Chapter 254: Changing and Changing Again
The morning bell of Shui Yue Nunnery echoed solemnly.
Amidst the swirling mist, Xue Yuechen clutched the bamboo handrail tightly, her body hunched as she retched.
Her swollen belly weighed down her aching waist, and stray strands of hair clung to her cheeks, soaked with cold sweat. She turned pale from vomiting…
“Your Highness, would you like to have some more Perilla Drink to settle your stomach?” Fei Cui held a small white porcelain cup, cautiously approaching and gently patting her back with a handkerchief.
The Perilla Drink in the bowl shimmered with a translucent sheen.
The ginseng soup, simmered by the kitchen, also sat on the wooden desk, long since gone cold.
Xue Yuechen had no appetite. She glanced at it and turned her head away in disgust, pushing the porcelain cup aside. Her gaze fell upon a figure in grey sweeping snow in the courtyard.
A corner of Xue Sui’s hood, part of her monk’s robe, was lifted by the mountain wind, revealing new stubble frosted with white…
Oblivious, she used the bamboo broom to pile the accumulated snow beneath the old plum tree.
“Sixth Sister is quite at ease,” Xue Yuechen said, stroking her very round belly. Listening to the rustling sound of the bamboo broom on the blue stone slabs, she sighed softly.
“She claims to have become a nun for cultivation, yet her complexion is more radiant than when she was in Prince Duan’s Mansion. Unlike me, my back aches as if it might break, I can barely turn over, and I can’t sleep all night. I feel like a useless person…”
Fei Cui followed her gaze, and Xue Sui happened to look up at that moment.
Their eyes met. Xue Sui clasped her hands in greeting, her expression as indifferent as the falling snow.
Fei Cui glanced around and lowered her voice, “The rumors outside this nunnery have spread throughout the entire capital. Sixth Miss, however, acts as if nothing has happened. Her heart must be made of stone…”
Xue Yuechen clutched her handkerchief and wiped her mouth. After a moment of thought, she picked up the cold ginseng soup and took a sip, then put it down with a frown.
“What are those gossips saying in private?”
Fei Cui pursed her lips and replied in a low voice, “Replying to Your Highness, the old woman who delivered food from the kitchen today said that it’s being rumored in the capital that… that the Crown Prince frequently visits Shui Yue Nunnery and is too close to the female nuns there, which is improper…”
Xue Yuechen’s fingertips stiffened abruptly.
Li Zhao’s actions in the monastic room that day would inevitably lead to rumors.
She just hadn’t expected them to spread so quickly—
“Secret meetings with nuns,” “lacking virtue”—each of these was enough to ruin a Crown Prince’s reputation.
“Those idle whispers are unbearable. They say, ‘In the monastic room, no Prajna sutras are chanted, but in the brocade curtains, words of love are sung’—and they also say that since the Crown Prince lacks virtue, and Third Miss Guo is the Duke of Zheng’s cherished daughter, she might be unwilling to suffer such humiliation, and this marriage might fall through…”
Xue Yuechen smiled faintly.
“It’s just a play staged by those with ulterior motives. We should just listen. For noble families, children’s marriages are all about schemes. How can face be more important than profit?”
Fei Cui sighed, “Women in this world have no control over their marriages. Your Highness, you were also forcefully labeled an Eight Auspicious Star, which caused…”
“What did you say?” Xue Yuechen suddenly clenched her handkerchief, interrupting her sharply.
“Your Highness—” Fei Cui realized she had spoken out of turn and knelt down with a thud.
“This servant deserves death. Please punish me, Your Highness…”
Xue Yuechen’s eyes instantly reddened. She simply grabbed the prayer beads from the table and threw them violently to the ground.
“Aunt, you’re picking at my scars…”
The sandalwood beads rolled everywhere. Fei Cui kept kowtowing to beg for forgiveness, while Xue Yuechen, with red eyes, shed silent tears.
“What’s wrong with Your Highness?”
Xue Sui put down her broom, walked through the accumulated snow towards the monastic room, and pushed aside the curtain to enter.
Her gaze fell upon the scattered beads on the floor. She bent down to pick them up, her eyes coolly fixed on Xue Yuechen.
“If Your Highness has worries that cannot be resolved, you can walk in the corridor. You must not get angry…”
She paused, her voice deepening.
“The fetus can hear its mother’s resentment.”
These words pierced Xue Yuechen’s heart like needles.
