He dreamed that he had been sitting alone at the banquet for a long time, and afterward, he planned to go outside for some fresh air. Just as he rose, a palace maid came to summon him to the rear hall. The palace maid’s features were clearly those of Aunt Dian Cui, whom he knew well, but her expression was unfamiliar.
She looked down at him with cold disgust, and the mere look in her eyes made him feel miserable.
He followed Dian Cui to the rear hall, where the first thing that greeted him was the meaningful scrutiny of the imperial consorts. Jun Huailang pretended not to notice and waited until Consort Shu gave him a casual order.
“Take Linghuan outside for some fresh air.” She did not even raise her eyes as she said it indifferently.
Jun Huailang felt somewhat suspicious, but it was still almost like receiving an amnesty. He wanted to reach out and take Jun Linghuan’s hand, only to see her properly following at his side as they walked out together.
……What was going on? Why was she being so distant with him?
It was not until they had walked out of the main hall that Jun Linghuan finally raised her head.
Thank goodness. Those eyes were clean and clear, without the disgust and scrutiny that had made Jun Huailang feel suffocated.
“Thank you, Big Brother!” she said with a smile.
There was a hint of unfamiliar restraint in her tone. Before the words “Big Brother,” there seemed to be some kind of prefix, but Jun Huailang could not hear it clearly.
After that, he forcibly suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and took his younger sister out to play. His sister first went to the Imperial Garden, and afterward wanted to go to the plum-blossom grove to look at the lanterns. The lantern in the very center of the plum-blossom grove was the prettiest, and Jun Huailang could not resist going to pick it for Jun Linghuan.
In the dream, he was as light as a swallow. He passed through the narrow paths of the plum-blossom grove and leaped onto a Taihu stone in the middle of the water, plucking down that palace lantern.
But when he returned, Jun Linghuan was nowhere to be seen.
He became frantic with worry and immediately wanted to go look for Jun Linghuan. But at once, he was held down by a group of people and forced to kneel on the cold bluestone outside the Imperial Garden. The scolding coming from all around made his ears buzz, yet he was unable to defend himself.
“Why are you arresting me? Shouldn’t you go look for her first?” Jun Huailang said anxiously.
But none of the eunuchs and guards around him paid him any attention.
Later, he was dragged into a magnificent main hall. Everyone was standing, and he alone was kneeling.
“Your Majesty, please send people to find Linghuan first!” When he saw Emperor Qingping, he could not care about anything else and spoke anxiously. “Linghuan never wanders off. I’m afraid something might have happened to her!”
But Emperor Qingping acted as though he had not heard him at all. Instead, he flew into a furious rage at him, and that appearance made Jun Huailang feel especially unfamiliar. Around him, all the familiar people wore different expressions, but the way they looked at him was uniformly strange, disgusted, and cold.
Fortunately, it was not long before Jun Linghuan was found and brought back.
Jun Huailang was worried and immediately looked toward her, only to meet Jun Linghuan’s frightened, terrified eyes, as though she had seen some kind of monster.
Even when Jun Linghuan met Jun Huailang’s eyes, her entire body trembled, and she immediately hid in the arms of the person behind her.
After that, the accusatory gazes of everyone and the emperor’s order to punish him heavily all blurred together amid the buzzing in his mind. He looked at every familiar face that now wore terrifying expressions, his entire body turning cold as an unbearable pain wrapped around him and suffocated him.
He looked around in confusion, desperately searching for something, but could find nothing.
And usually, his dream would end here.
Jun Huailang suddenly came back to himself and looked toward Xue Yan.
Xue Yan was not looking at him, but the scene before them was extremely familiar to Jun Huailang. It was clearly the exact same scene, except that in his dream, he had been kneeling in Xue Yan’s place.
Could it be that Jun Linghuan had run alone to the Cold Palace while Xue Yan went to retrieve the palace lantern, and then inexplicably become afraid of Xue Yan? Was what he had experienced in his dream precisely what was happening to Xue Yan today?
If so……there was clearly someone else behind all of this.
So in his previous life, Xue Yan and his younger sister had clearly ended up having a misunderstanding because of that person.
Just then, the Imperial Guards had already received the emperor’s order. They stepped forward to pull Xue Yan up and take him away for punishment.
Jun Huailang could not worry about anything else. He took two steps forward and stood in front of Xue Yan.
“Wait,” he said.
The Imperial Guards had not expected that this heir would actually have the courage to defy an imperial edict, especially while the Emperor was in a fit of rage. For a moment, they looked at one another and stopped where they were.
