Chapter 127: The Greatest Taboo is Falling in Love
The crimes were blatant, the evidence irrefutable.
Ping Le felt her vision blacken, her legs weaken, and she uncontrollably sank to her knees.
“Imperial Father, spare your daughter this once.”
Consort Xiao glanced at the Emperor’s ashen face, then lifted her skirt and knelt beside her daughter.
“Your Majesty…”
Emperor Chong Zhao shot her a piercing look.
It was cold, as if it could freeze everything.
Consort Xiao couldn’t help but shiver and lowered her head.
“Issue my decree,” Emperor Chong Zhao suddenly spoke, his voice so weary it sounded ten years older. “Princess Ping Le has been suffering from frequent hysteria and mental confusion, completely disregarding royal decorum! She is hereby ordered to remain confined to her Princess’s Mansion from this day forward to reflect and recuperate, and is not to leave without imperial summons. The West Mountain Villa…”
He paused, looking at the refugees and commoners who were either kneeling in supplication, climbing the walls to watch, or hanging from trees like monkeys.
“…shall be converted into residences and houses for the disaster-stricken populace. The surrounding occupied fields, mountains, and lakes shall be inventoried by officials from the Ministry of Revenue and returned to the people to stabilize livelihoods. Those who acted as accomplices, assisting the Princess in forcibly seizing civilian property, shall be thoroughly investigated, their assets confiscated, and they shall be severely punished according to the law…”
The surrounding area was filled with the sounds of the commoners expressing their gratitude.
Intertwined with the howling mountain wind, it sounded particularly ironic.
In the end, for the sake of royal dignity, the Emperor provided Princess Ping Le with the best possible retreat.
Lu You’an’s lips curved slightly. He stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, “Your Majesty is wise. The Princess’s conduct has been erratic, which may harm our children. For the sake of our children’s future, I humbly request a divorce from the Princess. Henceforth, I shall dedicate myself to teaching them diligently, instilling goodness, and preventing them from being corrupted by bad influences, so that they may achieve success and serve the country, thus repaying Your Majesty’s great kindness.”
Emperor Chong Zhao looked at him deeply.
He made a plea before the populace, openly defying his will.
Well done, Lu You’an, implying in every word that he was incapable of raising his daughter.
He said, “Granted.”
“Imperial Father—” Ping Le finally screamed in despair, “Imperial Father, you are foolish! How can you arbitrarily decide my marriage? I refuse, I do not wish to…”
“Silence!” Emperor Chong Zhao roared.
Ping Le froze, tears streaming down her face.
Her Imperial Father had never reprimanded her in such a cold tone. Unable to bear such injustice, she rushed forward, intending to plead with Emperor Chong Zhao, but was blocked by the Imperial Guards’ crossed halberds.
Emperor Chong Zhao’s gaze swept over her disheveled makeup, lingering as if fixed, a hint of helplessness and heartache flashing in his cloudy dragon eyes.
“Wang Chengxi, escort the Princess back yourself.”
Consort Xiao’s fingernails dug deeply into her palm. She wanted to say something but dared not beg for mercy, and weakly kowtowed.
“Thank Your Majesty for your grace!”
Emperor Chong Zhao heavily brushed his Dragon Robe and turned away with his guards.
A cold parting remark echoed in the courtyard.
“If this fire cannot be extinguished, then let it burn. Once everything that needs to burn is consumed, it will naturally extinguish itself.”
Ping Le listened to her Imperial Father’s sharp, blade-like voice, knowing that the situation was beyond repair and any further explanation might fan the flames. She could only weakly collapse onto the ground, her head tilting as she fainted…
–
Opposite West Mountain lay a verdant mountain ridge.
At this moment, Xue Sui was leaning against a tall pine tree, drinking from a cup.
The mottled cracks on the tree trunk pressed against her back, and the mountain wind billowed her wide sleeves, revealing a thin, old scar on her wrist.
She raised her cup in the distance, the wine reflecting the soaring flames, casting an eerie glow on the smile at the corner of her lips.
“This cup is for our hard-won victory.”
She drained it in one gulp.
Picking up the gilded wine pot from the ground, she gazed at the Eastern Palace emblem on it.
“Is my plum wine to your liking?”
Li Zhao sat lazily beneath the pine tree beside her, his python-patterned arrow sleeves brushing off a few fallen leaves.
“It’s good,” Xue Sui sloshed the gilded wine pot and poured the remaining wine onto the ground.
The amber liquid seeped into the earth, releasing a warm fragrance of intertwined fruit and soil.
She said, “This cup is for the souls of those who died unjustly.”
The ashes, carried by the mountain wind, fluttered down like black butterflies, landing on her hair.
Li Zhao remained silent, looking at the wine with a pained expression.
“This plum wine…” he suddenly spoke, his voice gentle, “has been stored in the Eastern Palace cellar for fifteen years. It was buried on the first day of spring the year my Imperial Grandfather passed away.”
That spring, he had been enfeoffed as the Imperial Grandson.
His Imperial Grandfather had said that it would be brought out for a grand banquet when he married.
Soon after, he lost the person who loved him the most.
The mountain wind suddenly picked up, and countless ashes swirled upwards into the night sky, like a black snow.
As the ashes drifted, Xue Sui reached out and caught a piece.
Li Zhao breathed in the sweet scent of plums, watching the cuff of her sleeve slide down.
“Have you been using the scar cream I gave you on time?”
Xue Sui did not answer. She handed the wine pot back to him, her bright eyes open.
