Edited: 12.20.2023
Despite the fact that the coronation ceremony was about to begin, Emperor Jinghe had fallen ill. Gu Xuan made an immediate decision and suspended the ceremony and the wedding banquet originally scheduled after the coronation was also postponed.
When the little gray sparrow heard the news, his eyes were red with anxiety and he immediately wanted to go find Gu Xuan, but the maid wouldn’t let him go.
The two sides were in a stalemate and Ye Zi had no choice but to pull the hem of the little gray sparrow’s clothes under the bed to signal him to calm down.
The little gray sparrow calmed down and sent away the palace maid before Ye Zi crawled out from under the bed.
“Little Leaf…….” The little gray sparrow cried and mourned, looking more and more aggrieved.
“Don’t be anxious.” Ye Zi soothed, “It must be a mess outside now. I’ll go out and take a look first. You wait here and don’t run around.”
The little gray sparrow opened his mouth, as if he still wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only nod helplessly, “Mnn.”
Ye Zi comforted the little gray sparrow, left the bedchamber, followed his original route, and changed back into his clothes in a secluded courtyard.
Ye Zi had just stepped out of the palace garden when he saw Gu Yan waiting for him from afar.
Seeing Ye Zi walking out, Gu Yan smiled and extended his hand towards him: “Come here.”
Ye Zi walked to him and asked tentatively: “Don’t tell me……this was also your plan?”
Gu Yan hugged Ye Zi naturally and raised the corners of his lips slightly: “What makes you say this, my beloved consort? That old thing fell ill last night. I have been with you every day these days, when did I have time to poison him?”
Although he said so, the smile at the corner of his mouth betrayed him. Gu Yan seemed to be in an excellent mood, walking leisurely as he pulled Ye Zi along.
Ye Zi thought for a moment and suddenly asked: “So you didn’t poison Emperor Jinghe?”
“Naturally, it wasn’t me.” Gu Yan faintly responded: “I can’t afford the crime of regicide yet.”
Ye Zi sighed softly and lowered his eyes: “Then it was Gu Xuan……you told him everything?”
Gu Yan didn’t hide it: “When I was in Jiangnan, I left a packet of pollen from the coil orchid and had it sent to Gu Xuan a few days ago.”
Ye Zi was silent: “It was for this that you didn’t let Gu Xuan know that the little sparrow was still alive, right?”
“Indeed.” Gu Yan curved his lips, “I did Gu Xuan a favor and asked him to do me a favor as well so that we won’t owe each other. However, I didn’t expect Gu Xuan to be so cooperative and make a move against Emperor Jinghe this quickly.”
“It seems that this Third Imperial Prince’s, oh no, now it should be His Imperial Majesty, the Crown Prince’s, hatred for Emperor Jinghe isn’t light either.”
Ye Zi subconsciously bit his lower lip.
There was naturally a reason for Gu Xuan to hate Emperor Jinghe.
When his birth mother died of illness in the cold palace, he was sent to Noble Consort Yu’s palace to be raised, and now, because of those two, he was going to be forced to marry someone else. He didn’t know that the Crown Princess was the little sparrow and he naturally harbored hatred towards those two in his heart.
Moreover, poisoning Emperor Jinghe was the only way to postpone the wedding banquet.
Ye Zi suddenly cried and laughed a little on the inside. If Gu Xuan knew that the person he was about to marry was not some rich young lady, but someone he had longed for, he wondered if he would regret today’s dangerous maneuver.
Gu Yan didn’t say anything else as he quietly walked forward with his arm around Ye Zi.
Ye Zi turned his head and looked at his profile thoughtfully.
He hadn’t seen Gu Yan look so happy in a long time.
Ye Zi had expected that Gu Yan wouldn’t just sit around and do nothing, but he didn’t expect that this man could do it so decisively.
Only at this moment did he understand what Gu Yan meant when he said he wanted those people to pay the price they deserved.
Emperor Jinghe had caused the epidemic in the first place and now he himself was poisoned by the coil orchid, so this was indeed the best revenge.
The two walked through the Imperial garden, but Ye Zi realized that the path they were taking was not the direction to Emperor Jinghe’s chambers: “Where are you going? Emperor Jinghe should be looking for you everywhere right now, aren’t you going to go see him?”
Gu Yan reached out, gently pinched the side of Ye Zi’s face, and laughed: “What’s the hurry? He can look all he wants. I’m going to take you to a place first.”
The more anxious Emperor Jinghe was, the more pleasure Gu Yan felt in his heart. And since he wanted to make this pleasure last longer, there was no way he was going to go see him on his own accord.
Ye Zi understood what he meant and didn’t say anything more as he obediently followed Gu Yan.
Gu Yan led Ye Zi through the palace wall and came to a hollow and carved corridor. Ye Zi looked at the familiar corridor and his heart trembled heavily. After turning right from the end of the corridor and passing through the courtyard gate, there was a secluded small courtyard with flourishing flowers and a tall banyan tree standing in the middle.
Ye Zi raised his eyes to look at the lush canopy and his eyes softened.
This was the place where he first met Gu Yan.
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At that time, the young Gu Yan climbed up the tree but did not know how to get down, and almost fell from the top.
It was Ye Zi who saved him.
Gu Yan walked up and stroked the trunk of the banyan tree, saying in a warm voice: “I remember when I was a child, I always loved to come here.”
“……At that time, I was taken into the palace by my Imperial grandfather, but in fact, there were not many people who could keep me company. Imperial grandfather treated me very well, but he was busy with government affairs and could not accompany me all the time. The little eunuchs around me only regarded me as their master, and many times, I didn’t even have anyone to talk to.”
When Gu Yan said this, he sighed softly, turned to look at Ye Zi, and curled his lips: “So no matter what, I am very grateful to him for sending you to me.”
