Chapter 200 – Autumn Chill
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The drum sounded again. The young eunuch guarding the corner gate found a sheltered spot against the wall.
There weren’t many people here, and even less at night. There was still time for a nap.
Before closing his eyes, he straightened his body and listened carefully. Some days ago, another person had come in, but he hadn’t seen them. His master didn’t allow him to ask too many questions.
At first, the woman had cried and shouted, her words unclear. But his master had warned him not to listen carefully, saying that understanding would cost him his life. Now, the woman had exhausted her strength and seemed to have resigned to her fate.
What did it matter if she didn’t resign? Once inside this cold palace, few ever left.
He pulled his sleeves closer and lowered his head. He had barely slept when he was abruptly awakened, either by footsteps or the light of lanterns. He saw a faint glow in the darkness, followed by several figures. He quickly turned over and knelt down, frightened.
The person carrying the lantern didn’t even spare him a glance, slightly bowing and guiding the others through the threshold.
The person at the back patted him on the shoulder and softly instructed, “Stay further back.”
He took advantage of the opportunity when they were bowing and quickly stole a glance. In the dim light of the lantern, he caught a glimpse of golden eyes. It finally dawned on him who had just passed by.
“Oh my God…”
As autumn had arrived, the courtyard was strewn with fallen leaves that were not yet completely dried up. They rustled underfoot, sounding like people who had fallen but were unwilling to die.
The sound echoed with their footsteps as they reached the door. Yu Dexi walked a few steps quickly. With a few tugs, the dilapidated wooden door creaked open, producing a chilling and eerie dry creaking sound in the night.
Inside the room, the person who was originally not sleeping sat stiffly at the wooden table, like a carefully arranged corpse in a mortuary.
Her face was pale without any makeup, no hairpins adorned her hair, and her long hair was held by a single hairpin loosely behind her head.
Having survived the most hysterical days, perhaps realizing that everything was beyond redemption, when the few people entered the room, she didn’t even lift her eyelids.
Qu Chenzhou laid his cloak on the chair he dragged over and helped Emperor Yu to sit down.
Only a few days had passed, but everything was different from before. The emperor and empress remained silent for a long while. Emperor Yu finally spoke, “Xilan…”
The empress turned her eyes dully, and after a long time, she managed to focus her gaze on him. She sneered, “The emperor hasn’t called me that in a long time. Now you come to show pity, are you mocking me?”
“Xilan, all these years, you’ve always been so aggressive.”
The empress had no intention to argue and asked indifferently, “What about Zhao Er?”
In the night breeze that squeezed through the door crack, Emperor Yu coughed softly a few times. “Rest assured, I won’t mistreat Zhao Er.”
“Mistreat?” The empress suddenly laughed coldly.
“I believe, I believe the emperor has never mistreated him. Whatever he wants, you give it to him. If he doesn’t want to study, you won’t criticize him. He can do anything, and at most, you scold him a bit. You’ve never even laid a finger on him.”
“With you protecting him, he doesn’t listen to me or trust me. He’s even closer to you.”
“When he refused to learn anything in the past, you didn’t force him. When he grew up and only knew to eat, drink, and have fun, he failed at the tasks you gave him, yet you only ignored him.”
“How did he turn into such a waste? Do you not understand that, deep down?”
Emperor Yu frowned unhappily.
“He’s his own worst enemy, yet you blame me. Jingde, Jingyan, all of them were brought up the same way, but none turned out like him.”
“He was indulged and never disciplined. As his mother, are you completely innocent?”
“If I had been strict with him from the beginning, would you have praised me?”
“I entrusted Ten Li Pavilion to him. Does that mean I taught him to rebel? He’s fundamentally flawed!”
The empress gave a bitter smile.
“Fundamentally flawed? Isn’t his root Mu Renze?”
“You say he rebels? He’s timid as a mouse. How could I believe he would dare to rebel? If you had nothing to hide, why didn’t you dare let me see him? Why didn’t you dare see me?”
“I, of the Tang family, have served tirelessly for decades, yet I never thought I would become an eyesore to the emperor.”
Yu Dexi’s voice grew low. “Niang Niang, please be cautious with your words!”
“Who do you think you are? How dare you speak out in front of Ben Gong!”
