CT - 67

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, during the grand Zhongyuan Festival (Ghost Festival), the Emperor and Empress led all officials in paying respects at the ancestral temple and lit lamps at the Ranju Tower for blessings. Even within the imperial city’s blood-stained imperial prison, a faint scent of incense could be detected.

Before dusk, as the imperial carriage crossed the Bian River, Luo Wei suddenly alighted from her sedan chair, stating she wished to perform a sacrifice at Tinghua Terrace.

Previously, she often spoke of sorrow and rarely visited Tinghua Terrace. Her uncharacteristic insistence now made one wonder if she was euphoric due to Yu Qiushi’s impending death. Song Lan found no flaws in her demeanor, so he consented. As for himself—apart from the completion of the golden statue—he never performed sacrifices at Tinghua Terrace, merely claiming he couldn’t bear to. The officials, knowing the Emperor’s deep affection for the late Crown Prince, praised him once more.

After Luo Wei left, Song Lan summoned Ye Tingyan to ride with him in the imperial carriage.

For several years, Luo Wei had almost never been to Tinghua Terrace. Her insistence on going now surprised Ye Tingyan, but facing Song Lan, he had no choice but to suppress his doubts, merely responding respectfully, “Your Majesty.”

Song Lan, however, did not mention anything about it. He pulled Ye Tingyan close and chatted leisurely about the court situation. After a day in his imperial robes, he seemed extremely fatigued, falling into a doze even before reaching the palace gates.

Ye Tingyan remained silently to one side. Since the Emperor was quiet for a long time, he continued to ponder, inevitably lost in thought.

Today, there should have been a Mulian opera being performed on the streets. As the imperial carriage passed through the bustling Bian River, the surrounding sounds gradually subsided, replaced by the solemn din from within the imperial city.

Just as Ye Tingyan was about to lift the curtain to see how far they had traveled, Song Lan suddenly spoke, his words clear, without a trace of drowsiness: “The assassination at Mochun Field, that was your doing, wasn’t it?”

Ye Tingyan shuddered and immediately refocused: “This subject does not understand Your Majesty’s meaning.”

Song Lan chuckled softly, leaning back against the gilded silk brocade beside him, casually saying, “Why did Lin Zhao attempt the assassination? Although I was at odds with him before, his Lin clan has vast enterprises. The Grand Tutor washed his hands of it; they knew very well that only I was their reliance.”

Ye Tingyan said, “Your Majesty is right, it’s just a pity that the second young master was ignorant.”

Song Lan said, “Ignorant? He’s a petty man, not a gentleman. A gentleman seeks righteousness, a petty man seeks profit. For profit, even a fool wouldn’t do such a thing. Although I intended to use the Lin family to fill the deficit, I knew very well that after the Three Judicial Offices’ trial, that horse trainer who was exiled beyond the pass left Bianjing, galloped his horse, and headed north, and that was you—”

He stretched out his finger, pointing at Ye Tingyan’s forehead, and continued with a smile, “You saved him.”

Ye Tingyan pursed his lips and remained silent. Song Lan saw a bead of cold sweat on his forehead. His pointing finger shifted slightly, wiping away the cold sweat for him: “That eunuch who testified in court also disappeared from Mochun Field afterward. Didn’t he go to Youzhou with him?”

Ye Tingyan looked up at him, speaking very slowly: “This subject truly does not know what Your Majesty is speaking of. If Your Majesty has doubts, this subject is willing to thoroughly investigate this matter to alleviate Your Majesty’s concerns.”

“Hahahahaha...” Song Lan leaned back on the soft pillow in the carriage, laughing loudly. As he laughed, he suddenly called out, “Liu Xi!”

The carriage stopped upon hearing the call. Liu Xi bowed outside the curtain, responding, “Your Majesty.”

Song Lan raised his hand, pointing at Ye Tingyan, and said, “Drag this deceitful and disloyal subject away and beat him to death with clubs.”

Liu Xi paused, seemingly hesitant. However, the Suzaku guards accompanying the Emperor’s carriage immediately followed orders. Two men approached, saluting from outside the curtain: “Lord Ye, please step out.”

