Chapter 7: Turning Tables

Yan Zheyun wasn't sure how long they waited for the craftsmen to examine the bracelet. The servants of Tianlu Pavilion had carried chairs out, laying them in front of the entrance in a row so that the emperor and the members of his inner palace who were present would not have to exhaust themselves waiting. 

Privately, Yan Zheyun felt like everyone should be entitled to a seat. Time did drag on, after all, his nerves tangling and untangling themselves into intricate love knots (1) as he waited for a verdict. He knew that there was nothing wrong with the bracelet on his wrist—discounting the possibility of Liu Suzhi sabotaging him, but he had no reason to do that, not when it would implicate Xiao De too—but time spent in this world has conditioned him to understand that what could go wrong would go wrong; until he was certain that Liu Yao didn't suspect him, he was going to be restless. 

At least, he observed, he didn't seem like the only one wrought in tension. On the guise of reaching for his cup of tea, which had been placed on small side tables between their seats, he sneaked a glance past Liu Yao's broad shoulders at Noble Consort Li. Her face was set with a grim determination but it was also paler than normal and although she appeared calm on the surface, she was carrying herself too stiffly for someone who was truly relaxed. 

Liu Yao seemed to notice his scrutiny because he turned his head towards Yan Zheyun. His eyes were serious but there was no hint of censure in their dark depths, just an endless stillness that reminded Yan Zheyun of a lake at night. 

"They shouldn't be much longer," Liu Yao said lightly. "The craftsmen of the Department of Paraphernalia are some of the most reputable in the kingdom." He suddenly seemed to recall something, an amused curl to his lips as he directed his next statement at Noble Consort Li instead. "If this sovereign hasn't remembered wrongly, this bracelet happens to be the one this sovereign gifted to Noble Consort upon your entry into my rear court back when this sovereign was Crown Prince?" 

Entry into. Not marriage. If Yan Zheyun hadn't been certain that Liu Yao was on his side earlier on, he was now. His subtle goading might not achieve much in the current situation in terms of practicality but from the way Noble Consort Li flinched, he could the impact that Liu Yao's words had on her. 

And perhaps, somewhere in there, was a bit of guilt too? 

"Yes, Your Majesty." Noble Consort Li's voice was level. If Yan Zheyun hadn't been scrutinising her long enough to notice that she'd touched the sides of her hair multiple times in the last minute or so, he would have been hoodwinked by her steady appearance. At the end of the day, even though she was foolish and impulsive, in his opinion, too eager—or maybe too driven by desperation he couldn't understand—Noble Consort Li was a woman raised in this environment. She wasn't just used to the basics of the game; they were second nature to her. 

[Unlike me,] Yan Zheyun thought, hiding his wryness behind the rim of his cup. How many times had he been caught in a precarious situation despite thinking that he'd taken precautions? He still couldn't get used to how shamelessly the ruling class abused their authority in this era. And every time after, he would tell himself that he'd learnt his lesson, that next time he would be so careful that he didn't have a repeat of the incident again, but still he was proven wrong. 

He wondered if there would ever come a day where no one would dare to scheme against him. That would be a blessed relief. 

As Liu Yao had predicted, the excruciating wait didn't drag on for much longer and the arrival of the team of scruffy-looking craftsmen from the Department of Paraphernalia put an end to Yan Zheyun's misery and, most likely, Nobel Consort Li's too. One craftsman stood out in particular as he was far more senior in years and Yan Zheyun guessed that the others might be his apprentices, as they followed behind him at a respectful distance. 

It was this elderly craftsman who spoke up, the greeting bow that he performed perfectly fulfilling all the requirements of court etiquette, demonstrating that although he was neither a servant of the inner palace nor an official that assisted the emperor in ruling the country, he nonetheless had strong ties to the place. The Department of Paraphernalia was one of few that was situated outside of the inner palace itself, in the administrative region of the imperial city. Although the eunuchs controlled the movement of its products between this department and the palaces, the craftsmen themselves hadn't been castrated, were workers that just so happened to be so good at their art that they were hired by the emperor in the capacity of their trade. 

"Commoner Mu Shi greets Your Majesty, Noble Consort Li Niangniang, and Lord Yue." 

"Dispense with formalities," Liu Yao said. "Master Craftsman (2) Mu, do you have answers for this sovereign?" 

Mu Shi's answering salute was solemn. Although he was referred to himself as a commoner, his bearing was reasonably comfortable in the presence of his emperor, a sure sign that he'd had a lot of experience dealing with nobility in the past, if not the actual members of the imperial family. 

