After lingering for a moment, Gao Yuexing told herself not to indulge further and withdrew herself. Tilting her head slightly, she asked, “When you saw Li Fuqiu back then, what was his condition?”
Li Fuxiang said, “He was locked in the dungeon beneath the Eastern Palace, the same place where you were once imprisoned.”
Gao Yuexing replied, “I see…”
Li Fuxiang continued, “He wasn’t tortured, but the Emperor only allowed him a mouthful of water and three bites of food each day. It’s a place of utter darkness where lighting lamps is forbidden. Every day, for just half an hour, the Jinyiwei would bring in a lamp and paper, letting him write. If he could produce something useful, the Jinyiwei would reward him.”
Gao Yuexing listened intently, her expression serious.
That might be worse than being tortured.
A day or two could be bearable, but he endured this for months. How did he manage to survive?
Li Fuxiang said, “He was desperate to see the Emperor. He said that if the Emperor would come, he would divulge everything he knew.”
But the Emperor refused to see him.
Even with his words laid bare, the Emperor remained unmoved.
The Emperor was ruthless.
The Emperor feared that he wouldn’t be ruthless enough.
After all, the Emperor had cared for him for so many years.
Li Fuxiang added, “When I saw him, he was almost unrecognizable, but he recognized me. He even asked if I hated him.”
Gao Yuexing frowned, “He didn’t lose his mind?”
Li Fuxiang responded, “He was very calm… He said he still wanted to see you, though he knew it was impossible.”
For someone like him, such torment might not even count as much compared to his past experiences.
No one knew what kind of days he lived through after learning his true origins and discovering that spies were planted by his side.
Nor could anyone guess what thoughts crossed his mind as he wandered through the imperial city.
Li Fuxiang continued, “The day I visited, he wrote down the name of Consort Hui on a piece of paper.”
Gao Yuexing was stunned. “What?!”
Li Fuxiang’s clear eyes fixed on her as he nodded and said, “Trust your ears—you heard correctly. It was Consort Hui.”
Gao Yuexing couldn’t help but shake her head slightly.
Li Fuxiang continued, “The Emperor burned that piece of paper on the spot, denouncing it as utter nonsense and wild accusations.”
Gao Yuexing also found it unbelievable.
After the late Emperor passed away, his consorts who had sons were sent to live with their children in their respective fiefdoms. Those without children were sent to temples to live as nuns. Yet, Consort Hui, who had no children, was allowed to remain in the palace and live in ease. Not only did the Emperor treat her with great respect, but he also granted her a separate residence in Jingmen Palace—a unique favor that made her the center of attention in the capital.
Gao Yuexing had a general understanding of this.
Although Consort Hui had no children of her own, her relationship with the late Empress Dowager was exceptional. They had been close confidantes since their days in the boudoir, and after entering the palace, they supported each other through thick and thin. After the late Emperor’s death, it was the late Empress Dowager who made the decision, with the Emperor’s approval, to allow Consort Hui to remain in the palace. As a child, the Emperor had been extremely close to Consort Hui, which is why, after much deliberation, he entrusted Li Fuqiu to her care.
Gao Yuexing asked, “Consort Hui treated him well. Why would he do such a thing?”
Li Fuxiang shrugged nonchalantly, offering no comment, and said, “Perhaps.”
Gao Yuexing pressed, “Do you have another perspective?”
Li Fuxiang refused to speak further.
His attitude suggested that he harbored suspicions but lacked evidence, so he was unwilling to make baseless accusations.
Gao Yuexing followed his train of thought.
It was easy to convict someone in one’s heart—imagination alone would suffice.
Yet Gao Yuexing couldn’t understand why he would suspect Consort Hui.
Li Fuxiang remarked, “At that time, he also told me that although I was physically and emotionally trapped in Xiaonan Pavilion, he envied me for having someone like Yagu by my side, someone who took meticulous care of me.”
Ordinary people envy what they lack.
Li Fuqiu was implying that he lacked someone like Yagu by his side.
There was a hidden meaning in his words.
Gao Yuexing wondered, could he have been referring to Consort Hui?
Seeing her deeply furrowed brows, Li Fuxiang couldn’t help but reach out and smooth them.
Gao Yuexing felt a chill, like frost and snow settling on her forehead, cold and biting.
Before Li Fuxiang could withdraw his hand, Gao Yuexing grabbed it.
She untied the handkerchief wrapped around his wrist, revealing that the burn marks had already faded.
Li Fuxiang still bore injuries on his body. Standing by the window for so long, half-leaning against it, his face showed signs of weariness. Seeing it was the middle of the night, Gao Yuexing reminded him to rest well and prepared to leave.
But Li Fuxiang caught her hand and refused to let go, saying, “I’ve been waiting for you tonight. There’s one more thing I must tell you.”
Gao Yuexing complied, “Speak.”
Li Fuxiang slowly leaned on her shoulder, whispering in her ear, “In the Wen Yuan library, the books I hid amounted to only two.”
Gao Yuexing abruptly turned her head.
Li Fuxiang pressed her shoulders, signaling her to stay still. “The books I hid were just two trivial storybooks, nothing noteworthy. But today, among the basket brought by Grand Tutor Liu, were treasonous texts filled with insatiable ambition for imperial power.”
A chill ran down Gao Yuexing’s spine. In that moment, she truly felt what it meant to stand at the eye of the storm, the blade licking at the nape of her neck.
She opened her mouth and asked, “Have you been facing this alone in the palace all these years?”
Li Fuxiang smiled and shook his head. “In the past, I was like a fool—how could I have deserved such attention? It was because I couldn’t resist standing out that some people couldn’t sit still.”
No wonder the Emperor was so certain that those books must have come from someone else.
A deliberate attempt to incite discord and frame him.