“Zicheng……”
Gu Yan said: “Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but A Zi, if it weren’t for this, how could we be where we are today.”
“Sometimes, when I think about the past, I still feel unwilling, resentful, and disgusted. But I understand that if it weren’t for those experiences, we wouldn’t be where we are today.” Gu Yan looked at Ye Zi deeply, his tone was calm and his eyes were gentle, “If everything in the past was just for today, I think it was worth it.”
Ye Zi’s eyes moved slightly as he stared blankly at the person in front of him, understanding why Gu Yan had brought him here today.
Gu Yan always looked unapproachable in front of outsiders. Others said that he was difficult to approach and insensitive, but only Ye Zi had seen this person’s gentle side. He hid the softest part of his heart and showed it to only one person from beginning to end.
The uneasiness and suspicion that lingered in Ye Zi’s heart suddenly dissipated.
It was only then that Ye Zi came back to his senses. He had been unable to get out of the haze of the past these days and was worried that Gu Yan might have a grudge against him. But on the contrary, how was it not a distrust of Gu Yan when he was like this?
Gu Yan must have seen his thoughts, but he didn’t say so explicitly and instead brought him here to enlighten him in a subtle way.
This man was always so gentle in his treatment of Ye Zi that it made his heart ache.
Ye Zi’s heart felt sour and weak. He held Gu Yan’s hand tightly and said awkwardly: “Zicheng, I…….”
The corner of Gu Yan’s mouth curved up. He reached out, pressed his hand to his lips, and lowered his voice: “I already told you, if you still want to apologize to me, I will punish you severely.”
“Then……I’ll say something else.” Ye Zi pursed his lips and raised his eyes to look at Gu Yan. He got up on his tiptoes and kissed his lips gently, “Zicheng, I really…….really like you.”
The sunlight shone on the two of them through the shadows of the trees, leaving mottled light in its trails. Ye Zi took half a step forward, tightened his grip on Gu Yan’s collar, gently pushed his back against the tree trunk, and kissed him again.
Gu Yan’s lips were a bit cold and Ye Zi traced the two lips carefully and solemnly.
Until a moment later, an “ah” came from the distance.
Ye Zi was startled and subconsciously took half a step back. However, Gu Yan grabbed his waist and pulled him closer. Gu Yan wanted to ask him, but Ye Zi turned his head to avoid him: “There is someone here…..”
He turned around awkwardly and saw two eunuchs standing outside the courtyard, looking embarrassed. For a moment, they didn’t know whether to enter or retreat.
Gu Yan’s brow furrowed, obviously dissatisfied with being disturbed.
Ye Zi broke free from Gu Yan’s arms, sheepishly straightened his robes, and stood in place with his head hanging down.
The two eunuchs only suddenly came to their senses at this time. They hurriedly walked forward and knelt down in front of Gu Yan: “Your Majesty, we have finally found you. His Holiness and the Crown Prince are sending people everywhere to look for you.”
Although the coronation ceremony had been interrupted, the Imperial edict had been issued and Gu Xuan was already the Crown Prince of the dynasty.
Gu Yan straightened his clothes unhurriedly, the dissatisfaction in his eyes still lingering: “This Prince noticed that it was still early, so I was walking around the palace with my beloved consort. What’s going on that’s so urgent?”
The eunuch said: “His Holiness has fallen ill!”
There was no look of surprise on Gu Yan’s face and he said indifferently: “Since he has fallen ill, shouldn’t you guys be looking for the Imperial doctor? Why are you looking for me? I don’t know how to treat him.”
The eunuch looked anxious, but he didn’t know how to word it properly: “I don’t dare to say more about the details, but please go to His Holiness’s chamber first.”
Since it had already come this far, Gu Yan found it difficult to reject and could only agree.
The two of them were led by the eunuchs towards Emperor Jinghe’s chambers.
The bedchamber was already crowded with people. The epidemic was extremely contagious. In order to avoid the possible spread of infection, the Imperial doctor only kept a small number of servants in the room and most of them were kicked out.
A group of servants and eunuchs knelt outside the room, feeling panicky for a moment.
When the epidemic broke out in Chang’an twenty years ago, most of these people were still young or hadn’t been born. But even so, they still heard about the terrible epidemic that killed half of the people in Chang’an and the former Crown Prince.
Strangely enough, Gu Yan had just cured the epidemic in Jiangnan some time ago, so how did it spread back to the Imperial City?
Gu Yan and Ye Zi were quickly led to the bedchamber by the two eunuchs. The two eunuchs couldn’t enter and instead pushed open the door for the two.
The two of them stepped into the bedchamber.
Compared to the outside, the bedchamber was extraordinarily quiet, almost lifeless. Only the sound of coughing could be heard faintly in the inner room.
The two walked into the inner room. Emperor Jinghe was lying on the bed, surrounded by a group of doctors who were examining him carefully. Gu Xuan stood quietly behind the group, calmly watching all this with an almost indifferent expression.
Seeing the two of them come in, Gu Xuan nodded faintly at them: “Cousin, Cousin-in-Law.”
It was only then that several eunuchs noticed Gu Yan’s arrival and turned their heads towards the duo to salute. When Emperor Jinghe heard the commotion, his thin, bony hand lifted and a hoarse voice came from his throat: “……Is it Yan’er?”
Gu Yan’s eyes showed a hint of distaste, but he quickly collected himself and walked forward to hold Emperor Jinghe’s hand.
Gu Yan called out: “Your Holiness, it’s me.”
Emperor Jinghe’s eyes moved, coughed heavily a few times, and said with difficulty, “Have……them all leave first.”
