Chapter 49: A Flick of the Finger Determines Right and Wrong

  Xue Zhan suddenly appeared from nowhere and snuggled up to Qing Chen's side, finding a comfortable spot to lie down. Qing Chen stroked it with her hand, and again thought of the medicine that could cure the epidemic. But how many people could this small body of Xue Zhan save? The epidemic was still not resolved, and it continued to plague her.

  Before long, a little maid came over from the Ch'ing Spring Pavilion and said to Hua Fen outside: "Sister, go to the Ch'ing Spring Pavilion. The Fourth Master is asking questions one by one in the four pavilions. I'll take your place."

  He Feng saw Qing Chen quietly closing her eyes and resting, and came out to whisper: "Later, if the young lady wakes up, be careful to attend to her, the medicine on the table hasn't been drunk yet, afraid it's gone cold..." But suddenly heard Qing Chen calling from inside: "He Feng, come in."

  "Hong Feng hastily said: 'The slave has disturbed the young mistress.'"

  "You didn't sleep, go to the Chongchun Hall to see the Fourth Prince, ask him to return to the Yaochun Pavilion, and say that I have an urgent matter to find him."

  He Feng nodded and left, Qing Chen got up and sat in front of the mirror, lowering her head to comb her long hair that fell to her waist. She had never thought she would keep her hair this long, all those years ago, it was always a neat shoulder-length short hair. The three words "Ning Wenqing" seemed to have disappeared with the fading of habits and became a dream, becoming more and more distant in memory, occasionally remembering but feeling extremely strange.

  "What's wrong with you?" Suddenly, Ye Tianling's voice sounded in his ear.

  You dust was startled, looked up to see his shadow reflected in the mirror, green shirt neat and tidy, although a leisurely appearance, but with an unretreating sharpness in his eyes, turned back and smiled: "Silent and soundless, scared me."

  Ye Tianling glanced at the medicine on the table and frowned: "The medicine has cooled down, why haven't you drunk it yet?"

  "You forgot."

  Ye Tianling stretched out his hand to tidy up the scattered hair beside her, and the strands slipped through his fingers, warm, cool and smooth. He leaned forward and asked, "Looking for me with something?"

  "You are going to thoroughly investigate the epidemic in Yanxi Palace, Fourth Brother?"

  "This matter has come in a suspicious way, how can we not investigate?"

  "You have them disperse, I will tell you the whole story."

  In the dim light of night, a faint glimmer flashed in Ye Tian's eyes as he gazed steadily at Shang Shi with an air of quiet contemplation, his subtle elegance shrouded in a soft breeze, making it difficult for others to see through him: "Are you saying that you know how this plague entered the palace?"

  You nodded, and Ye Tianling sat down beside him: "Speak."

  You told him everything that happened that day, without hiding a single word. Ling Tian remained silent for half the night, his face solemn and his eyes gleaming with an unmeasurable sharpness, not angry but intimidating. The more he listened, the more severe he became. After you finished speaking, he coldly said: "This is a crime punishable by the extinction of nine clans."

  "You quietly said: 'Zi Yu's father died early, an older brother died on the battlefield, and a younger brother last year disobeyed his mother's will and joined the Liao State army. At home, there is only one old mother who has lost her sight from crying, relying on neighbors to support her daily life. Dan Jing's parents are both dead, with no relatives in sight, if we were to be executed, it would be these elderly, weak, and sickly people, but rather the Feng family might be implicated by me.'"

  "Are you pleading for them or using yourself and the Feng family to block me?"

  "You're smiling faintly: 'It's not about begging for mercy, if I was wrong then I was wrong. If you want to punish me, it's also justified.'"

  Ye Tianling stood up and walked to the window, asking: "Since you've known all along, why are you only saying it now?"

  "You may have been lucky enough not to be discovered, or perhaps someone else came to investigate. In that case, I would have found a way to help them conceal the truth. But since it's you who has come to investigate, why bother going through all the trouble and wasting time and effort when we can't hide the truth from you anyway? It's better to just tell you the truth."

  "Since you don't want to beg for mercy, does that mean you're willing to take the punishment with them?"

  "You shake your head: 'I don't want to take the blame, this sin is not good to take. The crime of deceiving the king...' She smiled: 'I can't bear it.'"

  "Can't take responsibility?" Ye Tianling's voice had a hint of anger: "You've already done something so bold, and now you're saying you can't take responsibility?"

  You let go of your dust, a strand of silk-like hair fell to the side of your face, setting off your pale complexion, like clear water at the bottom of your eyes. She stood up holding onto the table, and tidied up her long dress: "Fourth brother, don't be angry for now, I was too bold in this matter. But since things have come to this point, even if we were to kill Purple Jade and the others, it would still be like this. Purple Jade has served the empress for many years without ever making a mistake, she has no merits but also no faults, this time she secretly left the palace, simply because of her filial piety. Bi Yao, Dan Qiong and I have been through thick and thin together, let alone that Dan Qiong is just a thirteen-year-old child, I just wanted to save another life."

