He learned from the palace servants that Huan Changming was currently reviewing memorials in the Imperial Study. Upon arriving at the Imperial Study, he said to the palace servant who had summoned him, "Please inform His Majesty that Jingyi requests an audience."
The palace servants hurriedly went in to inform him, and soon came running out, "Lord Jing, His Majesty requests your presence."
Thank you.
"Master Jing, please wait!"
What advice do you have?
He was a favorite of the Emperor, and everyone in the court, both inside and outside the palace, wanted to curry favor with him. Even this palace maid was no exception, and she proactively told him, "His Majesty is in a bad mood today. Lord Jing, you mustn't go against His Majesty's temper..."
Upon hearing this, Jingyi knew that what he was about to say would only make Huan Changming angrier, but he was already in a desperate situation and had no choice but to save himself.
"Thank you for the pointers."
Jingyi entered the hall. The emperor was reviewing memorials, his expression unreadable. Hearing Jingyi's footsteps, the emperor asked without looking up, "What urgent matter do you have to see me about in the middle of the night?"
Jingyi knelt on the ground with a thud and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I humbly request that you rescind the decree bestowing marriage upon me and Qu Surou!"
Because of this incident, Huan Changming had just fallen out with Lu Pianpian the day before, and now, provoked by Jing Yi, he slammed the memorial in his hand onto the table. "Jing Yi, you made a promise during the morning court session today, and now you want to change your mind in less than a day? Do you think I'm a three-year-old child?"
"Your Majesty, I had no such intention!" Jingyi sat up slightly. "I only agreed in the morning court session because I didn't want to put Your Majesty in a difficult position, in front of all the court officials!"
Huan Changming scoffed, "Then I should thank you, my dear minister, for saving face for me in front of the court officials?"
"Yes and no," Jingyi said calmly. "During the morning court session this morning, Your Majesty stated frankly that Qu Surou is the one I love. Several times I wanted to tell Your Majesty that the one I love is not Qu Surou, but—"
"Jingyi!" Huan Changming narrowed his eyes, a hidden threat in them. "You are the Prime Minister of a nation, do I need to remind you what you should and shouldn't say?"
"It is precisely because I hold the position of Prime Minister that I dare not speak out! Nor dare I contradict Your Majesty!" Jingyi gazed at the young emperor on the throne with deep affection. "But this does not mean that Your Majesty can deceive my true feelings! The one I like and admire has always been Your Majesty... Why does Your Majesty have to push me to another woman?"
His words revealed his true feelings for Huan Changming, but Huan Changming remained unmoved and instead asked him, "Jingyi, I ask you... can you continue my family line or have more children?"
Jing Yi's expression stiffened, and after a moment of silence, he replied, "Your subject... cannot."
"As the supreme ruler, how do you think the people of Li Kingdom would view me if I were to marry a man?" Huan Changming slowly stepped down from his seat. "I'm afraid even Huan Juntian would laugh at me from his prison cell."
"Your Majesty, I am terrified! I dare not hope to have a place by Your Majesty's side!" Jingyi kowtowed again, suppressing the pain in his heart, and said, "I only want Your Majesty to understand where my heart lies..."
Huan Changming walked up to him, looking down at him, and suddenly laughed: "When I was still in the Cold Palace, I did indeed appear as a woman. I understand the principle that a gentleman is attracted to a beautiful woman. I don't blame you for having developed inappropriate feelings for me because of that."
"Now that I am the Prince of Li, and you are the Prime Minister, second only to me, I still hope that you can keep to your proper place. If you have any intention of overstepping your bounds, even if you have made great contributions, I will not show you any mercy!"
Huan Changming's words made Jing Yi's heart sink deeper and deeper. He patted Jing Yi's shoulder and comforted him, "Go back. Tonight, I'll pretend you were never here."
Jingyi took a deep breath. "I have come here late at night only to ask Your Majesty to rescind my marriage to Qu Surou. If Your Majesty does not rescind it, I will kneel here until Your Majesty rescinds your decree."
Huan Changming laughed angrily, "Did you not hear a single word I just said?!"
"I have heard every word Your Majesty has said. But my mind is made up, and I will never marry someone I do not love!" Jingyi kowtowed heavily on the ground to show his determination. "I beg Your Majesty to grant my request!"
"Fine! Very well! You all disagree with me!" Huan Changming said angrily. "Jingyi, then you may kneel here and die!"
One or two? Jing Yi wondered. Who else but him would be unwilling for him to marry Qu Su Rou?
However, he soon received an answer.
A palace servant rushed in from outside the hall to report, "Your Majesty, you...you must go and check on Young Master Lu! He's been unconscious and hasn't woken up yet, I'm afraid..."
