Chapter 28

Outside the Shoukang Palace.

Aunt Danfeng had already led Yingxue to wait outside.

From a distance, they saw Xu Duanyi and Xie Qingya coming over, and the two, who had been waiting by the door, immediately greeted them with smiles.

“Princess!”

With wide smiles, they greeted Xu Duanyi, quickly walking over. When they got closer, they lowered their heads and greeted Xie Qingya, “Your Highness.”

Xie Qingya still gave them a cold, indifferent response.

Hearing this, he only nodded coldly, glancing to the side, clearly not paying them much attention.

Aunt Danfeng was about to frown when Xu Duanyi smiled and asked, “Aunt, where is my aunt?”

Immediately, she no longer paid attention to the South An King.

Aunt Danfeng quickly answered, “She’s inside, waiting for you. She woke up early, knowing you’d be coming back today.”

“She even had the kitchen prepare some of your favorite dishes.”

Aunt Danfeng smiled, her eyes filled with both respect and affection as she looked at Xu Duanyi.

“You and the Prince should go inside.”

She was worried Xu Duanyi might be exposed to the sun.

Xu Duanyi smiled and nodded, but didn’t go inside immediately. Instead, she turned to Xie Qingya and said, “Your Highness, let’s go inside.”

“Mm.”

Xie Qingya remained indifferent, not looking at Xu Duanyi, seemingly not concerned about her.

This was completely different from how he acted earlier in the carriage, when he seemed to have fled in panic.

Aunt Danfeng and Yingxue furrowed their brows.

Xu Duanyi, however, remained calm, as if nothing had changed.

She walked side by side with Xie Qingya.

Along the way, she asked Aunt Danfeng about her aunt’s well-being.

Her greatest concern when leaving the palace was this.

Aunt Danfeng noticed Xu Duanyi’s expression and, while she wasn’t happy with how the South An King was acting, she didn’t want to say anything in front of the Princess, so as not to make things difficult for her.

She decided to ignore the South An King.

She led the way, answering Xu Duanyi’s questions with a smile.

They passed through the front gate, and after walking a bit further, they arrived at the main hall.

As they approached, Aunt Danfeng seemed to remember something and added, “By the way, His Majesty is also here today.”

As she spoke, she casually glanced at the South An King.

But the South An King still looked the same, showing no reaction.

Not wanting to be noticed, Aunt Danfeng quickly looked away.

What she didn’t realize was that her actions had been completely noticed by Xu Duanyi.

Xu Duanyi observed her, her lips slightly pursed as she unconsciously pinched the tip of her finger.

She also looked over at Xie Qingya.

Seeing that his expression was unchanged, Xu Duanyi quietly withdrew her gaze and lowered her eyelids.

It wasn’t until they heard a palace servant excitedly announce ahead, “Your Majesty, the Princess has returned!”

All her thoughts refocused in that moment.

Xu Duanyi’s face regained its gentle smile.

Aunt Danfeng led them inside.

Behind them, Bixi was carrying a gift box.

Chang Feng, as a man, couldn’t enter the palace and was waiting outside in the courtyard.

Once inside, Xu Duanyi immediately saw the Empress Dowager, Zhao Yu, sitting at the head of the hall.

No matter what she had been thinking earlier, when she saw Zhao Yu, Xu Duanyi couldn’t help but quicken her pace, calling out, “Aunt.”

Zhao Yu, upon seeing her, was deeply moved.

She had watched this girl grow up, and now she was married and had her hair styled as a woman… Her emotions were overwhelming.

“Come here.”

She reached out her hand to Xu Duanyi, not caring whether she had bowed.

But etiquette must not be neglected.

Xu Duanyi always valued rules and etiquette.

If it were just her aunt, it would be one thing, but today the Emperor was also present… Not to mention, there was also Xie Qingya.

She was afraid her aunt would make a fuss over this.

“I haven’t kowtowed to you and the Emperor yet.” Xu Duanyi half-smiled, half-pouted, saying this first.

Then, when Xie Qingya arrived, she joined him in greeting her aunt and the Emperor.

When the young Emperor saw Xie Qingya appear, his hand, hidden under his sleeve, clenched tightly.

Over the years, he had rarely met his cousin.

There were only a few occasions when he went out of the palace to pray at the Emperor’s Temple, and then he could see his cousin.

But with so many spies around, they couldn’t talk much even if they met.

