Chapter 22#
Chapter 22#
The sunlight was just right, and the weather was getting better day by day. Compared to the winter chill, the floor heating in the palace had long been stopped.
Yet not a single candle was lit in Qinchun Palace, the room cold and deserted, as if no one lived there.
Who would have thought that the dignified Son of Heaven would actually sleep in this bedroom that resembled a Cold Palace.
Pushing open the door, De Fu saw Su Yang lying on the bed with his eyes open—at a glance, another night without sleep.
The words urging Su Yang to attend the morning court were silently swallowed back into his throat. He walked softly to Su Yang’s bedside and asked, “Your Majesty, I’ve had the Imperial Academy of Medicine prepare a type of calming incense to light for you. Why don’t you sleep a bit more?”
Su Yang let go of the bedding, sat up, and said, “His scent is no longer here.”
De Fu blinked, failing to keep up with Su Yang’s thoughts for a moment. When he realized, his mouth moved faster than his brain, first suggesting, “If Your Majesty wants Master Lin’s scent, why not go to Master Lin’s manor?”
The dead eyes of Su Yang brightened in an instant. He looked at De Fu and let out a light laugh with his lips curled: “That makes sense!”
He immediately got up, changed his clothes, and left the palace low-key, heading toward Lin Huaiyu’s Chancellor’s Manor.
The guards at the entrance of the Lin Manor were long gone, and even the steward was not there.
On the day Lin Huaiyu disappeared from the palace, Su Yang had immediately sent people to Lin Huaiyu’s manor. But the Lin Manor, which usually had few servants, didn’t have a single person left that day; everyone in the manor had been dismissed early on.
After Su Yang found out, he became even more certain that Lin Huaiyu had arranged all this long ago, just waiting for that day to leave.
Arriving at the Lin Manor again, Su Yang walked through the corridors. In truth, he didn’t come to the Lin Manor often; mostly it was Lin Huaiyu going into the palace to find him. During the time in the Eastern Palace, Lin Huaiyu was often by his side, and at that time, as his teacher, Lin Huaiyu didn’t need to specifically leave the palace.
Later, when he sat on the dragon throne, the Imperial Teacher no longer had a reason to live in the palace and could only leave.
At that time, he was thinking: how could he make his teacher stay in the palace, so he could see him day and night, every moment?
Su Yang walked to Lin Huaiyu’s study. if he remembered correctly, the study was filled with the ancient texts Lin Huaiyu loved to read. However, as he pushed open the door and entered, he only saw empty bookshelves and a desk—not even a single piece of paper was on them.
In the vast Lin Manor, the people were gone and the building was empty.
Su Yang’s heart sank slowly. He walked toward Lin Huaiyu’s other rooms, pushing open the doors one by one, looking into each room. However, they were all empty, with nothing inside; everything related to Lin Huaiyu had vanished cleanly.
It was as if no one had ever lived in this Lin Manor.
De Fu was also exceptionally surprised: “This… this was moved so cleanly…”
Su Yang tightened his fists under his robes, his eyes filled with gloom.
He knew Lin Huaiyu wanted to wipe away everything about himself in the capital, as if he had never been there.
That man was always cold-hearted—toward others, and toward himself.
Looking at the gloomy Su Yang, De Fu once again lamented that his good intentions had led to a bad outcome; now the Emperor was even more saddened.
Su Yang immediately returned to the palace. The Lin Manor had nothing related to Lin Huaiyu now, and after Lin Huaiyu had lived in the palace for over two months, his scent was long gone from there too.
He sat on the chair in the study, his fingertips tapping the desk rhythmically. Hearing some noise outside, he asked, “What is the commotion outside?”
De Fu took a look and said hurriedly, “In reply to Your Majesty, the palace servants saw the flowers in the Imperial Garden blooming beautifully, almost covering the people, and couldn’t help but linger; that’s why they were scolded a few times.”
“Imperial Garden…” Su Yang suddenly raised his eyes and let out an ambiguous laugh. “Summon Wang Xiangyu to the palace.”
De Fu was stunned, not knowing why Su Yang suddenly summoned this person, but he did as told.
After a short wait, Wang Xiangyu was led to the Imperial Study by De Fu.
