“Jiang-zhou fool!”
With a sharp crack, the Empress Dowager smashed her teacup, her face livid with rage as she stared at the eunuch.
“What else are people saying out there?”
The eunuch kept his head lowered.
“They say… they say Young Master Gao is driven by lust… and that the Empress Dowager… the Empress Dowager…”
“Enough!”
The Imperial Consort at the side snapped sharply.
“How dare you repeat such nonsense from outside to the Empress Dowager?”
The eunuch quickly bowed his head and fell silent. The Empress Dowager let out a cold laugh.
“Speak. Why shouldn’t you speak?” she said angrily. “If they dare say it, I can bear to hear it.”
The Imperial Consort hurried forward to console her.
“Your Majesty, it’s nothing more than rumors that you are using your power to oppress others. What else could it be?” she said, waving at the eunuch to leave.
The eunuch hastily bowed and hurried out of the room.
“Am I truly using my power to oppress others? If she hadn’t stirred up this trouble and tarnished the Gao family’s reputation, would I have needed to clean up her mess?” The Empress Dowager struck the table angrily and exclaimed, “She wronged our Gao family first, and now she acts as if she’s the one suffering injustice!”
“Besides, if she were truly engaged, that would be one thing. But it’s clearly a sham. When she realized she couldn’t deceive you, she deliberately escalated the situation.” The Imperial Consort sighed and shook her head. “Such sheer insolence.”
Yes, insolence indeed! It had always been insolence. Insolence beyond all bounds.
“It’s the Emperor who has spoiled her rotten!” the Empress Dowager fumed, immediately sending attendants to summon the Emperor.
“Now Her Majesty finally understands my troubles,” the Emperor remarked with a laugh upon hearing the news.
“The Empress Dowager only has to deal with one headstrong girl, while I face stubborn, arrogant ministers in court every day, all too ready to threaten me.”
The eunuch offered a strained smile but dared not respond.
“This was an absurd matter to begin with, and now it’s become even more farcical,” the Emperor said, shaking his head. “Why did the Gao family have to provoke her for no reason? Even I keep my distance from her.”
…
“The Emperor actually said that?” the Imperial Consort asked.
She had already tactfully left the Empress Dowager’s palace by the time the Emperor arrived.
“Yes, that is what His Majesty said,” the eunuch replied with his head lowered. “The Empress Dowager asked the Emperor to punish that Lady Cheng, but His Majesty said he had made it clear before that matters of marriage are private family affairs. He would not intervene and advised Her Majesty not to trouble herself over it, suggesting that the absurd situation should be left to the absurd people to resolve themselves.”
The Imperial Consort clenched her hands, her face filled with resentment.
“Even with such a perfect opportunity, the Emperor refuses to use it to suppress that Cheng girl. Instead, he’s content to let the whole world laugh at our Gao family,” she said.
“Your Highness, the Emperor would never suppress Lady Cheng,” the eunuch said quietly. “After all, she possesses the skill to bring the dead back to life.”
Although the young lady had never demonstrated such divine skill again, in matters like this, people would rather believe it exists.
It was just like with Duke Jin’an – whether by coincidence or something else, hadn’t he been kept in the palace to be cared for?
The Imperial Consort gritted her teeth for a moment.
“So there’s nothing we can do about this girl?” she said.
“Your Highness, Master Gao is about to return. He is already on his way and has sent a letter,” the eunuch reported.
The Imperial Consort immediately brightened.
“What did he say?”
“Master Gao said this is a trivial matter and not worth getting enraged over. We must be patient. With Her Majesty the Empress Dowager having formally proposed the match, and with Lady Cheng’s parents involved, as for everyone else – let them stir trouble and say what they will. Everything can wait until he returns,” the eunuch relayed.
A trivial matter?
First, he said Duke Jin’an was a trivial matter, and now he calls this Cheng girl a trivial matter. Who knows what he actually considers important!
The Imperial Consort hummed in acknowledgment and let out a breath.
“And the Emperor? Is he still with the Empress Dowager?” she asked.