Jun Huailang glanced at Xue Yan, only to meet Xue Yan’s raised eyes.
Their color was pale, carrying a dark, ink-like chill and indifference. His gaze fell upon the emperor in the hall. Though it was not directed at Jun Huailang, it was so cold that it made Jun Huailang shiver.
He suddenly realized that everything he had suffered in his dream was what Xue Yan was experiencing at this very moment.
Jun Huailang shifted his body, blocking Xue Yan’s gaze. He stood between Xue Yan and Emperor Qingping, shielding Xue Yan behind him.
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger,” Jun Huailang said. “Linghuan has been frightened and has yet to explain what happened. I ask that Your Majesty investigate clearly before making a decision.”
The Empress glanced at the furious emperor, then at her friend who was wiping away tears beside her. Somewhat reproachfully, she reminded Jun Huailang, “Huailang, you must not speak recklessly.”
Emperor Qingping suppressed his anger and asked, “Do you mean that I have not investigated clearly enough? Throughout the entire palace, Linghuan is afraid of only him, and she was taken away and lost by him. What else does there need to be investigated?”
Jun Huailang took a deep breath and calmly replied, “It is simply that His Highness the Fifth Prince has never had any conflict with my sister and me, so I feel that there is something suspicious about this matter.”
Fortunately, he had served as an official for several years in his previous life. He could answer questions fluently before the Golden Hall and withstand Emperor Qingping’s fury at this moment.
Emperor Qingping frowned but could not bring himself to lash out. After a moment, he reluctantly said, “Then go ask her.”
Jun Huailang acknowledged the order and rose.
As he turned and walked back, he once again met Xue Yan’s gaze. That expression seemed as though he had not yet recovered, while beneath it surged emotions that Jun Huailang could not make out, like violent whirlpools churning beneath the surface of the sea.
Those eyes simply stared fixedly at him.
Jun Huailang met his gaze for only a moment before looking away. He walked directly to Jun Xiaowu and reached out to take Jun Linghuan from his arms.
Jun Linghuan’s emotions had already calmed somewhat. She was quietly sobbing, and she whimpered a call of “Big Brother.”
“Linghuan, tell Big Brother what happened just now.” Jun Huailang knelt on one knee, gathered Jun Linghuan into his arms, and gently stroked her back as he asked softly.
He deliberately made Jun Linghuan face away from Xue Yan, while his own expression was completely visible to Xue Yan.
Jun Linghuan rubbed her eyes and sobbed for a long while before quietly saying, “They eat people.”
Jun Huailang froze. “Eat what people?”
Jun Linghuan burrowed deeper into his arms and continued haltingly, “They said……Fifth Imperial Brother, he eats people. So they took Linghuan and hid somewhere he couldn’t find us……but they all left. Only Linghuan stayed there.”
At this point, Jun Linghuan’s voice became choked with tears again, and she began sobbing.
Jun Huailang froze, then understood what she meant. Hearing the little girl’s whimpering voice, like that of a tiny kitten, he quickly leaned over and held her even tighter.
Amid his heartache, Jun Huailang was chilled with fear by the truth he had uncovered.
This matter had happened in his previous life, and because of Jun Linghuan’s accusation, Xue Yan had received the punishment he “deserved.” From then on, Jun Linghuan must have avoided him as though he were a snake or scorpion. After all, a six-year-old girl was the easiest to frighten.
……So there was an explanation for what Jun Linghuan had said about Xue Yan in the book.
It turned out that Jun Linghuan had been deceived and toyed with by those people she called “they,” causing her to become enemies with the young Xue Yan? And afterward, throughout the long years that followed, the reason Jun Linghuan had been inexplicably humiliated by Xue Yan was also because of these people’s reckless jokes, made without regard for the consequences?
Jun Huailang was chilled to the bone. His lips pressed tightly together, and a fierce coldness appeared in his eyes.
Everyone in the hall had also heard what Jun Linghuan said. For a moment, their expressions varied, and even the emperor’s anger froze on his face.
Jun Xiaowu reacted and immediately became furious. He forgot all about the propriety between ruler and subject and asked, “Linghuan, which bastard said such nonsense to scare you? Tell Second Brother. Second Brother will go beat him until he can’t get out of bed for three days!”
Jun Huailang hurriedly raised his eyes to stop him, lest the enraged Jun Xiaowu frighten his sister again.
Jun Linghuan’s sobbing grew heavier. Jun Xiaowu immediately crouched down, stroked her hair with one hand, softened his voice, and asked, “Linghuan, tell Second Brother. Who said it?”