"In response to Your Majesty, this commoner has examined this bracelet personally because it was this commoner's hand that crafted this bracelet upon Your Majesty's request." 

"This sovereign remembers." The glance Liu Yao directed at Noble Consort Li was pointed. "Noble Consort, this sovereign specially requested the Department of Paraphernalia to prepare a gift for you to the theme of 'all rivers lead to the sea'. This sovereign thought that you would cherish its meaning but didn't realise you would be so magnanimous as to part with it by giving it to this sovereign's Yan Yun." He let out a quiet laugh. "In hindsight, that was rather astute of you." 

Yan Zheyun lowered his lashes so no one could see his eyes brighten with laughter. All rivers lead to the sea? That was an idiom he'd studied in school and he knew its meaning inside-out since his father often told him to train himself to be like this. As Liu Yao had said, it was a metaphor for magnanimity and graciousness, qualities that would have suited an empress, and no doubt, Noble Consort Li might have once assumed that to be the hidden meaning behind the emperor's gift…right up until he dashed her hopes against the rocks the first chance that he could. 

It might be ridiculous but Liu Yao was the owner of the bitchiest mouth Yan Zheyun had come across since transmigration and he hung out in a harem full of catty concubines all day. None of them had anything on their husband, though, which was saying something. In just a couple of sentences from him, calculated to stab where she was most vulnerable, Noble Consort Li had wilted, blood draining from her face at Liu Yao's reminder that she hadn't been his chosen bride. 

Be magnanimous, was the significance of Liu Yao's wedding gift to her. Because, Yan Zheyun surmised, he'd fully intended for her to tolerate a lot of shit from then on. 

It didn't seem like Liu Yao to be this pernicious without a reason. Yan Zheyun couldn't help but think that this casual animosity might have something to do with that missing Ziyu of his. 

Noble Consort Li's lips trembled. "Your Majesty…" 

"Shh." Liu Yao hushed her with mocking gentleness. "Let's see what else Master Craftsman Mu has to say." 

Upon hearing his name, Mu Shi continued with his report. "Your Majesty, after a thorough examination of the bracelet, this commoner has concluded that this is an excellent replica of the original creation." He pointed out the fine dark lines that webbed over the surface of the turquoise. "That year, this commoner went through three thousand different gemstones before choosing one whose markings would resemble the froth of waves as they crashed upon the sand. Although this is very close in pattern to this commoner's original, this commoner has records of the original, and after referring, detected some minute differences in the markings although they are astonishingly minimal and might not have been picked up by anyone else." 

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He looked at Yan Zheyun. "May this commoner know where Lord Yue found a craftsman capable of such work? This commoner highly admires his eye for detail." 

Liu Yao, too, turned to eye Yan Zheyun with interest. 

"…" Yan Zheyun returned the look in awkward silence. If ever there would be a good time to bring up Liu Suzhi, it definitely wasn't now. 

"Never mind," Liu Yao said at last when it became evident that Yan Zheyun fully intended to chew on his lower lip the rest of the day if pressured. But Yan Zheyun could hear the unspoken later in his tone. "Can Master Craftsman Mu detect any problems with the bracelet, such as hidden compartments?" 

As a veteran of the imperial city, Mu Shi knew better than to be curious about why the emperor was asking this. The horrific scene that the craftsmen had walked in on had left his apprentices knocking their knees behind him as they tried and failed to conceal their frightened shivers but this old man was steady as he answered Liu Yao's questions without hesitation. 

"This commoner has not detected thing of this sort, Your Majesty." Mu Shi gestured for his apprentice to bring the bracelet forward on a cushion, handing it to Head Eunuch Cao, who took it over to Liu Yao. "If Your Majesty can note the delicate metalwork that went into the gold frame of the bracelet, it is too thin to conceal any clasps that would allow its owner to access any hidden compartments." 

Noble Consort Li's eyes had gone wide with disbelief once Mu Shi had confirmed that this bracelet wasn't the one she had given to Yan Zheyun but she regained her composure, rounding on Yan Zheyun with an accusatory stare as she said, "Lord Yue! How bold of you to plant spies in His Majesty's Tianlu Pavilion!" She glared past him at Deputy Eunuch Zheng and an exaggerated realisation passed over her visage. "Your Majesty!" she cried. "Lord Yue must have gotten wind about this matter beforehand and swapped out the bracelets before coming over—"

"Niangniang, don't spit blood onto others (3)," Yan Zheyun interjected. "This concubine was playing mahjong with Lord Chen and Lord Hua when Deputy Eunuch Zheng came to escort me over here and certainly did not have time to change anything. Or are you suggesting that this concubine would have the means to bribe an entire house of servants as well as the entire entourage that followed behind Deputy Eunuch Zheng?" His smile turned self-deprecating. "That much financial power coming from a mere ex-slave?" 