He only remembered three years ago when a young official suddenly sent him a secret note.

After that, he met his cousin at the Emperor’s Temple.

At that time, his cousin’s reputation in the city was already quite bad. Both the common people and the court officials said his cousin was drunk every day, no longer capable of holding office.

He didn’t believe it.

His cousin was the most powerful young general—how could he have fallen into such a state?

It wasn’t until a palace banquet when he first lost his temper, using his imperial authority to insist they let his cousin into the palace.

At that time, he thought it was a deliberate attempt to slander his cousin, to keep him from seeing him, in order to continue controlling him.

Later, he finally met his cousin.

But he was drunk beyond belief, and when someone let go of him, he collapsed to the ground, muttering drunkenly about drinking.

It was then that he finally believed it.

His cousin really had changed.

At that time, he was deeply saddened and couldn’t understand why his once heroic and formidable cousin had become this way.

He also feared for his own future.

His maternal family was weak, and they had no voice in the court. His mother had been controlled by the Empress Dowager… Originally, he could rely on his cousin, but now that his cousin had turned out like this, who could he rely on?

Was he really going to live in fear every day?

Like a sword hanging over his head, he didn’t know when it would fall, striking him in the neck.

Until that secret note…

He went to the Emperor’s Temple and saw his cousin, who was completely different from the drunk man at the palace banquet.

But even then, his cousin was no longer the same.

He felt like a stranger.

His cousin used to be bold and full of energy, like the brightest sun in the sky.

But the cousin he met at the Emperor’s Temple was silent, his personality subdued, looking like a still pond.

Since then, they had kept in touch.

The Emperor’s Temple became their meeting place.

But to avoid drawing the Empress Dowager’s and the officials’ attention, they hadn’t seen each other much in recent years.

His cousin always told him not to worry.

But how could he not worry? He lived in a palace with high walls, not knowing how many pairs of eyes were watching him.

He couldn’t sleep at night.

He feared that one day, someone might kill him in his sleep.

Just like his older brothers, just like his mother…

Until last year, when Lord Mei passed the imperial exam and became the top scholar, things started to improve slightly.

Although he still couldn’t meet his cousin directly, anything that happened could be communicated through Lord Mei.

This reassured him greatly.

Now, seeing his cousin, the young Emperor immediately felt a deep sense of affection and longing.

Now, in this world, he had only one true relative who cared for him—his cousin.

However, thinking of what Lord Mei had informed him yesterday, the young Emperor clenched his hand tightly, trying his best not to reveal any emotions.

He didn’t speak immediately.

With the Empress Dowager present, it wasn’t his place to speak first.

“Get up.”

The Empress Dowager spoke.

Although she was displeased with Xie Qingya, she couldn’t bear for her beloved Zhaozhao to kneel with him.

Danfeng stepped forward to help Xu Duanyi up.

After Xu Duanyi got up, she thanked her and then took the gift box prepared for the two of them from Bixi’s hands.

“This is a gift we prepared for Aunt and the Emperor.”

She said, handing the gifts to Aunt Danfeng and the young official.

For the Empress Dowager, it was a fan with the character “longevity” on the surface. The dark red fan handle and the longevity character seemed ordinary, but the brilliance lay in the character itself… From a distance, it looked like a hundred longevity characters, but up close, there was only one larger character.

“Ah?”

Aunt Danfeng was the first to notice the subtlety. She was a little surprised. “Empress Dowager, look!”

She eagerly presented it to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager took a glance and also saw the cleverness in the design. She was used to seeing fine objects but had originally only wanted to avoid disappointing Zhaozhao.

Now, seeing the cleverness, she was somewhat surprised.

“This is a novel thing.” The Empress Dowager played with it in her hand.

From the look on her face, it was clear she was quite pleased with the gift.

Xu Duanyi smiled with her eyes narrowed. “I knew Aunt would like it.”

The Empress Dowager also smiled at her, her gaze soft. “Zhaozhao understands me the best.”

She then reached out to Xu Duanyi again, glancing over at the still silent Xie Qingya. Although she didn’t like him, she spoke lightly, “Let King Nan’an sit.”

“Yes.”

Yingxue led Xie Qingya to take his seat.

This time, Xu Duanyi didn’t refuse and sat beside the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager held Xu Duanyi’s hand, sitting straight, as if she had just remembered something and asked the young Emperor, “Where is the Emperor? What gift is he holding?”