  At night, Ling saw that her face was still pale, and her weak body wrapped in a white dress couldn't withstand the wind. His heart secretly increased his anger, but he couldn't bear to scold her, only saying in a low voice: "Still say it's not pleading?"

  "You might as well consider it a plea, Fourth Brother. Please spare their lives and accumulate some good deeds. The Empress Dowager has always been kind-hearted, she definitely won't blame you excessively."

  Although Ye Tianling was cold and aloof, she wasn't a heartless person. Even if Ziwei and the others were ignorant and caused trouble, to say that they should be executed or given the death penalty would be too extreme. The Empress Dowager would also be saddened by this. She had already thought of a plan. However, seeing Xunqin's bold actions in the palace, she knew that one misstep could lead to a hundred deaths. She wanted to warn her to be more cautious: "What do you want from me? Who can keep such things hidden?"

  You had already seen that he wouldn't severely punish a few people, although his words were severe, but Ziwei and the others would be spared. She took something out of her sleeve: "I just thought of something, Fourth Brother might as well listen." It was a list that Luan Feilin gave her before leaving the palace: "You've seen this list, Zhou Li, the head of the Neiting Temple, is a person of the Ming King, and there must be many messages transmitted inside and outside the palace. If we can make the Ming King lose this arm, it would be a blessing in disguise."

  Ye Tian Ling Xuan's eyebrows slightly raised: "You actually haggle with me, don't you think begging for mercy is also in vain?"

  You dusted off your eyebrows and handed the list back to Ye Tianling with a faint, enigmatic smile: "Going with the flow, why not? Perhaps someone brought something into the palace that spread the epidemic, and the Imperial Court's negligence is no small matter. I'm afraid we'll have to trouble Fourth Brother to investigate thoroughly."

  Ye Tianling seemed to have ignored the list, but instead gazed at Qingchen, with a hint of brightness in his eyes: "I'm even more eager for the Empress Dowager to recover soon."

  "Huh?" Qing Chen didn't know why he suddenly said this and felt a little strange.

  Ye Tian Ling gazed at her deeply and said seriously: "Qing Chen, I request that the Empress Dowager arrange another marriage for me."

  You heard the words and were stunned, but smiled faintly, avoiding his clear and charming gaze: "This kind of thing, if missed once, will there be a second time?"

  "Because we made one mistake, we can't afford to make a second."

  "You shake your head and say: 'I am now by the Emperor's side, how can this matter be so easy?'"

  "But first, let's put this aside for now; by saying that, you've already agreed with me."

  Your delicate eyebrows rose slightly: "When did I say that?"

  The night sky was clear and calm, but then suddenly fell silent, as if a faint sigh had escaped from that silence and gently pressed down on people's hearts. A little later, he slowly said: "Qing Chen, it was I who thought wrongly about some things before. What I think, what I want, what I do, even this person, is full of danger everywhere. I have been waiting for a woman who would willingly follow me and be worthy of the three words 'Ling Wang Fei'. You are the one who understands my intentions, you are the one who holds my heart. I have waited so long and finally found you, but I don't know if you are willing?" He stretched out his hand to Qing Chen, waiting for her.

  Her slender fingers were white and steady, as if they had parted the clouds of thousands of years, placing this life in front of her, inviting her to take his hand and spend it together.

  He doesn't just want to walk a part of the road with her, he wants to walk this life with her.

  You can almost hear your own heartbeat, this step goes out, and you really can't turn back.

  She smiled faintly in his clear eyes, took a step forward, and without hesitation, gently placed her hand on his: "Fourth brother, my heart's intention, don't you know yet?"

  Ye Tian Ling immediately grasped her hand, his face filled with uncontrollable joy. He took a deep breath and tightened his grip, pulling Qing Chen into his arms: "You are now the temporary substitute for Xi Yu, I've thought about it, and at this time asking the Empress Dowager to take you back by her side isn't a difficult task, and then we can discuss the imperial decree of our engagement."

  In your heart, you can't help but think of some things. One day, when everything returns to normal, will she still be here? After all, this is not her home. Thinking of this, Youyou asked: "Fourth brother, what if one day I leave?"

  "Where are you going?"

  "You shook your head: 'I don't know either, maybe one day, birth, aging, illness, death, gathering, separation, aren't you afraid?'"

  "Rather than thinking about those things, why not just live a day with a true heart?"

  "You smiled and buried yourself in his dry and refreshing breath: 'Then one day, I'll be by your side for a whole day, okay?'"

