Chapter 135: Choose Her Or Choose Me?
A palace maid came trotting over from the other side of the covered walkway.
“Miss Yi Zhu, why have you come here?”
Shen Yizhu withdrew her gaze from the distance: “Xue’er is missing. I just seemed to hear its cry nearby, so I came looking.”
With that, she took the palace maid’s hand: “But it’s not here. It must have already returned to the palace. Let’s go.”
Footsteps gradually faded away, and the covered walkway returned to silence.
Once the imperial edict was delivered to the Censorate, Yue Tang sent someone to inform Yan Bei.
After leaving the Bureau of Military Affairs, Yan Bei instructed Gao An to tell the guards to prepare the carriage, and they headed straight to Prince Duan’s Mansion.
Upon arriving under the gate of the prince’s mansion, the guards, who had long received Wei Zhang’s instructions to “let Prince Jingyang enter directly without announcement whenever he arrives,” immediately opened the gate and briskly led him to the small garden where Yue Tang practiced swordsmanship.
As soon as he stepped through the gate, he encountered Han Yi coming out with a stack of medicinal herbs in hand, wearing a cloak, followed by a servant boy—it was clear they were about to go out.
Yan Bei said, “Where are you off to? Running out in broad daylight instead of doing your duty in the mansion.”
Han Yi first paid his respects, then said, “In response to Your Highness, my mother is ill. I have already asked for leave from the princess and am returning home to visit her.”
Yan Bei responded: “Oh.”
Then he glanced at him and continued walking toward the garden.
The servant boy behind stuck out his tongue: “Young master, that was close. If we’d been a few steps slower going out, we probably would’ve been caught by His Highness to play chess again.”
Han Yi also let out a breath.
Yan Bei arrived lightly and quickly under the garden gate. Before even entering, he heard the clanging sounds of weapons clashing from inside.
Huo Yun, guarding the entrance, wanted to go in to announce him, but Yan Bei stopped him and walked through the gate. Inside the spacious ten-zhang small garden, two figures were sparring.
The tall and burly one was unmistakably Wei Zhang.
The other figure, unlike her usual loose and luxurious robe, was dressed in a narrow-sleeved outfit. The well-tailored dress outlined her graceful figure, making her look like a phoenix soaring in the air as she leaped and spun with the precious sword flashing cold light in her hand.
The two were fully focused on practicing swordsmanship. Sword qi scattered fallen leaves wherever it went, making it hard for anyone to bear interrupting them.
Moments later, Wei Zhang, who had switched to the dominant position, glanced up and saw him. He quickly retreated a few steps and sheathed his sword.
“Princess, His Highness has arrived.”
Yue Tang stopped on the veranda eaves, turned her head to look, suddenly smiled, twirled a flower with her long sword in hand, and then charged toward him.
Yan Bei had originally been standing with arms crossed, leaning against the veranda pillar, watching in a daze.
Suddenly focusing his eyes, he saw the phoenix had already flown over. He hurriedly drew the long sword from his waist, leaned back, and steadily blocked her strike.
The Yan Family’s ancestral martial arts excelled in heavy weapons like spears and halberds. Since Yan Bei was the beloved treasure of the old Prince Jingyang, who could not afford any mishaps, he was also proficient in swords, blades, fists, and feet.
After the two precious swords clashed with a dragon-like clang, the garden was filled only with their thick and thin figures trading blows.
Now, not only did leaves rustle and fall from the treetops, but even the fallen leaves on the ground were swept up by their fierce and ferocious moves.
For a moment, dust and stones flew. Even the guards stationed around the garden turned their heads to look.
Xiao Huo exclaimed “Oh my goodness” and said in a daze: “In the past, the princess practicing swordsmanship never displayed such a domineering aura!”
Wei Zhang, who had been watching the two spar intently without shifting his gaze, showed pride in his eyes and brows upon hearing this: “Only a man like Prince Jingyang is worthy of our princess, isn’t he?”
Gao An nearby overheard and smiled faintly, subtly raising an eyebrow without a word.
The bout lasted half a shichen.
In the end, Yan Bei caught sight of Lan Qin coming with herbal medicine out of the corner of his eye. He sheathed his sword first, jumped down to take the tray, then took the handkerchief brought by the eunuch, returned to the eaves, tossed one to Yue Tang, took one for himself, and wiped the sweat from his head and brow.
Yue Tang smiled: “Prince Jingyang’s Mansion, with its generations of heroes, lives up to its name.”
Yan Bei handed her the medicine, sat down, and gave her a light sidelong glance: “This prince came to visit, only to be chased all over the garden without a word from you. Is this the princess’s way of entertaining guests?”
Yue Tang laughed lightly and said nothing.
Her face was flushed, showing much healthier color than usual. Normally adorned in fine clothes and jewels, she was stunningly beautiful, but now without makeup, with dark hair and fair skin, it was another kind of beauty.