The young emperor had not yet opened the box.

When Empress Dowager Zhao Yu asked this question, it felt as though he was holding a hot potato.

Although he knew his cousin wouldn’t place anything suspicious inside, his heart, hidden in his chest, couldn’t help but beat rapidly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he instinctively glanced over at his cousin.

He saw his cousin with his head lowered, sipping tea, not sparing a glance in this direction.

His heart beat even faster.

“I know His Majesty loves chess, so I specially selected a set of chess pieces for you. Would you like to take a look?” A gentle female voice suddenly entered his ears.

The young emperor looked toward the voice.

He met Xu Duanyi’s warm, smiling eyes.

His nervousness immediately eased.

The young emperor lowered his gaze and opened the gift box. Sure enough, inside was a set of chess pieces made of jade.

“Thank you, Sister Yi. Thank you… Prince of Nan’an, I really like it,” the young emperor said with a relieved tone, as his mood lightened.

Xie Qingya said nothing.

Xu Duanyi smiled and said, “I’m glad you like it, Your Majesty.”

Empress Dowager ZhaoYu didn’t bother to pay attention to him.

Earlier, when she had brought up the topic, it wasn’t to probe anything but merely to say something casually.

She didn’t want to stay with these two men after such a long-awaited reunion with Zhaozhao, especially when speaking to them was uncomfortable.

She really didn’t want to see them.

“You two brothers haven’t met in a long time. Go out for a walk. When it’s time for dinner, someone will come to call you,” Empress Dowager Zhao Yu said, signaling for them to leave.

As soon as the young emperor heard this, his previously relaxed mood became tense again.

Although he did want to speak to his cousin, he wasn’t foolish. He knew…

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” he said, his voice low and weary.

The sound of his cousin getting up interrupted his thoughts. The young emperor stood and bowed to Empress Dowager Zhao Yu, “I will take my leave for now.”

Empress Dowager Zhao Yu nodded indifferently.

She then paid no further attention to the two brothers, allowing them to leave.

Xu Duanyi watched them go and felt a bit nervous inside, her red lips gently pressed together.

Soon, she heard her aunt ask, “How have you been in the Wang residence these past two days?”

Xu Duanyi withdrew her gaze as if nothing had happened and softly replied, “I’m fine.”

She glanced at her aunt’s doubtful expression.

Xu Duanyi smiled and hooked her arm, continuing to speak softly, “Really, I’m doing well.”

She mentioned a few things: “On my first day in the residence, Aunt Deng handed over the management of the household to me.”

“The servants are also very respectful.”

Empress Dowager Zhao Yu raised an eyebrow. “Is this Aunt Deng the one who used to serve Liu Yuan?”

Xu Duanyi confirmed it.

Empress Dowager Zhaoyu didn’t comment further, simply saying, “She’s a clever one,” and didn’t press the issue of Xu Duanyi’s well-being.

With Zhaozhao’s backing, there was no need to worry about others treating her disrespectfully.

Besides, Aunt Deng was intelligent.

As for Xie Qingya…

Thinking of Xie Qingya’s attitude, Empress Dowager Zhao Yu was filled with displeasure.

She didn’t ask Zhaozhao about him.

From the looks of it, things weren’t going well.

But that didn’t matter—it was just a man.

Whether he was good or bad, the most unreliable thing in this world was a man’s feelings; the most useless thing was also a man’s feelings.

When the late emperor married her, what kind of flowery words did he not say?

But once he sat on the throne, what did he actually do?

He favored concubines and neglected his wife.

If she hadn’t had her family backing her up, along with Qi’er, she probably wouldn’t have even been able to keep her position as Empress!

Rather than seeking these useless emotions, it was better to grasp power.

With power, one could do as they pleased.

Thus, she was too lazy to ask Zhaozhao about these matters. It was better to see what Zhaozhao wanted.

If Zhaozhao felt content with her life as the Princess of Nan’an, then let her continue. It would be fine as long as she had children later on.

As for Xie Qingya, what did it matter?

If Zhaozhao no longer liked her position, or if there was someone else she liked, she could help her fulfill her wishes.

In any case, as long as Zhaozhao was happy.

—-

That morning, Xu Duanyi and Empress Dowager Zhao Yu spoke privately in the room.

Xie Qingya and the young emperor had not gone far and were sitting outside in the courtyard, playing chess.

