#84: The Galaxy Overflows (Part 3)

On New Year’s Eve of the fourth year of Jinghe, the capital was making its final preparations for the New Year’s Day festival.

In the past, the most magnificent festival in the dynasty was the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival coincided with a grand sacrifice at the Bian River and the birthday of the late Crown Prince, so it was a celebration for the entire nation.

But since the first year of Jinghe, the Lantern Festival has been in remembrance of the Crown Prince’s assassination. Aside from the usual rituals, the other celebrations have not been what they once were.

Rumor has it that the Son of Heaven is very sorrowful on the day his elder brother died, and upon hearing the sound of fireworks in the city, he is prone to migraines.

Luo Wei lit candles to see in the new year in her residence. She wrapped herself in a thick cloak and braved the wind and snow to enter the depths of the bamboo grove in the back garden.

Fireworks are forbidden during the Lantern Festival, but the continuous sound of firecrackers on New Year’s Eve made the surrounding snow rustle and fall.

She walked to the false tombstone, clasped her hands together, and bowed devoutly.

The gods and Buddha were indifferent, and all paths were false. Last night, she had a dream. She dreamt that the fire of heaven’s will fell on the imperial city, and a true dragon’s silhouette formed behind Song Lan.

The surrounding people knelt and cried out, and even the people behind her began to retreat. But Ye Tingyan, who was by her side, had a calm expression. He drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot down the fire of heaven’s will in the night sky.

So the sparks scattered and fell, exploding on the ground like falling fireworks. Everything was the same as the Lantern Festival that had fallen in her dream, except that someone was holding her hand.

Ye Tingyan didn’t even change back into Song Ling’s appearance; he just held her hand and ascended to heaven step by step along the long staircase. As she reached the highest point with him, she turned back and saw lights lit up in all four corners of the land.

Luo Wei had never had such a dream.

When she was young and carefree, her nights were sweet and peaceful. After the sudden tragedy, her dreams were filled with all kinds of reflections of that one Lantern Festival night. At most, she would hold a sharp blade, wandering through the imperial city, and piercing Song Lan’s heart.

The end of this dream was unclear—it was clearly a fatal blow, but Song Lan, holding her hand, suddenly opened his eyes and gave her a bizarre smile.

The hot blood was scorching, and she woke up in a cold sweat, not knowing whether she had won or lost.

It seemed that after she came to his side, everything vague became certain. She had been very fond of his steadfastness since she was young, and now that she was back with him, the feeling of losing something and then regaining it was especially clear in this matter.

Last night, Ye Tingyan had held her. His tears had soaked the pillows.

He had said not to cry during a kiss, but he couldn’t help it.

He said that without their reunion, he would probably be trapped in a state of doubt for the rest of his life. He often dreamt of a person sitting in a desolate corridor, watching the spring flowers swaying in the sun.

“Ever since I escaped and came back that year, I’ve always felt that we were sliding towards decay. Although we struggled desperately, wanting spring to pass a little slower, it was ultimately futile. I looked to the history books, and the victors stood on the tip of a blade, beckoning to me. This path was fragrant and brilliant, the bloodstains covered by petals, and the corpses were their dyes and nutrients. I desperately told myself that those flowers were naturally so red, but I couldn’t forget that every step I took was on the rusted bones of an endless hell. The further I went, the colder and more solitary I felt.”

Is this the fragmented and withered path we are on?

Luo Wei traced a pattern on his palm. After a while, Ye Tingyan realized that she was drawing the short sword he had given her back then.

“Ah Tang, is there anyone you envy?”

“I envy some of the great gentlemen of the age, I envy the loyal ministers in court, and I envy the hermits who died in the mountain fire after gathering ferns on Shouyang Mountain.”

“But they are loyal ministers, and you are the ruler. The way of the ruler is like a dagger studded with jewels. You must kill, you must protect yourself, and you must kill... to protect yourself.”

Luo Wei pressed her hand against his palm. “We cannot live our entire lives in the glorious dream woven by our parents. This world is inherently unstable... Hold it tightly. The Emperor’s sword should shine brightly.”

So, soothed by her, he had the best night’s sleep he had had in many years.

