The Emperor listened to the imperial physician’s report. The room was not large. The windows on either side had been left slightly ajar, yet the chill seeping through the gaps could not dispel the warmth within.
“Your Majesty,” said Grand Eunuch Huang softly as he approached the bedside, “His Highness has arrived.”
Without even raising his eyes, the Emperor said, “Let him kneel outside first.”
Grand Eunuch Huang said, “His Highness is already kneeling outside. Without Your Majesty’s decree, he would not dare rise. However… Your Majesty, do you truly intend to have His Highness executed?”
The Emperor gave a cold laugh and said nothing.
One of the imperial physicians at the side said, “Your Majesty’s abrupt turn towards ascetic cultivation, though the vegetarian dishes have been prepared to resemble meat in flavour, remains in essence a diet of bland fare. The stomach and bowels have been unable to adapt, hence the constipation and related symptoms. Should matters worsen, more serious illnesses may follow. Your Majesty, please take care of your sacred health…”
…
Although the skies had cleared, the exposed ground remained damp. Chao Yan knelt upon the wet stone paving, the hem of his robes below the knees thoroughly soaked. His eyes remained lowered as he knelt perfectly straight, like a fully drawn bow.
This was not difficult for him. Before this, he had knelt many times, though never before the Emperor.
Consort Shu arrived.
The erratic weather had left her with a chill, and she had been resting. Upon hearing the news, she hastily drank a bowl of hot broth and rushed over without pausing for anything else.
Chao Yan did not look up, and Consort Shu did not lower her gaze. Their paths crossed for a fleeting instant before they moved apart once more.
Consort Shu arrived outside the Emperor’s bedchamber. Grand Eunuch Huang stood at the entrance. Seeing her, he dismissed the young eunuch beside him, swept his horsetail whisk aside, and stepped forward, speaking in a low voice:
“His Majesty is not in the best of moods. Your Ladyship knows as well as I do that His Majesty undertook all this to rid himself of old ailments and prolong his years, yet things have only become worse. This servant has watched it all and felt deeply distressed. If only someone could…” He left several words unsaid. “Wouldn’t you agree, Your Ladyship?”
Though Grand Eunuch Huang swallowed part of the sentence, Consort Shu understood perfectly. Lowering her voice, she replied, “Thank you for the reminder.”
Grand Eunuch Huang said, “Your Ladyship is a clever woman. Even if I said nothing, you would surely have guessed what His Majesty wants at present. He merely lacks a proper step down.”
As he spoke, he made a little walking gesture downward with two fingers.
The two spoke no further. Grand Eunuch Huang escorted Consort Shu inside.
The Emperor, seeing her, said irritably, “What are you doing here? Pleading on behalf of your precious son?”
By then the imperial physicians had finished their examination and were preparing to withdraw to brew medicine.
Consort Shu sank to her knees, her skirts spreading across the floor. Her voice was soft but clear, carrying the faint tremor of someone suppressing intense emotion:
“Your Majesty, please quell your anger! Upon learning that Your Majesty’s sacred health was unwell and that Your Majesty longed for assistance from the immortals, the Crown Prince hastily proposed this cultivation method. The suggestion lacked sufficient forethought. However…”
She paused briefly and lifted her head to meet the Emperor’s gaze directly, genuine concern filling her eyes.
“His intentions were entirely sincere. He desired only that Your Majesty recover swiftly and enjoy peace in both body and spirit.
“How could anyone have foreseen that Your Majesty’s heaven-favoured constitution would require its own ordained methods of nourishment? The imperial physicians have clearly stated that a body with a strong foundation must be regulated gradually. Sudden and drastic changes are precisely what should be avoided. This minor indisposition of Your Majesty’s is clearly the result of a temporary mismatch between the method of cultivation and Your Majesty’s constitution. It is not the fault of the vegetarian diet, nor was it caused by the Crown Prince’s advice.”
