Part 3
Zhao Yiyi turned her head abruptly to look at him.
Thinking of his words just now, she barely steadied her mind and replied, “Her parents from before were also adoptive parents. Later, the adoptive parents passed away one after another. The brother and sister-in-law had many children at home and were unwilling to continue raising her, so they sold her.”
If, as he said, she resembled a deceased old acquaintance… official families only lost daughters; they didn’t sell them. If she could find Duanduan’s biological parents and give her more support, it would be a good thing.
Therefore, she said a few more sentences.
By the time the moon reached the middle of the sky, Zhao Yiyi was finally a bit sleepy. Coupled with the discomfort from being blown by the cold wind for too long, she returned to the cabin to drink wine and take a nap.
She closed her eyes and leaned against the low couch. Her consciousness gradually blurred, and the sound of silk and bamboo instruments outside gradually faded away.
Seeing this, Gu Zhen waved his hand to dismiss the musicians and covered her with a thin quilt.
The next morning, Zhao Yiyi woke up in the relay station.
Events from last night weren’t very clear. She couldn’t help asking, “What time did we come back yesterday?”
Yunzhu replied, “It was past midnight when we returned. Niangniang was sleepy on the road; this slave and others supported Niangniang back. You rested as soon as you returned.”
Actually, it was Bixia who personally carried Niangniang back last night. But Bixia ordered not to tell Niangniang, so they dared not speak.
Zhao Yiyi responded slowly. She was about to take a green shirt to change into, but was stopped by Yunzhu.
“Niangniang, today the officials are welcoming Bixia‘s return to Luoyang. You’d better change into ceremonial robes.”
Pondering for a long while, Zhao Yiyi agreed.
The ceremonial robes were wide and large, enough to isolate the autumn chill when worn. When stepping out of the relay station, Zhao Yiyi nodded slightly to Gu Zhen as a greeting, then went straight onto the Pheasant Carriage.
The relay station was not far from the Palace City. In less than two quarters of an hour, the carriages gradually slowed down.
The carriage door opened, and a hand with slender fingers reached in from outside to help her down.
In the past, Mancao and the others also helped her off the carriage like this. Zhao Yiyi didn’t suspect anything and placed her hand on it. The palm was slightly rough, revealing an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Only after stepping out of the carriage did Zhao Yiyi discover that the person helping her down was actually the Emperor.
Her expression changed abruptly, and she tried to withdraw her hand. “Why is it Bixia?”
Gu Zhen’s phoenix eyes held a smile. He coaxed her warmly with a few sentences, then led her into the Yingtian Gate.
The officials waiting on both sides were stunned seeing the scene of the Emperor personally helping the Empress off the carriage and arranging her jade pendants with gentle brows and eyes. They were shocked in their hearts. After a few calculations flashed through their minds, everyone lowered their heads again, looking at the green bricks in front of them.
“Gentlemen have worked hard today.” Not long after, Wu Mao came over and smiled. “Bixia orders the gentlemen to return to your offices first. He will summon you one by one later to discuss court affairs.”
The ministers responded in unison, then retreated.
As soon as Gu Zhen returned to Luoyang, starting from last night, he began to handle the backlog of government affairs.
After summoning a batch of important ministers, he summoned Prince Yan again.
“How did the investigation go?” He dipped his brush in ink, reviewing memorials without stopping for a moment, and asked in a deep voice.
Prince Yan pulled a few sheets of paper from his sleeve and presented them to Gu Zhen. “According to Royal Brother’s words, Subject-brother interrogated everyone around during Linchuan’s birth and ordered several female physicians to examine her. There are no birthmarks or red moles on her body as rumored during her birth.”
Finding this, Prince Yan himself was shocked. He confirmed it several times in a row, interrogated several times, and almost used torture methods before daring to confirm.
Gu Zhen’s gaze swept over the items presented by Prince Yan one by one. After a brief pondering, he ordered, “Don’t tell Mother about this matter yet.”
Prince Yan agreed hurriedly, replying, “Subject-brother interrogated them all in private and sealed their mouths; I dare not let Mother know.”
Gu Zhen nodded indifferently and said, “The matter is about done. Since you are idle in the capital, go stay at the Western Suburbs Camp for a period of time.”
After Prince Yan retreated, Gu Zhen rubbed the center of his forehead and suddenly called Wu Mao.
“Bixia.” Wu Mao stood by his side with hands crossed, leaning forward slightly to look at him.
Gu Zhen said in a deep voice, “Send someone… to look for Second Miss Zhao’s former brother.”
On the day of returning to the palace, Zhao Yiyi summoned her younger siblings into the palace.