He felt apprehensive in his heart, not knowing why the Emperor suddenly summoned him. Since he offended Lin Huaiyu during the selection last time, he was beaten and lay in bed for three months. Both his grandfather and his father had scolded him severely. If he hadn’t already been beaten, his father would have used family discipline on him; in the end, he was even grounded and not allowed to leave the manor, told to reflect well.
He really hadn’t expected the famous Chancellor Lin to be in the back palace, nor did he expect Lin Huaiyu to also go to the Imperial Garden to join the fun on the day of the selection…
A few days ago, he heard Master Lin was dead, and his grandfather let out a sigh of relief. But suddenly summoning him to the palace again—could it be to settle old scores?
The Emperor had issued wanted posters far and wide for Master Lin, refusing to believe he was dead. For several months, he hadn’t even attended the morning court. It was said he was excessively worried and unwell. If it was just because the Imperial Teacher had passed away, such grief was too much.
Recalling the scene in the Imperial Garden that day, Su Yang was clearly helping him at first. But when Lin Huaiyu handed him water mixed with sand to drink, not only did Su Yang not stop it, he even insisted on drinking it himself, clearly protecting Lin Huaiyu. When he acted coquettishly toward Su Yang, Su Yang even pulled Lin Huaiyu away with a dark expression. That scene was not how one should treat a teacher.
It was more like…
With all these actions, Wang Xiangyu had a bold guess, but he didn’t dare say it.
He could only follow De Fu into the study tremblingly and kneel down cautiously: “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
He raised his eyes and slowly looked at the person sitting behind the desk. The Son of Heaven in a black robe no longer had his former high spirits; a few strands of hair hung from his forehead, looking slightly disheveled. The despondency all over him was a far cry from the Su Yang he saw in the Imperial Garden before.
At this moment, Su Yang seemed like a lonely soul who had lost his spirit, yet the surrounding pressure was even more gloomy.
Wang Xiangyu only took one look and didn’t dare look again, lowering his head to wait for Su Yang to speak.
“Wang Xiangyu,” Su Yang spoke to call him.
But Wang Xiangyu said, “Your Majesty, I am now named Wang Anzhao.”
Su Yang’s eyebrow rose slightly: “Why?”
Wang Xiangyu glanced at Su Yang and said cautiously, “I offended Your Majesty and Master… Master Lin that day, and Your Majesty had me change my name.”
Su Yang seemed to recall it; there indeed was such a thing. But it wasn’t because of offending anyone, but because the other’s name contained the character “Yu,” which clashed with Lin Huaiyu’s name, and he didn’t like it.
Su Yang had no heart to care about what Wang Xiangyu—now called Wang Anzhao—had changed his name to, only saying coldly, “You said you offended Lin Huaiyu that day; then tell me exactly how you offended him.”
Wang Anzhao was stunned: “Huh?”
He truly couldn’t understand what Su Yang meant by this.
Su Yang’s sinister gaze immediately fell on Wang Anzhao: “What? Don’t understand?”
Wang Anzhao had no choice but to speak slowly: “That day, I mistook Master Lin for Your Majesty’s male favorite. Thinking his status was lowly, I spoke out wanting to teach him a lesson. I didn’t realize it was Master Lin. At that time, I really didn’t know Master Lin’s identity; otherwise, even with a hundred times the courage, I wouldn’t have dared to humiliate Master Lin!”
As expected, now that Master Lin was dead, the Emperor was going to settle old scores; he wouldn’t escape death today either!
After he finished speaking, Su Yang looked at him impatiently and said, “What I want to hear is not your explanation. I want to hear how you humiliated Lin Huaiyu. I want to hear every detail of that day, do you understand?”
“This…” Wang Anzhao was even more dazed now. “Your Majesty, it’s been many days, and I don’t quite remember the specific details of that day anymore. If Your Majesty wants to punish me, I’ll accept it without a word.”
Su Yang slowly frowned: “If you don’t remember, then I’ll make you remember.”
Su Yang gave De Fu a cold look. De Fu immediately waved his hand, and two guards entered from outside with sticks in their hands.
Wang Anzhao had been beaten with court sticks before, so he naturally recognized them. The pain was still fresh in his memory, and he said hurriedly, “Your Majesty, I… I remember now!”
Su Yang raised his hand and looked at him again: “Speak.”