Jun Linghuan sobbed as she thought for a while.
“Brother Enze,” she said. “And Second Imperial Brother……I don’t recognize the others.”
Jun Huailang raised his head and looked toward Emperor Qingping.
Emperor Qingping had naturally heard Jun Linghuan’s words as well. He had never expected this matter to involve his other princes. Hearing that the Second Prince had said something about “eating people” made him even more furious and humiliated.
“Why are you still standing there? Quickly send someone to bring the two of them before me!” he shouted.
Lingfu hurriedly accepted the imperial order and ran out, ordering the little eunuchs to search for them.
Before long, the two were brought in.
Jun Huailang saw that Xue Yunsu still wore an appearance of composure, though upon closer inspection, it was obvious that the composure was entirely an act. Behind him, Jun Enze had already hunched his shoulders in fear, his legs trembling with every step.
So the family had raised an ungrateful wolf.
Jun Huailang thought coldly.
Once the two entered and knelt before Emperor Qingping, the emperor questioned them, “Second Prince, was it you who took the Jun family’s eldest daughter to the Cold Palace?”
At this moment, Xue Yunsu was feeling annoyed.
Who would have thought that taking a little girl along would be so troublesome? She could not walk quickly, and she was timid as well. Keeping her around was plainly a burden.
He had originally only wanted to show off to several sons of aristocratic families, boasting that he dared to take them to the haunted Cold Palace. The young masters had all been excited, and he had gotten caught up in their enthusiasm and led them there. As for this little girl, they had frightened her casually several times along the way, and she had become too scared to walk.
But sending her back now would be too troublesome. Besides, he had taken the child away precisely to cause trouble for Xue Yan. There was no reason to send her back.
So he could only reluctantly bring her along.
Once they arrived at the Cold Palace, the gloomy atmosphere inside made everyone even more excited, and someone suggested that they go inside the palace chambers to take a look. But this little girl was timid and slow, and whoever took her along would only be held back. Thus, none of them was willing to bring her.
Xue Yunsu naturally was not willing either. He simply found an excuse and casually left Jun Linghuan in a corner tower. To prevent her from running around, Xue Yunsu even frightened her, saying that if she left without permission, she would definitely be caught by Xue Yan, who would transform into a vicious wolf. It was the middle of the night, after all—the time when he ate people.
Xue Yunsu frightened her a few more times. With the corner tower’s gloomy surroundings, once he saw Jun Linghuan’s face turn pale and watched her become too frightened to move, he felt reassured and went off to play.
Who would have thought that once the group started playing, they would all completely forget about the little burden? By the time they remembered that Jun Linghuan was still there, news of her disappearance had already spread throughout the palace.
Fortunately, they had been a noisy group at the time, and no one had noticed that they had brought an extra little girl with them. Moreover, there were no guards within a dozen or so yards of the Cold Palace, so no one knew that they had taken Jun Linghuan there.
Thus, when Xue Yunsu learned that Jun Linghuan was missing, the first thing he thought of was to warn the others who had gone with him.
“Keep your mouths shut,” he said. “None of us went to the Cold Palace today. Remember that?”
That little girl had been frightened senseless, and her mind was focused entirely on fearing Xue Yan. She certainly would not let anything slip. At most, she had been frightened for a while. Her life was not in danger. Perhaps it would even teach her a lesson and make her stop feeling sorry for that ill-fated demon.
And those young masters had already caused trouble themselves. None of them dared to take responsibility. Now that the Second Prince, who was leading them, had ordered them to keep silent, naturally none of them said anything.
Who would have thought that the little brat had learned to complain on her own?
Hearing the emperor’s question, Xue Yunsu paused, then calmly said, “Father, I have never been to the Cold Palace. I did not even see Sister Linghuan after the banquet today.”
After saying this, he pretended to be confused and looked around before asking, “What happened? Could Sister Linghuan have mistaken someone else for me?”
His acting was rather clumsy. One look was enough to tell that he was lying. Emperor Qingping showed an displeased expression, glanced at Jun Enze beside him, and asked, “Did the Second Prince truly not go to the Cold Palace today?”
Although Jun Enze had already received Xue Yunsu’s warning, he still did not have such courage before the emperor. Kneeling there, his legs trembled incessantly as he simply shook his head, pretending he knew nothing.
Naturally, Emperor Qingping could see through a child’s lie. Instead, the fact that the two of them were telling him the same lie made him even more furious.
