Leaving aside the matter of Second Miss Chen’s abrupt departure, the Princess’s Hundred Flowers Banquet left the attending ladies and young misses thoroughly entertained. Several outstanding yet unmarried young ladies caught the favorable eyes of the wives of dukes and marquises, so it seems likely that the capital will see a few happy unions come autumn.
Gao Yuexing was particularly pleased. Although several noblewomen present seemed wary of her and showed little willingness to socialize, it was worth noting that she and Kong Luopu conversed with great enthusiasm, as if lamenting that they had not met sooner.
As the banquet drew to a close, while Gao Yuexing was sipping tea, she suddenly noticed a group of guards appear at the Liuhua Terrace. Leading them was Ding Wenfu, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards. While inspecting the perimeter of the terrace, he stood under the shade of the flowers, quietly observing Gao Yuexing. When she noticed his gaze, he gave her a meaningful look.
Gao Yuexing understood instantly.
He wants to see me.
The Liuhua Terrace was occupied solely by women, making it inconvenient and undesirable for Li Fuxiang to come himself.
Gao Yuexing informed her two female companions at the table and rose gracefully to leave.
The Princess gestured to a palace maid beside her, instructing her to follow.
Ding Wenfu, seeing that Gao Yuexing had come out, led the patrolling guards ahead. Gao Yuexing followed at a moderate distance, neither too far nor too close. The accompanying palace maid, a trusted confidant of the Princess, asked no questions, merely keeping her head down and following silently. Other than the sound of sand crunching underfoot, she seemed to barely exist.
Li Lanyao had reached the age of seventeen, and she was already more prudent than her mother, Consort Xian Xian.
Gao Yuexing followed Ding Wenfu along the lakeside. After a final turn, they entered a secluded palace alley.
Gao Yuexing thought to herself, Why come here?
Not far ahead was the Xiaonan Pavilion.
Once a forbidden zone within the imperial city, it remained largely untouched even now.
It was a place Gao Yuexing would never forget.
The accompanying palace maid hesitated when she realized the path they were on, faltering for a moment. She discreetly glanced at Gao Yuexing, who maintained her composure and walked steadily, and so the maid gradually relaxed.
It had indeed been a long time since she had visited the Xiaonan Pavilion.
Even now, no one in the palace dared to mention that place.
Once, it had contained the Emperor’s wrath. Now, it held the Emperor’s guilt.
In any case, it was not a good place.
It seemed that only Li Fuxiang would dare to venture here.
Several years ago, after the outer wall of the Xiaonan Pavilion was dismantled, it remained neglected for a long time. In this perfumed harem of Luo Qi flowers, it stood like a thorn buried deep in the Emperor’s flesh, and no one dared touch it casually.
What was baffling, however, was that the true victim of the Xiaonan Pavilion, Li Fuxiang, was remarkably indifferent toward it. Whenever he passed by, he would invariably glance at it, and revisiting the site had become a routine affair.
The persimmon tree in the northeast corner of the Xiaonan Pavilion had grown even lusher. Just two years ago, Li Fuxiang had picked a bunch of sour and astringent wild persimmons from this tree and brought them back to Qianqing Palace. The Emperor, after trying one, suffered from a toothache for several days.
After that, no more persimmons could be picked from the tree.
When fruiting season came, the Emperor would have people watch the tree daily. Each time a fruit ripened, it was picked and discarded immediately. Li Fuxiang, thwarted multiple times, eventually gave up trying to harvest them.
After all, they were not fit for human consumption.
But perhaps in his youth, when Li Fuxiang endured hunger and cold, that tree had once saved his life.
Ding Wenfu did not stop as he passed by Xiaonan Pavilion.
But Gao Yuexing came to a halt.
She waited until Ding Wenfu and his men were far away.
Then, from behind the crumbling walls of Xiaonan Pavilion, a figure emerged.
Standing outside, Gao Yuexing looked at the man in the courtyard and said, “The day we first met, it was just like this.”
Li Fuxiang replied, “That wasn’t the first time.”
