“Keep it a secret and not disclose it?”
The emperor, not understanding the intention behind Lady Xu’s words, assumed she was still unable to face the grief of losing her son. He personally helped her up, speaking gently to console her: “I understand your pain, but the child’s spirit cannot linger outside for too long. Burying him sooner for peace is the proper course.”
Lady Xu raised her head. Her face was bare of makeup, and her reddened eyes reflected not only sorrow but also a resolute determination.
The emperor, momentarily stunned by her gaze, softened his tone even further: “Are you still unable to reconcile with it in your heart? Rest assured, our son’s death was suspicious, and I have already uncovered some clues…”
Lady Xu slowly shook her head. “The truth must be investigated. I trust Your Majesty. But that is not why I am here today.”
Noticing her thin clothing, the emperor guided her into the tent. “Sit and speak.”
A hand warmer was placed into Lady Xu’s hands, but she stubbornly set it aside. She said, “Although my son’s name has already been drafted by the Ministry of Personnel, it has yet to be inscribed in the jade registry.”
The emperor responded, “When we return to the palace, I will immediately—”
“No.”
For the first time in her life, the ever-compliant Lady Xu interrupted the emperor, displaying an unprecedented lack of deference. “Your Majesty, my fifth prince is still alive. He was personally named by Your Majesty—Li Fuxiang. I implore Your Majesty to select an auspicious date, open the ancestral temple, inscribe his name in the jade registry, and restore to him the honor he deserves, in both name and status.”
Lady Xu’s statement was not impassioned.
The emperor was silent for a moment. It took him some time to fully grasp her meaning.
Although the fifth prince had not been named at birth, a position had always been reserved for him in the jade registry. Therefore, adding his name to it was a matter of due course—something the emperor could do at any time if he so desired.
However, Li Fuxiang was a shadowed existence, born as the illegitimate offspring of a tainted bloodline. From the moment of his birth, he had been erased from the royal lineage. While erasure was simple, reinstatement was far more complex. The emperor was constrained by ancestral rules from above and the watchful eyes of court officials from below. Though he had the authority to act unilaterally, would the royal family of the Li clan not lose its dignity? Could Li Fuxiang’s tarnished identity ever truly stand firm in the world?
These questions remained unresolved, and the emperor had been troubled by them for months.
Li Fuyou had died at the spring hunting camp, and the announcement of his death had yet to be made public.
The sole position reserved for him in the jade registry…
This angle had never occurred to the emperor before. His heart sank. “But if we proceed this way, our little fifth prince will die without a name or status.”
Lady Xu understood this better than anyone. She stared blankly at her hands and said, “I beg Your Majesty to grant me this one heartfelt wish.”
Li Fuyou’s spirit had been placed at Xiaoshan for seven days. On the morning of the eighth day, the emperor broke camp and returned to the capital. The palace mourning bells tolled, and the emperor, with his vermillion brush, issued an obituary to the world:
“Second Prince, deceased.”
From the distant rivers and lakes to the high halls of the imperial court, while commoners could be deceived, the court officials would not let this pass lightly.
Everyone knew it was the fifth prince who had died. Many civil and military officials had personally attended his memorial during the spring hunt. How could the emperor, with a stroke of his brush, attempt to turn black into white, calling a stag a horse?
They understood the reason clearly—it was to legitimize Li Fuxiang’s identity. Memorials flew to the emperor’s desk like snowflakes. In front of the Qianqing Palace, the emperor ordered a brazier to be set up and burned them all to ashes. Many senior officials were so enraged they nearly collapsed.
The next day, the officials boycotted court. On the day after, the emperor refused to hold court.
Both sovereign and ministers had forced each other to the brink.
The third day, the fourth day, the fifth day…
The officials gradually returned to court, but the emperor continued his abstention.
On the Sixth Day.
Lady Xu, disheveled and barefoot, stormed into the Golden Hall with a sword in hand, shouting sternly, “Today, I will see who among you dares claim that my son, the honorable Fifth Prince Li Fuxiang, is dead!”
The court officials exchanged uncertain glances, unsure of how to respond. A bold young official stepped forward, his voice trembling with excitement. “You madwoman! Have you lost your mind from grief? The Fifth Prince died at Xiaoshan; we all saw it with our own eyes. Or have you brought some illegitimate offspring of dubious bloodline to deceive the emperor and usurp the throne?”
Lady Xu unsheathed her sword with a swift motion.
Several elder statesmen turned pale, glaring daggers at the young official. The truth about whether Li Fuxiang was of dubious bloodline was something they all knew in their hearts. This was precisely why, despite the recent uproar, no one had crossed the line or spoken out of turn. For this young man to be so reckless and brash, it was clear he was being used as a pawn by someone.
