Chapter 47: Fond of the Old

Chu Yu walked out from the palace gates step by step slowly. The prince consort He Ji’s carriage was still waiting for her outside the palace. Yue Jiefei had his back leaning against the side of the carriage while he chewed on a leaf with his eyes half-closed as if he was dozing off drowsily.

Chu Yu took a step forward and patted him to wake him up. Then, she got into the carriage and returned to her residence. There was no exchange of conversation between her and He Ji during the entire journey.

She parted ways with him at the junction of the east and west courts upon returning to the residence. They treated each other courteously and bade farewell to one another in a polite manner.

Chu Yu returned to her room and fished out the silver hairpin subconsciously. The image of Rong Zhi’s pitch-black eyes that were endlessly deep emerged in her mind as soon as she bent over. She pursed her lips and turned her wrist over to slide the silver hairpin back into her sleeve. However, she found that she was overwhelmed by an uneasy feeling. This instinct was a bad habit that she was dependent on as soon as she quit listening to it. She could feel a wave of mild restlessness flooding her chest as if something was nudging her.

She calmed her nerves before summoning You Lan and ordering her to move the incense burner that was removed from her room earlier back to its original place. Then, she ordered her to burn the incense.

The door and windows of her room were shut tightly. The soothing and gentle scent filled her room soon enough so that she became relaxed. However, Chu Yu found that she could not fall asleep regardless of that. She sat in front of the table next to her bed, retrieving a calligraphy brush and a large paper that she placed in front of herself. Although she pondered deeply, her hand that held the brush remained suspended in midair, and she did not manage to write anything for a long while.

Chu Yu found that her awareness of crisis deepened to another level after experiencing Rong Zhi’s incident. Her male consort, her bodyguard, the prince consort, and even the emperor were unreliable. She was the only one she could trust and be at ease with.

Placing the brush down after pondering for a while, she summoned You Lan again and despatched a few orders to her. In response, You Lan stared at her in surprise. Chu Yu said with a grin, “Remember, don’t gossip or ask. Just do as I said. I have my own plans. Other than that, don’t let the others know about this.”

…

Early morning the next day, Chu Yu got up early and put on a set of clothes that smelled of incense just like herself. She hesitated for a moment before deciding to bring the perfume pouch Rong Zhi gave her along. She boarded her carriage and headed to the palace even before mid-morning.

Even though she made some conjectures based on what she saw yesterday, she did not have adequate evidence to support her theories after all. Perhaps, whatever she saw yesterday was only a matter of coincidence. The best way to confirm it was by witnessing it with her own eyes.

Chu Yu met Liu Ziye this time but not in the empty hall anymore. The eunuch led her into the emperor’s study. She saw the ghastly pale young man once again. He was sitting behind the bookshelf with an evil expression with a malicious look in his eyes that was frightening.

He did not have the slightest intention to conceal the murderous intent that filled his expression, but he displayed it in the most boisterous manner possible. The young man had yet to reach the age of 20, yet his heart was already as black as ink. Chu Yu felt a chill travel down her spine as she could not refrain herself from feeling anxious once again.

Even though there were male consorts in her residence that harbored malicious intentions, none of them was as boisterous as him. He did not conceal or suppress his intentions at all. While those male consorts were certainly trying to reap some benefits, they were still suppressed by her presence to a certain extent.

What about Liu Ziye though? He was the emperor and the level of his authority over the kingdom was limitless, yet his temperament was volatile and constantly changing.

Liu Ziye seemed furious. He glanced up subconsciously to find Chu Yu standing at the door. However, he did not come pouncing over like yesterday but said sullenly, “Sister, I want to kill someone.” Liu Ziye did not behave like he did yesterday anymore, but he expressed the prudence of a king which worried her even more.

Chu Yu’s heart was throbbing in fear, but she walked over to him without any change in her expression. She spoke softly, “Who do you want to kill?” It could not have been herself, could it? Could she make it if she were to run now?

The gentle scent was diffused in the air and comforted Liu Ziye’s painful nerves as gently as wisps of silk. He inhaled a deep breath and discovered that he was no longer as agitated as before. Still, his gaze remained sullen. “I’m sick of this person. He’s always chiding me during meetings. I really don’t want to see him anymore.”

Chu Yu sat on her heels slowly by Liu Ziye’s side. Her gaze swept past the remonstrance placed on the console table and scanned a few lines of words. The words were referring to the young emperor’s misconduct. It pointed out that he was a cunning man who fancied playing favorites and lacked kingly grace.

Given that the remonstrance was written in a very impolite manner while Liu Ziye had such a bad temper, Chu Ye felt like the minister must be blessed by Heaven in order to live until this day.

Liu Ziye swung his arm and swept the remonstrance to the ground. Then, he leaned his body diagonally across Chu Yu’s thighs. After inhaling a deep breath, he let out a relaxed moan. A moment later, he tugged at Chu Yu’s sleeve lazily. “Sister, why are you here again today? Do you need anything? I can immediately issue an order to grant you whatever you need.”

Chu Yu shook her head soundlessly and attempted to suppress the odd feeling in her heart to the best of her abilities. She spoke in a soft voice, “I don’t need anything. I haven’t been visiting frequently enough. Is it okay for me to compensate for my absence intentionally?” Even though she shared the same blood and flesh as the young king physically, Liu Ziye was just a stranger with terrifying power and influence to her mentally. No matter how Liu Ziye expressed his dependence on her, she remained fearful and cautious.

She was no one but a wandering soul that came here from over a millennia later by mistake. It was utterly bizarre for her to harbor love and affection for a monster whom she had just met once or twice.

She watched closely as Liu Ziye’s expression went from agitated to calm gradually. Chu Yu’s heart sank bit by bit as well. It seemed like her conjecture was most probably correct. No matter how the truth turned out, Liu Ziye’s mood was genuinely affected by the scent.

If this was the case, Princess Shanyin was the emperor’s favorite most likely due to this reason as well.

That way, she needed to figure out something next. Was this action Rong Zhi’s idea or was it by Princess Shanying herself?

Her eyes scanned through the remonstrance on the ground. Chu Yu stretched out her fingers and pressed Liu Ziye’s temples before she began massaging him just like yesterday. She seized the opportunity when he was in a relaxed mood to ask, “Your Majesty, you were speaking about killing someone earlier. Who are you actually referring to?”

Casually, Liu Ziye mentioned the name Chen Shenzi. Chu Yu sifted through her memories and found that she was unacquainted with the person. Not only had she not seen the name in the historical data, but she had also never heard Rong Zhi mention this person, so she figured that this was not an important person. She hesitated for a moment before she spoke cautiously, “Your Majesty, can you please forgive that person? Let’s just demote him and forget about it.”

“Why?” Liu Ziye suddenly opened his eyes and met hers. The radiance flickering in his heart sent a chill to her heart. “Sister, you’ve never paid attention to this matter before in the past.”

Chu Yu suppressed her racing heart. She spoke in a natural and calm manner, “I…”

Before she could explain, Liu Ziye sniggered and interrupted her, “I knew it. Chen Shenzhi is rather good-looking, isn’t he? Since you fancy him, I understand. I’ll order him to attend to you in the Princess’s Imperial Residence tomorrow.”

Chu Yu was speechless. She was about to defend herself but she considered this a rather beneficial excuse too. At least, it was a better excuse than the one she made up in her mind. She swallowed her words and accepted the blame.