“She has suffered so many losses and made so many mistakes in the past, but I have never seen her reflect on them properly even once.” Zhang Yu crossed his arms, thinking of all the troubles Zhang Xin had caused, and his face darkened again.
When Zhang Xin was born, Zhang Yu was only seven years old. It was the first time he had ever seen such a tiny baby, so small that everything around her was tiny. That strange feeling remained in Zhang Yu's heart.
He could say he watched Zhang Xin grow up, and since she has no children of her own, his feelings for her are naturally different. Even when he's angry, he's never truly willing to let Zhang Xin suffer. Besides, Zhang Xin is a princess, pampered by the Empress Dowager and indulged by His Majesty the Emperor; who would dare to truly upset her?
Ah Hao thought that perhaps it was because the little princess was always punished in the past, and each punishment was only mild, that she had become like this. Although the little princess knew she was wrong, she was always punished by His Majesty. After being punished, the guilt in her heart would disappear.
Over time, one might subconsciously feel that as long as one does something wrong, gets punished, endures a few days, behaves well for a while, and appeases the Empress Dowager or the Emperor, everything will be fine. Repeating this cycle doesn't constitute learning a lesson.
“Usually, if the little princess displeases His Majesty, His Majesty will punish her, either by confining her to her quarters or making her copy Buddhist scriptures. This time, why don’t you not punish her? You only have to keep a stern face, and the little princess is too scared to speak easily, let alone what she said.”
Ah Hao spoke slowly and gently to Zhang Yu, "Your Majesty... perhaps you shouldn't punish the little princess this time? If you don't mention punishment, the princess might be even more frightened."
"Let's give her the cold shoulder for a few days and then see," Zhang Yu said calmly.
...
After waiting for over an hour, Ling Xiao and Prince Ning finally returned. Zhang Xin and Xia Mingzhe, who had been standing outside the carriage the entire time without resting, went to greet them upon seeing them. Hearing that they had returned, Zhang Yufang led Song Shuhao down from the carriage. Ling Xiao and Prince Ning both looked relaxed, seemingly having gained something. Ahao stood beside Zhang Yufang, not going over, but instead asking, "Is there good news?"
Ling Xiao had already considered how to explain it in his mind. When he heard A-Hao's question, he nodded and said, "The reason why those guards behaved strangely was probably because they were hallucinating. It is rare to see such a large field of these flowers. The flowers are beautiful and fragrant, but they have a hallucinogenic effect. The reason why Her Highness the Princess and Lord Xia were unharmed is because they did not go near that flower field."
“This servant remembers hearing some rumors about Jiutuo Mountain from Prince Ning on the way here, which are probably all related to this. Being deep in the mountains, seeing such a beautiful flower field, if there were only two or three people traveling together, they would probably forget the danger for a moment. It is very rare and commendable that Lord Xia is so cautious. Even if someone in the group is careful, there will inevitably be someone who acts impulsively. Once something happens, they will be completely unaware of the danger and rashly try to save someone, which could easily be dangerous.”
"Even if someone escapes, if they have already been infected, they may still live in their own delusions, making up all sorts of nonsense stories, which will then circulate for a while and become who knows what. This may explain why, even though many people are afraid to approach Jiutuo Mountain for fear of losing their lives, other rumors still circulate. The story that Her Highness the Little Princess heard is probably just hearsay and a case of 'three men make a tiger.'"
"However, this herb has remarkable medicinal effects and is a rare treasure. I've taken a few plants to take back and study them carefully. But once we know what happened, they'll all be saved." Ling Xiao didn't elaborate on its uses. Prince Ning had initially thought it was for curing those people or for needing this herb, but it turned out not.
After Ling Xiao finished explaining, Zhang Xin seemed to understand, but she knew that she had stumbled upon a mystery by accident, and what she was looking for didn't actually exist. There were no mountain demons or snake spirits on Jiutuo Mountain, nor were there any flowers or plants that granted wishes; instead, there were all sorts of insects and countless lurking dangers. Zhang Xin looked up at the back of Xia Mingzhe's head, thinking about how she had tricked him into coming with her, and then about how he had protected her, and subconsciously bit her lip.
Prince Ning, who had accompanied them, did not question Ling Xiao's words, and Zhang Yu said nothing, so everyone believed Ling Xiao's words. By this time, they had figured out why Zhang Xin, Xia Mingzhe, and the others were unharmed and why the guards were unusually protective, so the group returned to the palace by carriage.
On the way back to the palace, Prince Ning squeezed into the carriage Ling Xiao had been riding in, bombarding her with questions. He was curious about how Ling Xiao planned to study the flowers and plants, how she had come up with the idea of making that face-wearing contraption, and how much she knew. What others couldn't understand, she could understand with a single glance. While he had previously thought Ling Xiao's medical skills were good, what he saw today made him realize she was even more skilled than he had imagined.
Ling Xiao found it annoying that Prince Ning kept nagging beside him, and he kept asking different questions, as if he had a book of 100,000 whys in his head, and he was always just giving perfunctory answers.
Prince Ning, holding up his mask, asked, "Why did you think of doing this?"
Ling Xiao answered without even looking at the question, "Because I'm clever!"
Prince Ning pointed to the medicine chest and asked, "Why do you recognize this flower?"
Ling Xiao answered without looking up, "Because I am learned!"
Prince Ning nodded several times and asked, "Why did you..."
Ling Xiao answered without hesitation, "Because I'm very talented!"
Prince Ning: "..." He chuckled twice, then asked Ling Xiao, "Can the people in the Imperial Hospital recognize this thing?"
Ling Xiao thought about it carefully before answering him, "If they are as witty, knowledgeable and talented as I am, they will definitely recognize me."