At first, the young emperor thought his cousin might intentionally cause trouble, like the last time they attended the palace banquet, to prove that their relationship was strained.

But to his surprise, his cousin had suggested they play chess together.

Though the young emperor didn’t understand, he always listened to his cousin’s advice.

So, the two of them sat there in the Shoukang Palace courtyard, playing chess openly.

“The emperor and the Prince of Nan’an?” Empress Dowager Zhao Yu casually asked as she drank tea in the side hall.

Xu Duanyi was peeling loquats for her.

Hearing this, she paused for a moment, but after a brief instant, she lowered her head again and continued peeling the loquats as though nothing had happened.

“They’re outside, playing chess.”

Aunt Danfeng had just gone out and knew exactly what they were doing.

“Playing chess?” Empress Dowager Zhao Yu furrowed her brows.

“Outside?” she asked.

Danfeng answered, “Yes, outside. The chess set that the princess gave the emperor this morning—His Majesty couldn’t put it down, and insisted on playing with the Prince of Nan’an.”

She knew what the Empress Dowager wanted to hear, so she continued, “The Prince of Nan’an didn’t seem too willing, but just now, I…”

Accidentally spoke too quickly.

The words were on the tip of her tongue, but only then did she realize she shouldn’t have said them in front of the Princess.

Empress Dowager Zhao Yu furrowed her brow when she noticed the sudden silence: “What did you just say?”

However, Danfeng didn’t respond immediately as she had before. Instead, she glanced over at Xu Duanyi.

The Empress Dowager immediately understood that this was something the Princess shouldn’t hear.

She didn’t speak for a moment, but her expression clearly darkened.

“Aunt, have some loquats.”

After peeling the loquats, Xu Duanyi carefully sliced them and placed the pits on a nearby empty dish, then inserted silver forks.

Her expression remained calm, as though she hadn’t sensed anything unusual.

After pushing the plate of loquats toward her aunt, Xu Duanyi said again, “I’ll go check on how lunch is coming along.”

Empress Dowager Zhao Yu frowned: “Why do you need to bother with these things? Just send a palace servant to handle it.”

Clearly, she was reluctant to let Xu Duanyi go.

It was nearing lunch time, and the sun was at its peak outside. Although it wasn’t quite the height of summer yet, it was still somewhat hot.

Xu Duanyi smiled: “I heard from Aunt that your stomach has been bothering you lately. I’ll make a bowl of longan, red date, and egg custard to help you.”

“Why are you telling Zhaozhao about this?”

The Empress Dowager gave Danfeng an irritated look.

Before Dan Feng could respond, Xu Duanyi spoke up for her: “Please don’t blame Aunt Danfeng, it was my request for her to say that, and she had no choice but to listen to me.”

Xu Duanyi stood up and said, “You stay here, I’ll be right back.”

She was quite skilled in the kitchen.

When there was nothing else to do in the palace, she would find something productive to occupy her time.

However, her aunt usually didn’t let her do the work.

So, the only time she could cook was when her aunt wasn’t feeling well, and she would make some nourishing food.

Xu Duanyi walked out.

The Empress Dowager watched her retreating figure, her eyes softening.

When she could no longer see her, she withdrew her gaze and motioned for Danfeng to continue.

With the Princess gone, Danfeng no longer held back.

She relayed the information she had just overheard to the Empress Dowager: “I overheard that Prince Nanan wanted to go to Changyin Pavilion to watch a play, but His Majesty didn’t allow it.”

“How dare he!”

The Empress Dowager slammed the table in anger.

Although she had long known what kind of person he was, her anger was still evident.

Danfeng quickly stepped forward to comfort her by patting her back.

“Don’t get upset, it’ll harm your health, and the Princess will definitely worry.”

She knew what words to say to calm her down.

Indeed, when it involved Xu Duanyi, although the Empress Dowager’s face was still grim, she no longer slammed the table or broke anything.

Instead, she muttered in frustration: “A useless thing.”

This was clearly referring to Xie Qingya.

Thinking further, her Zhaozhao was so good, yet she was married to someone like him… She felt deep regret, feeling she had failed A-Yuan, and would have no face to meet her again in the future.

At the same time, she grew even more resentful toward Cao Da, who had caused Zhaozhao to be in such a predicament.

If it weren’t for this scoundrel, Zhaozhao would never have married such a disgraceful person!

This thought made the Empress Dowager furious.

