Chapter 52.1
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, time seemed to fly by. In just two days, the Third Princess would be getting married.
The weather was gradually cooling down. Zhao Heng sat in her room, making plush hand warmer covers for Li Nanxi and Ning Wanzhi in preparation for winter. She chose the finest velvet fabric and crafted them into the shapes of rabbits and tigers, to be slipped over the hand warmers during the cold winter months.
As Zhao Heng worked on the hand warmer covers, Li Nanxi and Ning Wanzhi sat nearby, writing and chatting. Their voices chirped like sparrows on a branch.
Ning Wanzhi, with her lively personality, loved lively and bustling scenery. She was drawn to places where there was excitement and knew a lot about current affairs.
Holding her pen, she leaned forward, her shoulders hunched, and spoke to Li Nanxi across the long table. "Your second brother is in the Northern Territory, and His Majesty has been sending decrees for him to return, but he hasn't cone back. Yesterday, my father said that His Majesty is very angry."
Li Nanxi picked up an ink stick and ground it in the inkstone. Hearing this, he tilted his head towards her and blinked slightly. "Why won't he come back?"
"He made a mistake before, and the Crown Prince punished him to reflect on his actions at the border and forbade him from returning. So, he's sulking and doesn't want to come back." Ning Wanzhi picked up her brush and drew a large turtle on the paper. Lowering her voice, she said, "Now, everyone in the court is afraid that your second brother will rebel in the Northern Territory."
When Li Nanxi's second brother went to the Northern Territory, she was still very young, and now she could barely remember what they looked like. However, she still had vague memories of his second brother, who was always kind to her, giving her candy and lifting her high to pick flowers from the trees.
"No way..." Li Nanxi didn't fully understand what rebellion meant, but he knew that everyone was afraid, so it couldn't be a good thing. She instinctively felt that her second brother wouldn't do anything bad.
Ning Wanzhi said, "I don't know either. I can't even remember what your second brother looks like anymore. But, he's been unwilling to return from the Northern Territory for so many years, and it's not good for him to have his own troops and be in command."
"How do you know he doesn't want to come back?" Li Nanxi was unconvinced. "You're not my second brother."
"That's what everyone is saying." Ning Wanzhi replied without thinking.
Zhao Heng, who had been lazily listening to their chatter, felt the tension rising between them. She interrupted, "Try these chestnut cakes. Concubine An sent them this morning."
The aroma of the chestnut cakes filled the room, their sweet scent momentarily distracting Li Nanxi and Ning Wanzhi from their conversation. They picked up the cakes, taking a bite and savoring the delicate flavor. The sweetness lingered on their tongues, a welcome respite from the unsettling news they had just discussed.
Li Nanxi smiled so much that her eyes looked like crescent moons: "It's delicious."
Zhao Heng watched them, a gentle smile on her lips. She hoped that the delicious cakes would bring a bit of lightness and joy to their day, easing their worries and concerns.
Ning Wanzhi ate several pieces in a row, stretched out a long lazy waist and said, "Aunt, Concubine An is really good to you. She usually doesn't make pastries for anyone else."
Li Nanxi nodded, "Father Emperor only gets to eat them on special occasions."
Zhao Huang smiled, set down the embroidery in her hand, reached out and took a piece of pastry from the plate on the table, with window shadows floating on her sleeves, and said gently, "Perhaps because both Concubine An and I come from humble backgrounds, we have a special connection. She takes care of me more."
Ning Wanzhi leaned on Zhao Huang's shoulder and asked, "Aunt, how did you and the crown prince meet?"
Li Nanqi leaned in to listen.
But Zhao Huang fell silent, not wanting to mention how she and the prince had met. She turned to look at the sky, smiled, and said softly, "It's time to have dinner at Huayang Palace."
Ning Wanzhi stuck out her tongue at Li Nanxi.
As they left the East Palace, Li Nanxi suddenly had the idea to go to Fangchun Garden to pick a few branches of osmanthus flowers to give to the Third Princess. Zhao Heng did not refuse and took her and Ning Wanzhi to Fangchun Garden.
That night, there was no wind, thick clouds covering the moonlight, with only a few sparse stars shining.
Coming out of Fangchun Garden and passing by Cheng Lake, the lake was shrouded in white mist, and the lights on the shore were dimly visible in the damp mist.
Zhao Heng suddenly heard the sound of water and looked towards the water surface with ripples in the mist. Her eyes were filled with a cold chill, "Something's wrong in the lake."
She hurriedly ran towards the lake with her maids, and indeed saw someone struggling near the shore.
