, you naturally need to hit someone where it hurts most,” Lou Jing said, his lips curving into a cold smile. “Building an Imperial ancestral hall is a matter of great importance that concerns the afterlife of the entire Imperial family. The Crown Prince is only the heir to the throne, but he unilaterally decided to build an ancestral hall, without any authorisation from the Emperor. Doesn’t it look like the Crown Prince is trying to usurp the Emperor’s power?”

The Crown Prince was excellent at strategizing to gain power, but he wasn’t as good as Lou Jing when it came to sniffing out underlying conspiracies. This was Lou Jing’s speciality, and he easily saw the real danger in this whole scheme.

The official who suggested admitting to the building of the ancestral hall paled. Cai Yi also inhaled sharply. He had only thought that something was very off about this whole situation, but he couldn’t figure out what. Everyone suddenly saw Lou Jing in a completely new light. They’d all thought he was just a military official skilled at fighting; it never crossed their minds that he would be a good strategist as well.

Luanyi Palace was still brightly lit by candles at this time of the day. A dancer dressed in colourful clothes lit a lotus flower lantern as part of her graceful performance. 

The Chunde Emperor was drinking wine distractedly. When the Crown Prince returned to the Imperial Palace, he had immediately attended at Panlong Palace to greet him, and had even taken away a stack of submissions that he didn’t feel like reviewing.

“What troubles your Majesty? Perhaps it would help ease your mind to talk about it with me,” Chen Guifei said, leaning on the Chunde Emperor’s shoulder. The corners of her slanting eyes were slightly flushed from drinking alcohol, and she looked very charming.

The Chunde Emperor patted Chen Guifei’s delicate face, then sighed. “The Crown Prince is slow-witted, but he doesn’t have ill intentions. Zhen finds all this very difficult,” he said.

Chen Guifei’s eyes darkened briefly. She raised a soft, pale-skinned hand to fill the Emperor’s cup. “The Crown Prince is indeed a kind-hearted person. When he was young, he always took good care of his younger brother, letting him eat things first, or use his things first,” she said with a smile.

The Chunde Emperor’s expression changed when he heard this. The Second Price was poisoned precisely because he had eaten Xiao Chengjun’s snacks first.

At that time, he had just ascended the throne as the new Emperor after the previous Emperor’s death, and had not chosen his heir. The Third Prince didn’t have the right to be named as Crown Prince because he had not been brought up by the Empress. Guifei simply couldn’t bear to let the Third Prince leave her side after he was born. The only two candidates for the position of Crown Prince then were Xiao Chengjun and the Second Prince, who had a photographic memory and outstanding intelligence. In fact, the Second Prince had been the more likely choice for Crown Prince!

He hadn’t thought about this much when he was younger, but now that he analysed it more carefully, the entire situation was suspicious. The Chunde Emperor’s brows knitted together more and more tightly. Chen Guifei smiled silently as she watched the Emperor’s reaction.

Xiao Chengjun’s eyes were wide open, observing his Consort’s sleeping face.

His Father Empress had been worried that if he was exposed to the pleasures of the flesh too early, he would sink into wanton indulgence and be lost in the charms of the fairer sex. As such, he had never arranged for anyone to attend to him at night. Since young, the Empress had taught him that even though his wife would be a man, he should respect him and love him. This was the way to keep the empire stable, the hougong at peace, and the Imperial descendants safe from harm…

Actually, his Father Empress had really been overly concerned about this issue. To Xiao Chengjun, no matter who his wife was, as long as he was a dutiful, respectful person, he would not hesitate to give him all his love and respect. However, the Empress had still worried, and had persisted despite the odds to get Lou Jing as his bride. Xiao Chengjun reached out and touched that beautiful face. It was as flawless as pale jade immersed in clear water. If Lou Jing had just been a little less good-looking, or a little more incompetent, perhaps he wouldn’t… no, who was he kidding? He still couldn’t bear to lose him regardless.

“Is my appearance pleasing to your Highness?” Lou Jing asked, opening his eyes languidly. His voice was low and pleasing to the ear, and had a bewitching quality to it. 

“Of course,” Xiao Chengjun said. He didn’t move his hand away, and continued gently caressing Lou Jing’s cheek. 