“Not only do you refuse to repent, you have even learned to deceive me?” Emperor Qingping shouted. “You know you did wrong, yet you still want to conceal it?”
Just then, Noble Consort Zhang, who was seated below, could no longer remain still.
Xue Yunsu was her own son, and Noble Consort Zhang had once been sent to the Cold Palace herself. She was most afraid of seeing the emperor become angry and punish someone. Seeing that her son had caused such a great disaster, while the emperor did not believe him, Noble Consort Zhang hurriedly rose and knelt before Emperor Qingping.
“Your Majesty, Su’er has always been a good child. He would never lie to you! Please investigate this carefully!”
Emperor Qingping shouted, “With him behaving like this, how is he not deceiving me?”
Noble Consort Zhang hurriedly said, “The child is timid and kindhearted. He must have been frightened, which is why he behaved improperly before Your Majesty! Besides, it was the Fifth Prince who lost the daughter of the Duke of Yongning. How can this be blamed on Su’er……”
Just then, a clear voice interrupted her.
“Your Highness.” Jun Huailang spoke. “If His Highness the Second Prince made a mistake, and you conceal it for him before His Majesty, would that not be the crime of deceiving the emperor?”
Noble Consort Zhang turned her head and saw Jun Huailang looking at her coldly.
“What right do you have to speak here?” Noble Consort Zhang snapped. “You ignorant child, what do you know?”
Jun Huailang merely looked at her.
His dark, deep eyes had always been cool and gentle, like those of an immortal who dwelled apart from the mortal world. But at this moment, those eyes were extraordinarily sharp, and under her questioning, his presence completely overpowered hers. There was not the slightest trace of fear in him.
Looking at these people in the hall, blatantly lying through their teeth, a surging fury ignited in Jun Huailang’s heart.
They knew how to be afraid now? Why had they not been afraid when they did such a thing?
They had abandoned such a tiny girl in an abandoned corner tower without the slightest fear, then confidently shifted the blame onto Xue Yan. But when it came time to admit what they had done, they became afraid?
The suffering Jun Linghuan had endured because of them in his previous life had been a hundred or a thousand times more terrible than this.
The angrier Jun Huailang became, the clearer his thoughts grew. His gaze swept over the few people, and a mocking smile appeared in his eyes.
“Second Highness, before arguing your innocence next time, you might want to tidy your clothes first, so that you do not expose your own weakness,” he said.
Xue Yunsu froze and lowered his head to look at the robe he was wearing.
Jun Huailang continued, “The corner tower of the Cold Palace has been neglected for many years. There is a thick layer of dust on the stairs, and the redwood handrails have rotted. The staircase is extremely narrow. When we went there to look for Linghuan, even Xiaowu, despite his excellent martial arts, got splinters of rotten wood on his clothes. How much more so you, Second Highness?”
Everyone looked over.
Sure enough, there was inconspicuous yet particularly distinct dust on the hem of Xue Yunsu’s robe. There were also marks where rotten wood had scraped his elbows and back, and one of his sleeves had even been torn by rotten wood. The lantern light had been dim outside at night, making the marks difficult to see, but the rear hall of Yongle Palace was brightly lit. Under the brilliant lights, every trace on his body was immediately exposed.
Xue Yunsu instantly panicked, while Jun Enze had already fallen onto the floor and begun quietly sobbing.
“This……this doesn’t prove anything! Perhaps Su’er was simply being mischievous and bumped into something outside. That is also possible……” Noble Consort Zhang still refused to give up.
“Enough!” Emperor Qingping interrupted her.
How could there be any dust in the palace when a banquet was being held? Everything was kept spotless. Where could someone possibly have gotten himself so filthy?
Emperor Qingping felt that he had lost all face, and his anger rose another level.
“Today is my birthday banquet! You have turned it into such a filthy mess. Is this the birthday gift you have prepared for me?” Emperor Qingping shouted.
Noble Consort Zhang immediately dared not say another word.
Emperor Qingping took several hurried breaths before continuing with his orders. “Take the Second Prince away. Confine him for one month and have him copy the Taizu’s Family Precepts one hundred times. He will not be released until he has finished copying them, and not even his mother is allowed to visit him! As for that boy from the Jun family, his conduct is lacking. He is no longer permitted to serve as a companion to a prince. Choose a day and send him back to his biological father to be raised!
“As for the several sons of official families who went with them, they failed to admonish the prince and instead joined him in fooling around. Find out who they are, and have all their fathers and elder brothers’ salaries docked for six months!”
