#92: Falling Sick from Wine in Spring (Part 3)

Chang Zhao held the candle holder and slowly paced into the depths of the cells of the Zhuque Office.

He had been coming here often lately, and everyone knew it. Yuan Ming, who was holding his sword in silence, glanced at him, but in the end, he didn’t say anything and left with the others, his head bowed.

Su Shiyu was lying on a pile of straw, feeling a cool silk robe brush against his cheek, followed by a sweet and bitter medicinal scent.

This scent was not just the acrid smell of medicine. It was also mixed with expensive incense, creating a strange and yet not jarring smell.

He had started noticing this smell a long time ago. Su Zhoudu had been sick for many years, and he had spent more time serving him up close than Luo Wei had, so he was very sensitive to the smell of medicine. From the first time Chang Zhao came to the Su family residence to see him on the Emperor’s orders, he had realized that this person drank medicine year-round.

Although he looked a little pale, his physique was tall and strong. The arm strength he had shown when he shot an arrow at a horse at the Moshun grounds was still there, which meant he didn’t have any chronic illnesses that had invaded his muscles. What kind of illness required him to take medicine, and strong medicine, year-round?

Now, this smell was still so clear amidst the faint scent of blood.

Chang Zhao placed the candle holder a step away from him and sat down casually. He poked the blood-stained straw in front of him. “Do you know why he created Zhuque?”

Su Shiyu didn’t answer. Chang Zhao continued on his own. “Whether it’s me or Ye Tingyan, we were both given important roles because of that arrow at the Moshun grounds. Before that, we had all guessed that before His Majesty took power, he would establish a direct agency like the Imperial City Office, hold it firmly in his hands, and make it his sharpest sword.”

“He learned this from the history books. A ruler must have such a tooth and tongue to command the inner court and monitor all officials. He needs a person who is both a scholar and a warrior, who is no different from the people in court on the outside, but has means and skills on the inside, to control Zhuque for him and handle all the things that cannot be handled by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Punishments. Of course, he learned it very thoroughly. A place like this is very dangerous, and it is certainly not meant to be controlled by one person for a long time. So, before the Empress and the Grand Tutor, it was Ye Tingyan, and after them, it’s me.”

“He cut the Grand Tutor’s power as a chancellor, took away the Empress’s influence, emptied the six ministries, and took direct control of the imperial guards. It won’t be long before he has all the power in his hands. He had been planning all of this since he ascended the throne. As long as the Empress and Yu Qiushi were locked in a fight to the death, the final beneficiary would definitely be him.”

He said so much in one breath. Only then did Su Shiyu manage to look up and give him a look.

Chang Zhao sighed, took a handkerchief, and tried to wipe some of the blood from his face. But Su Shiyu turned his head away, not accepting the gesture.

Chang Zhao didn’t mind and continued. “Since the Grand Tutor had to die, the weakest point in his consolidation of power was this Zhuque Office. I’ve talked about this with your sister and Ye Tingyan. What is his flaw? Although he learned ten-tenths of Yu Qiushi’s political maneuvering and one hundred-tenths of the Empress’s balancing of power, he doesn’t know how to win people’s hearts. A place like Zhuque must be filled with people who would die for him. How many people here do you think would die for him?”

Su Shiyu coughed, barely holding back the bloody froth that was welling up in his throat. He said hoarsely, “What’s the point of telling me all this?”

“I want to tell you that what my sister and I are doing is no different. Is it really that important whether our paths are the same?” Chang Zhao said slowly. “I also want to tell you that although I can see Song Lan’s weaknesses and my own, he is completely unaware, and even though I am aware, I don’t know how to deal with them. For example, before yesterday, I was completely unguarded against you and wanted to treat you as a close friend. Why did you do this? Were the things you said before all lies?”

After the morning court yesterday, Su Shiyu submitted a memorial to the Qianfang Hall.

Chang Zhao left the palace very early, but in the afternoon, he was privately invited by the Yan brothers and the imperial guards to the back hall of the Qianfang Hall. As he walked to the door of the hall, he heard Su Shiyu’s usually calm and indifferent voice. “...This minister and Minister Chang slept foot to foot. I woke up in the middle of the night to find some water, and I suddenly saw a seam where the human skin was joined at his neck. In recent days, this minister has been paying attention to this and has been unable to sleep. I also heard that the Chang family was assassinated back then, and he was the only survivor.”