Song Lan picked up an orange beside him, played with it in his hand, and raised an eyebrow at Ye Tingyan: “Do you have anything else to say?”

Even a calm person like Ye Tingyan couldn’t help but have trembling lips and flickering eyes at this moment. He opened his mouth several times before barely managing to utter a sentence: “This subject is wronged.”

“Tingyan, I know you harbor resentment towards the Grand Tutor, and I can guess why you went to such great lengths to return to the capital—although you cut out that slave mark on the Red Spot Terrace, blood relatives, broken bones are connected by sinews. During the battle of Youyun River, the Grand Tutor was in the Northern Youzhou army. You can guess why the Ye family fell and whether he had a hand in it, and I naturally can too.” Song Lan said, lowering his eyes, “Now you’ve fought him splendidly, and the Grand Tutor is about to die. I just want to hear the truth from you. Do you admit to what I just said?”

Ye Tingyan knelt at the Emperor’s feet in the carriage, his fingers trembling slightly.

He pursed his lips and was silent for a long time. He then looked up, his reddened eyes fixed on Song Lan, his tone losing its former respectful caution: “Yes, the Grand Tutor is dead, so I suppose this subject is also useless to Your Majesty.”

Song Lan said coldly, “Presumptuous!”

Ye Tingyan, however, said, “Your Majesty may speak plainly. This subject is willing to die, but even if Your Majesty beats this subject to death before the Minghua Gate, this subject will die rather than admit to things I have not done.”

Upon hearing this, Song Lan closed his eyes, raised an eyebrow slightly, and waved his hand.

Liu Xi had been with him for many years and knew his intentions best. Seeing his gesture, he breathed a sigh of relief. He dismissed the two Suzaku guards and retreated himself.

The imperial carriage, which had halted, resumed its journey, heavily rolling over the brick and stone carvings in front of the imperial city gate.

When he opened his eyes again, Song Lan’s expression had changed to one of appreciation. He patted Ye Tingyan’s shoulder and said in an inscrutable tone, “Good, very good.”

Ye Tingyan calmly kowtowed to him: “Thank Your Majesty for your trust.”

Song Lan no longer brought up the previous matter, merely smiling and saying, “Tomorrow, I’ll trouble you to have a drink with the Grand Tutor. If you have anything you want to ask, just ask him. Since the late emperor never questioned it, the matter of the Ye family is not just the Grand Tutor’s fault, but also the royal family’s fault. I am being honest with you today to advise you to let go, lest we become estranged over this in the future.”

“Since you believe it was the Grand Tutor’s doing, let the matter end with him. You are in court; you can still restore your ancestors’ foundation and reclaim your merits.”

Ye Tingyan prostrated himself deeply, his gratitude brimming: “This subject... thanks Your Majesty for his imperial grace.”

He alighted from the Emperor’s carriage in front of the Mingguang Gate, his legs so weak he almost fell directly from the vehicle. Song Lan sent Liu Xi to personally assist him, guiding him to the foot of the vermilion wall.

Liu Xi saw that a seemingly good friend of Ye Tingyan’s was at the foot of the vermilion wall, so he entrusted Ye Tingyan to him, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then turned to return to the palace.

Pei Xi took him over and supported him for a good distance. After leaving the imperial street, the two boarded a carriage.

Pei Xi’s heart pounded incessantly, and he struggled to contain himself. Only after they entered the residence did he speak with lingering fear: “I was at the very end, and I heard the Emperor get angry, ordering his guards to drag you away and beat you to death. Everyone was talking, truly not expecting you to descend from the Emperor’s carriage completely unscathed... What did he discover?”

Ye Tingyan casually pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of his eyes. Hearing the question, he actually laughed: “He discovered that I had Ruoshui and Peng Jian give false testimony.”

Peng Jian was the former “horse trainer,” and also his old acquaintance from Mochun Field.

Zhou Chuyin happened to come out to greet him. Upon hearing this, his brow furrowed, then quickly smoothed out.

Pei Xi was terrified: “He knew? Then, then...”

