Liu Shi Ba He Qiao

  Zhang Yan was shocked.

  "You don't know, Princess," Tong Hua said, having endured for a long time before finally shouting out, "The entire Eastern Palace is already in an uproar. The Crown Prince's consort has caused trouble, the Empress is furious, and she has ordered the arrest of all the imperial physicians who treated the Crown Prince's consort."

  "This is not all." Lyu Yi added, curling up the corner of his mouth, "The Marquis of Quinai went to Your Majesty's presence and cried out for justice for his beloved daughter. Your Majesty handed this matter over to the Empress, who had Xiangjun's aunt in the Yongxiang Lane. At that time, all the palace attendants present were also convicted of dereliction of duty and were imprisoned."

  "And besides, Ah Yan," she whispered into Zhang Yan's ear, "although the Empress Dowager suppressed those people's voices, it is true that at the time some palace maids who followed the Crown Prince's wife were talking wildly and saying..."

  "What was that?" Zhang Yan was momentarily stunned.

  "It was Ah Yan who announced your arrival everywhere, startling the Crown Prince's wife and causing her to lose her footing."

  A heart sank into darkness. She made a great effort to stop her trembling fingers.

  "Of course," Lü Yi comforted her, "those people are just trying to shift the blame. Don't take it to heart, Ah Yan. The Empress won't believe them. You've had a fright today, so the Empress says you don't have to leave the palace today. Just stay in the Pepper Chamber tonight."

  "Mm." She nodded in understanding.

  "Ah Yan," said Lyu Yi as he left, turning back to instruct, "don't think too much either, get some good rest."

  "Thank you, sister." Zhang Yan smiled slightly.

  "My dear," Mulan asked softly, "do you want to sleep a little longer?"

  "No." Zhang Yan shook her head, got out of bed and put on her clothes, "I want to go see Xiangjun."

  "Girl," a look of disapproval appeared on the face of the concubine, "The Empress ordered you to rest. Why must you...?"

  "I always feel that things won't be so simple, I want to go ask Xiangqin what exactly happened back then."

  When Zhang Yan saw Xiang Qin again, she was startled.

  That waiting in the dark silkworm prison. The whole body is wounded and bloody, and it can't be seen that the original beautiful face of the female prisoner was the capable female officer beside the prince's wife yesterday?

  Fragrant mist.

  Zhang Yan softly called out her name.

  After being called several times, Xiangqin finally came to her senses and heard. She moved her eyes slightly. Looking over, she suddenly burst into tears.

  "Xiang Yan." Zhang Yan grabbed the iron railing and asked the person inside, "When the Crown Prince's wife had an accident, was there anything unusual about it?"

  Xiang Qian thought for a moment and shook her head, "Since the Crown Prince's wife became pregnant, she has been suffering a lot. She vomits every day and takes medicine from the imperial doctor. Only when she sleeps does she feel better. This morning, the Crown Prince's wife woke up and suddenly felt good, wanting to come out and bask in the sun. I personally attended to her, and when she fell to the ground, I was right beside her. There was nothing unusual about it; she just lost her footing. She closed her eyes, leaned against the wall, and tears slowly streamed down her face." The Crown Prince's wife had very little strength left in her body, but she used all her might to give birth to the young prince. When she passed away, there was still a smile on her face. The maid did not dare tell her that the young prince was born without breathing.

  Zhang Yan walked out of the silkworm room, and Xiang Qian's words still echoed in her mind.

  "The crown prince's wife was most worried about the crown prince, she said last. The crown prince valued emotional relationships, if she left, he would definitely be very sad. She also said that she missed the wind by the Wei River that year. The maid also missed the river wind of that year ---- but we can't go back."

  Yes. She walked out of the dimly lit silkworm room. The night wind blew gently over her body, and she took a deep breath.

  We can't go back anymore.

  In front of the courtyard, a fire was piled up in the middle, and several palace servants in green clothes threw some clothes, shoes and socks into the flames. The flames burst forth with a loud noise, and in an instant they were reduced to ashes.

  "What are you doing?"

  Zhang Yan asked.

  The eunuch performed the ritual and reported, "The Crown Prince's wife has just passed away. The Emperor ordered that all the clothes she was wearing at the time of her death be burned."

  She slowly hummed a soft sound from her nostrils, and caught sight of the young palace maid in green standing behind the eunuch, shrinking back with her hands and feet. The fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl slightly raised her eyes to peek at herself, collided with her own gaze, was startled, and hastily lowered her head again.

  "I've seen you before." Zhang Yan smiled and said, "By the side of the Crown Prince's wife, what is your name?"

