What Yuwen Tai asked next, she remembered nothing, only that she was sweating cold and never got to meet the Wang Empress. She left the palace that way.
Luckily, that man was still waiting at the palace gate. Seeing him, she couldn’t hold herself up and collapsed into his arms. Her long-standing guard was broken, and tears poured down. “What do I do? I’ve doomed you. I thought she wouldn’t do anything to me.” At least not such filthy scheming.
“What happened?” He stiffened instantly at her tears, pulling her close and not letting go even after boarding the carriage. Meng Guqing wasn’t sure if the Wang Empress had a hand in this, but Yuwen Tai’s interested look was genuine. She knew he was unreliable but hadn’t expected such a weirdo. She was his daughter-in-law.
No matter how hard to admit, this wasn’t something she could solve alone. She told him everything exactly, fearing he wouldn’t believe her. She ended by stressing, “The Emperor wants me to meet the Wang Empress again tomorrow. I don’t want to go, and I can’t.”
Meng Guqing was lost in this absurd drama, not noticing Xiao Shuo’s expression had turned dark as ink, his eyes flashing red with rage. Silently, he muttered “Good, good,” to himself. Noticing the restless person in his arms, he calmed down and comforted her, “Don’t be afraid. If you don’t want to go, you won’t. I won’t let you.”
How could she refuse? Yuwen Tai was Emperor; Xiao Shuo, a prince, how could he disobey? The night promised to be uneasy. She had underestimated the Wang Empress’s cunning and Yuwen Tai’s morals. If he truly desired her, would she still have a chance to leave Xiao Shuo and return to Wu? Would Xiao Shuo be safe if she left? Thinking of the image of Yuwen Tai from the day, she understood why the Wang sisters were so twisted. Such a man lying next to them every night, wouldn’t they want to vomit every morning?
To be fair, Yuwen Tai wasn’t ugly. Over fifty, his skin was still smooth and soft, his features clear, though his eye bags were heavy, swollen from decades of indulgence. Her harsh reaction was only because she was truly disgusted. With Xiao Shuo’s perfect contrast, recalling Yuwen Tai’s gaze was more terrifying the more she thought about it. What could she do? She really didn’t want to reenact the Song of Everlasting Regret in ancient times.
For the first time ever, Meng Guqing lay awake, anxious. She usually faced problems positively, except for threats to life. Even forced alliances with Zhao Donglin or being taken to Zhou by Xiao Shuo without protest, she handled those. But now, she was truly scared. This fear even Xiao Shuo couldn’t shield her from because deep down, she didn’t want to drag him down. Nestling quietly in his arms, she refused his kisses, tossing and turning without sleep.
Seeing she was still awake, he, who had pushed her away earlier for being hot, snuggled back and firmly wrapped his arms around her waist. “Sleep now. I have work tomorrow. Stay home. Don’t go anywhere.”
“I can’t sleep.” Meng Guqing sighed, picking up the palm fan by the bed and fanning herself quietly, but he took it and fanned her instead. She looked tired. “Maybe you should take me home, okay?”
He paused, his tone unreadable. “You want to leave?”
He misunderstood, whenever she said she wanted to leave before, that was her true feeling. But now, thinking of leaving him, she felt a pang of reluctance. That reluctant heartache, had she unknowingly grown fond of him? Meng Guqing closed her eyes, breathing in his familiar youthful aura. “No, I don’t want to leave you. I just fear my presence will bring you trouble. I should’ve listened to you and not gone to the palace. If I hadn’t, none of this would have happened.”
Xiao Shuo saw more clearly than she did. Hearing what happened to her in the palace, he felt nothing but anger and fury. Yet toward her, his love was endless. Anyone who liked her or wanted her didn’t surprise him because she was truly worth the effort to fight for. As for the one trying to take her away, his own father, he wasn’t shocked. He was only angry that those people scared her. He wanted revenge for those who tried to separate them. He never took those people seriously and was happy to play with them. But if his mercy let them harm the flower in his arms, that would be unforgivable.
Xiao Shuo bent his head and kissed Meng Guqing’s forehead. Satisfied with her confession, he said with absolute certainty, “By tomorrow night at the latest, there will be a result. Trust me. Don’t be afraid.”
