Chapter 49

"Your Majesty has countless affairs of state to attend to. How could you have time to study medicine?" Meng Zhou smoothed over his earlier remark.

Chu Huaiyin had only made time to meet Liu Yixiu because Meng Zhou had recommended him so strongly, and to see Meng Zhou while he was at it. Otherwise, he would only have needed to issue an imperial decree. Before long, Ji Yang called Chu Huaiyin away. The Liu Residence's adviser had confessed.

Meng Zhou looked at Chu Huaiyin longingly.

I want to listen too.

"No. The dungeon is damp and cold, and you only just fell ill because of that. Tonight, I'll have them write out his confession for you to read." Without any effort, Chu Huaiyin had found an excuse for them to spend the evening together.

"All right. I'll leave the palace, then. I'll stop by the Guan Residence first to pack my things."

Meng Zhou grabbed Liu Yixiu. "Let's go."

Liu Yixiu looked eager for gossip. "What's your hurry?" He had finally gotten a chance to meet the emperor, and he had not talked to His Majesty enough yet.

"Shut up. Say another word and I'll confiscate the medical book."

Liu Yixiu stayed quiet for three seconds, then stroked his little mustache and earnestly shared, "I saw a treatment for impotence in the other half of the book. In my opinion, given Lord Guan's physical condition, it's worth a try. Could you ask him for me?"

Liu Yixiu urged Meng Zhou on. Guan Jiasheng was far too proper; he did not dare ask him to be a guinea pig himself.

"Really?" Meng Zhou was delighted.

"Seventy percent chance, I'd say," Liu Yixiu estimated.

At the Guan Residence, Old Madam Guan only learned that her son had returned after Guan Jiasheng came back from court.

Guan Jiasheng had gone to his wife's grave first. Just as he had once plucked willow catkins from her hair, he picked up every fallen leaf around her grave with his own hands. Afu followed him, watching his master pull at his wounds every time he bent down, watching him sway and nearly topple every time he lowered his head. He thought of the resolute look on his mistress's face that rainy night, of how he and Meng Zhou had buried her with their own hands, of how those people had dug up her grave and taken her body... He could not hold back a choked sob.

Guan Jiasheng said nothing. To the sound of Afu's sobs, he sat before Liao Yunlan's grave for an entire afternoon.

On his way back, he bought a packet of osmanthus cakes and took it to the prayer hall.

After everything that had happened, much more gray had appeared at Old Madam Guan's temples. Guan Jiasheng knelt beside his mother. "Your son has been unfilial. I forgot to buy osmanthus cakes from Qiong Ridge."

The scene seemed familiar. Back then, the osmanthus cakes had come from Qiong Ridge, but the son had belonged to someone else.

The prayer beads fell to the floor. His mother slowly turned her head, unable to speak for a long while. Looking at her son, who had grown so thin he was barely recognizable, she remembered Meng Zhou saying he had been attacked in both the chest and the back of the head. Before her trembling fingers could touch Guan Jiasheng, she withdrew them as though waking from a dream, terrified that in her excitement she might touch his wounds.

In the end, she only held Guan Jiasheng's hand, repeating over and over, "It's enough that you're back. It's enough that you're back..."

Osmanthus cakes, fragrant at Mid-Autumn-not to satisfy the appetite, but only for the wish of a family reunited.

The night before, Guan Jiasheng had picked a room at random rather than sleeping in the main room Meng Zhou usually occupied.

Meng Zhou came over and packed a few things. He did not actually have much. Knowing he would leave sooner or later, he had not bought himself anything. After looking around, he only took a few changes of clothes and some disguise supplies.

Remembering Liu Yixiu's words, Meng Zhou found a deserted spot and secretly spoke to Guan Jiasheng, asking whether he wanted treatment.

Guan Jiasheng refused.

"My mother has lived her whole life for the Guan Clan. If I were cured, she would certainly urge me to marry and have children. A-Lan disregarded the world's judgment to marry me, then died because of me. I don't intend to remarry in this lifetime and needlessly hold another young woman back. I don't wish to defy my mother, nor do I want to let A-Lan down. Things are best as they are."

"I have yet to thank you for silencing those gossipmongers on my behalf, Brother Meng. Together with the debt I owe you for saving my life, I have no way to repay you."

Meng Zhou had expected this, but Guan Jiasheng was only twenty-five. He paused before saying, "Your wife was wise and gracious, an example to all women. But if you meet someone you love in the future, Brother Guan, you must speak up."

"Thank you, Brother Meng. I'll remember that."

Jiang Yi waited outside the Guan Residence. When he saw Meng Zhou emerge with his little bundle, he took it with a cold expression and slung it over his back.

Hmph. My nephew just had to fall in love with the emperor.

