"Nonsense," the Empress Dowager interrupted him in a low voice, "How could a child die?"
Jiang Yuan stared intently at Li Jing, his eyes timid. He met her gaze briefly before quickly looking away, and she was momentarily stunned by his look.
"Your Majesty, am I going to die?" The sickly boy had eyes that were like a clear spring, but they were completely black, devoid of any light, and he could not see anything.
"What, Song Yansi said he wanted to kill you?" She heard her own voice.
"No, but I know I've lived long enough. My father and mother have long since passed away, and I'm all grown up now."
"What a coincidence, my father and brother are also dead." That night, Jiang Yuan met him at Guanyun Pavilion. He was accompanied only by a small eunuch to monitor his movements. She kept drinking wine, and behind her, a row of maids knelt on the ground. She said, "I am not dead."
She suddenly opened the door and stepped unsteadily to the railing. Turning around, she saw the terrified eyes of countless maids and eunuchs, but he alone remained calm and quiet, his eyes so clear that she wanted to cry. She asked, "Will you come to find me?"
"Yes, I will. You'll even make me grasshoppers then."
"Okay." Then she tilted her head back and drank the Guiwan wine in one gulp. The wine glass fell to the ground. She looked at everyone and screamed. She frantically pushed Li Jing away and pounced on her.
That year, Xie Jiayan entered the Yuanluan Palace. Exhausted from her battles, she somehow ended up in the Cold Palace, where she encountered the blind Li Jing in a corner. She couldn't understand why Song Yanji, a man who always eliminated his enemies, would suddenly soften and let him go. So, she inexplicably approached him, wove a grasshopper, and handed it to him, saying, "What a pitiful man. Let's rely on each other in the palace."
Jiang Yuan ultimately failed to keep her promise. His eyes were so clear, yet what remained in his mind was her leap from Guanyun Pavilion that night.
“I can find a way to get him out of here.” Jiang Yuan sat on the side of the bed and reached out to rub Li Jing’s head, but he turned his head away. She turned to look at the Empress Dowager, “But I can’t save you.”
"Thank you, Madam." The light in the Empress Dowager's eyes gradually ignited, and she smiled through her tears. "From the day I entered the palace, I never thought I would leave alive."
“I only brought one maid with me today,” Jiang Yuan suddenly said, looking at her.
Empress Dowager Cixi was stunned for a long time. Her lips trembled slightly, and tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her face. The thick clothes covering her thin body made her look even more frail. "I will repay your great kindness in my next life."
The carriage traveled along the cobblestone streets. Zhang Xiang held the unconscious Li Jing, her whole body trembling. Her young mistress had gone to the palace and somehow managed to steal away the emperor without anyone noticing.
“Bi Fan can’t hide anything on her face.” Jiang Yuan reassured Zhang Xiang. She was very quick this time, so they wouldn’t suspect anything for a while. “If you don’t say anything, if I don’t say anything, if Feng doesn’t say anything, no one will know.”
At that time, she would let Fengdu find a good family to raise him, so that he could grow up peacefully among the common people. This would be the only thing she could do for him in her life.
“Miss.” Bao Yun was with Xie Jiayan picking out rouge in the Xuanse Pavilion when she suddenly saw the familiar carriage curtain markings: “The Lady of the Marquis’s carriage.”
"Where did she go?" Xie Jiayan turned her head and saw a blue curtain flash by. She took a few steps forward and watched the carriage disappear into the distance from the high pavilion. "Feiyu, follow her, but don't let anyone see you!"
Fei Yu was personally handed to her by Xie Shengping, who said, "Wait a little longer." Xie Jiayan thought for a long time but still couldn't understand what her father wanted her to wait for. However, although she was puzzled, she had to admit that the people under Xie Taifu's command were very useful and efficient.
"You said there was a man holding a child?" That evening, Xie Jiayan frowned deeply upon hearing the news Fei Yu brought. "What child?"
"I don't know, I dared not get too close." Fei Yu was a master, and so was that man. In order to avoid being discovered, they had to keep their distance. "However, he went into a sparsely populated village, and when he came out, the child was gone."
"This is interesting." Xie Jiayan's eyes darted around, then he slammed his hand on the table. "There's definitely something fishy going on here. Go and investigate!"
"Yes." Fei Yu was about to leave when she seemed to remember something and added, "Miss, when I was chasing the carriage, someone was following me."