“So this minister asked an old friend to pay attention in Yanzhou and found that the wet nurse who he sent back back then was actually lucky enough to survive. She identified him as not being Chang Zhao. This minister has already sent people to bring her back to the capital. They’ve sent back a portrait that the wet nurse drew. His Majesty can summon Minister Chang, remove his mask, and you will know the truth at a glance.”

Chang Zhao reached out and touched the scar on his neck, unable to hold back a sneer.

Su Shiyu turned his head to look at him, his eyes flickering, but in the end, he calmed down. Song Lan was sitting on the golden throne, his expression unreadable, and it was impossible to tell if he was displeased. He just said, “Pingnian, do you admit to what Minister Su has said?”

He walked over and knelt down, his face expressionless. “This minister cannot admit to it.”

So Song Lan summoned the imperial physician to carefully remove his disguise. Su Shiyu’s face didn’t show it, but seeing his calm and composed expression, his hands under his large sleeves couldn’t help but tremble.

Finally, the imperial physician removed his mask. Su Shiyu held his breath and turned his head, but he saw a heavily scarred, almost unrecognizable face.

Chang Zhao immediately prostrated himself, burying his face on the ground. “Your Majesty, this minister’s face was disfigured during the assassination back then. It was a last resort to use a fake face to show myself. A gentleman should have a dignified appearance. If this minister were to serve as an official with my ugly face, I would inevitably be criticized. Using this last resort to deceive the monarch is a crime for which I cannot be forgiven even in death, but what Young Master Su said is truly absurd!”

Su Shiyu gripped the hem of his robe tightly and said nothing.

The moment he saw that face, he knew that the plan was ruined, and there was no point in saying anything more.

“Young Master Su and the Empress are close relatives. He pretended to befriend me all this time and originally set up such a vicious plot to get rid of His Majesty’s confidant! My wet nurse passed away from illness last year, and we even held a funeral for her in Yanzhou. Where did Young Master Su find someone to frame me with a portrait? This minister asks His Majesty to bring the person that Young Master Su spoke of into the palace and restore my innocence!”

The reason Song Lan temporarily sent Su Shiyu to Zhuque instead of immediately sentencing him to death was because of the “wet nurse” he mentioned.

But both of them knew that after leaving the Qianfang Hall today, that “wet nurse” would definitely not appear.

Su Shiyu gave a low laugh, and a streak of bloody froth came from the corner of his lips.

He had been severely tortured after entering Zhuque. His pale outer robe had been soaked in blood, so he could only lie on the straw. The straw was very damp and a little moldy. He wondered if it was because of the continuous cold spring weather.

Chang Zhao only glanced at him before looking away. “Shiyu, were you too impatient to get rid of me for your sister? You pretended to befriend me for two or three months. Why couldn’t you wait for the wet nurse to enter the city for a few days? Oh, you were afraid that I would notice her when she entered the city? You see, you knew very well that she couldn’t enter the capital’s city gates at all. You wanted to catch me off guard, but what a pity, what a pity—”

Su Shiyu said intermittently, “It’s a good thing... to make him a little suspicious of you... I...”

Cold sweat dripped onto the back of Chang Zhao’s hand. He frowned, his voice losing some of its previous sorrow. “Actually, you had this idea the first time you saw me. On the top floor of Fengle Tower, the Empress and you put on a show. After getting drunk, you pretended to confide in me and said so much. And I actually believed those lies of yours about being unfulfilled and wanted to open up to you, but you only wanted to kill me. Young Master Su, did you never think about the things you said to me? Are you really so willing to be a dog for the Empress and the Su family?”

By the end, his voice had risen, and he had lost his composure a little.

When Su Shiyu saw this, he let out a difficult laugh. “How can there be no difference in what you and we do? Why do you have to... sound so self-righteous? Why... are you still pretending in front of me?”

