Robe blanche - Chapitre 164
Gan Lin sighed softly, turned and went back to his room, saying indifferently, "Let's think of a solution slowly."
The next day, Huangfu Xuan, under the pretext of visiting a sick person, came to my residence with a physician and accompanied by the Vice Minister of Rites. He was no longer the same man in his blue military uniform; beneath his purple robe and golden crown, he possessed an elegance and composure that rivaled any prince. One has to admire Yunshang's excellent judgment in the past.
Because I was going to meet guests, Ruosheng helped me tidy up a bit. Since I don't like to take care of myself properly, my complexion is actually quite good.
Once inside, the Vice Minister of Rites was waiting outside. The physician Huangfu Xuan had brought carefully took my pulse, saying he was the best physician in their palace. I smiled wryly. What does it matter how good the physician is? The sentiment is enough.
After a long silence, the old doctor, with his white hair and beard, shook his head heavily and said, "Your Highness, the poison that the Holy Maiden has been afflicted with is extremely deep, and I am powerless to help."
A hint of undisguised heartache flashed across Huangfu Xuan's face. I smiled at the old doctor and said, "Thank you for your hard work, sir. Please go and rest." Biyao, who was standing nearby, understood and led the old doctor away.
Only Gan Lin, Huangfu Xuan, Lin Zhao, and Ruosheng remained in the room.
Huangfu Xuan glanced at Ruosheng, hesitating to speak. In Qiuyang Valley, everyone was somewhat reserved and uncomfortable, and many things had not yet been said. Now, knowing that he had something to say, he said to Ruosheng, "Please keep watch outside for me. The Seventh Prince and the Prince of Luoyang are old acquaintances." Only then did Ruosheng close the door and wait outside.
Seeing Ruosheng leave, Huangfu Xuan then said, "Huai'en, do you want to know who assassinated Emperor Kangxuan and then framed you?"
I thought he wanted to catch up with me, but he told me this instead. I tensed up and nodded, saying, "Who framed me and ruined me like this? Of course I want to know." If I had just died, that would have been fine, but I'm still alive and have the chance to know the truth, so I won't pretend to be deaf and dumb.
Huangfu Xuan lowered his eyes and said, word by word, "Mu, Han, Yan".
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 142
Chapter word count: 3444 Update time: 09-09-23 15:56
"After being attacked and injured outside Caizhou City, Lin Zhao and I returned to Xixia. Later, because there were still things to finish, we went back to Youjing," Huangfu Xuan said, a hint of embarrassment on his face. He paused and continued, "Not long after, we learned that the young prince had returned safely to Dongjun. Then, in Xiangzhou, he confronted the third prince because of a woman. The woman was eventually taken back to the capital by the third prince. At that time, we guessed that the woman was you. We thought that since you were from the Qing Prince's Mansion, Emperor Kangxuan would definitely not let you go. We planned to rescue you, but the third prince protected you like an iron barrel, and we had no way to make a move."
"We followed you all the way to the Third Prince's residence, which was heavily guarded. Even after the Imperial Guards took you to the Heavenly Prison, we were powerless to stop them. Since some of our own people were also imprisoned by Emperor Kangxuan, we plotted a prison break. However, three days later, Emperor Kangxuan issued an edict to 'bestowing the second daughter of Marquis Qiyun, Mu Huai'en, as a concubine of the Second Prince, Shen Tingxuan.' Mu Huai'en, is that our Mo Huai'en?"
"The prison break plan is temporarily shelved. If Mo Huai'en of the Prince of Qing's mansion is the daughter of Marquis Qiyun, then we cannot intervene rashly and can only wait and see. On the day of the wedding, we mingled among the guests of the Second Prince's mansion and witnessed you taking out a dagger to stab Emperor Kangxuan during the ceremony. The sudden turn of events caught Emperor Kangxuan off guard, and he was injured. Seeing that your first stab had failed, you probably knew that you had lost the initiative, so you stopped fighting and took advantage of the chaos to escape from the Second Prince's mansion."
"At that time, we didn't notice that your martial arts had improved so much. We were afraid that you couldn't escape the city's search on your own, so we followed and escorted you all the way to safety. But when we saw you take off your mask, we realized that it wasn't you. The woman stopped and said to us, 'Miss Mu is really thoughtful. She was afraid that I would be captured, so she sent so many people to protect me. But I don't know if she really wants to protect me or kill me to silence me. A person who doesn't even spare her own sister is really quite terrifying. Go back and tell your young lady that I have done what she asked me to do. I have repaid her life-saving grace, and we will have nothing to do with each other again.' After saying that, the woman left. Her speed was beyond our reach."
"The bride at the wedding wasn't you. Mu Hanyan used someone else's identity to assassinate Emperor Kangxuan. Her intentions were truly vicious. So, the real you has probably already fallen victim to her. Thinking of this, I couldn't care less about chasing after that woman. I just led people around to search for your whereabouts. In the end, I learned that you had been poisoned by the Soul-Severing Pill and died in the arms of the Second Prince. Later, you were taken away by Zi Nuo and Gan Lin, who rushed over after hearing the news."
