Chapter 60: Soul’s Return

Chapter 60: Soul's Return

The man's lips curved slightly into a faint smile, as though her appearance was no surprise to him.

"You've come. I've waited for you for so long. The alchemist told me that if I waited here, I would see you. It seems he spoke the truth."

Did he just say "I"?

Pei Yun fixed her gaze on his face and slowly approached until she stood before him.

She suspected, but dared not confirm it. She didn’t know if this was merely a hallucination before her death.

Yet the man before her was calm and gentle, his bearing unchanged from the crown prince she remembered, save for the marks of time upon his face.

Now he sat on the bed, tilting his head to look at her, his arms resting on his knees, his expression weary and drained.

The flickering candlelight danced across the two figures in the hall.

One seated, one standing—youth's fresh bloom facing time's withering.

"You remain as young and beautiful as ever," he chuckled, then asked in a low voice, "Does my appearance shock you?"

Pei Yun shook her head and glanced around. "Where is this place?"

He stared intently at her lips before replying, "I cannot hear your voice, but I can read your words."

He too looked around the room. "This is the Hall of Splendors. After you left, I decreed it remain untouched. No one was permitted to alter a thing. After all, this is the only place that still bears traces of you..."

Pei Yun observed these traces. In the past, she hadn’t noticed, but now she saw—the bed curtains the color of moonlight, the quilt of pale green, the empty white porcelain vase... Everything before her eyes was so lifeless, much like her own existence in her past life, already faded.

"Pei Yun!"

A familiar voice, sudden and urgent, rang in her ears.

She couldn’t help but turn toward it.

"Does that place mean so much to you?" the man before her abruptly asked.

Pei Yun turned back and answered firmly, "Yes."

Bitter pain flashed across Li Zhangye's face. "Did he... ever learn to love you?"

Love?

Pei Yun froze for a moment. Though he hadn’t specified, she somehow knew—he was speaking of the crown prince.

Did the crown prince love her?

She thought for a moment before shaking her head.

She didn’t know.

The momentary uncertainty that crossed her face seemed to wound the man before her. He sighed softly. "I, the Son of Heaven, believed one could have both—to keep you by my side and still rule this empire well... But I didn’t realize you wouldn’t wait for me forever..."

"You were so strong in the water. Why..." He paused, and in that moment, Pei Yun thought she saw the sheen of tears in his eyes. "Was it because of me?"

Hearing this, Pei Yun shook her head without hesitation.

Of course not. No matter what, she would never give up her life for a man. "No man was worth dying for," she whispered to herself.

Even if the arched bridge in the imperial garden hadn't collapsed that day, perhaps she would have soon chosen another way to end her life.

Her lashes lowered slightly. "Because this world is too bitter..."

In her past life, she had lost nearly everything, even the ability to smile. Each day she lived was muddled and numb, like a walking corpse.

"Is it... not bitter there?" Li Zhangye asked.

Pei Yun pondered for a moment before smiling faintly. "There's surely hardship too. Life in this world means heartache and sorrow—one cannot always have their way. But the people I cherish are all there."

Her family, her children, those who could bring her happiness—they were all by her side. Even if there were hardships, it seemed there was nothing to fear.

Pei Yun didn’t know if she was dreaming now, but she chose to believe she wasn’t. Since she had met the Crown Prince from her past life, there was only one thing she wanted to ask.

"How is our Jin Er?"

Though she had died resolutely in her past life, she hadn’t been entirely without attachments. Jin Er was the one person she still worried about.

"He is well." A trace of pride flickered across Li Zhangye’s face. "Our Jin Er is bright and scholarly, diligent and kind, deeply loved by the people. They all say he resembles me greatly, in both appearance and temperament..."

At this, the light in Li Zhangye’s eyes dimmed. "But that is precisely what worries me most. Jin Er is too much like me. He doesn’t know how to cherish his wife, even though she was the girl he chose and loved himself..."

Li Zhangye’s back hunched slightly further, his words coming slowly, with effort. He suddenly gave a self-deprecating tug at the corner of his lips. "But what right do I have to teach him?"

Pei Yun's throat tightened.

She imagined Jin Er in this life—cheerful and quick to laugh—then recalled the icy detachment in his gaze when he looked at her in her past life. Remorse washed over her.

