After everyone had withdrawn, Meng Fu called over the waiter and had the few dishes Li Yue ordered just now redone and packed up, and let Li Yue take them back.
It wasn’t until dusk that Meng Fu parted ways with Li Yue. She returned to the imperial palace alone.
The shadow guards who had been hiding in the dark felt that today had truly been too exciting—especially the later scene in Yunxi Tower. If not for the fact that they had little ink in their bellies [meaning: lacking education/literary skill], they would have wanted to write a book about that scene. This was really “Qiao’s mother opens the door for Qiao—extremely skillful.” [巧她妈给巧开门，巧到家了: A joking idiom that intensifies the word “coincidence/cleverness” to a peak; can be read as ‘coincidence upon coincidence’ or ‘to the ultimate cleverness.’]
Xie Wenzhao went out wandering with his sister-in-law, yet with so many places to eat in the imperial capital, he just had to come right under His Majesty’s nose. Truly jinxed by misfortune. The fact that he could still walk out of that private room standing up was already beyond the shadow guards’ expectations.
That fool Xie Wenzhao probably still didn’t know who the young lady beside His Majesty was.
They truly wanted to see what kind of expression Xie Wenzhao would have when he found out that his wife was entangled with His Majesty.
Meng Fu returned to the palace and handled the remaining memorials to the throne in the Zichen Hall. Because in the afternoon she had discussed some matters with Li Yue in Yunxi Tower, Meng Fu found herself processing these memorials more smoothly now.
It’s just unclear whether the ministers would raise any new thorny problems during tomorrow’s morning court.
The sky outside grew darker and darker. Meng Fu felt somewhat drowsy. They all say that being emperor is the most pleasurable thing in the world, but only when one actually sits in this position can one realize—that although being emperor can indeed be pleasurable, wanting to be a good emperor, it’s very difficult to feel pleasure.
She yawned and got up to walk outside. There was still a pile of memorials on the desk left unread, and she wanted to take a walk in the imperial garden to wake herself up a bit more so she could write again.
The evening breeze carried floral fragrance gently out. Meng Fu walked by the riverside for a while, and after feeling a little more refreshed, turned around planning to return to Zichen Hall to deal with the remaining memorials. She had only taken a few steps when she saw a group of imperial physicians in the distance carrying boxes, heading toward the inner palace.
Li Yue had no consorts or offspring. For someone to be able to mobilize so many imperial physicians, it was highly likely that either the Empress Dowager or the Ninth Prince had encountered a problem. No matter who it was, Meng Fu could not overlook it after seeing this.
Meng Fu walked over and called to an elderly imperial physician: “What’s going on? Who is sick?”
The imperial physician replied, “Replying to Your Majesty, it is His Highness the Ninth Prince.”
“What’s wrong with the Ninth Prince?” Meng Fu asked. She had just seen that little prince yesterday, and he had looked quite healthy.
The imperial physician said, “This humble subject also does not know. It was the Cining Palace that sent someone to summon this humble subject to go take a look.”
“Then I shall go take a look too,” Meng Fu said to Gao Xi at her side, “Prepare the carriage to go to Cining Palace.”
The bright moon hung high, silver-white moonlight spilling over the pebble-paved path beneath their feet like a thin layer of frost or snow. The imperial sedan arrived at the outside of Cining Palace together with the imperial physicians.
The Ninth Prince had been brought over to the Empress Dowager’s side. He lay drowsily on the bed, the Empress Dowager guarding by his side, eyebrows slightly furrowed, her face full of worry.
From the day this child was born, he had never stopped making her worry. For his sake, the Empress Dowager had suffered no small amount in the palace back then. It was only after Li Yue ascended the throne that her and the Ninth Prince’s situation had improved greatly.
Upon hearing the palace servants report that the imperial physicians had arrived, the Empress Dowager hurriedly said, “Quickly let the imperial physicians come in and examine Little Ninth.”
The palace servant whispered, “His Majesty has also come.”
The Empress Dowager was somewhat surprised and asked, “Why has His Majesty also come? Didn’t he leave the palace today?”
After asking, the Empress Dowager patted her own forehead and told the palace servant to quickly invite His Majesty in. Today she had been so busy with the Ninth Prince’s illness that she hadn’t even noticed whether His Majesty had returned.
