Chapter 73

On the second day, when Lin Qingyu went to the palace to examine the Emperor’s pulse, the Empress and Concubine Chen happened to also be there. The Empress was in charge of the harem and Concubine Chen assisted her. The three were discussing the arrangments for the New Year’s celebration in the palace.

The Empress and Concubine Chen were both beautiful women in their youth. Now that they were getting on in the years, the Empress looked graceful and dignified, with a temperament befitting the mother of the nation; Concubine Chen was careful to maintain her looked and she has been favored for many years. She was like a peony in full bloom, looking barely over thirty.

Lin Qingyu knelt down and saluted the three, “Paying my respects to the Emperor, the Empress, Concubine Chen.”

The Emperor was vexed by the two women on either side. Seeing Lin Qingyu, he felt even more so that his wife and concubine were making senseless fuss. Lin Qingyu, without any official position, was wearing a crescent white uniform. His simple, unadorned style seized everyone’s attention.

When the Empress saw him, her face turned cold. Concubine Chen though was rather polite to him. “The Emperor’s headaches have improved a lot recently. This is thanks to Doctor Lin’s hard work.”

Lin Qingyu said, “It is the good fortune of this student to share the burdens of His Majesty.”

“I heard it was Doctor Lin who found the cure for the epidemic that was ravaging the south last year.” Concubine Chen pulled the emperor’s arm, “Your Majesty, this concubine wishes to borrow Doctor Lin’s services.”

The emperor asked absent-mindedly, “Where does Aifei feel unwell?”

“Not I but the Crown Prince.” Concubine Chen’s brows were knitted together, her eyes brimming with motherly love. “Ever since the Crown Prince met… met with that serious illness, his health has never recovered to how it was before, no matter how much medicine he takes. When all is said and done, they’re all incompetent doctors of the Imperial Hospital. They were unable to cure the Emperor’s headaches and they’ve also failed to restore the Crown Prince’s health.”

The emperor’s expression was indifferent. “As they say, mental worries cannot be cured by medicine. Otherwise, the Crown Prince wouldn’t handle so carelessly the duties Zhen has assigned to him.”

Concubine Chen’s expression changed slightly and her fingers tightened. She forced on a smile. “I am sure the Crown Prince must be doing his best to do his duties properly. It may be that he is a bit unable to do as much as he would wish.”

Lin Qingyu quietly glanced at the Empress. The Empress concealed her expressions well; neither joy nor anger could be seen.

“Forget it.” The Emperor stretched out his wrist and said to Lin Qingyu, “Later, go the Eastern Palace and examine the Crown Prince.”

Lin Qingyu replied, “Yes.”

The Empress hesitated for a moment and said, “The list of attendees for the New Year’s Eve family banquet has been drawn up. I ask His Majesty to please take a look.”

There was no need for the Emperor to weigh in on this. “No need. I have every confidence in the Empress’ arrangements.”

“Your Majesty, it may be best to take a look still.” Concubine Chen raised the corners of her lips, “The Empress has reserved a place for the Sixth Prince this time.”

The emperor said, displeased, “Is this true?”

The empress knelt down quickly, no longer as calm and composed as before. “New Year’s Eve is a time for family to come together. Li’er is the Emperor and mine’s flesh and blood, the brother of the princes and princesses…”

The emperor interrupted coldly. “The Sixth Prince doesn’t understand any of this. Why even go through the trouble of having him come?”

The empress begged, “Your Majesty…”

“Empress Niangniang, please say no more.” Concubine Chen donned on a kind-hearted expression, making as though to smooth things over, “The Emperor is about to get angry.”

The emperor was rather impatient. “Enough. Both of you withdraw.”

The empress said, silently enduring, “I shall take my leave.”

The empress and Concubine Chen left. Lin Qingyu too had finished with his examination. “The Emperor’s headache has yet to be eradicated and the matters of state affairs are arduous. His Majesty should try to get some more rest.”

Why would the emperor not want to get more rest? He used to have a Crown Prince who could supervise the country in his stead but right now, the Crown Prince’s heart and mind were who knows where. There were now a lot of matters that only he himself could attend to.

The Emperor stared at Lin Qingyu. Suddenly, he asked, “You have been married to Gu Fuzhou for a while, have you not?”

“Yes.”

“How has he been treating you?”

Lin Qingyu smiled. “The General treats me very well.”

The emperor was becoming more flighty and impetuous. He brandished his hand and waved him away.

After Lin Qingyu left Qinzheng Hall, he headed directly to Fengyi Palace, asking to see the empress. When the maid of Fengyi Palace saw him, she didn’t even bother announcing his arrival, saying simply, “Her Majesty won’t see you. Doctor Lin, please go back.”

Lin Qingyu said, “Two days ago, I went to Jinyang Garden.”

