A straightforward and brutal assassination.
He toyed with the emperor, harmed the imperial princes, and didn’t bother to cover his tracks. He wanted to drag things out with the emperor, but the emperor had no intention of playing along.
Gao Yuexing noticed that his right hand hung limply, and his movements seemed somewhat uncoordinated.
She asked, “Are you injured?”
Xi Heng let out a soft “Hmm” and said, “The people I brought with me are temporarily left in Xu Prefecture because they discovered something extraordinary. It’s a matter of great importance, so I had to personally return and report to the emperor. I’m leaving immediately.”
Gao Yuexing asked warily, “Why are you telling me this?”
Xi Heng smiled approvingly. “Regardless of whether your father agrees or not, I truly think you’re a talent worth cultivating, little girl.” He adjusted his sword and walked past Gao Yuexing.
Gao Yuexing turned and called out to him, “Lord Xi, my father’s side is not as impenetrable as it seems.”
Xi Heng didn’t stop walking or turn his head. His hearty laughter rang out: “Then let’s discuss it when I return.”
After getting the information from Xi Heng, Gao Yuexing returned to Rouqi Pavilion and relayed it word for word to Lady Xu.
Lady Xu asked softly, “I’m a bit slow-witted, so I don’t quite understand. Does this mean the murderer has already paid for their crimes?”
Gao Yuexing nodded.
Lady Xu closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief, as if a weight had been lifted from her heart.
She soon fell into a deep sleep again.
Gao Yuexing stayed by her side for a while until she heard a light tapping on the window outside.
She immediately knew what was happening. Opening the window, she found Li Fuxiang leaning eagerly against the sill.
Gao Yuexing whispered, “The lady is asleep.”
Without a word, Li Fuxiang raised a leg to climb through the window. Gao Yuexing hurriedly cleared the clutter on the desk to help him get in safely.
Li Fuxiang tried not to make too much noise, for fear of waking Lady Xu, who would promptly send him away if disturbed.
However, Lady Xu, who was a light sleeper, had already been awakened by the sound of the tapping. She pretended not to notice and kept her eyes closed for nearly half an hour. When she saw Li Fuxiang lying on the bed, resting on the corner of her blanket and leaning close to her without any intention of leaving, she finally opened her eyes helplessly.
Li Fuxiang called out, “Mother.”
That’s right. He had started addressing people proactively.
Lady Xu stroked his small face. Today, she made an exception and did not send him away. She pulled Li Fuxiang closer by his shoulder and said, “Your name has the character ‘Xiang’ in it. Do you know what it means?”
Li Fuxiang shook his head.
“To the west, there’s a place called Xiang City. That’s where your mother was born. Back then, your mother rode the fiercest horses, whipping across the desert in pursuit of the most beautiful sunsets. You’ve never seen that, have you?”
“When I was a slave, I swore I’d stay with her for the rest of my life, but she told me that people always part ways and that I shouldn’t cling too tightly. When we were in the palace, she chose a marriage for me. The man was a young general—good in character and appearance. Most importantly, if I married him, I could return to the free and unfettered Xiang City.”
“Your mother always thought I loved Xiang City. But in truth, without her, Xiang City is not a place I want to return to.”
Lady Xu asked Li Fuxiang, “Will you always remember me?”
Li Fuxiang replied sadly, “I will.”
Lady Xu smiled. “As long as you remember me, I will not die. However long you live, that’s how long I’ll live too. Good child, my sweet child, don’t be sad.”
Gao Yuexing turned her back and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief.
Lady Xu passed away in late spring.
It happened almost simultaneously with Li Fuyou’s death.
Just after Li Fuyou’s forty-nine-day mourning period ended, Lady Xu followed him in death.
For the first time, Li Fuxiang experienced the pain of parting by death. It was a dull ache that stretched out endlessly, growing in the depths of his longing. Slowly, he came to understand that death meant permanent separation.
For the rest of his life, he would never see that same-aged playmate or that gentle woman again.
From then on, for ten years, twenty years, or however long he lived, he would carry the weight of this pain, recalling it time and again.
Li Fuyou’s death deepened the emperor’s vigilance.
He felt that having only Ding Wenfu by Li Fuxiang’s side was insufficient. Thus, he assigned several top-notch experts from the Jinyiwei to covertly protect Li Fuxiang. They were to remain hidden, guarding him like shadows.
The palace was consumed by two consecutive funerals, and it wasn’t over yet.
The third funeral occurred after summer began.
The Third Prince had died.
Gao Yuexing was puzzled. Wasn’t it previously said that the Third Prince had gone missing?
But on the day the news broke, Li Fuqiu’s body was openly carried out of Jingmen Palace. It was said that Consort Hui was so terrified that she nearly fainted on the spot.
In comparison, his funeral was far more subdued. Because his presence had been overwhelmingly significant before, the historians could only hastily jot down a record, avoiding wild speculations among the common folk. While Li Fuqiu’s name was inscribed in the imperial tomb records, his body was wrapped in a straw mat and casually buried in a desolate mountain wilderness.
Gao Yuexing had a gut feeling that something significant must have happened during the six months of his disappearance.
But she had no way of learning the truth, so she had to let it go for now.
Li Fuxiang had been apprenticed to Grand Tutor Liu for nearly a year.
Grand Tutor Liu’s sharp eyes and keen insight allowed him to gradually understand the nature of this child after prolonged interaction.
During the ten years Li Fuxiang spent confined in the Xiaonan Pavilion, he had instinctively mastered the most sophisticated survival skill—hiding.
Not only did he learn to hide his person, but he also learned to hide his heart.
He was clear in his mind about what belonged to him and what belonged to others.