The entire rear hall fell so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Everyone was as silent as cicadas in winter. When Noble Consort Zhang heard this, she immediately felt as though she were about to faint.
When Jun Huailang heard the imperial edict, however, he was somewhat stunned.
Earlier, when the crime had been placed on Xue Yan, he had clearly been about to be beaten and made to kneel in the Buddhist hall. Yet when it came to the Second Prince, it was merely a light confinement and copying the ancestral precepts.
The punishment for those sons of aristocratic families was indeed severe enough. Not to mention Jun Enze, who was about to be sent away from the capital, those few young masters had all been punished through their fathers and elder brothers. Not only would the men of their families lose face at court, but they would also certainly receive a harsh punishment when they returned home.
In the end, the reason they were punished so severely was because they had “led the Second Prince astray.” To Emperor Qingping, the Second Prince was still his own flesh and blood. On the surface, they were ruler and subject, but in their bones, they were still father and son.
And Xue Yan……
“Xue Yan, although you are not guilty of today’s incident, since you received Consort Shu’s order, you should have taken proper care of your younger sister. How could you leave her alone where she was? You need not receive the beating today, but you must still kneel in the Buddhist hall. Kneel until dawn tomorrow, and then you may stop.”
Emperor Qingping continued speaking.
After dealing with everyone else, he looked at Xue Yan, who was still kneeling stiffly beneath the hall like a nail driven into the ground.
Everyone had been punished, while he alone seemed to be innocent. This instead made Emperor Qingping feel uncomfortable, as though he had wronged him and made him kneel here for nothing.
Thus, Emperor Qingping casually opened his mouth, assigning him a crime while also giving himself a way out.
In any case, he had punished Xue Yan plenty of times. One more or one less hardly mattered.
——
When Jun Enze left the rear hall of Yongle Palace, the Empress was still keeping the Duke of Yongning and Madam Shen behind to speak with them. The Second Prince had already been surrounded by people and escorted away. He was alone, without even a servant following beside him.
Jun Enze’s legs were weak, and his mind was a complete mess.
His father had been assigned to Lingnan. He had heard that the region was filled with miasma capable of poisoning perfectly healthy people to death. He absolutely refused to go there, and his father could not bear to see him suffer either. Only after begging the Duke of Yongning had they finally managed to let him remain at the Duke of Yongning’s residence.
Although he was living under someone else’s roof, it was still better than going to Lingnan. Moreover, he was the Second Prince’s companion. He was a favored person beside a prince,贵不可言, and no one dared look down on him. Among all the sons of noble families, he was also one of the more outstanding ones.
But now, all of it was gone.
Having angered the emperor, even the Second Prince could not save him. To the Second Prince, it was merely the crime of playing a prank on a noble young lady. But to him, it was the serious crime of instigating a prince.
Jun Enze knew that things had reached this point, and there was no room to turn things around anymore. Before long, he would have to travel tens of thousands of li to the miasma-filled Lingnan.
He had no heart to return to the banquet, so he could only sit down in an inconspicuous corner beside Taiye Lake. Before him, the surface of Taiye Lake shimmered beneath a layer of broken ice, while lanterns flickered along the shore. Across the lake, layer upon layer of palace buildings stood with jade-green glazed tiles and upturned eaves, their carved beams and painted rafters magnificent. The brilliant lantern light reflected in the lake, making it resemble a heavenly fairyland.
In the past, he could still pretend that he was one of the people who belonged here. But now, he had been cast back from the fairyland into the mortal world, as though it had all been a dream.
Just then, a faint sigh came from behind him.
“Fourth Highness?” Jun Enze turned around in surprise and saw the Fourth Prince, Xue Yunhong, standing behind him.
He was always together with the Second Prince, except that this Fourth Highness was gentle as jade, taciturn, and had never caused trouble together with them. Earlier, it had also been him who had sharp enough eyes to notice Jun Linghuan there.
“If Fifth Brother loses this child, I’m afraid Father will severely blame him again.” At the time, Xue Yunhong had smiled as he said this.
Xue Yunsu had been surprised. “Xue Yan took her out? How do you know?”
“I seem to have seen it. Perhaps I was mistaken.” Xue Yunhong had smiled and shaken his head. “If Second Brother is curious, you can go ask him. I drank too much wine, and my head hurts a little from the wind, so I’ll take my leave first.”
Jun Enze had felt somewhat puzzled.
At the time, the Fourth Highness had gone back to rest. So how had he already sobered up now?