The palace maid who had already turned around, suddenly stopped.

“There are somethings I wish to tell the Empress about His Highness, the Sixth Prince. Can you tell her that for me, miss?”

After the palace maid passed on that message, Lin Qingyu was invited into the Fengyi Palace. The Empress was already sad that she couldn’t be reunited with her son on New Year’s Eve; hearing that Lin Qingyu had news about Xiao Li, she couldn’t being herself to care about her past grievances and immediately asked, “Has something happended to Li’er in Jinyang Garden?”

Lin Qingyu said slowly, “Not quite.”

“What do you mean?” The Empress said anxiously, “Is Li’er doing well?”

Lin Qingyu shook his head. “Not well – not well at all. When I saw His Highness, he was squatting in the snow, without even a coat on. He was digging snow to eat.”

The always sedate empress’ eyes suddenly turned red. “Ho-how could this be… Lai Fu! Bring Lai Fu to me!”

The Empress was unable to leave the palace to visit her son. She could only send, from time to time, her eunuch, Lai Fu to visit Jinyang Garden. All the things she had sent before were all received properly and Lai Fu came back reporting good tidings every time, saying that the Sixth Prince was doing well in the provincial palace. She had always believed that although her Li’er might not be as well off as the princes who grew up in the palace, he nevertheless lived the life of a rich noble’s son. Who would have thought that those servants would dare to put on show and then act this way behind her back. They’ve been lying to her for so many years.

Faced with the Empress’ intense questioning, Lai Fu said sadly, “This servant had been wronged, Madam! Every time this servant went to Jinyang Garden, His Highness was always well served! This servant truly was unaware!”

The Empress had already lost all rationality and she wanted to torture a confession out of him but was stopped by Lin Qingyu. “Lai Fu is the Empress’ trusted aide and he is also loyal to Your Majesty. The problem must lie in Jinyang Garden. The Emperor has not been to the provincial palace for many years. The garden’s servants have grown lazy. Unable to receive any reward from their master, they will naturally try everything to earn pickings”

Thinking of her son’s situation in the provincial palace, the Empress couldn’t help weeping. “They’re taking advantage of Li’er! Taking advantage of his inability to understand, to speak out… My Li’er…”

Even though the Empress was the mother of the country, right at this moment, was nothing more than an ordinary mother. When she cried, she didn’t cry loudly, wailing like most people. She shed her tears silently. The palace maid handed over a clean handkerchief. “Madam, please look after your body. If the Madam collapses from weeping, who will the Sixth Prince be able to depend on?”

The empress wiped her tears and bestirred herself. “You’re right. Those servants in Jinyang Garden are still waiting for me to clean them up.”

Lin Qingyu said, “Even if Your Majesty were to replace all the people in Jinyang Garden, how can it be ensures that the new servants won’t treat His Highness just as harshly in the future?”

The empress glared at him. “Then what do you think I should do?”

“The best way is to take His Highness back to the palace so that Your Majesty can personally look after him.”

The empress let out a strange smile. “You think I don’t want to? You saw it today. The Emperor doesn’t even want to see Li’er at the New Year’s Eve banquet. How could he allow me to keep Li’er by my side?”

Lin Qingyu pretended to think. “It would be difficult to change His Majesty’s thinking. Perhaps Your Majesty may be able to speak to the Crown Prince and have him speak to the Emperor.”

“The Crown Prince?” The empress said coldly, “And I thought you were smart. The Crown Prince and Concubine Chen want nothing more that to have Li’er as far away from the palace as possible. Why would he ever speak for me?”

Lin Qingyu said lightly, “Then, with this being the case, even when the Empress becomes Empress Dowager in the future, Her Majesty will still have to endure the pain of separation.”

The Empress had a vague sense of what Lin Qingyu was trying to imply. Her heart suddenly tightened. She asked the others to withdraw. She asked uncertainly, “Do you know what you’re saying?”

“Once the Crown Prince ascends the throne, what will happen to you and the Sixth Prince? Your Majesty must certainly have thought about this more than I have.”

“Presumptuous!” The Empress’ eyes turned fierce, “You dare to discuss with me matters of the successorship. Are you not afraid of losing your head!”

Lin Qingyu said calmly, “All that I’ve said are matters that the Young Master Hou had been concerned about before his death.”

The empress was stunned. “Wancheng…?”

“Her Majestry treated Young Master Hou like her own child and the Young Master has always kept you and His Highness in his thoughts. He had been worried about your situation in the palace, worried that Concubine Chen might make things difficult for you. He asked me to do my best to share Her Majesty’s worries.”

The empress looked at him coldly. “If you truly held Wancheng in your heart, how could you marry someone else even before his body has had time to grow cold!”

