Chapter 24#
Chapter 24#
Thick snow fell continuously, covering the palace paths with a heavy layer once again. The eaves were also weighed down by the heavy snow, creating a white expanse that resembled a fairyland on earth.
The trees in Qinchun Palace were also covered in snow. A few palace servants were sweeping, while others entered the bedroom in a line, carrying breakfast in their hands.
Looking at those delicacies, the few snow-sweeping palace servants discussed while Su Yang was away: “This food is delivered every day, yet never eaten every day. It’s brought out exactly as it was sent in; what’s the point?”
Another palace servant nearby glanced at him and moved closer while sweeping, looking quite suspicious: “Don’t you know that the person who originally lived here was Chancellor Lin Huaiyu?”
The palace servant nodded: “I know. Master Lin lived in Qinchun Palace before, but on the day of the sacrificial ceremony, a large fire broke out in Qinchun Palace, and Master Lin passed away. So what? Does it have anything to do with this breakfast?”
“Of course!” the other person lowered his voice and said, “Our Emperor has almost gone mad over Master Lin’s matter. This breakfast was ordered by the Emperor to be prepared, said to be for Master Lin. But Master Lin died long ago; don’t you think it’s terrifying!”
Hearing this, the palace servant’s face was filled with shock. There was no one else around, but he also lowered his voice: “This is too terrifying. No one eats it even when it’s sent in; could the Emperor think Master Lin ate it? Is this… a way of making an offering?”
The other person shook his head: “You don’t know. Sometimes the Emperor even murmurs to himself, yet clearly there’s no one around. I always feel…”
He didn’t dare say the rest, but the palace servant beside him, as if having no taboos, spoke up immediately: “Is Master Lin’s soul here?!”
The person hurriedly threw down his broom and covered the other palace servant’s mouth: “Don’t talk nonsense! Such things are most taboo in the palace. With the Son of Heaven in the imperial palace, how could such a thing happen!”
“Mmph, mmph…” The palace servant couldn’t speak with his mouth covered. When the other person let go, he whispered again, “But isn’t that what you meant?”
The person brushed the snow off his body and said irritably, “I didn’t say anything. I just feel that the Emperor’s feelings for Master Lin seem to exceed those of sovereign and subject, or teacher and student.”
The palace servant thought about it and said, “So you meant this. Isn’t it obvious? Which sovereign and subject would live in the back palace? Which student would stop attending morning court after his teacher’s death, always guarding this Qinchun Palace?”
The other person nodded in agreement: “You’re right, so… the Emperor’s feelings for Master Lin are… that kind of feeling? No wonder Master Lin was still in Qinchun Palace on the day of the sacrificial ceremony.”
“But the person is dead. With the Emperor like this now, is he unable to move on, or…”
The other person said again, “I also heard the Emperor distributed wanted posters everywhere, yet specifically stated not to hurt Master Lin. The Emperor has always believed Master Lin isn’t dead. Do you think the Emperor is…”
“Shh, shh, shh! Do you want your life?!”
Catching a glimpse of the powerful Emperor in his black dragon-patterned robes from the corner of his eye, the person hurriedly knelt and loudly reminded the one beside him: “Greetings, Your Majesty!”
The palace servant stopped talking and knelt down upon hearing this.
The two lowered their heads, only catching a glimpse of a hem passing before them. The pressure came like a mountain, making it hard to breathe.
Then the sound of a door closing rang out, and only then did the two let out a sigh of relief: “Don’t say such things again. If the Emperor hears us, we’ll both lose our lives!”
Su Yang didn’t hear the palace servants’ discussion. If he had, he indeed wouldn’t have kept these two. As for the palace servants who previously served Lin Huaiyu, Su Yang knew Lin Huaiyu didn’t want to implicate them and had used the death-exemption gold token; Su Yang had also fulfilled Lin Huaiyu’s wish and sent them all out of the palace.
Now a new group of people was in Qinchun Palace. Looking at the sumptuous breakfast on the table, Su Yang picked up his chopsticks but was placing food on the plate beside him, carefully selecting all the dishes Lin Huaiyu loved to eat.
Looking at Su Yang like this, De Fu sighed silently in his heart.
These days, the Emperor’s illness had worsened again. He didn’t need to get himself drunk to feel that Master Lin was still here in Qinchun Palace, even talking to himself and placing food for Master Lin as before, as if there really were such a person beside him.
It was both eerie and heartbreaking to him.
He had watched Su Yang and Lin Huaiyu come from the Eastern Palace. The two were so good before; Master Lin was meticulously attentive to the Emperor when he was Crown Prince. The two were together most of the time, eating and living together. Master Lin would strategize, and the Emperor trusted Master Lin implicitly, following his instructions every time.
The Emperor never showed anything unusual.
At that time, he had never seen the Emperor’s true feelings; perhaps the Emperor really hid them too well.
But since the Emperor ascended the dragon throne, it seemed everything had changed. That emotion in the Emperor’s heart had soured and could no longer be suppressed, shattering the relationship between the two.
Master Lin regarded the Emperor as a student, as the Son of Heaven, as a sovereign, unaware that the Emperor harbored such feelings. To be suddenly imprisoned and forced to accept the Emperor’s feelings that disregarded human relations was truly not easy.
De Fu felt sorry for Su Yang while also feeling sorry for Lin Huaiyu.
“Teacher, eat quickly; I’ll take you for a walk in a bit.” Su Yang spoke to the empty seat beside him, his gentle words masking his original nature.
Even though from De Fu’s perspective, no one replied to Su Yang at all, a trace of loneliness flashed in Su Yang’s eyes as he said again, “Since Teacher doesn’t want to go, then I’ll just stay here and accompany Teacher.”