Lou Jing closed his eyes and reached up to hold Xiao Chengjun’s hand. He brought that hand to his lips and kissed its palm, then breathed in deeply. The hand was soft, warm and had the sweet, fragrant scent of milk… Lou Jing’s eyes sprang open. The scent of milk! When Xiao Chengjun was a little boy, his face and hands always smelled of sweet milk, which was why the Crown Prince always reminded him of soft little steamed rabbit buns. Lou Jing’s mother made those little buns out of milk and flour.

Before today, Lou Jing hadn’t smelt this scent on the Crown Prince at all.

Lou Jing couldn’t resist squirming over and nuzzling against Xiao Chengjun’s neck. He pressed his nose against Xiao Chengjun’s chiseled chin and breathed in hard. There really was the scent of sweet milk!

“What are you doing?” Xiao Chengjun asked. Lou Jing’s actions were ticklish, and he pushed his hands against Lou Jing’s great hairy head, trying to stop him from moving.

“… Nothing much.” Lou Jing hugged the Crown Prince happily. If Xiao Chengjun knew that he had smelt the scent of milk on him, he might get embarrassed and upset. As such, the Crown Prince Consort decided to first find out why the Crown Prince smelt of milk before saying anything. 

Xiao Chengjun looked helplessly at his incomprehensible Consort. His actions and moods were ever-changing, as unpredictable as the wind and rain. He shook his head gently. “You should sleep. I need to attend the Imperial Court session tomorrow morning, and you need to greet our Father Empress tomorrow as well,” he said. Ten days had passed since the wedding, and if the Crown Prince Consort did not start doing the customary morning greeting, he would certainly be criticised as unfilial. He also could not greet the Empress at the same time as the other concubines as he was a man, so he had to do his greeting earlier. In order to get to the Empress’ palace on time, he had to wake up at the same time as Xiao Chengjun.

“You’re the one who should be sleeping,” Lou Jing pulled the Crown Prince deeper into his embrace. “Can’t sleep?”

“I’m thinking about how I can make my Father Emperor believe me tomorrow…” Xiao Chengjun sighed. He was good at pretending to be mediocre and slow-witted, but how was he to make the Emperor believe that he didn’t have any schemes up his sleeves?

“That’s simple,” Lou Jing said. He reached out to stroke the Crown Prince’s hair. The Crown Prince didn’t react to this, so he took the opportunity to ruffle his hair. “I’ll teach you a surefire method tomorrow morning.”

Xiao Chengjun couldn’t help smiling as he looked at his Consort playfully ruffling his hair. He finally relaxed, and instinctively believed what Lou Jing had said. If his Consort said that there was a way, there would definitely be one.

The next morning, the Crown Prince awoke refreshed after a good sleep. An Shun assisted him to put on layer after layer of his elaborate official robes for Court. Lou Jing, in contrast, only needed to wear his usual robes, and waited patiently for the Crown Prince to be fully attired.

After the guan had been fastened in the Crown Prince’s hair, Lou Jing handed him an apricot-coloured handkerchief.

“What’s this?” Xiao Chengjun asked. He bent his head to examine the handkerchief in his hand. It was folded twice to form a square, and looked exactly like the handkerchiefs he used every day.

“Dianxia wants to make the Emperor believe him, right?” Lou Jing said, smiling mysteriously. He sidled over to the Crown Prince and whispered into his ear. “A little chilli oil will do the trick.”

Xiao Chengjun stared at Lou Jing, then opened the handkerchief. A tiny red dot could be seen on one corner of the handkerchief. He didn’t say any more, and shoved the handkerchief into his sleeve.

“Have a good day, your Highness,” Lou Jing said, smiling as he escorted the Crown Prince out of Bafeng Palace. After the Crown Prince left, he went back to the palace, picked up the sword, Scarlet Cloud, boarded a palanquin and headed to Fengyi Palace.  

*T/N: Actually, what Lou Jing says is “恭送太子殿下”, the literal translation of which is “Respectfully escorting the Crown Prince Dianxia”. However, in this context, Lou Jing is actually wishing him success in an indirect manner.