Seeing the doubt on his face, Xue Yunhong smiled and said lightly, “I was resting just now when I heard the commotion, so I came out to take a look. I heard that you and Second Brother had gotten into trouble, and I was a little worried, so I came to see you.”
Jun Enze showed a grateful expression, while tears fell from his eyes again. “Thank you, Fourth Highness, for your concern. It’s just that from now on, there probably won’t be another chance for us to meet.”
“How could there be no chance to meet again?” Xue Yunhong asked in surprise.
Jun Enze said, “Lingnan is so far away. How could I possibly have a chance to come back?”
Xue Yunhong instead smiled and shook his head.
“As long as Second Imperial Brother cannot bear to part with you, what does it matter how far away the place is?” he said.
Jun Enze froze. “You mean……”
Xue Yunhong said gently, “You have accompanied Second Imperial Brother since childhood. Who can compare with such affection? When the time comes for you to leave, find an excuse to meet Second Imperial Brother and simply say that you are here to bid farewell. His Majesty will not forbid it. At that time, cry to him a little. Second Brother is so softhearted. He will certainly keep you in his thoughts and will not let you suffer in Lingnan for too long.”
Jun Enze’s expression gradually brightened.
That was right! How could he have forgotten? He might not be able to control his own fate, but the noble person in the palace was different!
Seeing that he had taken his words to heart, Xue Yunhong smiled again and reminded him, “When the time comes, just say that you cannot bear to part with Second Imperial Brother, and then say that Xue Yan was the one who caused you trouble. Second Brother hates Xue Yan so much. He will certainly stand up for you and find a way to bring you back.”
Jun Enze hurriedly committed every word to memory and repeatedly thanked Xue Yunhong for his guidance.
“How could this be guidance?” Xue Yunhong smiled. “I simply cannot bear to see you leave just like that, so I thought of an idea for you.”
His relationship with Second Prince was deep, and even Fourth Prince could not bear to part with him! Jun Enze immediately became rather pleased with himself.
Sure enough, all his years of cultivating connections had not been wasted.
“Since you have figured things out, go back to the banquet.” Xue Yunhong smiled and nodded. “The wind is strong by the lake, and you are dressed lightly. Don’t let yourself get cold.”
Jun Enze naturally had no doubts about him and bowed before taking his leave.
Since he had plenty of opportunities to return, there was no need for him to worry anymore. Among the sons of aristocratic families, he still had several good friends. He needed to return and maintain those relationships with them.
Xue Yunhong smiled as he watched him leave.
“The wise take advantage of schemes; the foolish rely on their own strength.” He chuckled to himself. “The ancients truly did not deceive me.”
With the Second Prince’s little bit of ability and no powerful maternal family behind him, what could he possibly use to rescue Jun Enze? Telling Jun Enze to seek the Second Prince’s help was merely making use of that useless fool’s final bit of value—to intensify the conflict between the Second Prince and Xue Yan.
Xue Yunhong stood with his hands behind his back and looked toward the brilliantly illuminated lake. The rippling lantern light reflected in his eyes, yet could not illuminate even the slightest trace of warmth.
Whenever he wanted to deal with someone, he never needed to do it himself. Borrowing other people’s strength to accomplish things was the first lesson his mother had taught him about being a ruler.
Just as back then, he and Xue Yan had been born one after the other. At that time, his mother had merely been an obscure, unfavored palace consort, while Xue Yan’s mother, Consort Rong, had been the favored beauty who surpassed all the women in the imperial harem. At that time, the Empress of the central palace had been childless for many years, and everyone had been watching Consort Rong’s belly. His mother had thus been able to borrow strength from multiple sides to cause Consort Rong’s sudden death and make Xue Yan lose favor, causing all the attention that had originally belonged to Xue Yan to fall upon him.
Now, he also possessed this ability. By making use of those brainless fools, he could make Xue Yan lose favor even further without shedding a drop of blood himself, ensuring that Xue Yan would never rise again.
After all, his mother had said that when one had an old enemy, one must eliminate them completely, so as not to leave oneself a source of future trouble.
It was just that those fools were becoming less and less useful. They were like inferior iron swords—before they could even kill anyone, their blades had already become nicked and bent.
Xue Yunhong looked at the lanterns filling the lake and sighed in disappointment.
——
In the very center of the eastern and western six palaces of the Imperial City stood a seven-story Buddhist pagoda. In front of the pagoda was a magnificent great hall containing a Buddhist shrine. Incense burned before the shrine day and night without cease. Even at night, monks keeping watch in the side hall continued striking wooden fish, one sound after another echoing through the night.