“Yes.” Gu Yan answered softly and turned his head to look at Gu Xuan: “Your Imperial Majesty the Crown Prince, you and the eunuchs should go out first.”
Gu Xuan nodded and signaled the eunuchs to leave with him. Ye Zi hesitated for a moment and when Gu Yan gave him a look, he also followed after Gu Xuan.
After a while, only Emperor Jinghe and Gu Yan were left in the bedchamber.
Gu Yan looked down at him for some time and said in a low voice: “Your Holiness, everyone has left, so if you want to say something, just say it.”
Emperor Jinghe raised his eyelids, as if confirming something from his face. But Gu Yan’s expression was calm without a single flaw. Since Emperor Jinghe couldn’t see anything, after a long time, he closed his eyes and softly said: “……The antidote.”
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Gu Yan said: “There’s no more.”
Emperor Jinghe’s hand suddenly tightened.
The illness came like a landslide and the night after the poisoning seemed to have drained all his strength. He looked even more haggard than when Gu Yan saw him a few days ago. Even though he used all his strength to hold on to Gu Yan, he still didn’t prevent Gu Yan from easily breaking free.
But Gu Yan didn’t break free.
Emperor Jinghe’s fingers were trembling and he asked in a hissing voice: “You are the only one who has ever touched the coil orchids. Do you think We will believe you?”
Gu Yan let out a light laugh and faintly asked: “Your Holiness wouldn’t think that I was the one who poisoned you, right?”
Emperor Jinghe’s pupils shrunk.
After realizing that he had been poisoned, the first thing Emperor Jinghe thought of was Gu Yan. Other than this person, who else could possibly have come into contact with the pollen of the coil orchid?
Gu Yan said: ”Your Holiness, think about it. It is precisely because I have just finished curing this epidemic that it becomes even more unlikely that I would turn around and use the same method to harm you. What’s more, why would I poison you?”
Naturally, it was because he had used this method to harm the former Crown Prince.
Emperor Jinghe opened his mouth but nothing came out.
He knew how much his younger brother, Prince Jing Gu Yi, respected the former Crown Prince. How much that reverence was correlated to how deep the hatred he had for him.
Therefore, Emperor Jinghe was not sure whether Gu Yi had told Gu Yan what had happened.
He was hesitant to lay hands on Gu Yan because he was worried that if he already knew, a rash move would in turn make this matter publicized. He wavered for a long time and before he could make up his mind on how to deal with Gu Yan, he ended up collapsing first.
Coil orchid, the poisonous flower that had once helped him seize the throne, now turned against him and strangled him by the throat.
If anyone talked about who gave the poison, Gu Yan bore the brunt of it. But now, the person Emperor Jinghe dared not touch the most was Gu Yan.
Because this person might be the only person in the world who had the antidote.
Gu Yan glanced at his hand that was tightly grasped by the other party and said calmly: “I found out that Feng Yihai cultivated the poisonous flowers in Guangling and used the roots of the poisonous flowers as antidotes. After curing the illnesses of the people in Jiangnan, those flower roots no longer exist. As for those poisonous flowers, His Holiness didn’t want another epidemic happening so I secretly burned all of them, leaving none behind.”
After investigating and punishing Feng Yihai, Gu Yan wrote to Emperor Jinghe and told Emperor Jinghe that Feng Yihai had poisoned the people and faked the epidemic. However, at that time, Emperor Jinghe’s reply was that he wanted to avoid any complications and asked Gu Yan to treat this matter as an ordinary epidemic, destroy all the poisonous flowers, and not to mention the matter of poisoning anywhere.
Gu Yan paused and said in a warm voice: “I did all these things according to Your Holiness’s orders.”
“You——” Emperor Jinghe tried to sit up, as if he wanted to say something, but only breathed heavily, causing a violent cough.
Gu Yan turned his head to avoid it, reached out, and stroked Emperor Jinghe’s back a few times with a calm voice: “Your Holiness, please take care of your dragon body. Although the antidote is gone, I still have a prescription that can alleviate this illness. If Your Holiness agrees, I can invite the doctor treating me to come to the palace to treat Your Holiness.”
Emperor Jinghe raised his eyes to glare at him, not speaking for a long time.
After many years, there were no more coil orchids within his reach. Originally, Noble Consort Yu had only given Feng Yihai a few seeds of the coil orchid, allowing him to cultivate them and then take the pollen to spread the poison.
Even if Noble Consort Yu still had the remaining coil orchid seeds, it would be impossible to cultivate them now and get the root within seven days.
There was a sudden pang of sadness in Emperor Jinghe’s heart. He had never imagined that one day, he would attach his life to Gu Yan, whom he had scorned all his life.
Gu Yan sat beside Emperor Jinghe with a calm expression, as if waiting for his answer.
Emperor Jinghe had no choice but to nod: “……Okay.”
The corners of Gu Yan’s mouth curled up into a faint smile. He carefully and properly helped Emperor Jinghe lie back down before saying: “In this case, I will go and pass on His Holiness’s decree. From tomorrow onwards, the Imperial doctor will not have to come and will be replaced by the doctor treating me. Your Holiness, don’t worry, I have tested that medicine in Jiangnan. At the very least, it can keep Your Holiness alive for more than a month, maybe in the meantime, Your Holiness will find the antidote.”
Emperor Jinghe’s eyes moved slightly, but in the end, he said nothing and closed his eyes dejectedly.
Gu Yan quietly looked at the sick-looking old man on the bed and was almost unable to contain the joy in his heart. He loved Emperor Jinghe’s appearance, as if he was a puppet, but this wasn’t enough. He wanted to continue this person’s life so that he could see even more good things.
In his previous life and in this life, he had been doubted and calculated by this man so many times, and now it was finally time to pay him back.
Gu Yan snorted in his heart and turned to leave the inner room.
