Chapter 22
Zhao Heng sought a position from Li Wenjian, thinking of the promise she had made to her grandmother, as the blunt pain and regret slowly enveloped her.
Li Wenjian remained non-committal, only tightening the towel around Zhao Heng and carrying her out of the bath.
Her slender and white legs hung from the towel, droplets of water trickling down from her calves and heels.
Silently, Li Wenjian walked into the room and placed her on the bed.
"Change your clothes, I'll wait for you outside," Li Wenjian said as he turned and walked towards the outer room.
Confused, Zhao Heng watched his retreating figure in silence, her heart feeling uneasy and doubtful, wondering if he was unwilling.
A moment later, she finally picked up the clothes placed beside her and changed into them. Just out of the bath, her hair was still wet. She casually took a hairpin and pinned it up before walking out to the outer room.
Li Wenjian sized up Zhao Heng.
She changed into her night clothes, which were loose and draped on her, crumpling into large wrinkles that made her look even smaller.
There was a faint smell of sulfur on her body from soaking in the hot spring. Her hair was pulled up high, with the stray hairs at the back of her neck and temples dry. The candlelight shone through, making her hair seem to glisten.
Li Wenjian's gaze followed her shimmering hair to her face.
He looked up into Zhao Heng's eyes and said, "I promise you."
Zhao Heng lowered her head and gently loosened the hands clasped in her sleeves, a hint of confusion appearing in her eyes. At this point, there was no turning back, she realized.
Did she choose a path strewn with flowers or thorns?
But besides this, did she have any other choice?
She asked herself, and the answer was no.
Even if there were demons and monsters ahead, she could only grit her teeth and continue on.
Zhao Heng breathed a sigh of relief, made up her mind, and no longer hesitated in fear. "Thank you, Your Highness."
The night wind blew into the room, making the lanterns on the corridor sway. The glass beads hanging on the lanterns collided, producing a crisp sound as if echoing Zhao Heng's voice. She lowered her eyes and looked at the shadow of Li Wenjian projected on the ground.
"That night, I was poisoned with a jade tongue," Li Wenjian said in a deep voice.
Zhao Heng raised her head in astonishment, sat up straight, and looked directly into Li Wenjian's eyes.
"Do you know about Wei Wanyu?" Li Wenjian ignored her probing gaze and asked.
Zhao Heng nodded gently. "It is rumored that Miss Wei is the prime candidate for the Crown Princess."
Li Wenjian turned his back, casting his shadow on the screen. The wind swayed the lantern, causing his shadow to tremble along with it. He said, "You don't have to believe what others say. I have no romantic feelings towards Wei Wanyu."
Zhaoheng looked at Li Wenjian's straight back. Whether it was her illusion or not, she noticed a slight shrug of his shoulders, as if touching upon something he did not want to mention.
After a moment of silence, he continued, "Last winter, the Emperor ordered her to marry the Prince of Yuezi, Aruo. She did not want to marry him. At the Feast of Wanshou Festival, she threatened to die and demanded to see me."
Li Wenjian was not in the habit of explaining himself to anyone, and he did not have to explain to anyone.
In the past, when she wanted to leave the palace, there was no need for many words. But now it was different. Zhao Heng wanted to stay in the Eastern Palace, so these things should be explained clearly, at least not to make her feel that she was relying on a debauched and vile person.
"Someone put a jade tongue in Wei Wanyu's drink," Li Wenjian said.
Zhao Heng was momentarily stunned, but as he spoke, she slowly organized her thoughts, and many of her previous confusions were unraveled. For example, she had always wondered why the Crown Prince did not wear his dragon-patterned robes that night, and why his eyes seemed to be struggling in a fiery turmoil...
Jiang Jin had planted a large patch of jade tongues. He fed the purchased barbarian slaves with jade tongues, and then locked them with starving tigers. The barbarian slaves, under the influence of the jade tongue, lost their senses and behaved like wild beasts, never knowing fatigue or pain, fighting the tigers to their deaths.
Those who won tore open the starving tigers, feasting on their flesh and drinking their blood.
Those who lost became the tigers' prey.
Jiang Jin was accustomed to deriving pleasure from this.
Thinking of those bloody scenes, Zhao Heng's slender fingers trembled slightly, and her face turned deathly pale, devoid of color.
"Have you found the culprit?" Zhao Heng asked.
Li Wenjian shook his head.
"It involves the diplomatic relations between Dongli and Yuezi, and also..." Li Wenjian paused before continuing, "...Mu Gui found it difficult to handle..."
He stopped there, and she understood.
"Zhao Heng," Li Wenjian finally turned around, earnestly staring at her.
Zhao Heng looked up at him, a myriad of indescribable emotions swirling in her heart. She vaguely felt that fate was like an invisible hand, ruthlessly pushing her to her current predicament.
"I am telling you this for two reasons," Li Wenjian locked his gaze on her eyes. "First, if you stay in the Eastern Palace, the rest of your life may not be smooth-sailing. Even for me, the path has been fraught with dangers, assassination attempts, treachery, and countless near-death experiences before reaching today."
He looked at his reflection in Zhao Heng's clear eyes. She blinked slowly, casting a shadow with her long feather-like eyelashes.
Even if Li Wenjian didn't say it, Zhao Heng had already understood this truth.
She was like a drifting leaf, stepping into a quagmire, and now she was floating alone. But what did she have to fear?
She had chosen this path herself, and no matter what, she would have no regrets.
"And the second reason?" Zhao Heng slowly exhaled, easing the heavy pressure on her chest.
A droplet of water from Zhao Heng's hair fell gently on Li Wenjian's hand.
He felt as if he had been branded.
"The second reason is, you don't have to be afraid," Li Wenjian smiled at her reassuringly. "As long as I'm here, I will do my best to protect you and ease your worries."