On the other side, the Young Emperor cautiously glanced around, seeing that while there were still people nearby watching, none were close enough to overhear, so he lowered his voice to speak to Xie Qingya: “Why did you mention Changyin Pavilion just now? I saw that as soon as Aunt Danfeng came out, someone immediately went to report it.”

He couldn’t help but frown.

Lowering his head as if pondering a chess game, he whispered: “If Mother finds out, she’ll definitely be angry with you. If I’d known, I would’ve just yelled at you earlier.”

He thought Xie Qingya had done this to let the Empress Dowager know that he was no longer the proud Xie family second son from before.

Xie Qingya propped his head up with one hand and held a white jade chess piece in the other.

Today, he was playing white.

His gaze was lowered, focused on the chessboard.

His thin lips moved as he said, “I want her to know.”

“Why?”

The Young Emperor didn’t understand.

He instinctively lifted his head but then quickly lowered it again, fearing the spies would notice.

Xie Qingya spoke: “Meixue Zheng told me that my marriage… was caused by Cao Da.”

The Young Emperor didn’t notice the slight pause in Xie Qingya’s words when he mentioned “her.”

He responded, recalling the scene from that time: “I heard that Mother threw a huge tantrum that day, even breaking several sets of teacups.”

Not understanding why Xie Qingya suddenly brought it up, the Young Emperor asked in confusion: “Why did you suddenly mention this, cousin?”

It seemed to only prove that Xie Qingya was not in favor with the Empress Dowager, and…

A thought suddenly crossed his mind.

The Young Emperor blinked and then seemed to understand something: “Cousin, are you trying to make Mother direct her anger toward Cao Da?”

Xie Qingya noticed the realization in his eyes and smiled faintly at him: “Your Majesty is insightful.”

The Young Emperor, pleased by the praise, smiled wider.

But fearing he would be noticed, he quickly restrained his smile and pretended to be deep in thought over the chess game in front of him.

However, his mood had clearly lightened.

Only when he thought of someone did he hesitate before saying, “But… Sister Yi is also inside. If Aunt Danfeng goes to deliver a message, won’t Sister Yi find out?”

He didn’t know what kind of relationship his cousin and Sister Yi had now.

All he knew was that, at least a long time ago, the relationship between his cousin and Sister Yi had been very good.

Back then, the Crown Prince was very busy.

He often followed Sister Yi and his cousin wherever they went.

Now, he actually had some worries.

He was afraid that his cousin still felt the same way about Sister Yi as he had before.

He knew Sister Yi was a good person. Many times, it was Sister Yi who helped him in front of the Empress, but Sister Yi… after all, was someone on the Empress’s side.

He was afraid that if his cousin and Sister Yi were too close, Sister Yi might notice something.

If Sister Yi were to tell the Empress, then everything they had done over the years… would be ruined in an instant.

At that point, he wouldn’t just lose power; he might not even know if he could survive.

The fear in his heart was clearly visible on his face at that moment.

Others were far away, so they couldn’t see it.

Xie Qingya, sitting across from him, naturally noticed it clearly.

He understood why his expression had changed so much and sighed silently in his heart. He spoke to reassure him, “Don’t worry, she doesn’t know anything, and I… won’t let her know.”

However, his hand, which was holding the chess piece, unconsciously tightened.

Clearly, he wasn’t entirely unmoved by the words of the Young Emperor earlier.

In fact, when he was preparing to do this earlier, he had hesitated.

But in life, there are always choices to be made.

He… was no longer the Xie Qingya of the past.

He couldn’t simply remain the same person as before.

“Princess.”

Suddenly, greetings came from the distance.

Almost instinctively, Xie Qingya’s expression changed slightly, and he immediately looked up.

His hand, holding the chess piece, loosened for no reason.

The jade chess piece fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

But he didn’t notice.

He just kept staring ahead.

He saw Xu Duanyi walking toward them.

He also saw the gentle smile on her face, which suddenly faltered when their eyes met, no longer as bright as usual.

It seemed she hesitated for a moment.

Xu Duanyi only nodded in their direction, without coming over, and then continued walking forward.

“…Sister Yi must know.”

The Young Emperor also noticed and whispered.

Xie Qingya gave a soft “Mm,” and calmly withdrew his gaze, appearing unaffected by Xu Duanyi’s change in demeanor.

Seeing his reaction, the Young Emperor secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Xie Qingya could clearly feel his heartbeat, which had skipped a beat.