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He pushed open the door and relayed what Emperor Jinghe had promised just now to the personal eunuch beside Emperor Jinghe. After he finished his explanation, he realized that Gu Xuan and Ye Zi had already disappeared.
In a secluded palace court not far from Emperor Jinghe’s chambers, Ye Zi stood there, looking at the gloomy face of the man not far away that was especially dark, with a bit of embarrassment and consternation in his eyes.
On his shoulder, the little gray sparrow that had changed back to its original form was picking at his clothes, its round eyes staring in the same direction and its fluffy feathers shivering in fear.
When he left Emperor Jinghe’s bedchamber just now, Ye Zi was worried that Gu Xuan would be anxious and wanted to explain the matter to Gu Xuan.
He avoided the palace servant and called Gu Xuan here. Before he could think of how to speak, a small furry gray ball fell from the sky and hit Gu Xuan on the head.
Gu Xuan suddenly went through all the emotions.
Gu Xuan stared intently at the small round sparrow and gritted his teeth: “Where have you been all this time?”
The little gray sparrow shrunk its neck, a little afraid of his appearance, and said honestly in a low voice: “I……I was waiting for you to marry me.”
“What are you talking about——” Gu Xuan’s words came to an abrupt end. His eyes narrowed and he took a step forward, “It was you?”
The little gray sparrow hid behind Ye Zi and didn’t dare to come out, whispering, “A Xuan, what are you talking about……I’m me.”
Gu Xuan calmed down, quickly went over the events of this period in his mind, and asked: “The Crown Princess is you?”
The little gray sparrow had practically buried his head into his feathers: “……Yes.”
“You……” Gu Xuan’s eyes suddenly became a little darker: “Why didn’t you tell me if you were fine? I thought you——”
He took a deep breath and slightly eased his out-of-control demeanor.
No one knew how he had made it through these last few days.
That day, he threatened Noble Consort Yu with the coil orchid secret in order to get her to return the little sparrow to him. However, what he was told was that the person had already died under the guard’s sword. Noble Consort Yu apologized to him in every possible way, but Gu Xuan couldn’t listen to anything and only wanted to avenge the little sparrow.
In order to take revenge, he pretended not to care and tricked Noble Consort Yu into trusting him and secretly poisoned the bird’s nest soup that Noble Consort Yu gave to Emperor Jinghe with the coil orchid powder.
Noble Consort Yu, who had poisoned the Emperor, wouldn’t be able to escape death and Emperor Jinghe would also die of the orchid poison because there was no cure.
He had thought that even if he had to fight to the death, he would still pull those two along with him.
But now, this bird actually flew back on its own and acted as if nothing had happened.
Gu Xuan’s face was gloomy and Ye Zi felt extremely uncomfortable being sandwiched between them. He couldn’t help but say: “Third Imperial Majesty……No, Your Imperial Majesty the Crown Prince, there is some misunderstanding about this matter. Please listen to my explanation.”
Gu Xuan glanced at him and suddenly realized something else.
He was extremely smart and after calming down, he quickly clarified the matter.
The little sparrow should have been executed long ago by Noble Consort Yu, but not only did he survive, he also disguised himself as a beautiful lady and entered the palace, becoming the Crown Princess. There was nothing in all of this that this foolish bird could have done on his own.
Gu Xuan had some ideas in his mind and asked Ye Zi: “Did Cousin save the little sparrow?”
Ye Zi’s eyes fluttered for a moment, suddenly regretting something. Even if he wanted to explain, he should have waited for Gu Yan to arrive, then he wouldn’t have to face the wrath of the newly-coronated Crown Prince.
He subconsciously glanced in the direction of Emperor Jinghe’s chambers. The door to the chambers was still closed, so he didn’t know whether Gu Yan had come out or not.
Ye Zi swallowed his saliva and stiffly retold Gu Yan’s story of saving the little sparrow.
Gu Xuan’s eyes narrowed slightly for a while before the hostility in his eyes calmed down. Ye Zi hadn’t dared to say that Gu Yan had used him, but Gu Xuan wasn’t stupid, and immediately understood Ye Zi’s words.
He calmed down a little, and in a blink of an eye, he returned to the calm Third Imperial Prince in the past: “With all the things that happened today, no matter what ends up happening, Yuanhui would like to thank Cousin for saving his life. I also hope Cousin-in-Law will tell Cousin on my behalf that Yuanhui will definitely remember his kindness and will definitely repay him some other day.”
Ye Zi hesitated and agreed. Gu Xuan didn’t seem to want to say more to him as his eyes fell onto the little gray sparrow: “Come here.”
The little gray sparrow’s feathers shook: “If you don’t hit me, I’ll come over.”
Gu Xuan was so angry that his head started hurting, however, he still patiently said: “I won’t hit you, so come here.”
The little gray sparrow was relieved. He carefully flew to Gu Xuan’s side and tentatively pecked at his lips with his beak, landing in his palm.
Gu Xuan’s expression eased a bit and he said to Ye Zi: “Cousin-in-law, I’ll take my leave first. I’m afraid Cousin will have to worry a bit more about Father.”
The implication was that he didn’t want to care about Emperor Jinghe’s death or life anymore.
Ye Zi hurriedly nodded his head and watched those two leave.
As Gu Xuan walked out of the palace with the little gray sparrow in his hand, he could still hear the two conversing from afar.
“Where are you taking me?”
“The bedchamber.”
“No way, I have to go back. I snuck out so they must be anxious.”
“……There is no harm, in a moment I will send someone to tell them that the wedding banquet is temporarily canceled and I will directly take you back to the bedchamber.”
“Oh.”
“Can’t you change back now?”
“Can’t, don’t have the strength.”
“……”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I’ll wait until you change back.”
