AEOGA CH12

After the court was dismissed, the ministers walked out of the palace in twos and threes, their faces filled with either joy or worry.

Those who were joyful were, naturally, the intensely loyal ministers. Every single one of them was overjoyed, nearly weeping with relief. His Majesty had returned to normal; their Kingdom of Changli was not going to ruin!

Those who were worried were the corrupt officials. If His Majesty intended to purge the court and rectify the administration, how could they line their pockets in the future? Would they be able to keep their official hats? Would they even be able to keep their heads? They wished nothing more than for Xie Chongjin to remain fatuous forever.

When the late Emperor was on the throne, though he might not have been perfectly discerning in demoting the corrupt and promoting the wise, he absolutely never kept company with treacherous sycophants, so there were not many in court who merely occupied a position without doing any work. But after Xie Chongjin ascended the throne, he took too many consorts into the harem. Some of these consorts, relying on his favor, would request official positions for their fathers, brothers, uncles, or cousins. The players never considered this a major issue; to please their beauties, they agreed to everything without investigating those people’s capabilities in the slightest.

As such small matters accumulated, the number of parasites who held positions but did no work multiplied. True pillars of the state were left to sit on the cold bench in the harem, while incompetent, rotten wood lorded it over the imperial court, slowly devouring this vast empire from within.

Now that Xie Chongjin claimed his past absurdities were entirely due to being afflicted by a curse and that he intended to revitalize the court, these people who had been fishing in troubled waters naturally panicked, fearing that the Emperor would settle scores after the fact.

Xie Chongjin certainly intended to settle scores. A list was already being compiled, and he was determined to eradicate these pests one by one. Before the blade fell, these people would likely find it hard to get a single night of peaceful sleep.

While some rejoiced and others worried, Chancellor Lu was undoubtedly the one who rejoiced the most.

The moment court was dismissed, a continuous stream of ministers swarmed around him, offering their congratulations to the Chancellor. The Empress was Chancellor Lu’s son; the reinstatement of the Empress was surely a grand occasion for the Chancellor’s estate.

On the surface, Chancellor Lu remained composed and calm, but inwardly he was elated, and the corners of his mouth could not help but turn upward.

After all, this was his only son, whom he had pampered since childhood; how could he not care?

Lu Xuechao had been sent to the Crown Prince’s side as a study companion since he was young, which of course carried Chancellor Lu’s hope that he might become the Crown Princess. However, unlike other families, he never viewed his offspring merely as marriage pawns to climb the social ladder—the Lu family was a century-old prominent clan, and Lu Xuechao himself was a phoenix among men, so what need did they have for added glory? It was just that the Lu family had produced several empresses, and Chancellor Lu shared a bond of close friendship with the late Emperor alongside their lord-minister relationship, so he thought that binding Lu Xuechao and the Crown Prince in marriage to bring their families even closer would be a beautiful thing.

If it couldn’t be achieved, he wouldn’t force it; naturally, his son’s happiness was the most important thing. Seeing that the Crown Prince was exceptionally fond of Lu Xuechao, Chancellor Lu had been deeply gratified.

When Lu Xuechao first entered the Cold Palace, the Chancellor’s wife had nearly cried himself unconscious. Chancellor Lu had run ragged making appeals, and his entire person seemed to age several years from exhaustion. Had he known things would turn out this way, he should never have sent Xuechao to be the Crown Prince’s study companion back then.

Over these past three years, he had submitted countless memorials, wanting to see how his son was faring. He had heard that the conditions in the Cold Palace were extremely wretched. Xuechao had never suffered any hardships since childhood and possessed a weak, sickly constitution—how could he possibly endure it? He even wanted to bribe the palace attendants to send better food and warm quilts to Xuechao, but the palace was sealed airtight; let alone bribing anyone, he couldn’t even find out whether Lu Xuechao was living well or poorly.

It is likely poor. It must be poor. How could the Cold Palace be a good place?

