Gu Lingwan frowned slightly. That old hag—surely nothing good would come from her summoning him.
As he analyzed the situation, the voice of the woman he knew as Matron Gui reached his ears. Though her tone feigned respect, it was stiff and cold: “Princess Consort, do not keep the Empress Dowager waiting. Please, move along.”
Gu Lingwan pulled his thoughts back and glanced at Matron Gui, who looked like trouble personified. When the original host of this body was a child, he had suffered abuse at the hands of the Empress Dowager. But now, it was he who inhabited this body, and he was no longer a child; he was not afraid of her.
He scanned the banquet hall, hoping to find Xiao Yanming to act as his bodyguard, but to his dismay, the man was nowhere to be found.
Matron Gui urged him again: “Princess Consort, what are you waiting for?”
As the daughter-in-law of the Empress Dowager, he could not openly refuse. He did not have that kind of leverage; the two most powerful men in the Northern Qi Kingdom were her sons. With a heavy heart, he cast one final, longing look at the table full of delicacies and rose to follow Matron Gui toward the palace of the Empress Dowager.
Where did Xiao Yanming go? He disappears right when he is needed.
“Why did you seek me out, Sixth Brother?” Xiao Yanming asked Xiao Yingxun, who stood quietly by the lotus pond.
Xiao Yingxun shifted his gaze away from a pair of lotus flowers blooming on a single stalk. “It has been a year since we met. I wanted to discuss the past with my Eleventh Brother.”
Xiao Yanming looked at the pond. “I have a bit of trauma regarding this spot. If not for the Princess Consort saving me, I would have drowned in this very pond today.”
Xiao Yingxun sighed softly. “Among all the princes, only you and I never learned to swim.”
Xiao Yanming nodded. “I gave up because I almost died from illness after trying to learn a few times.” He looked at Xiao Yingxun with curiosity. “What was your reason for not learning, Sixth Brother?”
At this question, Xiao Yingxun remembered an event from his childhood. He had witnessed with his own eyes the Empress Dowager pushing a noble lady into the lotus pond. When he knelt and wept, begging her to spare the lady, he was slapped across the face, dragged away, and locked up. From that day on, every time he tried to enter the water, the image of his mother committing that crime would flash before his eyes, rendering him unable to learn.
“I was naturally lazy in my youth and fell behind you in all things. I found learning to swim tedious, so I tried to take a shortcut. I begged you to wear my clothes and act as me to learn in my stead, hoping to muddle through.” He sighed. “I did not expect that the very first time, Mother would see through it and reprimand us both.”
Xiao Yanming shook his head and laughed. “Forget the Empress Dowager—even I could have told the difference.”
Xiao Yingxun revealed a faint smile. “Looking back, I was indeed quite naive and childish then.”
So, Xiao Yanming did not mistake his brother. He was intentionally framing him in front of the Heir, sowing discord, and targeting him. Xiao Yingxun had already guessed that whenever Xiao Lanjie committed a misdeed, he would disguise himself as Xiao Yingxun, given their history. This meeting was meant to test Xiao Yanming and confirm his suspicions.
After some idle chat, Xiao Yingxun excused himself. From the lotus pond, he headed straight for Xiao Lanjie’s bedchamber, as the Emperor had retreated there earlier and had yet to return. Before he arrived, he saw Xiao Lanjie storming out with a dark, gloomy expression, with the Empress weeping as she chased after him.
“Your Majesty, what have I done wrong to deserve being forbidden from attending the palace banquet?”
She tugged gently at his sleeve, as if afraid to wrinkle the precious fabric, and said cautiously, “I know I have many shortcomings, but I will strive to learn and grow, hoping to become a virtuous wife and mother. Please, give me another chance?”
Xiao Lanjie wore an expression of undisguised disgust and forcefully threw off her hand. His typically mild face was now encased in gloom, shrouded in a dark, sinister energy that felt chilling to the bone.
“The only reason I made you Empress was to utilize your father’s influence in the court. As for you personally, I have never had the slightest shred of affection! Now that I am firmly seated on this dragon throne, I no longer need your father’s power to consolidate my position. It would be best for you to stay quietly in the harem and abandon any unrealistic fantasies. Permitting you to keep your title is already the greatest mercy I could bestow upon you!”
His voice was cold and decisive; every word was like a sharp blade piercing her heart. The Empress collapsed onto the floor, utterly devastated. Xiao Lanjie walked away without a backward glance. Xiao Yingxun stepped aside to avoid being seen, his eyes as calm as a deep pool, though they held infinite depth. He watched Xiao Lanjie, his thoughts unreadable.
“Princess Consort, you are barely twenty years old! How are you slower than a woman of fifty?” Matron Gui stopped, looking at Gu Lingwan with undisguised impatience.
Gu Lingwan trailed behind, shuffling slowly. “My legs hurt; I cannot walk.” He even squatted down. “I cannot go on. Matron, you are clearly strong and healthy—perhaps you could carry me?”
Earlier, he had quietly bribed a palace maid, asking her to inform Xiao Yanming that he was being taken to the Empress Dowager’s palace. He hoped that the maid would find him and that Xiao Yanming, out of gratitude for saving his life, would come to his rescue. In this strange place where everyone seemed to be conspiring, his life could be lost at any moment.
Matron Gui’s face darkened. “You are quite the joker, Princess Consort. My old bones cannot carry you. If you do not arrive at the palace soon, the Empress Dowager will be displeased, and it is you who will suffer.”
He could not stall any longer; he dared not provoke the old hag. Gu Lingwan stood up and quickened his pace. The palace was located in a secluded area, and it took a while to arrive.
The heavy rosewood doors were pushed open slowly by an attendant. A bone-chilling, deathly silence emanated from within. It felt as though the sound came from the underworld, filled with an eerie, freezing malice. The world behind the doors was like an abyss hiding countless dark secrets, bearing all the cruelty and shadows of the world. Every breath of air felt heavy, as if it could swallow a soul whole.
Gu Lingwan tightened his grip inside his sleeves and stepped inside.
In the decadent hall, the Empress Dowager sat upon a beautifully carved sandalwood throne, her dark gaze fixed upon him. The old hag is so young! He had expected someone wrinkled and aged, but she looked no more than thirty—beautiful, graceful, and charming. Gu Lingwan was stunned. He stopped, bowed, and saluted. “May the Empress Dowager live ten thousand years.”
Before he could finish his words, a eunuch shrieked, “Kneel!”