“His Majesty has gone to accompany Consort An for a stroll in the garden,” the eunuch replied, pausing briefly before adding, “It seems Her Majesty the Empress is also there.”
The Imperial Consort frowned.
“Why is the Empress there again?” she said, then let out a cold laugh. “Could it be that she’s waiting to adopt another Liu Ge’er?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she froze.
Adopt another Liu Ge’er…
The Emperor refuses to punish Lady Cheng…
Lady Cheng can bring the dead back to life…
The Emperor’s health is improving…
The Empress has suddenly recovered as well…
The Emperor is deliberately letting the Gao family become a laughingstock…
The Emperor is reprimanding Prince Ping more and more often…
The Emperor is also delaying the discussion of appointing a Crown Prince…
Something is wrong! Something is terribly wrong!
The Imperial Consort clenched her hands, her thoughts suddenly thrown into chaos. She couldn’t help but glance around nervously.
Has the Emperor found out something? Has he finally learned about Prince Ping’s harm to his brother?
In the past, he had only one son, so he endured and said nothing. But now Consort An is with child, so…
People say the child in Consort An’s womb is destined for greatness, that he is the reincarnation of the Taibai Star.
That’s right – matters like Duke Jin’an or Lady Cheng’s marriage are trivial. Her son, Prince Ping’s status as heir, is what truly matters.
“Your Highness? Your Highness?”
Someone tapped her arm.
The Imperial Consort gasped and snapped back to reality, only to see the eunuch in front of her drop to his knees with a thud.
Seeing the Imperial Consort lost in thought, the eunuch had no choice but to tap her as a reminder. But as a servant, such an act was highly disrespectful, and he had to kneel and beg for forgiveness.
“What is it?” the Imperial Consort demanded in a low voice.
“Your Highness,” the eunuch rose and stepped closer, speaking softly, “that matter… it has all been arranged. It will happen in the next few days.”
That matter? Which matter?
For a moment, the Imperial Consort couldn’t recall.
“The matter of the wanderer,” the eunuch had to carefully remind her.
The wanderer who must not return…
The Imperial Consort remembered now and shot the eunuch a sharp glare.
“There’s no need to keep bringing up such a trivial matter,” she said.
Huh? Hadn’t this always been a matter of great importance to Her Highness? Why was it suddenly not worth mentioning?
“Let’s return,” the Imperial Consort said, turning to leave but then pausing. “Keep an eye on Consort An’s side.”
The eunuch softly acknowledged the order.
…
“They wish to weave a beautiful tale, but nothing comes that easily. Let’s turn their story into a scandal and see if they have the face to carry on.”
Qin Shi’san-lang laughed lightly.
Cheng Jiao-niang smiled faintly in return.
“Thank you,” she said.
“You are mistaken. This was not done for your sake, so I dare not accept your thanks,” Qin Shi’san-lang replied with a courteous gesture. “Even without my idea, you would still have lived well. I simply acted because I could not stand to watch this injustice.”
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded.
“Miss, the carriage is ready,” Ban Qin announced as she entered.
Cheng Jiao-niang rose to her feet. Qin Shi’san-lang and Zhou Liu-lang bowed slightly, watching as the young lady departed with only Ban Qin by her side.
Qin Shi’san-lang’s smile faltered for a moment.
“It seems all the same to her,” he said.
“What’s all the same?” Zhou Liu-lang asked, puzzled.
“Absurdity, beautiful tales, or scandal – in her eyes, they probably all amount to the same thing,” Qin Shi’san-lang replied.
The same?
Zhou Liu-lang let out a disdainful snort.
“I told you – she wouldn’t even be angry if she were married off to a dog,” he muttered, his hands clenched tightly at his sides.
She simply didn’t care. She didn’t care who the person was at all.
Qin Shi’san-lang chuckled softly, tucking his hands into his sleeves.
“Yet, we’re still willing to be that person,” he said, turning to look at Zhou Liu-lang. “Aren’t you?”
Zhou Liu-lang’s face flushed slightly.
The hatred of having my wife stolen!
She is my wife!
Those shouted words still echoed in his ears, burning with intensity.