Edited: 12.20.2023
Despite the fact that the coronation ceremony was about to begin, Emperor Jinghe had fallen ill. Gu Xuan made an immediate decision and suspended the ceremony and the wedding banquet originally scheduled after the coronation was also postponed.
When the little gray sparrow heard the news, his eyes were red with anxiety and he immediately wanted to go find Gu Xuan, but the maid wouldn’t let him go.
The two sides were in a stalemate and Ye Zi had no choice but to pull the hem of the little gray sparrow’s clothes under the bed to signal him to calm down.
The little gray sparrow calmed down and sent away the palace maid before Ye Zi crawled out from under the bed.
“Little Leaf…….” The little gray sparrow cried and mourned, looking more and more aggrieved.
“Don’t be anxious.” Ye Zi soothed, “It must be a mess outside now. I’ll go out and take a look first. You wait here and don’t run around.”
The little gray sparrow opened his mouth, as if he still wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only nod helplessly, “Mnn.”
Ye Zi comforted the little gray sparrow, left the bedchamber, followed his original route, and changed back into his clothes in a secluded courtyard.
Ye Zi had just stepped out of the palace garden when he saw Gu Yan waiting for him from afar.
Seeing Ye Zi walking out, Gu Yan smiled and extended his hand towards him: “Come here.”
Ye Zi walked to him and asked tentatively: “Don’t tell me……this was also your plan?”
Gu Yan hugged Ye Zi naturally and raised the corners of his lips slightly: “What makes you say this, my beloved consort? That old thing fell ill last night. I have been with you every day these days, when did I have time to poison him?”
Although he said so, the smile at the corner of his mouth betrayed him. Gu Yan seemed to be in an excellent mood, walking leisurely as he pulled Ye Zi along.
Ye Zi thought for a moment and suddenly asked: “So you didn’t poison Emperor Jinghe?”
“Naturally, it wasn’t me.” Gu Yan faintly responded: “I can’t afford the crime of regicide yet.”
Ye Zi sighed softly and lowered his eyes: “Then it was Gu Xuan……you told him everything?”
Gu Yan didn’t hide it: “When I was in Jiangnan, I left a packet of pollen from the coil orchid and had it sent to Gu Xuan a few days ago.”
Ye Zi was silent: “It was for this that you didn’t let Gu Xuan know that the little sparrow was still alive, right?”
“Indeed.” Gu Yan curved his lips, “I did Gu Xuan a favor and asked him to do me a favor as well so that we won’t owe each other. However, I didn’t expect Gu Xuan to be so cooperative and make a move against Emperor Jinghe this quickly.”
“It seems that this Third Imperial Prince’s, oh no, now it should be His Imperial Majesty, the Crown Prince’s, hatred for Emperor Jinghe isn’t light either.”
Ye Zi subconsciously bit his lower lip.
There was naturally a reason for Gu Xuan to hate Emperor Jinghe.
When his birth mother died of illness in the cold palace, he was sent to Noble Consort Yu’s palace to be raised, and now, because of those two, he was going to be forced to marry someone else. He didn’t know that the Crown Princess was the little sparrow and he naturally harbored hatred towards those two in his heart.
Moreover, poisoning Emperor Jinghe was the only way to postpone the wedding banquet.
Ye Zi suddenly cried and laughed a little on the inside. If Gu Xuan knew that the person he was about to marry was not some rich young lady, but someone he had longed for, he wondered if he would regret today’s dangerous maneuver.
Gu Yan didn’t say anything else as he quietly walked forward with his arm around Ye Zi.
Ye Zi turned his head and looked at his profile thoughtfully.
He hadn’t seen Gu Yan look so happy in a long time.
Ye Zi had expected that Gu Yan wouldn’t just sit around and do nothing, but he didn’t expect that this man could do it so decisively.
Only at this moment did he understand what Gu Yan meant when he said he wanted those people to pay the price they deserved.
Emperor Jinghe had caused the epidemic in the first place and now he himself was poisoned by the coil orchid, so this was indeed the best revenge.
The two walked through the Imperial garden, but Ye Zi realized that the path they were taking was not the direction to Emperor Jinghe’s chambers: “Where are you going? Emperor Jinghe should be looking for you everywhere right now, aren’t you going to go see him?”
Gu Yan reached out, gently pinched the side of Ye Zi’s face, and laughed: “What’s the hurry? He can look all he wants. I’m going to take you to a place first.”
The more anxious Emperor Jinghe was, the more pleasure Gu Yan felt in his heart. And since he wanted to make this pleasure last longer, there was no way he was going to go see him on his own accord.
Ye Zi understood what he meant and didn’t say anything more as he obediently followed Gu Yan.
Gu Yan led Ye Zi through the palace wall and came to a hollow and carved corridor. Ye Zi looked at the familiar corridor and his heart trembled heavily. After turning right from the end of the corridor and passing through the courtyard gate, there was a secluded small courtyard with flourishing flowers and a tall banyan tree standing in the middle.
Ye Zi raised his eyes to look at the lush canopy and his eyes softened.
This was the place where he first met Gu Yan.
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At that time, the young Gu Yan climbed up the tree but did not know how to get down, and almost fell from the top.
It was Ye Zi who saved him.
Gu Yan walked up and stroked the trunk of the banyan tree, saying in a warm voice: “I remember when I was a child, I always loved to come here.”
“……At that time, I was taken into the palace by my Imperial grandfather, but in fact, there were not many people who could keep me company. Imperial grandfather treated me very well, but he was busy with government affairs and could not accompany me all the time. The little eunuchs around me only regarded me as their master, and many times, I didn’t even have anyone to talk to.”
When Gu Yan said this, he sighed softly, turned to look at Ye Zi, and curled his lips: “So no matter what, I am very grateful to him for sending you to me.”
