Song Shuhao's words weren't very logical, but Ling Xiao understood them and felt a sense of感慨 (a sense of deep emotion/reflection). Experiences truly have a profound impact on a person. Having witnessed what it means to be a lifelong couple, to have unwavering love and trust, one develops the purest expectations.
A man like the emperor, with countless women... how could he be a good man? His tendency to harm innocent people so readily is too much of a burden. But she wasn't involved, so she couldn't comment. Ling Xiao thought to herself, then heard A-Hao say, "Perhaps I'm too pessimistic, yet I never dare to have any expectations. Even though His Majesty treats me very well, it's still..."
She knew that Zhang Yu had shielded her from countless attacks, both overt and covert, but this exhausted him, and there were still times when he couldn't defend himself completely. She still had to live in constant fear for her life. Even though she tried hard to let her guard down, she ultimately couldn't.
Ling Xiao didn't know how to comfort her, so he just held A-Hao's hand. A-Hao smiled and said, "I'm fine. Thank you for listening to my rambling." Just then, the sound of palace servants seeing the emperor off could be heard outside the door. A-Hao's smile faltered for a moment and then disappeared.
...
After having breakfast and drinking herbal medicine, Ahao felt a little better. Feeling uncomfortable being cooped up in the room, and having already inquired and found no problems, Ahao decided to go for a walk outside. The young palace maid didn't stop her, but simply followed behind. Not wanting to make things difficult for them, and only wanting to stroll around the neighborhood, Ahao didn't say anything.
Just then, she saw palace servants carrying things out of the main hall of Xuanzhi Hall, and noticed that a young eunuch was carrying a scroll that looked familiar. Ah Hao went up to the young eunuch and called him over. After slightly unfolding a corner of the scroll, she realized that it was the embroidery she had given to Zhang Yu earlier. She heard that it was going to be burned, and she felt so sorry for the hard work she had put in all night.
"Please wait a moment, Eunuch." Ah Hao glanced around and saw Lü Chuan coming out of the hall. She then approached him with the scroll and said, "Eunuch Chuan... could you please ask His Majesty if he doesn't want it anymore? I can take it back with me, even though it's not particularly rare, it still took some effort..."
Lu Chuan said nothing, only nodded, and turned to enter the hall. He quickly returned with Zhang Yu's message: "His Majesty has not granted permission." Ahao nodded, returned the scroll to the young eunuch, and did not press the matter further.
·
When Ling Xiao returned to the Imperial Hospital, Prince Ning was sitting casually in her usual office, waiting for her. Upon seeing her return, he proactively poured her a cup of tea.
Setting down his medicine chest, Ling Xiao sat down next to Prince Ning, accepting the prince's hospitality without hesitation. After drinking half a cup of water and setting down his teacup, Ling Xiao looked at Prince Ning and said, "Speak, what brings you here?"
Prince Ning chuckled and said "Hey," but made no attempt to hide anything, asking directly, "You went to see Ah Hao? What did she say to you? What exactly happened yesterday..." He had been away on official business for the past few days and hadn't been in Lin'an. Upon returning, he heard about the incident. Knowing that Ling Xiao had been present, he simply came to her to inquire.
“I didn’t say anything,” Ling Xiao replied lazily. “If you want to know what happened yesterday, you shouldn’t come to me. Go ask around; you’ll definitely know more details than I do.” She was busy rescuing Song Shuhao later, so she only knew the general outline and wasn’t very clear on the specifics.
The concubine named Xie Ninglu had a maid who happened to see Song Shuhao at the Imperial Hospital. The maid became suspicious and remembered the incident, then told Xie Ninglu. Xie Ninglu then told Consort De, who in turn told Empress Shen about it. Empress Shen then used this information to make an issue of Song Shuhao to Empress Dowager Feng.
Empress Dowager Feng was already displeased because the Emperor had humiliated her several times for Song Shu's sake. Now, realizing that the Emperor had almost genuinely fallen for Song Shu, she couldn't tolerate it any longer, leading to yesterday's events. She also found it strange how the contraceptive potion had been discovered… Could it be Empress Dowager Feng's own speculation?