He wouldn’t let her go, expected. Meng Guqing couldn’t say whether her complicated feelings included disappointment or not. No matter, the moment hadn’t come yet. If it did, she could worry then. Besides, she hadn’t forgotten the man holding her was a total pervert. After being with him so long, when had he ever suffered a loss? If anyone lost, it certainly wasn’t him. The example of Wang Xiao was right before her eyes.
Meng Guqing had done all the mental preparation she could before finally falling asleep. Because she’d gone to bed so late, she also woke up late. Morning was the coolest time during the height of summer, so by the time she rose, it was already afternoon. A warm breeze drifted into the house through the shade of the trees, carrying the cool scent of the brook flowing beneath the bamboo grove.
Ever since Xiao Shuo had asked if she wanted to move and taken her around to look at various houses, Meng Guqing had chosen this one, Nongyu Hall. It was the most lushly vegetated among them, with chestnut and parasol trees shading the front and back courtyards. Most importantly, the main courtyard of the master bedroom had a wide stand of bamboo, very much like the Fengyi Palace she once lived in. The moment she saw it, she knew she liked it and decided to settle here.
Summer days made one languid and drowsy. After getting up, she had nothing to do. From not far off, the kitchen sent over the drifting scent of wine, enough to make one light-headed. Outwardly, Meng Guqing appeared idle to the point of boredom, but inwardly she was anxious. Xiao Shuo had disappeared early in the morning again; she couldn’t ask the maids too much, but she couldn’t help worrying about Fusang and Caiwei. By her estimation, they should have already received the letter—she just didn’t know if they’d set out yet, or how many people they were bringing. If she’d known things would turn out like this, she should have had them come later.
What she hadn’t expected was that the calamity that felt to her like the sky falling would, just as Xiao Shuo had said, have news that very night and not just any news, but one that shocked the entire nation: Yuwen Tai had died.
When the news reached her, Meng Guqing had been sitting in her room studying several prescriptions she’d prepared for Empress Xiao, there were details that needed careful consideration. She’d sent the maids out to get some air and was sitting alone, not noticing at first the faint pealing of bells from somewhere far away. Deep, vast, and solemn—they tolled forty-nine times.
By the time the bell rang twenty-some times, she had already begun to suspect something. When the final tone fell silent, wailing broke out immediately outside. Startled awake as if from a dream, she hurriedly ordered the steward to take down all the red lanterns and colored silks. The embroidery girls began working overnight on mourning clothes. She had not heard wrong, nor was she the only one—forty-nine bells signified a national mourning. It was clear enough who had died.
In that moment, all her fears and dread seemed to evaporate, only to be replaced by a new unease. She remembered what Xiao Shuo had told her the night before. She had thought he’d only been trying to comfort her. But now, she couldn’t help suspecting that Yuwen Tai’s death had something to do with him. The man was reckless beyond measure, how could he dare? The thought that he’d done something so extreme, and for her, made Meng Guqing’s tears finally spill over. Thankfully, everyone else was crying too. Whether their grief was sincere or not didn’t matter; crying together was enough.
The burden in her heart eased a little. Knowing Xiao Shuo must be busy beyond measure, she waited quietly at home, assuming he wouldn’t return that night. When evening came and she still wasn’t hungry, she didn’t touch the meal that had been set out. She had only been sitting for a short while when a youth in white strode in.
It was the first time Meng Guqing had ever seen him in white. The coarse cloth could not hide the sharp brilliance of his bearing; it was as if a radiant being had walked straight in. He came right up to her.
She had just stood up when he pressed her gently back into her seat. His tone was calm as always. “Eat. I came back a bit late today. I’ll probably have to stay in the palace for a while.”
Meng Guqing’s mind was on other matters. Once the maids had served a few more dishes and quietly withdrawn, leaving them alone, she took his hand.
“What exactly happened? I heard the bells today, they said they came from the imperial city. A lot of people rushed over by carriage. Some even came here this afternoon to call on me, but I didn’t know who they were or what they wanted, so I didn’t meet them.”
