Xue Yunhuan trotted along after Jun Huailang, vividly recounting all sorts of gossip and strange tales about Xue Yan in the palace.
He said that when Xue Yan had just been born, his mother consort died. The manner of her death had been extremely strange, yet they could not find any clues. Afterwards, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau made a divination and said that the problem lay with Xue Yan.
He was born under the Seven Killings fate pattern.
Normally, although the Seven Killings fate pattern was an extremely ominous baleful star, it also carried the potential for great achievement and nobility. If the baleful energy could be put to use, the person would possess indescribable nobility. Yet the Imperial Astronomical Bureau’s written judgment stated that he was a killing star descended into the mortal world, whose baleful energy was difficult to suppress. He would bring ruin upon his parents and obstruct the Imperial Star. Thus, the Emperor had overridden all opposition and sent him to Yan Commandery, the northernmost border region, where the Prince of Yan would raise him.
Precisely because of this, Xue Yan did not even use the “Yun” generation name shared by the imperial princes of his generation. He stood conspicuously apart with the single name “Yan,” which was meant to suppress his fate.
As it happened, this very year, the Turks launched a massive invasion. Yan Commandery fell, the Yan-Yun Iron Cavalry guarding the border suffered enormous losses, and even the Prince of Yan died. Xue Yan alone survived. He traveled more than a thousand li by himself and unexpectedly made his way back to the capital.
This dynasty placed great importance on Confucian learning and looked down upon Buddhism and Daoism. Originally, the Emperor had already violated the natural order and invited criticism from the court by sending an imperial prince to the border simply because of a divination. After Xue Yan had returned to the capital on his own this time, the Emperor no longer had any excuse to send him elsewhere.
Thus, Xue Yan was reluctantly kept in the palace.
Not long after he returned, the Emperor happened to be testing the imperial princes. The prize for the winner was a set of jade arrows. Originally, the Fourth Prince, who was accomplished in both literary and martial pursuits, had been certain of victory, but then Xue Yan appeared out of nowhere.
At the border, Xue Yan had used military texts as his primer. He had already been on the battlefield at the age of thirteen, and at the beginning of the year, he had even led several hundred cavalrymen in a prolonged engagement with an enormous Turkish army for more than a month. Naturally, he easily took first place and obtained the jade arrows.
At the time, everyone from the Emperor to the various consorts and imperial princes wore unpleasant expressions.
A few days later, the Second Prince provoked Xue Yan and was beaten until his face was swollen and bruised. Although the Second Prince had started it, Xue Yan was the only one punished. The Emperor ordered him to kneel before the memorial tablet of his deceased mother consort.
After that, everyone in the palace knew that Xue Yan was a jinx whom anyone could bully at will, and that His Majesty would absolutely never stand on his side.
At this point, Xue Yunhuan sighed and said with half a trace of envy, “What a pity about all that martial skill of his.”
After saying that, Xue Yunhuan’s attention returned to his horse, and he promptly put Xue Yan out of his mind.
He did not notice that Jun Huailang had fallen somewhat silent.
When Jun Huailang returned to Yongle Hall and sat down at his place, the thought that had arisen earlier still lingered in his mind.
He thought that there was no denying Xue Yan was an extremely ominous baleful star. But this was clearly not the will of Heaven. It was man-made.
The moment his fate was judged to be that of a baleful star, everyone treated him as a baleful star. As time went on, he truly became the person described by that fate.
And the Xue Yan of now… clearly had not yet grown into that true baleful star.
Jun Huailang was startled by his own thoughts and hurriedly pulled himself back to reality.
How could he feel sympathy for his enemy merely because of a few scattered words? If he pitied Xue Yan, then who would pity everyone in the Jun family?
Jun Huailang reluctantly took a sip of tea and sternly reminded himself: whatever happened to Xue Yan had nothing to do with him. What he needed to concern himself with was what Xue Yan had done to the Jun family and to his younger sister.
Yet Jun Huailang himself did not realize that he had grown up in a harmonious family, where brothers were close and respectful toward one another. His good upbringing had given him considerable empathy.
Xue Yan’s experiences were merely someone else’s story to him, yet they had sketched out a darkness of being abandoned by everyone and having no one left at his side.
No matter how unwilling he was to admit it, this was also the first time in his life that he had seen someone who had been born into a quagmire, abandoned by the entire world from the moment he was born.
Just then, a eunuch approached and greeted him with a smile.
This eunuch had a plump, prosperous appearance. When he smiled, his whole face radiated happiness, making him look like a Maitreya Buddha.
Jun Huailang recognized him. He was Ling Fu, the Emperor’s chief brush-holding eunuch.