"There's someone in the lake," Lian Zhou exclaimed.
"It's Fourth Brother," Li Nanxi squinted and pointed to the person struggling in the lake, pulling Zhao Heng's sleeve, "The person in the lake is Fourth Brother!"
Zhao Heng hurried to the lake, in the dark night, the water surface rippled smaller and smaller, and Li Jiayan had no strength to struggle, inch by inch sinking into the lake.
"Go call for help," Zhao Heng calmly ordered Lian Zhou.
Fangchun Garden was remote and not many people were around, so Lian Zhou hurriedly lifted her skirt and ran towards the brightly lit area.
Sensing the danger, Zhao Heng took off the hairpin on her head, handed it to her maid, and then jumped into the lake. In the pitch-black night, with the water getting calm, Li Jiayan had no strength to struggle and gradually sank into the lake.
"My Lady!" Lin Mama was scared, her legs feeling weak, and she shouted, "Someone fell into the water."
On the palace road leading to Huayang Palace, a crowd of people gathered under the palace wall, forming a dark, pressing mass.
Liu Yi continued to talk incessantly, but Li Wenjian was getting impatient.
"Your Highness, we cannot show mercy to him anymore. Second Prince has repeatedly offended, and this time he dared to attack the envoy, his malicious intentions are clear to all!" Liu Yi spoke up.
The court had issued orders multiple times for the Second Prince to return to the capital, but he defied them. Last month, the Emperor ordered a envoy from Xiling Prefecture to deliver the decree to the Second Prince to return to the capital. The envoy did not return, and when Xiling Prefecture's magistrate Xie Yuchun sent troops to search, they found his severed head in the reed marsh near the barracks of the Northern Palace.
Xie Yuchun was shocked and went to the barracks himself to seek an explanation, only to see the Second Prince standing before his tent, his eyes cold, his voice sharp, saying coldly, "He deserved to die!"
The whole court was in an uproar, and accusations against the Second Prince flew like snowflakes towards the East Palace.
Li Wenjian was shocked, but he refused to believe that the young man who had always followed him would rebel, let alone turn his blade against his own people.
The envoy from Xiling Prefecture was named Chen Lun, his father had followed the late emperor in his youth and died in battle against the tyrant emperor, leaving nothing but this son. After his father's death, Chen Lun was brought back to Xiling Prefecture by Xie Yuchun, who raised him as his own, treating him like his own flesh and blood. Chen Lun inherited his father's aspirations and grew up in the Xiling Army, showing great talent and winning the soldiers' hearts. Xie Yuchun cherished him even more.
After his death, the Xiling Army was stirred up, clashing with the Northern Palace Army across the river multiple times.
Xie Yuchun was heartbroken, and personally escorted Chen Lun's coffin to the capital.
Along the way, the common people heard about Chen Lun's deeds and spontaneously held roadside memorials to pay respects to his spirit. Wherever Xie Yuchun passed, the people knelt and sent him off, with prayer flags fluttering and yellow paper strewn across the ground.
The imperial censors and officials of the Court of State Ceremonial Affairs provided piles of accusations against the Second Prince on Li Wenjian's desk.
He faced the gazes of the whole court and tried to suppress the matter.
He did not want to turn his blade against his own brother, and if he pushed too hard, the Xiling Army would surely rise up. After years in the Northern Palace, he would not go down without a fight, and if a war broke out, it would only bring suffering to the people.
He was unwilling to go down this path unless absolutely necessary.
He refused to believe that the young man who had been like a jade in his hand would commit such a heinous act of madness.
A panicked figure suddenly rushed onto the pitch-black palace road.
"Who goes there?" Mu Gui stepped forward warily, but saw Lian Zhou running towards them unsteadily.
She was out of breath, gasping for air as she said, "Fourth Prince fell into the water..."
Li Wenjian was briefly stunned, then quickly asked, "Where is your mistress?"
"She's in Chengyuan, she sent me to find help."
Li Wenjian's furrowed brows tightened as he followed Lian Zhou, instructing Liu Yi and the others, "Prime Minister, go back first. We'll discuss this matter tomorrow."
With that, he left a group of people behind and hurried to Chengyuan with Lian Zhou.
The lake water was as cold as ice, and when Zhao Heng swam to Li Jiayan, he had already ingested a lot of water, struggling without strength, sliding straight towards the bottom of the lake.
Zhao Heng finally managed to grab his arm and tried to pull him towards the shore, but he was in a panic, clinging to her as if he was clinging to a life-saving log, frantically struggling, pulling Zhao Heng back into the water several times.