After a while, Su Yang spoke alone again, “It seems… Teacher just doesn’t want to stay with me.”
That aggrieved tone—if De Fu didn’t know he wasn’t ill, he would have suspected if Lin Huaiyu really was beside him but he couldn’t see him.
The door to the bedroom opened again, and a palace servant from the Imperial Weaving Department brought over several sets of newly made clothes. The female official at the head bowed and said, “Your Majesty, the clothes tailored for Master Lin are all finished.”
Su Yang nodded lightly: “Leave them.”
The female official raised her hand, and several palace servants placed the clothes on the nearby table, then withdrew.
Su Yang turned to look at the space beside him: “Teacher, I was wrong before; I didn’t even have a set of clothes made for you. There isn’t even a single piece of clothing belonging to Teacher in this bedroom. Come and see, these were all specifically ordered by me; they should all fit Teacher’s figure.”
“Does Teacher not like them? Could it be that Teacher wants to keep wearing my clothes?” Su Yang spoke to himself again.
After saying this, he stood up and walked to those clothes: “Teacher likes purple; this set of purple robes is quite good, what does Teacher think?”
“However, I still want to see Teacher wear this red set again.”
As soon as Su Yang finished speaking, he hurriedly said frantically, “No, I didn’t mean to deliberately disgust Teacher. This style is not the same as those wedding robes. I know Teacher doesn’t like those wedding robes; Teacher has misunderstood me.”
After a moment, Su Yang said again, “Teacher is right to scold me; I’ll have them make a few more sets.”
He was about to call someone, but unexpectedly didn’t speak, as if someone had really stopped him. He said again, “Fine, fine, fine, whatever Teacher says goes.”
Watching Su Yang sit down obediently and resume eating with the non-existent Lin Huaiyu, De Fu’s heart was incredibly complex.
He used to not believe in ghosts and gods, but now he couldn’t distinguish whether Su Yang was seriously ill or if Lin Huaiyu’s ghost really was here, only he couldn’t see it.
But logically, with the Emperor being the True Dragon Son of Heaven, no ghost should be able to approach him.
De Fu couldn’t understand it, but Su Yang’s illness wasn’t getting any better, as Su Yang still couldn’t sleep.
At night, when the bright moon hung high, De Fu had actually already gone to sleep but was startled awake by a small sound. He saw Su Yang standing in the courtyard of Qinchun Palace, with thick snow instantly falling all over him.
Seeing this, De Fu hurriedly grabbed an umbrella and ran to Su Yang’s side to hold it for him, asking, “Your Majesty, why have you come out?”
But Su Yang pushed De Fu away. The umbrella fell to the ground, and thick snow began to pile on his shoulders again. He said, “Teacher refuses to pay attention to me. I was wrong; I must ask for Teacher’s forgiveness. Teacher won’t let me in.”
De Fu hesitated for a long time before saying, “Your Majesty, Master Lin…”
Su Yang looked at him. De Fu felt that gaze was full of threat, as if as long as he said Lin Huaiyu was dead, his head would fall to the ground.
De Fu could only play along with Su Yang: “Since Master Lin is angry, it’s no use for Your Majesty to stand like this.”
Su Yang withdrew his gaze, looking at the tightly closed bedroom door again, and asked, “Then tell me, what should I do?”
“This…” De Fu had a face full of difficulty, “I don’t have a good way either. If I offend Your Majesty, there’s only the dead end of my head falling to the ground.”
Hearing De Fu’s half-serious, half-joking words, Su Yang let out a snort: “Useless. Go aside; don’t interfere with me.”
De Fu could tell Su Yang wasn’t angry. After hesitating, he picked up the umbrella and stood under a tree. He couldn’t persuade Su Yang, so he could only watch from the side.
Su Yang just stood there all night. Thick snow piled on his body, almost turning him into a snowman. Not until the first light of dawn appeared—De Fu almost thought Su Yang was going to follow Lin Huaiyu in this state—did Su Yang move, saying to himself, “Tell me, when Teacher knelt in the snow, was it also this cold?”
De Fu didn’t dare take up those words, only saying, “Your Majesty, it’s cold outside; why not go in?”
But Su Yang turned a deaf ear: “I clearly remember it. Teacher knelt in the snow for half the night to plead for me, and his knees were injured. Why did I punish him to kneel in the snow again that day?”
He turned to look at De Fu and asked, “Do I deserve to die?”
De Fu was so frightened he hurriedly knelt down: “Your Majesty, you’re scaring me to death.”
Su Yang shook his head and looked at the bedroom again: “No wonder Teacher doesn’t want to pay attention to me. Teacher wanted to leave me, but now that I know I was wrong, why won’t Teacher come back?”
De Fu didn’t dare to respond from the side.
Breakfast was delivered as usual. This time Su Yang didn’t go in but still stood at the door; the palace servants didn’t dare to look much either.
Brought along with breakfast was also medicine. Su Yang saw it and only then spoke: “Are the peach crisps prepared?”
The palace servant nodded: “They are prepared, Your Majesty.”
Only then did Su Yang let out a sigh of relief: “Go then.”
Lin Huaiyu was so afraid of bitterness; without peach crisps, he wouldn’t drink the medicine at all. Even with peach crisps, he might not be willing.
After another long time, the palace servants came on time to take away the breakfast and medicine from inside. Su Yang looked at the untouched breakfast and soup medicine, letting out a soft sigh: “Teacher still refuses to forgive me.”
Looking at Su Yang, De Fu also let out a soft sigh.
The Emperor has gone completely mad.