Чистая вода и прекрасные горы

Глава 64

Xiao Linzi ran up behind her, panting, "Miss, Miss—"

"Has something happened at Qianruo Palace?"

"Yuan Xinnuo is going to cut her wrists."

When I arrived at Qianruo Palace, Consort Rong was crying her heart out, and several palace maids were holding Yuan Xinnuo. I stepped forward and tried to take her dagger.

"Sister, don't come any closer." As she spoke, she slashed her wrist, and a red mark quickly oozed blood.

Before she could make her second cut, I rushed over, gripped the blade with both hands, and felt a sharp, itchy pain; my palms seemed to crack open. Yuan Xinnuo looked at me in horror, quickly threw the dagger to the ground, and reached out to pull me away, asking, "Sister, did I hurt you?"

I shook my head, holding my injured hand in one hand. The wound wasn't deep, but it hurt and itched.

"Go and summon the imperial physician—" Consort Rong, having finally calmed down, hurriedly gave the order to those around her.

"Give me your hand." A soft voice came from behind.

Lu Li walked over in a few steps, pinched my fingertips with one hand, and gently opened my palm.

In that instant, I suddenly thought of a long time ago, when I had never met him and he had never met me. We held hands gently, separated by a bright red veil. It was this gentle warmth as he led me down the long red carpet. The warmth that had been building up for so long surged into my heart, but after the warmth came a touch of bitterness.

At that moment, Lu Li held my fingertips, looked at my palm, which trembled slightly, and then looked up at me with a somewhat dazed expression, softly saying, "Fortunately, the wound isn't deep."

A red mark remained on my left palm, but I couldn't feel any pain. Lu Li took out a blue handkerchief from his pocket, gently wrapped it around my hand, and tied a knot. It was still a blue handkerchief; nothing had changed... I awkwardly pulled my hand away from his.

He suddenly looked up at me, stood up and looked at Yuan Xinnuo beside him, "This is the Emperor's decree, and it is also your good fortune. Don't cause any trouble."

Although there was no accusatory tone, his words carried great weight. I smiled gently; this was the real Lu Li, the refined and dignified Prince Ning Shuo of yesteryear.

After everyone had left, I walked toward Yuan Xinnuo, who was still in a daze. Her tear tracks were still wet on her face, and another tear fell.

Chapter Nineteen: Debt

Looking at Yuan Xinnuo, who was muttering in her sleep, I got up and walked towards Consort Rong, whose eyes were red. I gently tugged at her sleeve. "Your Majesty, you have been in the palace for a long time, so you naturally know that all of this is fate... You should try to persuade her."

Consort Rong nodded, "I wonder if this is a blessing or a curse for her..."

Yuan Xinnuo suddenly woke up and called out to me.

She handed over a jade pendant with trembling hands. "Sister, give this to Yang Wei, the commander of the Jiangbei camp. Tell him that I am going to betray him in this life, but I will not change my feelings for him."

I gently held the smooth jade pendant in my hand, and a hollowed-out character "维" (wei) pierced my heart from my fingertips.

Stepping out of Qiannuo Palace, the wind was strong. Even with my cloak wrapped tightly around me, I still felt a chill in my heart.

I gave a cold laugh until I felt a damp heat on my cheeks. Between the vermilion palace walls, the sky was small and overcast. Today, I had personally ruined a marriage, but how many lives had been lost in the depths of this palace... And who saw the countless pitiful white bones beneath these red walls and the palace city, among which was a woman named Rong Zhaozhi...

I waited in the main hall of Chaoyang Palace, knowing that person would definitely come.

When the eunuch outside the palace told me that Yang Weihou was below the throne, I stopped the drunken man at the foot of the white jade steps.

"I wish to see the Emperor." Yang Wei's cold eyes gazed towards the Golden Palace.

“Lord Yang—” I stepped in front of him and smiled gently, “This is to report back to the Emperor’s suggestion.”

He frowned. "I want to see the Emperor—" Before he could finish speaking, he had already brushed past me.

“My lord—” I glanced slightly to the side, without looking at him. I spoke directly, “If you were to mention a single word about Xin Nuo before the Emperor, would you understand Xin Nuo’s fate?”

The figure paused behind me. I slowly turned around and approached step by step, suppressing the faint smile on my lips. I fabricated a lie. "My lord, Marshal Pang has already accepted the marriage decree. Any further efforts you make will be in vain."

Yang Weiting's handsome figure crumbled in an instant. I took out the jade pendant from my waist. "Xin Nuo asked me to tell you... she has betrayed you."

Yang Wei remained silent for a moment before reaching out to take it. His eyes were unfocused. "Did she say anything else?"

I took a deep breath, feigning nonchalance. "She said... Marshal Pang is a peerless hero with unparalleled power. She has long admired him. To marry such a heroic man is her honor."

Silence, the silence of death.