"How much?" Xie Jiayan frowned. If she hadn't suddenly decided to send Feiyu, she would never have noticed.
"Alone." That's what he sensed.
"I see." Xie Jiayan rested her chin on her hand, looking charming and coquettish. "Then don't bother investigating. Go and get the child out. If you can't, kill him!" Jiang Yuan went to so much trouble to keep it from everyone, clearly the child was someone she couldn't bear to kill, hence the elaborate scheme. And now, besides the Marquis of Anguo's mansion, who else could be with her? She received the message, and the other party naturally received it too. She suddenly felt a surge of curiosity about the child.
Jinxiu lowered her head and glanced quickly at Baoyun. Baoyun hadn't expected that her loose tongue would lead to this result, and wished she could swallow her words back immediately.
"Yes, sir." Fei Yu bowed and disappeared outside the door.
“I really hate that woman.” Xie Jiayan’s lips parted slightly as she sat facing the mirror, touching the pearl hairpin in her hair. “That all-knowing look of hers always makes me feel ridiculous in her eyes.”
Author's Note: With the previous generation's story settled, now it's time to untangle the knot between A-Yuan and Xiao-Song... Uh... it's a happy ending. Speaking of which, I'm currently obsessed with a new Japanese drama, "Ten Women in the Dark," a story of love and hate between a man and nine mistresses... Why is it called "Ten Women"? Because he has a wife...
Chapter 72 Drizzling Rain and Flowing Light
"Madam, Fengdu is back." Bifan rushed into the courtyard with small, quick steps.
Jiang Yuan paced anxiously in the room. Hearing Bi Fan's voice, she quickly pushed open the door and went out. She walked hurriedly and went to greet Feng Du when she saw him in the distance. "How is it?"
"The person is gone." Fengdu thought he was fast, but he was still a step too late.
"Explain yourself." What do you mean by "the person is gone"? Jiang Yuan felt uneasy after receiving Zuo Shuang's message. She never expected to run into Xie Jiayan.
"There were no signs of fighting or struggle; the child and the couple seemed to have vanished into thin air."
Jiang Yuan's heart, which had been half-hearted, suddenly settled down. If it were Xie Jiayan, based on her years of understanding of her, she would definitely let her see it with her own eyes. She would never let someone disappear so silently. As for who it was... her eyes shone with light, and her brows furrowed slightly. "Perhaps it's a good thing for that child."
"Sir, it's been disposed of." The man looked at the corpse lying beside him, kicked it, and said coldly.
The child's body was tiny, but his eyes remained wide open until death, and his twisted hands held a half-eaten sweet potato.
"How is Yan'er doing?" Xie Shengping glanced at her, then turned his face away.
"Flying Feather followed the master's instructions and said that the person had disappeared." The man thought about the information Flying Feather had given him before, and then added after a moment, "But Miss was furious and smashed the whole house up again."
"This girl, relying on her cleverness, is too willful and reckless. In the end, her temperament can't compare to her sister's." Xie Shengping's fingertips rubbed the purse hanging from his waist, which was slightly white. His eyes were fixed on the blooming plum blossoms on it, and a rare touch of warmth appeared in them. "It's a pity that my Yanyan left too early."
"We arrived around the same time as the Grand Marshal's men, but for some reason, they thoroughly dealt with that pair of people." The man said with some doubt, "They obviously didn't seem to be going to rescue anyone."
“How could Song Yansi possibly save him? He has seen what I’ve done these past few days. If he wanted to take action, why wait until now? I just don’t understand why Madam Song would intervene. It’s fortunate that Yan’er accidentally stumbled upon it, otherwise the little emperor would have really escaped. Tsk tsk tsk… what a pity.” Xie Shengping loosened his purse, squatted down, and pinched Li Jing’s already stiff face. “You died comfortably, but you caused me a lot of trouble.”
In the third year of the Yuan Shi era, during a period of severe drought, a fire suddenly broke out in the Di'an Palace. The Empress Dowager, along with the young emperor and dozens of eunuchs and maids, were trapped and died inside the palace. The Grand Marshal happened to be in the palace preparing for the next day's court meeting. He rushed to the rescue and bravely entered the burning palace, sustaining serious injuries. However, he did not expect the fire to be so intense and was ultimately too late.