The empress sternly scolded him and suddenly looked at the person standing on the other side.
“Qu Chenzhou! I’ve never been able to understand the cause and effect of all this. Perhaps the only person who can clarify it for me is you. Was it you? Did you say something to the empress dowager? Did you manipulate Zhao Er…”
Emperor Yu interrupted her displeasingly, “It’s not related to him.”
“Qu Chenzhou, do you see me?” The empress raised her voice, sounding like crying and laughing at the same time.
“You thought being loyal to the emperor would make everything fine, didn’t you? Look at me! Do you know how much I’ve done for the emperor, how many people I’ve killed! No matter how great your contributions, can they surpass mine? But look at me! I’m a cautionary tale for you!”
As she seemed about to pounce on him, Qu Chenzhou stood in front of her, calmly saying, “Niang Niang, please calm down. The emperor has come tonight with important matters to discuss with you.”
This sentence was like pouring cold water into a boiling pot.
The empress froze for a moment, then burst into laughter again. “So that’s it. I thought it was because of old feelings. Turns out I’m still useful, still useful…”
The three people opposite her watched her madness in silence until her laughter turned into sobbing, then choked low in her throat.
“What do you want to ask…”
As if he hadn’t seen her sorrowful expression, Emperor Yu asked slowly, “When I was young, I suffered from poor health. It wasn’t until I encountered that wandering sorcerer on the street and got his prescription that I gradually improved. This coincidence, was it you or your brother who manipulated it?”
The empress’s laughter, which had just calmed down, turned even more desolate.
“What sorcerer? What prescription? You’re feeling guilty. Do you have something to hide?”
“I don’t know, haha! Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”
“What are you afraid of? Are you afraid the young prince is seeking vengeance on the wrong person? Or are you afraid of your mother who can’t rest in peace?”
“Then let me tell you, from now on, when you have nightmares and someone comes to seek your life, you’ll have another name to remember—Mu Jingzhao!”
“He’s your biological son! How can you be so heartless? Are you even human? You’ll regret this!”
Emperor Yu rudely interrupted her, “I’m only asking you, did you poison me? Did you repeat your old tricks?”
“What old tricks?” The empress looked at him, scoffing a few times. “Trying to hold your weakness? I must have been blind to choose you back then. Now, you’re using all those merits against me, trying to throw every dirty accusation at me, right?”
“Nonsense!” Emperor Yu was furious. “What do you mean, choose me? I’m not suspecting you! Have you ever thought about how you obtained your position?”
The empress remained quiet for a moment, then suddenly burst into a hysterical laughter.
“How I obtained it? I want to ask you, how did you obtain your position?”
“I killed people for you. Don’t you have your hands in it too? If you hadn’t killed that disgraceful mother of yours, you wouldn’t even have the qualification to polish the empress dowager’s shoes!”
“And have you ever thought why you didn’t dare let the empress dowager see Qu Chenzhou?”
“Motherly love and filial piety? Bah! I only regret not being discerning enough, believing your nonsense!”
“Mu Renze, don’t you want to know if that wandering sorcerer has any connection to my Tang family? I won’t tell you!”
“You’ll have nightmares every day! The people you’ve killed will drag you to h*ll one day!”
Her roar grew shriller, as if she couldn’t catch her breath, a mix of laughter and panting as she leaned against the table and collapsed to the ground.
Emperor Yu suddenly stood up, his robe sleeve sweeping, and sneered, “It’s been so many years. Say it if you want, don’t say it if you don’t. I don’t need an answer.”
In his eyes, Yu Dexi understood, and he closed the door behind the two.
Carrying the lantern, Qu Chenzhou walked ahead on the side, seemingly unaware of the muffled struggle inside the room, carefully supporting Emperor Yu down the steps.
In the quiet of the autumn night, they walked amidst the low chirping of insects, like lonely spirits in the netherworld, without speaking a word.
Only when they returned to the sleeping quarters did Qu Chenzhou put down the lantern and kneel outside the threshold, bidding farewell to Emperor Yu with great formality.
This dignified gesture made Emperor Yu pause. “What’s the matter?”
“I thank Your Majesty for your benevolence and promise not to disappoint your kindness.”