  The little palace maid rolled up her sleeves and replied, "I admire..."

  "Oh." Zhang Yan replied, and asked, "The attendants by the Crown Prince's wife are all detained in Yong Xiang, how come you have nothing to do?"

  Xian Yue's body moved restlessly, and she said, "Before the Crown Prince's wife had an accident, I sent a maid to the weaving room to fetch something." She sobbed and said, "If I had known it would happen like this, the maid would not have left the Crown Prince's wife for half a step even if she died. If the maid was there, if the maid was by the Crown Prince's wife's side at that time, maybe she could have held her back."

  "Oh." Zhang Yan sighed, "You are indeed loyal and commendable." Suddenly she said again, "I'm thirsty, go and pour me a cup of apricot milk."

  The moon was full of admiration, but could only respond with a "yes".

  She held the apricot kernel and walked on the palace path, the palace wall shadowed along with a sudden gust of deep and cold wind, Xian Yue's back hair stood upright, and her heart almost jumped out of her chest. She took a breath and walked into Yong Lane.

  The bonfire in the courtyard has gone out, and there are no remains of clothing inside. Several tree branches with scratches were pulled out from the ashes.

  Xian Yue's hand trembled, and the ear cups on the tray rattled.

  "What's wrong?" The eunuch in the corridor frowned and looked over, "Can't even handle such a small matter, Zhang's wife is still waiting for you with apricot paste inside."

  "Nuò...nuò." She replied, her voice trembling slightly.

  On the hall, two bean lamps were slightly shaking in the wind, Zhang Yan held the apricot tofu in front of her and said slowly, "I heard that this Yong Xiang was used to lock up palace maids who made mistakes. Since Chang Le built the palace, it has only been a few years, and dozens of palace maids have died here."

  "Do you hear the wind? It sounds like someone is crying at night." She smiled slightly.

  "Ah----" Xiang Yue covered her ears and shouted in surprise.

  "The Crown Princess is looking at you from behind." Zhang Yan said softly, "She was covered in blood all over her body, holding the little prince in her arms, and she said, 'Xuan Yue, I treated you well, why do you want to harm me like this?'"

  The last few sentences she learned were vivid and eerie, her voice cold and venomous. As the words entered Xuan Yue's ears, Xuan Yue couldn't help but tremble with fear, her legs weakening as she knelt down, "It wasn't me. It wasn't me."

  "Do you think everyone else is a fool?" Zhang Yan scolded, "I've already seen the remains of the Crown Prince's wife in the ashes. Your hands and feet are already exposed without a doubt. You dare to commit a crime against your master and still want to destroy the evidence afterwards. Know that man is doing, heaven is watching."

  "It wasn't on purpose. It wasn't me." Xuan Yue burst into tears.

  "Who is that?" Zhang Yan immediately asked back.

  "Yes, yes......" Xuan Yue's expression was dazed, her mental defenses had already collapsed, and she thought that soon she wouldn't be able to bear the pressure and would have to say it out.

  "How can Sister Ayan stay in this eerie place?" Suddenly, a soft and sweet greeting came from outside the door. The girl in yellow blouse and green skirt stood outside the door, as lively as a butterfly in a vegetable field, frowning with a smile, "Ayan, doesn't your head hurt?"

  Zhang Yan was stunned for a moment. Without mentioning any feeling, Lü Yi casually mentioned it. She indeed felt a sharp burning pain in her head, groaned and fell onto the desk.

  "Ah Yan," Lü Yi walked over, his cool hand stroking her scorching forehead, sympathetically saying, "Dr. Chunyu told you not to think about things randomly, but you didn't listen. Are you suffering now? Should your cousin help you out?"

  Turning around with a cold face, she scolded Xian Yue: "I've seen many useless slaves before, but I've never seen anyone as useless as you. If a slave is useless, that's one thing, but if they don't even have loyalty, what's the point of keeping them?"

  Xiǎo Yuè cǎn bái zhe liǎn zhē chī... "Wǔ Niáng Zǐ, nú pí, nú pí..."

  "How," Lui smiled, "did I scold you for being useless and also wrong? The thing has long been burned to ashes, and it's fortunate that you were scared by those unfounded things."

  Xue Yue's face turned even paler, and her body swayed as if she was about to collapse.

  Lü Yi took a step back, his hands behind him. He sighed. "Your father sent you to the palace as a palace maid, but he's always been looking forward to you leaving the palace after coming of age. If he knew that his own daughter had done such an unfaithful and unfilial thing, I don't know how heartbroken he would be."

