When Jun Huailang woke up again, he was no longer in the palace.
He opened his eyes to see the greenish-blue silk canopy above him. Warm sunlight streamed in through the window. When he turned his head, he saw a bedroom bathed in sunlight.
It was almost unnaturally quiet.
The window frames were made of the familiar ebony wood, and the furnishings all around him were elegant and simple. Having grown accustomed to the dazzling gold and jade decorations of Mingluan Palace, Jun Huailang’s eyes were somewhat unaccustomed to this sight.
This was his room at home.
Jun Huailang felt a little dizzy.
He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling that it was somewhat unreal. It seemed that only moments ago, he had still been struggling in Taiye Lake, nearly drowning. In his hazy consciousness, it seemed someone had pulled him from the water. He had struggled to open his eyes, only to see that the person before him was…
Xue Yan.
For a moment, Jun Huailang’s mind became clear.
At the time, his consciousness had been muddled, and his entire body had been stiff from the cold. He had thought everything before his eyes was merely an illusion.
But within that hazy illusion, where he could not distinguish what was real from what was false, there had been one thing that was vividly real.
Jun Huailang unconsciously raised a hand and touched the back of his own hand.
That tear which had fallen onto his hand had been unbearably hot. It had landed on his icy skin and seemed to melt into it at once, yet at that very moment, it had dragged him back into the world of the living.
It had been Xue Yan’s tear.
Jun Huailang suddenly sat upright in bed as though he had been startled awake.
How had he opened his eyes and ended up back at home?
At the time, there had only been him and Xue Yan present. What if someone placed the blame on Xue Yan? Xue Yan had saved his life. If he were punished because of this, what would happen?
Just then, the maidservant guarding the outer room heard the movement and hurried in to check on him. Seeing Jun Huailang sitting up, delight immediately appeared on her face. She stepped forward and touched his forehead.
“The young master is truly much better!” the maid said with a smile. “I’ll go tell Fuyi right away and have him inform Madam! Ever since we brought you back, Madam and Second Young Master haven’t closed their eyes. They only just let us persuade them to lie down in the side room for a little while.”
Only then did Jun Huailang belatedly realize that he was somewhat dizzy. He supported his forehead and nodded, indicating that she should go call them.
Hearing the sounds from the inner room, the maidservants waiting outside all perked up. Once the maid went to summon the others, several of them came in one after another, bustling about as they skillfully helped Jun Huailang get out of bed and change his clothes.
“How long was I asleep?” Jun Huailang asked.
“Young master, not very long. It isn’t even noon yet,” the nearest maidservant replied. “The Duke of Yongning stayed in the palace this morning to attend court with His Majesty. He hasn’t returned yet.”
Jun Huailang nodded.
He watched as everyone before him busily moved back and forth. Each of them had served him since childhood, and every gesture and movement was so familiar.
By rights, he should have felt at ease.
Yet his heart felt as though it had been suspended in midair, leaving him unsettled and vaguely worried.
…After all, ever since he had entered the palace, this was the first time Xue Yan had faced such a great crisis alone.
As time passed, Jun Huailang seemed to have grown accustomed to dealing with dangers on Xue Yan’s behalf. In his eyes, no matter how violent and ruthless Xue Yan would become in the future, right now he was merely a boy of around ten who had just returned to Chang’an, knew nothing, and spoke little. Faced with all the complicated intrigues in the palace, he certainly would not be able to handle them.
What was more, the person who had tried to kill him had still not been identified.
Jun Huailang’s expression grew solemn.
Before long, his mother, Madam Shen, and Jun Xiaowu hurried in.
Madam Shen quickly walked over and sat down on the edge of Jun Huailang’s bed. She reached out to touch his cheek and forehead. Only after confirming that his fever had indeed subsided and that he was no longer in danger did she ask, “Is there anywhere else that feels uncomfortable?”
She was still worried.
Jun Huailang shook his head and was about to speak when Jun Xiaowu spoke from beside him.
Leaning against the bedpost, he said with a grin, “Mother, don’t worry. The imperial physician already said that as long as Brother’s fever goes down, he’ll be fine after getting some sleep.”
Madam Shen murmured a Buddhist prayer. “Amitabha. We truly have that Fifth Highness to thank.”
