Li Qitian had always doted on Li Helan and rarely lost his temper with her, especially when outsiders were present in the form of Ji Zeyu.
Stunned by the interrogation, the princess replied with trembling lips, “Not at all. Royal brother, you’ve misunderstood. The prince consort’s misunderstood as well, I don't mean that at all.”
“That’s right, Anyang isn’t that kind of girl. You’re Anyang’s blood brother and watched her grow up. You know what kind of person she is.” The empress dowager hastily stepped forward to pacify the raging emperor.
Li Qitian was about to explode from rage. He ignored the fact that it was his own mother talking in front of him.
“If it wasn’t for you spoiling her and not exercising any discipline, would she be like this now?? Turning resentful of the world just because she can’t have what she wants, thinking everyone in the world owes her this and that—not only do you not share Our worries, but you add to them at every turn. What use have We for a sister like you!?”
“Your Majesty!” Color drained from the empress dowager’s face. Did Li Qitian want to kill Li Helan?
She tugged on Li Qitian’s hand. “Your Majesty, don't be impulsive. Lan’er is your blood sister.”
“Yes, she is Our blood sister, but what has she done for Us? Nothing, and she wrecks plans whenever possible!” Li Qitian marched over and jabbed at Li Helan’s nose. “You don’t bother living a good life after obtaining your prince consort and try to stir up trouble everywhere. You even have the courage to clash with an officially ordained madame—for none other than her husband! Won’t you want to die of shame if word of this gets out? You may not be, but even We are embarrassed on your behalf!”
“Royal brother!” Li Helan stared incredulously and choked up. “Royal brother, how can you talk to Lan’er like this?”
“And are We wrong? You know the answer to that. You get the hell back to your manor and are grounded from this moment onwards. You will copy ‘Lessons for Women’ everyday until Our satisfaction is reached. If you display good behavior and revert to your mature, biddable self, then We will let you out. Otherwise, you will copy ‘Lessons for Women’ for the rest of your life, do you hear Us!?”
Li Helan swayed, as if she’d been struck by lightning. Ji Zeyu looked down, seemingly having not seen at all. Then again, he wouldn’t lift a hand to help her even if she was by his side.
“Royal brother, Lan’er doesn’t want to, Lan’er doesn’t want to!”
“What, you want to defy an imperial decree?” Li Qitian’s expression darkened.
The princess shuddered from fright. She could really tell now that her brother was a ruthless sort. He didn’t care about past history at all. If it benefited his interests, she’d probably already be six feet under.
Chapter 424.1: The Earth Dragon Turns Over
Li Helan stared dumbly, rooted in place, feeling like all strength had been drained from her in a split second. Her body wavered and she finally dropped to a sitting position on the ground.
Looking up with tears in her eyes, she choked out in a dry voice, “This subject obeys.”
Li Qitian snorted coldly. “If you’d come to your senses earlier about what it means to be a subject and what it means to obey, things wouldn’t have gotten to this point! Go back and think hard on it all! Servants!”
Li Guanwen walked up with his head down. “This servant is here.”
“Escort the Princess of Anyang back to her manor and arrange for two of Our mamas to serve by her side. Arrange another twenty bodyguards for her in shifts of ten.”
This was putting Li Helan under arrest like a prisoner!
The eunuch murmured his understanding and cast a meaningful glance at the palace servants behind him. They immediately came up to help the princess out.
Anguish wracked the empress dowager’s heart and she frowned anxiously. “Don’t you go too far with your actions?”
Eyes narrowed dangerously at the rebuke. “Royal mother, though I am your son, I am also the emperor of Great Zhou. I burn candles at both ends everyday for our great nation. Pang Zhixi is my right hand man and blissfully newly wed. This has happened right underneath Our eyes! We must give him an explanation, no?”
“An explanation’s one thing, but you shouldn’t be like this to your own sister!”
“Therefore, royal mother means to say that We should fault those who taught her wrongly, is that it?”
