Because of Sui Sui's injuries, Huan Xuan simply stayed in the Hot Spring Palace. Located in the capital, it was also convenient for him to go to the camp to train troops.
The eldest princess still felt a little guilty, so she sent a large amount of medicinal herbs, supplements, silks and satins. Even Sui Sui felt that it was a bit too much, but Huan Xuan accepted everything and said, "What are you afraid of? She won't feel at ease if I don't accept it."
Huan Minggui was also in the palace. He went to Shaoyang Court to visit the Crown Prince, and then made a detour to visit the King of Qi in Xingchen Palace.
Huan Xuan knew that Sui Sui had other intentions and had never given up on him, so he was not willing to let him see him. He accepted his gift and sent him away with a few words.
Huan Minggui had no choice but to go back to his yard to take a hot bath in disappointment.
Sui Sui's condition was slightly stable, so Huan Xuan called Gao Ma, Chun Tiao, Xiao Tong and others to the Hot Spring Palace to accompany her. Gao Ma and others were very worried when they heard that Sui Sui was injured in Mount Li. Gao Ma only blamed herself for not reciting the Buddhist scriptures enough. Now, the two fur coats brought blood disaster.
At the Hot Spring Palace, Grandma Gao was injured because she was shielding her prince from the arrows. She felt mixed emotions in her heart. Wiping away her tears, she simply told Huan Xuan, "I only ask one thing of your Highness. If the princess comes to the palace and cannot tolerate Madam Lu, I will beg your Highness to show mercy and let me go and live with Madam Lu. I beg your Highness to remember her loyalty today and treat her better in the future."
Huan Xuan was helpless: "Is this the kind of person that Madam thinks I am?"
Grandma Gao pursed her lips and said, "Your Highness is naturally not that kind of person." He was the child she raised, so of course she was reluctant to say that he was not, but she still remembered the neglect Lu Suisui suffered after the Lantern Festival. When it came to matters between men and women, she still had no confidence in the King of Qi.
Huan Xuan said, "My elder sister asked His Majesty to confer the title of Xiangjun on her behalf. The title should be granted in a while."
Instead of being surprised, Gao was horrified. Her face turned pale and she murmured, "Amitabha, I will go and recite the sutra." How many times should I recite it to be enough? She was so tired from saying it.
Chun Tiao lay beside Sui Sui's bed and cried like a bereaved mother. Sui Sui almost thought she was dead and could only comfort her: "It's okay, it's just a minor injury."
Chun Tiao cried fiercely: "My lady, please don't abandon me..."
Although the speaker did not mean it, Sui Sui's heart was moved. She had originally planned to recover from her injuries and find a chance to leave Chang'an, and she was not prepared to take anyone with her. However, Chun Tiao and she had been dependent on each other. If she stayed in the palace and had to make a living under the princess in the future, she didn't know if she would be bullied. It would be better to find a way to take her with her.
She secretly made up her mind, and smiled to comfort her: "Don't worry, I won't abandon Sister Chun Tiao no matter who I leave behind."
…
The attack on the Crown Prince and the King of Qi during their autumn hunt caused an uproar in the court and the country. The voices opposing sending troops in the court became much smaller. At this time, news came from Huaihe that Guo Zhongxuan, dissatisfied with the court's treasury cuts, had rebelled and plundered the surrounding counties. The expedition to Huaihe was thus decided, and the responsibility of commanding the troops undoubtedly fell on the King of Qi.
Sui Sui was lying in the hot spring palace recovering from her injuries, but her mind was idle. Naturally, such a major event as the Huaihe Rebellion would reach her ears. This timing was not bad. The Huaihe Rebellion confirmed Guo Zhongxuan's wolfish ambition and daring, and the assassination of the crown prince was indeed true.
Sui Sui did not believe that there was such a coincidence in the world. The prince must have secretly reached an agreement with someone in the Huaihe Jiedushi Mansion, so that he could know the situation in Huaihe well and take advantage of it when setting up the plan. It is not to say that the prince acted well in this play, not because of the realistic performance, but because he acted into the emperor's heart, which was beyond Sui Sui's expectation.
The prince had fainted several times before and lost his position as regent, but this time he understood the emperor's intentions perfectly. Perhaps it was the lessons he learned several times that made him realize that what the emperor feared was not his sons fighting for power, but one family becoming the only one that would threaten his throne.
