Wish You All the Best - Chapter 88
Chapter 88
The carriage stopped outside the palace gate, and Cui Yinshui personally placed a footstool beside it. Jiafu stepped down and was led into the palace. After several twists and turns, they finally arrived in front of the hall where, on the morning after her wedding, Pei You'an had led her to express their gratitude. They entered and stopped in the outer hall. Cui Yinshui instructed her to wait a moment and hurried inside. A short while later, he emerged and guided Jiafu into the inner hall. When they reached the entrance, he said softly, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Madame Zhen has arrived."
Li Yuangui walked out and signaled for Cui Yinshui to withdraw. Jiafu was grateful for the secret arrangements he had made for Pei You'an, but this was not the place to express her thanks. Instead, she offered him a slight bow. Li Yuangui hurriedly stepped aside and whispered, "Follow me." He then turned and walked toward the inner chamber.
Jiafu steadied her nerves, followed his pace, and walked inside. The Emperor was dressed in his dragon robes and still sat upon that same huanghuali wood chair carved with dragon patterns. He looked a bit thinner, but his expression was stern, bearing no resemblance to the benevolence she had seen that day. Seeing his gaze fix upon her, she lowered her head, knelt onto a cushion laid out on the floor, and performed the kowtow.
Li Yuangui had also retreated, leaving only Jiafu and the Emperor in the hall. The Emperor uttered, "Rise," then added, "Li Yuangui said you wished to see me. For what matter?" His tone was indifferent.
Jiafu expressed her gratitude but remained kneeling. "Reporting to Your Majesty, this disgraced subject's wife requests an audience to beg for Your Majesty's mercy, allowing me to travel to the North. My husband has offended Your Majesty. If he were already executed, I, his wife, would collect his remains. Now that I am fortunate enough to receive Your Majesty's leniency and his life is spared, since husband and wife are one in life and death, I am willing to share his punishment and accompany him."
As she spoke, she secretly observed the Emperor's expression. Though his demeanor remained cold, there was no sign of anger. She kowtowed again and continued, "Aside from the desire to share in his punishment, I do not dare deceive Your Majesty; this also stems from deep worry. The North is bitterly cold with violent wind and sand. This disgraced wife has heard that in those regions, the eleventh month brings deep snow and frozen earth. My husband has been physically frail since childhood. In recent years, he has been constantly occupied with military affairs and traveling extensively. In the two years I have been married to him, the days he has spent at home can be counted on one's fingers; he was already physically exhausted and mentally burdened. Now that he is going to such a place, with no one to tend to his warmth or cold, I fear he will have no warm bedding and his old illnesses will resurface. Should anything untoward happen to him, I would have failed Your Majesty's grace in sparing his life."
Although her words served to remind the Emperor, they were also her true inner thoughts, and her eyes reddened.
"He brought this upon himself! I gave him several chances, and he turned his back on them!"
The Emperor finally spoke. His tone was no longer the indifference of moments ago; his voice had risen slightly.
Seeing that he appeared slightly agitated, Jiafu lowered her head. "Before my grandmother passed away, she dismissed everyone else and spoke to me of my husband’s origins. My husband is known as the eldest son of the Duke of Wei’s mansion, but in truth, my father-in-law adopted him from outside. My husband’s biological father was a sworn brother of my father-in-law. Due to unforeseen circumstances, they were unable to raise him, and his mother unfortunately died from hemorrhaging two days after giving birth to him; his life story was truly pitiable. Grandmother said she viewed my husband as her own grandson and knew him to be frail and prone to illness. After she passed, he was the only one she could not set her mind at ease about. She ordered me, no matter what, to look after my husband on her behalf. I promised her then, and I dare not abandon him now. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy once more, allowing me to accompany him, so that I may fulfill both my duty as a wife and the promise I made to my grandmother."
Silence filled the hall. The Emperor did not speak.
As she waited, Jiafu stole a glance at the Emperor. Seeing his gaze fixed and unmoving, she surmised that her words must have pierced him with memories of the day he visited her grandmother, so she lowered her head once more.
"I ask you, where did you obtain this object? Do you know its origin?"
After a long while, the Emperor finally spoke again in a low voice.
Jiafu looked up to see the jade pendant with the orchid pattern, which the Emperor had produced from somewhere and held in his grip. His gaze was fixed on her, dark and obscure.
When Pei You'an had come to Quanzhou and handed her this pendant, he had said it was left behind by his father before he passed away.
However, after learning Pei You'an's true lineage, Jiafu felt it was not so simple.