Since ancient times, emperors had kept vast harems. Who could remain forever favored? If it were anyone else, with the general's household's influence, they would certainly force him to have only Meng Zhou for the rest of his life. Eighteen years ago, disaster had suddenly struck the general's household, leaving them unable to back Jiang Yao as her birth family should, letting Meng Fushan bully her as he pleased. Now that Jiang Yi had finally returned, his nephew had found an equally vexing partner. As a subject, he had to devote himself loyally to his sovereign. If His Majesty let Meng Zhou down, could he pin him to the ground and make him write a divorce letter as he had Meng Fushan?

"Let's eat at the general's residence first." Then he would move into the general's residence together with Meng Zhou.

The great general's expression was livid. One man barred the pass, and ten thousand could not break through. Shut out of the general's residence, the hidden guards could only crouch in a row along the outer wall, biting their fingers, looking utterly pitiful.

For as long as Meng Zhou ate, he listened to Jiang Xin cry.

This rather sentimental young man had grown quite a bit taller, and his martial arts had improved too. Though he called himself Meng Zhou's cousin-uncle, he still acted like a child in front of him.

Unable to bear it any longer, Jiang Yi stuffed a steamed bun into his mouth. "Eat!"

"Mmph." Jiang Yi's authority as the head of the family was quite intimidating. Hungry from crying, Jiang Xin took huge bites of the bun.

After the meal, Jiang Xin sat there excitedly, looking forward to Jiang Yi dragging Meng Zhou into the ranks of those who "practiced martial arts and studied military formations every day."

The great general showed not a shred of humanity when training his troops, and was extremely enthusiastic about it. Given his temperament, he would be just as strict with his nephew.

I'll have company.

After finishing his meal, Meng Zhou suggested a stroll in the garden and a little martial arts practice along the way.

Jiang Yi kept a stern face. "Don't you know what condition you're in? Can't you digest your food sitting still? What martial arts practice?" He pointed at Jiang Xin. "You, go run two laps around the drill ground. Don't fall behind on your training."

Jiang Xin gaped. Did he have to treat them so differently?

He trained through his tears.

Meng Zhou thought his uncle seemed a little too worried. Before he could speak, Jiang Yi asked what his relationship with Chu Huaiyin was.

Meng Zhou's ears reddened. He stammered, "A mutually willing relationship."

"What about this, then?" Jiang Yi pointed at his lower abdomen. "When did you find out? Are you going to tell him?"

If he told his uncle the truth, he would most likely get scolded, so he concealed a little. "I only found out recently. As for His Majesty, I need to think about how best to tell him."

"I opposed your mother's marriage back then, but she insisted on marrying him. Now I can't do anything about you either. Your uncle only wants to ask you one thing: do you trust His Majesty that much? Can you tolerate him having a harem of three thousand?"

Meng Zhou shook his head. "No."

"Then you..."

"Do you think I'm going to enter the palace as a consort, Uncle?" Meng Zhou laid out his reasoning. "I only want to be an official, high-ranking or low. If His Majesty is sincere about me, I'll be with him. If... if he takes consorts, I'll pretend none of this ever happened."

Jiang Yi nodded approvingly. "Exactly. Unless you're going to be empress, we don't want it."

Meng Zhou: "..."

The Meng Residence.

Looking at the bright red bridal bed, Meng Zhou remembered certain awful scenes.

Even sitting on the edge brought back those blush-inducing movements. He took a deep breath and stripped off all the quilt covers himself.

Someone suddenly embraced him from behind. At the familiar feel and warmth of that chest, Meng Zhou startled and dropped the quilt, using both hands to block Chu Huaiyin's hand as it reached toward his lower abdomen.

He ducked out from under Chu Huaiyin's arm and threatened, "My uncle's next door."

"Ahem."

His uncle's affected cough carried over without the slightest obstruction.

Chu Huaiyin froze. Which craftsman had built this house? How could the soundproofing be so poor?

His Majesty, who had originally wanted to cop a feel, was forced to get down to business ahead of schedule.

He took a written confession from his sleeve. "Have a look."

The Liu Residence's adviser was called Zhang Si. After the cargo boat explosion, he had not fled the capital. Instead, he had disguised himself and settled there, hiding in plain sight. Following instructions from above, he had coordinated matters concerning the Lake Tai stones.

After the secret of the Lake Tai stones was exposed, he spread rumors pinning all the blame on Meng Fushan while anxiously awaiting the next stage of the plan.

There was nothing more to be done in the capital, and his accomplices were dwindling. Constantly worried that the Imperial Guard would find him, he waited for the delegation to take him out of the city after hearing that the envoys had arrived.

When he saw the fireworks west of the posthouse, he thought his superiors had issued another instruction, most likely ordering him to go to the Feng Kingdom. The next day was when the delegation would return home. Without much suspicion, he went to the secret rendezvous point and met Miss Shui Bi.