“Zicheng……”
Gu Yan said: “Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but A Zi, if it weren’t for this, how could we be where we are today.”
“Sometimes, when I think about the past, I still feel unwilling, resentful, and disgusted. But I understand that if it weren’t for those experiences, we wouldn’t be where we are today.” Gu Yan looked at Ye Zi deeply, his tone was calm and his eyes were gentle, “If everything in the past was just for today, I think it was worth it.”
Ye Zi’s eyes moved slightly as he stared blankly at the person in front of him, understanding why Gu Yan had brought him here today.
Gu Yan always looked unapproachable in front of outsiders. Others said that he was difficult to approach and insensitive, but only Ye Zi had seen this person’s gentle side. He hid the softest part of his heart and showed it to only one person from beginning to end.
The uneasiness and suspicion that lingered in Ye Zi’s heart suddenly dissipated.
It was only then that Ye Zi came back to his senses. He had been unable to get out of the haze of the past these days and was worried that Gu Yan might have a grudge against him. But on the contrary, how was it not a distrust of Gu Yan when he was like this?
Gu Yan must have seen his thoughts, but he didn’t say so explicitly and instead brought him here to enlighten him in a subtle way.
This man was always so gentle in his treatment of Ye Zi that it made his heart ache.
Ye Zi’s heart felt sour and weak. He held Gu Yan’s hand tightly and said awkwardly: “Zicheng, I…….”
The corner of Gu Yan’s mouth curved up. He reached out, pressed his hand to his lips, and lowered his voice: “I already told you, if you still want to apologize to me, I will punish you severely.”
“Then……I’ll say something else.” Ye Zi pursed his lips and raised his eyes to look at Gu Yan. He got up on his tiptoes and kissed his lips gently, “Zicheng, I really…….really like you.”
The sunlight shone on the two of them through the shadows of the trees, leaving mottled light in its trails. Ye Zi took half a step forward, tightened his grip on Gu Yan’s collar, gently pushed his back against the tree trunk, and kissed him again.
Gu Yan’s lips were a bit cold and Ye Zi traced the two lips carefully and solemnly.
Until a moment later, an “ah” came from the distance.
Ye Zi was startled and subconsciously took half a step back. However, Gu Yan grabbed his waist and pulled him closer. Gu Yan wanted to ask him, but Ye Zi turned his head to avoid him: “There is someone here…..”
He turned around awkwardly and saw two eunuchs standing outside the courtyard, looking embarrassed. For a moment, they didn’t know whether to enter or retreat.
Gu Yan’s brow furrowed, obviously dissatisfied with being disturbed.
Ye Zi broke free from Gu Yan’s arms, sheepishly straightened his robes, and stood in place with his head hanging down.
The two eunuchs only suddenly came to their senses at this time. They hurriedly walked forward and knelt down in front of Gu Yan: “Your Majesty, we have finally found you. His Holiness and the Crown Prince are sending people everywhere to look for you.”
Although the coronation ceremony had been interrupted, the Imperial edict had been issued and Gu Xuan was already the Crown Prince of the dynasty.
Gu Yan straightened his clothes unhurriedly, the dissatisfaction in his eyes still lingering: “This Prince noticed that it was still early, so I was walking around the palace with my beloved consort. What’s going on that’s so urgent?”
The eunuch said: “His Holiness has fallen ill!”
There was no look of surprise on Gu Yan’s face and he said indifferently: “Since he has fallen ill, shouldn’t you guys be looking for the Imperial doctor? Why are you looking for me? I don’t know how to treat him.”
The eunuch looked anxious, but he didn’t know how to word it properly: “I don’t dare to say more about the details, but please go to His Holiness’s chamber first.”
Since it had already come this far, Gu Yan found it difficult to reject and could only agree.
The two of them were led by the eunuchs towards Emperor Jinghe’s chambers.
The bedchamber was already crowded with people. The epidemic was extremely contagious. In order to avoid the possible spread of infection, the Imperial doctor only kept a small number of servants in the room and most of them were kicked out.
A group of servants and eunuchs knelt outside the room, feeling panicky for a moment.
When the epidemic broke out in Chang’an twenty years ago, most of these people were still young or hadn’t been born. But even so, they still heard about the terrible epidemic that killed half of the people in Chang’an and the former Crown Prince.
Strangely enough, Gu Yan had just cured the epidemic in Jiangnan some time ago, so how did it spread back to the Imperial City?
Gu Yan and Ye Zi were quickly led to the bedchamber by the two eunuchs. The two eunuchs couldn’t enter and instead pushed open the door for the two.
The two of them stepped into the bedchamber.
Compared to the outside, the bedchamber was extraordinarily quiet, almost lifeless. Only the sound of coughing could be heard faintly in the inner room.
The two walked into the inner room. Emperor Jinghe was lying on the bed, surrounded by a group of doctors who were examining him carefully. Gu Xuan stood quietly behind the group, calmly watching all this with an almost indifferent expression.
Seeing the two of them come in, Gu Xuan nodded faintly at them: “Cousin, Cousin-in-Law.”
It was only then that several eunuchs noticed Gu Yan’s arrival and turned their heads towards the duo to salute. When Emperor Jinghe heard the commotion, his thin, bony hand lifted and a hoarse voice came from his throat: “……Is it Yan’er?”
Gu Yan’s eyes showed a hint of distaste, but he quickly collected himself and walked forward to hold Emperor Jinghe’s hand.
Gu Yan called out: “Your Holiness, it’s me.”
Emperor Jinghe’s eyes moved, coughed heavily a few times, and said with difficulty, “Have……them all leave first.”