Pity the hearts of parents under heaven. Chancellor Lu’s memorials requesting an audience with the deposed Empress numbered in the hundreds, yet none received the Emperor’s approval, which felt incredibly cold and unfeeling.

Xie Chongjin had actually wanted to approve them, but unfortunately, he couldn’t even see Lu Xuechao himself. The game lacked an option for ministers to visit consorts in the palace, so he had no way to respond. On New Year’s Day each year, family members were tacitly permitted to enter the palace to reunite with the consorts, but consorts in the Cold Palace enjoyed no such privilege.

Right now, Chancellor Lu wanted to see Lu Xuechao more than anything. Earlier at court, amidst the temporary excitement and the shock of all the ministers regarding the Emperor’s curse—all of them denouncing Yelang’s shamelessness—it had been inappropriate for him to bring up this private matter. Now that he had reached the palace gates, Chancellor Lu turned back to look in the direction of the harem, feeling a bit reluctant to depart.

Ah, forget it, I shall bring it up another day. Eventually, we will meet.

Letting out a sigh, Chancellor Lu was just about to leave the palace when he heard a voice behind him: “Lord Chancellor, please wait.”

Chancellor Lu turned around and saw that it was Yun Luo, the close attendant by the Emperor’s side and the Chief of the Eastern Depot, who possessed the authority to monitor the ministers. This man possessed a countenance as beautiful as a fine woman, but his disposition was sinister and ruthless. He secretly swept away matters for the Emperor that could not see the light of day, and not a few officials trembled with fear upon seeing him.

As a first-rank Chancellor, Chancellor Lu naturally had no need to fear a Chief of the Eastern Depot. Both worked for the Son of Heaven, and the Lu family acted uprightly and honorably; only petty individuals with ghosts in their hearts feared Yun Luo.

Yun Luo was also very courteous to Chancellor Lu. Publicly, he was the Chancellor of the state; privately, he was the Emperor’s father-in-law. A person whom the Emperor respected was a person he respected as well.

“His Majesty knows you yearn deeply for your son, and His Highness the Empress also misses the Chancellor and the Chancellor’s wife very much. He has specially granted permission for the two of you to enter the harem for a meeting.”

Chancellor Lu was startled. “My wife is still at the estate, I will send someone back to inform him…”

“His Majesty already ordered people to bring Madam into the palace; the carriage has arrived at the palace gates,” Yun Luo said with a smile. “It was arranged before the morning court.”

Chancellor Lu paused for a moment. “His Majesty has been most thoughtful.”

The carriage sent by the monarch had indeed brought the Chancellor’s wife. A man dressed in garments as white as snow stepped down from the carriage, his bearing graceful and refined. He looked remarkably young, with only the fine lines at the corners of his eyes betraying a hint of the passage of time.

In his youth, the Chancellor’s wife had been a beauty who stirred the entire capital. When Chancellor Lu sought his hand in marriage, it became a celebrated tale for a time. For the rest of his life, the Chancellor never took a concubine, and the only offspring under his knee was the current Empress—even storybooks wouldn’t dare write it this way.

In recent years, his longing for his son had tinged his eyes and brows with a touch of melancholy, making him appear all the more touching. Lu Xuechao’s appearance was inherited from him.

Yun Luo said respectfully, “Please follow me, you two.”

“Husband,” the Chancellor’s wife said anxiously upon seeing Chancellor Lu, “someone from the palace suddenly came to tell me to enter the court… Is there any news of Qingshu?”

“Do not worry, wife, it is a good thing.” Chancellor Lu patted his wife’s hand soothingly. “His Majesty has reinstated Xuechao and is preparing to let us meet with him.”

He then leaned in close to his ear, lowering his voice to explain how His Majesty’s absurdities over the past three years were entirely because he had been afflicted by a curse.

The Chancellor’s wife looked astonished, but catching sight of Yun Luo leading the way ahead, he managed to conceal it well.

The decree of reinstatement had only been issued this morning, so Lu Xuechao had not yet had time to move palaces; right now, they were heading in the direction of the Cold Palace.

