Thirty, Cold Crow (Part 2)

  Feeling it was about time, he walked alone towards the Water Green South Fragrance Hall.

  Walking out from under the green trellis, along the winding corridor, around the lake that reflects the moon, and through the crimson border gate, I arrived at the Water Green South Fragrance Hall. Seeing the palace attendants standing silently outside the door, I signaled them not to announce my arrival, and walked in directly.

  The temple under the twilight has a few inexplicable quietness, the courtyard is deep, and the eaves are heavy.

  The hall was originally very bright, with the rain-soaked sky blue cicada wing windows and thin gauze that were almost transparent, reflecting the swaying tree shadows outside the eaves, blowing gently, leaving only a faint trace of light and darkness on the ground.

  She was wearing soft-soled embroidered palace shoes, walking lightly and quietly. Only to see Xuan Ling lying on the purple sandalwood desk, half leaning against a lucky pillow, sleeping soundly. The memorial in her hand had already fallen to the couch. I gently picked up the memorial and put it away, staring at the two stacks of memorials piled up on the desk like small mountains, shaking my head slightly.

  The hall was quiet and still, with no signs of anyone having been there.

  I inadvertently saw a crimson tassel peeking out from among a stack of memorials, extremely eye-catching. I casually picked it up and took a look, and it turned out to be a woman's silk fan. The fan was made of the finest white silk with a pattern of mud gold peony flowers, an ivory inlaid flower-shaped handle, exquisitely crafted and luxurious. As soon as I held it in my hand, a strong fragrance of rouge wafted up, the scent of "Tian Gong Qiao". This type of rouge was made from a mixture of rose, sandalwood, shell powder, musk, and benefit mother grass, and when applied to the cheeks, it gave a smooth complexion like a peach flower, with a sweet fragrance that filled the entire cheek. Moreover, its production was not easy, and only a few imperial consorts in the palace could use it. The empress also disliked fragrances by nature, so only Empress Hua would use it.

  A faint smile, raised a somewhat awkward fan, closed her eyes and sniffed lightly, it was indeed fragrant. Presumably when the Imperial Consort came to see Xuan Ling, she carefully made up, with heavy makeup, so even the fan had a hint of rouge fragrance on it.

  The Empress Hua indeed has a heart.

  The Empress Dowager had just emerged from the Shui Qing Nan Xiang Palace when Consort Hua received news and rushed over, showing that there were many ears and eyes in the palace. Now that my power is weak, Qin Fangyi and Tian Guiren are not even in the same league as Consort Hua, and the Empress Dowager's concern for me is mostly about regaining control of the six palaces.

  I now have only one Ling Rong by my side, but unfortunately, she is also not favored. She has been silent and unknown all along, living a life like a shadow. I silently sighed, Mei Zhuang, Mei Zhuang, I know you are doing this for my own good, knowing that even with the emperor's favor in this quiet and deep palace, being alone is still a difficult situation to be in. But do you know what a big problem you've given me? It's not just others, but I'm the one who knows Ling Rong's thoughts, even if she and my brother are destined to be together in this life, how can I force her to get close to Xuan Ling for my own safety?

  Headache is unbearable, and at this time, Ling Rong's father made another mistake. The empress begged for mercy, but Xuan Ling was noncommittal. With my own strength, I don't know if I can change the fate of Ling Rong's father, so I can only do my best.

  With eyes closed in deep thought, I suddenly felt an itch on my face, but my hands were empty. Opening my eyes to look, Xuan Ling was holding the tassel on his fan handle and brushing it against my face, saying: "When did you arrive? I didn't hear you come."

  She smiled at him sideways: "Fourth Master sleeps well. I couldn't bear to disturb Fourth Master."

  Looking at the piles of memorials on the desk, "The imperial court is busy with politics, and Your Majesty should also pay attention to your body."

  "I've been poring over these documents, and before I knew it, a whole day had passed. He sighed bitterly as he stared at the memorials, "Those old men will write something to nag about even when there's nothing going on. It's really frustrating."

  I smiled gently: "As a spoken official, the responsibility is so great, and Fourth Master doesn't have to be too harsh on them." As I spoke, I raised my silk fan to cover my face with a smile that was not quite a smile. "Besides, there are beauties who come to visit Fourth Master from time to time, what's the need for the hardships of case files? It must be the red sleeves adding fragrance, poetic and picturesque." After speaking, I pretended to take a deep sniff, drawing out my tone: "So fragrant..."

  He couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, "Nizi is becoming more and more willful. Is it that I have spoiled you too much?"

  She spun around and took a step back, saying: "Huan Huan is not as good at understanding the emperor's heart as Empress Huawang, being reckless will only make the fourth prince angry."

  He grasped my arm and said, "She has come just to pay her respects to me."

  I fanned the wind and said, "It's so hot today. The Empress arrived in the sweltering afternoon, she really has a kind heart."