After being captured, Zhang Si also confessed the inside story of the Jiang Clan's defeat eighteen years earlier.

His master believed that with the Jiang Clan around, Great Wei's cities were impregnable, and ordered him to persuade Liu De to seize military command of the Northern Frontier. Liu De had enjoyed considerable trust from Emperor Tianyuan at the time and was responsible for supervising the army. Zhang Si had made contact with the Northern Di, exchanged intelligence, and coordinated efforts from within and without, ultimately bringing about the Jiang Clan's destruction. Military authority successfully fell into Liu De's hands, and Liu De trusted Zhang Si greatly as his chief adviser. The Feng Kingdom was in the midst of a civil war then, so Great Wei had to be plunged into war as well. Neither it nor the Northern Di could be allowed to become the sole dominant power. Thus, Great Wei alternated between victories and defeats, surrendering several important cities, while the Northern Di fought with ever greater ferocity.

At this point, Emperor Tianyuan realized Liu De was not cut out for warfare and replaced him as commander-in-chief with the eldest prince, Chu Huaiyin.

Zhang Si followed Liu De back to the capital in disgrace. Liu De bore a grudge against Chu Huaiyin over military authority, and Zhang Si took the opportunity to suggest that Liu De support the second prince. The second prince had courage but no cunning. If he ascended the throne, he would be easier to deal with than Chu Huaiyin.

The cargo boat owner had come to Great Wei with Zhang Si to work undercover, and they publicly called each other brothers. After transporting all the Lake Tai stones to the capital, the cargo boat owner received orders to kill Chu Huaiyin in an explosion. That had led to the incident on Qianyang Lake.

Over the years, the cargo boat owner had shipped goods throughout Great Wei and colluded with Lady Zhou's birth family. Lady Zhou hated Jiang Yao, and Zhang Si happened to possess a batch of the Jiang Clan's belongings. He had made an easy favor of giving them to Lady Zhou, letting her use those things to swindle away Jiang Yao's entire dowry.

After reading it, Meng Zhou found it hard to believe. This had actually been a conspiracy spanning eighteen years.

"Who is Zhang Si's superior?" Was it the Feng Kingdom's crown prince? He remembered that the crown prince did not seem very old.

Chu Huaiyin said, "He doesn't know. He only knows it's someone from the Feng Kingdom's imperial family."

"He doesn't know? Oh, have you investigated whether any descendants of the previous dynasty are still alive? The previous dynasty once formed a marriage alliance with the Feng Kingdom. I wonder whether there's a connection." Whoever possessed the map of Qing Garden had ties to the previous dynasty.

Chu Huaiyin said, "Don't worry. With your uncle here, the Feng Kingdom won't be able to go to war with Great Wei in the near future, at any rate. We have time to investigate."

With the Liu Family's adviser captured, the threat to Meng Zhou's safety had diminished. That was already a major gain.

Chu Huaiyin brought up another matter. "In two days, I'm going to the Bestowal Altar to offer sacrifices to Heaven. Come with me."

Two days later was the anniversary of Great Wei's founding. As custom dictated, they were to offer sacrifices to Heaven at the Bestowal Altar and pray for the stability of Great Wei's realm.

But the Bestowal Altar stood atop Mercy Mountain, and successive emperors and empresses had ascended on foot. Though the mountains surrounding the capital were not particularly high, there were still 2,888 steps.

Just thinking about it made Meng Zhou's legs go a little weak.

In my current condition, this official might faint halfway up.

"This subject is only a judicial officer at the Court of Judicial Review now. I'm not qualified to go..." Meng Zhou wanted to refuse.

Chu Huaiyin said, "Why do you think I'm asking you to go?"

Meng Zhou met his gaze.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

Hadn't he been worrying about having no opportunity to tell Chu Huaiyin about the pregnancy?

Lately, Meng Zhou had kept thinking that he could simply find a moment when Chu Huaiyin was present and faint on the spot. Then, once an imperial physician took his pulse, he would not have to say a thing. The physician could explain everything for him.

He could even seize the chance to pretend to remain unconscious and sleep until Chu Huaiyin had fully accepted the matter before waking up.

Surely he couldn't vent his anger on an unconscious person?

There was just one problem: if he fainted for no reason, life might not be very pleasant after he woke. Chu Huaiyin would bluntly conclude that he was frail and restrict his daily activities.

Meng Zhou needed to demonstrate that he was perfectly healthy while also pretending to faint, and he had yet to find a suitable opportunity.

If this official "fainted from exhaustion" while climbing a mountain...

Or if this official got afraid of heights while climbing...

Plan complete.

"I'll go," Meng Zhou declared in a ringing voice.

Next door, Jiang Yi was polishing his sword, setting its scabbard down with a thunderous clatter.

Look at the time. Why hasn't he left yet?

Doesn't he know you can't share a bed during pregnancy?