"Shut up!" Huan Changming glared angrily at the palace servant. "Why are you only reporting such a serious matter now?!"
The palace servant truthfully replied, "His Majesty ordered us to lock the palace gates, and we only discovered it when we went to light lamps for Young Master Lu at night..."
"I told you to lock the palace gates, not to leave him unattended!" Huan Changming stormed out of the imperial study, past Jingyi. "A bunch of useless trash, unable to even take care of one person. What use are you to me..."
Huan Changming's furious voice gradually faded into the distance, but Jing Yi was still kneeling on the ground, his back straight, as if nothing could break him.
But jealousy burned his eyes bloodshot, and he muttered resentfully, "Your Majesty, is it because you care about my identity as a man, or because the man Your Majesty cares about is not me...?"
The old imperial physician, drenched in sweat from personally examining the young master's pulse, prescribing medicine, and preparing it himself, shakily brought over a bowl of herbal soup. "Your Majesty," he said, "this old minister dares to speak frankly, "this young master's external injuries can heal, but his heart ailment cannot be cured in just a few days. If Your Majesty truly desires this young master's physical and mental recovery, it would be best to let him live a more peaceful life..."
Huan Changming took the medicine and dismissed everyone else. These quack doctors always said the exact same thing, but Lu Pianpian's illness showed no improvement. Was it really impossible to cure her illness if they didn't go along with Lu Pianpian's wishes?
He helped Lu Pianpian up and held her in his arms. He scooped up a spoonful of medicine, blew on it to cool it down, and then fed it to Lu Pianpian. But as soon as the medicine entered Lu Pianpian's mouth, it flowed out from the corner of her mouth.
Huan Changming laid Lu Pianpian flat on the bed, put down the spoon, picked up the soup bowl, blew on it, took a sip himself, and then leaned down to feed the soup to Lu Pianpian with his lips, which finally allowed Lu Pianpian to drink the medicine smoothly.
After finishing the bowl of herbal soup, Huan Changming's mouth was still full of the taste of medicine.
He sat by the bed, staring at Lu Pianpian's sleeping appearance. Lu Pianpian had become much thinner without him noticing. Although her skin was fair before, it had a luminous glow, like a pearl, which was very endearing.
But the white now is a deathly white, like the white of someone who is terminally ill.
The same goes for lip color. In the past, it was always a vibrant, blood-red hue, but now it's so white that it almost blends into the skin tone.
Huan Changming reached out and stroked Lu Pianpian's cheek and lips, whispering, "It's not difficult for me to do everything you want... but you've never cared about me, and you even wish you could take my head to vent your anger..."
"Pianpian, what do you want me to do?"
The palace was silent. The young emperor couldn't help but pour out his heart, but the listener he most wanted to hear was fast asleep.
His secrets could only be hidden in the long, lonely night, burning out little by little with the candlelight, and then disappearing without a trace.
Huan Changming stayed by Lu Pianpian's bedside all night, only getting up when it was time for the morning court session.
When he changed into his imperial robes, he saw a tattered booklet that had been burned by the screen. He glanced at it and remembered that it was a booklet that Lu Pianpian cherished very much and often kept close to her heart.
Normally, he would have dismissed it and simply had the palace servants burn the tattered book, but now he didn't want to do that.
He wiped the dust off the booklet, placed it back beside Lu Pianpian's pillow, and then left the palace.
As soon as the palace door slammed shut, Lu Pianpian on the bed opened her eyes, but remained motionless, staring blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought.
"elegant."
Xiao Shu's voice suddenly rang in Lu Pianpian's mind, and Lu Pianpian reacted slightly, replying, "Xiao Shu, you can talk again."
Seeing his haggard figure, Xiao Shu felt a pang of heartache. "Pianpian, please don't worry about Huan Juntian and the others anymore. Find a chance to escape, and I'll stay with you and live out the rest of this life in peace..."
Lu Pianpian was silent for a moment, then said, "Don't talk nonsense."
"Pianpian! I'm serious! I don't want to see you suffer anymore!" Xiaoshu sobbed. "If I had known you were going to come, I should have tried my best to stop you. Otherwise, why would you have come to suffer so much... This matter has nothing to do with you, so why are you the one who suffers the most in the end..."
Lu Pianpian assumed that Xiaoshu was talking about accompanying his junior brother down the mountain. He did miss the time he spent on the mountain, and during the days when he was tormented by Huan Changming, he desperately wanted to escape back.
With his master's protection on the mountain, he wouldn't encounter Huan Changming, and he could live happily and contentedly every day.
But he can't. There have to be senior sisters and junior brothers on that mountain for it to be considered his sect. If he's all alone, what kind of sect is that?