Seeing that Lingxiao didn't want to talk about this, Prince Ning had no choice but to say to her, "I've only been gone a few days and such a big thing has happened... I heard from my elder sister that she hasn't seen my sixth brother so frightening in a long time. Even she was frightened, so it must be very serious. But how did Ahao and my sixth brother have a falling out?"
Ling Xiao couldn't help but want to roll his eyes at Prince Ning. After looking at him like he was an idiot for a moment, he asked, "You think there was nothing wrong with what happened yesterday? You think Ah Hao was being unreasonable?"
Prince Ning remained silent, but Ling Xiao was a little angry. "Feelings are never a one-person affair. Don't you know that best? Perhaps in your eyes, His Majesty the Emperor has done very well, but even this much is nothing special."
"She clearly has many women, yet she claims to only love one person and has no other intentions. Isn't it foolish for anyone to believe such a statement? What do you expect A-Hao to do? Be taken into the Emperor's harem and, like the other concubines, cheer and rejoice at His Majesty finally choosing her? Everyone has their own ambitions. Perhaps some people would like to live such a life, but she doesn't want to, and there's nothing wrong with that."
"Besides, it was the Empress Dowager who wanted her dead. How can it be the same as anyone else's? You know how many years she served the Empress Dowager, and she still ended up like this. And this wasn't the first time someone had tried to kill her. If you were in her shoes, wouldn't you feel heartbroken? She was scared, anxious, and insecure. How is that her fault?"
Ling Xiao spoke with increasing gritted teeth, "Just because you do someone a little kindness doesn't mean they should be grateful. Anyway, people like you think that even if you have concubines all over your harem, as long as you're still good to the princess, you're a good husband, and there's nothing to say about it."
Seeing that Ling Xiao's words had somehow veered towards him and brought up that matter again, Prince Ning, who had no concubines, said, "...How am I like what you say?" He frowned and added, "Sixth Brother also has his own difficulties."
"Who doesn't have their own difficulties?" Ling Xiao said bitterly. "Just because someone claims to be in love doesn't mean they can do anything and be forgiven. Look at A-Hao's personality. Is she suited to living in the palace? Perhaps to her, this place is just a prison. What happiness can she possibly find here? Even if she truly has feelings for His Majesty, how dare she say it out loud?"
Prince Ning was taken aback by Ling Xiao's words, and asked as if possessed, "Then what do you think my sixth brother should do to be considered good?"
Ling Xiao thought to himself that the emperor's identity was actually the biggest obstacle, but he still said, "How can I put it? As long as Ahao can let down her guard, doesn't have to live in fear, and doesn't have to share a husband with others, then it will be good enough."
"Then how can I be considered to be doing good for you?" Prince Ning asked again, seizing the opportunity.
Ling Xiao paused for a moment, then lowered her head and coughed lightly. Just when Prince Ning thought she was embarrassed and shy, Ling Xiao raised her head and said hesitantly, "No need for anything... just give me silver, lots of silver, lots and lots of silver... that's enough." She then nodded emphatically, as if to confirm that her words were sincere.
Prince Ning: "..."
·
Inside the main hall of Changning Palace, Empress Dowager Feng sat at the head of the table, her face cold as she looked down at Emperor Zhang Yu, who stood facing her with a glare, and said, "Are you questioning me now?"
There was no one else in the hall. Zhang Yu maintained the same cold expression he had when he first arrived at Changning Palace, his tightly furrowed brows never relaxing. Empress Dowager Feng's words did not cause him to change his expression. Zhang Yu stood with his hands behind his back and coldly replied, "I have already made the arrangements. Once everything is ready, Mother should go to Hanshan Palace to recuperate."
"Why must I go?" Empress Dowager Feng laughed angrily. "I'm doing this for your own good. As the emperor, how can you be so infatuated with a woman? There are so many concubines in the harem, are you going to ignore them all? Only when she dies will you be alright. How can I watch you perish at the hands of a woman?"