The news of Song Yanji's injury came from the palace in the middle of the night. After she left, the Empress Dowager chose the most difficult way to identify her identity. As for where the child who impersonated Li Jing came from, Jiang Yuan had no way of knowing.
Jiang Yuan wasn't surprised when the fire broke out at Di'an Hall afterward, but she never expected Song Yansi to be injured. Her heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly dragged Fifth Master out of his small medicine hut.
As it happened, they ran into Song Yanji, who had just returned to the manor, and the three of them stared at each other blankly. Fifth Master was so angry he wanted to devour Jiang Yuan; his beard bristled, and he pointed at the freely moving Song Yanji, shouting at Jiang Yuan, "Is this what you meant by 'almost dead'?"
Jiang Yuan greatly admired Fifth Master's habit of exaggerating everything, so she could only weakly retort, "When did I ever say that? I clearly said serious injury."
"This is considered a serious injury?" Fifth Master strode over to Song Yanji, took his pulse, and exclaimed, "He's perfectly capable of fighting on the battlefield now!"
After saying that, Fifth Master angrily carried his small medicine box and walked past Jiang Yuan to return to the medicine shop. Before leaving, he did not forget to glare at Song Yanji. Seeing Jiang Yuan's expression, Bi Fan had no choice but to follow him.
"What happened!" Jiang Yuan frowned, but reached out to support Song Yanji's arm. Only after seeing that he was indeed unharmed did she feel relieved. "The news coming out of the palace is too shocking."
"We have to maintain appearances." Song Yanshi casually put his arm around Jiang Yuan's waist, pulled her closer to him, and laughed, "I want to go up there legitimately."
"The popular theories about the Way of Heaven were also your doing, weren't they?" Jiang Yuan's fingertips tapped on his dark robe, her delicate chin slightly raised.
First, he used her to expose Princess Jingwu, and on this basis, he proposed to reduce the power of the regional princes and restrain their influence. Then, he executed the maternal relatives and eliminated powerful families, and then forced the Prince of Liang to rebel. He used the drought to win over the hearts of the people, and at the same time promoted the idea that "the Southern Liang Dynasty is declining and a new ruler will be born."
Song Yanji's steps were both steady and precise.
"Thanks to A-Yuan." Song Yansi avoided Jiang Yuan's gaze, pulled her into his arms, rested his chin on her shoulder, and said in a calm voice.
“You are my husband, and of course I want you to be well.” Jiang Yuan stopped scrutinizing him, reached out and patted his back. Her almond-shaped eyes curved slightly as she smiled and brought up other matters with him, saying, “Yu’er hasn’t seen you for many days and keeps asking to see you.”
“Well, it just so happens that I am ‘seriously injured’ and can’t stay at home for long, so let’s not let Yu’er go looking for the teacher. Let him have a few days of peace.” Song Yansi gave Jiang Yuan a light kiss on the cheek and then held her tighter in his arms.
"You've become the good guy." Jiang Yuan was unhappy, shaking his arm and grumbling, "People say strict fathers and kind mothers, but I've become a strict mother."
As always, Song Yansi stayed home for the next few days. Jiang Yuan looked at Song Yansi, who was sitting on the couch in the room, flipping through a book, and said with a twitch in her eye, "I didn't know you were so lazy."
Upon hearing Jiang Yuan's voice, Song Yansi raised an eyebrow, casually tossed aside his book, patted the cool couch beside him, beckoned to Jiang Yuan, and smiled enigmatically, "A-Yuan, come and sit down."
Jiang Yuan hesitated for a moment before walking to the edge of the bed. She glanced at the bright, clear sky. "It's daytime," she said, still seemingly uneasy, clutching her handkerchief as she added, "During the mourning period..."
Before she could finish speaking, Song Yansi pulled her with one hand, and she fell into his arms. He lowered his head and kissed her chin. "A-Yuan, continue."
What else is there to say? Jiang Yuan blinked, and seeing that his kiss was about to land again, she quickly reached out to stop him, "The door isn't closed yet."
"Just for a moment." With that, Song Yansi lowered his head and kissed Jiang Yuan's lips, lingering there. Jiang Yuan's hands instinctively wrapped around his neck.
Knock knock knock—the sound of knocking came from the door, startling Jiang Yuan back to her senses. She turned and pushed him away.
"Father, Mother, is it convenient for your son to come in?" Song Chengyu didn't know when he had developed this habit.
