#90: Falling Sick from Wine in Spring (Part 1)

Luo Wei followed the crowd from Fengle Tower, and along the way, she ducked into a money exchange to change her clothes. Taking advantage of the dense crowd on the street, she shook off the guards following her and came to a secluded part of the Bian River. She boarded a flat-bottomed boat that Ye Tingyan had waiting there to pick her up.

The small boat was moored under a lonely bridge downstream of the Bian River. The snow on the bridge had not yet melted, and snowflakes were dripping onto the canopy.

As soon as she got on the boat, Ye Tingyan used a prepared dark-colored cloak to wrap her completely. There was a charcoal brazier for warmth in the cabin, but the boatman was nowhere to be seen.

Luo Wei looked around and asked, “Are you planning to go back when it gets late?”

Ye Tingyan grunted in response. “Although Chang Zhao will surely guess that you are at my residence, he still needs to put on a show for others. If they lose track of you, most of them will guard the gates of the various quarters and the secluded waterways. We’ll wait here for a while, and when he’s done with his show and they’ve left, we’ll go back.”

Luo Wei reached out to warm her hands by the fire and recounted her conversation with Chang Zhao in detail.

“We were right after all. This person has other motives. His words were arrogant, but I have a feeling they weren’t empty.”

Ye Tingyan held her hand and lowered his gaze, deep in thought.

Luo Wei noticed that his hand was much colder than before. She wondered if it was because he had been waiting there for too long.

She couldn’t help but squeeze his hand back tightly. When he remained silent for a long time, she asked, “Are you feeling uneasy?”

Ye Tingyan gave a wry smile. “Don’t you feel uneasy?”

Luo Wei sighed and nodded. “I originally thought that his only bargaining chip in the capital was Song Lan’s trust. Now it seems that he is even more dangerous than Song Lan. One thing he said was not wrong: we underestimated him. His previous silence and constant maneuvering were probably all in preparation for today. Second Brother...”

She suddenly used the name she hadn’t used in a long time. Ye Tingyan was stunned. “Hmm?”

Luo Wei asked, “What do you think he wants?”

Ye Tingyan pondered for a moment. “My boldest guess before was that he wanted the throne. But after hearing what you said, I have to add two words to that guess: he wants chaos and turmoil in the country.”

Luo Wei’s expression grew serious. “I think so too. Come to think of it, when I was in the palace, I always felt that there were spies from the Ezhen tribe in the inner court.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but every time there’s unrest in the northern border, it’s always at a time when there are sudden changes in court. Yu Qiushi’s death, Shukang’s departure from the capital, the Remonstrance of Jinghe Autumn... I had Young Yan wait outside Luoyang to test the situation in the northern border, and it turned out to be true. Whenever there’s a disturbance in our court, they try to stir up trouble at the border.”

“When I was in the palace, I secretly sent many people to investigate. Unfortunately, all they found were minor figures. According to their confessions, there must be a high-ranking leader. It’s precisely because the leader has yet to be found that Young Yan had to return to Youzhou. Without him there, I always feel uneasy.”

Ye Tingyan asked, “Do you suspect that Chang Zhao is a spy for the Ezhen tribe?”

Luo Wei shook her head. “This person may act humbly, but he is extremely arrogant. He probably wouldn’t work for a foreign tribe. At most, they are using each other. Besides, he only came to the capital in the spring examination of the year before last. The leader of the spies must have been here for many years. He’s very good at hiding. From the time I first noticed this in the beginning of the second year of Jinghe until now, he hasn’t shown a single flaw.”

“I’ve asked Yuanming to continue investigating this matter,” Ye Tingyan said. “We must be wary of the north’s operations over the years. Although Song Lan has been spending money, providing grain, and training soldiers on a large scale these past few years, his thinking is too simple. Aside from the Yan family’s army, the domestic armies have not fought in a long time and have become complacent. They are far inferior to the foreign tribes who live a nomadic life.”