"Yan Yun. This sovereign will not hear you spoken of like that by anyone, not even yourself." 

The dimple at the corner of Yan Zheyun's mouth deepened as he crinkled his eyes at Liu Yao's brooding frown. "As Your Majesty commands." 

Noble Consort Li's rouge couldn't conceal the pallor of her lips, pressed so tightly together that they had blanched. "That doesn't absolve you of suspicion!" she said. "Perhaps you're cautious enough to wear the replica at all times when not in His Majesty's company? Why else would you have created a replica so early on—"

"Because, Niangniang, I don't trust you," Yan Zheyun said simply. "I didn't then and I won't ever." He raised his eyes to meet Liu Yao's, hoping that Liu Yao heard the hidden message in his next words. "In the inner palace, a confidante is precious precisely because they are nearly impossible to find. Niangniang gave me a bracelet out of the blue, going so far as to do so in front of the entire harem as though you wanted to reassure me that there was nothing wrong with it. How could I not be on my guard?" He raised an eyebrow. "Sure enough, a couple of months later, here I am in the line of fire for this very thing." 

He faced Liu Yao and got down on his knees into a respectful full kowtow. "Yan Yun has been framed and pleads Your Majesty to investigate Noble Consort Li's involvement in this matter. Yan Yun is not guilty of any of the crimes pinned upon me by Noble Consort Li's false accusations as well as my disloyal servant Qiu Ji." 

Qiu Ji's groaning had weakened into faint whimpers by now, the pain leeching him of energy. Yan Zheyun had good reason to believe that he would not survive the investigation. The best he could try to get him was a clean, swift death, which was more than would be promised Yan Zheyun should the ploy against him succeed. 

Yan Zheyun expected Liu Yao to deliberate longer, maybe even refuse his request; no matter how silly she'd been to involve herself in this, Noble Consort Li was Grand Protector Li's granddaughter and Grand Protector Li's control of the Yulin Army was akin to the old man holding a blade at Liu Yao's throat. 

But. 

"This sovereign permits this investigation," Liu Yao said immediately, eliciting a dismayed shout from Noble Consort Li, who look as though she'd been struck by lightning. "Head Eunuch Cao, inform the brocade guard to surround Changchun Palace and conduct a thorough search of the premises for evidence. All servants of Changchun Palace are to be brought to the Department of Careful Punishment for interrogation…with Noble Consort Li escorted along with them." 

Of course. Grand Protector Li thought that he had caught the tiger by the tail, without realising that the tiger had grown big enough to turn its head and bite back. 

Yan Zheyun nearly pitied Noble Consort Li, but only nearly. He had no reason to believe in her innocence, was more than certain now that her family was involved closely in the black fragrance incident, even if they weren't the only culpable ones. Her actions today were almost brazen, as though she, or whoever was behind her, didn't care how tenuous their evidence was, had been cocky about their arrangements, all the way down to the bracelet they had so openly planted on him. It made no sense to him and he could only guess that they had expected the emperor to lap it up, shackled by his limited influence and pressurised by their status, with no choice but to buy their version of the story over that of his poor, helpless favoured concubine. 

Yan Zheyun could only call them blind. After only a few months with Liu Yao, he could already see the mettle in his spine. If these old noble clans and powerful ministers still thought that they could control the young emperor, to break his will until he did their bidding, then the invention of a pair of good glasses couldn't come any sooner for them. 

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, you've wronged this consort! This consort only has Your Majesty's best interests at heart! Your Majesty!" Noble Consort Li's cries escalated into frantic shrieks as two guards clad in the trademark eye-catching red of the brocade guard uniform bowed to her and started ushering her uncompromisingly towards the moon gate Yan Zheyun had entered from earlier. 

"My best interests at heart?" Yan Zheyun heard Liu Yao murmur. "From the moment you chose this path, you were destined to be selfish, Noble Consort." Louder, he called out to her, "Don't worry, Noble Consort, this sovereign knows how much your value your reputation and will seek to defend it—"

A sharp biting interjection rang out in the clearing. "Just as you claim to defend your fourth brother's? Emperor, you are trying to drive this mourner to an early grave!"

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