It was already deep into the night. From far away, the sound of the night watch could be heard in the empty silence.
Xue Yan knelt in the center of the Buddhist hall. When he raised his head, all he could see was a golden Buddha statue several zhang tall. The Buddha had kind features and a compassionate expression, its eyes slightly lowered as it looked down upon the person before it. Surrounding him were one hundred and eight Arhat statues, each with a different expression, their eyes wide open as they stood silently amid the swaying candlelight.
When Xue Yan raised his head, he could meet the Buddha statue’s eyes directly.
He quietly looked at it for a while, then suddenly let out a breathy laugh.
“Isn’t that foolish?” he murmured to himself, his voice so soft that only he could hear it. “Someone like me—what could possibly be worth it?”
He admitted that today, because he had momentarily lost focus, he had done something irrational and fallen for such a crude trap. This had never happened before, because his life had always been monotonous. He had never encountered someone like Jun Huailang.
But it could also be considered a blessing in disguise. The Eastern Depot was waiting for the day he truly became a drowning dog, while he himself was also waiting for an opportunity—the chance to make the Eastern Depot completely trust him.
His reason told him that this was that opportunity.
He only needed to quietly wait for everyone to deal with him. The methods of punishment were usually nothing new, and he had never had the habit of explaining himself. He would simply wait until the punishment was over, then rely on the bloody smell on his body to lure over those wolves from the Eastern Depot.
But this time was different.
When Jun Linghuan disappeared, he had experienced panic for the first time. His mind had gone completely blank, leaving behind only the image of Jun Huailang.
He could guess what Jun Huailang’s reaction would be, so the first thing he thought of was not to make use of this matter. Instead, he wanted to follow the traces and find Jun Linghuan. But coincidentally, Consort Shu sent someone to find Jun Linghuan and bring her back for snacks, and happened to discover him. He was immediately detained on the spot.
Immediately afterward came the people who hurried over to demand an explanation, the tightly surrounding Imperial Guards, and the furious Emperor Qingping.
This scene was not unfamiliar to Xue Yan. He could even say that he was accustomed to it.
But what was different this time was that before long, he saw Jun Huailang hurrying over.
At that moment, Xue Yan’s chest seemed to have been gripped tightly, making it difficult for him to breathe.
For the first time, he wanted to explain.
This was something he had never experienced from childhood until now. Everyone only wanted to punish him; no one wanted to hear his explanation, and he had never had any interest in wasting his breath. But this time, he wanted to tell Jun Huailang that he had not done it intentionally.
Yet Xue Yan did not say it.
Whether he had known about it or not, it had still been his negligence that had caused Jun Huailang’s sister to disappear. When he saw the anxiety on Jun Huailang’s face, he actually only wanted to let the other person blame and berate him, or find some way to make him suffer punishment, as compensation for the distress he had caused him.
But Jun Huailang……still did not.
From the perspective of an outsider, Xue Yan watched as Jun Huailang step by step cleared him of the crime, found the people who had deceived Jun Linghuan into leaving, and restored his innocence.
Innocence.
The word was so unfamiliar to him that it was almost laughable.
Xue Yan had always thought that something like innocence was not important to him. Whether he had done something or not did not matter. What mattered was whether the final outcome had any value that could be used.
It was only that he had never known that turning toward the light was human nature. He had never cared about his own innocence simply because, in the past, there had been no one he cared about.
The Eastern Depot received news that Xue Yan had been falsely accused and punished, and immediately sent Little Wei. Although the information differed somewhat from what had actually happened—Xue Yan had not been beaten and had only been punished by kneeling in the Buddhist hall—Little Wei still conveyed Eunuch Wu Shunhai’s words, saying that Eunuch Wu felt sorry that he had been punished without cause and would come to see him on a chosen day.
“Eunuch, don’t say that. Although the Fifth Prince’s punishment was not severe, I felt that something was off about his expression.” Little Wei reported this to Wu Shunhai.
Wu Shunhai asked upon hearing this, “What was wrong with it?”
Little Wei thought for a long while but could not put it into words.
“It just felt strange. His eyes seemed a little vacant, yet also as though he were thinking about something.” He said. “It was like half his soul had been carried away by a demon.”
Upon hearing this, Wu Shunhai laughed.
“Perhaps the rabbit has been pushed to the brink and is thinking about how to bite someone.” He said unconcernedly. “And his soul was carried away by a demon? Read more books. Don’t spout nonsense for no reason and make the Eastern Depot a laughingstock, so that people say all of our agents are blind fools who talk nonsense.”