  Xian Yue smiled miserably and said, "Xian Yue knows what to do, just ask the Fifth Young Mistress to show great mercy and spare the lives of my family members. They are completely unaware of everything and pose no threat to anyone." As soon as she finished speaking, she crashed her head into the pillar closest to her, splashing fresh blood onto the half-red column. It seemed like she wouldn't survive.

  "Ah Yan, little sister," Lü Yi turned back with a smile, "are you satisfied with how big sister handled this?"

  Zhang Yan's heart was racing and her flesh was trembling, she barely managed to calm herself down.

  "I know, Ah Yan has always been kind-hearted," Lü Yi said softly. "If sister is soft-hearted, she can pretend not to know about this matter. She's just a slave who died for her master, and although her family will be sad, they won't be hurt in the slightest."

  "Is it the Lyu family, right?" Zhang Yan asked with her eyes open.

  "Huh?" Lui was taken aback.

  "If it weren't for the Lü family, who would be worth Madame Lü's efforts to maintain?" Zhang Yan asked. "I just don't understand," she said, "the Crown Prince's wife has not harmed the Lü family in any way, why did they have to resort to such measures."

  Lü Yi laughed and said, "What's wrong with that? The Lü family has always wanted the position of second empress. So, Chen Hu, this crown prince's wife, naturally cannot be kept."

  "You...!" Zhang Yan cursed in a hurry, "Because of Chen Hu, the Chen family gave up their neutrality and worked hard for the crown prince. Now that the crown prince's position is stable, the Lu family has turned against the crown prince's wife. It's simply... burning the bridge after crossing the river. They can't even wait for this short period of time."

  It is known that Emperor Gao was still on the throne. If there were to be a sudden change in the imperial court, and if the Crown Prince were to fall out with the Chen family because of this, would it not ultimately benefit Qi Ji?

  "It's too late." A thin layer of frost had formed on Lü Yi's face. "Your Majesty is already old, and old people always like stability, unless he doesn't want a stable Great Han dynasty to be passed down to his son, otherwise, he won't make another move for the throne. If the Lü family waits any longer, will they have to wait until the eldest grandson is born before making a move? And if the Lü family wants Ninth Aunt to marry in with glory, then since they've already made their move, might as well do it thoroughly, Ah Yan, don't you think?"

  "Ah, I see," Zhang Yan nodded in understanding, unable to resist a sarcastic remark, "Lu Wu Niang knows so clearly about this, are you also involved?"

  "That's not the case," Lü Yi said indifferently. "Although I don't get along with her, I didn't have any intention of harming her either. But Ah Yan, you should know that my surname is Lü, and we rise and fall together. I have to cover for them in some way."

  "Ah Yan." She gazed at the girl, softly sighing, "Sister has reminded you to rest well. Don't think wildly or look around randomly, why are you so disobedient?

  "A Yan, you are really a very strange person. Sometimes I think you're clever, and sometimes I think you're the stupidest person in the world."

  Zhang Yan looked up at the smiling girl in front of her, and a chill ran down her spine. Suddenly, she remembered that day when she followed her mother to the Pepper Chamber Hall, where she heard Lü Yu's words: "I think only this little fifth child of the Lü family is worthy of attention. If he were a boy, he would be able to hold up the sky for the Lü family one day. I wouldn't have to worry about the Lü family anymore." At that time, she didn't feel anything special, but now that she thought back on it, it had a different flavor.

  "What's the point of knowing the truth? Chen Hu is already dead and can't be brought back to life. Your Majesty wants a peaceful facade, the Lü family wants a beautiful legend about two dynasties' empresses. The Empress Dowager wants the Crown Prince to get along with the Lü family, as for the Marquis of Quyi, he's an old fox who has been through a lot and won't become enemies with the imperial clan because of a dead daughter. No one wants to investigate further, the Lü family doesn't want to, the Marquis of Quyi doesn't want to, the Empress Dowager doesn't want to... If you're smart, you should know that it's best to cover up this matter here. Exposing the truth will only harm the Crown Prince and the Empress Dowager. Even the late Crown Princess wouldn't want to see this happen from above."

  Her head was throbbing with pain, her heart was empty. Zhang Yan remained silent, if she didn't listen to what Yu said, which were all nonsense, she would feel better. But reason told her that his words made some sense.

  She didn't know, she didn't know...

  But is one more reason enough? A vibrant life is gone. Can it be just calculated like that?

  "No way."

  Zhang Yan raised her head and said loudly, "Uncle will not let it go like this. He is not as cold-blooded as you guys."

  "Crown Prince?" Lü Yi was taken aback, and after a long while, he said, "The Crown Prince is a good person. However," his face turned cold again, "he won't know, the Empress Dowager won't let him know."