"My mother used to say the same thing..." Zhang Yu looked coldly at Empress Dowager Feng and smiled, "When I was a child, if I got a little toy, you would say that playing with things was a waste of time and would have it crushed. If I kept a bird, you would have it poisoned. If I did something that did not please you, you would have everyone around me beaten. It's just that whatever I like, you want to destroy."
"In the past, I respected you and didn't embarrass you because you were my birth mother. But since I've caused you so much trouble, Mother, you should go to the Hanshan Palace to relax. When you're in a better mood, I'll come and bring you back."
When Empress Dowager Feng heard him recount the past, she was dismissive and said, "What I have done was all for your own good. If I hadn't disciplined you so strictly, how could you have reached your current position? You are ungrateful and even oppose me. Where is your benevolence and filial piety?"
Zhang Yu felt like he was listening to a joke. He chuckled and reminded Empress Dowager Feng, "Filial piety? Does Mother remember why I was imprisoned in the Imperial Library for three years?"
His words seemed to have unearthed memories that Empress Dowager Feng had deliberately forgotten. Empress Dowager Feng was horrified and subconsciously pointed at Zhang Yu, but could only say, "You..." before her voice choked.
Zhang Yu smiled, turned and walked out of the hall without looking at Empress Dowager Feng again.
·
Finally, Ah Hao asked where the things had been moved to and burned, and went to investigate. She not only retrieved the embroidery pattern, but also found a sword tassel and a tattered kite. Although she saw her handkerchief, she didn't think it was worth anything and didn't take it.
After carrying the items back to her room, Ah Hao breathed a slight sigh of relief. These were all things she had put a lot of effort into; if they had really been burned, she would have regretted it for a long time. She put them in the same box as the glass rabbit lantern in its case, and then left them there.
Even though she still lived in Xuanzhi Hall, Ahao never saw Zhang Yu again. It wouldn't have been difficult to deliberately meet him, but no one did. After taking Lingxiao's medicine, her health gradually improved, but she still had frequent dreams at night. When she woke up, gazing at the room in the darkness, Ahao often felt a chilling coldness.
Almost half a month passed like this. When Ahao woke up early one morning, Lü Yuan suddenly found her and asked her to leave the palace immediately. Ahao didn't know what it was about, and Lü Yuan wouldn't say. Sitting nervously in the carriage, Ahao kept lifting the curtain to look outside during the journey, and she felt that it was the way back to her residence.
She grew increasingly uneasy. After alighting from the carriage, she glanced up and was struck by the glaring white lanterns, silk cloth, and satin flowers hanging at the entrance of the Song residence. Ahao was momentarily stunned, then, realizing what was happening, she lifted her skirt and ran into the mansion. Along the way, she saw that everything had been decorated, clearly…
Following the sound, Ah Hao found the place and stood at the entrance of the mourning hall. Looking at the coffin in the center, and the servants of the Song family kneeling inside the hall wailing, her mind went blank, and she suddenly hesitated. Prince Ning turned around and saw that Ah Hao was about to trip over the threshold, so he quickly went over to help her up.
Ah Hao stared intently at the coffin, forgetting to thank Prince Ning. She didn't know how she had walked over, but when she saw her mother lying in the coffin with her eyes closed, Ah Hao knelt down beside it without thinking.
She stared blankly at the lifeless Xu Shi, reaching out to touch her hand behind the coffin, only to find several gashes on her wrist. Ah Hao stared at the wounds for a long time, then held Xu Shi's hand, touching her wrist, but there was no more beating. Finally, she accepted the fact that Xu Shi was dead…
·
The body lay in state for three days before being taken away again, and the funeral procession continued until Xu was buried. Ahao didn't know how many times she cried, but later it seemed as if her tears had dried up and she could cry no more. Only her aunt and cousin came to mourn Xu, and Ahao thanked them repeatedly.