Little Wei scratched the back of his head. He did not dare contradict Eunuch Wu and repeatedly agreed before withdrawing.
However……he still felt that something was missing.
The Fifth Prince’s expression had not contained the hatred of someone whose great grudge could not be avenged, nor the look of someone gnashing his teeth in resentment. It was simply empty. It really did look as though his soul had been carried away.
But then again, what kind of demon or evil spirit would dare be so bold as to snatch away someone’s soul in front of the Buddha?
——
When Jun Huailang returned to Mingluan Palace, it was already late at night. Jun Linghuan had been frightened and had been taken away to sleep early, but Jun Huailang could not fall asleep. He was even somewhat restless.
He had never imagined that the seemingly complicated conflict between Jun Linghuan and Xue Yan in his previous life had actually come about this way.
Having lived once in Xue Yan’s position, he could truly experience what kind of circumstances Xue Yan endured every day. Thus, the person who had once given him a little warmth and then personally shattered it—Jun Linghuan—had become the target of his revenge in his previous life.
Jun Huailang felt that he ought to hate him. Jun Linghuan had been innocent from beginning to end, yet she had suffered such an undeserved disaster. No matter who the true culprit was, it was Xue Yan who had ultimately done the deed.
But Jun Huailang could not bring himself to hate him.
Precisely because he had experienced it himself, Jun Huailang could understand how unbearable that kind of isolation and pain was, like a cold, blunt knife repeatedly cutting into a wound drenched in fresh blood.
And precisely because of this, that brief moment of warmth had seemed especially precious. Losing something was far more painful than never having obtained it. After receiving warmth, having the person who once gave you that warmth look at you with fear and hide from you was even harder to accept than malice from other people.
Jun Huailang knew that compared with Xue Yan, the people he ought to hate were the group who had driven Xue Yan into such a state, toyed with Jun Linghuan, made her cause Xue Yan to be punished, and forcibly created a grudge between the two of them.
Xue Yan was a pit of fire, something that would kill whoever touched it. It was that group of people who had pushed Jun Linghuan into it.
But behind that group of people, there was an even more enormous crowd. What had happened today appeared on the surface to be the Second Prince framing Jun Linghuan, but behind him were the people in the palace who silently condoned such things, as well as Emperor Qingping, who did not distinguish right from wrong.
Even today, after Xue Yan had already been cleared of any connection to Jun Linghuan’s disappearance, had Emperor Qingping not still found an excuse to punish him?
Jun Huailang raised his head and looked toward the night outside.
Beyond the swaying lantern light was a deep darkness as black as ink.
Just then, Fuyi pushed open the door and entered.
“Young Master?” Fuyi held a lantern in one hand and carefully looked inside.
“Hmm?” Jun Huailang looked at him.
When Fuyi saw him, he smiled, then opened the door and instructed the several palace maids behind him to enter.
“I saw that the lamp in your room was still lit, so I guessed that you had not yet gone to sleep. There was not much food at the palace banquet today. I saw that the small kitchen in Her Highness’s palace was preparing a late-night meal for Her Highness, so I had them make a portion for you as well.”
Several palace maids carried jade plates and floated gracefully inside. Before long, they had filled the small table before Jun Huailang.
There were seven or eight kinds of pastries and small dishes. The portions were not large, but they were exquisite, and all of them suited Jun Huailang’s taste. Jun Huailang watched them arrange the food and, after a while, came back to himself, realizing that his stomach truly felt a little empty.
At palace banquets, there were too many nobles to entertain, and every dish had to be exquisite. With only the Imperial Kitchen, they often could not keep up. Thus, the dishes served at palace banquets were usually insufficient in quantity, merely enough to take the edge off one’s hunger.
Once the food had been arranged, Fuyi placed the tableware before him and put the ivory chopsticks beside his hand.
But Jun Huailang suddenly asked, “Is the Buddhist hall far from here?”
Fuyi froze. He did not know either and looked toward the palace maids behind him.
One of them replied, “Replying to Your Highness the Heir, it is not far. After leaving the eastern six palaces through the main gate, you need only walk for the time it takes to burn one incense stick, and you will arrive.”
Jun Huailang asked again, “Are there people guarding it?”
The palace maid covered her lips and smiled. “Anyone can go to the Buddhist hall. Apart from the usual guards, there are only monks there.”
Jun Huailang hummed in acknowledgment and said nothing more.
Just now, when he saw those pastries, the first person who had suddenly come to mind was Xue Yan.
He surely had not eaten much at the banquet tonight either, and he still needed to……