How could Jin Er have known? What his own parents had never given him—how could he have passed that on to another?

*“Ruo Ruo!”*

That familiar voice rang in her ears again, but this time, Pei Yun startled.

This was her childhood name, one only her dearest family would call. The moment she heard it, visions of her mother, elder brother, even her late father flashed through her mind.

*“Ruo Ruo.”* The man before her suddenly called her the same. "If you wish to return, step through that palace door, and you may..."

Pei Yun’s lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to ask something more, but in the end, she held her tongue.

What did any of that matter now?

Without hesitation, she turned toward the palace door. She wanted to go back—back to her children, back to her family.

Yet doubt nagged at her. She had been so deathly ill—could it really be so easy to return?

Just as she lifted her foot to step through the door, she heard a faint voice behind her. *“Ruo Ruo... May your next life be free of these bonds...”*

She stopped and turned. The man sat on the bed, struggling to smile at her. The bedside candle's flame flickered violently before abruptly extinguishing.

Darkness swallowed the room.

A thick, suffocating pain surged like a tide, spreading through her limbs. With a racking cough, Pei Yun slowly opened her eyes.

"My lady...!" Shu Yan’s voice cried out joyfully.

Pei Yun lifted her gaze to the man holding her, then parted her lips, her voice rasping from her dry throat.

"Your Highness."

Li Zhangye was not as agitated as Shu Yan. His face was weary, but his eyes remained fixed on her. Once sure she was truly awake, he said nothing, only pulling her into a deep embrace once more.

The two imperial physicians exchanged glances behind them. Imperial Physician Zheng stepped forward quickly, not even bothering to cover Pei Yun’s wrist with silk before taking her pulse. After a moment, he exclaimed joyfully, "Your Highness, Her Ladyship is heaven-blessed—she’s pulled through! Truly a miracle!"

A miracle?

Pei Yun recalled the scene she had just witnessed and leaned weakly against the crown prince’s shoulder. It seemed the heavens had spared her once again.

After she awoke, the imperial kitchens sent a bowl of bland congee. Her stomach couldn’t yet handle rich foods, so she managed only half a bowl before Shu Yan helped her change clothes. Pei Yun then slept for another hour or so. When she woke again, the crown prince was no longer in the chamber.

Shu Yan, her face masked, brought her the medicinal brew. Pei Yun took a sip and asked, "This medicine tastes... different?"

"This isn’t the physicians’ prescription," Shu Yan replied. "I heard it was a doctor from Yuezhou who developed the formula and submitted it to the authorities..."

As she spoke, Shu Yan’s eyes reddened, her voice choked with emotion. "By the time the prescription reached the palace, Your Ladyship was already unconscious. Even the imperial physicians said... you wouldn’t be able to keep it down, that the situation was dire. But His Highness refused to give up. He had me help force it down, spoon by spoon. Your Ladyship, you scared me half to death. I truly thought you..."

Unable to continue, Shu Yan was on the verge of tears again. Pei Yun reached up and patted her head gently. "You’ve been through so much these past days."

A doctor from Yuezhou...

It was likely Dr. Zhu. Pei Yun had first reached out to Dr. Zhu to save Chen'er, but in a twist of fate, she had ended up saving herself.

Seeing Pei Yun regaining her spirits, Shu Yan practically bubbled over with news. "Shu Mo told me that when news of Your Ladyship’s illness spread, many in the palace sent inquiries. The Second Princess came in person—barred from entering, she wept at the door, refusing to budge..."

Though the medicine in her mouth was unbearably bitter, Pei Yun felt a quiet joy in her heart. She knew it was the warmth of being cared for.

To allow ventilation, the window opposite the bed was slightly ajar. A flower-scented spring breeze drifted in, refreshing and sweet.

"When I’m well, let’s plant pomegranates in the courtyard..."

Shu Yan fell silent, looking at Pei Yun in surprise. She couldn’t fathom her mistress’s sudden urge to garden, but it was a good thing. Whether it was flowers or anything else, as long as Her Ladyship wished for it, it was fine.

She quickly responded with a "Yes."