“These people move fast,” Xiao Shuo said lightly. “The emperor’s body isn’t even cold, and they’re already scrambling to curry favor with the next one. They even managed to find your place.” He’d once thought ascending the throne early would be no trouble but now, with so many people about to bother them, it only annoyed him.
“You should just move into the palace with me, save yourself from being bothered by them.”
From the moment she knew he would become emperor, Meng Guqing had been mentally prepared to become Empress again. Not because she fancied herself destined for that position, but because it seemed a natural consequence, wherever he was, they would not be apart. It had come to feel almost ordinary. She smiled. “I don’t mind being bothered. I have no place in politics, so I won’t meddle. At this point, I’ve already taken all the advantage there is, how could I complain there’s too much to do? I just want to know… how did His Majesty die so suddenly?”
She spoke carefully, not sure how much Xiao Shuo had been involved. When she’d last seen Yuwen Tai, he had looked weak and dissipated, his overindulgence plainly written on his face. It wasn’t unreasonable to think he’d die from excess sooner or later. But the timing, it was too coincidental. Coincidental enough to be frightening.
Xiao Shuo gave a short, cold laugh, turned to touch her cheek, and asked for praise. “Didn’t I say there’d be results by tonight? You didn’t believe me. Now you see how capable your husband is, don’t you?”
Meng Guqing clasped his hands, how could he still joke at a time like this? But judging from his attitude, things didn’t seem too serious. She humored him. “Yes, yes, you’re the best. Now tell me.”
“Just a sudden seizure during the act, nothing worth talking about.” He raised an eyebrow, half-smiling as he met her cool gaze. “Do you think I did it? And if I really did, what would you say?”
If he truly had killed his own father, how would she react?
Meng Guqing’s response was direct. She stood, went to him, and sat down on his knee. She kissed the corner of his mouth, her slender white arms slipping around his shoulders through her thin gauze sleeves. For once, she spoke with quiet sincerity: “I can’t say you were right but I have no right to condemn you either. Thank you, Xiao Shuo. I know you did it for me.”
If she hadn’t run into Yuwen Tai, if that shameless emperor hadn’t actually leered at his own daughter-in-law, Xiao Shuo could have taken his time securing his position more safely. A son killing his father was a shock to her moral sensibilities, but she was no saint. She herself had barely survived; how could she spare pity for an enemy? And yes, Yuwen Tai was her enemy.
“No longer calling me a perverted scoundrel?” He’d never heard her speak to him so softly before; his heart nearly melted, and he took the opportunity to seek justice for himself.
Meng Guqing flushed. She’d never actually called him that to his face, how did he know? Could it be that after spending every waking hour together, there were truly no secrets left?
She didn’t realize that a martial artist’s senses were sharp; all her little mutterings had reached his ears. Having one’s complaints caught red-handed, Meng Guqing grew slightly flustered. But since he didn’t sound angry, perhaps there was room to coax him further. Tilting her fair face up, she murmured shyly, “Well, you were, but I’ve changed my mind. Even a pervert can be cute… and lovable. Is that okay?”
“That’s better.” Xiao Shuo drew her closer into his arms. “Come live in the palace with me. The enthronement ceremony will be soon.”
The late emperor’s death was disgraceful, and the court was still covering it up. He only wished to get it over with quickly, to avoid any hint of scandal. The Great Zhou could not afford such humiliation.
“You still haven’t said, was that ‘sudden seizure’ your doing or not?” Meng Guqing asked, curiosity getting the better of her. She knew that in ancient times, such “sudden deaths” during intimacy were often the result of using certain stimulating aphrodisiacs. Given Yuwen Tai’s condition, it wasn’t implausible but still, she wanted to know.
Xiao Shuo’s expression darkened slightly. He didn’t tell her the truth. Instead, he said, “Before I came back, the palace was already full of those ‘tonics.’ It wasn’t the first time someone nearly died that way, Liu Yuan and Wang Xiao covered it up last time.”
That Consort Wang had relied on drugs and tricks to monopolize the emperor’s favor. After her, Yuwen Tai had lost interest in other women. And the more he took her concoctions, the more he became enslaved to them. For half a year now, even the Empress, her own elder sister, had been forced into the background.
