#51: The Dream of Gaining a Deer and Catching Fish (VIII)

As Ye Tingyan passed through the corridor in front of the courtyard, he saw the intense sunlight making the small garden hazy and dazzling. He quickly averted his gaze and walked through the shadows.

Below the hall, Song Lan was speaking softly and gently with Lady Yan. He rarely heard the young emperor speak in such a tone: “Did mother come in fragrant today?”

The woman’s voice was indistinct, not a word could be heard. Ye Tingyan hesitated, wondering why the usually cautious Song Lan summoned him to talk at this time, so he paused at the door.

From where he stood, he looked into the hall and suddenly noticed a wooden Bodhisattva statue placed under the eaves, half in shadow and half in light. The Bodhisattva was placed in an exquisitely carved shrine, hanging high in the hall.

The rear hall of Qianfang was also the late emperor’s study. He had entered and exited many times and had never seen this Bodhisattva statue. Presumably, it was placed there by Song Lan.

He withdrew his gaze, thinking that Luo Wei had casually mentioned several times that Song Lan now believed in Buddhism. She joked repeatedly about her disrespect in the inner chamber, only bowing to the Buddha statue placed in the center upon entering. Now, it seemed she was indeed devout.

Lady Yan came out supporting the door, bowing to him from afar. He glanced at her, quite surprised to find that the Lady Yan sent by the Empress Dowager appeared to be over thirty years old. Her attire was not like that of the consorts but rather like an official of the inner court.

Before Ye Tingyan could think further, he hurriedly entered the door.

There was no incense burning in the study, just a mix of the smell of old books and ink. He approached and saw Song Lan picking up a large leaf of some unknown plant, feeding it to a white rabbit in a grass nest.

“Tingyan, you’ve come,” hearing him enter, the young emperor did not look up, still intently staring at the rabbit in front of him, “Sit down.”

Ye Tingyan did not stand on ceremony, picking up a nearby chair to sit down. His gaze also fell on the rabbit, his fingers tightening slightly, but his tone remained nonchalant: “Your Majesty is in good spirits.”

“This is the rabbit my elder brother left behind,” Song Lan tilted his head, slowly saying, “He used to love these little things very much and kept many in the Imperial Garden. After he passed away, these rabbits were still there. I personally took care of them, but they died one by one. Now, only this one remains.”

It was quite strange. Song Lan had harmed him, harmed Song Qi, implicated over a thousand people dissatisfied with the outcome of the Citang Case, killing without blinking an eye. But at the same time, he placed a Bodhisattva statue in the study for daily worship, was extremely filial to his mother, and even cared for the rabbits left behind after his brother.

One side demonic, one side compassionate— which side do people see?

Ye Tingyan sat in the hall, observing Song Lan’s expression with great interest.

Before that year, he always thought he knew this younger brother well enough. Once the case broke out, he was shocked.

Later, he changed his appearance and met him again in Youzhou, gaining his trust and becoming his confidant without revealing any flaws—he indeed understood him, just not enough before. Now, having glimpsed all his dark places, he felt fully confident.

Finally, the rabbit ate the entire leaf in Song Lan’s hand and lay lazily in its nest. Ye Tingyan approached, reaching out to touch the fluffy rabbit.

For some reason, the rabbit suddenly became very excited, jumping out of the grass nest and shaking its ears.

Song Lan was somewhat surprised and then smiled: “It seems to like you very much.”

Ye Tingyan lowered his eyes and laughed along with him: “I have raised many pets since childhood; perhaps we have some connection.”

“It’s rare for it to be so spirited,” Song Lan called out, “Liu Xi, take it to show the Empress.”

Liu Xi had someone carry the rabbit along with its nest. Ye Tingyan stood aside watching their movements. When they left and closed the hall door, he turned around, slightly bending his knee: “Your servant has come to report to Your Majesty.”

Song Lan said: “Speak.”