  Xuan Ling pulled me down to sit beside her, "Nothing escapes you. The Empress Dowager had just left when the Imperial Consort arrived, they both came for the same person."

  "But for the sake of selecting a servant, An Lingrong's father, An Bi Huan, was the county magistrate of Songyang?"

  "It's true." Xuan Ling's smile was faintly discernible as he gazed at me and asked, "Then what brings you here?"

  "I said: 'Let Huanhuan guess. The Empress is kind and must be pleading for An's sake; Consort Hua is straightforward and unyielding, she must want the Fourth Prince to uphold the law strictly and not show favoritism.'"

  "What about you?"

  I smiled slightly: "The harem is not allowed to interfere with politics, remember that. I'm just curious, why did the Empress and Consort Huahua have different opinions when they met with the Emperor about the Anbi Hui case? Is it because the two of them really had differing views, or is there more to this matter that needs to be carefully considered?" I saw that he was listening attentively without any blame, so I knelt down and continued: "When I was young, I read history books and saw that wise rulers and benevolent kings would often punish their officials with a combination of severity and leniency. They would punish the leader but show mercy to the followers, not allowing anyone to be wrongly accused. This made the people respect and fear them, while also feeling grateful for the emperor's kindness and generosity. The Emperor has always admired the style of the Tang and Song dynasties, and indeed, he is a wise and benevolent ruler himself. I am foolish, but I think that as long as there are no wars outside and no unjust imprisonments inside, the country will be at peace." By this point, my tone was no longer playful like it had been with Xuan Ling earlier, and I spoke seriously before bowing again to stop.

  Xuan Ling seemed to be deep in thought, and after a while, he smiled and helped me up, unable to conceal his delighted expression: "I only knew that you, Huán Huán, were well-read in poetry and books, but I didn't expect that you would also be familiar with historical records and national strategies. Every sentence you spoke was not related to court politics, yet every sentence illuminated the governance of history. With a subject like you, it's as if I've obtained a precious treasure. As for the case of ān Bǐ Huái, I will have someone re-investigate it, and I will definitely not let one person be wronged."

  Letting out a sigh of relief, she put down her guard, "Your Majesty, I'm just a woman, speaking boldly in front of you, please don't mind."

  Xuan Ling said: "The harem is not allowed to interfere with politics. But if I am alone with you, I am your husband, and a wife can speak freely to her husband, discuss politics and history, what's wrong with that?"

  "The concubine bowed her head and said: 'I dare not.'"

  He smiled: "Zhen Huan doesn't dare, but Zhen Huan has no problem."

  I raised an eyebrow and smiled at him: "Yes. Huan Huan dare not overstep the bounds with the Emperor, but she will certainly tell Four Lang everything."

  Returning to Yifu Hall already deep in the night, knowing that Ling Rong must be tossing and turning with worry and difficulty sleeping, ordered Liu Zhu to go and instruct her "to put her mind at ease", only then was she able to fall asleep.

  The next day, Ling Rong hurried over early in the morning. Before entering the bedroom, tears had already fallen from her eyes. She bowed down to kowtow. I hastily stopped her and asked: "What are you doing?"

  Ling Rong was overjoyed and wept: "I just heard that the Emperor ordered the Ministry of Justice to re-examine Father's case regarding the transportation of military rations. There is hope for Father's life to be spared. Thank you, sister, for pleading on my behalf and Father's."

  "It's not just about saving a life, if Lord An is truly innocent, he might even be able to regain his former position." I helped her up and said: "Actually, yesterday I didn't plead for you, I was just discussing the matter at hand. Besides, I wouldn't dare to plead for you either, since the Empress Dowager herself couldn't get what she wanted, if I were to plead and the Emperor agreed, wouldn't that be a great loss of face for the Empress Dowager?"

  Ling Rong looked at me with a puzzled expression and said: "Isn't it because sister begged the emperor on behalf of my father that he agreed to re-examine this case?"

  "The Emperor is the ruler of a country, how can we easily influence him?" I pulled her down to sit and have breakfast together, smiling faintly: "Actually, I wasn't very confident that I could persuade the Emperor yesterday. But it's really thanks to Empress Hua, if she hadn't been so competitive and wanted to compete with the Empress Dowager, asking the Emperor to severely punish An Da Ren and others, perhaps this matter wouldn't have been so easily settled."

  Ling Rong thought for a moment, and then a bright smile spread across her face. "In that case, I should thank her."

  "Empress and the Queen Mother had a disagreement, the Queen Mother wanted to plead for you, but she deliberately did the opposite. Originally, Geng Wenqing was the main culprit, your father's punishment was light, the Emperor didn't intend to investigate further, but unexpectedly this move made the Emperor suspicious, I took advantage of the situation and now the Emperor wants to thoroughly investigate whether your father is truly innocent in this matter."