The tears that had filled her eyes began to fall more torrentially—
“If His Highness cared more about me, would it have come to this?” Pregnant women are naturally sensitive. Xue Yuechen thought of Li Huan’s distant indifference. Placing her palm on her lower abdomen, she couldn’t help but sob.
“The Imperial Physician said this pregnancy is unstable. I worry constantly and am terrified even in my dreams, fearing that I might lose fetal movement the moment I open my eyes…”
Xue Sui did not reply. She simply reached out and took her wrist, her fingertips touching her erratic pulse.
“Your Highness needs to rest. ‘Rest’ means to calm the spirit and steady the will, to think and worry less. The more anxious you are, the more you harm the fetal qi.”
After speaking, she withdrew her hand and looked at Xue Yuechen’s swollen eyelids.
“If you always keep things bottled up, it’s not good for the child.”
Xue Yuechen turned her face away, looking at the falling snow outside the window, barely holding back the words in her heart—
In her opinion, Xue Liu was speaking from a position of privilege. The fire hadn’t reached her doorstep, so of course, she didn’t feel the torment.
She was carrying the legitimate son that Prince Duan had placed great hope in, and the hope for the Xue family’s glory and continued favor. The heavy burden rested on her shoulders. How could she truly be at ease and not think about those vexing matters?
The two were silent, and the atmosphere became momentarily stagnant.
Xue Yuechen sighed softly, her gaze dimming.
“I am tired. You may go.”
Xue Sui nodded slightly, bowed, and left.
Snowflakes fell one after another, dyeing the bamboo fence of Shui Yue Nunnery a pure white.
Xue Sui finished copying a scroll of the Diamond Sutra, stretched her numb legs, twisted her neck to stand up, and yawned. Just then, she heard the young nuns whispering outside the door, mentioning “Eastern Palace,” “Crown Prince,” and “Master Liaochen.” She couldn’t help but slow her movements—
At that very moment, familiar footsteps sounded outside the monastic room.
Li Zhao lifted the curtain and entered, his black cloak covered in ice crystals. Behind him followed Lai Fu, head bowed and silent.
Seeing Xue Sui seated at the desk, his gaze deep, he walked directly to her.
“What are you thinking about?” He reached out and brushed away nonexistent snow from her shoulder. His fingertips touched the bony shoulder blades beneath her monk’s robe, and his brow furrowed.
“What’s wrong? Did someone neglect you?”
Xue Sui looked up, meeting his eyes directly. “The entire city is abuzz with rumors, yet Your Highness remains so composed.”
“What else? Should I cry and wail like a street urchin?” Li Zhao said with a laugh.
Xue Sui lowered her gaze, avoiding his, her emotions churning.
What happened that day, though it occurred at Shui Yue Nunnery, was actually extremely discreet.
Apart from the trusted aides of the Eastern Palace and Prince Duan’s Mansion, there were no other witnesses.
Once these people were silenced, they wouldn’t reveal a single word to the outside.
And Li Huan valued his status and reputation the most. How could he expose his own shortcomings?
She asked coldly, “These widespread rumors are extremely strange. Does Your Highness know who spread them?”
Li Zhao casually picked up the scripture scroll she had copied, looked at the line “All phenomena are like illusions,” and the corners of his lips curved into a smile as he looked at her.
“What do you think?”
Xue Sui’s heart jolted, and she suddenly looked up, staring at him.
“Was it you?”
Li Zhao nonchalantly took off his cloak and handed it to Lai Fu. He sat by the brazier next to the wooden desk, speaking with great disdain.
“Besides me, who else would fabricate such gossip?”
He paused, then looked up, his eyes deep. “If I want to break off the engagement, I must give the Duke of Zheng’s Mansion a way to retreat with dignity and face.”
“Why must Your Highness tarnish your own reputation?”
“I don’t care about reputation.”
She frowned and said coldly, “Then how innocent is Third Miss Guo?”
“Are you feeling sorry for her?” Li Zhao suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the couch.
“Why not feel sorry for me too? Am I not innocent? Do you think the Duke of Zheng is an easy opponent? This marriage was always an exchange of interests, like chess pieces on a board, never about affection or warmth. Xue Ping’an, touch your conscience…”
He reached out as if to touch her conscience.
Xue Sui recoiled half a step, quickly raising her hand to block him, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Perhaps due to her unsteady breathing, her voice trembled slightly.
“Do you know this will ruin your reputation?”
“Reputation?” Li Zhao scoffed, put down the scripture scroll, took her hand, and his voice tightened, “I want you, not those empty honors…”
His fingertips were burning hot, and he tightened his grip, as if trying to scorch her hand.