“Yes.” Gu Yan answered softly and turned his head to look at Gu Xuan: “Your Imperial Majesty the Crown Prince, you and the eunuchs should go out first.”
Gu Xuan nodded and signaled the eunuchs to leave with him. Ye Zi hesitated for a moment and when Gu Yan gave him a look, he also followed after Gu Xuan.
After a while, only Emperor Jinghe and Gu Yan were left in the bedchamber.
Gu Yan looked down at him for some time and said in a low voice: “Your Holiness, everyone has left, so if you want to say something, just say it.”
Emperor Jinghe raised his eyelids, as if confirming something from his face. But Gu Yan’s expression was calm without a single flaw. Since Emperor Jinghe couldn’t see anything, after a long time, he closed his eyes and softly said: “……The antidote.”
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Gu Yan said: “There’s no more.”
Emperor Jinghe’s hand suddenly tightened.
The illness came like a landslide and the night after the poisoning seemed to have drained all his strength. He looked even more haggard than when Gu Yan saw him a few days ago. Even though he used all his strength to hold on to Gu Yan, he still didn’t prevent Gu Yan from easily breaking free.
But Gu Yan didn’t break free.
Emperor Jinghe’s fingers were trembling and he asked in a hissing voice: “You are the only one who has ever touched the coil orchids. Do you think We will believe you?”
Gu Yan let out a light laugh and faintly asked: “Your Holiness wouldn’t think that I was the one who poisoned you, right?”
Emperor Jinghe’s pupils shrunk.
After realizing that he had been poisoned, the first thing Emperor Jinghe thought of was Gu Yan. Other than this person, who else could possibly have come into contact with the pollen of the coil orchid?
Gu Yan said: ”Your Holiness, think about it. It is precisely because I have just finished curing this epidemic that it becomes even more unlikely that I would turn around and use the same method to harm you. What’s more, why would I poison you?”
Naturally, it was because he had used this method to harm the former Crown Prince.
Emperor Jinghe opened his mouth but nothing came out.
He knew how much his younger brother, Prince Jing Gu Yi, respected the former Crown Prince. How much that reverence was correlated to how deep the hatred he had for him.
Therefore, Emperor Jinghe was not sure whether Gu Yi had told Gu Yan what had happened.
He was hesitant to lay hands on Gu Yan because he was worried that if he already knew, a rash move would in turn make this matter publicized. He wavered for a long time and before he could make up his mind on how to deal with Gu Yan, he ended up collapsing first.
Coil orchid, the poisonous flower that had once helped him seize the throne, now turned against him and strangled him by the throat.
If anyone talked about who gave the poison, Gu Yan bore the brunt of it. But now, the person Emperor Jinghe dared not touch the most was Gu Yan.
Because this person might be the only person in the world who had the antidote.
Gu Yan glanced at his hand that was tightly grasped by the other party and said calmly: “I found out that Feng Yihai cultivated the poisonous flowers in Guangling and used the roots of the poisonous flowers as antidotes. After curing the illnesses of the people in Jiangnan, those flower roots no longer exist. As for those poisonous flowers, His Holiness didn’t want another epidemic happening so I secretly burned all of them, leaving none behind.”
After investigating and punishing Feng Yihai, Gu Yan wrote to Emperor Jinghe and told Emperor Jinghe that Feng Yihai had poisoned the people and faked the epidemic. However, at that time, Emperor Jinghe’s reply was that he wanted to avoid any complications and asked Gu Yan to treat this matter as an ordinary epidemic, destroy all the poisonous flowers, and not to mention the matter of poisoning anywhere.
Gu Yan paused and said in a warm voice: “I did all these things according to Your Holiness’s orders.”
“You——” Emperor Jinghe tried to sit up, as if he wanted to say something, but only breathed heavily, causing a violent cough.
Gu Yan turned his head to avoid it, reached out, and stroked Emperor Jinghe’s back a few times with a calm voice: “Your Holiness, please take care of your dragon body. Although the antidote is gone, I still have a prescription that can alleviate this illness. If Your Holiness agrees, I can invite the doctor treating me to come to the palace to treat Your Holiness.”
Emperor Jinghe raised his eyes to glare at him, not speaking for a long time.
After many years, there were no more coil orchids within his reach. Originally, Noble Consort Yu had only given Feng Yihai a few seeds of the coil orchid, allowing him to cultivate them and then take the pollen to spread the poison.
Even if Noble Consort Yu still had the remaining coil orchid seeds, it would be impossible to cultivate them now and get the root within seven days.
There was a sudden pang of sadness in Emperor Jinghe’s heart. He had never imagined that one day, he would attach his life to Gu Yan, whom he had scorned all his life.
Gu Yan sat beside Emperor Jinghe with a calm expression, as if waiting for his answer.
Emperor Jinghe had no choice but to nod: “……Okay.”
The corners of Gu Yan’s mouth curled up into a faint smile. He carefully and properly helped Emperor Jinghe lie back down before saying: “In this case, I will go and pass on His Holiness’s decree. From tomorrow onwards, the Imperial doctor will not have to come and will be replaced by the doctor treating me. Your Holiness, don’t worry, I have tested that medicine in Jiangnan. At the very least, it can keep Your Holiness alive for more than a month, maybe in the meantime, Your Holiness will find the antidote.”
Emperor Jinghe’s eyes moved slightly, but in the end, he said nothing and closed his eyes dejectedly.
Gu Yan quietly looked at the sick-looking old man on the bed and was almost unable to contain the joy in his heart. He loved Emperor Jinghe’s appearance, as if he was a puppet, but this wasn’t enough. He wanted to continue this person’s life so that he could see even more good things.
In his previous life and in this life, he had been doubted and calculated by this man so many times, and now it was finally time to pay him back.
Gu Yan snorted in his heart and turned to leave the inner room.