Sui Sui always thought that the prince was ambitious but incompetent and short-sighted. Although she suspected that he had murdered Huan Ye, she did not regard him as an opponent. This time she found that he was not as easy to deal with as she expected.
However, she also hoped to overthrow the prince with a single assassination. The emperor was not unaware of the feud between his two sons, but he had turned a blind eye and was wary of the prince, yet he had the intention of deposing him and establishing another. Compared with the third son who held military power and was unruly, perhaps the second son who was submissive and dependent on others was more to his liking.
This time she only needed to obtain evidence of the prince's plot and hold the handle in her hand. She could launch an attack when the situation was favorable and hit him with one blow, making it impossible for him to turn the tables. Only after she took back the military power in Heshuo would she have enough bargaining chips.
Sui Sui was recuperating in the Hot Spring Palace and could not leave the Star Hall. Due to the assassination of the Crown Prince and the King of Qi, the Hot Spring Palace had strengthened its defenses, and there were also armored Yulin guards guarding outside the Star Hall. Her subordinates could not take the risk of delivering news here, so she could only wait patiently.
With Huan Xuan by her side, the days passed quickly. When he was not in the barracks, he stayed by her bedside, taught her to read, played chess for her, and told her about the interesting stories that had happened in Chang'an recently. He was not good at speaking, but he could make the stories sound boring. He stared at Sui Sui with a serious look of wonder: "Why don't you laugh? Isn't what I said funny?"
Sui Sui always couldn't help laughing because of his expression, and his laughter almost burst his wounds.
Huan Xuan also took on the responsibility of feeding her the medicine, patiently feeding her the medicine soup one spoonful at a time with a small spoon. Sui endured it for a few times, but finally she couldn't bear it anymore and snatched the bowl to drink it all in one gulp.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi was not allowed to exercise military power, and the eldest brother was unhappy, so he began to feed her porridge and soup, pinching her face and waist every day to check whether the porridge she fed her had turned into flesh. He didn't know what fun this was, but he enjoyed it very much. When he was not in the barracks, he fed her five or six meals a day.
While recuperating in Mount Li, Sui became a lot fatter, but Huan Xuan lost some weight due to running around the palace, military camp and court.
Three months later, Sui Sui's wounds were no longer serious and she was granted the title.
Although it was the eldest princess who came forward, she knew it must be Huan Xuan's instruction, and she was greatly surprised. She blocked the arrow for Huan Xuan, and she knew there would be a reward, but she didn't expect that he would give her a title - although it was not a real title, it was quite extraordinary given her current status.
Huan Xuan thought she was flattered and said lightly, "You are not surprised by what you have seen. She is just a country lady. With her family background, she can become a concubine in the mansion in the future. Don't let your imagination run wild all day long."
He kept his intention to marry her to himself. After all, it was just his plan for now. He would tell her after he conquered Huai'an and settled the matter with his father. He would be 100% sure about it before doing so.
Sui Sui received the imperial edict and went to the palace to express her gratitude. The empress no longer took care of the affairs, and now it was Concubine De who was in charge of all the affairs in the harem. When Concubine De saw her appearance, she was secretly surprised, but she did not doubt her identity at all. She rewarded her with a gold hairpin and some palace brocade, and sent her away.
After leaving the palace, Huan Xuan sent her back to Shanchiyuan, but he himself went back to the barracks without stopping - the food and grass were almost ready, and the army would set out in a month, so he no longer had time to go back to Shanchiyuan to accompany her.
Back at Shanchiyuan, it was much easier to pass on the news. Within three days after Sui Sui returned, he received a secret letter sent by his subordinates. They had detained two assassins who knew the inside story and temporarily detained them in the dungeon under the pagoda of Linghua Temple, waiting to be brought out when the parade started.
In addition, there were two other pieces of news. One was that the eunuch military supervisors sent by the court to Heshuo had indeed caused great dissatisfaction among the officers and soldiers. Although Xiao Tongan had finally received the long-awaited imperial edict and became the legitimate governor of the three towns, his prestige in the army was becoming increasingly precarious, to the point that he even had to be escorted by hundreds of personal soldiers whenever he traveled.
Sui Sui estimated that within half a year, Xue Zhi would be unable to hold back and attack Xiao Tongan. The imperial court did not take Xiao Tongan, a puppet, seriously, and sent a large army to attack Huaibei, not caring about Hebei. The moment Xiao Tongan agreed to the imperial court sending eunuchs to supervise the army, he had dug his own grave.