The Emperor remained silent. Consort Shu bowed deeply, pressing her forehead against the cold stone floor.
“Your Majesty. Since receiving your command to oversee the construction of the Ascension Tower, the Crown Prince has laboured tirelessly day and night, exhausting himself in its service. He has also acted with an iron hand against corruption and graft.
“This tower concerns Your Majesty’s health and longevity. Its construction requires enormous expenditure. If not entrusted to one both closest and most loyal, who would dare shoulder such a responsibility? If the Crown Prince is executed now, who could possibly take over such a burden? Would not those vermin who regard him as a thorn in their flesh rejoice and applaud their good fortune?”
“The Crown Prince is truly the most dependable and capable arm at Your Majesty’s disposal on your quest for healing and immortality. I beg Your Majesty to forgive his foolish loyalty and spare his life. Allow him to atone by continuing to oversee the tower’s construction, or by seeking further traces of immortals and medicinal ingredients on Your Majesty’s behalf.
“He will undoubtedly devote himself utterly to redeeming his mistakes. I dare guarantee it with my own life. Heaven and Earth may bear witness to my sincerity!”
By the final words, her voice had thickened with emotion. The tension gradually eased from the Emperor’s dry, pale lips.
“Look at how frightened you are,” he said. “I merely spoke in anger. How could I truly kill Ziyu?”
Consort Shu smiled and restrained the tears threatening to fall.
“Rise,” said the Emperor, gesturing towards the armchair beside the bed.
The two sat close together and chatted for a while about ordinary family matters. Then, as if the thought had only just occurred to him, the Emperor asked: “I can no longer pursue this cultivation, but how then is the Ascension Tower to be built?”
Consort Shu studied his expression. Seeing no trace of urgency, she immediately understood that Grand Eunuch Huang had not deceived her.
After this experience, the Emperor truly no longer wished to construct the Ascension Tower. What he required was a graceful excuse, a suitable reason to abandon the project without losing face. That was precisely the outcome she and the Crown Prince had hoped for.
Pretending ignorance of the Emperor’s thoughts, Consort Shu considered for a moment before speaking softly: “Your Majesty, these past few days I have been wondering… the immortal maiden who told Your Majesty that only by building the Ascension Tower could she guide you to the heavens… was she truly an immortal maiden?”
At once the Emperor’s expression darkened. “Are you questioning whether Heaven favours and protects me?” he asked coldly.
Consort Shu immediately slipped from the chair and knelt once more upon the floor.
“Your Majesty, the divine dream through which you communed with the mysteries beyond and received heavenly auspices is undeniable proof that Heaven has bestowed its message upon our sovereign. How could this humble consort dare harbour the slightest doubt? Such an extraordinary dream clearly demonstrates Heaven’s favour and its auspicious blessings. I have always regarded it with admiration and believed wholeheartedly in Your Majesty’s boundless fortune.
Yet having served Your Majesty for many years, I fear that the words spoken in the dream may possess a deeper meaning. Perhaps the immortals of the higher realms, out of compassion and affection for Your Majesty, transformed their concern into a form of trial.”
Her tone grew increasingly earnest. “This humble consort is foolish, yet I dare speculate upon the intentions of the immortals. Perhaps Heaven’s warning was never truly to encourage vast construction projects and the expenditure of the people’s labour and the state treasury on an earthly tower.
“The immortal maiden in the dream was so ethereal and pure. How could such a being be confined to mortal timber and stone? When she spoke of constructing an Ascension Tower, might she not have been speaking metaphorically? Perhaps she meant that Your Majesty should continue ascending to ever greater heights in virtue, self-cultivation, civil governance, and military achievement, strengthening your sacred foundations day by day as one would raise a tower.
“Or perhaps, out of compassion, she understood that what Your Majesty truly seeks is health and longevity. Thus she appeared within the dream to enlighten Your Majesty, reminding you to cherish your sacred body and not allow an obsession with illusions to damage your very foundation.”
