The Lonely City Closed

Chapter 58

He was probably thinking of the time I was punished for breaking a taboo. I bowed to him again to express my gratitude, smiling, feeling deeply thankful.

That year, Ren Shouzhong had just been promoted and was particularly harsh on his subordinates. He seized upon the fact that I did not avoid using the emperor's name and intended to kill me as an example to others. Later, with the help of Mr. Zhang, the empress spoke to the emperor, and I was pardoned. Later, I became a palace attendant and often saw the emperor and empress. They mentioned this matter before, but always in a lighthearted and joking manner. The current emperor has always been kind-hearted and would not truly punish someone for this. He treated Hu Yuan the same way today; what the world considers a serious crime, he simply laughed off.

I stood up straight and continued listening to the lecture. About half an hour later, Hu Yuan closed her book and took a short rest. The Emperor then bestowed tea upon the lecturer, officials, and students, and specially took a cup, gesturing for me to offer it to the princess. I took it and returned behind the imperial screen, but the princess was nowhere to be seen.

"The princess has gone back to the inner palace to change her clothes," Jiaqingzi, who was waiting behind the screen, told me.

I felt a little uneasy and asked her, "Did the princess go out alone?"

Jiaqingzi replied, "I took Yunguo and Xiangyuanzi with me."

I put down my tea and went around to the outside of the hall to check—Cao Ping was indeed no longer there.

I hurried to the back hall, but did not find the princess there. I continued to rush through the Imperial Academy buildings to look for her.

At this time, even the servants responsible for sweeping were standing outside the lecture hall listening to the lecture. The courtyard was empty and very quiet, and there was no one to ask questions. It wasn't until they reached the library hidden in the bamboo grove that they finally saw Yun Guo'er and Xiang Yuanzi.

They were playing with coins by the flowerbed outside the library. When they saw me coming, they immediately stood up straight, probably frightened by my expression. They timidly called out, "Mr. Liang."

"Where is the princess?" I asked them.

They hesitated, then the last one turned to look into the courtyard, and one whispered, "The princess is reading inside..."

I walked into the courtyard. The door to the main hall of the house was ajar. After thinking for a long time, I finally stepped inside slowly.

The main hall had no books, but there were long, narrow rooms on both sides, filled with rows of bookshelves. The light was dim, and the bookshelves obscured the view, so the princess was nowhere to be seen.

I listened intently and faintly heard a soft sound coming from the room on the left, so I quietly walked towards that side.

As I moved, the rows of bookshelves slowly receded from my side, the air filled with the scent of old ink from faded paper. A few patches of light streamed into the room through the orderly rows of small windows, and I walked among them, letting the scattered light brush across my face. My mood, like my vision at that moment, flickered between light and shadow.

Later, I saw them, a girl in a blue robe and a scholar in white, standing at the deepest part of the room, unfurling a horizontal scroll, each holding one end, the scroll just covering their faces, as if they were reading it together.

But it's a real shame they weren't very diligent students. Their hands were trembling, so much so that the scrolls slid down, slowly revealing their faces.

They turned their heads to each other, closed their eyes, smiled, and gently touched their lips together, their hands, which were not holding hands, intertwined around each other's waists.

I wasn't as surprised as I had been years ago when I stumbled upon what happened in Rouyi Palace. My suspicions had been settled, and I felt a sense of peace again. However, I was momentarily at a loss, standing silently in the space they had ignored, until I finally felt a slight chill on my sleeves.

Finally, I decided to leave quietly. But as soon as I turned around, I realized how serious the consequences of the princess and Cao Ping's willfulness today would be.

Two people stood silently behind me—the stern-faced Emperor of the Song Dynasty and Zhang Maoze, who was attending to him.

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) Falling Flowers and Wind Play with Clear Autumn Rain 49. Lonely and Cold

Chapter word count: 3812 Update time: 08-08-21 16:20

49. Stingy and miserly

Why are they here? Did they overhear my conversation with Jiaqingzi behind the screen, or did my unusual behavior of rushing out just now arouse their suspicion?

These questions flashed through my mind, but I didn't have time to think about them in detail. I knelt down before him, casting pleading glances my way, but not for myself.

The Emperor ignored me completely, strode past me, and suddenly snatched the scroll from the princess and Cao Ping's hands. With a flick of his wrist, he slammed it onto a bookshelf with a "thud," and the scroll fell heavily to the ground. The sound was particularly startling in this originally dark and quiet library.

The sudden incident caused the young couple to pause in surprise for a moment, but Cao Ping quickly recovered. He knelt down before the Emperor, cupped his hands, and said, "Uncle, what happened today was my fault and has nothing to do with the Princess. I am willing to accept any punishment, but please do not punish the Princess."

The princess took two steps forward, then knelt down, intentionally or unintentionally shielding Cao Ping from view, and said to her father, "Father, it has nothing to do with him. It was I who invited him out."

"You asked him out?" the Emperor asked coldly. "How did you arrange it?" He turned to look at me and asked again, "Was it you?"

Before I could speak, Mr. Zhang defended me from the side: "Your Majesty, if Huaiji had acted as a matchmaker for the princess, he wouldn't have looked so anxious when he went out to look for her just now."

The princess also spoke up to protect me: "It has nothing to do with Huaiji; he knew nothing about this."

The Emperor didn't seem to want to focus his attention on me either. He frowned slightly, pursed his lips, and his cold gaze returned to Cao Ping's face.

I noticed that his ears were completely red—this is what happens when he is extremely angry.

“Maoze,” he stared at Cao Ping and ordered Mr. Zhang in a suppressed, low voice, “Go out and find two people from the Imperial City Guard to come in.”

His intention was to summon the Imperial Guards and have Cao Ping arrested and punished.

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable!" I bowed to him and pleaded, "Do not let any outsiders in, or the princess's reputation will be ruined."

Mr. Zhang also bowed to him and advised, “Your Majesty, the two chief ministers and all the civil officials are currently in the Imperial Academy. If you suddenly summon people from the Imperial City Guard to the palace, the officials will surely ask for the reason. If this matter is spread, it will surely cause controversy. The censors and remonstrators will rise up to impeach and hold those responsible accountable. In the future, it may not only affect the princess and the young master Cao.”

The emperor remained noncommittal, but his chest rose and fell noticeably and slowly, as if he were adjusting his breathing and trying his best to avoid an outburst of anger.

Seeing this, Mr. Zhang softly suggested, "Now, Master Hu should continue his sermon. Your Majesty, please return to the lecture hall. If you leave your seat for too long, people will be looking for you."

The Emperor remained silent for a moment before finally speaking to Cao Ping: "I am not punishing you now because I have not yet thought of any punishment that would be sufficient to punish your sins... You should take care of yourself."

“Yes…” Cao Ping managed a weak smile and bowed, “Thank you, Uncle.”

The current emperor had always treated the Cao clan well, even allowing Cao Ping and others to treat him with the respect due to family members in private, addressing him as "uncle." But now, hearing Cao Ping address him in this way again stirred up different emotions in him.

"Uncle?" he sneered, then turned to ask Mr. Zhang, "Does she know about this?"

Mr. Zhang was taken aback and immediately bowed: "Your Majesty, the Empress knows nothing about this matter."

At this delicate moment, Mr. Zhang's swift reply seemed rather unwise. The Emperor's gaze grew colder as he questioned him, "Do you still see her every day? To the point that you know everything about her—what she doesn't know, what she says, and what she thinks?"

Mr. Zhang dared not answer any further and remained silent.

After giving the kneeling crowd another cold glance, the Emperor turned and left.