Zhou Liu-lang suddenly turned to face Qin Shi’san.
“So that’s why you felt at ease letting me play this part in the act?” he asked.
Qin Shi’san was taken aback for a moment.
“Why are you directing your anger at me?” he replied, smiling again.
Surprisingly, this time Zhou Liu-lang did not react as he usually would – spitting in disdain and storming off. Instead, he kept his gaze fixed on Qin Shi’san.
“Whether it’s a beautiful tale or a scandal, it makes no difference to her. But to you, it’s different. To your family, it’s different,” Zhou Liu-lang said.
Qin Shi’san looked at him, his smile freezing.
“Liu-lang, have we already reached the point where we are no longer just ‘you and me’? Where we start distinguishing between ‘your family’ and ‘my family’?” He gave a faint smile as he spoke.
Started…
In truth, this was not the beginning. It had started long ago, from the moment his leg was healed.
He was no longer that little cripple from the Qin family…
His father’s words echoed in his ears.
The Qin family…
So, he belonged to the Qin family – the Qin family tied by marriage to the imperial family. He was the thirteenth son of the Qin family, a loyal servant of the Qin lineage who revered the imperial family as supreme. He was Qin Hu.
Unlike the Zhou family, and unlike him, he would not let his fate be swayed by that woman, nor was he willing to let her dictate his destiny.
“But this is inevitable. After all, no one exists in isolation. As a member of the Qin family, I am not purely just ‘myself,'” Qin Shi’san said with a light smile. “Yes, to her, it makes no difference. But since it makes no difference, why should the Gao family benefit? When it’s clearly a feud, why should the world see it as an alliance? If she remains silent and takes no action, should the Gao family simply get their way?”
“I will not let the Gao family have what they want. Since it makes no difference to her, I still wish to stand apart. If not for her principles, I would have been the one to shoot that arrow. I would gladly play the role of the fool in this farce. Liu-lang, if you are angry with me because of this, I offer my apologies.”
He finished speaking and bowed in a formal salute.
Zhou Liu-lang fell silent for a moment, feeling that what he said was both right and yet not entirely so.
“There’s no need for your apology. I couldn’t stand it either, and I chose to take part in this act willingly. I did it for myself as well,” he muttered gloomily.
Then he lifted his foot and gave Qin Shi’san a light kick.
“Qin Hu,” he called out.
Qin Hu.
“I’d almost forgotten that I’m called Qin Hu when I’m with you,” Qin Shi’san replied with a laugh, nodding. “Zhou Fu, go ahead and speak.”
“I know you’re full of cunning ideas. If you ever keep me in the dark again, I’ll break your legs,” Zhou Fu said.
Qin Hu laughed heartily.
“I’ve already made it clear – there’s nothing to hide. I don’t want her to marry into the Gao family,” he said, his expression turning serious as he repeated, “I don’t want it. Since she hasn’t expressed a desire for it, that means she doesn’t want it either.”
All this talk of “wanting” and “not wanting” made Zhou Fu’s head spin. Yet, seeing Qin Hu’s undisguised frustration, he couldn’t help but feel a sudden urge to laugh.
When he thought about it, Qin Hu was even more pitiable.
“Whether you want it or not,” Zhou Fu said with a smirk, “she won’t marry you anyway.”
“And would she ever want to marry you?” Qin Hu retorted, emphasizing the word “want.”
Who could possibly know what was going on in that girl’s mind!
Zhou Fu sighed inwardly and glanced in the direction where Cheng Jiao-niang had left.
“Busy all day with those baffling little tasks – who knows what she’s thinking?” he muttered. “At a time like this, she’s still brewing liquor, brewing liquor.”
“It’s the anniversary of her brother’s passing,” Qin Hu reminded him softly.
So soon?
“Has it already been a year?” Zhou Fu asked, surprised.
“Yes, time flies,” Qin Hu said, folding his arms with a sigh.
Everything was moving so quickly – so quickly that he often felt a sense of powerlessness, as though he couldn’t hold on to anything.
That feeling was truly unsettling.