The cold gleam of the blade pressed against the man’s neck. Lady Xu, appearing half-crazed, demanded, “Who is the illegitimate offspring? Who are you calling an illegitimate offspring? Is it you who speaks lies to turn black into white? If the child I bore in my womb is not the emperor’s, could it possibly be yours? Will you take your own life to atone for your offense, or shall I spill my blood here and now to prove my innocence?”
The hall descended into chaos.
Finally, the emperor arrived, fashionably late. The officials knelt in unison, except for Lady Xu, who stood alone, sword in hand. She turned her head, her smile delicate yet mocking. “Your Majesty, he claims our Fuxiang is an illegitimate offspring.”
Behind the emperor’s ceremonial crown, his expression was unreadable. His voice, however, was cold and imperious as he uttered a single word: “Execute.”
The hall erupted into cries of, “Your Majesty, show mercy!”
The imperial guards drew their blades, seized the young man by both sides, and gagged him. Without hesitation, they dragged him out and carried out the sentence.
Yang Zixian, the Grand Secretary, stepped forward, kneeling as he pleaded, “Your Majesty, must this matter escalate to the point of bloodshed within the court?”
From his elevated position, the emperor looked down coldly, a sneer curling his lips. “Indeed. I, too, wish to ask you, my loyal subjects: must this matter escalate to the point of bloodshed within the court?”
If the emperor were truly acting irrationally, insisting on placing an illegitimate child into the royal jade registry, it was the officials’ duty to protest, even at the cost of their lives.
But the key issue was that, despite the circumstances surrounding his birth, Li Fuxiang was undeniably a true prince of royal blood.
The elder statesmen, having cooled their initial fervor, began to realize the absurdity of the situation.
The truth could not be falsified, and lies could not pass as truth.
The emperor declared, “You dare call my bloodline an illegitimate offspring, intending to force me to kill my own son?”
Yang Zixian immediately recognized that pushing further would be tantamount to inciting rebellion.
As for the person who had first incited the officials’ outrage…
Prince Wen, the most respected elder of the Li royal family, had been conspicuously absent for some time.
Seeing that the drama had reached its peak, Zheng Qianye, who had been playing the invisible man in court, finally stepped forward. With a few well-chosen words, he persuaded the emperor to pardon the reckless young official.
Thus, the matter of Li Fuxiang’s identity was finally settled.
The Fifth Prince Li Fuxiang’s name was spread across the land.
Lady Xu returned to the palace and fell gravely ill.
The emperor took Li Fuxiang to the Rouqi Pavilion. That day, spring rains drizzled incessantly, drenching the hearts of all with a sense of melancholy and unease.
Lady Xu’s illness seemed to sap all her vitality. In just a few days, her once vibrant self now exuded a deep sense of lifelessness, both inside and out.
The emperor held Li Fuxiang by the hand and said to her, “I’ve brought Fuxiang to stay with you for a few days.”
Lady Xu forced herself to stay composed. “Why bring him here, Your Majesty? His health hasn’t been stable, and if he catches my illness, how could that be good for him?”
The emperor replied, “He’s your son. When you’re ill, it’s only right for him to stay by your bedside and fulfill his filial duty.”
Lady Xu understood. The emperor wanted her to find some strength to carry on, which was why he was willing to send over the precious child he had always held dear. She let out a bitter smile. “I’m useless now; I fear I’ll let down Your Majesty’s kind intentions.”
The emperor feigned anger. “What nonsense are you spouting? You’re still young, with no major illness or disaster. Stop saying such dispiriting things. A few days of rest and you’ll recover.”
Thus, Li Fuxiang and Gao Yuexing were left in the Rouqi Pavilion.
With Li Fuxiang’s presence, Lady Xu finally managed to take some medicinal soups, but her condition still deteriorated day by day.
Gao Yuexing knew that Lady Xu’s affliction was of the heart. She could not let go of her burdens, and no one could help her.
Even Lady Xu’s cat, Little Mianhua, grew thinner day by day. Its fur, once soft and fluffy, now shed in large clumps. Because Li Fuxiang had asthma and could not tolerate the flying cat hair, Lady Xu, ignoring his tearful pleas, ordered the cat to be sent back to Qianqing Palace. Li Fuxiang clung to her sleeve, refusing to let go, but she steeled herself, shook him off, turned, and shut the door behind her.