“Lord Ling.” Jun Huailang raised his head and greeted him.
Ling Fu smiled and gave him a slight bow.
“Good fortune to you, Young Lord Jun. His Majesty is drinking tea with several of the ladies in the back. Miss Jun is there as well. His Majesty has asked you to go sit with them.”
Jun Huailang acknowledged him, rose, and followed him.
They walked all the way up the imperial steps and through a side gate, arriving at the rear hall of Yongle Hall. This rear hall had always been a place where the Emperor and his consorts rested during banquets. Ordinary officials were forbidden to enter without an imperial summons.
After walking around a massive sixteen-panel gilded screen, Jun Huailang saw the group seated inside the rear hall, where gauze curtains drifted all around them.
Emperor Qingping sat at the head of the hall, drinking tea. He was not yet fifty and was still in robust health. His face was lean, revealing traces of the handsome appearance he must have possessed in his youth.
Beside him sat Empress Jiang, who was a close friend of Shen-shi. She had an elegant appearance and was dignified and gentle. When she saw Jun Huailang, she smiled and nodded at him.
Several consorts sat on either side, all dressed in their finest attire, surrounded by a riot of flowers and colors.
Jun Linghuan sat in Consort Shu’s arms, holding a tea snack in her hand and eating it.
When Emperor Qingping saw Jun Huailang enter, a smile appeared on his face.
“Huailang is here? Come closer. Let me see how much taller you’ve grown.”
Empress Jiang spoke softly from the side.
“He certainly has grown quite a bit. He can be several inches taller than Huan’er now.”
Seeing Emperor Qingping again, Jun Huailang felt a complicated mixture of emotions.
There was no doubt that Emperor Qingping had watched Jun Huailang grow up from childhood. The Emperor had always treated him with affection and had been an elder he respected. But in his previous life, the Emperor had insisted on marrying Jun Linghuan into the palace because of a ridiculous divination. No matter what, Jun Huailang could not help feeling a knot in his heart over it.
Although Jun Linghuan had thereby been saved from death, she had undoubtedly jumped from one fiery pit into another.
However, having lived another life, Jun Huailang was no longer the young boy who could not hide his emotions. He stepped forward properly and respectfully offered his greetings to everyone.
The moment he finished, Consort Shu laughed from the side, her voice soft and charming.
“Lang’er, come here. I haven’t seen you for several months. Come and let Auntie have a look at you.”
Consort Shu was none other than Jun Huailang’s paternal aunt, his father’s younger sister, Jun Yaohua.
Consort Shu was only twenty-six this year. She was bright and beautiful, with a charming, delicate appearance. Today, she wore a soft red palace gown, and a silk peony, so lifelike that it seemed real, was pinned into her coiffure, nestled among golden hair ornaments and dangling buyao.
Jun Huailang therefore walked over and sat down beside Consort Shu.
Emperor Qingping and Consort Shu began praising him, one speaking after another, while the Empress also joined in from the side. Consort Shu was favored by the Emperor and had a spoiled, coquettish temperament, causing the Emperor to laugh repeatedly.
The consort sitting opposite Consort Shu wore a plain-colored palace gown and had dressed in a fresh, elegant manner.
She was Consort Yi, the biological mother of the Fourth Prince.
She could also be considered to have come from an established aristocratic family. Her family had served as officials for generations, although they had always maintained a rather unremarkable position.
It was only in recent years, after her father rose to a high position and her elder brother won several impressive battles, that the Xu family became a newly prominent family at court. Consort Yi’s rank had also risen accordingly, and she had been quite favored by the Emperor in recent years.
In the midst of everyone’s conversation, Consort Yi found an opening and gently smiled.
“Huailang truly is like a jade tree growing from fragrant orchids. No matter how one looks at him, he is pleasing to the eye. Consort Shu is also a member of the Jun family. Surely, if she were to give His Majesty a child, that child would also be so outstanding and handsome.”
Consort Shu was not particularly calculating. She had been smiling just moments before, but upon hearing this, her smile immediately faded.
She had been in the palace for ten years and had never lost the Emperor’s favor, but she had been unable to bear an imperial child. Even now, she remained without any children of her own.
Consort Yi had struck directly at her weakest point.
Consort Shu knew perfectly well that the woman was deliberately speaking with hidden barbs. But when she glared at her with eyes as sharp as knives, all she saw was the woman’s gentle and harmless expression, leaving her nowhere to vent her anger.
The Empress, however, was very protective of her good friend’s sister-in-law. She smiled and smoothed things over.
“Children and grandchildren are matters of fate. There is no need to force them.”
