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I Saw His Highness in His Youth 86

The Fox Shows Its Tail

 

Li Fuxiang had long been displeased with that booklet and had attempted multiple times to secretly burn it. However, the emperor, who usually indulged him, was unyielding on this matter, guarding it day and night, even resorting to certain means to protect it as though it were his lifeblood. Only with great effort was the booklet preserved.

 

Li Fuxiang’s thoughts rarely lingered on trivial matters for too long. Since his impulse to destroy the booklet was thwarted, he quickly let it go.

 

In recent years, Yagu had hardly added anything to that booklet.

 

As a result, the emperor began carrying the booklet with him, keeping it close to his heart.

 

Stroking Li Fuxiang’s soft hair, the emperor solemnly warned, “Never make a mistake. There will be no chance for redemption. Don’t let yourself live a lifetime of regret.”

 

Li Fuxiang responded gloomily, “Yes.”

 

The emperor then turned his gaze to Gao Yuexing. In the quiet of the night, his eyes were calm and unruffled as he said, “Good child, I entrust my son and the kingdom of Great Xu to you.”

 

Gao Yuexing felt the immense weight of this responsibility pressing heavily on his shoulders. Without a word, he knelt before the emperor and kowtowed in formal acknowledgment.

 

The emperor patted Li Fuxiang’s shoulder, signaling him to rise, and said, “Go back. Let me be alone for a while.”

 

The figures of Li Fuxiang and Gao Yuexing walking side by side away were deeply etched into the emperor’s eyes, gradually becoming blurred and indistinct.

 

Upon leaving Fengning Palace, Li Fuxiang suddenly moved, pinning Gao Yuexing against the stone lion at the foot of the steps.

 

Startled by Li Fuxiang’s fierce gaze, Gao Yuexing hurriedly pushed him away. “What are you doing?”

 

The autumn night’s stone was cold to the bone. Gao Yuexing’s hand rested on Li Fuxiang’s shoulder, accidentally brushing against the warmth of his neck. For a moment, it was as though he had been sealed in place, unable to move.

 

Li Fuxiang leaned close to her ear and said, “I swear, I will never make a mistake. You must not leave me. Will you promise me that?”

 

Was it the emperor’s pain just now that had frightened him?

 

Gao Yuexing blinked, raised her hand, and firmly placed it on the back of Li Fuxiang’s neck, trying to reassure him. “Alright, don’t worry. I will never leave you.”

 

We must both live well and reach old age together.

 

Li Fuxiang tilted his head and lightly brushed her delicate cheek.

 

He still didn’t dare to be presumptuous.

 

That fleeting kiss, as light as a dragonfly skimming the water, lingered endlessly in their minds.

 

In the quiet of the night, with her close to him, Li Fuxiang said, “The books I’ve read say that after getting married, a couple must sleep in the same bed in the bridal chamber, just like we did when we were children.”

 

Mentioning their childhood, Gao Yuexing’s gaze grew distant.

 

Back when Gao Yuexing would sneak to visit him at the Xiaonan pavilion, the weather was freezing, and the two of them would share a single quilt, huddling together for warmth in a cold, bare room.

 

When Li Fuxiang brought Gao Yuexing to live in Qianqing Palace, he would often climb onto her couch in the afternoons, resting against her as they napped together to relieve their fatigue.

 

At that time, Li Fuxiang understood nothing.

 

Gao Yuexing was still a six-year-old child.

 

The occasional improprieties of two small children attracted no real attention.

 

But Gao Yuexing had been gone for too long. By the time they reunited, Li Fuxiang had grown into a young man who knew decorum, and Gao Yuexing had blossomed into a graceful, charming young lady.

 

They never again lay on the same bed.

 

Gao Yuexing smiled helplessly. “You’re so eager to marry me. Don’t tell me it’s just so we can lie on the same bed together?”

 

Li Fuxiang replied, “I want to keep you by my side forever so that no one can take you away—not even your father.”

 

Gao Yuexing tapped his forehead with her index finger. “You’re still just a child.”

 

Li Fuxiang lowered his head to look at her.

 

He had already grown quite tall. It was hard to imagine that a few years ago, when he was ten, he had been about the same height as six-year-old Gao Yuexing.

 

Now, even when Gao Yuexing stood on tiptoe, she barely reached his chin.

 

He said, “You’re the one who’s small.”

 

Gao Yuexing pushed him away a bit and said, “Stop clinging to me. I’m going back to the palace banquet. There are still many performances I haven’t seen.”