After a night of pent-up anger being vented, and with the night’s events being carried out without concealment, Emperor Yu wanted to see if Qu Chenzhou could overcome this test of loyalty.
“Smart young man,” he smiled with satisfaction, bent down to pat Qu Chenzhou’s head, and then said, “I won’t mistreat you.”
***
“I humbly beg Your Majesty to send Qu Chenzhou out of the palace. Otherwise, I dare not accept this favor.”
“What did you say?” Emperor Yu’s expression turned grim, and he didn’t even let the person kneeling on the ground rise. “I’ve entrusted you with managing the affairs of the harem, yet you dare to show arrogance, bargaining with me?”
Liu Qingru didn’t divert her gaze and remained composed.
“Although I am young and inexperienced, I still understand the importance of rules and etiquette that must be upheld. Your Majesty put a lot of effort into the previous dynasty, so I should share some of your burdens.”
“But now that Qu Chenzhou resides in the palace, I have my own rules for daily life and activities. He’s an exception.”
“Not to mention, Qu Chenzhou commands the Valiant Camp and the Jinwu Guards. If he has any intentions to meddle, I would merely be a puppet…”
Emperor Yu interrupted her, “Chenzhou is not that kind of person. According to your logic, does whoever commands the Southern Bureau have the final say in the harem?”
Liu Qingru lowered her gaze. “Your Majesty, Qu Sitian is different from others. If he has ulterior motives, he has his own plans. I don’t want to obstruct him. If I were to do so and cause any harm, I wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences.”
“Or, Your Majesty, could you inform me when to listen to Qu Chenzhou and when to listen to me?”
“Your Majesty entrusted the harem to me for the sake of its tranquility. If it becomes disrupted and disturbs Your Majesty, how can I find peace?”
“It’s not that I lack tolerance, but firstly, Qu Sitian’s presence in the palace already violates protocol. Secondly, I can’t exert complete authority in the harem. I dare not shoulder such a heavy responsibility.”
Seeing Emperor Yu remain silent for a while, her eyes filled with tears, and she continued in a soft voice.
“Your Majesty, the discord between Zhongming and Qu Sitian is widely known. If anything unexpected happens, I could easily be suspected. I’m not afraid of Your Majesty’s speculations, but I have Lan Er. I don’t ask for much, just that Lan Er can grow up in happiness and harmony.”
The swish of robes suddenly left the bedside, and before she could finish her breath, the person who had reached the door asked in a deep voice, “Qingru, do you know that because Chenzhou is living in the palace, Xilan had a big argument with me?”
“I know,” Liu Qingru answered softly, “I believe that the Empress’s concerns and worries are the same as mine.”
Emperor Yu snorted, seemingly inclined to say something harsh, but then he remembered the person wasn’t here anymore, and he softened his tone. “If she had said that back then, I would have listened.”
Liu Qingru suddenly looked up, surprised and delighted. “Your Majesty’s meaning is…”
Emperor Yu smiled, helping her up.
“You’re making sense. Your gentle and non-confrontational nature clashes with his temperament, which is more reserved and temperamental. He might end up feeling wronged. But you still have Lan Er. Let the Consort Yu help you as well, so you have some support.”
A smile crept onto Liu Qingru’s lips. After Emperor Yu returned to his seat at the table, they shared a few cups of warm wine, and soon her cheeks flushed. Emperor Yu couldn’t help but find it amusing.
As they sent the person out of the gates, the sun had already set, and a palace maid draped a cloak over her shoulders.
“Niang Niang, you should go back. It gets cold at night.”
“Cold?” Liu Qingru smiled, “It’s quite warm.”
Indeed, it wasn’t cold at all. It was much better than this time last year.
In less than a year, they had made up for many years of stagnation.
The powerful Qi Wang, who held military authority, and the formidable Tang family before that once had Emperor Yu cornered, had both turned to ashes.
Liu Qingru adjusted her cloak and smiled slightly. “Next year, it might be even warmer.”
Author’s Note: Chapter 200 is here. Looking back, the knife of March has been completed, and successfully maintaining daily updates in April. Now, we’re only left with May to finish. It’s surely achievable! Tonight, I’ll treat myself to a grilled fish—Qu Chenzhou can leave the palace now!
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