Chapter 56
The autumn sunlight was gentle, not too harsh, warming up the body and dispelling some of the cool autumn chill. Yue Li lay on a reclining chair, her face covered with a embroidered handkerchief, squinting in the sun.
The Beast Garden housed various exotic birds, with not-so-great smells and few visitors, often quiet and peaceful.
The tea on the small table next to her chair was steaming hot. She picked up the cup and took a sip. Soon, light footsteps approached, and she removed the handkerchief covering her face.
Turning her head, she saw Zhao Heng walking towards her against the bright sunlight, her face obscured by shadows until she came closer and revealed her expression.
Zhao Heng held out the lunchbox hanging from her arm to Yue Li. "I brought you green bean cakes."
Yue Li took the lunchbox, opened it, and picked up a piece to taste slowly.
"I made them yesterday, but it rained, so I couldn't bring them over," Zhao Heng said, using a handkerchief to brush off the dust from the eaves before sitting down next to her.
"Is there something on your mind?" Yue Li finished two pieces of cake, turned her head to look at Zhao Heng sitting under the eaves with her head down, her chin resting on her hand, and asked.
"There's something I can't figure out," Zhao Heng said, her hand supporting her cheek. "Do you believe that someone would be overly attentive to you for no reason?"
"Some people are born kind, filled with good intentions for others," came Yue Li's reply.
Yue Li chuckled at the comment, "But you might not be the same, your identity is too attention-grabbing."
Zhao Hong looked up at the bright sunlight, her eyes filled with confusion, "But I don't know where the flaw lies. I had the snacks she brought to me checked by the imperial physician, and there was no issue at all."
Yue Li remained silent, sitting on the reclining chair, quietly watching the fragrant osmanthus tree swaying in the wind.
After a while, she turned to look at Zhao Heng, "You knew it was me who killed Liu He, so why did you help me back then?"
Zhao Heng's pale face blushed slightly, she lifted her head and saw Yue Li's face, half of which had been licked by the flames, "I used to work in the laundry room and knew how the senior eunuch bullied people. That day when I saw him bullying you, it was like seeing my past self."
Setting down the lunchbox, Yue Li placed a hand on her knees before turning to meet Zhao Heng's gaze, "Do you want to know how I killed Liu He?"
Zhao Heng's eyes lit up.
A smile appeared on Yue Li's face as she closely examined Zhao Heng's expression, "Liu He was from Nanyang and liked to eat Nanyang pork with rice flour. Authentic Nanyang pork with rice flour contains a spice called cubeb."
"Cubeb is not poisonous." Yue Li pointed to a cluster of purple flowers in the corner of the courtyard, "Those are purple valerian plants, also non-toxic. But if someone eats both of them together, they will feel dizzy. That day, I quietly added purple valerian to his pork, then I invited him to the secluded Lin'an Pond to apologize, where he fainted by the edge of the pond. I went over and pushed him into the water afterwards, he didn't even have time to struggle before he died."
Zhao Heng was taken aback, not expecting the girl who had cried after being bullied the first time they met to be this audacious.
"Even if they take me to the Palace Bureau, it's useless because there's no evidence. When Liu He went to Lin'an Pond, I was still at the Beast Garden." Yue Li's cold gaze held a hint of a shallow smile, "Just like how all things can either support or harm each other, some seemingly harmless things can become the best weapon for murder when combined. With the Crown Prince's status, even if someone wanted to harm him, they wouldn't dare openly send poison to the Eastern Palace."
Deep in thought, Zhao Hrng said, "Are you saying that the snacks she brought might have interacted negatively with the Crown Prince's diet? Slowly poisoning him without anyone noticing?"
"It's not impossible. After all, if direct poisoning is discovered, she would be implicated as well. By gradually harming him through food interactions, it damages him invisibly, and she can't be blamed for it." Yue Li scrutinized the young girl in front of her once again, then her gaze landed on Zhao Hong's fair wrists, and she suddenly chuckled, "The Xie family has a relative working in the Imperial Kitchen, arranging the Crown Prince's meals wouldn't be that difficult."
That remark struck Zhao Heng like a sharp needle, her complexion turning very pale.
"How do you know it was her?" she asked.
Nonchalantly, Yue Li replied, "There are only a few people in the palace now. The Empress is the Crown Prince's birth mother, so she wouldn't harm him for no reason. The Noble Concubine stays secluded in the inner palace and the Concubine Mei is from a noble family in Jiangdong, with the pride of a noblewoman in her bones. Even if she wanted to harm the Crown Prince through you, she wouldn't stoop down to be overly attentive to you. Besides, if the Li family had rebellious intentions, they wouldn't have waited until today to act. So, the only one left is Concubine An. Her family is declining, her position both inside and outside the palace is precarious, so she can only resort to using despicable means through you."