Meng Fu entered from outside together with the imperial physicians. The imperial physicians quickly stepped forward to take the pulse of the little prince. Meng Fu stood to the side, looked at the Ninth Prince lying on the bed in a faint sleep, then looked at the anxious-faced Empress Dowager. She summoned Chen Gugu, who served at the Empress Dowager’s side, asked her a few questions, and then let her leave.
After a while, the imperial physicians withdrew their hands. Meng Fu asked, “How is it?”
The imperial physician turned around and cupped his hands: “Replying to Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager, His Highness has likely caught a chill and contracted a cold.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” The Empress Dowager let out a breath of relief. Not long after the Ninth Prince was born, he had once had a high fever for two days and two nights. The Empress Dowager believed that his continued inability to speak was related to that bout of fever.
“Then when will he get better?” the Empress Dowager asked.
“If fast, in two or three days he can recover greatly. If slower, it might take half a month.”
The Empress Dowager nodded. Meng Fu suddenly spoke up and asked, “How did the Ninth Prince catch a chill?”
“This…” the imperial physician said, “This humble subject does not know.”
He wasn’t someone who served beside the Ninth Prince, so how would he know why the Ninth Prince became ill?
The Empress Dowager glanced at Meng Fu, pressed her lips together, as if wanting to ask something, but for some reason, after withdrawing her gaze, she said nothing.
When the Empress Dowager found out that the Ninth Prince had a fever, she immediately ordered the palace servants to move the Ninth Prince to her side. While changing his clothes, she suddenly discovered many new bruises on his arm. When she asked him, he didn’t speak.
The Empress Dowager recalled that someone had whispered in her ear before—every time Xiao Jiu met the emperor, there would be many more injuries on his body afterward. Coincidentally, the emperor had visited Cining Palace just yesterday, and even spent a long time alone with Xiao Jiu. Last night, she had thought perhaps the two brothers could get along harmoniously from now on, but after seeing the injuries on Xiao Jiu today, the Empress Dowager couldn’t help but become suspicious again: Could Li Yue truly accept this younger brother without any resentment?
The rumors regarding Xiao Jiu’s parentage had never ceased since the late emperor was still alive. Although later Xiao Jiu and the late emperor had done a blood-drop kinship test [滴血认亲: an ancient practice believed to confirm biological relation through mingling of blood drops] and confirmed he was the emperor’s biological son, it had only been a few years after the late emperor passed away when people started saying that the blood test method was unreliable.
The Empress Dowager again recalled that night of the palace banquet, when the emperor had brought Xiao Jiu to Cining Palace and spoken with her.
At that time, he had asked her: “Does Mother also think this way?”
If not the emperor—within this vast imperial palace—who would dare lay hands on Xiao Jiu?
Meng Fu noticed the Empress Dowager seemed to want to ask the imperial physicians something but perhaps felt it wasn’t appropriate with her present, so Meng Fu said, “This child remembers that there are still memorials in Zichen Hall not yet processed. Since Xiao Jiu is fine, this child will take leave first.”
The Empress Dowager lifted her head to look at Meng Fu. She suddenly realized that ever since the emperor ascended the throne, she hadn’t properly looked at him. The Empress Dowager suddenly remembered many years ago, when he was not yet taller than herself, always carrying a little wooden knife and patrolling the palace with the guards. If bullied by one of his brothers…
No, the Empress Dowager couldn’t help but press her lips and smile slightly. When had he ever been bullied?
Actually, she ought to trust the emperor. She ought to trust this child who had grown up by her side. She ought to believe that he disdained to do such things.
Why had she ever doubted him in the first place?
Although the truth was still unknown, the look the Empress Dowager gave Meng Fu already carried a few traces of guilt. She had endured in the palace for so many years—not a foolish woman. She understood that what the emperor had said just now was him noticing her hesitation. The Empress Dowager even found it somewhat amusing. This child had always been forthright—saying whatever he thought. But today, for some reason, he had become more tactful. Though it wasn’t necessary—perhaps this matter would be better clarified directly with him.
The Empress Dowager said: “Your Majesty, stay a while longer.”
Meng Fu replied: “Since Mother wishes me to stay, then I shall remain for a while more.”
Afterward, the Empress Dowager turned her head and said to the imperial physician, “Check again what’s going on with the injuries on Xiao Jiu’s body.”
The imperial physician was stunned for a moment. The Ninth Prince still had other injuries?