Yan Bei didn’t dare look too much: “When I came earlier, the Censorate had already taken action.
“Mu Chang should soon receive his punishment.
“That batch of guards you mentioned last time, I’ve had them reviewed simultaneously. Indeed, no issues.
“Before tomorrow, someone will bring them over to replace the remaining old batch.”
Yue Tang said: “Once this is done, Prince Duan’s Mansion will basically be under control.
“But with no successor son in the prince’s mansion and the Imperial City Department not yet in my hands, it still leaves me uneasy.
“We all thought the emperor was weak and incompetent, tightly controlled by the Mu Family, but now it seems not so.
“The Mu Family’s arrogance is deliberately tolerated by him.
“With such scheming, he cannot be taken lightly.”
Yan Bei bent one long leg: “He is no longer the prince who resided in the Mu Family back then; he is the Son of Heaven above millions. With any blood in his veins, he couldn’t remain indifferent to the Mu Family’s arrogance.”
Yue Tang gazed at the distant horizon and nodded slightly.
“That old thief Mu Chang never guarded against him turning, which shows how at ease he kept the Mu Family all these years.
“I’m puzzled, though. During the former emperor’s time, even residing in the Mu Family, no one dared bully him.
“As the noble legitimate son, having an easy journey all along, how could he be so forbearing?”
At this point, she turned her head sideways: “Look at you, also the treasure of Prince Jingyang’s Mansion, never having suffered any grievances from childhood to now.
“You’ve never been forbearing.”
Yan Bei was stunned: “Are you praising me or insulting me?”
“Praising.” Yue Tang said, “You are a towering hero. Mobei has been safe and peaceful for so many years; the Yue dynasty should forever remember your merit.”
Yan Bei’s corner of the mouth curved up uncontrollably. “Our Yan Family’s loyalty to the court isn’t just talk.”
“Yes, otherwise why would the former emperor insist on having you enter the capital as regent.” Yue Tang said wistfully, “All his decisions must have been with full confidence.
“Precisely because of this, I feel that with you as regent, the emperor should have ample confidence and not need to endure in front of the Mu Family.”
“Princess!”
As she spoke, Wei Zhang coughed from under the eaves.
“The guards watching the Mu Family reported back that after the Censorate strictly punished that batch of Mu Family guards on the emperor’s orders, they just now delivered the emperor’s imperial decree to the Imperial Secretariat for Mu Chang.”
Yue Tang straightened up: “How long ago?”
“A quarter of an hour ago.”
Yue Tang looked at Yan Bei: “Let’s go, we’ll head out and take a stroll too.”
……
The Mu Family funeral rites were held only for one seven-day period.
In the morning, they were buried, and the couple did not go according to custom. After the coffin left, Madam Mu could no longer hold back and grabbed Mu Chang’s lapels, wailing in grief.
“You said she was the young lady in the Mu Family with the most empress demeanor. Why did you abandon her? Why let her die?”
The shrill voice echoed through the room.
Mu Chang let her grab him without speaking, his face also very grim.
“Shen Family, Prince Duan’s Mansion—I won’t let either of them go!” Madam Mu raised her teary eyes, her bloodshot eyes full of hatred. “Everyone in the Yue Family deserves to die; not one of them isn’t heartless and unrighteous!
“Your sister is, and so is your nephew! Without the Mu Family, could he sit on the throne? He dares kill my daughter, dares toy with the Mu Family like this—we can’t let him have his way!”
“Shut up!” Mu Chang suddenly lowered his head. “You still dare say such things? Have you forgotten the lesson we just suffered?”
“Am I not speaking the truth?” Madam Mu straightened up. “We poured so much effort into putting him on the throne for the sake of sharing the world equally, didn’t we? Otherwise, what right does he have? What right?!”
“It’s too late to talk about that now!” Mu Chang covered her mouth. “The evidence is in their hands; Yun’er admitted it personally!
“The law of the court is there—this is the emperor’s world, imperial power belongs to the Yue Family. Transgression is transgression, breaking the law is breaking the law!
“If I didn’t abandon her, should I really let the entire Mu Family suffer punishment with her? Would that give her another chance to be empress?
“Never possible!
“She threatened the emperor!”
Madam Mu removed his hand: “So from now on, we deserve to live under imperial power’s rule, just like twenty years ago, where the Yue Family says what goes, sending us to prison if they want, dismissing us from office if they want?”
Mu Chang stood for a moment, then said gravely: “Of course not, but for now we must endure and avoid this wave of trouble. He is the Son of Heaven, the sovereign after all!”
“Master!…”
The maidservant timidly spoke from the doorway: “Mr. Lu has urgent business waiting outside the courtyard.”
Mu Chang took a deep breath and walked to the door: “Take good care of Madam!”