Yang Wei looked at me, his gaze fixed, his sorrow growing ever deeper.

I added firmly, "Xin Nuo married into the Pang family willingly, and I ask Lord Yang to save face for Xin Nuo and let bygones be bygones."

Yang Wei looked at me, his lips trembling as if he were about to laugh. I turned my head and looked at the quietly blooming winter plum blossoms behind him, and sighed softly, "My lord, every woman hopes to follow a man who will achieve great things and have lofty ambitions. But what can you give her besides an acre of land and a simple life?"

Yang Wei did not continue towards the main hall, but calmly turned around and walked back along the path he had come from with difficulty.

Looking at his retreating figure, I said, "A true man dies on the battlefield, wrapped in a horse's hide, not in the solitude of a woman's heartbreak."

He continued walking, unmoved. I bit my lip slightly and said, "Only by seizing power can one protect everything."

As I expected, the figure paused for a moment, and under the cold sun, his shadow transformed into the smallest black dot beneath the palace wall.

If love is too deep, it will become a sin for lifetimes; if love is too bitter, it will become an endless pain... Don't you understand?

In the stillness of the night, I sat quietly by the window, holding Xin Nuo's hand, speechless.

After a long silence, Xin Nuo withdrew her dazed gaze and forced a smile, "It's late..."

I reached out and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "You're allowed to cry for one day, but you're not allowed to cry anymore once it's light."

Xin Nuo nodded and snuggled into my arms. "Sister, it will be difficult to see each other again after this parting."

I smiled and comforted her, "The Emperor has bestowed upon you the title of Second Rank Marshal's Wife, so you can come and go freely in the palace. We'll have plenty of opportunities to meet."

"Sister, now that I'm leaving, there's one thing I still want to tell you. I only have one thing to say: if you have the chance, leave when you can. Don't let this deep palace ruin your life..."

I gently reached out and hugged her. "I know, I've always known."

Last night, after returning from Qianruo Palace, the Emperor did not summon me to my post. He only told me to prepare well for this wedding.

Before dawn, I couldn't fall back asleep, so I got up, took a lantern, and went into the small west chamber, where I boiled water while lost in thought.

After boiling the third pot, he quickly scalded the dragon-embroidered handkerchief, then carried the still-steaming imperial gold basin through the main hall of Chaoyang Palace and into the east side hall. Seeing Eunuch Chang guarding outside the hall, he asked in a low voice, "Is there any movement?"

Grandpa Chang shook his head, lifted the heavy curtain with one hand, and let me in.

I stepped into the side hall and saw the emperor leaning against the desk, asleep with his eyes closed. On the other side, Yang Wei was sitting by the window, staring intently at the battle map, so focused that he didn't notice anyone coming in.

I put the basin aside, and Yang Wei looked up. When he saw it was me, he nodded but didn't say anything.

I asked softly, "Did you discuss this with the Emperor all night?"

He nodded, then glanced cautiously at the still dazed emperor, his face no longer showing the bewilderment he had displayed a few days ago.

I turned and walked to the Emperor's side. The Emperor slightly opened his eyes. "The girl is here?"

"But did Xiaozheng disturb the Emperor?!" I said, handing him a dragon handkerchief.

He wiped his face and rubbed his temples. "Why are you asleep? I'm really losing my strength more and more."

I quickly helped him up. "There's still more than an hour until court. Would Your Majesty like to go back to your private quarters and rest for a while?"

Before the Emperor could speak, I half-pushed and half-pulled him to the inner room. He seemed tired too, and collapsed on the couch without even taking off his boots. After I covered him with a silk quilt and drew the curtains, I heard him sigh softly, "You didn't misjudge Yang Wei. He is indeed a rare talent. Let him rest in the west wing first. There is still time for the plan."

I acknowledged and withdrew, lifting the curtain to see Yang Wei still engrossed in his work. I smiled and conveyed the Emperor's message, leading him out of the east side hall. Just as I was instructing Eunuch Chang to take him to rest for a while, Yang Wei suddenly turned around, took two steps closer to me, and bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you for your guidance the other day, Miss. I appreciated it."

"His Majesty also said that you are a prodigy, and all of this is your good fortune." I smiled respectfully.

He pursed his lips, glanced at me only once, nodded, and turned to follow Eunuch Chang into the distance.

As I watched that figure recede into the distance, I couldn't help but smile bitterly. From now on, you will have many beautiful women, except for her... From this day forward, I will watch how you rise step by step to the top, watch you rise and fall in the political arena, and you will eventually trample your best friend underfoot, take his place step by step, and become a powerful and influential official.

One day, you will numbly look at everything under your feet as insignificant as ants. At that time, your heart will be filled with nothing but power and wealth, including that beautiful young woman as delicate as a pear blossom in March. You will gradually forget her, just as you bid farewell to the carefree life of a life of ease and tranquility.