 

Li Fuxiang followed behind her, heading toward the brightly lit Chunhe Palace, and said, “There’s nothing exciting about it at all.”

 

Gao Yuexing thought of the women in the palace and said, “These women have been enduring the same monotonous days in the palace for so long that they’ve worn away their tempers and lost their vitality. What kind of excitement are you expecting?”

 

If there was anything exciting, Gao Yuexing had indeed noticed one thing.

 

It was about Prince Xin’s birth mother—Meng Zhaoyi1The term “昭 (Zhao)” means “illustrious” or “bright,” and “仪 (Yi)” means “demeanor” or “appearance.” Together, “Zhaoyi” can be translated as “Illustrious Consort” or “Consort of Distinguished Bearing.”.

 

Like Consort Xian, she had been a palace maid who served the emperor in his chambers.

 

However, Meng Zhaoyi had an advantage over Consort Xian: she had given birth to the emperor’s eldest son.

 

Judging by Prince Xin’s age, the emperor must have fathered his first son around the same age as Li Fuxiang was now.

 

That means Meng Zhaoyi had been with the emperor far earlier than Consort Xian.

 

But why, after all these years, did it seem as though she had disappeared entirely from the palace, as if no trace of her remained? It felt rather odd.

 

Li Fuxiang suddenly crossed his arms behind his back and raised his chin proudly, saying, “I know!”

 

His expression all but screamed: Ask me quickly.

 

Gao Yuexing couldn’t help but laugh. “Then tell me!”

 

Li Fuxiang, eager to spend more time alone with her, dragged things out endlessly, insisting on finding a quiet place to sit down before he would say anything.

 

Gao Yuexing couldn’t bear to refuse him.

 

Li Fuxiang led her to a rocky spot where they both sat down. He said, “Meng Zhaoyi is a little… dimwitted.”

 

Gao Yuexing raised her eyebrows. “Dimwitted?”

 

Leaning closer to her, Li Fuxiang explained, “The emperor originally liked having her serve by his side. Back when he was in the prince’s manor, she was quiet and attentive in taking care of him. But after he ascended the throne, she started hanging around with the empress dowager. All day long, she would nag the emperor to appoint an empress and select concubines. She annoyed him so much that he lost all affection for her.”

 

Gao Yuexing had never imagined it was something like that.

 

Hearing this explanation, Li Fuxiang’s assessment didn’t seem far off the mark.

 

Meng Zhaoyi was indeed a bit dim-witted.

 

Gao Yuexing recalled the appearance she had seen at the palace banquet. Although the marks of time were unmistakable, the delicate and gentle foundation of her features could still be discerned. She must have been quite stunning among the emperor’s many concubines back in the day to have been selected to serve at his side.

 

The case of Li Fuqian embezzling disaster relief grain had not yet occurred.

 

But it was close.

 

Gao Yuexing clearly remembered that the incident happened in the same year as her marriage to Li Fuxiang.

 

Roughly two years and a little more to go.

 

As she mentally calculated the timeline, she walked back toward Chunhe Palace. However, upon arriving, she noticed something was off about the atmosphere in the hall.

 

The silence was palpable, and everyone kept their heads down without saying a word.

 

Even if the women in the harem harbored animosity toward each other, they rarely let it show so blatantly.

 

What was going on now?

 

Gao Yuexing lifted her skirt and quickened her pace. As she drew closer, she encountered the imperial physician walking out of the banquet hall with a medicine box in hand.

 

Reaching out to stop him, she asked, “Imperial Physician Zhou, what’s going on?”

 

Imperial Physician Zhou, who had been walking with his head down and a grave expression, paused at her question. After a moment’s hesitation, he forced a stiff smile and said, “Ah… it’s good news. I must report to the emperor—Lady Wen is pregnant!”

 

Pregnant?!

 

Gao Yuexing tilted her head in confusion.

 

The emperor had just been drowning in grief over his deceased wife, and now his new favorite concubine was already carrying his child?

 

Consort Xian, upon seeing Gao Yuexing, rushed toward her like a drowning person grasping for a lifeline. Nearly losing her composure, she excitedly grabbed Gao Yuexing’s hand. “Ah Xing, you’re knowledgeable about medicine—come and take a look at Lady Wen…”

 

Allowing herself to be led, Gao Yuexing approached Lady Wen.

 

Lady Wen, surprisingly cooperative, extended her wrist for Gao Yuexing to feel her pulse.

 

Gao Yuexing’s hand moved before her mind fully processed the situation, and before she realized it, she had already placed her fingers on Lady Wen’s pulse.