On the shore, Lin Mama saw Zhao Heng's head floating on the water, and she fell to the ground in shock, her vision blackening, Lin Mama's voice hoarse as she shouted, "Help, someone help!"
Ning Wanzhi stared at the approaching figure, and swiftly took off her outer robe, throwing it into the water, shouting to Zhao Heng, "Aunt, hang on! Swim over quickly."
Lin Mama struggled to get up and crawled to Ning Wanzhi, tightly grabbing her left hand, saying, "Miss Ning, you squat down, I'll pull you."
The palace maids, startled, all rushed forward to help pull Ning Wanzhi.
At fourteen years old, Li Jiayan was quite strong for his age. Not only was he heavy with his own weight, but he was also struggling in fear. Zhao Heng had a hard time pulling him, choking on some water before finally dragging him to the shore, tightly squeezing the clothes Ning Wanxhi had thrown into the water.
Finally, they managed to drag the two of them ashore.
"Your Highness, over here," Lian Zhou's voice came.
Zhao Heng leaned on Ning Wan Zhi's shoulder, coughing up the cold water she had swallowed, looking back in a disheveled state. Li Wenjian, dressed in a flowing robe, was approaching from a distance, his gaze falling on Zhao Heng's numb face, and also on her wet body, as he called out, "Mu Gui, go prepare hot water."
Mu Gui acted quickly, turning around and walking away.
Zhao Heng trembled as she looked at the newcomer, trembling as she squeezed out two trembling words from her throat, "Your Highness..."
"Are you injured anywhere?" Li Wenjian crouched in front of her, unable to find a handkerchief, furrowing his brows. He simply pulled off his own robe, wrapping it around her, and gently wiped the water stains off her face.
Without a response from Zhao Heng, she looked over his shoulder at Li Jiayan lying on the ground. Unconscious, the palace maids were squeezing the water out of his chest with all their strength.
When she heard him coughing up water, she relaxed slightly, shaking her head while holding his clothes, "I'm fine, Your Highness, I'm fine."
She was drenched, having just dried the water off her face, only for droplets to fall from her hair again. Li Wenjian took off his robe, wrapped it around her, picked her up, and ordered the palace servants by Li Jiayan's side, "Take him back."
Then, he tightened his lips, carrying her as they walked back to the East Palace.
The early autumn lake water was already icy cold, and Zhao Heng, previously too nervous to notice, now felt the chill. Shivering violently, she curled up in Li Wenjian's arms, seeking warmth from his body against the cold.
She could hear his resounding heartbeat.
Mist rose in the bathing chamber, shrouding the dim yellow light of the lamp, emanating a soft glow.
Li Wenjian brought Zhao Heng into the bathing chamber, placing her on the edge of the white jade pool. He brushed aside her wet hair, revealing her pale face, and quietly stared at her, "Go take a bath, don't catch a cold."
Numb from the cold, Zhao Heng nodded and shakily stood up.
Li Wenjian, with a hint of concern in his gentle eyes, stared at her tightly clenched wrist and said, "What happened to your hand?"
On the way back, she had been gripping her left wrist tightly with her right hand.
The palace maids were drawn to her by the soft light of the palace lamp, revealing her slightly confused expression. She realized belatedly, "There was a snake in the lake. It seemed to have bitten me. I don't know if it's venomous."
Perhaps due to the urgency, she had forgotten for a moment, gripping her wrist tightly, too afraid to let go.
Li Wenjian felt a chill in his back. Quietly watching her, he reached out, his strong fingers squeezing her small arm tightly, turning it pale.
Not finding any concern for blood circulation, she finally let go of the tight grip.
There were two shallow bite marks on her white arm, breaking the skin but not deep enough to pierce flesh, even if it was a venomous snake, it wouldn't be fatal.
Relieved, Zhao Heng was about to pull her arm back when Li Wenjian suddenly lowered his head and firmly sucked on the bite mark. As his teeth touched her skin, she felt the flesh around the bite tighten abruptly.
His tongue pressed against the wound, forcibly driving the blood around the area towards the wound. After sucking out a mouthful of blood and spitting it out, he went to suck again.
Zhao Heng lowered her head, a flicker of warmth warring with unspoken emotions in her slightly narrowed eyes. He pursed his pale lips for a moment, a silent struggle playing out on his face. She raised one hand to hold his head, running her cold fingers through his hair. "Your Highness," he finally spoke, his voice thick with unspoken emotions, "don't."
Looking down, Zhao Heng's eyes were slightly teary, her voice shaking, "What if it's poisonous?"