Ye Tingyan looked at his instantly pale face and laughed aloud: “What are you worried about?”

Pei Xi stared intently, but saw that Ye Tingyan no longer had the terrified expression he had when he emerged from the imperial city. Those looks of panic, astonishment, and fear had vanished completely.

Was that all a disguise?

He was dumbfounded, but Ye Tingyan walked into the inner courtyard, casually saying, “I sent Peng Jian and Ruoshui out of the pass. If I hadn’t wanted Song Lan to know, how could he have detected anything? He thought I was sloppy, but that’s a mistake. You must remember, there’s no such thing as a perfectly clean job in this world, but traces can be deceiving.”

He walked back to his study on his own, leaving Pei Xi stunned in place.

Zhou Chuyin saw his expression and sighed, explaining to him, “Young Master did it on purpose. Now that I think about it, the people he sent to escort the two out of the capital were probably chosen in advance, not sending more meticulous people, precisely for this day.”

“He deliberately allowed Song Lan to gain leverage, treating it lightly, creating a false impression that he was easy to control, and also resolving the hidden worries about his Ye family identity. After today, Song Lan will surely trust him even more.”

Pei Xi pondered for a long time before he understood, murmuring, “But Young Master never mentioned this to me. Did he tell you, Sir?”

Zhou Chuyin paused: “No.”

He glanced at the deep courtyard and sighed deeply: “He told no one. Perhaps he feels that even friends cannot be trusted.”

Pei Xi thought he was saddened: “Sir—”

Unexpectedly, Zhou Chuyin patted his shoulder and advised instead, “Zhi, this is your young master’s heart ailment. Don’t blame him.”

________________________________________

The next day, Ye Tingyan received further rewards, and everyone learned of his favor of riding in the Emperor’s carriage. A young eunuch, whose face was unfamiliar, meticulously relayed the details to Luo Wei, then bowed and departed.

Luo Wei looked up and noticed a cut wound on his palm.

Chaolan, fanning her from behind, lamented, “Although I don’t know what His Majesty said to Lord Ye, he couldn’t stand steadily when he came down. He must have been reprimanded, right? To be reprimanded and still get promoted is truly a narrow escape. I heard that when he entered the palace again today, everyone respected him even more than before.”

Luo Wei “tsk-ed” softly: “Wealth is sought in danger. This is inevitable.”

She glanced at the setting sun, about to dip below the horizon, and suddenly asked, “At this hour, has he left the palace?”

Zhang Suwu, on the other side, shook his head: “Not yet.”

Luo Wei then murmured to herself, “Then it must be today...”

She rose and walked towards her couch, yawning and saying, “I’ll go lie down for a bit. Chaolan, you don’t need to be on duty tonight; have Suwu come instead.”

________________________________________

After sunset, Ye Tingyan entered the empty imperial prison alone.

Yu Qiushi had already been escorted to the courtyard. He was leaning on a rattan chair, brought from who knows where, gazing eastward where the moon’s shadow first appeared.

He had been stripped of his prime minister’s attire, dressed only in a pristine white inner garment. Although the garment was stained from the torture of the past few days, he meticulously straightened its collar. Ye Tingyan glanced at him, noticing that he had even found a wooden chopstick and carefully tied his disheveled hair.

The guard accompanying Ye Tingyan placed a jade tray on a stone table to one side and then retreated.

Yu Qiushi turned his head to look and saw a pot of wine, a short knife, and two wine cups on the tray.

He chuckled: “Between poisoned wine and a sharp blade, which is superior? Why doesn’t Lord Ye choose for me?”

Ye Tingyan, however, raised his hand, poured a cup of wine, and drank it himself: “Grand Tutor is mistaken. This wine is brought by me, not bestowed by His Majesty.”

Yu Qiushi was a little surprised, but still smiled: “Thank you.”

He took the cup of wine that Ye Tingyan had refilled, raised it to the moon, and began to recite: “To drink and sing, how short is life! Today, I shall depart this world, yet I can see the moon and drink wine. It is not in vain, this life of mine.”