Shu Yan didn’t know what Pei Yun was thinking. Her childhood name, "Ruo Ruo," meant "pomegranate blossom"—fiery and bright. Yet in her past life, those same blooms had withered at their peak.

Now, she’d tend them again.

The first time she was reborn in this life, her heart had been wholly devoted to those she loved. Now, having been granted another chance, Pei Yun also wanted to live for herself.

Even behind these palace walls, she’d carve out joy.

But first, a reckoning awaited...

She turned to Shu Yan and asked, "Did the Noble Consort visit?"

"She did," Shu Yan answered. "She lingered just long enough to ask after you, then left."

Pei Yun nodded, pressing her lips together, her eyes turning icy.

Meanwhile, in the prison of the Supreme Court...

Meng Yi faced Li Zhangye, calm as ever before the two prisoners.

"Your Highness is mistaken. This man is no acquaintance of mine."

Meng Yuqing, seated behind the iron bars, raised a brow at Meng Yi, his lips curling into a self-deprecating smile. "I told you, Your Highness. I’m a bastard—parentless, nameless. Mine rotted long ago..."

At these words, Meng Yi's body stiffened slightly, yet his eyes stayed firm, unshaken.

Chen Ming let out a long sigh, then turned to another prisoner held in the adjacent cell, his face twisted in conflict. For this was none other than his colleague, Cen Zhong, who had accompanied him to Yuezhou to handle the case.

Two days prior, a sudden fire broke out in the prison of the Dali Temple. Amid the billowing smoke, someone had attempted to rescue Meng Yuqing, leaving a charred, unrecognizable corpse in his place.

Acting on Li Zhangye's orders, Chen Ming had been prepared. The perpetrator was apprehended on the spot, but he never expected that the Crown Prince’s suspected informant within the Dali Temple would turn out to be someone he knew well.

Yet no matter how they interrogated him, Cen Zhong refused to reveal who had orchestrated the scheme.

What a fool. No wonder when they escorted Meng Yuqing to the capital, the attackers had tracked them down with such precision—despite their meticulous disguises and caution throughout the journey.

"The plague in the outskirts of the capital—was that also your doing, Lord Meng?"

Li Zhangye’s eyes were shadowed by exhaustion, his voice heavy with fatigue. He lifted his gaze lazily toward Meng Yi, yet his eyes were icy.

"Logically, the plague should not have spread to the capital so swiftly. I ordered an investigation, and in a dilapidated temple where beggars gathered, we found a decomposed corpse. Not long before, a group of people had passed through several prefectures claiming to escort a coffin back to their hometown..." Li Zhangye stared at him icily. "That coffin must have held the discarded corpse of someone who had died of the disease..."

Meng Yi's aim, it seemed, was to plunge the capital into chaos. He had not expected it to be discovered so quickly and contained outside the city walls.

Li Zhangye rose to his feet and slowly approached Meng Yi. Then, with a low chuckle: "Let me guess—was the stuffed cloth tiger the Noble Consort gave to Chen'er filled with the personal garments of those infected...?"

Meng Yi kept his head lowered, avoiding the man before him, yet the sheer menace rolling off him sent chills down his spine. He hesitated, about to respond, when suddenly a hand clamped around his throat, forcing him to meet the Crown Prince's gaze.

Li Zhangye looked down at Meng Yi, his fingers digging deeper, his expression cold as he watched him choke, gasping in pain.

"Meng Yi, you meticulously destroyed all evidence, and your lips remain sealed. Do not think for a moment that I cannot touch you!" He sneered. "The vile deeds you committed cannot be exposed publicly, but there are other ways. Even if I must forge evidence, I will not let you or the Meng family you so desperately protect escape punishment."

With that, he flung Meng Yi—now nearly lifeless—to the ground, watching coldly as he collapsed like a dog, gasping desperately for air.

Meng Yi lifted his head to look at the Crown Prince. This man, usually the epitome of grace and dignity, now exuded an aura like a vengeful spirit.

The composure he had maintained earlier finally shattered, revealing raw terror.

"Meng Yi, if you wish to protect both the Meng family and your son, you will end up with neither. The sins you committed—you shall bear them fully..."

Li Zhangye knew exactly what Meng Yi valued most. To destroy him, he had to strike there.

"But remember this—their deaths will be on your hands..."