 

The pulse was strong, smooth, and flowing, like beads rolling on a tray.

 

At first touch, it did seem like the pulse of a pregnant woman.

 

But something about it felt off.

 

The pulse surged with strength at first, but it seemed to lack stamina, as if something was not quite right.

 

Gao Yuexing met Lady Wen’s gaze.

 

Lady Wen’s eyes curved into a smile as she looked at her.

 

Gao Yuexing withdrew her hand.

 

Consort Xian anxiously observed her expression and nervously asked, “Well…?”

 

Gao Yuexing said nothing but gave a slight nod.

 

Consort Xian stood there in a daze.

 

The sixty-four pomegranate trees outside Chunhe Palace now seemed like nothing more than a joke.

 

After seventeen years, there was once again a pregnant woman in the palace.

 

But it was not the most esteemed Consort Xian.

 

In the past, the women of the palace were able to endure their lot because they were all trapped in their own miseries. None of them could enter the emperor’s heart. His heart remained with the late Noble Consort Zheng. How could the living ever compete with the dead?

 

But now, things were different.

 

Lady Wen’s favor and her pregnancy—did this mean the emperor had let go of the past?

 

If Lady Wen could, could other women as well?

 

A new child was about to be born in the palace.

 

This would bring more uncertainty to the position of heir.

 

It was hard to say whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

 

Lady Wen rose to her feet, adjusted her sleeves, and said, “I’m not feeling well. I’ll return to my palace to rest. I hope Consort Xian will forgive me.”

 

Without waiting for Consort Xian’s permission, she gracefully departed with her attendants.

 

At the banquet, Meng Zhaoyi suddenly laughed out loud.

 

Everyone turned to look at her.

 

Meng Zhaoyi, oblivious to the attention, said to her sisters, “Finally, there’s good news in the palace. With how much favor Lady Wen enjoys from the emperor, her rank will probably be elevated soon, don’t you think?” She seemed genuinely happy and, after a pause, added, “She comes from a marquis’s household, after all!”

 

Someone sneered coldly, “Why don’t you say she’s the daughter of a criminal? A woman brought back from the entrance of the brothel division—there are still people who flatter her, it seems.”

 

Gao Yuexing followed the voice and looked over.

 

She didn’t recognize the speaker.

 

Consort Xian spoke up sharply, “Cairen2Cairen (才人) is a historical title used in the imperial court of ancient China. It means “talented person.” Su, watch your words!”

 

It was true that Lady Wen had nearly fallen into the brothel division, but it was Li Fuxiang who had brought her back to the palace.

 

And Li Fuxiang was still present, quietly observing the commotion.

 

He resided in Qianqing Palace, seeing the emperor daily. It was far easier for him to whisper into the emperor’s ear than for the concubines of the rear palace.

 

Consort Xian had no intention of being implicated by the reckless remarks of these women.

 

Li Fuxiang, however, appeared indifferent. Tugging at Gao Yuexing’s sleeve, he said, “This is boring. Let’s go back to Qianqing Palace and play chess.”

 

A matter as significant as Lady Wen’s pregnancy would surely be reported to the emperor immediately.

 

By now, the emperor must have already received the news.

 

Gao Yuexing wasn’t sure if they would be able to see the emperor if they returned to Qianqing Palace at this moment. However, when Li Fuxiang gave her a slight nod, it inexplicably calmed her heart. She felt she had a general sense of what might happen next. With that, she excused herself from Consort Xian and followed Li Fuxiang out.

 

Li Fuxiang took her hand, leading her along the winding palace paths. After a few twists and turns, he stopped under a silk tree.

 

Perplexed, Gao Yuexing was about to ask why he had stopped.

 

Li Fuxiang placed his index finger on her lips, signaling her to be silent.

 

Gao Yuexing heard a faint rustling sound from within the shadows of the trees, and her nerves immediately tensed.

 

Li Fuxiang’s hand gently stroked her back, one soothing motion after another.

 

Then, a ghostly voice drifted out from behind the shadows of the trees—

 

“Imperial Physician Zhou did not report to His Majesty but instead went straight to Consort Hui’s Jingmen Palace.”

 

The fox had revealed its tail.

 

  • 1
    The term “昭 (Zhao)” means “illustrious” or “bright,” and “仪 (Yi)” means “demeanor” or “appearance.” Together, “Zhaoyi” can be translated as “Illustrious Consort” or “Consort of Distinguished Bearing.”
  • 2
    Cairen (才人) is a historical title used in the imperial court of ancient China. It means “talented person.”

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