Ye Tingyan responded with a “Yes”: “My men and I questioned day and night and finally confirmed that the one who saved Miss Qiu from the inner prison and brought her into the palace was Princess Ning Le.”

Song Lan raised his eyebrows in surprise: “Ning Le?”

“Yes, when we asked the old palace maid for the word ‘princess,’ I naturally assumed it was Princess Shu Kang,” Ye Tingyan said, “Who would have thought that the matter would turn upside down after two days of investigation. I have written a detailed memorial of ten thousand words, thoroughly explaining the causes and consequences. Although this matter happened three years ago, and most palace maids are no longer here, the Vermilion Bird can still find detailed witnesses and evidence—it cannot be falsified.”

He

paused for a moment and continued: “Your Majesty, consider this—if the Empress really wanted to save her, why would she take such a risk? She and Princess Shu Kang had countless close friends in their boudoirs back then. It was just a daughter of a disgraced minister with whom she had some acquaintance—why risk so much?”

Song Lan played with two crystal beads in his hand, remaining silent for a long time before slowly saying: “When the Empress opposed collective punishment back then, it was for my reputation and to prevent the Grand Tutor from using it as an excuse to eliminate dissent... If she really wanted to protect this girl, she should have come to me first.”

“Exactly,” Ye Tingyan said earnestly, “Bringing this girl into the palace was a two-birds-with-one-stone strategy. First, this girl always thought the Empress had some connection with her but stayed aloof, harboring resentment. If given the chance, she might pose a threat to the Empress. Second, if others had ulterior motives and used her identity to create trouble, wouldn’t the Empress be unable to defend herself? Remember the copper cup on Huiling Lake—if not for her fear of the Empress discovering her identity and panicking into assassination, having such a person by her side, wouldn’t Your Majesty naturally assume everything was orchestrated by the Empress? If this scheme succeeded, how would the political situation tilt?”

Song Lan stared at the smoke-like patterns inside the crystal beads in his hand, saying nothing.

Ye Tingyan glanced at him and knew from his expression that he must have believed his words.

Doubt among those in high positions was common, but perhaps due to Song Lan’s long-standing sense of insecurity, his suspicions were more convoluted than usual.

Moreover, his words were crucial. With Song Lan’s detached emotions, hearing them would make him ponder whether Luo Wei would risk her life to save someone.

If it were to harm someone, it would be worth it.

Normally, such words might not easily convince him, but now was different—Luo Wei summoned Yan Lang to the capital to disrupt his thoughts. The matter of False Dragon Chant already troubled him. Yan Lang killing Wang Fengshi, his trusted man in the army, was an even bigger concern.

This spring was particularly turbulent—first the West Garden murder, then the Spring Field assassination, Zhang Pingjing fell ill, followed by the release of False Dragon Chant and the involvement of the Empress’s palace maid in an old case… The Gold Sky Guards were abandoned, and the Ministry of Revenue currently lacked leadership. For some reason, the court suddenly became full of hidden currents.

Precisely at such a time, Yan Lang returned to the capital. The Yan family had a good relationship with the Empress. He had long intended to send someone to replace the border officials. Yan Lang’s immediate execution of his appointed general was a show of power. Regardless, there was one thing Ye Tingyan always got right—if the political situation tilted now, what then?

Thinking of this, Song Lan felt a surge of blood. Slightly distracted, one of the crystal beads in his hand suddenly dropped and shattered on the ground.

•

The next day, Luo Wei received Ye Tingyan’s message that Song Lan confined Song Zhiyu and ambiguously dealt with Yanluo.

Later, Song Lan took her to see Yan Lang, vaguely mentioning on the way that he handed Yanluo over to her for disposition.

On the day Yan Lang entered the palace, he rode a chestnut horse through Yujie Street ostentatiously. This time, he returned to the capital with only twenty-odd soldiers, half of whom went directly to the suburban camp without entering the city.

Back when the Yan heir was in the capital, his personality was very flamboyant. He was handsome and the dream lover of women of all kinds in every street and alley. Now, after being tempered at the border, though not as fair as before, he appeared more mature. In just a short distance, he nearly got buried by ribbons and flowers thrown from both sides of the street.