Before returning, Xiao Shuo had already known the situation clearly. Yuwen Tai’s dependence on those medicines was no secret to him. The Wang family, emboldened by their power, had used the emperor as their pawn. Fortunately, the most cunning of them, Wang Xiao, was already dead, Xiao Shuo hadn’t needed to dirty his hands. Let them destroy themselves.
But what they should never have done was set their sights on his woman and with such disgusting methods at that. They’d thought to use Yuwen Tai to bring Meng Guqing into the palace, turn father and son against each other, and profit from the chaos. They should have known better. He was the type who repaid every slight in full. If they wanted to provoke him, they should have dug their own graves first.
He had never felt any filial affection toward that man who happened to be his father. Knowing his body was already failing, he had no intention of hastening his death, until others kept stepping on his nerves. Then he didn’t mind giving fate a nudge, adding just a little something to the pills Consort Wang fed him daily. Not much, just the last straw to break the camel’s back.
But what was done was done. Patricide or not, his life was already stained; one more sin made no difference.
The woman in his arms, it seemed, had grown used to the way he did things. In the end, he didn’t confess the part he’d played. She still looked uneasy, guilty, did she think she’d forced him into this? Silly girl. If she was afraid, he could spare her the truth. Such a small lie was nothing. Xiao Shuo felt perfectly at peace; even his appetite was unaffected.
From his words, Meng Guqing inferred that Yuwen Tai’s health had already been hopelessly poor. The rumor was that he’d died in Consort Wang’s bed, and from the court to the common folk, not a soul seemed surprised, as if they’d all been expecting it. That being so, she didn’t dwell on it further. Of course, she was certain her little “pervert” had a hand in it; otherwise, such timing couldn’t be explained. But he’d done it for her, how could she feel anything but moved?
Since Xiao Shuo had to stay in the palace to oversee the funeral and prepare for his coronation, Meng Guqing, unwilling for him to shuttle back and forth every day, packed her things and accompanied him.
Their residence within the palace was called Qingliang Terrace, the Cool Terrace. It sat high along the central axis of the palace, catching every breeze of dawn and dusk. Meng Guqing found she loved it there.
At first, everyone was unsettled, why had a woman suddenly appeared by Xiao Shuo’s side? They hadn’t heard that the newly recovered prince had married. Perhaps she was just a favored concubine of obscure background, surely not the future Empress, right? With that thought in mind, people both inside and outside the palace continued to watch and wait. Especially those with beautiful daughters, when the late emperor Yuwen Tai held his beauty selections, they’d all wished to marry their daughters off within a day. Now, this new emperor was said to possess dragon-like bearing and phoenix-like grace, divine in appearance, who wouldn’t want him?
It wasn’t just the parents watching; the unmarried young ladies were just as eager. The late emperor’s funeral was grand and elaborate, the procession nearly stretched across the entire Azure Dragon Avenue, and once it reached the imperial tomb, a host of ceremonies and rites followed. Although Xiao Shuo had been back for some time, he had rarely appeared in public. Everyone had only heard that the late Empress’s son was even more beautiful than his mother, like a celestial being descended to earth.
This funeral was effectively his first time showing himself before the people of the capital, and it immediately caused a sensation. If it hadn’t been a state funeral, with everyone dressed in mourning, people would probably have begun throwing fruits at his carriage in admiration. Meng Guqing accompanied Xiao Shuo to the funeral and even knelt to pay respects, but her identity was somewhat delicate. People kept their distance; even when they saw Xiao Shuo personally help her into and out of the carriage, something that drew astonished looks, they still could not let go of the faint hope in their hearts.
To Meng Guqing, she herself felt like the second spectacle after Xiao Shuo. No one spoke to her, but she didn’t mind. Once Yuwen Tai was buried and entombed, they returned to the palace.
The next day was Xiao Shuo’s enthronement ceremony. In stark contrast to the previous day’s somber mourning, the entire imperial city was filled with joy. Meng Guqing was dragged out of bed at dawn to wash and dress. Lately, she had been unusually drowsy, dazed most of the time. Only after the phoenix crown and scarlet robes were placed upon her and she was carried in the Empress’s ceremonial sedan to the Mingguang Palace before Xuanping Gate, where Xiao Shuo took her hand and led her step by step up to the highest dais, did she fully wake up, when the grand ceremony concluded and the chief eunuch read aloud the imperial decree conferring the Empress’s title and handed it to Chunyue.