As the Emperor listened, his mood visibly brightened. He nodded repeatedly.
Consort Shu continued, “Your Majesty’s wisdom illuminates all beneath Heaven. I only hope that Your Majesty understands the sincerity of my heart. Everything I say is for the sake of Your Majesty’s health and the enduring foundation of your dynasty.”
The more the Emperor looked at Consort Shu, the more pleasing she appeared. A daughter of a scholarly family truly suited his tastes best.
He ordered attendants to help her to her feet and said warmly: “I have long recognised your sincerity towards me. Otherwise, I would never have asked your opinion regarding the Ascension Tower. Your interpretation of the immortal maiden’s message is almost identical to the conclusions I myself have reached over these past days.
The Ascension Tower she spoke of is indeed not a structure of timber and stone, but one built from virtue, cultivation, civil governance, and martial accomplishment.”
The Emperor pondered briefly. “It is only that… my body is no longer what it once was. There are many things I wish to accomplish, yet my strength no longer matches my ambitions. The Crown Prince…”
“The Crown Prince?” he asked Grand Eunuch Huang.
Standing guard by the door, Grand Eunuch Huang hurried over with small steps, bent low, and replied softly: “Your Majesty, His Highness is still kneeling outside.”
The Emperor cast a sidelong glance towards the window. “I forgot. Did you forget as well? The ground outside is soaked with rain. Ziyu has been kneeling there for so long that his clothes are surely drenched. Why are you still standing there? Take him to change at once and make up for your oversight. I am in no hurry to see him.”
Grand Eunuch Huang repeatedly voiced his agreement.
…
“Your Highness, His Majesty permits you to rise.”
Taking three steps where one would suffice, Grand Eunuch Huang hurried into the courtyard and bent to help Chao Yan up.
Before the Emperor he behaved one way. Before the Crown Prince he behaved another. The difference lay merely in degrees of closeness and distance. Everyone present understood the reason, yet nobody exposed it.
In the world of adults, some truths are more beneficial left unspoken.
Chao Yan rose smoothly. Cold rainwater streamed from the hem of his robes, splashing into small bursts upon the ground.
Grand Eunuch Huang said, “Your Highness, you have a fine mother indeed…”
He briefly recounted the Emperor’s change of attitude and the things Consort Shu had said. He also casually mentioned how he had offered her a few timely hints.
Speaking as they walked, the two arrived at the changing room. After changing clothes, Chao Yan thanked Grand Eunuch Huang.
“My mother and I will remember this kindness,” he said.
Grand Eunuch Huang smiled. “His Majesty is waiting for you.”
Without further conversation, Chao Yan followed him to the Emperor’s presence. Seeing Chao Yan arrive, Consort Shu tactfully withdrew together with the others.
The Emperor reclined against the headboard. His gaze, deep as a still pool, rested upon the Crown Prince before him. After a long silence, he spoke. His voice carried the slight hoarseness of illness and an almost imperceptible edge.
“Ziyu.”
“Your son is here,” Chao Yan replied, bowing respectfully.
The Emperor spoke slowly. “Huang De has informed you, has he not? The Ascension Tower does not require timber and stone.”
“Yes,” Chao Yan replied.
The Emperor continued: “Now that my health is poor and my energies diminished, the work of ‘ramming earth and laying foundations’ must ultimately be carried out by another in my stead. Therefore, I am assigning you several practical matters concerning this ‘foundation-laying’ work. However…”
The Emperor’s voice suddenly dropped into a deeper register, carrying unquestionable authority: “You, as Crown Prince, are straightforward and impulsive. This recent proposal of seclusion and cultivation, though born of filial intent, was lacking in forethought, causing me physical discomfort and unease! This is a grave fault! You must be reprimanded!”
Chao Yan knelt to admit his mistake, and said he would not repeat it in future.
The Emperor said, “I will give you a task. Though small, it concerns the order and discipline of the inner palace. If you handle it well, only then can I safely entrust you with practical affairs.”