Perhaps because the pain from his wounds was so severe, after he finished speaking with great effort, he muttered in a daze, “Father saved my life from the heavy rain and carefully taught me for so many years... Luo Wei respects me as her brother and has never treated me with disrespect... Even if I did think about it, so what? I know that I have always been mediocre. Back then... I chose to let her go to Xuzhou... I have never regretted it. I don’t have any great ambitions. If I can take you down with me, that would be... it would be... but...”

By the end, his words were slurred and disjointed. After hearing this, Chang Zhao’s eyes were red, but he threw his head back and laughed heartily.

“Hahahaha... What a great friendship, what a great gentleman!”

After he had laughed enough, he threw the handkerchief on Su Shiyu’s face, stood up, and said in a condescending tone, “Since you are like this, don’t blame me for not caring about our past. Is the Noble Consort about to give birth? Come to think of it, if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have believed you so quickly. Since she was your excuse from beginning to end, you wouldn’t be sad if something were to happen to her, would you?”

Su Shiyu’s eyes were wide open. He struggled to move forward a few steps and grabbed the hem of Chang Zhao’s robe tightly, but he couldn’t say a single word. Chang Zhao could only hear the hissing sound from his throat.

“Your sister wants to make a bet with me, but she wants to kill me. I promised her I wouldn’t cause a bloody massacre, but since things have come to this, I have no other choice.”

He kicked Su Shiyu’s hand away and watched him fall back, trembling in pain. But his voice became cheerful. “When you are beheaded in the busy market, your sister will definitely come to save you. If she shows up, Ye Tingyan will definitely be exposed. I can’t stop what His Majesty wants to do, so it can’t be considered a violation of our agreement. Ah, it wouldn’t be good if the two of them just died like that. The court is not chaotic enough, but the matter of the Noble Consort is enough to give His Majesty a headache for a while. Let me think...”

He planned to leave and didn’t look back.

The continuous spring rain enveloped the imperial city in a misty haze. The new leaves of spring and the soft willow branches were all hidden in the endless clouds.

After hearing Ye Tingyan’s words, Luo Wei’s throat felt a little metallic. She said in disbelief, “Why was my brother sent to Zhuque by Song Lan? Did he... make a move?”

Ye Tingyan fell silent and did not answer.

So Luo Wei knew the answer. “I told him not to be so impatient! At the very least, he should have waited for the witnesses that Xuechu found to enter the capital. At the very least, he should have discussed it with me...”

“Chang Zhao is on good terms with the Yan brothers now, and there are many spies in the imperial guards. If that wet nurse were to enter the capital, he would definitely notice. Shiyu was afraid that if he waited too long, all his efforts would be in vain,” Ye Tingyan said bitterly. “He must have thought that even if he couldn’t get rid of him in one go, a different face under the mask would plant a seed of doubt in His Majesty’s heart. Chang Zhao was indeed caught off guard, but unexpectedly...”

Luo Wei gasped and managed to squeeze out a question. “Then how is Suiyun?”

“Shortly after Shiyu was sent to Zhuque yesterday, someone secretly passed the news to the Noble Consort. This caused her to become enraged, and she immediately went into labor,” Ye Tingyan replied. “She gave birth to a son in the middle of the night, and both mother and child are safe. When Chang Zhao returned from Zhuque, he told Song Lan about Shiyu and Suiyun’s past.”

He squeezed Luo Wei’s hand tightly and said before she could speak, “Song Lan was furious. He suspected that the Noble Consort and Shiyu were having an affair and summoned the imperial physician to verify the parentage. The child... is indeed Song Lan’s bloodline.”

Luo Wei temporarily let out a sigh of relief, but she also felt a sense of unease. “We need to find a way. After Suiyun gave birth, Song Lan will probably...”

“Today, Song Lan received the news in the morning court. He left without even finishing the memorial, and all the ministers were dismissed. Only Chang Zhao and I were left behind,” Ye Tingyan avoided her gaze. “After a night of torment, the Noble Consort fell asleep while watching the child. Song Lan hurried to court. Because the Empress Dowager had temporarily regained her consciousness and came to the hall to visit, he had loosened the guards. Who would have thought...”

Luo Wei felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest. “What happened?”

Ye Tingyan stroked the back of her hand in a soothing manner and said in a low voice, “The Noble Consort, taking advantage of the Empress Dowager’s distraction, struggled to get up and... personally suffocated the child.”