Chapter 22
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The palace maid assisting Jiang Juan paused, instinctively lifting her head, then let out a short, sharp cry.
Though not loud, Xue Fang was still able to hear it; he glanced over.
In that glance, he was nearly driven mad.
Jiang Juan lay on the silk blanket, clothes piled up, black hair cascading on the ground. His skin was very pale, not the creamy jade-white of pampered luxury, but rather tinged with sickness, like white snow.
The silk blanket was a riot of color, and with his eyes closed, the already frail youth seemed even more delicate, dispersing like clouds and more fragile than glass.
He remained motionless, as if devoid of any vitality.
In a daze, Xue Fang saw the woman again. Before him was a sea of red, both crimson blood and leaping flames. The woman, dressed in bridal attire, gripped a sharp blade in her hand, blood droplets falling one by one.
She smiled tenderly, “Fangli, listen to me. In your life, no one awaited your arrival, and no one will mourn your departure. You have nothing, and you can’t hold onto anything.”
Xue Fangli walked forward step by step.
His steps were not heavy, but very slow, yet with each one, the palace maid felt a wave of horror. The immense pressure left her stiff all over.
Xue Fangli reached out a hand towards Jiang Juan, but before touching him, the hand retreated into his sleeve. His bloodshot eyes fixed on the maid, and he said coldly, “See what’s wrong with him.”
Under the gaze of such fierce hostility, the palace maid was filled with fear. With tears in her eyes, she cautiously extended her finger to feel Jiang Juan’s breath.
Jiang Juan: “…”
How did it come to this?
Just as he passed out, His Highness arrived. It seemed like he thought something had happened to him.
What a coincidence.
Should he just wake up now?
Caught in such an embarrassing situation, Jiang Juan didn’t know what to do for a moment. After some thought, he concluded that avoiding was shameful but effective. He decided to continue playing dead, though he made sure to control his breathing to make it seem more steady.
“There’s still-still some breath,” the palace maid said tremblingly, “Your Highness, the Royal Consort just fainted.”
“Just fainted?” Xue Fangli repeated her words with an unclear tone, each word almost gritted through his teeth, “And you didn’t call for the imperial physician?”
The maid trembled in fear, “Yes, I’ll go right away!”
With that, she hurriedly got up, sweating profusely, and rushed out.
Xue Fangli lowered his head, reaching out to brush the hair off Jiang Juan’s face. His movements were incredibly gentle, but the veins on his pale hand were visibly strained.
A towering rage, an endless resentment, almost consumed him. At this moment, even with the faint and gentle breath of the young man lingering in his nostrils, Xue Fangli couldn’t calm down.
Throughout his life, he existed in endless hatred and weariness. He cared for nothing and never thought of leaving anyone behind.
Except for Jiang Juan.
“Imperial Grandmother, it’s been a long time.”
Xue Fangli lifted his gaze calmly, his voice as cold as ice.
The Empress Dowager lifted her chin coldly and asked, “Who gave you permission to enter?”
Xue Fangli ignored her, only raising his eyes to look towards the altar. After a while, he spoke indifferently, “When Imperial Grandmother punishes someone, it’s always by making them kneel. How long did you make him kneel?”
The Empress Dowager looked at him coldly, then suddenly laughed, “You remember quite clearly. It seems that year I made you kneel for quite some time, and you still remember.”
Xue Fangli laughed bitterly, “I have a good memory.”
The Empress Dowager sighed, “Blame me. The monk had warned me early on that you were born under an inauspicious star, but I didn’t believe it. And what happened?”
“Your mother consort—— Beauty Yu, indeed brought you into the world, only to die afterwards.”
“It’s fortunate that I found a solution in time to prevent your bad luck from causing any further disasters,” the Empress Dowager sighed.
Xue Fangli listened quietly, then smiled and said, “Wouldn’t you know whether I caused her death or not, Imperial Grandmother?”
“You claim to be devoted to Buddhism and not inquire about past matters, but you know better than anyone,” Xue Fangli continued, “It’s not that you don’t ask, it’s that even if you wanted to, you couldn’t ask. Imperial Father respected you, but he resented you even more.”
“You—!” The Empress Dowager’s expression darkened.
Since the fire in Chunshen Hall, there had indeed been a rift between her and Emperor Hongxing. For a decade, Emperor Hongxing hadn’t set foot in the Cining Palace, and she had felt resentment, but Emperor Hongxing remained unmoved. The mother and son had completely drifted apart.
She had secluded herself in the harem for many years, only because Emperor Hongxing refused to see her. However, Emperor Hongxing had still preserved some face for her. He had always said she was devoted to Buddhism. Today, to hear Xue Fangli speak so bluntly, the Empress Dowager was furious.