Yue Li's voice remained clear and calm, "It's quite unsightly for a Concubine to be overly attentive to the Crown Prince's concubine. But she must have been desperate. The people close to the Crown Prince are either the elder statesmen who followed the Emperor to conquer the world or the friends he grew up with. With you suddenly appearing out of nowhere, she must have been eager to seize any opportunity."
The afternoon sunlight was strong, but it seemed to have no warmth as it fell on Zhao Heng. She gazed at Yue Li's face bathed in the warm sunlight, the golden rays flowing like liquid gold, slowly moving across her scarred face, giving it a strange and distorted beauty.
An indescribable pain welled up in Zhao Heng's heart, almost suffocating her.
"What's wrong?" Yue Li noticed her pale complexion and leaned over to touch the back of her hand, surprised by how cold it was.
Zhao Heng's face was unusually pale, and a hint of a terrifying color seemed to faintly emerge, making her delicate features appear lifeless, as if carved from wood or clay.
"It's nothing." Zhao Heng's voice was slightly hoarse, but steady and calm, almost carrying a chillingly calm tone. After a moment, she refocused and looked at Yue Li, "You seem to know a lot about the palace."
"Didn't I tell you?" Yue Li raised an eyebrow and glanced at a pot of flowers on the stone steps, "He's a chatterbox, always chattering away. He often says I'm heartless, but little does he know that I remember every word he says very clearly."
She ended with a light hum.
In the eerie silence, Zhao Heng felt a vague pain in her chest and stood up, telling Yue Li, "I want to go back and check..."
Seeing the snow-like pallor on Zhao Heng's face, Yue Li reassured her, "If you've been eating and sleeping with the Crown Prince every day and feel no strange symptoms, then you should be fine. Besides, these are just my unfounded speculations, they may not be true."
Nodding absentmindedly, Zhao Heng walked out of the courtyard.
"Wait." Yue Li called out to her.
Turning around under the setting sun, Zhao Heng looked back.
"Could you do me a favor?" Yue Li went to the steps, picked up the pot of broken and revived flowers, and handed it to Zhao Hong, "Plant this by his grave and tell him that I've finally managed to grow flowers."
The snow orchid in her arms silently exhaled its fragrance.
*
As the sun set in the west, the dazzling sunlight began to soften and glow. Li Wenjian ascended the steps and saw Zhao Heng looking at him through the lattice window.
Her complexion wasn't great, but in the beautiful light of the setting sun, her clear eyes shone brightly. When she saw him looking over, a gentle smile curved on her lips.
"What were you doing in the court today?"
Li Wenjian walked to the window to look at her desk.
A paperweight pressed down on several yellowed papers, covered in delicate calligraphy, each stroke neat and precise.
"You're writing again," he complimented, "A Heng is so diligent, even more hardworking than the Academicians in the Hanlin Academy."
Zhao Heng blushed at his praise, looking down at the words on the paper, "His Highness taught me to be diligent and accumulate knowledge."
Li Wenjian gently ran his fingers through her hair and then noticed the ink stains on her palms, he took a handkerchief and gently wiped the ink off her hands.
"Mu Gui said you've been looking through the recent meals in the Eastern Palace today." Li Wenjian looked at her flush palm with a serious expression, "Did you find something?"
Putting down her brush, Zhao Heng turned around and embraced his waist, burying her head deeply in his chest, "For so many years, you've been like an iron-clad fortress with no leaks, I'm afraid I've become a vulnerability for someone with ulterior motives."
"Why do you keep saying foolish things lately?" Li Wenjian reached out to pat her head.
In a muffled voice, Zhao Heng asked, "What if I cause harm to you?"
"There are many people who could harm me, and there are various ways to guard against them." Li Wenjian said seriously, "Even if something unfortunate happens, it's my destiny."
"Tomorrow, we will be leaving the palace to pay respects to A Zhan, perhaps many things will happen."
Zhao Heng grunted in agreement, "I know."
"Are you afraid? You can wait for me in the palace." Li Wenjian suggested.
Zhao Heng countered, "Will I be a burden if I accompany you?"
After thinking for a moment, Li Wenjian replied, "No, but the situation may not look good."
Reaching up to cup his face, Zhao Heng said, "Then I'll go with you."
His gaze shifted to the flowerpot under the desk, "I promised someone to plant that flower by General Wei's grave."
Li Wenjian's gaze followed hers and landed on the snow-white flower, he paused for a moment, "Snow orchid..."
As he began to speak, he abruptly stopped, perhaps recalling something from the past, the light in his eyes became misty, and after a while he asked, "What was her name?"
Surprised, Zhao Heng raised her eyes.
Li Wenjian smiled lightly at her, "A Zhan loved orchids. Before, the Ba Yue tribe presented a snow orchid, which thrives in humid areas and is difficult to grow in the capital. I intended to take it to the greenhouse and care for it before giving it to him, but he snatched the flower away, saying someone else would look after it."
There was a moment of hesitation, Zhao Heng's grip on his hand slightly loosened.
"Yue Li," she repeated, "Her name is Yue Li."