“Xue Ping’an, aren’t you happy for me?”
Xue Sui looked at the undeniable stubbornness in his eyes, recalling his arbitrary and domineering nature. Only then did she understand that he had already planned everything—
For this, he was willing to ruin himself.
“If Your Majesty dislikes you because of this matter and your position as Crown Prince is threatened, won’t all your efforts be in vain?”
She persuaded him in a low voice but couldn’t break free from his hand.
“If the position of Crown Prince must be exchanged for you, then I don’t want it.” Li Zhao lowered his head and kissed her fingertips. “Alright, I know you’re worried about that Third Miss Guo. Don’t worry, I have my own arrangements for the Duke of Zheng’s Mansion; she won’t be shamed or humiliated.”
Xue Sui found him utterly insane, speechless.
“How can His Majesty and the Empress tolerate this?”
“Naturally, they will scold me a few times.” He curled his lips, but there was no smile in his eyes. “They will condemn me for disrupting royal order for the sake of romantic entanglements and acting without restraint…”
He grasped Xue Sui’s hand.
“In front of you, I have never had any restraint.”
“…”
Not ashamed, but proud?
Xue Sui frowned and pulled her hand away. “Speak! Are you plotting against me?”
“You are a nun who has entered the monastic life. Why would I plot against you?”
Seeing her brows furrowed with frost and her body tense with wariness, he smiled gently again, coaxing her and holding her hand.
“Don’t be angry. I just plotted a little… It’s nothing more than clearing obstacles, so no one else will have any delusions about you…”
Such a strong desire for revenge.
Xue Sui scrutinized him, unsure of how mad Li Zhao would become next…
Five days later, she had Jinshu inquire from the capital and received thunderous news.
Crown Prince Li Zhao earnestly argued before the Emperor that he and Third Miss Guo were “incompatible in temperament and might mislead the lady,” and pleaded to withdraw the decree.
Emperor Chong Zhao was furious.
He forced Li Zhao to kneel at the foot of the imperial steps and personally whipped his shoulders and back as punishment…
With each lash, he asked, “Do you know your mistake…”
Li Zhao knelt on the cold gold bricks of Zichen Hall and endured twenty-eight lashes without a sound.
Empress Xie rushed over upon hearing the news and threw herself before the Emperor, crying and begging for mercy, fearing that the Emperor might kill him in his rage.
But this stubborn mule kept his back straight, not even blinking, nor crying out in pain.
It wasn’t until his back was soaked with blood and Emperor Chong Zhao was tired of whipping that he finally threw down the whip, his heart softening…
No one knew what the father and son discussed for two hours in the warm pavilion of Zichen Hall that day. All that was known was that when the Head Eunuch Wang Chengxi emerged with an imperial decree, the imperial order to break the engagement was accompanied by an additional decree of grace.
Later that evening, Empress Xie personally visited the Duke of Zheng’s Mansion, bringing boxes of rare treasures, to offer apologies, stating that the Crown Prince “was young and rash, and had failed Third Miss Guo.” She also decreed that Guo Yunrong be enfeoffed as “County Princess Minghui” and recognized as Empress Xie’s goddaughter.
The Duke of Zheng’s Mansion family received the imperial decree with utmost sincerity and fear.
Guo Yunrong, however, cried inconsolably and hid behind a screen, refusing to show herself.
Empress Xie patted the Duchess’s hand, her expression melancholic.
“It is my failure as a mother that has caused the royal family to lose face and has troubled Yunrong.”
“Yunrong is a young lady I watched grow up. She is gentle, obedient, and pure-hearted. I absolutely cannot bear for her to suffer any grievance…”
“Today, I have come to recognize her as my goddaughter by imperial decree. His Majesty specifically instructed me to recognize Yunrong as my goddaughter. From now on, I will personally oversee her marriage and find her a good husband with a clean family background and noble character.”
The Duchess choked back tears and curtsied to accept the imperial decree…
No matter how displeased they were, they could only express their gratitude and accept the imperial decree.
This move both protected the Guo family’s daughter’s reputation and gave the Duke of Zheng’s Mansion face.
In the long run, not forming an alliance with the Eastern Palace avoided taking sides and becoming a target for Prince Duan’s faction’s attacks. It also did not offend the Eastern Palace, allowing them to maintain good relations with both sides, which was not necessarily a bad thing.