  "A Yan, do you know," Lü Yi carefully examined her tear-stained face and suddenly said, "what I hate the most is this face of yours - it always has a look of pure innocence and ignorance. But who in the Han Palace has the right to be innocent and ignorant? You say Chen Hu is a bridge, but actually each one of us is a bridge. To avoid being torn down, we must always keep ourselves useful."

  She smiled and stood up, "You know, how was it when I first met Her Majesty the Queen?"

  "I was only four years old at the time, and the Queen had just returned from Chu's camp to Han. I was a concubine's daughter, and my older male cousins looked down on me. So I tricked one of them who bullied me the most into going into the lake, but unfortunately, it was seen by the Queen who had just entered the palace. I was so scared that I thought I would definitely die this time. But as a result, the Queen said to my uncle, 'This little girl seems interesting, let her come into the palace to accompany me.'"

  "I'm not like you, you're the Queen's own grandson, coming and going freely in the Han Palace as if it were your own home. I'm a sacrificial offering from the Lu family to the Queen, living in this Chang Le Palace is like walking on thin ice every day. Watching the Queen's face, trying to please her, afraid of losing her favor and being sent back home. But heaven knows, how much I detest Chang Le Palace." Lü Yí's words became more agitated, his breathing slightly disordered, "I have my own family, parents and brothers, but I'm stuck in this Chang Le Palace for over half a year, even when my mother fell ill, I couldn't stay by her bedside to care for her."

  All these years, she wore a smile to greet people, but at night, she buried her own heartache. Finally able to speak out loud, tears streamed down her face. Turning around, she said with hatred, "I often think that one day I'll find an ordinary person to marry and spend the rest of my life not entering the Han Palace, how wonderful would that be."

  Zhang Yan looked at her back, people are often biased, no matter how smart, it's hard to escape the limitations of one's own perspective. Take Lyu Yi for example, she always thought that Lyu Lü was just trying to make her a plaything to alleviate his boredom, but he didn't think so, Lyu Lü had placed great expectations on her.

  If I tell her the evaluation of Auntie Ah Po that day, maybe she will be relieved a bit. The thought flashed in Zhang Yan's mind, but she shook her head and vetoed it. If Lü Yi can watch the tragic event happen with her eyes open and default, then why should I take the initiative to pull her out of this situation?

  The concubine was pacing back and forth outside the palace wall. Seeing her come out, he walked towards her with a relieved expression, "Wife, let's go home."

  "Mm." She nodded vaguely.

  The walls of the Chang Le Palace are very high, she walks among them, looking up at the thin line of night sky that is exposed. She wants to ask someone what everything looks like, but she doesn't know who to ask or what to ask. She only feels something stuck in her throat, as if it's about to burst out. She bends down and tries to cry, but can't produce any tears.

  "Zhang's wife." Su Mo aunt stopped her and said, "The empress and the crown prince are inside, you can't rush in at this time."

  Blinking her eyes, Zhang Yan suddenly realized that she had unknowingly walked back to the Pepper Chamber.

  The palace was shrouded in a heavy atmosphere. A clear and crisp slap echoed through the air, loud enough to be heard without straining. "Useless thing," Lü Zhi cursed, panting heavily, "Do you plan on being depressed for the rest of your life? What time is it now? Your father has just extinguished the idea of changing the heir, and yet you're thinking of giving up your position as crown prince to that child in the Western Palace? In that case, your wife won't even be able to rest in peace in heaven."

  "But, Your Majesty. How can you just let it go like this? That was the wife of your son and the unborn child."

  "It's fine if you want to die yourself, but do you also want to drag the entire Chen and Lü families down with you? The Crown Prince's wife is your relative, what about this old woman, your sister, your uncle - can't you treat them as strangers?"

  The hall was silent for a moment, and after a while, a suppressed and mournful sobbing sound came over.

  "Yinger," Empress Lü held her son in her arms and comforted him, "The empress knows you're upset. You can cry here with the empress, but once you walk out that door, you still have to be the great Han's people's respected crown prince... As for that child, that child," she hesitated, "he is your son. Isn't he also the empress's grandson? How could the empress harm him?"

  Zhang Yan lowered her head, gazing at her own shadow under the moonlight, then turned around and left.

  I don't know how long I stood there in the darkness, but when I came to my senses, I found myself under the steps of the Pepper Chamber. And as the young man walked out of the palace, his footsteps were heavy, his temples slightly disheveled, his face pale, his eyes red and swollen, with a clear palm print still visible on his right cheek.