"It's Yu'er." Upon hearing that her son had arrived, Jiang Yuan turned to Song Yansi, winked at him, and then looked towards the door with a gleam in her eyes. "Come in."
Despite being a woman in her mid-twenties, Song Yansi still found Jiang Yuan's appearance extremely adorable, and couldn't help but smile.
“Mother.” Cheng Yu was wearing a brocade robe embroidered with green bamboo patterns, and the jade pendant at his waist shone with a warm luster. In the past two years, Cheng Yu had grown taller and taller. He was no longer the chubby little dumpling he used to be. Now, he looked more like a handsome young master.
Song Yansi was very satisfied with his son, and the two tutors he hired, one for literature and one for martial arts, were among the best he could find. However, as Jiang Yuan watched Cheng Yu grow more and more mature at such a young age, she missed her son who used to be a tiny little thing nestled in her arms.
"Mother." Cheng Yu saw Jiang Yuan's expression and then saw Song Yansi raise his eyebrows. His eyes darted around and he put on a bright smile. He hugged his little robe and rubbed against Jiang Yuan with a playful grin. "Mother, I want to eat your Eight Treasure Cake."
"All you ever think about is eating." Jiang Yuan pinched his cheek, then let go after a moment. "I'll make some for you later."
"Mommy is the best." Cheng Yu pouted, adopting a childlike demeanor.
Sunlight streamed in, and the chirping of insects filled the courtyard, while inside the house, a warm and harmonious atmosphere prevailed.
Xu An glanced at the doorway, then quickly walked into the courtyard and greeted the doorway, "Master, Madam."
Song Yansi squinted and looked up. Cheng Yu glanced at Jiang Yuan and was about to speak when he saw his mother shake her head slightly. His voice caught in his throat, and he buried his head in Jiang Yuan's arms again.
"Come in and speak."
"Yes." Xu An didn't say much, quickly lowering his eyes. "As expected, there are now many eulogies presented in the palace, and even more people have presented the Golden Chest Scripture to the ancestral temple. The list includes twelve people, all of whom hold official titles."
"Let's keep waiting. Now that things have come to this, I want to see how long they can hold out." Song Yansi twirled the jade thumb ring on his thumb, his smile fading, his expression becoming calm.
Jiang Yuan held Cheng Yu in his arms, stroking Cheng Yu's robes as he listened. After Xu An left, he asked, "Are you sure you can handle this?"
Staying indoors for many days is definitely not a good thing at this time.
“It is true that I am not surnamed Li, but not all the people in the world are surnamed Li.” Song Yanji seemed unconcerned about Cheng Yu hearing this. “He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world.” After saying this, he reached out and rubbed his son’s head. “Yu’er, you must also remember that no matter what, there is no stronger support than the hearts of the people.”
"I understand, Yu'er." Cheng Yu nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
In July of the third year of the Yuan Shi era, the emperor's mourning lasted for more than a month. The Three Dukes acted as regents, but the country could not be without a ruler for a day. The Li family's descendants were not numerous, and the previous reduction of the power of the princes had further weakened the country.
Rumors of establishing a new ruler of a different surname arose among the common people, and officials petitioned for his appointment. The Grand Marshal, still recovering from his injuries, returned to court. However, the question of how to appoint a new ruler truly troubled many. The Grand Marshal's faction, from the local to the central government, unanimously recommended Song Yanji, while the Xie family remained silent, neither recommending nor opposing him. This action by Grand Tutor Xie puzzled many.
"The matter of re-establishing a monarch cannot be delayed any longer." The throne was empty, but all the officials were present today, including Jiang Zhongsi, who had always claimed to be ill. The central advisor resolutely spoke up, "A country cannot be without a monarch for even a day."
“The descendants of the Li family are certainly good, but with the people in such a state, choosing a member of the Li family again would likely cause a great deal of trouble. Moreover, the disaster will be over in a few months, and we must not make any more mistakes.” Zhang Jijiu added, “I recommend the Grand Marshal to act as regent. It is not too late to take over when a new candidate is found.”
"Your Majesty, I agree."
"I agree."
Grand Tutor Xie listened to the voices in the court, slightly stroking his beard, his expression inscrutable. He remained silent, and any dissenting opinions occasionally voiced by the Xie faction were immediately suppressed.
"This old minister has something to say, but I don't know if I should say it or not," Jiang Zhongsi sighed inwardly, and finally took a step forward.
Chapter 73 Taking its place