The situation in Heshuo was within her expectations, but another piece of news shocked her.
They found a eunuch in Jiangnan who used to work in the Queen's palace. Perhaps he knew something about the sudden death of the previous Crown Prince. Because these private matters were related to her, her subordinates could not interrogate him, so they sent him to Linghua Temple and waited for her to interrogate him personally.
When she heard that she had just returned and was going to the temple outside the city to worship Buddha, Grandma Gao naturally tried her best to stop her - she still remembered that last time Lu Suisui went to Qinglong Temple and caught a cold and almost lost her life, so she didn't dare let her go again.
Sui Sui tried to persuade him, but in the end he could only pull up the banner of the King of Qi: "His Highness is about to go to war, I just want to pray to the Buddha to bless him to win the battle and return safely."
Grandma Gao hesitated and said, "My lady is not well yet, I will go in your place."
Sui Sui said: "How can I ask others to pray for me? What if the Buddha thinks that I am not sincere?"
He paused and said, "I was shot by an arrow and survived, all thanks to the Buddha's blessing, I should go and thank him myself."
After hearing what she said, Grandma Gao became unsettled and said, "Madam, please go and come back soon."
Sui Sui readily agreed: "I saved it, Madam, don't worry."
The old nanny kept nagging for a long time, and then asked Chun Tiao to take good care of his wife, and then she reluctantly went to arrange the carriage and horses.
Not long after leaving Shanchiyuan, they felt that they were being followed.
Who would follow a concubine of the King of Qi? Could it be that because she received a title, someone thought she was important to the King of Qi and wanted to take action against her
She pretended not to notice, went to Qinglong Temple to worship Buddha, added incense money, asked for amulets for Huanxuan and the people in Shanchiyuan, and then went to Linghua Temple.
There were few people living near Linghua Temple, and there were only a few pilgrims in the temple. The people who had been following them stealthily had no way to hide, so they could only find a place to stop outside the mountain gate and pretend to rest their horses.
After returning to the temple, he had a vegetarian meal with Chun Tiao and then said he was tired and went to rest in the Zen room. Chun Tiao had been trying hard to stay awake, but when he saw his master sleeping soundly, he was bored and lay down on the couch with his clothes on. He thought he would just take a short nap, but he fell into a deep sleep without realizing it.
As soon as she fell asleep, she got up quietly and casually, and followed the guest monk to a secluded monk's room.
"The person is inside." The guest monk whispered.
I turned my head and pushed open the wooden door of the Zen temple, only to see a middle-aged man sitting in the empty Zen room. He had a shaved head, a weather-beaten face, and was wearing a tattered monk's robe. His Zen staff was leaning against the wall, and he looked like a foreign monk staying there.
Sui Sui did not think it was strange. It was not easy to send a living person all the way from the south of the Yangtze River to the capital, passing through so many checkpoints and hiding from the eyes of so many guards. Traveling as a wandering monk was the least likely to arouse suspicion.
When the monk saw Sui Sui, surprise flashed across his eyes. Then he stood up with the help of the wall and bowed to her eleven times. "You are polite, patron."
Sui Sui noticed that his face was pale, his legs were trembling, and he was skinny, obviously suffering from a serious illness.
She nodded to him and said straight to the point: "I have something I want to ask Master."
The man said, "Please ask me anything, I will tell you everything."
Sui Sui asked, "I heard that Master once served in the Queen's palace?"
The man frowned slightly, a look of pain on his face: "Yes."
Sui Sui asked: "Why did you leave the palace?"
The man's face was filled with pain. He coughed a few times and said, "Because I heard things I shouldn't have heard and saw things I shouldn't have seen, all the palace servants and eunuchs serving in the palace that day were forced to take arsenic by the master, and then wrapped in a straw mat and thrown out of the palace."
He recalled, tears welling up in his eyes. "Is it because I was lucky or didn't take enough medicine that I woke up in the mass grave. Because the soil covering my body was thin, I dug it off and crawled out. I crawled on my hands and feet for a whole day, crawling to the side of the mountain road. Fortunately, a passing monk treated me and saved my life. I then accepted him as my master and served him as he traveled around the south of the Yangtze River. However, the remaining poison probably couldn't be completely eliminated, so I am now half-crippled."
Sui Sui then realized that his monk's robe was not a disguise.
"What did you hear that you shouldn't have heard, and what did you see that you shouldn't have seen?" she asked.