“I just let someone to bring your Royal Consort into the palace not long ago, and you already hurried over from the Miaoling Temple. You seem quite concerned about him,” the Empress Dowager said, “Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourself. He’s always been fated for a short life; who knows if he can endure your ominous presence.”
Xue Fangli smiled slowly, “As for him, Imperial Grandmother need not trouble herself.”
After a pause, Xue Fangli asked her, “How long did you make him kneel?”
Jiang Juan first babbled about some nonsense regarding his fate as a Tongzi Ming, then mentioned Master E’nan. The Empress Dowager didn’t make him kneel, but she had no intention of revealing this fact.
—She, being the Empress Dowager, even if she did make Jiang Juan kneel, what could he do about it?
The Empress Dowager smiled, “Do you know how he fainted?”
Xue Fangli nodded, his eyes filled with a chilling coldness.
The Empress Dowager continued, “Since you remember that I made you kneel, you should also remember how to resolve it. If you truly care for your Royal Consort, why don’t you resolve it for him as well?”
Xue Fangli remained silent, only walking towards the altar. The Buddha sat upon the lotus throne, eyes gently closed, filled with compassion.
He had once knelt here for over ten days, with Beauty Yu’s corpse beside him. As the lock fell, he watched her decay, watched her beauty turn to mud. He had been afraid, he had begged, but no one paid him any heed.
While the Buddha showed compassion, he received none.
After a long pause, Xue Fangli said each word deliberately, “I do not believe in ghosts and gods.”
With that, he raised his hand, and with a sweep of his wide sleeve, there was a loud “bang” as the Buddha statue was overturned!
“How dare you commit such a sin?” the Empress Dowager exclaimed in shock, “By smashing the Buddha statue and shedding the Buddha’s blood, you’ve committed the five heinous crimes and the ten evil deeds. After death, you will go to hell!”
Xue Fangli smiled, “I am already in hell.”
He swept his sleeve again, knocking down all the tablets. “I do not believe in ghosts and gods. Making my Royal Consort kneel—” “They don’t deserve it.”
The Empress Dowager, furious, pointed at him and exclaimed, “These are the ancestors of the Xue family. How dare you? You unfilial descendant, how dare you…”
Xue Fangli casually interjected, “How could I not dare?”
“They have spirits in heaven, and they will not forgive you lightly!”
“If they truly have spirits…” Xue Fangli interrupted with annoyance, “Imperial Father owed me, she owed me, you owed me, they—owe me too!”
“The abbot said I’m a lone star of calamity, a seed of evil,” Xue Fangli said. “Imperial Grandmother, you believe in the cycle of cause and effect, in endless retribution.”
“Then you should also believe that you’ve committed too many sins, and I’ve come to collect the debt.”
He smiled, his whole body exuding a terrifying aura of bloodshed.
“Imperial Grandmother, this is the first time, and the last time. I don’t care about anything, and I’m not afraid of anything.”
The Empress Dowager pointed at him for a while, shaking with rage, but in the end, she couldn’t utter a single word, slumping into her chair.
How could she forget? He naturally feared nothing, being used to hardships. She might be the Empress Dowager, but Xue Fangli was a madman. When he went crazy, he disregarded everything and dared to do anything, and yet Emperor Hongxing seemed inclined to indulge him!
The Empress Dowager gasped for breath urgently, her vision darkening with anger.
Jiang Juan’s feelings were also complicated.
His Highness thought he had knelt for too long, which led to his fainting spell, and now he was standing up for him.
But he hadn’t knelt at all, nor had he had a fainting spell; he just wanted to slack off.
His Highness looked really angry.
Jiang Juan felt extremely guilty, regretting not turning over a new leaf earlier. Now, even if he wanted to, it was too late.
The imperial physician had arrived.
Xue Fangli picked up Jiang Juan and let the imperial physician check his pulse. Despite knowing it was a predetermined condition of congenital weakness, Jiang Juan couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.
“The Royal Consort, he…” the imperial physician frowned, “His pulse is slow and intermittent, indicating a deficiency in the main organs and a fainting spell likely caused by a heart condition. However, the Royal Consort seems to have been well cared for, with balanced energy and blood, so there’s no immediate concern.”
Jiang Juan breathed a sigh of relief.
Xue Fangli asked, “When will he wake up?”
The imperial physician pondered, “Well… it’s hard to say for sure, but it shouldn’t be long.”
Xue Fangli grunted in acknowledgment. Since there was no serious issue, he didn’t intend to linger. He lifted Jiang Juan and walked out of the Cining Palace, not noticing anyone watching him.
Or perhaps he did notice, but couldn’t be bothered to spare even a glance.
As they walked away, Jiang Nian emerged from behind the rockery.