At the morning court, the emperor granted Yang Wei his wish and appointed him as the Grand General to fight against the Mongols, giving him control of 200,000 elite troops, including 30,000 elite troops from Pang Jian's Jiangbei camp. Perhaps from that moment on, the Pang family's military power began to crumble step by step, which I had been waiting for. But who will have the last laugh?

All of this is nothing more than the emperor's manipulation of power; the one standing on the throne is the most dangerous person...

The Yuan family's sedan chair was already waiting at the palace gate, ready to take the bride back to her parents' home to pay respects to her ancestors and bid farewell to her parents before she was carried to the Pang residence in the bridal sedan chair.

Logically, Xin Nuo should have expressed her gratitude to the emperor before leaving the palace.

I stood on the white jade steps, watching the festive sedan chair slowly come into view from the direction of the West Palace...

The sedan chair landed beneath the Chaoyang Palace, and a delicate beauty slowly emerged. I stood firmly on the white jade railing, not going down to greet her. These ninety-nine hundred steps were meant for her to traverse alone. Once she crossed those steps, she would no longer be the former Yuan Xinnuo, but a noblewoman succumbing to fate and caught in the power struggles of the elite. I dare not even imagine what she would do when her husband and her former lover were at each other's throats… Xinnuo, in her magnificent attire, was so beautiful, her skin like jade, her lips like luscious dew, but the resolute look in her eyes made me momentarily see myself twenty years ago in Tianyou. At that time, I too walked out of the Huai Prince's mansion in the same way, stepping from one constraint into another!

Xin Nuo stepped up the stone steps and stood in front of me with a faint smile. I bowed to her and said, "Madam Marshal, please come in with me. His Majesty is already waiting."

Xin Nuo's eyes momentarily dimmed, then softened with a hint of understanding. She nodded slightly, "Thank you for leading the way, Miss."

Xin Nuo was expressing her gratitude to the Emperor inside the palace. I quietly slipped out and listened to her uttering respectful words of thanks, unable to fathom the bitterness in her heart. As that familiar figure slowly walked towards me, my heart suddenly sank.

The man nodded to me. "Miss, is the Emperor in the palace? I have something to report."

"His Majesty is currently receiving thanks from the Marshal's wife."

Although Yang Wei tried his best to hide it, he couldn't conceal the shock and pain in his eyes.

Yang Wei handed me the memorial in his hand and turned to leave. I couldn't bear it, so I called out to him, "Sir, this is probably one of the few times we'll meet. Don't you want to see me again?"

As Yang Wei hesitated, the curtain of the side hall was lifted, and Xin Nuo walked out gracefully. The two people's eyes met for a moment, but there was no silent sorrow or tearful entanglement. Yang Wei calmly walked up and said, "Congratulations, Madam."

There seemed to be something flustered in Xin Nuo's eyes, but she still smiled slightly and said, "Thank you, Lord Yang."

The two brushed past each other without a ripple of emotion, exchanging few words or glances, as if they were complete strangers… Yet, deep down, I felt a pang of sadness for them. If only life could be like the first meeting, perhaps it would be better never to meet at all…

"I never imagined he would hate me so much..."

Xin Nuo stared blankly at the figure until it turned into a blurry black dot on the horizon, and uttered a single sentence.

Chapter Twenty: Chinese Clothing

I was ordered to escort Xin Nuo out of the palace. Xin Nuo sat beside me, gently stroking the bracelet I had given her, her voice serene, "If you treat me the same way you treat the official's wife, then we've been sisters for nothing."

I looked at her with a smile and said nothing.

She smiled quietly, "Sister, now that he has left me, the only person I can rely on and cherish is you. If you become distant from me, wouldn't even my last bit of comfort be shattered?"

Xin Nuo's words were so heartbreaking that I was powerless to offer any further words of comfort.

My heart aches, how can I tell you... how can I face you...?

The culprit is none other than the person standing before you, who claims to wholeheartedly protect you and share a century-long sisterly bond with you... a person caught in the power struggles of the elite, whose family is adrift and powerless to extricate itself, yet also powerless to be destroyed...

The carriage stopped ten miles outside the palace gates, and I got out and stood on the official road to watch the procession disappear into the distance.

The wind was strong that day, carrying a once real person into a state of etherealness.

Exhausted, I returned to Chaoyang Palace. Lu Li, the Fourth Prince, the Fifth Prince, and the Sixth Prince were sitting to the side, each with a cup of tea beside them. I stepped forward and saw the Emperor's beaming face, knowing that Yang Wei's matter was going very well for him.

When the Emperor saw me, he smiled and said, "The girl is back."

I took two steps forward. "You're so happy that the Emperor just appointed him Grand General?!"

"It was you, little girl, who did the most good job."

I smiled. I said nothing more. I stood behind the Emperor, serving him attentively.