Gao Yuexing didn’t understand. “What?”
Li Fuxiang said, “I had already seen you in my dreams, more than once.”
Gao Yuexing’s expression slowly changed.
Li Fuxiang continued, “In my dreams, I saw you standing injured halfway up a mountain, surrounded by crabapple blossoms. You held my hand and told me to go with you. So we ran endlessly, forward and forward. When we grew too tired to run, when I couldn’t catch my breath and thought I might die in the next second, I would wake up. Xiaonan Pavilion was dark and cold, empty in all directions, and I was the only one there.”
With every word Li Fuxiang spoke, Gao Yuexing felt her heart tighten further.
How much had he bottled up inside him over the years?
When he woke up in that lightless place, what did he feel? Hope? Or did he sink deeper into despair?
Gao Yuexing asked, “You hadn’t even met me back then. How could you have dreamed of me?”
Li Fuxiang had never dwelled on this question, nor did he care to. He simply said, “Fate destined you to be mine.”
Gao Yuexing adored the purity and decisiveness in his nature. Smiling, she said, “Yes, and you are mine. I came to this world for you alone.” She gazed at him intently, enunciating each word: “If you live, I live. If you die, I die.”
Perhaps, when love reaches its extreme, a person becomes unreasonable.
In that instant, Gao Yuexing felt a surge of destruction well up inside her, an urge to destroy everything in her path. She startled even herself.
How could she have such thoughts?
Li Fuxiang gestured for her to step inside the wall. “Tonight, go home and wait for the imperial edict. It’s decided between us now.”
Gao Yuexing was astonished. “The Emperor has agreed?”
Li Fuxiang said nothing.
If he wished, he had a hundred ways to persuade the Emperor to nod his head.
But if the Emperor was truly determined to refuse, even Li Fuxiang’s efforts would be in vain.
At that moment, Gao Yuexing finally realized that the course of her life seemed to have veered off its predestined track. A mix of worry and faint joy arose in her heart. If such things could change, then perhaps the tragedies of the future could also be altered. The sorrow that had weighed on her heart for years began to dissipate slightly.
From the direction of the Liuhua Terrace came the news that the banquet had ended.
Gao Yuexing could not stay any longer. Accompanied by the palace maid, she reluctantly left Xiaonan Pavilion, turning back every few steps.
The carriages of the noblewomen were waiting outside the palace. Gao Yuexing bid farewell to Consort Xian and the Princess. With Madam Gao leading the way, she exited Chunhe Palace.
Madam Gao asked, “Where did you run off to just now?”
Gao Yuexing replied, “I felt a bit stifled at the banquet and went outside for some fresh air.”
Madam Gao’s thoughts had always been tied to her daughter, and nothing Gao Yuexing did could escape her mother’s keen eyes. After Gao Yuexing’s evasive reply, Madam Gao remained silent for a long while. Gao Yuexing could sense her mother’s inner turmoil, the mix of wanting to comfort her but not knowing where to start.
As they exited the palace, Gao Yuexing’s sharp eyes noticed that their coachman had changed.
However, it wasn’t an outsider but someone from the household—a servant born and raised in their estate.
Gao Yuexing recognized him; he was usually by Gao Jing’s side, driving his carriage.
Before Madam Gao could notice anything unusual, Gao Yuexing spoke up, “Why is it you? Has my father given you some instructions?”
The man tipped his bamboo hat slightly, revealing sharp and capable features, and said, “Second Miss is indeed perceptive. The master instructed me to take you to the Dali Court first and then escort Madam home.”
Madam Gao turned her head sharply. “Why does he want my daughter to go to the Dali Court?”
Hearing the tone of this question, Gao Yuexing felt her heart sink. Could there be more discord between her parents?
The coachman, keeping his gaze lowered and demeanor respectful, replied, “Madam, the master said there’s been progress in the investigation of the attack on Second Miss on the mountain the other day.”
Madam Gao stepped into the carriage, flicked her sleeve, and sat down with a cold expression. “Go back and tell your master: if he dares to send my daughter into harm’s way again, I will seek a divorce without hesitation. I will not tolerate it.”
