The rebellion came to an end as if it were nothing more than a farce.
The decree for Consort Hui’s execution had yet to reach the hunting grounds, but the ministers at the pinnacle of power had their own channels of information. The blood outside the palace walls had been cleaned thoroughly, and with the frost of autumn settling in, no trace was left behind.
At the grand feast of the autumn hunt, the emperor and his subjects appeared harmonious. The emperor did not bring up the matter, and no one dared to tempt fate by mentioning it.
Gao Yuexing remained as lazy as ever. Autumn was not the best season for kite flying, and after trying it twice, she lost interest. Her accommodations were right next to the chambers of Imperial Consort Xian.
It was said that Imperial Consort Xian had fallen ill and had been recuperating for several days. Even now, she could not be exposed to the wind. The princess stayed by her side without leaving, and Gao Yuexing had visited a few times. In truth, it wasn’t a major issue.
Imperial Consort Xian, pampered and privileged for many years, had no serious health problems. Her ailment stemmed from worry. She had a heavy heart and could not overcome a mental hurdle. The fright she suffered that day had only gradually shown its effects over time.
A sickness of the heart requires a remedy of the heart.
Gao Yuexing said to the princess, “You should ask the emperor to come and see her.”
Imperial Consort Xian hurriedly reached out to stop her. “No.”
Since falling ill, the emperor had sent countless treasures and medicinal ingredients to her, but he had not visited her in person even once.
The princess sighed, pulling Gao Yuexing outside to talk.
Gao Yuexing insisted, “If the emperor comes to see her, Imperial Consort Xian’s illness will cure itself without medicine.”
Li Lanyao said, “My mother consort believes she is guilty. She says the emperor’s lack of reproach is already a kindness, and she has no face to seek his pity any further.”
Gao Yuexing replied, “The emperor has not brought up the matter so far because he does not want to disrupt the autumn hunt. Once we return to the capital, it will inevitably be dealt with. You should reassure Imperial Consort Xian that the emperor’s current absence is also for her sake.”
Li Lanyao was stunned and asked, “How do you mean?”
Gao Yuexing explained, “Aunt Wei is, after all, a close confidante of Imperial Consort Xian. We know she is innocent. The prince knows she is innocent. The emperor knows she is innocent. But will the hearts of the people and officials harbor doubts? No matter what, Imperial Consort Xian will inevitably be held accountable for failing to supervise properly. If, at this moment, the emperor were to favor her as before, starting tomorrow, rumors of a ‘bewitching consort misleading the ruler and deceiving the sovereign’ would spread like wildfire. Princess, you must understand that the court has never been short of scheming individuals.”
Li Lanyao nodded as she listened. “I will try to persuade my mother consort again.”
Having said all she could, Gao Yuexing took her leave of the princess. The palace felt particularly empty today because the men had all gone to camp at the foot of the mountain. Gao Yuexing, left to herself, wasn’t exactly bored but found herself feeling a bit wistful…
She had only just begun to think of this when, looking down, she saw a young man dismounting from his horse at the bottom of the steps. As he ran up the long staircase, the hem of his robe fluttered, revealing a bright crimson hue that was striking to the eye.
Li Fuxiang spotted her from afar, standing at the top of the steps. As he ran up, he waved a bunch of flowers in his hand and called out, “You knew I would come, didn’t you?”
Gao Yuexing gazed quietly at him.
I didn’t know you would come.
I only hoped you would.
The flowers in Li Fuxiang’s hand looked brilliantly red.
Gao Yuexing was puzzled. Where could flowers come from at this time of year?
It wasn’t until he reached the final step and stood before her that Gao Yuexing looked closely and saw that it was a handful of roadside foxtail grass, dyed a rouge-like red.
Li Fuxiang held it out to her.
Gao Yuexing was about to take it but noticed the clumps of red dye staining his hands. She quickly withdrew her hand and tucked it into her sleeve, unwilling to get her hands sticky with the messy rouge.
But when Li Fuxiang’s expression changed, Gao Yuexing couldn’t help but soften her heart. She couldn’t bear to reject him outright and had to pull a pristine white handkerchief from her waist to take the bundle of foxtail grass, laden with his affection.
Gao Yuexing asked, “Whose rouge did you ruin to dye this?”
Even she didn’t realize the hint of jealousy laced in her words.
Li Fuxiang replied, “I bought it.”
After all, no one would allow him to mess up their rouge.
Only then did Gao Yuexing feel at ease.
Li Fuxiang said, “Put the flowers away, and I’ll take you out to play.”