Ye Tingyan had stayed in the Vermilion Bird Office for three days. Today, Yan Lang entered the palace, finally allowing him to take leave after the early court session and return home.

Pei Xi squeezed through the crowd on the street, covering his ears and grumbling, “After all these years, he hasn’t changed his frivolous nature!”

Ye Tingyan played with the folding fan in his hand: “You think he’s frivolous, but he’s very clever—last night before entering the city, he spread exaggerated tales of his exploits in killing traitors and defending the city at the border. Today, he paraded through the main streets on horseback. The fame of Zhuochou still stands. Being so open, which commoner would doubt the truth of his words?”

Pei Xi exclaimed, “This kid did it on purpose?”

Ye Tingyan said, “In recent years, Song Lan and Yu Qiushi have tried every means to seize the military power at the border but have been unable to find a way. By parading ostentatiously, he made it impossible for them to devise a plan to detain him in the palace. The public opinion… “

Pei Xi waited for him to continue, but unexpectedly, Ye Tingyan suddenly stopped talking and instead asked, “Madam, how much are these buns?”

He calculated for a while at the stall and finally bought four buns, handing one to Pei Xi. Pei Xi held the bun, confused: “Master, why don’t you continue?”

Ye Tingyan looked blank: “Ah, what else is there to say?”

He seemingly unintentionally glanced back. Yan Lang wore flowery armor today, shining golden under the sun. This glance caught the bright reflection of the armor, and he quickly retracted his gaze.

Pei Xi clearly saw the fleeting sorrow in his eyes, realizing why he abruptly changed the topic earlier—over the years, he had changed so much, hiding his thoughts deeper. Had he not observed carefully, he might not have figured it out all day.

He felt he should say something but didn’t know what. He bit into the bun in his hand, scalding his temple, yet his face remained serious: “Delicious.”

Ye Tingyan was amused, carelessly stuffing the remaining three buns into his arms.

Pei Xi held the buns, following him towards the residence, saying as they walked, “The matters of False Dragon Chant in Biandu and the copper cup on Huiling Lake have not been settled. Did the Empress recall Yan Shi to the capital merely to save her old friend? These events piled together, I’m somewhat confused.”

Ye Tingyan casually replied, “What’s there to be confused about? Wei... the Empress first had people spread False Dragon Chant in Biandu, then meticulously staged the copper cup incident to make Song Lan believe Yu Qiushi was disrespectful—this move mirrored what I did in the Spring Field, both aimed at intensifying Song Lan’s suspicion of Yu Qiushi. Unexpectedly, the cunning old fox Yu Qiushi seized her loophole, switching the copper cup. He intended to use Miss Qiu’s identity to solidify the matter and make Song Lan believe the Empress had divided loyalties. I intervened, ruining his plans...”

He yawned: “Miss Qiu attempted to assassinate the Empress. Given Song Lan’s suspicious nature, I tampered a bit more, making him believe Miss Qiu was sent in by someone else. Half-believing, half-doubting, he would suspect everything was Yu Qiushi’s plot. The court was already unstable, and now the Empress recalling Yan Lang stirs things up further. For Song Lan, obviously, the issue of Yan Lang killing his trusted aide Wang Fengshi is more important. For Yu Qiushi, the previous card failed, and the next move is unclear; staying put is best... She’s grown quite a lot over the years.”

Pei Xi reflected thoughtfully: “Master also took the opportunity within her calculations to eliminate Princess Ning Le, isn’t that convenient... By the way, Master casually mentioned before the morning court that he finally understood what the Empress wants, but didn’t finish the sentence. If not concerned about Song Lan, why... I don’t understand, what exactly does she want?”

Ye Tingyan bowed his head silently. The two walked quietly under the tiles by the street, the light and shadow cast through the gaps in the eaves flickering on his face, layer upon layer of disarray.