  Saw Zhang Yan standing under the temple steps. Liu Ying was stunned for a moment. The water color in her eyes deepened, as if she was about to cry again. She forced a smile.

  "Ah Yan." He called out to her, his throat a bit parched.

  Zhang Yan stood there, dazed.

  Liu Ying only said that she was still grieving for her late wife. In this vast Chang Le Palace, how many people truly grieved for the passing of that lovely woman? With a sigh of sympathy in his heart, he walked up to her.

  The fragrance of pine and the bright moonlight surged before Zhang Yan, which was the most soothing breath for her. Now that she smelled it at the tip of her nose, however, it made her feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

  "You," Liu Ying said softly, brushing past her hair, "don't be too sad."

  Under the moonlight, the places he touched had a fine layer of goosebumps, and Zhang Yan slightly trembled.

  Liu Ying was suddenly overcome with grief, embracing her delicate body tightly, and big drops of tears fell from his eyes.

  He was exhausted, and he also wanted to cry bitterly. In the deep palace, his young wife had passed away, leaving behind her infant daughter. Everywhere he looked, there were white mourning clothes, but in this deep palace, who else besides him and the weak girl in his arms truly mourned for the mother and daughter?

  The girl in his arms trembled more and more violently, until he couldn't ignore it. Liu Xian wiped away her tears and asked, "A Yan, what's wrong?"

  The girl in his arms raised her head with the momentum, her face was pale, and her lips had been bitten with fine tooth marks.

  In the spring of Han 12, Crown Princess Chen Hu lost her footing and miscarried, resulting in the death of both mother and child. The personal maid Xiang Tan hanged herself to follow her mistress, while a palace attendant and an inner servant were both demoted to the weaving room for hard labor on the grounds of failing to protect their mistress, never to be reinstated again. This calamity was thus quietly covered up without a sound. In the Chang Le Palace, apart from the hemp clothes worn by the Crown Prince in mourning for his wife, there was not a single trace left.

  On this day, Liu Ying had an audience with Emperor Gao in the eastern wing of the palace. He saw that in the great hall above, Liu Bang was talking to his old acquaintances and subordinates. Among those who sat with their backs to him was Chen Ping, Marquis of Changwu.

  But less than half a month had passed, and Chen Ping's back was already slightly hunched, his figure looking very lean and gaunt, as if he had aged ten years.

  Liu Ying felt slightly embarrassed and stood still in the wing room, not going out.

  After a long time, he suddenly heard a sigh in his ear. It turned out that all the ministers had retreated cleanly, and Liu Bang walked into the inner hall with his hands behind his back.

  "Useless." He struck his son's head with the bamboo stick in his hand, "Just because a woman died, is it worth making yourself look like a ghost?"

  Liu Ying raised her eyes, her gaze clear and bright, saying neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Huer is the wife I promised to marry when we were young."

  "If it's really like that," Emperor Gao sneered, "why don't you dare investigate thoroughly?"

  In an instant, Liu Ying's voice and breath weakened, he lowered his head to look at the toe of his father's shoes. Liu Bang had never been particular about his attire, always saying that brocade was light and soft, but not as comfortable as hemp cloth on his feet, so even though he became emperor, he still wore hemp shoes out of habit.

  This is his father on earth, and he occasionally hopes to rely on him and draw courage and strength from him.

  "Your Majesty," Liu Ying asked softly, "is this what you hope for your son and subject?"

  Father always said he was not like him, he used to be disobedient. But now he believes it, he is afraid of facing the truth, afraid of a split, afraid of seeing casualties. Father... are you very disappointed in him?

  "No." Liu Bang shook his head and said, "On the contrary, if you really are so emotional, I would suspect that I have chosen the wrong person."

  "Ying'er," Liu Bang said with a heavy heart, "later you will understand that when one is an emperor, they can be emotional in daily life, but at critical moments, they must learn to be ruthless."

  How about you?

  Liu Ying couldn't help but think so, and then said, "It's getting late. My son will take his leave first."

  The Emperor nodded slightly.

  He then walked out of the grand hall, slowly making his way down the stone steps. When he reached the last step, he suddenly felt a pang in his heart and turned around to see his father standing at the entrance of the hall, wearing a black robe and watching him with his hands behind his back. Seeing him turn around, his father was taken aback for a moment before breaking into a faint smile.

  Father and son locked eyes, Liu Ying read between the lines his father's helplessness, desolation, and expectations of him.

  Decided to finish the depressing chapter once and for all.

  Then the first volume will enter the stage of wrapping up loose ends.

  Oh yeah, asking for pink tickets.