Gao Yuexing asked, “What’s there to do?”
Li Fuxiang said, “I’ll take you to see pheasants. Have you ever seen a chicken that can fly?”
Gao Yuexing responded, “…You’ve never seen one before?”
Li Fuxiang said, “I’ve heard about them.”
In truth, during the four years that Gao Yuexing had been away from the capital, Li Fuxiang had lost all interest in running wild through the mountains.
The autumn hunting season wasn’t the best time. Over the four years, there were two years when he was sick and confined indoors, not allowed to leave. Although Xiaoshan Palace was a hunting lodge, Li Fuxiang had made the library his sanctuary.
Li Fuxiang told her, “In the future, after we get married, when the western frontier is at peace and the court is tranquil, I’ll take you out to play. During autumn and winter, we’ll head south, traveling by boat along the waterways. When summer comes, we’ll go up north.”
It sounded beautiful.
Gao Yuexing couldn’t bear to dash his dreams.
He would one day take up residence in the Eastern Palace as the crown prince and the future emperor.
The mountains, rivers, and seas outside…
Though they belonged to him, they didn’t truly belong to him.
In the future, as he sat in the grand and lofty hall, dreaming of sleeping among the mountains and swimming in the waters, it would no longer be possible.
Perhaps, in his heart, Li Fuxiang already knew this.
Gao Yuexing nodded, giving a firm promise: “Alright.”
Li Fuxiang once again helped her onto his horse and took her to see the beautiful pheasants. He said, “I saw them by the riverbank over there—two of them.”
Gao Yuexing said, “By the time you get there, they might already have been hunted by someone else.”
Li Fuxiang replied, “Impossible. I’ve had someone guard them. No one can touch my pheasants.”
Gao Yuexing said, “I think that’s unlikely.”
Just because he assigned someone to guard them, how could they already be considered his? Until an arrow strikes the target, no one can say whose prey it is.
The riverbank he mentioned wasn’t hidden, and even on horseback, it took them a good quarter-hour to reach it.
Indeed, Li Fuxiang had stationed a young guard there. But the moment the guard saw Li Fuxiang’s horse approaching, he rushed over with a mournful expression.
Li Fuxiang’s heart sank, and he asked, “What happened?”
The young guard, only about fifteen or sixteen years old, gestured with his hands as he spoke. “I followed Your Highness’s orders to stay here and watch over the two pheasants. I didn’t dare disturb them or leave my post. But suddenly, with a whoosh—two arrows shot out from the woods over there. I couldn’t stop it!”
Li Fuxiang asked, “…Who took the birds?”
The young guard replied, “It was the two young masters of the Kong family, from the Ministry of Revenue.”
Gao Yuexing raised her eyebrows. “Was there also a child about twelve or thirteen years old?”
The young guard quickly nodded. “Yes, yes, exactly.”
Li Fuxiang turned to her. “Why do you ask?”
Gao Yuexing didn’t answer. Mentioning the Ministry of Revenue made her sensitive, reminding her of events years into the future.
Prince Xin had embezzled funds meant for disaster relief, and the investigation eventually implicated the Ministry of Revenue. Minister Kong was cunning and left little evidence, but it was the second son of the Kong family who, out of a sense of justice, exposed his father, sending him to the execution ground.
However, because of the son’s righteous act, only Minister Kong was punished. The rest of the family remained untouched.
The pheasants were gone.
Li Fuxiang could only let it go.
But he didn’t expect the matter to end there. Upon returning to the camp at the foot of the mountain with Gao Yuexing, several servants arrived, saying they were attendants of Minister Kong’s household. They conveyed that the young master of the Kong family wished to invite His Highness Prince Xiang to join them for roast pheasant.
Anyone with a more sensitive disposition would have taken this as a provocation.
But Li Fuxiang wasn’t one to hold grudges—his perspective was just a bit different from most.
The thought of those beautiful pheasants being roasted so quickly utterly killed his appetite.
Gao Yuexing told him, “Pheasant doesn’t taste very good. If you don’t want to go, then don’t.”
The Kong family attendants, however, couldn’t bear to let such slander pass. They hurriedly spoke up in defense. “No, no, that’s not true! Our young master is an excellent cook. His roasted pheasant smells so good it makes your mouth water.”
Gao Yuexing found the attendants amusing. Upon closer inspection, they seemed quite young themselves.
It takes a certain kind of interesting master to raise such bold servants.
Gao Yuexing turned to Li Fuxiang. “Do you want to go?”