Wang Anzhao had no choice but to kneel properly and start again: “On the day of the selection, I entered the palace with the others. Everyone felt I had hope of becoming the male Empress, so I became arrogant. Unexpectedly, they saw Master Lin and praised his elegant demeanor. I was momentarily piqued and wanted to compete with Master Lin. At that time, I didn’t know it was Master Lin. Master Lin’s tone was haughty, so I thought he was arrogant because of favor and wanted to teach him a lesson.”
After Su Yang heard this, he was still unsatisfied. He raised his hand, and the two guards immediately swung their sticks at Wang Anzhao’s body.
Wang Anzhao cried out in pain: “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, spare me! I… no, Master Lin didn’t speak; it was me who was unwilling and jealous of Master Lin, so I made trouble. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!”
Su Yang felt a pang of pain in his heart. Even though he had guessed early on that it was impossible for Lin Huaiyu to have started the trouble, at that time he only thought of making Lin Huaiyu jealous, only wanting to see Lin Huaiyu care about him. He had even helped Wang Anzhao humiliate Lin Huaiyu…
His throat felt tight. He looked coldly at Wang Anzhao and raised his hand again. The sticks in the two guards’ hands fell once more.
“Ahhh! Your Majesty, every word I say is the truth!” Wang Anzhao burst into tears on the spot, begging for mercy.
Su Yang rested his chin on his hand, his gaze heavy: “I want to hear you recall every detail of that time. I want to know everything Lin Huaiyu said, his tone, his expression, understand?”
Wang Anzhao was trembling at this moment and didn’t dare to overthink, only nodding repeatedly: “I understand.”
Enduring the pain, he thought carefully and started again: “That day, that day it was snowing—oh no, it seemed it wasn’t snowing anymore, but it was still quite cold, and the wind was bone-chilling. I walked in the Imperial Garden with everyone. Those people all praised me for my good looks, thinking I had the best hope of becoming the male Empress. I also felt I should at least be a male consort. But as everyone was talking, they suddenly praised another person.”
“That person stood among the flowers. When I looked over, I also felt it was a person from a painting walking out. But hearing them praise him, I was very jealous in my heart…”
Su Yang listened quietly as Wang Anzhao retold the scene of that day bit by bit, even down to details like “Master Lin frowned for a moment” and “Master Lin’s gaze was cold and indifferent.” Although Su Yang knew at a glance that some parts were Wang Anzhao talking nonsense—such as Wang Anzhao saying Lin Huaiyu cursed at him—Su Yang never interrupted Wang Anzhao from beginning to end. It was as if, through Wang Anzhao’s narration, he had returned to that day. He saw Lin Huaiyu again; every move, every frown, and every smile of Lin Huaiyu was before his eyes.
For the first time in many days, the corners of Su Yang’s lips rose slightly.
Instead, Wang Anzhao was so frightened by this expression of Su Yang’s that his words began to tremble.
“Then… then, oh, and Lady Bai Jianqing. Lady Bai stepped forward in front of me and told Master Lin not to pay attention to me, saying I was crazy. Master Lin smiled lightly at Lady Bai at that time.” Wang Anzhao explained while making things up. He added color to what he clearly remembered and made up what he didn’t. In short, he understood that the Emperor didn’t actually know exactly what details there were that day; he just wanted to torment him.
But Su Yang suddenly interrupted him: “Bai Jianqing… right, there’s also Bai Jianqing.”
Su Yang turned and instructed De Fu: “Summon Bai Jianqing to the palace.”
De Fu: “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Wang Anzhao raised his eyes to look at Su Yang. The other person had his head rested on his hand again, looking weary and lazy, somewhat similar to Lin Huaiyu. He just took one look before Su Yang’s gloomy eyes met his: “Continue.”
Wang Anzhao hurriedly withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and continued to describe the scene of that day.
He was wrong; the Emperor was nothing like Master Lin.
Entering the palace, Bai Jianqing saw Wang Anzhao kneeling below, muttering something. The Emperor of Great Yong was sitting behind the desk, listening to Wang Anzhao speak intermittently. To someone who didn’t know, it would seem as if Wang Anzhao was reporting some important national affair.
Bai Jianqing knelt beside Wang Anzhao, but with a full two-person distance between them: “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
Wang Anzhao’s voice stopped as Bai Jianqing arrived. Su Yang raised his eyes to look at Bai Jianqing, appraising her, and remembered Wang Anzhao just saying Lin Huaiyu smiled at her.
