Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Earlier, when Chen Yingchou had bought candied fruit, Lanqiu and Wangxia had told her about the palace rules, so this maid was clearly afraid of being punished.

"It's fine. You didn't know, so no blame. Get up." Jiang Mo raised her hand halfway, and the maid stepped forward to support her.

"Let's go to the courtyard."

The eighth month in the capital was dry and hot. In past years at this time, Jiang Mo rarely went out. She stayed indoors with Luo Li, playing the zither and reading storybooks, only going to the shade of the courtyard trees when the sun set.

Now, in this Kunning Palace, even when the sun blazed outside, the room was cool and refreshing, with not only a zither and storybooks but also delicious fruit.

Yet she chose to stand in the sunlight, feeling the scorching sun overhead, the hot wind, and the birds chirping around her.

The maid, afraid she would get sunburned, opened an umbrella for her.

Jiang Mo glanced at it. "No need. I want to stand here for a while. Go see if my father and brother are here."

The maid closed the umbrella and walked toward the courtyard gate.

Jiang Mo looked around. This small courtyard was planted with plum trees, and outside the courtyard there seemed to be more plum trees. She guessed this was probably a temporary resting place in the Plum Garden of Kunning Palace.

Winter plum blossoms bloom so passionately, but summer plum trees, with bare trunks and green leaves, also have a vitality of their own.

Jiang Mo thought of Lin Mei—her smiling face, her gloomy expression, her joyful leaps, her tears streaming down, and her saying she would brew Youlan Drunk.

In this life, she would never again drink the wine Lin Mei brewed.

She should never have suggested that Lin Mei leave the capital. She should have just let her divorce Zhu Shiliang. Perhaps by now Lin Mei would have come to terms, no longer obsessed with growing old together with Zhu Shiliang, running the Fortune Wine Shop, and selling fine wine all over the capital.

She and Lin Mei were both insignificant little people. Lin Mei had defied Zhu Xun, refusing to divorce, and was killed. She didn't want to die, so she had to obey the Empress Dowager.

She was luckier than Lin Mei—the Empress Dowager had a little more compassion than Zhu Xun and was willing to give her a way out. So she couldn't defy her; she had to follow the path laid out.

Only by surviving first could she have a thousand possibilities.

"Sister!" Jiang Bai's voice came from behind her.

Jiang Mo turned around. Jiang Bai was dressed in a brocade robe, a jade crown on his head, completely different from before. If he didn't speak or move, he would have looked like a graceful young gentleman.

She then looked at Jiang Bingzhong, who wore a moon-white robe embroidered with dark gold bamboo patterns, and a black cloud-patterned silk belt around his waist, looking very noble. She didn't need to guess—she knew the Empress Dowager treated them well.

Jiang Bai ran to Jiang Mo's side. "Sister, The food here is so good! I love these clothes too. Every day, beautiful girls do my hair, and young men help me bathe. And the Empress Dowager gave me lots of fun little trinkets."

"Do you like it here, A Bai?"

Jiang Bai thought for a moment. "A little bit, and a little bit not."

"Why?"

"It's too boring here. I can't go out. I want to fight crickets, catch grasshoppers, and sleep in the grass, watching dragonflies and butterflies fly around me."

Jiang Bingzhong walked over and said, "I already told you, in less than a month we'll be leaving. When you want to come back, you won't be able to."

Jiang Bai blinked his big eyes. "I know. I'm not leaving this month. I want to wear nice clothes and eat good food here."

"Alright, as long as you don't insist on leaving, I'll go along with it." Jiang Bingzhong patted Jiang Bai's head. "Bai'er, go catch ants under that tree. Your father and sister have something to talk about."

"Okay." Jiang Bai hopped away. Jiang Bingzhong asked, "You're due at the end of the month, right?"

"Don't worry, Father. The Empress Dowager will find the best midwife for me."

"When your mother gave birth to A Bai, she went through the gates of hell. I'm afraid if something happens, the Empress Dowager will definitely choose the child."

Jiang Mo picked up the sour plum drink on the stone table and handed it to Jiang Bingzhong. "Since we came to Kunning Palace, you know how the Empress Dowager has been treating us. If it really comes to choosing between the mother and the child, there's no helping it." She picked up another bowl for herself. "Father, don't worry about things that haven't happened yet. The baby and I will both be fine."

Jiang Bingzhong took a sip with a heavy heart. The sour plum drink was sweet and sour, ice-cold, but he only felt the cold and tasted no sweetness.

Jiang Mo put down her bowl, picked up another, and brought it to Jiang Bai, who was playing under the tree. Jiang Bai took the bowl and downed it in one gulp. "Sister, is there more? I want more."

"Yes, I'll get some."

Jiang Bingzhong called out, "Come get it yourself. Your sister is heavily pregnant; you should be the one bringing her a drink."

Since his wife died and Jiang Bai became simple, Jiang Bingzhong lived in constant regret. If Jiang Bai hadn't become simple, he would have grown up to be a real man.

Now he was really afraid that something would happen to Jiang Mo.

Father rarely scolded Jiang Bai. That he did so now showed he was still worried.

Jiang Mo comforted him, "Father, A Bai is already very sensible."

"I know, I just regret—I miss your mother..." Jiang Bingzhong often thought that if he could go back to the start, he would never have come to the capital.

Jiang Mo's heart ached too. Thinking of her mother and childhood joys, she felt a pang of sadness and tears fell. "Father, none of this is your fault."