“Do you think His Majesty is heartbroken for his daughter, or angry at her for her indulgence and for embezzling vast sums of wealth?”
Li Zhao frowned, put down the wine pot, and slowly bent down to clear the skirt of her clothes, which were tangled with branches and ashes, with great patience and care. “His Majesty may not severely punish Ping Le for this. I have seen too much over the years.”
“No rush,” Xue Sui’s gaze drifted towards the direction of the West Mountain Villa, her eyes slightly hazy. “Let’s take our time, we have plenty of it.”
We…
Li Zhao suddenly looked up.
The remnants of the mountain fire shattered into countless stars in his eyes, gradually growing hotter.
Perhaps it was the effect of the Love Silk Gu, but he felt his heart flutter, a nameless emotion surging in his chest, uncontrollable.
“Xue Ping’an.”
“Hmm?”
Li Zhao remained silent, staring at her as she drew closer, his nose hovering three inches above her eyelashes, his breath seeming to be scorched by the ashes mixed with the scent of plums.
Shadows fell, and Xue Sui’s heart skipped a beat.
“What are you doing…”
“Don’t move!” The night wind brushed past Li Zhao’s rolling Adam’s apple, his shallow breath shattering his emotions in his burning exhalation, reminiscent of the tension and a tremor he himself hadn’t noticed when he drank the tea containing her blood at the Hundred Flowers Banquet.
The embers swirled between them, like stardust falling on a magpie’s bridge…
Time stood still at this moment.
Li Zhao’s lips brushed against her stray hairs, sending a tingling sensation, and then, his hand slowly rose, gently removing the black ash clinging behind her ear.
Xue Sui: “Thank you!”
“Are you drunk?” Li Zhao’s eyelashes trembled slightly, his words seeming to be wrapped in lingering affection.
Xue Sui shook her head, her hair dancing wildly in the wind.
“No, I’m happy tonight.”
Whether the Emperor would cover for Ping Le as usual, Xue Sui couldn’t be sure…
But she firmly believed that people’s hearts grew tired, and no emotion could withstand repeated torment, including the Emperor’s feelings for Ping Le…
Li Zhao brushed aside her falling dark hair.
“Perhaps I am drunk.”
Xue Sui glanced at him coldly, clapped her hands unromantically, and stood up. “Let’s go back. If we’re any later, it will be very bad if we’re discovered.”
“Go,” Li Zhao said softly.
Xue Sui lowered her head, fueled by a bit of drunkenness, and poked Li Zhao’s tightly furrowed brow with her fingertip. She suddenly laughed, very relaxed, very cheerful, even with a hint of playfulness.
“Crown Prince, you’re holding onto my skirt. How am I supposed to walk? How am I supposed to go?”
This was a sound Li Zhao had never heard before…
Genuine joy.
So defeating Ping Le made her this happy.
Li Zhao curved his lips, released his hand, his eyes full of indulgence.
“My apologies.”
Xue Sui curtsied, counting the pulsing heat of his veins in his throat under the moonlight—
“No need to mind. You and I are allies, fighting side by side, sharing fortunes and misfortunes.”
While Li Zhao was stunned, she had already turned to leave.
The mountain wind swept past with ashes, and her light figure suddenly turned back.
“Thank you, Your Highness, for showing me the secret passage to the Prince’s Mansion. It will be much easier for me to come and go from now on.”
When Prince Duan’s Mansion was built around Moonlit Lake, they introduced running water, with an underground channel connecting to it.
Under the clever concealment of lush grass and rugged rocks, the Eastern Palace had dug a secret path three years ago.
Tan Qiu Courtyard was the closest location to the lake and the secret passage.
The two guards on duty performed their patrols perfunctorily, making it very easy for Xue Sui to bypass them…
Li Zhao chuckled.
“It’s all because of the Love Silk Gu. No need to be polite.”
Xue Sui coughed lightly, feigning concern.
“Are you feeling unwell recently, Your Highness?”
Li Zhao raised his eyebrows. “It seems to have grown a bit more…”
Xue Sui’s throat tightened.
She looked him over and then slyly winked.
“Your Highness knows that the Love Silk Gu is most afraid of falling in love?”
The old pine on the ridge suddenly swayed, shaking off rustling pine needles that fell onto his neck, stimulating his chaotic thoughts, disordered and yet uncontrollable.
Li Zhao’s mouth felt dry.
Xue Liu, after drinking, was vastly different from her usual self.
Mischievous, lively, with an unmasked vibrancy.
Li Zhao narrowed his eyes, gazing at the glistening wine stains on her lips, and suddenly smiled.
“So what? You said the Love Silk Gu is a life-bound pair. If I fall in love, you will also bear a corresponding price.”
The mountain wind suddenly gusted, scattering the unfinished words.
Before Xue Sui could speak, Li Zhao walked over and straightened her dark jade hairpin with a serious expression. His long fingers inadvertently brushed against the emerald on the hairpin’s head, a half-smile playing on his lips.
“Tomorrow at 3:45 PM, I will wait for you at Tianshui Inn to test the Gu.”
With that, he stepped back, his Adam’s apple bobbing conspicuously. His dark eyes fixed on her, as if trying to swallow the bitter sweetness brought by the pine wind.
“When the Xizi Merchant Caravan enters the capital, I will play chess and drink tea with you, and we will enjoy the show together, how about it?”
It’s been a long time since I wrote such a romantic scene. Do readers like it…
Li Zhao: I knew it, she’s fallen for me.
Xue Sui: ???