The man frowned and recalled, "That happened when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had just returned from the north. He came to see the Empress, saying that he had something to discuss. The Empress sent me and others out of the palace. They were talking inside. At first, their voices were low and could not be heard outside, but gradually the Empress's voice became louder. I vaguely heard a few words. The general idea was that His Royal Highness wanted to marry a certain woman, but the Empress disagreed, and the two of them started arguing."
Sui Sui nodded: "That's all?"
Huan Ye gave up his position as crown prince and came to the north to find him, but it is conceivable that the emperor and empress would definitely object. This is not a private matter, and even if the empress is cruel and ruthless, she would not kill someone for just a few words.
The man shook his head. "Although the Queen is strict with her servants, she is not harsh to them. She would not have poisoned so many servants for these two sentences. That happened later."
Just listen quietly.
The man continued, "That day, the Crown Prince and the Empress had a quarrel and left unhappily. After the Crown Prince left, the Empress burst into tears, saying that she had given birth to a rebellious son. The Empress was angry, and the servants dared not even breathe loudly. At that time, everyone shrank their necks and served carefully. Later, the Crown Prince came a few more times, and each time he made a scene. I gradually understood that the Crown Prince had given up the title of Crown Prince in order to marry Lady Xiao from the governor of Heshuo, and gave the throne to the Second Prince."
After a pause, he continued, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was so unreasonable that His Majesty would not agree, not to mention the Empress. The stalemate lasted for about two or three months. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince somehow managed to persuade His Majesty. The Empress reported the news and smashed everything in the palace. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came to beg again and knelt on the steps for two hours. The Empress said, 'Think it over now. If you insist on going north, you can leave me as your mother.'"
As Sui Sui listened to a stranger talking about Huan Ye's past, it was as if a hand was grasping her heart, tightening it.
"Please continue, Master." She said calmly.
"After hearing this, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince kowtowed nine times to the Queen Mother, then stood up and left," the monk continued. "After His Royal Highness left, the Queen Mother cried again, and went to bed early after dinner. It was that night that the incident occurred."
The man's lips began to tremble, tears flashing in his eyes: "That day, Xiaoye and the others were on duty in the palace..."
He choked up and couldn't continue.
Sui Sui knew that he must have deep feelings for the palace maid named "Xiao Ye".
She silently handed him a handkerchief.
The monk bowed eleven times, took the handkerchief and wiped his tears, then continued, "The palace servant who was on duty beside the bed heard a 'thump' sound, as if something had fallen out of the curtains and landed on the bed. When they turned on the light, they saw a dagger with blood on the blade."
He paused and said, "They were scared to death and hurried to lift the bed curtains. They saw the queen lying on the bed with her eyes closed. Her wrists were cut several times by a knife and blood had already flowed onto half the bed. Everyone was terrified and hurried to stop the bleeding. They went to ask for the doctor and report to His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Sui Sui's eyes moved: "Besides the emperor, the former crown prince and the medical officer, is there anyone else who knows about this?"
The man said, "This kind of thing must not be spread out. The fewer people who know about it, the better... Except for the two trusted maids brought by the Queen from her mother's family, the servants on duty that day could not see the sun the next day. They were given arsenic that night."
Sui Sui asked: "What happened next?"
"Fortunately, the doctor arrived in time. Although the queen lost a lot of blood, her life was in danger. After his majesty came, he was furious. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince rushed over from the East Palace. At the latest, the queen had woken up by then. He knelt beside the queen's bed and apologized. The queen ignored him for a long time. After a long time, she spoke and asked him if he was still going north. She said that if he insisted on marrying the Xiao family girl, he should wait until the three-year mourning period was over before marrying her."
The monk took a look at the woman facing him and saw that all the blood had drained from her face. Her beautiful eyes seemed to be filled with cold mist, revealing an indescribable confusion and sadness.
He moved his lips, wanting to ask something, but felt that no matter what he asked, it was already necessary.
Huan Ye couldn't let his biological mother die just to marry her. He couldn't bear to hurt anyone, let alone the mother who gave birth to him and raised him.
She finally understood why Huan Rong was determined to kill Huan Ye - perhaps he had never expected to be the crown prince, and his eldest brother gave up the throne to him, which made him greedy. His huge expectations were dashed in an instant, and with his narrow-minded personality, he would certainly not be willing to accept it.