Luo Wei caressed his hair on his forehead, but she had a strange feeling.

She recalled the golden afternoon in Xuzhou when a sudden plague of locusts struck. Wailing filled the fields, and the people stood by the roadside, watching helplessly as a cloud of locusts swept over the fields that were about to be harvested, taking away a year’s hope.

Song Ling stood by her side, his face filled with an almost tragic compassion, but his eyes were cold.

The people didn’t know his identity. They only saw a young man and remembered the corruption of the officials who handled the locust relief in previous years. They hurled insults at him. But he just held her and walked silently through the noisy mountain path.

She wasn’t actually that resolute a person before, Luo Wei thought.

No one is born with unyielding strength and the kind of resilient character that would lead them to destroy both themselves and their enemy. She had taken too much from him. Now, she was just giving his previous steadfastness back to him.

These things, which had become a part of their very being, took root and grew in each of their bodies, becoming so intertwined that they were inseparable.

With that thought, Luo Wei was suddenly back in the New Year’s Eve night. She looked up at the shadows of the wind and snow above the bamboo grove and gave a small smile, saying softly, “Father, Mother, Uncle, Aunt, if your spirits are in heaven, please bless me and Ah Tang.”

She stood there devoutly for a long time. When she turned back, she saw Ye Tingyan, who had returned at some point, leaning against the bamboo grove, watching her quietly.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, but he only said, “The snow is falling heavily.”

After the New Year’s Eve banquet, Song Lan went to see Yu Suiyun first.

Over the past few months, the guards at Pifang Pavilion had increased, and she was confined to it. At most, she could only walk around the garden twice a day. Yu Qiushi hadn’t been in the palace for a long time, so even if she had to guess, she would have known what had happened.

But whenever Song Lan came to visit, he never saw a trace of unhappiness on her face.

Yu Suiyun still had the same temperament as before. She complained about the food, the weather, and she would curse at her servants and throw things because of morning sickness. When she was idle, she would seriously flip through ancient books, saying she wanted to give her child a nickname. When he came, she would still cling to his arm and act spoiled, just like before.

If she had cursed and acted crazy, Song Lan would have known she was indeed a pampered girl from a noble family. If a spoiled girl’s temperament were passed on to his child, wouldn’t it taint the imperial bloodline? Moreover, her turbulent emotions would surely not be good for her pregnancy. No matter how reluctant he was, he couldn’t keep her.

But Yu Suiyun was no different from her usual self, which made him think more highly of her. Whether it was because she understood that after Yu Qiushi’s death, she could only rely on the emperor’s favor to survive, or that she was planning for her future after the child was grown, her current actions were an excellent strategy.

Song Lan was happy to play along with her. Anyway, he didn’t care much about her. After the child was born, how to deal with them would depend on his mood. Yu Suiyun’s desire to build up her influence in the deep palace for the future was simply a pipe dream.

After visiting her, Yan Yu accompanied him to the Candle-lighting Tower to see in the new year.

Yan Yu was originally a palace attendant by Empress Dowager Cheng Hui’s side. She had been taking care of him for a few years. She was five years older than him and a skilled fighter. She had also shown him some kindness when he was young.

Moreover, her two brothers were also skilled fighters but lacked strategy. Having people like them as his confidantes made him feel much more at ease.

Yan Yu spoke softly to Song Lan about the Empress Dowager’s recent situation. Song Lan listened and found it to be no different from usual, so he perfunctorily gave her a few instructions. Yan Yu, observing his expression, suddenly remembered something. “By the way, when this concubine was arranging the Grand Princess’s palace before New Year’s Eve, I found some strange objects.”

Song Lan was not very interested. “What objects?”

Yan Yu, wanting his praise, spoke with great embellishment. “It was a very short arrowhead. I don’t know where it came from. Logically, the Grand Princess has been in the forbidden palace for many years and shouldn’t have seen such a thing. This concubine remembers that there was a symbol carved on the arrowhead.”

She gestured with her hand on his palm, but she couldn’t remember clearly, so she couldn’t form a specific shape after a long time of trying. Song Lan knew her little scheme to win favor, so he lost his patience and waved his hand, telling her to leave. “I can see in the new year alone. You may go.”