It was the kind of instinctive reaction that could only come from absolute trust.
Gao Yuexing asked, “Then Grand Tutor Liu…”
Someone as intelligent and resourceful as Grand Tutor Liu would never allow himself to be used as someone else’s tool. Upon discovering those books, he immediately gathered them all and presented them to the Emperor. However, he did not mention the treasonous texts at all. Instead, he focused on the two trivial storybooks, giving Li Fuxiang a harsh lesson.
As for the treasonous books, which were extremely dangerous and could have cost Li Fuxiang his life, the Emperor personally burned them.
The witnesses would never speak.
The evidence had been destroyed forever.
In Qianqing Palace, the Emperor and Grand Tutor Liu didn’t even need to discuss their plans beforehand. The moment they saw those books, their responses were perfectly aligned without prior consultation.
—Yes, they intended to feign ignorance and quietly let the matter pass without a trace!
Gao Yuexing was both amazed by the tacit understanding between the ruler and his minister and filled with lingering fear. She asked, “So… who did it?”
Li Fuxiang shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Gao Yuexing said, “I’ll help you investigate.”
Li Fuxiang replied, “There’s no need. The Jinyiwei are already involved. I just wanted to remind you to be extremely careful in the palace.”
Gao Yuexing bit her lip and nodded. “Don’t worry.”
Only then did Li Fuxiang let her go.
Under the escort of the imperial guards, Gao Yuexing descended the jade steps. Only when she was out of sight did the lights in Qianqing Palace extinguish one by one.
After Gao Yuexing left, Li Fuxiang leaned against the window frame and let out a long breath. In the warm chamber, Yagu hurried out to support him.
Seeing someone he trusted, Li Fuxiang allowed his vulnerability to surface and leaned almost entirely on Yagu.
Supporting his body didn’t take much effort for Yagu; she even had a hand free to pinch his waist. She gestured: “Have you lost weight again?”
Li Fuxiang weakly lifted his eyelids. “Have I?”
Yagu gently helped him lie on the pillow and applied a thick layer of salve to his bruises.
Li Fuxiang half-closed his eyes.
Yagu patted him, signaling him to turn his head to face her, and gestured again: “You might fool the Emperor and Miss Gao, but don’t think you can fool me. I know you were wronged about the treasonous books, but what about those two storybooks? Where did you get them?”
Li Fuxiang completely shut his eyes, pretending to sleep, and buried his face in the pillow. However, the tips of his ears were visibly turning red, inch by inch.
Yagu, furious, raised her hand to smack him but hesitated in mid-air for a long time, unable to bring herself to do it. Stifling her anger, she took it out by aggressively tousling his hair.
The young boy who had once followed her around asking endless questions had finally grown up.
He no longer asked frivolous questions, nor did he speak carelessly.
When Gao Yuexing returned to Chunhe Palace, she tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. Her mind kept racing—sometimes pondering Consort Hui, sometimes thinking about Lady Wen, and sometimes puzzling over the Wen Yuan library.
Gao Yuexing knew that having an overly curious nature wasn’t a good thing.
But often, it was the ignorant who met the most tragic ends.
It wasn’t until the sky began to lighten that she finally managed to doze off for a while. Her weariness hadn’t fully subsided when Li Lanyao arrived in a hurry, her expression urgent.
Gao Yuexing awoke from her light sleep, her eyes still blurry, and asked, “What time is it?”
Fu Yun replied, “It’s still early, not yet Mao hour (5-7 am). The young ladies can rest a bit longer.”
Li Lanyao waved her handkerchief dismissively. “Rest? Who can rest now?” She nudged Gao Yuexing. “Get up quickly, there’s drama in the palace again.”
Hearing the word “drama,” Gao Yuexing finally perked up and asked, “What happened now?”
Li Lanyao wrung her handkerchief and said, “Last night, Father stayed at Mifei Palace.”
Gao Yuexing nodded. “Yes, I know.”
Wasn’t that already known last night?
Li Lanyao continued, “But in the middle of the night, Father left Mifei Palace, intending to return to Qianqing Palace to rest. However, less than two ke (half an hour) after he returned, he wandered back to Mifei Palace on his own. No one knows what happened. Ah Xing, something’s not right!”
Gao Yuexing let out a soft “Ah,” leaning against the pillow as she hazily pondered the situation.
The Emperor had returned to Qianqing Palace, yet less than two ke later, he went back to Mifei Palace.
Gao Yuexing asked, “Why would he do that?”
Li Lanyao speculated, “My mother consort thinks it’s because Father’s truly smitten and can’t resist the allure of Mifei Palace’s tender charms, so he…”
Gao Yuexing shot her a glance and asked, “How is Consort Xian doing now?”
Li Lanyao nodded. “She’s alright. My mother consort is quite open-minded.”
Consort Xian was not someone who demanded much. As long as the Emperor didn’t forget her in his heart, she didn’t consider it a big deal.
Gao Yuexing sat in a daze for a long time. The Emperor’s behavior was indeed unusual—if he had already returned to Qianqing Palace…
As she mulled over it, a sudden chill ran down her spine.
Could it be that he caught them meeting in secret at Qianqing Palace?
Her sleepiness vanished instantly. Gao Yuexing grabbed Li Lanyao’s sleeve and asked, “Is there any word outside about when the Emperor returned to Qianqing Palace?”
Li Lanyao thought for a moment and said, “There’s no word outside, but the attendants at Mifei Palace said the Emperor left Mifei Palace at hai hour, second ke (around 9:30 PM), but returned shortly after.”
Hai hour, second ke…
At that time, she had still been in Qianqing Palace with Li Fuxiang, reluctant to part, standing right by the window.
He really did see them.
Gao Yuexing wrung a damp handkerchief and covered her face with it, collapsing back onto the pillow in despair.