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He pushed open the door and relayed what Emperor Jinghe had promised just now to the personal eunuch beside Emperor Jinghe. After he finished his explanation, he realized that Gu Xuan and Ye Zi had already disappeared.
In a secluded palace court not far from Emperor Jinghe’s chambers, Ye Zi stood there, looking at the gloomy face of the man not far away that was especially dark, with a bit of embarrassment and consternation in his eyes.
On his shoulder, the little gray sparrow that had changed back to its original form was picking at his clothes, its round eyes staring in the same direction and its fluffy feathers shivering in fear.
When he left Emperor Jinghe’s bedchamber just now, Ye Zi was worried that Gu Xuan would be anxious and wanted to explain the matter to Gu Xuan.
He avoided the palace servant and called Gu Xuan here. Before he could think of how to speak, a small furry gray ball fell from the sky and hit Gu Xuan on the head.
Gu Xuan suddenly went through all the emotions.
Gu Xuan stared intently at the small round sparrow and gritted his teeth: “Where have you been all this time?”
The little gray sparrow shrunk its neck, a little afraid of his appearance, and said honestly in a low voice: “I……I was waiting for you to marry me.”
“What are you talking about——” Gu Xuan’s words came to an abrupt end. His eyes narrowed and he took a step forward, “It was you?”
The little gray sparrow hid behind Ye Zi and didn’t dare to come out, whispering, “A Xuan, what are you talking about……I’m me.”
Gu Xuan calmed down, quickly went over the events of this period in his mind, and asked: “The Crown Princess is you?”
The little gray sparrow had practically buried his head into his feathers: “……Yes.”
“You……” Gu Xuan’s eyes suddenly became a little darker: “Why didn’t you tell me if you were fine? I thought you——”
He took a deep breath and slightly eased his out-of-control demeanor.
No one knew how he had made it through these last few days.
That day, he threatened Noble Consort Yu with the coil orchid secret in order to get her to return the little sparrow to him. However, what he was told was that the person had already died under the guard’s sword. Noble Consort Yu apologized to him in every possible way, but Gu Xuan couldn’t listen to anything and only wanted to avenge the little sparrow.
In order to take revenge, he pretended not to care and tricked Noble Consort Yu into trusting him and secretly poisoned the bird’s nest soup that Noble Consort Yu gave to Emperor Jinghe with the coil orchid powder.
Noble Consort Yu, who had poisoned the Emperor, wouldn’t be able to escape death and Emperor Jinghe would also die of the orchid poison because there was no cure.
He had thought that even if he had to fight to the death, he would still pull those two along with him.
But now, this bird actually flew back on its own and acted as if nothing had happened.
Gu Xuan’s face was gloomy and Ye Zi felt extremely uncomfortable being sandwiched between them. He couldn’t help but say: “Third Imperial Majesty……No, Your Imperial Majesty the Crown Prince, there is some misunderstanding about this matter. Please listen to my explanation.”
Gu Xuan glanced at him and suddenly realized something else.
He was extremely smart and after calming down, he quickly clarified the matter.
The little sparrow should have been executed long ago by Noble Consort Yu, but not only did he survive, he also disguised himself as a beautiful lady and entered the palace, becoming the Crown Princess. There was nothing in all of this that this foolish bird could have done on his own.
Gu Xuan had some ideas in his mind and asked Ye Zi: “Did Cousin save the little sparrow?”
Ye Zi’s eyes fluttered for a moment, suddenly regretting something. Even if he wanted to explain, he should have waited for Gu Yan to arrive, then he wouldn’t have to face the wrath of the newly-coronated Crown Prince.
He subconsciously glanced in the direction of Emperor Jinghe’s chambers. The door to the chambers was still closed, so he didn’t know whether Gu Yan had come out or not.
Ye Zi swallowed his saliva and stiffly retold Gu Yan’s story of saving the little sparrow.
Gu Xuan’s eyes narrowed slightly for a while before the hostility in his eyes calmed down. Ye Zi hadn’t dared to say that Gu Yan had used him, but Gu Xuan wasn’t stupid, and immediately understood Ye Zi’s words.
He calmed down a little, and in a blink of an eye, he returned to the calm Third Imperial Prince in the past: “With all the things that happened today, no matter what ends up happening, Yuanhui would like to thank Cousin for saving his life. I also hope Cousin-in-Law will tell Cousin on my behalf that Yuanhui will definitely remember his kindness and will definitely repay him some other day.”
Ye Zi hesitated and agreed. Gu Xuan didn’t seem to want to say more to him as his eyes fell onto the little gray sparrow: “Come here.”
The little gray sparrow’s feathers shook: “If you don’t hit me, I’ll come over.”
Gu Xuan was so angry that his head started hurting, however, he still patiently said: “I won’t hit you, so come here.”
The little gray sparrow was relieved. He carefully flew to Gu Xuan’s side and tentatively pecked at his lips with his beak, landing in his palm.
Gu Xuan’s expression eased a bit and he said to Ye Zi: “Cousin-in-law, I’ll take my leave first. I’m afraid Cousin will have to worry a bit more about Father.”
The implication was that he didn’t want to care about Emperor Jinghe’s death or life anymore.
Ye Zi hurriedly nodded his head and watched those two leave.
As Gu Xuan walked out of the palace with the little gray sparrow in his hand, he could still hear the two conversing from afar.
“Where are you taking me?”
“The bedchamber.”
“No way, I have to go back. I snuck out so they must be anxious.”
“……There is no harm, in a moment I will send someone to tell them that the wedding banquet is temporarily canceled and I will directly take you back to the bedchamber.”
“Oh.”
“Can’t you change back now?”
“Can’t, don’t have the strength.”
“……”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I’ll wait until you change back.”