When he was a child, Yagu had casually told him a story that slightly skewed his perception. He believed he was destined to have a wife, thinking that everyone in the world did. It was a predestined bond, requiring no search of his own. He only needed to wait patiently, and when the time came, Heaven would naturally deliver his wife to him.
Thus, as he built walls around his heart, he preemptively reserved a space for his destined wife.
When Gao Yuexing appeared, all she needed to do was knock gently, and the door would open.
Li Fuxiang continues to remain in hiding.
Grand Tutor Liu often sighed, wondering when the sharp sword would finally be unsheathed.
In this world, aside from Gao Yuexing, no one else could touch the deeply buried pain within his body.
And aside from Gao Yuexing, no one else could soothe the scars he carried.
Gao Yuexing always remembered Xi Heng’s parting words, “We’ll discuss it when I return.” So she kept waiting and waiting. She didn’t want to continue being the pampered young lady. She didn’t want to waste away in the high-walled courtyards of her family. Even if it meant defying conventions, she wanted to give it her all. Yet, Xi Heng never returned.
While idly passing her days with Li Fuxiang, Gao Yuexing continued to wait.
She waited through the winter months and into the following spring.
It was as though Xi Heng had disappeared into the earth, leaving no trace behind.
Could it be he had secretly gone off to have a child?
At eight years old, Gao Yuexing, covered in mud from training on the martial grounds, climbed onto her horse with little regard for her appearance. Looking at the high, cloudless skies, her mind was adrift with worries.
Meanwhile, twelve-year-old Li Fuxiang finally realized he had been tricked.
Not everyone was destined to have a wife.
And Gao Yuexing was not fated to marry him.
In this world, marrying a wife was no easy task.
Rather than trying to please the future bride herself, wouldn’t it be more practical to curry favor with her father instead?
What if Gao Jing refused to let his daughter marry him in the future?
Unfortunately, he had little opportunity to meet Gao Jing.
Li Fuxiang was so protective of his little red horse that he wouldn’t let it run even a step too far. He merely strolled leisurely along the racetrack, watching from afar as Gao Yuexing tired herself out on horseback. Zheng Yan, ever the bootlicker, ran up to help her dismount and even offered her a sweet, juicy pear.
Annoying.
Zheng Qianye deliberately teased him with a smirk, “Oh? Why isn’t Miss Gao playing with you anymore?”
Li Fuxiang’s self-proclaimed impenetrable composure was no match for these old foxes’ sharp eyes. Zheng Qianye found him clever and endearing, liking him more and more with each interaction. If only he could take the boy under his wing! But unfortunately, the emperor wouldn’t allow it.
Occasionally, Zheng Qianye would share some of his early battlefield stories with Li Fuxiang. Li Fuxiang loved listening to these tales, but Zheng Qianye never told too much at once. He understood the art of keeping someone intrigued—just enough to pique Li Fuxiang’s interest so the boy would continue to seek his company.
After leading his horse back to the stable, Li Fuxiang trailed after Zheng Qianye like a little shadow.
Zheng Qianye smiled faintly, brought him to sit under the shade, and handed him a pear. “This is the first batch of pears this year. Why don’t you try one?”
Li Fuxiang held the pear in his hands but didn’t eat it. Instead, he asked, “Last time, you mentioned the ambush on the supply wagons at Tieshui Cliff. What happened after that?”
Zheng Qianye replied, “After that—”
From afar, Gao Yuexing noticed Zheng Qianye was about to tell a story. She immediately shook off Zheng Yan and rushed over. Plopping herself down next to Li Fuxiang, she nudged him and said, “Move over a bit, you’re taking up too much space.”
Two kids sharing a single mat, of course, was cramped.
Li Fuxiang scooted over slightly.
But every inch he moved over, she encroached by another inch.
She was clearly bullying him on purpose.
Li Fuxiang didn’t show many strengths, but he excelled at enduring.
Even when he felt wronged and wanted to cry, his face remained impassive.
After Gao Yuexing finished teasing him, she started to feel sorry for him. She rubbed his hand gently, helped him sit back down, and whispered into his ear, “After the story, let’s go to Qianqing Palace. Yagu said she’s making plum blossom pastries today.”
Her wind-tousled hair brushed lightly against his ear, a peculiar sensation that seemed to itch not just his skin but also his heart.
Li Fuxiang gave a barely noticeable nod, and Gao Yuexing instantly beamed with joy.
Zheng Qianye recounted thrilling tales from the battlefield, carefully omitting the cruelty but explaining the strategies in detail. Li Fuxiang listened intently, while Gao Yuexing started to doze off.
Eventually, Gao Yuexing leaned her head lightly on Li Fuxiang’s shoulder.
Li Fuxiang didn’t dare move an inch.
The now slightly older Gao Yuexing no longer adorned her hair with simple ribbons and tassels. Today, she wore a lifelike velvet peony hairpin, vibrant and elegant. The vivid flower and its tender green leaves seemed almost real under the sunlight.
The flower was exquisitely crafted.
In the palace, only the princesses and Gao Yuexing could select from the season’s newest hair ornaments.
Today, Li Fuxiang finally heard the end of the story about the ambush at Tieshui Cliff. Though he was eager for more, Zheng Qianye refused to continue. Waking Gao Yuexing, Li Fuxiang prepared to take her back to the palace for snacks.
Gao Yuexing, still half-asleep, instinctively followed him.
As they walked a fair distance and she fully awoke, Gao Yuexing looked at the figure ahead of her, now a full head taller than her. Suddenly, she realized—how quickly time flies!
More than a year had quietly passed in this tranquil routine.
By this time next year, she would be nine.