Chapter 59
Li Wenjian couldn't be kept in the dark about the situation in the Eastern Palace.
When Lian Zhou went to the Beast Garden to report to Zhao Heng about the calming incense, Physician Zheng immediately reported the matter to Li Wenjian.
The incense was being managed by Zhou Kuo from the Ministry of War.
Upon receiving the news, he sent Mu Gui and his men to surround Zhou Kuo's mansion. Zhou Kuo must not have expected the situation to be exposed, as he didn't have time to prepare. When the Imperial Guards stormed into his mansion, he had just hung himself from the rafters and took his last breath.
Smoke filled the study, with ashes from burnt letters and documents in the brazier. But in times of urgency, there are always loopholes. The Imperial Guards turned his mansion upside down, working into the late night, and found many letters that he hadn't had time to burn, along with this dagger.
This dagger was the token of Zhou Kuo and the person behind him.
Zhou Kuo was a close official of Li Wenjian, who had volunteered to follow Wei Zhan to the battlefield.
As a sixteen or seventeen year old youth, and someone who had been with the An family since childhood, almost no one guarded against him. No one expected that he would conspire with the northern barbarians to set an ambush in Wusicheng.
After Wei Zhan's death, he escorted his body back to the capital. Li Wenjian had originally intended to assign him to the Western Mountain camp, but he claimed to be ashamed and chose to remain at the Ministry of War.
Sitting in the shadow under the lamplight, Li Wenjian's fingers tightened, his knuckles turning white. "He killed Wei Zhan, sowed discord between me and Ziren, intending to spark domestic conflict and incite bloodshed among the Central Plains people."
Tears continued to fall from the tips of her hair. Zhao Heng's mind was in turmoil. She realized that it seemed like a large net had been cast over her head since the day she entered the Qingliang Palace.
The intricately intertwined net made her thoughts unclear.
Kneeling before Li Wenjian, tears continued to fall. She looked at the bloody dagger on the desk, then lifted her head and met Li Wenjian's misty eyes.
She could see his self-blame in those vulnerable eyes. But why should he blame himself? He was undeniably a good person.
Seeing him in tears, Zhao Heng's eyes welled up as well.
Suddenly, she reached out and embraced him.
"Do you know what I was thinking on my way back?" She held his shoulders and asked softly.
"What?" Li Wenjian asked.
Zhao Heng released him and looked into his eyes. "I was thinking that Your Highness must be feeling sad again. You may have gotten used to searching for reasons within yourself, but every time I see it, my heart aches."
"Your Highness has a kind heart that drives you to lead expeditions against the northern barbarians. This kind heart also leads you to pity and care for others." She smiled at him. "They should not have betrayed your trust."
"It's not Your Highness's fault," her voice was soft, gently ringing in his ears.
At no time should kindness and love be seen as a fault.
Li Wenjian was momentarily stunned, his lips pale without a word. Suddenly, hearing Zhao Heng sigh, he looked up at her.
"Your Highness, please don't do this anymore," Zhao Heng held his hand and said softly. "No matter what the reason is, don't hurt yourself. If possible, I also want to share your pain, so you don't have to suffer so much."
Li Wenjian's fingers curled, the chilly night wind rustled the fallen leaves in the courtyard, the sharp sound hitting his eardrums. Feeling her sincere gaze, his eyelashes twitched slightly.
"But I can't," Zhao Heng felt his cold hand and cradled it in her palm. "I can't ease your emotional pain or bear your physical wounds."
Warmth enveloped his hand, like spring water flowing over a frozen riverbed, slowly melting the icy soil.
"So you should be kind to yourself, and stop hurting your body, okay?" Zhao Heng lowered her eyes.
Li Wenjian's gaze fell on the crimson corners of her eyes. He grabbed Zhao Heng's wrist and pulled her into his arms. Placing his palm on her back, he buried his head in her neck. "Ah Heng."
"Yes?" Zhao Heng turned her face to look at him, her soft lips gently gliding from his jawline.
"Alright, I promise you." The room fell silent, the occasional rustle of the pearl curtains being stirred by the wind.
Li Wenjian lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on her jet-black hair bun. His voice was close, "I may disappoint you."
"I will never be disappointed in you." She hugged him back, her chin resting on his shoulder.
The myriad of low spirits in his heart seemed to calm down in an instant with her embrace, and her delicate touch slowly smoothed over his fragile wounds.
As the night grew deeper, Zhao Heng had gone to the bathroom, while Li Wenjian sat in the study, with Zhou Kuo's death leading to many implications.
It was not just related to Wei Zhan's death, but also to the incident where he arranged for someone to impersonate a assassin from the previous dynasty during the Spring Festival.
"Did Zhou Kuo plan all of this? Do you believe it?" Li Wenjian looked down at the report presented by the Imperial Guards, not lifting his eyes.