The maid nearby stepped forward and said, "Lord Jiang, Master Jiang, it's time to go back."

The Empress Dowager had ordered that if the father-daughter meeting caused emotional distress, they should be sent away.

Jiang Bingzhong put down his bowl. "Mo'er, don't worry about us. We eat well and sleep well. Bai'er has even gained weight. You need to think of yourself..."

As she listened to her father's words, Jiang Mo's tears flowed even more. The maid urged, "Lord Jiang, time to go."

Jiang Bingzhong's eyes were also filled with tears. He said no more, took Jiang Bai, who was still drinking his sour plum drink, and said, "Bai'er, let's go back and drink."

After her father and brother left, Jiang Mo's spirits remained low. She shut herself in her room and wouldn't let the maid in.

That night she had a sweet dream—a dream about her childhood courtyard. In the dream, she was very happy, with her mother, Luo Li, and clever A Bai.

When she woke up, thinking about everything she had been through, she felt suffocated. Without disturbing the maid on night duty outside, she stood by the window alone until dawn.

Jiang Bingzhong also stayed awake all night. In the dead of night, he vaguely heard the night-duty eunuchs talking. He got up, crept to the door, and listened closely.

"Did you hear? Today, Minister Zhu and Censor Liu impeached the Duke of Qingguo. His Majesty has already thrown the Duke and Duchess into prison."

"Is that the father of the one who used to be in Zhaomu Hall?"

"That's right. Can't you see? The one next door in the courtyard is the real person in His Majesty's heart. The one in the cold palace was a substitute after the real one fell into the water."

"Quick, tell me what happened."

"It's all over the palace now. They say that when His Majesty was blind, the one in the cold palace didn't want to marry a blind man. The Duke of Qingguo couldn't defy the imperial decree, so he found a woman who looked exactly like his daughter to take her place."

"Heavens, that's the crime of deceiving the emperor. Now that it's exposed, the whole family will be stripped of their titles and property."

"More than that. Censor Liu submitted a memorial accusing him of illegally trading salt and iron. They say he gave black money to the one up north. There's going to be a storm ahead."

"So that means the Miss Jiang next door is going to rise. When His Majesty was searching for the memories of the cold palace woman, he did a lot of crazy things." "Ah, it's hard to say. That one next door has too low a status. The one in Zhaomu Hall has been demoted to a discarded consort, and the entire harem has no consorts left. The first consort he takes will have to be a noble lady. Besides, the Empress Dowager fears history repeating itself with Consort Rong, even more afraid that His Majesty will be like the late emperor, doting on one person to the point of dying early."

"Really, who would have thought our dynasty would produce two love-struck emperors."

"Shut your mouth. We can say this between us, but never let anyone else hear it. Speaking recklessly about the Emperor and Empress Dowager is a crime punishable by death."

"Yes, yes, yes. I only said it to you. I'd never dare say it to anyone else."

...

Jiang Bingzhong took a deep breath, pulled out the jade bracelet hidden beneath his pillow, gazed at it for a long time, and made a decision.

Early the next morning, he sent someone to invite the Empress Dowager.

When the Empress Dowager entered the room, Jiang Bingzhong bowed. "Empress Dowager, Duke Qingguo forced Mo'er to be a substitute bride. His Majesty and you went to Jiangnan one after another—I fear the entire palace knows now. I wish to ask, how does His Majesty plan to deal with Duke Qingguo?"

The Empress Dowager pointed to a chair nearby. "Sit down and speak."

She first took her seat in the grand armchair, and Jiang Bingzhong sat in the chair to her right.

A maidservant came to serve tea. The Empress Dowager took a sip. "Lord Jiang, try this white tea first."

Jiang Bingzhong lifted the cup and took a small sip. He was in no mood to appreciate the tea’s flavor. "Fine tea. Thank you for the tea, Empress Dowager."

The Empress Dowager straightened herself. "Duke Qingguo has been stripped of his title for embezzlement and thrown into death row."

Jiang Bingzhong stood up. "Empress Dowager, I wish to see Duke Qingguo and Lady Qingguo."

"What do you want to see him for? To vent your anger with a few curses?"

Unable to tell the Empress Dowager the truth, Jiang Bingzhong followed her lead. "Yes, I wish I could tear him limb from limb. My children and I could have lived a peaceful, stable life. Mo'er would have married a suitable husband from a family of equal standing, they would have loved each other, had children—it was Duke Qingguo who shattered that peace. He is the root cause of today's situation. How could I not hate him?"

The Empress Dowager laughed. "Lord Jiang seems so refined and gentle, yet I didn’t expect you to be so fiercely righteous. Very well, I grant your request. Wei Chun will be executed tomorrow. Tonight, I will have someone take you to see him."

Jiang Bingzhong unclenched his fist, took a deep breath, and bowed. "I thank the Empress Dowager for her grace."

All day long, Jiang Bingzhong nervously clutched the jade bracelet, waiting for the sun to set.

After the evening meal, Gui Xi came to his door. "Lord Jiang, let's go."

For the first time in his life, Jiang Bingzhong entered the prison of the Court of Judicial Review. It was dark, damp, and stank to high heaven. The prisoners were quiet—some leaned against the cell doors, some against the walls, some lay on the straw. Their eyes, staring at him, were dull and lifeless.

"You have half an hour. Say what you need to say quickly." Gui Xi waved his hand with a look of disgust. "I'll wait outside, Lord Jiang."