The Cold Palace was located at the northernmost edge of the harem. The further north they went, the sparser the vegetation and the more desolate the scenery became. Before they even reached their destination, the rims of the Chancellor’s wife’s eyes had already turned red.

If it were truly as the Chancellor said—that His Majesty had been helpless under the control of a curse for these three years—he couldn’t even bring himself to blame him, yet the suffering Qingshu endured was entirely real.

Lu Xuechao had a weak constitution and had frequently taken medicine since childhood; he had been meticulously raised by his family. Later, when the young Crown Prince wanted Lu Xuechao to practice martial arts to exercise and strengthen his body, he dragged him out under the sun to hold a horse stance for an hour, only for Lu Xuechao to faint right then and there.

Terrified, the young Crown Prince summoned all the imperial physicians from the entire Imperial Academy of Medicine, who concluded that Lu Xuechao simply possessed an inherently weak constitution and was unsuited for martial arts. While Lu Xuechao lay unconscious, Xie Chongjin stayed by his bedside without moving a step, weeping from anxiety. When Lu Xuechao woke up, the Crown Prince turned his back, wiped away his tears completely, and turned back around to force a display of manly fortitude: “Forget it, there’s no need to learn this martial arts anyway. With me to protect you, you won’t ever be bullied by anyone.”

From that moment on, Xie Chongjin was even more anxious about Lu Xuechao than his own biological father. If Lu Xuechao walked a few extra steps, Xie Chongjin would ask if he was tired and then insist on carrying him on his back. If the medicine Lu Xuechao was supposed to drink grew slightly cold, Xie Chongjin would immediately order someone to change it, even watching over the stove personally to check the heat. During the winter, when Lu Xuechao’s hands and feet were freezing cold, Xie Chongjin would stuff hand-warmers and fur robes into his arms, holding his fingers in his own palms to warm them.

From childhood to youth, Xie Chongjin had truly protected Lu Xuechao exceedingly well. He was immersed both in a jar of medicine and in a jar of honey. Aside from the bitterness of the medicine, Lu Xuechao had truly never tasted a bit of hardship.

Having been raised with such delicate spoiling, how could he endure three years of hardship in a wretched place like the Cold Palace?

The mere thought of it made the Chancellor’s wife’s heart break.

Chancellor Lu pressed his lips together, his heart also feeling heavy.

It was only when Yun Luo stopped his pace and bowed slightly: “We have arrived. His Majesty and His Highness the Empress are both inside waiting for the two of you; this servant shall not enter.”

Chancellor Lu and the Chancellor’s wife stared at the magnificent towers and jade pavilions before them, which resembled a celestial palace: “……”

It seems even more grand than the Zichen Hall where His Majesty resides.

Chancellor Lu hesitated, “Chief Yun… have you perhaps led us to the wrong path?”

“No,” Yun Luo said. “To tell you the truth, over these past three years, His Majesty constantly ordered this servant to renovate the Cold Palace, adding clothes and provisions. For meals alone, he retained eight imperial chefs skilled in different culinary traditions to serve His Highness exclusively.”

“Though His Majesty was powerless against his circumstances, he did everything within his power and never mistreated His Highness.”

The Chancellor’s wife nodded in a daze, and linking arms with Chancellor Lu, they stepped into the Cold Palace. They saw the begonias in the courtyard blooming in brilliant shades of purple and red, with pavilions and waterside terraces arranged in perfect harmony, every corner reflecting clever design—this was absolutely not something that could be built in a single day.

The courtyard already resembled an immortal realm on earth, as if the person enshrined inside were a deity.

The two deities were currently chatting casually inside the room.

Xie Chongjin said, “Just as Qingshu expected, attributing the inability to control myself to the name of a curse and pushing it onto Yelang has indeed allowed us to gloss it over.”