He closed his eyes. “The ministers and the common people. The Yan brothers are in charge of the imperial guards, but they are just for show. Although Zhuque is half in my hands, Chang Zhao might have a hidden plan in the capital. Six months... Although he gave his word, it’s just a promise. How can we trust this person? Since the situation is urgent, he might go back on his word at any time. With a person like that in the capital, how can we be at ease going south?”

If there were only Song Lan in court, Ye Tingyan could have placed his confidants in the imperial guards and then taken Luo Wei to Jiangnan to mobilize troops to return to the capital. After using the matter of Shen Sui to purge the officialdom in Jiangnan, he had already made arrangements in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions as a backup plan to prevent chaos after the Yan family’s army left the northern border.

But after Yu Qiushi’s death, Chang Zhao’s sudden appearance completely disrupted his plan. Now, besides being wary of Song Lan, they also had to worry about whether Chang Zhao would cause any other problems if he was left alone in the capital.

After a long period of thought, Ye Tingyan said, “Our only option now is to have the people in Jiangnan scatter, disguise themselves as merchants, scholars, and refugees, and slowly enter the capital.”

“It’s true that it’s not a good idea for us to leave at this time. But if we want them to go unnoticed, it will take several times longer. Six months... it’s a real gamble,” Luo Wei said.

The two of them had been in the small boat for a long time. The charcoal in the brazier in front of them had grown cold. Ye Tingyan pulled the cloak on her tighter and said coldly, “After today, we’ll kill Chang Zhao first.”

Luo Wei thought for a moment. “This person’s intentions are not pure. It’s truly risky to leave him alive. But... how can we get rid of him without shedding blood? Song Lan still holds the tiger tally for the capital’s army. If he becomes aware of our intentions before our people enter the city, all our efforts will be for naught.”

Ye Tingyan sighed. “Let me think about it.”

Someone jumped onto the boat, called out “Young Master,” and then used a pole to push the boat away from under the bridge.

It was still late winter. Luo Wei heard the subtle sound of the wooden boat breaking through the thin ice.

Ye Tingyan was lost in thought about the current situation. His grip on her hand tightened. Luo Wei suddenly realized that his hand was so cold that she quickly wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly.

She felt warmth coming from his body. Ye Tingyan was startled for a moment. He reached out and ruffled her hair, teasingly saying, “You just thought of me now?”

He reached out and scooped her onto his lap. Luo Wei had to put her arms around his neck and rested her face against his chest.

Although his hands were cold, his chest was still hot. She smelled his familiar scent and heard the sound of his heart beating in his chest.

His heartbeat became more rapid because of her closeness.

Luo Wei suddenly felt an indescribable sense of security.

She looked up at him.

Even though his heart was beating so fast, Ye Tingyan’s face was calm. Noticing her movement, he even lowered his head and deliberately raised an eyebrow. For a moment, she was reminded of the young minister in green clothes on the Gaoyang Terrace. He had raised his eyebrows and kissed her palm with a flirtatious, half-smiling expression, like a charming ghost on a spring night.

At that time, she had been completely deceived by his disguise and hadn’t realized that the charming demeanor on his good-looking face was just a cover.

In fact, not only was his heart beating fast, but his ears were also flushed red.

This discovery amused Luo Wei, so she imitated him and deliberately blew into his ear. “I’ve noticed you’ve changed a lot over the years. Before, you were so clumsy even with a hug, but now you’re so skilled at these flirtatious tricks.”

Ye Tingyan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He asked back calmly, “Is that so? I think you’ve also changed a lot.”

Luo Wei reached out and touched his face, squinting her eyes. “How have I changed?”

Ye Tingyan said, “You are a slave to beauty. When you saw me on the Gaoyang Terrace, wasn’t it because you were captivated by my looks?”

Luo Wei was stunned, then almost burst out laughing. She glanced outside and lowered her voice even more. “You’re wrong about that. I’ve never changed. I was always a slave to beauty.”