He had indeed seen this scene when he went to the Imperial Garden that day. Wang Anzhao hadn’t lied about this part.
At this moment, jealousy surged up suddenly. Looking at Bai Jianqing, his face was displeased: “Since you’re here, then you two speak together—no, act it out for me.”
Wang Anzhao glanced at Bai Jianqing and prepared to speak again as if accepting his fate. Surprisingly, Bai Jianqing was not afraid of death. She looked at Su Yang with cold eyes and said directly, “Master Lin is already dead. Instead of coming to question me now, Your Majesty should think about who the person who hurt him the most that day truly was.”
As soon as she spoke, Wang Anzhao stared at her in shock. Not only Wang Anzhao, but even De Fu looked at Bai Jianqing with great surprise.
But Bai Jianqing merely looked straight at Su Yang coldly.
Su Yang raised an eyebrow, looked at Bai Jianqing, and asked, “When did I say I was going to question you?”
Bai Jianqing sneered, “If Your Majesty isn’t questioning me, why did you summon me into the palace to ask about that day? And even have us act it out for you—is it to… miss Master Lin through this?”
De Fu had put away his shocked expression, but Wang Anzhao, who previously thought it was unbelievable and didn’t dare to overthink, now felt that Bai Jianqing really didn’t want her life after hearing her speak so openly.
But Su Yang didn’t get angry; he looked at Bai Jianqing with interest: “I do indeed miss Lin Huaiyu. I want to see him. Does Lady Bai have any good ideas?”
Bai Jianqing rolled her eyes: “If Your Majesty knew this day would come, why did you act that way before? Master Lin was devoted to Your Majesty, but what was Your Majesty doing? I only saw Your Majesty hurt Master Lin and trample all over his feelings! Now that the person is dead, who are you putting on this devoted appearance for?”
After Bai Jianqing finished, De Fu instantly fell to his knees with a thud.
This lady really dared to speak; she wasn’t even afraid the Emperor would have her head fall to the ground on the spot!
But Su Yang merely looked at Bai Jianqing, his eyes gradually turning into disbelief: “What did you say? You said Lin Huaiyu… he… cared about me?”
Bai Jianqing rolled her eyes again, her expression impatient: “Otherwise? Could you really not tell?”
Su Yang shook his head: “Impossible. Lin Huaiyu said it himself; he only wanted to leave the palace, leave my side. I once wanted to hear him say he cared about me, but he only ever said he wouldn’t stay with me for long.”
Bai Jianqing laughed from anger: “Your Majesty! Some things don’t need to be said out loud. Even I know; could Your Majesty really not know? To like someone, to care about someone—looking at their eyes and listening to their heartbeat is enough. What kind of person Master Lin was, what his personality was like, you should know better than me!”
Bai Jianqing didn’t want to waste more energy with Su Yang in the palace and simply said everything at once: “If Master Lin didn’t care about Your Majesty, why would he let Your Majesty keep him in the palace? If he didn’t care about Your Majesty, why would he allow Your Majesty to let Young Master Wang humiliate him?”
“In terms of seniority, Young Master Wang is Master Lin’s junior. To let a junior have him serve tea—yet Your Majesty actually let him serve it! Master Lin wasn’t even angry at such a great humiliation, but you pulled him away with a dark face that day!”
“Your Majesty, Master Lin was your teacher!”
These words were like a blow to the head, waking Su Yang from his muddled nightmare. He froze in place for a long time—so long that De Fu almost thought Su Yang was going to kill someone.
Then Su Yang suddenly stood up, sweeping all the memorials on the desk to the floor: “Get out! Everyone get out for me!”
Bai Jianqing turned and left, so decisive it was as if she had never come. Instead, it was Wang Anzhao who looked back every few steps before being pulled out by De Fu.
The doors of the Imperial Study closed, sealing out the sunlight. Su Yang was suddenly in darkness. He lowered his head and let out a muffled cry of pain.
Every word of Bai Jianqing’s turned into a blade stabbing into his heart, making it hard to breathe.
Lin Huaiyu also cared about him?
So, when Lin Huaiyu said he couldn’t stay with him for long, it was because Lin Huaiyu knew long ago that he didn’t have long to live…
But what had he done to Lin Huaiyu!