"It's hard to say at the moment." Mu Gui said with bowed head. "He destroyed so many things before his death, why did he leave those few letters behind? He died, yet left those letters and the dagger from the previous royal family, it seems more like he deliberately left a loophole to make people suspect him as a remnant of the previous dynasty."
"Yes, there is some smoke without fire." Li Wenjian squinted, his words meaningful.
"Your Highness."
Jian Ning hurriedly entered and bowed to Li Wenjian.
"What's the matter?" Li Wenjian asked.
"Your Highness, we've found out." Jian Ning said with a slight bow. "We couldn't find the fake nun Xu Wenrong who went to the Xuejia Village to find Lady Liang's grandmother, as she is already dead. But we still managed to find some clues."
Jian Ning paused and continued, "She stayed at a nunnery in Jinzhou for a while, where she had a young nun serving her. When she left the capital, that young nun disappeared. We had thought she had died with Xu Wenrong, but some brothers in the capital recently found her."
Li Wenjian stared at him and asked, "Where?"
"At the Xie Residence," Jian Ning glanced at his expression and trembled as he spoke, "After they found her, they arrested her and under interrogation, the girl couldn't bear the punishment and confessed everything."
Initially, in order to be safe, Concubine had arranged for a villager from a distant place to go to Xuejia Village.
After searching, the Xie Marquis settled on a traveling nun named Xu Wenrong. He promised her a hefty reward to lure Zhao Heng's grandmother to a mountain in the Bai Ma Temple, under the pretense of praying for blessings, to create an accident and kill her.
After Xu Wenrong was caught having an affair and divorced from her husband, she had no means of livelihood and resorted to prostitution in the temple for survival.
When the head of the temple found out about her disgraceful deeds, he expelled her, forcing her to use the identity of a traveling nun to continue her illicit activities and seek a living in the capital.
Faced with Xie Marquis's offer of a large sum of money, she was tempted.
After the deed was done, Xie Marquis claimed to send her out of the capital, but instead killed her and threw her body into the river.
The young nun who had been following her all along was afraid that Xie Marquis would silence her, so she didn't leave with Xu Wenrong. She was more afraid of not knowing how she would die once she left the capital.
So, she falsely claimed that she had informed a friendly bookseller about the incident. If anything were to happen to her, the bookseller would write a book exposing Xie Marquis's role in hiring someone to commit murder.
Xie Marquis was always cautious, preferring to believe that there was something rather than nothing, so he kept the young nun well-fed and treated in the Xie Residence.
After half a year of keeping her, there was no word of this matter outside. They thought that a simple old woman from the countryside couldn't cause much trouble, and so they let their guard down.
The young nun boldly walked to the theater to listen to gossip, and she was immediately recognized by the Imperial Guards who were investigating the case. They took her into custody without delay.
Li Wenjian's expression seemed bewildered.
"Your Highness?" Jian Ning saw him lost in thought and called out again.
Li Wenjian looked up, puzzled, and glanced at Jianning.
He asked again, "Should we go to the Jingyuan Palace now to take the person?"
After a moment of silence, Li Wenjian said, "No need."
Since it involved Zhao Heng's grandmother, she should be the one to decide how to handle it.
Zhao Heng stood by the window, the damp night breeze gently ruffling her hair, revealing her slightly pale cheeks.
A palace maid outside called, "Your Highness."
Hearing the voice, Zhao Heng lifted her skirt and walked out to meet the maid.
The sound of rain outside beat urgently on the roof tiles, sounding like fragmented jade beads falling to the ground. The man in front of her seemed to be lost in mist.
Zhao Heng's heart skipped a beat.
Li Wenjian glanced at a small handful of long flat leaves and a half-woven grasshopper placed on the windowsill.
"What's this?" Li Wenjian curiously asked.
A smile played at Zhao Heng's lips as she replied softly, "It's a grasshopper I promised to weave for Xiao Ba."
She looked at herself with a gentle expression, her usual tender features now resembling a forced smile.
Knowing how clever Ah Heng was, she must have realized the significance of Concubine An sending pastries and was able to investigate the pastries and spices from the Eastern Palace to the Imperial Hospital.
"How did you weave this? Teach me." Li Wenjian walked over and spoke warmly.
Zhao Heng was taken aback, completely stunned.
"Why is Your Highness learning this?" she asked.
Li Wenjian looked down at her, his gaze soft, a hint of a smile on his lips. "It looks interesting, so I want to learn."
"Do you not want to?" Li Wenjian asked again.
Lowering her eyelids, Zhao Heng smiled and picked up a blade of grass, playing with it on the windowsill. She said, "I just didn't expect Your Highness to have such a leisurely hobby."
Li Wenjian wrapped his arms around her from behind, lifting the delicate woman and placing her on the windowsill. Resting his chin on her head, he said, "When I was a child, my father used to weave little toys for me. If I don't know any handicrafts, how can I be a good father in the future?"