Seeing Zhao Chen, she first glared at him grumpily, then dismissed the palace servants, leaving only a few confidants, before sneering, “You have grown capable, learned to beat people up?”
Zhao Chen was stunned and denied it flatly, “No, where did Eldest Sister hear that?”
Seeing him still stubborn, Zhao Yiyi angrily threw a small teacup at him, annoyed, “Where did I hear it? Do you know the Luoyang Governor has reported it to Bixia?”
“Sister?” Zhao Chen didn’t react for a moment, calling her numbly.
Zhao Yiyi added, “Still know I am your sister? If I weren’t your sister, do you think the Luoyang Governor would hide it for you?”
Zhao Duanduan also widened her eyes and nudged him. “Who did you beat? How old are you, still fighting?”
She thought of her sister’s words just now. If the Luoyang Governor wanted to make an example of the nobility, how could Zhao Chen escape?
Zhao Chen lowered his head and said muffledly, “Beat Cui Siyuan.” He actually knew Cui Siyuan was innocent; whether in the past or now, he had always been good to Second Sister. But his family wasn’t innocent.
He couldn’t beat those women, so he could only beat their treasured Cui Siyuan to vent his anger.
“Him.” Zhao Duanduan breathed a sigh of relief, then said anxiously, “How dared you beat him? You, you—”
Zhao Yiyi took over for her, “Do you know how vengeful the Marquis of Hejian is? If not for the Luoyang Governor knowing our two families have a private grudge and reporting it to Bixia first—if he were just a bit more upright, just you wait.”
Zhao Duanduan followed closely, nodding. “Exactly, he holds grudges very much.”
She nodded like pounding garlic, unaware of herself, but causing Zhao Yiyi to turn and look at her.
“Hm?” Zhao Yiyi looked down at her, frowning. “How do you know?” That the Marquis of Hejian held grudges was something everyone in the court knew, but Duanduan, a lady in the boudoir, had no way of knowing these things.
Zhao Duanduan curled her lips and replied, “Oh, him. Didn’t he say he wanted to worry about what Sister worries about? Zuo Lianzhi tricked his daughter once, and he almost tortured Zuo Lianzhi to death.”
Zhao Yiyi asked, “What happened?”
“The Zuo family expelled Zuo Lianzhi.” Zhao Duanduan sighed and tutted softly. “Sister, to please you, the Marquis of Hejian hasn’t spent little effort during this time.”
“He took the initiative to be a knife for Sister. If used well, he is quite a good knife.”
Zhao Yiyi held the teacup, lowering her eyes in silence.
Not seeing her for a few months, she hadn’t expected that her once obedient and bright sister had also grown up.
She stroked Zhao Duanduan’s forehead and said warmly, “If Cui Siyuan was beaten, he was beaten. It’s just…” She turned to look at Zhao Chen, her brows suddenly darkening again. “You haven’t grown a bit of wisdom. Go back and copy the books you studied recently a few more times.”
Compared to Zhao Chen beating someone, she was angrier that he didn’t clean up properly and let someone find out.
But fearing it would encourage his arrogance, she didn’t say it out loud, only scolded him a few times.
She kept the two for the noon meal. Zhao Chen had taken half a day of leave to come out today and still needed to return to the Imperial College. So Zhao Yiyi didn’t keep him, only asking Zhao Duanduan to stay and accompany her for two days.
However, just after assigning palace servants and before seeing Zhao Chen out the door, an attendant ran in and reported with a panic-stricken face, “Niangniang, Lanruo Temple… Lanruo Temple caught fire!”
Lanruo Temple was a large temple with flourishing incense. The entire temple was split in two, half for monks and half for nuns, and there were usually many pilgrims.
Zhao Yiyi’s brow jumped as she asked him, “Are there any major issues in the temple?”
“Lanruo Temple closed its doors to perform rituals today. News just came that the monks and nuns were all outside the buildings, so there were no casualties.” The attendant gasped for breath and replied, “The Marchioness of Huai’an was hit by a falling burning beam. She protected Miss Zuo, so Miss Zuo is fine, only suffered some burns. However, the Marquis of Huai’an, when turning back to save people, accidentally tripped over the threshold. Don’t know if his leg is broken.”
Translator’s Note:
- Dragon Pool (Longchi): A famous pool in the Xingqing Palace in Chang’an.
- Marquis of Hejian (Hejian Hou): Hejian is a commandery name. The title implies he is a high-ranking noble.
- Linchuan: Likely refers to a Princess or a specific noble child whose identity is being questioned. The search for birthmarks implies a suspicion of swapped children or false identity.
- Relay Station: Official lodging for government officials and royals when traveling.
- Yingtian Gate: The main southern gate of the Imperial Palace city in Luoyang.
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