Chapter 102: Separation of Public and Private
Even though he had ultimately steeled himself to place Lu Xianshan at the top of the list, Gu Zhen still felt uneasy. A ball of fire had gathered in his heart for no reason, yet he couldn’t vent it. Holding it in for so long made his chest feel stifled.
Just then, a subordinate came to ask for instructions regarding the Xinglin Banquet.
The Xinglin Banquet was specially held for the new Jinshi scholars and was located on the south bank of the Luo River outside the palace. Gu Zhen had no interest in it. He swept his gaze over the official and said flatly, “There has been much to do lately. Zhen likely won’t have time to attend. You all just manage it well.”
The official was shocked.
In previous years, the Emperor would always attend the Xinglin Banquet for the new scholars; this was a tradition established since the time of the First Emperor. Regardless of how long he stayed, he should at least make an appearance. On the rare occasions someone didn’t go, there were always specific reasons.
This time, His Majesty had carefully reviewed the submitted essays and even personally inquired about Lu Xianshan’s paper, moving his rank to the front, showing great importance to these examinations. To think that he wouldn’t even grace the Xinglin Banquet with his presence.
The Emperor’s attitude was truly baffling.
The man tried to persuade him, “Your Majesty, this is a major event after the results are posted. It is what those scholars look forward to most. If Your Majesty does not go, it will inevitably lead to disappointment.”
“Why would it come to that?” Gu Zhen’s voice was indifferent. As he leaned against the armrest, his posture held a hint of lazy casualness. “It is merely a banquet. When they join the court as officials in the future, there will be plenty of times to see Zhen. I fear by then, they will even find it annoying.”
The official struggled with his expression, wanting to persuade him further, but the Emperor’s mind was set. There was no room for rebuttal, and it wasn’t worth offending him over such a small matter. The man could only bow and comply, not daring to say more.
After the man left, Gu Zhen’s irritation remained.
At dusk, the pale gold light of the setting sun shone into the hall. Along with a few tapping sounds, two small shadows flashed past. It was time for the two small dogs to come out for their exercise.
By the end of the second lunar month, spring had already arrived. Dry branches were sprouting new buds, and willow branches swayed in the gentle east wind. Gu Zhen casually beckoned to them, but Zhao Xiaobai only gave him a glance before turning and running away. Seeing Zhao Xiaobai sprint off, A-Mo followed suit, chasing after him without a second thought.
Gu Zhen’s face turned grim, his hand still frozen in mid-air. He was almost pushed to the point of a frustrated laugh.
Beside him, Wu Mao lowered his head, struggling to hold back his laughter. After a long while, he managed to control himself and suggested in a small voice, “Your Majesty, the Grand Princess has moved to Qinglu Hall and took A-Huang with her. Xiaobai was originally prepared for the Empress. Why doesn’t Your Majesty send it to her?”
A-Mo was a sightbound hound, born for the hunt and trained since birth. But Zhao Xiaobai, this Maltese-like dog, was the darling of the noble ladies in the capital, with the temperament of an innocent child.
If they stayed any longer, Wu Mao feared the Emperor would make himself sick with anger.
Gu Zhen retracted his hand as if nothing had happened and said flatly, “The Empress didn’t say she wanted it. Let’s wait a few more days.”
Just as he was about to head down the corridor, an attendant brought something. It was a letter of explanation from Ru’nan. She knew she had deeply offended the Emperor because of the matter with the deposed Prince of Wei, so she didn’t dare hide anything this time. Her words in the letter were sincere, placing herself in the humblest of positions.
Gu Zhen scanned it quickly until he reached the end. When he saw that she was willing to dismiss her retainers, live in seclusion in the Princess’s estate from then on, and hand over all the private forces she had recruited, he raised an eyebrow slightly.
Ru’nan had been his aunt for over twenty years; he had always seen how much she craved power. This turn of events was truly unexpected.
After a brief glance, Gu Zhen set it aside and asked, “Has the Empress been told that Zhen will go there for dinner?”
Wu Mao opened his mouth, but it felt as if his throat were blocked; he couldn’t make a sound. After waiting for a long time without a response, Gu Zhen turned with a darkened face, only to see Wu Mao looking at him with a face full of difficulty.
“What is it?” Gu Zhen’s eyes were sharp, barely suppressing his displeasure. “Is there something you can’t say?”
A bad premonition gradually surfaced in his heart. As time passed, his expression became even more unsightly.
Wu Mao’s body was tense, and cold sweat was almost breaking out. He said nervously, “Replying to Your Majesty, the Empress left the palace today to return to the Huainan Marquis estate.” He paused, only daring to continue after glancing at the Emperor’s expression. “It was Second Young Master Zhao who said Master Lu had passed with top honors and wanted to hold a small celebratory banquet at home. The Empress and the Grand Princess went there together…”
Before he could finish, he clearly saw the fury rising in the Emperor’s eyes.
Gu Zhen almost choked. He felt the fire of jealousy burning fiercely, as if it were about to incinerate his heart and lungs. He did his best to suppress the fire and asked in a deep voice, “When did this happen?”
Wu Mao said, “The Empress left at the beginning of noon. Your Majesty has been in meetings, so I didn’t have a chance to say.” Later there was an opportunity, but the Emperor’s face was clearly unpleasant, so he dared not speak even more.
His Majesty had just declined the Xinglin Banquet. Others might not know the reason, but Wu Mao saw it clearly. It all came back to Master Lu. If he had mentioned it just now, wouldn’t that be adding fuel to the fire? At that moment, he felt the Emperor might have been ready to skin him alive.
Gu Zhen didn’t care what Wu Mao was thinking; he just rubbed his brow, turned around, and walked back into the inner hall. Wu Mao stood dazed for a moment before immediately chasing after him.