The monk didn't know that she had already found the answer she had wanted for a long time, and continued: "No matter how infatuated the Crown Prince is with Madam Xiao, he can't watch his mother die. He cried and promised the Queen that he would never mention the marriage with Madam Xiao in the future, and only asked to go to Heshuo in person to explain the matter to Madam Xiao..."
Sui Sui nodded woodenly and interrupted him, "I understand. Thank you, Master."
After a pause, he said, "Master, please don't spread what I said today."
The monk looked at her with compassion in his eyes: "Please rest assured, I have cut off all worldly ties since I entered the monastery. These are just the affairs of my life. I am just giving you an explanation. I only hope to recite the sutras and chant the Buddha's name, and live the rest of my life in peace and quiet."
Sui Sui said: "Master, you can stay here with peace of mind. Food and medicine will be provided by others."
The monk bowed eleven times and said, "Thank you very much, donor."
Sui Sui lowered his head and walked out of the Zen temple silently. Looking back, he saw the setting sun of winter shining on the roof. Even the sunlight was bleak and bleak. Dusk had not yet arrived, but the crows had already begun to call.
She walked back slowly, and when she reached the gate of the courtyard where Chun Tiao was, she suddenly remembered something, stopped, turned around and said to the visiting monk, "Someone followed my carriage as soon as I left Chang'anfang today, and followed us all the way to the mountain gate. Let's check the man's background."
The guest monk said, "I will immediately order someone to investigate and give the general a reply as soon as possible."
Sui Sui nodded: "Thank you. Also, go to the cosmetics shop and tell them that I plan to leave the capital after the Divine Wing Army sets out. Tell them to prepare."
It was already night when we returned to the mountain pond courtyard.
When the carriage arrived outside Tangli Courtyard, she realized something was wrong. She thought about it and realized that there were more lights in the courtyard and they were brighter than usual.
She guessed that it was Huan Xuan who came.
After getting off the carriage, she walked through the maple forest path where all the leaves had fallen, and opened the gate. Xiaotong winked at her and said, "My lady is finally back."
Sui Sui lowered his chin and looked at the bamboo basket in Chun Tiao's hand: "I brought back dried persimmons from the mountain temple. Let's share them."
As he said this, he lifted the curtain and entered the room.
"What's so delicious about dried persimmons? Is it worth going all the way out of town to get them?" The man leaned on her bed in his pajamas, his eyes not eyes and his nose not nose.
"Your Highness, would you like to try one?" Sui Sui said.
Huan Xuan raised his chin and said disdainfully, "I won't eat it."
Sui Sui smiled and said, "You don't want to eat it? Your Highness likes sweet food, right? This persimmon cake has a lot of frost, so it's especially sweet."
She washed her hands and gave him a piece.
Huan Xuan took it and took a bite, then snorted coldly, "Nothing special."
Sui Sui noticed that he was feeling awkward, but ignored him and just asked, "Isn't Your Highness in the barracks? Why did you come back so suddenly?"
Huan Xuan lowered his eyes and pretended to read a book: "Come back and see you when you have time. Who knows you can't stay at home for a day."
Then he raised his eyelids and glanced at her: "Where's Dong?"
"What?" Sui Sui asked blankly.
Huan Xuan said angrily, "Forget it."
Sui Sui thought about it for a while, and finally realized that he was probably talking about the amulet, so he took out a blue-gray brocade bag from his sleeve and said, "This is the amulet I asked for at Qinglong Temple."
Huan Xuan said, "It's gray and ugly."
Sui Sui pursed her lips and smiled: "I am not worthy of Your Highness, I will keep it."
Huan Xuan snatched it away and said, "I can't say no, so just wear it. Tie it on for me."
Sui Sui tied the brocade bag to his belt, picked up his jade belt and found that the old sachet embroidered with crabapple was missing. She seemed to have not seen the sachet for some time, but could not remember when it disappeared.
Huan Xuan put down the book and patted the bed: "You are running around just because your injury has improved. I think you are dying. Lie down."
Sui Sui said, "I haven't bathed yet."
Huan Xuan raised his eyebrows: "Why do I think it smells bad?"
Sui Sui just took off her outer clothes and lay down beside him.
Huan Xuan held her in his arms, but was careful not to touch her wound. He just buried his face in her neck and sniffed lightly.
Sui Sui saw that he did not move for a while, turned around and saw that he had fallen asleep.
She stretched out her fingers to touch his long eyelashes and sighed deeply.