As for Guo Yunrong, with the title of County Princess and as the Empress’s goddaughter, she had a distinguished status among the noble ladies in the capital. Everyone envied her; who would dare to speak ill of her or mock her situation?
However, after this incident, the Crown Prince’s reputation was completely ruined.
Whispers were everywhere, saying that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace disregarded propriety and was involved with the young nuns of Shui Yue Nunnery, lacking virtue, and was rejected by the Duke of Zheng’s Mansion. Some even brought up his past affair with Prince Duan’s consort and fabricated vulgar jokes that were sung in taverns and teahouses.
The next morning, Xue Sui was polishing the bronze mirror that Tianshu had personally ground. The youngest disciple of Abbess Huiming, who sat nearby, hurried through the corridor to deliver a message.
“Liaochen, a distinguished guest has arrived.”
Xue Sui’s eyelids twitched slightly, and she instructed Jinshu.
“Please invite them in quickly!”
Xue Sui waited restlessly for a moment before Yuheng entered the monastic room with Tianshu.
She suddenly stood up and almost eagerly stepped forward, her breathing becoming erratic.
“Senior Sister, you’ve finally agreed to see me—”
Yuheng smiled gently, the golden snake hairpin in her hair trembling with her movements.
She placed the black iron medicine box heavily on the desk, pinched Xue Sui’s chin, and examined her. “The storms of Old Mausoleum Swamp couldn’t bury you, yet you’ve become a bald nun in Shangjing City?”
“Senior Sister’s words are still so sharp.”
Xue Sui smiled and offered tea, but Yuheng slapped it away with her palm.
“Cut the act.” Yuheng opened the medicine box and took out a glazed bottle.
Inside the bottle, blood-red gu worms writhed ferociously.
“Have you thought it through? Once the gu is removed, he will no longer be under your control, and the scheme you painstakingly laid will fail. After all your effort to make the Crown Prince infatuated with you, isn’t it a pity to stop now? Moreover—”
She paused, then lightly scraped the bottle wall with her fingernail, her eyes slanting as she looked at Xue Sui.
“This gu worm doesn’t taste very good, does it?”
Xue Sui frowned slightly. “Why must Senior Sister use the gu worm to scare me?”
“I’m just watching the show.” Yuheng smiled enchantingly. “Thirteen, the storm has just begun. The muddier the water, the better. Why not stand by and watch, waiting for all parties to fight until they are bruised and battered? That would be the real fun.”
“I only want the antidote for the Love Silk Gu.”
Yuheng pushed the porcelain bottle into Xue Sui’s hand, her eyes beneath the veil devoid of emotion.
“The rules of Old Mausoleum Swamp are exchange for value. If you want to cure his gu, you must pay a price.”
Xue Sui held the porcelain bottle, its touch ice-cold. “What is the price?”
Yuheng chuckled softly, her fingertip tracing the ice flowers on the window frame. “Feed the gu with your heart’s blood for three days, taking a cup of blood each night at midnight, which will shorten your lifespan by ten years.”
Silence fell in the monastic room.
Tianshu wanted to speak but hesitated.
Outside the window, the old plum tree shed snow. Xue Sui looked at the churning crimson in the bottle, recalling the resolute light in Li Zhao’s eyes, and the image of his back as straight as a pine when he knelt to receive the whipping in Zichen Hall…
Each fragment was like a red-hot needle, piercing her bones.
The prayer beads on her wrist felt like branding irons, burning her skin painfully…
Yet, it was far less painful than the burning sensation of the Love Silk Gu churning in her chest.
“I am willing.”
–
Eastern Palace.
Li Zhao caressed the letter sent from Shui Yue Nunnery with a Spirit Feather, his dark eyes as deep as a cold abyss.
The gilded dragon lamp cast deep, ink-like shadows on his brow. Lai Fu knelt beside him, trembling.
“Third Miss Guo… no, County Princess Minghui, smashed the imperial jade ruyi and fell ill that night. It caused chaos, and the Duchess couldn’t persuade her…”
“She’ll stop once she’s had enough of her tantrum.”
Li Zhao rubbed his temples. “If the Duke of Zheng’s Mansion wants face, I will give him plenty of face. Nothing more.”
After speaking, he stood up, lit the letter with the candlelight, curled his lips slightly, and slowly turned around.
“Prepare the horse. We’re going to Shui Yue Nunnery.”
Lai Fu mumbled in agreement, quickly fetched the black fox fur cloak, and stumbled after him.
Two-in-one chapter…
Li Zhao: I want it too, two-in-one.
Reader: I’m corrupted!