Li Qitian was generally quite filial and sweet-tempered, so much so that the empress dowager had almost forgotten what kind of person her son was actually like.
When his menacing look swept her way, her heart quailed. The drawn out “is that it” stabbed into her like a knife, bringing with it fearful shudders that gripped her body with cold.
Seeing his mother thus slightly abated Li Qitian’s outrage. “In your advanced age, it’s inappropriate for royal mother to be unduly concerned with too many things. Your son will have servants renovate the worship hall in the Palace of Serene Piety. You can spend your days in prayers to Buddha, recite scripture, cultivate the self, and possibly increase your lifespan this way. Now that your son is the master of all beneath the heavens, I will use all that is to be found to provide and care for you. The caveat is, you must live long. What say you?”
The empress dowager widened her eyes with disbelief. The emperor meant that she should mind her own business from now on and occupy herself with reciting scripture in the worship hall!
After confining Li Helan, was he grounding her?
Howls of outrage shook the empress dowager’s heart. She. was. his. mother!
If she’d known that her son would one day become such an unfilial bastard, she’d rather Li Qitian not be the emperor!
But a sliver of rationale still threaded her thoughts, and Li Helan really was at fault today. Coveting another pot while furiously shoveling in food from her own plate was indeed the mark of a woman with loose morals. And the most awkward thing of all, was that the prince consort had caught her in the act!
The flaws in a child’s rearing stem from the parents. Now that problems had developed in the eldest princess’ character, it naturally was a result of the empress dowager not teaching her well.
Worried about her own future and the relationship between Li Helan and Ji Zeyu, the empress dowager found herself at a loss for what to do in the face of the emperor’s anger. She couldn’t very well try to smooth things over with Ji Zeyu right then and there!
“The emperor speaks truly.”
“I’m glad we agree. Rest well and enjoy your days in your palace, royal mother.” Li Qitian took a look around at the remaining servants kneeling on the ground. “Take all these servants back with Us and question them closely about what happened today.”
He whirled and left without another word, not allowing a single chance for his mother to plead for leniency.
Watching her son walk off, the empress dowager’s tears trickled down her face like a broken string of pearls.
Just what kind of evil had she committed!
……
When Pang Xiao left the Palace of Serene Piety with Qin Yining in his arms, a young eunuch had already prepared a carriage. Climbing aboard with his precious cargo, he ordered, “Prepare a sedan chair for the imperial physician.”
The eunuch quickly came up with the required vehicle, and the group set a rapid pace out of the palace.
Lying in the lurching compartment, Qin Yining could feel her husband’s constant grip on her left hand. His fingers dug tightly into her palm, betraying his extreme worry.
They couldn’t talk, since they were still in the palace, but she could still give him a hint.
She tightened her hand around Pang Xiao’s and tickled his palm.
Pang Xiao’s eyes widened, his mind finally freeing itself from the morass of fear over her faint. His darling must have a reason for this act. Thank goodness she wasn’t really injured or sick! Though it didn’t feel good to have his heart almost
leap out of his throat, all was well as long as she was fine.
A while later, he rubbed her eyes gently, indicating that she could open them.
Uncertain if there were others present that would discover her pretense, Qin Yining only opened her eyes after receiving this signal. She looked around, settling on her husband’s handsome face, and broke out in a large grin.
Chapter 424.2: The Earth Dragon Turns Over
Winter snows melted and the waters of spring ran warmly. Pang Xiao immediately felt the thunderclouds of negativity clear from his mind. An answering grin crept across his face, and he lightly pinched the tip of her nose.
“You little rascal!” he mouthed.
Qin Yining blinked rapidly and laughingly nuzzled his leg with her face.
The carriage slowed at this point, prompting her to fall back unconscious.
“Your Highness, we've reached the palace gates.”
“Mm.”
Pang Xiao alighted with his wife in his arms and climbed back aboard his own carriage.
Huzi, Bingtang, and the others were shocked senseless when they saw their mistress come back in a prone position. Something must’ve happened in the palace, given that an imperial physician also came back with the married couple.