The two were close, and Zhao Heng could feel his body tense.
She pressed her head against his chest, her movements pausing slightly before speaking, "If Your Highness doesn't mind, I can help you."
Her fingers trembled slightly, even causing the grasshopper to lose balance.
"Not bad," Li Wenjian chuckled and glanced at her. Whether it was a father or a mother cooing a child, the effect was the same.
Zhao Heng nodded.
"Ah Heng." Li Wenjian suddenly called her name.
Turning her head, Zhaoxing looked at him, "Yes?"
Li Wenjian picked up the grasshopper from beside her and placed it on the windowsill, then gently lifted her shoulder and held her in his arms, placing her on the windowsill.
Looking down at him, Zhao Heng blinked with confusion, "What's going on?"
The tassel from her hairpin gently swayed and tangled in her hair.
Li Wenjian reached up to adjust it for her, the sound of the tassel clinking against his fingertips.
They were so close that Zhao Heng could almost smell the faint fragrance emanating from his body.
"Do you need my help?" Li Wenjian inquired.
Gazing at his serious expression, Zhao Heng raised her hand to touch the tassel in her hair, finding that it was already in place. She softly said, "It's already neat."
"Is there anything else you need my help with?" Li Wenjian asked again.
Lowering her head, Zhao Heng met his eyes.
From being completely clueless moments ago, she suddenly understood everything now.
The grasshopper beside her had fallen to the ground.
Her guess was correct.
Unless it was a done deal, if there wasn't really something wrong with Concubine An, His Highness wouldn't have asked her that question tonight.
Li Wenjian crouched low, scooping the grasshopper into his grasp. "Whenever you need me," he murmured, his voice a low rumble, "I'll always be here."
Zhao Heng stared back, her mind a blank canvas, momentarily stunned into silence.
Li Wenjian, wordless, reached out to brush a gentle touch across her cold hair. Then, with a quiet strength, he enfolded her once more in his embrace.
The night was an inky expanse, punctuated by the relentless patter of cold rain. The lanterns beneath the eaves swayed precariously, casting flickering shadows that danced across the scene.
After a long time, Zhao Heng finally raised her arm to hold his waist and said, "It's okay, Your Highness, you don't need to worry about this matter."
Zhao Heng let go of her embrace, creating some distance between them. They were so close that Li Wenjian only needed to lift his gaze slightly to see that her eyes were a bit moist.
She sniffed and said, "Concubine An harmed my grandmother. Are you feeling sad again, thinking that it's your fault that she's like this?"
"Your Highness, don't be sad," she said. "We did nothing wrong. She is the one at fault."
"The Emperor's health is failing, the Eastern Palace is in crisis, and if you were to publicly punish Concubine An, who knows what kind of trouble it might stir up." Zhao Heng held his face in her hands. "You focus on your tasks, don't worry about me. I can handle this matter on my own."
The current situation in the Dongli, like the rising sun, faced numerous internal and external threats.
The Northern territories have not yet been reclaimed, foreign enemies lurk on the borders, and remnants of the previous dynasty are stirring.
This mysterious and treacherous sky hides countless dangers.
His kind heart, meant for the world and its people, should not be consumed by these troubles.
After a long silence, Li Wenjian nodded with a faint smile on his face. "I am not sad, I just feel sorry for you."
Her life has been too bitter, coming from the eternal darkness, filled with thorns and bloodshed.
Zhao Heng looked at him and after a moment, lowered her head slowly, her eyes like raven feathers, tightly holding onto him.
*
The next morning, Zhao Heng woke up early. When she got up, Li Wenjian had already gone to court. After getting ready, she took Lian Zhou to the Beast Garden.
One of Yueli's rabbits was about to give birth, and she squatted by the cage to take care of the pregnant rabbit.
Zhao Heng helped her with the tasks.
"Have you figured everything out?" Yueli asked.
Zhao Heng nodded silently.
Yueli turned around. "What do you plan to do?"
"Make her pay with her life," Zhao Heng's eyes turned cold, revealing her determination.
Zhao Heng has always been a gentle person. In the past, she had to be cautious to survive, and later, she was influenced by Li Wenjian's love and tolerance.
Even when someone offended her, she rarely held a grudge. For example, in the past, with Aunt Chen, she had many opportunities to silently end her life; and later with Wei Wanyu, she could have let Ruo Zhen kill her.
But she didn't. She knew how hard it was to live and didn't easily resort to killing.
However, that didn't mean she didn't have the courage to do so.
The Crown Prince also said that gentleness should have a sharp edge, and one should not be lenient towards those with cruel hearts.
At that moment, she could feel the rush of blood in her veins, urging her to kill Concubine An.
An eye for an eye, a life for a life.
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Author's note:
Li Gouzi: I just peeked at mom's outline in her skull, and she's already made our bed (rubbing hands)
Ah Heng: Ugh!