The sound of porcelain teacups shattering echoed through the Hall of Mental Cultivation, followed by a man’s furious roar, “Impudent!”
“Who gave you the audacity to disparage my concubines?!” Emperor Jiande kicked Noble Lady Gao, who was kneeling before him in tears. Her beautiful face was covered in streaks of grief. “Your Majesty, please appease your anger!”
The Empress smoothed his chest to calm his breathing and shot a meaningful look at Chief Eunuch Li, who stood to the side. “Your Majesty, pray calm yourself. Though Noble Lady Gao is at fault, it is true that Consort Lan has passed away.”
Xiao Li turned back abruptly. “What did you say?”
Faced with the Emperor’s rage, cold sweat drenched Eunuch Li’s back. “The little eunuch on duty at the Hall of Grace brought word last night. He said Consort Lan passed away from illness. However, Your Majesty was in high spirits with the other ladies at the time, and this servant did not dare enter to spoil Your Majesty’s mood.”
Seeing this, Noble Lady Gao crawled forward on her hands and knees, weeping. “Your Majesty, I truly am not lying! It is Consort Lan’s people who are untruthful! I clearly saw Du Ruo, Consort Lan’s maid, secretly burning a blood stained white silk ribbon in the middle of the night. Consort Lan died by suicide!”
Xiao Li raised his hand and slapped her hard. His eyes were bloodshot, and his chest heaved violently before he slumped back onto the dragon throne. “How dare you! How could she? Why would Consort Lan?”
The Empress hurriedly took his hand, rubbing it with concern. “Your Majesty, please calm yourself. Do not let this harm your health.”
Turning toward Noble Lady Gao, she spoke solemnly, “A concubine taking her own life is a grave crime punishable by the execution of nine generations. How dare you pin such a charge on Consort Lan! You are truly audacious!”
Noble Lady Gao prostrated herself on the floor, her hair ornaments tangled together, appearing utterly terrified by the Empress’s reprimand. “I beg the Empress for forgiveness.”
The Empress sighed and turned back to Xiao Li, speaking softly, “The fog is thick on these deep winter nights; she likely saw incorrectly. Please forgive her this once, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor sat blankly at the dragon desk, saying nothing.
The Empress bowed. After a moment of hesitation, she said, “There is one matter, however. I am not sure if I should speak of it.”
“Speak,” Xiao Li said, his voice hoarse.
“Sister Lan was young and strong. She was rarely ill in the past. How could she suddenly pass away from sickness? I fear that perhaps,” she paused, glancing at the Emperor’s ashen face, and quickly knelt, “I am speaking nonsense. Your Majesty, please appease your anger.”
Xiao Li pressed his brow as if extremely frustrated. He waved his hand. “All of you, withdraw. Leave me alone to find peace.”
The Empress and the others prepared to leave. Eunuch Li started to follow, but Xiao Li suddenly spoke to keep him there. “You stay and trim the lamps for me.”
Why trim lamps in broad daylight? It was merely an excuse to keep someone behind to talk. Eunuch Li was clever; he took the snuffers and began trimming the candle wicks before the Emperor. Halfway through, Xiao Li said in a low voice, “What do you think?”
“This servant does not dare to speak blindly.”
“Consort Lan came from a family of generals. She was skilled in riding and archery, possessing a heroic spirit,” Xiao Li said suddenly.
Eunuch Li’s hand paused. He understood the Emperor’s implication: he was saying that Consort Lan’s constitution was strong and it was impossible for her to die suddenly of illness. The Empress’s poisonous words had instantly alerted the grieving Emperor.
Eunuch Li spoke, “The imperial physician has already examined her. It seems the cold air entered her body, causing a malignant disease.”
Xiao Li sneered. “You are a veteran of the palace. Do you think I do not know the methods of those people? In this palace, there are plenty of desperate people who would do anything for money.”
The case was full of doubts and happened so suddenly that it could not withstand close scrutiny. However, Eunuch Li hesitated. “The lineage of the Duke of Wu is loyal and devoted. Furthermore, in recent years, bandits have been numerous in the Northwest, and things have been restless.”
The Emperor squinted at him and suddenly gave a sinister smile. Then, he erupted, sweeping the memorials and inkstones off the dragon desk. He roared, “Are you saying that I, as the Son of Heaven, cannot touch Shangguan Yi and his son?!”
Eunuch Li knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly. “This servant does not dare! This servant does not dare!”
“It is only that the Great General has just suppressed the Kasa rebellion and achieved great merit for Great Liang. This servant is only afraid.”
Xiao Li panted heavily, pointing a finger weakly at him before closing his eyes in exhaustion. “Pass my decree.”
“The Lady of the Shangguan clan, Consort Lan, shall be buried with the rites of a Noble Lady.”
Eunuch Li was shocked. For the head of a palace to be demoted so many ranks for her funeral was a massive insult. The Emperor was using this method to vent his anger and to serve as a warning to the Duke of Wu.
“The rites of a Noble Lady?!” Xiao Qi fell heavily onto his prayer mat upon hearing Yan Qunshan’s words. His mourning clothes made his face appear even more deathly pale. “She is gone! Does Father not even wish to preserve her final bit of dignity?!”
Yan Qunshan said in a deep voice, “This happened suddenly. Although Auntie bribed the physicians and palace servants, it could not be hidden from His Majesty’s eyes. At this time, being able to avoid involving the Shangguan clan is already the best possible outcome.”
Xiao Qi closed his eyes and kowtowed once more toward Consort Lan’s coffin. He then leaned on Yan Qunshan for support as he rose and walked out of the hall. The winter snow had not stopped, falling upon the fluttering white silk with a sense of profound desolation.
Yan Qunshan brought a purple sable cloak and draped it over Xiao Qi. He looked down at Xiao Qi’s nose, which was red from the cold, and his increasingly sharp features. “Since the Lady’s passing, Your Highness has grown thinner and thinner.”
The cold wind made Xiao Qi cough lightly. He looked back at the snow white Hall of Grace and gave a self deprecating smile. “She was truly not good to me, but she was, after all, the mother who carried me for ten months.”
“Now that she is gone, the Hall of Grace will look more like a cold palace than ever before,” Xiao Qi said.
Yan Qunshan raised his hand to brush the snow from Xiao Qi’s hair, letting it melt in his fingers, but he said nothing.
Xiao Qi raised his eyes slightly. “Why are you acting like a mute?”
“This student was only thinking that Your Highness’s days in this palace will likely be more like walking on thin ice than ever before,” Yan Qunshan said calmly. “The Lady passed away suddenly, and the Emperor has likely redirected his anger toward Your Highness.”
“In the days to come, we must be even more cautious.” As he spoke, he placed a hand warmer in Xiao Qi’s arms, enfolding his hands within his own.
His frozen fingertips gradually thawed from the threads of warmth. Xiao Qi’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and he gave a soft “Mhm.”
After a long silence, Xiao Qi spoke quietly from behind Yan Qunshan. “You must stay by my side always.”
He spoke softly, and the sentence was swept up in the winter wind, yet it still reached Yan Qunshan’s ears. He did not speak, but he squeezed Xiao Qi’s hand.