The carriage sped its way back to the manor, whereupon the prince ordered it be driven straight to the inner residence doors. He carried Qin Yining off the vehicle back to their Park of Resplendent Radiance.
Laid out on the bed, the imperial physician had full access for his diagnosis.
A thorough study revealed no major impediment other than anemia and a general weak constitution. The physician repeated his earlier conclusion and went off to write a prescription.
Taking advantage that only trusted people remaining in the house, Pang Xiao whispered to Huzi, “Go tell the grand-lord, madame, and old madame that everything’s fine. We’ll tell them everything when we see them in a bit.”
Huzi caught the ‘we’ usage and immediately understood. He ran off to deliver the message.
The grand-madame liked the princess consort so very much so! If she learned of his mistress taking ill in the palace, she’d barrel her way into the palace to demand an explanation!
Surnamed Liu, the imperial physician was dismissed after he wrote a prescription.
“Don’t worry, Physician Liu. I will need your services regularly to take my wife’s pulse. Your safety is assured.”
“Your Highness is too kind,” responded the physician gratefully. “This old man can’t express my thanks enough.”
“Not at all.” Pang Xiao had Xie Yue send Physician Liu out. Cottoning on to his master’s intentions, Xie Yue gifted the man with a large red envelope.
When the prince returned to the room, Qin Yining was already sitting up with a blanket wrapped around her. She craned her neck out the window and murmured, “Are all the outsiders gone now?”
The question bizarrely poked at a soft spot in Pang Xiao’s heart. He took a seat on the edge of the bed.
“They’re all gone. What was that just now? Do you know that I was scared out of my mind, wits, and soul when I saw you lying unconscious on the ground? If something happened to you because of my negligence, I’ll just head off into the next world with you. There’s no need for me to keep living.”
Qin Yining flung her arms around Pang Xiao’s neck and nuzzled his neck and shoulder. “Don’t worry, I was actually fine. I just couldn’t stand the Princess of Anyang’s wretched face any longer, not to mention that she kept jeering at me with sarcastic remarks.”
At this point, she wiggled out of the prince’s embrace and looked at him severely. “This is all because of you. The princess carries deep feelings for you and can no longer hold herself in after our wedding. She happened to think of this when she saw me and flew in a jealous rage. That’s why she gave me a hard time.”
She poked Pang Xiao’s cheeks and continued unrelentingly, “So tell me, isn’t this because of you?”
The man coughed. “I never encouraged her. I treated her as a younger sister when she was young, and now she’s just a younger sister who’s grown up. Even her older brother is distant with me now. What can I possibly have to do with her?”
“I know you don’t, but she said some very ugly things to me.” Qin Yining recounted what had happened earlier in the palace.
“So you pretended to faint because you wanted to take Anyang out of the picture?”
“You know me alright, Your Highness.” Qin Yining smiled. “Even if there’s nothing between you, she’s wife to Prince Consort Ji but still making eyes at my husband. Do you think I’d let her off that easily? Such a character really smears the royal family’s dignity!”
“You’re right.” Pang Xiao knew that he was in a weaker position and only dared engage his wife in conversation.
Buoyed by the positive feedback, Qin Yining propped herself up. "The only thing I hope for now is that Prince Consort Ji isn’t too saddened with what Li Helan’s done.”
Pang Xiao also felt saddened for his brother. Being close friends, he naturally knew Ji Lan’s personality.
His brother had ability in spades and looks handsome enough to eclipse the moon. He was also highly skilled in martial arts and the commander of the Dragon Riders. How was a person like this not worthy of Li Helan?
Such a wanton woman…
Every time she approached Ji Zeyu was a personal insult to the prince consort!
But what saddened Pang Xiao the most was that the emperor’s preference for Ji Zeyu was becoming ever more apparent. This further hobbled Ji Zeyu, to the point where he couldn’t say anything even when his oh-so-noble wife did something wrong.