Consort Shu had been left with a lump of anger in her chest by Consort Yi. Unable to hold it back, she said sourly, “I simply don’t have that fate, so naturally I can’t enjoy the blessings of children and grandchildren.”
Jun Linghuan, who was in her arms, could not understand the verbal jabs passing back and forth between the women. She only knew that her beautiful aunt was unhappy.
She had always been generous. She hurriedly picked up the tastiest pastry she had sampled earlier and held it up to Consort Shu’s mouth.
“Auntie, eat this,” she said in her soft, childish voice.
Emperor Qingping had always doted on Consort Shu. Seeing her unhappy now, he casually said, “How can you say you cannot enjoy such blessings? If you like children, having Linghuan and Huailang come stay in the palace for a while isn’t impossible.”
Consort Shu’s eyes lit up.
“Your Majesty truly means that?”
Emperor Qingping smiled.
“Of course I do.”
As he spoke, he turned to the Empress.
“What does the Empress think?”
The Empress smiled.
“Naturally, I would be delighted. Huan’er already likes being with Huailang, but he doesn’t like studying. I rather hope Huailang can help guide him.”
Jun Huailang’s gaze paused slightly.
He seemed to understand something.
In his previous life, he had come down with a high fever and had not attended this banquet. After this banquet, Jun Linghuan had indeed stayed in the palace for some time, but he had never paid much attention to it.
Could it be that his younger sister had encountered Xue Yan because of this very occasion?
Jun Huailang secretly clenched his fist.
Regardless of whether his guess was correct, he could not take the risk and allow Jun Linghuan to have any opportunity to encounter Xue Yan.
Just then, Consort Shu asked him, “Lang’er, would you like to stay in the palace and accompany Auntie for a while?”
Jun Huailang immediately nodded in agreement.
Consort Yi laughed again.
“Yes, having children around would certainly make things livelier. Even if they aren’t one’s own children, there is no harm in it.”
There was a hidden meaning in her words.
Consort Shu did not catch the deeper implication, but she could still hear the woman’s sarcastic tone and the needle hidden within the cotton.
Just then, a young eunuch came forward and announced that the Fifth Prince had arrived.
The Fifth Prince was none other than Xue Yan.
In an instant, the previously warm and peaceful atmosphere turned cold and strange.
The Emperor’s smile disappeared. The Empress lowered her eyes and drank her tea. Several consorts kept their eyes lowered and their noses lowered, saying nothing.
It was as though they had not heard anything at all.
Jun Huailang suddenly felt an unreal sense of unfamiliarity.
All around him were gentle and affectionate elders, yet the moment they heard Xue Yan’s name, they all seemed to transform into people he did not recognize.
It was precisely the expression Xue Yan faced.
The higher one’s position, the more one believed in fate.
This thing was mysterious and profound. Although it could neither be seen nor touched, everyone was afraid that it might truly descend upon them and bring disaster.
“Summon him,” Emperor Qingping said indifferently.
Then Jun Huailang saw Xue Yan being led inside by the eunuch.
His hands were empty.
He walked straight forward and bowed to Emperor Qingping.
The Emperor did not tell him to rise. Instead, he asked directly, “Where are the arrows?”
Every year during the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet, the children of the imperial household and officials were taught to use this set of jade arrows to compete in touhu, the arrow-throwing game.
When Emperor Qingping had originally offered these arrows as the prize, it had been to express his emphasis on the princes’ studies and encourage them to work harder. But the rules of touhu still had to be followed.
Jun Huailang knew that those arrows had already been broken.
For some reason, he suddenly looked toward the young eunuch standing behind Xue Yan.
The boy’s face was deathly pale, and both his legs were trembling violently.
He could be considered unlucky. He had been assigned to serve Xue Yan, and those who bullied Xue Yan would bully him as well.
Xue Yan was at least an imperial prince.
But he was different.
His life was worth no more than grass.
Jun Huailang suddenly thought that he had witnessed that scene, and since it concerned Xue Yan, it would have been entirely reasonable for him to remain silent.
Yet by remaining silent now, he would be condemning this innocent life to death.
He clenched his fist with difficulty, his fingernails digging into his palm.
If he helped, it would be nothing more than misguided compassion, and he would be letting down all the members of his family who had suffered because of Xue Yan in his previous life.
But if he did not help, he would have to watch someone die with his own eyes, and he absolutely could not escape responsibility for it…
And just then, he suddenly heard Xue Yan’s voice.
It was calm and composed, still carrying the clear, youthful voice of a boy, unexpectedly pleasant to the ear.
“Your son carelessly damaged the arrows. It had nothing to do with anyone else. I ask Father Emperor to punish me.”