Li Wenjian chuckled lightly, "He wouldn't let us inquire about his lover. Ziren was once curious about the person who could capture the attention of the great General Wei, so he secretly followed him to a meeting and got caught, leading to a beating."
"She is a beast tamer from the Garden of Beasts, and she was the one who tamed Liefeng." Zhao Hong said.
"Ah, that explains it," Li Wenjian added, "Even the wild General Wei was tamed by her."
The night grew darker, with a few distant autumn thunder rumbling.
In the middle of the night, the rain fell incessantly, sounding like the clattering of shattered jade beads on glass tiles.
The sky gradually lightened, showing a hint of pale light, indicating the rain had not stopped yet.
"It's time to get up." Li Wenjian just woke up, his voice lazy and soft, nudging her shoulder gently, "Ah Heng."
The gentle autumn rain continued to pitter-patter, emphasizing the silence in the palace. The outside world beyond the warm blankets felt cold and somber, while inside the soft warmth enveloped Zhao Heng as she lazily snuggled into his embrace, her black hair cascading gently over his arm.
He lowered his head, cupped her face, and kissed her warm lips. Their noses lightly touched, causing her breath to catch in her throat.
Zhao Hrng finally woke up, her eyes widening in surprise. Subconsciously, she sat up, cheeks flushed, and looked at him awkwardly.
The room fell silent for a moment, and the steady sound of rain outside could be heard clearly.
"Your Highness is becoming less gentlemanly these days," Zhao Heng murmured.
"In the middle of the night, you used my arm as a pillow, with my chest as a heater, is that being a gentleman?" Li Wenjian jokingly asked her.
Feeling guilty, Zhao Heng sat up straight, quickly got out of bed, and hurriedly put on her shoes and ran off.
Today, she had to leave the palace, so Zhao Heng wore a narrow-sleeved jade-colored dress and styled her hair in a side bun, only pinning a single pearl hairpin.
With minimal adornment, she exuded a simple and elegant beauty.
The sky was overcast and murky, with a typical autumn misty grey hue.
Amidst the rain, she was the only bright spot in the dull grey.
"Let's go," Li Wenjian took her hand and they boarded the carriage.
Wei Zhan's tomb was built on the Loting Mountain, not far from the imperial tomb.
The muddy mountain path had been washed by the rain, making it difficult to traverse. Zhao Heng sat in the carriage cradling the snow orchid, her body swaying with the motion of the carriage.
Inside the carriage, it was quiet, except for the distant sound of fireworks and occasional hoofbeats on the muddy ground.
The soft light of the carriage lamp illuminated her slightly trembling eyelashes.
A gentle breeze blew in through the partially open window, carrying a faint scent from her body.
Li Wenjian watched her tense figure, slowly moved closer to her, and sat beside her.
"Ah Heng," Li Wenjian's long fingers slipped into her collar, loosening it slightly. He turned his head to whisper softly, "Are you afraid?"
Zhao Heng nodded honestly, "A little."
"Come here, and I'll show you how not to be afraid," Li Wenjian said with a smile.
Without suspecting anything, she leaned in obediently.
To her surprise, he turned his head and kissed her fair cheek.
Her heart pounded like a drum.
"Still afraid?" Li Wenjian pursed his lips as if he was amused, his clear eyes focusing on her, with a brilliant smile.
Zhao Heng's breath hitched, she turned her head slightly as if casually saying, "Still afraid."
At his response, Li Wenjian chuckled softly. He gently took her hand, and with his well-proportioned fingers, he fastened a green vine bracelet around her wrist. Zhao Heng felt a cool sensation on her wrist, and when she looked down, she saw a blue vine bracelet fastened around his own wrist.
"What is this for?" she asked.
"It's for your protection," Li Wenjian brushed aside a strand of hair from her cheek, holding her wrist and feeling the vine bracelet, he tapped on the hidden knot of the vine bracelet.
Zhao Heng saw a glint of cold light suddenly flash from the knot, upon closer inspection, she noticed a thin trace of over a foot long knife wire emerging from an inconspicuous hole in the bracelet.
With a gentle flick of her wrist, Li Wenjian gathered a stray lock of hair that had fallen across her chest and blew lightly upon it, causing the strand to sever instantly.
"Should you find yourself in peril," Li Wenjian instructed, clasping her hand in his, "press this knot of rattan. Aim it at the enemy's heart, and it will swiftly claim their life."
His voice was barely audible, almost drowned out by the relentless downpour.
Zhao Heng pressed the rattan knot once more, and the silken blade retracted with a soft "swoosh" back into the jade bracelet. Pulling down her sleeve to conceal the bracelet, she turned to him and inquired, "And what of you?"
Li Wenjian paused for a moment, then his eyes, reflecting the soft glow of the wall lamp, shone with a clear, unwavering gaze, mirroring her visage. With a gentle smile, he replied, "As long as you remain safe, I shall surely be unharmed."
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Author's Note:
The more I write this story, the more disdain I feel for my boyfriend. What can save my crumbling love life?