The maid Dian Cui exclaimed in surprise, “Young Master, was that Prince Li just now? Why did he… why did he…”
According to rumors, Prince Li was cunning and fierce, but based on what she had just seen, when Prince Li held the person in his arms, his expression was indeed intimidating, yet his movements were surprisingly gentle, as if… as if he was afraid of breaking the person in his arms.
After Dian Cui finished her reflection, she lifted her head and met Jiang Nian’s resentful gaze. Startled, her heart raced, “Y—Young Master, did I say something wrong?”
“No,” Jiang Nian took a deep breath, suppressing the jealousy and resentment surging in his heart, and smiled, “What’s the matter? Why are you so scared?”
Dian Cui gathered her courage to glance at him again. The resentment she had sensed earlier seemed like a misunderstanding. Jiang Nian’s smile was gentle and approachable, so Dian Cui didn’t dwell on it too much. “I must have misjudged. I thought I said something wrong and angered you.”
Jiang Nian asked helplessly, “When have I ever been at odds with anyone?”
Dian Cui stuck out her tongue. “I must have made a mistake.”
Jiang Nian smiled, but clenched the hand hidden in his sleeve tightly.
He knew there was a long-standing grudge between the Empress Dowager and Beauty Yu, and he also knew that the Empress Dowager disliked Prince Li.
In his previous life, because he was Prince Li’s Royal Consort, he had encountered the Empress Dowager at the Zhao An Temple, where she had interrogated him thoroughly. That’s why he had mentioned Jiang Juan a few days ago.
Why should he be the only one humiliated?
Thinking of Jiang Juan being taken away, Jiang Nian felt a sense of satisfaction. Jiang Juan had also endured some interrogation, and it seemed he had fainted.
But Prince Li was there too, obviously coming to take Jiang Juan away. Jiang Nian couldn’t help but feel a hint of resentment.
Why should he be the one?
Lost in his thoughts, they arrived at the Cining Palace. Jiang Nian composed himself and pushed the door open.
“Empress Dowager…”
He looked up to see the Empress Dowager, who had once been domineering towards him in his previous life, now looking kindly, sitting in a chair with her hand on her heart. The palace maids gently patted her back, comforting her, “Empress Dowager, don’t be angry. Getting upset isn’t worth harming your health.”
“Why did I soften up? I should have made that Royal Consort of his kneel before me!”
Amidst the mess on the ground, with the broken Buddha statue and fallen tablets, such bold actions could only be the work of one person. The Empress Dowager’s words extinguished the last bit of satisfaction in Jiang Nian’s heart.
In the end, he was the only one who had endured interrogation.
And the one who slipped through the cracks of interrogation, Jiang Juan, was now in Xue Fangli’s arms, lost in thought.
The protagonist shou truly deserved to be the pampered one. In novels, the Empress Dowager is so kind, but in reality, when it’s him and His Highness, they don’t receive such good treatment. They truly are the ultimate antagonists.
Ah, and one more thing, the Empress Dowager also made Empress Dowager kneel, and Empress Dowager even said the memory was fresh.
Originally, Jiang Juan had decided to play dead until the end, but then changed his mind. He slowly opened his eyes, pretending to wake up halfway. “Your Highness…”
He struggled with how to phrase it, furrowing his brows. Xue Fangli interrupted, asking, “Are you still feeling uncomfortable?”
Jiang Juan was taken aback, but nodded anyway, completing the act. “Uh, just a little.”
“I think I heard…” Jiang Juan whispered softly, “The Empress Dowager made you kneel for a long time. It couldn’t have been a dream, right?”
“Mm.”
“Then… how long did she make you kneel?”
Jiang Juan asked cautiously, originally intending to obscure the truth about the length of time, which was around ten days. But Xue Fangli, for some reason, didn’t hold back and said without hesitation, “Fourteen days.”
Jiang Juan was shocked to hear this. Kneeling for so long must have been very uncomfortable. He sympathized with Xue Fangli, “Why is she like this? Still bullying you.”
Xue Fangli lowered his gaze, meeting Jiang Juan’s eyes.
The youth’s eyes were bright, his brows furrowed lightly, seemingly full of sympathy. Xue Fangli saw a hint of pity in his eyes, mirroring the broken Buddha statue.
While the Buddha statue looked upon all beings with compassion, Jiang Juan looked at him. In that moment, he only saw him.
All the unquenchable fury and astonishing hostility were extinguished at this moment. Xue Fangli was almost drowned in the affection in Jiang Juan’s eyes.
Jiang Juan comforted him softly, “It’s all in the past.”
Xue Fangli gazed at him for a long time before responding with a simple “Hmm.”
Between their breaths was the sweet scent of youth, and within his embrace was warmth.
“You fainted in pain, yet you still heard about this incident,” Xue Fangli lifted his crimson lips and chuckled softly, “You truly are my little Bodhisattva.”
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