The Crown Prince stood upright, his lowered eyelashes casting two calm, curved shadows beside his nose, like ink dropped into a cold pool without stirring a ripple, and said, “Please instruct me, Father.”
The Emperor leaned slightly forward: “Recently, during my period of seclusion, I heard that some old items from your great-grandmother’s Cishou Palace had appeared outside the palace. I sent people to investigate, and it is indeed true.
I do not wish to make a fuss, lest the Six Palaces be unsettled and the court disturbed. I order you to investigate this matter quietly and in secret. The items are being kept by Huang De; go and collect them from him. What you uncover need not be written in formal memorials. Report it privately to Huang De, and he will inform me at once.”
This entire passage was spoken very slowly. After speaking, the Emperor closed his eyes, as though utterly exhausted: “Withdraw.”
“Your son obeys the decree.”
…
After Chao Yan withdrew, he went to see Consort Shu. The two exchanged a few brief words before parting. Before leaving, Consort Shu stopped him, her lips barely moving as she whispered:
“The old items from the Empress Dowager’s Cishou Palace are linked to her former servant Li Changxi, who now works in the minor storeroom of the Baizhen Treasury. When the Empress Dowager confined you, it was he who brought you food. You should remember him. In my view, those ‘old items’ were likely stolen by him and sold outside the palace. His Majesty’s intention this time is to test whether you are wholly loyal to him.”
“Li Changxi’s matter, handle it as you see fit. You cannot spare him out of old sentiment, nor can you act decisively and remove him outright. The former will make His Majesty think you are not loyal; the latter will make him feel chilled, and suspect you might one day treat him the same way.”
Chao Yan’s eyes moved slightly, and he softly acknowledged.
Consort Shu hesitated again and again, then said, “If you find it difficult, return to the East Palace and let A-Yun take you out to clear your mind. Deal with it afterwards once you feel better.”
Chao Yan smiled and said, “Alright, I understand. Mother, before we reached this point, weren’t we already prepared to sacrifice certain things?”
“Go,” said Consort Shu.
Chao Yan left Cining Temple, and the smile on his face faded completely. He sat inside the carriage, his expression faint and unreadable. The lamp on the low table burned brightly, casting his silhouette into a vast, beast-like shadow that filled half the carriage.
The scent of wood intermingled, heavy and suffocating. He lifted the carriage curtain and asked his personal guard, “Has he returned?”
Before the guard could answer, he leaned back again. He would not be back this early. This morning, Yan Zhao had sent word that they were heading to a second location.
The excuse of high fever would allow the other party to complete half the components before returning. By estimation, it would be four days before his return.
As for the remaining parts, the plan had been to find another excuse lasting several days, even up to ten, to leave the East Palace again and continue the work.
Chao Yan did not quite understand why he had asked that question. He already knew the answer. Perhaps it was simply because the weather had cleared today, and he missed him more than usual.
Frankly speaking, he wanted to kiss him, hold him, touch his skin… it was an almost lethal desire.
……
“How is it?”
That same night, around midnight, Yan Zhao received news from the East Palace.
Gu Yun and the others had already arrived at the second workshop. After several hours of work, they were resting. Yan Zhao had gone outside the workshop to receive the message.
Li Lan noticed the movement and came over to ask. Yan Zhao smiled and said, “His Highness is fine, there is no need to worry.”
Li Lan turned and left immediately.
Yan Zhao followed after him, placing his arm over Li Lan’s shoulder, saying, “His Highness has been assigned a task. If he completes it well, there will be greater scope for advancement. At present, his power is not strong enough and he is easily constrained…” Yan Zhao narrowed his eyes and said no more, stopping as he hooked his arm around Li Lan’s neck, preventing him from moving forward.
Li Lan frowned: “What is it?”
Yan Zhao lifted his chin, indicating for him to look ahead.