This was the strategy the two of them had agreed upon last night. The Kingdom of Yelang had to be guarded against, and Xie Chongjin’s reputation needed to be cleansed. A curse was something mystical and miraculous; using it as a reason for being cursed could win people’s trust, and it could also arouse the ministers’ vigilance and hatred toward Yelang, killing two birds with one stone. The moment Lu Xuechao proposed this plan, Xie Chongjin smiled and said, “I happen to have the exact same intention.”

Facts proved that this step was not a wrong move. The ministers had even come up with the reason for him bringing young General Qin and the others into the harem for him.

“I have already brought up the matter of reinstatement at court. Do you wish to move back to the Chongxue Palace, or continue living here?” Xie Chongjin lowered his voice slightly. “Or perhaps enter the Zichen Hall to share a bed with me…”

Lu Xuechao was just about to laughingly scold him for “lacking manners” when he caught sight of the people arriving at the doorway out of the corner of his eye. He froze for a moment, and then abruptly looked at Xie Chongjin.

Xie Chongjin smiled, “You wished to see your father and your papa, so I had them come to see you.”

Lu Xuechao had never mentioned it, but Xie Chongjin knew that Qingshu must miss his family dearly.

The moment the Chancellor’s wife caught sight of Lu Xuechao, he could no longer control his emotions, completely forgetting even to salute the Emperor, though fortunately Xie Chongjin did not mind.

“Qingshu!” The Chancellor’s wife rushed forward and pulled him into a tight embrace, wanting to say “you have suffered” or “you have grown thin,” but glancing at the magnificent and opulent palace and remembering that eight grand chefs stood by every day solely for his son, the words felt a bit hard to utter. After a moment’s thought, he changed it to, “You have grown taller.”

Lu Xuechao’s voice was also slightly choked as he said softly, “Papa.”

He then looked at Chancellor Lu, “Father.”

Chancellor Lu nodded. Seeing his dearly missed son perfectly well and not at all emaciated, the heart that had been suspended in midair finally settled down.

Lu Xuechao suddenly knelt down, bowing his head to the ground: “This child has been unfilial, causing my parents to worry so much for me.”

Aside from not being able to leave the Cold Palace, the people serving Lu Xuechao granted his every request, which presumably had been specially ordered by Xie Chongjin. If Lu Xuechao wished to inquire about news of his parents, he could naturally hear it. In every single lifetime he entered the Cold Palace, his father and papa would try every possible means to make appeals for him, even resigning from office to return to their hometown, giving up the Lu family’s century-old foundation, solely to beg the Emperor to grant him his freedom.

After he died an untimely death, he didn’t know how heartbroken his parents would be. For as many times as he had died, his father and papa had suffered the tragedy of gray-haired parents burying their black-haired child just as many times.

Seeing this, Xie Chongjin also knelt down along with him.

The expressions of Chancellor Lu and the Chancellor’s wife changed instantly, and they immediately knelt down as well. Chancellor Lu said anxiously, “Your Majesty, you mustn’t! This shortens this minister’s life.”

“This bow has nothing to do with ruler and minister,” Xie Chongjin said solemnly. “When this son-in-law sought to marry Qingshu, I once swore to the heavens to protect Qingshu so he would be carefree for a lifetime. Now that I have broken my word, I am ashamed to face my father-in-law and papa-in-law; I deserve to offer this bow.”

The Chancellor’s wife shook his head, “Your Majesty was harmed by treacherous people, we dare not blame Your Majesty. Please rise quickly, Your Majesty.”

Xie Chongjin said stubbornly, “Even so, it was this son-in-law who failed to protect Qingshu thoroughly.” No matter how helpless he was in his past lives regarding the things he did, he had still done them, and even kneeling to death to atone for his sins would not be too much.

Since Xie Chongjin refused to rise, Chancellor Lu and the Chancellor’s wife did not dare to stand up either. And with Chancellor Lu and the Chancellor’s wife remaining on the ground, Lu Xuechao, as their son, could naturally not rise either.

In the end, Lu Xuechao couldn’t bear to watch any longer, lowering his voice to say to Xie Chongjin, “You get up first, don’t perform a couple’s marital bows right here.”