To be precise, she woke up because she was shocked awake. How had his coronation ceremony turned into her investiture as Empress? And he hadn’t even told her! Covering her mouth as she stifled a small yawn, she peered at him through the beaded curtain of the phoenix crown and said, “I thought you only asked me here to observe. How could you just, without a word, make me the Empress? Will the court even agree to this?”
“I’m marrying my wife. What does it have to do with them?” Xiao Shuo flicked his sleeve indifferently. Seeing how tired she looked, he added in a low voice, “Go rest. You’ve been worn out these past few days.”
Meng Guqing had originally been prepared for him to make her a consort at most. After all, a prince found halfway through life would surely face political constraints. His Empress’s seat would already have been eyed by many. Judging by how neglected the palace had seemed lately, it was obvious how isolated he was. Who could have guessed he’d be so forceful and straightforward?
Thinking about it, it wasn’t hard to understand. The Yuwen emperors were never to be judged by normal standards. Look at Yuwen Tai, he had doted on the Wang sisters to the point of nearly ending his own bloodline, yet still lived by the motto “drink and love while you can.” The sisters’ crimes filled scrolls, but he’d gone to his grave unrepentant, dying for love, as it were.
Xiao Shuo merely appointed the woman he wanted as Empress the moment he took the throne. Compared to his father, it was child’s play. After years of enduring Yuwen Tai’s excesses, the court officials had long since developed iron nerves and accepted it calmly. Besides, Xiao Shuo hardly seemed the sort to be manipulated. With the Zhou dynasty’s situation barely stabilized, no one wanted new trouble. Some officials chose to yield, while others were quietly discontented.
Meng Guqing didn’t expect the first visitor to the new Empress would be none other than Empress Wang.
Because the enthronement had been rushed, only the title of Empress Dowager Xiao had been formally confirmed, Empress Wang’s status was left unsettled. After Yuwen Tai died in her bed, Noble Consort Wang, realizing she had no protection left, had taken her own life on the spot. Since the emperor’s true cause of death was concealed, her suicide was polished into the tale of a devoted concubine who followed her lord in death. By virtue of her sister’s “virtue,” Empress Wang was still living in the imperial Empress’s quarters.
She knew she had offended the Xiao mother and son too deeply. Fortunately, Xiao Shuo had been raised among commoners and was rumored to be distant from the Xiao clan. If handled well, she might still place a few of her own people beside the new emperor, have them speak for her, and avoid sharing her sister’s fate. Her first move, naturally, was to approach Xiao Shuo’s little-seen wife.
So, the day after the coronation, she sent a chest of gold and silver to Meng Guqing’s residence in Weiyang Palace. An unexpected windfall, from Empress Wang, no less. Meng Guqing wasn’t sure whether to accept it. She had already reviewed the palace accounts and found them nearly empty. Considering the Wang clan’s extravagance, the missing funds were obvious.
Strictly speaking, she and Xiao Shuo, as emperor and Empress, were little more than “bare poles with no feathers”, no wealth or backing in either the front court or the inner palace. She was just thinking of how to scrape something back from the Wang family when Empress Wang sent her money. A chest full of glittering jewels dazzled the maids’ eyes. Sitting aside, Meng Guqing only asked Chunyue, “What did the messenger say?”
“He said Niang Niang deeply regrets her offenses and sent this to beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness. Tomorrow… Empress Wang herself will come to pay respects and ask for an audience.” Since there was now a new Empress, referring to the late emperor’s wife as “Empress Wang” was awkward, but Chunyue still used the title out of courtesy.
Now that Meng Guqing held the imperial seal, she was no longer invisible. Word of Empress Wang’s visit reached her almost immediately, and word also came that the Wang family had been gathering several extraordinary beauties and that Empress Wang had summoned them into the palace. Her intention was obvious.
Meng Guqing was startled and angry. Wasn’t this too brazen? On one hand, sending her bribes; on the other, presenting beauties to Xiao Shuo, was she that sure Meng Guqing would turn a blind eye for money?
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