And then there's his father. He wasn't his father's biological son, but his father had always treated him like his own, never looking at him differently, and raising him to adulthood. How could he possibly abandon his father and leave alone?
Xiao Shu seemed to read Lu Pianpian's thoughts, and her sobs intensified. "Pianpian, can't you be selfish for once and think about yourself? I'm begging you, you've done so much for them! You don't owe them anything!"
This is about feelings and obligations, and cannot be offset by whether or not one owes someone a debt.
"Don't cry, Xiaoshu." Lu Pianpian picked Xiaoshu up from beside the pillow and hugged her tightly. "You're still here with me, that's my greatest comfort."
Xiao Shu leaned against Lu Pianpian's chest and cried for a long time. Suddenly, she remembered something. "Pianpian, there's something I need to tell you."
"What's up?"
“Huan Changming stayed by your bedside all night last night; I saw it clearly from the ground.”
Xiao Shu paused here, but finally said it, "Pianpian, Huan Changming likes you..."
Lu Pianpian's knuckles, which were holding the small book, turned slightly white.
After a long silence from him, Xiao Shu's tone became cautious, "Pianpian, since he likes you, you shouldn't go against him... Just be more compliant with him, and he shouldn't hurt you anymore."
"Little Book, do you want me to compromise?"
They became obedient and subservient to Huan Changming, just to gain a moment of peace.
"No! I just don't want to see you get hurt by him again!" Xiao Shu said urgently. "Pianpian, there are many ways to make someone unhappy. Why do you choose the cruelest way to make yourself unhappy? Since Huan Changming likes you, the initiative is in your hands!"
It watched Lu Pianpian grow up from a young age and knew that Lu Pianpian was like a blank sheet of paper when it came to love. Even though Huan Changming fell in love with Lu Pianpian first, it was the other way around that Lu Pianpian kept getting hurt. In its understanding of this book, things shouldn't be like this.
“Pianpian, you should use Huan Changming’s affection for you to achieve your own goals, instead of letting Huan Changming lead you by the nose!”
Although Lu Pianpian didn't understand love, she roughly understood Xiao Shu's thoughts.
He remained silent for a long time before asking, "Xiao Shu, do you really think Huan Changming likes me?"
"Of course! If he didn't like you, why would he stand guard by your bedside like a statue all night? And—"
"what else?"
Xiao Shu's tone became a little hesitant, "I also saw, I saw him... feeding you medicine mouth-to-mouth."
Upon hearing this, Lu Pianpian wiped her lips hard twice with the back of her hand, "That madman!"
"Oh dear, I knew you'd be angry. I didn't even tell you..."
Lu Pianpian wiped his mouth, not satisfied with that, and got out of bed, intending to wash it with water. He took a handkerchief but found the basin was empty, so he took the basin to fetch some water. Just as he reached the palace gate, he heard the palace servants whispering outside.
"Have you heard? Last night, Prime Minister Jing knelt in His Majesty's study all night, and this morning at court, His Majesty revoked Prime Minister Jing's engagement to the former Holy Maiden."
"Prime Minister Jing just agreed yesterday, how come he went back on his word so quickly? Besides, His Majesty's word is law, can it be changed so easily? Isn't Prime Minister Jing blatantly disrespecting His Majesty? Has Prime Minister Jing been punished?"
"How could he be punished! His Majesty exempted Prime Minister Jing from the morning court session this morning and even had him carried back in a sedan chair by palace servants. He was completely unharmed!"
"That's strange. How could our Emperor, with his temper, tolerate this?"
"You may not know this, but when our Emperor appeared as a 'princess,' this scene was already similar to our Emperor's..."
There was a period of affection between us.
Even without hearing these words from the palace servants, Lu Pianpian knew them perfectly well.
He clenched the handkerchief in his hand and stood motionless at the door.
He suddenly remembered that yesterday in this hall, he risked his life to fight Huan Changming, but Huan Changming still refused to agree to break off his senior sister's marriage.
However, after Jingyi knelt for only one night, Huan Changming felt extremely distressed and hurriedly withdrew the imperial decree.
If it were Lu Pianpian, he probably would kneel before Huan Changming for three days and three nights, and Huan Changming would just treat him as a joke and send him away.
“Xiao Shu, you’re wrong.” Lu Pianpian put the handkerchief back in the basin. “He’s never liked me…”
He had already seen through all these things on the day he married Huan Changming.
The King and the Prime Minister were well-matched in status and position.
Xiao Shu fell silent, seemingly pondering Lu Pianpian's words.
The palace door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and the basin in Lu Pianpian's hand fell to the ground with a loud clatter.
Huan Changming, dressed in a majestic imperial robe, stood facing him. Seeing him standing safely at the door, his worries finally eased somewhat.