The moment Jun Huailang heard those three words, his heart gave a jolt. He hurriedly asked, “Mother, how is Fifth Highness?”
Madam Shen wiped away her tears and said, “We truly have him to thank. It was His Highness who pulled you from the water. And because your fever would not go down, the imperial physicians said that you had been struck by an evil influence. He went to the Buddhist hall and copied the Sutra of Dispelling Calamities to pray for your recovery.”
Jun Huailang froze.
…Struck by an evil influence?
That was clearly nonsense. He had been deliberately pushed into the water. What evil influence had he encountered? Someone had clearly manipulated matters behind the scenes, and that person must have been the one who had arranged for him to fall into the water.
After arranging for him to fall into the water, when they saw that he had survived, they had once again used the claim that he had been struck by an evil influence to insinuate and frame him. In the palace, who else could the so-called “evil spirit” be referring to besides Xue Yan?
Jun Huailang opened his mouth to explain, but Madam Shen continued, “That sutra he copied truly seemed to work. Toward the latter half of the night, your fever really did go down. But now that the palace is in such disorder, I cannot possibly let you and your sister continue staying there.”
Jun Huailang hurriedly asked, “Mother, I was pushed into the water. Has this matter been investigated?”
Madam Shen nodded.
Before she could speak, Jun Xiaowu cut in. “Wasn’t it that Yijieyu from the Xu family, jealous of Aunt? She sent someone to do it. She thought no one would find out, but Fifth Highness remembered what her palace maid looked like and managed to force a confession out of her.”
…Yijieyu.
This person had never appeared within Jun Huailang’s field of vision before. Hearing her name so suddenly, Jun Huailang was stunned.
Then he heard Jun Xiaowu excitedly gossiping with him. “You wouldn’t believe it. That Yijieyu was jealous of Aunt while also carrying on with some minor official from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. Before dawn today, someone actually caught them in the act. And on top of that, she had framed Aunt, so His Majesty bestowed white silk upon her.”
Madam Shen hurriedly raised her hand and smacked him.
“Why are you being such a gossip? These matters from the inner palace mustn’t be casually discussed in private.” She gently scolded Jun Xiaowu.
Jun Xiaowu grinned and shut his mouth.
Yijieyu… was dead?
Jun Huailang had never expected that just as the mastermind had surfaced, she would lose her life as well.
Yijieyu, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, and the palace maid who had pushed him into the water last night… These people had somehow been linked together, and in the span of a single night, they had all been dealt with cleanly.
The whole chain of events looked quite coincidental, but Jun Huailang always felt that something was wrong.
It was almost as though Xue Yan had merely copied a scripture and done nothing else, while the gods and Buddhas had descended from heaven and brought every one of these people to justice.
Jun Huailang was stunned, then couldn’t help laughing at his own thought.
How could there be gods and Buddhas like that?
Someone must have done something behind the scenes. But Consort Shu was simple and straightforward, while Xue Yan… was still quite innocent at present. He did not seem like someone capable of arranging all this.
Could there be someone secretly helping him without his knowledge?
Jun Huailang could not figure it out no matter how hard he thought. But he was no longer in the palace, and even if he wanted to investigate further, he had no way to ask about it.
Still, the spy in his aunt’s palace had been eliminated. Not only had the events of New Year’s Eve failed to implicate Xue Yan, they had also caused Emperor Qingping to dispel much of his prejudice against Xue Yan. And the divine official from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau who had spoken such reckless nonsense was now dead as well. The hidden dangers that had plagued the palace in his previous life had, in a single night, all been uprooted.
Now that he thought about it, aside from the matter in his previous life where his father had been falsely accused of embezzlement, there did not seem to be anything else he needed to worry about.
Jun Huailang therefore settled down and recuperated at home for some time.
Although his high fever from that night had subsided, his body remained weak. It took nearly a full month at home before he was completely recovered.
During that time, the imperial edict appointing his father to Jiangnan also arrived.
The Jiangnan imperial examinations had always been of the utmost importance to Dayong when it came to selecting talented officials. The Autumn Examination was held once every three years, and examiners had to be dispatched in advance to arrange the examination affairs and prepare the questions for the following year’s provincial examination.
