Chapter 23: 23

Pouring Tea (1)

The door was opened again, and two maids, who stood waiting at the edge of the corridor, hurried in. One of them cleared the cups and plates on the table while the other wrung a hot towel and gave it to Xiao Yu to wipe his face.

He reached out to receive it. He looked at the gentle steam rising from the towel, but he remained still.

“Your Highness?” The maid stood in wait beside him. She was unsure whether she should help or continue to wait. She had no choice but to ask him hesitantly.

Xiao Yu was instantly annoyed. He found the two maid’s presence irritating and gestured for them to leave.

He was left alone in the spacious room again. He recalled what Xu Rong said before he left, and this left him with indescribably complicated feelings.

Xiao Yu kept himself untainted on sexual matters. Before marriage, he never kept a female servant for his physical needs.

This was partly because his mother passed away when he was young. As he grew older, his father gradually came to favor Noble Consort Xue and Wu Wanghuan. His father did not care for him and became distant from him. As such, he had no elders who were concerned about him.

Another reason was that he needed to make a good impression. He knew that courtiers like Chu Qianyu were devoted to his family and did not condone men having concubines. So, to gain more allies in the royal court, Xiao Yu decided to restrain his desires and maintain a clean image.

However, as Xu Rong said, the situation now was different.

Matrimonial alliance was the best way to unite common interests, especially with those who had real power in their grasp but were not under his control. As long as he still had a fighting chance, he had to consider this option.

But when he thought of Chu Ning, he felt a sudden hesitation.

The hot towel had cooled completely, but he still wiped his face with it. As the cool cloth touched his face, he became more alert.

Forget it, I am still in the midst of mourning, so marriage is not allowed. I should disregard it for now and only think about it when the time comes.

　　……

He threw the cloth into the bronze basin and got up to summon the servants who were waiting nearby. “Prepare water for a bath.”

…

Early the next morning, Jin Jiang brought Xiao Kezhi’s decree to the Palace of Eternal Spring. He not only announced that Xiao Yu remained as the Crown Prince, he also said that the Emperor permitted him, on the account of his weak health, to return to the Palace of Eternal Spring straightaway after paying his daily respect at Taiji Hall until he fully recovered.

Xiao Yu was suspicious of Xiao Kezhi’s concern for him. Despite that, the decree still gave him temporary relief.

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Once a decree was issued, it would be recorded in the royal tome. Everyone in the kingdom would know about this. So, he did not have to fear of the new Emperor removing his position for a while.

As the courtiers gathered in Taiji Hall every morning, Xu Rong secretly arranged for people to search through the old records in the Ministry of Punishments and the Censorate. 

Although he was careful, Zhao Yanzhou, the Supervisor of the East Palace, still noticed what he was doing every day.

In the evening a few days later, he went to the side hall of the palace as usual to meet with Chu Ning and told her about this matter.

“Xu Shidu is searching the old records?” Chu Ning asked after listening to him.

“Yes, not only the old records of the East Palace, he also searched for records of the government offices in other areas. I believe that this has something to do with the Assistant Director of the Ministry of Works.”

Chu Ning already understood what this meant before he explained.

Xiao Yu was surrounded by many corrupt courtiers like Hou Tongyi, the Assistant Director of the Ministry of Works. Now that Hou Tongyi was executed, there would definitely be more people who would go down the same fate. As such, he was taking precautions to prevent it from happening.

In the past, before she knew about the truth, she advised Xiao Yu tactfully to avoid teaming up with immoral and shady people. However, he always said that he had no choice. He said that if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to contend against the Empress Dowager.

Now, these courtiers finally became his weakness.

Chu Ning suddenly remembered something. She recalled what she had unwittingly heard about those courtiers in the past two years. She chose a few names and remembered them, thinking that they might be of use soon.

“I understand.” She nodded at Zhao Yanzhou and allowed him to leave first.

Later, in the main house of the Palace of Eternal Spring, Xiao Yu had a meeting with his allies. He then went to sleep after taking the medicine that Chu Ning brewed for him. The doors and windows were tightly shut, and the house was completely quiet.

The Imperial Physician added some calming herbs to his medicine to help him recover his strength. After he drank them, he slept very well in the days following.

Chu Ning looked at the time and left two trusted maids to keep watch in the Palace of Eternal Spring. Then, she brought Cui He with her and left through the Dragon Door. They walked along the Thousand-Steps Corridor towards the Scenic Pool once again.

Under the twilight, the surroundings seemed to be covered in a layer of cold mist, making it seem cold and lonesome. The palace attendants lit up the lamps along the corridor. This lent brightness to the gloomy surroundings.　

Xiao Kezhi was at the pavilion beside the pond. He was dressed in mourning attire and stood alone by the railing with his hands behind him. There was a pot of tea on the table with steam rising from it.

Chu Ning saw his profile from afar and knew that she did not come in vain.

After the late Emperor’s encoffining ceremony, she instructed Cui He to observe the palace’s back garden secretly. They found out about Xiao Kezhi’s daily schedule that way.

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