Li Lan looked carefully and saw, among the layered shadows of trees, a furtive figure. The two approached silently, and upon closer inspection, it was none other than Gu Yun.
At this moment, Gu Yun had already removed his thick cosmetic disguise.
Yan Zhao said, “Zhang Er-xiong, this is…?” as he looked down while speaking.
Gu Yun was holding a wooden basin filled with clothes. Hearing this, his face flushed, his eyes darting about as he said, “I am going to fetch water from the nearby well. The water in the room has been used up…”
“Fetching water?” Li Lan repeated in confusion. “What are you doing? Washing clothes? You could have asked a maidservant to do it.” As he spoke, he reached out to take the basin and clothes from Gu Yun.
Gu Yun stepped back. At the same time, Yan Zhao closed his fingers and grabbed Li Lan by the collar, pulling him back several steps.
He said, “I apologise. He is rather wooden and does not understand. However, it is rather late, and for safety’s sake it is best not to wander about. After all, you are a woman, and we are concerned, His Highness even more so. Please return to your room. I shall bring the water shortly, there is no need to worry.”
He reached into his sleeve and took out a neatly folded note, handing it to Gu Yun.
“A letter from His Highness.”
Gu Yun thanked him, took the note, and hurried back to his room. The confined, enclosed space gave him a sense of security. He placed the wooden basin on the rack, and a corner of clothing slipped down, revealing soiled undergarments.
Gu Yun saw it clearly and flushed even redder, quickly covering it again.
He had experienced nocturnal emissions before, but they had always been vague and indistinct. This time was different; there was a clear object, and it was someone he knew, a man.
This was entirely unacceptable to him. After thinking it over, he concluded it must be due to recent stress, his body acting independently of his will.
It was not a serious issue, but he was thin-skinned and did not want others to know. Moreover, he feared the accompanying old woman might expose his identity.
The other party knew he was male, but that was based on his identity as a craftsman. In everyone else’s eyes, he was still female. If the old woman revealed it, others would certainly suspect his gender, especially Chao Yan.
He had never mentioned menstruation. Although he already had a cover story prepared, waiting for Chao Yan or someone related to him to ask so he could deflect it, no one ever did. He suspected Chao Yan simply did not care, and others followed suit.
That suited him very well.
But if the old woman spoke of it, and if Chao Yan were reminded, he would certainly begin to doubt his gender.
Gu Yun wrinkled his nose.
He drank a sip of cold tea and unfolded the note. Why would Chao Yan write him a letter when he had nothing better to do? Pressing him about work progress? That heartless capitalist—
Gu Yun froze as he read the note. His throat moved; the cold tea he was swallowing went down the wrong way. He bent over and coughed violently, unable to think of anything else.
Li Lan, carrying a bucket of warmed water, walked over and said as he went, “Why did you stop me earlier?”
Yan Zhao, also carrying a bucket of warmed water, smiled and replied, “Someone is having a private matter and does not wish outsiders to interfere. You really are a blockhead, can’t you see that? Otherwise why would I fetch well water and then mix it with hot water from a nearby household? Do you think I had nothing better to do?”
Li Lan fell silent. When they reached the door, he finally asked, “How did you know? His clothes were not dirty.”
Yan Zhao said, “I have a fiancée.”
Li Lan: “…”
He knocked on the door. “Zhang Er-xiong, the water has been delivered.”
A bout of coughing came from inside. Concerned, Li Lan kicked the door open and said, “Zhang Er-xiong!”
Gu Yun, still unable to catch his breath, quickly crumpled the note into a ball and held it tightly. “I am fine. I just choked.”
Li Lan looked around to ensure there was no danger, nodded, and left with Yan Zhao after placing the water.
Only then did Gu Yun relax. He exhaled into the cool air and gradually recovered, loosening his grip. The paper ball rolled to the ground.
He picked it up, closed his eyes, and cursed, “Chao Yan, you really have nothing better to do.”
He threw it into the lamp with force, where it caught and burned in the oil with a hiss.