"Later, chaos erupted in Youjing. We rescued those imprisoned by Emperor Kangxuan and took advantage of the chaos to return to Western Xia. Western Xia had been biding its time for many years, hoping to emerge from that barren desert and let its people see the green mountains and clear waters, the blooming flowers and willows of the outside world. But unexpectedly, we encountered you again on our very first mission..."
Huangfu Xuan's words struck my heart like heavy blows. I had suspected Shen Zexuan and speculated about Emperor Kangxuan, but I never imagined that it was my sister Mu Hanyan, whom I had almost never met, who was behind it.
But... given Huangfu Xuan's current status, how much of what he's saying to me at this time is true and what is false? And what is his purpose?
Don't blame me for being suspicious. After all these years, I've simply lost the ability to believe what the truth really is. Everyone has so many secrets, so many things beyond their control. They are like that, and so am I.
But whatever their motives, they wouldn't harm me, would they? I convinced myself to believe that.
The conversation had gone on for too long, so Huangfu Xuan got up to take his leave. Lin Zhao followed him, but then came back and said, "Huai'en, Xuan and I both hope you get better. We hope that one day we can still be together, brewing tea with snow, playing cards and chatting."
"I haven't played cards for years." She looked up at Lin Zhao, her eyes blurry with tears. If I could, I would love to have those days again.
Lin Zhao's face showed a hint of sorrow. She whispered "Take care" and then followed Huangfu Xuan to her death.
When only Gan Lin and I were left in the room, I slumped wearily into a chair and murmured to Gan Lin, "Can we trust Huangfu Xuan's words?"
“Originally, I might have believed it, but when he specifically said it, it became less credible.”
"So, what does he want me to do by telling me all this?" Leaning back in the chair, feeling utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally.
In the afternoon, Shen Haoyu actually came too, and right next to him was Mr. Qi. I was overjoyed.
When I saw Shen Haoyu again, it had only been a little over a month since we parted. But that month felt longer than the past two years, because back then my heart was like still water, occasionally fluctuating, but now it was full of anticipation.
"Mr. Qi!" I greeted Mr. Qi first. Mr. Qi smiled faintly and said, "Huai'en is different again."
That "Huai'en" stirred up many memories, making me feel as warm as if it were family. It turns out that after all these years, I still considered many people in the Qing Prince's Mansion as family. My desire to return grew even stronger. There's still Master Jiang Ming in the Qing Prince's Mansion… Seeing him again, I realized I still have so many attachments.
Mr. Qi took my pulse, looked at the prescription I didn't like, and his expression was quite heavy. Shen Haoyu was also very nervous beside him.
“With my senior brother’s medicine, we can hold on for a while longer. There is no cure yet, so we can only try our best to suppress the poison and prevent it from recurring. Moreover—” Mr. Qi frowned and said, “the poison has been accumulating for too long, and the internal organs are all damaged. Even if the poison can be completely eliminated in the future, the body will be very weak.”
This was somewhat expected. However, since Mr. Immortal didn't say it before, Mr. Qi's words now are most likely meant for Shen Haoyu.
Shen Haoyu frowned, then looked at me with a determined gaze: "Even if there's only one day left, I won't give up."
I nodded with a smile, and Shen Haoyu smiled back. His knowing smile was like a warm ray of sunshine in winter, which boosted my confidence.
So, he can laugh like this too.
After Mr. Qi finished arranging the medical records and left, I selected some of Huangfu Xuan's words from earlier that day and told them to Shen Haoyu. However, I didn't tell him that Huangfu Xuan had said them to me; I only said that it was a speculation by several people. Shen Haoyu pondered for a while and then said, "Mu Hanyan, it might not be her."
I looked at Shen Haoyu, puzzled, waiting for his explanation.
"Do you remember when you were sent to a brothel?" Shen Haoyu asked.
I nodded. Does this have anything to do with her?
"My father misunderstood you back then. He only sent people to track down the person who kidnapped you, but he didn't send anyone to rescue you." At this point, Shen Haoyu coughed lightly, his eyes flickering slightly. I smiled and shook my head, signaling him to continue. I knew all that, and I understood it long ago. I didn't care anymore.
"The people who went there reported that those people went into the Second Prince's residence and never came out again," Shen Haoyu said. "We initially thought it was Shen Tingxuan who ordered it, but later, seeing how much Shen Tingxuan cared for you, why would he send you to such a place? Furthermore, we found out that after Mu Hanyan married Shen Tingxuan, many of the Qi Yun Marquis's influence in the capital was handed over to Mu Hanyan to help Shen Tingxuan. At that time, we didn't quite understand why she did that, but now we understand."
I shook my head and smiled bitterly. After listening to Shen Haoyu's words and thinking about it again, the method of sending me to a brothel seemed to be a common practice of jealous women. What could be more cruel than ruining someone's innocence?
But at that time, I wasn't very close to Shen Tingxuan, and Emperor Kangxuan's decree of marriage didn't come until a year later. Why did she treat me like this? That peerless woman, as graceful as clouds and water...
Leaving aside Mu Hanyan's matter for the time being, he said to Shen Haoyu, "King Jinque will not agree to your marriage proposal. At most, he may choose Luoyan instead."
“Father had already anticipated this,” Shen Haoyu said nonchalantly. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought Mr. Qi along.”
"You already have a plan?" I couldn't help but smile. If I had known this earlier, I wouldn't have had to rack my brains.