The chief examiners sent there were usually trusted officials from the capital. After the Autumn Examination ended, they would return to the capital. Thus, as time passed, Dayong developed the tradition of appointing the chief examiner as the Jiangnan Regional Inspector.
The Regional Inspector would travel to Jiangnan a year in advance to investigate local affairs while also serving as an examiner. By the time he returned to the capital, it would be exactly the right time to appear before the emperor and report on his duties.
The Autumn Examination would be held again next year.
Jun Huailang had been recuperating at home for half a month when the imperial edict appointing the Duke of Yongning as the Jiangnan Regional Inspector arrived. He was ordered to prepare his luggage and hand over his affairs in the capital, and once spring arrived, he could take office.
In the eyes of the officials in the capital, this position was a coveted appointment that one could hardly obtain even by begging for it. The Regional Inspector not only held a high rank and considerable authority, but, most importantly, enjoyed the emperor’s trust.
Looking back over the founding of Dayong, which of those few ministers who had risen to the highest positions in the court had not once held this position? Not to mention that by presiding over the Autumn Examination, all the examinees of Jiangnan would have to address him as their mentor. Once they entered government service in the future, they would all become sources of support for him.
Over the past two years, as the Jiang and Xu families in the imperial court had gradually fallen out of the emperor’s favor, rumors that His Majesty intended to promote the usually obscure Duke of Yongning had never ceased.
But the Duke of Yongning’s household was, after all, a great clan that had once possessed such outstanding military achievements that it had threatened the throne. Moreover, the Duke of Yongning himself was mediocre in ability and had accomplished little of note. Thus, although the court had always speculated about it, few people had actually been optimistic about his prospects.
But this imperial edict essentially confirmed all those speculations—the emperor truly intended to promote him.
Thus, as soon as the imperial edict was issued, the gates of the Duke of Yongning’s residence suddenly became bustling with activity.
The court officials came up with all sorts of reasons to cultivate a relationship with the Duke of Yongning. But the Duke of Yongning had always been cold and disinclined toward socializing. After entertaining them a few times, he declined them all.
Thus, the Duke’s residence remained relatively peaceful during this period. Once Jun Huailang had recovered, Madam Shen began helping him prepare his luggage.
He and his father would be staying in Jiangnan for two whole years, so there were many things to bring. By the time his belongings had all been packed away bit by bit, it was already the second month of early spring.
The day when the Duke of Yongning would depart to take up his post was gradually drawing near.
But Jun Huailang was carrying something on his mind. The closer the departure date came, the more restless he became.
Although everything in the palace had already been settled and there was nothing much for him to worry about, he kept recalling that tear Xue Yan had shed the night he woke up.
No matter what had happened in his previous life, in this life, Xue Yan had saved his life.
He had only approached Xue Yan out of a little compassion and his selfish desire to protect his family. As far as he was concerned, everything he had done had been nothing more than a small effort.
He had only hoped to prevent history from repeating itself. He had never expected anything in return from Xue Yan.
But the truth was that Xue Yan genuinely treated him well, perhaps even more sincerely than he had imagined.
Even if tears could deceive people, the look in Xue Yan’s eyes when he shed those tears that day could not lie.
Jun Huailang always felt that he should find a way to see Xue Yan once more—at the very least, to thank him and say goodbye.
But he had no reason to enter the palace. Moreover, after he had fallen into the water once in the palace, Madam Shen was quite uneasy and did not dare let him casually go there again.
And so this matter remained lodged in Jun Huailang’s heart.
Madam Shen, who was constantly busy running about, failed to notice his feelings. But his younger brother, who had nothing to do all day and was always coming to find him to play, noticed them.
However, Jun Xiaowu had always been rather thickheaded and lacked a sensitive mind. He merely assumed that his elder brother was reluctant to leave home and was therefore in a bad mood.
Jun Xiaowu felt that he ought to think of something.
So he deliberately picked a day when the weather was exceptionally fine. At dusk, he slipped into Jun Huailang’s room.
“Brother, the weather is so nice today. I’ll take you somewhere, all right?” A mysterious smile appeared on his face as he grabbed Jun Huailang.
“Where are we going?” Jun Huailang asked in confusion.
Jun Xiaowu mysteriously kept his mouth shut.
“Just come with me, and you’ll know,” he said with a grin.