Outside the courtyard gate, Lu Zhao was pacing anxiously.
“What happened?”
“Grand Tutor, the emperor issued a decree to the Censorate to severely punish that batch of guards caught by Prince Jingyang at the Imperial City Department that day, and also rebuked the Grand Tutor for lax supervision, allowing slaves to offend the imperial guards, ordering a year’s salary deduction and ten days of home reflection.”
“An imperial decree from the emperor?” Mu Chang’s bloodshot eyes suddenly sharpened. “This matter was shelved for days—why bring it up again so suddenly?”
“It’s said that Princess Yongjia entered the palace this morning, and after leaving, she took the imperial edict straight to the Censorate.” Lu Zhao handed over the imperial edict.
“It was her doing!”
“Exactly,” Lu Zhao’s eyes were full of worry. “This Princess Yongjia seems truly aggressive, and obtaining such an imperial edict at this time indeed shows some capability.”
Mu Chang stared at the courtyard, the chill light of the accumulated snow reflected in his eyes.
……
The emperor sat behind the desk in Zichen Hall just as he had in the morning.
A censer of incense smoked languidly before him. In the dimmer afternoon light, the hall was as quiet as midnight.
“Your Majesty, the Grand Tutor has arrived.”
A palace maid lifted the curtain to report.
The emperor looked up, gazing at the doorway. When Mu Chang’s figure appeared, he rose from the shadows: “Uncle.”
Mu Chang stood opposite him and bowed low.
The emperor reached out to help him up: “Uncle and aunt—how have you been these past few days?”
“Thank you for Your Majesty’s concern. Nothing serious.”
“That’s good.” The emperor nodded. “I have prepared some bird’s nest, ginseng, and such, and sent them to your mansion for maternal grandmother and aunt to nourish their bodies. Has uncle received them?”
Mu Chang nodded slightly, then took the rolled imperial edict from his sleeve: “This imperial edict rebuking your subject—is it from Your Majesty.”
The emperor’s gaze paused for a moment, then he nodded: “Indeed. Prince Jingyang happened to catch those guards and reported it to the Censorate. Elder cousin came demanding justice. I knew it wasn’t a big deal and there might be more to it, but they were indeed caught in the Imperial City Department, so I had to give this.”
Mu Chang sat down, looking at him opposite, his voice slow: “In the blink of an eye, Your Majesty has grown from a five-year-old child into a Son of Heaven who stands on his own. Many things no longer need your subject to handle them perfectly.”
“Uncle’s words overpraise your nephew.” The emperor sighed. “I grew up far from the palace; you taught me to heed your guidance. You are mother’s maternal kin, the only one in this world who won’t betray me.
“I am still immature, often at a loss among the court elders—how could I not need uncle?”
Mu Chang rested his left elbow on the desk, staring straight at him across the two-chi desk: “Yun’er was buried early yesterday morning. She and Your Majesty were childhood sweethearts; her greatest wish since childhood was to accompany Your Majesty and grow old together.
“Your Majesty also said you would marry her and make her empress.
“It’s just a pity she wasn’t up to it and lacked the good fortune to stay by Your Majesty’s side.”
Cold wind stirred the curtains, shadows playing across the emperor’s face.
“Uncle, my condolences.”
The emperor folded the imperial edict and set it aside. “I know uncle is heartbroken. But that day in the hall, cousin confessed clearly, admitting she released the snake in the garden and killed Ruan Fu.
“On one side were the Empress Dowager and Miss Shen, whom she deliberately targeted; on the other was my elder cousin, whom she framed. I was truly in a dilemma.
“For this matter, please forgive me, uncle.”
The young man’s voice was as mild as ever, tinged with apology.
“Why say such things, Your Majesty? She broke the law, transgressed first and got caught later, nearly implicating Your Majesty—it should be thus.”
Mu Chang spoke, then unrolled the imperial edict again: “But if your subject says that he has already formed a feud with the princess, how would Your Majesty choose?
“Would Your Majesty, for the sake of ties with the Mu Family, take back this imperial edict?”
The emperor inhaled: “Uncle taught me that as Son of Heaven, my word is golden—how could I issue a decree in the morning and revoke it by evening?”
“Since it cannot be changed, what if your subject petitions to take the Imperial City Department back from Prince Duan’s Mansion?”
The emperor paused.
Mu Chang looked at him, his gaze deep: “The prince’s mansion has no male heir yet. Even if Princess Yongjia marries and gives birth to a child immediately, it must reach adulthood before taking charge.
“That leaves nearly twenty years in between.
“Your Majesty isn’t defying the former emperor by not letting Prince Duan’s Mansion hold power—just take it back and manage it personally. What’s wrong with that?
“Taking back the Imperial City Department would be greatly beneficial for Your Majesty in dealing with the Empress Dowager’s side right now.”
