Chapter 88
Chapter 88
“Keep a close watch on Yelü Bao. Nothing can be allowed to go wrong.”
“General Xu’s innocence, and that of the Xu Army, rests entirely on him.
“If he dies, certain people will undoubtedly insist that the evidence was forged,” Pei Xianjing instructed.
Xu Liangcai and his wife answered in unison, “Yes, my lord.”
Pei Xianjing threw on a cloak and left the residence with Chengde.
Even in summer, nights in the northwest were cold.
The sun had blazed throughout the day, but now the night wind howled in gusts. Heavy clouds massed overhead, blotting out the bright moonlight.
Before long, a fine drizzle began to fall.
Pei Xianjing sat inside the carriage.
A lantern hung from it as Chengde drove toward Xujiakou Alley.
“Eldest Young Master, the Xu clan’s catastrophe more than thirty years ago was an undeserved calamity born of the Emperor and Empress Dowager’s struggle for power.
“Now that you want to clear the Xu clan’s name, will the Emperor agree?”
It seemed to Chengde that ever since the Eldest Young Master had learned Miss Xing was related by blood to the Xu clan, his desire to overturn the old verdict had become an obsession.
Pei Xianjing’s voice came from inside the carriage. “No matter who they are, anyone who frames loyal officials and valiant commanders must face the consequences.
“I eliminated the Qi clan, that thorn in the Emperor’s side, for him. It is hardly too much to ask the Emperor to grant me one request.”
“Not even the bodies of General Xu and his family were left behind.
“General Xu devoted himself wholeheartedly to the realm, only to die because of his sovereign’s suspicions, while the entire court joined the Emperor in muddling along for more than thirty years.
“Now that he is about to step down from that seat, correcting his own mistake is the Emperor’s duty.
“I am acting to preserve the Emperor’s sacred reputation. He should understand me, not resent me.”
Pei Xianjing held an immovable standard in his heart, one that weighed right and wrong with absolute clarity.
The carriage could not enter Xujiakou Alley.
Pei Xianjing climbed down and continued into the alley on foot.
At a quarter to one in the morning, the alley lay silent. Only the little cottage at its far end glowed with dim candlelight.
Remembering Aunt Lan’s words, Pei Xianjing thought, Xing Shuwei has finally shown some sense. She even left a light burning to wait for me.
Since she had been so thoughtful, he would not hold her faked death and escape against her.
It was because he had quarreled with her over every little thing in the past that she had become afraid to remain beside him.
He silently resolved that from now on, he would discuss every matter with her, great or small.
There in the darkness, Pei Xianjing alone believed he was walking toward their happy future.
His marriage to Princess Jin’an had been annulled as well. Now, when Xing Shuwei returned to the capital with him, she would no longer need to fear that he would marry a principal wife who would torment her or take her life.
Pei Xianjing had planned so much for her.
He suppressed his excitement, intending to explain it all to Xing Shuwei once he saw her.
The night was still as he and Chengde stopped outside the little cottage.
Voices from the courtyard shattered every one of Pei Xianjing’s fantasies.
“You’re so badly hurt. Why did you come here instead of resting and recovering?”
“I woke up and couldn’t sleep when I didn’t see you, so I came to check on you.”
“I’d meant to stay at the General’s residence and care for you, but then I remembered the osmanthus tree you gave me. I didn’t want it to wither from the heat beside the well, so I came home first.”
“Then let’s plant it in this courtyard together. You choose the spot.”
“All right.”
“Do you know why I wanted to plant an osmanthus tree in the courtyard?”
“Why?”
“Because when I first met you, I caught the scent of osmanthus on you. After that, whenever I thought of you, I thought of the fragrance of osmanthus.”
…
Every word of Xing Shuwei and Zhang Mingan’s conversation carried clearly to Pei Xianjing’s ears.
All the hopes he had entertained on the way there became a cruel joke.
Pei Xianjing stopped short, his gaze slipping through the crack in the gate-
They had already chosen a spot and were about to plant the osmanthus tree.
To Pei Xianjing, Xing Shuwei’s voice now sounded tender with concern.
She said, “You only need to hold the tree steady. You’re injured, so you mustn’t strain yourself. I’ll fetch the water.”
She asked Zhang Mingan, “Will Pei Xianjing come to Qizhou? I don’t want to see him. If he comes, I’ll leave tonight.”
At those words, Pei Xianjing suddenly felt as though something had lodged in his chest.
Something seemed ready to burst out of his rib cage.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed again and again, forcibly driving the taste of blood rising in his throat back down into his stomach.
What exactly had he expected from her?
How could he have been foolish enough to believe Aunt Lan? She had lived half a lifetime and understood nothing about love.
In the end, Pei Xianjing failed to hold the blood back. It surged into his mouth.
He clamped his lips shut, refusing to spit it out or make the slightest sound.
Worried for him, Chengde quietly reached out and steadied him with one hand.
Eyes scarlet, Pei Xianjing stared at the slender figure for a long time.
She wiped the sweat from Zhang Mingan’s brow.
She helped Zhang Mingan sit down on a chair.
She poured tea and placed it in Zhang Mingan’s hand.
Every line of her face held tenderness and concern.
She had never treated him that way.
Pei Xianjing’s brows drew tightly together, three deep furrows forming the character for “river” between them.
Zhang Mingan had obtained with ease the very thing Pei Xianjing yearned for.
Xing Shuwei was even thinking of running away to avoid him.
From her tone, she clearly knew that he had gone to the battlefield.
She did not care whether he lived or died. Instead, she was thinking about how to escape somewhere else…
The hatred Pei Xianjing had suppressed began quietly sprouting in his heart once more.
His chest roiled. He turned and left in haste.
Inside the courtyard, Xing Shuwei abruptly lifted her head toward the gate.
“Was someone outside just now?” she asked Qiutong.
“I don’t think so.” Qiutong looked puzzled.
“Perhaps I misheard.” Xing Shuwei looked away.
Noticing her furrowed brow, Zhang Mingan asked, “Are you worried about Pei Xianjing?”
Xing Shuwei was silent for a long while. “As a resident of Qizhou, I ought to be grateful to him and concerned for him.
“Magistrate Wang told me he was already injured while fighting Yelü Han and his band of spies.
“Then he went deep behind enemy lines alone to stop the main body of the retreating enemy troops. You never encountered him, so we don’t know how serious his injuries are.”
“What evidence was he looking for? What could be so important that he had to search for it himself despite his wounds?”
Xing Shuwei cared about Pei Xianjing. She simply refused to admit it-or perhaps even she did not know it herself.
“Most likely, evidence that the Xu clan was falsely accused more than thirty years ago.
“General Xu and the personal guards under his command defeated Great Ji, only to die at the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot.”
“The Emperor may hold imperial power, but the inner palace remains in the Empress Dowager’s hands.
“Several princes have died over the years.
“Since the Empress Dowager cannot control the Emperor, she intends to control the heir to the throne instead.
“After all, she is younger than the Emperor. She can simply outlive him.
“Once a young heir ascends the throne, the Empress Dowager can rule from behind the curtain.”
The Empress Dowager had been the late Emperor’s second Empress.
She had managed to wrest half the realm from the late Emperor solely because of General Xu’s family’s illustrious military achievements.
That was a thorn lodged in the Emperor’s heart. At last, more than thirty years ago, he had torn it out with his own hands.
Xing Shuwei could not understand why Pei Xianjing would risk falling out with the Emperor to overturn the Xu clan’s case.
Zhang Mingan, however, knew the answer. He was doing it for Xing Shuwei.