It really was a tragedy.
Qin Yining hopped off the bed. “I’m going to make my greetings to mother and grandmother. I’m afraid the hubbub was too big just now and I might’ve scared them.”
“I’ve already sent people to pass on a message. Don’t worry.”
“But that’s just from someone else. It’s most filial if we go ourselves.”
Pang Xiao had to bow to his wife’s logic.
Huzi called in a message at this time. “Your Highness, a secret report’s arrived from the south. They say that the earth dragon turned over in the old capital of Great Yan.” [1]
* * *
1. An archaic way of saying an earthquake.
Chapter 425: Protecting the Wife
Hearing the words ‘the earth dragon turned over’, Pang Xiao and Qin Yining’s expressions turned solemn.
Thirty-some years ago, a large earthquake occurred in Northern Ji, leaving 500,000 citizens homeless across two provinces. In the humidity of summer and unfortunate rainfall, corpses buried in the rubble rotted their way to deadly virus mutations. Unable to clear out all of the debris in time, the situation ended with a wide-scale epidemic.
That loss gravely impacted Northern Ji, and it wasn’t resolved until a long while later. The national treasury, empty enough to begin with, depleted even further.
“Any reports back on the situation after the earthquake?” Pang Xiao demanded anxiously.
Huzi shook his head. “There aren’t any precise numbers yet, but up to three cities to the north of the old capital were affected. Aftershocks have continued for two days straight.”
“Three cities? Does that include the city of Liang?” Qin Yining frowned. She’d grown up in Liang, and she quite missed it sometimes.
The guard nodded. “It should be. But Liang is far away from the old Yan Dynasty capital, so it should be fine.”
The couple exchanged a look, both reading worry in the other’s eyes.
The chaos of war had just subsided, but now such a devastating natural disaster struck! Though Great Zhou appeared outwardly glorious, the nation’s coffers ran on fumes and the emperor’s private purse was all but spent. What could they bring out for disaster relief? What troops could they send to help?
Though Li Qitian might take advantage of this in
cident to lay out a trap, what Pang Xiao cared about the most was the safety of the people.
“Great Yan really has had its share of tragedies and trials,” sighed Huzi. “Just when we thought everything would start getting better, an earthquake’s gone and struck.”
Qin Yining sighed as well. “Whether human or natural disaster, it’s always the people who suffer.”
Pang Xiao frowned worriedly, brainstorming furiously on how to handle this.
The married couple didn’t want to bring this negative mood to their elders, so all was as usual when they swung by Pinecrane Hall.
Née Ma popped out as soon as Qin Yining crossed the threshold. She took ahold of her granddaughter-in-law’s hand and closely scanned the girl up and down before letting out a sigh of relief.
“They said that Dafu carried you back in his arms. I was scared out of my wits when I heard that! Then Huzi came to say that you’re alright, but he didn't have any details when we asked him. Thank goodness you’re alright. What happened in the palace? Why did you faint out of nowhere?”
Qin Yining discovered that her husband looked a bit uncomfortable when she snuck a look at him. I’ll keep Li Helan’s matter to myself then.
“It’s nothing major, just that I’m a little short on blood. I was nervous when talking to the empress dowager—that’s why I fainted. The imperial physician’s already taken a look at me and said that all’s fine. I just need to rest and recover for a while.”
Née Yao and Yao Chenggu were both highly doubting of this answer. They’d been closely watching Qin Yining. Hearing this response after seeing her sneak a look at their son, they were quite certain that she wasn’t telling the truth.
Yao Chenggu: Perhaps the situation outside doesn’t look good and the girl doesn’t want us elders to worry and fret with them.
Née Yao: She looks a bit guilty, this is rather suspicious.
Née Ma clasped the girl’s hand tightly. “Look at how clammy your hands are. It’s not a small thing to be short on blood. You’re still young, what happens when you get older? But thankfully we discovered it early and can start treating it now. You’ll be fine after a while of care.”
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