Ye Tingyan grabbed her hand that was touching his face and asked in a seemingly gentle tone, “Then do you like me more now, or did you like me more before?”

Luo Wei thought she heard the sound of him grinding his back teeth.

So she decided to be a little more honest and stop teasing him. “There’s no shortage of handsome men in the inner court. The Gaoyang Terrace... was a place we used to have fun. The fact that I was willing to meet you there was because I saw a trace of the past in you.”

Ye Tingyan was taken aback. He only heard her continue to complain, “Although your disguise was nothing like your old self, you were still careless. Why didn’t you change your perfume?”

He suddenly understood why Luo Wei had insisted on pulling the blue bed curtains tight. A bitter feeling, mixed with joy, welled up in his heart. But he said, “No wonder—”

Luo Wei asked, “No wonder what?”

Ye Tingyan chuckled, didn’t answer, and just gently kissed her forehead.

Amidst the sounds of the boat moving through the water and the cracking of ice, Luo Wei continued, “No matter what you become, I can still see the moon.”

Ye Tingyan held her tightly.

At that moment, he suddenly felt that even if he were to lose everything again, just as he had in his youth, and take refuge in a small boat on a winter night, drifting with the current, as long as he held his beloved in his arms, he would believe that there was a moon tonight and that when the sun came up tomorrow, he would be able to do everything he wanted to do.

Just like when he was young.

The boat bumped into the riverbank, and Ye Tingyan suddenly said, “It’s almost spring again.”

Luo Wei said, “Next spring, I want to plant another crabapple tree behind the windows of the Qionghua Hall.”

After hearing about the events on Mount Guyou, Song Lan went to the Qionghua Hall late one night. He sat there all night. No one knew what he was thinking, but when he left the next day, he suddenly ordered all the crabapple trees to be cut down.

Now, the crabapple trees that Song Ling had planted in front of the Qionghua Hall for every year he was alive had all been chopped down. The crape myrtle flowers were wilting, and the common reeds that grew in the wild forests were thriving among the weeds.

Ye Tingyan held her and bent down to get out of the boat’s canopy. He suddenly realized that either from overthinking or because of the poison that Song Lan had given her, she had become so fragile.

Remembering the poison that Bo Sen-sen had not yet confirmed, his hand stiffened. He didn’t put her down. He just walked step by step towards the residence.

Fortunately, it was nighttime, so she shouldn’t be able to see the pain in his eyes.

“I’ll figure out what to do about Chang Zhao,” Ye Tingyan said in a soft voice, after a great effort to suppress his overwhelming emotions. “Since you have a six-month agreement with him, he won’t make any rash moves because he doesn’t know our next step. At the very least, the re-examination of the Assassin-Begonia case should proceed as we planned. You should rest for a while.”

“...I also have some crabapple trees planted in my garden.”

He walked to the small room behind the study where Luo Wei was staying and placed her on the bed. Luo Wei had been silent the whole way. He didn’t know what she was thinking. Just as he was about to say a few more words, she imitated his old self and reached out to grab the tie of his robe. With a little force, she pulled him closer.

Before Ye Tingyan could speak, Luo Wei teased him in his ear, “Minister Ye, why are you in such a hurry to leave? Don’t you want the cloak you gave me?”

She had been calling him “Ah Tang” more often these days, so much so that he had almost forgotten this somewhat absurd title. But now that the issue in his heart had been resolved, he didn’t mind hearing it and even found it amusing. “Does the Empress want to give it back to me?”

After their embrace and kiss, Luo Wei finally felt him become warm again. Eventually, he was even drenched in sweat. She looked at the bed curtain made of green silk in the midst of the thick scent. He had been fond of elegance since he was young and was also very meticulous. Even the arrangement of the curtains was unique.

And today, she finally saw clearly that a crape myrtle flower, taller than her, was faintly drawn on the green silk.