The Empress Dowager lifted Xiao Jiu’s slender little arm and rolled up his sleeve—a patch of bluish-purple bruises was revealed before the physician.
Such bruises were found in many other places on the little prince’s body—some deep, some shallow, some light, some heavy. The little prince could not speak and could not cry out in pain. Precisely because of this, the Empress Dowager, as his mother, felt even more heartache.
Meng Fu also furrowed her brows, feeling a bit distressed. The bruises on the little prince’s arm looked more serious than the ones she had seen yesterday.
“Did he bump into something? Or was it from a fall?” the Empress Dowager asked.
“Doesn’t look like,” the imperial physician leaned in for a closer look, shook his head and said to the Empress Dowager, “it looks like someone pinched it.”
“Who?” the Empress Dowager asked.
But no one present could answer this question.
The little prince couldn’t speak, dull and slow-witted, as if he didn’t feel anything. In the past, his other brothers and their attendants dared to casually bully him. Even when he was seriously hurt, he wouldn’t express it. Once, he was nearly pressed into the lotus pond and drowned. It was his wet nurse, Madam Liu, who risked her life to save him. By the time the Empress Dowager arrived, he was soaked all over, blood dripping down from his temple, yet his face still held a blank and innocent expression.
At this moment, the Empress Dowager couldn’t help but feel a renewed sense of fear. If one day she was no longer here, what would become of Xiao Jiu? Who else could take good care of him?
Meng Fu saw the Empress Dowager’s expression turn somewhat dazed, and gently suggested: “Why not call over Xiao Jiu’s wet nurse and ask her exactly what happened?”
What Meng Fu said made some sense. Usually, the wet nurse spent the most time by Xiao Jiu’s side. Even if she didn’t know who laid hands on Xiao Jiu, she might still be able to mention some details that they didn’t know. The Empress Dowager immediately ordered: “Go summon Madam Liu.”
The palace servant responded and withdrew. Not long after, Chen Gugu came in from outside carrying two bowls of food. Before she could speak, the Empress Dowager refused: “I won’t eat. Aijia has no appetite.”
Meng Fu advised: “Eat a little, at least. You didn’t have lunch earlier; don’t harm your body from hunger.”
Meng Fu had just asked Chen Gugu a few questions earlier and told her to have the kitchen prepare something light and easy to digest.
The Empress Dowager turned her head to look at Meng Fu. After a while, she let out a faint sigh: “You…”
She found that this eldest son of hers had indeed matured quite a bit compared to before.
Since the emperor was personally persuading her, the Empress Dowager gave him face, picked up the spoon, and ate a little.
“Your Majesty, why not eat a little here with Aijia?”
“No need, your son already ate outside the palace,” Meng Fu said. She had eaten quite a bit at Yunxi Tower today and still didn’t feel hungry even now.
When the Empress Dowager heard him mention being outside the palace, the hand holding the spoon paused slightly in midair. She particularly wanted to know whether the emperor had left the palace today to meet that Madam of the Marquis of Xuanping.
Just as she was about to tactfully probe into why the emperor had gone out today, Madam Liu arrived. She had recently suffered a serious illness and indeed looked much more haggard than before.
She knelt before the Empress Dowager, like a flower or plant without roots—if the wind blew, she looked as if she would topple.
As soon as the Empress Dowager saw her, she asked: “Do you know what’s going on with the injuries on the Ninth Prince’s body?”
“The Ninth Prince is injured?” Madam Liu’s face showed a look of shock. She raised her head and looked toward the little prince lying on the bed. When she saw the bruises on his arm, her tears immediately streamed down. She choked out, “Is the Ninth Prince seriously hurt? When did he get injured? This servant is guilty, this servant is guilty—it was this servant who failed to take proper care of His Highness. May the Empress Dowager punish me.”
The Empress Dowager knew well how much Madam Liu loved Xiao Jiu—she treated Xiao Jiu as more important than her own life. So she asked her: “Do you know how His Highness got these injuries?”
Madam Liu seemed to instinctively lift her head and glance in Meng Fu’s direction. Halfway through the motion, she forcibly stopped herself and, trembling, answered: “This servant does not know… This servant truly does not know…”
Meng Fu sat to the side, calmly sipping tea. This Madam Liu’s acting skills were truly impressive. It was a bit of a waste to keep her in the palace as a wet nurse. If she were sent to an opera troupe, perhaps she could even become a leading star.