Prince Ning: "..."
Ling Xiao was finally able to have some peace and quiet, and he felt very satisfied.
·
As expected, Zhang Yu didn't speak to Zhang Xin again. On the way back to the palace, Zhang Xin wondered what kind of punishment she would receive, but nothing happened upon arrival. Zhang Yu simply didn't speak to her or even look at her, as if he had no intention of paying her any attention anymore, letting her do whatever she wanted. Zhang Xin felt panicked, but knowing she had done something wrong, she stayed in Yongle Palace, not going anywhere, and prepared a new birthday gift for Zhang Yu.
Seven days passed, and Zhang Yu remained unchanged. Zhang Xin, not daring to go to Xuanzhi Hall to see him, grew increasingly panicked and unsure of what to do. Later, she heard that Zhang Yu had gone to Changning Palace to pay his respects to Empress Dowager Feng. Even when Empress Dowager Feng mentioned her, Zhang Yu remained silent. Zhang Xin was utterly terrified, realizing that this time was far more serious than any before. She tearfully sought out Song Shuhao, hoping to find out from her why Zhang Yu was ignoring her.
"His Majesty has been angry about the little princess's trip to Jiutuo Mountain last time."
Ahao led Zhang Xin to sit down, took a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and spoke to her softly, "Your Highness wanted to prepare a special birthday gift for His Majesty. His Majesty naturally knows this sincerity and understands that it comes from Your Highness's good intentions. However, if good intentions lead to bad outcomes, can they still be considered good intentions? You must also be very clear about His Majesty's love for you. Although His Majesty has punished you in the past, he has never made Your Highness truly suffer."
“That time you wanted to go on the winter hunt, His Majesty initially seemed to disagree, but in the end he took you along anyway, didn’t he? His Majesty truly cherishes Your Highness. This time, His Majesty feels very guilty and says he doesn’t know what to do with you. Perhaps that’s why he treats Your Highness this way.”
"Lord Xia accompanied you, and His Majesty was equally angry. Knowing there was danger involved, he didn't stop you but instead... Lord Xia is a minister His Majesty values highly, and should be the most discreet, do you understand?"
Zhang Xin stared blankly at Ahao, tears streaming down her face again, and asked, "Is Emperor Brother really feeling guilty?"
Ahao nodded, and Zhang Xin's eyes immediately filled with tears. "I was the one who did something wrong, but my brother the emperor didn't punish me. Instead, he blamed himself. Doesn't that make me a sinner? I shouldn't have asked Xiazi to come with me... He's a trusted minister, yet he had to go along with my foolishness..."
She fell silent as she spoke, sat there blankly for a long time, and then returned to Yongle Palace.
After seeing Zhang Xin off, Ahao went inside the palace to relay Zhang Xin's words to Zhang Yu, who was reviewing memorials. Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu asked her what she had said to Zhang Xin. Ahao honestly recounted it to him, and Zhang Yu laughed, "Isn't she angry and remorseful? I'm already like this, why don't you try to cheer me up?"
Although Zhang Yu was angry, it was only at the very beginning, and he didn't feel guilty at all. It was just that Ahao deliberately exaggerated it in front of Zhang Xin. But Zhang Yu used this to curry favor with Ahao. Faced with his shamelessness, Ahao just smiled and replied, "It is clear that Your Majesty is indeed as Your Majesty said, that this servant is extremely foolish."
Having failed to gain the upper hand over Ahao and instead been outmaneuvered, Zhang Yu lowered his head to look at the unfolded memorial, and after a while said, "You certainly hold a grudge."
·
After the fire at Bixiao Palace, the other concubines never saw Xie Lanyan again, and those who wanted to visit her were turned away at the door. Later, for some reason, Xie Zhaoyi's appearance was disfigured by the fire, which is why imperial physicians used to go to Wushuang Hall of Bixiao Palace every day for a while, but later they could not see anyone, not even His Majesty the Emperor.
Little did they know that the imperial physicians had been visiting the Wushuang Palace every day to treat and treat the wounds of Haitang and Qingtao, who were covered in bruises from severe torture. The method they used to force them to reveal Xie Lanyan's whereabouts was ruthless, causing them immense suffering without a clear cause for death.
Zhao Jian fled back to his fiefdom and immediately reorganized his army. Soon after, the Great Qi Dynasty was plunged into internal strife, with very few followers. Nie Zhiyuan received Zhang Yu's orders and rushed to Ningyao County, successfully borrowing troops from Prince Rong.
When Zhao Jian and his remaining followers caused internal strife, they immediately led a counterattack, keeping the situation under control with minimal impact and preventing significant harm to the people.
However, when the city fell, Zhao Jian, who should have been inside, was nowhere to be found. Sending men to pursue him at this point was ultimately a poor strategy. Later, Nie Zhiyuan learned from Zhao Jian's surrendered subordinate, Yi Yu, that Zhao Jian had already fled with a group of men and had no intention of fighting.
It seemed that this internal strife was merely a pretext, and no one knew where Zhao Jian had actually fled to. He encrypted the information he had and urgently sent it back to Lin'an, leaving behind the task of reorganizing and incorporating the troops that had originally belonged to Zhao Jian's command.
Nie Zhiyuan received another secret letter from Zhang Yu, in which he said that he would return to Lin'an after he had reorganized the army, and that Zhao Jian would be taken care of. He himself was in charge of suppressing the internal rebellion and had no clue where Zhao Jian had fled, yet the emperor, thousands of miles away, seemed to have everything under control. Nie Zhiyuan was both surprised and amazed, even a little suspicious. But the order had been given, and he had no choice but to obey.
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