Yan Yu left with some disappointment, probably going back to look for that arrowhead.

The Candle-lighting Tower had candles burning all year round, giving off the smell of wax. After the guards were dismissed, Song Lan knelt alone in the hall and watched over the night until it was almost dawn.

He was drowsy. Thinking about the grand court meeting today made him even more annoyed. Just as he was about to get up, he heard someone rush in, saying in a panicked voice, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty—”

He threw himself at Song Lan’s feet, saying incoherently, “Last night, a group of bandits suddenly attacked the western capital and kidnapped Her Highness the Princess, who was temporarily staying in the city. The guards of the western capital reported that, that...”

After hearing only the first half of the sentence, Song Lan was suddenly startled. “Reported what?”

The attendant wiped the sweat from his forehead. “They said that the ones who kidnapped the Princess seemed to be soldiers from the northern garrison. Half a month ago, a dozen or so soldiers from the northern garrison entered the city under the pretext of scouting for the enemy. Yesterday, they brazenly left the city under the name of Youzhou’s military situation... Everyone in the city was seeing in the new year, and no one was on guard, which is why they were so successful!”

Song Lan said furiously, “How dare he falsely report military information—”

“Your Majesty,” Liu Xi called out to him softly from the side, stammering, “This morning, before this person came to see you, a military report had already been delivered, saying that there was an enemy attack on the northern border of Youzhou the day before yesterday, which almost reached the border of Wancheng. Thanks to Young General Yan leading the troops, the enemy was repelled overnight, and the victory report has just been sent back to the capital.”

Yan Lang had not returned to Youzhou at all. He had been lurking in Luoyang with a dozen soldiers disguised as servants, waiting for a military situation from the northern border. As soon as there was a military situation, he could brazenly knock on the gates of Luoyang and take the person away.

The use of force in the north was mostly by scattered bandits, just a series of probing attacks. After he rescued the person, he could rush a thousand miles from Luoyang to Ping Shao Pass, show his face in the army, and then send back a report of victory. Not only would he not be punished, but he would also be rewarded!

No wonder Song Yaofeng as bait couldn’t lure Luo Wei out. When she made that deal, she had planned everything, and as soon as there was a movement at the northern border, she would be able to act immediately.

In an instant, Song Lan clearly thought through the plans of the two of them, and he felt a sharp pain in his head. He threw his head back and fell backward. Liu Xi immediately went forward to catch him, calling for the imperial doctor in a hurried voice.

Song Lan looked up at the candles and ancestral tablets filling the hall behind him. He suddenly remembered that Lu Hang had seemed to have a connection with Song Ling.

If everything in the court, starting from her disappearance from Mount Guyou, was Luo Wei’s plan—forcing him to kill the cicadas, using the shattered jade incident to draw criticism from the Censorate, and spreading “False Dragon’s Roar”—Yan Lang finally waited for the opportunity to rescue Song Yaofeng. He no longer had a hostage, so she must be ready to make her move.

He sat up, holding his forehead. For some reason, he felt a faint sense of excitement. He had known that Luo Wei was a brilliant strategist, but he didn’t expect her to be even more meticulous than he had thought. After all these layers of planning, what kind of move had she prepared to use against him?

Did she also know that besides the incense in the palace, he also had many other moves waiting for a decisive battle against her and the ghost of Song Ling behind her?

Liu Xi suddenly heard the young emperor let out two very pleasant laughs. His laughter echoed in the empty Candle-lighting Tower in the early morning, with only the flickering candlelight giving a response.

He suddenly felt a chill all over his body. He had been following Song Lan for so many years and knew a little about the major case from four years ago. His master, with the fresh blood of his own flesh and blood relatives on his hands, could still laugh out loud under the ancestral tablets of the entire hall.

If the spirits of the ancestors knew, what would they think?

If the gods and Buddha felt anything, would they mete out punishment?

Liu Xi helped Song Lan to his feet and straightened his imperial crown for him. He walked out of the hall in his exceptionally magnificent gilded red robe with an embroidered dragon.

In the distance, the ceremony for the grand court meeting was already prepared, and the music of the #of Xuanping began to play.