Zhao Yiyi didn’t return to the palace until near the time the palace gates were to be locked. Unlike before, the palace city was brightly lit. The light from outside reflected through the carriage window, allowing her to see glimpses of its grandeur.
Zhao Duanduan had been napping against the carriage wall, but the light stung her eyes, and she woke up in a daze. She looked up blankly and asked, “Sister, are we there?”
Zhao Yiyi shook her head and said softly, “We just entered Hanguang Gate. It’s still early.”
Zhao Duanduan curiously lifted the carriage curtain to look out. Suddenly, a figure appeared in her line of vision—a tall, upright man standing like a sturdy pine in the wind. With the thousands of lights behind him, the expression on his face was hard to discern.
She was so startled that her hand let go, and she quickly shrank back, leaning against the carriage wall in shock.
“What’s wrong?” Zhao Yiyi asked with a frown, worried she had seen something unpleasant. She lowered her head and looked over with concern.
Zhao Duanduan waved her hand, clutching her skirt tightly into a wrinkled mess before saying in a small voice, “Sister, the Emperor is outside, and he looks so scary.”
Zhao Yiyi was stunned.
The carriage slowly stopped at the sound, and before long, the carriage door was opened from the outside by an attendant, inviting them to alight.
Gu Zhen was already waiting below with a slight smile on his face, not at all as Zhao Duanduan had described. Under the glow of the candlelight, his handsome face was enough to make anyone daze for a second.
Zhao Yiyi paused as she rose, then held the carriage door and slowly stepped down. Gu Zhen stepped forward with a smile, though his face held a hint of subtle stiffness. He took her hand to lead her down and said softly, “Why didn’t you tell Zhen you were leaving the palace today? I could have accompanied you.”
“Your Majesty is busy with government affairs. It was just a small family matter; I wouldn’t dare trouble Your Majesty.” Zhao Yiyi shifted her gaze slightly, landing on her hand being held by him. Through the contact, she could detect a slight tremor in his hand.
Gu Zhen’s expression faltered for a moment before he said warmly, “Zhen still has the time to accompany you on a trip out.”
Zhao Yiyi gave him a half-smile, then turned and pulled her hand back, walking forward with a calm expression.
Zhao Duanduan came down behind her, watching timidly. When she saw the gentle smile on the Emperor’s face, she couldn’t help but be taken aback. It wasn’t until the two had walked far away and she heard the palace attendant inviting her to go back and rest that she finally exhaled and hurried back.
Once they returned to Yande Hall, Zhao Yiyi finally asked, “Why are the lights in the palace so bright today?”
Gu Zhen said, “Zhen heard you went out for a banquet and was worried you would return late and wouldn’t be able to see the road, so I specially ordered them lit.”
Zhao Yiyi sat down at her dressing table. She casually took off her earrings and placed them in the jewelry box. Looking at her face in the mirror, she nodded. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Her indifferent attitude made Gu Zhen feel even more uncertain.
The moon at the end of the month was just a sliver. The silver frost filtered through the lush treetops. Following that silver frost, Gu Zhen’s gaze landed on her dark hair. “Are you tired today?”
Zhao Yiyi met his eyes in the mirror and smiled. “I thought Your Majesty would ask about something else first.”
What else? There was only that one thing.
Driven to this point, Gu Zhen finally admitted, “Zhen is jealous.” his voice was very low, and his emotions were heavy. His hands at his sides slowly tightened, the veins gradually bulging. Once the words were out, the blockage in his chest dissipated as if he had let out a long breath. He looked at her and couldn’t help but say, “Yiyi, how could Zhen not be jealous?” Just thinking about it made him furious.
As expected.
Zhao Yiyi turned her head, not at all surprised, and raised an eyebrow. Everything tonight was too deliberate. If he truly didn’t care, he wouldn’t have acted this way; his temperament wasn’t capable of it.
Zhao Yiyi found it amusing. “Isn’t it said that Cousin Lu is at the top of the list because Your Majesty personally selected him? Are you angry with yourself?”
Gu Zhen placed both hands on her shoulders, his voice deepening. “Zhen moving his rank forward was for public business. Zhen being jealous and loathing him is my private business. The two do not conflict.”
That day when the subordinates presented the papers together, he had a moment of impulse where he wanted to directly throw Lu Xianshan out. But that thought lasted only a second before it faded. If he had actually done it, it would have become an obstacle he could never overcome in his life.
Jealousy was one thing, but Gu Zhen would never admit that Lu Xianshan was more important to Yiyi than he was.
He had intended to act as if he didn’t know, but he hadn’t expected Yiyi to ask proactively. He said, “You didn’t tell Zhen about going there to offer congratulations—was it because you were afraid Zhen would be narrow-minded and not allow you to go?”
Zhao Yiyi laughed softly for a while and looked up at him. “Why didn’t I notice before that you had such a virtue of separating public and private matters?”
Gu Zhen took the opportunity to hold her hand and said softly, “Zhen has always been like this; it’s just that Yiyi hasn’t noticed.”
“Then I suppose I was ignorant and knew too little about Your Majesty.” Zhao Yiyi gave him a sidelong glance, then turned back to comb the ends of her hair with a white jade comb. In the next moment, however, she felt herself being lifted up and realized she was being held on Gu Zhen’s lap.
Gu Zhen looked down at her, his voice warm. “No rush. In the future, Zhen will let you get to know me piece by piece.”
Unprepared for his sudden move, Zhao Yiyi’s body stiffened. Her hands still lightly held the dressing table, and her brow knitted slightly.
Gu Zhen half-embraced her waist, his large palm pressed tightly against the soft, slender small of her back. Staring at her jade-like profile, he said softly, “At the Xinglin Banquet next month, would Her Majesty be willing to grace Zhen with her presence?”
T/n: Happy reading!
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