So it was about the incident on Mount Qingliang.
Several days had passed, and Gao Yuexing had not even noticed.
After getting into the carriage, Gao Yuexing approached her mother ingratiatingly. “Mother.”
Madam Gao sat upright, her gaze steady ahead, but she sighed softly.
Sensing her mother’s silent indulgence, Gao Yuexing leaned her head on her shoulder. “It’s your unfilial daughter’s fault for always making you worry day and night.”
Madam Gao’s lips moved slightly. “If you know that I worry day and night, why can’t you stay quietly at home? You are a young lady, after all…”
Gao Yuexing lifted her head, gazing at the silver strands now peeking through her mother’s temples, and said gently, “Mother, when you decided to marry Father back then, did you ever hesitate because of the storms and intrigues he faced as he entered officialdom?”
This one question instantly brought back memories buried deep in Madam Gao’s heart.
Back then.
Gao Jing was not a scion of a prestigious family, nor did he hold the power and status he does now.
And she was not a noblewoman constrained by elaborate rules and etiquette.
At the time, she copied books merely to pay for her younger brother’s education.
But after meeting Gao Jing and learning of his meager stipend, she worked tirelessly, copying books during the day and sewing under the lamplight at night. Knowing he would never accept her money, she secretly sent payments to his academy in his name. She strained her eyes so much that she ruined them. To this day, her vision blurred as soon as night fell, making it difficult to see or move around.
In this world, so many scholars aspired to rise, but not all of them succeeded.
Madam Gao’s younger brother, whom she had supported through years of study, eventually became a humble schoolteacher in their hometown. Her own steps into the capital had been accompanied by countless sneers and ridicule.
For a woman like her, wealth and status were never the goal.
But as long as Gao Jing was willing to keep climbing, no matter how perilous the path ahead, she was ready to sacrifice everything to stand by his side.
Gao Yuexing clasped her mother’s hand and said, “Mother, His Highness Prince Xiang’s future is a path walked on blades and forged in fire. Since I’ve chosen him, I can no longer let go. I can’t bear the thought of him facing it all alone.”
Madam Gao instinctively gripped her daughter’s delicate hand and trembled as she asked, “But what about your father, your mother? Do we mean nothing to you?”
“Quite the opposite, Mother,” Gao Yuexing replied. “We are bound by blood, our fates intertwined—when one thrives, all thrive; when one falls, all shatter. Since our family is already standing in the eye of the storm because of me, how could I selfishly hide at home, sheltered under your protection? I must give everything I have to shield you in return.”
Madam Gao was shaken to her core. “You truly see farther than your mother ever could. Your father once said you were born into the wrong body, and I didn’t believe him at the time.”
The Dali Court was far too close to the palace.
Close enough to only allow a brief exchange of words.
Gao Yuexing pulled the veil over her head, and after getting out of the carriage, she was met by one of Gao Jing’s trusted aides. He guided her through a side entrance into the Dali Court.
The Gao family carriage did not linger, continuing its journey as if merely passing by, leaving no trace that anything had happened.
This was Gao Yuexing’s first visit to the Dali Court, in both her current and previous lives.
The moment she stepped inside, a chill seemed to envelop her, as if the air itself carried an oppressive coldness.
Beneath the eaves of the corridors, there was no light, yet when she looked outside, the blazing sun was unmistakable.
She was led to a flower hall that Gao Jing used for private meetings, though she did not enter through the main door.
Instead, a subordinate guided her through a side entrance. Right in front of her stood a folding screen, blocking the view of the main hall. Behind it was a small table set with hot tea and freshly made pastries.
A single butterfly chair had been prepared just for her.
Gao Yuexing sat down, her heart filled with doubt.
She had just taken a sip of tea when she heard someone outside announce in a loud voice, “Reporting to the Minister: Assistant Minister Chen of the Ministry of Personnel requests an audience.”
Immediately after, from the other side of the screen, Gao Jing’s voice, so close it felt within arm’s reach, replied, “Let him in.”