Gao Yuexing stayed behind and said to Lady Xu, “Your Highness, let me remain. I can fulfill the filial duties on behalf of the young prince. Whether it’s me or him, it’s all the same.”
Lady Xu replied, “You’re a good child.”
The seven-year-old Gao Yuexing, as the new year arrived, devoted herself to caring for Lady Xu at her bedside. Li Fuxiang came every day, but Lady Xu refused to see him. He would sit in the courtyard, either reading or studying, until mealtime, when someone from Qianqing Palace would come to fetch him.
Lady Xu had one more matter on her mind. One day, she awoke suddenly from a nap, startled. Gao Yuexing quickly asked her what was wrong.
Lady Xu, tears streaming down her face, said blankly, “I dreamt that Ah You came back to see me.”
Li Fuyou’s coffin had ultimately been interred in the imperial mausoleum, under the title of the Second Prince. All the honors due to him were provided, but no mention of his name would appear in the annals of history.
Gao Yuexing comforted her. “He must have been worried about you, so he came to check on you.”
Lady Xu said, “In my dream, he told me his vengeance had been exacted, and now he’s leaving. He won’t come back again.”
Gao Yuexing consoled her, “Then he must have entered the cycle of reincarnation to be reborn. Your Highness, you must live a long life, so you can meet him again when fate brings you together in the future.”
Lady Xu smiled with relief. “There’s no such fate waiting in the future. Don’t try to comfort me. Good child, help me find out if the emperor has already identified the culprit.”
Since returning to the palace, Gao Yuexing had had no opportunity to learn anything about the Xiaoshan case. Those who knew the details would not discuss such matters in front of a child. Left with no choice, she decided to ask the emperor directly.
The emperor was meeting with court officials.
Gao Yuexing wandered outside the study for a while before deciding to wait at a distance. She found a seat in the Yanyu Pavilion, where she unexpectedly encountered someone.
Xi Heng suddenly lowered his head from outside the pavilion and spoke abruptly, “Second Miss Gao.”
Startled, Gao Yuexing turned quickly, her raised hand instinctively caught and held firmly by Xi Heng.
Xi Heng said, “Don’t be afraid, it’s me.”
Gao Yuexing asked, “Why are you here?”
Xi Heng replied, “I saw you sneaking around here, so I followed to take a look.” He continued to hold her hand, his fingers pressing carefully against the bones of her wrist.
Gao Yuexing retorted, “I wasn’t sneaking around. What are you doing?”
Xi Heng released her hand, leapt down from the roof, and said, “Nothing much, just wanted to see how good your aptitude is.”
Gao Yuexing’s curiosity was piqued. “How is my aptitude?”
Xi Heng smirked. “Do you want the truth?”
Gao Yuexing immediately regretted asking.
Sure enough, Xi Heng chuckled and said, “You have no aptitude whatsoever. You’re not cut out to be a Jinyiwei. Better stick to being the pampered young lady you are.”
His ambition to recruit her into the Jinyiwei was clearly still alive.
With her sharp mind, more attuned to her surroundings than her age might suggest, Gao Yuexing quickly picked up on his underlying implication. “Are you saying I could be a Jinyiwei?”
Xi Heng glanced at her. “With your intelligence, it’s possible. What? Interested?”
Gao Yuexing’s mind began to stir with the idea.
But Xi Heng doused her thoughts with a figurative bucket of cold water. “Forget it. Your father would never allow it.”
Gao Yuexing: “…..”
He hit the mark, leaving her with no room for argument.
Finally, Xi Heng stopped teasing her and asked, “Are you here to see the emperor?”
Not knowing how long the emperor would remain occupied, Gao Yuexing remembered that Xi Heng had been investigating the case from Xiaoshan and figured he might know something. She asked, “Lady Xu sent me to ask if there’s been any progress on the Fifth Prince’s case.”
Xi Heng sighed deeply. “Lady Xu, huh… Well, there are some leads. On that day, we found something among the prince’s belongings—a collar. Later, I discovered that the Prince of Wen’s heir is quite fond of dogs. The ones he keeps in Xu Prefecture wear collars just like that.”
Gao Yuexing pressed him anxiously. “He’s the culprit? Has he been brought to justice?”
Xi Heng replied, “We’ve been investigating for a long time and have a decent amount of evidence, but he still has room to argue his innocence.”
Gao Yuexing asked, “Is it hard to convict him? Then what should be done?”
Xi Heng gave her a knowing look, a faint smile on his face. “Little girl, you’ve been sheltered in the palace, completely detached from worldly affairs. Haven’t you heard? The Prince of Wen’s heir was assassinated three days ago—killed in a brothel.”