  He reached out and stroked her brow: "Do you know that once you say this, you will be my woman, and also the future queen of the Ling Wang Fu."

  "You've heard that the Ling Wang Fu is very strict and no one ever smiles. Isn't this princess suffocating people to death?"

  Ye Tianling also smiled and said: "Are these days not enough to laugh? What kind of place is the Ling Wang Fu, when there is a mistress, it depends on her own ability."

  She pursed her lips and didn't speak, only looking at Ye Tianling's increasingly numerous smiles, a kind of sweetness that pierced the heart, warm and honey-like, directly wrapping around her heart, making it flutter. Ye Tianling saw her pressing her hand against her chest, and his smile retracted: "Does it still hurt?"

  "You shook your head: 'Just a bit stuffy in the chest.'"

  Yè Tiān Líng supported her to sit down and said: "You rest well, this matter I only have one sentence, these two maidservants' death sentences can be commuted, but they absolutely cannot stay in Yán Xī Palace again."

  "You also know this, hand them over to me."

  Yè Tiān Líng furrowed his brow and said: "I've already said it, no need to worry about it..."

  "You just this once." Yè Tiān Líng thought for a moment and finally agreed.

  After a day of separation, the sky was late, and Qingchen Ping retreated from the people around him, calling Ziwei and Biyao to the distant spring pavilion. As soon as the two entered the door, they knelt down on the ground together and kowtowed.

  You dust stretched out his hand and pulled them up: "Let's just forget about all this, from now on be more mindful of your actions, don't mention this again."

  Zi Yuan's face was still filled with worry, and she said: "The Fourth Prince has been interrogating everyone in the palace these past few days. Although he hasn't questioned us yet, given his methods, how could we possibly avoid it? He will eventually investigate and find out."

  "Fourth Master, you go to him and bring Dan Qing to apologize when no one is around. He already understands in his heart. Yesterday he didn't punish you, and in the future, he won't pursue it either."

  Ziwei and Biyao exchanged a glance, revealing an incredulous expression: "Young Mistress, is...is this really true? The Fourth Prince actually spared us?"

  "You smiled and said: 'He's not heartless, but there's one thing - you can't stay in Yanxi Palace anymore.'"

  It's not that Bi Yao is any better, but Zi Yu has been serving the Empress for many years, and her heart aches. But as a criminal, now that the Empress is safe and sound, and she can keep her own life, what more can be said? Qing Chen said: "I'll give you a few options, see if you're willing to go."

  Bi Yao said: "Since we met, the county master has saved my sister several times. My sister's life was already in the county master's hands a long time ago. However, the county master ordered me, and I didn't dare to disobey."

  "Then are you willing to follow me?"

  Bi Yao was overjoyed: "Being able to serve the young mistress is my good fortune, how could I be unwilling?"

  "You nodded: "Good. As for Dan Jing..." She looked at Bi Yao's slightly tense face and smiled slightly: "The Songyu Platform had been looking for a servant girl from outside earlier, I'll send her there, how about that?"

  Bi Yao was stunned, originally thinking that Dan Qiong would be sent to do menial tasks in a remote place even if she didn't leave the palace. Who would have thought it would be this kind of outcome? Song Yu Tai is a bit quiet, but after all, it's by the Crown Prince's side, how can it be humiliating? She hurriedly said: "I'll thank the Duchess for her."

  "Since it's like this, then so be it. You go down first and take good care of Dan Jing."

  Bi Yao nodded and left. Qing Chen was silent for a while, gazing intently at Zi Yuan, the soft candlelight casting a warm glow on her face, adding to her beauty and charm. Upon closer inspection, she too was an elegant and beautiful young woman. Zi Yuan saw that Qing Chen was staring at her without speaking, thinking she was troubled, and didn't dare say much either, only lowering her head and standing there quietly.

  Bi Yao had been through thick and thin with Zi Wei these days, after all, they were much closer now. She returned to her room and waited for a long time, but didn't see her come back, so she went outside the house several times to look for her. It wasn't until almost an hour later that she saw Zi Wei walking slowly towards her with her head down. Bi Yao hastily went forward, grabbed her arm and asked: "What did the princess say?"

  Zi Juan's face was a mixture of worry and joy, but she looked calm and said in a soft voice: "After the Empress Dowager recovers, the Princess will inform her that I will be sent to serve as a concubine under the Ninth Prince."

  Bi Yao was taken aback: "Your Highness Jiǔ?"

  Her expression seemed to have a hint of firm determination, making her whole person look like she had some gentle resolve. She nodded and said: "This time I've made a mistake that can't be redeemed even with death, I'm grateful for your great kindness, milady, and I'd be willing to die in pieces if it would repay you."