  Ling Rong said: "Sister, how did you know that the Empress was competing with the Queen for favor and not targeting us?"

  I picked up a piece of plain rice cake from the Ling Rong bowl and said, "Maybe there's such an intention. Her trusted eunuch Huang Quan was recently punished by the Emperor for his wrongdoing in my palace, how could she swallow this anger with her temperament? It's just that things are divided into light and heavy, urgent and slow. After Huafei is restored, what's most important is to take back the power of coordinating the six palaces and share the autumn colors with the Empress. For now, I still can't afford to deal with you. Otherwise, after your sister Mei Zhuang, you will have to deal with me next, where will I still have a chance to breathe and talk to you here?

  Ling Rong's face turned gloomy after hearing this, "What does that sister plan to do?"

  "Luckily, the emperor still has some affection for me, so as long as I'm careful, she won't dare to do anything to me. For now, we can only take things one step at a time and wait and see what happens next. We also need to think of a way to rescue Mei Zhuang."

  Ling Rong said: "Sister is useless, but if there's anything she can help with, she'll definitely do her best."

  Waking up from a nap with nothing to do, I strolled over to Ling Rong's place.

  When she arrived, she was bathing in the inner room. Baoju brought tea and then left.

  Sitting idly, I saw a small basket on her table with a pile of embroidered pieces inside. The colors were bright and the patterns were exquisite. I liked them at first sight and picked one up to take a closer look. They were auspicious designs such as flowers, dragons, phoenixes, birds holding flowers in their beaks, mandarin ducks, lotus, and bees and butterflies competing for spring. Although they were ordinary designs, under her hands, they came alive.

  Just as I was about to put it away, I saw that the pattern on the bottom one was unusual. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't some auspicious and festive design. It was embroidered with a scene of a slanting sunset, with a few cold crows perched on a withered branch. The embroidery was exquisite, even the faint evening glow on the crows' feathers was meticulously rendered, with layers of shading and texture that seemed to leap off the fabric like splashed ink. It was clear that a lot of thought had gone into it. It gave me a sudden feeling of desolation and loneliness.

  The autumn wind is clear, the autumn moon is bright. Fallen leaves gather and scatter again, cold crows perch and take flight once more. When will we meet again in our longing to see each other? This moment, this night, is hard to bear with emotion.

  It's hard not to sigh, it's difficult for Ling Rong, and finally understood that there is no day to meet with her brother, but after all, it's still hard to be emotional at this moment. I don't know how many nights she has been thinking of him, the wind is clear and the moon is bright, how can Ling Rong get through this long night. Alas, because of love, how many people have been trapped in it, suffered from it but still enjoy it, only to put it down again. Suddenly, her heart moved, thinking she had seen it wrong, looked again carefully, and indeed it was her needlework without a doubt, clearly embroidered with the setting sun like blood, where did the clear moonlight come from? It turned out... she already had such thoughts.

  Jade face doesn't surpass the color of a cold crow, yet still carries the radiant sunshine from dawn.

  I didn't realize it at all.

  Hearing footsteps coming from the inner room, she calmly put the embroidered piece back to its original place. Pretending to look at the fabric used for embroidery on her hand.

  Ling Rong had just finished her bath, and she only used one hairpin to loosely pin up half of her hair. Water droplets were still dripping from her hair, making it look like her beautiful hair was surrounded by clouds, her skin as white as snow, and her face as delicate as a lotus flower.

  As I changed the subject, I stroked a piece of fabric and said: "The Imperial Household Department has recently acquired several bolts of plain silk. It's too plain for making clothes, but it would be great for you to embroider flowers on."

  Ling Rong smiled and said: "I've heard that Su Jin is very valuable, yet sister actually lets me embroider flowers on it, isn't this a waste of a good thing?"

  "I said, 'It's just a few pieces of cloth, what's the fuss about wasting heaven's resources? The brocade in my palace can't be used up, it's a waste to leave it idle. If it can match your sister's exquisite needlework, then it won't be wasted.' I sighed and said, 'It's not like the days when I was bedridden in the Tongli Palace, even the fabric for making new clothes on New Year's Eve was deducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.' Then I called Flowing Vermilion to bring over the white silk."

  The plain silk fabric has no texture, and at first glance, it's unremarkable. However, when worn on the body, it has a unique quality that makes it feel smooth like a baby's skin, soft to the touch like a feather. Ling Rong is someone who appreciates and excels at silk embroidery, and upon seeing it, she was momentarily stunned, her eyes unable to move away. Her hands involuntarily caressed it gently, afraid of accidentally damaging it with too much force.

  "How do you feel?" I asked softly. It was the first time that Ling Rong had shown such an expression towards me and Mei Zhuang's gift, usually he would just thank us.