Li Fuxiang, understanding the unspoken implication of her question—”It might be worth meeting them”—nodded in agreement.
He decided to go, but only if Gao Yuexing came along.
When they arrived at the spot where the Kong brothers had set up their cooking area, the attendants hadn’t lied. From a distance, the aroma of roasting meat filled the air.
Upon seeing the brothers, Gao Yuexing’s gaze immediately fell on the shorter young master.
Then she turned to observe the elder brother of the Kong family and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—what a waste.
Both brothers were handsome and carried themselves with a clean, scholarly air.
The elder Kong brother greeted Prince Xiang with a bow. “This humble official and my younger brother happened upon the riverbank and spotted some game. We couldn’t resist taking a shot. Upon approaching, we realized that the pheasants were already under the care of Your Highness’s attendants. It was truly unintentional, and we deeply apologize for any offense caused.”
Li Fuxiang raised his hand slightly and said, “It’s nothing. I just thought they looked beautiful.”
The once-beautiful pheasants, now plucked and roasting over the fire, were indistinguishable from ordinary chickens.
Li Fuxiang couldn’t help himself and asked, “Are they tasty?”
The younger Kong brother used a dagger to slice off a piece of meat, wrapped it in oiled paper, and handed it to him. “Your Highness, try it.”
Li Fuxiang tore off a small piece to taste and then handed the larger portion to Gao Yuexing.
Gao Yuexing chewed slowly. The meat was tender—she guessed it wasn’t truly a wild pheasant.
During the royal autumn hunt, once the men’s bloodlust was aroused, they couldn’t stop. No matter how many animals the mountains held, such methods would deplete them quickly. As a result, there were always people who raised large numbers of livestock and poultry specifically for these events. When the time came, they would release them—real mixed with fake—for the hunters’ amusement.
Gao Yuexing said, “Not bad.”
Li Fuxiang decided to sit with them and drink a bowl of wine, which could be considered making new friends.
When the autumn hunt ended and preparations were made to return to the capital, a rainstorm fell, making the weather even colder.
Imperial Consort Xian’s health finally showed some improvement.
Everyone set aside their playful moods.
As soon as the emperor returned to the capital, preparations were made to deal with the matter of Consort Hui.
Consort Hui’s elder brother had already been imprisoned in Zhaoyu Prison, awaiting trial.
After returning to the palace, more than a dozen charges were listed against Consort Hui. It was evident that her crimes extended beyond rebellion and the attempted murder of the late empress dowager. Even the sordid deeds she committed during the late emperor’s reign were brought to light.
Some matters even implicated the late empress dowager.
For the sake of the late empress dowager’s reputation, the emperor selectively concealed some details. However, at the very end of the list of charges, the emperor personally added one with his vermilion brush—the attempted murder of a pregnant consort, Consort Wen.
Consort Wen had passed away.
Carrying an unborn child, it was a death of two lives.
Imperial Consort Xian was completely in the dark about what had happened. The servants of Mifei Palace had vanished, leaving the palace eerily quiet. A proper mourning ceremony was held in the palace, but how could someone who had been fine one moment suddenly die the next, with no news released beforehand?
Yet, the emperor’s decree was absolute. If he declared she was dead, then she was dead. A coffin was buried in the imperial consort’s tomb, though no one knew what was actually inside it.
Gao Yuexing sat at her desk, idly sketching something on paper.
So many things were different from her past life.
For instance, the chaos at Xiaoshan Palace.
Or the appearance of Consort Wen.
Or Consort Hui’s death.
Reflecting on her past life, Consort Hui had rarely shown herself. Even when she died, she had lived comfortably and quietly in Jingmen Palace until the end.
That year, when Gao Yuexing was injured at the palace, there had also been a palace coup. She couldn’t help but wonder if Consort Hui had been involved.
If, in her previous life, her death had been orchestrated by Consort Hui…
But in this lifetime, Consort Hui had already been brought to justice. So, would the upheaval from when she was twenty years old still occur?
Man-made events are the most unpredictable and beyond foresight.
Gao Yuexing spent the entire night calculating and still found her mind muddled, unable to make sense of it all. Frustrated, she rolled up the paper, threw it into the brazier, and burned it to ash.
Her thoughts shifted, and with that, she let it go.
If human actions were unpredictable, then natural disasters—ancient and unchanging—must remain constant, right?
Gao Yuexing remembered that the second year after her marriage to Li Fuxiang, a once-in-a-century flood devastated both banks of the Yangtze River.
And with such a great disaster always came a great epidemic.
Gao Yuexing knew she had to start preparing early.