He felt guilty towards Zhao Heng, taking care of her and protecting her was his responsibility.
Zhao Heng's heart fluttered for a moment, and her eyes flickered with panic.
But in an instant, she calmed down.
In this world, no one could be someone's eternal reliance.
Those without far-sightedness will have near worries.
Even if he was the Crown Prince, he could never handle every detail, shielding her from all worries and troubles.
The only person one could rely on forever was oneself.
She would never place her hopes on others.
*
Three days later, Zhao Heng had mostly recovered.
Li Wenjian sent Fei Yu and Jing Lin to escort her back to the palace.
The carriage left the gates of the palace and slowly traveled along the spacious streets. The streets were bustling and lively, but Zhao Heng sat in the carriage as if oblivious to it all.
The early spring brought forth fresh greenery, with the trees swaying in the wind along the roadside.
In the spacious carriage, Zhao Heng could not feel the slightest warmth of spring, only an occasional chill creeping from within her bones.
Fei Yu got up before dawn.
At his age when he was still growing, he would feel sleepy and nod off within fifteen minutes of waking up.
Riding his horse on the street, waves of drowsiness hit him, one yawn followed by another. Jing Lin glanced at him, retracting her gaze in disdain. Fei Yu felt embarrassed, one hand holding the reins, the other hand covering his mouth to stifle a yawn discreetly.
Just then, a carriage suddenly rushed towards them from the opposite direction.
The fast carriage careened through the crowd, showing no signs of slowing down. Pedestrians scrambled to the side, toppling many street vendors and frightening children into tears.
Seeing the carriage heading straight towards Zhao Ling, Fei Yu's heart pounded, urging his horse forward to intercept. The horseman on the other side finally pulled the reins in time, lifting the horse's hooves high and abruptly stopping the carriage.
Fei Yu was shocked, the drowsiness instantly gone, the reins entangled around his injured finger as he fixed a sharp gaze on the horseman.
Before he could speak, the person on the other side angrily demanded, "Who are you people?! How dare you stop our carriage?!"
The carriage suddenly halted, nearly crashing into Zhao Heng, who managed to steady herself against the side of the carriage, only to hear Fei Yu's somewhat indifferent voice outside saying, "Miss Wei."
Zhao Heng frowned, trying to push away the chaotic thoughts.
Having recognized Fei Yu and Jing Lin, Wei Wanyu's expression softened upon seeing them, waving her hand generously and not making a fuss, instead reprimanding the coachman, "Have you lost your eyes? This is Fei Yu, the young general of the Eastern Palace."
The coachman immediately changed his tune, smiling sheepishly at Fei Yu, "So you're Fei Yu, young general. This old servant was blind and almost collided with you. Please forgive me."
Forgive? Fei Yu didn't want to forgive.
Wei Wanyu had harmed people while riding her horse more than once, and Fei Yu sternly told her, "Miss Wei, there are many pedestrians on the road. It's better to have your coachman pay more attention, lest innocent people get hurt."
Wei Wanyu was already in a bad mood, being scolded by Fei Yu, a young lad, only made her more furious. However, since His Highness had already grown tired of her, if she got into an argument with Fei Yu now, he would grow even more disgusted with her.
She could only grit her teeth and say, "Oh."
As she was about to lower the curtain, she suddenly felt a gaze from the carriage behind Fei Yu looking at her.
Following the direction of the gaze, she could only see a corner of the curtain, unable to see the person behind it, but could only see a pure white hand resting on the window frame.
A warm breeze gently lifted the curtain.
The moment she saw her face clearly, Wei Wanyu's breath caught in her throat.
It was said to have snow-white skin and features like a painting, but that was an understatement.
Zhao Heng raised her eyes, her gaze passing through the crowd and landing quietly on Wei Wanyu's face.
Then, she lowered her eyes, moving her gaze away from Wei Wanyu's face, gently instructing, "Let's go, Fei Yu."
The young man standing at the head of the horse raised his nose slightly discontentedly, ordering the coachman to continue forward.
Wei Wanyu watched as the carriage slowly departed, her slender fingertips tightening around the curtain. She had never seen this person before, so how could they be riding in the Eastern Palace's carriage?
And how could they command the usually disobedient Feiyu?
"Go and find out who the person in the carriage is," Wei Wanyu instructed her handmaiden.
The handmaiden didn't need to inquire further; she already knew.
The news spread throughout the palace.
ââThe eternal iron tree had blossomed.
The Crown Prince, shining like the sun, self-disciplined and righteous, actually took a concubine.
He bestowed upon the woman the title of Zhaoxun and granted her residence in the Changqiu Hall.
Sitting in the shadows, Wei Wanyu hung her head, lost in thought. Ever since she heard about the Crown Prince's appointment of Zhaoxun, she had been sitting motionless.
After all these years of hard work, was it all in vain against this sudden arrival of a siren?
"Miss." Yingyan ran back from outside, with a worried expression on her face.
Wei Wanyu raised her eyes at the sound of her name, seeing the fear on Yingyan's face, she knew that the trip must have been fruitless again.
She had to struggle to pull herself out from the bad news of the Crown Prince's appointment of Zhaoxun, and she looked at Yingyan. "And Li Wenjian, will he still not agree?"
Yingyan glanced fearfully at Wei Wanyu, then lowered her head, her voice barely above a whisper. "He said that His Majesty has already bestowed upon him priceless treasures. He doesn't want gold or jewels, only a beauty. He will not back out of this marriage."
This barbaric man!
Wei Wanyu, already in a state of turmoil, was further enraged upon hearing this, and she slammed her hand on the table, causing it to shake.
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Author's note:
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ââãThe Betrayal of My Former Fiancéãââ