  Ling Rong seemed uncertain, turned her head towards me, her eyes still gazing longingly at the Su Jin, "Is it really for me?"

  The corners of her mouth stretched out into a bright smile, and she said, "Of course."

  Ling Rong's face lit up with joy, almost jumping for excitement. I smiled, "If you like it, I have a few more at my place. Giving them all to you is no big deal."

  Ling Rong was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

  An Bi Hua's case has finally come to an end, proving that he was indeed innocent and his position has been restored. Ling Rong can also finally rest at ease.

  I often go to see Ling Rong, she is always in a happy mood, except for repeatedly mentioning how the plain brocade I gave her is suitable for embroidery but she really can't bear to easily put down the needle and is always thinking of a better flower garden outside. She also often expresses gratitude for my help to her father.

  One day I finally felt that her gratitude was unbearable, but in fact, I didn't do much. As a sister, she doesn't need to be so grateful to me.

  "I said to Ling Rong, 'By now you should understand clearly. Although your father's matter is a small one, the Emperor may not be unwilling to investigate thoroughly, but it depends on whether there is a need. In the Emperor's eyes, the officials of the imperial court are as numerous as the hairs on a cow, and those with a rank like your father's are even more common. Even if this time's matter was indeed caused by Geng Wenqing implicating your father, as his subordinate, he can't be said to be too unjustly treated.' I deliberately paused, lifted my hand to pick up the Wugang five-color tea clock on the table, used the lid to skim off the tea foam, took a sip of tea, and left time for Ling Rong to carefully savor the meaning behind my words."

  Seeing her bowing her head in silence, I continued: "Actually, when the queen asked for your pardon that day, why didn't the emperor immediately agree, but when I went to the emperor, he agreed. You should understand that it's because of favoritism, not about rank or prestige. It's just a matter of whether the emperor cares about this person and is willing to go out of his way for her. In fact, before me, Empress Hua also went to the emperor, as for what she did, you must be clear. So, while the truth of the matter is important, who the emperor's heart leans towards is even more important."

  Ling Rong lifted her head and said softly: "Thank you, sister."

  I took Ling Rong's hand, and her sleeve fell down, revealing a snowy white wrist. On it was a plain silver cuff, with no decorative patterns. It had been worn for a long time, and the color had become slightly dull and yellowish.

  "I said, 'This bangle is still the one you've been wearing since you first came to my house. It's been so long, and I haven't seen you change it.' I stared at her for a moment, then my gaze fell back on the bangle. 'Your father went through great difficulties to send you to the palace for the imperial selection, exhausting all his resources, just for you to end up like this in the palace, without favor, and destined to remain so for life? What kind of fate will your lack of favor bring to your father, to your family?'"

  Ling Rong's shoulders shook violently as she heard the words, and the jade hairpin that held her hair in place emitted a faint, cold glow in the sunlight. I knew she had been moved. Or perhaps her heart had begun to waver at some point in the past, and all it needed was my words to firm up her resolve.

  I let out a long sigh, feeling touched. "You think the concubines in the harem are competing for favor just to gain honor for themselves? 'Born a son, don't be delighted; born a daughter, don't worry' - it's not just something that happened during Emperor Wu of Han's time. Although the emperor is wise and wouldn't go that far, who among outsiders would dare to slight your family or your father in the slightest?"

  Her icy hand in mine gradually warmed up, and I slid the jade bangle from my wrist onto hers. The pale, jade-like wrist was set off by the bangle's bright green color, making the silver one look dull by comparison.

  On the small table by the window, there were several pots of jasmine flowers that had just been put up by the flower house. The buds only contained a hint of fragrance and were still pale green. New leaves unfolded one by one, with soft sunlight sprinkled on the tender shoots, like a piece of jade.

  Ling Rong sat by the window, and the leaves of the wutong tree outside the window cast a faint shadow on her slender figure, making her appear even more frail and pitiful.

  I pulled out the silk embroidered with winter crows from the wicker basket and said to Ling Rong, "The color of your embroidery is good, the stitches are also agile, and you must have put a lot of thought into it. I think it's quite good."

  The dignified look did not expect me to turn this out, with a look of embarrassment on my face, restless and uneasy, unconsciously bunching the silk in my hand, only revealing one black raven's wing.

  I stroked the jade hairpin on my temples, and a faint sourness arose in my heart. "The beauty of the jade countenance is not as good as the color of the cold crow, yet it still carries the shadow of the sun from the imperial court." The worries of women in the palace are not necessarily all the same, but the sorrow of being confined to the inner chambers has been the same since ancient times. You and I have both experienced the desolation of guarding the Longsheng Palace like Ban Jieyu, but would you be willing to grow old alone in the deep palace like her?

  I won't say anything more. It's come to this, and saying more would be useless. Whether she accepts or rejects is up to her own thoughts, and there's nothing else I can do.