She had previously inquired in secret among the older servants of the Pei family, who said that Pei Wenjing had loved orchids since childhood. In her early years, before she was married, the courtyard where she lived was filled with orchids. She was also skilled at painting. Pei Wenjing’s old estate still held a painting she had made in her youth, signed with the seal "Wulan Qiujun" (Autumn Monarch of the Desolate Orchid). This confirmed to her that the jade pendant carved with the orchid pattern must be a relic of Pei Wenjing. Arriving in the capital, she had been desperate to see the Emperor, but he had kept her waiting. In her anxiety, she had suddenly remembered this relic of Pei Wenjing and brought it out.
Given the closeness between the Emperor and Pei Wenjing in those days, Jiafu guessed he must recognize the pendant. She was not certain if he had a direct relationship with it, but witnessing the Emperor’s expression, she relied on her intuition and immediately concluded that not only did he recognize the item, but he was also very likely deeply connected to it.
She replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this jade pendant was the betrothal token given to me by my husband."
"Since that is so, why did you present it to me? What is your intent?" the Emperor asked again, his expression tense, his tone slightly aggressive.
Jiafu answered, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this was also my grandmother’s instruction on her deathbed. Grandmother said that if, one day, my husband should encounter disaster, I was to hold this pendant and seek an audience with the Emperor; she believed that for the sake of their old friendship, Your Majesty would certainly resolve my husband’s predicament. A few days ago, I was desperate to see Your Majesty and was repeatedly turned away. Recalling my grandmother’s warning, I grew bold and presented the jade pendant. I do not know what crime my husband has committed, and I dare not ask, but I suspect it must be an unforgivable sin. Otherwise, given Your Majesty’s brilliance, you would not be so provoked. Thus, I dare not plead for my husband’s innocence, but I only beg Your Majesty to allow me to accompany him, that I might tend to him and prevent any tragedy."
The Emperor sat in silence for a while, his expression gradually softening. After a long moment, he asked, "Did the Grand Old Mistress Pei ever mention anything else to you regarding this pendant?"
Jiafu looked up and saw the Emperor staring fixedly at her, his expression seemingly tinged with a faint nervousness. She lowered her eyes and said, "I only heard my grandmother say that two days before my husband's biological mother passed away, she held this pendant in her palm until her final moments, when she solemnly placed it into my husband's swaddling clothes..."
She stopped.
"Did she mention to you if his biological mother harbored any resentment before she passed?"
The Emperor leaned forward, his voice unsteady.
Jiafu shook her head. "Grandmother was extremely frail at that time; she said a few words and then stopped. I did not dare ask further. However..."
She lowered her head and whispered, "However, in my opinion, any woman who clutches an object until her final breath must be holding onto a memory—a longing for the person associated with that object. How could there be hatred? Especially since she solemnly left it for her child. She must have hoped that this object would protect him, granting him a life without catastrophe or pain, filled with joy and free of sorrow."
The Emperor remained motionless. His expression seemed a mixture of joy and sorrow, with tears glistening in his eyes. A long time later, he rose from his seat, clutching the pendant, left Jiafu behind, and slowly walked away. The sound of his footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Jiafu dared not rise; she remained as she was, alone, kneeling in the vast, empty hall.
A short while later, footsteps sounded from behind. Li Yuangui hurried in. Seeing Jiafu still kneeling in that manner, he personally came to help her up, a smile on his face. "Madame Zhen, good news. His Majesty has granted your request and allowed you to accompany him."
The words she had spoken were merely fabricated by Jiafu based on her own guesses, tailored to the Emperor’s heart. Even if she had spoken falsely, she trusted that if Pei Wenjing were watching from above, she would understand her desperate efforts and not blame her. Hearing that the Emperor had finally relented, she was overjoyed, suppressing the tears that threatened to spill, and thanked Li Yuangui.
Li Yuangui replied, "I am but a servant; how dare I accept your thanks? His Majesty just said that you are more sensible than Lord Pei, and he feels quite comforted by that. After all, you have been ruler and subject for so long, and Lord Pei has rendered service in the past; you surely have some understanding of how His Majesty feels toward him. His Majesty said that Lord Pei harbored an ulterior heart this time, which is why his crime was unforgivable. When you go there, explain the principles to Lord Pei: if he is loyal to the monarch as a son is to a father, His Majesty can pardon him, and you two can return all the sooner."
Jiafu nodded at every word Li Yuangui spoke, wishing only that they could set out immediately. Li Yuangui likely sensed this and smiled. "There will be no delay then. Once you have packed your belongings, I will send someone to see you off as soon as possible.”