Lin Qingyu sighed softly, “If I don’t do this, how can I help Her Majesty?”

The empress looked fixedly at Lin Qingyu. The man in front of her stood tall, bright and handsome. His eyes were like deep pools enticing people to approach and then looking for the right moment to drown them.

Lin Qingyu may have ulterior motives, but of this there was no doubt: If Xiao Ting succeeds in ascending to the throne, her Li’er will never ever make it back home in her lifetime.

After weighing the matter several times over, the Empress said calmly, “What would you like me to do?”

A few days later, the Nan’an Hou asked for an audience with the emperor. He proposed that Xiao Jie be given his title as feudal king. The emperor was a little surprised. The Nan’an Hou had never been one to involve himself in political struggles. When the struggle for succession was the most intense, he had never spoken for any prince. Why would he speak for the mediocre Fourth Prince now?

The Nan’an Hou brought out the reasons that Lin Qingyu had thought of in advance. “The Crown Prince used to show talent for governing the country but has lost heart due to his illness. The minister thinks that Your Majesty could use this conferring of title to the Fourth Prince as a reprimand to the Crown Prince. While the battle between the princes may be terrible, it can also useful.”

The emperor listened to his counsel but did not immediately express his position, saying only, “Let me consider this matter.”

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Eve. Concubines, princes and princesses gathered together for New Year’s Eve dinner. During the banquet, there was signing and dancing; everyone talked and laughed. It was really lively.

Seeing that the emperor was in good spirits, the empress smiled and said, “The Fourth Prince will be nineteen after the new year. It’s about time to find him a concubine.”

Xiao Jie had just bitten into a piece of food. He hurriedly swallowed it whole. “Thank you for the Empress Mother’s concern. Yo-your son is in a hurry.”

“What do you mean in no hurry?” The empress rebuked, “When your uncles were your age, not to mention married, several of them were even already fathers.”

The empress’ words reminded the emperor of the Nan’an Hou’s suggestion. He glanced at Xiao Cheng. He was absently holding a wine cup, his expression dejected, showing none of his high-spiritedness of before. And thus, the emperor immediately made a decision.

——Xiao Jie was conferred the title of feudal king, King Ning, at the New Year’s Eve palace banquet.

Compared with the liveliness in the palace, the General’s mansion was a lot more sedate. Only the two masters, the General and his wife, celebrated the New Year together. Even so, Yuan Yin still decorated the entire mansion. Paper decor were pasted on the windows, lanterns hung below the eaves. The whole place looked jubilant.

After the New Year’s Eve dinner was served, Lin Qingyu gave his servants leave. Gu Fuzhou moved the table out to the outdoor corridor and the two sat under the red lantern, drinking while admiring the moon.

With their plan already in motion, Lin Qingyu allowed himself a few more glasses. His face appeared flush; even the teardrop mole underneath his eye took on a crimson hue. Gu Fuzhou’s alcohol tolerance was tempered in the military camp and he had a larger capacity for alcohol than Lin Qingyu. Seeing that Lin Qingyu was a little tipsy, he said, “Should I carry you back to the room?”

Lin Qingyu rested his forehead on his hand. He looked at him with drunken eyes, appearing as though shrouded in light. “Why do you like carrying me so much…”

Gu Fuzhou said half truthfully, “Because I like appearing handsome in front of you.”

Lin Qingyu laughed and lazily stretched out his hand to Gu Fuzhou. He invited, “Come on then.”

Gu Fuzhou leaned over and took Lin Qingyu into his arms. The two of them were too different in stature. Such a hug made Lin Qingyu appear even more smaller. In fact, he was considered slender among men his age.

Gu Fuzhou returned to the room and sat down at the edge the bed but instead of putting Lin Qingyu down, he let him sit on his lap. “Would you like to drink sobering soup?”

Lin Qingyu put his arms around his neck. He leaned in close to his ear and asked in a hoarse voice, “What are you…hard for?”

Gu Fuzhou chuckled. He said, vexed, “Oh? I’ve been found out. I’m sorry, but I can’t do anything about it.” His voice was low and cut into Lin Qingyu’s ears. “I miss it too much.”

The corners of Lin Qingyu’s red eyes slightly picked up. “Miss it?”

Gu Fuzhou’s Adam’s apple bobbed and he asked, “Qingyu, do you still only like girls?”

A mist of confusion appeared in Lin Qingyu’s eyes, as if he himself didn’t even know the answer.

Gu Fuzhou sighed, got up and put Lin Qingyu down on the bed. He was about to head out, planning to look for someone to cook sobering soup. Just as he turned around, he felt that something pull on his sleeve. He looked down, and met Lin Qingyu’s eyes.

Lin Qingyu’s breath was suffused with hot wine. “…Not necessarily.”